@article {pmid38335247, year = {2024}, author = {Sun, C and Hassin, Y and Boonman, A and Shwartz, A and Yovel, Y}, title = {Species and habitat specific changes in bird activity in an urban environment during Covid 19 lockdown.}, journal = {eLife}, volume = {12}, number = {}, pages = {}, doi = {10.7554/eLife.88064}, pmid = {38335247}, issn = {2050-084X}, support = {3-17988//Israeli Ministry of Science/ ; 201906620060//China Scholarship Council/ ; }, abstract = {Covid-19 lockdowns provided ecologists with a rare opportunity to examine how animals behave when humans are absent. Indeed many studies reported various effects of lockdowns on animal activity, especially in urban areas and other human-dominated habitats. We explored how Covid-19 lockdowns in Israel have influenced bird activity in an urban environment by using continuous acoustic recordings to monitor three common bird species that differ in their level of adaptation to the urban ecosystem: (1) the hooded crow, an urban exploiter, which depends heavily on anthropogenic resources; (2) the rose-ringed parakeet, an invasive alien species that has adapted to exploit human resources; and (3) the graceful prinia, an urban adapter, which is relatively shy of humans and can be found in urban habitats with shrubs and prairies. Acoustic recordings provided continuous monitoring of bird activity without an effect of the observer on the animal. We performed dense sampling of a 1.3 square km area in northern Tel-Aviv by placing 17 recorders for more than a month in different micro-habitats within this region including roads, residential areas and urban parks. We monitored both lockdown and no-lockdown periods. We portray a complex dynamic system where the activity of specific bird species depended on many environmental parameters and decreases or increases in a habitat-dependent manner during lockdown. Specifically, urban exploiter species decreased their activity in most urban habitats during lockdown, while human adapter species increased their activity during lockdown especially in parks where humans were absent. Our results also demonstrate the value of different habitats within urban environments for animal activity, specifically highlighting the importance of urban parks. These species- and habitat-specific changes in activity might explain the contradicting results reported by others who have not performed a habitat specific analysis.}, } @article {pmid38255402, year = {2024}, author = {Giancola, M and Palmiero, M and Pino, MC and Sannino, M and D'Amico, S}, title = {How Do Children "Think outside the Box"? Fluid Intelligence and Divergent Thinking: A Moderated Mediation Study of Field Dependent-Independent Cognitive Style and Gender.}, journal = {Children (Basel, Switzerland)}, volume = {11}, number = {1}, pages = {}, doi = {10.3390/children11010089}, pmid = {38255402}, issn = {2227-9067}, abstract = {The interplay between fluid intelligence (Gf) and divergent thinking (DT) has widely characterized current research in the psychology of creativity. Nevertheless, the evidence on the main factors involved in this association during childhood remains a matter of debate. Present research has addressed the interplay between Gf and DT, exploring the mediating role of a field dependent-independent cognitive style (FDI) and the moderating effect of gender in 101 children (Mage = 8.02; SDage = 1.43). Participants carried out Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices, the Children Embedded Figure Test, and the Alternative Uses Task. The results revealed the mediating effect of FDI in the association between Gf and DT, providing evidence that this cognitive style represents a function of controlled mental processes underpinned by Gf, which are useful to thinking divergently. In addition, the findings reported that the interplay between FDI and DT was moderated by gender, suggesting that the impact of FDI on DT was stronger among boys. Through a multidimensional approach, these current research findings provide further insight into the primary children's factors involved in the ability to find alternative solutions and think divergently.}, } @article {pmid38204786, year = {2024}, author = {Martin, K and Cornero, FM and Clayton, NS and Adam, O and Obin, N and Dufour, V}, title = {Vocal complexity in a socially complex corvid: gradation, diversity and lack of common call repertoire in male rooks.}, journal = {Royal Society open science}, volume = {11}, number = {1}, pages = {231713}, pmid = {38204786}, issn = {2054-5703}, abstract = {Vocal communication is widespread in animals, with vocal repertoires of varying complexity. The social complexity hypothesis predicts that species may need high vocal complexity to deal with complex social organization (e.g. have a variety of different interindividual relations). We quantified the vocal complexity of two geographically distant captive colonies of rooks, a corvid species with complex social organization and cognitive performances, but understudied vocal abilities. We quantified the diversity and gradation of their repertoire, as well as the inter-individual similarity at the vocal unit level. We found that males produced call units with lower diversity and gradation than females, while song units did not differ between sexes. Surprisingly, while females produced highly similar call repertoires, even between colonies, each individual male produced almost completely different call repertoires from any other individual. These findings question the way male rooks communicate with their social partners. We suggest that each male may actively seek to remain vocally distinct, which could be an asset in their frequently changing social environment. We conclude that inter-individual similarity, an understudied aspect of vocal repertoires, should also be considered as a measure of vocal complexity.}, } @article {pmid38107531, year = {2023}, author = {Lohrasbi, S and Moradi, AR and Sadeghi, M}, title = {Exploring Emotion Recognition Patterns Among Iranian People Using CANTAB as an Approved Neuro-Psychological Assessment.}, journal = {Basic and clinical neuroscience}, volume = {14}, number = {2}, pages = {289-295}, pmid = {38107531}, issn = {2008-126X}, abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Emotion recognition is the main component of social cognition and has various patterns in different cultures and nationalities. The present study aimed to investigate emotion recognition patterns among Iranians using the Cambridge neuro-psychological test automated battery (CANTAB) as a valid neuropsychological test.

METHODS: In this descriptive-analytical study, 117 males and females (Mean±SD of age 32.1±6.4) were initially assessed by computerized intelligence and progressive matrices of RAVEN-2. Furthermore, the excitement recognition subtest taken from the Cambridge neuro-psychological test automated battery (CANTAB) was performed. The correct response of participants to each of the six basic emotions as well as the recognition time was used for analysis.

RESULTS: The maximum correct response rate was 75.83% related to happy emotion. The correct responses for sadness, surprise, disgust, anger, and fear were 70%, 68.48%, 47.84%, 42.54%, and 38.26%, respectively. Moreover, the shortest recognition time was related to disgust at 322 ms, while sadness with a mean response time of 1800 ms and fear response time at 1529 ms indicated the longest recognition time. In addition, participants recognized happiness with a mean response time of 1264 ms better than other emotions; however, post-hoc t-test analyses showed that only the correct responses for sadness and surprised emotions did not differ significantly, (t(112)=-0.59, P=0.55, d=0.05). These results suggested that different emotions have various correct responses. However, sadness and surprise did not differ.

CONCLUSION: The findings of this study could be beneficial for evaluating cognitive elements, as well as cognitive abilities and inabilities among the Iranian population. Moreover, the findings could be used for investigating social cognition in this population.

HIGHLIGHTS: Emotion recognition patterns among Iranians were investigated using a valid neuropsychological test.Iranians showed higher accuracy in recognizing happiness and lower accuracy in recognizing fear.Disgust was recognized with the shortest response time, while sadness and fear had the longest recognition time.The findings highlight cultural differences in emotion recognition and can aid in evaluating cognitive abilities and social cognition in the Iranian population.The study emphasizes the importance of considering cultural factors in assessing and understanding emotion recognition.

PLAIN LANGUAGE SUMMARY: Understanding how people recognize emotions is crucial for effective communication and building social connections. However, the ability to recognize emotions can vary across cultures. This study aimed to investigate how Iranians recognize emotions using a reliable test. The researchers assessed 117 Iranian adults, both males and females, using a computer-based test. Participants were asked to identify six basic emotions (happiness, sadness, anger, disgust, fear, and surprise) displayed on a screen. The researchers measured the participants' accuracy in identifying each emotion and the time it took them to recognize it. The findings revealed that Iranians were most accurate in recognizing happiness and least accurate in recognizing fear. They were better at identifying positive emotions like happiness and surprise compared to negative emotions like disgust and anger. Participants took the least time to recognize disgust and the longest time to recognize sadness and fear. These results show that Iranians have specific patterns in recognizing emotions, which can be influenced by cultural factors. Understanding these patterns is important for assessing cognitive abilities and social cognition in the Iranian population. Moreover, these findings have broader implications. They highlight the need to consider cultural differences in emotion recognition, as it can impact communication and social interactions. The study's outcomes can be valuable for various applications. For instance, they can aid in developing tests to assess emotion recognition difficulties in individuals with conditions such as autism or schizophrenia. Furthermore, these findings can be useful for professionals, such as employees in customer service or mental health providers, who need to accurately interpret others' emotions. By shedding light on cultural variations in emotion recognition, this research contributes to our understanding of human emotions and their role in interpersonal relationships.}, } @article {pmid38059964, year = {2023}, author = {Gonthier, C and Harma, K and Gavornikova-Baligand, Z}, title = {Development of reasoning performance in Raven's matrices is grounded in the development of effective strategy use.}, journal = {Journal of experimental psychology. General}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, doi = {10.1037/xge0001518}, pmid = {38059964}, issn = {1939-2222}, support = {//City of Rennes/ ; }, abstract = {Performance in reasoning tasks such as Raven's matrices experiences a dramatic increase over cognitive development, but the mechanisms responsible for this increase are unknown. Many cognitive processes are involved in a matrix task and could potentially change with age; strategy use appears to be a good candidate, as it typically improves over development and has a large impact on reasoning performance in adults. The present study tested the role of effective strategy use in Raven's standard progressive matrices in groups of 6-, 8-, 10-, 12-, 14-, 16-, and 18-year-olds (total N = 474). Strategy use was assessed with behavioral measures of gaze patterns in Raven's matrices. We also measured working memory capacity (WMC), a good predictor of strategy use in adults, using a battery of complex spans. The results showed that the effective strategy of constructive matching substantially increased with age, along with performance. Strategy use mediated over half the effect of age on reasoning performance. Older participants were also better at adapting strategy use to difficulty of the problems. Effective strategy use was beneficial to the same extent for participants of all ages. Age-related improvements in strategy use occurred in tandem with improvements in WMC, but did not appear to be primarily driven by them. Overall, our results indicate that strategy use is a critical underpinning of reasoning performance in children as well as in adults, and that theories of cognitive development of reasoning have to consider the central role of strategy use. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).}, } @article {pmid37958278, year = {2023}, author = {Palanisamy, P and Urooj, S and Arunachalam, R and Lay-Ekuakille, A}, title = {A Novel Prognostic Model Using Chaotic CNN with Hybridized Spoofing for Enhancing Diagnostic Accuracy in Epileptic Seizure Prediction.}, journal = {Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)}, volume = {13}, number = {21}, pages = {}, doi = {10.3390/diagnostics13213382}, pmid = {37958278}, issn = {2075-4418}, support = {PNURSP2023R79//Princess Nourah bint Abdulrahman University, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia./ ; }, abstract = {Epileptic seizure detection has undergone progressive advancements since its conception in the 1970s. From proof-of-concept experiments in the latter part of that decade, it has now become a vibrant area of clinical and laboratory research. In an effort to bring this technology closer to practical application in human patients, this study introduces a customized approach to selecting electroencephalogram (EEG) features and electrode positions for seizure prediction. The focus is on identifying precursors that occur within 10 min of the onset of abnormal electrical activity during a seizure. However, there are security concerns related to safeguarding patient EEG recordings against unauthorized access and network-based attacks. Therefore, there is an urgent need for an efficient prediction and classification method for encrypted EEG data. This paper presents an effective system for analyzing and recognizing encrypted EEG information using Arnold transform algorithms, chaotic mapping, and convolutional neural networks (CNNs). In this system, the EEG time series from each channel is converted into a 2D spectrogram image, which is then encrypted using chaotic algorithms. The encrypted data is subsequently processed by CNNs coupled with transfer learning (TL) frameworks. To optimize the fusion parameters of the ensemble learning classifiers, a hybridized spoofing optimization method is developed by combining the characteristics of corvid and gregarious-seeking agents. The evaluation of the model's effectiveness yielded the following results: 98.9 ± 0.3% accuracy, 98.2 ± 0.7% sensitivity, 98.6 ± 0.6% specificity, 98.6 ± 0.6% precision, and an F1 measure of 98.9 ± 0.6%. When compared with other state-of-the-art techniques applied to the same dataset, this novel strategy demonstrated one of the most effective seizure detection systems, as evidenced by these results.}, } @article {pmid37846601, year = {2023}, author = {Blackburn, G and Ashton, BJ and Thornton, A and Woodiss-Field, S and Ridley, AR}, title = {Cognition mediates response to anthropogenic noise in wild Western Australian magpies (Gmynorhina tibicen dorsalis).}, journal = {Global change biology}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, doi = {10.1111/gcb.16975}, pmid = {37846601}, issn = {1365-2486}, support = {//Ada Jackson Irwin Street Commemoration Award/ ; //Australian Government Research Training Program/ ; //Holsworth Wildlife Research Endowment/ ; }, abstract = {Anthropogenic noise is a pollutant of growing concern, with wide-ranging effects on taxa across ecosystems. Until recently, studies investigating the effects of anthropogenic noise on animals focused primarily on population-level consequences, rather than individual-level impacts. Individual variation in response to anthropogenic noise may result from extrinsic or intrinsic factors. One such intrinsic factor, cognitive performance, varies between individuals and is hypothesised to aid behavioural response to novel stressors. Here, we combine cognitive testing, behavioural focals and playback experiments to investigate how anthropogenic noise affects the behaviour and anti-predator response of Western Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis), and to determine whether this response is linked to cognitive performance. We found a significant population-level effect of anthropogenic noise on the foraging effort, foraging efficiency, vigilance, vocalisation rate and anti-predator response of magpies, with birds decreasing their foraging, vocalisation behaviours and anti-predator response, and increasing vigilance when loud anthropogenic noise was present. We also found that individuals varied in their response to playbacks depending on their cognitive performance, with individuals that performed better in an associative learning task maintaining their anti-predator response when an alarm call was played in anthropogenic noise. Our results add to the growing body of literature documenting the adverse effects of anthropogenic noise on wildlife and provide the first evidence for an association between individual cognitive performance and behavioural responses to anthropogenic noise.}, } @article {pmid37777561, year = {2023}, author = {Ręk, P and Magrath, RD}, title = {The quality of avian vocal duets can be assessed independently of the spatial separation of signallers.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {13}, number = {1}, pages = {16438}, pmid = {37777561}, issn = {2045-2322}, support = {2022/45/B/NZ8/00884//Narodowe Centrum Nauki/ ; }, abstract = {Interactions among groups are often mediated through signals, including coordinated calls such as duets, and the degree of temporal coordination within a group can affect signal efficacy. However, in addition to intrinsic duet quality, the spatial arrangement of callers also affects the timing of calls. So, can listeners discriminate temporal effects caused by intrinsic duet quality compared to spatial arrangement? Such discrimination would allow assessment of quality of duets produced by a pair, as distinct from transient extrinsic spatial effects. To address this issue, we studied experimentally the influence of intrinsic duet quality and spatial arrangement on the efficacy of Australian magpie-lark (Grallina cyanoleuca) vocal duets. Breeding pairs duet at varying distances from each other and to multiple neighbours. Coordinated duets are more effective territorial signals than uncoordinated duets, but it remains unclear whether listeners can discriminate the effects of quality and spatial arrangement. Our playback experiment showed that any deviation from perfect regularity of partners' notes reduced duet efficacy, but that lack of coordination due to spatial separation (slower tempo and offset of notes) had a lower effect on efficacy than effects due to intrinsic quality (irregularity). Our results therefore provide experimental evidence that the temporal organisation of group vocalisations could signal coalition quality independently of spatial effects.}, } @article {pmid37524930, year = {2023}, author = {Webb, T and Holyoak, KJ and Lu, H}, title = {Emergent analogical reasoning in large language models.}, journal = {Nature human behaviour}, volume = {7}, number = {9}, pages = {1526-1541}, pmid = {37524930}, issn = {2397-3374}, support = {IIS-195644//NSF | Directorate for Computer & Information Science & Engineering | Division of Information and Intelligent Systems (Information & Intelligent Systems)/ ; }, mesh = {Humans ; *Problem Solving ; *Cognition ; Language ; }, abstract = {The recent advent of large language models has reinvigorated debate over whether human cognitive capacities might emerge in such generic models given sufficient training data. Of particular interest is the ability of these models to reason about novel problems zero-shot, without any direct training. In human cognition, this capacity is closely tied to an ability to reason by analogy. Here we performed a direct comparison between human reasoners and a large language model (the text-davinci-003 variant of Generative Pre-trained Transformer (GPT)-3) on a range of analogical tasks, including a non-visual matrix reasoning task based on the rule structure of Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices. We found that GPT-3 displayed a surprisingly strong capacity for abstract pattern induction, matching or even surpassing human capabilities in most settings; preliminary tests of GPT-4 indicated even better performance. Our results indicate that large language models such as GPT-3 have acquired an emergent ability to find zero-shot solutions to a broad range of analogy problems.}, } @article {pmid37589041, year = {2023}, author = {McCormack, JE and Hill, MM and DeRaad, DA and Kirsch, EJ and Reckling, KR and Mutchler, MJ and Ramirez, BR and Campbell, RML and Salter, JF and Pizarro, AK and Tsai, WLE and Bonaccorso, E}, title = {An elevational shift facilitated the Mesoamerican diversification of Azure-hooded Jays (Cyanolyca cucullata) during the Great American Biotic Interchange.}, journal = {Ecology and evolution}, volume = {13}, number = {8}, pages = {e10411}, pmid = {37589041}, issn = {2045-7758}, abstract = {The Great American Biotic Interchange (GABI) was a key biogeographic event in the history of the Americas. The rising of the Panamanian land bridge ended the isolation of South America and ushered in a period of dispersal, mass extinction, and new community assemblages, which sparked competition, adaptation, and speciation. Diversification across many bird groups, and the elevational zonation of others, ties back to events triggered by the GABI. But the exact timing of these events is still being revealed, with recent studies suggesting a much earlier time window for faunal exchange, perhaps as early as 20 million years ago (Mya). Using a time-calibrated phylogenetic tree, we show that the jay genus Cyanolyca is emblematic of bird dispersal trends, with an early, pre-land bridge dispersal from Mesoamerica to South America 6.3-7.3 Mya, followed by a back-colonization of C. cucullata to Mesoamerica 2.3-4.8 Mya, likely after the land bridge was complete. As Cyanolyca species came into contact in Mesoamerica, they avoided competition due to a prior shift to lower elevation in the ancestor of C. cucullata. This shift allowed C. cucullata to integrate itself into the Mesoamerican highland avifauna, which our time-calibrated phylogeny suggests was already populated by higher-elevation, congeneric dwarf-jays (C. argentigula, C. pumilo, C. mirabilis, and C. nanus). The outcome of these events and fortuitous elevational zonation was that C. cucullata could continue colonizing new highland areas farther north during the Pleistocene. Resultingly, four C. cucullata lineages became isolated in allopatric, highland regions from Panama to Mexico, diverging in genetics, morphology, plumage, and vocalizations. At least two of these lineages are best described as species (C. mitrata and C. cucullata). Continued study will further document the influence of the GABI and help clarify how dispersal and vicariance shaped modern-day species assemblages in the Americas.}, } @article {pmid37539651, year = {2023}, author = {Taffs, L and Kerridge, I and Lipworth, W}, title = {The silent world of assisted reproduction: A qualitative account of communication between doctors and patients undergoing in vitro fertilisation in Australia.}, journal = {Health expectations : an international journal of public participation in health care and health policy}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, doi = {10.1111/hex.13839}, pmid = {37539651}, issn = {1369-7625}, support = {NHMRC Grant APP1181401//National Health and Medical Research Council/ ; }, abstract = {CONTEXT: In vitro fertilisation (IVF) is now a common assisted reproductive technology (ART) procedure globally, with 8 million children alive today having been conceived utilising IVF. For many patients, IVF is a difficult experience with many discontinuing treatment because of emotional, relationship and financial stress, or intolerable physical side effects of hormone treatments.

DESIGN AND PARTICIPANTS: A qualitative study, in which 31 professionals and 25 patients from the ART sector in Australia were interviewed. The interviews were analysed using codebook thematic analysis.

RESULTS: Our data indicates there are 'silences' within the therapeutic relationship of IVF, which may limit the capacity for patients to prepare emotionally, financially, or medically for the procedure, and may contribute to psychological distress and dissatisfaction with care. These 'silences' include what the patient 'is not told' by their clinician or 'does not hear' and what the patient feels they 'cannot say'.

DISCUSSION: Drawing upon the work of Jay Katz, Charis Thompson, and Miles Little on 'silences' and performance in clinical practice, we argue that although IVF is a complex and multifaceted procedure that is often conducted in a commercial setting, the clinical and therapeutic relationship between doctor and patient remains pivotal to the experiences of patients. The 'silences' within this relationship may impact negatively on decision-making, and on the delivery and experience of care.

CONCLUSIONS: Careful attention to the realities of IVF treatment in the clinic room (and awareness of the performances that hide them) should allow for more present and compassionate care. Such care may leave patients more satisfied with their experience and their choices, regardless of treatment outcomes.

This article draws on interviews with patients who had undergone or were currently undergoing IVF, as well as a range of representatives from the ART community (including reproductive medicine specialists, general practitioners, fertility nurses, counsellors, administrators in ART businesses and embryologists).}, } @article {pmid37522497, year = {2023}, author = {Couturaud, V and Le Fur, M and Pelletier, M and Granotier, F}, title = {Reverse skin aging signs by red light photobiomodulation.}, journal = {Skin research and technology : official journal of International Society for Bioengineering and the Skin (ISBS) [and] International Society for Digital Imaging of Skin (ISDIS) [and] International Society for Skin Imaging (ISSI)}, volume = {29}, number = {7}, pages = {e13391}, doi = {10.1111/srt.13391}, pmid = {37522497}, issn = {1600-0846}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Photobiomodulation is a process by which the absorption of red light energy produces a series of physiological effects at the cellular level such as the enhancement of mitochondrial Adenosine Triphosphate (ATP) production, cell signaling and growth factor synthesis, and the reduction of oxidative stress. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) photobiomodulation is an increasingly popular therapy for treating skin problems, especially for reversing the signs of skin aging.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study is to demonstrate the effectiveness of a photobiomodulation treatment using red LEDs on the facial skin at a rate of two sessions per week for 3 months. The LED mask used is the Skin Light Dior x Lucibel mask diffusing a cold red light with a wavelength of 630 ± 10 nm and a power of 15.6 J/cm[2] for a duration of 12 min.

METHOD: In order to demonstrate the effectiveness of the mask in reversing the signs of skin aging, a clinical study was conducted on 20 healthy Caucasian women: the antiwrinkle effect by measuring the depth of the crow's feet wrinkle, the relaxation of the oval of the face by clinical scoring, the firmness and elasticity of the skin by cutometric measurement, the density of the dermis by ultrasound analysis, the smoothness of the skin by measuring the roughness at the cheek, the homogeneity of the complexion by chromametric measurement, the diameter of the pores by macrophotographs and finally the sebo-regulating effect by measurement of the rate of sebum and quantification of the number of pores containing porphyrin in the subjects presenting a mixed to oily skin. The satisfaction of the volunteers was also evaluated at the end of the study via a self-questionnaire.

RESULTS: The efficacy results measured after 1, 2, and 3 months of use are progressive and confirm the interest of LED photobiomodulation to reverse the visible signs of skin aging. All the volunteers observed an overall improvement in skin quality.

CONCLUSION: All the results observed confirm the interest of using photobiomodulation to reverse the visible signs of aging. These results last for up to 1 month after stopping the use of the mask, which is a sign of lasting structural and functional rejuvenation of the skin.}, } @article {pmid37483973, year = {2023}, author = {Carlón-Beltrán, Ó and Viloria-Gómora, L and Urbán R, J and Martínez-Aguilar, S and Antichi, S}, title = {Whistle characterization of long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis bairdii) in La Paz Bay, Gulf of California.}, journal = {PeerJ}, volume = {11}, number = {}, pages = {e15687}, pmid = {37483973}, issn = {2167-8359}, abstract = {Long-beaked common dolphin (Delphinus delphis bairdii) distribution is limited to the Eastern North Pacific Ocean. Its whistle repertoire is poorly investigated, with no studies in the Gulf of California. The aim of the present study is to characterize the whistles of this species and compare their parameters with different populations. Acoustic monitoring was conducted in La Paz Bay, Gulf of California. Recordings were inspected in spectrogram view in Raven Pro, selecting good quality whistles (n = 270). In the software Luscinia, contours were manually traced to obtain whistle frequencies and duration. Number of steps, inflection points and contour type were visually determined. We calculated the descriptive statistics of the selected whistle parameters and we compared the results with a dolphins population from the Eastern Pacific Ocean. Permutational multivariate analysis of variance (PERMANOVA) was performed to test the intraspecific variation of the whistle parameters among groups. In the present study the mean values (±SD) of the whistle parameters were: maximum frequency = 14.13 ± 3.71 kHz, minimum frequency = 8.44 ± 2.58 kHz and duration = 0.44 ± 0.31 s. Whistles with the upsweep contour were the most common ones (34.44%). The coefficient of variation (CV) values for modulation parameters were high (>100%), in accordance with other studies on dolphins. Whistle parameters showed significant differences among groups. Finally, ending and maximum frequencies, duration and inflection points of the whistles recorded in the present study were lower compared with the parameters of the long-beaked common dolphins from the Eastern Pacific Ocean. This study provides the first whistle characterization of long-beaked common dolphin from the Gulf of California and it will help future passive acoustic monitoring applications in the study area.}, } @article {pmid37439728, year = {2023}, author = {Markiewicz, R and Rahman, F and Apperly, I and Mazaheri, A and Segaert, K}, title = {It is not all about you: Communicative cooperation is determined by your partner's theory of mind abilities as well as your own.}, journal = {Journal of experimental psychology. Learning, memory, and cognition}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, doi = {10.1037/xlm0001268}, pmid = {37439728}, issn = {1939-1285}, support = {//University of Birmingham/ ; }, abstract = {We investigated the relationship between Theory of Mind (ToM) and communicative cooperation. Specifically, we examined whether communicative cooperation is affected by the ToM ability of one's cooperative partner as well as their own. ToM is the attribution of mental states to oneself and others; cooperation is the joint action that leads to achieving a shared goal. We measured cooperation using a novel communicative cooperation game completed by participants in pairs. ToM was measured via the Movies for Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC) task and fluid intelligence via the Raven task. Findings of 350 adults show that ToM scores of both players were predictors of cooperative failure, whereas Raven scores were not. Furthermore, participants were split into low- and high-ToM groups through a median split of the MASC scores: high-ToM individuals committed significantly fewer cooperative errors compared to their low-ToM counterparts. Therefore, we found a direct relationship between ToM and cooperation. Interestingly, we also examined how ToM scores of paired participants determine cooperation. We found that pairs with two high-ToM individuals committed significantly fewer errors compared to pairs with two low-ToM individuals. We speculate that reduced cooperation in low-low ToM pairs is a result of less efficient development of conceptual alignment and recovery from misalignment, compared to high-high ToM dyads. For the first time, we thus demonstrate that it is not all about you; both cooperative partners make key, independent, contributions to cooperative outcomes. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2023 APA, all rights reserved).}, } @article {pmid37304324, year = {2023}, author = {Doumari, SA and Berahmand, K and Ebadi, MJ}, title = {Early and High-Accuracy Diagnosis of Parkinson's Disease: Outcomes of a New Model.}, journal = {Computational and mathematical methods in medicine}, volume = {2023}, number = {}, pages = {1493676}, pmid = {37304324}, issn = {1748-6718}, abstract = {Parkinson's disease (PD) is one of the significant common neurological disorders of the current age that causes uncontrollable movements like shaking, stiffness, and difficulty. The early clinical diagnosis of this disease is essential for preventing the progression of PD. Hence, an innovative method is proposed here based on combining the crow search algorithm and decision tree (CSADT) for the early PD diagnosis. This approach is used on four crucial Parkinson's datasets, including meander, spiral, voice, and speech-Sakar. Using the presented method, PD is effectively diagnosed by evaluating each dataset's critical features and extracting the primary practical outcomes. The used algorithm was compared with other machine learning algorithms of k-nearest neighbor (KNN), support vector machine (SVM), naive Baye (NB), multilayer perceptron (MLP), decision tree (DT), random tree, logistic regression, support vector machine of radial base functions (SVM of RBFs), and combined classifier in terms of accuracy, recall, and combination measure F1. The analytical results emphasize the used algorithm's superiority over the other selected ones. The proposed model yields nearly 100% accuracy through various trials on the datasets. Notably, a high detection speed achieved the lowest detection time of 2.6 seconds. The main novelty of this paper is attributed to the accuracy of the presented PD diagnosis method, which is much higher than its counterparts.}, } @article {pmid37300600, year = {2023}, author = {Lu, C and Gudowska, A and Rutkowska, J}, title = {What do zebra finches learn besides singing? Systematic mapping of the literature and presentation of an efficient associative learning test.}, journal = {Animal cognition}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, pmid = {37300600}, issn = {1435-9456}, abstract = {The process of learning in birds has been extensively studied, with a focus on species such as pigeons, parrots, chickens, and crows. In recent years, the zebra finch has emerged as a model species in avian cognition, particularly in song learning. However, other cognitive domains such as spatial memory and associative learning could also be critical to fitness and survival, particularly during the intensive juvenile period. In this systematic review, we provide an overview of cognitive studies on zebra finches, with a focus on domains other than song learning. Our findings indicate that spatial, associative, and social learning are the most frequently studied domains, while motoric learning and inhibitory control have been examined less frequently over 30 years of research. All of the 60 studies included in this review were conducted on captive birds, limiting the generalizability of the findings to wild populations. Moreover, only two of the studies were conducted on juveniles, highlighting the need for more research on this critical period of learning. To address this research gap, we propose a high-throughput method for testing associative learning performance in a large number of both juvenile and adult zebra finches. Our results demonstrate that learning can occur in both age groups, thus encouraging researchers to also perform cognitive tests on juveniles. We also note the heterogeneity of methodologies, protocols, and subject exclusion criteria applied by different researchers, which makes it difficult to compare results across studies. Therefore, we call for better communication among researchers to develop standardised methodologies for studying each cognitive domain at different life stages and also in their natural conditions.}, } @article {pmid37221422, year = {2023}, author = {Majji, R and G, OPP and Rajeswari, R and R, C}, title = {Smart IoT in Breast Cancer Detection Using Optimal Deep Learning.}, journal = {Journal of digital imaging}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, pmid = {37221422}, issn = {1618-727X}, abstract = {IoT in healthcare systems is currently a viable option for providing higher-quality medical care for contemporary e-healthcare. Using an Internet of Things (IoT)-based smart healthcare system, a trustworthy breast cancer classification method called Feedback Artificial Crow Search (FACS)-based Shepherd Convolutional Neural Network (ShCNN) is developed in this research. To choose the best routes, the secure routing operation is first carried out using the recommended FACS while taking fitness measures such as distance, energy, link quality, and latency into account. Then, by merging the Crow Search Algorithm (CSA) and Feedback Artificial Tree, the produced FACS is put into practice (FAT). After the completion of routing phase, the breast cancer categorization process is started at the base station. The feature extraction step is then introduced to the pre-processed input mammography image. As a result, it is possible to successfully get features including area, mean, variance, energy, contrast, correlation, skewness, homogeneity, Gray Level Co-occurrence Matrix (GLCM), and Local Gabor Binary Pattern (LGBP). The quality of the image is next enhanced through data augmentation, and finally, the developed FACS algorithm's ShCNN is used to classify breast cancer. The performance of FACS-based ShCNN is examined using six metrics, including energy, delay, accuracy, sensitivity, specificity, and True Positive Rate (TPR), with the maximum energy of 0.562 J, the least delay of 0.452 s, the highest accuracy of 91.56%, the higher sensitivity of 96.10%, the highest specificity of 91.80%, and the maximum TPR of 99.45%.}, } @article {pmid37221167, year = {2023}, author = {Brea, J and Clayton, NS and Gerstner, W}, title = {Computational models of episodic-like memory in food-caching birds.}, journal = {Nature communications}, volume = {14}, number = {1}, pages = {2979}, pmid = {37221167}, issn = {2041-1723}, abstract = {Birds of the crow family adapt food-caching strategies to anticipated needs at the time of cache recovery and rely on memory of the what, where and when of previous caching events to recover their hidden food. It is unclear if this behavior can be explained by simple associative learning or if it relies on higher cognitive processes like mental time-travel. We present a computational model and propose a neural implementation of food-caching behavior. The model has hunger variables for motivational control, reward-modulated update of retrieval and caching policies and an associative neural network for remembering caching events with a memory consolidation mechanism for flexible decoding of the age of a memory. Our methodology of formalizing experimental protocols is transferable to other domains and facilitates model evaluation and experiment design. Here, we show that memory-augmented, associative reinforcement learning without mental time-travel is sufficient to explain the results of 28 behavioral experiments with food-caching birds.}, } @article {pmid36973988, year = {2023}, author = {Santoprete, R and Hourblin, V and Foucher, A and Dufour, O and Bernard, D and Domanov, Y and Querleux, B and Potter, A}, title = {Reduction of wrinkles: From a computational hypothesis to a clinical, instrumental, and biological proof.}, journal = {Skin research and technology : official journal of International Society for Bioengineering and the Skin (ISBS) [and] International Society for Digital Imaging of Skin (ISDIS) [and] International Society for Skin Imaging (ISSI)}, volume = {29}, number = {3}, pages = {e13267}, doi = {10.1111/srt.13267}, pmid = {36973988}, issn = {1600-0846}, mesh = {Humans ; Aging ; *Glycerol/pharmacology ; Proteomics ; Skin/drug effects ; *Skin Aging/drug effects ; Face ; Facial Expression ; Computer Simulation ; *Dermatologic Agents/pharmacology ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Facial wrinkles are clear markers of the aging process, being chronological, photo-induced, or reflecting repetitive facial expressions. The aim of this study is to provide new insights into the biophysical and biological mechanisms involved in the formation, prevention, or elimination of the expression wrinkles.

MATERIALS AND METHODS: We use a computational model to get a better understanding of the wrinkle mechanical behavior and evolution after skin softening and suggesting a possible antiaging mechanism. Then, we provide a clinical demonstration of the anti-wrinkle effect of a long-term application of a 20% glycerol in a moisturizer formula (GBM) versus its vehicle on crow's feet. Skin hydration, elasticity, and wrinkles visibility were evaluated by a combination of clinical and instrumental in vivo data, inverse finite element analysis, and proteomic data.

RESULTS: The computational model shows a predominantly compressive stress beneath the wrinkle and its significant decrease by the softening of stratum corneum. The associated clinical study confirmed a significant increase of skin hydration and elasticity as well as a decrease of wrinkle visibility after 2 and 4 months as application for both formulas; this effect being stronger for GBM. A softening effect on stratum corneum and dermis was also observed for the GBM. Furthermore, proteomic data revealed an effect of upregulation of four proteins associated with desquamation, cell-glycan extracellular interactions, and protein glycation/oxidation, functions related to the tissue mechanics and adhesion.

CONCLUSIONS: We provide an in vivo demonstration of the anti-ageing benefit of glycerol at high dose (20%) reflected by a cumulative skin surface softening effect. The use of high moisturizing potent formulations should bring additional performance to other conventional moisturizing formulations.}, } @article {pmid36847022, year = {2023}, author = {Bootsma, JN and Campbell, F and McCauley, D and Hopmans, S and Grahovac, D and Cunningham, BJ and Phoenix, M and de Camargo, OK and Geytenbeek, J and Gorter, JW}, title = {Psychometric properties of the English language version of the C-BiLLT evaluated in typically developing Canadian children.}, journal = {Journal of pediatric rehabilitation medicine}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, doi = {10.3233/PRM-210101}, pmid = {36847022}, issn = {1875-8894}, abstract = {PURPOSE: This study aimed to 1) investigate the convergent and discriminant validity, internal consistency, and test-retest reliability of the Canadian English version of the Computer-Based instrument for Low motor Language Testing (C-BiLLT-CAN), and 2) explore feasibility of the C-BiLLT assessment for children with cerebral palsy (CP) and complex communication needs in the Canadian health care context.

METHODS: Eighty typically developing children between 1.5 and 8.5 years of age completed the C-BiLLT-CAN, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-IV (PPVT-4), the receptive language sub-test of the New Reynell Developmental Language Scales (NRDLS), and/or the Raven's 2. Correlations between raw scores were calculated for estimates of convergent and discriminant validity. Internal consistency was calculated for all items and separately for items pertaining to vocabulary and grammar. To calculate the standard error of measurement (SEM) and intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC), 33 participants were re-tested with the C-BiLLT within three weeks. Feasibility was explored with nine participants with CP.

RESULTS: C-BiLLT-CAN's convergent validity was good to excellent (Spearman's rho >  0.78) and discriminant validity was higher than hypothesized (Spearman's rho >  0.8). Internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha = 0.96), test-retest reliability (ICC >  0.9), and measurement error (SEM <  5%) were excellent. The feasibility study could not be fully completed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Preliminary data demonstrated some technical and practical barriers for using the C-BiLLT in children with CP in Canada.

CONCLUSION: The C-BiLLT-CAN demonstrates good to excellent psychometric properties in a sample of typically developing children, indicating that it is an adequate test for measuring language comprehension in English-speaking Canadian children. Further research is needed to investigate the feasibility of the C-BiLLT-CAN in children with CP.}, } @article {pmid36821443, year = {2023}, author = {Brecht, KF and Westendorff, S and Nieder, A}, title = {Neural correlates of cognitively controlled vocalizations in a corvid songbird.}, journal = {Cell reports}, volume = {42}, number = {3}, pages = {112113}, doi = {10.1016/j.celrep.2023.112113}, pmid = {36821443}, issn = {2211-1247}, abstract = {The neuronal basis of the songbird's song system is well understood. However, little is known about the neuronal correlates of the executive control of songbird vocalizations. Here, we record single-unit activity from the pallial endbrain region "nidopallium caudolaterale" (NCL) of crows that vocalize to the presentation of a visual go-cue but refrain from vocalizing during trials without a go-cue. We find that the preparatory activity of single vocalization-correlated neurons, but also of the entire population of NCL neurons, before vocal onset predicts whether or not the crows will produce an instructed vocalization. Fluctuations in baseline neuronal activity prior to the go-cue influence the premotor activity of such vocalization-correlated neurons and seemingly bias the crows' decision to vocalize. Neuronal response modulation significantly differs between volitional and task-unrelated vocalizations. This suggests that the NCL can take control over the vocal motor network during the production of volitional vocalizations in a corvid songbird.}, } @article {pmid36818533, year = {2023}, author = {Tomasek, M and Ravignani, A and Boucherie, PH and Van Meyel, S and Dufour, V}, title = {Spontaneous vocal coordination of vocalizations to water noise in rooks (Corvus frugilegus): An exploratory study.}, journal = {Ecology and evolution}, volume = {13}, number = {2}, pages = {e9791}, pmid = {36818533}, issn = {2045-7758}, abstract = {The ability to control one's vocal production is a major advantage in acoustic communication. Yet, not all species have the same level of control over their vocal output. Several bird species can interrupt their song upon hearing an external stimulus, but there is no evidence how flexible this behavior is. Most research on corvids focuses on their cognitive abilities, but few studies explore their vocal aptitudes. Recent research shows that crows can be experimentally trained to vocalize in response to a brief visual stimulus. Our study investigated vocal control abilities with a more ecologically embedded approach in rooks. We show that two rooks could spontaneously coordinate their vocalizations to a long-lasting stimulus (the sound of their small bathing pool being filled with a water hose), one of them adjusting roughly (in the second range) its vocalizations as the stimuli began and stopped. This exploratory study adds to the literature showing that corvids, a group of species capable of cognitive prowess, are indeed able to display good vocal control abilities.}, } @article {pmid36806418, year = {2023}, author = {Wagener, L and Rinnert, P and Veit, L and Nieder, A}, title = {Crows protect visual working memory against interference.}, journal = {The Journal of experimental biology}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, doi = {10.1242/jeb.245453}, pmid = {36806418}, issn = {1477-9145}, abstract = {Working memory, the ability to actively maintain and manipulate information across time, is key to intelligent behavior. Due to the limited capacity of working memory, relevant information needs to be protected against distracting representations. Whether birds can resist distractors and safeguard memorized relevant information is unclear. We trained carrion crows in a delayed match-to-sample task to memorize an image while resisting other, interfering stimuli. We found that the repetition of the sample stimulus during the memory delay improved performance accuracy and accelerated reaction time relative to a reference condition with a neutral interfering stimulus. In contrast, the presentation of the image that constituted the subsequent nonmatch test stimulus mildly weakened performance. However, the crows' robust performance in this most demanding distractor condition indicates that sample information was actively protected from being overwritten by the distractor. These data show that crows can cognitively control and safeguard behaviorally relevant working memory contents.}, } @article {pmid36099476, year = {2023}, author = {Rahman, E and Mosahebi, A and Carruthers, JDA and Carruthers, A}, title = {The Efficacy and Duration of Onabotulinum Toxin A in Improving Upper Facial Expression Lines With 64-Unit Dose Optimization: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis With Trial Sequential Analysis of the Randomized Controlled Trials.}, journal = {Aesthetic surgery journal}, volume = {43}, number = {2}, pages = {215-229}, doi = {10.1093/asj/sjac253}, pmid = {36099476}, issn = {1527-330X}, mesh = {Humans ; *Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; Facial Expression ; Randomized Controlled Trials as Topic ; Forehead ; *Skin Aging ; *Neuromuscular Agents/therapeutic use ; Treatment Outcome ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Onabotulinumtoxin A (Onabot A) was the first treatment to be approved for aesthetic indications, namely glabellar lines (GLs), crow's feet lines (CFLs), and forehead lines (FHLs), with a cumulative dose of 64 U.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to conduct a meta-analysis to combine the available data for approved doses for GLs, CFLs, and FHLs to explore the effect and duration of simultaneous treatment with Onabot A.

