Investigating the beliefs of Saudi females regarding physical activity: a qualitative exploration

PURPOSE

Saudi women have been deprived of equal access to and opportunities for an active lifestyle due to sociocultural restrictions. Using the theory of planned behaviour, this elicitation study aimed to explore the salient beliefs of young Saudi women aged 18-35 regarding physical activity (PA).

METHODS

A descriptive qualitative methodology was utilized using a semi-structured interview. A total of 25 transcribed interviews were coded. Content analysis was used to identify the salient beliefs and to rank-order the beliefs using an adaptation of Burnard's model.

FINDINGS

Thirty-five salient beliefs were identified as dominant factors in the decision to engage in PA. The salient beliefs about PA are classified as positive (related to advantages, social approval, and enabling) and negative (related to disadvantages, social disapproval, and barriers). These included behavioural beliefs (concerning physical/psychological well-being and social opportunities), normative beliefs (concerning family, community, international and local media influencers' expectations), and control beliefs (concerning personal, social, natural, and built environment enablers as well as constraints).

CONCLUSIONS

Due to the elicited beliefs, young women may be able to adopt more active lifestyles and change their inactive behaviour. Addressing negative beliefs can help change their inactive behaviour. Strengthening positive beliefs and facilitators is also beneficial.

Association between caregiver-child interaction and autistic-like behaviors at around three years of age

BACKGROUND

The prevalence of autistic-like behaviors is increasing worldwide, both in developed and developing countries. With a high disease burden and complex developmental causes, there has been much interest in the etiology of the disease, and there is a lack of evidence on the relationship between caregiver-child interaction and autistic-like behaviors.

AIM/OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the association between caregiver-child interaction and children's autistic-like behaviors during early childhood.

METHOD

The subjects of this study were 171 kindergartens selected from the Longhua Child Cohort Study (LCCS), and a total of 40,237 children around the age of three were included. Sociodemographic characteristics, family income, and frequency of interaction between caregivers and children were all filled in by the child's primary caregiver, and the adapted Chinese Autism Behavior Checklist was used to assess children's autism-like behaviors. Tobit Regression and ancovariance analysis (ANCOVA) were used to measure the relationship between caregiver-child interactions (family and social activities) and autism-like behaviors, with a two-tailed p value of <0.05 being significant.

RESULTS

Tobit regression analyses found that in the 0-1 year age group, different frequencies of singing activities by caregivers with children (<3 times per week, 3-6 times per week, 6 times or more per week) were significantly negatively associated with autistic-like behaviors in a dose-response manner (B values of -0.323, -0.381, -0.544, all p < 0.0001); in the 1-3 year age group, different frequencies of reading interactions by caregivers with children (<3 times per week, 3-6 times per week, 6 times or more per week) were also significantly negatively associated with autistic-like behaviors in a dose-response manner (B values of -0.388, -0.632, -0.956, all p < 0.0001), and similar associations were found in singing and chatting interactions.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that higher frequencies of early caregiver-child interactions are associated with lower levers of autistic-like behaviors in children around the age of three years.

Structural explanations lead young children and adults to rectify resource inequalities

Decisions about how to divide resources have profound social and practical consequences. Do explanations regarding the source of existing inequalities influence how children and adults allocate new resources? When 3- to 6-year-old children (N = 201) learned that inequalities were caused by structural forces (stable external constraints affecting access to resources) as opposed to internal forces (effort), they rectified inequalities, overriding previously documented tendencies to perpetuate inequality or divide resources equally. Adults (N = 201) were more likely than children to rectify inequality spontaneously; this was further strengthened by a structural explanation but reversed by an effort-based explanation. Allocation behaviors were mirrored in judgments of which allocation choices by others were appropriate. These findings reveal how explanations powerfully guide social reasoning and action from childhood through adulthood.

Developmental links between well-being, self-concept and prosocial behaviour in early primary school

BACKGROUND

Well-being is a key aspect of children's education, yet measurement issues have limited studies in early primary school.

AIMS

The current 12-month longitudinal study assesses the temporal stability of child- and parent-reported school well-being and examines developmental links with academic self-concept and parent-rated prosocial behaviour.

SAMPLE(S)

We tracked a sample of 206 children across the transition from the first (T1) to the second (T2) year of primary school (T1 child Mage = 5.3, SD = .46, 54.3% girls) and gathered ratings of well-being, prosocial behaviour and academic self-concept at both timepoints.

METHODS

We used cross-lagged analyses to investigate developmental links between these three constructs.

RESULTS

Parent and child reports of children's well-being showed similar temporal stability and converged over time, such that informants' reports showed a modest but significant correlation at T2. Girls reported greater well-being than boys at both timepoints and received higher parental ratings of well-being than boys at T2. For both girls and boys, associations between the constructs were asymmetric: early well-being predicted later self-concept and prosocial behaviour, but the reciprocal associations were not significant.

CONCLUSIONS

These findings support the validity of young children's self-reported well-being, highlight the early onset of gender differences in school well-being and demonstrate that early well-being heralds later prosocial behaviour and positive academic self-concepts.

I help, therefore, I am? - A registered report on longitudinal inter-relations of the three-dimensional moral self-concept and prosocial behaviours in preschool children

Children's moral self-concept (MSC) has been proposed to relate to prosocial behaviour. However, systematic assessments of their inter-relations are scarce. Therefore, this longitudinal study investigated the development, structure and inter-relation of prosocial behaviours and the MSC in childhood, using three measurement points at ages 4, 5 and 6 years. We assessed children's MSC and helping, sharing and comforting behaviours in a laboratory setting. Confirmatory factor analyses revealed a three-dimensional MSC structure at 5 and 6 years, but not at 4 years. There was inconsistent stability across time points regarding prosocial behaviour and MSC. For the comforting domain, but not the other domains, cross-lagged relations between self-concept and behaviour were present. Moreover, helping behaviour and self-concept were inter-related at 6 years. Results provide support for reciprocal associations between MSC and prosocial behaviour, albeit only in the comforting domain. They highlight the importance of distinguishing between types of prosocial behaviour and corresponding dimensions of the self-concept, as different developmental trajectories and associations emerge.

"Letter to my future self" as a device for assessing health education effectiveness

OBJECTIVE

To examine whether a "letter to my future self" analyzed using structural topic modeling (STM) represents a useful technique in revealing how participants integrate educational content into planned future behaviors.

METHODS

453 club-sports athletes in a concussion-education randomized control study wrote two-paragraph letters describing what they hoped to remember after viewing one of three randomly assigned educational interventions.

RESULTS

A six-topic solution revealed three topics related to the content of the education and three topics related to the participant behavioral takeaways. The content-related topics reflected the educational content viewed. The behavioral takeaway topics indicated that the Consequence-based education was more likely to generate the Concussion Seriousness[CS:23%] topic while Traditional(24%) and Consequence-based(20%) interventions were more likely to generate the Responsibility for Brain Health[BH] topic. Traditional(21%) and Revised-symptom(17%) interventions were more likely to generate the Awareness and Action topics.

CONCLUSION

Unstructured user-generated data in the form of a "letter to my future self" analyzed using structural topic modeling provides a novel evaluation of the present and likely future impact of educational interventions.

PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS

Patient educators can enhance the effectiveness of education through the application of these methods to the evaluation of and innovation in programs.

