Name: effects of surgical masks on cardiopulmonary function in healthy subjects
Uploaded: 2021-02-12T14:30:00
Description: Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Effects of Surgical Masks on Cardiopulmonary Function in Healthy Subjects at JoVE.com

This study was supported by National Natural Science Foundation for Young Scientists of China (No.81902281); General Guidance Project of Guangzhou Health and Family Planning Commission (No.20191A0011091 and 20201A011108), Guangdong Provincial Department of Education (No. 2019KQNCX119) and Guangzhou Key Laboratory Fund (No.201905010004). This study also thanks Lixin Zhang, Peilin Ruan, Kaihang Ji, and Gulifeiya Tuerxun from Guangzhou Medical University for data collection.

The clinical project was approved by the Medical Ethics Association of the Fifth Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (No. KY01-2020-06-06) and has been registered at the China Clinical Trial Registration Center (No. ChiCTR2000033449) and entitled &#34;The effects of masks on cardiopulmonary and lower limb function&#34;.
1. Participant recruitment
<ol>
	<li>Include subjects between 18 and 26 years old: who can pass the PAR-Q test6; are physically health...

<ol>
	<li>Davies, A., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Testing+the+Efficacy+of+Homemade+Masks:+Would+They+Protect+in+an+Influenza+Pandemic.">Testing the Efficacy of Homemade Masks: Would They Protect in an Influenza Pandemic.</a> Disaster Medicine and Public Health Preparedness. 7 (4), 413-418 (2013).</li><li>Fikenzer, S., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Effects+of+surgical+and+FFP2/N95+face+masks+on+cardiopulmonary+exercise+capacity.">Effects of surgical and FFP2/N95 face masks on cardiopulmonary exercise capacity.</a> Clinical Research in Cardiology. , (2020).</li><li>MacIntyre, C. R., Chughtai, A. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=A+rapid+systematic+review+of+the+efficacy+of+face+masks+and+respirators+against+coronaviruses+and+other+respiratory+transmissible+viruses+for+the+community,+healthcare+workers+and+sick+patients.">A rapid systematic review of the efficacy of face masks and respirators against coronaviruses and other respiratory transmissible viruses for the community, healthcare workers and sick patients.</a> International Journal of Nursing Studies. 108, 103629 (2020).</li><li>Esposito, S., Principi, N., Leung, C. C., Migliori, G. B. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Universal+use+of+face+masks+for+success+against+COVID-19:+evidence+and+implications+for+prevention+policies.">Universal use of face masks for success against COVID-19: evidence and implications for prevention policies.</a> European Respiratory Journal. 55 (6), (2020).</li><li>Yao, B. G., Wang, Y. X., Ye, X. Y., Zhang, F., Peng, Y. L. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Impact+of+structural+features+on+dynamic+breathing+resistance+of+healthcare+face+mask.">Impact of structural features on dynamic breathing resistance of healthcare face mask.</a> Science of the Total Environment. 689, 743-753 (2019).</li><li>Jal Duncan, M., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=What+is+the+impact+of+obtaining+medical+clearance+to+participate+in+a+randomised+controlled+trial+examining+a+physical+activity+intervention+on+the+socio-demographic+and+risk+factor+profiles+of+included+participants.">What is the impact of obtaining medical clearance to participate in a randomised controlled trial examining a physical activity intervention on the socio-demographic and risk factor profiles of included participants.</a> Trials. 17 (1), 580 (2016).</li><li>American Thoracic, S., American College of Chest, P. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=ATS/ACCP+Statement+on+cardiopulmonary+exercise+testing.">ATS/ACCP Statement on cardiopulmonary exercise testing.</a> American Journal of Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine. 167 (2), 211-277 (2003).</li><li>Costa, D. C., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Use+of+the+Wasserman+equation+in+optimization+of+the+duration+of+the+power+ramp+in+a+cardiopulmonary+exercise+test:+a+study+of+Brazilian+men.">Use of the Wasserman equation in optimization of the duration of the power ramp in a cardiopulmonary exercise test: a study of Brazilian men.</a> Brazilian Journal of Medical and Biological Research. 48 (12), 1136-1144 (2015).</li><li>Borg, G. A. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Psychophysical+bases+of+perceived+exertion.">Psychophysical bases of perceived exertion.</a> Medicine &amp; Science in Sports &amp; Exercise. 14 (5), 377-381 (1982).</li><li>Groslambert, A., Mahon, A. D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Perceived+exertion+:+influence+of+age+and+cognitive+development.">Perceived exertion : influence of age and cognitive development.</a> Sports Medicine. 36 (11), 911-928 (2006).</li><li>Al-Shair, K., Kolsum, U., Singh, D., Vestbo, J. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Effect+of+Fatigue+and+Fatigue+Intensity+on+Exercise+Tolerance+in+Moderate+COPD.">The Effect of Fatigue and Fatigue Intensity on Exercise Tolerance in Moderate COPD.</a> Lung. 194 (6), 889-895 (2016).</li><li>Zhang, W., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=The+Effects+of+Transcranial+Direct+Current+Stimulation+Versus+Electroacupuncture+on+Working+Memory+in+Healthy+Subjects.">The Effects of Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Versus Electroacupuncture on Working Memory in Healthy Subjects.</a> Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine. 25 (6), 637-642 (2019).</li><li>Suzuki, K., et al. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Relations+between+strength+and+endurance+of+leg+skeletal+muscle+and+cardiopulmonary+exercise+testing+parameters+in+patients+with+chronic+heart+failure.">Relations between strength and endurance of leg skeletal muscle and cardiopulmonary exercise testing parameters in patients with chronic heart failure.</a> Journal of Cardiology. 43 (2), 59-68 (2004).</li><li>Bouwsema, M. M., Tedjasaputra, V., Stickland, M. K. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Are+there+sex+differences+in+the+capillary+blood+volume+and+diffusing+capacity+response+to+exercise.">Are there sex differences in the capillary blood volume and diffusing capacity response to exercise.</a> Journal of Applied Physiology. 122 (3), 460-469 (2017).</li></ol>

