Validation of New Methods of Using Simulated Whole-Body Movements as Implicit Indicators of Sound and Odor Preferences

Would you get close to a stinky perfume bottle or to a loudspeaker producing noise? In this paper, we present two procedures that allowed us to assess the ability of auditory and olfactory cues to elicit automatic approach/avoidance reactions toward their sources. The procedures resulted from an adaptation of the Visual Approach/Avoidance by the Self Task (VAAST; Rougier et al., 2018), a task having the peculiarity of simulating approach/avoidance reactions by using visual feedback coming from the whole-body movements. In the auditory VAAST (Experiment 1), participants were instructed to move forward or backward from a loudspeaker that produced spoken words differentiated by their level of distortion and thus by their hedonic value. In the olfactory VAAST (Experiment 2), participants were asked to move forward or backward from a perfume bottle that delivered pleasant and unpleasant odors. We expected, consistent with the approach/avoidance compatibility effect, shorter latencies for approaching positive stimuli and avoiding negative stimuli. In both experiments, we found an effect of the quality of the emotional stimulus on forward actions of participants, with undistorted words and pleasant odors inducing faster forward movements compared with that for distorted words and unpleasant odors. Notably, our results further suggest that the VAAST can successfully be used with implicit instructions, i.e., without requiring participants to explicitly process the valence of the emotional stimulus (in Experiment 1) or even the emotional stimulus itself (in Experiment 2). The sensitivity of our procedures is analyzed and its potential in cross-modal and (contextualized) consumer research discussed.

A statistical mixture method to reveal bottom-up and top-down factors guiding the eye-movements

When people gaze at real scenes, their visual attention is driven both by a set of bottom-up processes coming from the signal properties of the scene and also from top-down effects such as the task, the affective state, prior knowledge, or the semantic context. The context of this study is an assessment of manufactured objects (here car cab interior). From this dedicated context, this work describes a set of methods to analyze the eye-movements during the visual scene evaluation. But these methods can be adapted to more general contexts. We define a statistical model to explain the eye fixations measured experimentally by eye-tracking even when the ratio signal/noise is bad or lacking of raw data. One of the novelties of the approach is to use complementary experimental data obtained with the “Bubbles” paradigm. The proposed model is an additive mixture of several a priori spatial density distributions of factors guiding visual attention. The “Bubbles” paradigm is adapted here to reveal the semantic density distribution which represents here the cumulative effects of the top-down factors. Then, the contribution of each factor is compared depending on the product and on the task, in order to highlight the properties of the visual attention and the cognitive activity in each situation.

Detrimental Role of Bradykinin B2 Receptor in a Murine Model of Diffuse Brain Injury

Inhibition of the bradykinin B2 receptor type (B2R) has been shown to improve neurological outcome in models of focal traumatic brain injury. However, the involvement of B2R in trauma-induced diffuse injury has not yet been explored. This is an important point, since in humans a pattern of diffuse injury is commonly found in severely injured patients and has been associated with a poor neurological outcome and prognosis. Using the non-peptide B2R antagonist LF 16-0687 Ms and B2R null (B2R-/-) mice, we investigated the role of B2R in a model of closed head trauma (CHT). LF 16-0687 Ms given 30 min after injury reduced the neurological deficit by 26% and the cerebral edema by 22% when evaluated 4 h after CHT. Neurological function after CHT was improved in B2R-/- mice compared to B2R+/+ mice, although there was no difference in the development of brain edema. Treatment with LF 16-0687 Ms and B(2)R gene deletion decreased the accumulation of neutrophils at 24 h after CHT (50% and 36%, respectively). In addition, the inducible NO synthase (iNOS) mRNA level increased markedly, and this was reduced by LF 16-0687 Ms. Taken together, these data support a detrimental role of B2R in the development of the neurological deficit and of the inflammatory secondary damage resulting from diffuse traumatic brain injury. Therefore, blockade of bradykinin B2 receptors might represent an attractive therapeutic approach in the pharmacological treatment of traumatic brain injury.

Inflammatory hyperalgesia induced by zymosan in the plantar tissue of the rat: effect of kinin receptor antagonists

The Randall-Selitto paradigm (maximal tolerated pressure externally applied by a mechanical device) was used to develop a rat model of localized inflammatory hyperalgesia in order to compare the analgesic effects of bradykinin (BK) B1 and B2 receptor antagonists and of a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID). Intra-plantar injection of zymosan (12.5 mg per paw) induced a considerable inflammation as evidenced from gross and histological evaluation and a mechanical hyperalgesia at 6 h. The contra-lateral paw of zymosan-treated animals or saline vehicle-injected paws did not exhibit a decreased pressure tolerance, relative to pre-injection measurements. Since the B1 receptor may be induced under inflammatory situations, we examined the amount of corresponding mRNA using quantitative RT-PCR. We found a significant increase of B1 receptor mRNA in the zymosan--but not the saline-injected paw at 6 h. Drugs were given subcutaneously 2 h before the 6 h readings to test their analgesic potential. The kinin B1 receptor antagonists [Leu8]des-Arg9-BK (3-30 nmol/kg) and R-715 (100 nmol/kg), the B2 receptor antagonists Hoe 140 (15 nmol/kg) and LF 16.0687 (3 and 10 mg/kg), as well as the NSAID diclofenac sodium (1 and 3 mg/kg) significantly reversed zymosan-induced hyperalgesia. We conclude that zymosan-induced hyperalgesia is a model suitable for the rapid evaluation of analgesic drugs with a peripheral site of action interfering either with kinin receptors or with prostanoid formation. In this regard, results of the present study confirm that blocking kinin B1 receptors is a novel approach for treatment of inflammatory pain.

