Motor influences on the mental transformation of body parts have been observed in both children and adults. Previous findings indicated that these influences were more pronounced in children than in adults, suggesting a stronger link between motor processes and imagery in children. The present series of two experiments casts doubt on the general validity of such an interpretation. Kindergartners' (aged 5–6 years), first graders' (aged 7 years), and adults' performance in the mental rotation of pictures of body parts was monitored for influences of internal representations of motor constraints (motor effect). In both experiments, evidence for mental rotation was obtained for each group. Unexpectedly, kindergarten boys made significantly more errors than kindergarten girls. A motor effect was only found in the second experiment, where it was least pronounced in the youngest age group. Our results suggest that mental transformations of body parts do not necessarily involve motor processes and that embodiment may become stronger with development rather than weaker with certain tasks.

Summary: Obstructive sleep apnea is known to be an overall public health problem that, among other things, increases morbidity and mortality. Risk factors as well as symptoms of this multidimensional sleep‐related breathing disorder negatively affect quality of life. With our study we aimed to expose the association between obstructive sleep apnea and quality of life in the population of Pomerania, Germany. We utilized data from the population‐based Study of Health in Pomerania (SHIP). Information on health status and risk factors about 4420 participants (2275 women) were gathered within the cohort SHIP‐TREND, of which 1209 (559 women) underwent an overnight polysomnography and completed sleep questionnaires. The quality of life of the participants was measured using the Short‐Form 12 questionnaire. For our study, an ordinal regression analysis with age, sex, body mass index and the Short‐Form 12 health survey as predictors for apnea–hypopnea index was computed. The potential factors affecting quality of life are different between physical and mental dimensions of quality of life. Significant effects were found regarding age, sex, body mass index and the Short‐Form 12 Mental Component Score, but not the Physical Component Score.

Objective: Menopause is associated with multiple health risks. In several studies, a higher incidence or a higher risk for obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in post-menopausal than pre-menopausal women is reported. This study was designed to verify such a connection between menopause and OSA in a population-based sample. Methods: For a subsample (N = 1209) of the Study of Health in Pomerania (N = 4420), complete polysomnography data was available. Of these, 559 females completed a structured interview about their menstrual cycle. Splines and ordinal regression analysis were used to analyze the resulting data. Results: In the ordinal regression analysis, a significant association between the apnea–hypopnea index (AHI) and menopause indicated that post-menopausal women had a substantially higher risk of OSA. In accordance with previous studies, risk indicators such as body mass index (BMI), age, and the influence of hysterectomies or total oophorectomies were included in the model. Conclusions: Our results clearly confirmed the assumed connection between menopause and OSA. This is important because OSA is most often associated with male patients, and it warrants further research into the underlying mechanisms.

The video deficit effect (VDE) has been demonstrated in several studies on word learning, self-recognition, and imitation: Younger children (up to 3 years old) solved tasks more easily in a direct interaction with an examiner than when instructed by video (Anderson & Pempek, 2005). Older children might also be susceptible to a VDE, especially with more complex tasks; however, evidence is sparse. Furthermore, to what extent preschoolers’ understanding of others’ mental states (theory of mind) is impaired by video presentations has not been tested. We tested 174 children of 4 and 5 years of age in a traditional change of location task for false belief understanding (cf. Baron-Cohen, Leslie, & Frith, 1985). Children were presented with the original story, enacted by adult actors, in either a video or a live demonstration. Children watched the events in 2 live conditions, either through a 1-way mirror or directly. Our results indicate a significant VDE for 4- and 5-year-old children regarding the encoding and solution of the false belief task, respectively.