Orienting attention involuntarily to the location of a sensory event influences responses to subsequent stimuli that appear in different modalities with one possible exception: orienting attention involuntarily to a sudden light sometimes fails to affect responses to subsequent sounds (e.g., Spence & Driver, 1997).Here we investigated the effects of involuntary attention to a brief flash on the processing of subsequent sounds in a design that eliminates stimulus-response compatibility effects and criterion shifts as confounding factors. In addition, the neural processes mediating crossmodal attention were studied by recording eventrelated brain potentials. Our data show that orienting attention to the location of a spatially nonpredictive visual cue modulates behavioural and neural responses to subsequent auditory targets when the stimulus onset asynchrony is short (between 100 and 300 ms). These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that involuntary shifts of attention are controlled by supramodal brain mechanisms rather than by modality-specific ones.

IIV plays an important role in real-world tasks and is another aspect of cognition that underlies age-related differences in cognitive performance.

The most common lethal accidents in General Aviation are caused by improperly executed landing approaches in which a pilot descends below the minimum safe altitude without proper visual references. To understand how expertise might reduce such erroneous decision-making, we examined relevant neural processes in pilots performing a simulated landing approach inside a functional MRI scanner. Pilots (aged 20–66) were asked to “fly” a series of simulated “cockpit view” instrument landing scenarios in an MRI scanner. The scenarios were either high risk (heavy fog–legally unsafe to land) or low risk (medium fog–legally safe to land). Pilots with one of two levels of expertise participated: Moderate Expertise (Instrument Flight Rules pilots, n = 8) or High Expertise (Certified Instrument Flight Instructors or Air-Transport Pilots, n = 12). High Expertise pilots were more accurate than Moderate Expertise pilots in making a “land” versus “do not land” decision (CFII: d′ = 3.62±2.52; IFR: d′ = 0.98±1.04; p<.01). Brain activity in bilateral caudate nucleus was examined for main effects of expertise during a “land” versus “do not land” decision with the no-decision control condition modeled as baseline. In making landing decisions, High Expertise pilots showed lower activation in the bilateral caudate nucleus (0.97±0.80) compared to Moderate Expertise pilots (1.91±1.16) (p<.05). These findings provide evidence for increased “neural efficiency” in High Expertise pilots relative to Moderate Expertise pilots. During an instrument approach the pilot is engaged in detailed examination of flight instruments while monitoring certain visual references for making landing decisions. The caudate nucleus regulates saccade eye control of gaze, the brain area where the “expertise” effect was observed. These data provide evidence that performing “real world” aviation tasks in an fMRI provide objective data regarding the relative expertise of pilots and brain regions involved in it.

To assess potential exposure of non-users to exhaled constituents from pod and cartridge electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) products, an environmental clinical study was conducted with (n = 43) healthy adult smokers. Room air concentrations of 34 selected constituents (nicotine, propylene glycol, glycerin, 15 carbonyls, 12 volatile organic compounds, and 4 trace metals) and particle number concentration (0.3 to 25 µm) were compared from use of two ENDS products and conventional cigarettes using room ventilations representative of a residential, an office or a hospitality setting over a 4-h. exposure period. Products used were JUUL ENDS, Virginia Tobacco flavor (Group I), VUSE Solo, Original flavor (Group II) (5.0 and 4.8% nicotine by weight, respectively) and subjects’ own conventional cigarettes (Group III). Cumulative 4-h room air sampling and particle counting were performed during prescribed (Groups I and II) and ad libitum product use (all Groups). Conventional cigarette use resulted in significantly more constituents detected and higher 4-h cumulative constituent concentrations compared to use of the ENDS products tested, except for the predominant ENDS ingredients, propylene glycol and glycerin. Use of conventional cigarettes also resulted in greater total particle number concentration than either prescribed or ad libitum use of either of the ENDS used in this study.