CPET provides valuable insights into the comprehensive functions of cardiovascular, ventilation, and skeletal muscle systems13. We proposed a CPET protocol on mask-on and mask-off conditions to explore the effect of the surgical mask on the cardiopulmonary function in healthy young subjects.
The design of this protocol was based on three main points. First, we recruited young healthy college students as the subjects for the study due to relatively high intensityof CPET ...

Wearing a face mask in public areas might impede the spread of an infectious disease by preventing both the inhalation of infectious droplets and their subsequent exhalation and dissemination1. Although the effect of reducing the risk of transmission of respiratory viruses remains controversial, wearing masks remains one of the major ways people in the community have chosen to prevent the spread of droplets among individuals in daily life2,3,4.
Different types of masks have different effects on increasing expiratory resistance and inspiratory resistance5. Meanwhile, during a respiratory disease pandemic, people (including healthy people and patients with cardiopulmonary diseases) might need to wear masks for a long time to perform daily activities. However, there are few studies on the effect of wearing a mask on cardiopulmonary function.
Cardiopulmonary exercise testing (CPET) is an important means of cardiovascular rehabilitation risk assessment by reflecting various parameters of the body&#39;s cardiopulmonary function during exercise with increasing load and is considered to be the gold standard for cardiopulmonary reserve testing2. We use CPET under different conditions (mask-on and mask-off) to study the changes in cardiopulmonary function parameters of healthy young subjects, to evaluate the interference of masks objectively and quantitatively on cardiorespiratory reserve and exercise endurance from a novel methodological perspective to guide the application of masks in particular respiratory infectious disease pandemic. Although FFP2/N95 has been suggested to be more efficacious than surgical masks at reducing exposure to viral infections, medical-surgical masks are more convenient and common to obtain and use than FFP2/N95 face masks. Thus, this study focuses only on the effects of medical surgical masks on cardiopulmonary function.

