482 Matching Annotations
  1. May 2022
    1. In the currentwork, we used event-related electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonanceimaging (fMRI) to determine neural correlates for differentiating contextually correct and incorrecttool use.

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  2. Mar 2022
    1. We discovered that exercise for 4th-6th postnatal weeks (juv-adol ELE), as well as a shorter exercise experience only during the 4th postnatal week (juv ELE) enable hippocampal-dependent spatial memory formation in male mice. This was not true for mice that exercised only during the 6th postnatal week (adol ELE), suggesting that the 4th postnatal week of development was particularly sensitive to the exercise experience with regard to enabling long-term memory function in a lasting manner.
    2. .

      CA1-LTP significantly increased for juv-adol ELE mice but not for juv ELE or adol ELE mice when compared to controls. Hippocampal excitability properties were significantly modulated in juv ELE and juv-adol ELE mice. Modulation of hippocampal excitability properties as well as enhanced OLM function lasted for two weeks after stopping exercise in juv ELE mice.

    3. adolescent exercisers when compared to sedentary controls.
    4. Overall, these data suggest a significant impact of ELE on enhancing hippocampal long-term potenti-ation. Although this finding is in contrast to data in adult mice demonstrating lack of enhancement in CA1-LTP after chronic voluntary wheel running9, it may implicate a specific, 1-week period of juvenile exercise that can lead to lasting changes in hippocampal CA3-CA1 circuit function and plasticity.
    5. Therefore, synaptic plasticity was examined in the CA3-CA1 Schaffer collateral pathway of the hippocampus in sedentary and ELE mice, to test the hypothesis that ELE also leads to an enhance-ment in synaptic strength in the same region involved in enabled memory performance after juv and juv-adol ELE.
    6. These results suggest that in both sexes, exercise taking place during a specific juvenile developmental period (P21–27) is sufficient for enhancing long-term memory for an OLM acquisition trial that is usually insufficient for long-term memory in sedentary controls, and fur-thermore, juv ELE-induced enabling of long-term memory is present at least 2 weeks after the juvenile exercise period ends.
    7. These data suggest that performance in the OLM task can be used as a robust measure of long-term memory formation in adolescent male and female mice.
    8. We therefore tested the following hypotheses: 1) that a learning stimulus typically insufficient for long-term memory formation in sedentary wild-type mice can become sufficient after ELE (as it does after 2–3 weeks of exercise in adulthood), and 2) the early-life timing of exercise during juvenile and/or ado-lescent periods will have a lasting impact on the duration of ELE-induced improvements in long-term memory.
    9. We next addressed the question whether there are sex differences in daily and cumulative running distances in our three ELE groups. Juv-adol ELE male and female mice gradually increased their daily running distance over the 3-week period (Fig. 1c).
    10. We next compared daily and cumulative running distances in 1-week runners, expecting that running distance would be significantly greater in adol ELE mice when compared to juv ELE mice (regardless of sex) given their developmental stage and body mass differences when entering running cages.
    11. Given the developmental timing of voluntary exercise in this model, we postulated that there would be important sex-specific and running group-specific differences in weight gain and distance ran across time.
    12. In sum, all running groups and both sexes of mice gradually and significantly increased their running distances across time. The cumulative amount of voluntary running throughout the running period was dependent on when early life exercise was initiated (in the juvenile period vs in adolescence).
    13. These findings suggest that a longer duration of ELE expo-sure (three weeks) during juvenile/adolescence significantly reduces weight gain in male mice, whereas in female mice, presence of a stationary wheel led to greater weight gain than mice in sedentary cages without running wheel and mice that ran during adolescence.
    14. .

      In rodents, the hippocampus develops milestone learning and memory functions by about the 3rd to 4th postnatal week. At this time, brain development via synaptic plasticity is especially sensitive to environmental experiences. For that reason, it makes sense to see whether exercise during this period modulates hippocampal development.

    15. .

      Both male and female mice that underwent exercise during the juvenile period showed enhanced hippocampal memory and synaptic plasticity. The results of this study could be used to investigate the time-sensitive molecular mechanisms underlying the long-lasting effects of early life exercise on neuronal function and behavior.

    16. In this study we developed a model of voluntary physical activity during specific early life developmental periods in mice (early-life exercise, or ELE) to address the hypothesis that the timing of exercise during postnatal hippocampal maturation can lead to enduring benefits in cognitive function and synaptic plasticity.
    17. .

      The effects of exercise on synaptic plasticity and memory formation are not long-lasting in exercise is done in adulthood, but may be longer lasting if exercise is done during development. The time frame of when exercise should be done to promote long-lasting changes to synaptic plasticity and memory formation, however, are not known.

