The presence of ultrasonic harmonics in the calls of the rifleman (Acanthisitta chloris)

Ultrasonic vocalisations (frequencies > 20 kHz) have been extensively studied in the context of echolocation by bats and other mammals (Sales & Pye 1974; Wilson & Hare 2004). Ultrasonic calls have also been recorded from birds, including the blue-throated hummingbird ( Lampornis clemenciae ) (Pytte et al. 2004), where it was first thought that individuals made use of high pitch calls to avoid masking by background noise in a visually obscured environment. Similarly, city-dwelling great tits ( Parus major ) use song with a higher minimum frequency (although not ultrasonic) compared to woodland birds to communicate with conspecifics to avoid the predominantly low-frequency background noise in the city (Slabbekorn & Peet 2003). The theory that birds use ultrasound to avoid noise masking was discarded when it was discovered that there was no corresponding auditory brainstem response (i.e. sensory perception) to the ultrasonic calls in the hummingbirds producing those calls.

Fruit-feeding behaviour and use of olfactory cues by the fruit bat Rousettus leschenaulti: an experimental study

This paper describes the feeding behaviour ofRousettus leschenaulti Desmarest, 1820 on lychees, the preferred cultivated food of this bat in captive conditions. We found that feeding comprised 25–30% of the total activity of these animals in a flight cage and that feeding durations were not significantly different between two sexes. To evaluate the role of odor and vision in foraging behaviour, we provided animals with artificial lychees, real lychees and artificial lychees soaked in the juice of real lychees and we recorded the number of feeding approaches to the different “fruit” types. The results indicated that bats approached real fruit significantly more than artificial fruit, and that the number of approaches to the soaked artificial fruit was also significantly higher than to the unsoaked artificial fruit. There were no significant differences between sexes in approach rates to any “fruit” type. We discuss the role of different sensory cues in the foraging behaviour of these bats and emphasize that the olfactory cue is important in detecting food resources and discriminating between different kinds of food items.

Kiwi Forego Vision in the Guidance of Their Nocturnal Activities

Background In vision, there is a trade-off between sensitivity and resolution, and any eye which maximises information gain at low light levels needs to be large. This imposes exacting constraints upon vision in nocturnal flying birds. Eyes are essentially heavy, fluid-filled chambers, and in flying birds their increased size is countered by selection for both reduced body mass and the distribution of mass towards the body core. Freed from these mass constraints, it would be predicted that in flightless birds nocturnality should favour the evolution of large eyes and reliance upon visual cues for the guidance of activity. Methodology/Principal Findings We show that in Kiwi (Apterygidae), flightlessness and nocturnality have, in fact, resulted in the opposite outcome. Kiwi show minimal reliance upon vision indicated by eye structure, visual field topography, and brain structures, and increased reliance upon tactile and olfactory information. Conclusions/Significance This lack of reliance upon vision and increased reliance upon tactile and olfactory information in Kiwi is markedly similar to the situation in nocturnal mammals that exploit the forest floor. That Kiwi and mammals evolved to exploit these habitats quite independently provides evidence for convergent evolution in their sensory capacities that are tuned to a common set of perceptual challenges found in forest floor habitats at night and which cannot be met by the vertebrate visual system. We propose that the Kiwi visual system has undergone adaptive regressive evolution driven by the trade-off between the relatively low rate of gain of visual information that is possible at low light levels, and the metabolic costs of extracting that information.

Initial burden of disease estimates for South Africa, 2000

BACKGROUND This paper describes the first national burden of disease study for South Africa. The main focus is the burden due to premature mortality, i.e. years of life lost (YLLs). In addition, estimates of the burden contributed by morbidity, i.e. the years lived with disability (YLDs), are obtained to calculate disability-adjusted life years (DALYs); and the impact of AIDS on premature mortality in the year 2010 is assessed. METHOD Owing to the rapid mortality transition and the lack of timely data, a modelling approach has been adopted. The total mortality for the year 2000 is estimated using a demographic and AIDS model. The non-AIDS cause-of-death profile is estimated using three sources of data: Statistics South Africa, the National Department of Home Affairs, and the National Injury Mortality Surveillance System. A ratio method is used to estimate the YLDs from the YLL estimates. RESULTS The top single cause of mortality burden was HIV/AIDS followed by homicide, tuberculosis, road traffic accidents and diarrhoea. HIV/AIDS accounted for 38% of total YLLs, which is proportionately higher for females (47%) than for males (33%). Pre-transitional diseases, usually associated with poverty and underdevelopment, accounted for 25%, non-communicable diseases 21% and injuries 16% of YLLs. The DALY estimates highlight the fact that mortality alone underestimates the burden of disease, especially with regard to unintentional injuries, respiratory disease, and nervous system, mental and sense organ disorders. The impact of HIV/AIDS is expected to more than double the burden of premature mortality by the year 2010. CONCLUSION This study has drawn together data from a range of sources to develop coherent estimates of premature mortality by cause. South Africa is experiencing a quadruple burden of disease comprising the pre-transitional diseases, the emerging chronic diseases, injuries, and HIV/AIDS. Unless interventions that reduce morbidity and delay morbidity become widely available, the burden due to HIV/AIDS can be expected to grow very rapidly in the next few years. An improved base of information is needed to assess the morbidity impact more accurately.

