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Scientific Reports May 2024Planetary exploration relies considerably on mineral characterization to advance our understanding of the solar system, the planets and their evolution. Thus, we must...
Planetary exploration relies considerably on mineral characterization to advance our understanding of the solar system, the planets and their evolution. Thus, we must understand past and present processes that can alter materials exposed on the surface, affecting space mission data. Here, we analyze the first dataset monitoring the evolution of a known mineral target in situ on the Martian surface, brought there as a SuperCam calibration target onboard the Perseverance rover. We used Raman spectroscopy to monitor the crystalline state of a synthetic apatite sample over the first 950 Martian days (sols) of the Mars2020 mission. We note significant variations in the Raman spectra acquired on this target, specifically a decrease in the relative contribution of the Raman signal to the total signal. These observations are consistent with the results of a UV-irradiation test performed in the laboratory under conditions mimicking ambient Martian conditions. We conclude that the observed evolution reflects an alteration of the material, specifically the creation of electronic defects, due to its exposure to the Martian environment and, in particular, UV irradiation. This ongoing process of alteration of the Martian surface needs to be taken into account for mineralogical space mission data analysis.
PubMed: 38760365
DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-61494-5 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024Learning, an important activity for both human and animals, has long been a focal point of research. During the learning process, subjects assimilate not only their own...
Learning, an important activity for both human and animals, has long been a focal point of research. During the learning process, subjects assimilate not only their own information but also information from others, a phenomenon known as social learning. While numerous studies have explored the impact of social feedback as a reward/punishment during learning, few studies have investigated whether social feedback facilitates or inhibits the learning of environmental rewards/punishments. This study aims to test the effects of social feedback on economic feedback and its cognitive processes by using the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). One hundred ninety-two participants were recruited and categorized into one non-social feedback group and four social feedback groups. Participants in the social feedback groups were informed that after the outcome of each choice, they would also receive feedback from an online peer. This peer was a fictitious entity, with variations in identity (novice or expert) and feedback type (random or effective). The Outcome-Representation Learning model (ORL model) was used to quantify the cognitive components of learning. Behavioral results showed that both the identity of the peer and the type of feedback provided significantly influenced the deck selection, with effective social feedback increasing the ratio of chosen good decks. Results in the ORL model showed that the four social feedback groups exhibited lower learning rates for gain and loss compared to the nonsocial feedback group, which suggested, in the social feedback groups, the impact of the recent outcome on the update of value decreased. Parameters such as forgetfulness, win frequency, and deck perseverance in the expert-effective feedback group were significantly higher than those in the non-social feedback and expert-random feedback groups. These findings suggest that individuals proactively evaluate feedback providers and selectively adopt effective feedback to enhance learning.
PubMed: 38756493
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1292808 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024The global dissemination of Chinese martial arts (CMAs), transcends mere physical activity; it represents a cultural and philosophical journey that contributes to...
BACKGROUND
The global dissemination of Chinese martial arts (CMAs), transcends mere physical activity; it represents a cultural and philosophical journey that contributes to enhanced psychological well-being. Capturing international attention, CMAs have engendered a network of global instructors committed to their cross-cultural teaching. However, the narrative of CMAs across the globe is incomplete without understanding the psychological factors that fuel the perseverance of these international instructors. Their relentless commitment, motivated by factors beyond the cultural and geographical barriers, poses a unique question: What motivates these instructors to persist in teaching CMAs in the face of such challenges? The study aims to uncover the key motivational mechanisms that influence the perseverance of international CMAs instructors in their teaching endeavors.
METHODS
Employing Self-Determination Theory, 147 international CMAs instructors completed the Motivation for Teaching CMAs Scale, Perceived Belonging Scale, and Perseverance in Teaching CMAs Scale. SPSS 20.0 was utilized for conducting descriptive statistics, common method bias tests, and correlation analyses. Structural equation modeling was performed using AMOS 26.0.
RESULTS
Autonomous Motivation positively affected perseverance in teaching CMAs ( = 0.369, = 0.465, = 4.232, < 0.001). In contrast, Amotivation negatively affected perseverance ( = -0.323, = -0.382, = -3.561, < 0.001). Neither Controlled Motivation nor Sense of Belonging significantly affected perseverance. The model explained 27.9% of the variance in perseverance, offering insights into the motivational mechanisms influencing international CMAs instructors.
CONCLUSION
This study concludes that the perseverance of international instructors in teaching CMAs is primarily driven by overcoming amotivation and fostering autonomous motivation, rather than short-term internal or external incentives, which appear ineffective. Additionally, sense of belonging to their CMA school does not significantly influence their perseverance, potentially due to the diverse cultural backgrounds of the instructors surveyed. The findings suggest that by enhancing the recognition and acceptance of CMAs' core philosophies and values, aligning teaching practices with personal and cultural values, and fostering a profound passion for CMAs, international instructors could boost their autonomous motivation, which is crucial for their sustained commitment in promoting CMAs globally.
PubMed: 38746923
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1391207 -
Surgical Neurology International 2024Resection of bilateral parasagittal meningiomas of the dominant cortex is challenging. Some postoperative consequences are difficult to predict due to their low...
