军医大学学员坚毅性评价的内隐效应及脑电特征研究

目的:探寻军医大学学员内隐层面对自我和他人坚毅性评价的特点及脑电特征,为全面、客观的评估个体的坚毅性提供理论依据和客观指标。方法:使用E-Prime2.0参照经典内隐联想范式编制内隐联想-坚毅测验,对100名军医大学学员施测坚毅量表(Grit O),选取高、低坚毅水平被试(各20名)进行内隐联想-坚毅测验,并记录脑电,分析两组被试的内隐效应及主要脑电成分。结果:计算内隐效应D值,t检验显示高坚毅组(0.55±0.36)显著低于低坚毅组(0.87±0.49),t=-2.257,P0.05,Cohen'd=0.74。两组被试均诱发明显的N400和LPP,高坚毅组中N400在任务状态下主效应显著,F(1,17)=8.528,P0.05,η2=0.334,且在电极位置上主效应显著,F(10,170)=8.207,P0.001,η2=0.326。LPP在任务状态下主效应显著,F(1,17)=5.471,P0.05,η2=0.243,且在电极位置上主效应显著,F(10,170)=18.479,P0.001,η2=0.521;低坚毅组中N400在任务状态下主效应显著,F(1,17)=10.051,P0.05,η2=0.372,且在电极位置上主效应显著,F(10,170)=8.223,P0.001,η2=0.326,LPP在任务状态下主效应不显著。结论:1.军医大学学员坚毅性评价的内隐效应显著,即均倾向于认为自我的坚毅性高,他人的坚毅性低,通过问卷法评估坚毅性时应考虑坚毅评价的内隐效应。2.高、低坚毅性军医大学学员坚毅性内隐评价时的主要脑电成分N400、LPP存在差异,N400可作为坚毅性内隐评价符合程度的判断指标。3.内隐效应及N400可以作为对军医大学学员坚毅性评价时的客观指标。     

视觉中文词汇识别的整体优先效应和词内核证原则:来自ERPs的证据

目的:以视觉的汉语真假双字词为材料,用词汇判断任务考察词汇加工过程与表征的关系.方法:记录了16名被试者的行为数据和ERPs数据.结果:①真词的反应时间显著短于假词.②真词和假词均诱发了明显的N1、P2、N2、P3、N400、P600成分.③假词的N2波幅显著大于真词;假词的P3波幅、潜伏期显著小于真词.④假词的N400波幅显著小于真词,假词减真词的差异波波幅表现出显著的半球效应,左半球大于右半球.⑤假词的P600潜伏期显著长于真词.结论:N2、P3成分分别反映了词汇认知加工早期对心理表征的匹配和评价、注意的分配;N400、P600成分分别反映了词汇认知加工晚期词素之间的语义冲突和词素之间语义、句法等关系的整合.研究结果证明了中文双字词识别的整体优先效应和词内核证原则,支持了词汇后加工的观点,为假词反应时长于真词提供了电生理证据.     

水活度与相对湿度关系辩证

各种版本的微生物学和食品化学在述及水活度Aw书中用Aw）和相对湿度Hr（书中用RH或ERH）的关系时,常可见到以下三种表达式：①Aw=RH×100;②RH=AW×100（或Aw=RH／100）;③AW=RH。其中以①、②式居多,③式甚为少见。很显然,三式是水火不可兼容的。究竟孰是孰非？笔者以为①、②式皆非,③式是可取的。我们从Aw和Hr的定义入手来分析一下①、②式的错误。Aw定义为密闭容器内样品中水的平衡蒸汽压与相同条件下纯水的蒸汽压之比,为量纲一的量（无量纲量）,SI单位（SI中的一惯性单位）为1,习惯上用小数表示,其值在o～卫之间…     

