Details of a Researcher

Papers - KITA, Yosuke

Division display 1 - 20 of about 133 ／ All the affair displays >>

The Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS): Applicability and Utility in a Sample of Japanese Elementary School Children

Yoshifumi Ikeda, Yosuke Kita, Riko Takagi, Kento Suzuki, Irene Cristina Mammarella, Sara Caviola, Silvia Lanfranchi, Francesca Pulina, David Giofrè

International Journal of Psychology (Wiley) 60 ( 2 ) 2025.02

Accepted, ISSN 0020-7594

ABSTRACT

Math anxiety negatively affects math performance and future career choices in math‐related fields. Various tools assess math anxiety, but the Abbreviated Math Anxiety Scale (AMAS) is noteworthy for its ease of administration and good psychometric properties. This study evaluates the AMAS's applicability and utility in a sample of approximately 170 Japanese elementary‐school children. Findings indicate that the Japanese version of the AMAS has very good internal consistency, good test–retest reliability and validity, both convergent and concurrent. Results from a multigroup analysis showed that the scale shows no gender bias, although girls scored higher on the AMAS despite similar performance to boys on a standardised math test. These findings highlight the AMAS's potential as a screening tool for math anxiety in young children.

Access to Document (DOI)

Difficulties in perceptual-motor coordination of reaching behavior in children with autism spectrum disorder.

Ken Kikuchi, Manami Honda, Yusuke Baba, Yosuke Kita, Takahiro Higuchi

Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior 180 111 - 125 2024.11

Accepted, ISSN 00109452

Increased risk of injury from collisions with objects is an important issue in children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The purpose of the present study was to examine whether impaired perceptual-motor coordination may underlie the high frequency of collisions. Specifically, we hypothesized that collisions are likely to occur frequently in children with ASD due to their difficulty with body-related spatial perception and their inadequate motor planning, due to their detail-focused processing style, i.e., a tendency to focus attention on specific details rather than on the overall context. To evaluate impairment of perceptual-motor coordination in children with ASD, an original action selection task was developed to assess (a) body-related spatial perception and (b) predictive attentional properties for planning the subsequent movements based on the measures of hand movement and gaze behavior. Twenty-six children (13 diagnosed as ASD and 13 with typical development [TD]) completed the task, and their parents completed a questionnaire regarding their child's susceptibility to injury. Results showed that children with ASD displayed inaccurate body-related spatial perception and inadequate motor planning under conditions that induced their detail-focused processing style. In addition, analyses of gaze behavior reflected the characteristics of a detail-focused processing in children with ASD. This was correlated with the severity of ASD and the measure of motor planning. The present findings suggest that difficulty with perceptual-motor coordination, resulting in part from the detail-focused processing style, might contribute to susceptibility to injury in children with ASD. We consider that our evaluation of the difficulty with perceptual-motor of individuals with ASD provides a framework for understanding their high rate of collision-related injuries and could inform strategies for preventing these injuries.

Access to Document (DOI)

