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Fulltext Effects of Stochastic Facilitation in Healthy Subjects with Different Auditory Working Memory Capacity

Othman, E. A., Mohamad, M., Abdul Manan, H., Yusoff, A. N.

Physics and Technology in Medicine, 2020;1(2):27-31.
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This study investigated the effects of stochastic facilitation in healthy subjects with normal and low auditory working memory capacity (AWMC). Forty healthy volunteers were recruited in this study. They performed a backward recall task (BRT) in quiet and under four white noise intensity levels: 45, 50, 55, and 60 dB. Brain activations during the task were measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The behavioral performance in both groups increased significantly in 50 and 55 dB white noise. The normal AWMC group (mean score = 48.70) demonstrated higher activation in the superior temporal gyrus and prefrontal cortex than the low AWMC group (mean score = 30.85). However, comparisons in the brain activation between groups for all noise levels were not statistically different. The results support previous findings that stochastic facilitation enhances cognitive performance in healthy individuals. The results also proposed that brain activity among healthy subjects is more or less similar, at least in the context of auditory working memory. These findings indicated that there were no differential effects of stochastic facilitation in healthy subjects with different AWMC.
Contributing factors to outpatient pharmacy near miss errors: a Malaysian prospective multi-center study

Rajah R, Hanif AA, Tan SSA, Lim PP, Karim SA, Othman E, et al.

Int J Clin Pharm, 2019 Feb;41(1):237-243.
PMID: 30506127 DOI: 10.1007/s11096-018-0762-1

Background Detecting errors before medication dispensed or 'near misses' is a crucial step to combat the incidence of dispensing error. Despite this, no published evidence available in Malaysia relating to these issues. Objective To determine the incidence of medication labeling and filling errors, frequency of each type of the errors and frequency of the contributing factors at the final stage before dispensing. Setting Six Penang public funded hospitals outpatient pharmacies. Methods A prospective multicentre study, over 8 week's period. Pharmacists identified and recorded the details of either medication labeling and/or filling error at the final stage of counter-checking before dispensing. Besides, the contributing factors for each error were determined and recorded in data collection form. Descriptive analysis was used to explain the study data. Main outcome measure The incidence of near misses. Results A total of 187 errors (near misses) detected, with 59.4% (n = 111) were medication filling errors and 40.6% (n = 76) were labeling errors. Wrong drug (n = 44, 39.6%) was identified as the highest type of filling errors while incorrect dose (n = 34, 44.7%) was identified as the highest type of labeling errors. Distracted and interrupted work environment was reported to lead the highest labeling and filling errors, followed by lack of knowledge and skills for filling errors and high workload for labeling errors. Conclusion The occurrence of near misses related to medication filling and labelling errors is substantial at outpatient pharmacy in Penang public funded hospitals. Further research is warranted to evaluate the intervention strategies needed to reduce the near misses.
Effects of white noise on word recall performance and brain activity in healthy adolescents with normal and low auditory working memory

Othman E, Yusoff AN, Mohamad M, Abdul Manan H, Abd Hamid AI, Giampietro V

Exp Brain Res, 2020 Apr;238(4):945-956.
PMID: 32179941 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-020-05765-3

The present study examined the impact of white noise on word recall performance and brain activity in 40 healthy adolescents, split in two groups (normal and low) depending on their auditory working memory capacity (AWMC). Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants performed a backward recall task under four different signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) conditions: 15, 10, 5, and 0-dB SNR. Behaviorally, normal AWMC individuals scored significantly higher than low AWMC individuals across noise levels. Whole-brain analyses showed brain activation not to be statistically different between groups across noise levels. In the normal group, a significant positive relationship was found between performance and number of activated voxels in the right superior frontal gyrus. In the low group, significant positive correlations were found between performance and number of activated voxels in left superior frontal gyrus, left inferior frontal gyrus, and left anterior cingulate cortex. These findings suggest that the strategic structure involved in the enhancement of AWM performance may differ in normal and low AWMC individuals.
Views of young people in Malaysia on mental health, help-seeking and unusual psychological experiences

Berry C, Michelson D, Othman E, Tan JC, Gee B, Hodgekins J, et al.

