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Nature Reviews. Neuroscience May 2015Stress often affects our social lives. When undergoing high-level or persistent stress, individuals frequently retract from social interactions and become irritable and... (Review)
Review
Stress often affects our social lives. When undergoing high-level or persistent stress, individuals frequently retract from social interactions and become irritable and hostile. Predisposition to antisocial behaviours - including social detachment and violence - is also modulated by early life adversity; however, the effects of early life stress depend on the timing of exposure and genetic factors. Research in animals and humans has revealed some of the structural, functional and molecular changes in the brain that underlie the effects of stress on social behaviour. Findings in this emerging field will have implications both for the clinic and for society.
Topics: Animals; Brain; Humans; Interpersonal Relations; Social Behavior; Stress, Physiological; Stress, Psychological
PubMed: 25891510
DOI: 10.1038/nrn3918 -
Nature Nov 2022Chronic stress can have lasting adverse consequences in some individuals, yet others are resilient to the same stressor. Susceptible and resilient individuals exhibit...
Chronic stress can have lasting adverse consequences in some individuals, yet others are resilient to the same stressor. Susceptible and resilient individuals exhibit differences in the intrinsic properties of mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurons after the stressful experience is over. However, the causal links between DA, behaviour during stress and individual differences in resilience are unknown. Here we recorded behaviour in mice simultaneously with DA neuron activity in projections to the nucleus accumbens (NAc) (which signals reward) and the tail striatum (TS) (which signals threat) during social defeat. Supervised and unsupervised behavioural quantification revealed that during stress, resilient and susceptible mice use different behavioural strategies and have distinct activity patterns in DA terminals in the NAc (but not the TS). Neurally, resilient mice have greater activity near the aggressor, including at the onset of fighting back. Conversely, susceptible mice have greater activity at the offset of attacks and onset of fleeing. We also performed optogenetic stimulation of NAc-projecting DA neurons in open loop (randomly timed) during defeat or timed to specific behaviours using real-time behavioural classification. Both open-loop and fighting-back-timed activation promoted resilience and reorganized behaviour during defeat towards resilience-associated patterns. Together, these data provide a link between DA neural activity, resilience and resilience-associated behaviour during the experience of stress.
Topics: Animals; Mice; Dopamine; Dopaminergic Neurons; Mice, Inbred C57BL; Nucleus Accumbens; Reward; Stress, Psychological; Resilience, Psychological; Optogenetics; Neostriatum; Behavior, Animal
PubMed: 36261520
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-022-05328-2 -
Nature Reviews. Neuroscience Mar 2021Cognitive and behavioural flexibility permit the appropriate adjustment of thoughts and behaviours in response to changing environmental demands. Brain mechanisms... (Review)
Review
Cognitive and behavioural flexibility permit the appropriate adjustment of thoughts and behaviours in response to changing environmental demands. Brain mechanisms enabling flexibility have been examined using non-invasive neuroimaging and behavioural approaches in humans alongside pharmacological and lesion studies in animals. This work has identified large-scale functional brain networks encompassing lateral and orbital frontoparietal, midcingulo-insular and frontostriatal regions that support flexibility across the lifespan. Flexibility can be compromised in early-life neurodevelopmental disorders, clinical conditions that emerge during adolescence and late-life dementias. We critically evaluate evidence for the enhancement of flexibility through cognitive training, physical activity and bilingual experience.
Topics: Animals; Behavior; Behavioral Symptoms; Cognition; Cognition Disorders; Humans; Nerve Net; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; Neural Pathways
PubMed: 33536614
DOI: 10.1038/s41583-021-00428-w -
Public Health Jul 2016To demonstrate that six common errors made in attempts to change behaviour have prevented the implementation of the scientific evidence base derived from psychology and...
OBJECTIVE
To demonstrate that six common errors made in attempts to change behaviour have prevented the implementation of the scientific evidence base derived from psychology and sociology; to suggest a new approach which incorporates recent developments in the behavioural sciences.
STUDY DESIGN
The role of health behaviours in the origin of the current epidemic of non-communicable disease is observed to have driven attempts to change behaviour. It is noted that most efforts to change health behaviours have had limited success. This paper suggests that in policy-making, discussions about behaviour change are subject to six common errors and that these errors have made the business of health-related behaviour change much more difficult than it needs to be.