<table border="1" fo:keep-together.within-page="1" fo:keep-with-next.within-page="always">
	<tbody>
		<tr>
			<td>Cardiopulmonary test system</td>
			<td>COSMED Srl - Italy</td>
			<td>K4b2</td>
			<td>Pulmonary Function Equipment</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Cycle for CPET</td>
			<td>COSMED Srl - Italy</td>
			<td>ergoline 100P</td>
			<td>cycle ergometer 100 P w/BP</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Eectrocardiograph&#160;</td>
			<td>COSMED Srl - Italy</td>
			<td>Quark T12x</td>
			<td>12-Channel ECG Street Test Unit</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Mask</td>
			<td>COSMED Srl - Italy</td>
			<td>Small,Medium,Large</td>
			<td>V2 Mask</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Software</td>
			<td>COSMED Srl - Italy</td>
			<td>PFT SUITE</td>
			<td>PC Software</td>
		</tr>
		<tr>
			<td>Surgical masks</td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
			<td></td>
		</tr>
	</tbody>
</table>

effects of surgical masks on cardiopulmonary function in healthy subjects

We study the effect of surgical masks on cardiopulmonary function based on a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). This study shows that surgical masks reduce cardiopulmonary exercise capacity and ventilation in healthy young subjects and wearing masks might affect aerobic exercise capacity more in female subjects than in male subjects.

Ten subjects (five males and five females) from the Department of Rehabilitation Medicine at Guangzhou Medical University were recruited in this pilot study. The participants had similar baseline characteristics, such as age (mean age: male 21.00 &#177; 1.58 years; female 21.20 &#177; 0.45 years) and physical fitness [sports activity and body mass index (BMI)]. There were no significant differences in age, height, or BMI between the male and female groups. Moreover, for the spirometry, th...

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Effects of Surgical Masks on Cardiopulmonary Function in Healthy Subjects at JoVE.com

Effects of Surgical Masks on Cardiopulmonary Function in Healthy Subjects

We study the effect of surgical masks on cardiopulmonary function based on a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). This study shows that surgical masks reduce cardiopulmonary exercise capacity and ventilation in healthy young subjects and wearing masks might affect aerobic exercise capacity more in female subjects than in male subjects.

We study the effect of surgical masks on cardiopulmonary function based on a cardiopulmonary exercise test (CPET). This study shows that surgical masks ...

