Order of a 'uniform random' presentation on contextual interference in a serial tracking task

The purpose of the present study was to examine the effect of order of a 'uniform random' presentation on contextual interference in a serial tracking task. Subjects (N=48) were randomly assigned to either a random condition or a blocked condition in the acquisition phase, in which they learned three patterns of serial tracking tasks. Subjects performed retention and transfer trials either in a blocked or a 'uniform random' order. Analysis indicated, in comparisons of performance among conditions, 'uniform random' presentation in the acquisition phase did not improve learning in retention and transfer phases. The results are discussed with regard to both theoretical significance to contextual interference and the nature of 'uniform random' presentation.     

The Effects of Sensory Manipulations on Motor Behavior: From Basic Science to Clinical Rehabilitation

Modifying sensory aspects of the learning environment can influence motor behavior. Although the effects of sensory manipulations on motor behavior have been widely studied, there still remains a great deal of variability across the field in terms of how sensory information has been manipulated or applied. Here, the authors briefly review and integrate the literature from each sensory modality to gain a better understanding of how sensory manipulations can best be used to enhance motor behavior. Then, they discuss 2 emerging themes from this literature that are important for translating sensory manipulation research into effective interventions. Finally, the authors provide future research directions that may lead to enhanced efficacy of sensory manipulations for motor learning and rehabilitation.     

Visual field size necessary for length comparison

Influence of visual field size upon acuity for comparing lengths of two lines was investigated. The visual field was effectively narrowed to any desired size by use of a TV display system. The TV screen presented a portion of the test stimulus, the position of which was controlled by the subject’s eye movement so that his fixation point always coincided with the center of the portion. The test stimulus was composed of two lines arranged horizontally, one of which had a length of 81 mm and the other a slightly different value. Sizes of the narrowed visual field were 20, 40, 70, 100, 150, and 340 mm wide. The comparison acuity dropped rapidly as the visual field was narrowed to and below 70 mm which was about the same extent as one of the two lines. The implication is that our excellent ability for length comparison is only possible when we can observe the whole line at one time.     

School-Based Intervention Program Based on Cognitive Behavioral Therapy for Japanese Students Affected by the Hiroshima Heavy Rain Disaster of July 2018

This study examined the effects of a group cognitive behavioral intervention on senior school students affected by the Hiroshima heavy rain disaster and investigated the effects of reducing depression by enhancing resilience. A total of 229 second-grade senior school students affected by the Hiroshima heavy rain disaster participated in the study. The intervention was performed in the following order: psychological education on daily stress, problem-solving training for daily stress, psychological education on traumatic reactions derived from traumatic experiences, and instruction on the merits of utilizing information acquired from the intervention in daily life. The results showed that the high-depression group's depression score was reduced by the intervention. Resilience score was increased both in the high- and low-depression groups as a result of the intervention. Therefore, the intervention program used in this study was proven effective in reducing depression and improving resilience. Prospectively, strategies for psychological support during and after large-scale disasters should be established by applying the findings obtained in this research.     

Are olfactory images sensory in nature?

We investigated the features of olfactory mental images by comparing odour images with perceptual and semantic representations. Participants who were assigned to three groups made similarity judgments about 17 common odours by smelling odours, imagining odours, or on the basis of the meaning of odour source names. In the smelling group, every pair of odours was compared. In the imagining group, imagined odours were compared twice, both before and after associative learning of the odour/name combinations. In the meaning group, the odour source names were compared in terms of general word meanings. Nonmetric multidimensional scaling analysis was applied to each group of similarity data and three-dimensional sensory, mental, and semantic spaces were composed. 17 elements in the mental and semantic spaces were superimposed onto the sensory space by Procrustes rotation. We found that the averaged distances of the 17 elements between the sensory and the mental spaces (either before or after learning) were smaller than those between the sensory and semantic spaces. We suggest that odour images have sensory features, especially after associative learning between perceived odours and their names.     

Arrangement of atomic clusters in a 2/1 cubic approximant in the Al-Zn-Mg alloy system

An arrangement of the so-called Bergman clusters of atoms in a 2/1 cubic crystalline approximant phase, which is closely related to Frank-Kasper-type icosahedral quasicrystals, in an Al-Zn-Mg alloy system is discussed in detail. The 2/1 cubic structure has eight Bergman clusters in its unit cell and the positions of the clusters can be understood as twelvefold sites in the 2/1 cubic approximant of the three-dimensional Penrose lattice. The atomic clusters are located at vertices of two types of rhombohedron, which are formed by six rhombic planes with an edge length of 3 1/2 a 2 /( 2 + 1) 1/2 and a shorter diagonal of 2 a 2 /( 2 + 1) 1/2 ( is the golden ratio and a is a quasilattice constant), which correspond to half a body diagonal and an edge length respectively of the 1/1 cubic approximant unit cell. The present results provide an important key for understanding the arrangements of atomic clusters in icosahedral quasicrystals.     

New 1/1 cubic approximant phases in the Al-Cu-Ru-Si system studied by electron diffraction and high-resolution electron microscopy

Two types of new Al-Cu-Ru-Si 1/1 cubic approximant phases, both of which have cell parameters a=12.68A have been found in an as-cast Al_58.5Cu₁₈Ru_13.5Si₁₀ alloy. The two phases have sc and bcc structures respectively and are finely mixed in transmission electron microscopy observations. It is proposed that the sc structure is caused by ordering of atoms in the bcc structure.     

Effect of partition board color on mood and autonomic nervous function

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of the presence or absence (control) of a partition board and its color (red, yellow, blue) on subjective mood ratings and changes in autonomic nervous system indicators induced by a video game task. The increase in the mean Profile of Mood States (POMS) Fatigue score and mean Oppressive feeling rating after the task was lowest with the blue partition board. Multiple-regression analysis identified oppressive feeling and error scores on the second half of the task as statistically significant contributors to Fatigue. While explanatory variables were limited to the physiological indices, multiple-regression analysis identified a significant contribution of autonomic reactivity (assessed by heart rate variability) to Fatigue. These results suggest that a blue partition board would reduce task-induced subjective fatigue, in part by lowering the oppressive feeling of being enclosed during the task, possibly by increasing autonomic reactivity.