METHODS
Overview of policy and practice attempts to change health-related behaviour.
RESULTS
The reasons why knowledge and learning about behaviour have made so little progress in alcohol, dietary and physical inactivity-related disease prevention are considered, and an alternative way of thinking about the behaviours involved is suggested. This model harnesses recent developments in the behavioural sciences.
CONCLUSION
It is important to understand the conditions preceding behaviour psychologically and sociologically and to combine psychological ideas about the automatic and reflective systems with sociological ideas about social practice.
Topics: Alcohol Drinking; Diet; Epidemics; Exercise; Health Behavior; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; Health Policy; Humans; Obesity; Psychological Theory; Sedentary Behavior; Smoking; United Kingdom
PubMed: 27184821
DOI: 10.1016/j.puhe.2016.03.030 -
Nature Jan 2021Animal behaviours that are superficially similar can express different intents in different contexts, but how this flexibility is achieved at the level of neural...
Animal behaviours that are superficially similar can express different intents in different contexts, but how this flexibility is achieved at the level of neural circuits is not understood. For example, males of many species can exhibit mounting behaviour towards same- or opposite-sex conspecifics, but it is unclear whether the intent and neural encoding of these behaviours are similar or different. Here we show that female- and male-directed mounting in male laboratory mice are distinguishable by the presence or absence of ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs), respectively. These and additional behavioural data suggest that most male-directed mounting is aggressive, although in rare cases it can be sexual. We investigated whether USV and USV mounting use the same or distinct hypothalamic neural substrates. Micro-endoscopic imaging of neurons positive for oestrogen receptor 1 (ESR1) in either the medial preoptic area (MPOA) or the ventromedial hypothalamus, ventrolateral subdivision (VMHvl) revealed distinct patterns of neuronal activity during USV and USV mounting, and the type of mounting could be decoded from population activity in either region. Intersectional optogenetic stimulation of MPOA neurons that express ESR1 and vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT) (MPOA neurons) robustly promoted USV mounting, and converted male-directed attack to mounting with USVs. By contrast, stimulation of VMHvl neurons that express ESR1 (VMHvl neurons) promoted USV mounting, and inhibited the USVs evoked by female urine. Terminal stimulation experiments suggest that these complementary inhibitory effects are mediated by reciprocal projections between the MPOA and VMHvl. Together, these data identify a hypothalamic subpopulation that is genetically enriched for neurons that causally induce a male reproductive behavioural state, and indicate that reproductive and aggressive states are represented by distinct population codes distributed between MPOA and VMHvl neurons, respectively. Thus, similar behaviours that express different internal states are encoded by distinct hypothalamic neuronal populations.
Topics: Aggression; Animals; Copulation; Estrogen Receptor alpha; Female; Homosexuality, Male; Hypothalamus; Male; Mice; Optogenetics; Preoptic Area; Sexual Behavior, Animal; Vesicular Inhibitory Amino Acid Transport Proteins
PubMed: 33268894
DOI: 10.1038/s41586-020-2995-0 -
Applied Physiology, Nutrition, and... Jun 2016This systematic review is an update examining the relationships between objectively and subjectively measured sedentary behaviour and health indicators in children and... (Review)
Review
This systematic review is an update examining the relationships between objectively and subjectively measured sedentary behaviour and health indicators in children and youth aged 5-17 years. EMBASE, PsycINFO, and Medline were searched in December 2014, and date limits were imposed (≥February 2010). Included studies were peer-reviewed and met the a priori-determined population (apparently healthy children and youth, mean age: 5-17 years), intervention (durations, patterns, and types of sedentary behaviours), comparator (various durations, patterns, and types of sedentary behaviours), and outcome (critical: body composition, metabolic syndrome/cardiovascular disease risk factors, behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour, academic achievement; important: fitness, self-esteem) study criteria. Quality of evidence by outcome was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation framework. Due to heterogeneity, a narrative analysis was conducted. A total of 235 studies (194 unique samples) were included representing 1 657 064 unique participants from 71 different countries. Higher durations/frequencies of screen time and television (TV) viewing were associated with unfavourable body composition. Higher duration/frequency of TV viewing was also associated with higher clustered cardiometabolic risk scores. Higher durations of TV viewing and video game use were associated with unfavourable behavioural conduct/pro-social behaviour. Higher durations of reading and doing homework were associated with higher academic achievement. Higher duration of screen time was associated with lower fitness. Higher durations of screen time and computer use were associated with lower self-esteem. Evidence ranged from "very low" to "moderate" quality. Higher quality studies using reliable and valid sedentary behaviour measures should confirm this largely observational evidence.