Wearing a mask in public areas might impede the spread of the infection disease by preventing both the inhalation of infectious droplets and their subsequent exhalation and dissemination. However, there are few studies on the effect of wearing a mask on cardiopulmonary function. Different types of masks have different effects on increasing expiratory resistance and inspiratory resistance.During a respiratory disease pandemic, people may need to wear masks for extended period of time to perform daily activities. Cardiopulmonary exercise testing is a important means of the cardiovascular rehabilitation mask assessment by reflecting variable parameters of the body's cardiopulmonary functioning during exercise with increasing load. We use CPET to evaluate the interference of masks on cardiorespiratory reserve and exercise endurance, which can guide the application of masks during a respiratory infectious disease pandemic.Xiaoyue Zhao will demonstrate biometry evaluation. Yongchun Jiang and Siqing Wang will demonstrate the CPET test. Weijie Lin will be our subject model for the presentation.Begin by setting the room temperature to 25 degrees Celsius and preparing the first aid equipment. Ask the subject to sit upright without leaning on the back of the chair with their feet on the ground. Ask them to keep their head at a natural level or slightly tilted upwards, but to avoid bending their head down or bending over.To perform the forced vital capacity test, ask the subject to breathe calmly for five seconds. Then inhale strongly, and then exhale strongly for six seconds. Finally, ask them to inhale back and keep breathing calmly.Perform the whole procedure under the guidance of a doctor or a formally trained exercise physiologist. To perform the maximum voluntary ventilation test, ask the subject to breathe calmly four or five times. Then repeat the breath continuously for 12 or 15 seconds at the maximum breathing amplitude and the fastest breathing speed.Briefly tell the subject about the procedure. Then scrape the body hair at the position of the electrocardiograph electrodes. And use 75%alcohol to remove extra dander and grease.Place the ECG electrodes and attach them to the 12-lead ECG wires. Fix the ECG machine to the chest using a strap. Choose a mask that fits the size of the subject's face and attach it firmly to the face, making sure that there is no gap between the mask and the face.Fix the flowmeter on the vent and the K4 device onto the vest. Ask the subject to sit on the seat, step on the pedals and adjust the height of the handlebars to a comfortable position for the subject. Have them grab the handlebar with both hands.Place a blood pressure cuff on the subject's upper right arm for dynamic blood pressure recording. Then place a finger pulse oxygen on the left index finger for the dynamic recording of blood oxygen. Calculate the subject's exercise resistance parameters and set the progressive resistance plan for the exercise phase.Click on the start button to activate the cycle ergometer. Ask the subject to keep a static sitting posture for two minutes, then start cycling for two minutes. Ask the subject to continue cycling until they can't maintain the pace.Then ask them to cool down for three minutes. When finished, have the subject keep the static sitting posture for three minutes for observation of vital signs. Then remove data acquisition equipment, face mask, vest and ECG electrodes.Use the rating of perceived exertion scale to measure physical activity intensity levels that are apparently related to the heart rate during exercise. Then use BORG'S scale to evaluate the exertion of resistance training. A score of six represents resting activity with no effort, and a score of 20 represents exhaustive exercise.After a 48-hour washout period, select a mask that fits the size of the subject's face and attach it firmly to the face, ensuring that there is no gap between the mask and the face. The 10 participants recruited in this pilot study had similar baseline characteristics such as age and physical fitness. There were no significant differences in age, height or BMI between the male and female groups.For the spirometry, the female group showed lower FVC, lowered forced expiratory volume in one second, lower MVV and lowered peak expiratory flow compared with the male group. The results of CPET under different conditions are shown here. For exercise tolerance and cardiac function, both male and female groups showed a significant decrease in anaerobic threshold per kilogram and oxygen pulse during the mask-on condition, but no significant differences in the oxygen uptake related to work rate.The male group also showed a significant decrease in resting heart rate, and the female group showed a significant decrease in peak oxygen uptake per kilogram during the mask-on condition. For ventilatory function, both male and female groups showed a significant decrease in tidal volume while wearing a mask, but no differences were found in the breathing reserve percentage. Both groups showed a significant decrease in ventilation during the mask-on condition, and no difference was found in total CPET performance.When performing this protocol, subjects should be encouraged to exercise to their maximum endurance, or until the practitioner ends the exercise due to symptoms, such as asthmatic ECG trends, complete apathy, or second or third degree heart block.

effects-surgical-masks-on-cardiopulmonary-function-healthy

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

Performing Behavioral Tasks in Subjects with Intracranial Electrodes

Patients having stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) electrode, subdural grid or depth electrode implants have a multitude of electrodes implanted in different areas of their brain for the localization of their seizure focus and eloquent areas. After implantation, the patient must remain in the hospital until the pathological area of brain is found and possibly resected. During this time, these patients offer a unique opportunity to the research community because any number of behavioral paradigms can be performed to uncover the neural correlates that guide behavior. Here we present a method for recording brain activity from intracranial implants as subjects perform a behavioral task designed to assess decision-making and reward encoding. All electrophysiological data from the intracranial electrodes are recorded during the behavioral task, allowing for the examination of the many brain areas involved in a single function at time scales relevant to behavior. Moreover, and unlike animal studies, human patients can learn a wide variety of behavioral tasks quickly, allowing for the ability to perform more than one task in the same subject or for performing controls. Despite the many advantages of this technique for understanding human brain function, there are also methodological limitations that we discuss, including environmental factors, analgesic effects, time constraints and recordings from diseased tissue. This method may be easily implemented by any institution that performs intracranial assessments; providing the opportunity to directly examine human brain function during behavior.

Patients implanted with intracranial electrodes provide a unique opportunity to record neurological data from multiple areas of the brain while the patient performs behavioral tasks. Here, we present a method of recording from implanted patients that can be reproducible at other institutions with access to this patient population.

Patients having stereo-electroencephalography (SEEG) electrode, subdural grid or depth electrode implants have a multitude of electrodes implanted in ...

