Daytime cognitive performance and sleep/wake cycles are strongly interrelated, and cognitive dysfunction has been extensively investigated in relation to insomnia. However, methods and outcomes vary widely by study, making comparison difficult without more systematic evaluation. Review of the literature reveals discrepant findings for the relationship between both subjective and objective measures of cognitive performance and insomnia. The current meta-analysis included 42 studies investigating the relationship between insomnia and cognitive performance. Results confirmed the discrepant nature of previous findings and suggest that type of cognitive performance (e.g., simple attention, procedural memory, verbal functions) is important to consider when discussing the impact of insomnia. Mixed-effect meta-analysis of aggregate effect sizes suggest impairments in working memory, complex attention, and episodic memory are significantly associated with insomnia. Analysis of the grouped subjective cognitive performance effect size revealed no significant impact of insomnia. Average age and gender makeup of the sample, study quality, and type of insomnia measure (i.e., clinical or diagnostic criteria, validated scale, or single unvalidated item) did not consistently moderate findings. These results confirm the equivocal nature of the relationship between insomnia and cognitive performance. Overall, about 44% of the studies included in the analysis failed to use DSM or ICSD criteria when categorizing insomnia. Additionally, the cognitive measures used varied widely and certain measures may not be sensitive enough to detect the degree of cognitive deficit that may be present for individuals with insomnia. This indicates a need for the standardization of methods used when assessing both insomnia and cognitive performance to elucidate these relationships.

Les manifestations de stress semblent de plus en plus présentes chez nos jeunes. C’est pourquoi des interventions pouvant amener une réduction de stress sont pertinentes à intégrer dans nos écoles. Parallèlement, toujours avec le souci d’aider les jeunes dans leur réussite éducative, des interventions favorisant l’apprentissage et les performances académiques sont tout aussi importantes à intégrer dans nos réseaux éducatifs. L’activité physique et la méditation de pleine conscience semblent être des activités prometteuses à ces égards. L’objectif de cette recherche est de déterminer auprès de jeunes l’effet immédiat sur les performances cognitives et le stress perçu des interventions suivantes : 1- Quinze minutes d’activité physique; 2- Quinze minutes de méditation de pleine conscience; 3- Quinze minutes d’activité physique et de méditation de pleine conscience; 4- Quinze minutes d’écoute passive d’un documentaire. Pour ce faire, 82 participants ont été recrutés dans une école primaire de la région de Sherbrooke. Chaque participant a effectué chacune de ces conditions à une seule reprise. Pour mesurer les performances cognitives, les tests de Stroop et du Tracé ont été utilisés alors que le stress perçu a été mesuré à l’aide d’une échelle visuelle analogique. Une amélioration significative des performances cognitives a été remarquée pour les jeunes ayant performé sous la médiane lors de la condition témoin. De plus, toutes les interventions, y compris l’intervention témoin, ont engendré une réduction significative du stress perçu et aucune différence significative entre les interventions n’a été observée. Ces résultats soutiennent l’utilisation des interventions d’activité physique et de méditation de pleine conscience dans les écoles primaires. De plus, cette recherche répond à plusieurs critiques effectuées dans la littérature scientifique. En effet, les interventions comprenant de la pleine conscience ont été dans le cadre de cette étude standardisées et elles sont complètement reproductibles. Les participants ont aussi indiqué leur niveau d’appréciation ainsi que la fréquence à laquelle ils désireraient pratiquer de la méditation de pleine conscience. Finalement, ce projet de recherche innove en mesurant des effets immédiats chez les jeunes de l’intervention de méditation de pleine conscience en plus de combiner la pratique d’activité physique et celle de la méditation de pleine conscience.

