F0 Peak Alignment, F0 Peak Location, and Focus Perception in Taif Arabic

The encoding of focus and its role in Taif Arabic has not been understood fully. A recent production study found significant acoustic differences between syntactically identical utterances with focus and without focus. The current study aims to investigate further F0 peak alignment, F0 peak location and (b) focus perception in Taif Arabic. The acoustic analyses of F0 peak alignment and F0 peak location show that only the F0 peak alignment of the post-focus words was realized earlier than that of their counterparts under neutral-focus condition, and the location of the F0 peak of the stressed syllable of the post-focus words was lower than that of their counterparts in neutral-focus utterances. In focus perception, correct focus identification was 85% for initial focus and 71% for penultimate focus. These findings have implications for both focus typology and language variations.

Effects of contrastive focus on lexical predictability during sentence reading: The case of not only. . .but also constructions

Previous research suggests that language comprehenders are sensitive to the presence of focus-sensitive particles—words like only and not that are effective at marking the focus of the sentence. In addition to signalling linguistic focus, these words can also establish a semantic contrast between the focused element and an alternate set. For example, the phrase not only the bride places linguistic focus on the bride and may also prompt comprehenders to anticipate a set of upcoming entities that stand in semantic contrast to the bride. We tested this possibility in an eyetracking-while-reading experiment that systematically crossed structure (focus vs. noun-phrase coordination) with predictability of an upcoming target noun (predictable vs. unpredictable). Whereas first-pass reading time showed a robust predictability effect for the coordination condition, the effect was eliminated for the focus condition. Later eyetracking measures revealed main effects of both predictability and syntactic structure. Overall, the results suggest that language comprehenders rapidly make use of the cue not only and may use this cue to begin anticipating a set of upcoming sentence continuations during online sentence processing.

M80. ALTERATIONS IN TEMPORAL PROCESSING AFFECT SCHIZOPHRENIA AND BIPOLAR PATIENTS AT DIFFERENT TEMPORAL SCALES

Background Previous work suggested that patients with Schizophrenia (SZ) and Bipolar disorder (BP) both show anomalies in temporal cognition, although at different temporal scales. Recent results suggest disruptions in the processing of sensory information in time in SZ at the sub-second scale, including temporal order processing (100s ms). On the other hand, BP patients often report tachypsychia or racing thoughts, a subjective acceleration in the production of thoughts, which points towards temporal anomalies at the (supra-)second scale. Methods To further investigate the proposed temporal abnormalities which differentially affect the two groups, 11 SZ patients, 14 BP patients and 21 healthy controls (HC) performed two tasks. First, subjects’ ability at ordering events in time was evaluated in a Temporal Order Judgment task. Participants were presented two squares separated by either a sub-threshold 17ms or a supra-threshold 100 ms asynchrony, or two squares appearing simultaneously on a computer screen. They were instructed to respond, by clicking on one of two response-buttons, to the side of the first stimulus and their accuracy was recorded. In a second task, subjects were presented the ambiguous Necker cube figure and were instructed to report, via button presses, each time their perception of the figure changed between the two possible interpretations. Two attentional conditions were used: a “Spontaneous” condition where subjects reported perceptual changes that occurred spontaneously (without any attentional control), and a “Focus” condition where subjects were asked to focus on and mentally maintain one of the two interpretations of the figure for as long as possible and switch back to it in case of perceptual reversal. Eye movements and manual responses were recorded during this task and were used to compute two measures: “manual windows” based on subject’s explicit responses and reflecting time intervals of stable percepts of the figure, and “ocular windows” based on ocular fixations and reflecting implicit and automatic alternations between the two interpretations of the figure. The rates and durations of the two “windows” were compared in the two attentional conditions. Results We present preliminary results. In the Temporal Order Judgment task SZ patients’ accuracy was significantly lower than that of HC for visible 100 ms asynchronies. BP patients’ performance had intermediate values and did not differ from the other groups. For sub-threshold 17 ms asynchronies no significant difference was found between groups. In the Necker cube task, similar rates of “manual windows” were found in all three groups, however there was a tendency towards an increased window duration in the Focus condition in BP patients. The rate of “ocular windows” was significantly higher in BP patients compared to HC and SZ patients, with decreased “ocular window” duration in BP patients compared to HC. BP patients’ rate of “ocular windows” increased mainly in the “Focus” condition. Discussion The findings in the Temporal Order Judgment task replicate results in the literature showing an impaired temporal order processing in SZ patients for supra-threshold asynchronies at the scale of 100s ms. The results of the Necker cube task suggest that BP patients cannot help oscillating between the two interpretations of the Necker cube. Complementary results obtained in a larger group of BP patients suggest a link with tachypsychia. Our present results support the idea that temporal cognition is altered in both SZ and BP patients but at different temporal scales.