How to Study Placebo Responses in Motion Sickness with a Rotation Chair Paradigm in Healthy Participants

Placebo responses occur in every medical intervention when patients or participants expect to receive an effective treatment to relieve symptoms. However, underlying mechanisms of placebo responses are not fully understood. It has repeatedly been shown that placebo responses are associated with changes in neural activity but for many conditions it is unclear whether they also affect the target organ, such as the stomach in motion sickness. Therefore, we present a methodology for the multivariate assessment of placebo responses by subjective, behavioral and objective measures in motion sickness with a rotation chair paradigm. The physiological correlate of motion sickness is a shift in gastric myoelectrical activity towards tachygastria that can be recorded with electrogastrography. The presented study applied the so-called balanced placebo design (BPD) to investigate the effects of ginger compared to placebo and the effects of expectations by verbal information. However, the study revealed no significant main or interactional effects of ginger (as a drug) or information on outcome measures but showed interactions when sex of participants and experimenters are taken into considerations. We discuss limitations of the presented study and report modifications that were used in subsequent studies demonstrating placebo responses when rotation speed was lowered. In general, future placebo studies have to identify the appropriate target organ for the studied placebo responses and to apply the specific methods to assess the physiological correlates.

An experimental rotation chair paradigm is used to investigate whether a placebo intervention on motion sickness affects subjective outcome measures only or also affects behavioral and objective measures in a balanced placebo design.

Placebo responses occur in every medical intervention when patients or participants expect to receive an effective treatment to relieve symptoms. However, ...

Applying Stereotactic Injection Technique to Study Genetic Effects on Animal Behaviors

Stereotactic injection is a useful technique to deliver high titer lentiviruses to targeted brain areas in mice. Lentiviruses can either overexpress or knockdown gene expression in a relatively focused region without significant damage to the brain tissue. After recovery, the injected mouse can be tested on various behavioral tasks such as the Open Field Test (OFT) and the Forced Swim Test (FST). The OFT is designed to assess locomotion and the anxious phenotype in mice by measuring the amount of time that a mouse spends in the center of a novel open field. A more anxious mouse will spend significantly less time in the center of the novel field compared to controls. The FST assesses the anti-depressive phenotype by quantifying the amount of time that mice spend immobile when placed into a bucket of water. A mouse with an anti-depressive phenotype will spend significantly less time immobile compared to control animals. The goal of this protocol is to use the stereotactic injection of a lentivirus in conjunction with behavioral tests to assess how genetic factors modulate animal behaviors.

Stereotactic injection of lentiviruses expressing cDNAs or shRNAs can modulate gene expression in specific brain areas of mice. Here, we present a protocol to combine stereotactic injections with behavioral tasks, such as the Open Field Test (OFT) and the Forced Swim Test (FST).

Stereotactic injection is a useful technique to deliver high titer lentiviruses to targeted brain areas in mice. Lentiviruses can either overexpress or ...

Measurement of Vibration Detection Threshold and Tactile Spatial Acuity in Human Subjects

Tests that allow the precise determination of psychophysical thresholds for vibration and grating orientation provide valuable information about mechanosensory function that are relevant for clinical diagnosis as well as for basic research. Here, we describe two psychophysical tests designed to determine the vibration detection threshold (automated system) and tactile spatial acuity (handheld device). Both procedures implement a two-interval forced-choice and a transformed-rule up and down experimental paradigm. These tests have been used to obtain mechanosensory profiles for individuals from distinct human cohorts such as twins or people with sensorineural deafness.

Here, we present protocols to determine vibration detection thresholds and tactile acuity using psychophysical methods in man.

Tests that allow the precise determination of psychophysical thresholds for vibration and grating orientation provide valuable information about ...

A General Method for Evaluating Deep Brain Stimulation Effects on Intravenous Methamphetamine Self-Administration

Substance use disorders, particularly to methamphetamine, are devastating, relapsing diseases that disproportionally affect young people. There is a need for novel, effective and practical treatment strategies that are validated in animal models. Neuromodulation, including deep brain stimulation (DBS) therapy, refers to the use of electricity to influence pathological neuronal activity and has shown promise for psychiatric disorders, including drug dependence. DBS in clinical practice involves the continuous delivery of stimulation into brain structures using an implantable pacemaker-like system that is programmed externally by a physician to alleviate symptoms. This treatment will be limited in methamphetamine users due to challenging psychosocial situations. Electrical treatments that can be delivered intermittently, non-invasively and remotely from the drug-use setting will be more realistic. This article describes the delivery of intracranial electrical stimulation that is temporally and spatially separate from the drug-use environment for the treatment of IV methamphetamine dependence. Methamphetamine dependence is rapidly developed in rodents using an operant paradigm of intravenous (IV) self-administration that incorporates a period of extended access to drug and demonstrates both escalation of use and high motivation to obtain drug.

