Understanding the sport viewership experience using functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Subjective evaluation of a sport event in real time is normally assessed using self-report measures, but neural indices of evaluative processing may provide new insights. The extent of evaluative processing of a sporting event at the neural level may depend on the degree of emotional investment by the viewer, as well as the key moment of the game play being observed. Those with high ego involvement might show more activation within evaluative processing nodes, and this pattern may be most pronounced during critical moments of game play.

Does Sleep Moderate the Effects of Exercise Training or Complex Mental and Social Activities on Cognitive Function in Adults With Chronic Stroke? Secondary Analysis of a Randomized Trial.

Background: Exercise (EX) or cognitive and social enrichment (ENRICH) are 2 strategies for promoting cognition poststroke. Whether sleep moderates the effects of EX or ENRICH on cognition in adults with chronic stroke is unknown.

Methods: A 3-arm parallel randomized clinical trial among community-dwelling adults aged 55+ years with chronic stroke (ie, ≥12 months since stroke).

rTMS for post-covid-19 condition: A sham-controlled case series involving iTBS-300 and iTBS-600.

Post-Covid-19 Condition (PCC) is a syndrome comprised of symptoms persisting 3 months or more beyond SARS-CoV-2 primary infection. It is typically characterized by fatigue, cognitive problems and psychiatric symptoms, as well as cardiac symptoms that contribute to exercise intolerance in many. Despite the high prevalence of PCC among those with a prior SARS-CoV-2 infection, there is currently no widely accepted rehabilitation strategy, and many conventional modalities are movement-based.

Cross-sectional and longitudinal neural predictors of physical activity and sedentary behaviour from a 6-month randomized controlled trial.

A sedentary lifestyle offers immediate gratification, but at the expense of long-term health. It is thus critical to understand how the brain evaluates immediate rewards and long-term health effects in the context of deciding whether to engage in moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (MVPA) or sedentary behaviour (SB). In this secondary analysis of a 6-month randomized controlled trial to increase MVPA and reduce SB among community-dwelling adults, we explored how neural activity during an executive control task was associated with MVPA and SB levels.

Diabetes status and cognitive function in middle-aged and older adults in the Canadian longitudinal study on aging.

Objectives: Diabetes is recognized as a significant risk factor for cognitive impairment. However, this association has not been thoroughly examined using large-scale population-based datasets in the Canadian context. The objective of this study was to investigate the potential association between cognitive function and diabetes in a large population-based sample of middle-aged and older Canadians.

Economic Evaluation of Exercise or Cognitive and Social Enrichment Activities for Improved Cognition After Stroke.

Importance: Cognitive impairment is prevalent in survivors of stroke, affecting approximately 30% of individuals. Physical exercise and cognitive and social enrichment activities can enhance cognitive function in patients with chronic stroke, but their cost-effectiveness compared with a balance and tone program is uncertain.

Objective: To conduct a cost-effectiveness and cost-utility analysis of multicomponent exercise or cognitive and social enrichment activities compared with a balance and tone program.

Task-related oxygenation in the prefrontal cortex as a function of mask-wearing frequency: An empirical test using functional near-infrared spectroscopy.

Objective: Introduction of brain hypoxia by frequent mask-wearing is a concern voiced by some who resist masking mandates. Studies have examined acute effects of one-shot mask-wearing on peripheral and cerebral oxygenation in the laboratory, but not effects of everyday mask-wearing frequencies on task-related functional activation. The objective of the current study was to examine whether frequency of mask-wearing in daily life is associated with lower task-related brain oxygenation levels, and whether the magnitude of any such effects vary by age and sex.

Next-generation cognitive assessment: Combining functional brain imaging, system perturbations and novel equipment interfaces.

Conventional cognitive assessment is widely used in clinical and research settings, in educational institutions, and in the corporate world for personnel selection. Such approaches involve having a client, a patient, or a research participant complete a series of standardized cognitive tasks in order to challenge specific and global cognitive abilities, and then quantify performance for the desired end purpose. The latter may include a diagnostic confirmation of a disease, description of a state or ability, or matching cognitive characteristics to a particular occupational role requirement.

Bidirectional Associations Between Adiposity and Cognitive Function and Mediation by Brain Morphology in the ABCD Study.

Importance: Most epidemiologic studies examine the brain as an outcome in relation to adiposity (ie, the brain-as-outcome perspective), but it is also a potential risk factor associated with adiposity accumulation over time (ie, the brain-as-risk factor perspective). The bidirectionality hypothesis has not been fully explored in adolescent samples previously.

Objective: To assess bidirectional associations between adiposity and cognitive function in youth and test mediational pathways through brain morphology (specifically the lateral prefrontal cortex [LPFC]), lifestyle behaviors, and blood pressure.

Neurocognitive and psychiatric symptoms following infection with COVID-19: Evidence from laboratory and population studies.

Objective: The objective of the current investigation was to examine associations between symptomatic COVID-19 history, neurocognitive function, and psychiatric symptoms using cognitive task performance, functional brain imaging, and a prospective population survey.

Methods: Study 1 was a laboratory study conducted between 3 May 2022 and 16 Nov 2022 involving 120 fully vaccinated community dwelling adults between 18 and 84 years of age (age = 31.96 ( = 20.

