Bilinguals show differences in face processing compared to monolinguals, automatically orienting more rapidly to faces and dwelling longer on faces and mouths than monolinguals. However, it is difficult to identify specific visual strategies from average-level data. This pre-registered study uses growth curve analysis within trials to explore individual differences in monolingual and bilingual children's dynamic allocation of visual attention to static faces ("Face Pop-Out") and dynamic mouths ("50 Faces"). Participants were from Greater London in two age groups: 7- to 18-month-olds (n = 131) collected at the Birkbeck Babylab, and 18- to 34-month-olds (n = 745) whose data was publicly available from the Developing Human Connectome Project. Results show that children's attentional trajectories for viewing faces and mouths are sensitive to age and early language environment. Specifically, young bilinguals showed stronger systematic disengagement than monolinguals from faces and mouths after initial orientation. Older bilinguals prioritized the mouth more than monolinguals, driven by a steeper increase in mouth-looking over stimulus time. Age-dependent shifts in attentional allocation over stimulus time were evident within both age groups, particularly in static face viewing. In infants, younger children showed earlier re-fixations to static faces than older children. In toddlers, attention to faces was more stable over stimulus time in older than younger children. Overall, results suggest that age and early exposure to two languages modulates the temporal structure of children's social attention from 7- to 34-months of age.

Our autobiographical memories reflect our personal experiences at specific times in our lives. All life events are experienced while we inhabit our body, raising the question of whether a representation of our bodily self is inherent in our memories. Here we explored this possibility by investigating if the retrieval of childhood autobiographical memories would be influenced by a body illusion that gives participants the experience of ownership for a ‘child version’ of their own face. 50 neurologically healthy adults were tested in an online enfacement illusion study. Feelings of ownership and agency for the face were greater during conditions with visuo-motor synchrony than asynchronous conditions. Critically, participants who enfaced (embodied) their child-like face recollected more childhood episodic memory details than those who enfaced their adult face. No effects on autobiographical semantic memory recollection were found. This finding indicates that there is an interaction between the bodily self and autobiographical memory, showing that temporary changes to the representation and experience of the bodily self impacts access to memory.

INTRODUCTION:Cognitive impairment is a commonly observed characteristic of people living with schizophrenia (PLWS). Adequate monitoring of intellectual decline and status in this population requires reliable estimates of premorbid IQ because objective IQ data predating schizophrenia onset are often unavailable. However, premorbid IQ estimation in PLWS is frequently complicated by confounding factors. The primary objective of this systematic review is to explore and compare extant approaches for estimating premorbid IQ in PLWS and, in doing so, identify factors that might inform the selection of the most reliable method for this clinical population. METHOD:A systematic literature search was conducted across PubMed, Web of Science Core Collection, EBSCOhost, SCOPUS, and The Cochrane Library electronic bibliographic databases. After deduplication, study selection was conducted in line with predefined inclusion and exclusion criteria. The quality assessment of studies was conducted using the Effective Public Health Practice Project (EPHPP) Quality Assessment Tool. RESULTS:43 articles involving 8,012 participants with schizophrenia spectrum disorders were included. Premorbid IQ estimation methods such as the National Adult Reading Test (NART), Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT), Test of Premorbid Functioning (ToPF), Wechsler Test of Adult Reading (WTAR), Oklahoma Premorbid Intelligence Estimate (OPIE), demographic regression algorithms, and "hold" test approaches based on subtests from the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale (WAIS) were employed. Studies comparing these methods report inconsistent levels of agreement, with differences associated with factors such as schizophrenia chronicity, age of onset, and years of education. CONCLUSIONS:A range of measures are available for estimating premorbid IQ in people living with schizophrenia. However, their precision is limited by several factors identified in this review. We urge researchers and clinicians to recognize these limitations. We have created an evidence-based guide to support the selection of the most optimal estimation method for premorbid IQ in PLWS.

Visually presented information is crucial in driving effective communication with consumers. It is the first sense to be used in the majority of consumer-related setups, including product packaging, in-store displays, online communication, and traditional advertising such as commercials and billboard displays. It may also be the most important sense-driving buying behavior (Schifferstein et al., 2013). The sheer volume of visual information that consumers are faced with on a daily basis is a problem for marketers, because they need to explore and identify those types of visual features that 'win out' against all that stimulation. Failure to do this effectively will render marketing materials an expensive mistake because consumers will not register a product as separate from the rest of the background visual 'noise' that they are faced with at any and every moment. Understanding our capacity to selectively attend to information deemed relevant to our current and ongoing needs and goals, while discarding irrelevant information from further processing, is of fundamental importance.