Topics: Adolescent; Adolescent Behavior; Body Composition; Cardiovascular Diseases; Child; Child Behavior; Child, Preschool; Exercise; Health Status; Humans; Metabolic Syndrome; Non-Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Physical Fitness; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic; Risk Factors; Sedentary Behavior; Television
PubMed: 27306432
DOI: 10.1139/apnm-2015-0630 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Jul 2018Birds have many kinds of internal and external parasites, including viruses, bacteria and fungi, as well as protozoa, helminths and arthropods. Because parasites have... (Review)
Review
Birds have many kinds of internal and external parasites, including viruses, bacteria and fungi, as well as protozoa, helminths and arthropods. Because parasites have negative effects on host fitness, selection favours the evolution of anti-parasite defences, many of which involve behaviour. We provide a brief review of anti-parasite behaviours in birds, divided into five major categories: (i) body maintenance, (ii) nest maintenance, (iii) avoidance of parasitized prey, (iv) migration and (v) tolerance. We evaluate the adaptive significance of the different behaviours and note cases in which additional research is particularly needed. We briefly consider the interaction of different behaviours, such as sunning and preening, and how behavioural defences may interact with other forms of defence, such as immune responses. We conclude by suggesting some general questions that need to be addressed concerning the nature of anti-parasite behaviour in birds.This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue 'Evolution of pathogen and parasite avoidance behaviours'.
Topics: Adaptation, Biological; Animal Migration; Animals; Avoidance Learning; Birds; Feeding Behavior; Grooming; Host-Parasite Interactions; Interpersonal Relations; Nesting Behavior
PubMed: 29866911
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0196 -
BMC Public Health Aug 2023Physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB) and diet play an important role in the physical and mental health of young people. Understanding how these behaviours...
BACKGROUND
Physical activity (PA), sedentary behaviour (SB) and diet play an important role in the physical and mental health of young people. Understanding how these behaviours cluster, and the impact of clusters on health is important for the development of public health interventions. This review examines the prevalence of clusters of PA, sedentary time, and dietary behaviours, and how clusters relate to physical and mental health indicators among children, adolescents and young adults.
METHODS
Electronic (PubMed, Web of Science and Scopus) and manual searches were conducted for articles that were (i) observational studies including children, adolescents and/or young adults aged 5-24 years, (ii) examined the 'patterning', 'clustering', or 'co-existence' of each of PA, dietary behaviour and SB, and (iii) published in English up to and including July 2022. In addition to information on clustering, data on physical and mental health outcomes were extracted where reported. Included studies were assessed using the Cochrane risk of bias for observational studies. A narrative synthesis was conducted due to high heterogeneity. This review was registered with PROSPERO (CRD42021230976).
RESULTS
Forty-nine cross-sectional studies and four prospective cohort studies from eighteen countries reporting data from 778,415 individual participants were included. A broad range of clusters (n = 172) were found (healthy, unhealthy, and mixed). Mixed clusters were common (n = 98), and clusters of high diet quality, low PA and high SB were more prevalent in girls, while mixed clusters of high PA, high SB and low diet quality were more prevalent in boys. Unhealthy clusters comprising low moderate to vigorous PA, low consumption of fruits and vegetables, and high screen time were prevalent, particularly in those from lower socioeconomic status families. Compared to those with healthy behavioural clusters, those with unhealthy and mixed clusters had a higher adiposity, higher risk of cardiovascular disease, poorer mental health scores, and lower cardiorespiratory fitness.
