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Luke A. Downey

Bio: Luke A. Downey is an academic researcher from Swinburne University of Technology. The author has contributed to research in topics: Emotional intelligence & Poison control. The author has an hindex of 30, co-authored 116 publications receiving 2947 citations. Previous affiliations of Luke A. Downey include University of Melbourne & Cambridge Health Alliance.


Papers
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TL;DR: Findings suggest that B. monniera may improve higher order cognitive processes that are critically dependent on the input of information from the authors' environment such as learning and memory.
Abstract: Rationale: Extracts of Bacopa monniera have been reported to exert cognitive enhancing effects in animals. However, the effects on human cognition are inconclusive. Objective: The current study examined the chronic effects of an extract of B. monniera (Keenmind) on cognitive function in healthy human subjects. Methods: The study was a double-blind placebo-controlled independent-group design in which subjects were randomly allocated to one of two treatment conditions, B. monniera (300 mg) or placebo. Neuropsychological testing was conducted pre-(baseline) and at 5 and 12 weeks post drug administration. Results: B. monniera significantly improved speed of visual information processing measured by the IT task, learning rate and memory consolidation measured by the AVLT (P<0.05), and state anxiety (P<0.001) compared to placebo, with maximal effects evident after 12 weeks. Conclusions: These findings suggest that B. monniera may improve higher order cognitive processes that are critically dependent on the input of information from our environment such as learning and memory.

294 citations

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TL;DR: Driving simulator performance was more impaired in the THC and alcohol combined conditions, and regular cannabis users displayed more driving errors than non-regular cannabis users.

190 citations

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TL;DR: In this article, the authors assess the relationship between leadership style, intuition, and emotional intelligence (EI) measured by a general and a workplace specific measure of EI in female managers.
Abstract: Purpose – To assess the relationship between leadership style, intuition, and emotional intelligence (EI) measured by a general and a workplace specific measure of EI in female managers.Design/methodology/approach – The study consisted of 176 female managers from several industries across Australia who completed a questionnaire battery consisting of the multifactor leadership questionnaire (MLQ), the cognitive style index (CSI), the trait meta‐mood scale (TMMS), and the workplace Swinburne University Emotional Intelligence Test (workplace SUEIT).Findings – The results indicated that female managers displaying transformational leadership behaviours were more likely to display higher levels of EI and intuition than female managers displaying less transformational leadership behaviours. The workplace measure of EI was found to be the better predictor of transformational leadership behaviours than the general measure of EI, which was attributed to the workplace specific nature of the workplace SUEIT.Research ...

136 citations

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TL;DR: This paper explored the mediating effect of emotional intelligence (EI) and coping strategies on problem behaviours in Australian adolescents and found that the relationships between Emotional Management and Control and engagement in internalising and externalising behaviours were found to be mediated by the use of non-productive coping strategies.
Abstract: This study explored the mediating effect of emotional intelligence (EI) and coping strategies on problem behaviours in Australian adolescents. One hundred and forty-five adolescents (60 boys and 85 girls with a mean age of 12.02 years) completed self-report instruments of EI, stress coping strategies, and problem behaviours. The relationships between Emotional Management and Control and engagement in internalising and externalising behaviours were found to be mediated by the use of non-productive coping strategies. Mediation models of the relationship between problem behaviours and the Understanding Emotions and Emotional Recognition and Expression dimensions were found to be only partially mediated by the engagement in problem-focused and non-productive coping strategies. The results are discussed in regards to how coping strategies utilised in adolescence may produce more or less adaptive patterns of coping during adulthood. The development of emotional abilities may be required to improve coping outcomes for adolescents, which in turn may produce better psychological outcomes for adolescents in the long term.