In this final chapter we present summaries of eight published research articles in consumer neuroscience. These have been selected to provide a broad overview of the kinds of questions that can now be addressed concerning the neurocognitive basis of consumer behavior, and to summarize how the findings from such studies might be exploited in the service of more effective marketing. Each study is broadly divided into background, method, findings, and conclusion. For ease, at the end of each study, the full reference is included.

The topic of emotion is complicated and neuroscience-based tools can help to provide insight into how consumers “feel” about products and services. In this chapter we explore the role of the amygdala and the broader distributed networks (including limbic, cortical, subcortical circuitry) serving emotional processing. We also consider how emotions can guide selective attention, recall, and more broadly how consumers “feel” about products.

In this chapter we provide an introduction to human brain structure, with a particular focus on regions that are of interest to consumer scientists. We incorporate a 'brain index,' additional to the 'standard' contents index at the back of the book. The images of brain structures here are tagged with the page numbers in the book that provide research and additional information on functions associated with these regions. A one-stop glossary of key terms is included at the end of the chapter for reference purposes.

Although much of the research on consumer behavior has focused on the visual input modality other inputs are fundamentally important in guiding our perception of products and services. Thus consumer responses are also directed by the complementary and interacting influence of touch hearing smell and taste. Such information can sometimes be of more importance in driving consumer purchasing decisions than the purely visual characteristics of a product. Given that we, as consumers, are routinely exposed to multiple sensory inputs, and that most retail settings are multisensory by nature, exploring how the senses interact is key to understanding consumer-product interaction.

In order to evaluate how and why gathered neuroscience data can help us to better understand consumer behavior, we need to have a working knowledge of methods employed, and an appreciation of their comparative strengths and limitations. Until recently, consumer scientists and marketers have relied heavily on self-reports of some kind or by observing consumers' behavior. In many situations, consumers are influenced by 'internal' variables that are difficult to describe and observe, such as emotional state. Methods employed by cognitive neuroscientists, such as functional magnetic resonance and electroencephalography, provide information about cognitive and/or emotional processing that might be outside the consumer's explicit awareness. Therefore, with such tools we can potentially gain insights about the neurocognitive basis of consumer thought and behavior which are not subject to problems such as response bias, typically associated with questionnaire-based methods (Feldman & Lynch, 1988).

Development takes place throughout lifespan, and it is important to understand how it influences different aspects of consumer behavior. Specifically, this chapter outline stages of development from childhood to late adulthood that may help us understand consumer decision making. For example, changes in speed of processing that occur with age are an important influence on thought and behavior. The chapter also introduces developmental factors informed by neuroscience which have received limited attention in the context of consumer behavior.

Objective:Premorbid tests estimate cognitive ability prior to neurological condition onset or brain injury. Tests requiring oral pronunciation of visually presented irregular words, such as the National Adult Reading Test (NART), are commonly used due to robust evidence that word familiarity is well-preserved across a range of neurological conditions and correlates highly with intelligence. Our aim is to examine the prediction limits of NART variants to assess their ability to accurately estimate premorbid IQ.Method:We examine the prediction limits of 13 NART variants, calculate which IQ classification system categories are reachable in principle, and consider the proportion of the adult population in the target country falling outside the predictable range.Results:Many NART variants cannot reach higher or lower IQ categories due to floor/ceiling effects and inherent limitations of linear regression (used to convert scores to predicted IQ), restricting clinical accuracy in evaluating premorbid ability (and thus the magnitude of impairment). For some variants this represents a sizeable proportion of the target population.Conclusions:Since both higher and lower IQ categories are unreachable in principle, we suggest that future NART variants consider polynomial or broken-stick fitting (or similar methods) and suggest that prediction limits should be routinely reported.

Visual attention refers to the limited capacity cognitive system that mediates the selection of information from the visual environment in the service of ensuring our decision making and behaviors are closely matched to our goals. Attention related changes in neuronal activity can be observed in a widely distributed network of brain regions. A key goal for businesses is to persuade their target consumers, whether consciously or unconsciously, to notice products and marketing messages and by doing so increasing likelihood of purchase. This can be difficult to do without having a good understanding for how attention works.