ひらがな読み検査に基づく読字困難の過剰判定と検査基準値の検証

奥村安寿子, 北村柚葵, 櫻井晴子, 白川由佳, 大山帆子, 稲垣真澄, 浅野倫子, 北洋輔

脳と発達 ((一社)日本小児神経学会) 56 ( 6 ) 420 - 426 2024.11

Last author, Accepted, ISSN 0029-0831

【目的】ひらがな読み検査は,発達性読み書き障害の診断と治療に不可欠である.その一方で,現行の検査では低学年において読字困難の過剰判定をもたらす危険性がある.本研究では,小学校1,2年生における同検査の大規模データを収集し,実態解明,過剰判定の検証,ならびに新たな基準値の探索と現行基準との比較検討を目的とした.【方法】公立小学校の1年生511名,2年生422名にひらがな読み検査を実施し,音読時間を現行基準と比較した.次に,現行基準に基づく,各学年の異常判定率を検証した.さらに,3年生までの縦断追跡データから新基準値を作成し,1,2年生の異常判定率を検証するとともに,縦断追跡経過を現行基準と比較した.【結果】1,2年の音読時間は現行基準よりも大幅に長く,現行基準に基づく異常判定率は1年生で47.0%,2年生で30.3%に達した.新基準は,現行基準よりも大幅に寛容な値となり,異常判定率は両学年で7%前後となった.縦断追跡経過の比較では,現行基準下で対象児の半数近くが読字困難に分類されたのに対し,新基準下では約15%に低下し,過剰判定の改善が示された.【結論】ひらがな読み検査の現行基準は,1,2年生の実態よりも厳格であり,読字困難を過剰判定する危険性が極めて高いことが示された.新基準は,医学診断および教育的介入の両面でより適切と考えられ,今後は学年基準値の修正を進めていく必要がある.(著者抄録)

Association between Motor Skills, Occupational Performance, and Mental Health in Japanese Children with Neurodevelopmental Disorders: A Cross-Sectional Correlational Study

Masanori Yasunaga, Hideki Miyaguchi, Chinami Ishizuki, Yosuke Kita, Akio Nakai

Children (MDPI AG) 11 ( 8 ) 899 - 899 2024.07

Background: Motor skills have been linked to executive functions (EFs) in children with developmental coordination disorder (DCD). However, the traits of other neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), such as attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and autism spectrum disorder, remain overlooked. Therefore, this study explored the association between motor skills, occupational performance, and mental health in older kindergarten children with DCD and other NDDs. Overall, 95 participants aged 5–6 years were included in this study and divided into four groups: DCD traits (DCD-t), DCD-t + NDD traits (DCD-t + NDD-t), NDD-t-only, and typically developing children. Motor skills, EFs, and mental health were assessed using the DCD Questionnaire (DCDQ-J) and Movement Assessment Battery for Children—Second Edition, School Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (S-AMPS), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), respectively. The DCD-t + NDD-t group exhibited a strong correlation between the S-AMPS motor skill score and the DCDQ-J fine motor skill score (r = 0.88, p < 0.001) and between the total DCDQ-J score and the SDQ Total Difficulties Score (r = −0.94, p < 0.001). The findings indicate that children with DCD-t and NDD-t are more likely to experience EF and mental health problems than those with DCD-t only.

Access to Document (DOI)

Overdiagnosis of reading difficulties based on a Hiragana reading test and the proposal of a new norm

Okumura Y., Kitamura Y., Sakurai H., Shirakawa Y., Oyama H., Inagaki M., Asano M., Kita Y.

No To Hattatsu 56 ( 6 ) 420 - 426 2024

ISSN 00290831

Objective:While the Hiragana reading test is essential for the diagnosis and treatment of developmental dyslexia in Japan, the current norm may overdiagnose reading difficulties, especially among lower graders. The present study aimed to verify the current norm and the extent of overdiagnosis based on a large sample of first graders(G1)and second graders(G2). In addition, more appropriate norm was explored using longitudinal data. Methods:A total of 511 and 422 students enrolled in G1 and G2 at public elementary schools, respectively, completed the Hiragana reading test. First, we compared the reading time distributions between the present sample and the current norm. Second, the diagnosis rate of reading difficulty was examined for each grade. Finally, a new norm was established for the Hiragana reading test based on a three-year longitudinal data, which were contrasted with the current norm with respect to diagnosis rate and longitudinal trajectory. Results:Reading times in the present G1 and G2 samples were considerably longer than the current norm. Diagnosis rate of reading difficulty reached as high as 47.0% in G1 and 30.3% in G2. The longitudinally established new norm was more moderate and led to diagnosis rate of around 7% for both grades. In a comparison of three-year trajectory, nearly half of the students were classified as having reading difficulties, at least once based on the current norm, whereas the use of new norm dropped the classification rate to around 15% and improved overdiagnosis. Conclusions:The current norm of the Hiragana reading test was overly strict for both G1 and G2 graders, which indicates that there is a high risk of overdiagnosing reading difficulties. The new norm was suggested to be more useful for both medical diagnosis and educational intervention. Therefore, it is necessary to modify grade norms of the Hiragana reading test.