This article describes the delivery of intracranial electrical stimulation that is temporally and spatially separate from the drug-use environment for the treatment of IV methamphetamine dependence.

Substance use disorders, particularly to methamphetamine, are devastating, relapsing diseases that disproportionally affect young people.  There is a need ...

Behavioral Disturbances: An Innovative Approach to Monitor the Modulatory Effects of a Nutraceutical Diet

In dogs, diets are often used to modulate behavioral disturbances related to chronic anxiety and stress caused by intense and restless activity. However, the traditional ways to monitor behavioral changes in dogs are complicated and not efficient. In the current clinical evaluation, a new, simple monitoring system was used to assess the effectiveness of a specific diet in positively modulating the intense and restless activity of 24 dogs of different ages and breeds. This protocol describes how to easily and rapidly evaluate improvement in a set of symptoms related to generalized anxiety by using a specific sensor, a mobile phone app, a wireless router, and a computer. The results showed that dogs treated with specific diets showed significant improvement in the times spent active and at rest after 10 days (p &lt; 0.01 and p &lt; 0.05, respectively). These dogs also showed an overall significant improvement in clinical and behavioral symptoms. A specific sensor, along with its related hardware, was demonstrated to successfully monitor behavioral changes relating to movement in dogs.

We report a simple approach to evaluate the effectiveness of a specific diet in positively modulating the daily activity and clinical and behavioral symptoms of dogs with evident behavioral disturbances.

In dogs, diets are often used to modulate behavioral disturbances related to chronic anxiety and stress caused by intense and restless activity. However, ...

Assessing the Effects of Music Listening on Psychobiological Stress in Daily Life

Music listening is associated with stress-reducing effects. However, most of the results on music listening and stress were gathered in experimental settings. As music listening is a popular activity of daily life, it is of utmost importance to study the effects of music listening on psychobiological stress in an everyday, daily-life setting. Here, a study protocol is presented that allows the assessment of associations between music listening and psychobiological stress in daily life by noninvasively measuring salivary cortisol (as a marker of the Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal (HPA) axis) and salivary alpha-amylase (as a marker of the Autonomic Nervous System (ANS)). The protocol includes advice on the study design (e.g., sampling protocol), the materials and methods (e.g., the assessment of psychobiological stress in daily life, the assessment of music listening, and the manual), the selection of participants (e.g., the approval of the institutional review board and inclusion criteria), and the statistical analyses (e.g., the multilevel approach). The representative results provide evidence for a stress-reducing effect of music listening in daily life. Particularly, specific reasons for listening to music (especially relaxation), as well as the presence of others while doing so, increase this stress-reducing effect. At the same time, music listening in daily life differentially affects the HPA axis and ANS functioning, thus emphasizing the need for a multi-dimensional assessment of stress in daily life.

A study protocol is presented on how to assess associations between music listening and psychobiological stress (as measured by subjective stress levels, salivary cortisol, and salivary alpha-amylase) in daily life. Advice on study design, materials, methods, selection of participants, and statistical handling is provided. Representative results are presented and discussed.

Music listening is associated with stress-reducing effects. However, most of the results on music listening and stress were gathered in experimental ...