Social cognitive predictors of vaccination status, uptake and mitigation behaviors in the Canadian COVID-19 Experiences survey.

Emerging infectious diseases like COVID-19 will remain a concern for the foreseeable future, and determinants of vaccination and other mitigation behaviors are therefore critical to understand. Using data from the first two waves of the Canadian COVID-19 Experiences Survey (CCES; N = 1,958; 66.56 % female), we examined social cognitive predictors of vaccination status, transition to acceptance and mitigation behaviors in a population-representative sample.

Do the vaccinated perform less distancing, mask wearing and hand hygiene? A test of the risk compensation hypothesis in a representative sample during the COVID-19 pandemic.

The "risk compensation hypothesis" holds that vaccinated individuals may be less motivated to protect themselves using other COVID-19 mitigation behaviors-e.g., masking, distancing and hand hygiene-given that they may perceive their infection risk to be lower.

Cognitive predictors of COVID-19 mitigation behaviors in vaccinated and unvaccinated general population members.

Background: Given the long-term threat posed by COVID-19, predictors of mitigation behaviors are critical to identify. Prior studies have found that cognitive factors are associated with some COVID-19 mitigation behaviors, but few studies employ representative samples and no prior studies have examined cognitive predictors of vaccination status. The purpose of the present study was to examine associations between cognitive variables (executive function, delay discounting, and future orientation) and COVID-19 mitigation behaviors (mask wearing, social distancing, hand hygiene and vaccination) in a population representative sample.

Effect of Exercise Training or Complex Mental and Social Activities on Cognitive Function in Adults With Chronic Stroke: A Randomized Clinical Trial.

Importance: A stroke doubles one's risk for dementia. How to promote cognitive function among persons with chronic stroke is unclear.

Objective: To evaluate the effect of exercise (EX) or cognitive and social enrichment activities (ENRICH) on cognitive function in adults with chronic stroke.

Cognitive Function Is Associated With Multiple Indices of Adiposity in the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging: A Cross-Sectional Analysis.

Objective: Prior studies have suggested reciprocal relationships between cognitive function and adiposity, but this has not been investigated with population representative data sets. The purpose of this study was to examine the association between cognitive function and adiposity in a large population-based sample of middle-aged and older adults. It was hypothesized that better scores on tests of cognitive function would be associated with lower adiposity, and this association would be primarily mediated through life-style behavior and physical health status.

Bidirectional Associations Between Adiposity and Cognitive Function: A Prospective Analysis of the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA).

Background: Theoretical perspectives suggest that adiposity and cognitive function may be bidirectionally associated, but this has not been examined in a large-scale data set. The current investigation aims to fill this gap using a large, representative sample of middle-aged and older adults.

Methods: Using data from the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (N = 25 854), the bidirectional hypothesis was examined with 3 indicators of cognitive function (ie, executive function, processing speed, and verbal fluency) and adiposity (ie, waist circumference [WC], body mass index [BMI], and total fat mass).

Brain and behavior in health communication: The Canadian COVID-19 Experiences Project.

Background: Vaccine hesitancy and inconsistent mitigation behavior performance have been significant challenges throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. In Canada, despite relatively high vaccine availability and uptake, willingness to accept booster shots and maintain mitigation behaviors in the post-acute phase of COVID-19 remain uncertain. The aim of the Canadian COVID-19 Experiences Project (CCEP) is threefold: 1) to identify social-cognitive and neurocognitive predictors of mitigation behaviors, 2) to identify optimal communication strategies to promote vaccination and mitigation behaviors, and 3) to examine brain health outcomes of SARS-CoV-2 infection and examine their longevity.

Cognitive function following SARS-CoV-2 infection in a population-representative Canadian sample.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 infection is believed to adversely affect the brain, but the degree of impact on socially relevant cognitive functioning and decision-making is not well-studied, particularly among those less vulnerable to age-related mortality. The current study sought to determine whether infection status and COVID-19 symptom severity are associated with cognitive dysfunction among young and middled-aged adults in the general population, using self-reported lapses in executive control and a standardized decision-making task.

Method: The survey sample comprised 1958 adults with a mean age of 37 years ( ​= ​10.

The Predictive Utility of Valuing the Future for Smoking Cessation: Findings from the ITC 4 Country Surveys.

Background: Delay discounting (DD) and time perspective (TP) are conceptually related constructs that are theorized as important determinants of the pursuit of future outcomes over present inclinations. This study explores their predictive relationships for smoking cessation.

Methods: 5006 daily smokers at a baseline wave provided 6710 paired observations of quitting activity between two waves.

Correction: An examination of the prospective association between physical activity and academic achievement in youth at the population level.

[This corrects the article DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.

Medial prefrontal brain activity correlates with emerging symptoms of anxiety and depression in late adolescence: A fNIRS study.

The brain undergoes dramatic changes over the course of the adolescent years, and these developmental changes are implicated in the emergence of disorders that involve negative emotionality. Late adolescence might be the window within which brain networks manifest vulnerabilities to depressive and anxiety symptomology; particularly within the prefrontal cortex (PFC), which houses emotional control (dorsolateral) and emotional processing (medial) nodes. Given the comorbidity of depressive and anxious symptomology, it may be that the neural signature is similar for both within the developing PFC.