METHODS: PubMed/MEDLINE, Embase, and other national clinical trial registries were searched for randomized controlled trials from January 2010 to July 2022. The meta-analysis, trial sequential analysis, and investigator-assessed time to return to nonresponder status in GLs, CFLs, and FHLs following Onabot A were plotted to elicit a cumulative dose-adjusted response curve based on Kaplan-Meier analysis with a log-rank test.

RESULTS: Fourteen randomized controlled trials were eligible for quantitative analysis. A total of 8369 subjects were recruited across the trials. The meta-analysis results show that Onabot A is very effective in reducing moderate to severe GLs, CFLs, and FHLs. The cumulative Z-curve for GLs, CFLs, and FHLs also exceeds the required information size (RIS). Kaplan-Meier analysis with a log-rank test demonstrated that simultaneous treatment of GLs, CFLs, and FHLs requires 182 days (95% CI = 179, 215 days) (P < 0.00002) to return to nonresponder status.

CONCLUSIONS: Treatment of the upper facial expression lines with Onabot A is effective, and the approved cumulative dose of 64 U gives longer-lasting effects.}, } @article {pmid36722171, year = {2023}, author = {Walsh, SL and Engesser, S and Townsend, SW and Ridley, AR}, title = {Multi-level combinatoriality in magpie non-song vocalizations.}, journal = {Journal of the Royal Society, Interface}, volume = {20}, number = {199}, pages = {20220679}, doi = {10.1098/rsif.2022.0679}, pmid = {36722171}, issn = {1742-5662}, abstract = {Comparative studies conducted over the past few decades have provided important insights into the capacity for animals to combine vocal segments at either one of two levels: within- or between-calls. There remains, however, a distinct gap in knowledge as to whether animal combinatoriality can extend beyond one level. Investigating this requires a comprehensive analysis of the combinatorial features characterizing a species' vocal system. Here, we used a nonlinear dimensionality reduction analysis and sequential transition analysis to quantitatively describe the non-song combinatorial repertoire of the Western Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis). We found that (i) magpies recombine four distinct acoustic segments to create a larger number of calls, and (ii) the resultant calls are further combined into larger call combinations. Our work demonstrates two levels in the combining of magpie vocal units. These results are incongruous with the notion that a capacity for multi-level combinatoriality is unique to human language, wherein the combining of meaningless sounds and meaningful words interactively occurs across different combinatorial levels. Our study thus provides novel insights into the combinatorial capacities of a non-human species, adding to the growing evidence of analogues of language-specific traits present in the animal kingdom.}, } @article {pmid36690672, year = {2023}, author = {Likhanov, M and Bogdanova, O and Alenina, E and Kolienko, T and Kovas, Y}, title = {No evidence of a positive effect of learning Chinese language as an L2 on spatial ability.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {13}, number = {1}, pages = {1262}, pmid = {36690672}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {Humans ; Child ; *Spatial Navigation ; East Asian People ; Language ; Learning ; Intelligence Tests ; }, abstract = {Spatial ability (SA) was shown to be a robust predictor of success in various educational contexts, including STEM. Thus, ways to improve SA are of interest to educational psychology. There is some evidence that SA might be improved via learning character-based language, e.g. Chinese as a second language (CSL), however, the existing research is quite limited. The study aims to investigate an effect of CSL learning on SA in schoolchildren from Year 2 to Year 7. Current study employs a sample of Russian schoolchildren (N = 283), who learnt: English only, English and Spanish; or English and Chinese. Participants completed Raven's progressive matrices and Mental rotation task at the age of 8 and again at the age of 14. Our data showed negligible group differences in the initial SA level at Year 2 (before learning second language). Similar negligible differences were found at Year 7. Regression analysis showed that SA was predicted by intelligence (Raven's) and gender but not language learnt at both ages. This pattern of results indicates that learning a Chinese as a second language is unlikely to affect SA. Further research is needed to investigate whether other factors, such as length, intensity and context of learning, moderate this link.}, } @article {pmid36655045, year = {2023}, author = {Zhou, L and Lei, J and Zhai, X and Shi, H and Wang, J}, title = {Chinese striped-neck turtles vocalize underwater and show differences in peak frequency among different age and sex groups.}, journal = {PeerJ}, volume = {11}, number = {}, pages = {e14628}, pmid = {36655045}, issn = {2167-8359}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Turtle vocalizations play an important role throughout their lives by expressing individual information (position, emotion, or physiological status), reflecting mating preferences, and synchronizing incubation. The Chinese striped-neck turtle (Mauremys sinensis) is one of the most widely distributed freshwater turtles in China, whose wild population is critically endangered. However, its vocalization has not been studied, which can be the basis for behavioral and ecological studies.

METHODS: Five different sex-age groups of turtles were recorded underwater in a soundproof room. Cluster analysis and principal component analysis for classification of Chinese striped-neck turtle calls were unreasonable. The turtle calls were manually sought using visual and aural inspection of the recordings in Raven Pro 1.5 software and classified according to differences perceived through auditory inspection and the morphological characteristics of the spectrograms. The results of similarity analysis verified the reliability of manual classification. We compared the peak frequency of the calls among different age and sex groups.

RESULTS: We identified ten M. sinensis call types, displayed their spectra and waveforms, and described their auditory characteristics. Most calls produced by the turtles were low-frequency. Some high-frequency call types, that are common in other turtle species were also produced. Similar to other turtles, the Chinese striped-neck turtle generates harmonic vocalizations. Courtship behaviors were observed when one of the call types occurred in the mixed-sex group. Adult females produced more high-frequency call types, and subadult males had higher vocalizations than other groups. These results provide a basis for future research on the function of vocalizations, field monitoring, and conservation of this species.}, } @article {pmid36629935, year = {2023}, author = {Huber, L and Lonardo, L}, title = {Canine perspective-taking.}, journal = {Animal cognition}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, pmid = {36629935}, issn = {1435-9456}, abstract = {An important question in the study of canine cognition is how dogs understand humans, given that they show impressive abilities for interacting and communicating with us. In this review, we describe and discuss studies that have investigated dogs' perspective-taking abilities. There is solid evidence that dogs are not only sensitive to the gaze of others, but also their attention. We specifically address the question whether dogs have the ability to take the perspective of others and thus come to understand what others can or cannot perceive. From the latter, they may then infer what others know and use this representation to anticipate what others do next. Still, dogs might simply rely on directly observable cues and on what they themselves can perceive when they assess what others can perceive. And instead of making inferences from representations of others' mental states, they may have just learned that certain behaviours of ours lead to certain outcomes. However, recent research seems to challenge this low-level explanation. Dogs have solved several perspective-taking tasks instantly and reliably across a large number of variations, including geometrical gaze-following, stealing in the dark, concealing information from others, and Guesser/Knower differentiation. In the latter studies, dogs' choices between two human informants were strongly influenced by cues related to the humans' visual access to the food, even when the two informants behaved identically. And finally, we review a recent study that found dogs reacting differently to misleading suggestions of human informants that have either a true or false belief about the location of food. We discuss this surprising result in terms of the comprehension of reality-incongruent mental states, which is considered as a hallmark of Theory of Mind acquisition in human development. Especially on the basis of the latter findings, we conclude that pet dogs might be sensitive to what others see, know, intend, and believe. Therefore, this ability seems to have evolved not just in the corvid and primate lineages, but also in dogs.}, } @article {pmid36617019, year = {2022}, author = {Kapoor, B and Nagpal, B and Jain, PK and Abraham, A and Gabralla, LA}, title = {Epileptic Seizure Prediction Based on Hybrid Seek Optimization Tuned Ensemble Classifier Using EEG Signals.}, journal = {Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)}, volume = {23}, number = {1}, pages = {}, doi = {10.3390/s23010423}, pmid = {36617019}, issn = {1424-8220}, abstract = {Visual analysis of an electroencephalogram (EEG) by medical professionals is highly time-consuming and the information is difficult to process. To overcome these limitations, several automated seizure detection strategies have been introduced by combining signal processing and machine learning. This paper proposes a hybrid optimization-controlled ensemble classifier comprising the AdaBoost classifier, random forest (RF) classifier, and the decision tree (DT) classifier for the automatic analysis of an EEG signal dataset to predict an epileptic seizure. The EEG signal is pre-processed initially to make it suitable for feature selection. The feature selection process receives the alpha, beta, delta, theta, and gamma wave data from the EEG, where the significant features, such as statistical features, wavelet features, and entropy-based features, are extracted by the proposed hybrid seek optimization algorithm. These extracted features are fed forward to the proposed ensemble classifier that produces the predicted output. By the combination of corvid and gregarious search agent characteristics, the proposed hybrid seek optimization technique has been developed, and is used to evaluate the fusion parameters of the ensemble classifier. The suggested technique's accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity are determined to be 96.6120%, 94.6736%, and 91.3684%, respectively, for the CHB-MIT database. This demonstrates the effectiveness of the suggested technique for early seizure prediction. The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the proposed technique are 95.3090%, 93.1766%, and 90.0654%, respectively, for the Siena Scalp database, again demonstrating its efficacy in the early seizure prediction process.}, } @article {pmid36595212, year = {2023}, author = {Rey, A and Fagot, J}, title = {Associative learning accounts for recursive-structure generation in crows.}, journal = {Learning & behavior}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {}, pmid = {36595212}, issn = {1543-4508}, abstract = {Recursive sequence generation (i.e., the ability to transfer recursive patterns to novel items) was recently reported in crows (Liao et al., 2022, Science Advances, 8[44], eabq3356). Here, we argue that although the reported data are certainly compatible with the recursion hypothesis, they can also be explained by other, much simpler mechanisms of associative learning.}, } @article {pmid36478284, year = {2022}, author = {Cella, F and Marchak, KA and Bianchi, C and Gelman, SA}, title = {Generic Language for Social and Animal Kinds: An Examination of the Asymmetry Between Acceptance and Inferences.}, journal = {Cognitive science}, volume = {46}, number = {12}, pages = {e13209}, doi = {10.1111/cogs.13209}, pmid = {36478284}, issn = {1551-6709}, mesh = {Humans ; Animals ; *Language ; }, abstract = {Generics (e.g., "Ravens are black") express generalizations about categories or their members. Previous research found that generics about animals are interpreted as broadly true of members of a kind, yet also accepted based on minimal evidence. This asymmetry is important for suggesting a mechanism by which unfounded generalizations may flourish; yet, little is known whether this finding extends to generics about groups of people (heretofore, "social generics"). Accordingly, in four preregistered studies (n = 665), we tested for an inferential asymmetry for generics regarding novel groups of animals versus people. Participants were randomly assigned to either an Implied Prevalence task (given a generic, asked to estimate the prevalence of a property) or a Truth-Conditions task (given prevalence information, asked whether a generic was true or false). A generic asymmetry was found in both domains, at equivalent levels. The asymmetry also extended to properties varying in valence (dangerous and neutral). Finally, there were differences as a function of property valence in the Implied Prevalence task and a small but consistent interaction between domain and prevalence in the Truth-Conditions task. We discuss the implications of these results for the semantics of generics, theoretical accounts of the asymmetry, and the relation between generics and stereotyping.}, } @article {pmid36415048, year = {2022}, author = {Zambolli, AH and Manzano, MCR and Honda, LK and Rezende, GC and Culot, L}, title = {Performance of autonomous recorders to detect a cryptic and endangered primate species, the black lion-tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus).}, journal = {American journal of primatology}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {e23454}, doi = {10.1002/ajp.23454}, pmid = {36415048}, issn = {1098-2345}, abstract = {Information about species distribution is important for conservation but the monitoring of populations can demand a high sampling effort with traditional methods (e.g., line transects, sound playback) that are poorly efficient for cryptic primates, such as the black lion tamarin (Leontopithecus chrysopygus). Here we investigated the effectiveness of passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) as an alternative method to identify the presence of vocalizing lion tamarins in the wild. We aimed to: (1) determine the maximum distance at which autonomous recorders (Song Meter 3) and Raven Pro acoustic software can respectively detect and identify lion tamarin long calls emitted by two captive subjects (ex situ study); and (2) determine the sampling effort required to confirm the presence of the species in the wild (in situ study). In captive settings, we recorded lion tamarin long calls with one to two autonomous recorders operating at increasing distances from the animals' enclosure (8-202 m). In a 515 ha forest fragment, we deployed 12 recorders in a grid, 300 m apart from each other, within the estimated 100 ha home range of one group, and let them record for 10 consecutive days, totaling 985 h. In the ex situ study, hand-browsing of spectrograms yielded 298 long calls emitted from 8 to 194 m, and Raven's Template Detector identified 54.6% of them, also emitted from 8 to 194 m. In the in situ study, we manually counted 1115 long calls, and the Raven's Template Detector identified 44.75% of them. Furthermore, the presence of lion tamarins was confirmed within 1 day using four randomly sorted recorders, whereas 5 days on average were necessary with only one device. While specific protocols still need to be developed to determine primate population size using this technology, we concluded that PAM is a promising tool when considering long term costs and benefits.}, } @article {pmid36359019, year = {2022}, author = {Guo, S and Wu, W and Liu, Y and Kang, X and Li, C}, title = {Effects of Valley Topography on Acoustic Communication in Birds: Why Do Birds Avoid Deep Valleys in Daqinggou Nature Reserve?.}, journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI}, volume = {12}, number = {21}, pages = {}, pmid = {36359019}, issn = {2076-2615}, abstract = {To investigate the effects of valley topography on the acoustic transmission of avian vocalisations, we carried out playback experiments in Daqinggou valley, Inner Mongolia, China. During the experiments, we recorded the vocalisations of five avian species, the large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos Wagler, 1827), common cuckoo (Cuculus canorus Linnaeus, 1758), Eurasian magpie (Pica pica Linnaeus, 1758), Eurasian tree sparrow (Passer montanus Linnaeus, 1758), and meadow bunting (Emberiza cioides Brand, 1843), at transmission distances of 30 m and 50 m in the upper and lower parts of the valley and analysed the intensity, the fundamental frequency (F0), and the first three formant frequencies (F1/F2/F3) of the sounds. We also investigated bird species diversity in the upper and lower valley. We found that: (1) at the distance of 30 m, there were significant differences in F0/F1/F2/F3 in Eurasian magpies, significant differences in F1/F2/F3 in the meadow bunting and Eurasian tree sparrow, and partially significant differences in sound frequency between the upper and lower valley in the other two species; (2) at the distance of 50 m, there were significant differences in F0/F1/F2/F3 in two avian species (large-billed crow and common cuckoo) between the upper and lower valley and partially significant differences in sound frequency between the upper and lower valley in the other three species; (2) there were significant differences in the acoustic intensities of crow, cuckoo, magpie, and bunting calls between the upper and lower valley. (3) Species number and richness were significantly higher in the upper valley than in the lower valley. We suggested that the structure of valley habitats may lead to the breakdown of acoustic signals and communication in birds to varying degrees. The effect of valley topography on acoustic communication could be one reason for animal species avoiding deep valleys.}, } @article {pmid36262611, year = {2022}, author = {Wang, Y and Song, J and Teng, Z}, title = {An Improved New Caledonian Crow Learning Algorithm for Global Function Optimization.}, journal = {Computational intelligence and neuroscience}, volume = {2022}, number = {}, pages = {9248771}, pmid = {36262611}, issn = {1687-5273}, mesh = {Animals ; Humans ; *Crows ; Algorithms ; }, abstract = {The New Caledonian crow learning algorithm (NCCLA) is a novel metaheuristic algorithm inspired by the learning behavior of New Caledonian crows learning to make tools to obtain food. However, it suffers from the problems of easily falling into local optima and insufficient convergence accuracy and convergence precision. To further improve the convergence performance of NCCLA, an improved New Caledonian crow learning algorithm (INCCLA) is proposed in this paper. By determining the parent individuals based on the cosine similarity, the juveniles are guided to search toward different ranges to maintain the population diversity; a novel hybrid mechanism of complete and incomplete learning is proposed to balance the exploration and exploitation capabilities of the algorithm; the update strategy of juveniles and parent individuals is improved to enhance the convergence speed and precision of the algorithm. The test results of the CEC2013 and CEC2020 test suites show that, compared with the original NCCLA algorithm and four of the best metaheuristics to date, INCCLA has significant advantages in terms of convergence speed, convergence precision, and stability.}, } @article {pmid36202786, year = {2022}, author = {Romeo, Z and Marino, M and Angrilli, A and Semenzato, I and Favaro, A and Magnolfi, G and Padovan, GB and Mantini, D and Spironelli, C}, title = {Altered language network lateralization in euthymic bipolar patients: a pilot study.}, journal = {Translational psychiatry}, volume = {12}, number = {1}, pages = {435}, pmid = {36202786}, issn = {2158-3188}, mesh = {Adult ; Aged ; *Bipolar Disorder/diagnostic imaging ; Brain/diagnostic imaging ; *Brain Mapping ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Mania ; Middle Aged ; Pilot Projects ; }, abstract = {Bipolar patients (BD) in the euthymic phase show almost no symptoms, nevertheless possibility of relapse is still present. We expected to find a psychobiological trace of their vulnerability by analyzing a specific network-the Language Network (LN)-connecting many high-level processes and brain regions measured at rest. According to Crow's hypothesis on the key role of language in the origin of psychoses, we expected an altered asymmetry of the LN in euthymic BDs. Eighteen euthymic BD patients (10 females; age = 54.50 ± 11.38 years) and 16 healthy controls (HC) (8 females; age = 51.16 ± 11.44 years) underwent a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan at rest. The LN was extracted through independent component analysis. Then, LN time series was used to compute the fractional amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) index, which was then correlated with clinical scales. Compared with HC, euthymic patients showed an altered LN with greater activation of Broca's area right homologous and anterior insula together with reduced activation of left middle temporal gyrus. The normalized fALFF analysis on BD patients' LN time series revealed that the Slow-5 fALFF band was positively correlated with residual mania symptoms but negatively associated with depression scores. In line with Crow's hypothesis postulating an altered language hemispheric asymmetry in psychoses, we revealed, in euthymic BD patients, a right shift involving both the temporal and frontal linguistic hubs. The fALFF applied to LN allowed us to highlight a number of significant correlations of this measure with residual mania and depression psychiatric symptoms.}, } @article {pmid35880187, year = {2022}, author = {Calić, G and Glumbić, N and Petrović-Lazić, M and Đorđević, M and Mentus, T}, title = {Searching for Best Predictors of Paralinguistic Comprehension and Production of Emotions in Communication in Adults With Moderate Intellectual Disability.}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {13}, number = {}, pages = {884242}, pmid = {35880187}, issn = {1664-1078}, abstract = {Paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication include the skills of recognizing and interpreting emotional states with the help of facial expressions, prosody and intonation. In the relevant scientific literature, the skills of paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication are related primarily to receptive language abilities, although some authors found also their correlations with intellectual abilities and acoustic features of the voice. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate which of the mentioned variables (receptive language ability, acoustic features of voice, intellectual ability, social-demographic), presents the most relevant predictor of paralinguistic comprehension and paralinguistic production of emotions in communication in adults with moderate intellectual disabilities (MID). The sample included 41 adults with MID, 20-49 years of age (M = 34.34, SD = 7.809), 29 of whom had MID of unknown etiology, while 12 had Down syndrome. All participants are native speakers of Serbian. Two subscales from The Assessment Battery for Communication - Paralinguistic comprehension of emotions in communication and Paralinguistic production of emotions in communication, were used to assess the examinees from the aspect of paralinguistic comprehension and production skills. For the graduation of examinees from the aspect of assumed predictor variables, the following instruments were used: Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test was used to assess receptive language abilities, Computerized Speech Lab ("Kay Elemetrics" Corp., model 4300) was used to assess acoustic features of voice, and Raven's Progressive Matrices were used to assess intellectual ability. Hierarchical regression analysis was applied to investigate to which extent the proposed variables present an actual predictor variables for paralinguistic comprehension and production of emotions in communication as dependent variables. The results of this analysis showed that only receptive language skills had statistically significant predictive value for paralinguistic comprehension of emotions (β = 0.468, t = 2.236, p < 0.05), while the factor related to voice frequency and interruptions, form the domain of acoustic voice characteristics, displays predictive value for paralinguistic production of emotions (β = 0.280, t = 2.076, p < 0.05). Consequently, this study, in the adult population with MID, evidenced a greater importance of voice and language in relation to intellectual abilities in understanding and producing emotions.}, } @article {pmid35878200, year = {2022}, author = {Yi, KH and Lee, JH and Kim, GY and Yoon, SW and Oh, W and Kim, HJ}, title = {Novel Anatomical Proposal for Botulinum Neurotoxin Injection Targeting Lateral Canthal Rhytids.}, journal = {Toxins}, volume = {14}, number = {7}, pages = {}, pmid = {35878200}, issn = {2072-6651}, mesh = {*Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; Facial Muscles ; Injections ; *Lacrimal Apparatus ; *Neuromuscular Agents ; *Skin Aging ; }, abstract = {Botulinum neurotoxin injections near the lateral canthal rhytids are commonly used in cosmetic settings; however, there is a lack of thorough anatomical knowledge, and an effective way to treat them with accumulating knowledge is needed. The anatomical characteristics concerning the injection of botulinum neurotoxin into the orbicularis oculi muscle were evaluated in this review. Current knowledge on the identification of botulinum neurotoxin injection points from recent anatomical research was assessed. The lateral canthal lines are involved with the orbicularis oculi muscle and nearby anatomical structures, and the injection points can be more precisely defined. The best possible injection sites were provided, and the injection procedure was described. This review proposes evidence for injection sites associated with the surface anatomy of the orbicularis oculi muscles to enhance the effectiveness of easing lateral canthal rhytids.}, } @article {pmid35858056, year = {2022}, author = {Ręk, P and Magrath, RD}, title = {Reality and illusion: the assessment of angular separation of multi-modal signallers in a duetting bird.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {289}, number = {1978}, pages = {20220680}, pmid = {35858056}, issn = {1471-2954}, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; Animals ; Auditory Perception/physiology ; Australia ; *Illusions ; Male ; *Passeriformes ; Photic Stimulation ; *Songbirds/physiology ; Territoriality ; Visual Perception/physiology ; }, abstract = {The spatial distribution of cooperating individuals plays a strategic role in territorial interactions of many group-living animals, and can indicate group cohesion. Vocalizations are commonly used to judge the distribution of signallers, but the spatial resolution of sounds is poor. Many species therefore accompany calls with movement; however, little is known about the role of audio-visual perception in natural interactions. We studied the effect of angular separation on the efficacy of multimodal duets in the Australian magpie-lark, Grallina cyanoleuca. We tested specifically whether conspicuous wing movements, which typically accompany duets, affect responses to auditory angular separation. Multimodal playbacks of duets using robotic models and speakers showed that birds relied primarily on acoustic cues when visual and auditory angular separations were congruent, but used both modalities to judge separation between the signallers when modalities were spatially incongruent. The visual component modified the effect of acoustic separation: robotic models that were apart weakened the response when speakers were together, while models that were together strengthened responses when speakers were apart. Our results show that responses are stronger when signallers are together, and suggest that males were are able to bind information cross-modally on the senders' spatial location, which is consistent with a multisensory illusion.}, } @article {pmid35833319, year = {2022}, author = {Mack, C and Uomini, N}, title = {Modulation of behavioural laterality in wild New Caledonian crows (Corvus moneduloides): Vocalization, age and function.}, journal = {Laterality}, volume = {}, number = {}, pages = {1-27}, doi = {10.1080/1357650X.2022.2098969}, pmid = {35833319}, issn = {1464-0678}, abstract = {The New Caledonian crow (Corvus moneduloides) is known for displaying a unique set of tool-related behaviours, with the bird's bill acting as an individually consistently lateralized effector. However, we still fail to understand how such laterality develops, is modulated or even if its expression is consistent across other behavioural categories. Creating the first ethogram for this species allowed us to examine laterality and vocalisations in a population of wild, free-flying New Caledonian crows using detailed analyses of close-up video footage. We revealed the existence of an overall strong left-sided bias during object manipulation only and which was driven by the adult crows of our focal population, the stabilization of individual preferences occurring during the birds' juvenile years. Individually, at least one crow showed consistent side biases to the right and left within different behavioural categories. Our findings highlight previously unknown variability in behavioural laterality in this species, thus advocating for further investigation. Specifically, we argue that a better understanding of the New Caledonian crow's biology and ecology is required if one wishes to pursue the promising comparative road that laterality could be connected to the evolution of tool-making.}, } @article {pmid35781294, year = {2022}, author = {Giangaspero, A and D'Onghia, V and Puccini, A and Caiaffa, MF and Macchia, L and Barlaam, A}, title = {When there is no communication between urban planners and public health operators: urban Dermanyssus gallinae infestations in humans.}, journal = {Igiene e sanita pubblica}, volume = {79}, number = {2}, pages = {62-69}, pmid = {35781294}, issn = {0019-1639}, mesh = {Animals ; Cities ; *Columbidae ; Health Promotion ; Humans ; *Mites ; Public Health ; }, abstract = {At the international level, it is necessary to apply urban health strategies that can integrate concrete actions to protect and promote health in urban and architectural planning. In cities, the "urban fauna" mostly consists of synanthropic birds (sparrows, starlings, swallows, martins, jackdaws, crows, hawks, gulls, pigeons) that have adapted to a continuous relationship with humans. These animals enrich the ecological network of biodiversity but also pose health problems. The most successful avian colonizers are pigeons (Columba livia), which proliferate due to the abundance of food available to them and the absence of predators. Pigeons may harbor several organisms that are pathogenic for humans, and among these the role of Dermanyssus gallinae should not be underestimated. In the absence of their preferred pigeon host, these mites will move from the nest to windowsills and window frames from which they attack humans. The Authors show that modern architectural design features in towns can favor the establishment and proliferation of pigeons, contributing to the public health risk for dermanyssosis or other diseases related to these birds. They describe an outbreak of dermanyssosis due to incorrect or unsuitable structural interventions, and highlight the need of re-thinking urban architectural choices in order to safeguard public health.}, } @article {pmid35772139, year = {2022}, author = {Zhu, C}, title = {Effects of Musicotherapy Combined with Cognitive Behavioral Intervention on the Cognitive Ability of Children with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder.}, journal = {Psychiatria Danubina}, volume = {34}, number = {2}, pages = {288-295}, doi = {10.24869/psyd.2022.288}, pmid = {35772139}, issn = {0353-5053}, mesh = {*Attention Deficit Disorder with Hyperactivity/diagnosis ; Child ; Cognition ; *Cognitive Behavioral Therapy ; Humans ; Social Skills ; Wechsler Scales ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) mainly manifests as learning difficulties, emotional impulsiveness, excessive activities, and attention deficit disorder. Given that it can influence social communication abilities, as well as physical and psychological health and viability, ADHD rehabilitation has attracted close attention. This study aims to discuss the influences of musicotherapy combined with cognitive behavioral intervention on the cognitive ability of children with ADHD and provide some references for ADHD rehabilitation.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A total of 120 children with ADHD in the Cooperative Hospital of Guangzhou University from June 2018 to May 2021 were chosen as the research objects. They were divided randomly into the control and observation groups with 60 cases in each group via the observing random digital method. The control group was the blank control and did not receive any intervention. The observation group received 16 weeks of musicotherapy combined with cognitive behavioral intervention. Symptoms and the results of the numerical cross-attention test, the Wisconsin card sorting test, the combined Raven's test (CRT), the Wechsler intelligence scale for children test, and Conner's child behavioral scale for parents of the two groups before and after the intervention were compared.

RESULTS: The relevant indexes of the control group did not show any significant changes after the intervention (P>0.05). In the intervention group, the accurately crossed number and net scores increased significantly, whereas the wrongly crossed number and missed crossed number scores and error; attention deficit; hyperactivity-impulsiveness; and ADHD-RS-Ⅳ total scores declined dramatically after intervention relative to those before the intervention. Moreover, the above indexes of the observation group showed more significant improvements than those of the control group (P<0.05). In the observation group, the conceptual level percentage and the number of completed classes had significantly increased and the number of discontinuous errors and number of continuous errors after the intervention had dropped sharply compared with those before. The above indexes of the observation group had improved significantly compared with those of the control group (P<0.05). Moreover, in both groups, the concentration/attention factor and CRT scores increased dramatically and the scores of Conner's child behavior scale after the intervention had dropped significantly compared with those before. After intervention, the above indexes of the observation group showed greater improvements than those of the control group (P<0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: The musicotherapy combined with cognitive behavioral intervention can improve the cognitive functions of children with ADHD and has clinical application values.}, } @article {pmid35609544, year = {2022}, author = {Farine, DR}, title = {Collective behaviour: Jackdaws vote to leave with their voice.}, journal = {Current biology : CB}, volume = {32}, number = {10}, pages = {R467-R469}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2022.03.070}, pmid = {35609544}, issn = {1879-0445}, mesh = {Animals ; *Crows ; Mass Gatherings ; Social Behavior ; }, abstract = {Making a decision as a group requires not only choosing where to go but also when to go. A new study provides experimental evidence that, in jackdaws, vocalisations facilitate synchronous early morning departures from communal roosts.}, } @article {pmid35609539, year = {2022}, author = {Dibnah, AJ and Herbert-Read, JE and Boogert, NJ and McIvor, GE and Jolles, JW and Thornton, A}, title = {Vocally mediated consensus decisions govern mass departures from jackdaw roosts.}, journal = {Current biology : CB}, volume = {32}, number = {10}, pages = {R455-R456}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2022.04.032}, pmid = {35609539}, issn = {1879-0445}, mesh = {Animals ; Birds ; Consensus ; *Crows ; Ecosystem ; Humans ; }, abstract = {In the early morning, large groups of up to hundreds or even thousands of roosting birds, sometimes comprising the entire roost population, often take off together in sudden mass departures. These departures commonly occur in low-light conditions and structurally complex habitats where access to visual cues is likely to be restricted. Roosting birds are often highly vocal, leading us to hypothesise that vocalisations, which can propagate over large distances, could provide a means of enabling individuals to agree on when to depart - that is to establish a consensus[1] - and thus coordinate the timing of mass movements. Investigations of the role of acoustic signals in coordinating collective decisions have been limited to honeybees[2] and relatively small vertebrate groups (<50 individuals)[3-5] and have rarely included experimental validation[2,3]. Here, by combining field recordings with a large-scale experimental manipulation, we show that jackdaws (Corvus monedula) use vocalisations to coordinate mass departures from winter roosts. This provides empirical evidence for vocally-mediated consensus decision-making in large vertebrate groups.}, } @article {pmid35552557, year = {2022}, author = {Trivedi, M and Saxena, A and Shroff, Z and Sharma, M}, title = {Experiences and challenges in accessing hospitalization in a government-funded health insurance scheme: Evidence from early implementation of Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PM-JAY) in India.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {17}, number = {5}, pages = {e0266798}, pmid = {35552557}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Government ; *Health Services Accessibility ; Hospitalization ; Hospitals, Private ; Humans ; India ; *Insurance, Health ; }, abstract = {INTRODUCTION: Government-sponsored health insurance schemes can play an important role in improving the reach of healthcare services. Launched in 2018 in India, Pradhan Mantri Jan Aarogya Yojana (PM-JAY) is one of the world's largest government-sponsored health insurance schemes. The objective of this study is to understand beneficiaries' experience of availing healthcare services at the empaneled hospitals in PM-JAY. This study examines the responsiveness of PM-JAY by measuring the prompt attention in service delivery, and access to information by the beneficiaries; financial burden experienced by the beneficiaries; and beneficiary's satisfaction with the experience of hospitalization under PMJAY and its determinants.

METHODS: The study was conducted during March-August 2019. Data were obtained through a survey conducted with 200 PM-JAY beneficiaries (or their caregivers) in the Indian states of Gujarat and Madhya Pradesh. The study population comprised of patients who received healthcare services at 14 study hospitals in April 2019. Prompt attention was measured in the form of a) effectiveness of helpdesk, and b) time taken at different stages of hospitalization and discharge events. Access to information by the beneficiaries was measured using the frequency and purpose of text messages and phone calls from the scheme authorities to the beneficiaries. The financial burden was measured in terms of the incidence and magnitude of out-of-pocket payments made by the beneficiaries separate from the cashless payment provided to hospitals by PMJAY. Beneficiaries' satisfaction was measured on a five-point Likert scale.

RESULTS: Socio-economically weaker sections of the society are availing healthcare services under PM-JAY. In Gujarat, the majority of the beneficiaries were made aware of the scheme by the government official channels. In Madhya Pradesh, the majority of the beneficiaries got to know about the scheme from informal sources. For most of the elements of prompt attention, access to information, and beneficiaries' satisfaction, hospitals in Gujarat performed significantly better than the hospitals in Madhya Pradesh. Similarly, for most of the elements of prompt attention, access to information, and beneficiaries' satisfaction, public hospitals performed significantly better than private hospitals. Incidence and magnitude of out-of-pocket payments were significantly higher in Madhya Pradesh as compared to Gujarat, and in private hospitals as compared to the public hospitals.

CONCLUSION: There is a need to focus on Information, Education, and Communication (IEC) activities for PM-JAY, especially in Madhya Pradesh. Capacity-building efforts need to be prioritized for private hospitals as compared to public hospitals, and for Madhya Pradesh as compared to Gujarat. There is a need to focus on enhancing the responsiveness of the scheme, and timely exchange of information with beneficiaries. There is also an urgent need for measures aimed at reducing the out-of-pocket payments made by the beneficiaries.}, } @article {pmid35476231, year = {2022}, author = {Ocañas, AR and Danoff-Burg, JA and Mulroe, K and Walton, SR}, title = {Addressing the raven food subsidy challenge by engaging restaurants to close their dumpsters.}, journal = {Zoo biology}, volume = {41}, number = {5}, pages = {491-500}, doi = {10.1002/zoo.21696}, pmid = {35476231}, issn = {1098-2361}, mesh = {Animals ; Animals, Zoo ; *Crows ; Food ; Humans ; *Refuse Disposal ; Restaurants ; }, abstract = {Ravens have benefitted from resource subsidies provided by humans so much that their population has increased by over 800% in the western Mojave desert over the last 50 years. Our food waste is an especially large subsidy. Raven predation is one of the greatest threats to desert tortoise survival in the California desert. We sought to create and evaluate a behavioral change program among restaurants in Yucca Valley and Twentynine Palms, California in the western Mojave with elevated raven populations. Half of the 60 restaurants in these two communities received an intervention encouraging them to close their dumpsters while the other half served as controls with no intervention. Treatment restaurants received two in-person visits to discuss the manifold importance of dumpster closure and laminated information signs to display and extend communication to staff. We surveyed all dumpsters for open/closed status five times before the intervention and five times again 3 months after the intervention. We found a significant increase in closure rates among treatment restaurants due to the interventions, with an average of 9.5% increase toward maximum possible lid closure. Restaurants achieving 80%+ closure received "Gold Star Awards" to further stimulate community-wide behavior change by publicly recognizing and encouraging desired behaviors. We summarize dumpster closure rates from similar interventions in nearby Joshua Tree and across the Coachella Valley to illustrate how local social norms may influence behavior.}, } @article {pmid35287378, year = {2022}, author = {Dida, H and Charif, F and Benchabane, A}, title = {Registration of computed tomography images of a lung infected with COVID-19 based in the new meta-heuristic algorithm HPSGWO.}, journal = {Multimedia tools and applications}, volume = {81}, number = {13}, pages = {18955-18976}, pmid = {35287378}, issn = {1380-7501}, abstract = {Computed tomography (CT) helps the radiologist in the rapid and correct detection of a person infected with the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), and this by showing the presence of the ground-glass opacity in the lung of with the virus. Tracking the evolution of the spread of the ground-glass opacity (GGO) in the lung of the person infected with the virus needs to study more than one image in different times. The various CT images must be registration to identify the evolution of the ground glass in the lung and to facilitate the study and identification of the virus. Due to the process of registration images is essentially an improvement problem, we present in this paper a new HPSGWO algorithm for registration CT images of a lung infected with the COVID-19. This algorithm is a hybridization of the two algorithms Particle swarm optimization (PSO) and Grey wolf optimizer (GWO). The simulation results obtained after applying the algorithm to the test images show that the proposed approach achieved high-precision and robust registration compared to other methods such as GWO, PSO, Firefly Algorithm (FA), and Crow Searcha Algorithms (CSA).}, } @article {pmid35255297, year = {2022}, author = {González, R and Rojas, M and Rosselli, M and Ardila, A}, title = {Linguistic profiles of variants of primary progressive aphasia.}, journal = {Journal of communication disorders}, volume = {97}, number = {}, pages = {106202}, doi = {10.1016/j.jcomdis.2022.106202}, pmid = {35255297}, issn = {1873-7994}, mesh = {Aged ; *Aphasia, Primary Progressive/diagnosis ; Comprehension ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; Language Tests ; Male ; Semantics ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Several subtypes of primary progressive aphasia (PPA) have been proposed. Most reports use small samples, and few have included Spanish-speaking participants.

AIM: To analyze the language profile and nonlinguistic deficits in a large sample of PPA Spanish monolingual participants.

METHOD: 177 individuals were diagnosed with PPA in a sample consisting of 69 men and 108 women (Mage = 66.40 years, SD = 9.30). The participants were assessed using the Spanish versions of the Western Aphasia Battery Revised (SWAB-R) and the Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination (SBDAE). Non-verbal reasoning was evaluated with the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices.

RESULTS: 41.8% of the sample met the criteria for the logopenic variant (lvPPA), while 28.2% met the criteria for semantic (svPPA), 15.3% for lexical (lxvPPA), and 14.7% for nonfluent/agrammatic (nfvPPA) variants. Language difficulties were similar in all variants except for lxvPPA. Scores on Spontaneous Language, Auditory Comprehension, Repetition, and Naming were significantly higher for the lxvPPA group. Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices scores were significantly lower in lvPPA. Years of education correlated with all test scores, while age was negatively associated with naming. When the PPA variants were classified according to the traditional aphasia classification, discrepancies were evident. Furthermore, the most frequent type of aphasia was Amnesic, while the least frequent was Wernicke's aphasia.

CONCLUSION: The SWAB-R is useful in describing the clinical characteristics of aphasia for each variant of PPA, but quantitative scores from this battery are not capable of distinguishing between variants of PPA, with the exception of lxvPPA.}, } @article {pmid35250890, year = {2022}, author = {Yu, X and Jiang, Y and Li, Y and He, Q and Pan, L and Zhu, P and Wang, Y and Wang, P}, title = {Comparison of Different Mandibular Jawlines Classifications on Transoral Endoscopic Thyroidectomy for Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma: Experiences of 690 Cases.}, journal = {Frontiers in endocrinology}, volume = {13}, number = {}, pages = {842148}, pmid = {35250890}, issn = {1664-2392}, mesh = {Humans ; *Natural Orifice Endoscopic Surgery/adverse effects ; Retrospective Studies ; Thyroid Cancer, Papillary/etiology/surgery ; *Thyroid Neoplasms/pathology ; Thyroidectomy/adverse effects ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: The influences of patients' different mandibular jawlines on transoral endoscopic thyroidectomy via vestibular approach (TOETVA) have not been described before. The objective of this study was to introduce a new classification to assess different mandibular jawlines, and to evaluate the effects on TOETVA in terms of safety, feasibility, and postoperative feelings in the treatment of papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC).

METHODS: The crossing angle of esthetic plane and mandibular plane was defined as Wang Angle, used to assess patients' different mandibular jawlines. Mandibular classifications of A (angle: 80° ~ 110°), B (angle > 110°), and C (angle < 80°) types were compared to evaluate the surgical outcomes of TOETVA by a retrospective study. 690 patients of PTC who received TOETVA were included in this study, which were divided into three groups according to mandibular classifications.

RESULTS: Clinicopathological characteristics of the patients including age, gender, body mass index, tumor size, Hashimoto thyroiditis were similar in the three groups. Patients' length of jay in group C was significantly longer than group A and group B (P < 0.01). The ratios of using suspension system in group C were significantly higher than group A and group B (P < 0.01). The scores of postoperative visual analogue scale (VAS) and ratios of mandibular swell in group C were significantly higher than group A and group B (P < 0.01). There was no significant difference in the three groups regarding surgical outcomes, including postoperative vocal cord paralysis, hypocalcemia, serum white blood cells and C-reactive protein levels.

CONCLUSIONS: The Wang angle and mandibular jawline classifications were firstly introduced in TOETVA. All the patients of class A, B, and C mandibular jawline can achieve safe and effective surgical outcomes in the treatment of PTC with TOETVA. Patients of class C need more assistance of suspension system, would experience higher scores of VAS, and higher ratios of mandibular swell compared with class A and B.}, } @article {pmid35250755, year = {2022}, author = {Nittono, H and Ohashi, A and Komori, M}, title = {Creation and Validation of the Japanese Cute Infant Face (JCIF) Dataset.}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {13}, number = {}, pages = {819428}, pmid = {35250755}, issn = {1664-1078}, abstract = {Research interest in cuteness perception and its effects on subsequent behavior and physiological responses has recently been increasing. The purpose of the present study was to produce a dataset of Japanese infant faces that are free of portrait rights and can be used for cuteness research. A total of 80 original facial images of 6-month-old infants were collected from their parents. The cuteness level of each picture was rated on a 7-point scale by 200 Japanese people (100 men and 100 women in their 20s-60s). Prototypical high- and low-cuteness faces were created by averaging the top 10 and bottom 10 faces according to the mean cuteness ratings. Then, 50 composite faces were made by mixing two faces randomly chosen from the 60 unused middle-cuteness faces. The normative cuteness ratings of these composite faces were obtained from 229 Japanese men and women in their 20s-60s. The shape of each composite face was transformed to be cuter (+50%) or less cute (-50%) along a continuum between the high- and low-cuteness prototypical faces. A two-alternative forced-choice task (N = 587) confirmed that cuteness discrimination was better than the chance level for all 50 face pairs. Moreover, the results showed that young men had poorer sensitivity to cuteness differences in infant faces than older men and women of any age. This Japanese Cute Infant Face (JCIF, "jay-sif") dataset, including composite face images and normative rating scores, is publicly available online.}, } @article {pmid35060310, year = {2022}, author = {Signorini, M and Piero Fundarò, S and Bertossi, D and Cavallini, M and Cirillo, P and Natuzzi, G and Quartucci, S and Sciuto, C and Patalano, M and Trocchi, G}, title = {OnabotulinumtoxinA from lines to facial reshaping: A new Italian consensus report.}, journal = {Journal of cosmetic dermatology}, volume = {21}, number = {2}, pages = {550-563}, doi = {10.1111/jocd.14728}, pmid = {35060310}, issn = {1473-2165}, mesh = {*Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; Consensus ; *Cosmetic Techniques ; Esthetics, Dental ; Gingiva ; Humans ; *Neuromuscular Agents ; Smiling ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Botulinum neurotoxin type A is the most widely used nonsurgical treatment for esthetic improvement of the face and neck. In 2015, an Italian consensus panel met to discuss the optimal methods for using onabotulinumtoxinA. However, clinical practice continues to evolve and the original report is now considered obsolete.

AIMS: To provide updated guidance on the esthetic uses of onabotulinumtoxinA in the face and neck.

METHODS: A panel of 10 Italian specialists (including plastic and maxillofacial surgeons, dermatologists, and esthetic doctors) individually completed a questionnaire on their own clinical practice, and then met to discuss their responses and agree on a revised treatment consensus.

RESULTS: Recommendations are provided on patient assessment, reconstitution of onabotulinumtoxinA, and preferred procedures (injection sites, doses, anatomical targets, safety precautions, etc.) across a variety of treatment areas, including glabellar, crow's feet, and forehead lines; brow lifting and shaping; lower eyelid hypertrophy; bunny lines; sagging nasal tip; gummy smile; masseter hypertrophy; perioral lines; marionette lines and "sad mouth;" mentalis hypertonia; and platysma bands. Some of the recommended doses are substantially increased from the previous consensus (particularly in the upper third and masseter) for the purpose of achieving longer lasting results without affecting safety. Furthermore, two increasingly popular techniques-the Nefertiti lift and Microbotox-are included in the consensus for the first time.

CONCLUSIONS: Optimal practice with onabotulinumtoxinA requires a systematic approach to maximize safety and effectiveness across the range of potential uses. The present consensus was developed to support these aims.}, } @article {pmid34983896, year = {2022}, author = {Marsja, E and Stenbäck, V and Moradi, S and Danielsson, H and Rönnberg, J}, title = {Is Having Hearing Loss Fundamentally Different? Multigroup Structural Equation Modeling of the Effect of Cognitive Functioning on Speech Identification.}, journal = {Ear and hearing}, volume = {43}, number = {5}, pages = {1437-1446}, doi = {10.1097/AUD.0000000000001196}, pmid = {34983896}, issn = {1538-4667}, mesh = {Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Cognition ; *Deafness ; Humans ; Latent Class Analysis ; Middle Aged ; *Presbycusis ; Speech ; *Speech Perception ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: Previous research suggests that there is a robust relationship between cognitive functioning and speech-in-noise performance for older adults with age-related hearing loss. For normal-hearing adults, on the other hand, the research is not entirely clear. Therefore, the current study aimed to examine the relationship between cognitive functioning, aging, and speech-in-noise, in a group of older normal-hearing persons and older persons with hearing loss who wear hearing aids.

DESIGN: We analyzed data from 199 older normal-hearing individuals (mean age = 61.2) and 200 older individuals with hearing loss (mean age = 60.9) using multigroup structural equation modeling. Four cognitively related tasks were used to create a cognitive functioning construct: the reading span task, a visuospatial working memory task, the semantic word-pairs task, and Raven's progressive matrices. Speech-in-noise, on the other hand, was measured using Hagerman sentences. The Hagerman sentences were presented via an experimental hearing aid to both normal hearing and hearing-impaired groups. Furthermore, the sentences were presented with one of the two background noise conditions: the Hagerman original speech-shaped noise or four-talker babble. Each noise condition was also presented with three different hearing processing settings: linear processing, fast compression, and noise reduction.

RESULTS: Cognitive functioning was significantly related to speech-in-noise identification. Moreover, aging had a significant effect on both speech-in-noise and cognitive functioning. With regression weights constrained to be equal for the two groups, the final model had the best fit to the data. Importantly, the results showed that the relationship between cognitive functioning and speech-in-noise was not different for the two groups. Furthermore, the same pattern was evident for aging: the effects of aging on cognitive functioning and aging on speech-in-noise were not different between groups.

CONCLUSION: Our findings revealed similar cognitive functioning and aging effects on speech-in-noise performance in older normal-hearing and aided hearing-impaired listeners. In conclusion, the findings support the Ease of Language Understanding model as cognitive processes play a critical role in speech-in-noise independent from the hearing status of elderly individuals.}, } @article {pmid34867472, year = {2021}, author = {Pendergraft, LT and Marzluff, JM and Cross, DJ and Shimizu, T and Templeton, CN}, title = {American Crow Brain Activity in Response to Conspecific Vocalizations Changes When Food Is Present.}, journal = {Frontiers in physiology}, volume = {12}, number = {}, pages = {766345}, pmid = {34867472}, issn = {1664-042X}, abstract = {Social interaction among animals can occur under many contexts, such as during foraging. Our knowledge of the regions within an avian brain associated with social interaction is limited to the regions activated by a single context or sensory modality. We used 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) to examine American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) brain activity in response to conditions associated with communal feeding. Using a paired approach, we exposed crows to either a visual stimulus (the sight of food), an audio stimulus (the sound of conspecifics vocalizing while foraging) or both audio/visual stimuli presented simultaneously and compared to their brain activity in response to a control stimulus (an empty stage). We found two regions, the nucleus taenia of the amygdala (TnA) and a medial portion of the caudal nidopallium, that showed increased activity in response to the multimodal combination of stimuli but not in response to either stimulus when presented unimodally. We also found significantly increased activity in the lateral septum and medially within the nidopallium in response to both the audio-only and the combined audio/visual stimuli. We did not find any differences in activation in response to the visual stimulus by itself. We discuss how these regions may be involved in the processing of multimodal stimuli in the context of social interaction.}, } @article {pmid34827796, year = {2021}, author = {Schneider, S and Goettlich, S and Diercks, C and Dierkes, PW}, title = {Discrimination of Acoustic Stimuli and Maintenance of Graded Alarm Call Structure in Captive Meerkats.}, journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI}, volume = {11}, number = {11}, pages = {}, pmid = {34827796}, issn = {2076-2615}, abstract = {Animals living in human care for several generations face the risk of losing natural behaviors, which can lead to reduced animal welfare. The goal of this study is to demonstrate that meerkats (Suricata suricatta) living in zoos can assess potential danger and respond naturally based on acoustic signals only. This includes that the graded information of urgency in alarm calls as well as a response to those alarm calls is retained in captivity. To test the response to acoustic signals with different threat potential, meerkats were played calls of various animals differing in size and threat (e.g., robin, raven, buzzard, jackal) while their behavior was observed. The emitted alarm calls were recorded and examined for their graded structure on the one hand and played back to them on the other hand by means of a playback experiment to see whether the animals react to their own alarm calls even in the absence of danger. A fuzzy clustering algorithm was used to analyze and classify the alarm calls. Subsequently, the features that best described the graded structure were isolated using the LASSO algorithm and compared to features already known from wild meerkats. The results show that the graded structure is maintained in captivity and can be described by features such as noise and duration. The animals respond to new threats and can distinguish animal calls that are dangerous to them from those that are not, indicating the preservation of natural cooperative behavior. In addition, the playback experiments show that the meerkats respond to their own alarm calls with vigilance and escape behavior. The findings can be used to draw conclusions about the intensity of alertness in captive meerkats and to adapt husbandry conditions to appropriate welfare.}, } @article {pmid34813525, year = {2022}, author = {Leopold, SS}, title = {A Conversation with … Jay Nordlinger, the Writer Who Sees Both Sides.}, journal = {Clinical orthopaedics and related research}, volume = {480}, number = {2}, pages = {217-219}, pmid = {34813525}, issn = {1528-1132}, mesh = {*Communication ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; *Journalism ; Male ; *Periodicals as Topic ; *Physician-Patient Relations ; }, } @article {pmid34690869, year = {2021}, author = {Choi, W}, title = {Musicianship Influences Language Effect on Musical Pitch Perception.}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {12}, number = {}, pages = {712753}, pmid = {34690869}, issn = {1664-1078}, abstract = {Given its practical implications, the effect of musicianship on language learning has been vastly researched. Interestingly, growing evidence also suggests that language experience can facilitate music perception. However, the precise nature of this facilitation is not fully understood. To address this research gap, I investigated the interactive effect of language and musicianship on musical pitch and rhythmic perception. Cantonese and English listeners, each divided into musician and non-musician groups, completed the Musical Ear Test and the Raven's 2 Progressive Matrices. Essentially, an interactive effect of language and musicianship was found on musical pitch but not rhythmic perception. Consistent with previous studies, Cantonese language experience appeared to facilitate musical pitch perception. However, this facilitatory effect was only present among the non-musicians. Among the musicians, Cantonese language experience did not offer any perceptual advantage. The above findings reflect that musicianship influences the effect of language on musical pitch perception. Together with the previous findings, the new findings offer two theoretical implications for the OPERA hypothesis-bi-directionality and mechanisms through which language experience and musicianship interact in different domains.}, } @article {pmid34641734, year = {2021}, author = {Baciadonna, L and Solvi, C and La Cava, S and Pilenga, C and Gamba, M and Favaro, L}, title = {Cross-modal individual recognition in the African penguin and the effect of partnership.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {288}, number = {1960}, pages = {20211463}, pmid = {34641734}, issn = {1471-2954}, mesh = {Animals ; Cues ; Endangered Species ; Humans ; Recognition, Psychology ; *Spheniscidae ; Territoriality ; }, abstract = {An animal's ability to recognize another individual by matching their image to their voice suggests they form internal representations of other individuals. To what extent this ability, termed cross-modal individual recognition, extends to birds other than corvids is unknown. Here, we used an expectancy violation paradigm to determine whether a monogamous territorial seabird (Spheniscus demersus) can cross-modally recognize familiar conspecifics (partners or colony-mates). After pairs of penguins spent time together in an isolated area, one of the penguins was released from the area leaving the focal penguin alone. Subsequently, we played contact calls of the released penguin (congruent condition) or a different penguin (incongruent condition). After being paired with a colony-mate, focal penguins' response latency to the auditory stimulus was faster in the incongruent compared to congruent condition, indicating the mismatch violated their expectations. This behavioural pattern was not observed in focal penguins after being paired with their partner. We discuss these different results in the light of penguins' natural behaviour and the evolution of social communication strategies. Our results suggest that cross-modal individual recognition extends to penguins and reveals, in contrast with previously thought, that social communication between members of this endangered species can also use visual cues.}, } @article {pmid34613989, year = {2021}, author = {Raymond, S and Schwartz, ALW and Thomas, RJ and Chadwick, E and Perkins, SE}, title = {Temporal patterns of wildlife roadkill in the UK.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {16}, number = {10}, pages = {e0258083}, pmid = {34613989}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Accidents, Traffic/*prevention & control ; Animals ; Animals, Wild/*physiology ; Deer ; *Ecosystem ; Female ; Foxes/physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Rabbits ; Reproduction/*physiology ; Seasons ; United Kingdom/epidemiology ; }, abstract = {Wildlife-vehicle collisions are one of the main causes of mortality for wild mammals and birds in the UK. Here, using a dataset of 54,000+ records collated by a citizen science roadkill recording scheme between 2014-2019, we analyse and present temporal patterns of wildlife roadkill of the 19 most commonly reported taxa in the UK (84% of all reported roadkill). Most taxa (13 out of 19) showed significant and consistent seasonal variations in road mortality and fitted one of two seasonal patterns; bimodal or unimodal: only three species (red fox Vulpes vulpes, European polecat Mustela putorius and Reeves' muntjac deer Muntiacus reevesi) showed no significant seasonality. Species that increase movement in spring and autumn potentially have bimodal patterns in roadkill due to the increase in mate-searching and juvenile dispersal during these respective time periods (e.g. European badger Meles meles). Unimodal patterns likely represent increased mortality due to a single short pulse in activity associated with breeding (e.g. birds) or foraging (e.g. grey squirrels Sciurus carolinensis in autumn). Importantly, these patterns also indicate periods of increased risk for drivers, potentially posing a greater threat to human welfare. In addition to behaviour-driven annual patterns, abiotic factors (temperature and rainfall) explained some variance in roadkill. Notably, high rainfall was associated with decreased observations of two bird taxa (gulls and Eurasian magpies Pica pica) and European rabbit Oryctolagus cuniculus. By quantifying seasonal patterns in roadkill, we highlight a significant anthropogenic impact on wild species, which is important in relation to conservation, animal welfare, and human safety.}, } @article {pmid34379642, year = {2021}, author = {Wang, H and Parris, JJ}, title = {Popular media as a double-edged sword: An entertainment narrative analysis of the controversial Netflix series 13 Reasons Why.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {16}, number = {8}, pages = {e0255610}, pmid = {34379642}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Bullying ; *Communication ; Drama ; Humans ; Motion Pictures/*statistics & numerical data ; Social Media/*statistics & numerical data ; Suicide/*prevention & control/*psychology ; Television/*standards/trends ; }, abstract = {13 Reasons Why is a Netflix original series adapted from Jay Asher's 2007 young adult novel with the same title. Season 1 premiered on March 31, 2017 and featured the sensitive issue of teen suicide along with bullying, substance use, depression, and sexual assault. Unlike the typical teen dramas on popular streaming platforms, this show was created not only for entertainment, but also to stimulate conversations about taboo topics that people often shy away from. However, it also caused significant controversy, especially criticism around the main character Hannah's suicide scene. More than three years into the initial controversy and at least two dozen scholarly publications later, this study is the first to examine the entertainment narrative content of 13 Reasons Why Season 1 to better understand how these health and social issues were portrayed in the show, what specific examples we could identify as potential behavioral modeling, and to what degree it complied with the 2017 WHO guidelines for media professionals. We used the framing theory and social cognitive theory in communication research and media studies as our guiding conceptual frameworks and a narrative analysis approach to investigate a total of 660 cut scenes in all 13 episodes. Our findings provided empirical evidence, along with contextual information and detailed examples, to demonstrate that a popular entertainment program like the Netflix series 13 Reasons Why serves as a double-edged sword. The production team's good will and due diligence are commendable. Yet, additional steps can be taken in the future to effectively promote professional resources and reduce viewers' risks, especially the most vulnerable groups.}, } @article {pmid34358575, year = {2021}, author = {Tobari, Y and Masuzawa, A and Harada, N and Suzuki, K and Meddle, SL}, title = {Noradrenergic alpha-2A receptor activation suppresses courtship vocalization in male Japanese quail.}, journal = {Behavioural brain research}, volume = {414}, number = {}, pages = {113513}, doi = {10.1016/j.bbr.2021.113513}, pmid = {34358575}, issn = {1872-7549}, support = {BB/P013759/1/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; BB/M027805/1/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Adrenergic alpha-2 Receptor Agonists/administration & dosage/*pharmacology ; Animals ; Clonidine/pharmacology ; Coturnix ; *Courtship ; Male ; Mesencephalon/drug effects/*metabolism ; Norepinephrine/*physiology ; Receptors, Adrenergic, alpha-2/*physiology ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/drug effects/*physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/drug effects/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Male Japanese quail produce high-frequency crow vocalizations to attract females during the breeding season. The nucleus of intercollicularis (ICo) is the midbrain vocal center in birds and electrical stimulation of the ICo produces calls that include crowing. Noradrenaline plays a significant role in sexual behavior but the contribution of noradrenaline in the control of courtship vocalizations in quail has not been well established. Using dose-dependent intracerebroventricular injection of clonidine, an α2-adrenergic receptor-specific agonist, crowing vocalization was immediately suppressed. At the same time as crow suppression by clonidine there was a reduction of immediate early gene, zenk mRNA, in the ICo; no zenk mRNA expression was detected in the dorsomedial division of the nucleus. Using histochemistry, we determined that the ICo receives noradrenergic innervation and expresses α2A-adrenergic receptor mRNA. Taken together, these data suggest that noradrenaline regulates courtship vocalization in quail, possibly via the α2A-adrenergic receptor expressed on ICo neurons.}, } @article {pmid34292115, year = {2022}, author = {Ellis, RJ and Rönnberg, J}, title = {Temporal fine structure: associations with cognition and speech-in-noise recognition in adults with normal hearing or hearing impairment.}, journal = {International journal of audiology}, volume = {61}, number = {9}, pages = {778-786}, doi = {10.1080/14992027.2021.1948119}, pmid = {34292115}, issn = {1708-8186}, mesh = {Adult ; Cognition ; Hearing ; *Hearing Loss ; Humans ; Speech ; *Speech Perception ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: To investigate associations between sensitivity to temporal fine structure (TFS) and performance in cognitive and speech-in-noise recognition tests.

DESIGN: A binaural test of TFS sensitivity (the TFS-LF) was used. Measures of cognition included the reading span, Raven's, and text-reception threshold tests. Measures of speech recognition included the Hearing in noise (HINT) and the Hagerman matrix sentence tests in three signal processing conditions.

STUDY SAMPLE: Analyses are based on the performance of 324/317 adults with and without hearing impairment.

RESULTS: Sensitivity to TFS was significantly correlated with both the reading span test and the recognition of speech-in-noise processed using noise reduction, the latter only when limited to participants with hearing impairment. Neither association was significant when the effects of age were partialled out.

CONCLUSIONS: The findings are consistent with previous research in finding no evidence of a link between sensitivity to TFS and working memory once the effects of age had been partialled out. The results provide some evidence of an influence of signal processing strategy on the association between TFS sensitivity and speech-in-noise recognition. However, further research is necessary to assess the generalisability of the findings before any claims can be made regarding any clinical implications of these findings.}, } @article {pmid34049884, year = {2021}, author = {Cunha, FCR and Griesser, M}, title = {Who do you trust? Wild birds use social knowledge to avoid being deceived.}, journal = {Science advances}, volume = {7}, number = {22}, pages = {}, pmid = {34049884}, issn = {2375-2548}, abstract = {Many species give deceptive warning calls, enabled by the high risk of ignoring them. In Siberian jays, a territorial, group-living bird, individuals give warning calls toward perched predators and mob them. However, intruding neighbors can emit these warning calls in the absence of predators to access food, but breeders often ignore these calls. Playback field experiments show that breeders flee sooner and return later after warning calls of former group members than those of neighbors or unknown individuals. Thus, breeders respond appropriately only to warning calls of previous cooperation partners. This mechanism facilitates the evolution and maintenance of communication vulnerable to deceptive signaling. This conclusion also applies to human language because of its cooperative nature and thus, its vulnerability to deception.}, } @article {pmid33917146, year = {2021}, author = {Shrader-Frechette, K and Biondo, AM}, title = {Health Misinformation about Toxic-Site Harm: The Case for Independent-Party Testing to Confirm Safety.}, journal = {International journal of environmental research and public health}, volume = {18}, number = {8}, pages = {}, pmid = {33917146}, issn = {1660-4601}, mesh = {*Air Pollutants/analysis ; *Air Pollution, Indoor/analysis ; Child ; Communication ; Environmental Monitoring ; *Environmental Restoration and Remediation ; Gases ; Humans ; Soil ; *Volatile Organic Compounds/analysis ; }, abstract = {Health misinformation can cause harm if regulators or private remediators falsely claim that a hazardous facility is safe. This misinformation especially threatens the health of children, minorities, and poor people, disproportionate numbers of whom live near toxic facilities. Yet, perhaps because of financial incentives, private remediators may use safety misinformation to justify reduced cleanup. Such incentives exist in nations like the United States, where most toxic-site testing/remediation is semi-privatized or voluntary, conducted by private parties, commercial redevelopers, who can increase profits by underestimating health harm, thus decreasing required testing/remediation. Our objective is to begin to determine whether or not interested parties misrepresent health harm (at hazardous facilities that they test/remediate/redevelop) when they use traditional and social media to claim that these sites are safe. Our hypothesis is that, contrary to the safety claims of the world's largest commercial developer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate/Trammell Crow (CBRE/TCC), the authors' screening assessment, especially its lab-certified, toxic-site, indoor-air tests, show violations of all three prominent government, cancer-safety benchmarks. If so, these facilities require additional testing/remediation, likely put site renters at risk, and may reveal problems with privatized hazardous cleanup. To our knowledge, we provide the first independent tests of privatized, toxic-site assessments before cancer reports occur. Our screening assessment of this hypothesis tests indoor air in rental units on a prominent former weapons-testing site (the US Naval Ordnance Testing Station, Pasadena, California (NOTSPA) that is subject to carcinogenic vapor intrusion by volatile organic compounds, VOCs), then compares test results to the redeveloper's site-safety claims, made to government officials and citizens through traditional and social media. Although NOTSPA toxic soil-gas concentrations are up to nearly a million times above allowed levels, and indoor air was never tested until now, both the regulator and the remediator (CBRE/TCC) have repeatedly claimed on social media that "the site is safe at this time." We used mainly Method TO-17 and two-week sampling with passive, sorbent tubes to assess indoor-air VOCs. Our results show that VOC levels at every location sampled-all in occupied site-rental units-violate all three government-mandated safety benchmarks: environmental screening levels (ESLs), No Significant Risk Levels (NSRLs), and inhalation risks based on the Inhalation Unit Risk (IUR); some violations are two orders of magnitude above multiple safety benchmarks. These results support our hypothesis and suggest a need for independent assessment of privatized cleanups and media-enhanced safety claims about them. If our results can be replicated at other sites, then preventing health misinformation and toxic-facility safety threats may require new strategies, one of which we outline.}, } @article {pmid33720901, year = {2021}, author = {Luca, A and Nicoletti, A and Donzuso, G and Terravecchia, C and Cicero, CE and D'Agate, C and Rascuná, C and Manna, R and Mostile, G and Zappia, M}, title = {Phonemic Verbal Fluency and Midbrain Atrophy in Progressive Supranuclear Palsy.}, journal = {Journal of Alzheimer's disease : JAD}, volume = {80}, number = {4}, pages = {1669-1674}, doi = {10.3233/JAD-210023}, pmid = {33720901}, issn = {1875-8908}, mesh = {Aged ; Atrophy/pathology ; Executive Function ; Female ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Mesencephalon/diagnostic imaging/*pathology ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Parkinson Disease/*pathology/physiopathology ; *Phonetics ; Supranuclear Palsy, Progressive/*pathology/physiopathology ; Verbal Behavior/*physiology ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: The neuropsychological profile of progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) patients is mainly characterized by executive dysfunction, but the relationship between the latter and midbrain atrophy is still unclear.

OBJECTIVE: The aims of the study were to investigate which test evaluating executive functioning is more frequently impaired in PSP patients and to evaluate the relationship between midbrain-based MRI morphometric measures and executive dysfunction.

METHODS: PSP patients who had undergone a neuropsychological battery assessing executive functioning with the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), the phonemic verbal fluency F-A-S, the Raven's Progressive Colored Matrix, and the Stroop word colors test (time and errors) were enrolled in the study. A group of Parkinson's disease (PD) patients matched by age, sex, education, and global cognitive status was selected. All the enrolled patients also underwent a volumetric T1-3D brain MRI.

RESULTS: Thirty-five PSP patients and 35 PD patients were enrolled. Patients with PSP as compared to patients with PD showed a significant greater impairment in verbal fluency (16.0±7.9 and 23.4±8.7 words/180 s; p < 0.001) and a significant lower score at the FAB total score (11.5±3.8 and 13.7±3.4; p = 0.013). Midbrain area was significantly smaller in PSP patients than in PD patients (83.9±20.1 and 134.5±19.9 mm2; p < 0.001). In PSP patients, a significant positive correlation between verbal fluency and the midbrain area (r = 0.421; p = 0.028) was observed.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that the phonemic verbal fluency is among the most frequently impaired executive functions in PSP patients and is strongly correlated to midbrain atrophy.}, } @article {pmid33626062, year = {2021}, author = {Brooks, J and Onishi, E and Clark, IR and Bohn, M and Yamamoto, S}, title = {Uniting against a common enemy: Perceived outgroup threat elicits ingroup cohesion in chimpanzees.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {16}, number = {2}, pages = {e0246869}, pmid = {33626062}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Aggression/*physiology ; Animals ; *Cooperative Behavior ; Female ; Male ; Pan troglodytes/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Outgroup threat has been identified as an important driver of ingroup cohesion in humans, but the evolutionary origin of such a relationship is unclear. Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) in the wild are notably aggressive towards outgroup members but coordinate complex behaviors with many individuals in group hunting and border patrols. One hypothesis claims that these behaviors evolve alongside one another, where outgroup threat selects for ingroup cohesion and group coordination. To test this hypothesis, 5 groups of chimpanzees (N = 29 individuals) were observed after hearing either pant-hoots of unfamiliar wild chimpanzees or control crow vocalizations both in their typical daily environment and in a context of induced feeding competition. We observed a behavioral pattern that was consistent both with increased stress and vigilance (self-directed behaviors increased, play decreased, rest decreased) and increased ingroup cohesion (interindividual proximity decreased, aggression over food decreased, and play during feeding competition increased). These results support the hypothesis that outgroup threat elicits ingroup tolerance in chimpanzees. This suggests that in chimpanzees, like humans, competition between groups fosters group cohesion.}, } @article {pmid33532814, year = {2021}, author = {Kandhari, R and Imran, A and Sethi, N and Rahman, E and Mosahebi, A}, title = {Onabotulinumtoxin Type A Dosage for Upper Face Expression Lines in Males: A Systematic Review of Current Recommendations.}, journal = {Aesthetic surgery journal}, volume = {41}, number = {12}, pages = {1439-1453}, doi = {10.1093/asj/sjab015}, pmid = {33532814}, issn = {1527-330X}, mesh = {*Botulinum Toxins, Type A ; Facial Expression ; Female ; Forehead ; Humans ; Male ; *Neuromuscular Agents ; *Skin Aging ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Botulinum toxin injection is the most commonly performed minimally invasive aesthetic procedure in men. Despite various recommendations by experts on the use of onabotulinumtoxin type A in the literature, distinct guidelines for its use in males and females do not exist.

OBJECTIVES: The aim of this study was to delineate safe and effective doses for the use of onabotulinumtoxin type A in males for correction of upper facial expression lines.

METHODS: PubMed (MEDLINE), Embase, the Cochrane database, and Google Scholar were searched from 2002 to 2019 inclusive. Three researchers independently assessed trials for inclusion, extracted data, checked for accuracy, and assessed the evidence with AGREE II.

RESULTS: Average dosing recommended for the treatment of upper face expression lines was specific to glabellar frown lines, crow's feet, and horizontal forehead lines. Changing trends and gender variation was noted in each of the studies. Six of the 11 recommendations suggest the need to alter dosing in male patients, although do not give separate recommendations.

CONCLUSIONS: There is an urgent need for up-to-date recommendations for the use of onabotulinumtoxin type A in upper face expression lines of male patients.}, } @article {pmid33530934, year = {2021}, author = {Zappa, G and LoMauro, A and Baranello, G and Cavallo, E and Corti, P and Mastella, C and Costantino, MA}, title = {Intellectual abilities, language comprehension, speech, and motor function in children with spinal muscular atrophy type 1.}, journal = {Journal of neurodevelopmental disorders}, volume = {13}, number = {1}, pages = {9}, pmid = {33530934}, issn = {1866-1955}, mesh = {Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cognition ; *Comprehension ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Muscular Atrophy, Spinal ; Retrospective Studies ; Speech ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Spinal muscular atrophy (SMA) is a chronic, neuromuscular disease characterized by degeneration of spinal cord motor neurons, resulting in progressive muscular atrophy and weakness. SMA1 is the most severe form characterized by significant bulbar, respiratory, and motor dysfunction. SMA1 prevents children from speaking a clearly understandable and fluent language, with their communication being mainly characterized by eye movements, guttural sounds, and anarthria (type 1a); severe dysarthria (type 1b); and nasal voice and dyslalia (type 1c). The aim of this study was to analyze for the first time cognitive functions, language comprehension, and speech in natural history SMA1 children according to age and subtypes, to develop cognitive and language benchmarks that provide outcomes for the clinical medication trials that are changing SMA1 course/trajectory.

METHODS: This is a retrospective study including 22 children with SMA1 (10 affected by subtype 1a-1b: AB and 12 by 1c: C) aged 3-11 years in clinical stable condition with a coded way to communicate "yes" and "no". Data from the following assessments have been retrieved from patient charts: one-dimensional Raven test (RCPM), to evaluate cognitive development (IQ); ALS Severity Score (ALSSS) to evaluate speech disturbances; Brown Bellugy modified for Italian standards (TCGB) to evaluate language comprehension; and Children's Hospital of Philadelphia Infant Test of Neuromuscular Disorders (CHOP-INTEND) to assess motor functioning.

RESULTS: SMA 1AB and 1C children were similar in age, with the former characterized by lower CHOP-INTEND scores compared to the latter. All 22 children had collaborated to RCPM and their median IQ was 120 with no difference (p = 0.945) between AB and C. Global median score of the speech domain of the ALSSS was 5; however, it was 2 in AB children, being significantly lower than C (6.5, p < 0.001). TCGB test had been completed by 13 children, with morphosyntactic comprehension being in the normal range (50). Although ALSSS did not correlate with both IQ and TCGB, it had a strong (p < 0.001) correlation with CHOP-INTEND described by an exponential rise to maximum.