Access to Document (DOI)

Effects of Dopaminergic Neurotransmission and Neural Activity Involved in Motor Response Inhibition on Motor Coordination Function

YUKA SHIRAKAWA, YOSUKE KITA, KOTA SUZUKI, YOSHIMI KAGA, YUZUKI KITAMURA, HIDEYUKI OKUZUMI, MASUMI INAGAKI

Japanese Journal of Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology (Japanese Society for Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology) 41 ( 2 ) 120 - 131 2023.12

Accepted, ISSN 0289-2405

Access to Document (DOI)

Preimplantation genetic testing using comprehensive genomic copy number analysis is beneficial for balanced translocation carriers.

Aya Yamazaki, Tomoko Kuroda, Nami Kawasaki, Keiichi Kato, Keiko Shimojima Yamamoto, Takeshi Iwasa, Akira Kuwahara, Yuka Taniguchi, Toshiyuki Takeshita, Yosuke Kita, Mikio Mikami, Minoru Irahara, Toshiyuki Yamamoto

Journal of human genetics (Journal of Human Genetics) 69 ( 1 ) 41 - 45 2023.10

Accepted, ISSN 14345161

Balanced chromosomal translocation is one of chromosomal variations. Carriers of balanced chromosomal translocations have an increased risk of spontaneous miscarriage. To avoid the risk, preimplantation genetic testing (PGT) using comprehensive genomic copy number analysis has been developed. This study aimed to verify whether and how embryos from couples in which one partner is a balanced translocation carrier have a higher ratio of chromosomal abnormalities. A total of 894 biopsied trophectoderms (TEs) were obtained from 130 couples in which one partner was a balanced translocation carrier (Robertsonian translocation, reciprocal translocation, or intrachromosomal inversion) and grouped as PGT-SR. Conversely, 3269 TEs from 697 couples who experienced recurrent implantation failure or recurrent pregnancy loss were included in the PGT-A group. The transferable blastocyst ratio was significantly lower in the PGT-SR group, even when bias related to the sample number and patient age was corrected. Subgroup analysis of the PGT-SR group revealed that the transferable blastocyst ratio was higher in the Robertsonian translocation group. Because the PGT-SR group had a higher proportion of untransferable embryos than the PGT-A group, PGT using comprehensive genomic copy number analysis was more beneficial for balanced translocation carriers than for infertility patients without chromosomal translocations. The frequencies of de novo aneuploidies were further analyzed, and the frequency in the PGT-SR group was lower than that in the PGT-A group. Therefore, we could not confirm the existence of interchromosomal effects in this study.

Access to Document (DOI)

The Structure of Working Memory and Its Relationship with Intelligence in Japanese Children

Yoshifumi Ikeda, Yosuke Kita, Yuhei Oi, Hideyuki Okuzumi, Silvia Lanfranchi, Francesca Pulina, Irene Cristina Mammarella, Katie Allen, David Giofrè

Journal of Intelligence (MDPI AG) 11 ( 8 ) 167 - 167 2023.08

Accepted

There is a host of research on the structure of working memory (WM) and its relationship with intelligence in adults, but only a few studies have involved children. In this paper, several different WM models were tested on 170 Japanese school children (from 7 years and 5 months to 11 years and 6 months). Results showed that a model distinguishing between modalities (i.e., verbal and spatial WM) fitted the data well and was therefore selected. Notably, a bi-factor model distinguishing between modalities, but also including a common WM factor, presented with a very good fit, but was less parsimonious. Subsequently, we tested the predictive power of the verbal and spatial WM factors on fluid and crystallized intelligence. Results indicated that the shared contribution of WM explained the largest portion of variance of fluid intelligence, with verbal and spatial WM independently explaining a residual portion of the variance. Concerning crystallized intelligence, however, verbal WM explained the largest portion of the variance, with the joint contribution of verbal and spatial WM explaining the residual part. The distinction between verbal and spatial WM could be important in clinical settings (e.g., children with atypical development might struggle selectively on some WM components) and in school settings (e.g., verbal and spatial WM might be differently implicated in mathematical achievement).