BACKGROUND
Resection of bilateral parasagittal meningiomas of the dominant cortex is challenging. Some postoperative consequences are difficult to predict due to their low incidence. However, it is essential to recognize reversible symptoms. Akinetic mutism is a devastating but reversible symptom that occurs after supplementary motor area (SMA) injury. This report aims to provide more information to support the clinical progression of this syndrome.
CASE DESCRIPTION
A 47-year-old woman presented with psychomotor retardation and subtle weakness, particularly on the left side. A palpable mass was identified at the head vertex. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed bilateral parasagittal meningiomas with bone and sinus invasion of the SMA. A craniotomy was performed to remove the intracapsular tumor. Two days after the operation, the patient developed gradual deterioration in her motor function until it became a lock-in-like syndrome. Then, 1.5 months after treatment in the hospital and rehabilitation unit, she gradually improved her motor, cognitive, and psychomotor skills. Total recovery was achieved after 1 year.
CONCLUSION
Surgery for lesions involving bilateral SMA can cause akinetic mutism. The typical manifestation of this syndrome may be devastating. However, it is reversible, and patients can regain full motor and cognitive functions over time without specific treatments. It is crucial to persevere and continue to provide the best care to the patient until recovery.
PubMed: 38742016
DOI: 10.25259/SNI_130_2024 -
BJPsych Open May 2024Both impulsivity and compulsivity have been identified as risk factors for problematic use of the internet (PUI). Yet little is known about the relationship between...
BACKGROUND
Both impulsivity and compulsivity have been identified as risk factors for problematic use of the internet (PUI). Yet little is known about the relationship between impulsivity, compulsivity and individual PUI symptoms, limiting a more precise understanding of mechanisms underlying PUI.
AIMS
The current study is the first to use network analysis to (a) examine the unique association among impulsivity, compulsivity and PUI symptoms, and (b) identify the most influential drivers in relation to the PUI symptom community.
METHOD
We estimated a Gaussian graphical model consisting of five facets of impulsivity, compulsivity and individual PUI symptoms among 370 Australian adults (51.1% female, mean age = 29.8, s.d. = 11.1). Network structure and bridge expected influence were examined to elucidate differential associations among impulsivity, compulsivity and PUI symptoms, as well as identify influential nodes bridging impulsivity, compulsivity and PUI symptoms.
RESULTS
Results revealed that four facets of impulsivity (i.e. negative urgency, positive urgency, lack of premeditation and lack of perseverance) and compulsivity were related to different PUI symptoms. Further, compulsivity and negative urgency were the most influential nodes in relation to the PUI symptom community due to their highest bridge expected influence.
CONCLUSIONS
The current findings delineate distinct relationships across impulsivity, compulsivity and PUI, which offer insights into potential mechanistic pathways and targets for future interventions in this space. To realise this potential, future studies are needed to replicate the identified network structure in different populations and determine the directionality of the relationships among impulsivity, compulsivity and PUI symptoms.
PubMed: 38721785
DOI: 10.1192/bjo.2024.59 -
Frontiers in Psychiatry 2024Special situations that jeopardize the internal and external security for communities are increasing in their frequency and complexity. This creates complicated...
INTRODUCTION
Special situations that jeopardize the internal and external security for communities are increasing in their frequency and complexity. This creates complicated challenges for individuals, governments and humanity. National and international strategies are being developed that focus on the resilience and coping of all first responders during these extreme stress states.
AIM
The aim of the article is to present the framework of strategic resilience, its multidimensional measurement and the possibilities for training robust resilience to increase operational effectiveness in special operational situations.
METHODOLOGICAL APPROACH
Research in the area of special operation situations often focuses on the human performance cluster. The Unit of Applied Research 18_RECESS (18_ Research and Education Center for Extraordinary Tactical Situations and Strategically Resilience) at the Department of Disaster Prevention and Crisis Management at Fresenius University of Applied Sciences in Idstein fits into this field. It pursues the adaptation of existing resilience models to special operation situations in line with the definition of strategic resilience. In addition, the focus is on the possibility of training strategic resilience to increase operational effectiveness. There are currently several research projects being conducted in the civilian and civilian-military sectors, as well as with ground and special operations forces.
MAJOR FINDINGS
Strategic Resilience with its 3 axes Psychological, Physiological and Cognitive Resilience covers the core domains of various existing models of resilience. This provides an adequate concept to describe different factors leading to personnel perseverance in special operation situations. There exists the possibility to train several domains of strategic resilience via problem-oriented intervention (POH).
PubMed: 38721614
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2024.1410296 -
Addictive Behaviors Sep 2024Work has identified that metacognitive thought results in desire-based thinking and perpetuates the magnitude and severity of maladaptive behaviour including problematic...
