Search results for " EXPERIMENTAL"

“The sound of affect”: Age differences in perceiving valence and arousal in music and their relation to music characteristics and momentary mood

2018

Throughout life, music plays an important role in individuals’ everyday affective experiences. Previous findings suggest that preferences for, and perceptions of, music with distinct affective qualities might differ for individuals from different age groups. To date, however, evidence from age-comparative studies across adulthood is rare and little is known about the mechanisms that contribute to age differences in music perception. In an age-heterogeneous sample ranging from adolescence to old adulthood ( n = 50; 12–75 years), we investigated differences in affect perceptions of 147 sounds and 465 songs of various musical styles and dates of origin, as well as the respective roles of musi…

Imagination in human social cognition, autism, and psychotic-affective conditions

2016

Abstract Complex human social cognition has evolved in concert with risks for psychiatric disorders. Recently, autism and psychotic-affective conditions (mainly schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and depression) have been posited as psychological ‘opposites’ with regard to social-cognitive phenotypes. Imagination, considered as ‘forming new ideas, mental images, or concepts’, represents a central facet of human social evolution and cognition. Previous studies have documented reduced imagination in autism, and increased imagination in association with psychotic-affective conditions, yet these sets of findings have yet to be considered together, or evaluated in the context of the diametric mode…

Modelling terror management theory: computer simulations of the impact of mortality salience on religiosity

2017

ABSTRACTThis article outlines the development – and reports on the experimental findings – of two computational models designed to simulate the dynamic systems and behavioural patterns identified and clarified by research on terror management theory. The causal architectures of these models are informed by empirical research on the effects of mortality salience on “religiosity” (and vice versa). They are also informed by research on the way in which perception of personal and environmental hazards activate evolved cognitive and coalitional precautionary systems that can intensify anxiety-alleviating behaviours such as imaginative engagement with supernatural agents postulated within a relig…

2016

In studying holistic face processing across the life-span there are only few attempts to separate face-specific from general aging effects. Here we used the complete design of the composite paradigm (Cheung et al., 2008) with faces and novel non-face control objects (watches) to investigate composite effects in young (18-32 years) and older adults (63-78 years). We included cueing conditions to alert using a narrow or a wide attentional focus when comparing the composite objects, and used brief and relaxed exposure durations for stimulus presentation. Young adults showed large composite effects for faces, but none for watches. In contrast, older adults showed strong composite effects for fa…

Acute psychosocial stress effects on memory performance: Relevance of age and sex.

2018

In recent decades, there has been a growing interest in investigating the effects of chronic and acute stress on cognitive processes, especially memory performance. However, research focusing on acute stress effects has reported contradictory findings, probably due to the many factors that can moderate this relationship. In addition to factors related to the individual, such as sex and age, other factors, such as the type of memory assessed, can play a critical role in the direction of these effects. This review summarizes the main findings of our research group and others about the effects of acute psychosocial stress on memory performance in young and older people of both sexes, taking in…

Cortisol and the aging brain: Hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis and cognitive performance in older people.

2015

One of the greatest achievements in modern society is the increase in life expectancy. This increment is so great that children born after 2011 have a one in three chance of reaching their 100th birthday, and specifically in Europe, a quarter of the population will be over 60 years of age by 2020 (European Commission, 2014). This is an important change in society that is occurring for the first time in human history and producing new challenges that need to be addressed, especially those concerning age-related health problems. In this regard, one of the main aims of new research programs, such as Horizon 2020 in Europe, is to increase the possibilities of keeping older people healthy and in…

Effect of Foreperiod Duration and Handedness on Simple and Choice Auditory Reaction Time Among the Older People

2017

Objectives Cognitive functions such as reaction time undergo change with aging. Given the importance of preparation in response to reaction time in various life situations, this study aimed to examine the effect of various foreperiods (0.5, 1.5, 2.5, and 3.5 s), and handedness at the time of simple and choice auditory reaction time. Methods & Materials The current research followed a quasi-experimental methodology and was carried out using a self-made software. The study population comprised all old people living in Ahvaz City. Of them, 30 people were selected through purposive sampling method and allocated into two groups of right- and left-handed people. Each individual was randomly teste…

THE OSCILLATORY MECHANISMS ASSOCIATED WITH SYNTACTIC BINDING IN HEALTHY AGEING

2020

Older adults frequently display differential patterns of brain activity compared to young adults in the same task, alongside widespread neuroanatomical changes. Differing functional activity patterns in older adults are commonly interpreted as being compensatory (e.g., Cabeza, Locantore & McIntosh, 2002). We examined the oscillatory activity in the EEG during syntactic binding in young and older adults, as well as the relationship between oscillatory activity and behavioural performance on a syntactic judgement task within the older adults. 19 young and 41 older adults listened to two-word sentences that differentially load onto morpho-syntactic binding: correct syntactic binding (m…

Awareness of Cognitive Decline in Patients With Alzheimer's Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis

2021

Background: Identifying a poor degree of awareness of cognitive decline (ACD) could represent an early indicator of Alzheimer's disease (AD).Objectives: (1) to understand whether there is evidence of poor ACD in the pre-dementia stages of AD; (2) to summarize the main findings obtained investigating ACD in AD; (3) to propose a conceptual framework.Data Sources: We searched Scopus, Pubmed, and the reference lists for studies published up to August 2020. Original research articles must report a measure of ACD and included individuals with AD dementia, or prodromal AD (or MCI), or being at risk for AD.Data Synthesis: All studies covering preclinical, prodromal, and AD dementia were systematica…

Genetic and environmental contribution to postural balance of older women in single and dual task situations

2005

Abstract The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of a second task on postural balance and to determine the role of genetic influences on postural balance when dual tasking among 206 monozygotic and 227 dizygotic female twins, aged 63–76 years. Balance was measured as medio-lateral and antero-posterior velocity of the centre of pressure (COP) (mm/s) and velocity moment (mm2/s) while standing on a force platform. Doing an arithmetic task increased movement of the COP while the hand motor task had no effect on movement of the COP. The genetic contribution to balance in the single task situation was minor (14%, 95% confidence interval, CI: 11–35%) whereas in the dual task sit…