ABSTRACT Introduction We report a process evaluation embedded within a UK Randomised Controlled Trial (RCT), which demonstrated that New Interventions for independence in Dementia Study (NIDUS)-Family (a manualised, multimodal psychosocial intervention), was effective relative to usual care, on the primary outcome of Goal Attainment Scaling (GAS) over one year. We aimed to test and refine a hypothesised theory of change model delineating key causal assumptions for impact mechanisms. Methods In 2021-22, intervention-arm dyads completed an acceptability questionnaire developed to test causal assumptions. We interviewed dyads and their intervention facilitators, purposively selected for diverse follow-up GAS scores and sociodemographic diversity. Matching observational data were collected from intervention session recordings, using a checklist developed to test causal assumptions. We thematically analysed data, then integrated qualitative and quantitative data. Results 174/204 (85.3%) dyads allocated to NIDUS-Family, fully completed the intervention, 18 partially completed it, while 12 received none. 47/192 (24.5%) of carers receiving any sessions completed the acceptability questionnaire. 27/58 (47%) dyads purposively selected, and 9/10 facilitators participated in qualitative interviews; and we observed 12 sessions. We identified four themes: A) ‘Someone to talk to helps dyads feel supported’; B) ‘NIDUS-Family helps carers change their perspective’; C) ‘Personalisation helps people living with dementia maintain their identity’; and D) ‘Small steps help dyads move forward’. Conclusion Key causal pathway mechanisms were: regular sessions with a consistent facilitator providing space to discuss priorities, supporting carers to consider new perspectives and approaches to personalising care; and planning small actionable steps towards goals. Findings will support NIDUS-Family implementation.

BACKGROUND:Adjusting to life changes posed by an acquired brain injury (ABI) can be challenging for both individuals with ABI and their families. The current study explores the experience of adjustment, incorporating similarities and differences in this process as reported by the family members and individuals with ABI. METHOD:Thirty-nine participants, recruited from a regional brain injury charity group, took part in semi-structured interviews (20/39 individuals with ABI, 19/39 relatives). Transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. FINDINGS:Three main categories of adjustment were developed: adjusted to life after ABI, partially adjusted to life after ABI and not adjusted to life after ABI. However, it is the complexity of experiences within these main categories which uncovers the diversity in individual experience. Of specific interest are adjustment as best case and resigned adjustment responses which indicate a level of burden for the person experiencing these feelings of adjustment. CONCLUSIONS:The categories of grateful acceptance and resigned acceptance were specific to relatives and show the need to look beyond the individual with ABI to identify where support may be required for a family as a whole. On the basis of these findings, we offer an inclusive, family-oriented conceptualization of adjustment to brain-injury.

Autobiographical memories are memories of previous experiences of one’s self, therefore it seems likely that autobiographical memories and self-representations interact in the brain. To test this in relation to the bodily self, we investigated whether the retrieval of childhood autobiographical memories would be facilitated by an illusion of ownership for a ‘child version’ of the participant’s own face. 50 neurologically healthy adults were tested in an online enfacement illusion study. Feelings of ownership and agency for the face were greater during conditions with visuo-motor synchrony than conditions with asynchrony. Critically, participants who viewed their child-like face recollected more childhood episodic memory details than those who viewed their adult face. No effects on autobiographical semantic memory recall were found. This finding indicates that there is an interaction between the bodily self and autobiographical memory. Our experimental paradigm could in future be adapted for its potential clinical application in memory disorders.

This article summarises over ten years of research on the effects of multilanguage acquisition on cognitive development (and decline) across the lifespan conducted by our lab. We adopted a developmental approach to research on bilingualism with the aim of building developmental trajectories of components of executive functions and metacognition. We examined the performance of over 900 individuals from the age of 8–80 years, half of them multilinguals. They were all tested individually with a battery of behavioural tasks and a large number of adult participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). For all participants we collected biographical, linguistic, and socio-economic data. Taken together, our studies show that behavioural performance across multiple cognitive indicators does not differ between multilingual and monolingual groups when they are carefully matched on potential confounding covariates such as socio-economic status and language experience, and that the evidence base against a multilingual advantage is disproportionately robust when sample size is comparatively large. Nevertheless, we have also identified possible differences in the functional architecture of higher-level cognition across these groups, indicating that the process of acquiring a second language may alter the distributed networks underpinning cognitive control. Our findings have contributed to a better understanding of the effects of multilingualism on cognitive and metacognitive processes across the lifespan. They have shown that multilingual acquisition is neither detrimental nor advantageous to domain-general cognitive development but may nevertheless promote functional and structural adaptation in the service of control of linguistic interference.