Digital Commons Network^™

The Dissociable Impact Of Auditory Vs. Visual Emotional Cues On Visual Processing, Emma K. Stewart Bsc, Derek Gv Mitchell Phd

Western Research Forum

Background: Emotional information has privileged access to processing resources, which can cause it to have a distracting or facilitating effect on task performance for reasons that are poorly understood. The sensory modality through which it is presented may be one determining factor. Some findings suggest that auditory stimuli facilitate visual task performance while visual stimuli interfere with it, but there are conflicting findings.

Hypothesis: We hypothesize that emotional content of a different sensory modality from the task improves task-related performance via a general alerting and arousing effect for all stimuli, while emotional content of the same modality disrupts performance when …

Optimization Of The Touchscreen-Based Visuomotor Conditional Learning Task In Mice, Oren Princz-Lebel, David I. Wasserman, Miguel Skirzewski, Penny A. Macdonald, Lisa M. Saksida, Tim J. Bussey

Western Research Forum

The translational gap between animal models and clinical trials is a longstanding, yet largely unresolved, limitation in the study of cognition. This discrepancy is largely due to the differences in how cognition is assessed in animal models compared to those in clinical populations. In the stimulus-response (S-R) learning literature, for example, the techniques used to assess the acquisition of habitual behaviour differ greatly across species, leading to poor cross-species translation and often conflicting results. As a result, we set out to optimize a S-R learning task in mice using the touchscreen-based operant technologies. Similar to human studies, this touchscreen technique …

Optimization Of Simultaneous Facial Emg And Fmri, Maggie Prenger

Western Research Forum

The scientific study of emotion began in the 19^th century with Duchenne’s study of the “universal and immutable” language of facial expressions. In The Mechanism of Human Physiognomy, he manipulates human facial expressions by electrically stimulating facial muscles. Facial electromyography (EMG) is a modern technique that is reminiscent of Duchenne’s work; it allows researchers to measure facial muscle activity through surface recording electrodes, providing a real-time measure of natural emotional reactions.

Although facial EMG is a reliable measure of emotional behavior, it fails to provide any information about brain activity responsible for emotional processes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) …

Spontaneous Mimicry Of Emotional Facial Expressions As A Function Of Trait Sadism, Cathleen Fleury, Mary Ritchie, Derek Mitchell

Western Research Forum

Using electromyography (EMG), it has been shown that facial muscles imperceptibly mirror the facial expressions of others, a phenomenon referred to as spontaneous facial mimicry. Facial mimicry may be involved in empathy processing, and is impaired in several empathy deficit disorders. It was previously believed to follow the direct-matching principle, a theory postulating that spontaneous facial mimicry involves the observer mirroring their partner’s expression exactly. However, several recent studies have demonstrated that context and individual differences may be influencing factors of spontaneous facial mimicry. In the present study, we propose to investigate the relationship between facial mimicry and empathy through …

Obstacle Negotiation And Dual-Tasking In People With A Unilateral Transtibial Amputation., Humberto Omana, Michael Payne, Ricardo Viana, Susan Winnifred Hunter

Western Research Forum

Background: Falls in people with a lower limb amputation (PLLAs) are common and most often occur while walking, resulting in physical and psychological consequences that adversely affect quality of life. Walking is a complex motor task requiring cognitive resources. Due to walking with a prosthesis, PLLAs report focussing on every step they take, indicating greater cognitive needs. However, cognitive resources are limited, and most of our everyday activities also involve the simultaneous performance of motor and cognitive tasks, known as dual-tasking. The inter-relationship between mobility, cognition and postural stability in PLLAs using a prosthesis is just starting to be understood. …