Changes in psychomotor and mental task performance following physical work in standard conditions, and in a shift-working situation.
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Adult↗
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Results for “Task Shifting”
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Contribution of accommodation and disparity-vergence to transient nearwork-induced myopic shifts.
Many investigations have attempted to demonstrate a relationship between sustained near-vision and the aetiology of environmentally-induced myopia, but it remains unclear whether myopic development relates to the actions of either accommodation or vergence. The present study investigated the effect of varying the disparity-vergence demand during a near-vision task while maintaining the accommodative stimulus constant. We required 20 young subjects to perform a near task (viewing distance = 20 cm) for 20 min through base-in, zero power and base-out prisms. The magnitude of the prisms for each individual corresponded to one-third their near vergence range. Pre- and post-task measurements of refractive state were determined objectively using an infrared optometer, with post-task readings being recorded over the initial 50 s following task completion. The results indicated no significant difference between the transient far-point shift for the three disparity-vergence conditions. However, combining data across conditions, a significant, mean shift in the myopic direction of 0.14 D was observed during the 10-20 s period immediately following task completion which dissipated within 20-50 s post-task. These findings suggest that the transient post-task myopic shift was not related to the output of disparity-vergence.
Accommodation, Ocular↗
Shifts of visual spatial attention modulate a steady-state visual evoked potential.
Although the effects of static allocations of visual spatial attention have been investigated using event-related potentials, most studies of shifts in visual spatial attention have been limited to behavioural measures. This study applied electroencephalographic measures to shifts in visual spatial attention in an effort to elucidate the time courses of such shifts. Using a custom-developed steady-state evoked potential analysis system, we analysed amplitude changes in EEG responses to rapid, periodic visual stimulation during a behavioural task that required rapid, repetitive shifts in visual spatial attention. Both stimulus-evoked oscillations (that is, those signals whose phases matched the phase of the steady-state stimulus) and ongoing, background (non-phase-locked) oscillations were measured. This analysis revealed a transient increase in phase-locked amplitude, in the interval 0-300-ms post-stimulus, contralateral to the visual hemifield in which an attended target appeared. The magnitude of this increase varied with the length of the interval since the previous shift. In addition, by about 600-ms post-stimulus, phase-locked amplitude increased in the hemisphere contralateral to the newly-attended visual hemifield and decreased in the ipsilateral hemisphere. In the case of long inter-target intervals, phase-locked amplitude increased in the right hemisphere regardless of the laterality of the target. Non-phase-locked amplitude exhibited a complementary pattern of modulation: it decreased contralaterally to the newly-attended visual hemifield and increased ipsilaterally. These components may be electrophysiological concomitants of both transient and long-lasting alterations in neural function that implement shifts in visual spatial attention. In particular, we suggest that they may reflect orienting to a target stimulus, and reorienting to a cued location.
Adult↗
Internal and external factors influencing time-related injury risk in continuous shift work.
Time-related accident risk in shift work may be attributed to internal factors, such as fatigue, level of performance, sleep propensity, and to some external factors, like shift system, physical and social environment. Six hundred and sixty-eight events in the metallurgical industry have been analysed in terms of time of day, time on task, consecutive day of the shift block, day of the week, and season. The injury rate was similar on all shifts but more severe accidents happened in the nighttime. Somewhat more injuries occurred in the second half of the shift, in the second part of a shift block, and in summer compared with winter. There were fewer injuries at weekends.
Accidents, Occupational↗
Intraseptal injections of 192 IgG saporin produce deficits for strategy selection in spatial-memory tasks.
The involvement of the cholinergic septohippocampal system in strategies used to reach a spatial goal was examined by functionally inactivating this system with infusions of 192 IgG saporin, a potent cholinergic immunotoxin. Rats were initially trained on a win-shift radial arm maze (RAM) task and then given injections of either 192 IgG saporin (LES) or saline vehicle (CON) into the medial septum and vertical limb of the diagonal band. Rats were then retested postoperatively on the RAM to assess whether allocentric spatial strategies used to solve the task were impaired. The results indicated that injections of 192 IgG saporin into the septum of rats produced deficits in allocentric strategies used to locate the spatial goal when retested. In addition, place and response learning was also examined in a modified version of the Morris water maze task. In this task, rats with cholinergic lesions were mildly impaired in their ability to learn a place response. In order to clarify further whether rats may have been relying on allocentric or egocentric learning strategies to locate the platform, a probe trial was given on the final test day in which the visible platform was moved to a new location. Control rats swam either to the new platform location or the old platform location indicating the use of both an allocentric and egocentric response. However, rats with the cholinergic septal lesions swam to the new platform location indicating an egocentric response. Taken together, these results suggest that selective cholinergic lesions of the septum produce deficits in spatial strategies used to locate a spatial goal.
