Acculturation and attitudes toward code-switching: A bidimensional framework.

Aims And Objectives: Code-switching, the spontaneous switching from one language to another within a single speech event, is often performed by bilinguals who have mastered a communicative competence in two languages. It is also a social strategy - using linguistic cues as a means to index social categories and group solidarity. Code-switching is, therefore, linked to attitudes, seen as a reflection of the speaker and their values and identities.

Analysing nystagmus waveforms: a computational framework.

We present a new computational approach to analyse nystagmus waveforms. Our framework is designed to fully characterise the state of the nystagmus, aid clinical diagnosis and to quantify the dynamical changes in the oscillations over time. Both linear and nonlinear analyses of time series were used to determine the regularity and complexity of a specific homogenous phenotype of nystagmus.

Slow-fast control of eye movements: an instance of Zeeman's model for an action.

The rapid eye movements (saccades) used to transfer gaze between targets are examples of an action. The behaviour of saccades matches that of the slow-fast model of actions originally proposed by Zeeman. Here, we extend Zeeman's model by incorporating an accumulator that represents the increase in certainty of the presence of a target, together with an integrator that converts a velocity command to a position command.

Isolated peripheral-type facial palsy due to contralateral precentral gyrus cavernoma hemorrhage.

Facial palsy is a condition frequently encountered in neurological daily practice. Typically, telling apart peripheral facial palsy (PFP) from central facial palsy is easy, and depends on the presence of the upper face involvement. However weakness of eye closure can be seen also in cases of central facial palsies, making the diagnosis more difficult.

An inconclusive study comparing the effect of concrete and abstract descriptions of belief-inconsistent information.

Linguistic bias is the differential use of linguistic abstraction (as defined by the Linguistic Category Model) to describe the same behaviour for members of different groups. Essentially, it is the tendency to use concrete language for belief-inconsistent behaviours and abstract language for belief-consistent behaviours. Having found that linguistic bias is produced without intention or awareness in many contexts, researchers argue that linguistic bias reflects, reinforces, and transmits pre-existing beliefs, thus playing a role in belief maintenance.

Publisher Correction: Cortical dendritic activity correlates with spindle-rich oscillations during sleep in rodents.

In the originally published version of this Article, incorrect references were cited on two occasions in the Results section. Under the subheading 'Ca activity in single dendrites and somata of L5 neurons', the final sentence of the second paragraph incorrectly cited reference 29 instead of reference 31. Under the subheading 'Spiking of L5 cell bodies is not influenced by spindles', the first sentence cited reference 30 instead of reference 29.

Cortical dendritic activity correlates with spindle-rich oscillations during sleep in rodents.

How sleep influences brain plasticity is not known. In particular, why certain electroencephalographic (EEG) rhythms are linked to memory consolidation is poorly understood. Calcium activity in dendrites is known to be necessary for structural plasticity changes, but this has never been carefully examined during sleep.

The Effects of Outgroup Threat and Opportunity to Derogate on Salivary Cortisol Levels.

Perceptions of intergroup threat have been related to both experiences of physiological stress responses and derogation of the outgroup. In this study, a neuroscience perspective was used to investigate the relationship between stress and opportunity to derogate the outgroup, in a threatening intergroup context. Research from a social identity perspective suggests that engaging in outgroup derogation alleviates stress when perceiving an intergroup threat.

Blood lactate thresholds and walking/running economy are determinants of backpack-running performance in trained soldiers.

We developed a standardized laboratory treadmill protocol for assessing physiological responses to a simulated backpack load-carriage task in trained soldiers, and assessed the efficacy of blood lactate thresholds (LTs) and economy in predicting future backpack running success over an 8-mile course in field conditions. LTs and corresponding physiological responses were determined in 17 elite British soldiers who completed an incremental treadmill walk/run protocol to exhaustion carrying 20 kg backpack load. Treadmill velocity at the breakpoint (r = -0.

Classification of infantile nystagmus waveforms.

Classification of infantile nystagmus waveforms is an important problem because the characteristic waveforms can be used to distinguish between infantile and acquired nystagmus. A clear description of the nystagmus is also a necessary first stage in understanding its origin. Currently infantile nystagmus waveforms are classified into at least 12 different types.

Situational variations in ethnic identity across immigration generations: Implications for acculturative change and cross-cultural adaptation.

This study examined whether the acculturation of ethnic identity is first evident in more public situations with greater opportunity for intercultural interaction and eventually penetrates more intimate situations. It also investigated whether situational variations in identity are associated with cross-cultural adaptation. First-generation (G1), second-generation (G2) and mixed-parentage second-generation (G2.

The development of infantile nystagmus.

Purpose: To obtain quantitative measurements of the development of infantile nystagmus in children. This task is challenging because the eye movement recording requires some cooperation.

