The authors express their extreme appreciation to the Regional&#160;Coordinating&#160;Office for Education of Rio&#160;Grande&#160;do&#160;Sul, for authorizing and granting us access to the school population. We also thank the help we received from the schools&#8217; principals and from all of the faculty members who accompanied and facilitated access to the pupils, as well as their contribution to explaining the study to the parents. Finally, we appreciate the feedback and support received from the Ethical&#160;Committees of the University&#160;of&#160;Unipampa.

The research obtained authorization from the Research&#160;Ethics&#160;Committee of the University&#160;of&#160;Unipampa. During the whole process of data collection, children&#8217;s anonymity was guaranteed and the ethical principles for medical research in human beings described in the latest revision of the Declaration&#160;of&#160;Helsinki were applied23.
1. Design of the research instrument
<ol>
	<li>Design a first draft of the questionnaire to meet the objective of the study (Supplementary File&#160;1). This questionnaire should contain questions about breakfast habits in schoolchildren. The objective is to know the relationship between breakfast habits and the sociodemographic characteristics of this population. 
	NOTE: A transcultural adaptation of the abridged questionnaire on Eating&#160;Habits of the School&#160;Population of the &#8220;PERSEO&#8221;&#160;program is conducted, validated in the Spanish population24. The items related to breakfast are selected.</li>
	<li>Create the draft using word editing software so that it can be easily shared and modified. Include different study variables such as the following: gender, age, family situation, parent&#8217;s occupation25. Variables on the breakfast habits include foods included in the daily breakfast, classification of breakfast (both according to the Spanish&#160;Society of Community&#160;Nutrition and to the recommendations of the&#160;WHO)26,27.</li>
	<li>Send a draft to external experts. Have them review the translated questionnaire whilst considering aspects such as item comprehension. 
	NOTE: The experts were a teacher and psychologist familiarized with the use and translation of questionnaires. Both people were bilingual in Portuguese and Spanish.</li>
	<li>Design a final version of the questionnaire (Supplementary File&#160;2) and submit it to a scientific and ethical committee along with a research report of the project. 
	NOTE: Positive evaluation was obtained both in scientific and ethical areas from the University&#160;of&#160;Unipampa committee (Supplementary File&#160;3).</li>
	<li>Conduct a reliability analysis of the resulting questionnaire applying it at two&#160;different moments in time in order to analyze its consistency and reproducibility in a pilot group.</li>
</ol>
2. Sampling method
<ol>
	<li>Conduct a cross-sectional descriptive study to characterize the breakfast habits of the schoolchildren.
	<ol>
		<li>Have the teacher ask for silence in the classroom.</li>
		<li>Have each student complete their questionnaire individually. They have fifteen minutes to complete it, approximately one minute per question.</li>
		<li>Ask students to be honest with their answers and select only one option for each question. 
		NOTE: A random sampling was performed by using clusters of&#160;urban public schools of the city (Figure 1). In the random selection of clusters, 12&#160;schools were included with a total of 558 boys and girls. To reach an acceptable confidence level of 95% and marginal error of 5%, the minimum sampling size should be 264 children.</li>
	</ol>
	</li>
	<li>Contact the leaderships of all the participating schools (directors or heads of studies) to report the date and time for completing the questionnaires.</li>
	<li>Inform parents and obtain their informed consent. Children complete questionnaires individually but the consent of their patents is essential because they are minors.</li>
</ol>
3. Statistical analyses
<ol>
	<li>Analyze the data with a statistical analysis program (e.g., SPSS). Manually pass all written data to a database in a spreadsheet format. This format allows opening database in the statistical program. Analyze all parameters completed by the students. Select Analyze | Descriptive Statistics | Crosstabs | Statistics | Kappa | Accept (see Figure 2). 
	NOTE: To evaluate the reliability and reproducibility of the transcultural adaptation of the questionnaire, the Kappa indexes of concordance of the dichotomic questionnaire items are calculated. For the polichotomic items, the summatory value of the scores obtained is used, generating a new variable called &#8220;sum of the items&#8217; scores&#8221;, with values from&#160;0&#160;to&#160;4. The interclass correlation coefficient is calculated to assess the numerical concordance between the first and the second measurements. Both for the Kappa index and for the aforementioned coefficient, values higher than or equal to&#160;0.40 are considered acceptable, and those higher than or equal to&#160;0.75 are considered excellent28. The accepted statistical significance level to calculate these coefficients was set at p&#160;&#60;&#160;0.05.</li>
	<li>Perform the descriptive analysis: calculate the frequency distributions of the main qualitative variables, as well as the measurements of central tendency and dispersion of the quantitative variables. Select Analyze | Descriptive Statistics | Explore | Confidence interval for the mean 95% | Accept (see Figure 3).</li>
	<li>Perform hypothesis contrast by using the Chi-square&#160;test and Student&#8217;s&#160;t-test, depending on the case. For the Chi-square test, select Analyze | Descriptive Statistics | Crosstabs | Statistics | Chi-square (see Figure 4). For Student&#8217;s t-test click Analyze | Compare averages | T test for independent samples (see Figure 5). 
	NOTE: The accepted statistical significance level for the hypothesis contrast is set at&#160;p&#160;&#60;&#160;0.05.</li>
</ol>