Public space for street-scape theatrics : guerrilla spatial tactics and methods of urban hacking in Brisbane, Australia

It could be argued that architecture has an inherent social responsibility to enrich the urban and spatial environments for the city’s occupants. However how we define quality, and how ‘places’ can be designed to be fair and equitable, catering for individuals on a humanistic and psychological level, is often not clearly addressed. Lefebvre discusses the idea of the ‘right to the city’; the belief that public space design should facilitate freedom of expression and incite a sense of spatial ownership for its occupants in public/commercial precincts. Lefebvre also points out the importance of sensory experience in the urban environment. “Street-scape theatrics” are performative activities that summarise these two concepts, advocating the ‘right to the city’ by way of art as well as providing sensual engagement for city users. Literature discusses the importance of Street-scape Theatrics however few sources attempt to discuss this topic in terms of how to design these spaces/places to enhance the city on both a sensory and political level. This research, grounded in political theory, investigates the case of street music, in particular busking, in the city of Brisbane, Australia. Street culture is a notion that already exists in Brisbane, but it is heavily controlled especially in central locations. The study discusses how sensory experience of the urban environment in Brisbane can be enriched through the design for busking; multiple case studies, interviews, observations and thematic mappings provide data to gather an understanding of how street performers see and understand the built form. Results are sometime surprisingly incongruous with general assumptions in regards to street artist as well as the established political and ideological framework, supporting the idea that the best and most effective way of urban hacking is working within the system. Ultimately, it was found that the Central Business District in Brisbane, Australia, could adopt certain political and design tactics which attempt to reconcile systematic quality control with freedom of expression into the public/commercial sphere, realism upheld. This can bridge the gap between the micro scale of the body and the macro of the political economy through freedom of expression, thus celebrating the idiosyncratic nature of the city.

Health communication: A pilot study comparing perceptions of women with and without high functioning autism spectrum disorder

Research indicates significant health disparities for individuals with autism. Insight into characteristic sensory, cognitive, communication, social, emotional, and behavioural challenges that may influence health communication for patients with autism is vital to address potential disparities. Women with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may have specific healthcare needs, and are likely to independently represent themselves and others in healthcare. A pilot study compared perceptions of healthcare experiences for women with and without ASD using on-line survey based on characteristics of ASD likely to influence healthcare. Fifty-eight adult female participants (32 with ASD diagnosis, 26 without ASD diagnosis) were recruited on-line from autism support organisations. Perceptions measured included self-reporting of pain and symptoms, healthcare seeking behaviours, the influence of emotional distress, sensory and social anxiety, maternity experiences, and the influence of autistic status disclosure. Results partially support the hypothesis that ASD women experience greater healthcare challenges. Women with ASD reported greater challenges in healthcare anxiety, communication under emotional distress, anxiety relating to waiting rooms, support during pregnancy, and communication during childbirth. Self-disclosure of diagnostic status and lack of ASD awareness by healthcare providers rated as highly problematic. Results offer detailed insight into healthcare communication and disparities for women with ASD.

Driven by distraction: Investigating the effects of anxiety on driving performance using the Attentional Control Theory

This study investigates the effects of trait anxiety on self-reported driving behaviours through its negative impacts on Central Executive functions. Following a self-report study that found trait anxiety to be significantly related to driving behaviours, the present study extended the predictions of Eysenck and Calvo’s Attentional Control Theory, proposing that anxiety affects driving behaviours, in particular driving lapses, through its impact across the Central Executive. Seventy-five Australian drivers participated in the study, completing the Parametric Go/No-Go and n-back tasks, as well as the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory and the Driving Behaviour Questionnaire. While both trait anxiety and processing efficiency of the Central Executive was found to significantly predict driving lapses, trait anxiety remained a strong predictor of driving lapses after processing efficiency was controlled for. It is concluded that while processing efficiency of the central Executive is a key determinant of driving lapses, another Central Executive function that is closer to the driving lapses in the trait anxiety – driving lapses relationship may be needed. Suggestions regarding how to improve future trait anxiety – driving behaviours research are discussed.

Primary and secondary neural networks of auditory prepulse inhibition: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of sensorimotor gating of the human acoustic startle response

Feedforward inhibition deficits have been consistently demonstrated in a range of neuropsychiatric conditions using prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the acoustic startle eye-blink reflex when assessing sensorimotor gating. While PPI can be recorded in acutely decerebrated rats, behavioural, pharmacological and psychophysiological studies suggest the involvement of a complex neural network extending from brainstem nuclei to higher order cortical areas. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging study investigated the neural network underlying PPI and its association with electromyographically (EMG) recorded PPI of the acoustic startle eye-blink reflex in 16 healthy volunteers. A sparse imaging design was employed to model signal changes in blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) responses to acoustic startle probes that were preceded by a prepulse at 120 ms or 480 ms stimulus onset asynchrony or without prepulse. Sensorimotor gating was EMG confirmed for the 120-ms prepulse condition, while startle responses in the 480-ms prepulse condition did not differ from startle alone. Multiple regression analysis of BOLD contrasts identified activation in pons, thalamus, caudate nuclei, left angular gyrus and bilaterally in anterior cingulate, associated with EMGrecorded sensorimotor gating. Planned contrasts confirmed increased pons activation for startle alone vs 120-ms prepulse condition, while increased anterior superior frontal gyrus activation was confirmed for the reverse contrast. Our findings are consistent with a primary pontine circuitry of sensorimotor gating that interconnects with inferior parietal, superior temporal, frontal and prefrontal cortices via thalamus and striatum. PPI processes in the prefrontal, frontal and superior temporal cortex were functionally distinct from sensorimotor gating.

Facial emotion processing in schizophrenia : no evidence for a deficit specific to negative emotions in a differential deficit design

People with schizophrenia perform poorly when recognising facial expressions of emotion, particularly negative emotions such as fear. This finding has been taken as evidence of a “negative emotion specific deficit”, putatively associated with a dysfunction in the limbic system, particularly the amygdala. An alternative explanation is that greater difficulty in recognising negative emotions may reflect a priori differences in task difficulty. The present study uses a differential deficit design to test the above argument. Facial emotion recognition accuracy for seven emotion categories was compared across three groups. Eighteen schizophrenia patients and one group of healthy age- and gender-matched controls viewed identical sets of stimuli. A second group of 18 age- and gender-matched controls viewed a degraded version of the same stimuli. The level of stimulus degradation was chosen so as to equate overall level of accuracy to the schizophrenia patients. Both the schizophrenia group and the degraded image control group showed reduced overall recognition accuracy and reduced recognition accuracy for fearful and sad facial stimuli compared with the intact-image control group. There were no differences in recognition accuracy for any emotion category between the schizophrenia group and the degraded image control group. These findings argue against a negative emotion specific deficit in schizophrenia.

Functional MRI of facial emotion recognition deficits in schizophrenia and their electrophysiological correlates

Empirical evidence suggests impaired facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia. However, the nature of this deficit is the subject of ongoing research. The current study tested the hypothesis that a generalized deficit at an early stage of face-specific processing (i.e. putatively subserved by the fusiform gyrus) accounts for impaired facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia as opposed to the Negative Emotion-specific Deficit Model, which suggests impaired facial information processing at subsequent stages. Event-related potentials (ERPs) were recorded from 11 schizophrenia patients and 15 matched controls while performing a gender discrimination and a facial emotion recognition task. Significant reduction of the face-specific vertex positive potential (VPP) at a peak latency of 165 ms was confirmed in schizophrenia subjects whereas their early visual processing, as indexed by P1, was found to be intact. Attenuated VPP was found to correlate with subsequent P3 amplitude reduction and to predict accuracy when performing a facial emotion discrimination task. A subset of ten schizophrenia patients and ten matched healthy control subjects also performed similar tasks in the magnetic resonance imaging scanner. Patients showed reduced blood oxygenation level-dependent (BOLD) activation in the fusiform, inferior frontal, middle temporal and middle occipital gyrus as well as in the amygdala. Correlation analyses revealed that VPP and the subsequent P3a ERP components predict fusiform gyrus BOLD activation. These results suggest that problems in facial affect recognition in schizophrenia may represent flow-on effects of a generalized deficit in early visual processing.