    18. .

      In humans, exercise promotes synaptic plasticity mechanisms and enhances cognition, especially during childhood. In rodents, exercise similarly promotes synaptic plasticity mechanisms and enhances cognition, although it has only been studied in adults and not in juveniles.

    19. hysical exercise is a powerful modulator of learning and memory. Mechanisms underlying the cognitive benefits of exercise are well documented in adult rodents. Exercise studies targeting postnatal periods of hippocampal maturation (specifically targeting periods of synaptic reorganization and plasticity) are lacking. We characterize a model of early-life exercise (ELE) in male and female mice designed with the goal of identifying critical periods by which exercise may have a lasting impact on hippocampal memory and synaptic plasticity.
    20. Our results suggest that early-life exercise, specifically during the 4th postnatal week, can enable hippocampal memory, synaptic plasticity, and alter hippocampal excitability when occurring during postnatal periods of hippocampal maturation.
    1. .

      Oxytocin may indirectly contribute to the development of out-group and intergroup bias derogation by promoting in-group favoritism. This challenges the view that oxytocin is purely prosocial, since that prosociality may only apply to members of the in group and may also motivate exclusion and negativity towards the out-group.

    2. Again, support was found for the hypotheses that oxytocin creates intergroup bias because it motivates in-group favoritism. Put differently, oxytocin motivated in-group favoritism both when an intergroup compari- son was salient (experiments 1 and 2) and when such an intergroup comparison was substantially more implicit (experiments 3-5). Together, these results suggest that in-group favoritism emerges regardless of whether an explicit out-group comparison is ren- dered salient
    3. .

      In experiments 1, 2, and 3, in-group vs. out-group target presentation order did not effect whether or not in-group favoritism emerged. Experiments 4 and 5 evaluated in-group favoritism and out-group derogation in the absence of inter-group comparison. It can't be known for whether oxytocin motivates in-group favoritism in the absence of inter-group comparisons, so future research should investigate this.

    4. .

      It may be that oxytocin creates intergroup bias primarily by promoting in-group favoritism, and not so much by promoting out-group derogation. Oxytocin strongly promoting in-group favoritism and weakly promoting out-group derogation is adaptive, because in-group favoritism is much more important for survival and within-group coordination.

    5. .

      The results of this study showed that oxytocin system activation underlies the phenomenon of in group bias and, in some cases, the phenomenon of out-group derogation. Oxytocin has the same effects on in-group favoritism, regardless of what the compared out-group is.

    6. Results show that oxytocin creates intergroup bias because it motivates in-group favoritism and, in some cases, out-group der- ogation.
    7. Together, these results provide additional support for the hypothesis that (/) oxytocin creates intergroup bias because (ii) oxytocin promotes in-group favoritism. There was no support for the hypothesis that (Hi) oxytocin promotes out-group derogation.
    8. Experiment 3 thus supports the hy- pothesis that .(/) oxytocin creates intergroup bias because (ii) oxytocin promotes in-group favoritism. There was no support for the hypothesis that (Hi) oxytocin promotes out-group derogation.
    9. Thus, there is support for the hypothesis that (/) oxytocin creates in- tergroup bias because (//) oxytocin promotes in-group favoritism. Mixed support was obtained for the hypothesis (Hi) that oxytocin promotes out-group derogation.

      .

    10. .

      This article's researchers did experiments to determine whether oxytocin had an effect on in-group favoritism and out-group derogation. Of two groups, one was administered oxytocin and the other was administered placebo. Both groups had to engage in a task that measured in-group favoritism and out-group derogation.

    11. In-group favoritism and out-group derogation conspire to create intergroup bias: the unfair response toward another group that devalues or disadvantages the other group and its members by valuing or privileging members of one's in-group (29). Here we predicted that (/) oxytocin creates such intergroup bias because (ii) oxytocin promotes in-group favoritism and, possibly, (///) out- group derogation.

      .

    12. .

      Ethnocentrism is the tendency to view one's own group as superior to others. It manifests itself as the valuation of members of the in-group as good and superior, and members of out-groups as bad and inferior. It is a survival mechanism because it builds cooperation between in-group members and avoids harm from out-group members.

    13. .

      Oxytocin has been shown to motivate in-group favoritism. Because in-group favoritism can sometimes manifest itself as out-group derogation, oxytocin may also motivate out-group derogation.

    14. .