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	<li>Ogden, C. L., Carroll, M. D., Kit, B. K., Flegal, K. 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D. <a target="_blank" href="http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/entrez/query.fcgi?db=PubMed&cmd=Search&doptcmdl=Citation&defaultField=Title+Word&term=Racial/ethnic+and+socioeconomic+status+differences+in+overweight+and+health-related+behaviors+among+American+students:+national+trends+1986-2003.">Racial/ethnic and socioeconomic status differences in overweight and health-related behaviors among American students: national trends 1986-2003.</a> Journal of Adolescent Health. 39 (4), 536-545 (2006).</li><li>Van Lippevelde, 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=Associations+between+family+related+factors+breakfast+consumption+and+BMI+among+10-12-year-old+European+children:+the+cross-sectional+ENERGY+study.">Associations between family related factors breakfast consumption and BMI among 10-12-year-old European children: the cross-sectional ENERGY study.</a> PLoS One. 8 (11), 79550 (2013).</li><li>Brug, J., 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=Differences+in+weight+status+and+energy-balance+related+behaviors+among+schoolchildren+across+Europe:+the+ENERGY-project.">Differences in weight status and energy-balance related behaviors among schoolchildren across Europe: the ENERGY-project.</a> PLoS One. 7 (4), 34742 (2012).</li><li>Fugas, V., Berta, E., Walz, F., Fortino, M. 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The authors have nothing to disclose.

This study describes the profiles of schoolchildren with regards their breakfast eating habits. It allows us to approach the possible factors that are involved in omitting breakfast. These data provide knowledge of the population to conduct a future health educational program in this collective group.
One of the limitations of the study was the fact that the questionnaire is not validated in the Portuguese language, but in Spanish. For this reason, a transcultural adaptation was conducted into...