CONCLUSIONS: Although speech and motor function were severely compromised, children with SMA1 showed general intelligence and language comprehension in the normal range. Speech impairment was strictly related to global motor impairment.}, } @article {pmid33523683, year = {2021}, author = {Roelofs, A}, title = {How attention controls naming: Lessons from Wundt 2.0.}, journal = {Journal of experimental psychology. General}, volume = {150}, number = {10}, pages = {1927-1955}, doi = {10.1037/xge0001030}, pmid = {33523683}, issn = {1939-2222}, mesh = {*Attention ; Humans ; }, abstract = {When models of the attentional control of vocal naming, applied to color-word Stroop and picture-word interference, were first computationally implemented and examined in 1990, an implementable model proposed by Wundt (1880, 1902) was not considered. Although these modern computer models, and more recent ones, clarify many aspects of the interference, most models fail to explain its time course, as outlined in Roelofs (2003). Wundt's (1902) model assigns a key role to top-down inhibition, which is absent in most of the modern models. Here, an implementation of his model is presented, called Wundt 2.0. The necessity of perceptual inhibition was demonstrated by computer simulations of the interference and its time course, and supported by existing evidence from oscillatory brain activity in the alpha frequency band. Moreover, a new empirical study showed that Raven scores measuring the general intelligence factor g, discovered by Wundt's student Spearman (1904), predict the magnitude of the Stroop effect in fast errors, in line with the model and evidence on alpha band activity. Also, the study provided evidence that response inhibition is absent during vocal naming in the Stroop task. To conclude, Wundt's model has stood the test of time and provides a number of enduring lessons for our understanding of attention and performance. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).}, } @article {pmid33474740, year = {2021}, author = {Kersten, Y and Friedrich-Müller, B and Nieder, A}, title = {A histological study of the song system of the carrion crow (Corvus corone).}, journal = {The Journal of comparative neurology}, volume = {529}, number = {10}, pages = {2576-2595}, doi = {10.1002/cne.25112}, pmid = {33474740}, issn = {1096-9861}, mesh = {Animals ; Brain/*anatomy & histology/physiology ; Crows/*anatomy & histology/physiology ; Female ; Male ; Neural Pathways/*anatomy & histology/physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/physiology ; }, abstract = {The song system of songbirds (oscines) is one of the best studied neuroethological model systems. So far, it has been treated as a relatively constrained sensorimotor system. Songbirds such as crows, however, are also known for their capability to cognitively control their audio-vocal system. Yet, the neuroanatomy of the corvid song system has never been explored systematically. We aim to close this scientific gap by presenting a stereotactic investigation of the extended song system of the carrion crow (Corvus corone), an oscine songbird of the corvid family that has become an interesting model system for cognitive neuroscience. In order to identify and delineate the song nuclei, the ascending auditory nuclei, and the descending vocal-motor nuclei, four stains were applied. In addition to the classical Nissl-, myelin-, and a combination of Nissl-and-myelin staining, staining for tyrosine hydroxylase was used to reveal the distribution of catecholaminergic neurons (dopaminergic, noradrenergic, and adrenergic) in the song system. We show that the crow brain contains the important song-related nuclei, including auditory input and motor output structures, and map them throughout the brain. Fiber-stained sections reveal putative connection patterns between the crow's song nuclei comparable to other songbirds.}, } @article {pmid33436969, year = {2021}, author = {Amodio, P and Brea, J and Farrar, BG and Ostojić, L and Clayton, NS}, title = {Testing two competing hypotheses for Eurasian jays' caching for the future.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {11}, number = {1}, pages = {835}, pmid = {33436969}, issn = {2045-2322}, support = {BB/M011194/1/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, abstract = {Previous research reported that corvids preferentially cache food in a location where no food will be available or cache more of a specific food in a location where this food will not be available. Here, we consider possible explanations for these prospective caching behaviours and directly compare two competing hypotheses. The Compensatory Caching Hypothesis suggests that birds learn to cache more of a particular food in places where that food was less frequently available in the past. In contrast, the Future Planning Hypothesis suggests that birds recall the 'what-when-where' features of specific past events to predict the future availability of food. We designed a protocol in which the two hypotheses predict different caching patterns across different caching locations such that the two explanations can be disambiguated. We formalised the hypotheses in a Bayesian model comparison and tested this protocol in two experiments with one of the previously tested species, namely Eurasian jays. Consistently across the two experiments, the observed caching pattern did not support either hypothesis; rather it was best explained by a uniform distribution of caches over the different caching locations. Future research is needed to gain more insight into the cognitive mechanism underpinning corvids' caching for the future.}, } @article {pmid33420703, year = {2021}, author = {Gallego-Abenza, M and Blum, CR and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Who is crying wolf? Seasonal effect on antipredator response to age-specific alarm calls in common ravens, Corvus corax.}, journal = {Learning & behavior}, volume = {49}, number = {1}, pages = {159-167}, pmid = {33420703}, issn = {1543-4508}, support = {P 29705/FWF_/Austrian Science Fund FWF/Austria ; }, mesh = {Age Factors ; Animals ; *Crows ; *Predatory Behavior ; Seasons ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Communication about threats including those posed by the presence of predators occurs mainly through acoustic signals called alarm calls. The comprehension of these calls by receivers and their rapid antipredator response are crucial in terms of survival. However, to avoid overreaction, individuals should evaluate whether or not an antipredator response is needed by paying attention to who is calling. For instance, we could expect adults to be more experienced with predator encounters than juveniles and thus elicit stronger antipredator responses in others when alarming. Similarly, we could expect a stronger response to alarm calls when more than one individual is calling. To test these assumptions, we applied a playback experiment to wild ravens, in which we manipulated the age class (adult or juvenile) and the number (one or two) of the callers. Our results revealed a seasonal effect of age class but no effect of number of callers. Specifically, the ravens responded with stronger antipredator behaviour (vigilance posture) towards alarm calls from adults as compared to juveniles in summer and autumn, but not in spring. We discuss alternative interpretations for this unexpected seasonal pattern and argue for more studies on call-based communication in birds to understand what type of information is relevant under which conditions.}, } @article {pmid33391363, year = {2020}, author = {Gao, LF and Zhang, W and Zhang, HY and Zhu, ZQ and Zhang, XD and Du, B}, title = {Parental dependence on the nest's spatial cues in offspring recognition decreases with nestling growth in the azure-winged magpie.}, journal = {Current zoology}, volume = {66}, number = {6}, pages = {643-648}, pmid = {33391363}, issn = {1674-5507}, abstract = {In altricial birds, to address which cues are used by parents to recognize their offspring, and when they switch between cues during reproduction, it has not been well determined. In this study, we address this question in a Tibetan population of the azure-winged magpie Cyanopica cyanus, by examining the dependence of parents on a nest's spatial position in offspring recognition. During the egg and nestling phases, azure-winged magpie nests were translocated to new positions across various distances from their original site, and parental responses to the translocated nests were investigated. Our findings show that a nest's spatial position is not connected with the survival of its young, but might be used as a cue in parental offspring recognition. When nests are translocated to a new position within a certain distance, parents could recognize their nests and returned to resume their parenting behaviors. Parental dependence on the nest's spatial position in offspring recognition is higher during the egg phase than during the nestling phase, and it decreases with the growth of nestlings. After nestlings reach a certain age, the nest' s spatial position was no longer used by parents as the single cue for offspring recognition. These findings suggest that azure-winged magpies switch their cues in offspring recognition during the different stages of reproduction. After parent-offspring communication has been established, the offspring's phenotypic traits may become a more reliable cue than the nest's spatial position in offspring recognition.}, } @article {pmid33303790, year = {2020}, author = {Pika, S and Sima, MJ and Blum, CR and Herrmann, E and Mundry, R}, title = {Ravens parallel great apes in physical and social cognitive skills.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {10}, number = {1}, pages = {20617}, pmid = {33303790}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {Animals ; *Cognition ; Crows/*physiology ; Female ; *Intelligence ; Male ; Pan troglodytes/*physiology ; Pongo/*physiology ; *Psychomotor Performance ; *Social Skills ; }, abstract = {Human children show unique cognitive skills for dealing with the social world but their cognitive performance is paralleled by great apes in many tasks dealing with the physical world. Recent studies suggested that members of a songbird family-corvids-also evolved complex cognitive skills but a detailed understanding of the full scope of their cognition was, until now, not existent. Furthermore, relatively little is known about their cognitive development. Here, we conducted the first systematic, quantitative large-scale assessment of physical and social cognitive performance of common ravens with a special focus on development. To do so, we fine-tuned one of the most comprehensive experimental test-batteries, the Primate Cognition Test Battery (PCTB), to raven features enabling also a direct, quantitative comparison with the cognitive performance of two great ape species. Full-blown cognitive skills were already present at the age of four months with subadult ravens' cognitive performance appearing very similar to that of adult apes in tasks of physical (quantities, and causality) and social cognition (social learning, communication, and theory of mind). These unprecedented findings strengthen recent assessments of ravens' general intelligence, and aid to the growing evidence that the lack of a specific cortical architecture does not hinder advanced cognitive skills. Difficulties in certain cognitive scales further emphasize the quest to develop comparative test batteries that tap into true species rather than human specific cognitive skills, and suggest that socialization of test individuals may play a crucial role. We conclude to pay more attention to the impact of personality on cognitive output, and a currently neglected topic in Animal Cognition-the linkage between ontogeny and cognitive performance.}, } @article {pmid33225245, year = {2020}, author = {Wagener, L and Nieder, A}, title = {Categorical Auditory Working Memory in Crows.}, journal = {iScience}, volume = {23}, number = {11}, pages = {101737}, pmid = {33225245}, issn = {2589-0042}, abstract = {The ability to group sensory data into behaviorally meaningful classes and to maintain these perceptual categories active in working memory is key to intelligent behavior. Here, we show that carrion crows, highly vocal and cognitively advanced corvid songbirds, possess categorical auditory working memory. The crows were trained in a delayed match-to-category task that required them to flexibly match remembered sounds based on the upward or downward shift of the sounds' frequency modulation. After training, the crows instantaneously classified novel sounds into the correct auditory categories. The crows showed sharp category boundaries as a function of the relative frequency interval of the modulation. In addition, the crows generalized frequency-modulated sounds within a category and correctly classified novel sounds kept in working memory irrespective of other acoustic features of the sound. This suggests that crows can form and actively memorize auditory perceptual categories in the service of cognitive control of their goal-directed behaviors.}, } @article {pmid33102596, year = {2020}, author = {Prabhakar, SK and Rajaguru, H and Kim, SH}, title = {An Amalgamated Approach to Bilevel Feature Selection Techniques Utilizing Soft Computing Methods for Classifying Colon Cancer.}, journal = {BioMed research international}, volume = {2020}, number = {}, pages = {8427574}, pmid = {33102596}, issn = {2314-6141}, mesh = {Algorithms ; Colonic Neoplasms/*genetics/*pathology ; Discriminant Analysis ; Gene Expression/genetics ; Gene Expression Profiling/methods ; Humans ; Oligonucleotide Array Sequence Analysis/methods ; }, abstract = {One of the deadliest diseases which affects the large intestine is colon cancer. Older adults are typically affected by colon cancer though it can happen at any age. It generally starts as small benign growth of cells that forms on the inside of the colon, and later, it develops into cancer. Due to the propagation of somatic alterations that affects the gene expression, colon cancer is caused. A standardized format for assessing the expression levels of thousands of genes is provided by the DNA microarray technology. The tumors of various anatomical regions can be distinguished by the patterns of gene expression in microarray technology. As the microarray data is too huge to process due to the curse of dimensionality problem, an amalgamated approach of utilizing bilevel feature selection techniques is proposed in this paper. In the first level, the genes or the features are dimensionally reduced with the help of Multivariate Minimum Redundancy-Maximum Relevance (MRMR) technique. Then, in the second level, six optimization techniques are utilized in this work for selecting the best genes or features before proceeding to classification process. The optimization techniques considered in this work are Invasive Weed Optimization (IWO), Teaching Learning-Based Optimization (TLBO), League Championship Optimization (LCO), Beetle Antennae Search Optimization (BASO), Crow Search Optimization (CSO), and Fruit Fly Optimization (FFO). Finally, it is classified with five suitable classifiers, and the best results show when IWO is utilized with MRMR, and then classified with Quadratic Discriminant Analysis (QDA), a classification accuracy of 99.16% is obtained.}, } @article {pmid33017667, year = {2020}, author = {Themelin, M and Ribic, CA and Melillo-Sweeting, K and Dudzinski, KM}, title = {A new approach to the study of relationship quality in dolphins: Framework and preliminary results.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {181}, number = {}, pages = {104260}, doi = {10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104260}, pmid = {33017667}, issn = {1872-8308}, mesh = {Animals ; *Bottle-Nosed Dolphin ; Ecosystem ; Social Behavior ; Swimming ; }, abstract = {Proximity and synchronous behaviours from surface observations have been used to measure association patterns within and between dolphin dyads. To facilitate an investigation of relationship quality in dolphins, we applied a method used for primates and ravens that examined three main components to describe relationships: value, security, and compatibility. Using pilot data from long-term research of two study populations for this preliminary assessment, these three components were extracted from PCA of eight behavioural variables with more than 80 % variance accounted for in both study groups. Only pair swim position differed between groups. Although value, security, and compatibility are abstract terms, each is based on behaviours identified as important in dolphin social life, at least for these two populations. Examining relationship quality in dolphins with a method used to illustrate dyadic differences for primates and ravens allows for a quantitative, comparative assessment of sociality across disparate taxa. Although these species are diverse in their anatomies and in their social habitats (e.g., aquatic, terrestrial, aerial), they may well share the basic societal building blocks in the factors affecting how relationships are formed. We discuss how an examination of these behavioural variables facilitates understanding relationship quality in dolphins, as well as how dolphin relationships fit into the context of social animals' society.}, } @article {pmid33005135, year = {2020}, author = {Shpurov, IY and Vlasova, RM and Rumshiskaya, AD and Rozovskaya, RI and Mershina, EA and Sinitsyn, VE and Pechenkova, EV}, title = {Neural Correlates of Group Versus Individual Problem Solving Revealed by fMRI.}, journal = {Frontiers in human neuroscience}, volume = {14}, number = {}, pages = {290}, pmid = {33005135}, issn = {1662-5161}, abstract = {Group problem solving is a prototypical complex collective intellectual activity. Psychological research provides compelling evidence that problem solving in groups is both qualitatively and quantitatively different from doing so alone. However, the question of whether individual and collective problem solving involve the same neural substrate has not yet been addressed, mainly due to methodological limitations. In the current study, functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed to compare brain activation when participants solved Raven-like matrix problems in a small group and individually. In the group condition, the participant in the scanner was able to discuss the problem with other team members using a special communication device. In the individual condition, the participant was required to think aloud while solving the problem in the silent presence of the other team members. Greater activation was found in several brain regions during group problem solving, including the medial prefrontal cortex; lateral parietal, cingulate, precuneus and retrosplenial cortices; frontal and temporal poles. These areas have been identified as potential components of the so-called "social brain" on the basis of research using offline judgments of material related to socializing. Therefore, this study demonstrated the actual involvement of these regions in real-time social interactions, such as group problem solving. However, further connectivity analysis revealed that the social brain components are co-activated, but do not increase their coupling during cooperation as would be suggested for a holistic network. We suggest that the social mode of the brain may be described instead as a re-configuration of connectivity between basic networks, and we found decreased connectivity between the language and salience networks in the group compared to the individual condition. A control experiment showed that the findings from the main experiment cannot be entirely accounted for by discourse comprehension. Thus, the study demonstrates affordances provided by the presented new technique for neuroimaging the "group mind," implementing the single-brain version of the second-person neuroscience approach.}, } @article {pmid33003545, year = {2020}, author = {Lin, Y and Zhang, X and Huang, Q and Lv, L and Huang, A and Li, A and Wu, K and Huang, Y}, title = {The Prevalence of Dyslexia in Primary School Children and Their Chinese Literacy Assessment in Shantou, China.}, journal = {International journal of environmental research and public health}, volume = {17}, number = {19}, pages = {}, pmid = {33003545}, issn = {1660-4601}, mesh = {Asians/*statistics & numerical data ; Child ; China ; Dyslexia/*epidemiology ; Female ; Humans ; Language Tests ; *Literacy ; Male ; Prevalence ; *Reading ; Schools ; }, abstract = {The epidemiological studies of Chinese developmental dyslexia (DD) in China are still limited. In addition, literacy assessment has seldom been performed for children with dyslexia, due to lack of uniform assessment tools. This study was aimed at investigating the prevalence rate of children with dyslexia, and to evaluate their Chinese reading ability. A total of 2955 students aged 7-12 years were enrolled by randomized cluster sampling. The study was divided into three stages. In stage I, all participating students were asked to finish the Combined Raven Test (CRT) and Chinese Vocabulary Test and Assessment Scale. In stage II, the Chinese teachers and parents of the children with suspected dyslexia were interviewed by psychiatrists, and finished the Dyslexia Checklist for Chinese Children (DCCC). In stage III, these children were evaluated by child psychiatrists for the diagnosis with or without dyslexia, according to the fifth edition of Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-5), and their Chinese literacy was further evaluated by using the Chinese Reading Ability Test (CRAT). The prevalence rate of children with dyslexia was 5.4% in Shantou city, 8.4% in boys and 2.3% in girls, with a gender ratio of 3.7:1.0. Children with dyslexia scored lower in all the five subscales of the CRAT tests. including phonological awareness, morphological awareness, rapid automatized naming, orthographic awareness, and reading ability than the control group (all p < 0.001). This study suggested that the prevalence rate of Chinese dyslexia in Shantou city is roughly equivalent to that previously reported in China. Children with dyslexia have a relatively lower Chinese reading ability in all assessments.}, } @article {pmid32999416, year = {2020}, author = {Massen, JJM and Haley, SM and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Azure-winged magpies' decisions to share food are contingent on the presence or absence of food for the recipient.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {10}, number = {1}, pages = {16147}, pmid = {32999416}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {Altruism ; Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; Cues ; Feeding Behavior/*psychology ; Female ; Food ; *Gift Giving ; Male ; Motivation ; Passeriformes ; Social Behavior ; }, abstract = {Helping others is a key feature of human behavior. However, recent studies render this feature not uniquely human, and describe discoveries of prosocial behavior in non-human primates, other social mammals, and most recently in some bird species. Nevertheless, the cognitive underpinnings of this prosociality; i.e., whether animals take others' need for help into account, often remain obscured. In this study, we take a first step in investigating prosociality in azure-winged magpies by presenting them with the opportunity to share highly desired food with their conspecifics i) in a situation in which these conspecifics had no such food, ii) in a situation in which they too had access to that highly desired food, and iii) in an open, base-line, situation where all had equal access to the same food and could move around freely. We find that azure-winged magpies regularly share high-value food items, preferably with, but not restricted to, members of the opposite sex. Most notably, we find that these birds, and specifically the females, seem to differentiate between whether others have food or do not have food, and subsequently cater to that lack. Begging calls by those without food seem to function as cues that elicit the food-sharing, but the response to that begging is condition-dependent. Moreover, analyses on a restricted dataset that excluded those events in which there was begging showed exactly the same patterns, raising the possibility that the azure-winged magpies might truly notice when others have access to fewer resources (even in the absence of vocal cues). This sharing behavior could indicate a high level of social awareness and prosociality that should be further investigated. Further studies are needed to establish the order of intentionality at play in this system, and whether azure-winged magpies might be able to attribute desire states to their conspecifics.}, } @article {pmid32978628, year = {2021}, author = {Gonzalez, R and Rojas, M and Rosselli, M and Ardila, A}, title = {Acalculia in Aphasia.}, journal = {Archives of clinical neuropsychology : the official journal of the National Academy of Neuropsychologists}, volume = {36}, number = {4}, pages = {455-464}, doi = {10.1093/arclin/acaa072}, pmid = {32978628}, issn = {1873-5843}, mesh = {*Aphasia/diagnosis ; *Dyscalculia ; Educational Status ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Patients with aphasia can present a type of acalculia referred to as aphasic acalculia.

AIMS: To investigate the correlation and to test regression models for one- and two-digit calculation skills using verbal and nonverbal predictors.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES: We selected an aphasia sample of 119 men and 81 women with a mean age of 57.37 years (SD = 15.56) and an average level of education of 13.52 years (SD = 4.08). Spanish versions of the Western Aphasia Battery and Boston Diagnostic Aphasia Examination, plus a Written Calculation test, were individually administered. The calculation section of the Western Aphasia Battery and the Written Calculation tests were used to pinpoint calculation difficulties.

OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Calculation difficulties were more severe in Global and Mixed non-fluent aphasia; they were very similar in Broca, Conduction, and Amnesic Aphasia. All correlations between the two calculation subtests and the other subtests of the Western Aphasia Battery were statistically significant. Calculation subtests correlated negatively with age and positively with schooling. Sex and time post-onset did not show any correlation with the calculation scores. Education, Reading, Block Design, and Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices were significant predictors of Western Aphasia Battery Calculation. Writing was the only significant predictor of the Written Calculation scores.

CONCLUSIONS: Nonverbal abilities were predictors of calculation tests, whereas agraphia defects were predictors of the Written Calculation test. Therefore, calculation abilities can be regarded both as written language-dependent and verbal language-independent.}, } @article {pmid32882458, year = {2020}, author = {Connelly, F and Johnsson, RD and Aulsebrook, AE and Mulder, RA and Hall, ML and Vyssotski, AL and Lesku, JA}, title = {Urban noise restricts, fragments, and lightens sleep in Australian magpies.}, journal = {Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)}, volume = {267}, number = {}, pages = {115484}, doi = {10.1016/j.envpol.2020.115484}, pmid = {32882458}, issn = {1873-6424}, mesh = {Australia ; Noise/adverse effects ; *Sleep ; *Sleep, REM ; Wakefulness ; }, abstract = {Urban areas are inherently noisy, and this noise can disrupt biological processes as diverse as communication, migration, and reproduction. We investigated how exposure to urban noise affects sleep, a process critical to optimal biological functioning, in Australian magpies (Cracticus tibicen). Eight magpies experimentally exposed to noise in captivity for 24-h spent more time awake, and less time in non-rapid eye movement (non-REM) and REM sleep at night than under quiet conditions. Sleep was also fragmented, with more frequent interruptions by wakefulness, shorter sleep episode durations, and less intense non-REM sleep. REM sleep was particularly sensitive to urban noise. Following exposure to noise, magpies recovered lost sleep by engaging in more, and more intense, non-REM sleep. In contrast, REM sleep showed no rebound. This might indicate a long-term cost to REM sleep loss mediated by noise, or contest hypotheses regarding the functional value of this state. Overall, urban noise has extensive, disruptive impacts on sleep composition, architecture, and intensity in magpies. Future work should consider whether noise-induced sleep restriction and fragmentation have long-term consequences.}, } @article {pmid32829327, year = {2021}, author = {Jokel, A and Armstrong, E and Gabis, L and Segal, O}, title = {Associations and Dissociations among Phonological Processing Skills, Language Skills and Nonverbal Cognition in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder.}, journal = {Folia phoniatrica et logopaedica : official organ of the International Association of Logopedics and Phoniatrics (IALP)}, volume = {73}, number = {3}, pages = {222-232}, doi = {10.1159/000505744}, pmid = {32829327}, issn = {1421-9972}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; *Autism Spectrum Disorder/complications ; Child ; Cognition ; Humans ; Language Development ; *Language Disorders ; Linguistics ; Phonetics ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {AIMS: The purpose of this study was to examine the nature of phonological processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) as it pertains to their nonverbal cognitive and linguistic abilities.

METHODS: Twenty-one participants between the ages of 9 and 21 years were administered a nonverbal cognitive assessment (Raven test), a language measure that requires receptive and expressive knowledge of semantics, syntax and morphology, as well as the integration across these language domains (CELF-4), and a measure of phonological processing (CTOPP).

RESULTS: Results show that performance on nonword repetition (NWR) that reflects an aspect of phonological memory was significantly low, whereas performance on phoneme reversal, phoneme elision, blending words and memory for digits was within the normal range. Hierarchical regressions with age, nonverbal intelligence (Raven test) and receptive language (CELF) as predictors showed that for NWR and phoneme elision the receptive part of the CELF was the main significant -predictor, after controlling for age. For phoneme reversal and memory for digits, however, the Raven score was the significant predictor, suggesting that cognitive nonverbal ability is the main factor explaining variability in these tasks.

CONCLUSIONS: A deficit in phonological memory characterizes individuals in the autistic population. This deficit may influence language acquisition in this population consistent with other populations of children with language impairments. Other tasks of phonological awareness, however, might be preserved especially when they do not involve memory for long phonological sequences and when the cognitive abilities are within the norm.}, } @article {pmid32764453, year = {2020}, author = {Zhao, W and Li, H and Zhu, X and Ge, T}, title = {Effect of Birdsong Soundscape on Perceived Restorativeness in an Urban Park.}, journal = {International journal of environmental research and public health}, volume = {17}, number = {16}, pages = {}, pmid = {32764453}, issn = {1660-4601}, mesh = {Animals ; *Birds ; China ; Cities ; Female ; Humans ; Islands ; Male ; Mental Healing ; *Parks, Recreational ; Perception ; Sound ; *Stress, Psychological ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Natural soundscapes have beneficial effects on the perceived restorativeness of an environment. This study examines the effect of birdsong, a common natural soundscape, on perceived restorativeness in Harbin Sun Island Park in China. Eight sites were selected and a series of questionnaire surveys on perceived restorativeness soundscape scale (PRSS) of four birdsong types were conducted during summer and winter. Two-hundred and forty respondents participated in this survey. Analysis of the survey results shows that different types of birdsong have different perceived restorativeness effects in different seasons. Crow birdsong has the worst effect on the perceived restorativeness in both summer and winter. Moreover, sound comfort and preference are significantly associated with the perceived restorativeness. The perceived restorativeness soundscape is best when birdsong is at a height of 4 m rather than 0.5 m or 2 m. The demographic/social factors of age, education, and stress level are all correlated with perceived restorativeness. There are suggestions for urban park design, especially with constructed natural elements. Creating a suitable habitat for multiple species of birds will improve perceived restorativeness. Moreover, appropriate activities should be provided in city parks to ensure restorativeness environments, especially for subjects with high levels of education and stress.}, } @article {pmid32718174, year = {2022}, author = {Miller, EJ and Krumhuber, EG and Dawel, A}, title = {Observers perceive the Duchenne marker as signaling only intensity for sad expressions, not genuine emotion.}, journal = {Emotion (Washington, D.C.)}, volume = {22}, number = {5}, pages = {907-919}, doi = {10.1037/emo0000772}, pmid = {32718174}, issn = {1931-1516}, mesh = {*Emotions ; *Facial Expression ; Happiness ; Humans ; Sadness ; Smiling/psychology ; }, abstract = {The Duchenne marker-crow's feet wrinkles at the corner of the eyes-has a reputation for signaling genuine positive emotion in smiles. Here, we test whether this facial action might be better conceptualized as a marker of emotional intensity, rather than genuineness per se, and examine its perceptual outcomes beyond smiling, in sad expressions. For smiles, we found ratings of emotional intensity (how happy a face is) were unable to fully account for the effect of Duchenne status (present vs. absent) on ratings of emotion genuineness. The Duchenne marker made a unique direct contribution to the perceived genuineness of smiles, supporting its reputation for signaling genuine emotion in smiling. In contrast, across 4 experiments, we found Duchenne sad expressions were not rated as any more genuine or sincere than non-Duchenne ones. The Duchenne marker did however make sad expressions look sadder and more negative, just like it made smiles look happier and more positive. Together, these findings argue the Duchenne marker has an important role in sad as well as smiling expressions, but is interpreted differently in sad expressions (contributions to intensity only) compared with smiles (emotion genuineness independently of intensity). (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2022 APA, all rights reserved).}, } @article {pmid32428037, year = {2020}, author = {Dierick, F and Buisseret, F and Renson, M and Luta, AM}, title = {Digital natives and dual task: Handling it but not immune against cognitive-locomotor interferences.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {15}, number = {5}, pages = {e0232328}, pmid = {32428037}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain/physiology ; *Cell Phone Use ; *Cognition ; Female ; Gait/physiology ; Humans ; Locomotion/*physiology ; Male ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Digital natives developed in an electronic dual tasking world. This paper addresses two questions. Do digital natives respond differently under a cognitive load realized during a locomotor task in a dual-tasking paradigm and how does this address the concept of safety? We investigate the interplay between cognitive (talking and solving Raven's matrices) and locomotor (walking on a treadmill) tasks in a sample of 17 graduate level participants. The costs of dual-tasking on gait were assessed by studying changes in stride interval time and its variability at long-range. A safety index was designed and computed from total relative change between the variability indices in the single walking and dual-task conditions. As expected, results indicate high Raven's scores with gait changes found between the dual task conditions compared to the single walking task. Greater changes are observed in the talking condition compared to solving Raven's matrices, resulting in high safety index values observed in 5 participants. We conclude that, although digital natives are efficient in performing the dual tasks when they are not emotional-based, modification of gait are observable. Due to the variation within participants and the observation of high safety index values in several of them, individuals that responded poorly to low cognitive loads should be encouraged to not perform dual task when executing a primate task of safety to themselves or others.}, } @article {pmid32363388, year = {2020}, author = {Chan, CGH and Yow, WQ and Oei, A}, title = {Active Bilingualism in Aging: Balanced Bilingualism Usage and Less Frequent Language Switching Relate to Better Conflict Monitoring and Goal Maintenance Ability.}, journal = {The journals of gerontology. Series B, Psychological sciences and social sciences}, volume = {75}, number = {9}, pages = {e231-e241}, doi = {10.1093/geronb/gbaa058}, pmid = {32363388}, issn = {1758-5368}, mesh = {Aged ; Aging/*psychology ; *Cognition ; *Executive Function ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence ; Language ; Male ; Motivation ; *Multilingualism ; Reaction Time ; Speech Production Measurement/methods/psychology ; Task Performance and Analysis ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: Experience-related neuroplasticity suggests that bilinguals who actively manage their two languages would develop more efficient neural organization at brain regions related to language control, which also overlap with areas involved in executive control. Our aim was to examine how active bilingualism-manifested as the regular balanced use of two languages and language switching-may be related to the different domains of executive control in highly proficient healthy older adult bilinguals, controlling for age, processing speed, and fluid intelligence.

METHODS: Participants were 76 community-dwelling older adults who reported being physically and mentally healthy and showed no signs of cognitive impairment. They completed a self-report questionnaire on their language background, two computer measures for previously identified covariates (processing speed as measured by two-choice reaction time (RT) task and fluid intelligence as measured by the Raven's Progressive Matrices), as well as a battery of computerized executive control tasks (Color-shape Task Switching, Stroop, Flanker, and Spatial 2-back task).

RESULTS: Regression analyses showed that, even after controlling for age, processing speed, and fluid intelligence, more balanced bilingualism usage and less frequent language switching predicted higher goal maintenance (nonswitch trials RT in Color-shape Task Switching) and conflict monitoring abilities (global RT in Color-shape Task Switching and Flanker task).

DISCUSSION: Results suggest that active bilingualism may provide benefits to maintaining specific executive control abilities in older adult bilinguals against the natural age-related declines.}, } @article {pmid32219010, year = {2019}, author = {Wang, Y and Shen, Y and Liu, Z and Liang, PP and Zadeh, A and Morency, LP}, title = {Words Can Shift: Dynamically Adjusting Word Representations Using Nonverbal Behaviors.}, journal = {Proceedings of the ... AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence. AAAI Conference on Artificial Intelligence}, volume = {33}, number = {1}, pages = {7216-7223}, pmid = {32219010}, issn = {2159-5399}, support = {R01 MH096951/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; }, abstract = {Humans convey their intentions through the usage of both verbal and nonverbal behaviors during face-to-face communication. Speaker intentions often vary dynamically depending on different nonverbal contexts, such as vocal patterns and facial expressions. As a result, when modeling human language, it is essential to not only consider the literal meaning of the words but also the nonverbal contexts in which these words appear. To better model human language, we first model expressive nonverbal representations by analyzing the fine-grained visual and acoustic patterns that occur during word segments. In addition, we seek to capture the dynamic nature of nonverbal intents by shifting word representations based on the accompanying nonverbal behaviors. To this end, we propose the Recurrent Attended Variation Embedding Network (RAVEN) that models the fine-grained structure of nonverbal subword sequences and dynamically shifts word representations based on nonverbal cues. Our proposed model achieves competitive performance on two publicly available datasets for multimodal sentiment analysis and emotion recognition. We also visualize the shifted word representations in different nonverbal contexts and summarize common patterns regarding multimodal variations of word representations.}, } @article {pmid32206923, year = {2020}, author = {Lambert, ML and Osvath, M}, title = {Investigating information seeking in ravens (Corvus corax).}, journal = {Animal cognition}, volume = {23}, number = {4}, pages = {671-680}, pmid = {32206923}, issn = {1435-9456}, mesh = {Animals ; Cebus ; *Crows ; Information Seeking Behavior ; Macaca ; *Metacognition ; }, abstract = {Measuring the responses of non-human animals to situations of uncertainty is thought to shed light on an animal's metacognitive processes; namely, whether they monitor their own knowledge states. For example, when presented with a foraging task, great apes and macaques selectively seek information about the location of a food item when they have not seen where it was hidden, compared to when they have. We presented this same information seeking task to ravens, in which a food item was hidden in one of three containers, and subjects could either watch where the food was hidden, infer its location through visual or auditory clues, or were given no information. We found that unlike several ape species and macaques, but similar to capuchin monkeys, the ravens looked inside at least one tube on every trial, but typically only once, inside the baited tube, when they had either witnessed it being baited or could visually infer the reward's location. In contrast, subjects looked more often within trials in which they had not witnessed the baiting or were provided with auditory cues about the reward's location. Several potential explanations for these ceiling levels of looking are discussed, including how it may relate to the uncertainty faced by ravens when retrieving food caches.}, } @article {pmid32050797, year = {2020}, author = {Stockbridge, MD and Newman, RS and Zukowski, A and Slawson, KK and Doran, A and Ratner, NB}, title = {Language profiles in children with concussion.}, journal = {Brain injury}, volume = {34}, number = {4}, pages = {567-574}, doi = {10.1080/02699052.2020.1725836}, pmid = {32050797}, issn = {1362-301X}, mesh = {Attention ; *Brain Concussion/complications/diagnosis ; Child ; Humans ; *Language ; Memory, Short-Term ; }, abstract = {Primary Objective: Inform the production of a screening tool for language in children with concussion. The authors predicted that children with a recent concussion would perform the cognitive-linguistic tasks more poorly, but some tasks may be more sensitive to concussion than others.Methods & Procedures: 22 elementary school aged children within 30 days of a concussion and age-matched peers with no history of concussion were assessed on a battery of novel language and cognitive-linguistic tasks. They also completed an auditory attention task and the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices.Main Outcomes & Results: Children with a recent concussion scored significantly more poorly in novel tasks targeting category identification, grammaticality judgments, and recognizing target words presented in a short story than their age-matched peers with no such injury history. All observed effects had moderate sizes. Inclusion of these three tasks significantly improved prediction of concussion status over symptom score when controlling for the age of participants.Conclusions: The finding supports continued investigation of targeted linguistic tasks in children following concussion, particularly in the domains of semantic and syntactic access and verbal working memory. Future work developing brief language assessments specifically targeting children in this age range may provide a valuable addition to the existing tools for identifying the effects of concussion.}, } @article {pmid32035868, year = {2020}, author = {Swift, KN and Marzluff, JM and Templeton, CN and Shimizu, T and Cross, DJ}, title = {Brain activity underlying American crow processing of encounters with dead conspecifics.}, journal = {Behavioural brain research}, volume = {385}, number = {}, pages = {112546}, pmid = {32035868}, issn = {1872-7549}, support = {S10 OD017980/OD/NIH HHS/United States ; S10 RR024689/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; Amygdala/diagnostic imaging/physiology ; Animals ; Brain/*diagnostic imaging/physiology ; Corpus Striatum/diagnostic imaging/physiology ; Crows ; *Death ; Decision Making ; Fear/*physiology ; Fluorodeoxyglucose F18 ; Functional Neuroimaging ; Hippocampus/diagnostic imaging/physiology ; Learning/*physiology ; Photic Stimulation ; Positron-Emission Tomography ; Radiopharmaceuticals ; Septum of Brain/diagnostic imaging/physiology ; *Social Behavior ; Thanatology ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Animals utilize a variety of auditory and visual cues to navigate the landscape of fear. For some species, including corvids, dead conspecifics appear to act as one such visual cue of danger, and prompt alarm calling by attending conspecifics. Which brain regions mediate responses to dead conspecifics, and how this compares to other threats, has so far only been speculative. Using 18F-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) we contrast the metabolic response to visual and auditory cues associated with a dead conspecific among five a priori selected regions in the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) brain: the hippocampus, nidopallium caudolaterale, striatum, amygdala, and the septum. Using a repeated-measures, fully balanced approach, we exposed crows to four stimuli: a dead conspecific, a dead song sparrow (Melospiza melodia), conspecific alarm calls given in response to a dead crow, and conspecific food begging calls. We find that in response to observations of a dead crow, crows show significant activity in areas associated with higher-order decision-making (NCL), but not in areas associated with social behaviors or fear learning. We do not find strong differences in activation between hearing alarm calls and food begging calls; both activate the NCL. Lastly, repeated exposures to negative stimuli had a marginal effect on later increasing the subjects' brain activity in response to control stimuli, suggesting that crows might quickly learn from negative experiences.}, } @article {pmid31985169, year = {2020}, author = {Silleresi, S and Prévost, P and Zebib, R and Bonnet-Brilhault, F and Conte, D and Tuller, L}, title = {Identifying Language and Cognitive Profiles in Children With ASD via a Cluster Analysis Exploration: Implications for the New ICD-11.}, journal = {Autism research : official journal of the International Society for Autism Research}, volume = {13}, number = {7}, pages = {1155-1167}, doi = {10.1002/aur.2268}, pmid = {31985169}, issn = {1939-3806}, mesh = {*Autism Spectrum Disorder/complications ; Child ; Cluster Analysis ; Cognition ; Humans ; *International Classification of Diseases ; Language ; }, abstract = {The new version of the International Classification of Diseases (ICD-11) mentions the existence of four different profiles in the verbal part of the Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), describing them as combinations of either spared or impaired functional language and intellectual abilities. The aim of the present study was to put ASD heterogeneity to the forefront by exploring whether clear profiles related to language and intellectual abilities emerge when investigation is extended to the entire spectrum, focusing on verbal children. Our study proposed a systematic investigation of both language (specifically, structural language abilities) and intellectual abilities (specifically, nonverbal cognitive abilities) in 51 6- to 12-year-old verbal children with ASD based on explicitly motivated measures. For structural language abilities, sentence repetition and nonword repetition tasks were selected; for nonverbal cognitive abilities, we chose Raven's Progressive Matrices, as well as Matrix Reasoning and Block Design from the Wechsler Scales. An integrative approach based on cluster analyses revealed five distinct profiles. Among these five profiles, all four logically possible combinations of structural language and nonverbal abilities mentioned in the ICD-11 were detected. Three profiles emerged among children with normal language abilities and two emerged among language-impaired children. Crucially, the existence of discrepant profiles of abilities suggests that children with ASD can display impaired language in presence of spared nonverbal intelligence or spared language in the presence of impaired nonverbal intelligence, reinforcing the hypothesis of the existence of a separate language module in the brain. Autism Res 2020, 13: 1155-1167. © 2020 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: The present work put Autism Spectrum Disorder heterogeneity to the forefront by exploring whether clear profiles related to language and cognitive abilities emerge when investigation is extended to the entire spectrum (focusing on verbal children). The use of explicitly motivated measures of both language and cognitive abilities and of an unsupervised machine learning approach, the cluster analysis, (a) confirmed the existence of all four logically possible profiles evoked in the new ICD-11, (b) evoked the existence of (at least) a fifth profile of language/cognitive abilities, and (c) reinforced the hypothesis of a language module in the brain.}, } @article {pmid31953130, year = {2020}, author = {Dutour, M and Ridley, AR}, title = {Females sing more often and at higher frequencies than males in Australian magpies.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {172}, number = {}, pages = {104045}, doi = {10.1016/j.beproc.2020.104045}, pmid = {31953130}, issn = {1872-8308}, mesh = {Animals ; Birds/*physiology ; Female ; Male ; *Sex Characteristics ; Territoriality ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Birdsong is a particularly useful model for animal communication studies. However, current knowledge is derived mainly from the study of male song, and is therefore incomplete. Here, we investigated whether singing behaviour differs between sexes in the cooperatively breeding Western Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen dorsalis). This subspecies lives in territorial groups, and in our population there is a female-biased sex ratio, which may lead to a high level of female-female competition for males. Observations of 94 magpies (54 females, 40 males) revealed that females sang more often than males. As bird song is a sexually multidimensional signal, we also studied amplitude and structure of the main territorial high-amplitude song in magpie; the carol. We found that females sing at the same amplitude as males, but that male and female carols exhibit differences in frequency. These results highlight the importance of studying female song and may change our perception regarding the evolution of sex-specific traits, given the primary focus on male singing as a sexually selected trait in the literature to date. The next step is to discover additional species in which females sing more than males in order to improve our currently incomplete understanding of the evolution of bird song.}, } @article {pmid31893686, year = {2019}, author = {Abadi, SH and Wacker, DW and Newton, JG and Flett, D}, title = {Acoustic localization of crows in pre-roost aggregations.}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {146}, number = {6}, pages = {4664}, doi = {10.1121/1.5138133}, pmid = {31893686}, issn = {1520-8524}, abstract = {Crows are highly intelligent and social creatures. Each night during the non-breeding period, they gather on large pre-roost aggregations as they move towards their communal roost where they sleep. Crows make numerous and varied vocalizations on these pre-roost aggregations, but the purpose of these calls, and vocal communication in general, in these pre-roost aggregations is not fully understood. In this paper, an array of four microphones is used as a non-intrusive means to observe crow vocal behavior in pre-roost aggregations in the absence of human observers. By passively localizing animal vocalizations, the location of individuals can be monitored while simultaneously recording the acoustic structure and organization of their calls. Simulations and experiment are undertaken to study the performance of two time difference of arrival-based methods (hyperbolic location estimator and maximum likelihood estimator) for call localization. The effect of signal-to-noise ratio and uncertainty in measurement on the localization error is presented. By describing, modeling, and testing these techniques in this innovative context, the authors hope that researchers will employ the authors' approaches in future empirical studies to more fully understand crow vocal behavior.}, } @article {pmid31847421, year = {2019}, author = {Michałowska, J and Tofil, A and Józwik, J and Pytka, J and Legutko, S and Siemiątkowski, Z and Łukaszewicz, A}, title = {Monitoring the Risk of the Electric Component Imposed on a Pilot During Light Aircraft Operations in a High-Frequency Electromagnetic Field.}, journal = {Sensors (Basel, Switzerland)}, volume = {19}, number = {24}, pages = {}, pmid = {31847421}, issn = {1424-8220}, mesh = {*Aircraft ; *Electromagnetic Fields ; Humans ; Radiation Dosimeters ; Radio Waves ; }, abstract = {High-frequency electromagnetic fields can have a negative effect on both the human body and electronic devices. The devices and systems utilized in radio communications constitute the most numerous sources of electromagnetic fields. The following research investigates values of the electric component of electromagnetic field intensification determined with the ESM 140 dosimeter during the flights of four aircrafts-Cessna C152, Cessna C172, Aero AT3 R100, and Robinson R44 Raven helicopter-from the airport in Depultycze Krolewskie near Chelm, Poland. The point of reference for the obtained results were the normative limits of the electromagnetic field that can affect a pilot in the course of a flight. The maximum value registered by the dosimeter was E = 3.307 V/m for GSM 1800 frequencies.}, } @article {pmid31740861, year = {2019}, author = {Khan, A and Chawla, RK and Guo, M and Wang, C}, title = {Risk factors associated with anaemia among adolescent girls: a cross sectional study in District Peshawar, Pakistan.}, journal = {JPMA. The Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association}, volume = {69}, number = {11}, pages = {1591-1595}, doi = {10.5455/JPMA.295006.}, pmid = {31740861}, issn = {0030-9982}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Anemia/*epidemiology/physiopathology ; Child ; Cognition/physiology ; Cross-Sectional Studies ; Exercise Test ; Female ; Heart Rate/physiology ; Hemoglobins/analysis ; Humans ; Literacy/statistics & numerical data ; Pakistan/epidemiology ; Risk Factors ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: To assess the risk factors associated with anaemia among adolescent girls.

METHODS: The cross-sectional study was conducted at 10 schools in district Peshawar, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, and comprised adolescent girls aged 10-14 years who were divided into two equal groups on the basis of haemoglobin levels; group 1 had those with haemoglobin <12, and group 2 12gm/dl. Anthropometric measurements were taken and haemoglobin concentration was determined by the Hemo'cue method. Physical activity was determined by Modified Harvard step test, cognitive functions were assessed by Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices. SPSS 16 was used for data analysis.

RESULTS: Of the 100 subjects, 50(50%) each were in the two groups. Illiteracy rate was significantly higher among the fathers and mothers of group 1 girls (p0.05). Mean haemoglobin in group 1 was 10.28±1.33 g/dl and group 2 12.73±0.58 g/dl. Mean number of steps climbed by group 1 girls were 154.6±54.6 and a longer period of time was taken to recover the basal pulse rate by them compared to group 2 counterparts (p0.05). The mean resting pulse rate in group 1 was significantly higher compared to group 2 (p0.05). Also, group 1 scored significantly lower in the cognitive function test(p0.05).

