Spontaneous eye blink rate mediates the relationship between sleepiness and impulsivity to negative stimuli.

Previous studies have demonstrated that sleep deprivation results in a negativity bias, especially in the context of impaired response inhibition. In the present study we investigated spontaneous eye blink rate (EBR), a correlate of dopamine function, as a mediator of the relationship between subjective sleepiness and impulsivity toward negative stimuli on a Go/NoGo task. Participants rated their sleepiness on a number of measures including the Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Karolinska Sleepiness Scale (KSS) and subscales of the Chronic Sleep Reduction Questionnaire (CSRQ).

The influence of stimulus sex and emotional expression on the attentional blink.

Past studies have demonstrated that angry faces used as the first target (T1) in an attentional blink paradigm interfere with processing of a second, neutral target (T2). However, despite research that suggests that the sex and emotional expression of a face are confounded, no study has investigated whether the sex of a stimulus might interact with emotional expression to influence the attentional blink. In the current study, both the sex and emotional expression of a T1 stimulus were manipulated to assess participants' ability to report the presences of a subsequent neutral target.

Acquisition and extinction of facilitation in the C57BL/6J mouse.

Acquisition, extinction, and transfer of facilitation were explored in a series of experiments with C57BL/6J mice. With a procedure in which an auditory target was followed by food only in the presence of a visual facilitator, Experiments 1-4 showed that the facilitator promoted magazine entries to the auditory target. This enhancement effect was eliminated by training the facilitator as a conditioned inhibitor (Experiments 1 and 3B).