Obesity, as a consequence of unhealthy nutrition and of a sedentary lifestyle, represents a priority in global public health1,2. There are yet other factors which indirectly affect obesity, like economic, social and educational determinants3. For this reason, the need arises for health promotion interventions in the field of healthy nutrition, the school age being the most propitious stage, since the habits adopted in childhood usually perpetuate into adulthood4.
Breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day; according to its content, it must guarantee an average of 25% of the total energy consumed during the day to cover the nutritional needs of the organism. A healthy breakfast is considered to contain a balanced serving of carbohydrates, lipids, proteins, vitamins, and minerals. The triad made up by dairy products, cereals and fruits are preferably advisable, which can be supplemented with protein-rich foods5. Breakfast is directly linked to positive short- and long- term results, because it is associated with the improvement in the cognitive function and in the academic performance, school attendance, and healthy growth of children and adolescents, as long as it is eaten correctly6. Despite its importance, omitting breakfast is a common practice among children and adolescents7. Diverse studies show that omitting breakfast is linked to a higher increased probability of suffering from overweight and obesity8,9,10,11. In view of that, identifying those factors linked to overweight and obesity in children by analyzing their breakfast habits is important to design more effective and personalized interventions7.
Changing the eating habits is a strategy for health promotion and disease prevention12. The eating habits constituted early in life depend on factors which include the family, the school setting, and the influence of the mass media13,14. Previous studies that explored the association between the socioeconomic condition and the breakfast habits signal that a child who lives with a monoparental family or in a low-income family is more prone to presenting breakfast irregularities15,16. In this context, the first results of the ENERGY&#160;project showed that the mean frequency of the weekly breakfast consumption in European children was 5.9&#160;days/week, from 5.1&#160;in Slovenia to 6.7&#160;in Spain17, with no significant differences between boys and girls18.
In Latin&#160;America, some studies have been conducted on the eating habits of schoolchildren, specifically addressing breakfast. In a study conducted in Santa&#160;Fe,&#160;Argentina, in which 75% of the schoolchildren stated they had breakfast daily, it was concluded that the weekly frequency of having breakfast depended on the fact that a family member prepared it for them, and one of the main factors associated to omitting breakfast was lack of time19. In another study conducted in Montevideo,&#160;Uruguay, 30% of the schoolchildren admitted that having a good breakfast was important to stay healthy20.
In Brazil, malnutrition is relevant especially in children who live with low-income families21. The children and adolescents consumed a diet high in fat and sugar and low in polyunsaturated fatty acids, fiber, iron, and calcium22. At present, the studies on food consumption habits in Brazilian children are scarce. The objective of this study is to know the diet pattern of the school population of Uruguaiana&#160;(RS,&#160;Brazil) by studying breakfast as a reference meal, and to identify the sociodemographic and family factors which can be associated with a deficient breakfast. The hypotheses of the study are that some factors such as having breakfast with parents and work situation of the parents influence the breakfast habits of children.

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breakfast habits among schoolchildren in the city of uruguaiana, brazil

Breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day, and omitting it is associated with a greater probability of overweight and school absenteeism. The eating habits constituted in children depend on social, educational and economic factors, and they usually perpetuate into adulthood. For this reason, the most propitious stage for health promotion interventions on healthy nutrition is childhood. Specifically, in Brazil, malnutrition is relevant in children from low-income families although, currently, there are few studies that relate nutrition with the social factors. In this study, a reliability analysis of the Eating&#160;Habits of the School&#160;Population questionnaire was conducted, and the items referring to the breakfast habits and to some sociodemographic variables were selected. Subsequently, a total of 470&#160;fourth&#160;grade pupils self-completed the questionnaire in 12&#160;schools in Uruguaiana&#160;(Brazil). More than 50% of the mothers and more than 70% of the fathers worked in diverse areas of services and sales in stores or supermarkets. With regards to the hypothesis contrast, a significant relation was observed between the frequency of having breakfast with the father or the mother and having had breakfast&#160;(p&#160;&#60;&#160;0.001). This type of study favors a population analysis for the subsequent design and execution of health promotion activities.

The results related to the consistency and reliability of the questionnaire items, culturally adapted, and were obtained in a total of 55&#160;questionnaires coming from the selected school. Thus, in the first measurement, the mean score obtained by the participants on the item referring to the weekly frequency of having breakfast with the parents was&#160;1.36&#160;(SD = 1.09), whereas in the second measurement, this mean value was&#160;1.38&#160;(SD = 1.46). Note that in the first measurement, 50.9%&#160;[95%&#160;CI =...

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Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil

This article describes the breakfast habits and the factors related to schoolchildren in a city of Brazil&#160;(Uruguaiana). To this end, a transcultural adaptation was performed of a questionnaire validated in Spain, and 470&#160;boys and girls from twelve&#160;schools were interviewed.

Breakfast is the first and most important meal of the day, and omitting it is associated with a greater probability of overweight and school absenteeism. ...

breakfast-habits-among-schoolchildren-in-the-city-of-uruguaiana-brazil

Research

JoVE Journal

Behavior

4.4K Views.  Federal University of Pampa. This article describes the breakfast habits and the factors related to schoolchildren in a city of Brazil (Uruguaiana). To this end, a transcultural adaptation was performed of a questionnaire validated in Spain, and 470 boys and girls from twelve schools were interviewed.