A multimodal physiotherapy programme plus deep water running for improving cancer-related fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer survivors

The aim of the study was to assess the feasibility and effectiveness of aquatic‐based exercise in the form of deep water running ( DWR ) as part of a multimodal physiotherapy programme ( MMPP ) for breast cancer survivors. A controlled clinical trial was conducted in 42 primary breast cancer survivors recruited from community‐based P rimary C are C entres. Patients in the experimental group received a MMPP incorporating DWR , 3 times a week, for an 8‐week period. The control group received a leaflet containing instructions to continue with normal activities. Statistically significant improvements and intergroup effect size were found for the experimental group for P iper F atigue S cale‐ R evised total score ( d = 0.7, P = 0.001), as well as behavioural/severity ( d = 0.6, P = 0.05), affective/meaning ( d = 1.0, P = 0.001) and sensory ( d = 0.3, P = 0.03) domains. Statistically significant differences between the experimental and control groups were also found for general health ( d = 0.5, P < 0.05) and quality of life ( d = 1.3, P < 0.05). All participants attended over 80% of sessions, with no major adverse events reported. The results of this study suggest MMPP incorporating DWR decreases cancer‐related fatigue and improves general health and quality of life in breast cancer survivors. Further, the high level of adherence and lack of adverse events indicate such a programme is safe and feasible.

Functional neuroanatomy of auditory mismatch processing : an event-related fMRI study of duration-deviant oddballs

This study was designed to identify the neural networks underlying automatic auditory deviance detection in 10 healthy subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We measured blood oxygenation level-dependent contrasts derived from the comparison of blocks of stimuli presented as a series of standard tones (50 ms duration) alone versus blocks that contained rare duration-deviant tones (100 ms) that were interspersed among a series of frequent standard tones while subjects were watching a silent movie. Possible effects of scanner noise were assessed by a “no tone” condition. In line with previous positron emission tomography and EEG source modeling studies, we found temporal lobe and prefrontal cortical activation that was associated with auditory duration mismatch processing. Data were also analyzed employing an event-related hemodynamic response model, which confirmed activation in response to duration-deviant tones bilaterally in the superior temporal gyrus and prefrontally in the right inferior and middle frontal gyri. In line with previous electrophysiological reports, mismatch activation of these brain regions was significantly correlated with age. These findings suggest a close relationship of the event-related hemodynamic response pattern with the corresponding electrophysiological activity underlying the event-related “mismatch negativity” potential, a putative measure of auditory sensory memory.

Differential susceptibility to performance degradation across categories of facial emotion - a model confirmation

Patients with a number of psychiatric and neuropathological conditions demonstrate problems in recognising facial expressions of emotion. Research indicating that patients with schizophrenia perform more poorly in the recognition of negative valence facial stimuli than positive valence stimuli has been interpreted as evidence of a negative emotion specific deficit. An alternate explanation rests in the psychometric properties of the stimulus materials. This model suggests that the pattern of impairment observed in schizophrenia may reflect initial discrepancies in task difficulty between stimulus categories, which are not apparent in healthy subjects because of ceiling effects. This hypothesis is tested, by examining the performance of healthy subjects in a facial emotion categorisation task with three levels of stimulus resolution. Results confirm the predictions of the model, showing that performance degrades differentially across emotion categories, with the greatest deterioration to negative valence stimuli. In the light of these results, a possible methodology for detecting emotion specific deficits in clinical samples is discussed.

FaceXpress : an integrated software suite for facial emotion stimulus manipulation and facial measurement

The characterisation of facial expression through landmark-based analysis methods such as FACEM (Pilowsky & Katsikitis, 1994) has a variety of uses in psychiatric and psychological research. In these systems, important structural relationships are extracted from images of facial expressions by the analysis of a pre-defined set of feature points. These relationship measures may then be used, for instance, to assess the degree of variability and similarity between different facial expressions of emotion. FaceXpress is a multimedia software suite that provides a generalised workbench for landmark-based facial emotion analysis and stimulus manipulation. It is a flexible tool that is designed to be specialised at runtime by the user. While FaceXpress has been used to implement the FACEM process, it can also be configured to support any other similar, arbitrary system for quantifying human facial emotion. FaceXpress also implements an integrated set of image processing tools and specialised tools for facial expression stimulus production including facial morphing routines and the generation of expression-representative line drawings from photographs.

A generalised deficit can account for problems in facial emotion recognition in schizophrenia

Neuroimaging research has shown localised brain activation to different facial expressions. This, along with the finding that schizophrenia patients perform poorly in their recognition of negative emotions, has raised the suggestion that patients display an emotion specific impairment. We propose that this asymmetry in performance reflects task difficulty gradations, rather than aberrant processing in neural pathways subserving recognition of specific emotions. A neural network model is presented, which classifies facial expressions on the basis of measurements derived from human faces. After training, the network showed an accuracy pattern closely resembling that of healthy subjects. Lesioning of the network led to an overall decrease in the network’s discriminant capacity, with the greatest accuracy decrease to fear, disgust and anger stimuli. This implies that the differential pattern of impairment in schizophrenia patients can be explained without having to postulate impairment of specific processing modules for negative emotion recognition.