Sarita Jane Robinson

The effects of exposure to an acute naturalistic stressor on working memory, state anxiety and salivary cortisol concentrations

Exposure to an acute naturalistic stressor induces both psychological and physiological changes in humans. The two studies reported here explored the impact of exposure to an acute naturalistic stressor on state anxiety, working memory and HPA axis activation (salivary cortisol). In both experiments, ten healthy male participants were exposed to an acute naturalistic stressor, helicopter underwater evacuation training (HUET), and their physiological and behavioural responses before (first study) and after (second study) the stressor were compared to ten non-stressed controls. The results of both experiments showed that working memory performance was preserved during anticipation of an acute stressor, but impairments were observed immediately after stress exposure. Participants reported significantly higher state anxiety levels during anticipation and following stress exposure, whereas significant elevations in cortisol levels were only observed 25 min post exposure to stress, but not before or immediately after stress exposure. The results of both experiments demonstrated a dissociation between behavioural and biochemical measures and provided evidence for a dissociation of the effects of stress on cognitive and physiological measures depending on the time of testing, with cognitive impairments most evident following stress exposure.

Loneliness trajectories from middle childhood to pre-adolescence: impact on perceived health and sleep disturbance.

The current study is the first to examine the association between chronic loneliness and perceived health, school absence due to illness, sleep duration and disturbance, in a sample of pre-adolescents (N = 209). Loneliness was measured in three collection waves that were 18 months apart and covered the ages 8-11 years. Using growth mixture modeling, two groups were identified with discrete growth patterns of loneliness: (a) relatively high, reducing loneliness (48%), and (b) low, stable loneliness (52%). At age 11 years, those in the relatively high, reducing lonely group reported higher levels of depressive symptoms, poorer general health, took longer to get to sleep, and had greater sleep disturbance than children in the low, stable loneliness group. These findings suggest that there may be long-term health effects of experiencing high loneliness in middle childhood, even when loneliness levels reduce to normal levels at pre-adolescence.

Can we meet their expectations? Experiences and perceptions of feedback in first year undergraduate students

Student ratings of satisfaction with feedback are consistently lower than other teaching and learning elements within the UK higher education sector. However, reasons for this dissatisfaction are often unclear to teaching staff, who believe their students are receiving timely, extensive and informative feedback. This study explores possible explanations for this mismatch between staff and students’ perceptions of feedback quality. One hundred and sixty-six first year undergraduate students completed a questionnaire detailing their experiences of feedback on coursework before and throughout their first year at university. Results indicate that whilst procedural elements of feedback (timeliness and legibility) are considered satisfactory, past experiences (pre-university) may influence student expectations of feedback. Some students had a severe, negative emotional response to the feedback provided and few students engaged in self-help (independent learning) behaviours to improve their performance following feedback. We consider how changes in feedback practices could improve students’ use of, and satisfaction with, their feedback.

Oral Inflammation, Tooth Loss, Risk Factors, and Association with Progression of Alzheimer's Disease

Periodontitis is a polymicrobial chronic inflammatory disease of tooth-supporting tissues with bacterial etiology affecting all age groups, becoming chronic in a subgroup of older individuals. Periodontal pathogens Porphyromonas gingivalis, Tannerella forsythia, and Treponema denticola are implicated in the development of a number of inflammatory pathologies at remote organ sites, including Alzheimers disease (AD). The initial inflammatory hypothesis proposed that AD hallmark proteins were the main contributors of central nervous system (CNS) inflammation. This hypothesis is expanding to include the role of infections, lifestyle, and genetic and environmental factors in the pathogenesis of AD. Periodontal disease (PD) typifies a condition that encompasses all of the above factors including pathogenic bacteria. These bacteria not only are the source of low-grade, chronic infection and inflammation that follow daily episodes of bacteremia arising from everyday tasks such as brushing, flossing teeth, chewing food, and during dental procedures, but they also disseminate into the brain from closely related anatomical pathways. The long-term effect of inflammatory mediators, pathogens, and/or their virulence factors, reaching the brain systemically or otherwise would, over time, prime the brains own microglia in individuals who have inherent susceptibility traits. Such susceptibilities contribute to inadequate neutralization of invading agents, upon reaching the brain. This has the capacity to create a vicious cycle of sustained local inflammatory milieu resulting in the loss of cytoarchitectural integrity and vital neurons with subsequent loss of function (deterioration in memory). The possible pathways between PD and AD development are considered here, as well as environmental factors that may modulate/exacerbate AD symptoms.