Video: Breakfast Habits among Schoolchildren in the City of Uruguaiana, Brazil

The Crossmodal Congruency Task as a Means to Obtain an Objective Behavioral Measure in the Rubber Hand Illusion Paradigm

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants' own hidden hand is touched. If the viewed and felt touches are given at the same time then this is sufficient to induce the compelling experience that the rubber hand is one's own hand. The RHI can be used to investigate exactly how the brain constructs distinct body representations for one's own body. Such representations are crucial for successful interactions with the external world. To obtain a subjective measure of the RHI, researchers typically ask participants to rate statements such as "I felt as if the rubber hand were my hand". Here we demonstrate how the crossmodal congruency task can be used to obtain an objective behavioral measure within this paradigm.
The variant of the crossmodal congruency task we employ involves the presentation of tactile targets and visual distractors. Targets and distractors are spatially congruent (i.e. same finger) on some trials and incongruent (i.e. different finger) on others. The difference in performance between incongruent and congruent trials - the crossmodal congruency effect (CCE) - indexes multisensory interactions. Importantly, the CCE is modulated both by viewing a hand as well as the synchrony of viewed and felt touch which are both crucial factors for the RHI.
The use of the crossmodal congruency task within the RHI paradigm has several advantages. It is a simple behavioral measure which can be repeated many times and which can be obtained during the illusion while participants view the artificial hand. Furthermore, this measure is not susceptible to observer and experimenter biases. The combination of the RHI paradigm with the crossmodal congruency task allows in particular for the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the RHI.

We demonstrate how an objective measure can be employed in the widely employed rubber hand illusion paradigm. This measure is obtained by modifying the well-established crossmodal congruency task. This task allows the investigation of multisensory processes which are critical for modulations of body representations as in the rubber hand illusion.

The rubber hand illusion (RHI) is a popular experimental paradigm. Participants view touch on an artificial rubber hand while the participants' own hidden ...

Stereotaxic Microinjection of Viral Vectors Expressing Cre Recombinase to Study the Role of Target Genes in Cocaine Conditioned Place Preference

Microinjecting recombinant adenoassociated viral (rAAV) vectors expressing Cre recombinase into distinct mouse brain regions to selectively knockout genes of interest allows for enhanced temporally- and regionally-specific control of gene deletion, compared to existing methods. While conditional deletion can also be achieved by mating mice that express Cre recombinase under the control of specific gene promoters with mice carrying a floxed gene, stereotaxic microinjection allows for targeting of discrete brain areas at experimenter-determined time points of interest. In the context of cocaine conditioned place preference, and other cocaine behavioral paradigms such as self-administration or psychomotor sensitization that can involve withdrawal, extinction and/or reinstatement phases, this technique is particularly useful in exploring the unique contribution of target genes to these distinct phases of behavioral models of cocaine-induced plasticity. Specifically, this technique allows for selective ablation of target genes during discrete phases of a behavior to test their contribution to the behavior across time. Ultimately, this understanding allows for more targeted therapeutics that are best able to address the most potent risk factors that present themselves during each phase of addictive behavior.

This article describes how to microinject viral vectors into mouse brain and then test in a conditioned place preference paradigm that includes an acquisition, extinction and reinstatement phase.

Microinjecting recombinant adenoassociated viral (rAAV) vectors expressing Cre recombinase into distinct mouse brain regions to selectively knockout genes ...

