The authors suggest that VRMT may improve memory function in elderly adults by enhancing focused attention.

The detection of faked identities is a major problem in security. Current memory-detection techniques cannot be used as they require prior knowledge of the respondent’s true identity. Here, we report a novel technique for detecting faked identities based on the use of unexpected questions that may be used to check the respondent identity without any prior autobiographical information. While truth-tellers respond automatically to unexpected questions, liars have to “build” and verify their responses. This lack of automaticity is reflected in the mouse movements used to record the responses as well as in the number of errors. Responses to unexpected questions are compared to responses to expected and control questions (i.e., questions to which a liar also must respond truthfully). Parameters that encode mouse movement were analyzed using machine learning classifiers and the results indicate that the mouse trajectories and errors on unexpected questions efficiently distinguish liars from truth-tellers. Furthermore, we showed that liars may be identified also when they are responding truthfully. Unexpected questions combined with the analysis of mouse movement may efficiently spot participants with faked identities without the need for any prior information on the examinee.

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This paper deals with the sequential structure of communication via short message service (SMS) among adults and young adults, aged 25-35 and 50-65, respectively. A collection of 173 SMS exchanges for personal communication, spontaneously composed by participants, was gathered. Each exchange was photographed from the display of the participant's mobile phone and then analysed with the approach of conversation analysis. A questionnaire was also administered during the collection procedure. The analysis of the practices organizing the action sequence reveals that exchanges frequently lack openings and closures, show an effort towards reciprocation and use implicit or anticipated actions. Social presence seems then characterized by a sense of constant availability, symmetric commitment and shared understanding. It is concluded that the sequential structure of mediated communication may give insightful details on the nature of the social presence thereby constituted and may provide a criterion to compare different communication modes.