Early intervention in psychiatry, 2020 02;14(1):115-123.
PMID: 31111672 DOI: 10.1111/eip.12832

AIM: Mental health problems are prevalent among young people in Malaysia yet access to specialist mental health care is extremely limited. More context-specific research is needed to understand the factors affecting help-seeking in youth, when mental health problems typically have first onset. We aimed to explore the attitudes of vulnerable young Malaysians regarding mental health problems including unusual psychological experiences, help-seeking and mental health treatment.
METHODS: In the present study, nine young people (aged 16-23 years) from low-income backgrounds participated in a semi-structured interview about their perspectives on mental health problems, unusual psychological experiences and help-seeking.
RESULTS: Four themes were developed using thematic analysis. "Is it that they [have] family problems?" reflected participants' explanatory models of mental health problems. "Maybe in Malaysia" was concerned with perceptions of Malaysian culture as both encouraging of open sharing of problems and experiences, but also potentially stigmatizing. "You have to ask for help" emphasized the importance of mental health help-seeking despite potential stigma. "It depends on the person" addressed the challenges of engaging with psychological therapy.
CONCLUSIONS: We conclude that young people in Malaysia may hold compassionate, non-stigmatizing views towards people experiencing mental health problems and a desire to increase their knowledge and understandings. Yet societal stigma is a perceived reputational risk that may affect mental health problem disclosure and help-seeking. We suggest that efforts to improve mental health literacy would be valued by young Malaysians and could support reduced stigma and earlier help-seeking.
Fulltext Assessing social recovery of vulnerable youth in global mental health settings: a pilot study of clinical research tools in Malaysia

Berry C, Othman E, Tan JC, Gee B, Byrne RE, Hodgekins J, et al.

BMC Psychiatry, 2019 06 20;19(1):188.
PMID: 31221136 DOI: 10.1186/s12888-019-2164-x

BACKGROUND: A social recovery approach to youth mental health focuses on increasing the time spent in valuable and meaningful structured activities, with a view to preventing enduring mental health problems and social disability. In Malaysia, access to mental health care is particularly limited and little research has focused on identifying young people at risk of serious socially disabling mental health problems such as psychosis. We provide preliminary evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of core social recovery assessment tools in a Malaysian context, comparing the experiential process of engaging young Malaysian participants in social recovery assessments with prior accounts from a UK sample.
METHODS: Nine vulnerable young people from low-income backgrounds were recruited from a non-government social enterprise and partner organisations in Peninsular Malaysia. Participants completed a battery of social recovery assessment tools (including time use, unusual experiences, self-schematic beliefs and values). Time for completion and completion rates were used as indices of feasibility. Acceptability was examined using qualitative interviews in which participants were asked to reflect on the experience of completing the assessment tools. Following a deductive approach, the themes were examined for fit with previous UK qualitative accounts of social recovery assessments.
RESULTS: Feasibility was indicated by relatively efficient completion time and high completion rates. Qualitative interviews highlighted the perceived benefits of social recovery assessments, such as providing psychoeducation, aiding in self-reflection and stimulating goal setting, in line with findings from UK youth samples.
CONCLUSIONS: We provide preliminary evidence for the feasibility and acceptability of social recovery assessment tools in a low-resource context, comparing the experiential process of engaging young Malaysian participants in social recovery assessments with prior accounts from a UK sample. We also suggest that respondents may derive some personal and psychoeducational benefits from participating in assessments (e.g. of their time use and mental health) within a social recovery framework.
Fulltext Low intensity white noise improves performance in auditory working memory task: An fMRI study

Othman E, Yusoff AN, Mohamad M, Abdul Manan H, Giampietro V, Abd Hamid AI, et al.

Heliyon, 2019 Sep;5(9):e02444.
PMID: 31687551 DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e02444

Research suggests that white noise may facilitate auditory working memory performance via stochastic resonance. Stochastic resonance is quantified by plotting cognitive performance as a function of noise intensity. The plot would appear as an inverted U-curve, that is, a moderate noise is beneficial for performance whereas too low and too much noise attenuates performance. However, knowledge about the optimal signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) needed for stochastic resonance to occur in the brain, particularly in the neural network of auditory working memory, is limited and demand further investigation. In the present study, we extended previous works on the impact of white noise on auditory working memory performance by including multiple background noise levels to map out the inverted U-curve for the stochastic resonance. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), twenty healthy young adults performed a word-based backward recall span task under four signal-to-noise ratio conditions: 15, 10, 5, and 0-dB SNR. Group results show significant behavioral improvement and increased activation in frontal cortices, primary auditory cortices, and anterior cingulate cortex in all noise conditions, except at 0-dB SNR, which decreases activation and performance. When plotted as a function of signal-to-noise ratio, behavioral and fMRI data exhibited a noise-benefit inverted U-shaped curve. Additionally, a significant positive correlation was found between the activity of the right superior frontal gyrus (SFG) and performance in 5-dB SNR. The predicted phenomenon of SR on auditory working memory performance is confirmed. Findings from this study suggest that the optimal signal-to-noise ratio to enhance auditory working memory performance is within 10 to 5-dB SNR and that the right SFG may be a strategic structure involved in enhancement of auditory working memory performance.