CONCLUSIONS: Socio-economic status, parent education, body mass index, physical work capacity, cogn itive func tion of anaemic girls was significa ntly lower than non anaemic girls.}, } @article {pmid31735150, year = {2020}, author = {Nieder, A and Mooney, R}, title = {The neurobiology of innate, volitional and learned vocalizations in mammals and birds.}, journal = {Philosophical transactions of the Royal Society of London. Series B, Biological sciences}, volume = {375}, number = {1789}, pages = {20190054}, pmid = {31735150}, issn = {1471-2970}, support = {R01 DC013826/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; R01 MH117778/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R01 NS099288/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Animals ; Birds/physiology ; Brain Mapping ; Emotions ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; Learning/*physiology ; Male ; Mammals ; Motor Cortex ; *Neurobiology ; Neurons ; Phylogeny ; Primates ; Prosencephalon/anatomy & histology/physiology ; Songbirds/anatomy & histology/physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; Volition/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Vocalization is an ancient vertebrate trait essential to many forms of communication, ranging from courtship calls to free verse. Vocalizations may be entirely innate and evoked by sexual cues or emotional state, as with many types of calls made in primates, rodents and birds; volitional, as with innate calls that, following extensive training, can be evoked by arbitrary sensory cues in non-human primates and corvid songbirds; or learned, acoustically flexible and complex, as with human speech and the courtship songs of oscine songbirds. This review compares and contrasts the neural mechanisms underlying innate, volitional and learned vocalizations, with an emphasis on functional studies in primates, rodents and songbirds. This comparison reveals both highly conserved and convergent mechanisms of vocal production in these different groups, despite their often vast phylogenetic separation. This similarity of central mechanisms for different forms of vocal production presents experimentalists with useful avenues for gaining detailed mechanistic insight into how vocalizations are employed for social and sexual signalling, and how they can be modified through experience to yield new vocal repertoires customized to the individual's social group. This article is part of the theme issue 'What can animal communication teach us about human language?'}, } @article {pmid31717721, year = {2019}, author = {Anand, PK and Shin, DR and Saxena, N and Memon, ML}, title = {Accelerated Reliability Growth Test for Magnetic Resonance Imaging System Using Time-of-Flight Three-Dimensional Pulse Sequence.}, journal = {Diagnostics (Basel, Switzerland)}, volume = {9}, number = {4}, pages = {}, pmid = {31717721}, issn = {2075-4418}, abstract = {A magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) system is a complex, high cost, and long-life product. It is a widely known fact that performing a system reliability test of a MRI system during the development phase is a challenging task. The major challenges include sample size, high test cost, and long test duration. This paper introduces a novel approach to perform a MRI system reliability test in a reasonably acceptable time with one sample size. Our approach is based on an accelerated reliability growth test, which consists of test cycle made of a very high-energy time-of-flight three-dimensional (TOF3D) pulse sequence representing an actual hospital usage scenario. First, we construct a nominal day usage scenario based on actual data collected from an MRI system used inside the hospital. Then, we calculate the life-time stress based on a usage scenario. Finally, we develop an accelerated reliability growth test cycle based on a TOF3D pulse sequence that exerts highest vibration energy on the gradient coil and MRI system. We use a vibration energy model to map the life-time stress and reduce the test duration from 537 to 55 days. We use a Crow AMSAA plot to demonstrate that system design reaches its useful life after crossing the infant mortality phase.}, } @article {pmid31685854, year = {2019}, author = {Holtmann, B and Buskas, J and Steele, M and Sokolovskis, K and Wolf, JBW}, title = {Dominance relationships and coalitionary aggression against conspecifics in female carrion crows.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {9}, number = {1}, pages = {15922}, pmid = {31685854}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {*Aggression ; Animals ; Crows/*physiology ; Female ; *Social Dominance ; Videotape Recording ; Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Cooperation is a prevailing feature of many animal systems. Coalitionary aggression, where a group of individuals engages in coordinated behaviour to the detriment of conspecific targets, is a form of cooperation involving complex social interactions. To date, evidence has been dominated by studies in humans and other primates with a clear bias towards studies of male-male coalitions. We here characterize coalitionary aggression behaviour in a group of female carrion crows consisting of recruitment, coordinated chase, and attack. The individual of highest social rank liaised with the second most dominant individual to engage in coordinated chase and attack of a lower ranked crow on several occasions. Despite active intervention by the third most highly ranked individual opposing the offenders, the attack finally resulted in the death of the victim. All individuals were unrelated, of the same sex, and naïve to the behaviour excluding kinship, reproduction, and social learning as possible drivers. Instead, the coalition may reflect a strategy of the dominant individual to secure long-term social benefits. Overall, the study provides evidence that members of the crow family engage in coordinated alliances directed against conspecifics as a possible means to manipulate their social environment.}, } @article {pmid31617250, year = {2020}, author = {El-Sayed, AK and Hassan, S}, title = {Gross morphological features of the air sacs of the hooded crow (Corvus cornix).}, journal = {Anatomia, histologia, embryologia}, volume = {49}, number = {2}, pages = {159-166}, doi = {10.1111/ahe.12504}, pmid = {31617250}, issn = {1439-0264}, mesh = {Air Sacs/*anatomy & histology ; Animals ; Birds ; Bronchi/anatomy & histology ; Crows/*anatomy & histology ; Lung/anatomy & histology ; }, abstract = {Air sacs are considered to be one of the controlling factors of bird behaviour and habits in addition to their roles in ventilation, regulating body temperature, swimming and flight. As a scavenger and an omnivorous flight bird, air sacs of the hooded crow were the focus of this study. Eight healthy, adult hooded crows were used to examine the morphological characteristics of the air sacs, which were examined grossly and with latex and cast preparations. In general, the morphological overview of the hooded crow air sacs is similar to other avian species. We observed nine air sacs; four paired sacs (cervical, cranial thoracic, caudal thoracic and abdominal air sacs) and one unpaired sac; the clavicular air sac. The cervical air sac communicated to the lung through the medioventral bronchus and had three diverticula; intermuscular, subscapular and subcutaneous. The clavicular air sac communicated with lung through the medioventral bronchus and had subscapular, axillary, humeral, subpectoral and sternal diverticula. The cranial and caudal thoracic air sacs were communicated with lung through the lateroventral bronchi and the both sacs did not have any diverticula. The abdominal air sacs were posterior to the caudal thoracic air sacs. The left abdominal sac was the largest air sac. The right and left abdominal sacs gave off branches to diverticula that pneumatized synsacrum. The abdominal air sacs gave off femoral diverticula behind the hip joint as well as perirenal diverticula.}, } @article {pmid31580802, year = {2020}, author = {Tamati, TN and Ray, C and Vasil, KJ and Pisoni, DB and Moberly, AC}, title = {High- and Low-Performing Adult Cochlear Implant Users on High-Variability Sentence Recognition: Differences in Auditory Spectral Resolution and Neurocognitive Functioning.}, journal = {Journal of the American Academy of Audiology}, volume = {31}, number = {5}, pages = {324-335}, pmid = {31580802}, issn = {2157-3107}, support = {K23 DC015539/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Adult ; *Cochlear Implantation ; *Cochlear Implants ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Recognition, Psychology ; Speech ; *Speech Perception ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Postlingually deafened adult cochlear implant (CI) users routinely display large individual differences in the ability to recognize and understand speech, especially in adverse listening conditions. Although individual differences have been linked to several sensory (''bottom-up'') and cognitive (''top-down'') factors, little is currently known about the relative contributions of these factors in high- and low-performing CI users.

PURPOSE: The aim of the study was to investigate differences in sensory functioning and neurocognitive functioning between high- and low-performing CI users on the Perceptually Robust English Sentence Test Open-set (PRESTO), a high-variability sentence recognition test containing sentence materials produced by multiple male and female talkers with diverse regional accents.

RESEARCH DESIGN: CI users with accuracy scores in the upper (HiPRESTO) or lower quartiles (LoPRESTO) on PRESTO in quiet completed a battery of behavioral tasks designed to assess spectral resolution and neurocognitive functioning.

STUDY SAMPLE: Twenty-one postlingually deafened adult CI users, with 11 HiPRESTO and 10 LoPRESTO participants.

DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS: A discriminant analysis was carried out to determine the extent to which measures of spectral resolution and neurocognitive functioning discriminate HiPRESTO and LoPRESTO CI users. Auditory spectral resolution was measured using the Spectral-Temporally Modulated Ripple Test (SMRT). Neurocognitive functioning was assessed with visual measures of working memory (digit span), inhibitory control (Stroop), speed of lexical/phonological access (Test of Word Reading Efficiency), and nonverbal reasoning (Raven's Progressive Matrices).

RESULTS: HiPRESTO and LoPRESTO CI users were discriminated primarily by performance on the SMRT and secondarily by the Raven's test. No other neurocognitive measures contributed substantially to the discriminant function.

CONCLUSIONS: High- and low-performing CI users differed by spectral resolution and, to a lesser extent, nonverbal reasoning. These findings suggest that the extreme groups are determined by global factors of richness of sensory information and domain-general, nonverbal intelligence, rather than specific neurocognitive processing operations related to speech perception and spoken word recognition. Thus, although both bottom-up and top-down information contribute to speech recognition performance, low-performing CI users may not be sufficiently able to rely on neurocognitive skills specific to speech recognition to enhance processing of spectrally degraded input in adverse conditions involving high talker variability.}, } @article {pmid31573430, year = {2019}, author = {Coomes, JR and McIvor, GE and Thornton, A}, title = {Evidence for individual discrimination and numerical assessment in collective antipredator behaviour in wild jackdaws (Corvus monedula).}, journal = {Biology letters}, volume = {15}, number = {10}, pages = {20190380}, pmid = {31573430}, issn = {1744-957X}, support = {BB/H021817/1/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; BB/H021817/2/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Animals ; *Crows ; }, abstract = {Collective responses to threats occur throughout the animal kingdom but little is known about the cognitive processes underpinning them. Antipredator mobbing is one such response. Approaching a predator may be highly risky, but the individual risk declines and the likelihood of repelling the predator increases in larger mobbing groups. The ability to appraise the number of conspecifics involved in a mobbing event could therefore facilitate strategic decisions about whether to join. Mobs are commonly initiated by recruitment calls, which may provide valuable information to guide decision-making. We tested whether the number of wild jackdaws responding to recruitment calls was influenced by the number of callers. As predicted, playbacks simulating three or five callers tended to recruit more individuals than playbacks of one caller. Recruitment also substantially increased if recruits themselves produced calls. These results suggest that jackdaws use individual vocal discrimination to assess the number of conspecifics involved in initiating mobbing events, and use this information to guide their responses. Our results show support for the use of numerical assessment in antipredator mobbing responses and highlight the need for a greater understanding of the cognitive processes involved in collective behaviour.}, } @article {pmid31565563, year = {2019}, author = {Forti, LR and Haddad, CFB and Leite, F and Drummond, LO and de Assis, C and Crivellari, LB and Mello, CM and Garcia, PCA and Zornosa-Torres, C and Toledo, LF}, title = {Notes on vocalizations of Brazilian amphibians IV: advertisement calls of 20 Atlantic Forest frog species.}, journal = {PeerJ}, volume = {7}, number = {}, pages = {e7612}, pmid = {31565563}, issn = {2167-8359}, abstract = {Bioacoustics is a powerful tool used for anuran species diagnoses, given that advertisement calls are signals related to specific recognition and mate attraction. Thus, call descriptions can support species taxonomy. In spite of that, call descriptions are lacking for many species, delaying advances in biodiversity research. Here, we describe the advertisement calls of 20 anuran species from the Brazilian Atlantic Forest. We accessed 50 digital recordings deposited in the Fonoteca Neotropical Jacques Vielliard. Acoustic analyses were carried out in the software Raven pro 1.5. We provide a general comparison of call structure among species inside taxonomic groups and genera. The vocalizations described here belong to poorly known species, which are representatives of six families: Brachycephalidae, Bufonidae, Ceratophryidae, Cycloramphidae, Hylidae, and Phyllomedusidae. Despite this, still there are 163 species of anurans from Atlantic Forest with calls not formally described. Our work represents an important step in providing data for a taxonomic perspective and improving the knowledge of the Atlantic Forest anuran diversity.}, } @article {pmid31454343, year = {2019}, author = {Brecht, KF and Hage, SR and Gavrilov, N and Nieder, A}, title = {Volitional control of vocalizations in corvid songbirds.}, journal = {PLoS biology}, volume = {17}, number = {8}, pages = {e3000375}, pmid = {31454343}, issn = {1545-7885}, mesh = {Acoustics ; Animals ; Cognition/physiology ; Crows/*physiology ; Learning/physiology ; Male ; Neurons/physiology ; Songbirds/physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; Volition/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Songbirds are renowned for their acoustically elaborate songs. However, it is unclear whether songbirds can cognitively control their vocal output. Here, we show that crows, songbirds of the corvid family, can be trained to exert control over their vocalizations. In a detection task, three male carrion crows rapidly learned to emit vocalizations in response to a visual cue with no inherent meaning (go trials) and to withhold vocalizations in response to another cue (catch trials). Two of these crows were then trained on a go/nogo task, with the cue colors reversed, in addition to being rewarded for withholding vocalizations to yet another cue (nogo trials). Vocalizations in response to the detection of the go cue were temporally precise and highly reliable in all three crows. Crows also quickly learned to withhold vocal output in nogo trials, showing that vocalizations were not produced by an anticipation of a food reward in correct trials. The results demonstrate that corvids can volitionally control the release and onset of their vocalizations, suggesting that songbird vocalizations are under cognitive control and can be decoupled from affective states.}, } @article {pmid31417455, year = {2019}, author = {Agnoli, S and Mancini, G and Andrei, F and Trombini, E}, title = {The Relationship Between Trait Emotional Intelligence, Cognition, and Emotional Awareness: An Interpretative Model.}, journal = {Frontiers in psychology}, volume = {10}, number = {}, pages = {1711}, pmid = {31417455}, issn = {1664-1078}, abstract = {Emotional awareness (EA) has been defined as the cognitive skill devoted to the identification and description of one's own and others' emotional experiences, an ability that has usually been conceptualized along with the development of cognitive intelligence. Despite this, EA has also been deemed a central constituent of Emotional Intelligence (EI), a construct that captures individual differences in how we perceive, communicate, regulate, and understand our own emotions, as well as the emotions of others. The overlap between the cognitive and the emotional domain in the definition of the EA construct has created several difficulties in both its understanding and its usage, so much so that several questions regarding its nature and structure remain unanswered. The aim of the present work was to test in a unique model the explanatory role of both trait EI and fluid nonverbal intelligence on EA variability in children, controlling for the effect of age, a variable strictly related to cognitive development, as well as gender, which is highly associated with trait EI during childhood. Four hundred and eighty-eight pupils (258 females and 230 males) ranging from 8 to 12 years old completed the Levels of Emotional Awareness Scale for Children, the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire - Child Form, and a measure of pure non-verbal reasoning ability, the Raven's Progressive Matrices. The results of a structural equation model showed a positive explanatory power of both Raven and TEIQue scores on EA, revealing that both cognitive intelligence and trait EI significantly explained EA. The same model also showed an indirect effect of age, via intelligence scores, on EA, suggesting that the increase of EA with age could be partially imputed to the development of intelligence. Finally, a relation between gender and TEIQue scores confirmed higher trait EI scores in girls than in boys. The implications emerging from this model are discussed.}, } @article {pmid31350980, year = {2019}, author = {S R, SC and Rajaguru, H}, title = {Lung Cancer Detection using Probabilistic Neural Network with modified Crow-Search Algorithm.}, journal = {Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention : APJCP}, volume = {20}, number = {7}, pages = {2159-2166}, pmid = {31350980}, issn = {2476-762X}, mesh = {*Algorithms ; Databases, Factual ; Humans ; Lung Neoplasms/*diagnosis/*diagnostic imaging ; *Neural Networks, Computer ; Prognosis ; Radiographic Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted/*methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods ; }, abstract = {Objective: Lung cancer is a type of malignancy that occurs most commonly among men and the third most common type of malignancy among women. The timely recognition of lung cancer is necessary for decreasing the effect of death rate worldwide. Since the symptoms of lung cancer are identified only at an advanced stage, it is essential to predict the disease at its earlier stage using any medical imaging techniques. This work aims to propose a classification methodology for lung cancer automatically at the initial stage. Methods: The work adopts computed tomography (CT) imaging modality of lungs for the examination and probabilistic neural network (PNN) for the classification task. After pre-processing of the input lung images, feature extraction for the work is carried out based on the Gray-Level Co-Occurrence Matrix (GLCM) and chaotic crow search algorithm (CCSA) based feature selection is proposed. Results: Specificity, Sensitivity, Positive and Negative Predictive Values, Accuracy are the computation metrics used. The results indicate that the CCSA based feature selection effectively provides an accuracy of 90%. Conclusion: The strategy for the selection of appropriate extracted features is employed to improve the efficiency of classification and the work shows that the PNN with CCSA based feature selection gives an improved classification than without using CCSA for feature selection.}, } @article {pmid31330118, year = {2019}, author = {Moberly, AC and Reed, J}, title = {Making Sense of Sentences: Top-Down Processing of Speech by Adult Cochlear Implant Users.}, journal = {Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR}, volume = {62}, number = {8}, pages = {2895-2905}, pmid = {31330118}, issn = {1558-9102}, support = {K23 DC015539/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; UL1 TR001070/TR/NCATS NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Adult ; Auditory Threshold ; Cochlear Implantation ; Cochlear Implants/*psychology ; Female ; Hearing Loss/*psychology/surgery ; Humans ; Inhibition, Psychological ; Male ; *Memory, Short-Term ; Nonverbal Communication ; Phonetics ; Postoperative Period ; Problem Solving ; *Recognition, Psychology ; Speech Acoustics ; *Speech Perception ; }, abstract = {Purpose Speech recognition relies upon a listener's successful pairing of the acoustic-phonetic details from the bottom-up input with top-down linguistic processing of the incoming speech stream. When the speech is spectrally degraded, such as through a cochlear implant (CI), this role of top-down processing is poorly understood. This study explored the interactions of top-down processing, specifically the use of semantic context during sentence recognition, and the relative contributions of different neurocognitive functions during speech recognition in adult CI users. Method Data from 41 experienced adult CI users were collected and used in analyses. Participants were tested for recognition and immediate repetition of speech materials in the clear. They were asked to repeat 2 sets of sentence materials, 1 that was semantically meaningful and 1 that was syntactically appropriate but semantically anomalous. Participants also were tested on 4 visual measures of neurocognitive functioning to assess working memory capacity (Digit Span; Wechsler, 2004), speed of lexical access (Test of Word Reading Efficiency; Torgeson, Wagner, & Rashotte, 1999), inhibitory control (Stroop; Stroop, 1935), and nonverbal fluid reasoning (Raven's Progressive Matrices; Raven, 2000). Results Individual listeners' inhibitory control predicted recognition of meaningful sentences when controlling for performance on anomalous sentences, our proxy for the quality of the bottom-up input. Additionally, speed of lexical access and nonverbal reasoning predicted recognition of anomalous sentences. Conclusions Findings from this study identified inhibitory control as a potential mechanism at work when listeners make use of semantic context during sentence recognition. Moreover, speed of lexical access and nonverbal reasoning were associated with recognition of sentences that lacked semantic context. These results motivate the development of improved comprehensive rehabilitative approaches for adult patients with CIs to optimize use of top-down processing and underlying core neurocognitive functions.}, } @article {pmid31320656, year = {2019}, author = {Madsen, SMK and Marschall, M and Dau, T and Oxenham, AJ}, title = {Speech perception is similar for musicians and non-musicians across a wide range of conditions.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {9}, number = {1}, pages = {10404}, pmid = {31320656}, issn = {2045-2322}, support = {R01 DC005216/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation/methods ; Attention/physiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Music ; Noise ; Pitch Discrimination/physiology ; Speech/*physiology ; Speech Perception/*physiology ; }, abstract = {It remains unclear whether musical training is associated with improved speech understanding in a noisy environment, with different studies reaching differing conclusions. Even in those studies that have reported an advantage for highly trained musicians, it is not known whether the benefits measured in laboratory tests extend to more ecologically valid situations. This study aimed to establish whether musicians are better than non-musicians at understanding speech in a background of competing speakers or speech-shaped noise under more realistic conditions, involving sounds presented in space via a spherical array of 64 loudspeakers, rather than over headphones, with and without simulated room reverberation. The study also included experiments testing fundamental frequency discrimination limens (F0DLs), interaural time differences limens (ITDLs), and attentive tracking. Sixty-four participants (32 non-musicians and 32 musicians) were tested, with the two groups matched in age, sex, and IQ as assessed with Raven's Advanced Progressive matrices. There was a significant benefit of musicianship for F0DLs, ITDLs, and attentive tracking. However, speech scores were not significantly different between the two groups. The results suggest no musician advantage for understanding speech in background noise or talkers under a variety of conditions.}, } @article {pmid31292844, year = {2020}, author = {Parvathy, VS and Pothiraj, S}, title = {Multi-modality medical image fusion using hybridization of binary crow search optimization.}, journal = {Health care management science}, volume = {23}, number = {4}, pages = {661-669}, doi = {10.1007/s10729-019-09492-2}, pmid = {31292844}, issn = {1386-9620}, mesh = {Algorithms ; Humans ; Image Enhancement/methods ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/*methods ; Multimodal Imaging/*methods ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed/*methods ; Wavelet Analysis ; }, abstract = {In clinical applications, single modality images do not provide sufficient diagnostic information. Therefore, it is necessary to combine the advantages or complementarities of different modalities of images. In this paper, we propose an efficient medical image fusion system based on discrete wavelet transform and binary crow search optimization (BCSO) algorithm. Here, we consider two different patterns of images as the input of the system and the output is the fused image. In this approach, at first, to enhance the image, we apply a median filter which is used to remove the noise present in the input image. Then, we apply a discrete wavelet transform on both the input modalities. Then, the approximation coefficients of modality 1 and detailed coefficients of modality 2 are combined. Similarly, approximation coefficients of modality 2 and detailed coefficients of modality 1 are combined. Finally, we fuse the two modality information using novel fusion rule. The fusion rule parameters are optimally selected using binary crow search optimization (BCSO) algorithm. To evaluate the performance of the proposed method, we used different quality metrics such as structural similarity index measure (SSIM), Fusion Factor (FF), and entropy. The presented model shows superior results with 6.63 of entropy, 0.849 of SSIM and 5.9 of FF.}, } @article {pmid31259563, year = {2019}, author = {Congdon, JV and Hahn, AH and Filippi, P and Campbell, KA and Hoang, J and Scully, EN and Bowling, DL and Reber, SA and Sturdy, CB}, title = {Hear them roar: A comparison of black-capped chickadee (Poecile atricapillus) and human (Homo sapiens) perception of arousal in vocalizations across all classes of terrestrial vertebrates.}, journal = {Journal of comparative psychology (Washington, D.C. : 1983)}, volume = {133}, number = {4}, pages = {520-541}, doi = {10.1037/com0000187}, pmid = {31259563}, issn = {1939-2087}, mesh = {Animals ; Arousal/*physiology ; Auditory Perception/*physiology ; Concept Formation/physiology ; Conditioning, Operant/physiology ; Discrimination Learning/physiology ; Discrimination, Psychological/*physiology ; Female ; Humans ; *Inhibition, Psychological ; Learning/*physiology ; Male ; Songbirds/*physiology ; Species Specificity ; Transfer, Psychology/physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Recently, evidence for acoustic universals in vocal communication was found by demonstrating that humans can identify levels of arousal in vocalizations produced by species across three biological classes (Filippi et al., 2017). Here, we extend this work by testing whether two vocal learning species, humans and chickadees, can discriminate vocalizations of high and low arousal using operant discrimination go/no-go tasks. Stimuli included vocalizations from nine species: giant panda, American alligator, common raven, hourglass treefrog, African elephant, Barbary macaque, domestic pig, black-capped chickadee, and human. Subjects were trained to respond to high or low arousal vocalizations, then tested with additional high and low arousal vocalizations produced by each species. Chickadees (Experiment 1) and humans (Experiment 2) learned to discriminate between high and low arousal stimuli and significantly transferred the discrimination to additional panda, human, and chickadee vocalizations. Finally, we conducted discriminant function analyses using four acoustic measures, finding evidence suggesting that fundamental frequency played a role in responding during the task. However, these analyses also suggest roles for other acoustic factors as well as familiarity. In sum, the results from these studies provide evidence that chickadees and humans are capable of perceiving arousal in vocalizations produced by multiple species. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).}, } @article {pmid31158507, year = {2019}, author = {Ospanov, OB}, title = {Surgical technique of laparoscopic mini-gastric bypass with obstructive stapleless pouch creation: A case series.}, journal = {International journal of surgery (London, England)}, volume = {67}, number = {}, pages = {70-75}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijsu.2019.05.011}, pmid = {31158507}, issn = {1743-9159}, mesh = {Adult ; Female ; Gastric Bypass/*methods ; Humans ; Jejunostomy/*methods ; Laparoscopy/*methods ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Obesity, Morbid/*surgery ; Stomach/*surgery ; Surgical Stomas ; Sutures ; Treatment Outcome ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Laparoscopic mini-gastric bypass (MGB) is a bariatric procedure which is gaining popularity worldwide. The original Rutledge technique is known to have good outcomes, but this and other surgical procedures that involve the use of staplers are very expensive for use in low-income countries. For this reason, the laparoscopic band-separated gastric bypass was developed. This paper aimed to describe a modified MGB technique without the use of staplers.

METHODS: We present a modification of the MGB with the use of an obstructive stapleless pouch and anastomosis (MGB-Ospanov procedure). The technique is based on our experience in 32 patients who underwent the procedure involving this technique between January 2016 and December 2018.

RESULTS: As in the original Rutledge version that uses staples, a long conduit is created below the crow's foot, extending up to the angle of His. The main differences between the MGB-Ospanov procedure and the stapler technique are as follows: creation of a gastric pouch from the anterior wall of the stomach; non-use of staplers; non-intersection of the stomach; use of semi-absorbable (or absorbable) strips of mesh; use of gastroplication to obstruct the communication between the gastric pouch and the bypassed greater part of the stomach. Gastrojejunostomy is performed using a hand-sewn suture at 150-200 cm distal from the ligament of Treitz. The body mass index (kg/m[2]) was 26.36 ± 4.0 after surgery vs 41.6 ± 6.1 before surgery (P < 0.0001).

CONCLUSION: The MGB-Ospanov procedure with an obstructive stapleless pouch and hand-sewn anastomosis is more feasible and cheaper than the stapler technique. Not using staplers could potentially help in avoiding bleeding and leakage along the stapler line when creating a gastric pouch. However, further research is warranted to confirm these results.}, } @article {pmid31132942, year = {2019}, author = {Mudry, A and Ruben, RJ}, title = {The Fox and the Crow: Predatory Open Access Journals in Otolaryngology.}, journal = {Otolaryngology--head and neck surgery : official journal of American Academy of Otolaryngology-Head and Neck Surgery}, volume = {161}, number = {2}, pages = {193-194}, doi = {10.1177/0194599819838756}, pmid = {31132942}, issn = {1097-6817}, mesh = {*Access to Information ; *Otolaryngology ; Peer Review, Research ; *Periodicals as Topic ; }, abstract = {Otolaryngologists regularly receive invitations from open access otolaryngology–head and neck surgery journals to submit papers or to join the editorial board. Some of these journals are considered “predatory.” There has been no published attempt to see if bogus otolaryngological articles would be accepted by such journals. We sent a fake article describing a supposed otosclerotic lesion localized in the fallopian tube and surgically treated by phacoemulsification of the stapes to 41 such journals. Eight journals accepted the paper, 7 requested structural revision, 2 requested revision even though the reviewer recommended rejection, 4 rejected the paper only because they found it had already been published by another open access journal (without the authors’ knowledge), and 2 rejected the paper. Eighteen journals had not responded after 6 weeks. A contemporary retelling of the poem “The Fox and the Crow” concludes our article, which illustrates predatory practices among specific open access otolaryngology journals.}, } @article {pmid31110007, year = {2019}, author = {Adriaense, JEC and Martin, JS and Schiestl, M and Lamm, C and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Negative emotional contagion and cognitive bias in common ravens (Corvus corax).}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}, volume = {116}, number = {23}, pages = {11547-11552}, pmid = {31110007}, issn = {1091-6490}, mesh = {Animals ; Arousal/physiology ; Attention/physiology ; Behavior, Animal/physiology ; Bias ; Cognition/*physiology ; Crows/*physiology ; Emotions/*physiology ; Empathy/physiology ; Social Behavior ; }, abstract = {Emotional contagion is described as an emotional state matching between subjects, and has been suggested to facilitate communication and coordination in complex social groups. Empirical studies typically focus on the measurement of behavioral contagion and emotional arousal, yet, while highly important, such an approach often disregards an additional evaluation of the underlying emotional valence. Here, we studied emotional contagion in ravens by applying a judgment bias paradigm to assess emotional valence. We experimentally manipulated positive and negative affective states in demonstrator ravens, to which they responded with increased attention and interest in the positive condition, as well as increased redirected behavior and a left-eye lateralization in the negative condition. During this emotion manipulation, another raven observed the demonstrator's behavior, and we used a bias paradigm to assess the emotional valence of the observer to determine whether emotional contagion had occurred. Observers showed a pessimism bias toward the presented ambiguous stimuli after perceiving demonstrators in a negative state, indicating emotional state matching based on the demonstrators' behavioral cues and confirming our prediction of negative emotional contagion. We did not find any judgment bias in the positive condition. This result critically expands upon observational studies of contagious play in ravens, providing experimental evidence that emotional contagion is present not only in mammalian but also in avian species. Importantly, this finding also acts as a stepping stone toward understanding the evolution of empathy, as this essential social skill may have emerged across these taxa in response to similar socioecological challenges.}, } @article {pmid31099977, year = {2019}, author = {Krupenye, C and Call, J}, title = {Theory of mind in animals: Current and future directions.}, journal = {Wiley interdisciplinary reviews. Cognitive science}, volume = {10}, number = {6}, pages = {e1503}, doi = {10.1002/wcs.1503}, pmid = {31099977}, issn = {1939-5086}, mesh = {Animals ; *Cognition ; Humans ; Psychological Theory ; *Theory of Mind ; }, abstract = {Theory of mind (ToM; a.k.a., mind-reading, mentalizing, mental-state attribution, and perspective-taking) is the ability to ascribe mental states, such as desires and beliefs, to others, and it is central to the unique forms of communication, cooperation, and culture that define our species. As a result, for 40 years, researchers have endeavored to determine whether ToM is itself unique to humans. Investigations in other species (e.g., apes, monkeys, corvids) are essential to understand the mechanistic underpinnings and evolutionary origins of this capacity across taxa, including humans. We review the literature on ToM in nonhuman animals, suggesting that some species share foundational social cognitive mechanisms with humans. We focus principally on innovations of the last decade and pressing directions for future work. Underexplored types of social cognition have been targeted, including ascription of mental states, such as desires and beliefs, that require simultaneously representing one's own and another's conflicting motives or views of the world. Ongoing efforts probe the motivational facets of ToM, how flexibly animals can recruit social cognitive skills across cooperative and competitive settings, and appropriate motivational contexts for comparative inquiry. Finally, novel methodological and empirical approaches have brought new species (e.g., lemurs, dogs) into the lab, implemented critical controls to elucidate underlying mechanisms, and contributed powerful new techniques (e.g., looking-time, eye-tracking) that open the door to unexplored approaches for studying animal minds. These innovations in cognition, motivation, and method promise fruitful progress in the years to come, in understanding the nature and origin of ToM in humans and other species. This article is categorized under: Cognitive Biology > Evolutionary Roots of Cognition Psychology > Comparative Psychology Neuroscience > Cognition.}, } @article {pmid31046468, year = {2020}, author = {Snow, PC and Timms, L and Lum, JAG and Powell, MB}, title = {Narrative language skills of maltreated children living in out-of-home care.}, journal = {International journal of speech-language pathology}, volume = {22}, number = {2}, pages = {117-128}, doi = {10.1080/17549507.2019.1598493}, pmid = {31046468}, issn = {1754-9515}, mesh = {Child ; *Child Abuse ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Language Development Disorders/epidemiology/*etiology ; Male ; *Narration ; }, abstract = {Purpose: Children's narrative accounts of their experiences are central to the prosecution of perpetrators of alleged maltreatment. We describe the narrative language skills of children who were placed in out-of-home care (OOHC) following substantiated maltreatment. It was hypothesised that (i) children with such histories would display narrative language skills that fall significantly below published age-expected norms, (ii) narrative language skills and core language skills would be positively correlated and (iii) narrative language skills would be associated with measures of socio-economic disadvantage.Method: Eighty-three children (40 males and 43 females) aged 5;3 to 12;10 (M = 7.9, SD = 2.3) from English-speaking home backgrounds were assessed using the Test of Narrative Language and the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF-4) Core Language Score. The Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, a measure of nonverbal intelligence, was employed as a covariate.Result: Forty-two percent of children scored in the below-average range on the Narrative Language Index Ability Index. The same proportion scored at/above age-expected levels on the Narrative Comprehension subtest, and 19% scored at/above age-expected levels on Oral Narration. There was a significant correlation between CELF-4 Core Language Scores and the Narrative Language Index Ability Index. Female carers' education was significantly positively associated with overall narrative language scores; however, household income and index of socio-economic disadvantage were not significantly associated with narrative language scores.Conclusion: Children who are victims of substantiated maltreatment should be considered at-risk for compromised ability to provide a narrative account of their experiences. The heterogeneity and often scant oral narrative language skills of these children highlights the importance of police/human services training on best-practice forensic interviewing. Policy and practice implications for speech-language pathology early intervention to support the needs of at-risk children are also discussed.}, } @article {pmid30909351, year = {2019}, author = {Barone, F and Bashey, S and Woodin Jr., FW}, title = {Clinical Evidence of Dermal and Epidermal Restructuring from a Biologically Active Growth Factor Serum for Skin Rejuvenation.}, journal = {Journal of drugs in dermatology : JDD}, volume = {18}, number = {3}, pages = {290-295}, pmid = {30909351}, issn = {1545-9616}, mesh = {Administration, Cutaneous ; Adult ; Aged ; Cosmeceuticals/*administration & dosage ; Dermis/diagnostic imaging/drug effects ; Epidermis/diagnostic imaging/drug effects ; Extracellular Matrix/drug effects ; Face ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Intercellular Signaling Peptides and Proteins/*administration & dosage ; Middle Aged ; *Rejuvenation ; Skin Aging/*drug effects ; Treatment Outcome ; }, abstract = {Background: Topical skin care products use various technologies to promote skin repair. Growth factors of human, animal, and plant-derived origins have clinically demonstrated the ability to repair skin by promoting collagen, elastin, and glycosaminoglycan (GAG) production to reconstruct and reinforce skin’s extracellular matrix (ECM). Human skin cells respond to instructions from highly specialized proteins or hormones referred to as growth factors. These growth factors initiate cellular communication that instigates cellular replication, production, or proliferation. The production of elastin and collagen dermal connective fibers slows, and, with age, the regenerative rates of GAGs become delayed. These biological issues can be exacerbated by extrinsic factors such as sun exposure, pollutants, and various other factors. Growth factor-based products have become important topical treatment modalities for addressing signs of skin aging such as fine lines, deep wrinkles, dryness, laxity, and textural irregularities. Objective: The aim of a 12-week clinical trial of a growth factor composition was to assess its effectiveness at restoring skin health through dermal and epidermal restructuring of aged skin. Results: Data from expert grading, and from corneometer and cutometer evaluations, as well as 2D and 3D image analysis, reflected significant improvements in facial skin appearance, firmness, elasticity, and hydration. Elements that improved most dramatically in investigators’ assessments included radiance, firmness, tactile elasticity, textural smoothness, overall appearance, and crow’s feet. Ultrasound imaging showed continual increases in dermal and epidermal restructuring throughout the study duration. Subject assessments reflected positive product tolerability and positive perception across a broad range of efficacy attributes through 12 weeks of usage. Conclusion: The results verified the ability of a multi-modal plant and enzymatically derived growth factor-based product to achieve skin rejuvenation improvements by stimulating dermal ECM and fibrous tissue regeneration to reduce fine lines and coarse wrinkles, and improve skin firmness and elasticity, while restoring skin to a properly hydrated state. J Drugs Dermatol. 2019;18(3):290-295.}, } @article {pmid30906673, year = {2018}, author = {Milakovich, J and Simonds, VW and Held, S and Picket, V and LaVeaux, D and Cummins, J and Martin, C and Kelting-Gibson, L}, title = {Children as Agents of Change: Parent Perceptions of Child-driven Environmental Health Communication in the Crow Community.}, journal = {Journal of health disparities research and practice}, volume = {11}, number = {3}, pages = {115-127}, pmid = {30906673}, issn = {2166-5222}, support = {P20 GM103474/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; P20 GM104417/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; }, } @article {pmid30891367, year = {2019}, author = {Policht, R and Hart, V and Goncharov, D and Surový, P and Hanzal, V and Červený, J and Burda, H}, title = {Vocal recognition of a nest-predator in black grouse.}, journal = {PeerJ}, volume = {7}, number = {}, pages = {e6533}, pmid = {30891367}, issn = {2167-8359}, abstract = {Corvids count among the important predators of bird nests. They are vocal animals and one can expect that birds threatened by their predation, such as black grouse, are sensitive to and recognize their calls. Within the framework of field studies, we noticed that adult black grouse were alerted by raven calls during periods outside the breeding season. Since black grouse are large, extremely precocial birds, this reaction can hardly be explained by sensitization specifically to the threat of nest predation by ravens. This surprising observation prompted us to study the phenomenon more systematically. According to our knowledge, the response of birds to corvid vocalization has been studied in altricial birds only. We tested whether the black grouse distinguishes and responds specifically to playback calls of the common raven. Black grouse recognized raven calls and were alerted, displaying typical neck stretching, followed by head scanning, and eventual escape. Surprisingly, males tended to react faster and exhibited a longer duration of vigilance behavior compared to females. Although raven calls are recognized by adult black grouse out of the nesting period, they are not directly endangered by the raven. We speculate that the responsiveness of adult grouse to raven calls might be explained as a learned response in juveniles from nesting hens that is then preserved in adults, or by a known association between the raven and the red fox. In that case, calls of the raven would be rather interpreted as a warning signal of probable proximity of the red fox.}, } @article {pmid30850691, year = {2019}, author = {Shimmura, T and Tamura, M and Ohashi, S and Sasaki, A and Yamanaka, T and Nakao, N and Ihara, K and Okamura, S and Yoshimura, T}, title = {Cholecystokinin induces crowing in chickens.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {9}, number = {1}, pages = {3978}, pmid = {30850691}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {Animals ; Behavior, Animal/physiology ; Chickens/*metabolism/*physiology ; Cholecystokinin/*metabolism ; Crows/*metabolism/*physiology ; Gene Expression/physiology ; Male ; Neurotransmitter Agents/metabolism ; Receptor, Cholecystokinin B/metabolism ; Sound ; Testosterone/metabolism ; Up-Regulation/physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/physiology ; }, abstract = {Animals that communicate using sound are found throughout the animal kingdom. Interestingly, in contrast to human vocal learning, most animals can produce species-specific patterns of vocalization without learning them from their parents. This phenomenon is called innate vocalization. The underlying molecular basis of both vocal learning in humans and innate vocalization in animals remains unknown. The crowing of a rooster is also innately controlled, and the upstream center is thought to be localized in the nucleus intercollicularis (ICo) of the midbrain. Here, we show that the cholecystokinin B receptor (CCKBR) is a regulatory gene involved in inducing crowing in roosters. Crowing is known to be a testosterone (T)-dependent behavior, and it follows that roosters crow but not hens. Similarly, T-administration induces chicks to crow. By using RNA-sequencing to compare gene expression in the ICo between the two comparison groups that either crow or do not crow, we found that CCKBR expression was upregulated in T-containing groups. The expression of CCKBR and its ligand, cholecystokinin (CCK), a neurotransmitter, was observed in the ICo. We also showed that crowing was induced by intracerebroventricular administration of an agonist specific for CCKBR. Our findings therefore suggest that the CCK system induces innate vocalization in roosters.}, } @article {pmid30733635, year = {2019}, author = {de Luna-Dias, C and de Carvalho-E-Silva, SP}, title = {Calls of Boanalatistriata (Caramaschi & Cruz, 2004) (Amphibia, Anura, Hylidae), an endemic tree frog from the State of Minas Gerais, Brazil.}, journal = {ZooKeys}, volume = {}, number = {820}, pages = {83-94}, pmid = {30733635}, issn = {1313-2989}, abstract = {Bioacoustical data are useful for studying amphibians, especially their conservation, taxonomy, and evolution, among others. Of the 12 species of the Boanapolytaenia clade, only B.buriti and B.latistriata have no published information about their advertisement calls. We recorded four males of B.latistriata in its type locality at Parque Nacional do Itatiaia, south-eastern Brazil. We used a Roland R26 digital recorder with a Sennheiser ME-67 microphone and analysed the recordings using the Raven Pro 1.5 software. We recorded two different types of calls (call A and call B). Both were composed of one pulsed note and presented a slightly ascending-descending frequency modulation. Call A was more frequent, having durations between 0.042 and 0.093 s with the dominant frequency ranging from 3375.0 to 3937.5 Hz, and was composed of 11 to 21 pulses separated by intervals that were not fully silent. Call B had durations between 0.711 and 1.610 s, with dominant frequency from 3281.2 to 3750.0 Hz, and was composed of 11 to 29 pulses separated by fully silent intervals. Among the B.polytaenia clade, the calls of B.latistriata are more similar to those of B.bandeirantes, B.beckeri, B.polytaenia, and B.aff.beckeri. The calls of B.latistriata differ from these species in its lower dominant frequency. Boanalatistriata present a short, single-note call with a lower pulse period (call A) and a long call with higher pulse period (call B), which differ from the other species of the clade. The coefficients of variation for the various bioacoustical attributes were calculated within- and between-males and these have been discussed. We also report a fight event between two males of B.latistriata. This is the first report of a fight in members of the B.polytaenia clade.}, } @article {pmid30697741, year = {2019}, author = {Sen, S and Parishar, P and Pundir, AS and Reiner, A and Iyengar, S}, title = {The expression of tyrosine hydroxylase and DARPP-32 in the house crow (Corvus splendens) brain.}, journal = {The Journal of comparative neurology}, volume = {527}, number = {11}, pages = {1801-1836}, doi = {10.1002/cne.24649}, pmid = {30697741}, issn = {1096-9861}, mesh = {Animals ; Brain/*metabolism ; Crows/*metabolism ; Dopamine and cAMP-Regulated Phosphoprotein 32/*metabolism ; Neurons/metabolism ; Tyrosine 3-Monooxygenase/*metabolism ; }, abstract = {Birds of the family Corvidae which includes diverse species such as crows, rooks, ravens, magpies, jays, and jackdaws are known for their amazing abilities at problem-solving. Since the catecholaminergic system, especially the neurotransmitter dopamine, plays a role in cognition, we decided to study the distribution of tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), the rate-limiting enzyme in the synthesis of catecholamines in the brain of house crows (Corvus splendens). We also studied the expression of DARPP-32 (dopamine and cAMP-regulated phosphoprotein), which is expressed in dopaminoceptive neurons. Our results demonstrated that as in other avian species, the expression of both TH and DARPP-32 was highest in the house crow striatum. The caudolateral nidopallium (NCL, the avian analogue of the mammalian prefrontal cortex) could be differentiated from the surrounding pallial regions based on a larger number of TH-positive "baskets" of fibers around neurons in this region and greater intensity of DARPP-32 staining in the neuropil in this region. House crows also possessed distinct nuclei in their brains which corresponded to song control regions in other songbirds. Whereas immunoreactivity for TH was higher in the vocal control region Area X compared to the surrounding MSt (medial striatum) in house crows, staining in RA and HVC was not as prominent. Furthermore, the arcopallial song control regions RA (nucleus robustus arcopallialis) and AId (intermediate arcopallium) were strikingly negative for DARPP-32 staining, in contrast to the surrounding arcopallium. Patterns of immunoreactivity for TH and DARPP-32 in "limbic" areas such as the hippocampus, septum, and extended amygdala have also been described.}, } @article {pmid30513676, year = {2018}, author = {Kaplan, G}, title = {Development of Meaningful Vocal Signals in a Juvenile Territorial Songbird (Gymnorhina tibicen) and the Dilemma of Vocal Taboos Concerning Neighbours and Strangers.}, journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI}, volume = {8}, number = {12}, pages = {}, pmid = {30513676}, issn = {2076-2615}, abstract = {Young territorial songbirds have calls to learn, especially calls that may be vital for maintaining territory. Territoriality is largely reinforced and communicated by vocal signals. In their natal territory, juvenile magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) enjoy protection from predators for 8[-]9 months. It is not at all clear, however, when and how a young territorial songbird learns to distinguish the meaning of calls and songs expressed by parents, conspecifics, neighbours, and heterospecifics, or how territorial calls are incorporated into the juvenile's own repertoire. This project investigated acquisition and expression of the vocal repertoire in juvenile magpies and assessed the responses of adults and juveniles to playbacks of neighbour and stranger calls inside their territory. The results reported here identify age of appearance of specific vocalisations and the limits of their expression in juveniles. One new and surprising result was that many types of adult vocalisation were not voiced by juveniles. Playbacks of calls of neighbours and strangers inside the natal territory further established that adults responded strongly but differentially to neighbours versus strangers. By contrast, juveniles needed months before paying any attention to and distinguishing between neighbour and stranger calls and eventually did so only in non-vocal ways (such as referral to adults). These results provide evidence that auditory perception not only includes recognition and memory of neighbour calls but also an assessment of the importance of such calls in the context of territoriality.}, } @article {pmid30444843, year = {2018}, author = {Mattingly, JK and Castellanos, I and Moberly, AC}, title = {Nonverbal Reasoning as a Contributor to Sentence Recognition Outcomes in Adults With Cochlear Implants.}, journal = {Otology & neurotology : official publication of the American Otological Society, American Neurotology Society [and] European Academy of Otology and Neurotology}, volume = {39}, number = {10}, pages = {e956-e963}, pmid = {30444843}, issn = {1537-4505}, support = {K23 DC015539/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; *Cochlear Implantation ; *Cochlear Implants ; Cognition/*physiology ; Deafness/physiopathology/surgery ; Female ; Hearing Tests ; Humans ; Language ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Problem Solving/*physiology ; Speech ; Speech Perception/*physiology ; }, abstract = {HYPOTHESIS: Significant variability in speech recognition persists among postlingually deafened adults with cochlear implants (CIs). We hypothesize that scores of nonverbal reasoning predict sentence recognition in adult CI users.