Access to Document (DOI)

Interaction during online classes fosters engagement with learning and self-directed study both in the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic

Claudia Gherghel, Shoko Yasuda, Yosuke Kita

Computers & Education (Elsevier BV) 200 104795 - 104795 2023.07

Last author, Corresponding author, Accepted, ISSN 0360-1315

Maintaining students’ learning engagement was a challenge in emergency online education during the pandemic. In this study, we investigated the predictors (social interaction) and outcomes (self-directed study) of engagement in online learning during the first and second years of the COVID-19 pandemic. First-year Japanese university students (N = 1167) enrolled in online classes during 2020 and 2021 responded to a questionnaire measuring perceived opportunities for social interaction during online classes, engagement with online learning, and extracurricular self-directed study time. Multi-group path analysis revealed that social interaction during online classes exhibited a positive indirect effect on self-directed study time through emotional and behavioral engagement with online learning. The positive indirect effect was significant in both the first and second years of the pandemic. The results suggest that increasing the number of opportunities for social interaction during online classes may exhibit spillover effects on learning outside the online classroom.

Access to Document (DOI)

Pre-movement gating of somatosensory evoked potentials in Tourette syndrome

Kimura K., Murase N., Nagao Y., Nozaki M., Fukumizu M., Kita Y., Hayashi M., Hoshino K.

Brain and Development (Brain and Development) 45 ( 6 ) 324 - 331 2023.06

ISSN 03877604

Objective: Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurobehavioral disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics. Simple tics are purposeless involuntary movements that spontaneously resolve during middle adolescence. Complex tics appear to be semi-voluntary movements that may become intractable when associated with obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Sensory tics or urges preceded by tics suggest sensorimotor processing impairment in TS. We aimed to clarify its pathophysiology by exploring the pre-movement gating (attenuation) of somatosensory evoked potentials (SEPs). Methods: We examined 42 patients (aged 9–48 years), 4 of whom underwent follow-up assessment, along with 19 healthy controls. We defined patients with only simple tics as TS-S and patients with complex tics as TS-C. Pre-movement gating of SEPs was assessed using a previously described method. Frontal N30 (FrN30) amplitudes were compared between pre-movement and resting states. The gating ratio of pre-movement/resting amplitude of the FrN30 component was assessed: the larger the ratio, the less the gating. Results: The gating ratio for TS-C patients was larger than that of TS-S patients and healthy controls, but a statistical difference between TS-S and TS-C appeared after 15 years and over (p < 0.001). There were no significant differences in the gating ratio between TS-S patients and healthy controls. The gating ratio was related to the severity of OCD (p < 0.05). Conclusion: Sensorimotor processing was preserved for simple tics but impaired in complex tics, specifically after middle adolescence. Our study supports an age-dependent dysfunction of both motor and non-motor cortico-striato-thalamo-cortical circuits in complex tics. SEP gating seems promising as a tool for assessing age-dependent sensorimotor disintegration in TS.

Access to Document (DOI)

Cognitive Orientation to Daily Occupational Performance: A Randomized Controlled Trial Examining Intervention Effects on Children with Developmental Coordination Disorder Traits.

