The Impact of Region and Urbanicity on the Discrimination-Cognitive Health Link Among Older Blacks

Little research has examined how the link between discrimination and cognitive health varies by where people live. This study investigates how living in non-urban versus urban areas in different regions in the United States moderates the discrimination-cognitive health link among older non-Hispanic Blacks. Data are from the 2012 and 2014 waves of the Health and Retirement Study (HRS; N = 2,347). Regression analyses indicate that experiencing more everyday discrimination is significantly associated with lower episodic memory when living in urban areas. Among non-Hispanic Blacks, the discrimination-episodic memory link does not significantly vary across U.S. regional contexts. Findings highlight variation in the association between everyday discrimination and cognitive health by where older non-Hispanic Blacks live. Results suggest the importance of socio-environmental factors in shaping how stressful experiences such as discrimination are linked to cognitive health in later life.     

Low spatial frequencies dominate apparent motion

Experiments are reported which have been designed to establish what features of a pair of figures can be used as an input for apparent motion. The display consisted of a central figure, A, which appeared briefly and was followed immediately afterwards by two figures, B and C, which appeared on either side of the original location of A. Figure A can thus move towards either B or C. When A was a low-pass filtered square it moved towards C (a low-pass filtered square that was similar to A but 'rotated' by 45 degrees) rather than toward B (a high-pass filtered square identical to A in orientation and size). When A was an unfiltered square it moved towards C (a low-pass filtered square of identical orientation) rather than towards B (a high-pass filtered square of identical orientation). Lastly, when A was a 'solid' square it moved towards C (a solid circle) rather than towards B (an outline square). All three experiments suggest that the direction of perceived movement is determined exclusively by low spatial frequencies rather than by similarity of oriented edges, especially when speed of alternation is rapid.