      This article's researchers hypothesized that human ethnocentrism is motivated by oxytocin. Oxytocin is a neurotransmitter/peptide hormone that has various effects in different brain areas. Oxytocin promotes trust and cooperation in humans, but this effect may apply to in-group members only. If that is the case, then humans given oxytocin should show more in-group favoritism than humans given a placebo in an experiment.

    15. If in-group favoritism and out-group derogation have adaptive value and sustain in-group functioning, coordination, and co- operation, it follows that (/) throughout evolution those individ- uals who displayed in-group favoritism and out-group derogation and who detected such tendencies in others were more likely to spread than individuals lacking these capacities (5-8) and (ii) the human brain may have evolved to sustain ethnocentrism through yet-unknown neurobiological systems.

      .

    16. Human ethnocentrism - the tendency to view one's group as cen- trally important and superior to other groups- creates intergroup bias that fuels prejudice, xenophobia, and intergroup violence. Grounded in the idea that ethnocentrism also facilitates within- group trust cooperation, and coordination, we conjecture that eth- nocentrism may be modulated by brain oxytocin, a peptide shown to promote cooperation among in-group members.

      .

    17. Results show that oxytocin creates intergroup bias be- cause oxytocin motivates in-group favoritism and, to a lesser ex- tent, out-group derogation. These findings call into question the view of oxytocin as an indiscriminate "love drug" or "cuddle chem- ical" and suggest that oxytocin has a role in the emergence of in- tergroup conflict and violence.

      .

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    1. The present results ought to be considered alongside the lim-itations of this study.
    2. recruitment of prefrontal and subcortical circuitry. Beyond estab-lishing these basic differences between PI and comparison youth,thepresentstudyidentifiedaneuraladaptationamongPIyouththatpredicted greater resilience over time. Specifically, stronger hip-pocampal–prefrontal coupling prospectively predicted a reductionin anxiety symptomology over a 2 year period. This suggests thatgreater integration of information across brain systems involved inaversive learning and regulation is a protective factor for individualswho have experienced adversity.
    3. The present study revealed that PI and comparison youth arecapable of amygdala-based aversive learning. However, aversivelearning following institutionalization was associated with a broader

      .

    4. caregiving adversity.

      .

    5. Specifically, individual differences in hip-pocampal–vmPFC connectivity during aversive learning predictanxiety outcomes among individuals who have experienced early

      .

    6. Theseresults suggest that greater prefrontal–hippocampal communi-cation during development may protect against a pathologicalcourse of anxiety for individuals who have experienced caregiv-ing adversity.

      .

    7. Together withthe present findings, this suggests that adversity-induced altera-tions in hippocampal function may facilitate adaptive learning, atleast in the short term, about threats in one’s environment.

      .

    8. Together with the present findings, this suggests that earlycaregiving adversity changes the pacing of amygdala–hippo-campus–vmPFC circuit development and, in doing so, alters theway that aversive learning is represented in the brain.

      .

    9. These resultssuggest that age-atypical hippocampal–vmPFC connectivitymay be an important source of resilience for youth with ahistory of caregiving adversity.

      .

    10. The current study examined this rearing aberration in human development.Eighty-nine children and adolescents who were either previously institutionalized (PI youth; N46; 33 females and 13 males; age range,7–16 years) or were raised by their biological parents from birth (N43; 22 females and 21 males; age range, 7–16 years) completed anaversive-learning paradigm while undergoing functional neuroimaging, wherein visual cues were paired with either an aversive sound(CS) or no sound (CS).

      IVs: previously institutionalized children, biologically raised children. DVs: brain activity, trait anxiety.

    11. Given evidence from animal models that early caregiving adver-sity accelerates amygdala, hippocampal, and medial prefrontaldevelopment (Callaghan et al., 2014), we hypothesized that aver-sive learning would be supported by a more distributed, adult-like set of brain regions in PI youth relative to comparison youth.

      H1: aversive learning will be supported by a more distributed, adult-like set of brain regions in PI youth relative to comparison youth.

    12. Given evidence thatneural adaptations to caregiving adversity can be anxiolytic (Geeet al., 2013), it was hypothesized that altered amygdala–hip-pocampal–mPFC function during aversive learning would pre-dict reduced anxiety among PI youth.

      H2: altered amygdala-hippocampal-mPFC function during aversive learning will predict reduced anxiety among PI youth.

    13. The second question that the current study addressed waswhether differences in aversive learning might partially explainthe association between early institutionalization and anxiety.

      RQ2: do differences in aversive learning partially explain the association between early institutionalization and anxiety?

    14. The first question the present study addressed was whetherearly adversity, in the form of prior institutionalization, alters theneurobiology of aversive learning during human development.