Higher interleukin-6 is associated with greater momentary social connection in close relationships in daily life

Recent evidence has documented associations between higher levels of inflammation and social approach behaviors toward close others in laboratory-based tasks. Yet it is unknown if this translates to interactions with close others in daily life. Given that momentary experiences of social connection have both relational and health consequences, this is a critical gap in our knowledge. To address the association between inflammation and momentary social connection experiences in close relationships, 55 participants provided blood samples on two consecutive days, which were assayed for circulating levels of the inflammatory marker interleukin-6 (IL-6). After providing the first blood sample, participants received the annual influenza vaccine as a mild inflammatory challenge. Participants also reported on cognitive, affective, and behavioral indicators of social connection with a specific close other multiple times across the two study days. Results indicated that levels of IL-6 were positively associated with temporally-proximal indicators of momentary social connection with a close other. Specifically, higher levels of IL-6 were associated with greater feelings of comfort from the close other, greater desire to be near them, and higher reported relationship quality. Greater IL-6 reactivity to the vaccine was only associated with increased reported relationship quality. These data add to the existing literature suggesting that higher levels of IL-6 may motivate social approach toward a close other, extending evidence to now include momentary social connection experiences in daily life.

The roots of compassion in early childhood: Relationships between theory of mind and attachment representations with empathic concern and prosocial behavior

This study focused on attachment representations and theory of mind as potential developmental origins of individual differences in preschoolers' peer- and adult-directed empathic concern and prosocial behavior. In two experiments, 3- to 6-year-olds were exposed to either a high-distressed or low-distressed adult or child using a laboratory setting (Experiment 1; N = 263) or hypothetical vignettes (Experiment 2; N = 202). Self-reported and coded expressions of empathic concern and prosocial behaviors were used as early indicators of compassion. The findings indicated that children expressed more empathic concern and engaged in more prosocial behavior in the high-distress condition than in the low-distress condition. Children's empathic concern and prosocial behavior increased with age. Secure attachment and theory of mind abilities played significant moderating roles in the association between distress conditions and empathic concern. Children with more advanced theory of mind abilities and secure attachment were better at recognizing the concerns of distressed peers or adults and showed significantly more empathic concern. Resistant and disorganized children exhibited more self-distress in response to others' distress. The implications for early interventions directed at increasing empathic concern and prosocial behavior are discussed.

Adolescent activity-based anorexia has a substantial and prolonged impact on social behavior in young adult female rats

Activity-based anorexia (ABA) is a rodent model of anorexia nervosa (AN) that induces several key components of AN, including voluntary reduction in food intake, reduced body weight, hyperactivity, and alterations to the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis. Previous research has demonstrated persistently increased anxiety-like behavior in the elevated plus maze (EPM), a test measuring avoidance of novel and open areas in adult female rats that experienced ABA during adolescence and are weight-restored in adulthood. Whether the same behavioral effects of two bouts of adolescent ABA emerge in response to different anxiety-provoking stimuli, however, has not been explored. We used the social partition (SP), novelty suppressed feeding (NSF), marble burying, and EPM tests to explore whether two bouts of adolescent ABA have persistent effects on anxiety-like behavior in weight restored young adult female rats. One-way ANOVA analyses revealed that female rats that experienced two bouts of ABA during adolescence had increased anxiety-like behavior in the EPM and SP tests in young adulthood following weight restoration compared with controls. These data demonstrate that the enduring behavioral effects of two bouts of adolescent ABA are specific to particular anxiety-provoking stimuli and suggest that adolescent ABA has enduring effects on social relationships.

"No Bare Bottoms": The Responsibilization of the Good Gay Citizen in Icelandic Media Discourses 1990-2010

This article explores how gay men in Iceland were constructed as good responsible citizens through neoliberal discourses from 1990 to 2010. Drawing on interviews with gay men in Icelandic magazines, we focus on three discursive formations of responsibilization that reveal the technologies of agency at play in transforming the men into good, responsible gay citizens capable of self-management. The discursive formations focus on the good gay citizen who (a) has a positive mind-set, (b) transforms himself, and (c) displaces responsibility for personal harm. They reveal how gay men are constituted as neoliberal subjects through discursive practices linked to responsibility, happiness, and national progress. These practices enable a normalization process devoid of confrontation, anger, or blame where gay men are not only made responsible for their own lives but also the marginalization they experienced in the past.

Chronic MK-801 administration provokes persistent deficits in social memory in the prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster): A potential animal model for social deficits of schizophrenia

The prairie vole (Microtus ochrogaster) is a rodent species that has been used extensively to study biological aspects of human social bonding. Nevertheless, this species has not been studied in the context of modeling social deficits characteristic of schizophrenia. Building on studies in rodents that show that sub-chronic administration of an NMDA receptor antagonist induces persistent behavioral and neurological characteristics of schizophrenia, we administered MK-801 (0.2 mg/kg, daily, for 7 days) or physiological saline to young adult (45 days old) virgin male voles. At 69 days of age, we paired these males with virgin females. 24 h later, we assessed the males' social investigation of each female across the first 5 min of a three-hour preference test, and side-by-side contact with each female during the last hour of the test. Unlike saline-treated males, MK-801-treated males did not preferentially investigate the unfamiliar female, indicating a deficit in social memory. Although males of both groups preferentially spent time with their female partner, regression analysis revealed that deficits in social memory predicted lower partner preference in MK-801-treated males. We interpret these results in the context of recent studies of the natural history of the prairie vole as well as in the context of cognitive deficits in schizophrenia and propose that the social component of episodic memory might influence an individual's capacity to form and maintain long-term social bonds.

Asymmetric genetic attributions for one's own prosocial versus antisocial behavior

People tend to rate prosocial or positive behavior as more strongly influenced by the actor's genes than antisocial or negative behavior. The current study tested whether people would show a similar asymmetry when rating the role of genes in their own behavior, and if so, what variables might mediate this difference. Participants were prompted to think about an example of their own behavior from the past year that was either prosocial or antisocial. Those in the prosocial condition rated the role of genetics in causing the behavior as significantly greater than did those in the antisocial condition. A mediation analysis suggested that this asymmetry could be accounted for by a tendency to view prosocial behavior as more natural and more aligned with one's true self than antisocial behavior. These findings add to a growing body of evidence suggesting that people's reasoning about genetics may be influenced by evaluative judgments.

Functional Analysis of Contextually Inappropriate Social Behavior in Children With Down Syndrome

BACKGROUND

Children with Down syndrome often engage in contextually inappropriate social behavior, which researchers suggest may function to escape from difficult activities to preferred social interactions. Caregivers may reinforce the behavior, perceiving it only as evidence of the child's social strength, when, in fact, the pattern may also prevent or slow the development of critical skills. Unlike overt forms of challenging behavior, contextually inappropriate social behavior had never been subjected to experimental analysis.

AIMS

The purpose of the current study was to identify and demonstrate functional control of contextually inappropriate social behavior to caregiver-informed contingencies.

METHOD AND PROCEDURES

We interviewed caregivers and subjected contextually inappropriate social behavior to functional analyses for nine young children with Down syndrome.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS

We found sensitivity to the caregiver-informed contingencies for all nine participants with strong functional control and large effect sizes for most.

CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS

Caregivers may not perceive contextually inappropriate social behavior as problematic, yet patterns of contextually inappropriate and other problem behaviors suggest decreased engagement and poor task persistence. Assessments that lead to intervention decisions may be more informative when they include questions about social topographies of behavior not typically considered as problematic. Once caregivers are aware of the pattern, they may be better prepared to intervene.