Tenascin,β-catenin,TGF-β1在胃癌中的表达及意义

目的:探讨胃癌组织中Tenascin、β-catenin、TGF-β1的表达及意义。方法:采用免疫组织化学方法检测70例胃癌组织和20例癌旁正常组织中Tenascin、β-catenin、TGF-β1的表达。结果:①Tenascin主要表达于胃癌组织中癌相关纤维母细胞的胞质,且与胃癌的Lauren分型、分化程度、临床分期、淋巴结转移关系显著(P<0.05);②β-catenin在胃癌的异常表达与胃癌的Lauren分型及分化程度关系显著(P<0.05);③TGF-β1在胃癌组织中主要表达于肿瘤细胞的胞质,其表达强度与胃癌的临床分期、浸润深度及淋巴结转移显著相关(P<0.05);④Tenascin与β-catenin在胃癌中的表达呈负相关(r=-0.505,P<0.05)。结论:胃癌组织中Tenascin、β-catenin、TGF-β1蛋白的表达与肿瘤的侵袭、转移关系密切,β-catenin对间质中Tenascin的聚集具有抑制效应。     

磁应用在神经科学领域的新发现

这些年来,扫描技术已经探明执行不同任务时大脑的活动分布区域。来自磁共振功能成像的最新发现是:①当人们试图同时做两个不同的用脑行为时(如同时理解话语和观看空中旋转的物体),用于每项任务的脑活动量将少于单独进行一项任务时的脑活动量,所以开车时不准打手机这一规定是有神经学依据的。②欣赏音乐时,音乐家比非音乐家能更充分地利用大脑中的语言处理功能区。③具有物体识别功能的侧枕骨复合体,对物体的整体形状而非其各组成部分做出反应。     

框架描述对医疗资源分配公平感的影响

目的:初步探讨医疗资源分配方案设置及框架描述对人们感知公平的影响。方法:以120名大学生为研究对象,自编情境问题,分别依据Miller定义的平等、需求、责任及付出原则制定医疗资源分配分配方案,采用正、负及平衡框架进行描述。被试被随机分为三组,每组被试需要评估同一框架下,四种分配方案的公平性。结果:结果显示,分配方案主效应显著(F=7.27,P0.01),按照需求原则分配医疗资源,被试感到不公平(t=-2.04,P0.01),而以付出原则分配,被试感到公平(t=2.87,P0.01),以按责与平等原则分配,被试没有显著的公平或不公平感(P.05)。框架描述主效应显著(F=6.08,P.05),以正框架描述,公平感评估显著高于平衡框架与负框架。框架描述与分配原则交互作用显著(F=3.93,P0.01),在正框架下,分配方案效应不显著(F=1.29,P0.05),在负框架与平衡框架下,分配方案效应显著(F平衡=9.23,P0.01;F负=4.69,P0.01)。依据按需与按责原则制定的分配方案受到框架描述影响(F按需=12.88,P0.01;F按责=4.12,P0.05),而依据平等原则、付出原则制定的分配方案不会受到框架描述的影响。结论:分配原则及框架描述均能显著影响人们对医疗资源分配的公平感知。     

磁应用在神经科学领域的新发现

这些年来,扫描技术已经探明执行不同任务时大脑的活动分布区域。来自磁共振功能成像的最新发现是：①当人们试图同时做两个不同的用脑行为时(如同时理解话语和观看空中旋转的物体),用于每项任务的脑活动量将少于单独进行一项任务时的脑活动量,所以开车时不准打手机这一规定是有神经学依据的。②欣赏音乐时,音乐家比非音乐家能更充分地利用大脑中的语言处理功能区。③具有物体识别功能的侧枕骨复合体,对物体的整体形状而非其各组成部分做出反应。     

畸变汉字语义启动的ERP 效应

运用事件相关电位技术,采用词汇判断作业,考察字形畸变和语境对低频汉字识别的影响。行为结果显示,启动效应的主效应显著,启动条件和字形畸变的交互作用显著。脑电结果显示,150-300ms窗口,字形畸变的主效应显著。300-450ms时间窗口,启动效应的主效应显著。靶字畸变和靶字清晰条件下,均得到了语义相关和语义无关条件的显著差异。得出结论,汉字通透性是影响汉字加工的重要因素。RP与视知觉分析有关,N400和语义的自动加工有关。     