Stress reactivity and cognitive performance in a simulated firefighting emergency.

BACKGROUND During emergencies maladaptive behavior can reduce survival. This study compared the effects of a basic firefighter training course on 21 volunteers (with no firefighting experience) with age and gender-matched controls. METHODS Stress reactivity (salivary cortisol and anxiety) were monitored across the course: day 1 (classroom), day 2 (physical equipment training), and day 3 (simulated fire emergency). Cognitive performance (visual attention, declarative and working memory) considered important in surviving a fire emergency were measured immediately post-training or after a 20-min delay. RESULTS Prior to threat subjects showed an anticipatory cortisol increase but no corresponding increase in self-reported anxiety. On day 3 cortisol was higher in firefighters tested immediately after (10.37 nmol x L(-1) and 20 min after training (7.20 nmol L(-1)) compared to controls (3.13 nmol x L(-1)). Differences in cognitive performance were observed post-threat, with impairments in visual declarative memory in the firefighting subjects tested immediately, and working memory impairments observed in those tested after a 20-min delay. CONCLUSIONS Cognitive impairments were found following a simulated emergency and could explain maladaptive responses observed during real fires. Moreover, the results suggest the type of cognitive impairments observed may be time dependent, with different cognitive difficulties becoming evident at different times following an emergency.

Performance on the traditional and the touch screen, tablet versions of the Corsi Block and the Tower of Hanoi tasks

Psychologists routinely administer cognitive tasks to assess a range of mental abilities. In recent years, researchers and practitioners have employed new (i.e. digital) technologies to test cognitive performance, with tablet computer based tasks often replacing traditional versions. However, the extent to which findings from traditional and touch screen tablet based tasks are equivalent remains unclear. In the present study, sixty participants (18 men and 42 women) completed both the Tower of Hanoi and Corsi Block tasks in their traditional (wooden) form and using a touch screen tablet. Performance outcome measures (span length, number of moves, and time taken) were recorded alongside subjective workload for each task. Findings revealed that number of moves and span length do not significantly differ between the traditional and tablet based versions of each task. However, the computerized Tower of Hanoi task was completed more quickly than the traditional version. Differences were noted for subjective workload with higher physical demand reported for the traditional versions of each task. Participants also reported the traditional Tower of Hanoi task to be more enjoyable but more mentally demanding. In conclusion, the touch screen versions of the Tower of Hanoi and Corsi Block tasks appear largely equivalent to the traditional versions. Traditional and tablet based Tower of Hanoi and Corsi Block tasks were compared.Performance (i.e. number of moves and span length) did not differ between versions.The computerized Tower of Hanoi task was completed more quickly.Differences were identified for subjective workload and enjoyment.Traditional and tablet versions of the cognitive tasks are largely equivalent.

The Influence of Religious Coping and Religious Social Support on Health Behaviour, Health Status and Health Attitudes in a British Christian Sample

Previous research has established a relationship between religion and health. However, the specific aspects of religion which may influence health are not fully understood. The present study investigates the effect of religious social support and religious coping on health behaviours, health status and attitudes to health whilst controlling for age and non-religious social support. The results indicate religious coping and religious social support positively impact on self-reported current health status, depression, health outlook and resistance susceptibility. However, negative religious coping was predictive of increased alcohol consumption. Overall congregational support and negative religious coping had the greatest impact on health.

