A new coronavirus disease began on 31 December 2019 in Wuhan/China and has caused a global outbreak in only a few months resulting in millions being infected. In conjunction with its’ physical side effects, this outbreak also has a tremendous impact on psychology health. This study aims to assess the spread and frequency of protective behaviors, emotional and anxiety status among the Turkish population using a rapid survey during the COVID-19 outbreak. An online questionnaire was administered to 3,040 respondents between the ages of 18–30. This cross-sectional study was conducted from Apr 2 to Apr 8, 2020. While questions related to the outbreak were created by members of our neuroscience department, the Turkish version of the Abbreviated Beck Anxiety Inventory was included in our survey to measure anxiety status. Pearson correlation coefficient was used for statistical analysis. We found that 90% of respondents report washing hands more frequently since the outbreak while %50 wear protective gloves. Respondents were more fearful of their relatives catching the coronavirus disease than they were of themselves catching it. In response to the question, “What are your emotions about the coronavirus?”, 38% responded with “worried”. There was a significant correlation between anxiety status and consumption information from the media about COVID-19. Individual early protection behaviors might slow transmission of the outbreak. Our results showed that the behavior of the participants has changed in predictable ways during the COVID-19 outbreak. Understanding how emotional responses such as fear and anxiety status vary and the specific factors that mediate it may help with the design of outbreak control strategies.

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ÖzPurpose: Swallowing is a complex neuromuscular process requiring the integrity of many muscles and nerves. The natural aging process can result in deterioration of the swallowing structures and result in functional changes in healthy older adults. The Test of Masticating and Swallowing Solids is the only non-instrumental test that provides quantitative measures for solid food ingestion. This study aimed to establish normative data for the Test of Masticating and Swallowing Solids in healthy Turkish adults to potentially serve as a standard in dysphagia evaluation. Materials and Methods: A total of 144 healthy Turkish adults (ages 20-80+ years) grouped by age and gender participated in this study. The test required participants to eat a regional cracker. Per the protocol, the number of masticatory cycles, number of swallows, number of bites, and total duration to eat the cracker were recorded. Results: Normative data were obtained for the Test of Masticating and Swallowing Solids from 144 healthy adults, stratified by age and gender. Younger participants took fewer bites (2.00 versus 2.65), chewed less (34.50 versus 51.02), swallowed less (2.06 versus 3.39), and swallowed quicker (30.14 versus 49.20) than older participants. In terms of gender, males took fewer bites (1.94 versus 2.59), chewed less (40.98 versus 45.83), and swallowed quicker (36.72 versus 41.23) than females. Conclusion: The Test of Masticating and SwallowingSolids is a quick, sensitive, and objective measure of solid bolus ingestion that may be useful for identifying dysphagic patients at bedside and for tracking the efficiency of the oral phase of swallowing.

Purpose The purpose of this study was to determine whether a new oculomotor serial reaction time (RT) task revealed statistical sequence learning in young children. Method We used eye tracking to measure typically developing children's oculomotor RTs in response to cartoon-like creatures that appeared successively in quadrants of a monitor during 200 trials: an initial patterned phase (120 trials) in which the creature's location reflected 15 repetitions of an 8-element sequence, a pseudorandom phase (40 trials) in which the location was not predictable, and a final patterned phase (40 trials). In an auditory–visual version of the task, spoken nonwords linked to quadrants preceded the creature's appearance. In Study 1, we administered either the visual or the auditory–visual version to 5- and 6-year-old children; in Study 2, we examined the performance of 4-year-olds on the auditory–visual version. Results In both studies, group mean RT z scores were significantly shorter ( p < .05) during patterned than pseudorandom phases, with large effect sizes (Cohen's dz values = 1.17–1.79). Conclusion The new oculomotor serial RT task detected statistical sequence learning in typically developing children.