BACKGROUND: Cognitive functions contribute to speech recognition outcomes in adults with hearing loss. These functions may be particularly important for CI users who must interpret highly degraded speech signals through their devices. This study used a visual measure of reasoning (the ability to solve novel problems), the Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), to predict sentence recognition in CI users.

METHODS: Participants were 39 postlingually deafened adults with CIs and 43 age-matched normal-hearing (NH) controls. CI users were assessed for recognition of words in sentences in quiet, and NH controls listened to eight-channel vocoded versions to simulate the degraded signal delivered by a CI. A computerized visual task of the RPM, requiring participants to identify the correct missing piece in a 3×3 matrix of geometric designs, was also performed. Particular items from the RPM were examined for their associations with sentence recognition abilities, and a subset of items on the RPM was tested for the ability to predict degraded sentence recognition in the NH controls.

RESULTS: The overall number of items answered correctly on the 48-item RPM significantly correlated with sentence recognition in CI users (r = 0.35-0.47) and NH controls (r = 0.36-0.57). An abbreviated 12-item version of the RPM was created and performance also correlated with sentence recognition in CI users (r = 0.40-0.48) and NH controls (r = 0.49-0.56).

CONCLUSIONS: Nonverbal reasoning skills correlated with sentence recognition in both CI and NH subjects. Our findings provide further converging evidence that cognitive factors contribute to speech processing by adult CI users and can help explain variability in outcomes. Our abbreviated version of the RPM may serve as a clinically meaningful assessment for predicting sentence recognition outcomes in CI users.}, } @article {pmid30440759, year = {2018}, author = {Li, X and Kesavadas, T}, title = {Surgical Robot with Environment Reconstruction and Force Feedback.}, journal = {Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference}, volume = {2018}, number = {}, pages = {1861-1866}, doi = {10.1109/EMBC.2018.8512695}, pmid = {30440759}, issn = {2694-0604}, mesh = {Algorithms ; Feedback ; Humans ; *Robotics ; Surgeons ; User-Computer Interface ; }, abstract = {We present a new surgical robot hardware-in-the-loop simulator, with 3D surgical field reconstruction in RGB-D sensor range, which allows tool-tissue interactions to be presented as haptic feedback and thus provides the situation awareness of unwanted collision. First, the point cloud of the complete surgical environment is constructed from multiple frames of sensor data to avoid the occlusion issue. Then the user selects a region of interest where the robot's tool must avoid (also called forbidden region). The real-time haptic force rendering algorithm computes the interaction force which is then communicated to a haptic device at 1 kHz, to assist the surgeon to perform safe actions. The robot used is a RAVEN II system, RGB-D sensor is used to scan the environment, and two Omni haptic devices provide the 3-DoF haptic force. A registration pipeline is presented to complete the surgical environment point cloud mapping in preoperative surgery planning phase, which improves quality of haptic rendering in the presence of occlusion. Furthermore, we propose a feasible and fast algorithm which extends the existing work on the proxy-based method for haptic rendering between a Haptic Interaction Point (HIP) and a point cloud. The proposed methodology has the potential of improving the safety of surgical robots.}, } @article {pmid30283017, year = {2018}, author = {Lewis, MB}, title = {The interactions between botulinum-toxin-based facial treatments and embodied emotions.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {8}, number = {1}, pages = {14720}, pmid = {30283017}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {Adult ; Affect/drug effects/physiology ; Aged ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A/*therapeutic use ; Cosmetic Techniques/*psychology ; Emotions/*drug effects ; Facial Expression ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neuromuscular Agents/therapeutic use ; Neurotoxins/therapeutic use ; Skin Aging/*drug effects/pathology/physiology ; }, abstract = {Botulinum toxin (BTX) injections reduce muscle mobility and are commonly used to treat the appearance of glabellar frown lines. Research shows that this cosmetic treatment leads to a reduction in depression. This reduction is consistent with the theory of embodied emotions because patients have a reduced ability to frown and so receive less negative feedback associated with this action. The current research explored this effect and three further hypotheses for the effects of cosmetic BTX injections based on embodied emotions. It was hypothesised that treatment of crow's feet (or laughter lines) would reduce mood as patients' Duchenne smiles would be impaired. It was hypothesised that facial BTX treatments would impair emotional expression recognition because the ability to mimic emotions would be reduced. Finally, it was hypothesised that, as BTX treatments prevent facial expressions associated with sexual excitement, sexual function would be impaired after treatment. Twenty four BTX-treated and twelve matched participants (all female) were tested before and after treatment. Results found that BTX treatment of laughter lines was associated with increased depression scores. Further, BTX treatment was associated with reduced emotion recognition ability and sexual function. The current results add to our knowledge of the psychological effects of injections of powerful neurotoxins and broaden the scope of the embodiment of emotions.}, } @article {pmid30215276, year = {2019}, author = {Simonds, VW and Kim, FL and LaVeaux, D and Pickett, V and Milakovich, J and Cummins, J}, title = {Guardians of the Living Water: Using a Health Literacy Framework to Evaluate a Child as Change Agent Intervention.}, journal = {Health education & behavior : the official publication of the Society for Public Health Education}, volume = {46}, number = {2}, pages = {349-359}, pmid = {30215276}, issn = {1552-6127}, support = {P20 GM103474/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; P20 GM104417/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Child ; Community-Based Participatory Research ; Feasibility Studies ; Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; *Health Literacy ; Humans ; Indians, North American/*psychology ; Male ; Program Development ; Program Evaluation ; *Water Pollution ; *Water Supply ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: American Indian communities in the United States experience considerable health inequities, including increased exposure to environmental contaminants. Consequently, community members of the Apsáalooke (Crow) Nation identified the lack of water-related environmental knowledge among children as an area of concern.

AIM: The purpose of this study was to provide a feasibility evaluation of an increasingly sophisticated environmental health literacy program for children.

METHOD: A community-academic partnership developed and piloted the Guardians of the Living Water program to increase environmental health literacy among children and their families on the Crow reservation. Nutbeam's framework for health literacy, a schema based on functional, interactive, and critical literacy, shaped the program evaluation. We used a within-subjects, quasi-experimental design without a control group. Interviews with children and parents were used to assess the feasibility of the program, while pre-/posttests assessed changes in knowledge, skills, and behavior.

RESULTS: Compared with preintervention responses, those from postintervention indicated significant increases for selected knowledge and attitude components. Based on qualitative interviews with children and caregivers, the camp was a valuable experience and increased knowledge of water quality science and reinforced cultural knowledge.

DISCUSSION: This success of our program stems from the trust initially built between partners and then expanded throughout the community. The program and the evaluation benefited from both the health literacy framework and from our integration of Apsáalooke values.

CONCLUSION: Our findings suggest that a community-based intervention designed to increase environmental health literacy among youth and their social networks is feasible and acceptable to this American Indian community.}, } @article {pmid30194522, year = {2018}, author = {Ţălu, Ş and Morozov, IA and Sobola, D and Škarvada, P}, title = {Multifractal Characterization of Butterfly Wings Scales.}, journal = {Bulletin of mathematical biology}, volume = {80}, number = {11}, pages = {2856-2870}, doi = {10.1007/s11538-018-0490-7}, pmid = {30194522}, issn = {1522-9602}, mesh = {Animal Scales/*ultrastructure ; Animals ; Butterflies/*ultrastructure ; Fractals ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; Mathematical Concepts ; Microscopy, Atomic Force ; Models, Biological ; Nanostructures/ultrastructure ; Pigmentation ; Surface Properties ; Wings, Animal/*ultrastructure ; }, abstract = {A lot of insect families have physical structures created by evolution for coloration. These structures are a source of ideas for new bio-inspired materials. The aim of this study was to quantitatively characterize the micromorphology of butterfly wings scales using atomic force microscopy and multifractal analysis. Two types of butterflies, Euploea mulciber ("striped blue crow") and Morpho didius ("giant blue morpho"), were studied. The three-dimensional (3D) surface texture of the butterfly wings scales was investigated focusing on two areas: where the perceived colors strongly depend on and where they do not depend on the viewing angle. The results highlight a correlation between the surface coloration and 3D surface microtexture of butterfly wings scales.}, } @article {pmid30155970, year = {2018}, author = {Pritchard, M and Hilari, K and Cocks, N and Dipper, L}, title = {Psychometric properties of discourse measures in aphasia: acceptability, reliability, and validity.}, journal = {International journal of language & communication disorders}, volume = {53}, number = {6}, pages = {1078-1093}, doi = {10.1111/1460-6984.12420}, pmid = {30155970}, issn = {1460-6984}, mesh = {Aphasia/*physiopathology ; Comprehension ; Humans ; *Language ; Psychometrics/methods ; Qualitative Research ; Reproducibility of Results ; Severity of Illness Index ; *Speech Intelligibility ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Discourse in adults with aphasia is increasingly the focus of assessment and therapy research. A broad range of measures is available to describe discourse, but very limited information is available on their psychometric properties. As a result, the quality of these measures is unknown, and there is very little evidence to motivate the choice of one measure over another.

AIMS: To explore the quality of a range of discourse measures, targeting sentence structure, coherence, story structure and cohesion. Quality was evaluated in terms of the psychometric properties of acceptability (data completeness and skewness), reliability (inter- and intra-rater), and validity (content, convergent, discriminant and known groups).

METHODS & PROCEDURES: Participants with chronic mild-to-moderate aphasia were recruited from community groups. They produced a range of discourses which were grouped into Cinderella and everyday discourses. Discourses were then transcribed orthographically and analyzed using macro- and microlinguistic measures (Story Grammar, Topic Coherence, Local Coherence, Reference Chains and Predicate Argument Structure-PAS). Data were evaluated against standard predetermined criteria to ascertain the psychometric quality of the measures.

OUTCOMES & RESULTS: A total of 17 participants took part in the study. All measures had high levels of acceptability, inter- and intra-rater reliability, and had good content validity, as they could be related to a level of the theoretical model of discourse production. For convergent validity, as expected, 8/10 measures correlated with the Western Aphasia Battery-Revised (WAB-R) spontaneous speech scores, and 7/10 measures correlated with the Kissing and Dancing Test (KDT) scores (r ≥ 0.3), giving an overall positive rating for construct validity. For discriminant validity, as predicted, all measures had low correlations with Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) and WAB-R Auditory Verbal Comprehension scores (r < 0.3), giving an overall positive rating for construct validity. Finally, for known groups validity, all measures indicated a difference between speakers with mild and moderate aphasia except for the Local Coherence measures. Overall, Story Grammar, Topic Coherence, Reference Chains and PAS emerged as the strongest measures in the current study because they achieved the predetermined thresholds for quality in terms of each of the psychometric parameters profiled.

The current study is the first to psychometrically profile measures of discourse in aphasia. It contributes to the field by identifying Story Grammar, Topic Coherence, Reference Chains and PAS as the most psychometrically robust discourse measures yet profiled with speakers with aphasia. Until further data are available indicating the strength of other discourse measures, caution should be applied when using them.}, } @article {pmid29908383, year = {2018}, author = {Mwangala, PN and Kariuki, SM and Nyongesa, MK and Mwangi, P and Chongwo, E and Newton, CR and Abubakar, A}, title = {Cognition, mood and quality-of-life outcomes among low literacy adults living with epilepsy in rural Kenya: A preliminary study.}, journal = {Epilepsy & behavior : E&B}, volume = {85}, number = {}, pages = {45-51}, pmid = {29908383}, issn = {1525-5069}, support = {/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom ; MR/M025454/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom ; 107769/Z/15/Z/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom ; MR/M025454/1/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Adult ; Affect/*physiology ; Cognition/*physiology ; Depression/complications/psychology ; Epilepsy/complications/*psychology ; Female ; Humans ; Kenya ; *Literacy ; Male ; *Mental Health ; Quality of Life/*psychology ; Rural Population ; Self Report ; Social Adjustment ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Epilepsy is frequently associated with neurocognitive impairments, mental health, and psychosocial problems but these are rarely documented in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this study was to examine the neurocognitive outcomes, depressive symptoms, and psychosocial adjustments of people with epilepsy (PWE) in Kilifi, Kenya. We evaluated the impact of these outcomes on health-related quality of life. Self-report, interviewer-administered measures of depression (Major Depression Inventory) and quality of life (RAND SF-36) were administered to 63 PWE and 83 community controls. Neurocognitive functioning was assessed using Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices, Digit Span, and Contingency Naming Test. The results show that PWE have poorer scores for executive function, working memory, intelligence quotient (IQ), depression, and quality of life than controls. Twenty-seven (27%) of PWE had depressive symptoms, which was significantly greater than in controls (6%); P < 0.001. Quality-of-life scores were significantly lower in PWE with depressive symptoms than in those without depressive symptoms (Mean QoL scores (standard deviation (SD)): 46.43 (13.27) versus 64.18 (17.69); P = 0.01. On adjusted linear regression models, depression affected total quality-of-life scores (P = 0.07) as well as individual health indicator domains touching on pain (P = 0.04), lethargy/fatigue (P = 0.01), and emotional well-being (P = 0.02). Our results show that epilepsy is associated with a significant burden of mental health and neurocognitive impairments in the community; however, community-based studies are needed to provide precise estimates of these disorders.}, } @article {pmid29888933, year = {2019}, author = {Malek, N and Messinger, D and Gao, AYL and Krumhuber, E and Mattson, W and Joober, R and Tabbane, K and Martinez-Trujillo, JC}, title = {Generalizing Duchenne to sad expressions with binocular rivalry and perception ratings.}, journal = {Emotion (Washington, D.C.)}, volume = {19}, number = {2}, pages = {234-241}, doi = {10.1037/emo0000410}, pmid = {29888933}, issn = {1931-1516}, mesh = {Adult ; Affect ; Face ; *Facial Expression ; *Facial Recognition ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Biological ; *Vision Disparity ; *Vision, Binocular ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Discrete emotion theories emphasize the modularity of facial expressions, while functionalist theories suggest that a single facial action may have a common meaning across expressions. Smiles involving the Duchenne marker, eye constriction causing crow's feet, are perceived as intensely positive and sincere. To test whether the Duchenne marker is a general index of intensity and sincerity, we contrasted positive and negative expressions with and without the Duchenne marker in a binocular rivalry paradigm. Both smiles and sad expressions involving the Duchenne marker were perceived longer than non-Duchenne expressions, and participants rated all Duchenne expressions as more affectively intense and more sincere than their non-Duchenne counterparts. Correlations between perceptual dominance and ratings suggested that the Duchenne marker increased the dominance of smiles and sad expressions by increasing their perceived affective intensity. The results provide evidence in favor of Darwin's hypothesis that specific facial actions have a general function (conveying affect intensification and sincerity) across expressions. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).}, } @article {pmid29875298, year = {2018}, author = {Szipl, G and Ringler, E and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Attacked ravens flexibly adjust signalling behaviour according to audience composition.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {285}, number = {1880}, pages = {}, pmid = {29875298}, issn = {1471-2954}, mesh = {*Aggression ; *Animal Communication ; Animals ; Crows/*physiology ; *Social Dominance ; }, abstract = {A fundamental attribute of social intelligence is the ability to monitor third-party relationships, which has been repeatedly demonstrated in primates, and recently also in captive ravens. It is yet unknown how ravens make use of this ability when dealing with different types of social relationships simultaneously during complex real-life situations. Free-ranging non-breeder ravens live in societies characterized by high fission-fusion dynamics and structured by age, pair-bond status and kinship. Here, we show that free-ranging ravens modify communication during conflicts according to audience composition. When being attacked by dominant conspecifics, victims of aggression signal their distress via defensive calls. Victims increased call rates when their kin were in the bystander audience, but reduced call rates when the bystanders were bonding partners of their aggressors. Hence, ravens use social knowledge flexibly and probably based on their own need (i.e. alert nearby allies and avoid alerting nearby rivals).}, } @article {pmid29868262, year = {2018}, author = {Forti, LR and Foratto, RM and Márquez, R and Pereira, VR and Toledo, LF}, title = {Current knowledge on bioacoustics of the subfamily Lophyohylinae (Hylidae, Anura) and description of Ocellated treefrog Itapotihyla langsdorffii vocalizations.}, journal = {PeerJ}, volume = {6}, number = {}, pages = {e4813}, pmid = {29868262}, issn = {2167-8359}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Anuran vocalizations, such as advertisement and release calls, are informative for taxonomy because species recognition can be based on those signals. Thus, a proper acoustic description of the calls may support taxonomic decisions and may contribute to knowledge about amphibian phylogeny.

METHODS: Here we present a perspective on advertisement call descriptions of the frog subfamily Lophyohylinae, through a literature review and a spatial analysis presenting bioacoustic coldspots (sites with high diversity of species lacking advertisement call descriptions) for this taxonomic group. Additionally, we describe the advertisement and release calls of the still poorly known treefrog, Itapotihyla langsdorffii. We analyzed recordings of six males using the software Raven Pro 1.4 and calculated the coefficient of variation for classifying static and dynamic acoustic properties.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: We found that more than half of the species within the subfamily do not have their vocalizations described yet. Most of these species are distributed in the western and northern Amazon, where recording sampling effort should be strengthened in order to fill these gaps. The advertisement call of I. langsdorffii is composed of 3-18 short unpulsed notes (mean of 13 ms long), presents harmonic structure, and has a peak dominant frequency of about 1.4 kHz. This call usually presents amplitude modulation, with decreasing intensity along the sequence of notes. The release call is a simple unpulsed note with an average duration of 9 ms, and peak dominant frequency around 1.8 kHz. Temporal properties presented higher variations than spectral properties at both intra- and inter-individual levels. However, only peak dominant frequency was static at intra-individual level. High variability in temporal properties and lower variations related to spectral ones is usual for anurans; The first set of variables is determined by social environment or temperature, while the second is usually related to species-recognition process. Here we review and expand the acoustic knowledge of the subfamily Lophyohylinae, highlighting areas and species for future research.}, } @article {pmid29743545, year = {2018}, author = {Woods, RD and Kings, M and McIvor, GE and Thornton, A}, title = {Caller characteristics influence recruitment to collective anti-predator events in jackdaws.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {8}, number = {1}, pages = {7343}, pmid = {29743545}, issn = {2045-2322}, support = {BB/H021817/1/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; BB/H021817/2/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; 630051486/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; Crows/*physiology ; Female ; Male ; Social Behavior ; *Social Responsibility ; Vocalization, Animal/physiology ; }, abstract = {Across the animal kingdom, examples abound of individuals coming together to repel external threats. When such collective actions are initiated by recruitment signals, individuals may benefit from being selective in whom they join, so the identity of the initiator may determine the magnitude of the group response. However, the role of signaller discrimination in coordinating group-level responses has yet to be tested. Here we show that in wild jackdaws, a colonial corvid species, collective responses to anti-predator recruitment calls are mediated by caller characteristics. In playbacks next to nestboxes, the calls of nestbox residents attracted most recruits, followed in turn by other colony members, non-colony members and rooks (a sympatric corvid). Playbacks in fields outside nestbox colonies, where the immediate threat to broods was lower, showed similar results, with highest recruitment to nearby colony members' calls. Responses were further influenced by caller sex: calls from non-colony member females were less likely to elicit responsive scolding by recruits than other calls, potentially reflecting social rank associated with sex and colony membership. These results show that vocal discrimination mediates jackdaws' collective responses and highlight the need for further research into the cognitive basis of collective actions in animal groups.}, } @article {pmid29649503, year = {2018}, author = {Brem, AK and Almquist, JN and Mansfield, K and Plessow, F and Sella, F and Santarnecchi, E and Orhan, U and McKanna, J and Pavel, M and Mathan, S and Yeung, N and Pascual-Leone, A and Kadosh, RC and , }, title = {Modulating fluid intelligence performance through combined cognitive training and brain stimulation.}, journal = {Neuropsychologia}, volume = {118}, number = {Pt A}, pages = {107-114}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2018.04.008}, pmid = {29649503}, issn = {1873-3514}, mesh = {Brain/*physiology ; Brain Mapping ; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy/*methods ; Electric Stimulation/*methods ; Executive Function/physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence/*physiology ; Male ; Negotiating ; Regression Analysis ; Single-Blind Method ; }, abstract = {It is debated whether cognitive training of specific executive functions leads to far transfer effects, such as improvements in fluid intelligence (Gf). Within this context, transcranial direct current stimulation and recently also novel protocols such as transcranial random noise and alternating current stimulation are being investigated with regards to their ability to enhance cognitive training outcomes. We compared the effects of four different transcranial electrical brain stimulation protocols in combination with nine daily computerized training sessions on Gf. 82 participants were randomly assigned to receive transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), random noise stimulation (tRNS), multifocal alternating current stimulation at 40 Hz (mftACS), or multifocal tDCS (mftDCS) in combination with an adaptive and synergistic executive function (EF) training, or to a no-contact control group. EF training consisted of gamified tasks drawing on isolated as well as integrated executive functions (working memory, inhibition, cognitive flexibility). Transfer was assessed with a combined measure of Gf including three established tests (Bochumer Matrizentest - BOMAT, Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices - RAPM, and Sandia Matrices). We found significant improvements in Gf for the tDCS, mftDCS, and tRNS groups when compared with the no-contact group. In contrast, the mftACS group did not improve significantly and showed a similar pattern as the no-contact group. Mediation analyses indicated that the improvement in Gf was mediated through game progression in the mftDCS and tRNS group. Electrical brain stimulation in combination with sustained EF training can lead to transfer effects in Gf, which are mediated by training progression.}, } @article {pmid29563949, year = {2018}, author = {Boeckle, M and Szipl, G and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Raven food calls indicate sender's age and sex.}, journal = {Frontiers in zoology}, volume = {15}, number = {}, pages = {5}, pmid = {29563949}, issn = {1742-9994}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Acoustic parameters of animal signals have been shown to correlate with various phenotypic characteristics of the sender. These acoustic characteristics can be learned and categorized and thus are a basis for perceivers' recognition abilities. One of the most demanding capacities is individual recognition, achievable only after repeated interactions with the same individual. Still, class-level recognition might be potentially important to perceivers who have not previously encountered callers but can classify unknown individuals according to the already learned categories. Especially for species with high fission-fusion dynamics that repeatedly encounter unknown individuals it may be advantageous to develop class-level recognition. We tested whether frequency-, temporal-, and amplitude-related acoustic parameters of vocalizations emitted by ravens, a species showing high fission-fusion dynamics in non-breeder aggregations, are connected to phenotypic characteristics and thus have the potential for class-level recognition.

RESULTS: The analysis of 418 food calls revealed that some components summarizing acoustic parameters were differentiated by age-classes and sex.

CONCLUSIONS: Together, the results provide evidence for the co-variation of vocal characteristics and respective sex and age categories, a prerequisite for class-level recognition in perceivers. Perceivers that are ignorant of the caller's identity can thus potentially recognize these class-level differences for decision-making processes in feeding contexts.}, } @article {pmid29548501, year = {2018}, author = {Merzagora, I and Amadasi, A and Blandino, A and Travaini, G}, title = {The expert and the foreigner: Reflections of forensic transcultural psychopathology on a total of 86 reports by experts on criminal liability.}, journal = {International journal of law and psychiatry}, volume = {57}, number = {}, pages = {24-30}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijlp.2017.12.005}, pmid = {29548501}, issn = {1873-6386}, mesh = {Adult ; Criminal Law/legislation & jurisprudence ; Criminals/*legislation & jurisprudence/statistics & numerical data ; Emigrants and Immigrants/*legislation & jurisprudence/statistics & numerical data ; Expert Testimony/*legislation & jurisprudence/statistics & numerical data ; Female ; Forensic Psychiatry/legislation & jurisprudence ; Humans ; Italy ; Male ; Mental Competency/*legislation & jurisprudence ; Mentally Ill Persons/*legislation & jurisprudence/statistics & numerical data ; Psychopathology/legislation & jurisprudence ; }, abstract = {In recent times Italy has been experiencing massive migration flows, therefore the attention on the issue of crimes committed by foreigners is increasing. But within trials, in the evaluation of criminal liability of foreigners, how do experts deal with them? Do the performed evaluations take cultural diversity into account? The present study took origin from these questions and examined a total of 86 reports by experts on criminal liability of foreign persons (16 females and 70 males). Examinees have been declared indictable in 31 cases (36%), totally mentally ill in 40 cases (45%) and with diminished liability in 15 cases (17%); when liability was excluded, examinees were diagnosed in 11 cases with mood disorders, in 23 cases with personality disorders, in 4 cases with adaptation disorders and post-traumatic stress disorder and in 10 cases with different diagnoses (in some cases more than one diagnosis was present). None of the reports used the section of the DSM concerning "cultural framing". Tests were used in 48 surveys (56% of cases), with more tests for each examinee, for a total of 39 Rorschach, 14 Raven test, 8 Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory - MMPI - 4 Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale - WAIS - level test, 8 Thematic Apperception test. When subjects were diagnosed with mental disorder and with diminished liability, 42 (79%) were also socially dangerous. Results highlight the importance of the relationship between the expert and the foreigner. Many factors ought to be critically considered by experts dealing with foreigners, like cultural awareness, knowledge of verbal communication, critical consideration of meanings and diagnosis, knowledge of the foreigners' personal story, presence of tests with inexact information and cultural fallacy.}, } @article {pmid29532403, year = {2018}, author = {von Davier, M}, title = {Automated Item Generation with Recurrent Neural Networks.}, journal = {Psychometrika}, volume = {83}, number = {4}, pages = {847-857}, pmid = {29532403}, issn = {1860-0980}, mesh = {Automation ; Humans ; Language ; *Machine Learning ; Models, Theoretical ; *Neural Networks, Computer ; Personality ; Personality Tests ; Psychometrics/methods ; }, abstract = {Utilizing technology for automated item generation is not a new idea. However, test items used in commercial testing programs or in research are still predominantly written by humans, in most cases by content experts or professional item writers. Human experts are a limited resource and testing agencies incur high costs in the process of continuous renewal of item banks to sustain testing programs. Using algorithms instead holds the promise of providing unlimited resources for this crucial part of assessment development. The approach presented here deviates in several ways from previous attempts to solve this problem. In the past, automatic item generation relied either on generating clones of narrowly defined item types such as those found in language free intelligence tests (e.g., Raven's progressive matrices) or on an extensive analysis of task components and derivation of schemata to produce items with pre-specified variability that are hoped to have predictable levels of difficulty. It is somewhat unlikely that researchers utilizing these previous approaches would look at the proposed approach with favor; however, recent applications of machine learning show success in solving tasks that seemed impossible for machines not too long ago. The proposed approach uses deep learning to implement probabilistic language models, not unlike what Google brain and Amazon Alexa use for language processing and generation.}, } @article {pmid29475319, year = {2018}, author = {Romero-García, S and Moscoso-Mártir, A and Müller, J and Shen, B and Merget, F and Witzens, J}, title = {Wideband multi-stage CROW filters with relaxed fabrication tolerances.}, journal = {Optics express}, volume = {26}, number = {4}, pages = {4723-4737}, doi = {10.1364/OE.26.004723}, pmid = {29475319}, issn = {1094-4087}, abstract = {We present wideband and large free spectral range optical filters with steep passband edges for the selection of adjacent WDM communication channels that can be reliably fabricated with mainstream silicon photonics technology. The devices are based on three cascaded stages of coupled resonator optical waveguides loaded on a common bus waveguide. These stages differ in the number of resonators but are implemented with exactly identical unit cells, comprised of a matched racetrack resonator layout and a uniform spacing between cells. The different number of resonators in each stage allows a high rejection in the through port response enabled by the interleaved distribution of zeros. Furthermore, the exact replication of a unique cell avoids the passband ripple and high lobes in the stopband that typically arise in apodized coupled resonator optical waveguide based filters due to fabrication and coupling induced variations in the effective path length of each resonator. Silicon photonics filters designed for the selection of 9 adjacent optical carriers generated by a 100 GHz free spectral range comb laser have been successfully fabricated with 248 nm DUV lithography, achieving an out-of-band rejection above 11 dB and an insertion loss of less than 0.5 dB for the worst channels.}, } @article {pmid29410861, year = {2018}, author = {McIvor, GE and Lee, VE and Thornton, A}, title = {Testing social learning of anti-predator responses in juvenile jackdaws: the importance of accounting for levels of agitation.}, journal = {Royal Society open science}, volume = {5}, number = {1}, pages = {171571}, pmid = {29410861}, issn = {2054-5703}, support = {BB/H021817/1/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, abstract = {Social learning is often assumed to help young animals respond appropriately to potential threats in the environment. We brought wild, juvenile jackdaws briefly into captivity to test whether short exposures to conspecific vocalizations are sufficient to promote anti-predator learning. Individuals were presented with one of two models-a stuffed fox representing a genuine threat, or a toy elephant simulating a novel predator. Following an initial baseline presentation, juveniles were trained by pairing models with either adult mobbing calls, indicating danger, or contact calls suggesting no danger. In a final test phase with no playbacks, birds appeared to have habituated to the elephant, regardless of training, but responses to the fox remained high throughout, suggesting juveniles already recognized it as a predator before the experiment began. Training with mobbing calls did seem to generate elevated escape responses, but this was likely to be a carry-over effect of the playback in the previous trial. Overall, we found little evidence for social learning. Instead, individuals' responses were mainly driven by their level of agitation immediately preceding each presentation. These results highlight the importance of accounting for agitation in studies of anti-predator learning, and whenever animals are held in captivity for short periods.}, } @article {pmid29373167, year = {2018}, author = {Claes, R and Muyshondt, PGG and Dirckx, JJJ and Aerts, P}, title = {Do high sound pressure levels of crowing in roosters necessitate passive mechanisms for protection against self-vocalization?.}, journal = {Zoology (Jena, Germany)}, volume = {126}, number = {}, pages = {65-70}, doi = {10.1016/j.zool.2017.12.002}, pmid = {29373167}, issn = {1873-2720}, mesh = {Animals ; Chickens/*physiology ; Crowding/psychology ; Ear/anatomy & histology/physiology ; Female ; Male ; Sex Characteristics ; Sound/adverse effects ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {High sound pressure levels (>120dB) cause damage or death of the hair cells of the inner ear, hence causing hearing loss. Vocalization differences are present between hens and roosters. Crowing in roosters is reported to produce sound pressure levels of 100dB measured at a distance of 1m. In this study we measured the sound pressure levels that exist at the entrance of the outer ear canal. We hypothesize that roosters may benefit from a passive protective mechanism while hens do not require such a mechanism. Audio recordings at the level of the entrance of the outer ear canal of crowing roosters, made in this study, indeed show that a protective mechanism is needed as sound pressure levels can reach amplitudes of 142.3dB. Audio recordings made at varying distances from the crowing rooster show that at a distance of 0.5m sound pressure levels already drop to 102dB. Micro-CT scans of a rooster and chicken head show that in roosters the auditory canal closes when the beak is opened. In hens the diameter of the auditory canal only narrows but does not close completely. A morphological difference between the sexes in shape of a bursa-like slit which occurs in the outer ear canal causes the outer ear canal to close in roosters but not in hens.}, } @article {pmid29304032, year = {2018}, author = {Eggers, MJ and Doyle, JT and Lefthand, MJ and Young, SL and Moore-Nall, AL and Kindness, L and Medicine, RO and Ford, TE and Dietrich, E and Parker, AE and Hoover, JH and Camper, AK}, title = {Community Engaged Cumulative Risk Assessment of Exposure to Inorganic Well Water Contaminants, Crow Reservation, Montana.}, journal = {International journal of environmental research and public health}, volume = {15}, number = {1}, pages = {}, pmid = {29304032}, issn = {1660-4601}, support = {P50 ES026102/ES/NIEHS NIH HHS/United States ; P20 GM104417/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; P20 MD002317/MD/NIMHD NIH HHS/United States ; P20 RR016455/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States ; K12 GM088021/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; P20 GM103474/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Arsenic/analysis ; Drinking Water/*analysis ; *Environmental Monitoring/methods ; Humans ; Inorganic Chemicals/*analysis ; Montana ; Nitrates/analysis ; *Public Health ; Risk Assessment ; Rural Population ; Socioeconomic Factors ; Uranium/analysis ; Water Pollutants, Chemical/*analysis ; Water Supply ; *Water Wells ; }, abstract = {An estimated 11 million people in the US have home wells with unsafe levels of hazardous metals and nitrate. The national scope of the health risk from consuming this water has not been assessed as home wells are largely unregulated and data on well water treatment and consumption are lacking. Here, we assessed health risks from consumption of contaminated well water on the Crow Reservation by conducting a community-engaged, cumulative risk assessment. Well water testing, surveys and interviews were used to collect data on contaminant concentrations, water treatment methods, well water consumption, and well and septic system protection and maintenance practices. Additive Hazard Index calculations show that the water in more than 39% of wells is unsafe due to uranium, manganese, nitrate, zinc and/or arsenic. Most families' financial resources are limited, and 95% of participants do not employ water treatment technologies. Despite widespread high total dissolved solids, poor taste and odor, 80% of families consume their well water. Lack of environmental health literacy about well water safety, pre-existing health conditions and limited environmental enforcement also contribute to vulnerability. Ensuring access to safe drinking water and providing accompanying education are urgent public health priorities for Crow and other rural US families with low environmental health literacy and limited financial resources.}, } @article {pmid29299036, year = {2017}, author = {Szipl, G and Ringler, E and Spreafico, M and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Calls during agonistic interactions vary with arousal and raise audience attention in ravens.}, journal = {Frontiers in zoology}, volume = {14}, number = {}, pages = {57}, pmid = {29299036}, issn = {1742-9994}, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Acoustic properties of vocalizations can vary with the internal state of the caller, and may serve as reliable indicators for a caller's emotional state, for example to prevent conflicts. Thus, individuals may associate distinct characteristics in acoustic signals of conspecifics with specific social contexts, and adjust their behaviour accordingly to prevent escalation of conflicts. Common ravens (Corvus corax) crowd-forage with individuals of different age classes, sex, and rank, assemble at feeding sites, and engage in agonistic interactions of varying intensity. Attacked individuals frequently utter defensive calls in order to appease the aggressor. Here, we investigated if acoustic properties of defensive calls change with varying levels of aggression, and if bystanders respond to these changes.

RESULTS: Individuals were more likely to utter defensive calls when the attack involved contact aggression, and when the attacker was higher in rank than the victim. Defensive calls produced during intense conflicts were longer and uttered at higher rates, and showed higher fundamental frequency- and amplitude-related measures than calls uttered during low-intensity aggression, indicating arousal-based changes in defensive calls. Playback experiments showed that ravens were more likely to react in response to defensive calls with higher fundamental frequency by orientating towards the speakers as compared to original calls and calls manipulated in duration.

