Neural dissociation between computational and perceived measures of curvature.

There is substantial evidence to suggest that preference for visual curvature is a reliable phenomenon. Yet, little is known about the ways in which the encoding of curvature in the brain contributes to hedonic evaluation while participants are actively engaged in making choices about objects varying in curvature. To address this question, we reanalyzed fMRI data collected while participants made aesthetic judgments (beautiful vs.

Changing What You Like: Modifying Contour Properties Shifts Aesthetic Valuations of Scenes.

To what extent do aesthetic experiences arise from the human ability to perceive and extract meaning from visual features? Ordinary scenes, such as a beach sunset, can elicit a sense of beauty in most observers. Although it appears that aesthetic responses can be shared among humans, little is known about the cognitive mechanisms that underlie this phenomenon. We developed a contour model of aesthetics that assigns values to visual properties in scenes, allowing us to predict aesthetic responses in adults from around the world.

From cognitive maps to spatial schemas.

A schema refers to a structured body of prior knowledge that captures common patterns across related experiences. Schemas have been studied separately in the realms of episodic memory and spatial navigation across different species and have been grounded in theories of memory consolidation, but there has been little attempt to integrate our understanding across domains, particularly in humans. We propose that experiences during navigation with many similarly structured environments give rise to the formation of spatial schemas (for example, the expected layout of modern cities) that share properties with but are distinct from cognitive maps (for example, the memory of a modern city) and event schemas (such as expected events in a modern city) at both cognitive and neural levels.

Awareness of the Harms of Continued Smoking Among Cancer Survivors.

Background: Smoking cessation is an integral part of cancer survivorship. To help improve survivorship education, clinicians need an understanding of patient awareness of the harms of continued smoking.

Methods: Cancer survivors from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (Toronto, ON) were surveyed on their awareness of the harms of continued smoking on cancer-related outcomes.

Automated Indices of Clustering and Switching of Semantic Verbal Fluency in Parkinson's Disease.

Objectives: Deficits in semantic verbal fluency (SVF) can stem from dysfunction of an executive control system and/or of semantic knowledge. Previous analyses of SVF responses were devised to characterize these two components including switching and mean cluster size (MCS) indices, but these rely on subjective experimenter-based assessment of the words' relatedness. To address this limitation, computational data-driven SVF indices have been developed.

Inflammation: A Contributor to Depressive Comorbidity in Inflammatory Skin Disease.

The prevalence of affective disorders such as depression and anxiety is particularly high in patients with autoimmune diseases, including inflammatory skin diseases such as psoriasis, atopic dermatitis, and hidradenitis suppurativa. A dysregulated immune response has been linked to the precipitation of depression in many patient populations. However, studies examining the extent to which the underlying skin disease inflammatory processes contribute to depression and a subsequent decline in quality of life are limited.

Perceptions of Continued Smoking and Smoking Cessation Among Patients With Cancer.

Purpose: Continued smoking after a cancer diagnosis leads to poorer treatment outcomes, survival, and quality of life. We evaluated the perceptions of the effects of continued smoking on quality of life, survival, and fatigue among patients with cancer after a cancer diagnosis and the effects of these perceptions on smoking cessation.

Patients And Methods: Patients with cancer from all disease subsites from Princess Margaret Cancer Centre (Toronto, Ontario) were surveyed between April 2014 and May 2016 for sociodemographic variables, smoking history, and perceptions of continued smoking on quality of life, survival, and fatigue.

A Canadian Population-Based Cohort to the Study Cost and Burden of Surgically Resected Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Background: Hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) is a chronic debilitating disease with long-lasting comorbidities that impose direct and indirect costs on the health care system. However, limited studies have estimated the burden of this disease in Canada, and no population-based studies have previously addressed this condition.

Objectives: This work describes the characteristics of a population-based HS cohort to address the existing knowledge gap on the burden of HS for the Canadian health care system.

The Contribution of Malodour in Quality of Life of Patients With Hidradenitis Suppurativa.

Background: Malodourous discharge in patients with hidradenitis suppurativa (HS) has a strong psychosocial impact and is often reported as a source of embarrassment, low self-esteem, social stigma, and barriers to interpersonal relationships. Malodour is a maker of bacterial colonization, and its role in HS is understudied.

Objectives: The aim of this study is to assess the relationship between severity of malodourous discharge and quality-of-life impairment in patients with HS.

Longitudinal studies that use data collected as part of usual care risk reporting biased results: a systematic review.

Background: Longitudinal studies using data collected as part of usual care risk providing biased results if visit times are related to the outcome of interest. Statistical methods for mitigating this bias are available but rarely used. This lack of use could be attributed to a lack of need or to a lack of awareness of the issue.