A Procedure to Study the Effect of Prolonged Food Restriction on Heroin Seeking in Abstinent Rats

In human drug addicts, exposure to drug-associated cues or environments that were previously associated with drug taking can trigger relapse during abstinence. Moreover, various environmental challenges can exacerbate this effect, as well as increase ongoing drug intake.
The procedure we describe here highlights the impact of a common environmental challenge, food restriction, on drug craving that is expressed as an augmentation of drug seeking in abstinent rats.
Rats are implanted with chronic intravenous i.v. catheters, and then trained to press a lever for i.v. heroin over a period of 10-12 days. Following the heroin self-administration phase the rats are removed from the operant conditioning chambers and housed in the animal care facility for a period of at least 14 days. While one group is maintained under unrestricted access to food (sated group), a second group (FDR group) is exposed to a mild food restriction regimen that results in their body weights maintained at 90% of their nonrestricted body weight. On day 14 of food restriction the rats are transferred back to the drug-training environment, and a drug-seeking test is run under extinction conditions (i.e.&#160;lever presses do not result in heroin delivery).
The procedure presented here results in a highly robust augmentation of heroin seeking on test day in the food restricted rats. In addition, compared to the acute food deprivation manipulations we have used before, the current procedure is a more clinically relevant model for the impact of caloric restriction on drug seeking. Moreover, it might be closer to the human condition as the rats are not required to go through an extinction-training phase before the drug-seeking test, which is an integral component of the popular reinstatement procedure.

A procedure that allows a demonstration of robust augmentation of drug seeking in food-restricted rats is described. Following heroin self-administration training, rats go through an abstinence period, in a drug-free environment, during which they are mildly food restricted. Drug seeking is then tested in the drug-associated environment.

In human drug addicts, exposure to drug-associated cues or environments that were previously associated with drug taking can trigger relapse during ...

The Social Dimension of Stress: Experimental Manipulations of Social Support and Social Identity in the Trier Social Stress Test

In many situations humans are influenced by the behavior of other people and their relationships with them. For example, in stressful situations supportive behavior of other people as well as positive social relationships can act as powerful resources to cope with stress. In order to study the interplay between these variables, this protocol describes two effective experimental manipulations of social relationships and supportive behavior in the laboratory. In the present article, these two manipulations are implemented in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST)&#8212;a standard stress induction paradigm in which participants are subjected to a simulated job interview. More precisely, we propose (a) a manipulation of the relationship between different protagonists in the TSST by making a shared social identity salient and (b) a manipulation of the behavior of the TSST-selection committee, which acts either supportively or unsupportively. These two experimental manipulations are designed in a modular fashion and can be applied independently of each other but can also be combined. Moreover, these two manipulations can also be integrated into other stress protocols and into other standardized social interactions such as trust games, negotiation tasks, or other group tasks.

Previous research on the social dimension of stress has focused on two important variables: social identity and social support. This protocol introduces an effective experimental manipulation of these two social variables and describes their implementation in a standard stress induction paradigm (Trier Social Stress Test).

In many situations humans are influenced by the behavior of other people and their relationships with them. For example, in stressful situations ...

Ultrasound Images of the Tongue: A Tutorial for Assessment and Remediation of Speech Sound Errors

Diagnostic ultrasound imaging has been a common tool in medical practice for several decades. It provides a safe and effective method for imaging structures internal to the body. There has been a recent increase in the use of ultrasound technology to visualize the shape and movements of the tongue during speech, both in typical speakers and in clinical populations. Ultrasound imaging of speech has greatly expanded our understanding of how sounds articulated with the tongue (lingual sounds) are produced. Such information can be particularly valuable for speech-language pathologists. Among other advantages, ultrasound images can be used during speech therapy to provide (1) illustrative models of typical (i.e.&#160;&#34;correct&#34;) tongue configurations for speech sounds, and (2) a source of insight into the articulatory nature of deviant productions. The images can also be used as an additional source of feedback for clinical populations learning to distinguish their better productions from their incorrect productions, en route to establishing more effective articulatory habits.
Ultrasound feedback is increasingly used by scientists and clinicians as both the expertise of the users increases and as the expense of the equipment declines. In this tutorial, procedures are presented for collecting ultrasound images of the tongue in a clinical context. We illustrate these procedures in an extended example featuring one common error sound, American English /r/. Images of correct and distorted /r/ are used to demonstrate (1) how to interpret ultrasound images, (2) how to assess tongue shape during production of speech sounds, (3), how to categorize tongue shape errors, and (4), how to provide visual feedback to elicit a more appropriate and functional tongue shape. We present a sample protocol for using real-time ultrasound images of the tongue for visual feedback to remediate speech sound errors. Additionally, example data are shown to illustrate outcomes with the procedure.

