Publications by authors named "W R Staines"

The current work aimed to understand the behavioral manifestations that result from disruptions to the selective facilitation of task-relevant sensory information at early cortical processing stages in those with a history of concussion. A total of 40 participants were recruited to participate in this study, with 25 in the concussion history group (Hx) and 15 in the control group (No-Hx). Somatosensory-evoked potentials (SEPs) were elicited via median nerve stimulation while subjects performed a task that manipulated their focus of attention toward or away from proprioceptive cues.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Recent studies highlight a persistent increase in subsequent injury risk following a sport-related concussion (SRC) despite clinical recovery. However, markers of persistent alterations in sensorimotor integration have yet to be identified. One possibility is that compensatory adaptation following SRC may only be unmasked during transient periods of high task complexity in specific sensorimotor circuits.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Evidence suggests that trait anxiety relates to cognitive processing and behavior. However, the relationships between trait anxiety and sensory processing, goal-directed performance and sensorimotor function are unclear, particularly in a multimodal context. This study used electroencephalography to evaluate whether trait anxiety influenced visual and tactile event-related potentials (ERPs), as well as behavioral distractor cost, in a bimodal sensorimotor task.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Background: Previous studies have investigated the influence of cannabis on cognition among people with MS (pwMS), yet the influence of sex in the context of cannabis use remains unexplored. We aim to fill this gap by investigating cannabis-sex related differences in verbal learning, memory and processing speed in association with fMRI (resting state, and task-based) metrics.

Method: Our sample consisted of 19 long-term, frequent cannabis users (8 males, 11 females).

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

We previously reported that people with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) who have been using cannabis frequently over many years can have significant cognitive improvements accompanied by concomitant task-specific changes in brain activation following 28 days of cannabis abstinence. We now hypothesize that the default Mode Network (DMN), known to modulate cognition, would also show an improved pattern of activation align with cognitive improvement following 28 days of drug abstinence. Thirty three cognitively impaired pwMS who were frequent cannabis users underwent a neuropsychological assessment and fMRI at baseline.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF