Effects of cleft lip on visual scanning and neural processing of infant faces.

Infant faces readily capture adult attention and elicit enhanced neural processing, likely due to their importance evolutionarily in facilitating bonds with caregivers. Facial malformations have been shown to impact early infant-caregiver interactions negatively. However, it remains unclear how such facial malformations may impact early visual processing.

Motor-Evoked Potentials for Early Individual Elements of an Action Sequence During Planning Reflect Parallel Activation Processes.

Several computational models make predictions about the activation states of individual elements of an action sequence during planning and execution; however, the neural mechanisms of action planning are still poorly understood. Simple chaining models predict that only the first response in an action sequence should be active during planning. Conversely, some parallel activation models suggest that during planning, a serial inhibition process places the individual elements of the action into a serial order across a winner-takes-all competitive choice gradient in which earlier responses are more active, and hence likely to be selected for execution compared with later responses.

Contrast reversal of the iris and sclera increases the face sensitive N170.

Previous research has demonstrated that reversing the contrast of the eye region, which includes the eyebrows, affects the N170 ERP. To selectively assess the impact of just the eyes, the present study evaluated the N170 in response to reversing contrast polarity of just the iris and sclera in upright and inverted face stimuli. Contrast reversal of the eyes increased the amplitude of the N170 for upright faces, but not for inverted faces, suggesting that the contrast of eyes is an important contributor to the N170 ERP.

Parallel regulation of past, present, and future actions during sequencing.

Past, present, and future actions must be regulated online to produce sequences of actions, but the regulation process is not well understood because of measurement limitations. We provide the first direct tests of the parallel action regulation hypothesis during sequencing in humans. We used transcranial magnetic stimulation to probe the level of excitation for flexion of the right index finger during typing.

Inhalation of House Dust and Ozone Alters Systemic Levels of Endothelial Progenitor Cells, Oxidative Stress, and Inflammation in Elderly Subjects.

Ambient air pollution including ozone and especially particulate matter represents important causes of cardiovascular disease. However, there is limited knowledge on indoor air dust with respect to this risk and the potential interactions between dust and ozone. Here, we exposed 23 healthy elderly subjects for 5.