      RQ1: does early adversity, in the form of prior institutionalization, alter neurobiology of aversive learning during human development?

    15. For the PI youth, better aversive learning was associated with higher concurrent trait anxiety. Both groupsshowed robust learning and amygdala activation for CSversus CStrials. However, PI youth also exhibited broader recruitment ofseveral regions and increased hippocampal connectivity with prefrontal cortex. Stronger connectivity between the hippocampus andventromedialPFCpredictedsignificantimprovementsinfutureanxiety(measured2yearslater),andthiswasparticularlytruewithinthePI group.

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    16. Juvenile animals rely exclu-sively on the amygdala for aversive learning (Kim et al., 2012; Li etal., 2012). During adolescence, striking changes in amygdala–hippocampal–mPFC connectivity are observed (Pattwell et al.,2011), and, by adulthood, aversive learning is supported bystrong interconnections among the amygdala, hippocampus, andmPFC in nonhuman animals (LeDoux et al., 1990; Corcoran andQuirk, 2007; Sierra-Mercado et al., 2011) and human adults (Ful-lana et al., 2016; Greco and Liberzon, 2016). Rodent models haverevealed that maternal separation leads to precocious prefrontaland hippocampal maturation (Huang et al., 2005; Muhammad etal., 2012), and adult-like aversive learning and anxiety duringdevelopment (Moriceau and Sullivan, 2006; Ono et al., 2008;Callaghan and Richardson, 2011).

      .

    17. Gorka et al., 2014), little is known about how it impacts aversivelearning during human development. This limits our under-standing of how early adversity begets adult anxiety.

      .

    18. Although it is known that early adversityalters the neural bases of aversive learning and predicts anxiety inadults (Bremner et al., 2005; Bagot et al., 2009; Kessler et al., 2010;

      .

  3. Feb 2022
    1. .

      Previous research has found that barrel cortex NMDAR activation was required to initiate plasticity after learning a somatosensory task, but that barrel cortex mGluR activation was required to initiate plasticity after re-practicing that same task. The current study hypothesized that a similar phenomenon occurred with plasticity after learning a fear task in the hippocampus, and its results support this assertion.

    2. .

      Previous research has found that piriform cortex NMDAR activation was required for initial learning of an olfactory discrimination task, but piriform cortex neuron intrinsic excitability increase and synaptic NMDAR subunit composition alteration was required for subsequent learning of the same task. The current study hypothesized that a similar phenomenon occurred in the hippocampus with spatial/contextual learning, and its results support this assertion.

    3. .

      Blocking neuronal excitability or the reactivation of excitable neurons may reduce NMDAR-independent learning, and NMDAR-independent learning may persist over time before eventually disappearing. Recent study results support these assertions.

    4. .

      Two conditions must be met to conclude that hippocampal NMDAR activation is not required for subsequent memory formation: animals must form a new memory during training and not simply generalize from previous experiences, and NMDAR-independent memories must depend on the hippocampus. The current study found that both of these conditions were met, suggesting that hippocampal NMDAR activation is in fact not required for subsequent memory formation.

    5. .

      Hippocampal NMDAR activation is only required for initial memories to be formed, since subsequent memories can be formed in the presence of hippocampal NMDAR antagonists. Prior NMDAR-dependent learning has to be of a similar task for later NMDAR-independent learning to occur.

    6. .

      Some forms of hippocampal LTP that do not require NMDAR activation require the activation of metabotropic glutamate receptors (mGluRs) instead. The current study aimed to see if that was the case through the use of bioassays of animal models.

    7. .

      It is possible that initial learning increases intrinsic excitability, which allows subsequently learned information to be encoded by plasticity mechanisms that don't involve the activation of NMDARs. The current study aimed to see if this was the case using bioassays of animal models.

    8. .

      We know from psychology that previous experiences impact how individuals learn, but we don't know much about the neurobiological mechanisms underlying this process. This is because we've only been able to experiment in lab settings that may not accurately reflect nature.

    9. .

      In various animal models, NMDA receptors have been found to activate when something is initially being learned, but not when it is subsequently being practiced or built upon.

    1. .

      FBOE is a reliable correlate, but not predictor, of same sex attraction in men (more older brothers, but not more older sisters).

    2. .

      Many questions remain about how sexual orientation develops, despite how much research has been done into the topic. These studies cannot infer causality between the phenomena studied and the development of sexual orientation, however, this does not erase the possibility that they may contribute to the development of sexual orientation in some way (albeit indirectly). Overall, it seems like biology and prenatal hormone exposure do play a significant role in the development of sexual orientation in both men and women.