133 citations

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TL;DR: The Bacopa monniera product significantly improved performance on the ‘Working Memory’ factor, more specifically spatial working memory accuracy, and the number of false‐positives recorded in the Rapid visual information processing task was reduced for the Bacopa Monniera group following the treatment period.
Abstract: While Ayurvedic medicine has touted the cognitive enhancing effects of Bacopa monniera for centuries, there is a need for double-blind placebo-controlled investigations. One hundred and seven healthy participants were recruited for this double-blind placebo-controlled independent group design investigation. Sixty-two participants completed the study with 80% treatment compliance. Neuropsychological testing using the Cognitive Drug Research cognitive assessment system was conducted at baseline and after 90 days of treatment with a special extract of Bacopa monniera (2 x 150 mg KeenMind) or placebo. The Bacopa monniera product significantly improved performance on the 'Working Memory' factor, more specifically spatial working memory accuracy. The number of false-positives recorded in the Rapid visual information processing task was also reduced for the Bacopa monniera group following the treatment period. The current study provides support for the two other published studies reporting cognitive enhancing effects in healthy humans after a 90 day administration of the Bacopa monniera extract. Further studies are required to ascertain the effective dosage range, the time required to attain therapeutic levels and the effects over a longer term of administration.

113 citations


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08 Dec 2001-BMJ
TL;DR: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one, which seems an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality.
Abstract: There is, I think, something ethereal about i —the square root of minus one. I remember first hearing about it at school. It seemed an odd beast at that time—an intruder hovering on the edge of reality. Usually familiarity dulls this sense of the bizarre, but in the case of i it was the reverse: over the years the sense of its surreal nature intensified. It seemed that it was impossible to write mathematics that described the real world in …

33,785 citations

Journal ArticleDOI
TL;DR: A survey of factor analytic studies of human cognitive abilities can be found in this paper, with a focus on the role of factor analysis in human cognitive ability evaluation and cognition. But this survey is limited.
Abstract: (1998). Human cognitive abilities: A survey of factor analytic studies. Gifted and Talented International: Vol. 13, No. 2, pp. 97-98.

2,388 citations

Journal Article
TL;DR: Definition: To what extent does the study allow us to draw conclusions about a causal effect between two or more constructs?
Abstract: Definition: To what extent does the study allow us to draw conclusions about a causal effect between two or more constructs? Issues: Selection, maturation, history, mortality, testing, regression towrd the mean, selection by maturation, treatment by mortality, treatment by testing, measured treatment variables Increase: Eliminate the threats, above all do experimental manipulations, random assignment, and counterbalancing.

2,006 citations

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TL;DR: It is concluded that better performed in vivo intervention and in vitro mechanistic studies are needed to fully understand how (poly)phenol molecules interact with human physiological and pathological processes.
Abstract: Human intervention trials have provided evidence for protective effects of various (poly)phenol-rich foods against chronic disease, including cardiovascular disease, neurodegeneration, and cancer. While there are considerable data suggesting benefits of (poly)phenol intake, conclusions regarding their preventive potential remain unresolved due to several limitations in existing studies. Bioactivity investigations using cell lines have made an extensive use of both (poly)phenolic aglycones and sugar conjugates, these being the typical forms that exist in planta, at concentrations in the low-μM-to-mM range. However, after ingestion, dietary (poly)phenolics appear in the circulatory system not as the parent compounds, but as phase II metabolites, and their presence in plasma after dietary intake rarely exceeds nM concentrations. Substantial quantities of both the parent compounds and their metabolites pass to the colon where they are degraded by the action of the local microbiota, giving rise principally to small phenolic acid and aromatic catabolites that are absorbed into the circulatory system. This comprehensive review describes the different groups of compounds that have been reported to be involved in human nutrition, their fate in the body as they pass through the gastrointestinal tract and are absorbed into the circulatory system, the evidence of their impact on human chronic diseases, and the possible mechanisms of action through which (poly)phenol metabolites and catabolites may exert these protective actions. It is concluded that better performed in vivo intervention and in vitro mechanistic studies are needed to fully understand how these molecules interact with human physiological and pathological processes.

1,968 citations