Genetic Variation in Male Aggression Is Influenced by Genotype of Prior Social Partners in Drosophila melanogaster

AbstractSocial behaviors can be influenced by the genotypes of interacting individuals through indirect genetic effects (IGEs) and can also display developmental plasticity. We investigated how developmental IGEs, which describe the effects of a prior social partner's genotype on later behavior, can influence aggression in male Drosophila melanogaster. We predicted that developmental IGEs cannot be estimated by simply extending the effects of contextual IGEs over time and instead have their own unique effects on behavior. On day 1 of the experiment, we measured aggressive behavior in 15 genotypic pairings (n = 600 males). On day 2, each of the males was paired with a new opponent, and aggressive behavior was again measured. We found contextual IGEs on day 1 of the experiment and developmental IGEs on day 2 of the experiment: the influence of the day 1 partner's genotype on the focal individual's day 2 behavior depended on the genotypic identity of both the day 1 partner and the focal male. Importantly, the developmental IGEs in our system produced fundamentally different dynamics than the contextual IGEs, as the presence of IGEs was altered over time. These findings represent some of the first empirical evidence demonstrating developmental IGEs, a first step toward incorporating developmental IGEs into our understanding of behavioral evolution.

Post-event rumination and social anxiety: a systematic review and meta-analysis

Post-event rumination, the extent to which one engages in persistent, detailed, and negative thinking following social situations, serves as a risk process in the pathophysiology of social anxiety. Although a substantial body of research has assessed post-event rumination and social anxiety, this literature has produced inconsistent results. We conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis to examine whether the magnitude of the association between post-event rumination and social anxiety varied as a function of questionnaire and/or task utilized. We included all studies reporting a correlation between post-event rumination and social anxiety symptomatology. Fisher's z correlation coefficients were calculated through random-effect meta-analyses. Results indicated a moderate association between post-event rumination and social anxiety symptomatology (r = 0.45, p < 0.001, 95%CI [0.40-0.50]). Subgroup meta-analyses indicated that the type of questionnaire used to assess post-event rumination (Q = 44.36, df = 3, p < 0.001) and social anxiety (Q = 26.44, df = 8, p < 0.001), as well as the task conducted prior to assessing post-event rumination (Q = 14.31, df = 2, p < 0.001), influenced the effect size. This study demonstrates a moderate relation between post-event rumination and social anxiety across the anxiety spectrum, illustrating the importance of treatments specifically targeting post-event rumination. Moreover, we highlight the importance of taking care when designing studies to explore relations between post-event rumination and social anxiety.

Planned behavior, social networks, and perceived risks: Understanding farmers' behavior toward precision dairy technologies

Precision dairy tools (PDT) can provide timely information on individual cow's physiological and behavioral parameters, which can lead to more efficient management of the dairy farm. Although the economic rationale behind the adoption of PDT has been extensively discussed in the literature, the socio-psychological aspects related to the adoption of these technologies have received far less attention. Therefore, this paper proposes a socio-psychological model that builds upon the theory of planned behavior and develops hypotheses regarding cognitive constructs, their interaction with the farmers' perceived risks and social networks, and their overall influence on adoption. These hypotheses are tested using a generalized structural equation model for (a) the adoption of automatic milking systems (AMS) on the farms and (b) the PDT that are usually adopted with the AMS. Results show that adoption of these technologies is affected directly by intention, and the effects of subjective norms, perceived control, and attitudes on adoption are mediated through intention. A unit increase in perceived control score is associated with an increase in marginal probability of adoption of AMS and PDT by 0.05 and 0.19, respectively. Subjective norms are associated with an increase in marginal probability of adoption of AMS and PDT by 0.009 and 0.05, respectively. These results suggest that perceived control exerts a stronger influence on adoption of AMS and PDT, particularly compared with their subjective norms. Technology-related social networks are associated with an increase in marginal probability of adoption of AMS and PDT by 0.026 and 0.10, respectively. Perceived risks related to AMS and PDT negatively affect probability of adoption by 0.042 and 0.16, respectively, by having negative effects on attitudes, perceived self-confidence, and intentions. These results imply that integrating farmers within knowledge-sharing networks, minimizing perceived risks associated with these technologies, and enhancing farmers' confidence in their ability to use these technologies can significantly enhance uptake.

A Delphi Panel of People With Parkinson's Disease Regarding Responsibility: Toward a Preliminary Taxonomy

IMPORTANCE

A sense of agency is associated with complex occupation-related responsibilities. A taxonomy can guide clinicians in enhancing responsibility in patients with Parkinson's disease (PwPD).

OBJECTIVE

To (1) discover levels of responsibility in occupations for PwPD and (2) propose a taxonomy for occupations.

DESIGN

A two-round Delphi study with PwPD and a one-round Delphi study with international experts.

SETTING

Electronic survey.

PARTICIPANTS

PwPD (N = 75) and international experts (N = 8).

OUTCOMES AND MEASURES

PwPD expressed their levels of an inherent sense of responsibility for each occupation (1 = very low responsibility, 5 = very high responsibility). International experts rated their level of agreement (5 = strongly agree, 1 = strongly disagree) with each dimension of the taxonomy. A consensus was determined to have been reached if the interquartile range was ≤1 and 70% agreement in two adjacent categories was achieved.

RESULTS

Thirty-three occupation categories were deemed as having very high to moderate responsibility for PwPD. Consequences of actions and the presence of others made up the two-dimensional responsibility taxonomy. Occupations have more challenging responsibility characteristics when they are performed with free choice, a level of high physical effort, alone, and with moral consequences.

CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE

This study yielded the first consensus among PwPD regarding responsibility in occupations as well as a classification system for charting the complexity of responsibility in occupations. The occupation list we have created can be beneficial to health care professionals when providing interventions or conducting outcome assessments. Plain-Language Summary: When planning interventions for patients with Parkinson's disease, it can be helpful for clinicians to be aware of patients' perspectives regarding their sense of responsibility to perform occupations. The use of a systematic sequence of challenging occupations with responsibility attributes ranging from less complex to more complex can help enhance patient occupational participation.

Multiple behavioral mechanisms shape development in a highly social cichlid fish

Early-life social experiences shape adult phenotype, yet the underlying behavioral mechanisms remain poorly understood. We manipulated early-life social experience in the highly social African cichlid fish Astatotilapia burtoni to investigate the effects on behavior and stress axis function in juveniles. Juveniles experienced different numbers of social partners in stable pairs (1 partner), stable groups (6 fish; 5 partners), and socialized pairs (a novel fish was exchanged every 5 days; 5 partners). Treatments also differed in group size (groups vs. pairs) and stability (stable vs. socialized). We then measured individual behavior and water-borne cortisol to identify effects of early-life experience. We found treatment differences in behavior across all assays: open field exploration, social cue investigation, dominant behavior, and subordinate behavior. Treatment did not affect cortisol. Principal components (PC) analysis revealed robust co-variation of behavior across contexts, including with cortisol, to form behavioral syndromes sensitive to early-life social experience. PC1 (25.1 %) differed by social partner number: juveniles with more partners (groups and socialized pairs) were more exploratory during the social cue investigation, spent less time in the territory, and were more interactive as dominants. PC5 (8.5 %) differed by stability: socialized pairs were more dominant, spent less time in and around the territory, were more socially investigative, and had lower cortisol than stable groups or pairs. Observations of the home tanks provided insights into the social experiences that may underlie these effects. These results contribute to our understanding of how early-life social experiences are accrued and exert strong, lasting effects on phenotype.