The Effects of Attentional Focus Instructions Specific to Body Movements on Movement Quality and Performance

Contexts: Directing an individual’s attention to the effect of the movements (external focus) has been shown to improve performance than directing attention to body movements (internal focus). However, the effect of attentional focus instructions specific to movement quality has not been investigated thoroughly. Objective: To compare the effects of internal and external focus instructions specific to body movements. Design: Mixed design, 2 (sex) × 2 (instructions). Settings: Laboratory setting. Participants: A total of 40 participants (males, n = 20; mean [SD]; age = 22.0 [2.19] y; height = 179.33 [5.90] cm; mass = 77.7 [13.04] kg; females, n = 20; age = 22.0 [3.87] y; height = 164.84 [5.80] cm; mass = 71.48 [20.66] kg) were recruited. Intervention: Participants completed 2 consecutive jumps (ie, a forward jump from a height and then a maximal vertical jump) with internal focus and external focus instructions. External focus was elicited by placing pieces of tape on the participants’ legs. Main Outcome measures: Landing quality was measured by the Landing Error Scoring System to assess movement quality, and the vertical jump height was measured by Vertec. Results: The performance results showed that the external focus condition resulted in superior vertical jump height compared with the internal focus condition (P < .05). Although landing quality did not show significant differences between 2 conditions, the effect size (η2 = .09) indicated that landing quality was better when participants adopted an external, rather than an internal focus of attention (P = .07). Conclusions: The body-oriented instructions can be provided externally by adding artificial external cues and directing attention to them. Importantly, the findings were evident in a qualitative assessment that can be adopted by practitioners. The results suggest that practitioners should adopt an external focus cue for performance and also consider using an external focus for movement quality.

Mindfulness Versus Distraction to Improve Affective Response and Promote Cardiovascular Exercise Behavior

Background Variation in affective response to exercise partially explains high levels of inactivity. Examining ways to improve affective responses to physical activity is, therefore, an important direction for research aiming to promote exercise behavior. Purpose This study compares three strategies: mindfulness, distraction, and an associative focus comparison group as potential strategies to improve affective response to exercise and promote exercise behavior. Methods Seventy-eight insufficiently active individuals (M age 26.82, 74% female) were randomly assigned to one of the following three conditions: (a) mindfulness, (b) distraction, or (c) associative attentional focus. The study was divided into two phases, a laboratory session in which participants learned their assigned strategy and completed a 30 min supervised exercise bout and an at-home intervention in which participants used their assigned strategy while exercising on their own for 2 weeks and filled out daily surveys. Results Seventy-five participants completed the study. The central hypotheses were partially supported. Participants in the mindfulness and distraction conditions maintained more positive affective response to exercise over time compared to participants in the associative focus condition, whose affect became less positive over time (p = .04). Participants in the distraction condition experienced lower perceived exertion during exercise (p = .01). There were no condition differences in self-reported minutes exercised during follow-up, but participants in the mindfulness condition reported exercising for more days during the follow-up compared to the associative focus condition (p = .01). Conclusions These findings suggest individuals wishing to increase their cardiovascular exercise could engage in mindfulness or distraction in order to make exercise feel less difficult and/or more affectively pleasant.