Animals↗
[Selective visual attention and simultanagnosia].
The parietal lobe is an important key station in the network for selective attention. We found that spontaneous shift of visual attention, depending on task requirement, was impaired by parietal lobe lesions and confirmed the relationship between parietal lobes and visual attention with cortical electric stimulation. Patient 1. A 52-year-old, right-handed carpenter with a diagnosis of 'visual form' of Alzheimer disease showed marked kanji (logogram) agraphia and constructional impairment. Cerebral atrophy and hypoperfusion were observed in bilateral parietal lobes. He showed preserved form and color perception and an ability to describe spatial relationship among several items. In contrast, he could not copy or match them. He seemed to look at only the site he was drawing. Patient 2. A 77-year-old man with cerebral infarction in bilateral parietal lobes and right frontotemporal areas, demonstrated simultanagnosia and visuomotor ataxia. He readily named an object but could not describe a scene. Furthermore he noticed a line between sentences when they were written in English, but could not notice a line when sentences were written in Japanese. Cortical electric mapping, in two patients with subdural electrodes on the left or right parietal lobe, revealed circumscribed regions related to global/local attention shift or line bisection tasks.
Aged↗
Effects of response selection on the task repetition benefit in task switching.
A task switch typically leads to worse performance than a repetition does. This shift cost can be reduced with sufficient task preparation time, but a residual cost usually remains. We propose that a large part of this residual cost is caused by an activation bias produced by response selection processes in the preceding trial. In our experiments, we manipulated response selection requirements using a go/no-go methodology. The residual shift cost disappeared after no-go trials, suggesting that response selection is crucial to establish an activation bias for the current category-response rules and that this bias persists into the next trial. A comparison with a go-only group confirmed this analysis by revealing no differences in preparatory strategy due to the inclusion of no-go trials. In addition, no-go trials had no significant effects on subsequent trials in a single-task experiment, suggesting that no-go trials are not coded as a task different from go trials and that there is no inhibition of the prepared task in a no-go trial. We thus conclude that a persisting activation bias of response rules plays a major role in task switching.
Adult↗
The effects of dopamine D(1) receptor blockade in the prelimbic-infralimbic areas on behavioral flexibility.
This study examined the effects of a dopamine D(1) antagonist, SCH23390, infused into the prelimbic-infralimbic areas on the acquisition of a response and visual-cue discrimination task, as well as a shift from a response to a visual-cue discrimination and vice versa. Each test was carried out in a cross-maze. The response discrimination required learning to always turn in the same direction (right or left) for a cereal reinforcement. The visual-cue discrimination required learning to always enter the arm with the visual cue. In experiment 1, rats were tested on the response discrimination task, followed by the visual-cue discrimination task. In experiment 2, the testing order was reversed. Bilateral infusions of SCH23390 (0.1 or 1 microg/0.5 microL) into the prelimbic-infralimbic areas did not impair acquisition of the response or visual-cue discrimination tasks. SCH23390 injections at 1 microg, but not 0.1 microg impaired performance when shifting from a response to a visual-cue discrimination, and vice versa. Analysis of the errors revealed that the deficit was due to perseveration of the previously learned strategy. These results suggest that activation of dopamine D(1) receptors in the prelimbic-infralimbic areas may be critical for the suppression of a previously relevant strategy and/or generating new strategies.
Animals↗
Determination of cognitive hemispheric lateralization by "functional" transcranial Doppler cross-validated by functional MRI.
BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Changes of blood flow velocity in the right and left middle cerebral artery (MCA) induced by cognitive demands are detectable by means of "functional" transcranial Doppler sonography (fTCD). Functional MRI (fMRI) is an alternative method for mapping brain activity. The purpose of this study was to determine whether fTCD can detect hemispheric lateralization and to cross-validate fTCD with fMRI. METHODS: Bilateral continuous MCA monitoring of 14 healthy, right-handed subjects with TCD was performed while the subjects underwent a visuospatial task, and the hemispheric blood flow velocity shift was calculated. Identical stimulus and response patterns were used in fMRI. Blood oxygenation level-dependent fMRI was performed with the use of a gradient-echo echo-planar sequence on a 1.5-T scanner. Statistical maps were computed on a voxel-by-voxel basis, hemispheric ratios for activated pixels were computed, and a group study was performed separately for the male and female subgroups. RESULTS: Statistical analyses (t test) showed a significantly higher mean peak blood flow velocity increase (P<0.05) of the right MCA (111.3+/-7.0%) compared with the left MCA (107.1+/-6.1%). fMRI demonstrated bilateral activation in the superior parietal lobulus (Brodmann area 7) with a right/left ratio of 1.95. Concordant differences between the female and male subgroups could be visualized with both methods. CONCLUSIONS: Both methods succeeded in discriminating a blood flow shift to the right hemisphere induced by a complex cognitive visuospatial task. fMRI cross-validates the findings of fTCD. Our study suggests that fTCD can investigate the close relationship between brain activity and blood flow and lateralize higher cognitive functions reliably.
Adult↗
Exposure of laboratory animal workers to airborne rat and mouse urinary allergens.
BACKGROUND: Laboratory animal workers are at high risk of developing occupational allergy. Little is known about the relationship between levels of exposure and the risk of developing laboratory animal allergy. Since laboratory animal work comprises a large number of different-often short lasting-tasks, it is of interest to assess which activities are associated with high, low or intermediate levels of allergen exposure. OBJECTIVE: To develop and evaluate highly sensitive immunoassays in order to quantify rat and mouse urinary allergens in airborne dust sampled during short-lasting tasks. METHODS: Personal air dust samples were taken during full-shift periods as well as during specific tasks in seven laboratory animal facilities. Two sandwich enzyme immunoassays were developed, using rabbit antisera against rat and mouse urinary proteins. The rabbit antibodies were analysed by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis (SDS-PAGE) and immunoblotting and compared with IgE antibodies from sensitized laboratory animal workers. RESULTS: The rabbit antibodies were highly specific for rat and mouse urinary proteins and reacted with all IgE-binding allergens in either urinary protein preparation. The assays for rat and mouse urine were very sensitive, with detection limits of 0.075 ng/mL. The coefficient of variation of the analysis was 12.9% for both assays. Animal caretakers appeared to experience the highest exposure to aeroallergens. A large variation in exposure within jobs was found, due to differences between tasks performed during the sampling day and the facility worked at. The highest exposure levels were found during removal of contaminated bedding from the cages. However, rat and mouse allergen exposure levels during this task varied enormously between facilities, 1.1-158 ng eq/m3 and 0.63-2000 ng eq/m3, respectively. CONCLUSION: Both sandwich immunoassays are highly specific and sensitive and are able to identity tasks of relatively short duration with high, medium and low exposure to airborne rat and mouse urinary allergens.
Allergens↗
Assessing reasonable worst-case full-shift exposure levels from data of variable quality.
Exposure assessors involved in regulatory risk assessments often need to estimate a reasonable worst-case full-shift exposure level from very limited exposure information. Full-shift exposure data of very high quality are rare. A full-shift value can also be calculated from (short term) task-based values, either derived from measured data or from models. The most simple option is to use the task based exposure levels as the full-shift value. A second option is to calculate a time-weighted average (TWA), using (reasonable worst case) estimates of the duration and the exposure level of the relevant tasks. The third option is to use a Monte Carlo analysis with estimated input distributions for exposure level and duration of exposure. If an estimated distribution of respiratory volume is also included, this leads to a distribution of inhaled amounts. The 90th percentile of such a distribution is generally substantially lower than the fixed point estimates calculated using high end values for each parameter. This technique can thus prevent unnecessary conservative estimates in risk assessment. The output distribution can also be used as valuable input to the risk management process, because it provides information on probabilities of exposure levels, that can influence the cost-benefit analysis of the risk management process. Finally, the sensitivity analysis of Monte Carlo simulation can give guidance for further studies to increase the accuracy of the exposure assessment.
Europe↗
Shifts of attention in light and in darkness: an ERP study of supramodal attentional control and crossmodal links in spatial attention.
