Crucial information for efficient face searching by humans and Japanese macaques

Humans can efficiently detect a face among non-face objects, but few studies of this ability have been conducted in animals. Here, in Japanese macaques and humans, we examined visual searching for a face and explored what factors contribute to efficient facial information processing. Subjects were asked to search for an odd target among the different numbers of distracters. Faces of the subjects’ own species, the backs of the head of the subjects’ own species, faces of the subjects’ closely related species or race, and faces of species that are clearly different from the subjects’ own species were used as the target. Both the macaques and humans detected a face of their own species more efficiently than a face from a clearly different species. Similar efficient detections were confirmed for the faces of the subjects’ closely related species or race. These results suggest that conspecific faces and faces that share morphological similarity with conspecific faces can be detected efficiently among non-face objects by both humans and Japanese macaques. In another experiment, facial recognition efficiency was observed when the subjects searched for own-species faces that had lower-spatial-frequency components compared to faces with higher-spatial-frequency components. It seems reasonable that the ability to search efficiently for faces by using holistic face processing is derived from fundamental social cognition abilities that are broadly shared among species.     

Structure also supports autonomy: Measuring and defining autonomy‐supportive teaching in Japanese elementary foreign language classes

Recent discussions of autonomy have included the perspective that, as a basic human need across cultural environments, it includes not only choice but also personal endorsement of action. The present study focused on the cultural experience of autonomy‐support in Japanese elementary school foreign language classes. Three studies were conducted to investigate how students understand autonomy‐supportive teaching. In Study 1, exploratory focus groups defined cultural perspectives on autonomy‐support and structure. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis indicated that clarity, pacing, and teachers' positive affect correspond to students' perception of supportive teaching. Study 2 investigated teacher support in relation to in‐class engagement using longitudinal structural equation modeling. The results indicated a strong relationship between perceptions of support and classroom behavioral engagement, with stable effects over time. Study 3 longitudinally investigated teacher support in relation to students' perceptions of personal autonomy, relatedness, and competence need satisfaction. Findings show a strong positive relationship between teacher support and need satisfaction with high test‐retest reliability. Discussion focuses on how autonomy need satisfaction is experienced in different cultures with differing social norms.     

Autonomic Activity, Pain, and Perceived Health in Patients on Sick Leave Due to Stress-Related Illnesses

OBJECTIVE: The aim of the present study was to compare autonomic activity, pressure-pain thresholds, and subjective assessments of health and behavior between patients with stress-related illnesses and healthy control subjects. METHODS: Twenty sick-listed patients with stress-related illnesses and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects performed tests of autonomic regulation and algometric tests, and completed questionnaires about physical and mental health and behavioral patterns. RESULTS: Patients exhibited higher autonomic reactivity to cognitive and physical laboratory tasks (p < 0.05), and had lower pressure-pain thresholds in the shoulders and lower back than healthy control subjects (p < 0.05). Furthermore, the patients rated considerably poorer health and health behavior than the control subjects (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate an engagement of the autonomic nervous system in stress-related illnesses. Furthermore, they show that patients with stress-related illnesses experience symptoms of musculoskeletal pain, and it is therefore recommended that assessments of musculoskeletal pain be incorporated in the clinical examinations and the rehabilitation of patients with stress-related illnesses.     

Relative age effect in Japanese male athletes

The present study investigated the relative age effect, a biased distribution of elite athletes' birthdates, in Japanese male athletes. Japan applies a unique annual-age grouping for sport and education, which is from April 1 to March 31 of the following year. A total of 4,318 male athletes was evaluated from 12 sports: baseball, soccer, basketball, volleyball, handball, golf, horse racing, rugby, American football, sumo, Ekiden (track and field in long distance), and badminton. They played in the top level of Japanese leagues for each sport in 2010. The distribution of the birth dates was examined in each sport and showed significant relative age effect in baseball, soccer, volleyball, Ekiden, basketball, sumo, and horse racing, but not in all sports. The findings suggest that although the school year in Japan starts on April 1, significant relative age effects are observed in some sporting events.     

Autonomic activity, pain, and perceived health in patients on sick leave due to stress-related illnesses

Objective: The aim of the present study was to compare autonomic activity, pressure-pain thresholds, and subjective assessments of health and behavior between patients with stress-related illnesses and healthy control subjects.Methods: Twenty sick-listed patients with stress-related illnesses and 20 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects performed tests of autonomic regulation and algometric tests, and completed questionnaires about physical and mental health and behavioral patterns.Results: Patients exhibited higher autonomic reactivity to cognitive and physical laboratory tasks (p<0.05), and had lower pressure-pain thresholds in the shoulders and lower back than healthy control subjects (p<0.05). Furthermore, the patients rated considerably poorer health and health behavior than the control subjects (p<0.05).Conclusions: The results indicate an engagement of the autonomic nervous system in stress-related illnesses. Furthermore, they show that patients with stress-related illnesses experience symptoms of musculoskeletal pain, and it is therefore recommended that assessments of musculoskeletal pain be incorporated in the clinical examinations and the rehabilitation of patients with stress-related illnesses.     