Considering a Holistic Focus of Attention as an Alternative to an External Focus

Empirical findings consistently suggest that an external focus of attention leads to superior performance when compared to an internal focus by encouraging more automatic processing. However, for certain skills (e.g., gymnastics routines) it can be challenging to identify a meaningful external focus cue. A related line of research suggests that focusing on the general feeling of a movement (i.e., holistic focus) may also be useful in avoiding conscious control of movements. The purpose of this study was to determine how an internal focus (INT), external focus (EXT), and holistic focus (HOL) impact the performance of a standing long jump. Participants (N = 27) completed two baseline jumps followed by two jumps in each focus condition. Jump distance was analyzed in a 6 (Order) × 4 (Focus) mixed ANOVA. Results indicated a significant main effect of focus (p < .001), with EXT and HOL resulting in farther jumps than INT and baseline conditions (p-values < .05). EXT and HOL did not differ significantly from each other, and INT did not differ significantly from baseline. The findings suggest that a holistic focus can be another effective means of avoiding conscious control of movement when an external focus is not practical or desired.

Primary Interoceptive Cortex Activity during Simulated Experiences of the Body

Studies of the classic exteroceptive sensory systems (e.g., vision, touch) consistently demonstrate that vividly imagining a sensory experience of the world—simulating it—is associated with increased activity in the corresponding primary sensory cortex. We hypothesized, analogously, that simulating internal bodily sensations would be associated with increased neural activity in primary interoceptive cortex. An immersive, language-based mental imagery paradigm was used to test this hypothesis (e.g., imagine your heart pounding during a roller coaster ride, your face drenched in sweat during a workout). During two neuroimaging experiments, participants listened to vividly described situations and imagined “being there” in each scenario. In Study 1, we observed significantly heightened activity in primary interoceptive cortex (of dorsal posterior insula) during imagined experiences involving vivid internal sensations. This effect was specific to interoceptive simulation: It was not observed during a separate affect focus condition in Study 1 nor during an independent Study 2 that did not involve detailed simulation of internal sensations (instead involving simulation of other sensory experiences). These findings underscore the large-scale predictive architecture of the brain and reveal that words can be powerful drivers of bodily experiences.

The Effect of Attentional Focus Conditions on Performer’s EMG Activity

Many researchers have been investigated the effect of focusing type on motor performance and muscular activity. Studies have showed that focusing on movement effects, i.e., an external focus enhances motor performance whereas, reduces muscular activity compare to focusing on body movements, i.e., an internal focus. The purpose of present study was to determine whether focusing externally had any effect on reduction of Electromyographic activity of performers. In this study, 16 participants were asked to perform weight lifting under control (no instructions are given), external (focusing on dumbbell) and internal (focusing on biceps brachii muscle) conditions. The EMG data were acquired via DELSYS EMG System and monitored on LabVIEW. RMSE values were calculated to compare the EMG activities under each conditions. The results showed that the EMG activity was significantly reduced under external focus condition.

Adopting an External Focus of Attention Enhances Musical Performance

Two experiments are reported in which skilled musicians playing different instruments performed a piece of their choice under various attentional focus conditions. In the external focus condition, they were asked to focus on playing for the audience and the expressive sound of the music. In the internal focus condition, they were asked to focus on the precision of their finger movements (or lip movements for singers) and correct notes. In the control condition, they were asked to play the way they normally did. Expert raters evaluated the musicians’ performances for both musical expression and technical precision. In Experiment 1, external focus instructions enhanced musical expression relative to both internal focus and control conditions. There was no effect on technical precision. In Experiment 2, raters were given more detailed evaluation criteria. An external focus again led to superior musical expression compared with internal focus and control conditions. In addition, technical precision was higher within the external relative to the internal focus condition. The findings show that the advantages of focusing on the intended movement effect (i.e., externally) generalize to experienced musicians. Music teachers could offer their students specific recommendations for focus of attention during training and in concert situations to optimize learning and performance.

Are internal focuses really useful?

To evaluate the external vs. internal focus during free basketball shots in non-basketball players. For this analysis 49 subjects participated in one baseline and one experimental session. During the baseline session all the participants performed 20 free basketball shots without instructions (Non-Instructions). During the experimental session participants were randomly allocated to one group: Dominant-Group, which performed the free basketball shots with the dominant hand; or a Non-dominant Group, which performed the shots with the non-dominant hand. Both groups performed 20 throws under internal and external focus of attention conditions. In the Dominant-Group internal focus of attention resulted in a higher number of successful shots compared with the external focus condition. Our study does not support previous findings and shows that external focus of attention impairs the performance of free basketball shots with the dominant hand in comparison with internal focus and ¨no instructions¨ conditions, in non-basketball players.