Ultrasound imaging can be used to display the shape and movements of the tongue in real time during speech. The images can be used to determine the nature of speech sound errors. Visual feedback of the tongue can be used to facilitate improvements in speech sound production in clinical populations.

Diagnostic ultrasound imaging has been a common tool in medical practice for several decades. It provides a safe and effective method for imaging ...

Using a Real-Time Locating System to Measure Walking Activity Associated with Wandering Behaviors Among Institutionalized Older Adults

A real-time locating system (RTLS) can be used to track the walking activity of institutionalized older adults in long-term care who are at risk for wandering behaviors. The benefits of a RTLS are objective and continuous measurements of activity. Self-report methods of activity, especially wandering, by health care staff are vulnerable to floor effects and recall bias, and continuous clinical or research observation over the long-term can be time-consuming and expensive. Health care staff also fail to recognize the onset and/or duration of wandering behaviors, which are associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes in this population but amenable to intervention. RTLS technologies can measure the walking activity of institutionalized residents with cognitive impairment over time with a high degree of accuracy. This is particularly useful for the study of wandering, defined as walking for at least 60 seconds with few (if any) breaks in activity. Wandering is associated with disease progression, hospitalizations, falls and death. Previous work suggests older adults with poor balance ability and high sustained walking activity may be particularly susceptible to poor health outcomes. RTLS&#39;s are used to assess cognitive impairment and factors associated with gait and balance; however, supplemental paper and pencil gait/balance tools may be used to further refine risk profiles. This project discusses the use of a RTLS to measure walking activity and also gait quality and balance ability measures on this population.

This paper discusses the use of a continuous and objective real-time locating system to measure walking activity associated with wandering behaviors, focusing on older adults with cognitive impairment. Walking activity is measured by walking distance, sustained walking distance, and sustained gait speed. Also assessed are gait quality and balance ability.

A real-time locating system (RTLS) can be used to track the walking activity of institutionalized older adults in long-term care who are at risk for ...

In Vivo Protocol of Controlled Subconcussive Head Impacts for the Validation of Field Study Data

Subconcussive hits pose a threat to neuronal health as they have shown to induce neuronal structural damage and functional impairment without causing outward symptomology and appear to be a key contributor to an irreversible neurodegenerative disease, chronic traumatic encephalopathy (CTE). In addition, athletes can incur more than 1,000 of these hits per season. The subconcussive soccer heading model (SSHM) is a relevant, reproducible, and leading method of isolating and examining the effects of these subconcussive head impacts. By controlling variables such as ball traveling speed, the frequency of impacts, interval, ball placement to the head, as well as by measuring head impact magnitude, the SSHM provides the scientific community with a superior avenue of investigating the acute subconcussive effects on neuronal health. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of SSHM in studying a time-course expression of neurofilament-light polypeptide (NF-L) in plasma in a repeated measures fashion. NF-L is an axonal injury marker that has previously been shown to be elevated in boxers and football players following subconcussive head trauma. Thirty-four adult aged soccer players were recruited and randomly assigned to either a soccer heading (n = 18) or kicking (n = 16) group. The heading group executed 10 headers with soccer balls projected at a velocity of 25 mph over 10 min. The kicking group followed the same protocol with 10 kicks. Plasma samples were obtained before and at 0 h, 2 h, and 24 h after heading/kicking and assessed for NF-L expressions. The heading group showed a gradual increase in plasma NF-L expression and peaked at 24 h after the heading protocol, whereas the kicking group remained consistent across the time points. These results confirmed the NF-L data from clinical field studies, encouraging the use of SSHM to validate clinical subconcussion data.

The subconcussive soccer heading model is a safe and concise methodological approach to isolate and measure the effects of subconcussive head impacts.

Subconcussive hits pose a threat to neuronal health as they have shown to induce neuronal structural damage and functional impairment without causing ...