Enriched Environment Enhances Sociability Through the Promotion of ESyt1-Related Synaptic Formation in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex

Sociability stands as a crucial factor in the evolutionary success of all mammalian species. Notably, enriched environment (EE) housing has been shown to enhance sociability in mice. However, the precise underlying molecular mechanism remains elusive. In this study, we established an EE paradigm, housing mice for a 14-day period. Both enhanced sociability and an increased spine density in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) of mice subjected to EE were detected. To elucidate the potential molecular pathway, we conducted high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS) analysis of the entire mPFC from both EE and home-caged (HC) housed mice. Our analysis identified 16 upregulated and 20 downregulated proteins in the EE group. Among them, Extended Synaptotagmin 1 (ESyt1), an activity-dependent endoplasmic reticulum (ER)-plasma membrane (PM) tethering protein associated with synaptic function and growth, emerged as a potentially key player in the increased synapse formation and enhanced sociability observed in EE-housed mice. Further investigation, involving the knockdown of ESyt1 expression via sh ESyt1 lentivirus in the mPFC, revealed that ESyt1 is crucial for increased spine density of mPFC and enhanced sociability of mice in an enriched environment but not in normal condition. Overall, our findings uncover a novel mechanistic insight into the positive influence of environmental enrichment on social behavior via ESyt1-mediated pathways.

Why adolescents conform to high-status peers: Associations among conformity, identity alignment, and self-esteem

This study examined whether conformity to high- but not low-status e-confederates was associated with increases in identification with popular peers and subsequent increases in self-esteem. A sample of 250 adolescents (55.1% male; Mage = 12.70 years; 40.3% White, 28.2% Black, 23.4% Hispanic/Latino, and 7.7% multiracial/other) participated in a well-established experimental chat room paradigm where they were exposed to norms communicated by high- and low-status e-confederates. Results revealed that for boys in the high-status condition only, but not girls, the positive relation between conformity and self-esteem was mediated by greater response alignment with popular peers. These findings bolster prior research by suggesting that conformity to popular peers may be partly motivated by drives for self-esteem and alignment with a valued reference group.

Compensatory prosocial behavior in high-risk adolescents observing social exclusion: The effects of emotion feedback

Although exposure to violence has been consistently associated with deficits in prosocial behavior among adolescents, effective methods of mitigating these deficits have yet to be identified. The current investigation tested whether prosocial behavior could be promoted by providing adolescents with feedback about the emotional states of others and whether the effects of feedback varied between adolescents who had versus had not experienced violence in the home or in the community. Adolescents aged 8 to 17 years with (n = 87) and without (n = 61) histories of violence exposure completed a virtual social exclusion ball-tossing paradigm in which information about an excluded peer's emotions (sad, angry, or neutral) was experimentally manipulated. Among adolescents with histories of violence exposure, those who received feedback that the peer was sad due to being excluded compensated by throwing the ball more often to that peer. In contrast, adolescents without histories of violence exposure did not engage in compensatory prosocial behavior, instead maintaining a relatively even number of tosses to all players. Findings offer new insight into simple potential methods of eliciting prosocial behavior in adolescents for whom such responding may be compromised and may provide a potential starting point for interventions.

Uncomfortable staring? Gaze to other people in social situations is inhibited in both infants and adults

People attract infants' and adults' gaze when presented on a computer screen. However, in live social situations, adults inhibit their gaze at strangers to avoid sending inappropriate social signals. Such inhibition of gaze has never been directly investigated in infants. The current preregistered study measured gaze and neural responses (EEG alpha power) to a confederate in a live social situation compared to a video of this confederate. Adults looked less at the live confederate than at the video of the confederate, although their neural responses suggest that they were overall equally attentive in both situations. Infants also looked less at the live confederate than at the video of the confederate, with similar neural response patterns. The gaze difference between live social and video situations increased with age. The study shows that young infants are already sensitive to social context and show decreased gaze to strangers in social situations. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: This study shows that infants and adults look more at a video of a stranger than at a stranger that is present live in a social situation. Neural responses suggest that adults are equally attentive in both live and video situations but inhibit their gaze at the stranger in live social situations. Infants show a similar pattern of shorter gaze at a stranger who is present in person than at a video of this stranger. The study shows that gaze in infants and adults may diverge from cognitive processes measured through EEG, highlighting the importance of combining behavioural and neural measures in natural interactions.

Dynamic Associations Between Anxiety Symptoms and Drinking Behavior From Early Adolescence to Young Adulthood

PURPOSE

Research is inconclusive with respect to the possible risk-increasing effect of anxiety symptoms on heavy drinking behavior among adolescents and young adults. Adult role transitions and changes in the social context from early adolescence into young adulthood may impact the association between anxiety symptoms and alcohol use.

METHODS

The TRacking Adolescents' Individual Lives Survey, including 2,229 individuals at baseline, was used to evaluate the bi-directional and longitudinal associations between anxiety symptoms and alcohol use, using data at 14, 16, 19, 22, and 25 years of age.

RESULTS

Cross-lagged models revealed a relatively stable negative association at 14, 16, and 19 years, showing that relatively higher anxiety symptoms were associated with relatively lower drinking levels three years later. This effect was absent in young adulthood. There was no evidence for significant associations between alcohol use and subsequent anxiety symptoms, with the exception of alcohol use at age 19, which predicted relatively lower levels of anxiety symptoms at age 22.

DISCUSSION

Overall, the results indicated that anxiety symptoms may withhold adolescents from (heavy) drinking, although this protective effect disappeared in young adulthood. Transitions in social contexts as well as autonomy and adult responsibilities could underlie the changing association between alcohol use and anxiety symptoms throughout adolescence and young adulthood.

Where Do Perceived Norms Supporting Child Corporal Punishment Come From? A Study of Low-Income Parents

Although the influence of perceived norms on health behavior has been well researched, the sources of normative perceptions remain understudied. Drawing on the theory of normative social behavior, this study investigated factors shaping descriptive norms associated with child corporal punishment among a sample of low-income Black, Hispanic, and White parents (N = 260). Hierarchical regression results showed that childhood experiences of corporal punishment, direct observation, and interpersonal communication valence were significantly associated with descriptive norms. Path analysis confirmed the direct association between descriptive norms and behavioral intentions, as well as the mediating role of descriptive norms in linking the norm sources and behavioral intentions. Results also revealed that interpersonal network size and interpersonal communication valence jointly affected descriptive norms among parents who talked to others in their proximal networks about applying this disciplinary measure. Theoretical and practical implications were discussed.

Act generously when others do so: Majority influence on young children's sharing behavior

Children's sharing behavior is profoundly shaped by social norms within their society, and they can learn these norms by directly observing how most others share in their immediate environment. Here we systematically investigated the impact of majority influence on the sharing behavior of young Chinese children through three studies (N = 336, 168 girls). Four- and 6-year-olds were allowed to choose 10 favorite stickers and had an opportunity to engage in anonymous sharing. Before making the sharing decision, children were assigned to one of two conditions: watching a video in which three peers all shared 8 out of 10 stickers (i.e., the majority sharing condition) or making their decisions without watching the video (i.e., the control condition). Results showed that both the 4- and 6-year-old children shared more stickers in the majority sharing condition than in the control condition (Studies 1 & 2). Moreover, the influence of the majority had a stronger effect compared to the influence of a single role model. Children shared more stickers after observing three peers sharing, compared to watching one peer sharing three times (Study 2). Furthermore, children were less likely to copy the majority's non-sharing behavior when it came to giving away stickers without prosocial outcomes, which was particularly evident among 4-year-olds (Study 3). The results reveal that majority influence uniquely shapes children's sharing behavior and that children selectively follow the majority based on whether the behavior exhibits prosocial attributes. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/8qNNhf9754I?si=7YfpaFpcD_IjlXjJ RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Observing a majority of three peers' unanimous generous sharing promoted sharing behavior in both 4- and 6-year-olds. The influence of three peers on children's sharing was stronger than that of one peer sharing three times. Four-year-olds, but not 6-year-olds, did not copy the non-sharing behavior of the majority as it did not lead to prosocial outcomes.