树鼩解剖数据的测定与分析

解剖数据是实验动物主要的生物学特性指标。该文对实验室驯养树鼩(7～9月龄)的体尺、骨骼、乳头、肠道及脏器重量与系数等解剖学数据进行了测定与分析。31项解剖数据测量结果显示雌、雄个体间体高、右耳宽、回肠及结肠差异显著(P<0.05),体斜长、胸深、躯干长、左右两前肢长、右后肢长、左右两侧耳长、左耳宽、龙骨长、左右两侧胫长、十二指肠及空肠长等差异极显著(P<0.01)。以体长为因变量,尾长、躯干长、左前肢长、右前肢长、左后肢长及右后肢长等为自变量作逐步回归分析,回归方程为:体长=13.90+尾长×0.16。37项脏器及系数测定结果:雌雄间比较,体重、心、肺、脾、左肾、右肾、膀胱、左海马、右海马、左颌下腺、左甲状腺、右甲状腺重量差异极显著(P<0.01)。小肠、右颌下腺、左肾上腺之间差异显著(P<0.05);心、肺、胃、膀胱、小肠、大肠、脑、右海马、左肾上腺系数雌雄间差异极显著(P<0.01)。右肾、左海马、左颌下腺、右肾上腺、左右两侧甲状腺系数之间达到了显著性水平(P<0.05)。以动物体重为因变量,以主要脏器指标:心脏、肺、肝、脾、左肾、右肾、脑为自变量,作逐步回归分析,回归方程为:体重=62.73+左肾×79.213+心脏×24.09。实验室驯养树鼩不同性别对体尺、脏器及系数、肠道等解剖数据有一定影响,为树鼩实验动物化及人类疾病动物模型研究提供基础数据。     

投喂频率对红鳍东方鲀生长和行为的影响

以红鳍东方鲀(Takifugu rubripes)幼鱼为实验对象,研究在日投喂量相同的条件下,不同投喂频率[3次/d(F3)、4次/d(F4)和5次/d(F5)]对幼鱼生长和行为的影响。结果表明:(1) F4组幼鱼的生长性能显著高于F3和F5组(P<0.05);(2)在实验结束时,不同处理组幼鱼的游泳速度差异显著,从大到小依次为F4>F3>F5(P<0.05),F4组幼鱼的角速度显著高于F3和F5组(P<0.05), F4组幼鱼的加速度和活跃度显著低于F3和F5组(P<0.05), F3组幼鱼的对象间距离显著高于F4和F5组(P<0.05);(3) GLMMs的结果表明, F4组幼鱼的游速受到实验时间与投喂频率交互效应的影响显著(P<0.05),各处理组之间的比较结果显示,实验时间和投喂频率的交互效应对F5组幼鱼的加速度有正向效果,但其显著降低了F5组幼鱼的对象间距离。综上所述,不同投喂频率对幼鱼的生长性能和行为表现具有显著影响。实验推测4次/d的投喂频率可能改变了幼鱼的能量分配,更多的能量被用于生长和游泳,使得幼鱼的生长性能有所提高,并...     

Hemispheric interaction in man during perception of visual stimuli]

Averaged evoked potentials (AEP) to verbal (letters) and nonverbal (random shapes) stimuli exposed in the left and right visual fields were registered in healthy subjects with normal vision. Analysis of the later AEP latencies pointed to asymmetry in the temporal parameters of the interhemispheric interaction. The late AEP latency is shorter in the right hemisphere than in the left hemisphere. The difference is more pronounced in responses to nonverbal stimuli. The earlier development of the evoked potential in the right hemisphere (or the later one in the left hemisphere) accounts for the interhemispheric difference in the temporal parameters of the late AEP components. Comparison of the latency of the component P300 to verbal and nonverbal stimuli presented in the ipsilateral or the contralateral visual fields reveals a transfer of the results of the cortical processing of visual information in the course of interhemispheric interaction.     

