The cost of selective attention in category learning: developmental differences between adults and infants.

Selective attention plays an important role in category learning. However, immaturities of top-down attentional control during infancy coupled with successful category learning suggest that early category learning is achieved without attending selectively. Research presented here examines this possibility by focusing on category learning in infants (6-8months old) and adults.

The role of words in cognitive tasks: what, when, and how?

The current review focuses on how exposure to linguistic input, and count nouns in particular, affect performance on various cognitive tasks, including individuation, categorization and category learning, and inductive inference. We review two theoretical accounts of effects of words. Proponents of one account argue that words have top-down effects on cognitive tasks, and, as such, function as supervisory signals.

The development of facial gender categorization in individuals with and without autism: the impact of typicality.

While much research has examined the development of facial recognition abilities, less is known about the ability of individuals with and without autism to categorize facial gender. The current study tested gender categorization abilities in high-functioning children (5-7 and 8-12 years), adolescents (13-17 years), and adults (18-53 years) with autism and matched controls. Naturalistic videos depicted faces that were either typical or less typical of each gender.

A lack of left visual field bias when individuals with autism process faces.

It has been established that typically developing individuals have a bias to attend to facial information in the left visual field (LVF) more than in the right visual field. This bias is thought to arise from the right hemisphere's advantage for processing facial information, with evidence suggesting it to be driven by the configural demands of face processing. Considering research showing that individuals with autism have impaired face processing abilities, with marked deficits in configural processing, it was hypothesized that they would not demonstrate a LVF bias for faces.

Measurement of the nonlinear elasticity of red blood cell membranes.

The membranes of human red blood cells (RBCs) are a composite of a fluid lipid bilayer and a triangular network of semiflexible filaments (spectrin). We perform cellular microrheology using the dynamic membrane fluctuations of the RBCs to extract the elastic moduli of this composite membrane. By applying known osmotic stresses, we measure the changes in the elastic constants under imposed strain and thereby determine the nonlinear elastic properties of the membrane.

Gender discrimination of eyes and mouths by individuals with autism.

Evidence remains mixed about whether individuals with autism look less to eyes and whether they look more at mouths. Few studies have examined how spontaneous attention to facial features relates to face processing abilities. This study tested the ability to discriminate gender from facial features, namely eyes and mouths, by comparing accuracy scores of 17 children with autism and 15 adults with autism to 17 typically developing children and 15 typically developing adults.

Measurement of red blood cell mechanics during morphological changes.

The human red blood cell (RBC) membrane, a fluid lipid bilayer tethered to an elastic 2D spectrin network, provides the principal control of the cell's morphology and mechanics. These properties, in turn, influence the ability of RBCs to transport oxygen in circulation. Current mechanical measurements of RBCs rely on external loads.

Memory awareness for faces in individuals with autism.

Little is known regarding metacognition in individuals with autism. Specifically, it is unclear how individuals with autism think about their own mental states. The current study assessed memory awareness during a facial recognition task.

Metabolic remodeling of the human red blood cell membrane.

The remarkable deformability of the human red blood cell (RBC) results from the coupled dynamic response of the phospholipid bilayer and the spectrin molecular network. Here we present quantitative connections between spectrin morphology and membrane fluctuations of human RBCs by using dynamic full-field laser interferometry techniques. We present conclusive evidence that the presence of adenosine 5'-triphosphate (ATP) facilitates non-equilibrium dynamic fluctuations in the RBC membrane that are highly correlated with the biconcave shape of RBCs.

Prototype formation in autism: can individuals with autism abstract facial prototypes?

Prototype formation is a critical skill for category learning. Research suggests that individuals with autism may have a deficit in prototype formation of some objects; however, results are mixed. This study used a natural category, faces, to further examine prototype formation in high-functioning individuals with autism.

Increased plasma fatty acid ethyl ester levels following inhibition of oxidative metabolism of ethanol by 4-methylpyrazole treatment in human subjects.

