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- Moisala, M., et al.
(författare)
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Gaming is related to enhanced working memory performance and task-related cortical activity
- 2017
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Ingår i: Brain Research. - : Elsevier BV. - 0006-8993 .- 1872-6240. ; 1655, s. 204-215
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Gaming experience has been suggested to lead to performance enhancements in a wide variety of working memory tasks. Previous studies have, however, mostly focused on adult expert gamers and have not included measurements of both behavioral performance and brain activity. In the current study, 167 adolescents and young adults (aged 13–24 years) with different amounts of gaming experience performed an n-back working memory task with vowels, with the sensory modality of the vowel stream switching between audition and vision at random intervals. We studied the relationship between self-reported daily gaming activity, working memory (n-back) task performance and related brain activity measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results revealed that the extent of daily gaming activity was related to enhancements in both performance accuracy and speed during the most demanding (2-back) level of the working memory task. This improved working memory performance was accompanied by enhanced recruitment of a fronto-parietal cortical network, especially the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. In contrast, during the less demanding (1-back) level of the task, gaming was associated with decreased activity in the same cortical regions. Our results suggest that a greater degree of daily gaming experience is associated with better working memory functioning and task difficulty-dependent modulation in fronto-parietal brain activity already in adolescence and even when non-expert gamers are studied. The direction of causality within this association cannot be inferred with certainty due to the correlational nature of the current study.
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| 2. |
- Moisala, M., et al.
(författare)
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Media multitasking is associated with distractibility and increased prefrontal activity in adolescents and young adults
- 2016
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Ingår i: NeuroImage. - : Elsevier BV. - 1053-8119 .- 1095-9572. ; 134, s. 113-121
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The current generation of young people indulges in more media multitasking behavior (e.g., instant messaging while watching videos) in their everyday lives than older generations. Concerns have been raised about how this might affect their attentional functioning, as previous studies have indicated that extensive media multitasking in everyday life may be associated with decreased attentional control. In the current study, 149 adolescents and young adults (aged 13–24 years) performed speech-listening and reading tasks that required maintaining attention in the presence of distractor stimuli in the other modality or dividing attention between two concurrent tasks. Brain activity during task performance was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We studied the relationship between self-reported daily media multitasking (MMT), task performance and brain activity during task performance. The results showed that in the presence of distractor stimuli, a higher MMT score was associated with worse performance and increased brain activity in right prefrontal regions. The level of performance during divided attention did not depend on MMT. This suggests that daily media multitasking is associated with behavioral distractibility and increased recruitment of brain areas involved in attentional and inhibitory control, and that media multitasking in everyday life does not translate to performance benefits in multitasking in laboratory settings.
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| 6. |
- Haiba, E., et al.
(författare)
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Degradation of diclofenac and triclosan residues in sewage sludge compost
- 2017
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Ingår i: Agronomy Research. - : Eesti Pollumajandusulikool. - 1406-894X. ; 15:2, s. 395-405
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Land application of sewage sludge compost is an important and efficient tool in the remediation of industrial landscapes and agricultural soils in Estonia. A number of studies have shown that, as a rule, pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs) are neither completely removed by sewage treatment, nor completely degraded in the environment. In this study, degradation rates of diclofenac sodium (DFC) and triclosan (TCS) were determined during sewage sludge composting. Anaerobically digested and dewatered sewage sludge was mixed with sawdust at two different ratios (1:2 and 1:3 sludge/sawdust, v:v). Then aerobic composting was carried out. These ratios were chosen on the basis of previous studies on sewage sludge composting with different bulking agents. The initial concentration of DFC and TCS was 2 mg kg-1 in relation to dry weight (dw). Low quantities of the studied pharmaceuticals were present in sewage sludge that was used for preparing the compost mixtures used in our experiments. The background concentrations of DFC and TCS were never equal to zero. The results showed that the difference between sewage sludge and bulking agent ratios (1:2 vs 1:3) in compost samples did not significantly affect temperature profiles during the experiment. The degradation of pharmaceuticals was more complete in the compost samples where the ratio of bulking agent was higher (1:3 by volume). The average degradation level (in all compost mixtures) was 95% for DFC and 68% for TCS. Pharmaceuticals entering into the soil may affect microbial activity, plant growth and development, and may have adverse effects on living organisms.
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