The purpose of this thesis was to investigate how children experience their everyday travel. More specifically how do certain travel characteristics influence children’s current mood, experiences of their everyday travel, and their cognitive performance. The thesis consists of two papers (Papers I and II). In Paper I, 206 children (101 girls) in grade 4 (aged 10), in the city of Staffanstorp in Sweden, recorded all their journeys in a diary during one school week, along with reports of their travel mode, their current mood while travelling (ranging from very sad to very happy and from very tired to very alert), their activities on arrival, and their experiences regarding those activities. In Paper II, a sample of 344 children (165 girls) between the ages of 10 and 15 was taken at five public schools in Värmland County, Sweden. The children rated their current mood, filled out the Satisfaction with Travel Scale (capturing the travel experience), reported details about their journeys, and took a word-fluency test. The findings show that children’s immediate affective experiences (current mood) vary with how they travel and where they go, and that there is a difference between boys’ and girls’ experiences. Children who travel by car experience the lowest degree of quality and activation, something which is also maintained throughout the school day (as the case with activation). Social activities during travel add to higher degree of quality and excitement, while solitary activities bring more stress. The findings further show that using a smartphone or doing a combination of activities during the journey results in better cognitive performance, as do longer traveling times. It is concluded that where and how children travel, what they do when traveling, and for how long they travel all affect children’s travel experiences, mood, and/or cognitive performance. This thesis sheds light on a neglected research area – which is the experiences of travel – through the lens of a child. / The purpose of this licentiate thesis is to examine how children experience their everyday travel. More specifically, do travel mode, travel time, and travel activities influence children’s experiences of their everyday travel, how they feel, and how they perform at school. In Paper 1 we investigate whether children’s moods, while travelling, vary with travel mode and destination. In Paper 2 we investigate whether children’s experiences of travel and current mood vary with travel mode, traveling time, and activities during travel. We also investigate whether the travel experience affects cognitive performance. The overall findings of the two studies suggest that where and how children travel, what they do when traveling, and for how long they travel all affect children’s travel experiences, moods, and cognitive performance. These novel findings bring important knowledge of the impact of a journey. Children are the next generation of traveler; how they experience their day-to-day travel may contribute toward their future travel behavior and influence how societies travel in the future.

The present study aimed to examine how physical exertion influences cognitive performance.Orienteers (n = 23) competing at primarily a national to international level were recruited toparticipate. A randomised control trial using a cross-over research design required participantsto complete two trials measuring performance over a duration of 35 minutes. Specifically, inone trial participants undertook a cognitive testing protocol divided into five blocks comprisedof three separate cognitive tests that each lasted approximately one minute, between each testparticipants rested for one minute (i.e., one minute testing, followed by one minute resting fora duration of 35 minutes). The other trial required participants to complete the same cognitivetesting protocol whilst simultaneous completing a cycling time trial (i.e., aiming to cycle amaximum distance within the time of 35 minutes). Analyses revealed participants performedsignificantly worse on the cognitive tests whilst simultaneously completing the cycling timetrial. Upon closer scrutiny of the individual tests, designed to measure the cognitive functionsof decision-making, working memory, and updating, a similar trend in performance wasobserved although it was not found to be statistically significant. The findings of the presentstudy highlights implications for athletes, coaches, and sports psychologists in attempts tooptimise sport performance and minimize cognitive impairments during physical exertion. Thestudy supports the need for greater ecological validity in the investigation of cognitiveperformance in sport science research. The findings of the present study indicate that appliedsport psychology research may be enhanced by the use of research designs comprised ofcognitive tests that more closely replicate the cognitive demands of competition settings. / Denna studie syftade till att undersöka hur fysisk ansträngning påverkar kognitivprestation. Urvalet bestod av orienterare tävlandes på huvudsakligen nationell tillinternationell nivå (n = 23). Studien var en randomiserad korsstudie där deltagarna genomfördekognitiva tester vid två försökstillfällen på 35 minuter vardera. Under det ena försökstillfälletgenomförde deltagarna ett kognitivt testprotokoll, indelat i fem block innehållande tre testervardera, där varje test varade i ungefär en minut, följt av en minuts vila mellan testerna (dvs.en minuts testning, följt av en minuts vila med en varaktighet på 35 minuter). Det andraförsökstillfället bestod av att deltagarna genomförde samma kognitiva testprotokoll samtidigtsom de cyklade, med målet att komma så lågt som möjligt i distans under 35 minuter.Resultaten visade på signifikant lägre kognitiv prestation när deltagarna cyklade samtidigt.Genom närmare analys av varje enskilt test (som ämnade mäta de kognitiva funktionernabeslutsfattande, arbetsminne och uppdatering) hittades samma trend, men utan signifikans.Fynden kan vara av vikt för idrottare, tränare och idrottspsykologer i deras arbete för attoptimera prestation och minimera kognitiv försämring under fysisk ansträngning. De stödjeräven behovet av ekologisk validitet i studier ämnade att undersöka kognitiv prestation inomidrott. Vidare indikerar fynden att tillämpad idrottspsykologisk forskning kan förbättras genomatt använda en forskningsdesign innehållande kognitiva test som är mer jämförbara med dekognitiva utmaningar idrottare ställs inför under tävlingssammanhang.