Yasunaga M, Miyaguchi H, Ishizuki C, Kita Y, Nakai A

Brain Sciences. (Brain Sciences) 13 ( 5 ) 721 2023

Accepted

Children with traits of developmental coordination disorder (DCD-t) may experience occupational performance problems that go unrecognized and therefore may not be adequately supported. The cognitive orientation to daily occupational performance (CO-OP) approach has been effective in interventions for developmental coordination disorder (DCD). Based on an open-label, randomized controlled trial design, this study evaluated the effects of CO-OP on the occupational performance and motor skills of older kindergarten children with DCD-t using the School Assessment of Motor and Process Skills (S-AMPS) and the Movement Assessment Battery for Children, Second Edition. Children with a total DCDQ score of less than 40 or M-ABC2 scores in the 5th to 16th percentile were considered to have DCD-t. Furthermore, children with DCD-t and S-AMPS process skills less than 0.7 were considered to have DAMP (Deficits in Attention, Motor control and Perception)-t. After 3 months of CO-OP intervention, the performance and motor skills of children with DCD-t improved significantly. However, there were no significant changes noted in the motor skills of children with DAMP-t, although their occupational performance improved. These results suggest that CO-OP is effective even for older kindergarten children with DCD-t. However, further improvement of the CO-OP approach or a different strategy is required for children with ADHD comorbidity.

Access to Document (DOI)

Yuri Ozawa, Hiroshi Ozawa, Nobuko Sugiura, Yuka Shirakawa, Yosuke Kita

日本小児科学会雑誌 126 ( 11 ) 1489 - 1497 2022.11

Last author, Accepted

Modulation effects of the intact motor skills on the relationship between social skills and motion perceptions in children with autism spectrum disorder: A pilot study.

Kotoe Sakihara, Yosuke Kita, Kota Suzuki, Masumi Inagaki

Brain & development (Brain and Development) 45 ( 1 ) 39 - 48 2022.09

Accepted, ISSN 03877604

BACKGROUND: An individual with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has social skill, motor skill, and motion perception deficits. However, the relationship among them was not clarified. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate the effects of motor skills on social skills and motion perception. METHODS: Five typically developed children and fourteen children with ASD participated in our study. The N200 component, a brain activity indicating motion perception, was induced in mid-temporal (MT/V5) brain area by watching a random dot kinematograph, and was recorded using a scalp electroencephalogram. Furthermore, the social responsiveness scale (SRS) indicating the social skill deficit, the developmental coordination disorder questionnaire (DCDQ) estimating the developmental coordination disorder (DCD), and the movement assessment battery for children second edition (MABC-2) indicating motor skills were recorded in the children with ASD. A hierarchical multiple regression analysis was conducted to examine the modulation effects of motor skills on the relationship between social skills and motion perception. The dependent variable was the N200 latency, and the independent variables were SRS, MABC-2, and combined MABC-2 and SRS. RESULTS: The N200 latency was more delayed in children with ASD relative that in typically developed children. Intact balance ability modulated the relationship between social skills and N200 latency in children with ASD. Within the high balance ability, when the social skills worsened, the N200 latency was shortened. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report that intact motor skills could modulate the relationship between social skills and motion perception.

Access to Document (DOI)

Characteristics of shifting ability in children with mild intellectual disabilities: an experimental study with a task‐switching paradigm

Y. Kitamura, Y. Okumura, Y. Shirakawa, Y. Ikeda, Y. Kita

Journal of Intellectual Disability Research (Wiley) 66 ( 11 ) 853 - 864 2022.09

Accepted, ISSN 0964-2633

Background: Shifting enables flexible switch between tasks or mental sets. It is a component of the executive function that plays critical roles in human behaviour control. However, shifting ability in individuals with intellectual disability (ID) has not been well clarified because of the use of intellectually demanding tasks in previous studies. The present study invented a novel shifting task with minimal intellectual demands and aimed to clarify the characteristics of shifting in adolescents with ID. Methods: Adolescents with ID (n = 21) and chronological-age-matched (n = 10) and mental-age-matched controls (n = 33) performed a novel shifting task with simple rule switching (i.e. change in direction). Analyses focused on the switch cost or the increase in the reaction time associated with rule switching. Results: Two subtypes of adolescents with ID were found with respect to the switch cost: one that lacks it and another with an increased switch cost. The lack of a switch cost was unique to the subgroup adolescents with ID and was not indicated in the control group. Conclusions: The present study indicated that shifting in adolescents with ID does not depend solely on their intellectual function and is highly heterogeneous. This finding further implies that executive functions, including shifting, must be evaluated separately from their intellectual functions.