CONCLUSIONS
PA, SB and diet cluster in healthy, unhealthy and mixed patterns in young people that differ across sociodemographic characteristics. Unhealthy clusters are associated with poorer health outcomes. Intervention strategies targeting un-clustering multiple unhealthy behaviours should be developed and evaluated for their impact on health outcomes.
Topics: Adolescent; Male; Child; Female; Young Adult; Humans; Sedentary Behavior; Mental Health; Cross-Sectional Studies; Prospective Studies; Diet
PubMed: 37596591
DOI: 10.1186/s12889-023-16372-6 -
Physiology & Behavior Nov 2023Anxiety disorders pose a significant challenge in contemporary society, and their impact in terms of social and economic burden is overwhelming. Behavioral research... (Review)
Review
Anxiety disorders pose a significant challenge in contemporary society, and their impact in terms of social and economic burden is overwhelming. Behavioral research conducted on animal subjects is crucial for comprehending these disorders and, from a translational standpoint, for introducing innovative therapeutic approaches. In this context, the Hole-Board apparatus has emerged as a widely utilized test for studying anxiety-related behaviors in rodents. Although a substantial body of literature underscores the utility and reliability of the Hole-Board in anxiety research, recent decades have witnessed a range of studies that have led to uncertainties and misinterpretations regarding the validity of this behavioral assay. The objective of this review is twofold: firstly, to underscore the utility and reliability of the Hole-Board assay, and concurrently, to examine the underlying factors contributing to potential misconceptions surrounding its utilization in the study of anxiety and anxiety-related behaviors. We will present results from both conventional quantitative analyses and multivariate approaches, while referencing a comprehensive collection of studies conducted using the Hole-Board.
Topics: Humans; Animals; Reproducibility of Results; Behavior, Animal; Anxiety; Anti-Anxiety Agents; Anxiety Disorders; Exploratory Behavior
PubMed: 37690695
DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2023.114346 -
BMC Medical Education Feb 2022Distress and burnout are common in physicians. Both may already arise during medical training and persist throughout residency. An analysis of needs is necessary in...
BACKGROUND
Distress and burnout are common in physicians. Both may already arise during medical training and persist throughout residency. An analysis of needs is necessary in order to develop target group specific curricular concepts at medical faculties. Aim of this study was to assess the perceived stress of medical students, to explore study-related behavior and experience patterns, and to investigate associated factors.
METHODS
We conducted a cross-sectional survey of medical students at the Hannover Medical School. The web-based questionnaire consisted of 74 items and included two standardized instruments: the "Work-related Behavior and Experience Patterns" (Arbeitsbezogene Verhaltens- und Erlebensmuster, AVEM) and the "Perceived Medical School Stress" scale (PMSS). Students were asked to state their self-perceived actual stress level on a scale from 0% (no stress at all) to 100% (maximum stress). We performed a classification and regression tree (CART) analysis to identify factors that can discriminate between the four different AVEM patterns.
RESULTS
Five hundred ninety-one medical students (female 75.8%, response rate: 34.0%) participated in the survey. The mean sum score of the PMSS was 37.2 (SD 8.3; median score 37, min.-max. = 18-65). Overall, 68.5% of the students showed a risk pattern (risk pattern A "overexertion": 38.9%; risk pattern B "burnout": 29.6%). Pattern G "healthy" was shown in 8.3% and pattern S "protection" in 23.1% of the students. Multilevel analysis revealed that the self-perceived stress level and the PMSS sum score were the most important predictors for the AVEM pattern assignment. Furthermore, academic year, gender, and financial dependency were relevant influencing factors: students in higher academic years with no financial support had a higher probability to be in risk pattern B whereas male students in the first academic year tended to be in pattern G.
CONCLUSIONS
The PMSS sum score could objectify medical students' high self-perceived stress level. The majority of participating students showed a risky study-related behavior and experience pattern. Medical faculties should be aware of the still existing and relevant problem of stress and burnout among medical students. Our results lay the groundwork for an evaluation and further development of medical curricula at the own faculty.
Topics: Burnout, Professional; Burnout, Psychological; Cross-Sectional Studies; Female; Humans; Male; Stress, Psychological; Students, Medical; Surveys and Questionnaires
PubMed: 35197034
DOI: 10.1186/s12909-022-03182-4