Antecedents to and outcomes associated with teacher-child relationship perceptions in early childhood: Further evidence for child-driven effects

Preschool teachers' perceptions about relationships with students (teacher-child relationships [TCRs]) predict children's subsequent social competence (SC) and academic progress. Why this is so remains unclear. Do TCRs shape children's development, or do child attributes influence both TCRs and subsequent development? Relations between TCRs and other measures were examined for 185 preschoolers (107 girls, 89 longitudinal, and ~75% European American). Teachers rated TCRs and child social/affective behaviors. Teacher-child interactions (TCIs) and children's affect expressiveness were observed. Child SC and receptive vocabulary were assessed. TCRs were significantly correlated with each type of outcome. TCIs, SC, expressed affect, and teacher-rated behaviors also predicted TCRs longitudinally. Results suggest that TCR ratings predict subsequent adaptation because they summarize children's behavioral profiles rather than on TCR quality per se.

Adolescent social isolation disrupts developmental tuning of neuropeptide circuits in the hypothalamus to amygdala regulating social and defensive behavior

Engaging in positive social (i.e., prosocial) interactions during adolescence acts to modulate neural circuits that determine adult adaptive behavior. While accumulating evidence indicates that a strong craving for prosocial behavior contributes to sustaining neural development, the consequences of social deprivation during adolescence on social neural circuits, including those involving oxytocin (OXT) and vasopressin (AVP), are poorly characterized. We evaluated adaptive behaviors in socially isolated mice, including anxiety-like, social, and defensive behaviors, along with OXT and AVP neural profiles in relevant brain regions. Social isolation from postnatal day (P-)22 to P-48 induced enhanced defensive and exploratory behaviors, in nonsocial and social contexts. Unlike OXT neurons, AVP+ cell density in the paraventricular nucleus of the hypothalamus increases with age in males. Social isolation also modulated gene expression in the medial amygdala (MeA), including the upregulation of OXT receptors in males and the downregulation of AVP1a receptors in both sexes. Socially isolated mice showed an enhanced defensive, anogenital approach toward a novel adult female during direct social interactions. Subsequent c-Fos mapping revealed diminished neural activity in restricted brain areas, including the MeA, lateral septum, and posterior intralaminar nucleus of the thalamus, in socially isolated mice. These data indicate that neural signals arising from daily social interactions invoke region-specific modification of neuropeptide expression that coordinates with altered defensiveness and neural responsivities, including OXT- and AVP-projecting regions. The present findings indicate an involvement of OXT and AVP circuits in adolescent neural and behavioral plasticity that is tuned by daily social interaction.

Immune response in paper wasp workers: Task matters more than age

Workers of social hymenopterans (ants, bees and wasps) display specific tasks depending on whether they are younger or older. The relative importance of behavior and age in modulating immune function has seldom been addressed. We compared the strength of encapsulation-melanization immune response (hereafter melanotic encapsulation) in paper wasps displaying age polyethism or experimentally prevented from behavioral specialization. Foragers of Polybia paulista had higher melanotic encapsulation than guards, regardless of their age. Nevertheless, melanotic encapsulation decreased with age when wasps were prevented from behavioral specialization. Thus, in this species, worker melanotic encapsulation seems more sensitive to task than age. Foraging is considered one of the riskier behaviors in terms of pathogen exposure, so upregulating melanotic encapsulation in foragers can possibly improve both individual and colony-level resistance against infections.

Hierarchically embedded scales of movement shape the social networks of vampire bats

Social structure can emerge from hierarchically embedded scales of movement, where movement at one scale is constrained within a larger scale (e.g. among branches, trees, forests). In most studies of animal social networks, some scales of movement are not observed, and the relative importance of the observed scales of movement is unclear. Here, we asked: how does individual variation in movement, at multiple nested spatial scales, influence each individual's social connectedness? Using existing data from common vampire bats (Desmodus rotundus), we created an agent-based model of how three nested scales of movement-among roosts, clusters and grooming partners-each influence a bat's grooming network centrality. In each of 10 simulations, virtual bats lacking social and spatial preferences moved at each scale at empirically derived rates that were either fixed or individually variable and either independent or correlated across scales. We found that numbers of partners groomed per bat were driven more by within-roost movements than by roost switching, highlighting that co-roosting networks do not fully capture bat social structure. Simulations revealed how individual variation in movement at nested spatial scales can cause false discovery and misidentification of preferred social relationships. Our model provides several insights into how nonsocial factors shape social networks.

Social and genetic connectivity despite ecological variation in a killer whale network

Philopatric kin-based societies encourage a narrow breadth of conservative behaviours owing to individuals primarily learning from close kin, promoting behavioural homogeneity. However, weaker social ties beyond kin, and across a behaviourally diverse social landscape, could be sufficient to induce variation and a greater ecological niche breadth. We investigated a network of 457 photo-identified killer whales from Norway (548 encounters in 2008-2021) with diet data available (46 mixed-diet individuals feeding on both fish and mammals, and 411 exclusive fish-eaters) to quantify patterns of association within and between diet groups, and to identify underlying correlates. We genotyped a subset of 106 whales to assess patterns of genetic differentiation. Our results suggested kinship as main driver of social bonds within and among cohesive social units, while diet was most likely a consequence reflective of cultural diffusion, rather than a driver. Flexible associations within and between ecologically diverse social units led to a highly connected network, reducing social and genetic differentiation between diet groups. Our study points to a role of social connectivity, in combination with individual behavioural variation, in influencing population ecology in killer whales.

The model of norm-regulated responsibility for proenvironmental behavior in the context of littering prevention

Previous research suggests that descriptive norms positively influence proenvironmental behavior, including littering prevention. However, in some behavioral contexts, a weak descriptive norm may increase individuals' feelings of responsibility by signaling a need for action. We examined this effect in the context of litter prevention by conducting structural equation modeling of survey data from 1400 Singapore residents. The results showed that descriptive norms negatively predicted ascription of responsibility and were negatively related to littering prevention behavior via ascription of responsibility and personal norms. It also showed that strong injunctive norms can reduce the inhibitory effect of descriptive norms on ascription of responsibility. These findings were consistent with several hypotheses constituting the model of norm-regulated responsibility, a novel explanatory framework offering new insights and a more nuanced and comprehensive understanding of social norms' influence on proenvironmental behavior.

Collective behavior from surprise minimization

Collective motion is ubiquitous in nature; groups of animals, such as fish, birds, and ungulates appear to move as a whole, exhibiting a rich behavioral repertoire that ranges from directed movement to milling to disordered swarming. Typically, such macroscopic patterns arise from decentralized, local interactions among constituent components (e.g., individual fish in a school). Preeminent models of this process describe individuals as self-propelled particles, subject to self-generated motion and "social forces" such as short-range repulsion and long-range attraction or alignment. However, organisms are not particles; they are probabilistic decision-makers. Here, we introduce an approach to modeling collective behavior based on active inference. This cognitive framework casts behavior as the consequence of a single imperative: to minimize surprise. We demonstrate that many empirically observed collective phenomena, including cohesion, milling, and directed motion, emerge naturally when considering behavior as driven by active Bayesian inference-without explicitly building behavioral rules or goals into individual agents. Furthermore, we show that active inference can recover and generalize the classical notion of social forces as agents attempt to suppress prediction errors that conflict with their expectations. By exploring the parameter space of the belief-based model, we reveal nontrivial relationships between the individual beliefs and group properties like polarization and the tendency to visit different collective states. We also explore how individual beliefs about uncertainty determine collective decision-making accuracy. Finally, we show how agents can update their generative model over time, resulting in groups that are collectively more sensitive to external fluctuations and encode information more robustly.