  4. Jan 2022
    1. .

      A study that examined the co-occurrence of sexual orientation biomarkers in adult men found that they don't significantly co-occur, but that the FBOE is the most accurate predictor of homosexuality in men.

    2. .

      The study that supports FBOE also supports that a maternal immune mechanism underlies FBOE. In addition, it provides evidence that a male specific protein may be important in the development of sexual orientation and in neurological functioning associated with forming social connections (including sexual ones).

    3. .

      A study found that mothers of gay sons had higher rates of antibodies to male-specific proteins expressed in the fetal brain than mothers of heterosexual sons, suggesting that the immune response to these proteins during pregnancy was greater in mothers of gay sons than in mothers of heterosexual sons (supports FBOE).

    4. .

      The study that supports FBOE had reliable methods, so the significance of its results should be trusted.

    5. .

      FBOE is biological in nature (non-biological older brothers do not contribute to the effect). Basically, male fetuses have proteins on the Y chromosome called HY antigens that mothers develop more antibodies to with each subsequent pregnancy. These antibodies are theorized to alter the function of proteins in areas of the brain that are relevant to the development of sexual attraction, leading to the incidence of homosexuality. So, the more sons a mother has (and the more antibodies she has), the more likely she is to have a son who is homosexual.

    6. .

      A study supported the idea that sexual orientation was a polygenic (controlled by multiple genes) characteristic in male and female homosexuals, as it was associated with the location of multiple specific SNPs. In homosexual men, one of these SNPs was located near a gene that regulates olfactory functioning (which may be tied to sexuality/sexual orientation), and one of them was located near a gene that regulates reproductive functioning and development. The study had a flawed methodology.

    7. .

      A study showed that male homosexuality may be associated with the location of specific SNPs, but the study's sample size wasn't large enough to make any definitive conclusions.

  5. Nov 2021
    1. And racial discrimination doesn’t exist just within the military rank-and-file. Every year, civilians working in the financial, technical and support sectors of the Army, Air Force and Navy file hundreds of complaints alleging race and skin color discrimination, according to an AP analysis of U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission data.

      discrimination everywhere against race and skin color

    2. “For Blacks and minorities, when we initially experience racism or discrimination in the military, we feel blindsided,” Davis said. “We’re taught to believe that it’s the one place where everybody has a level playing field and that we can make it to the top with work that’s based on merit.”

      racism and discrimination in the military.

  6. Mar 2019
    1. Social Anxiety and Academic AchievementTo the best of our knowledge, only two research groupshave tested the hypothesis that social anxiety is directly and

      The author gets to the main point of the article and establishes the main concept by citing two sources that will later be explained in further details

    2. chlenker and Leary hypothesizedthat individuals likely become socially anxious when theywish to make a good impression on others but anticipate thatthey will be unsuccessful. Leary (2010) further proposed thatsocially anxious individuals perceive most relationships tobe unbalanced by default, through a predisposing fear thatothers will not value the relationship as highly as they do.The consequence of this ‘‘relationship devaluation’’ is aninability for socially anxious individuals to obtain their ownparticular interpersonal objectives through their relation-ships with others

      The author once again uses a secondary source to support his claim and provide credibility to his opinion.

    3. From this perspective, indi-viduals who are socially anxious might perceive the uni-versity/college social environment as somewhatthreatening, which, in turn, would restrict their openness tochange

      The author used a secondary source to propose a different viewpoint about the matter and why socially anxious individuals might be perceiving socially demanding situations as some sort of a threat

    4. How-ever, thoughts of engaging or interacting with others mightfoster the social fears that are central to social anxiety, hin-dering any attempt to participate in the classroom, join inconversations, or ask for help in order to successfully ma-neuver through the university/college system

      The author proceeds to directly state the consequences that arise from students' social anxiety which inhibits itself in the form of fear of interaction and avoidance of any sort of participation even when it is vital to the student's understanding

    5. The goal of the present study was to test whether socialanxiety is directly associated with academic achievementover time among university/college students, and second,to investigate a proposed indirect mechanism throughwhich social anxiety might be linked to lower academicachievement—that is, through the restricted formation ofnew social ties in university/college

      The author directly states the reason and aim of this study to let readers on the reason why his insight on this issue matters and why they should continue reading which is an effective way of demonstrating the goal of the research paper. Also, it is stated early in the introductory paragraph which makes figuring out what the study is about an easy task.

    6. In fact,Russell and Topham (2012) propose that social anxietymay have a negative impact on university/college students’academic achievement

      The author cites a secondary source to present his claim through a similar opinion