We investigated whether concurrent processing of a tone (T1) interferes with early sensory-perceptual processing of a visual target (T2) in variants of the psychological refractory period paradigm using the event-related potential (ERP) method and 70-channel electroencephalographic recordings. T1, which required a speeded response, was presented in all trials. In half of the trials, T1 was foll...

M. A. Van Selst, E. Ruthruff, and J. C. Johnston (1999) found that practice dramatically reduced dual-task interference in a Psychological Refractory Period (PRP) paradigm with 1 vocal response and 1 manual response. Results from 3 further experiments using the highly trained participants of M. A. Van Selst et al. (1999) support 4 main conclusions: (a) A processing bottleneck exists even after ...

The apparently deleterious effect of aging on dual-task performance is well established, but there is little agreement about the source of this effect. Studies of the psychological refractory period (PRP) indicate that young adults can flexibly control dual-task performance through task-coordination strategies. Thus, the performance of older adults might differ from young adults because older a...

Why is the human brain fundamentally limited when attempting to execute two tasks at the same time or in close succession? Two classical paradigms, psychological refractory period (PRP) and task switching, have independently approached this issue, making significant advances in our understanding of the architecture of cognition. Yet, there is an apparent contradiction between the conclusions de...

Analysing “Celtic” chariots by using Iron Age archaeological material and Early Medieval Irish texts might seem to be more than just one step too far in breaking down boundaries. Considering the huge chronological and geographical gaps between the sources, the objections raised against the concept of “Celticity” by Celtosceptics, and the antinativist school of thought in Irish literature, such ...

Annually laminated stalagmites can be used to construct a precise chronology, and variations in laminae thickness provide an annual growth-rate record that can be used as a proxy for past climate and environmental change. Here, we present and analyse the first composite speleothem annual growth-rate record based on five stalagmites from the same cave system in northwest Scotland, where precipit...

AIM To compare the population group from the Šopot graveyard with population groups from traditional Croatian medieval graveyards by using anthropological, craniometrics, and mitochondrial (mtDNA) analysis and to examine if the cultural differences between population groups reflect biological differences. METHODS We determined sex, age at death, pathological, and traumatic changes of skeletal...

Italian soldiers carrying their skis marching up snow-covered mountain trails. Some of the most ferocious mountain warfare to date occurred during World War I between Italian and Austrian armies, far outstripping mountain battles in other wars. This photograph was taken in April, when the snow had been softened by the warmer rays of the sun and the path made almost impassable by the slush. The ...

According to the editors, the Collins COBUILD grammar patterns 2: Nouns and adjectives (henceforth 'Patterns 2'), the companion volume to the Collins COBUILD grammar patterns 1: Verbs, 'presents all the patterns of English nouns and adjectives, and relates these patterns to meaning' (p vii). A noun or adjective pattern consists of the noun or adjective, together with the typical or significant ...