CONCLUSIONS: Arousal-based changes are encoded in acoustic parameters of defensive calls in attacked ravens, and bystanders in the audience pay attention to the degree of arousal in attacked conspecifics. Our findings imply that common ravens can regulate conflicts with conspecifics by means of vocalizations, and are able to gather social knowledge from conspecific calls.}, } @article {pmid29257965, year = {2017}, author = {van Casteren, A}, title = {Tool Use: Crows Craft the Right Tool for the Job.}, journal = {Current biology : CB}, volume = {27}, number = {24}, pages = {R1314-R1316}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2017.10.022}, pmid = {29257965}, issn = {1879-0445}, mesh = {Animals ; *Crows ; Language ; *Tool Use Behavior ; }, abstract = {New research into tool crafting in New Caledonian crows has uncovered factors that influence tool shape and the foraging advantages that these characteristics confer.}, } @article {pmid29176725, year = {2017}, author = {Chen, Z and De Beuckelaer, A and Wang, X and Liu, J}, title = {Distinct neural substrates of visuospatial and verbal-analytic reasoning as assessed by Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {7}, number = {1}, pages = {16230}, pmid = {29176725}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Brain/diagnostic imaging/*physiology ; *Brain Mapping ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; Language ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Recent studies revealed spontaneous neural activity to be associated with fluid intelligence (gF) which is commonly assessed by Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices, and embeds two types of reasoning: visuospatial and verbal-analytic reasoning. With resting-state fMRI data, using global brain connectivity (GBC) analysis which averages functional connectivity of a voxel in relation to all other voxels in the brain, distinct neural correlates of these two reasoning types were found. For visuospatial reasoning, negative correlations were observed in both the primary visual cortex (PVC) and the precuneus, and positive correlations were observed in the temporal lobe. For verbal-analytic reasoning, negative correlations were observed in the right inferior frontal gyrus (rIFG), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex and temporoparietal junction, and positive correlations were observed in the angular gyrus. Furthermore, an interaction between GBC value and type of reasoning was found in the PVC, rIFG and the temporal lobe. These findings suggest that visuospatial reasoning benefits more from elaborate perception to stimulus features, whereas verbal-analytic reasoning benefits more from feature integration and hypothesis testing. In sum, the present study offers, for different types of reasoning in gF, first empirical evidence of separate neural substrates in the resting brain.}, } @article {pmid29078034, year = {2018}, author = {Hill, SD and Aryal, A and Pawley, MDM and Ji, W}, title = {So much for the city: Urban-rural song variation in a widespread Asiatic songbird.}, journal = {Integrative zoology}, volume = {13}, number = {2}, pages = {194-205}, doi = {10.1111/1749-4877.12284}, pmid = {29078034}, issn = {1749-4877}, mesh = {*Animal Distribution ; Animals ; Asia ; Cities ; Male ; Noise ; Songbirds/*physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Song plays a fundamental role in intraspecific communication in songbirds. The temporal and structural components of songs can vary in different habitats. These include urban habitats where anthropogenic sounds and alteration of habitat structure can significantly affect songbird vocal behavior. Urban-rural variations in song complexity, song length and syllable rate are not fully understood. In this study, using the oriental magpie-robin (Copsychus saularis) as a model, we investigated urban-rural variation in song complexity, song length, syllable rate, syllable length and inter-syllable interval. Comparing urban and rural songs from 7 countries across its natural Asiatic range (Bangladesh, India, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand), we found no significant differences in oriental magpie-robin song complexity. However, we found significant differences in temporal song variables between urban and rural sites. Longer songs and inter-syllable intervals in addition to slower syllable rates within urban sites contributed the most to this variance. This indicates that the urban environment may have driven production of longer and slower songs to maximize efficient transmission of important song information in urban habitats.}, } @article {pmid28978738, year = {2017}, author = {Ręk, P and Magrath, RD}, title = {Deceptive vocal duets and multimodal display in a songbird.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {284}, number = {1864}, pages = {}, pmid = {28978738}, issn = {1471-2954}, mesh = {Animals ; Australian Capital Territory ; Female ; Male ; Songbirds/*physiology ; *Territoriality ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Many group-living animals cooperatively signal to defend resources, but what stops deceptive signalling to competitors about coalition strength? Cooperative-signalling species include mated pairs of birds that sing duets to defend their territory. Individuals of these species sometimes sing 'pseudo-duets' by mimicking their partner's contribution, but it is unknown if these songs are deceptive, or why duets are normally reliable. We studied pseudo-duets in Australian magpie-larks, Grallina cyanoleuca, and tested whether multimodal signalling constrains deception. Magpie-larks give antiphonal duets coordinated with a visual display, with each sex typically choosing a different song type within the duet. Individuals produced pseudo-duets almost exclusively during nesting when partners were apart, but the two song types were used in sequence rather than antiphonally. Strikingly, birds hid and gave no visual displays, implying deceptive suppression of information. Acoustic playbacks showed that pseudo-duets provoked the same response from residents as true duets, regardless of whether they were sequential or antiphonal, and stronger response than that to true duets consisting of a single song type. By contrast, experiments with robot models showed that songs accompanied by movements of two birds prompted stronger responses than songs accompanied by movements of one bird, irrespective of the number of song types or singers. We conclude that magpie-larks used deceptive pseudo-duets when partners were apart, and suppressed the visual display to maintain the subterfuge. We suggest that the visual component of many species' duets provides the most reliable information about the number of signallers and may have evolved to maintain honesty in duet communication.}, } @article {pmid28940309, year = {2017}, author = {Gone, JP}, title = {"It Felt Like Violence": Indigenous Knowledge Traditions and the Postcolonial Ethics of Academic Inquiry and Community Engagement.}, journal = {American journal of community psychology}, volume = {60}, number = {3-4}, pages = {353-360}, doi = {10.1002/ajcp.12183}, pmid = {28940309}, issn = {1573-2770}, mesh = {Community Participation ; Disclosure/*ethics ; *Ethics, Research ; Humans ; *Indians, North American ; *Knowledge ; Psychology/*ethics ; Violence ; }, abstract = {In a 2014 presentation at an academic conference featuring an American Indian community audience, I critically engaged the assumptions and commitments of Indigenous Research Methodologies. These methodologies have been described as approaches and procedures for conducting research that stem from long-subjugated Indigenous epistemologies (or "ways of knowing"). In my presentation, I described a Crow Indian religious tradition known as a skull medicine as an example of an indigenous way of knowing, referring to a historical photograph of a skull medicine bundle depicted on an accompanying slide. This occasioned consternation among many in attendance, some of whom later asserted that it was unethical for me to have presented this information because of Indigenous cultural proscriptions against publicizing sacred knowledge and photographing sacred objects. This ethical challenge depends on enduring religious sensibilities in Northern Plains Indian communities, as embedded within a postcolonial political critique concerning the accession of sacred objects by Euro-American collectors during the early 20th century. I complicate these ethical claims by considering competing goods that are valued by community psychologists, ultimately acknowledging that the associated ethical challenge resists resolution in terms that would be acceptable to diverse constituencies.}, } @article {pmid28914409, year = {2018}, author = {Despinoy, F and Zemiti, N and Forestier, G and Sánchez, A and Jannin, P and Poignet, P}, title = {Evaluation of contactless human-machine interface for robotic surgical training.}, journal = {International journal of computer assisted radiology and surgery}, volume = {13}, number = {1}, pages = {13-24}, pmid = {28914409}, issn = {1861-6429}, mesh = {Gestures ; Humans ; Robotic Surgical Procedures/*education/methods ; *User-Computer Interface ; }, abstract = {PURPOSE: Teleoperated robotic systems are nowadays routinely used for specific interventions. Benefits of robotic training courses have already been acknowledged by the community since manipulation of such systems requires dedicated training. However, robotic surgical simulators remain expensive and require a dedicated human-machine interface.

METHODS: We present a low-cost contactless optical sensor, the Leap Motion, as a novel control device to manipulate the RAVEN-II robot. We compare peg manipulations during a training task with a contact-based device, the electro-mechanical Sigma.7. We perform two complementary analyses to quantitatively assess the performance of each control method: a metric-based comparison and a novel unsupervised spatiotemporal trajectory clustering.

RESULTS: We show that contactless control does not offer as good manipulability as the contact-based. Where part of the metric-based evaluation presents the mechanical control better than the contactless one, the unsupervised spatiotemporal trajectory clustering from the surgical tool motions highlights specific signature inferred by the human-machine interfaces.

CONCLUSIONS: Even if the current implementation of contactless control does not overtake manipulation with high-standard mechanical interface, we demonstrate that using the optical sensor complete control of the surgical instruments is feasible. The proposed method allows fine tracking of the trainee's hands in order to execute dexterous laparoscopic training gestures. This work is promising for development of future human-machine interfaces dedicated to robotic surgical training systems.}, } @article {pmid28895948, year = {2017}, author = {Marley, SA and Erbe, C and Kent, CPS}, title = {Underwater recordings of the whistles of bottlenose dolphins in Fremantle Inner Harbour, Western Australia.}, journal = {Scientific data}, volume = {4}, number = {}, pages = {170126}, pmid = {28895948}, issn = {2052-4463}, mesh = {Animals ; *Bottle-Nosed Dolphin ; *Vocalization, Animal ; Western Australia ; }, abstract = {Dolphins use frequency-modulated whistles for a variety of social functions. Whistles vary in their characteristics according to context, such as activity state, group size, group composition, geographic location, and ambient noise levels. Therefore, comparison of whistle characteristics can be used to address numerous research questions regarding dolphin populations and behaviour. However, logistical and economic constraints on dolphin research have resulted in data collection biases, inconsistent analytical approaches, and knowledge gaps. This Data Descriptor presents an acoustic dataset of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) whistles recorded in the Fremantle Inner Harbour, Western Australia. Data were collected using an autonomous recorder and analysed using a range of acoustic measurements. Acoustic data review identified 336 whistles, which were subsequently measured for six key characteristics using Raven Pro software. Of these, 164 'high-quality' whistles were manually measured to provide an additional five acoustic characteristics. Digital files of individual whistles and corresponding measurements make this dataset available to researchers to address future questions regarding variations within and between dolphin communities.}, } @article {pmid28776480, year = {2018}, author = {Spaccavento, S and Cafforio, E and Cellamare, F and Colucci, A and Di Palma, A and Falcone, R and Craca, A and Loverre, A and Nardulli, R and Glueckauf, RL}, title = {Italian adaptation of the functional outcome questionnaire - aphasia: initial psychometric evaluation.}, journal = {Disability and rehabilitation}, volume = {40}, number = {24}, pages = {2925-2930}, doi = {10.1080/09638288.2017.1362042}, pmid = {28776480}, issn = {1464-5165}, mesh = {Adult ; *Aphasia/diagnosis/psychology/rehabilitation ; Caregivers/psychology ; Communication ; Female ; Humans ; Italy ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Outcome Assessment, Health Care/*methods ; Psychometrics/*methods ; *Quality of Life ; Reproducibility of Results ; Stroke/*psychology ; Stroke Rehabilitation/*methods ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Translations ; }, abstract = {PURPOSE: To evaluate the psychometric properties of the Italian version of Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia.

METHODS: Two hundred and five persons with stroke-related aphasia and right hemiparesis who received ongoing assistance from a family caregiver were assessed using the Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia, Aachener Aphasie Test, Token Test, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, Functional Independence Measure (FIM), Functional Assessment Measure (FAM), and Quality of Life Questionnaire for Aphasics (QLQA). The Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia was translated into the Italian language using a translation and back-translation method. Reliability and construct validity of the Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia were evaluated.

RESULTS: The Italian version of the Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia showed good internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the overall scale (α = 0.98; ICC = 0.95) and subscales (α = 0.89 for the communicating basic needs (CBN), α = 0.92 for the making routine requests (MRR), α = 0.96 for the communicating new information (CNI), α = 0.93 for the attention/other communication skills (AO); ICC = 0.95 for CBN, ICC = 0.96 for MRR, ICC = 0.97 for CNI and ICC = 0.92 for AO). Significant correlations were found between the Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia and Token Test, QLQA, Aachener Aphasie Test scores, and FAM linguistic scores, indicating good convergent validity. Low correlations were found between Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and FIM motor scores, showing good discriminant validity.

CONCLUSIONS: The overall findings of this study supported the reliability and construct validity of the Italian version of the Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia. This measure holds considerable promise in assessing the functional outcomes of aphasia rehabilitation in Italian-speaking persons with aphasia. Implications for Rehabilitation Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia is a reliable and valid questionnaire in assessing functional communication of Italian-speaking people with aphasia. This measure provides critical information about people with aphasia's functional and pragmatic communication in home and community settings, contributing significantly to overall quality of life. Since the use of measures of functional communication is recommended in the clinical evaluation of language disease, the Italian version of Functional Outcome Questionnaire - Aphasia may be effective in tailoring rehabilitation treatment to the presenting communication problems of people with aphasia and their caregivers.}, } @article {pmid32026102, year = {2017}, author = {Varanda, CA and Fernandes, FDM}, title = {Cognitive flexibility training intervention among children with autism: a longitudinal study.}, journal = {Psicologia, reflexao e critica : revista semestral do Departamento de Psicologia da UFRGS}, volume = {30}, number = {1}, pages = {15}, pmid = {32026102}, issn = {0102-7972}, abstract = {Autism is defined by persistent deficits in social communication and social interaction in multiple contexts as well as restricted and repetitive patterns of behavior. There are also reported difficulties in the dynamic activation and modification of cognitive processes in response to changes in tasks' demands. Such difficulties are believed to be due to poor flexible cognition. This research aimed to assess and intervene in cognitive flexibility in subjects with autism.Ten subjects diagnosed with autism by psychiatrists, aged 5 years to 13 years and 5 months, were assessed in non-verbal intelligence through Raven's Progressive Matrices in pretest. They were also assessed in cognitive flexibility through Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST) and in patterns of social interactions, behaviors, and communication through Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised (ADI-R). An intervention program of 14 to 21 sessions was established to enhance cognitive flexibility. In posttest, they were assessed in WCST and ADI-R.All measures of cognitive flexibility improved in posttest except for failure to maintain set. Among the measures improved in posttest, perseverative errors and responses improved in posttest with statistical significance as well as categories completed. Total scores on ADI-R were lower in posttest as well as scores on communication abilities.The qualitative improvement showed by the individuals of this research concerning cognitive flexibility and also patterns of restricted behavior, social interaction, and communication abilities suggests that individuals with autism can benefit from the development of strategies for the enhancement of cognitive flexibility. Nevertheless, more research is suggested with a larger sample among subjects on the autism spectrum.}, } @article {pmid28570966, year = {2017}, author = {O'Donnell, LA and Axelson, DA and Kowatch, RA and Schneck, CD and Sugar, CA and Miklowitz, DJ}, title = {Enhancing quality of life among adolescents with bipolar disorder: A randomized trial of two psychosocial interventions.}, journal = {Journal of affective disorders}, volume = {219}, number = {}, pages = {201-208}, pmid = {28570966}, issn = {1573-2517}, support = {R01 MH073871/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R01 MH093676/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R21 MH097007/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Adolescent ; Antipsychotic Agents/therapeutic use ; Bipolar Disorder/psychology/*therapy ; Combined Modality Therapy ; Communication ; Family Relations ; Family Therapy/*methods ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Patient Education as Topic/*methods ; Quality of Life/*psychology ; Treatment Outcome ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Adolescents with bipolar disorder (BD) report lower quality of life (QoL) than adolescents with other psychiatric disorders. This study compared the efficacy of family-focused therapy for adolescents (FFT-A) plus pharmacotherapy to brief psychoeducation (enhanced care, or EC) plus pharmacotherapy on self-rated QoL in adolescents with BD over 2 years.

METHODS: Participants were 141 adolescents (mean age: 15.6±1.4yr) with BD I or II who had a mood episode in the previous 3 months. Adolescents and parents were randomly assigned to (1) FFT-A, given in 21 sessions in 9 months of psychoeducation, communication enhancement training, and problem-solving skills training, or (2) EC, given in 3 family psychoeducation sessions. Study psychiatrists provided patient participants with protocol-based pharmacotherapy for the duration of the study. QoL was assessed with The KINDL[R]Questionnaire (Ravens-Sieberer and Bullinger, 1998) during active treatment (baseline to 9 months) and during a post-treatment follow-up (9-24 months).

RESULTS: The two treatment groups did not differ in overall QoL scores over 24 months. However, adolescents in FFT-A had greater improvements in quality of family relationships and physical well-being than participants in EC. For quality of friendships, the trajectory during active treatment favored EC, whereas the trajectory during post-treatment favored FFT-A.

LIMITATIONS: We were unable to standardize medication use or adherence over time. Quality of life was based on self-report rather than on observable functioning.

CONCLUSIONS: A short course of family psychoeducation and skills training may enhance relational functioning and health in adolescents with BD. The effects of different psychosocial interventions on peer relationships deserves further study.}, } @article {pmid28535928, year = {2017}, author = {Luef, EM and Ter Maat, A and Pika, S}, title = {Vocal similarity in long-distance and short-distance vocalizations in raven pairs (Corvus corax) in captivity.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {142}, number = {}, pages = {1-7}, doi = {10.1016/j.beproc.2017.05.013}, pmid = {28535928}, issn = {1872-8308}, mesh = {Acoustics ; Animals ; Communication ; Crows/*physiology ; Female ; Male ; *Pair Bond ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Vocal interactions in many birds are characterized by imitation or the matching of vocalizations whereby one individual makes its vocalizations more similar to those of a conspecific. This behaviour is aided by vocal learning, which allows birds to change the vocalizations already in their repertoires, or to add new ones. The majority of studies on vocal similarity have been focussing on the songs of birds rather than their calls, with evidence for vocal similarity in calls being rather scarce. Here, we investigated whether ravens make their calls acoustically similar to one another by analysing the extent to which short- and long-distance calls of their vocal repertoires exhibited vocal similarity. Our results showed that long-distance calls, but not short-distance calls, are highly similar between pair partners. This effect may be explained by the different functions underlying short- and long-distance communication in ravens, with vocal similarity possibly being scaffolded by specific social matrices such as pair-bonds and/or strong social relationships.}, } @article {pmid28323477, year = {2017}, author = {Adler, JL}, title = {"The Service I Rendered Was Just as True": African American Soldiers and Veterans as Activist Patients.}, journal = {American journal of public health}, volume = {107}, number = {5}, pages = {675-683}, doi = {10.2105/AJPH.2017.303688}, pmid = {28323477}, issn = {1541-0048}, mesh = {African Americans/*history ; Health Policy/history ; History, 20th Century ; Hospitals, Military/*history ; Humans ; Male ; Military Personnel/*history ; Patient Advocacy/*history ; Prejudice/*history ; United States ; Veterans/*history ; World War I ; }, abstract = {In this article, I examine how African American soldiers and veterans experienced and shaped federally sponsored health care during and after World War I. Building on studies of the struggles of Black leaders and health care providers to win professional and public health advancement in the 1920s and 1930s, and of advocates to mobilize for health care rights in the mid-20th century, I focus primarily on the experiences and activism of patients in the interwar years. Private and government correspondence, congressional testimony, and reports from Black newspapers reveal that African American soldiers and veterans communicated directly with policymakers and bureaucrats regarding unequal treatment, assuming roles as "policy actors" who viewed health and medical care as "politics by other means." In the process, they drew attention to the paradoxes inherent in expanding government entitlements in the era of Jim Crow, and helped shape a veterans' health system that emerged in the 1920s and remained in place for the following century. They also laid the groundwork for the system's precedent-setting desegregation, referred to by advocates of the time as "a shining example to the rest of the country."}, } @article {pmid28287785, year = {2017}, author = {Thorvaldsson, V and Skoog, I and Johansson, B}, title = {IQ as moderator of terminal decline in perceptual and motor speed, spatial, and verbal ability: Testing the cognitive reserve hypothesis in a population-based sample followed from age 70 until death.}, journal = {Psychology and aging}, volume = {32}, number = {2}, pages = {148-157}, doi = {10.1037/pag0000150}, pmid = {28287785}, issn = {1939-1498}, support = {P01 AG043362/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aging/*physiology/psychology ; Cognition Disorders/diagnosis/epidemiology/psychology ; Cognitive Reserve/*physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence/*physiology ; Intelligence Tests ; Male ; Motor Skills/*physiology ; Perception/physiology ; Population Surveillance/methods ; Registries ; Spatial Behavior/*physiology ; Sweden/epidemiology ; Verbal Behavior/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Terminal decline (TD) refers to acceleration in within-person cognitive decline prior to death. The cognitive reserve hypothesis postulates that individuals with higher IQ are able to better tolerate age-related increase in brain pathologies. On average, they will exhibit a later onset of TD, but once they start to decline, their trajectory is steeper relative to those with lower IQ. We tested these predictions using data from initially nondemented individuals (n = 179) in the H70-study repeatedly measured at ages 70, 75, 79, 81, 85, 88, 90, 92, 95, 97, 99, and 100, or until death, on cognitive tests of perceptual-and-motor-speed and spatial and verbal ability. We quantified IQ using the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) test administrated at age 70. We fitted random change point TD models to the data, within a Bayesian framework, conditioned on IQ, age of death, education, and sex. In line with predictions, we found that 1 additional standard deviation on the IQ scale was associated with a delay in onset of TD by 1.87 (95% highest density interval [HDI; 0.20, 4.08]) years on speed, 1.96 (95% HDI [0.15, 3.54]) years on verbal ability, but only 0.88 (95% HDI [-0.93, 3.49]) year on spatial ability. Higher IQ was associated with steeper rate of decline within the TD phase on measures of speed and verbal ability, whereas results on spatial ability were nonconclusive. Our findings provide partial support for the cognitive reserve hypothesis and demonstrate that IQ can be a significant moderator of cognitive change trajectories in old age. (PsycINFO Database Record}, } @article {pmid28278304, year = {2017}, author = {Jamnadass, ES and Keelan, JA and Russell-Smith, SN and Hickey, M and Maybery, MT and Whitehouse, AJ}, title = {Umbilical cord androgens and estrogens in relation to verbal and nonverbal abilities at age 10 in the general population.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {12}, number = {3}, pages = {e0173493}, pmid = {28278304}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Adult ; Androgens/*metabolism ; Child ; Estrogens/*metabolism ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Nonverbal Communication/*physiology ; Pregnancy ; Sex Characteristics ; Umbilical Cord/*metabolism ; Verbal Behavior/*physiology ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Sex differences in verbal and nonverbal abilities are a contentious area of research. Prenatal steroids have been shown to have masculinizing effects on the brain that may affect the development of nonverbal and verbal abilities in later life. The current study examined a wide range of biologically active sex steroids (both androgens and estrogens) in umbilical cord blood at birth in a large pregnancy cohort in relation to performance on nonverbal (Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices) and verbal (Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals-3 and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III) measures at age 10 years. Overall, Androgen and Estrogen composites in cord blood were not found to be predictive of performance on verbal and nonverbal measures at age 10. These data suggest that late gestation sex steroids do not exert a major effect on nonverbal and verbal abilities in middle childhood.}, } @article {pmid28241283, year = {2017}, author = {Neumann, S and Salm, S and Rietz, C and Stenneken, P}, title = {The German Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS-G): Reliability and Validity of a Novel Assessment of Communicative Participation.}, journal = {Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR}, volume = {60}, number = {3}, pages = {675-681}, doi = {10.1044/2016_JSLHR-L-15-0219}, pmid = {28241283}, issn = {1558-9102}, mesh = {Child Behavior/psychology ; Child, Preschool ; *Communication ; Female ; Humans ; Language Development Disorders/*diagnosis ; Male ; Psychometrics ; Reproducibility of Results ; }, abstract = {PURPOSE: Our purpose was to explore the validity and reliability of the German Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (FOCUS-G; Thomas-Stonell, Oddson, Robertson, & Rosenbaum, 2010, 2012), which is an authorized adaptation of the Focus on the Outcomes of Communication Under Six (Thomas-Stonell et al., 2010) tool, which measures communicative participation in preschool children.

METHOD: Parents of typically developing children (TDC) and of children with speech impairment (CSI) completed the FOCUS-G and the Questionnaire for Measuring Health-Related Quality of Life in Children (KiddyKINDL; Ravens-Sieberer & Bullinger, 2000). To determine test-retest reliability, the FOCUS-G was readministered to a subsample of parents 1 week later.

RESULTS: The FOCUS-G had high values for internal consistency (α = .959, Ω = .941), test-retest reliability (intraclass correlation coefficient = .974), and split-half reliability (r = .832). Total scores on the FOCUS-G and KiddyKINDL demonstrated significant associations. FOCUS-G total scores and subdomain scores for both samples showed significant correlations, indicating good construct validity. The discriminatory ability of the FOCUS-G was indicated by significantly higher mean scores for TDC (M = 6.03, SD = 0.65) than CSI (M = 5.47, SD = 1.02).

CONCLUSION: The overall good psychometric properties of this novel assessment of communicative participation support its use by speech-language pathologists for clinical and research purposes with German-speaking children.}, } @article {pmid28239221, year = {2017}, author = {Munteanu, AM and Stocker, M and Stöwe, M and Massen, JJ and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Behavioural and Hormonal Stress Responses to Social Separation in Ravens, Corvus corax.}, journal = {Ethology : formerly Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie}, volume = {123}, number = {2}, pages = {123-135}, pmid = {28239221}, issn = {0179-1613}, abstract = {Social life is profitable, but it facilitates conflicts over resources and creates interdependence between individuals. Separating highly social animals triggers intense reactions aimed at re-establishing lost connections. Less is known, however, about behavioural and physiological responses to separation in socially facultative species, where individuals temporarily form groups and may subsequently leave them. Non-breeding common ravens (Corvus corax) gather in large numbers at feeding and roosting sites, but otherwise spend time seemingly solitary or in small subgroups. We here studied how ravens cope with being socially isolated, and investigated the life characteristics that might explain potential individual differences. For this, we individually separated captive subadult ravens (n = 25) and housed them in physical and visual isolation from their group members across 4 d. During the separation period, we collected behavioural data and measured the amount of immunoreactive corticosterone metabolites from bird droppings to assess the ravens' physiological stress response. We found behavioural indicators of stress at the start of the separation, when ravens showed higher levels of tension than of comfort - a pattern that reversed at the end of the separation. Furthermore, we found that the upbringing of ravens affected their behaviour during separation. Hand-raised birds produced more vocalisations in the beginning of the separation, and were less active at the end, while the reverse pattern occurred with parent-raised ravens. Contrary to our predictions, we did not find differences in hormonal responses between the beginning and end of the separation period or any link between hormonal responses and behaviours. Ravens' behavioural responses to social separation stress seem to be dependent on their arousal states, although possible links with hormonal reactions remain unclear. Our results show that behavioural reactions are not always linked with hormonal responses to stress, and further emphasise the importance of investigating effects of early-life experiences.}, } @article {pmid28211915, year = {2017}, author = {Hirano, Y and Nakagawa, M and Suyama, T and Murase, K and Shirakawa, M and Takayama, S and Sun, TP and Hakoshima, T}, title = {Structure of the SHR-SCR heterodimer bound to the BIRD/IDD transcriptional factor JKD.}, journal = {Nature plants}, volume = {3}, number = {}, pages = {17010}, pmid = {28211915}, issn = {2055-0278}, support = {R01 GM100051/GM/NIGMS NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Arabidopsis/*genetics/metabolism ; Arabidopsis Proteins/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism ; Carrier Proteins/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism ; Transcription Factors/chemistry/*genetics/metabolism ; }, abstract = {The plant-specific GAI, RGA and SCR (GRAS) family proteins play critical roles in plant development and signalling. Two GRAS proteins, SHORT-ROOT (SHR) and SCARECROW (SCR), cooperatively direct asymmetric cell division and the patterning of root cell types by transcriptional control in conjunction with BIRD/INDETERMINATE DOMAIN (IDD) transcription factors, although precise details of these specific interactions and actions remain unknown. Here, we present the crystal structures of the SHR-SCR binary and JACKDAW (JKD)/IDD10-SHR-SCR ternary complexes. Each GRAS domain comprises one α/β core subdomain with an α-helical cap that mediates heterodimerization by forming an intermolecular helix bundle. The α/β core subdomain of SHR forms the BIRD binding groove, which specifically recognizes the zinc fingers of JKD. We identified a conserved SHR-binding motif in 13 BIRD/IDD transcription factors. Our results establish a structural basis for GRAS-GRAS and GRAS-BIRD interactions and provide valuable clues towards our understanding of these regulators, which are involved in plant-specific signalling networks.}, } @article {pmid28145581, year = {2017}, author = {Laiolo, P}, title = {Phenotypic similarity in sympatric crow species: Evidence of social convergence?.}, journal = {Evolution; international journal of organic evolution}, volume = {71}, number = {4}, pages = {1051-1060}, doi = {10.1111/evo.13195}, pmid = {28145581}, issn = {1558-5646}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; *Biological Evolution ; Crows/*anatomy & histology/*physiology ; Phenotype ; Phylogeny ; Social Behavior ; *Sympatry ; }, abstract = {Crows, rooks, and ravens (Corvus spp.) display marked morphological and voice similarities that have been hypothesized to stem from competitive interactions, as a case of nonaposematic mimicry. Here, I test predictions of the mimicry hypothesis at the macrovolutionary scale, examining whether species morphological and acoustic traits covary with those of coexisting congeners, and whether phenotypic similarity has facilitated the coexistence of related species after secondary contact. Body size and the temporal patterns of the commonest call display high levels of similarity among sympatric species, even after controlling for the effect of shared climate and habitat, and phylogenetic constraints in the production of variation. When sister species differed in these acoustic and morphological traits, their transition to secondary sympatry was delayed relative to those with more similar traits. No similarity was found in the sexual call of crows, suggesting that convergence occurs only when function does not favour maintenance of species-specific traits. Crow similarities in morphological and acoustic features may therefore be associated with coevolving interactions with congeners, in line with a broad array of studies documenting convergence among species that interact aggressively or forage communally.}, } @article {pmid27864088, year = {2017}, author = {Moll, FW and Nieder, A}, title = {Modality-invariant audio-visual association coding in crow endbrain neurons.}, journal = {Neurobiology of learning and memory}, volume = {137}, number = {}, pages = {65-76}, doi = {10.1016/j.nlm.2016.11.011}, pmid = {27864088}, issn = {1095-9564}, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; Animals ; Auditory Perception/*physiology ; Behavior, Animal/physiology ; Crows ; Learning/physiology ; Male ; Neurons/*physiology ; Photic Stimulation ; Prefrontal Cortex/physiology ; Telencephalon/*physiology ; Visual Perception/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Single neuron activity in the corvid nidopallium caudolaterale (NCL), the supposed avian functional analog of the prefrontal cortex, represents associations of auditory with visual stimuli. This is of high adaptive value for songbirds that need to rely on audio-visual associations to communicate, find a mate or escape predators. However, it remains unclear whether NCL neurons can represent cross-modal associations in a modality invariant, abstract fashion. To dissociate between modality-dependent and modality-invariant NCL activity, we trained two crows to match auditory sample cues with visual test stimuli, and vice versa, across a temporal memory delay. During sample presentation, NCL activity selectively encoded associations in a modality invariant fashion. During the delay, we observed subject specific, population-level coding biases in NCL activity. Despite of these biases, task relevant information could be decoded equally well from either subject's neuronal delay activity. Decoding success was facilitated by many mixed selectivity neurons, which mediated high dimensional representations of task variables on the NCL population level. These results parallel findings from the mammalian PFC, suggesting common mechanisms responsible for the adaptability of multimodal association areas across taxa.}, } @article {pmid27849243, year = {2016}, author = {Lamônica, DA and Ribeiro, CD and Ferraz, PM and Tabaquim, ML}, title = {Moyamoya disease: impact on the performance of oral and written language.}, journal = {CoDAS}, volume = {28}, number = {5}, pages = {661-665}, doi = {10.1590/2317-1782/20162016010}, pmid = {27849243}, issn = {2317-1782}, mesh = {Child ; Cognition Disorders/*etiology ; Female ; Humans ; Language Tests ; Learning ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Moyamoya Disease/*complications/diagnosis ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; }, abstract = {Moyamoya disease is an unusual form of occlusive, cerebrovascular disorder that affects the arteries of the central nervous system, causing acquired language alterations and learning difficulties. The study aim was to describe the oral/written language and cognitive skills in a seven-year-and-seven-month-old girl diagnosed with Moyamoya disease. The assessment consisted of interviews with her parents and application of the following instruments: Observation of Communicative Behavior, Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, Academic Performance Test, Profile of Phonological Awareness, Raven's Progressive Matrices Test, Special Scale, Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test. Two episodes of stroke in the left and right temporal-parietal and left frontal areas occurred until the age of six years and five months. Revascularization surgery and medication treatment were conducted. The audiologic and ophthalmologic assessments indicated normality. At the time of the study, the girl was attending the second grade of elementary school. She presented changes in oral and written language (syllabic-alphabetic), non-naming of all graphemes, low arithmetic and writing means, reading skill below first grade level and psycholinguistic delay, and pre-school level phonological processing skills. The psychological evaluation indicated satisfactory intellectual level; however, it also showed cognitive performance impairment in verbal and execution tasks and limitations on graphic-perceptual-motor skills and sequential logic organization. The stroke episodes influenced the performance of learning processes, affecting the analysis, integration, and interpretation of relevant visual and auditory information.}, } @article {pmid27796660, year = {2017}, author = {Bílá, K and Beránková, J and Veselý, P and Bugnyar, T and Schwab, C}, title = {Responses of urban crows to con- and hetero-specific alarm calls in predator and non-predator zoo enclosures.}, journal = {Animal cognition}, volume = {20}, number = {1}, pages = {43-51}, doi = {10.1007/s10071-016-1047-5}, pmid = {27796660}, issn = {1435-9456}, mesh = {Animals ; Animals, Zoo ; Birds ; Cities ; *Crows ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Urban animals and birds in particular are able to cope with diverse novel threats in a city environment such as avoiding novel, unfamiliar predators. Predator avoidance often includes alarm signals that can be used also by hetero-specifics, which is mainly the case in mixed-species flocks. It can also occur when species do not form flocks but co-occur together. In this study we tested whether urban crows use alarm calls of conspecifics and hetero-specifics (jackdaws, Corvus monedula) differently in a predator and a non-predator context with partly novel and unfamiliar zoo animal species. Birds were tested at the Tiergarten Schönbrunn in the city of Vienna by playing back con- and hetero-specific alarm calls and control stimuli (great tit song and no stimuli) at predator (wolf, polar bear) and non-predator (eland antelope and cranes, peccaries) enclosures. We recorded responses of crows as the percentage of birds flying away after hearing the playback (out of those present before the playback) and as the number of vocalizations given by the present birds. A significantly higher percentage of crows flew away after hearing either con- or hetero-specific alarm calls, but it did not significantly differ between the predator and the non-predator context. Crows treated jackdaw calls just as crow calls, indicating that they make proper use of hetero-specific alarm calls. Responding similarly in both contexts may suggest that the crows were uncertain about the threat a particular zoo animal represents and were generally cautious. In the predator context, however, a high percentage of crows also flew away upon hearing the great tit control song which suggests that they may still evaluate those species which occasionally killed crows as more dangerous and respond to any conspicuous sound.}, } @article {pmid27384024, year = {2016}, author = {Dove, WF}, title = {Weaving a Tapestry from Threads Spun by Geneticists: The Series Perspectives on Genetics, 1987-2008.}, journal = {Genetics}, volume = {203}, number = {3}, pages = {1011-1022}, pmid = {27384024}, issn = {1943-2631}, mesh = {Genetics/*history ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; *Peer Review, Research ; United States ; }, abstract = {The Perspectives column was initiated in 1987 when Jan Drake, Editor-in-Chief of GENETICS, invited Jim Crow and William Dove to serve as coeditors of "Anecdotal, Historical, and Critical Commentaries." As the series evolved over 21 years, under the guidance of Crow and Dove, the input of stories told by geneticists from many countries created a panorama of 20th-century genetics. Three recurrent themes are visible: how geneticists have created the science (as solitary investigators, in pairs, or in cooperative groups); how geneticists work hard, but find ways to have fun; and how public and private institutions have sustained the science of genetics, particularly in the United States. This article ends by considering how the Perspectives series and other communication formats can carry forward the core science of genetics from the 20th into the 21st century.}, } @article {pmid27128947, year = {2016}, author = {van Vuuren, K and O'Keeffe, S and Jones, DN}, title = {"Vicious, Aggressive Bird Stalks Cyclist": The Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen) in the News.}, journal = {Animals : an open access journal from MDPI}, volume = {6}, number = {5}, pages = {}, pmid = {27128947}, issn = {2076-2615}, abstract = {The Australian Magpie (Cracticus tibicen) is a common bird found in urban Australian environments where its nest defense behavior during spring brings it into conflict with humans. This article explores the role of print media in covering this conflict. Leximancer software was used to analyze newspaper reports about the Australian Magpie from a sample of 634 news stories, letters-to-the editor and opinion pieces, published in newspapers from around Australia between 1 January 2010 and 31 December 2014. The results confirm that stories about these birds are primarily published in the daily regional and weekly suburban press, and that the dominant story frame concerns the risk of "swooping" behavior to cyclists and pedestrians from birds protecting their nests during the spring breeding season. The most prominent sources used by journalists are local and state government representatives, as well as members of the public. The results show that the "swooping season" has become a normal part of the annual news cycle for these publications, with the implication that discourse surrounding the Australian Magpie predominantly concerns the risk these birds pose to humans, and ignores their decline in non-urban environments.}, } @article {pmid26868053, year = {2016}, author = {Droege, G and Töpfer, T}, title = {The Corvids Literature Database--500 years of ornithological research from a crow's perspective.}, journal = {Database : the journal of biological databases and curation}, volume = {2016}, number = {}, pages = {}, pmid = {26868053}, issn = {1758-0463}, mesh = {Animals ; Biology/*methods ; Crows/*physiology ; *Databases, Bibliographic ; Databases, Factual ; Europe ; Geography ; Language ; Phylogeny ; Publications ; Research ; Species Specificity ; }, abstract = {Corvids (Corvidae) play a major role in ornithological research. Because of their worldwide distribution, diversity and adaptiveness, they have been studied extensively. The aim of the Corvids Literature Database (CLD, http://www.corvids.de/cld) is to record all publications (citation format) on all extant and extinct Crows, Ravens, Jays and Magpies worldwide and tag them with specific keywords making them available for researchers worldwide. The self-maintained project started in 2006 and today comprises 8000 articles, spanning almost 500 years. The CLD covers publications from 164 countries, written in 36 languages and published by 8026 authors in 1503 journals (plus books, theses and other publications). Forty-nine percent of all records are available online as full-text documents or deposited in the physical CLD archive. The CLD contains 442 original corvid descriptions. Here, we present a metadata assessment of articles recorded in the CLD including a gap analysis and prospects for future research. Database URL: http://www.corvids.de/cld.}, } @article {pmid26866991, year = {2016}, author = {Weizmann, F}, title = {Robert W. Rieber (1932-2015).}, journal = {The American psychologist}, volume = {71}, number = {2}, pages = {149}, doi = {10.1037/a0039976}, pmid = {26866991}, issn = {1935-990X}, mesh = {History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Psychology/*history ; }, abstract = {Presents the obituary of Robert W. Rieber (1932-2015). Robert W. Rieber, the son of immigrants from the former Austro- Hungarian Empire was born March 24, 1932. He earned a bachelor's degree at Pennsylvania State University and a master's degree in speech pathology at Temple University. He moved to New York City, New York, in 1957, working as a speech pathologist at New York University. In 1960, he accepted an academic position at Pace University, subsequently moving to the John Jay College of Criminal Justice at City University of New York. He held appointments at Columbia University and, following his retirement from John Jay, at Fordham University. Bob founded and edited several journals, including The Journal of Communication Disorders, The Journal of Social Distress and the Homeless, and The Journal of Psycholinguistics Research. While on leave from Pace, he completed his doctorate at the University of London with a dissertation on the relationship between language and psychopathology. Rieber died at his summer home in Maine on April 9, 2015. He was 83.}, } @article {pmid26848730, year = {2016}, author = {Mankin, JL and Thompson, C and Branigan, HP and Simner, J}, title = {Processing compound words: Evidence from synaesthesia.}, journal = {Cognition}, volume = {150}, number = {}, pages = {1-9}, pmid = {26848730}, issn = {1873-7838}, support = {617678/ERC_/European Research Council/International ; }, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Color ; Color Perception/*physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; Male ; Perceptual Disorders/*diagnosis/*psychology ; Photic Stimulation/*methods ; *Semantics ; Synesthesia ; *Word Association Tests ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {This study used grapheme-colour synaesthesia, a neurological condition where letters evoke a strong and consistent impression of colour, as a tool to investigate normal language processing. For two sets of compound words varying by lexical frequency (e.g., football vs lifevest) or semantic transparency (e.g., flagpole vs magpie), we asked 19 grapheme-colour synaesthetes to choose their dominant synaesthetic colour using an online colour palette. Synaesthetes could then select a second synaesthetic colour for each word if they experienced one. For each word, we measured the number of elicited synaesthetic colours (zero, one, or two) and the nature of those colours (in terms of their saturation and luminance values). In the first analysis, we found that the number of colours was significantly influenced by compound frequency, such that the probability of a one-colour response increased with frequency. However, semantic transparency did not influence the number of synaesthetic colours. In the second analysis, we found that the luminance of the dominant colour was predicted by the frequency of the first constituent (e.g. rain in rainbow). We also found that the dominant colour was significantly more luminant than the secondary colour. Our results show the influence of implicit linguistic measures on synaesthetic colours, and support multiple/dual-route models of compound processing.}, } @article {pmid26806602, year = {2016}, author = {Beatty, J}, title = {What are narratives good for?.}, journal = {Studies in history and philosophy of biological and biomedical sciences}, volume = {58}, number = {}, pages = {33-40}, doi = {10.1016/j.shpsc.2015.12.016}, pmid = {26806602}, issn = {1879-2499}, mesh = {Animals ; Biological Evolution ; History, 19th Century ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; *Narration/history ; Natural History/history ; Philosophy/history ; Science/*history ; }, abstract = {Narratives may be easy to come by, but not everything is worth narrating. What merits a narrative? Here, I follow the lead of narratologists and literary theorists, and focus on one particular proposal concerning the elements of a story that make it narrative-worthy. These elements correspond to features of the natural world addressed by the historical sciences, where narratives figure so prominently. What matters is contingency. Narratives are especially good for representing contingency and accounting for contingent outcomes. This will be squared with a common view that narratives leave no room for chance. On the contrary, I will argue, tracing one path through a maze of alternative possibilities, and alluding to those possibilities along the way, is what a narrative does particularly well.}, } @article {pmid26647979, year = {2015}, author = {Wójcik, A and Merecz-Kot, D and Andysz, A}, title = {Why do employees follow their superiors' instructions? Identification of the reasons to comply with superiors' will in a group of Polish employees.}, journal = {Medycyna pracy}, volume = {66}, number = {5}, pages = {605-614}, doi = {10.13075/mp.5893.00129}, pmid = {26647979}, issn = {0465-5893}, mesh = {*Administrative Personnel ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; *Interpersonal Relations ; Male ; *Motivation ; Poland ; *Power, Psychological ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Workplace/*organization & administration/*psychology ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Managers influence the way organization works as well as the functioning of subordinates - in the context of their work life but non-professional functioning as well e.g., attitude towards work-life balance or taking care of health. We focused on the superior-subordinate relation, referring to social power bases theory by Raven. We identified the reasons why subordinates decide to follow their superiors' orders and determined specific styles of compliance with superiors' will. Understanding why employees listen to their superiors may be valuable in the context of supporting healthy organizational climate and atmosphere of co-operation or communicating values - for example, as regards taking care of own health. We discussed the results referring to the issue of influencing employees in the context of their health behavior.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The research involved 100 Polish employees, aged 28 years old on average, who filled in the Interpersonal Power Inventory by Raven et al. for subordinates in a Polish adaptation by Zaleski. The questionnaire includes 11 subscales referring to power bases.