Word learning and the cerebral hemispheres: from serial to parallel processing of written words

Reading familiar words differs from reading unfamiliar non-words in two ways. First, word reading is faster and more accurate than reading of unfamiliar non-words. Second, effects of letter length are reduced for words, particularly when they are presented in the right visual field in familiar formats. Two experiments are reported in which right-handed participants read aloud non-words presented briefly in their left and right visual fields before and after training on those items. The non-words were interleaved with familiar words in the naming tests. Before training, naming was slow and error prone, with marked effects of length in both visual fields. After training, fewer errors were made, naming was faster, and the effect of length was much reduced in the right visual field compared with the left. We propose that word learning creates orthographic word forms in the mid-fusiform gyrus of the left cerebral hemisphere. Those word forms allow words to access their phonological and semantic representations on a lexical basis. But orthographic word forms also interact with more posterior letter recognition systems in the middle/inferior occipital gyri, inducing more parallel processing of right visual field words than is possible for any left visual field stimulus, or for unfamiliar non-words presented in the right visual field.     

Hemispheric asymmetry of the auditory evoked N100m response in relation to the crossing point between the central sulcus and Sylvian fissure

The positions of the bilateral N100m sources of the auditory evoked magnetic fields (AEFs) were measured in relation to the central sulcus (CS) using an MRI-linked whole head magnetoencephalography system in 20 right-handed normal male subjects. The location of the N20m source of the median nerve-stimulated somatosensory evoked magnetic fields (SEFs), in the left hemisphere was 3.9±5.4 mm (mean±SD) posterior to that in the right hemisphere (P<0.005). The crossing point (CP) between the CS and Sylvian fissure in the left hemisphere was 4.3±4.8 mm posterior to that in the right hemisphere (P<0.001). The N100m sources were posterior to the CP in both hemispheres. The left hemispheric N100m source was 9.4±6.4 mm posterior to that on the right (P<0.0001) in absolute position. The relative distance between CP and the N100m source was 22.7±8.5 mm in the left hemisphere and 17.7±5.3 mm in the right hemisphere (P<0.01). Comparison of positions of the AEF sources and the CS as defined by the SEF demonstrated functional asymmetry of the human temporal lobe and possible source extension of the AEF-N100m beyond the Heschl gyrus over the planum temporale.     

Functional specialization of hemispheres in matching current and preceding stimuli

Classification of visual patterns, a differentiating sign of which is the position of the longer axis of an oval and the principal part of the image, was studied. Stimuli were presented at random to the left (LVF) or right (RVF) visual fields in two situations:same (preceding imageS ₁ was of the same form and presented to the same visual field as the current imageS ₂) anddifferent (S ₁ differed fromS ₂ by both form and location). Classification ofdifferent images was less effective compared with that ofsame images during stimulation of LVF and showed no dependence on the preceding image during stimulation of RVF. The matching of event-related potentials (ERP) in response toS ₂ and differential curvesS ₂−S ₁ revealed the processes related to accessing the information on the preceding stimulus and processing of the current stimulus, which simultaneously occur during the initial 50 ms in both hemispheres and in the 160–180 ms interval in the right hemisphere. Both processes were more expressed during stimulation of the contralateral visual field. In the 190–310 ms interval, discrimination of thesame anddifferent images was determined by processing of information about the current stimulus on the basis of the results of the preceding stage of analysis. This process was more expressed in the occipital, parietal and temporoparietooccipital regions of the right hemisphere independently of the stimulated visual field. The involvement of frontal regions at this stage of information processing was observed only at stimulation of RVF. The dependence of differences of ERP to thesame anddifferent images on the stimulated visual field was revealed for the 320–500-ms interval (N ₄₀₀ and late positive complex) in the occipital regions.     