Method: The oscillations in short duration eye movement recordings were identified by the method of close returns and the characteristics of the saccadic main sequence were used to calibrate the oscillations.

Components of the neural signal underlying congenital nystagmus.

Congenital nystagmus is an involuntary bilateral horizontal oscillation of the eyes that develops soon after birth. In this study, the time constants of each of the components of the neural signal underlying congenital nystagmus were obtained by time series analysis and interpreted by comparison with those of the normal oculomotor system. In the neighbourhood of the fixation position, the system generating the neural signal is approximately linear with 3 degrees of freedom.

Perceived exertion and heart rate models for estimating metabolic workload in elite British soldiers performing a backpack load-carriage task.

Identifying field measures to estimate backpack load-carriage work intensity in elite soldiers is of interest to the military. This study developed rating of perceived exertion (RPE) and heart rate models to define metabolic workload for a backpack load-carriage task valid for a population of elite soldiers using serial data. Male soldiers (n = 18) from the British Parachute or Special Air Service Regiment completed an incremental treadmill walking and (or) running protocol while carrying a 20-kg backpack.

Manifest latent nystagmus: a case of sensori-motor switching.

Latent nystagmus (LN) and manifest latent nystagmus (MLN) are closely associated with early visual deprivation and strabismus. In both cases, the eyes oscillate horizontally in an involuntary manner and the fast phases always beat towards the attending or fixing eye. By simultaneously recording eye movements during the dichoptic viewing of dissimilar visual stimuli we present evidence that MLN offers a unique opportunity to examine the nature of sensori-motor switching.

Dynamics of saccadic oscillations.

The brainstem circuitry underlying saccades is symmetrical with respect to the midline. The oculomotor behaviour generated by the circuitry depends on a combination of signals passed along fibre tracts and less easily identifiable connections, such as those across the midline. The midline crossing connections are often affected by developmental disorders which give rise to unstable eye movements (see J.

Investigation of cytokine expression in human leukocyte cultures with two immune-modulatory homeopathic preparations.

Background: The efficacy of homeopathic medicines for maintaining human health and treating disease has been extensively examined in clinical trials. However, there is a paucity of preclinical evaluations of the effects of homeopathic medicinal preparations on cellular signaling pathways relevant to the applications of these preparations.

Materials And Methods: In this study, the immune-modulatory effects of Phase 6 (for the stimulation of the nonspecific defense system) and Flu Terminator (for influenza and viral diseases) (Be Well Homeopathics Inc.

Fixed point analysis of nystagmus.

Motor disorders frequently contain a rhythmic component, but the associated oscillations are not usually precisely periodic. This lack of strict periodicity can make it difficult to identify the effects of experimental manipulations on the oscillation. In this report, we describe the application of a numerical technique for identifying fixed points of a nonlinear map to the recovery of underlying periodicities of the eye movement disorder of nystagmus.

Stability of the saccadic oculomotor system.

A variety of different types of instability has been found in the saccadic system of humans. Some of the instabilities correspond to clinical conditions, whereas others are inherent in the normal saccadic system. How can these instabilities arise within the mechanism of normal saccadic eye movements? A physiologically-based model of the saccadic system predicts that horizontal saccadic oscillations will occur with excessive mutual inhibition between the left and right burst cells and with underaction of the pause cells.

Saccadic instabilities in albinism without nystagmus.

Albinism effects a surprising manipulation of the visual pathway in which some of the normally uncrossed axons of the temporal retina instead cross at the chiasm. An expected consequence of this misrouting is that subjects with albinism will have difficulty in specifying the targets of saccades. Usually albinos have nystagmus so the stability of their saccadic eye movements is not readily accessible, but some albinos do not have nystagmus.

A quantitative description of lens eye morphology and its implications.

If it is assumed that the differences between eyes constitute adaptations to different visual environments, then it should be possible to identify the visual environments for which the eye is optimised from these differences. Two different classes of simple eye shapes can be distinguished from the ratio of maximum pupil size to the axial length of an eye. The quantitative description of the two different eye shapes can be used to identify the relative importance of image illumination and resolution to an animal from a cross-section of its eye.

Periodic orbit analysis reveals subtle effects of atropine on epileptiform activity in the guinea-pig hippocampal slice.

Epileptiform activity is a state often induced in vitro in order to study seizures and antiepileptic/anticonvulsant drugs. Traditional methods of evaluating drug effects have commonly relied upon measuring changes in the frequency and duration of such events. We have used a recently developed mathematical technique based on periodic orbit analysis to investigate the effect of atropine (a muscarinic antagonist) on epileptiform activity induced by soman (an irreversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor), 4-aminopyridine (a K+ channel blocker) and 8-cyclopentyl-1,3-dipropylxanthine (an adenosine A1 receptor antagonist) in the guinea-pig hippocampal slice.