Both compounds reduced latency for correct antisaccades, although neither reduced antisaccade errors. These findings are discussed with reference to the pharmacological route of performance enhancement on the antisaccade task and current models of antisaccade performance.

Article (Unspecified) http://sro.sussex.ac.uk Rycroft, Nicola, Hutton, Samuel B. and Rusted, Jennifer M. (2006) The antisaccade task as an index of sustained goal activation in working memory: modulation by nicotine. Psychopharmacology, 188 (4). pp. [521][522][523][524][525][526][527][528][529] This version is available from Sussex Research Online: http://sro.sussex.ac.uk/738/ This document is made available in accordance with publisher policies and may differ from the published version or from the version of record. If you wish to cite this item you are advised to consult the publisher's version. Please see the URL above for details on accessing the published version. Copyright and reuse:Sussex Research Online is a digital repository of the research output of the University.Copyright and all moral rights to the version of the paper presented here belong to the individual author(s) and/or other copyright owners. To the extent reasonable and practicable, the material made available in SRO has been checked for eligibility before being made available.Copies of full text items generally can be reproduced, displayed or performed and given to third parties in any format or medium for personal research or study, educational, or not-for-profit purposes without prior permission or charge, provided that the authors, title and full bibliographic details are credited, a hyperlink and/or URL is given for the original metadata page and the content is not changed in any way. Recent models of antisaccade performance suggest that errors are more likely to occur when the intention to initiate an antisaccade is insufficiently activated within working memory. Nicotine has been shown to enhance specific working memory processes in healthy adults. We explored the effect of nicotine on antisaccade performance in a large sample (N=44) of young adult smokers. Minimally abstinent participants attended two test sessions and were asked to smoke one of their own cigarettes between baseline and retest during one session only.Nicotine reduced antisaccade errors and correct antisaccade latencies if delivered before optimum performance levels are achieved, suggesting that nicotine supports the activation of intentions in working memory during task performance. The implications of this research for current theoretical accounts of antisaccade performance, and for interpreting the increased rate of antisaccade errors found in some psychiatric patient groups are discussed.

ObjectivesTo identify prevalence and predictors of participation in the online drinking game ‘neknomination’ amongst university students.MethodA convenience sample of 145 university students participated in a study about drinking behaviours, completing a questionnaire about their participation in neknomination, the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and the Resistance to Peer Influence Scale.ResultsOut of 145 students sampled, 54% took part in neknomination in the previous month. Mann–Whitney U tests revealed significantly higher scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, and significantly lower scores on the Resistance to Peer Influence Scale, for those who had participated in neknomination. A significant correlation was also shown between specific peer pressure to neknominate, and engagement in neknomination. A logistic regression analysis indicated that scores on the Alcohol Use Disorders Identification Test, but not the Resistance to Peer Influence Scale, predicted classification as an individual who participated in neknomination.ConclusionsWe found that over half of respondents had participated in a neknomination game in the past month, with almost all male respondents having done so. Participation in neknomination was strongly associated with general hazardous drinking behaviour but not with resistance to peer influence. Further research is needed to understand the role of engagement with social media in drinking games and risky drinking.

Cognitive enhancing drugs are claimed to improve cognitive functions such as learning and attention. However, little is known presently about the characteristics of off-prescription cognitive enhancing drug users or their perceived everyday experience with these drugs. As modafinil is the most commonly used off-prescription cognitive enhancing drug, the current study aimed to provide a detailed profile of modafinil users and their experiences and perceptions of this drug. To this end, an online survey, targeting cognitive enhancing drug users and students, was advertised on forum sites. Information was obtained regarding demographic data, illicit drug use, psychiatric diagnosis and experience of modafinil. Of the 404 respondents, 219 reported taking modafinil. Of these the majority were male, American or British, university-educated and currently employed, with a mean age of 27. Overall, modafinil was perceived by users as being safe. Modafinil users reported higher levels of illicit drug use and psychiatric diagnosis than would be expected from population-based data. More frequent reported modafinil use was associated with higher numbers of perceived benefits whilst reported frequency of use was not associated with the number of perceived risks. There was also a tentative link between the reported use of modafinil and the reported presence of psychiatric disorders, largely depression and anxiety. Respondents who had reported a psychiatric diagnosis declared higher subjective benefits of modafinil. This may suggest further beneficial effects of modafinil or it may reflect insufficient medical treatment for psychiatric disorders in some people. Overall, the findings of the current study should be beneficial in informing clinicians and legislative bodies about the modafinil user profile and how modafinil is perceived.

Rationale Nicotine is known to improve performance on tests involving sustained attention and recent research suggests that nicotine may also improve performance on tests involving the strategic allocation of attention and working memory. Objectives We used traditional measures and eye tracking techniques to examine the effects of nicotine on visual search tasks. Methods In experiment 1 smokers and non-smokers performed pop-out and serial search tasks. Experiment 2 used a within subject design and a more demanding search task for multiple targets. In both studies, 2-hour abstinent smokers were asked to smoke one of their own cigarettes between baseline and post-tests. Results In experiment 1, Pop-out search times were faster after nicotine, without a loss in accuracy. Similar effects were observed for serial searches, but these were significant only at a trend level. In experiment 2, nicotine facilitated a strategic change in eyemovements resulting in a higher proportion of fixations on target letters. If the cigarette was smoked on the first trial (when the task was novel), nicotine additionally reduced the total number of fixations and refixations on all letters in the display. Conclusions Nicotine improves visual search performance by speeding up search time and enabling a better focus of attention on task relevant items. This appears to reflect more efficient inhibition of eye-movements towards task irrelevant stimuli, and better active maintenance of task goals. When the task is novel, and therefore more difficult, nicotine lessens the need to refixate previously seen letters, suggesting an improvement in working memory.