Pharmacological and molecular evidence for kinin B1 receptor expression in urinary bladder of cyclophosphamide-treated rats

1. In the present study, we developed an experimental model of cystitis induced by cyclophosphamide (CYP). In order to characterize des-Arg9-BK-induced contraction on the urinary bladder (UB) during the development of inflammation and to quantify kinin B1 receptor gene expression using a quantitative RT - PCR technique. 2. In the presence of peptidase inhibitors captopril (10 microM), DL-thiorphan (1 microM) and DL-2-mercaptomethyl-3-guanidino-ethylthiopropanoic acid (MERGEPTA 5 microM), bradykinin (BK) (0.3 - 3,000 nM) evoked a concentration-dependent contraction of rat UB which was not different between the CYP- and vehicle-treated groups. Unlike BK, des-Arg9-BK (0.3 - 100,000 nM) did not contract UB from vehicle-treated rats but contracted vigorously bladder strips from CYP-treated rats 14, 24 and 168 h after treatment. In UB of 24 h treated rat, the pD2 value of des-Arg9-BK was 7.3+/-0.1. 3. The cyclo-oxygenase inhibitor indomethacin (3 microM) reduced by 30% the maximal response of des-Arg9-BK. Both the kinin B1 receptor antagonists des-Arg9-[Leu8]BK (10 microM) and des-Arg10-Hoe 140 (10 microM) produced a rightward shift of the concentration-response curve to des-Arg9-BK yielding pKB values of 6.8+/-0.2 and 7.2+/-0.1, respectively, whilst the kinin B2 receptor antagonist Hoe 140 (1 microM) had no effect. 4. After CYP treatment, mRNA coding for the kinin B1 receptor appeared predominantly in UB. In this organ, the induction was progressive, reaching a maximum 48 h after CYP treatment. 5. In conclusion, the present study provides strong evidence for an induction of kinin B1 receptors in UB of CYP-treated rats. This was associated at a molecular level with an increase in mRNA expression of the gene coding for the kinin B1 receptor. This kinin receptor displayed the whole features of a classical rat kinin B1 receptor.

5-HT4 receptors: cloning and expression of new splice variants

On the basis of differences in the potencies and intrinsic activity of 5-HT4 receptor agonists in different biological models it has been suggested that there is heterogeneity among 5-HT4 receptors. Here, we report the molecular cloning of several 5-HT4 receptor splice variants in mouse, rat, and human brain. Our data suggest that the differences in efficacy of 5-HT4 ligands on 5-HT4 receptor-mediated responses in several tissues is due to differences in coupling efficiency rather than to the presence of different 5-HT4 receptor isoforms.

Cloning and expression of human 5-HT4S receptors. Effect of receptor density on their coupling to adenylyl cyclase

We have isolated a cDNA encoding the 5-HT4S receptor by RT-PCR on poly (A)+ RNA from both human heart and brain. The sequence homology with the rat and mouse 5-HT4 receptors was high: 93.8% of identity in the amino acid sequence. None of the 24 amino acid substitutions observed between rat and human receptors are at positions likely to modify their pharmacology. Comparing the pharmacological properties of six agonists and five antagonists on rat and human 5-HT4S receptors revealed no significant differences. We have analyzed the behavior of renzapride, a full and a partial agonist on mouse colliculi neurons and human heart biological responses respectively. The coupling efficiency of renzapride was two-fold lower than that of 5-HT for the stimulation of 5-HT4S receptors transfected in two different cell lines (LLC-PK1 and COS-7), but increasing the receptor density suppressed the partial agonist effect of renzapride.

Addictive Characteristics of the Behavior of Self-Mutilation

Self-mutilation has numerous characteristics that also have been identified in the self-destructive behavior of addiction; these characteristics include similarities in origin, in emotions experienced, in family structure and in the repetitive nature of tension-release responses. Clinicians must deal with the various obstacles when trying to provide care to patients with self-mutilation behaviors, including the lack of information and a preferred treatment and the fact that self-mutilation is an act that occurs in isolation and privacy. The advanced clinician can utilize knowledge of the processes of self-mutilation and addiction to assist unit staff in understanding potential needs of these particular clients and provide resource information to the staff, which may assist in resolving some of the fear and frustration in interacting with self-destructive clients.