Dynamic microRNA expression during the transition from right ventricular hypertrophy to failure

MicroRNAs (miRs) are small, noncoding RNAs that are emerging as crucial regulators of cardiac remodeling in left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH) and failure (LVF). However, there are no data on their role in right ventricular hypertrophy (RVH) and failure (RVF). This is a critical question given that the RV is uniquely at risk in patients with congenital right-sided obstructive lesions and in those with systemic RVs. We have developed a murine model of RVH and RVF using pulmonary artery constriction (PAC). miR microarray analysis of RV from PAC vs. control demonstrates altered miR expression with gene targets associated with cardiomyocyte survival and growth during hypertrophy (miR 199a-3p) and reactivation of the fetal gene program during heart failure (miR-208b). The transition from hypertrophy to heart failure is characterized by apoptosis and fibrosis (miRs-34, 21, 1). Most are similar to LVH/LVF. However, there are several key differences between RV and LV: four miRs (34a, 28, 148a, and 93) were upregulated in RVH/RVF that are downregulated or unchanged in LVH/LVF. Furthermore, there is a corresponding downregulation of their putative target genes involving cell survival, proliferation, metabolism, extracellular matrix turnover, and impaired proteosomal function. The current study demonstrates, for the first time, alterations in miRs during the process of RV remodeling and the gene regulatory pathways leading to RVH and RVF. Many of these alterations are similar to those in the afterload-stressed LV. miRs differentially regulated between the RV and LV may contribute to the RVs increased susceptibility to heart failure.     

Hemispheric asymetry of the evoked electrical activity of the cerebral cortex to letter and non-verbal stimuli]

Average evoked potentials (AEP) were recorded in practically healthy subjects to "meaningless" figures and letters, presented to different halves of the visual field. Analysis of the amplitudes of AEP late components to verbal and non-verbal stimuli reveals hemispheric asymmetry. A higher amplitude of the late positive evoked response (P300) to a "direct" stimulation both by verbal and non-verbal stimuli (in the contralateral field of vision) is recorded in the left hemisphere than in the right one. Similar stimulation of the right hemisphere does not reveal sucha difference. In the left hemisphere the P300 wave is of a clearly greater amplitude to a "direct" stimulation (contralateral visual field) than to an "indirect" one (ipsilateral visual field), regardless of the nature of the stimulus. No such difference is observed in the right hemisphere. The magnitude of the late negative wave (component N200) to non-verbal stimuli is greater in the right hemisphere both in response to "direct" and "indirect" stimulations. No intrahemispheric difference has been found in the amplitude of late evoked responses of the cerebral cortex to verbal and non-verbal stimuli.     

The filtered Fourier difference spectrum predicts psychophysical letter discrimination in the peripheral retina

We wished to devise a measure of dissimilarity (D) which could predict psychophysical discrimination performance for Snellen letter pairs in peripheral vision. Threshold size for discriminating 33 pairs of Snellen letters was measured at 30 degrees eccentricity in the nasal retina for two subjects. D was computed for each pair by performing an overlap subtraction in the spatial domain, followed by a Fast Fourier Transform on this difference image, and dividing the total power in the resultant 'difference spectrum' by the sum of the powers of the individual letter spectra. A plot of D vs. psychophysical threshold letter size gave a mean correlation of R = -0.81. When D was calculated for letters that were low-pass filtered at different cut-off frequencies, the correlation with psychophysical performance was greatest when cut-off was between 1.25-1.9 cycles/letter (R = -0.85). Conversely, when the difference spectrum was high-pass filtered at different cut-off frequencies, the correlation decreased continuously as the cut-off increased. These results imply that the band of frequencies between zero and 1.25 cycles/letter are most important for letter discrimination in peripheral vision.     

