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National Science Review May 2024Octopamine (OA), analogous to norepinephrine in vertebrates, is an essential monoamine neurotransmitter in invertebrates that plays a significant role in various...
Octopamine (OA), analogous to norepinephrine in vertebrates, is an essential monoamine neurotransmitter in invertebrates that plays a significant role in various biological functions, including olfactory associative learning. However, the spatial and temporal dynamics of OA remain poorly understood due to limitations associated with the currently available methods used to detect it. To overcome these limitations, we developed a genetically encoded GPCR activation-based (GRAB) OA sensor called GRAB. This sensor is highly selective for OA and exhibits a robust and rapid increase in fluorescence in response to extracellular OA. Using GRAB, we monitored OA release in the mushroom body (MB), the fly's learning center, and found that OA is released in response to both odor and shock stimuli in an aversive learning model. This OA release requires acetylcholine (ACh) released from Kenyon cells, signaling via nicotinic ACh receptors. Finally, we discovered that OA amplifies aversive learning behavior by augmenting dopamine-mediated punishment signals via Octβ1R in dopaminergic neurons, leading to alterations in synaptic plasticity within the MB. Thus, our new GRAB sensor can be used to monitor OA release in real time under physiological conditions, providing valuable insights into the cellular and circuit mechanisms that underlie OA signaling.
PubMed: 38798960
DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwae112 -
BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... May 2024The neuropeptide oxytocin is traditionally known for its roles in parturition, lactation, and social behavior. Other data, however, show that oxytocin can modulate...
The neuropeptide oxytocin is traditionally known for its roles in parturition, lactation, and social behavior. Other data, however, show that oxytocin can modulate behaviors outside of these contexts, including drug self-administration and some aspects of cost-benefit decision making. Here we used a pharmacological approach to investigate the contributions of oxytocin signaling to decision making under risk of explicit punishment. Female and male Long-Evans rats were trained on a risky decision-making task in which they chose between a small, "safe" food reward and a large, "risky" food reward that was accompanied by varying probabilities of mild footshock. Once stable choice behavior emerged, rats were tested in the task following acute intraperitoneal injections of oxytocin or the oxytocin receptor antagonist L-368,899. Neither drug affected task performance in males. In females, however, both oxytocin and L-368,899 caused a dose-dependent reduction in preference for large risky reward. Control experiments showed that these effects could not be accounted for by alterations in food motivation or shock sensitivity. Together, these results reveal a sex-dependent effect of oxytocin signaling on risky decision making in rats.
PubMed: 38798601
DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.13.593981 -
Phase synchrony between prefrontal noradrenergic and cholinergic signals indexes inhibitory control.BioRxiv : the Preprint Server For... May 2024Inhibitory control is a critical executive function that allows animals to suppress their impulsive behavior in order to achieve certain goals or avoid punishment. We...
Inhibitory control is a critical executive function that allows animals to suppress their impulsive behavior in order to achieve certain goals or avoid punishment. We investigated norepinephrine (NE) and acetylcholine (ACh) dynamics and population neuronal activity in the prefrontal cortex during inhibitory control. Using fluorescent sensors to measure extracellular levels of NE and ACh, we simultaneously recorded the dynamics of prefrontal NE and ACh in mice performing an inhibitory control task. The prefrontal NE and ACh signals exhibited strong coherence at 0.4-0.8 Hz. Chemogenetic inhibition of locus coeruleus (LC) neurons that project to the basal forebrain region reduced inhibitory control performance to chance levels. However, this manipulation did not diminish the difference in NE/ACh signals between successful and failed trials; instead, it abolished the difference in NE-ACh phase synchrony between the successful and failed trials, indicating that NE-ACh phase synchrony is a task-relevant neuromodulatory feature. Chemogenetic inhibition of cholinergic neurons that project to the LC region did not impair the inhibitory control performance, nor did it abolish the difference in NE-ACh phase synchrony between successful or failed trials, further confirming the relevance of NE-ACh phase synchrony to inhibitory control. To understand the possible effect of NE-ACh synchrony on prefrontal population activity, we employed Neuropixels to record from the prefrontal cortex with and without inhibiting LC neurons that project to the basal forebrain during inhibitory control. The LC inhibition reduced the number of prefrontal neurons encoding inhibitory control. Demixed principal component analysis (dPCA) further revealed that population firing patterns representing inhibitory control were impaired by the LC inhibition. Disparities in NE-ACh phase synchrony relevant to inhibitory control occurred only in the prefrontal cortex, but not in the parietal cortex, somatosensory cortex, and the somatosensory thalamus. Taken together, these findings suggest that the LC modulates inhibitory control through its collective effect with cholinergic systems on population activity in the prefrontal cortex. Our results further revealed that NE-ACh phase synchrony is a critical neuromodulatory feature with important implications for cognitive control.