Submitted by Cristiane Chim (cristiane.chim@ucpel.edu.br) on 2016-08-01T12:24:32Z No. of bitstreams: 1 amanda reyesvolume final - 23-07-15.pdf: 348695 bytes, checksum: 2ee5f76444cb295f170acae0bec93565 (MD5) / Made available in DSpace on 2016-08-01T12:24:32Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 amanda reyesvolume final - 23-07-15.pdf: 348695 bytes, checksum: 2ee5f76444cb295f170acae0bec93565 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2014-11-25 / . / Objetivo Geral • Comparar o desempenho cognitivo e o funcionamento global entre adultos jovens com e sem o diagnóstico de Transtorno Bipolar, bem como correlacionar estas medidas nos sujeitos com Transtorno Bipolar. 2.2 Objetivos Específicos • Comparar o funcionamento global de adultos jovens com e sem diagnóstico de TB; • Comparar o desempenho cognitivo de adultos jovens com e sem diagnóstico de TB; • Correlacionar o desempenho cognitivo e o funcionamento em uma amostra populacional de adultos jovens; • Correlacionar o desempenho cognitivo e o funcionamento nos adultos jovens com Transtorno Bipolar; • Correlacionar a severidade dos sintomas maníacos e depressivos com o desempenho cognitivo e o funcionamento dos jovens com TB.

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico / Alguns autores entendem o declínio cognitivo como fator de risco para fragilidade. No entanto, outros estudos apresentam a fragilidade como fator de risco para declínio cognitivo. O presente estudo também entende a relação entre fragilidade e desempenho cognitivo neste sentido. Ainda são poucos os estudos que avaliaram esta associação na literatura internacional e não identificamos nenhum estudo conduzido no Brasil, ou mesmo na América Latina, que a tenha investigado. Este estudo tem como objetivo, investigar a associação entre a síndrome da fragilidade e desempenho cognitivo em idosos, e o efeito da escolaridade e da idade nesta associação. Para isto, analisaram-se dados seccionais da Fase 1 do Estudo da fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros (Rede FIBRA - Fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros), relativos à clientes de uma operadora particular de saúde, com 65 anos ou mais, residentes na zona norte da cidade do Rio de Janeiro. A população final de estudo foi de 737 idosos. O desempenho cognitivo foi avaliado através do Mini Exame do Estado Mental (MEEM). Foram considerados frágeis os indivíduos que apresentaram três ou mais das seguintes características: perda de peso não intencional (mais de 4,5Kg no último ano); sensação de exaustão auto-relatada; baixo nível de força de preensão palmar (sujeitos no primeiro quintil); baixo nível de atividade física (sujeitos no primeiro quintil do Minnesota) e lentificação da marcha (sujeitos no primeiro quintil). Também foram coletadas informações sobre características socioeconômicas e demográficas, apoio social, condições médicas e capacidade funcional. O desempenho cognitivo (MEEM) e a fragilidade foram analisados como variáveis dicotômicas. Avaliou-se o papel da idade e escolaridade como possíveis modificadoras de efeito na associação entre fragilidade e baixo desempenho cognitivo. A avaliação da associação entre fragilidade e desempenho cognitivo foi feita através de regressão logística multivariada. A variável idade se comportou como modificadora de efeito na associação entre fragilidade e desempenho cognitivo, x(5) = 806,97, p<0,0001. O mesmo não ocorreu com a variável escolaridade. Os idosos frágeis apresentaram uma maior prevalência de baixo desempenho cognitivo, quando comparados aos idosos não-frágeis ou pré-frágeis, nos três estratos estudados (65 a 74 anos;75 a 84 anos; >_85 anos), p<0,001. A associação entre fragilidade e baixo desempenho cognitivo foi encontrada somente em idosos com 75 anos ou mais, sendo OR bruto=2,68 (IC 95% 1,29 5,53) para idosos de 75 a 84 anos e OR bruto= 6,39 (IC 95% 1,82 - 22,42) para idosos de 85 anos ou mais. Após ajuste pelas condições de saúde, capacidade funcional e pelas variáveis socioeconômicas e demográficas, a associação entre fragilidade e baixo desempenho cognitivo se manteve nesses estratos, OR aj=2,78 (IC 95% 1,23 - 6,27) para 75 a 84 anos e OR aj=15,62 (IC 95% 2,20 110,99) para 85 anos ou mais. A síndrome da fragilidade está, portanto, associada ao baixo desempenho cognitivo em idosos. A idade revelou-se como modificadora de efeito nesta associação. Os idosos com idade mais avançada revelaram uma associação mais expressiva entre os dois fenômenos. / Some authors understand that cognitive performance is a predictor of frailty. However, consistent studies show frailty as a predictor of cognitive decline. This study also considers the relationship between frailty and cognitive performance in this regard. There are still few studies that evaluated this association in international literature and have not identified any studies conducted in Brazil or in Latin America, which has investigated. The objectives of the study were to investigate the association between frailty syndrome and cognitive performance in older adults, and the effect of schooling and age in this association. Data used were from Phase 1 of the "Estudo da Fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros" (Rede FIBRA - Fragilidade em Idosos Brasileiros), relating to customers of a private health provider, with 65 years and older living in the northern of Rio de Janeiro city. The final study population was 737 elderly. Cognitive performance was assessed using the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). We considered frail individuals who exhibited three or more of the following: unintentional weight loss (more than 4.5 kg in the last year); feeling self-reported exhaustion, low grip strength (subject in the first quintile), low physical activity level (subject in the first quintile of Minnesota), slowness (subject in the first quintile). Socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, social support, medical conditions and functional capacity were also collected. The cognitive performance (MMSE) and the frailty were treated as ichotomous variables. We evaluated the age and schooling as effect modifiers on the association between frailty and low cognitive performance. The association between frailty and cognitive performance was evaluated by multivariate logistic regression. The age variable was an effect modifier in the association between frailty and cognitive performance, x (5) = 806.97, p <0.0001. The same hasnt happened with schooling. The frail subjects had a higher prevalence of low cognitive performance, compared to not frail or prefrail, in the three strata (65 to 74 years; 75 to 84 years, >_ 85 years), p<0.001. The association between frailty and low cognitive performance was found only in patients aged 75 years and older, crude OR=2.68 (95% CI 1.29 - 5.53) for aged 75 to 84 and crude OR=6,39 (95% CI 1.82 - 22.42) for 85 years and older. After adjusting for medical conditions, functional ability and the socioeconomic and demographic variables, the association between frailty and low cognitive performance remained in these strata, OR adj = 2,78 (95% CI 1,23 - 6,27) for 75 to 84 years and OR adj = 15,62 (95% CI 2,20 110,99) for 85 years and older. Frailty syndrome is associated with low cognitive performance in older adults. Age proved to be an effect modifier in this association. The oldest patients showed a more significant association between the two phenomena.

