The Effects of Light Level and Signal-to-Noise Ratio on the Task-Evoked Pupil Response in a Speech-in-Noise Task.

Purpose: There is increasing interest in the measurement of cognitive effort during listening tasks, for both research and clinical purposes. Quantification of task-evoked pupil responses (TEPRs) is a psychophysiological method that can be used to study cognitive effort. However, light level during cognitively demanding listening tasks may affect TEPRs, complicating interpretation of listening-related changes.

South Australia's tobacco retail landscape and its intersection with socioeconomic factors and smoking prevalence.

Issues Addressed: Tobacco product availability is higher in socioeconomically disadvantaged areas, which can further widen tobacco-related health and disease burden inequities. This study aimed to describe retail availability of tobacco products in South Australia and examine the association between tobacco vendor location, population's socioeconomic status (SES) and tobacco smoking prevalence.

Methods: Cross-sectional 2022 tobacco vendor licence data and 2021-2022 state-wide population health survey data from the South Australian Department of Health were used.

The Task-Evoked Pupil Response in Divided Auditory Attention Tasks.

Background: Successful processing of complex auditory information relies on the interplay between low-level sensory processing and higher-level cognitive processing. However, the extent to which specific auditory processing tasks rely on cognitive processing as opposed to lower-level sensory processing is unclear. The task-evoked pupil response (TEPR) can quantify the cognitive load that complex listening tasks elicit.