PubMed: 38798371
DOI: 10.1101/2024.05.17.594562 -
Children (Basel, Switzerland) May 2024The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of the Play Nicely brief intervention in diminishing both the utilization of physical punishment and the beliefs...
The objective of this study was to assess the efficacy of the Play Nicely brief intervention in diminishing both the utilization of physical punishment and the beliefs that endorse such behavior among a sample of Colombian parents with children aged 2 to 6. Utilizing a quasi-experimental design, the research included pretest and posttest evaluations and involved both an intervention group ( = 37) and a control group ( = 29). The assessment tools used were a scale to measure beliefs about the positive impacts of physical punishment and the Physical Assault subscale of the Spanish version of the Conflict Tactics Scale Parent-Child (CTSPC). Parents participated in a single online session, which offered eight interactive options and lasted 10 min. The results highlighted a high prevalence of physical punishment within the sample (81.8%) and established statistically significant correlations between the justification of physical punishment and its actual use. Approximately one month following the intervention, there was a significant reduction in the employment of physical punishment among the intervention group ( = 0.009), and a notable decrease in the belief that "Punishment is the best alternative to control children's behavior" ( = 0.010) was observed. Consequently, the Play Nicely intervention proved effective in curtailing the use of physical punishment among parents of young children, demonstrating both efficacy and cost-effectiveness within a brief timeframe.
PubMed: 38790603
DOI: 10.3390/children11050608 -
Biology May 2024To test the hypothesis that a sleep-like quiescent state enhances memory consolidation in the pond snail , we interposed a period in which snails experienced either a...
To test the hypothesis that a sleep-like quiescent state enhances memory consolidation in the pond snail , we interposed a period in which snails experienced either a quiescent, sleeping state or an active, non-sleeping state following escape behavior suppression learning (EBSL). During EBSL training, the number of escapes made by a snail from a container was significantly suppressed using an external aversive stimulus (punishment). After training, the snails were divided into two groups. One group of snails was allowed to move freely and to experience a sleep-like quiescent state for 3 h in distilled water. The other group was stimulated with a sucrose solution every 10 min to keep them active (i.e., non-sleeping). In the memory test, escape behavior was suppressed in the group that experienced the quiescent state, whereas the suppression was not observed in snails that were kept active. Additionally, the latency of the first escape in the memory test was shorter in the snails kept active than in those that experienced the quiescent state. Together, these data are consistent with the hypothesis that a sleep-like quiescent state enhances EBSL memory consolidation in .
PubMed: 38785818
DOI: 10.3390/biology13050336 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024Why do people have positive or indifferent reactions to norm violations? The present research hypothesized that individuals who focus on the avoidance of negative...
Prevention regulatory focus, desired cultural tightness, civic moral disengagement, and emotional reactions to normative daily transgressions: a serial mediation model among adults in Italy.