Developmental and sex-related differences in preschoolers' affective decision making

This study investigated developmental and sex-related differences in affective decision making, using a two-deck version of Children's Gambling Task administered to 3- and 4-year-old children. The main findings were that 4-year-old children displayed better decision-making performance than 3-year-olds. This effect was independent of developmental changes in inductive reasoning, language, and working memory. There were also sex differences in decision-making performance, which were apparent only in 3-year-old children and favored girls. Moreover, age predicted awareness of task and the correlation between the latter and decision-making performance was significant, but only in 4-year-old children. This study thus indicates that there is a remarkable developmental leap in affective decision making, whose effects are apparent around the age of 4, which according to our results, also marks the age when the correlation of declarative knowledge and decision-making performance becomes significant.     

Evaluation of human consciousness level by means of “automated fluctuation analysis” of high frequency electroencephalogram fitted by double Lorentzians

Since Berger’s discovery of the electroencephalogram (EEG), its analysis has been generally restricted to the visual range (upmost 100Hz) and has ignored higher frequency components. One reason should be that there are no reliable methods to distinguish the brain potentials from muscle activity. We have introduced fluctuation analysis, which is popular method especially in the field of basic physiology to clinical electrophysiology. In our previous study, it was declared that power spectral density (PSD) of human high frequency EEG was composed of double Lorentzians and vanished into white level within 1kHz. Then the purpose of this study is to elucidate the “Automated Fluctuation Analysis,” which enables us to evaluate these higher frequency components and its physiological meaning especially focused on conscious level from wakefulness to sleep stage 1. Seventy-four scalp recording EEGs in twenty normal subjects were studied. In short, “Automated Fluctuation Analysis” is made of three steps: amplification of EEG signal, A/D conversion and Fast Fourier Transform by signal processor and extraction of Lorentzian parameters. PSD of high frequency EEG was displayed on log-log graph and the algorithm fit to the following Lorentzian formula were mathematically based on Brown & Dennis. S(f)=S1/ [1+(f/fc₁)²] + S2/ [1+(f/fc₂)²], where S(f) is PSD (μ V²/Hz) at each frequency (f;Hz), S1 and S2 are the plateau level or zero-frequency power of the initial and second Lorentz, and fc₁ and fc₂ are the corner or half-power frequency of the initial and second Lorentz, respectively. As results, during wakefulness the PSD of high frequency EEG activity was composed of double Lorentzian fluctuations and the power distribution of S1 value in topographical display was frontal dominant. This pattern of S1 value disappeared and S2 value became lower during sleepiness and the second Lorentz disappeared during sleep.     

Effects of tilted orientations and face-like configurations on visual search asymmetry in macaques

Visual search asymmetry has been used as an important tool for exploring cognitive mechanisms in humans. Here, we examined visual search asymmetry in two macaques toward two types of stimulus: the orientation of line stimuli and face-like stimuli. In the experiment, the monkeys were required to detect an odd target among numerous uniform distracters. The monkeys detected a tilted-lines target among horizontal- or vertical-lined distracters significantly faster than a horizontal- or vertical-lined target among tilted-lined distracters, regardless of the display size. However, unlike the situation in which inverted-face stimuli were introduced as distracters, this effect was diminished if upright-face stimuli were used as distracters. Additionally, monkeys detected an upright-face target among inverted-face distracters significantly faster than an inverted-face target among upright-face distracters, regardless of the display size. These results demonstrate that macaques can search a target efficiently to detect both tilted lines among non-tilted lines and upright faces among inverted faces. This clarifies that there are several types of visual search asymmetry in macaques.     

Infants’ responsiveness to maternal speech and singing

Infants who were 6 months of age were presented with extended audiovisual episodes of their mother's infant-directed speech or singing. Cumulative visual fixation and initial fixation of the mother's image were longer for maternal singing than for maternal speech. Moreover, movement reduction, which may signal intense engagement, accompanied visual fixation more frequently for maternal singing than for maternal speech. The stereotypy and repetitiveness of maternal singing may promote moderate arousal levels, which sustain infant attention, in contrast to the greater variability of speech, which may result in cycles of heightened arousal, gaze aversion, and re-engagement. The regular pulse of music may also enhance emotional coordination between mother and infant.