Work has identified that metacognitive thought results in desire-based thinking and perpetuates the magnitude and severity of maladaptive behaviour including problematic social media use, and also that one's ingroup identity is related to increasing problematic behaviour. No evidence has ascertained the relative contribution of these as related differential factors in the experience of problematic social media use. The current study explored the comparative importance of components of desire thinking, positive and negative metacognitions and dimensions of ingroup identity on degree of problematic use among 147 current Instagram users. Results showed that for predicting general problematic Instagram use negative metacognitive beliefs and the verbal perseverance component of desire-based thinking were significant. Importantly, however, different factors appeared to be important for predicting distinct aspects of problematic Instagram. For compulsivity indicators, negative metacognitions and verbal perseveration were essential, whereas for the withdrawal component identity centrality (and no other dimensions of identity) and imaginal prefiguration emerge as the sole independent predictors.
Topics: Humans; Metacognition; Male; Female; Adult; Compulsive Behavior; Young Adult; Thinking; Internet Addiction Disorder; Social Media; Social Identification; Adolescent; Middle Aged
PubMed: 38718739
DOI: 10.1016/j.addbeh.2024.108043 -
ELife May 2024The discovery of rapid-acting antidepressant, ketamine has opened a pathway to a new generation of treatments for depression, and inspired neuroscientific investigation...
The discovery of rapid-acting antidepressant, ketamine has opened a pathway to a new generation of treatments for depression, and inspired neuroscientific investigation based on a new perspective that non-adaptive changes in the intrinsic excitatory and inhibitory circuitry might underlie the pathophysiology of depression. Nevertheless, it still remains largely unknown how the hypothesized molecular and synaptic levels of changes in the circuitry might mediate behavioral and neuropsychological changes underlying depression, and how ketamine might restore adaptive behavior. Here, we used computational models to analyze behavioral changes induced by therapeutic doses of ketamine, while rhesus macaques were iteratively making decisions based on gains and losses of tokens. When administered intramuscularly or intranasally, ketamine reduced the aversiveness of undesirable outcomes such as losses of tokens without significantly affecting the evaluation of gains, behavioral perseveration, motivation, and other cognitive aspects of learning such as temporal credit assignment and time scales of choice and outcome memory. Ketamine's potentially antidepressant effect was separable from other side effects such as fixation errors, which unlike outcome evaluation, was readily countered with strong motivation to avoid errors. We discuss how the acute effect of ketamine to reduce the initial impact of negative events could potentially mediate longer-term antidepressant effects through mitigating the cumulative effect of those events produced by slowly decaying memory, and how the disruption-resistant affective memory might pose challenges in treating depression. Our study also invites future investigations on ketamine's antidepressant action over diverse mood states and with affective events exerting their impacts at diverse time scales.
Topics: Ketamine; Animals; Macaca mulatta; Decision Making; Antidepressive Agents; Male; Injections, Intramuscular; Administration, Intranasal; Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 38700991
DOI: 10.7554/eLife.87529 -
Medical Science Educator Apr 2024The world of publication can seem intimidating and closed to the newcomer. How then does one even begin to get a foot in the door? In this paper, the authors draw from...
The world of publication can seem intimidating and closed to the newcomer. How then does one even begin to get a foot in the door? In this paper, the authors draw from the literature and their recent lived experience as editorial interns to consider this challenge under the theme of access, and how it overlaps with the various components of academic publication. The main three components of the publication 'machine' are discussed in this article, , , and . These are preceded by the first, and arguably foundational, interaction with academic journal publishing-reading. Without reading articles across different journals, and even in different disciplines, understanding the breadth of scholarship and its purpose is impossible. The subsequent components of , , and , which are all enhanced by ongoing familiarity with current literature through further reading, are considered in further detail in the remainder of this article, with practical advice provided as to how to gain access and experience in each of these areas, for example, writing non-research article manuscripts, engaging in collaborative peer review, and applying for editorial opportunities (with perseverance) when the opportunity presents itself. Medical education publication can seem daunting and closed to entry-level academics. This article is written to dispel this view, and challenges the notion that the world of publication is reserved for experts only. On the contrary, newcomers to the field are essential for academic publications to retain relevance, dynamism, and innovation particularly in the face of the changing landscape of medical education.
PubMed: 38686168
DOI: 10.1007/s40670-023-01961-2 -
Frontiers in Psychology 2024The aim of the present study is to translate the Grit questionnaire into Hungarian and validate specifically within the context of sports. The second goal is to assess...
BACKGROUND
The aim of the present study is to translate the Grit questionnaire into Hungarian and validate specifically within the context of sports. The second goal is to assess the questionnaire in Hungarian as a pilot study in the athlete population and to compare the grit trait with the coaches' athlete evaluation.
METHODS
Two hundred and sixty nine athletes, including 40 national team players, took part in the study, with an average age of 18.17 years (SD = 5.51). For the preliminary assessment, the Cloninger Temperament and Character Questionnaire (TCI-RH) was used; the coaches' athlete evaluation was modeled on a talent map.
RESULTS
The confirmatory factor analysis confirmed the fit of the two-factor structure, and the internal reliability of the questionnaire scales also proved to be adequate. 2. There is no relationship between adolescents' perceived grit and coach ratings. 3. The national team players achieved a higher grit score.
CONCLUSION
Based on the psychometric indicators, the validity and reliability of the questionnaire proved to be adequate. Therefore, it is applicable and useful for psychological practitioners and researchers in the Hungarian population within the context of sports.
PubMed: 38680277
DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1283115