The Effect of Mood-Context on Visual Recognition and Recall Memory

ABSTRACT Although it is widely known that memory is enhanced when encoding and retrieval occur in the same state, the impact of elevated stress/arousal is less understood. This study explores mood-dependent memorys effects on visual recognition and recall of material memorized either in a neutral mood or under higher stress/arousal levels. Participants’ (N = 60) recognition and recall were assessed while they experienced either the same or a mismatched mood at retrieval. The results suggested that both visual recognition and recall memory were higher when participants experienced the same mood at encoding and retrieval compared with those who experienced a mismatch in mood context between encoding and retrieval. These findings offer support for a mood dependency effect on both the recognition and recall of visual information.

Prospective memory deficits in illicit polydrug users are associated with the average long-term typical dose of ecstasy typically consumed in a single session

RATIONALE Neuroimaging evidence suggests that ecstasy-related reductions in SERT densities relate more closely to the number of tablets typically consumed per session rather than estimated total lifetime use. To better understand the basis of drug related deficits in prospective memory (p.m.) we explored the association between p.m. and average long-term typical dose and long-term frequency of use. METHOD Study 1: Sixty-five ecstasy/polydrug users and 85 nonecstasy users completed an event-based, a short-term and a long-term time-based p.m. task. Study 2: Study 1 data were merged with outcomes on the same p.m. measures from a previous study creating a combined sample of 103 ecstasy/polydrug users, 38 cannabis-only users, and 65 nonusers of illicit drugs. RESULTS Study 1: Ecstasy/polydrug users had significant impairments on all p.m. outcomes compared with nonecstasy users. Study 2: Ecstasy/polydrug users were impaired in event-based p.m. compared with both other groups and in long-term time-based p.m. compared with nonillicit drug users. Both drug using groups did worse on the short-term time-based p.m. task compared with nonusers. Higher long-term average typical dose of ecstasy was associated with poorer performance on the event and short-term time-based p.m. tasks and accounted for unique variance in the two p.m. measures over and above the variance associated with cannabis and cocaine use. CONCLUSIONS The typical ecstasy dose consumed in a single session is an important predictor of p.m. impairments with higher doses reflecting increasing tolerance giving rise to greater p.m. impairment.

Can better management of periodontal disease delay the onset and progression of Alzheimer’s disease?

A risk factor relationship exists between periodontal disease and Alzheimers disease (AD) via tooth loss, and improved memory following dental intervention. This links the microbial contribution from indigenous oral periodontal pathogens to the manifestation of chronic conditions, such as AD. Here, we use Porphyromonas gingivalis infection to illustrate its effect on mental health. P. gingivalis infection, in its primary sub-gingival niche, can cause polymicrobial synergy and dysbiosis. Dysbiosis describes the residency of select commensals from the oral cavity following co-aggregation around the dominant keystone pathogen, such as P. gingivalis, to gain greater virulence. The initial process involves P. gingivalis disturbing neutrophil mediated innate immune responses in the healthy gingivae and then downregulating adaptive immune cell differentiation and development to invade, and subsequently, establish new dysbiotic bacterial communities. Immune responses affect the host in general and functionally via dietary adjustments caused by tooth loss. Studies from animals orally infected with P. gingivalis confirm this bacterium can transmigrate to distant organ sites (the brain) and contribute toward peripheral and intracerebral inflammation, and compromise vascular and microvascular integrity. In another study, P. gingivalis infection caused sleep pattern disturbances by altering glial cell light/dark molecular clock activity, and this, in turn, can affect the clearance of danger associated molecular patterns, such as amyloid-β, via the glymphatic system. Since P. gingivalis can transmigrate to the brain and modulate organ-specific inflammatory innate and adaptive immune responses, this paper explores whether better management of indigenous periodontal bacteria could delay/prevent the onset and/or progression of dementia.