A comparative study of the influence of emotional conflict on the emotional attention processing of the elderly and the young / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To explore the impact of emotional conflicts on the emotional attention pro-cessing between the elderly and the young. Methods A total of 37 young and 37 elderly participants were enrolled in the study. 2 (group:old group,young group) × 2 (Emotional valence of face:happy,fear) × 2 ( cue type:consistent and inconsistent) mixed experimental design was used among the emotional stroop task and eye tracking task for all of subjects. Results (1) Behavioral response analysis showed that stroop in-terference effects in young and old groups were not significant under different emotional conditions (F=0. 02, P>0. 05). (2) The internal characteristics of the face for the gaze time were analyzed,and the total gaze time of the elderly group (( 402. 28 ± 15. 88) ms ) was significantly longer than that of the younger group ((340. 52±15. 88) ms) under the happy-inconsistent condition(t=2. 75,P<0. 05). The total gaze time of the elderly group under the happy-inconsistent condition was significantly longer than under the fear-inconsis-tent condition((365. 96±13. 95) ms)(t=4. 32,P<0. 05). The first gaze time for a happy face was signifi-cantly longer than that for the fear face((315. 56±13. 13)ms vs (293. 51±13. 23)ms,t=4. 33,P<0. 05), and also showed a positive effect. Conclusion Emotional conflicts have an impact on the emotional atten-tion processing of the elderly,and the elderly are more likely to process the positive stimulation in the control stage.

Effects of Attention Training on Interference Effect of Dual-task Paradigm in Poststroke Nonfluent Aphasiacs:A Functional Magnet-ic Resonnce Imaging Study / 中国康复理论与实践

Objective To investigate the effect of attention training on cortical activation area and lateralization index in interference ef-fect of dual-task paradigm as the poststroke nonfluent aphasiacs processing the Chinese character tasks. Methods 20 cases with nonfluent aphasia after stroke were divided into the training group and the control group, who accepted attention training and cognitive training respec-tively, 30 min a time, 5 times a week, for 4 weeks. They were investigated the cortical activation area and lateralization index caused by in-terference effect of dual-task paradigm under block design. Results The right inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral parietal and cerebellar cortex were activated before training in both groups, and more activated after attention training, but no change after cognitive training. Lateraliza-tion index suggested that the right brain was more activated before training, while the left side was activated after attention training, but no change after cognitive training. Conclusion The right inferior frontal gyrus, bilateral parietal and cerebellar cortex are very important in solv-ing the dual task interference in the attention stage, and they are activated after attention training. It indicates that attention training makes a significant functional reorganization on Chinese character processing in poststroke nonfluent aphasiacs.

Chi-square analysis of the reduction of ATP levels in L-02 hepatocytes by hexavalent chromium

This study explored the reduction of adenosine triphosphate (ATP) levels in L-02 hepatocytes by hexavalent chromium (Cr(VI)) using chi-square analysis. Cells were treated with 2, 4, 8, 16, or 32 μM Cr(VI) for 12, 24, or 36 h. Methyl thiazolyl tetrazolium (MTT) experiments and measurements of intracellular ATP levels were performed by spectrophotometry or bioluminescence assays following Cr(VI) treatment. The chi-square test was used to determine the difference between cell survival rate and ATP levels. For the chi-square analysis, the results of the MTT or ATP experiments were transformed into a relative ratio with respect to the control (%). The relative ATP levels increased at 12 h, decreased at 24 h, and increased slightly again at 36 h following 4, 8, 16, 32 μM Cr(VI) treatment, corresponding to a "V-shaped" curve. Furthermore, the results of the chi-square analysis demonstrated a significant difference of the ATP level in the 32-μM Cr(VI) group (P < 0.05). The results suggest that the chi-square test can be applied to analyze the interference effects of Cr(VI) on ATP levels in L-02 hepatocytes. The decreased ATP levels at 24 h indicated disruption of mitochondrial energy metabolism and the slight increase of ATP levels at 36 h indicated partial recovery of mitochondrial function or activated glycolysis in L-02 hepatocytes.

Salient cues enhance strategy monitoring and task switching for prospective memory:An ERP study / 中华行为医学与脑科学杂志

Objective To investigate the retrieval mechanism of prospective memory,spatiotemporal patterns of event-related potentials (ERP) were used to reveal neural correlates of the prospective interference effect. Methods A task of matching two sequential patterns was taken as the ongoing task and the detection of patterns with two salient levels as prospective memory tasks. Experiments were performed in blocks for single ongoing task block and two prospective memory blocks. Results No significant behavioral effect was found for prospective interference [reaction time(ms):control blocks 750.29±161.33,high salience blocks 770.94±174.89,low salience bocks 764.79±174.12,F(1.52,25.82)=0.48,P =0.57 and correction rate(%):control blocks 85.89±8.07,high salience blocks 88.26±7.00,low salience blocks 87.91±7.28,F(1.50,25.57)=2.46,P =0.12].But significant ERP effect was found at bilateral frontal regions from 160 ms to 240 ms for both two prospective memory blocks. Moreover,greater negativity at the right frontal polar region appeared significantly at 360'440 ms for higher salient patterns. Conclusion Prospective memory is retrieved based on strategic monitoring and high salient stimuli may enhance to keep the prospective goal and improve task switching.