Crossmodal links in spatial attention, uncovered by recent behavioural and electrophysiological studies, have been interpreted as evidence for supramodal processes controlling shifts of attention. However, previous experiments have usually been conducted in illuminated environments. Continuously available visuo-spatial information might result in shifts of attention being primarily guided by visible information, even when another modality is task-relevant. The present ERP study evaluated this. A symbolic auditory cue directed attention to the left or right hand. Participants had to detect infrequent tactile targets delivered to the cued hand, while ignoring any visual stimuli. Stimuli were presented either in a lit environment or in darkness. Although continuous ambient visuo-spatial information was eliminated in the latter condition, processing of task-irrelevant visual events was still modulated by spatial attention for the tactile task. Moreover, ERP correlates of attentional shifts in the cue-target interval were similar for both illumination conditions. This was further confirmed in a follow-up experiment where the darkness condition was repeated without any peripheral visual stimulation ever occurring. These findings demonstrate that the ERP correlates of crossmodal attention (both preparatory effects in the cue-target interval, and also modulations of stimulus-evoked components) do not depend on selection being guided by ambient visible information in a lit environment. They suggest instead that spatial shifts of attention are controlled supramodally.
Acoustic Stimulation↗
Attention demands in balance recovery following lower limb amputation.
The attention demands in balance control after damage to the peripheral sensorimotor system were studied in 12 persons with a recent lower limb amputation. The interference of an arithmetic task with two postural tasks of different complexity (quiet standing and active weight shifting) was examined several times during their rehabilitation while the subjects stood on a force platform. Control data were obtained from healthy subjects. For both postural tasks, persons with amputation performed worse than controls. Quiet standing, a relatively simple task, revealed clear dual-task interference only in the amputation group. Evidence was found for a reduction in dual-task interference as rehabilitation progressed. In contrast, voluntary (feedback-controlled) weight shifting, a more complex task, revealed an equal amount of dual-task interference in persons with amputation and in controls, without changes in interference over the period of rehabilitation. The results indicate that attentional mechanisms may be involved in postural control, depending on both the novelty and complexity of the task. Moreover a reduction in attention demands of quiet standing may reflect a central adaptation of the postural organization to the peripheral sensorimotor impairments caused by lower limb amputation.
Journal Article↗
Negative cortical DC shifts preceding and accompanying simple and complex sequential movements.
Negative cortical DC shifts preceding and accompanying the execution of four different motor tasks were analysed in 18 subjects (Ss): Repetitive flexions and extensions of the forefinger had to be performed either by the right (1) or the left (2) hand. This simple motor task was compared to a complex one in which flexions and extensions of forefinger and hand had to be alternated in a fixed sequence. The complex task had either to be performed by the right (3) or the left (4) hand. Thus, the four conditions differed in the side of the performing hand (right/left) and in task-complexity (simple/complex). After its voluntary initiation, each task had to be performed for at least a period of six seconds. A Bereitschaftspotential (BP) preceded the voluntary initiation of the movement. Task-performance was accompanied by a negative DC shift called a performance-related negativity (N-P). Amplitudes of BP and N-P were compared by analysis of variance (ANOVA) using the factors "performing hand" (right/left) and "task-complexity" (simple/complex). "Performing hand" had significant effects on N-BP and N-P in C3* and C4* (positioned over the primary motor cortex) but did not influence mid-central (Cz*), frontal (F3, Fz, and F4) or parietal (P3, Pz, P4) recordings. "Task-complexity" had significant effects on N-P in mid-central (Cz*, C1*, C2*) and parietal (P3, Pz) recordings with higher negativity for complex movements. Recordings in C3* and C4* did not vary with "task complexity".(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Adult↗
Unmasking of an early laser evoked potential by a point localization task.