A Within-subjects Experimental Protocol to Assess the Effects of Social Input on Infant EEG

Despite the importance of social interactions for infant brain development, little research has assessed functional neural activation while infants socially interact. Electroencephalography (EEG) power is an advantageous technique to assess infant functional neural activation. However, many studies record infant EEG only during one baseline condition. This protocol describes a paradigm that is designed to comprehensively assess infant EEG activity in both social and nonsocial contexts as well as tease apart how different types of social inputs differentially relate to infant EEG. The within-subjects paradigm includes four controlled conditions. In the nonsocial condition, infants view objects on computer screens. The joint attention condition involves an experimenter directing the infant's attention to pictures. The joint attention condition includes three types of social input: language, face-to-face interaction, and the presence of joint attention. Differences in infant EEG between the nonsocial and joint attention conditions could be due to any of these three types of input. Therefore, two additional conditions (one with language input while the experimenter is hidden behind a screen and one with face-to-face interaction) were included to assess the driving contextual factors in patterns of infant neural activation. Representative results demonstrate that infant EEG power varied by condition, both overall and differentially by brain region, supporting the functional nature of infant EEG power. This technique is advantageous in that it includes conditions that are clearly social or nonsocial and allows for examination of how specific types of social input relate to EEG power. This paradigm can be used to assess how individual differences in age, affect, socioeconomic status, and parent-infant interaction quality relate to the development of the social brain. Based on the demonstrated functional nature of infant EEG power, future studies should consider the role of EEG recording context and design conditions that are clearly social or nonsocial.

This novel protocol is designed to assess the neural bases of social interaction in infants. The paradigm is designed to tease apart how various social inputs such as language, joint attention, and face-to-face interaction relate to infant neural activation. Infant EEG power is recorded during both social and nonsocial conditions.

Despite the importance of social interactions for infant brain development, little research has assessed functional neural activation while infants ...

Noninvasive, High-throughput Determination of Sleep Duration in Rodents

Traditionally, sleep is monitored by an electroencephalogram (EEG). EEG studies in rodents require surgical implantation of the electrodes followed by a long recovery period. To perform an EEG recording, the animal is connected to a receiver, creating an unnatural tether to the head-mount. EEG monitoring is time consuming, carries risk to the animal, and is not a completely natural setting for the measurement of sleep. Alternative methods to detect sleep, particularly in a high-throughput fashion, would greatly advance the field of sleep research. Here, we describe a validated method for detecting sleep via activity-based home-cage monitoring. Previous studies have shown that sleep assessed via this method has a high degree of agreement with sleep defined by traditional EEG-based measures. Whereas this method is validated for total sleep time, it is important to note that sleep bout duration should be assessed by an EEG which has better temporal resolution. The EEG can also differentiate rapid eye movement (REM) and non-REM sleep, giving more detail about the exact nature of sleep. Nevertheless, activity-based sleep determination can be used to analyze multiple days of undisturbed sleep and to assess sleep as a response to an acute event (like stress). Here, we show the power of this system to detect the response of mice to daily intraperitoneal injections.

We describe a high-throughput method of measuring sleep by means of activity-based home-cage monitoring. This method offers advantages over traditional EEG-based methods. It is well validated for the determination of total sleep duration and can be a powerful tool to monitor sleep in rodent models of human disease.

Traditionally, sleep is monitored by an electroencephalogram (EEG). EEG studies in rodents require surgical implantation of the electrodes followed by a ...

An Experimental Paradigm for Measuring the Effects of Ageing on Sentence Processing

Previous studies have found that older adults have greater difficulties in processing syntactically complex sentences than younger adults. However, the exact regions where the difficulties arise have not been fully identified. In this study, a maze task was implemented to investigate how older adults and younger adults differentially processed two types of sentences with different levels of syntactic complexity, namely subject relative clauses and object relative clauses. Participants were asked to choose between two alternatives at each segment of the sentences. The task required participants to engage in a strictly incremental mode of processing. The reading times for each segment were recorded, allowing the quantification of the difficulty of sentence reading. The task allowed us to identify the exact locations of the processing difficulty and thus facilitate a more accurate assessment of the age-related decline in sentence processing. The results indicate that the effect of ageing was found mainly at the head nouns, but not at other regions of the sentences, a finding which suggests that the maze task is an effective method to identify the exact location of the ageing effect on sentence processing. The implications of this experimental paradigm for investigating the effect of ageing on sentence processing are discussed.

Here, we present a protocol to examine the age-related decline in sentence processing using a maze task that allowed us to localize the processing difficulty at each word of the sentences during reading.

Previous studies have found that older adults have greater difficulties in processing syntactically complex sentences than younger adults. However, the ...