Anxiety is of importance within the field of cognition because it is often associated with adverse effects on attention, information processing, learning and memory (Eysenck, 1992, 2007). In existing literature, it has been reported that trait anxiety hinders cognitive performance (i.e., working memory capacity WMC). However, the relationship between trait anxiety and cognitive performance might be moderated by working memory capacity (WMC). For example, Owens (2014) reported that trait anxiety was negatively correlated with cognitive performance in the low WMC group and positively correlated to cognitive performance in the high WMC group. Although, past research on the working memory system has focused on the impairments that are triggered by trait anxiety, there may be an exception to these existing findings. Recently, Moriya & Sugiura (2012, 2018) reported that high trait anxiety paradoxically enhances visual-short term memory capacity (VSTMC). In this present study, we sought to identify if WMC modulates the relationship between trait anxiety and VSTM performance. Our first hypothesis stated that there would be a positive correlation between trait anxiety and VSTM capacity. Our second hypothesis stated that the correlation between trait anxiety and VSTM capacity would be modulated by WMC. In this current study, working memory, visual-short term memory and self‐report levels of trait anxiety, were evaluated. The results of the current study did not provide strong support for neither of our hypotheses. For hypothesis 1, we were not able to replicate Moriya and Sugiura’s findings; trait anxiety did not enhance VSTM performance. For hypothesis 2, VSTM performance was not influenced by the interaction term of WMC x trait anxiety; in such WMC and trait anxiety combined were unrelated to VSTM performance. Despite this work, we are still somewhat unclear whether trait anxiety enhances VSTM performance. Although, our data did not provide definitive support for enhanced VSTMC in high trait anxious individuals it did provide three unique findings. First, our results suggest that the level of WMC does in fact modulate the relationship between trait anxiety and VSTMC. Second, only the somatic component of trait anxiety was negatively correlated to VSTM performance for LWMC individuals. Third, WMC and VSTMC were significantly associated with one another. In closing, our three core findings may provide important insights towards improving future research when assessing the relationship between trait anxiety and VSTM performance.