Social neuroscience: How we learn to avoid the bully

During social interactions, individuals evaluate relationships with their peers and switch from approach to avoidance, particularly in response to aggressive encounters. A new study in mice investigated the underlying brain mechanisms and identified oxytocin as a key regulator of social avoidance learning.

One step too far: social cerebellum in norm-violating navigation

Social norms are pivotal in guiding social interactions. The current study investigated the potential contribution of the posterior cerebellum, a critical region involved in perceiving and comprehending the sequential dynamics of social actions, in detecting actions that either conform to or deviate from social norms. Participants engaged in a goal-directed task in which they observed others navigating towards a goal. The trajectories demonstrated either norm-violating (trespassing forbidden zones) or norm-following behaviors (avoiding forbidden zones). Results revealed that observing social norm-violating behaviors engaged the bilateral posterior cerebellar Crus 2 and the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) from the mentalizing network, and the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) to a greater extent than observing norm-following behaviors. These mentalizing regions were also activated when comparing social sequences against non-social and non-sequential control conditions. Reproducing norm-violating social trajectories observed earlier, activated the left cerebellar Crus 2 and the right PHG compared to reproducing norm-following trajectories. These findings illuminate the neural mechanisms in the cerebellum associated with detecting norm transgressions during social navigation, emphasizing the role of the posterior cerebellum in detecting and signaling deviations from anticipated sequences.

Modeling children's moral development in postwar Taiwan through naturalistic observations preserved in historical texts

A core issue in the interdisciplinary study of human morality is its ontogeny in diverse cultures, but systematic, naturalistic data in specific cultural contexts are rare to find. This study conducts a novel analysis of 213 children's socio-moral behavior in a historical, non-Western, rural setting, based on a unique dataset of naturalistic observations from the first field research on Han Chinese children. Using multilevel multinomial modeling, we examined a range of proactive behaviors in 0-to-12-year-old children's peer cooperation and conflict in an entire community in postwar Taiwan. We modeled the effects of age, sex, kinship, and behavioral roles, and revealed complex interactions between these four variables in shaping children's moral development. We discovered linkages between coercive and non-coercive behaviors as children strategically negotiated leadership dynamics. We identified connections between prosocial and aggressive behaviors, illuminating the nuances of morality in real life. Our analysis also revealed gendered patterns and age-related trends that deviated from cultural norms and contradicted popular assumptions about Chinese family values. These findings highlight the importance of naturalistic observations in cultural contexts for understanding how we become moral persons. This re-analysis of historically significant fieldnotes also enriches the interdisciplinary study of child development across societies.

Female mice prenatally exposed to valproic acid exhibit complex and prolonged social behavior deficits

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized mainly by deficits in social communication and stereotyped and restricted behavior and interests with a male to female bias of 4.2/1. Social behavior in ASD animal models is commonly analyzed in males, and seldomly in females, using the widely implemented three-chambers test procedure. Here, we implemented a novel procedure, the Live Mouse Tracker (LMT), combining artificial intelligence, machine learning procedures and behavioral measures. We used it on mice that were prenatally exposed to valproic acid (VPA) (450 mg/kg) at embryonic day 12.5, a widely recognized and potent ASD model that we had previously extensively characterized. We focused on female mice offspring, in which social deficits have been rarely documented when using the 3-CT procedure. We recorded several parameters related to social behavior in these mice, continuously for three days in groups of four female mice. Comparisons were made on groups of 4 female mice with the same treatment (4 saline or 4 VPA) or with different treatments (3 saline and 1 VPA). We report that VPA females show several types of social deficits, which are different in nature and magnitude in relation with time. When VPA mice were placed in the LMT alongside saline mice, their social deficits showed significant improvement as early as 1 h from the start of the experiment, lasting up to 3 days throughout the duration of the experiment. Our findings suggest that ASD may be underdiagnosed in females. They also imply that ASD-related social deficits can be ameliorated by the presence of typical individuals.

Exogenous oxytocin increases gaze to humans in male cats

Although oxytocin (OT) plays a role in bonding between heterospecifics and conspecifics, the effects of OT on the formation of such interspecific social behavior have only been investigated between humans and dogs (Canis familiaris). In this study, for comparative evaluation of the effects of OT between dog-human and cat-human social interaction, we investigated the effects of exogenous OT on the behavior of domestic cats (Felis silvestris catus) toward humans. We intranasally administered OT or saline to 30 cats using a nebulizer and recorded their behavior (gaze, touch, vocalization, and proximity). The results showed an interaction between the administration condition and sex for gaze duration. Post hoc analyses revealed a significant increase in gaze in the OT condition in male cats but not in females. There were no significant differences in gaze toward owners and strangers in any condition or sex. The male-specific OT-mediated increase in gaze toward humans observed in this study differs from previous research on dogs wherein such effects were observed only in females. These findings suggest an overall effect of exogenous OT on cats' social relationship with humans as well as the possibility of different mechanisms between cat-human and dog-human relationships.

Multi-assay approach shows species-associated personality patterns in two socially distinct gerbil species

We aimed to investigate whether two closely related but socially distinct species of gerbils differ in personality patterns. Using a suit of multivariate repeated assays (docility test, dark-light emergence test, startle test, novel object test, elevated platform test, and stranger test), we assessed contextual and temporal consistency of docility, boldness, exploration, anxiety, and sociability in the solitary midday gerbil, Meriones meridianus, and social Mongolian gerbil, M. unguiculatus. We revealed contextually consistent and highly repeatable sex-independent but species-specific personality traits. Species differed in temporal repeatability of different behaviours, and contextual consistency was more pronounced in solitary M. meridianus than in social M. unguiculatus. This finding contradicts the social niche specialization hypothesis, which suggests that personality traits should be more consistent in more social species. Instead, we hypothesize that social complexity should favour more flexible and less consistent behavioural traits. The habituation effect indicative of learning abilities was weak in both species yet stronger in social M. unguiculatus, supporting the relationship between the sociality level and cognitive skills. In both species, only a few different behavioural traits covaried, and the sets of correlated behaviours were species-specific such that the two species did not share any pair of correlated traits. Between-species differences in personality traits, habituation, and behavioural syndromes may be linked to differences in sociality. The lack of prominent behavioural syndromes is consistent with the idea that context-specific individual behavioural traits might be favoured to allow more flexible and adequate responses to changing environments than syndromes of correlated functionally different behaviours.

Chronic social defeat stress in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster): A preclinical model for the study of depression-related phenotypes

BACKGROUND

Stress-induced illnesses, like major depression, are among the leading causes of disability across the world. Consequently, there is a dire need for the validation of translationally-suited animal models incorporating social stress to uncover the etiology of depression. Prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) are more translationally relevant than many other rodent models as they display monogamous social and bi-parental behaviors. Therefore, we evaluated whether a novel social defeat stress (SDS) model in male prairie voles induces depression-relevant behavioral outcomes.

METHODS

Adult sexually-naïve male prairie voles experienced SDS bouts from a conspecific pair-bonded male aggressor, 10 min per day for 10 consecutive days. Non-stressed controls (same-sex siblings) were housed in similar conditions but never experienced physical stress. Twenty-four h later, voles were evaluated in social interaction, sucrose preference, and Morris water maze tests - behavioral endpoints validated to assess social withdrawal, anhedonia-related behavior, and spatial memory performance, respectively.