OBJECTIVES: The investigation of the CO(2) laser evoked potential (LEP) modifications following a point localization task. METHODS: LEPs were recorded from 10 healthy subjects in two different conditions. (1) Task condition: laser stimuli were shifted among 3 different locations on the right hand dorsum, and the subjects were asked to identify the stimulated area. The mean error rate in point localization was 4.5%. (2) Non-task condition: laser pulses were delivered on the first intermetacarpal space, and the subject was asked to count the number of stimuli. The mean error rate in counting was 5.8%. RESULTS: In the task condition, the temporal traces contralateral to the stimulation showed an early positive component (eP, mean peak latency 83 ms) preceding the N1 negativity (mean peak latency 144 ms). At the eP peak latency, topographic maps showed a positivity highly focused on the contralateral temporal region. In the non-task recordings no reliable response was identifiable before the N1 potential. CONCLUSIONS: While no LEP component earlier than the middle-latency N1 potential can be recorded in the non-task condition, a positive response (eP) preceding the N1 component is identifiable in the contralateral temporal region during the spatial localization of painful stimuli. The eP scalp distribution is compatible with its origin from a radial source in the second somatosensory (or insular) area, thus suggesting that the opercular cortex is involved not only in the middle-latency (N1 potential), but also in early pain processing.
Adult↗
Effector dynamics of rhythmic wrist activity and its implications for (modeling) bimanual coordination.
To examine the role of the effector dynamics of the wrist in the production of rhythmic motor activity, we estimated the phase shifts between the EMG and the task-related output for a rhythmic isometric torque production task and an oscillatory movement, and found a substantial difference (45-52 degrees) between the two. For both tasks, the relation between EMG and task-related output (torque or displacement) was adequately reproduced with a physiologically motivated musculoskeletal model. The model simulations demonstrated the importance of the contribution of passive structures to the overall dynamics and provided an account for the observed phase shifts in the dynamic task. Additional simulations of the musculoskeletal model with added load suggested that particular changes in the phase relation between EMG and movement may follow largely from the intrinsic muscle dynamics, rather than being the result of adaptations in the neural control of joint stiffness. The implications of these results are discussed in relation to (models of) interlimb coordination in rhythmic tasks.
Electromyography↗
A neuropsychological investigation of prefrontal cortex involvement in acute mania.
OBJECTIVE: Mania has received little attention from a contemporary neuropsychological perspective despite its clear resemblance to the disinhibition syndrome sometimes seen after frontal brain injury, particularly injury to the inferior aspect of the prefrontal cortex. The purpose of this investigation was to describe the neuropsychological profile of severe acute mania by using a range of tasks selected primarily for the detection of localized neural disruption within the prefrontal cortex. METHOD: Fifteen acutely manic inpatients were compared with 30 nonpsychiatric subjects on tasks from the Cambridge Automated Neuropsychological Test Battery (Tower of London, spatial working memory, intradimensional-extradimensional attentional shift, and rapid visual information processing tasks) and on the Iowa Gambling Task, Stroop Color and Word Test, a verbal fluency task, and the California Verbal Learning Test. RESULTS: Discriminant function analysis identified deficits in sustained attention (on the rapid visual information processing task) and verbal learning (on the California Verbal Learning Test) as the best indicators of manic performance, rather than deficits on any of the tests of executive functioning. The model correctly classified 91% of subjects overall and 87% of manic subjects. Manic patients did not resemble patients with ventromedial prefrontal cortex damage in their performance on the Iowa Gambling Task. CONCLUSIONS: Acute mania is characterized by core deficits in verbal memory and sustained attention against a background of milder impairments in functions that are traditional measures of prefrontal cortex integrity (attentional set shifting, planning, working memory). The data do not implicate ventral prefrontal cortex disruption as a locus of pathology in acute mania. Verbal memory and sustained attention deficits may relate differentially to the state and trait characteristics of bipolar disorder.
Acute Disease↗
Evaluation of an 8 hour versus a 12 hour shift roster on employees at a power station.
Several studies exist that have conducted research into the effects of different shiftwork patterns on the individual, especially regarding 8 and 12 h rosters. The findings of these studies have been largely supportive of longer shifts, however, the effects on work performance are not as clear cut. This study aimed to examine the changeover from an 8 h roster to a 12 h roster in a power station via monitoring on-shift performance, general health and well-being, sleep and mood behaviour, as well as absence and accident data. Results suggest that the domestic and social life of workers was markedly improved under the 12 h roster. Improvements in physical health, sleeping behaviour and mood state of employees were also documented. On-shift performance measures showed an increase in error rates at the end of a 12 h shift. Ways of reducing the risk of error towards the end of a 12 h shift should be explored. The results of this study suggest that 12 h shifts are a valid alternative to 8 h shifts in this particular workplace, although tasks that require error-free activities should not be performed towards the end of a 12 h shift.
Health Status↗