A New Font,Specifically Designed for Peripheral Vision,Improves Peripheral Letter and Word Recognition,but Not Eye-Mediated Reading Performance

Reading speed is dramatically reduced when readers cannot use their central vision. This is because low visual acuity and crowding negatively impact letter recognition in the periphery. In this study, we designed a new font (referred to as the Eido font) in order to reduce inter-letter similarity and consequently to increase peripheral letter recognition performance. We tested this font by running five experiments that compared the Eido font with the standard Courier font. Letter spacing and x-height were identical for the two monospaced fonts. Six normally-sighted subjects used exclusively their peripheral vision to run two aloud reading tasks (with eye movements), a letter recognition task (without eye movements), a word recognition task (without eye movements) and a lexical decision task. Results show that reading speed was not significantly different between the Eido and the Courier font when subjects had to read single sentences with a round simulated gaze-contingent central scotoma (10° diameter). In contrast, Eido significantly decreased perceptual errors in peripheral crowded letter recognition (-30% errors on average for letters briefly presented at 6° eccentricity) and in peripheral word recognition (-32% errors on average for words briefly presented at 6° eccentricity).     

Visual working memory load-related changes in neural activity and functional connectivity

Background

Visual working memory (VWM) helps us store visual information to prepare for subsequent behavior. The neuronal mechanisms for sustaining coherent visual information and the mechanisms for limited VWM capacity have remained uncharacterized. Although numerous studies have utilized behavioral accuracy, neural activity, and connectivity to explore the mechanism of VWM retention, little is known about the load-related changes in functional connectivity for hemi-field VWM retention.

Methodology/Principal Findings

In this study, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) from 14 normal young adults while they performed a bilateral visual field memory task. Subjects had more rapid and accurate responses to the left visual field (LVF) memory condition. The difference in mean amplitude between the ipsilateral and contralateral event-related potential (ERP) at parietal-occipital electrodes in retention interval period was obtained with six different memory loads. Functional connectivity between 128 scalp regions was measured by EEG phase synchronization in the theta- (4–8 Hz), alpha- (8–12 Hz), beta- (12–32 Hz), and gamma- (32–40 Hz) frequency bands. The resulting matrices were converted to graphs, and mean degree, clustering coefficient and shortest path length was computed as a function of memory load. The results showed that brain networks of theta-, alpha-, beta-, and gamma- frequency bands were load-dependent and visual-field dependent. The networks of theta- and alpha- bands phase synchrony were most predominant in retention period for right visual field (RVF) WM than for LVF WM. Furthermore, only for RVF memory condition, brain network density of theta-band during the retention interval were linked to the delay of behavior reaction time, and the topological property of alpha-band network was negative correlation with behavior accuracy.

Conclusions/Significance

We suggest that the differences in theta- and alpha- bands between LVF and RVF conditions in functional connectivity and topological properties during retention period may result in the decline of behavioral performance in RVF task.     

Are Individual Differences in Reading Speed Related to Extrafoveal Visual Acuity and Crowding?

Readers differ considerably in their speed of self-paced reading. One factor known to influence fixation durations in reading is the preprocessing of words in parafoveal vision. Here we investigated whether individual differences in reading speed or the amount of information extracted from upcoming words (the preview benefit) can be explained by basic differences in extrafoveal vision—i.e., the ability to recognize peripheral letters with or without the presence of flanking letters. Forty participants were given an adaptive test to determine their eccentricity thresholds for the identification of letters presented either in isolation (extrafoveal acuity) or flanked by other letters (crowded letter recognition). In a separate eye-tracking experiment, the same participants read lists of words from left to right, while the preview of the upcoming words was manipulated with the gaze-contingent moving window technique. Relationships between dependent measures were analyzed on the observational level and with linear mixed models. We obtained highly reliable estimates both for extrafoveal letter identification (acuity and crowding) and measures of reading speed (overall reading speed, size of preview benefit). Reading speed was higher in participants with larger uncrowded windows. However, the strength of this relationship was moderate and it was only observed if other sources of variance in reading speed (e.g., the occurrence of regressive saccades) were eliminated. Moreover, the size of the preview benefit—an important factor in normal reading—was larger in participants with better extrafoveal acuity. Together, these results indicate a significant albeit moderate contribution of extrafoveal vision to individual differences in reading speed.