Access to Document (DOI)

神経発達症児における血清亜鉛値の検討

井之上寿美, 河野芳美, 河野千佳, 白木恭子, 塩田睦記, 雨宮馨, 中村由紀子, 杉浦信子, 小沢愉理, 北洋輔, 小沢浩

脳と発達 ((一社)日本小児神経学会) 54 ( 5 ) 356 - 358 2022.09

Accepted, ISSN 0029-0831

神経発達症児の血清亜鉛値について健常児の参照値と比較検討した。血清亜鉛値を測定した学齢期の神経発達症児63名(男児49名、女児14名)を患者群とし、先行研究において年齢分布が一致する380名の健常児のデータを用いて解析を行った。その結果、患者群のうち19名(30%)が亜鉛欠乏症、また39名(62%)が潜在性亜鉛欠乏、亜鉛値正常は5名(8%)であり、血清亜鉛値は健常児の参照値と比較して有意に低値であった(p<0.001)。患者群の診断内訳では、ADHD(36名、54%)と自閉スペクトラム症(22名、39%)の2疾患が大部分を占めたものの、血清亜鉛値は疾患間で有意な差はなく(p=0.32)、性差も認められなかった(p=0.95)。神経発達症児は亜鉛欠乏傾向にあると考えられ、疾患や性別による血清亜鉛値の明らかな違いはなかった。(著者抄録)

Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation decreased effortful frontal activity for shifting in patients with major depressive disorder.

Yuka Shirakawa, Ryuichi Yamazaki, Yosuke Kita, Yuzuki Kitamura, Yasuko Okumura, Yuki Inoue, Yuki Matsuda, Fumitoshi Kodaka, Masahiro Shigeta, Shinsuke Kito

Neuroreport (NeuroReport) 33 ( 11 ) 470 - 475 2022.08

Accepted, ISSN 09594965

Patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) exhibit several clinical symptoms including difficulties in flexible thinking. Flexible thinking mainly relies on a cognitive ability called shifting; however, the mechanisms underlying shifting in patients with MDD have not yet been clarified. Therefore, we conducted a preliminary intervention study to clarify the association between depression and shifting ability. We examined the hemodynamic responses in the frontal regions during the shifting task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) in 21 patients with MDD who were treated using high-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). Behavioral performance on the shifting task did not change between pre- and posttreatments, whereas patients who responded well to rTMS treatment showed a significant decrease in hemodynamic responses posttreatment. On the other hand, the poor responders did not show significant changes in the hemodynamic responses between pre- and posttreatments. These results suggest that the good responders were successfully remedied with rTMS treatment and did not need effortful activity in frontal regions for shifting, which made their brain activity more efficient.

Access to Document (DOI)

Need for revision of the ACMG/AMP guidelines for interpretation of X-linked variants.

Yoko Inoue, Osamu Machida, Yosuke Kita, Toshiyuki Yamamoto

Intractable & rare diseases research (Intractable and Rare Diseases Research) 11 ( 3 ) 120 - 124 2022.08

Accepted, ISSN 21863644

The guidelines provided by American College of Medical Genetics and Genomics (ACMG) and the Association of Molecular Pathology (AMP) (ACMG/AMP guidelines) suggest a framework for the classification of clinical variants. However, the interpretations can be inconsistent, with each definition sometimes proving to be ambiguous. In particular, there can be difficulty with interpretation of variants related to the X-linked recessive trait. To confirm whether there are biases in the interpretation of inherited traits, we reanalyzed variants reported prior to the release of the ACMG/AMP guidelines. As expected, the interpretation ratio as pathogenic or likely pathogenic was significantly lower for variants related to the X-linked recessive trait. Evaluation of variants related to the X-linked recessive trait, hence, need to consider whether the variant is identified only in males in accordance with the X-linked recessive trait. The ACMG/AMP guidelines should be revised to eliminate the bias revealed in this study.

