The ANTI-Vea-UGR Platform: A Free Online Resource to Measure Attentional Networks (Alertness, Orienting, and Executive Control) Functioning and Executive/Arousal Vigilance.

The Attentional Networks Test for Interactions and Vigilance-executive and arousal components (ANTI-Vea) is a computerized task of 32 min duration in the standard format. The task simultaneously assesses the main effects and interactions of the three attentional networks (i.e., phasic alertness, orienting, and executive control) and two dissociated components of vigilance with reasonable reliability (executive and arousal vigilance). We present this free and publicly accessible resource (ANTI-Vea-UGR; https://anti-vea.ugr.es/) developed to easily run, collect, and analyze data with the ANTI-Vea (or its subtasks measuring some attentional and/or vigilance components embedded in the ANTI-Vea). Available in six different languages, the platform allows for the adaptation of stimulus timing and procedure to facilitate data collection from different populations (e.g., clinical patients, children). Collected data can be freely downloaded and easily analyzed with the provided scripts and tools, including a Shiny app. We discuss previous evidence supporting that attention and vigilance components can be assessed in typical lab conditions as well as online and outside the laboratory. We hope this tutorial will help researchers interested in measuring attention and vigilance with a tool useful to collect data from large sample sizes and easy to use in applied contexts.

Uncontrolled eating in healthy women has limited influence on food cue reactivity and food-related inhibitory control.

Uncontrolled eating-in the general population-is characterized by overeating, hedonic hunger and being drawn towards palatable foods. Theoretically, it is the result of a strong food reward signal in relation to a poor ability to exert inhibitory control. How food consumption influences inhibitory control and food cue sensitivity, and how this relates to the continued urge to eat, remains unclear. We used fMRI in order to investigate the neural mechanism underlying food cue reactivity and food-specific response inhibition (go-nogo task), by comparing women reporting high (n = 21) versus low/average (n = 19) uncontrolled eating across two sessions: during an inter-meal state and after consumption of a high-caloric snack. We found no effects of individual differences in uncontrolled eating, food consumption, nor their interaction on food cue reactivity. Differences in uncontrolled eating and food consumption did interact in modulating activity in an occipital-parietal network, extending from left lateral superior occipital cortex to visual cortex, cuneal cortex, and precuneus during response inhibition of non-food stimuli, areas previously associated with successful nogo-vs. go-trials. Yet, behavioural performance on the go-nogo task was not modulated by uncontrolled eating nor food consumption. Women with a low/average tendency for uncontrolled eating may need more cognitive resources to support successful response inhibition of non-food stimuli during food 'go' blocks in an inter-meal state, whereas women with a high tendency for uncontrolled eating showed this after food consumption. However, considering current and previous findings, it seems that individual differences in uncontrolled eating in healthy women have only limited influence on food cue reactivity and food-related inhibitory control.

Physical activity and perceived stress at work in university workers: a cross-sectional study.

BACKGROUND: Previous research has suggested high levels of physical activity (PA), either in occupational or leisure-time, to be associated with low levels of perceived stress at work (PSW). However, because studies have been set in particular conditions, there is no possibility to generalize results on other populations of workers. This study investigated the association between PA and PSW in university workers. METHODS: University employees (N.=757) aged from 26 to 65 years (47% female) at a large public Spanish university. Data were collected between January 2017 and December 2017. Physical Activity Vital Sign (PAVS) questionnaire and a single-item scale were used to assess PA levels and PSW. Associations were examined through an adjusted logistic regression. RESULTS: Results showed the strongest association between high PSW and low PA levels after adjusting for age, gender and profession (odds ratio [OR] 2.60, 95% CI: 1.44-3.68). Around half of the employees (51.9%) performed at least 150 minutes of PA per week, which is higher than in most other Spanish and European worker populations. CONCLUSIONS: Adequately high levels of PA may be beneficial for stress management in university workers as previously seen in other types of workers. Promoting PA strategies at the workplace could improve the working environment and the health of the workers.