Why do people have positive or indifferent reactions to norm violations? The present research hypothesized that individuals who focus on the avoidance of negative outcomes, for example punishments for rule violations, (i.e., a prevention focus) are hypothesized to also have a desire for rigid and clear norms (i.e., desired cultural tightness) as well as punishments for norm violations. Such norms and punishments narrow accepted behavior and, if clearly communicated, can limit rule violations. Consequently, individuals who desire higher levels of cultural tightness should be less likely to justify poor citizenship behavior (i.e., civic moral disengagement) as this behavior is antithetical to desired cultural tightness. Finally, such individuals should also be more likely to react negatively to norm violations. Data for the present study was conducted in Italy. A total of 1,181 participants were included in the analysis; participation requirements were that they be adults who were residents of Italy. Participants completed self-report measures of the prevention focus, desired cultural tightness, civic moral disengagement, and reactions to general norm violations (e.g., exceeding the speed limit, vandalism). The hypothesized serial mediation model was supported. This model can help explain why individuals can fail to react to "everyday" norm violations, as well societal-level violations (e.g., failing to respect hygienic standards during the COVID pandemic). It also calls on the need to develop mass communication approaches that can influence individuals' prevention focus on a large scale, as this can have downstream effects of reactions to such violations.
PubMed: 38784618
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1340152 -
Medicine, Science, and the Law May 2024Many legal jurisdictions offer some form of hospital diversion and disposal as an alternative to incarceration in prison for mentally disordered offenders. Such...
Many legal jurisdictions offer some form of hospital diversion and disposal as an alternative to incarceration in prison for mentally disordered offenders. Such diversion is commonly understood as offering a non-punitive alternative in terms of sentencing decisions. However, complete loss of responsibility with respect to acts of violence is rare and indicative of extreme degrees of mental disorder. This raises challenges for sentencers when considering disposal options. From the perspective of the patient and healthcare providers while hospital may be framed as non-punitive, it still involves marked loss of freedom and rights. In this essay, it is argued that failure to acknowledge the punitive element, inherent in hospital detention, risks its repression, and a false dichotomy being established with prison being seen as solely punitive and hospital as solely therapeutic. It is suggested that this division is unhelpful, even potentially harmful, and that a synthesis as solution to this dialectic opposition may be generative in terms of therapeutic work in hospitals, clarification of the role of hospitals in terms of criminal justice disposal, and greater transparency in relation to multi-agency working and the social circumstances of patients detained in secure hospitals. Further work to understand this process is suggested with a particular emphasis being placed on the experience of specific groups of patients, such as women, who may find themselves in a notably precarious state within secure care.
PubMed: 38778701
DOI: 10.1177/00258024241256423 -
Journal of Affective Disorders Aug 2024Freud proposed that excessive self-blame-related motivations such as self-punishing tendencies play a key role in depression. Most of the supporting evidence, however,...
BACKGROUND
Freud proposed that excessive self-blame-related motivations such as self-punishing tendencies play a key role in depression. Most of the supporting evidence, however, is based on cross-sectional studies and questionnaire measures.
METHODS
In this pre-registered (NCT04593537) study, we used a novel Virtual Reality (VR) task to determine whether maladaptive self-blame-related action tendencies prospectively identify a subgroup of depression with poor prognosis when treated as usual over four months in primary care. Ninety-eight patients with depression (Patient Health Questionnaire-9 ≥ 15), screening negatively for bipolar and alcohol/substance use disorders, completed the VR-task at baseline (n = 93 completed follow-up).
RESULTS
Our pre-registered statistical/machine learning model prospectively predicted a cross-validated 19 % of variance in depressive symptoms. Contrary to our specific predictions, and in accordance with Freud's observations, feeling like punishing oneself emerged as prognostically relevant rather than feeling like hiding or creating a distance from oneself. Using a principal components analysis of all pre-registered continuous measures, a factor most strongly loading on feeling like punishing oneself for other people's wrongdoings (β = 0.23, p = 0.01), a baseline symptom factor (β = 0.30, p = 0.006) and Maudsley Staging Method treatment-resistance scores (β = 0.28, p = 0.009) at baseline predicted higher depressive symptoms after four months.
LIMITATIONS
Patients were not assessed with a diagnostic interview.