Lexical Decision Task for Studying Written Word Recognition in Adults with and without Dementia or Mild Cognitive Impairment

Older adults are slower at recognizing visual objects than younger adults. The same is true for recognizing that a letter string is a real word. People with Alzheimer&#39;s disease (AD) or Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) demonstrate even longer responses in written word recognition than elderly controls. Despite the general tendency towards slower recognition in aging and neurocognitive disorders, certain characteristics of words influence word recognition speed regardless of age or neuropathology (e.g., a word&#8217;s frequency of use). We present here a protocol for examining the influence of lexical characteristics on word recognition response times in a simple lexical decision experiment administered to younger and older adults and people with MCI or AD. In this experiment, participants are asked to decide as quickly and accurately as possible whether a given letter string is an actual word or not. We also describe mixed-effects models and principal components analysis that can be used to detect the influence of different types of lexical variables or individual characteristics of participants on word recognition speed.

This article describes how to implement a simple lexical decision experiment to assess written word recognition in neurologically healthy participants and in individuals with dementia and cognitive decline. We also provide a detailed description of reaction time analysis using principal components analysis (PCA) and mixed-effects modeling.

Older adults are slower at recognizing visual objects than younger adults. The same is true for recognizing that a letter string is a real word. People ...

Assessing the Autonomic and Behavioral Effects of Passive Motion in Rats using Elevator Vertical Motion and Ferris-Wheel Rotation

The overall goal of this study is to assess the autonomic and behavioral effects of passive motion in rodents using the elevator vertical motion and Ferris-wheel rotation devices. These assays can help confirm the integrity and normal functioning of the autonomic nervous system. They are coupled to quantitative measures based on defecation counting, open-field examination, and balance beam crossing. The advantages of these assays are their simplicity, reproducibility, and quantitative behavioral measures. The limitations of these assays are that the autonomic reactions could be epiphenomena of non-vestibular disorders and that a functioning vestibular system is required. Examination of disorders such as motion sickness will be greatly aided by the detailed procedures of these assays.

Protocols are presented to assess the autonomic and behavioral effects of passive motion in rodents using elevator vertical motion and Ferris-wheel rotation.

The overall goal of this study is to assess the autonomic and behavioral effects of passive motion in rodents using the elevator vertical motion and ...

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation for Online Gamers

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that applies a weak electric current to the scalp to modulate neuronal membrane potentials. Compared to other brain stimulation methods, tDCS is relatively safe, simple, and inexpensive to administer.
Since excessive online gaming can negatively affect mental health and daily functioning, developing treatment options for gamers is necessary. Although tDCS over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) has demonstrated promising results for various addictions, it has not been tested in gamers. This paper describes a protocol and a feasibility study for applying repeated tDCS over the DLPFC and neuroimaging to examine the underlying neural correlates in gamers.
At baseline, individuals who play online games report average weekly hours spent on games, complete questionnaires on addiction symptoms and self-control, and undergo brain 18F-&#64258;uoro-2-deoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET). The tDCS protocol consists of 12 sessions over the DLPFC for 4 weeks (anode F3/cathode F4, 2 mA for 30 min per session). Then, a follow-up is conducted using the same protocol as the baseline. Individuals who do not play online games receive only baseline FDG-PET scans without tDCS. Changes of clinical characteristics and asymmetry of regional cerebral metabolic rate of glucose (rCMRglu) in the DLPFC are examined in gamers. In addition, asymmetry of rCMRglu is compared between gamers and non-gamers at baseline.
In our experiment, 15 gamers received tDCS sessions and completed baseline and follow-up scans. Ten non-gamers underwent FDG-PET scans at the baseline. The tDCS reduced addiction symptoms, time spent on games, and increased self-control. Moreover, abnormal asymmetry of rCMRglu in the DLPFC at baseline was alleviated after tDCS.
The current protocol may be useful for assessing treatment efficacy of tDCS and its underlying brain changes in gamers. Further randomized sham-controlled studies are warranted. Moreover, the protocol can be applied to other neurological and psychiatric disorders.

We present a protocol and a feasibility study for applying transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and neuroimaging assessment in online gamers.

Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a noninvasive brain stimulation technique that applies a weak electric current to the scalp to modulate ...