RESULTS

SDS-exposed voles displayed lower sociability and body weight, decreased preference for a sucrose solution, and impairment of spatial memory retrieval. Importantly, no differences in general locomotor activity were observed as a function of SDS exposure.

LIMITATIONS

This study does not include female voles in the experimental design.

CONCLUSIONS

We found that repeated SDS exposure, in male prairie voles, results in a depression-relevant phenotype resembling an anhedonia-like outcome (per reductions in sucrose preference) along with social withdrawal and spatial memory impairment - highlighting that the prairie vole is a valuable model with potential to study the neurobiology of social stress-induced depression-related outcomes.

Superhero Pretense, Superhero Identification, and Risk-Taking in Preschool-Aged Children

OBJECTIVE

The preschool years represent a stage of rapid human development, hallmarked by exploring the environment through gross and fine motor movement and imaginative pretend play. This exploration is developmentally appropriate but also presents risks for injury, the leading cause of death for preschool-aged children. Common injuries reflect exploration and risk-taking exhibited during play, and play may be particularly risky when children imitate risky models like superheroes. Frequent exposure and subsequent identification with superheroes are concerning because the media glorifies superheroes, creating social learning effects on children and promoting play situations where children may attempt superhuman abilities and hurt themselves. This study examined the relations between pretend play, superhero identification, and children's risk-taking.

METHODS

One hundred five children aged 4-5 years old were randomly assigned to either a superhero- or school-themed, story-based protocol. In both conditions, children engaged in three identical behavioral tasks to assess risk-taking. Identification with superheroes was measured using parent-report questionnaires and child interviews.

RESULTS

Pretending to be a superhero was not associated with increased risk-taking behavior acutely, but identification with superheroes was associated in some analyses with preschool children's broader risk-taking behavior. Across risk-taking behavior tasks, children with high superhero identification pretending to be superheroes tended to take the most risks.

CONCLUSIONS

Given the popularity of superhero media and the present results suggesting superhero identification may relate to injury-risk situations during play, prevention efforts should consider ways to reduce young children's exposure to superheroes and/or mitigate injury risk during active pretend play.

Developmental exposure to hormone-mimicking insect growth disruptors alters expression of endocrine-related genes in worker honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) brains and hypopharyngeal glands

Division of labor within a honey bee colony creates a codependence between bees performing different tasks. The most obvious example of this is between the reproductive queen and worker bees. Queen bees lay 1,000 or more eggs a day, while young worker bees tend and feed queens. Young workers and queens can be exposed to pesticides when foragers return to the hive with contaminated resources. Previous research has found negative effects of larval exposure to insect-growth disruptors (IGD) methoxyfenozide and pyriproxyfen, on adult responsiveness to artificial queen pheromone. The present work investigates potential physiological and molecular mechanisms underpinning this behavioral change by examining the development of hypopharyngeal glands and ovaries as well as the expression of genes related to reproduction and worker endocrine signaling in the brain and hypopharyngeal gland tissues. Though hypopharyngeal gland and ovary development were not altered by developmental exposure to IGDs, gene expression differed. Specifically, in the brain tissue, ilp1 was downregulated in bees exposed to pyriproxyfen during development, and Kr-h1 was downregulated in both methoxyfenozide- and pyriproxyfen-exposed bees. In the hypopharyngeal glands, Kr-h1, EcR-A, EcR-B, and E75 were upregulated in honey bees exposed to methoxyfenozide compared to those in the pyriproxyfen or control treatments. Here we discuss these results and their potential implications for the health and performance of honey bee colonies.

Freshwater trematodes differ from marine trematodes in patterns connected with division of labor

Background

Prior research suggests that trematode rediae, a developmental stage of trematode parasites that reproduce clonally within a snail host, show evidence of division of labor (DOL). Single-species infections often have two morphologically distinct groups: small rediae, the 'soldiers', are active, aggressive, and do not appear to reproduce; large rediae, the 'reproductives', are larger, sluggish, and full of offspring. Most data supporting DOL come from trematodes infecting marine snails, while data from freshwater trematodes are more limited and generally do not supported DOL. The shorter lifespan typical of freshwater snails may partially explain this difference: defending a short-lived host at the expense of reproduction likely provides few advantages. Here, we present data from sixty-one colonies spanning twenty species of freshwater trematode exploring morphological and behavioral patterns commonly reported from marine trematodes believed to have DOL.

Methods

Trematode rediae were obtained from sixty-one infected snails collected in central Vermont, USA. A portion of the COI gene was sequenced to make tentative species identifications ('COI species'). Samples of rediae were photographed, observed, and measured to look for DOL-associated patterns including a bimodal size distribution, absence of embryos in small rediae, and pronounced appendages and enlarged pharynges (mouthparts) in small rediae. Additional rediae were used to compare activity levels and likelihood to attack heterospecific trematodes in large vs. small rediae.

Results

Many of the tests for DOL-associated patterns showed mixed results, even among colonies of the same COI species. However, we note a few consistent patterns. First, small rediae of most colonies appeared capable of reproduction, and we saw no indication (admittedly based on a small sample size and possibly insufficient attack trial methodology) that small rediae were more active or aggressive. This differs from patterns reported from most marine trematodes. Second, the small rediae of most colonies had larger pharynges relative to their body size than large rediae, consistent with marine trematodes. We also observed that colonies of three sampled COI species appear to produce a group of large rediae that have distinctly large pharynges.

Conclusions

We conclude that these freshwater species likely do not have a group of specialized non-reproductive soldiers because small rediae of at least some colonies in almost every species do appear to produce embryos. We cannot rule out the possibility that small rediae act as a temporary soldier caste. We are intrigued by the presence of rediae with enlarged pharynges in some species and propose that they may serve an adaptive role, possibly similar to the defensive role of small 'soldier' rediae of marine trematodes. Large-pharynx rediae have been documented in other species previously, and we encourage future efforts to study these large-pharynx rediae.

Go Team Go! Interprofessional Practice for Pediatric Feeding in the Schools

PURPOSE

The purpose of this clinical focus article is to discuss processes and procedures for building school-based programs to address the feeding and swallowing needs of students in the public-school setting. Interprofessional practice (IPP) team member roles and responsibilities, screening, eligibility, considerations for developing Individualized Education Programs that address the needs of students with pediatric feeding disorder (PFD) and dysphagia, as well as billing documentation requirements, are discussed. Additionally, coordination across the continuum of service delivery for students with PFD and dysphagia is investigated. Guidance on documentation, processes, and procedures that comply with the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act mandates will be provided.

CONCLUSIONS

This clinical focus article will demonstrate that students with PFD and dysphagia continue to present to public schools and require skilled services and supports in order to meet their individualized needs. School-based speech-language pathologists have a legal requirement to provide these supports when deemed educationally relevant. Schools must employ processes and procedures that result in the timely and effective evaluation and identification of students with PFD and dysphagia. An IPP approach to the management of PFD and dysphagia is critical to ensure optimal outcomes for students found eligible for services.

The role of champions in the implementation of technology in healthcare services: a systematic mixed studies review

BACKGROUND

Champions play a critical role in implementing technology within healthcare services. While prior studies have explored the presence and characteristics of champions, this review delves into the experiences of healthcare personnel holding champion roles, as well as the experiences of healthcare personnel interacting with them. By synthesizing existing knowledge, this review aims to inform decisions regarding the inclusion of champions as a strategy in technology implementation and guide healthcare personnel in these roles.