<p>Research on children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has shown that they are extremely sensitive to distraction from external stimuli that lead to poor cognitive performance. This thesis shows that cognitive performance can be improved if this external stimulus is smooth and continuous (e.g. auditory white noise). Control children attenuate their performance under such conditions. The first Study proposes the moderate brain arousal model (MBA). This neurocomputational model predicts selective improvement from noise in ADHD children. Noise through a phenomenon called stochastic resonance (SR), can be beneficial in dopamine deprived neural systems. The statistical phenomenon of SR explains how the signal-to-noise ratio can be improved by noise in neural systems where the passing a threshold is required. The second Study provides experimental support for the MBA-model by showing that ADHD children improve performance in a free recall task while exposed to auditive noise. Control children declines in the same condition. The third Study generalizes this finding among low achieving children, which it is argued have low dopamine levels. Noise exposure improves performance in low achievers, but inhibits performance in high achievers. The conclusion is that external auditory noise can restore low dopamine levels and thus improve cognitive performance. It is also proposed that dopamine levels modulate the SR effect; this means that low dopamine persons require more noise to obtain an SR effect. Both excessive and insufficient dopamine is detrimental for cognitive performance. The MBA model can be used to explain several shortcomings where changes in the dopamine system have been identified. The MBA model can also help create appropriate and adaptive environments, especially in schools, for persons with a deficient dopamine function, such as ADHD children.</p>

Research on children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) has shown that they are extremely sensitive to distraction from external stimuli that lead to poor cognitive performance. This thesis shows that cognitive performance can be improved if this external stimulus is smooth and continuous (e.g. auditory white noise). Control children attenuate their performance under such conditions. The first Study proposes the moderate brain arousal model (MBA). This neurocomputational model predicts selective improvement from noise in ADHD children. Noise through a phenomenon called stochastic resonance (SR), can be beneficial in dopamine deprived neural systems. The statistical phenomenon of SR explains how the signal-to-noise ratio can be improved by noise in neural systems where the passing a threshold is required. The second Study provides experimental support for the MBA-model by showing that ADHD children improve performance in a free recall task while exposed to auditive noise. Control children declines in the same condition. The third Study generalizes this finding among low achieving children, which it is argued have low dopamine levels. Noise exposure improves performance in low achievers, but inhibits performance in high achievers. The conclusion is that external auditory noise can restore low dopamine levels and thus improve cognitive performance. It is also proposed that dopamine levels modulate the SR effect; this means that low dopamine persons require more noise to obtain an SR effect. Both excessive and insufficient dopamine is detrimental for cognitive performance. The MBA model can be used to explain several shortcomings where changes in the dopamine system have been identified. The MBA model can also help create appropriate and adaptive environments, especially in schools, for persons with a deficient dopamine function, such as ADHD children.

ADHD research has mainly focused on objective performance measures. Performance, however, is only one aspect of functioning. Other aspects of how individuals function are their personal experiences and their evaluations of those experiences. The aim of this thesis is to expand knowledge on the topic of ADHD by presenting studies that investigate objective performance and subject perspective, simultaneously. The empirical work presented here has a dimensional approach to ADHD, which is reflected in the use of samples selected to represent a wide variation in ADHD symptoms. Herein, both objective performance and subject perspective are conceptualized in various ways, to address unanswered questions and to question previous research. ADHD is related to underperformance within the academic realm and within the social realm. By introducing novel subject perspective measures, and including objective performance measures in new ways, a more nuanced understanding of these underperformance areas was gained. More specifically, we obtained an overview of the influence of ADHD symptoms in late childhood and adolescence in relation to academic performance by studying a longitudinal framework of concomitant factors. Furthermore, we disentangled the interplay of ADHD and ODD symptoms and cognitive performance in predicting social acceptance and the "positive illusory bias". Additionally, we questioned the link between disorganized attachment representations and ADHD symptoms by investigating the potential relationship between attachment representations and ADHD symptoms, whilst considering concurrent conduct problems, cognitive performance and narrative responses to non-attachment related story stems. Main results indicate that academic performance is influenced by ADHD symptoms and previous academic performance; adolescent self-perceptions of academic competence are negligible in this context. Moreover, ADHD symptoms in adolescence have a negative influence on views of the future, beyond academic performance and parental education. Further, results indicate that positive illusory bias relates more to ODD behaviors. Finally, results also indicate that children with high levels of ADHD symptoms could falsely appear to be disorganized due to a propensity to include negative content in narratives. In conclusion, when studied together, objective performance and subject perspective give new insight into ADHD. The findings presented motivate the simultaneous inclusion of different perspectives of functioning in ADHD research.