Context:Sleep deprivation is known to have detrimental effects on attentional resources and cognitive functions.Aim:The aim of this study is to assess the changes in performance, due to 24 h of sleep deprivation, in medical studentsMaterials and Methods:The performance was assessed using simple paper–pencil tasks, such as digit symbol substitution test, digit vigilance test, and letter cancellation tasks.Results:The results revealed an increase in the number of errors in letter cancellation tasks and digit vigilance test, with a significant decrease in the number of correct responses on the letter cancellation task. The time taken to complete the tests increased with lack of sleep, with the digit symbol substitution test being affected the most.Discussion:This study infers that sleep deprivation for 24 h affected the judgment ability more than the response speed.Conclusion:Sleep deprivation might lead to compromised performance of medical students in examinations.
Background:Caffeine is a pyschostimulant present in various beverages and known to alter alertness and performance by acting on the central nervous system. Its effects on central nervous system have been studied using EEG, evoked potentials, fMRI, and neuropsychological tests. The Stroop task is a widely used tool in psychophysiology to understand the attention processes and is based on the principle that processing of two different kinds of information (like the word or colour) is parallel and at different speeds with a common response channel.Aim:To study the effect of caffeine on classical color word Stroop task.Materials and Methods:This study was conducted on 30 male undergraduate students by performing a test before and 40 minutes after consuming 3 mg/Kg caffeine and evaluating the effect of caffeine on Stroop interference and facilitation.Results:The results revealed that practice has no effect on the performance in a Stroop task. However, there was reduction in Stroop interference and increase in facilitation after consumption of caffeine as was evident by changes in the reaction times in response to neutral, incongruent, and congruent stimuli.Conclusion:We hypothesize that caffeine led to faster processing of relevant information.
Styrene is a volatile organic compound used in factories for synthesis of plastic products. The pneumotoxicity of styrene in experimental animals is known. The aim of the present study was to study the effect of styrene on lung function and oxidative stress in occupationally exposed workers in plastic factory. Thirty-four male workers, between 18 and 40 years of age, exposed to styrene for atleast 8 hours a day for more than a year were studied, while 30 age- and sex-matched healthy subjects not exposed to styrene served as controls. Assessment of lung functions showed a statistically significant reduction ( p < 0.05) in most of the lung volumes, capacities (FVC, FEV1, VC, ERV, IRV, and IC) and flow rates (PEFR, MEF75%, and MVV) in the study group (workers) as compared to controls. Malondialdehyde (MDA) was observed to be significantly high ( p < 0.05) while ferric-reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) was significantly low ( p < 0.05) in styrene-exposed subjects. Reduced glutathione (GSH) level was significantly depleted in exposed subjects as compared to control group. The mean value of serum cytochrome c in styrene-exposed subjects was found to be 1.1 ng/ml (0.89–1.89) while in control its levels were under detection limit (0.05 ng/ml). It shows that styrene inhalation by workers leads to increased level of oxidative stress, which is supposed to be the cause of lung damage.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.