METHODS

A systematic mixed studies review, covering qualitative, quantitative, or mixed designs, was conducted from September 2022 to March 2023. The search spanned Medline, Embase, CINAHL, and Scopus, focusing on studies published from 2012 onwards. The review centered on health personnel serving as champions in technology implementation within healthcare services. Quality assessments utilized the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT).

RESULTS

From 1629 screened studies, 23 were included. The champion role was often examined within the broader context of technology implementation. Limited studies explicitly explored experiences related to the champion role from both champions' and health personnel's perspectives. Champions emerged as promoters of technology, supporting its adoption. Success factors included anchoring and selection processes, champions' expertise, and effective role performance.

DISCUSSION

The specific tasks and responsibilities assigned to champions differed across reviewed studies, highlighting that the role of champion is a broad one, dependent on the technology being implemented and the site implementing it. Findings indicated a correlation between champion experiences and organizational characteristics. The role's firm anchoring within the organization is crucial. Limited evidence suggests that volunteering, hiring newly graduated health personnel, and having multiple champions can facilitate technology implementation. Existing studies predominantly focused on client health records and hospitals, emphasizing the need for broader research across healthcare services.

CONCLUSIONS

With a clear mandate, dedicated time, and proper training, health personnel in champion roles can significantly contribute professional, technological, and personal competencies to facilitate technology adoption within healthcare services. The review finds that the concept of champions is a broad one and finds varied definitions of the champion role concept. This underscores the importance of describing organizational characteristics, and highlights areas for future research to enhance technology implementation strategies in different healthcare settings with support of a champion.

Putting theory to the test: An integrated computational/experimental chemostat model of the tragedy of the commons

Cooperation via shared public goods is ubiquitous in nature, however, noncontributing social cheaters can exploit the public goods provided by cooperating individuals to gain a fitness advantage. Theory predicts that this dynamic can cause a Tragedy of the Commons, and in particular, a 'Collapsing' Tragedy defined as the extinction of the entire population if the public good is essential. However, there is little empirical evidence of the Collapsing Tragedy in evolutionary biology. Here, we experimentally demonstrate this outcome in a microbial model system, the public good-producing bacterium Pseudomonas aeruginosa grown in a continuous-culture chemostat. In a growth medium that requires extracellular protein digestion, we find that P. aeruginosa populations maintain a high density when entirely composed of cooperating, protease-producing cells but completely collapse when non-producing cheater cells are introduced. We formulate a mechanistic mathematical model that recapitulates experimental observations and suggests key parameters, such as the dilution rate and the cost of public good production, that define the stability of cooperative behavior. We combine model prediction with experimental validation to explain striking differences in the long-term cheater trajectories of replicate cocultures through mutational events that increase cheater fitness. Taken together, our integrated empirical and theoretical approach validates and parametrizes the Collapsing Tragedy in a microbial population, and provides a quantitative, mechanistic framework for generating testable predictions of social behavior.

Reversing valproic acid-induced autism-like behaviors through a combination of low-frequency repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation and superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles

Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a neurostimulation device used to modulate brain cortex activity. Our objective was to enhance the therapeutic effectiveness of low-frequency repeated TMS (LF-rTMS) in a rat model of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) induced by prenatal valproic acid (VPA) exposure through the injection of superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs). For the induction of ASD, we administered prenatal VPA (600 mg/kg, I.P.) on the 12.5th day of pregnancy. At postnatal day 30, SPIONs were injected directly into the lateral ventricle of the brain. Subsequently, LF-rTMS treatment was applied for 14 consecutive days. Following the treatment period, behavioral analyses were conducted. At postnatal day 60, brain tissue was extracted, and both biochemical and histological analyses were performed. Our data revealed that prenatal VPA exposure led to behavioral alterations, including changes in social interactions, increased anxiety, and repetitive behavior, along with dysfunction in stress coping strategies. Additionally, we observed reduced levels of SYN, MAP2, and BDNF. These changes were accompanied by a decrease in dendritic spine density in the hippocampal CA1 area. However, LF-rTMS treatment combined with SPIONs successfully reversed these dysfunctions at the behavioral, biochemical, and histological levels, introducing a successful approach for the treatment of ASD.

Dynamics of Information Flow and Task Allocation of Social Insect Colonies: Impacts of Spatial Interactions and Task Switching

Models of social interaction dynamics have been powerful tools for understanding the efficiency of information spread and the robustness of task allocation in social insect colonies. How workers spatially distribute within the colony, or spatial heterogeneity degree (SHD), plays a vital role in contact dynamics, influencing information spread and task allocation. We used agent-based models to explore factors affecting spatial heterogeneity and information flow, including the number of task groups, variation in spatial arrangements, and levels of task switching, to study: (1) the impact of multiple task groups on SHD, contact dynamics, and information spread, and (2) the impact of task switching on SHD and contact dynamics. Both models show a strong linear relationship between the dynamics of SHD and contact dynamics, which exists for different initial conditions. The multiple-task-group model without task switching reveals the impacts of the number and spatial arrangements of task locations on information transmission. The task-switching model allows task-switching with a probability through contact between individuals. The model indicates that the task-switching mechanism enables a dynamical state of task-related spatial fidelity at the individual level. This spatial fidelity can assist the colony in redistributing their workforce, with consequent effects on the dynamics of spatial heterogeneity degree. The spatial fidelity of a task group is the proportion of workers who perform that task and have preferential walking styles toward their task location. Our analysis shows that the task switching rate between two tasks is an exponentially decreasing function of the spatial fidelity and contact rate. Higher spatial fidelity leads to more agents aggregating to task location, reducing contact between groups, thus making task switching more difficult. Our results provide important insights into the mechanisms that generate spatial heterogeneity and deepen our understanding of how spatial heterogeneity impacts task allocation, social interaction, and information spread.

Physiological data for affective computing in HRI with anthropomorphic service robots: the AFFECT-HRI data set

In human-human and human-robot interaction, the counterpart influences the human's affective state. Contrary to humans, robots inherently cannot respond empathically, meaning non-beneficial affective reactions cannot be mitigated. Thus, to create a responsible and empathetic human-robot interaction (HRI), involving anthropomorphic service robots, the effect of robot behavior on human affect in HRI must be understood. To contribute to this understanding, we provide the new comprehensive data set AFFECT-HRI, including, for the first time, physiological data labeled with human affect (i.e., emotions and mood) gathered from a conducted HRI study. Within the study, 146 participants interacted with an anthropomorphic service robot in a realistic and complex retail scenario. The participants' questionnaire ratings regarding affect, demographics, and socio-technical ratings are provided in the data set. Five different conditions (i.e., neutral, transparency, liability, moral, and immoral) were considered during the study, eliciting different affective reactions and allowing interdisciplinary investigations (e.g., computer science, law, and psychology). Each condition includes three scenes: a consultation regarding products, a request for sensitive personal information, and a handover.

Conspecific interactions predict social transmission of fear in female rats

Social transmission of fear occurs in a subset of individuals, where an Observer displays a fear response to a previously neutral stimulus after witnessing or interacting with a conspecific Demonstrator during memory retrieval. The conditions under which fear can be acquired socially in rats have received attention in recent years, and suggest that social factors modulate social transmission of information. We previously found that one such factor, social rank, impacts fear conditioning by proxy in male rats. Here, we aimed to investigate whether social roles as determined by nape contacts in females, might also have an influence on social transmission of fear. In-line with previous findings in males, we found that social interactions in the home cage can provide insight into the social relationship between female rats and that these relationships predict the degree of fear acquired by-proxy. These results suggest that play behavior affects the social transfer/transmission of information in female rats.