Access to Document (DOI)

Detection of deviance in Japanese kanji compound words.

Yuka Egashira, Yoshimi Kaga, Atsuko Gunji, Yosuke Kita, Motohiro Kimura, Naruhito Hironaga, Hiroshige Takeichi, Sayuri Hayashi, Yuu Kaneko, Hidetoshi Takahashi, Takashi Hanakawa, Takashi Okada, Masumi Inagaki

Frontiers in human neuroscience (Frontiers Media SA) 16 913945 - 913945 2022.07

Accepted

Reading fluency is based on the automatic visual recognition of words. As a manifestation of the automatic processing of words, an automatic deviance detection of visual word stimuli can be observed in the early stages of visual recognition. To clarify whether this phenomenon occurs with Japanese kanji compounds—since their lexicality is related to semantic association—we investigated the brain response by utilizing three types of deviants: differences in font type, lexically correct or incorrect Japanese kanji compound words and pseudo-kanji characters modified from correct and incorrect compounds. We employed magnetoencephalography (MEG) to evaluate the spatiotemporal profiles of the related brain regions. The study included 22 adult native Japanese speakers (16 females). The abovementioned three kinds of stimuli containing 20% deviants were presented during the MEG measurement. Activity in the occipital pole region of the brain was observed upon the detection of font-type deviance within 250 ms of stimulus onset. Although no significant activity upon detecting lexically correct/incorrect kanji compounds or pseudo-kanji character deviations was observed, the activity in the posterior transverse region of the collateral sulcus (pCoS)—which is a fusiform neighboring area—was larger when detecting lexically correct kanji compounds than when detecting pseudo-kanji characters. Taken together, these results support the notion that the automatic detection of deviance in kanji compounds may be limited to a low-level feature, such as the stimulus stroke thickness.

Access to Document (DOI)

【神経疾患と表情】視線と表情の関連

北洋輔

脳神経内科 ((有)科学評論社) 97 ( 1 ) 7 - 12 2022.07

Lead author, Last author, Corresponding author, ISSN 2434-3285

Online education and the mental health of faculty during the COVID-19 pandemic in Japan.

Yosuke Kita, Shoko Yasuda, Claudia Gherghel

Scientific reports (Scientific Reports) 12 ( 1 ) 8990 - 8990 2022.05

Lead author, Corresponding author, Accepted

While the negative impact of the pandemic on students' mental health has been studied around the world, very little is known about the mental health of faculty and staff. This research aims to examine mental health among Japanese faculty members who taught online courses during the COVID-19 pandemic. We recruited 537 university faculty members and assessed their mental health using the World Health Organization-Five Well-Being Index (WHO-5), both retrospectively (during the academic year before the onset of the pandemic) and during the pandemic. We also evaluated workload (number of online lectures taught and preparation time per class), difficulty in using information technology (IT) for online classes, and satisfaction with the university support service for online education. As a result, the WHO-5 score during the COVID-19 pandemic was significantly lower than before, and 33.5% of the faculty members were recognized as being at risk for mental illness during the COVID-19 pandemic. A binomial logistic regression analysis revealed two significant risk factors for mental illness-faculty members were more at risk for mental illness when they experienced difficulty in using IT for online classes, and were unsatisfied with the administrative support for online education. The deterioration of mental health during the COVID-19 was not predicted by workload, such as the number of online lectures and preparation time. These results suggest the importance of improving workplace support services, especially IT support, to prevent mental health deterioration among faculty teaching online.

Access to Document (DOI)

　 Previous page - Next page 　