CONCLUSIONS
Independently and apart from known clinical variables, feeling like punishing oneself emerged as a distinctly relevant prognostic factor and should therefore be assessed and tackled in personalised care pathways for difficult-to-treat depression.
Topics: Humans; Female; Male; Adult; Prognosis; Middle Aged; Virtual Reality; Depression; Interpersonal Relations; Prospective Studies; Motivation; Guilt; Depressive Disorder; Machine Learning
PubMed: 38777276
DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2024.05.098 -
Continuity in Education 2024For some children and young people (CYP) with long-term physical health conditions (LTPHCs) attending school can be difficult. There is a lack of evidence documenting...
For some children and young people (CYP) with long-term physical health conditions (LTPHCs) attending school can be difficult. There is a lack of evidence documenting their school attendance experiences, how schools manage absence for these children, and subsequent effects. This study utilised an existing dataset from eighty-nine 11-18-year-olds in mainstream secondary schools in the United Kingdom across 11 LTPHCs that provided first-hand accounts about the children's experiences of school. Data pre-coded "attendance" were subject to thematic analysis to explore issues emerging. Findings showed attendance patterns varied, with some CYP missing little and others significant amounts of education. Children with LTPHCs wanted to attend school and did their best to navigate education alongside health. School systems for attendance were inconsistent and adversarial. Remedial and supportive action emerged as lacking, and children felt it was their personal responsibility to make up for lost time and missed work when absent. Decisions on whether they attended school, coupled with practices promoting high attendance had detrimental consequences for CYP with LTPHCs educationally, emotionally and socially. Overall, children with LTPHCs felt punished, stigmatised, unfairly treated, unequal and excluded. Results have implications for education, health, and policy practitioners to better plan and target attention so that the LTPHC cohort are treated sensitively and equitably and afforded their entitlement to education when they cannot go to school for health reasons often outside of their control.
PubMed: 38774601
DOI: 10.5334/cie.111 -
BMC Psychiatry May 2024Nowadays, moderate gaming behaviors can be a pleasant and relaxing experiences among adolescents. However, excessive gaming behavior may lead to gaming disorder (GD)...
BACKGROUND
Nowadays, moderate gaming behaviors can be a pleasant and relaxing experiences among adolescents. However, excessive gaming behavior may lead to gaming disorder (GD) that disruption of normal daily life. Understanding the possible risk factors of this emerging problem would help to suggest effective at preventing and intervening. This study aimed to investigate the prevalence of GD and analyze its possible risk factors that adolescents with GD.
METHODS
Data were collected between October 2020 and January 2021. In total, a sample of 7901 students (4080 (52%) boys, 3742 (48%) girls; aged 12-18 years) completed questionnaires regarding the Gaming-Related Behaviors Survey, Gaming Disorder Symptom Questionnaire-21 (GDSQ-21); Behavioral Inhibition System and Behavioral Activation System Scale (BIS/BAS Scale); Emotion Regulation Questionnaire (ERQ); Short-form Egna Minnenav Barndoms Uppfostran for Chinese (s-EMBU-C); and Adolescent Self-Rating Life Events Checklist (ASLEC).
RESULTS
The prevalence of GD was 2.27% in this adolescent sample. The GD gamers were a little bit older (i.e., a higher proportion of senior grades), more boys, with more gaming hours per week in the last 12 months, with more reward responsiveness, maternal rejecting and occurrence of negative life events (e.g., interpersonal relationships, being punished and bereavement factors).
CONCLUSION
These possible risk factors may influence the onset of GD. Future research in clinical, public health, education and other fields should focus on these aspects for provide target prevention and early intervention strategies.
Topics: Humans; Adolescent; Male; Female; China; Risk Factors; Prevalence; Child; Internet Addiction Disorder; Video Games; Adolescent Behavior; Surveys and Questionnaires; Behavior, Addictive
PubMed: 38773555
DOI: 10.1186/s12888-024-05826-9