Background: Recent experimental evidence suggests that fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE), nonoxidative metabolites of ethanol, mediate ethanol-induced organ damage. A direct association between pancreas-specific toxicity and increased levels of FAEE following inhibition of the oxidative metabolism of ethanol by 4-methylpyrazole (4-MP) has previously been shown in studies with rats.

Methods: We obtained plasma samples from 32 healthy human volunteers who drank ethanol following 4-MP or placebo ingestion to determine whether in vivo inhibition of oxidative metabolism of ethanol causes a shift to nonoxidative metabolism of ethanol and the subsequent production of increased levels of FAEE.

Rapid fatty acid ethyl ester synthesis by porcine myocardium upon ethanol infusion into the left anterior descending coronary artery.

Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs), nonoxidative metabolites of ethanol, have been implicated in ethanol-induced heart injury. To assess the in vivo production of FAEEs by myocardial tissue, we used a modified ethanol ablation procedure in pigs. A controlled 60-minute ethanol infusion was administered into the distal left anterior descending coronary artery in seven swine; serial blood sampling of the coronary sinus and peripheral vein before, during, and after infusion allowed measurement of FAEE production and ethanol levels in the coronary sinus and the peripheral circulation.

Method to assess fatty acid ethyl ester binding to albumin.

Aims: To develop a method to assess the relative binding of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE) and free fatty acids (FFA) to albumin, and to determine if binding affinity is related to fatty acid chain length and or degree of saturation.

Methods: Radiolabelled ethyl-[14C] oleate bound to albumin was challenged with various ratios of FFA to FAEE. The displacement of ethyl-[14C] oleate by FFA was visualized and quantitated through a combination of native-PAGE, autoradiography, and liquid scintillation counting (LSC).

Erythrocyte structure and dynamics quantified by Hilbert phase microscopy.

We present a new quantitative method for investigating red blood cell morphology and dynamics. The instrument integrates quantitative phase microscopy with an inverted microscope, which makes it particularly suitable for the noninvasive assessment of live erythrocytes. In particular, we demonstrate the ability of this approach to quantify noninvasively cell volume and dynamic morphology.

Fatty acid ethyl esters. Ethanol metabolites that reflect ethanol intake.

Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) are nonoxidative ethanol metabolites that have been implicated as mediators of alcohol-induced organ damage. FAEEs are detectable in the blood after ethanol ingestion, and on that basis represent markers of ethanol intake. FAEEs have also been quantitated in human liver and adipose tissue and have been shown to be postmortem markers of premortem ethanol intake.

Red blood cell fatty acid ethyl esters: a significant component of fatty acid ethyl esters in the blood.

Although alcohol abuse is known to cause an array of ethanol-induced red blood cell (RBC) abnormalities, the underlying molecular mechanisms remain poorly understood. Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEEs) are toxic, nonoxidative ethanol metabolites that have been found in blood, plasma, and tissues. Because FAEEs have been shown to be incorporated into phospholipid bilayers, we conducted a controlled ethanol intake study to test the hypothesis that FAEEs accumulate and persist within RBCs following ethanol ingestion.

Fatty acid ethyl esters: toxic non-oxidative metabolites of ethanol and markers of ethanol intake.

This report describes the biochemistry of fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE), non-oxidative metabolites of ethanol, and their clinical significance. We review information regarding the enzymes responsible for FAEE synthesis and degradation, and the mechanisms involved with the intracellular and extracellular transport of FAEE and FAEE-mediated cytotoxicity. Also a summary of reports on the emerging clinical significance and diagnostic utility of FAEE as short and long-term markers of alcohol consumption, and the methodological aspects of FAEE assessment is included.

Fatty acid ethyl esters: recent observations.

Fatty acid ethyl esters (FAEE), esterification products of fatty acids and ethanol, have been shown to be mediators of ethanol-induced cell injury and their presence in the blood and tissues is a marker of ethanol intake. Recently, it has been shown that FAEE are produced within seconds of infusion of ethanol into the heart, when using a protocol similar to that used for myocardial ablation. This raises the possibility that the mechanism for the death of myocytes in cardiac ablation involves the generation of toxic FAEE.