RESULTS: Based on the cluster analysis results, we recognized people who complied because of: all kinds of power bases (typical for 46% of the respondents); the respect for superiors' professionalism (34%); and formal/objective reasons (20%).

CONCLUSIONS: Employees differ in terms of their styles of compliance. Their motives to comply with superiors' instructions constitute compilations of power bases. The superiors' awareness of the reasons why their employees decide to follow orders is necessary for successful management. It may motivate employees to work but also to take care of their own health.}, } @article {pmid26529116, year = {2015}, author = {St Clair, JJH and Burns, ZT and Bettaney, EM and Morrissey, MB and Otis, B and Ryder, TB and Fleischer, RC and James, R and Rutz, C}, title = {Experimental resource pulses influence social-network dynamics and the potential for information flow in tool-using crows.}, journal = {Nature communications}, volume = {6}, number = {}, pages = {7197}, pmid = {26529116}, issn = {2041-1723}, support = {BB/G023913/1/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; BB/G023913/2//Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Animals ; Computer Simulation ; *Crows ; Environment ; *Information Dissemination ; *Social Behavior ; *Social Learning ; *Tool Use Behavior ; }, abstract = {Social-network dynamics have profound consequences for biological processes such as information flow, but are notoriously difficult to measure in the wild. We used novel transceiver technology to chart association patterns across 19 days in a wild population of the New Caledonian crow--a tool-using species that may socially learn, and culturally accumulate, tool-related information. To examine the causes and consequences of changing network topology, we manipulated the environmental availability of the crows' preferred tool-extracted prey, and simulated, in silico, the diffusion of information across field-recorded time-ordered networks. Here we show that network structure responds quickly to environmental change and that novel information can potentially spread rapidly within multi-family communities, especially when tool-use opportunities are plentiful. At the same time, we report surprisingly limited social contact between neighbouring crow communities. Such scale dependence in information-flow dynamics is likely to influence the evolution and maintenance of material cultures.}, } @article {pmid26521671, year = {2015}, author = {Kline, W}, title = {Communicating a New Consciousness: Countercultural Print and the Home Birth Movement in the 1970s.}, journal = {Bulletin of the history of medicine}, volume = {89}, number = {3}, pages = {527-556}, doi = {10.1353/bhm.2015.0065}, pmid = {26521671}, issn = {0007-5140}, mesh = {*Communication ; Culture ; Female ; History, 20th Century ; Home Childbirth/*history ; Humans ; Midwifery/*history ; Pregnancy ; *Reference Books, Medical ; United Kingdom ; United States ; }, abstract = {This essay analyzes the production of three influential home birth texts of the 1970s written by self-proclaimed lay midwives that helped to fuel and sustain a movement in alternative birth practices. As part of a countercultural lifestyle print culture, early "how-to" books (Raven Lang's The Birth Book, Ina May Gaskin's Spiritual Midwifery) provided readers with vivid images and accounts in stark contrast to those of the sterile hospital delivery room. By the end of the decade, Rahima Baldwin's more mainstream guidebook, Special Delivery, indicated an interest in translating home birth to a wider audience who did not necessarily identify as "countercultural." Lay midwives who were authors of radical print texts in the 1970s played an important role in reshaping expectations about the birth experience, suggesting a need to rethink how we define the counterculture and its legacies.}, } @article {pmid26488587, year = {2016}, author = {Hayes, TR and Petrov, AA}, title = {Pupil Diameter Tracks the Exploration-Exploitation Trade-off during Analogical Reasoning and Explains Individual Differences in Fluid Intelligence.}, journal = {Journal of cognitive neuroscience}, volume = {28}, number = {2}, pages = {308-318}, doi = {10.1162/jocn_a_00895}, pmid = {26488587}, issn = {1530-8898}, support = {R21 EY022745/EY/NEI NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Exploratory Behavior/*physiology ; Eye Movement Measurements ; Eye Movements/physiology ; Female ; Humans ; *Individuality ; *Intelligence ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Organ Size ; Pupil/*physiology ; Reaction Time ; Speech ; *Thinking/physiology ; Time ; }, abstract = {The ability to adaptively shift between exploration and exploitation control states is critical for optimizing behavioral performance. Converging evidence from primate electrophysiology and computational neural modeling has suggested that this ability may be mediated by the broad norepinephrine projections emanating from the locus coeruleus (LC) [Aston-Jones, G., & Cohen, J. D. An integrative theory of locus coeruleus-norepinephrine function: Adaptive gain and optimal performance. Annual Review of Neuroscience, 28, 403-450, 2005]. There is also evidence that pupil diameter covaries systematically with LC activity. Although imperfect and indirect, this link makes pupillometry a useful tool for studying the locus coeruleus norepinephrine system in humans and in high-level tasks. Here, we present a novel paradigm that examines how the pupillary response during exploration and exploitation covaries with individual differences in fluid intelligence during analogical reasoning on Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. Pupillometry was used as a noninvasive proxy for LC activity, and concurrent think-aloud verbal protocols were used to identify exploratory and exploitative solution periods. This novel combination of pupillometry and verbal protocols from 40 participants revealed a decrease in pupil diameter during exploitation and an increase during exploration. The temporal dynamics of the pupillary response was characterized by a steep increase during the transition to exploratory periods, sustained dilation for many seconds afterward, and followed by gradual return to baseline. Moreover, the individual differences in the relative magnitude of pupillary dilation accounted for 16% of the variance in Advanced Progressive Matrices scores. Assuming that pupil diameter is a valid index of LC activity, these results establish promising preliminary connections between the literature on locus coeruleus norepinephrine-mediated cognitive control and the literature on analogical reasoning and fluid intelligence.}, } @article {pmid26305130, year = {2015}, author = {Haley, J}, title = {Discussions on Hypnosis and Schizophrenia.}, journal = {The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis}, volume = {63}, number = {4}, pages = {403-421}, doi = {10.1080/00207144.2015.1062695}, pmid = {26305130}, issn = {1744-5183}, mesh = {History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Hypnosis/*history ; Schizophrenia/*history/therapy ; Schizophrenic Psychology ; }, abstract = {A classic paper in intellect and argument, this article contains a transcript of a conversation between Jay Haley, John Weakland, and Milton Erickson as they discuss the role of communication in hypnosis and schizophrenia. In 1955, schizophrenia was considered primarily a psychological disorder. Whereas today schizophrenia is mostly considered a biological disorder, this very early, unpublished paper still gives much food for thought and a further glimpse into Haley and Erickson's thinking and intellect at a fervent time in schizophrenia research.}, } @article {pmid26305129, year = {2015}, author = {Haley, J}, title = {Explorer in Hypnosis.}, journal = {The International journal of clinical and experimental hypnosis}, volume = {63}, number = {4}, pages = {380-402}, doi = {10.1080/00207144.2015.1062690}, pmid = {26305129}, issn = {1744-5183}, mesh = {History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Hypnosis/*history ; United States ; }, abstract = {Written in 1957, this paper was Jay Haley's first attempt to organize his impressions of Milton Erickson. The article captures the essence of Erickson: the man, his early concepts of the trance state, his flexibility in trance induction, and his delight in working with those considered "resistant subjects." In this early paper, Jay Haley clearly recognizes Erickson's potential impact on therapy and clinicians around the world. This paper reminds readers of the importance of therapeutic relationship and the power of effective communication.}, } @article {pmid26287671, year = {2015}, author = {Dorazio, RM and Connor, EF and Askins, RA}, title = {Estimating the Effects of Habitat and Biological Interactions in an Avian Community.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {10}, number = {8}, pages = {e0135987}, pmid = {26287671}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; Birds ; *Ecosystem ; *Residence Characteristics ; }, abstract = {We used repeated sightings of individual birds encountered in community-level surveys to investigate the relative roles of habitat and biological interactions in determining the distribution and abundance of each species. To analyze these data, we developed a multispecies N-mixture model that allowed estimation of both positive and negative correlations between abundances of different species while also estimating the effects of habitat and the effects of errors in detection of each species. Using a combination of single- and multispecies N-mixture modeling, we examined for each species whether our measures of habitat were sufficient to account for the variation in encounter histories of individual birds or whether other habitat variables or interactions with other species needed to be considered. In the community that we studied, habitat appeared to be more influential than biological interactions in determining the distribution and abundance of most avian species. Our results lend support to the hypothesis that abundances of forest specialists are negatively affected by forest fragmentation. Our results also suggest that many species were associated with particular types of vegetation as measured by structural attributes of the forests. The abundances of 6 of the 73 species observed in our study were strongly correlated. These species included large birds (American Crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos) and Red-winged Blackbird (Agelaius phoeniceus)) that forage on the ground in open habitats and small birds (Red-eyed Vireo (Vireo olivaceus), House Wren (Troglodytes aedon), Hooded Warbler (Setophaga citrina), and Prairie Warbler (Setophaga discolor)) that are associated with dense shrub cover. Species abundances were positively correlated within each size group and negatively correlated between groups. Except for the American Crow, which preys on eggs and nestlings of small song birds, none of the other 5 species is known to display direct interactions, so we suspect that the correlations may have been associated with species-specific responses to habitat components not adequately measured by our covariates.}, } @article {pmid26276368, year = {2016}, author = {Logan, CJ and Breen, AJ and Taylor, AH and Gray, RD and Hoppitt, WJ}, title = {How New Caledonian crows solve novel foraging problems and what it means for cumulative culture.}, journal = {Learning & behavior}, volume = {44}, number = {1}, pages = {18-28}, pmid = {26276368}, issn = {1543-4508}, support = {BB/I007997/1//Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Animals ; *Communication ; *Crows ; *Learning ; *Social Behavior ; Tool Use Behavior ; }, abstract = {New Caledonian crows make and use tools, and tool types vary over geographic landscapes. Social learning may explain the variation in tool design, but it is unknown to what degree social learning accounts for the maintenance of these designs. Indeed, little is known about the mechanisms these crows use to obtain information from others, despite the question's importance in understanding whether tool behavior is transmitted via social, genetic, or environmental means. For social transmission to account for tool-type variation, copying must utilize a mechanism that is action specific (e.g., pushing left vs. right) as well as context specific (e.g., pushing a particular object vs. any object). To determine whether crows can copy a demonstrator's actions as well as the contexts in which they occur, we conducted a diffusion experiment using a novel foraging task. We used a nontool task to eliminate any confounds introduced by individual differences in their prior tool experience. Two groups had demonstrators (trained in isolation on different options of a four-option task, including a two-action option) and one group did not. We found that crows socially learn about context: After observers see a demonstrator interact with the task, they are more likely to interact with the same parts of the task. In contrast, observers did not copy the demonstrator's specific actions. Our results suggest it is unlikely that observing tool-making behavior transmits tool types. We suggest it is possible that tool types are transmitted when crows copy the physical form of the tools they encounter.}, } @article {pmid26216752, year = {2015}, author = {Nordberg, A and Dahlgren Sandberg, A and Miniscalco, C}, title = {Story retelling and language ability in school-aged children with cerebral palsy and speech impairment.}, journal = {International journal of language & communication disorders}, volume = {50}, number = {6}, pages = {801-813}, doi = {10.1111/1460-6984.12177}, pmid = {26216752}, issn = {1460-6984}, mesh = {Aptitude ; Cerebral Palsy/*diagnosis/psychology/*therapy ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Comprehension ; Disability Evaluation ; Female ; Humans ; Language Disorders/*diagnosis/psychology/*therapy ; Male ; *Mental Recall ; *Narration ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Quality of Life/psychology ; Speech Disorders/*diagnosis/psychology/*therapy ; *Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Research on retelling ability and cognition is limited in children with cerebral palsy (CP) and speech impairment.

AIMS: To explore the impact of expressive and receptive language, narrative discourse dimensions (Narrative Assessment Profile measures), auditory and visual memory, theory of mind (ToM) and non-verbal cognition on the retelling ability of children with CP and speech impairment.

METHODS & PROCEDURES: Fifteen speaking children with speech impairment (seven girls, eight boys) (mean age = 11 years, SD = 1;4 years), and different types of CP and different levels of gross motor and cognitive function participated in the present study. Story retelling skills were tested and analysed with the Bus Story Test (BST) and the Narrative Assessment Profile (NAP). Receptive language ability was tested with the Test for Reception of Grammar-2 (TROG-2) and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - IV (PPVT-IV). Non-verbal cognitive level was tested with the Raven's coloured progressive matrices (RCPM), memory functions assessed with the Corsi block-tapping task (CB) and the Digit Span from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children-III. ToM was assessed with the false belief items of the two story tests "Kiki and the Cat" and "Birthday Puppy".

OUTCOMES & RESULTS: The children had severe problems with retelling ability corresponding to an age-equivalent of 5;2-6;9 years. Receptive and expressive language, visuo-spatial and auditory memory, non-verbal cognitive level and ToM varied widely within and among the children. Both expressive and receptive language correlated significantly with narrative ability in terms of NAP total scores, so did auditory memory.

CONCLUSION & IMPLICATIONS: The results suggest that retelling ability in the children with CP in the present study is dependent on language comprehension and production, and memory functions. Consequently, it is important to examine retelling ability together with language and cognitive abilities in these children in order to provide appropriate support.}, } @article {pmid26203594, year = {2015}, author = {Shimmura, T and Ohashi, S and Yoshimura, T}, title = {The highest-ranking rooster has priority to announce the break of dawn.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {5}, number = {}, pages = {11683}, pmid = {26203594}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {Animals ; Behavior, Animal/*physiology ; Chickens/*physiology ; Male ; *Social Dominance ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {The "cock-a-doodle-doo" crowing of roosters, which symbolizes the break of dawn in many cultures, is controlled by the circadian clock. When one rooster announces the break of dawn, others in the vicinity immediately follow. Chickens are highly social animals, and they develop a linear and fixed hierarchy in small groups. We found that when chickens were housed in small groups, the top-ranking rooster determined the timing of predawn crowing. Specifically, the top-ranking rooster always started to crow first, followed by its subordinates, in descending order of social rank. When the top-ranking rooster was physically removed from a group, the second-ranking rooster initiated crowing. The presence of a dominant rooster significantly reduced the number of predawn crows in subordinates. However, the number of crows induced by external stimuli was independent of social rank, confirming that subordinates have the ability to crow. Although the timing of subordinates' predawn crowing was strongly dependent on that of the top-ranking rooster, free-running periods of body temperature rhythms differed among individuals, and crowing rhythm did not entrain to a crowing sound stimulus. These results indicate that in a group situation, the top-ranking rooster has priority to announce the break of dawn, and that subordinate roosters are patient enough to wait for the top-ranking rooster's first crow every morning and thus compromise their circadian clock for social reasons.}, } @article {pmid26067282, year = {2015}, author = {Wascher, CA and Hillemann, F and Canestrari, D and Baglione, V}, title = {Carrion crows learn to discriminate between calls of reliable and unreliable conspecifics.}, journal = {Animal cognition}, volume = {18}, number = {5}, pages = {1181-1185}, doi = {10.1007/s10071-015-0879-8}, pmid = {26067282}, issn = {1435-9456}, mesh = {Animals ; Attention ; Crows/*physiology ; *Discrimination Learning ; Discrimination, Psychological ; Female ; Male ; Social Behavior ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Partner choice on the basis of an individual's reliability is expected to stabilize social interactions. In this experiment, we tested whether carrion crows (Corvus corone corone) learn to differentiate between calls of reliable or unreliable individuals. Crows were kept in an aviary that comprised four visually but not acoustically isolated compartments, separated by a central room. In an association phase, a dead crow placed in the central compartment was visible only to one of the four crow groups, whilst alert calls of a conspecific were played back. Therefore, these calls were reliable for that group, but unreliable for the three other groups. The procedure was repeated, using a different reliable caller for each group. In two test sessions, 1 month apart, reliable and unreliable model individuals were played back, but no dead crow was presented. We quantified birds' attention behaviour and the number of vocalisations emitted. In the association phase, crows were more attentive towards the reliable compared with the unreliable stimuli and called more in response to reliable compared to unreliable individuals. In the test and repeat phase, attention behaviour did not differ between reliability conditions, but the pattern of vocal behaviour reversed, with crows calling less frequent when listening to reliable compared with unreliable calls. Vocal responses of crows suggest that they can discriminate between reliable and unreliable callers.}, } @article {pmid27547298, year = {2015}, author = {Rutz, C and Morrissey, MB and Burns, ZT and Burt, J and Otis, B and St Clair, JJ and James, R}, title = {Calibrating animal-borne proximity loggers.}, journal = {Methods in ecology and evolution}, volume = {6}, number = {6}, pages = {656-667}, pmid = {27547298}, issn = {2041-210X}, abstract = {Growing interest in the structure and dynamics of animal social networks has stimulated efforts to develop automated tracking technologies that can reliably record encounters in free-ranging subjects. A particularly promising approach is the use of animal-attached 'proximity loggers', which collect data on the incidence, duration and proximity of spatial associations through inter-logger radio communication. While proximity logging is based on a straightforward physical principle - the attenuation of propagating radio waves with distance - calibrating systems for field deployment is challenging, since most study species roam across complex, heterogeneous environments.In this study, we calibrated a recently developed digital proximity-logging system ('Encounternet') for deployment on a wild population of New Caledonian crows Corvus moneduloides. Our principal objective was to establish a quantitative model that enables robust post hoc estimation of logger-to-logger (and, hence, crow-to-crow) distances from logger-recorded signal-strength values. To achieve an accurate description of the radio communication between crow-borne loggers, we conducted a calibration exercise that combines theoretical analyses, field experiments, statistical modelling, behavioural observations, and computer simulations.We show that, using signal-strength information only, it is possible to assign crow encounters reliably to predefined distance classes, enabling powerful analyses of social dynamics. For example, raw data sets from field-deployed loggers can be filtered at the analysis stage to include predominantly encounters where crows would have come to within a few metres of each other, and could therefore have socially learned new behaviours through direct observation. One of the main challenges for improving data classification further is the fact that crows - like most other study species - associate across a wide variety of habitats and behavioural contexts, with different signal-attenuation properties.Our study demonstrates that well-calibrated proximity-logging systems can be used to chart social associations of free-ranging animals over a range of biologically meaningful distances. At the same time, however, it highlights that considerable efforts are required to conduct study-specific system calibrations that adequately account for the biological and technological complexities of field deployments. Although we report results from a particular case study, the basic rationale of our multi-step calibration exercise applies to many other tracking systems and study species.}, } @article {pmid25993609, year = {2015}, author = {Carruthers, J and Rivkin, A and Donofrio, L and Bertucci, V and Somogyi, C and Lei, X and Davis, PG and Campo, A and Beddingfield, FC}, title = {A Multicenter, Randomized, Double-Blind, Placebo-Controlled Study to Evaluate the Efficacy and Safety of Repeated OnabotulinumtoxinA Treatments in Subjects With Crow's Feet Lines and Glabellar Lines.}, journal = {Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.]}, volume = {41}, number = {6}, pages = {702-711}, doi = {10.1097/DSS.0000000000000357}, pmid = {25993609}, issn = {1524-4725}, mesh = {Adult ; Blepharoptosis/chemically induced ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Cosmetic Techniques/adverse effects ; Double-Blind Method ; Eye ; Female ; Forehead ; Headache/chemically induced ; Hematoma/chemically induced ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuromuscular Agents/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Patient Satisfaction ; Self Concept ; Skin Aging/*drug effects ; Treatment Outcome ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: This is the third study in a Phase 3 program evaluating onabotulinumtoxinA treatment of crow's feet lines (CFL).

OBJECTIVE: To assess the efficacy and safety of repeated onabotulinumtoxinA treatments of CFL alone or with glabellar lines (GL) in subjects with moderate-to-severe CFL and GL (maximum smile).

MATERIALS AND METHODS: This 5-month extension of a 7-month study randomized subjects who originally received onabotulinumtoxinA 24 U (CFL only; n = 227) or 44 U (24 U for CFL + 20 U for GL; n = 260) to retreatment with the same dose. Placebo-treated subjects were rerandomized to onabotulinumtoxinA 44 U (n = 101) or placebo (n = 96). Primary efficacy end point (Day 30) was the proportion of subjects who achieved a CFL severity rating of none or mild (maximum smile) on the investigator-assessed Facial Wrinkle Scale (FWS). Additional efficacy end points and adverse events were evaluated.

RESULTS: Responder rates (primary end point) were significantly greater in onabotulinumtoxinA-treated groups (24 U: 56.5%; 44 U: 63.6%; placebo: 1.1%; p < .001). Improvements on most patient-reported outcomes (PROs) favored the 44-U group over the 24-U group. Adverse events did not differ among groups; most were mild or moderate.

CONCLUSION: Repeated onabotulinumtoxinA treatments significantly reduce CFL severity based on FWS and PROs. Adverse event profiles remain consistent with approved GL labeling.}, } @article {pmid25985093, year = {2015}, author = {Suzuki, TN}, title = {Assessment of predation risk through referential communication in incubating birds.}, journal = {Scientific reports}, volume = {5}, number = {}, pages = {10239}, pmid = {25985093}, issn = {2045-2322}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; *Birds ; Female ; *Predatory Behavior ; }, abstract = {Parents of many bird species produce alarm calls when they approach and deter a nest predator in order to defend their offspring. Alarm calls have been shown to warn nestlings about predatory threats, but parents also face a similar risk of predation when incubating eggs in their nests. Here, I show that incubating female Japanese great tits, Parus minor, assess predation risk by conspecific alarm calls given outside the nest cavity. Tits produce acoustically discrete alarm calls for different nest predators: "jar" calls for snakes and "chicka" calls for other predators such as crows and martens. Playback experiments revealed that incubating females responded to "jar" calls by leaving their nest, whereas they responded to "chicka" calls by looking out of the nest entrance. Since snakes invade the nest cavity, escaping from the nest helps females avoid snake predation. In contrast, "chicka" calls are used for a variety of predator types, and therefore, looking out of the nest entrance helps females gather information about the type and location of approaching predators. These results show that incubating females derive information about predator type from different types of alarm calls, providing a novel example of functionally referential communication.}, } @article {pmid25984563, year = {2014}, author = {Szipl, G and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Craving Ravens: Individual 'haa' Call Rates at Feeding Sites as Cues to Personality and Levels of Fission-Fusion Dynamics?.}, journal = {Animal behavior and cognition}, volume = {1}, number = {3}, pages = {265-280}, pmid = {25984563}, issn = {2372-5052}, support = {Y 366/FWF_/Austrian Science Fund FWF/Austria ; }, abstract = {Common ravens aggregate in large non-breeder flocks for roosting and foraging until they achieve the status of territorial breeders. When discovering food, they produce far-reaching yells or 'haa' calls, which attract conspecifics. Due to the high levels of fission-fusion dynamics in non-breeders' flocks, assemblies of feeding ravens were long thought to represent anonymous aggregations. Yet, non-breeders vary in their degree of vagrancy, and 'haa' calls convey individually distinct acoustic features, which are perceived by conspecifics. These findings give rise to the assumption that raven societies are based on differential social relationships on an individual level. We investigated the occurrence of 'haa' calling and individual call rates in a group of individually marked free-ranging ravens. Calling mainly occurred in subadult and adult females, which showed low levels of vagrancy. Call rates differed significantly between individuals and with residency status, and were correlated with calling frequency and landing frequency. Local ravens called more often and at higher rates, and were less likely to land at the feeding site than vagrant birds. The results are discussed with respect to individual degrees of vagrancy, which may have an impact on social knowledge and communication in this species.}, } @article {pmid25957953, year = {2015}, author = {Jayne, K and Lea, SE and Leaver, LA}, title = {Behavioural responses of Eastern grey squirrels, Sciurus carolinensis, to cues of risk while foraging.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {116}, number = {}, pages = {53-61}, doi = {10.1016/j.beproc.2015.05.002}, pmid = {25957953}, issn = {1872-8308}, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; Animals ; Appetitive Behavior/*physiology ; Behavior, Animal/*physiology ; Cues ; Feeding Behavior/physiology ; Female ; Male ; *Risk-Taking ; Sciuridae/*physiology ; Social Behavior ; Vocalization, Animal/physiology ; }, abstract = {Previous studies have shown that Eastern grey squirrels modify their behaviour while foraging to offset risks of social and predatory costs, but none have simultaneously compared whether such modifications are performed at a cost to foraging. The present study directly compares how grey squirrels respond to cues of these risks while foraging. We simulated social risk and predatory risk using acoustic playbacks of stimuli that grey squirrels might be exposed to at a foraging patch: calls of conspecifics, heterospecifics (competitor and non-competitor) and predators. We found that grey squirrels responded to predator, heterospecific competitor and conspecific playbacks by altering their foraging and vigilance behaviours. Foraging was most disrupted by increased vigilance when we played calls of predators. Squirrels' response to calls of heterospecific competitors did not differ from their response to conspecific calls, and they resumed foraging more quickly after both compared to predator calls: whereas they showed little response to calls of non-competitor heterospecifics and a white noise control. We conclude that squirrels respond differentially to calls made by conspecifics, heterospecific competitors and predators, with the most pronounced response being to calls of predators. We suggest that squirrels may view conspecific and corvid vocalisations as cues of potential conflict while foraging, necessitating increased vigilance.}, } @article {pmid25876887, year = {2015}, author = {Kalindi, SC and McBride, C and Tong, X and Wong, NL and Chung, KH and Lee, CY}, title = {Beyond phonological and morphological processing: pure copying as a marker of dyslexia in Chinese but not poor reading of English.}, journal = {Annals of dyslexia}, volume = {65}, number = {2}, pages = {53-68}, doi = {10.1007/s11881-015-0097-8}, pmid = {25876887}, issn = {1934-7243}, mesh = {Asians/*psychology ; Awareness ; Child ; Dyslexia/*diagnosis/*psychology ; Female ; Hong Kong ; Humans ; *Imitative Behavior ; *Language ; Linguistics ; Male ; *Phonetics ; *Reading ; Reference Values ; *Semantics ; *Writing ; }, abstract = {To examine cognitive correlates of dyslexia in Chinese and reading difficulties in English as a foreign language, a total of 14 Chinese dyslexic children (DG), 16 poor readers of English (PE), and 17 poor readers of both Chinese and English (PB) were compared to a control sample (C) of 17 children, drawn from a statistically representative sample of 177 second graders. Children were tested on pure copying of unfamiliar stimuli, rapid automatized naming (RAN), phoneme deletion, syllable deletion, and morphological awareness. With children's ages and Raven's nonverbal reasoning statistically controlled, the PE and PB groups were significantly lower than the C group on phoneme deletion and RAN tasks, while the DG performed significantly better than the PB group on the RAN task. The copying task distinguished the DG group from the C group. Findings particularly highlight the importance of phoneme awareness for word reading in English (but not Chinese), the potential need for fluency training for children with reading difficulties in both Chinese and English, and the important role that copying skills could have specifically in understanding impairment of literacy skills in Chinese (but not English).}, } @article {pmid25787714, year = {2016}, author = {Gunnery, SD and Ruben, MA}, title = {Perceptions of Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles: A meta-analysis.}, journal = {Cognition & emotion}, volume = {30}, number = {3}, pages = {501-515}, doi = {10.1080/02699931.2015.1018817}, pmid = {25787714}, issn = {1464-0600}, mesh = {Humans ; Photic Stimulation ; *Smiling ; *Social Perception ; }, abstract = {A meta-analysis was conducted to compare perceptions of Duchenne smiles, smiles that include activation of the cheek raiser muscle that creates crow's feet around the eyes, with perceptions of non-Duchenne smiles, smiles without cheek raiser activation. In addition to testing the overall effect, moderator analyses were conducted to test how methodological, stimulus-specific and perceiver-specific differences between studies predicted the overall effect size. The meta-analysis found that, overall, Duchenne smiles and people producing Duchenne smiles are rated more positively (i.e., authentic, genuine, real, attractive, trustworthy) than non-Duchenne smiles and people producing non-Duchenne smiles. The difference between Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles was greater when the stimuli were videos rather than photographs, when smiles were elicited naturally rather than through posing paradigms and when Duchenne and non-Duchenne smiles were not matched for intensity of the lip corner puller in addition to other perceiver and methodological moderators.}, } @article {pmid25785685, year = {2015}, author = {So, WC and Lui, M and Wong, TK and Sit, LT}, title = {The use of hand gestures to communicate about nonpresent objects in mind among children with autism spectrum disorder.}, journal = {Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR}, volume = {58}, number = {2}, pages = {373-382}, doi = {10.1044/2015_JSLHR-L-14-0213}, pmid = {25785685}, issn = {1558-9102}, mesh = {Autism Spectrum Disorder/*psychology ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Female ; *Gestures ; Hand ; Humans ; Male ; Nonverbal Communication/*psychology ; *Semantics ; Sign Language ; }, abstract = {PURPOSE: The current study examined whether children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), in comparison with typically developing children, perceive and produce gestures to identify nonpresent objects (i.e., referent-identifying gestures), which is crucial for communicating ideas in a discourse.

METHOD: An experimenter described the uses of daily-life objects to 6- to 12-year-old children both orally and with gestures. The children were then asked to describe how they performed daily activities using those objects.

RESULTS: All children gestured. A gesture identified a nonpresent referent if it was produced in the same location that had previously been established by the experimenter. Children with ASD gestured at the specific locations less often than typically developing children. Verbal and spatial memory were positively correlated with the ability to produce referent-identifying gestures for all children. However, the positive correlation between Raven's Children Progressive Matrices score and the production of referent-identifying gestures was found only in children with ASD.

CONCLUSIONS: Children with ASD might be less able to perceive and produce referent-identifying gestures and may rely more heavily on visual-spatial skills in producing referent-identifying gestures. The results have clinical implications for designing an intervention program to enhance the ability of children with ASD to communicate about nonpresent objects with gestures.}, } @article {pmid25548844, year = {2015}, author = {Muti, G and Harrington, L}, title = {A prospective rater- and subject-blinded study comparing the efficacy of incobotulinumtoxinA and onabotulinumtoxinA to treat crow's feet: a clinical crossover evaluation.}, journal = {Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.]}, volume = {41 Suppl 1}, number = {}, pages = {S39-46}, doi = {10.1097/DSS.0000000000000262}, pmid = {25548844}, issn = {1524-4725}, mesh = {Adult ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A/*therapeutic use ; Cross-Over Studies ; Eye ; Female ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; Neuromuscular Agents/*therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies ; Single-Blind Method ; Skin Aging/*drug effects ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Botulinum toxin A products have been used in aesthetics for more than 20 years.

OBJECTIVE: To compare incobotulinumtoxinA with onabotulinumtoxinA in the treatment of crow's feet.

METHODS: This single-center, randomized, prospective, split-face, subject- and rater-blinded study with a clinical crossover evaluation comprised 2 consecutive treatment cycles, each of 3 months' duration separated by 6 months (i.e., a 9-month treatment interval). Fourteen subjects with symmetrical crow's feet were assessed using the Merz 5-point scale for crow's feet, after each treatment with incobotulinumtoxinA (right side of the face) and onabotulinumtoxinA (left side), or vice versa (1:1 dose conversion ratio). The treatment applied to each side of the face was reversed in Cycle 2.

RESULTS: Crow's feet severity at rest and maximum contraction was improved to a similar extent by both treatments, in both cycles and on both sides of the face. Pooled data confirmed these results. Improvements were maintained at the final visit, 3 months after treatment (e.g., left side at maximum contraction-onabotulinumtoxinA mean score: 2.21 [baseline] vs 0.93 [1 month] vs 1.71 [3 months]; incobotulinumtoxinA mean score: 2.21 vs 0.86 vs 1.50).

CONCLUSION: IncobotulinumtoxinA and onabotulinumtoxinA (1:1 dose conversion ratio) were well tolerated, showing comparable efficacy and duration of treatment effect for crow's feet.}, } @article {pmid25485803, year = {2015}, author = {Moers-Carpi, M and Carruthers, J and Fagien, S and Lupo, M and Delmar, H and Jones, D and Somogyi, C and Lee, E and Lei, X and MacKinnon, S and Davis, PG and Yalamanchili, R and Campo, A and Beddingfield, FC}, title = {Efficacy and safety of onabotulinumtoxinA for treating crow's feet lines alone or in combination with glabellar lines: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.}, journal = {Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.]}, volume = {41}, number = {1}, pages = {102-112}, doi = {10.1097/DSS.0000000000000220}, pmid = {25485803}, issn = {1524-4725}, mesh = {Adult ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; *Cosmetic Techniques/adverse effects/psychology ; Double-Blind Method ; Eye ; Female ; Forehead ; Headache/chemically induced ; Hematoma/chemically induced ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuromuscular Agents/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Pain/chemically induced ; Patient Satisfaction ; Self Concept ; *Skin Aging ; Treatment Outcome ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: This was the second study in a Phase 3 program treating crow's feet lines (CFL) with onabotulinumtoxinA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of onabotulinumtoxinA treatment of CFL alone or with glabellar lines (GL).

METHODS: This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, repeat treatment, 7-month study randomized subjects with moderate-to-severe CFL and GL (maximum contraction) to onabotulinumtoxinA 44 U (CFL: 24 U, GL: 20 U; n = 305), onabotulinumtoxinA 24 U (CFL: 24 U, GL: placebo; n = 306), or placebo (n = 306). Coprimary end points were investigator-assessed and subject-assessed proportion of subjects achieving a CFL Facial Wrinkle Scale Grade of 0 or 1 (maximum smile; Day 30, Cycle 1). Additional efficacy end points and safety/adverse events (AEs) were evaluated.

RESULTS: All primary and secondary end points were achieved; statistically significant differences favored onabotulinumtoxinA (p < .001, all comparisons vs placebo). Investigator and subject responder rates were: CFL, 54.9% and 45.8%; CFL + GL, 59.0% and 48.5%; and placebo, 3.3% (both), respectively. Responder rates on other end points also significantly favored onabotulinumtoxinA treatments. Most AEs were mild or moderate. Two subjects discontinued: 1 serious AE unrelated to treatment (myocardial infarction) and 1 treatment-related AE (injection site pain).

CONCLUSION: OnabotulinumtoxinA was effective and well tolerated for treating moderate-to-severe CFL alone or in combination with GL.}, } @article {pmid25447513, year = {2015}, author = {Wascher, CA and Heiss, RS and Baglione, V and Canestrari, D}, title = {Behavioural responses to olfactory cues in carrion crows.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {111}, number = {}, pages = {1-5}, doi = {10.1016/j.beproc.2014.11.009}, pmid = {25447513}, issn = {1872-8308}, mesh = {Animals ; Behavior, Animal/*physiology ; Crows/*physiology ; *Cues ; Feeding Behavior/*physiology ; Female ; Individuality ; Male ; *Odorants ; Recognition, Psychology/physiology ; Sex Characteristics ; Smell/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Until recently, the use of olfactory signals in birds has been largely ignored, despite the fact that birds do possess a fully functioning olfactory system and have been shown to use odours in social and foraging tasks, predator detection and orientation. The present study investigates whether carrion crows (Corvus corone corone), a bird species living in complex social societies, respond behaviourally to olfactory cues of conspecifics. During our experiment, carrion crows were observed less often close to the conspecific scent compared to a control side. Because conspecific scent was extracted during handling, a stressful procedure for birds, we interpreted the general avoidance of the 'scent' side as disfavour against a stressed conspecific. However, males, unlike females, showed less avoidance towards the scent of a familiar individual compared to an unfamiliar one, which might reflect a stronger interest in the information conveyed and/or willingness to provide social support.}, } @article {pmid25419053, year = {2015}, author = {Mates, EA and Tarter, RR and Ha, JC and Clark, AB and McGowan, KJ}, title = {Acoustic profiling in a complexly social species, the American crow: caws encode information on caller sex, identity, and behavioural context.}, journal = {Bioacoustics}, volume = {24}, number = {1}, pages = {63-80}, pmid = {25419053}, issn = {0952-4622}, support = {T32 DC000033/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; }, abstract = {Previous research on inter-individual variation in the calls of corvids has largely been restricted to single call types, such as alarm or contact calls, and has rarely considered the effects of age on call structure. This study explores structural variation in a contextually diverse set of "caw" calls of the American crow (Corvus brachyrhynchos), including alarm, foraging recruitment and territorial calls, and searches for structural features that may be associated with behavioural context and caller sex, age, and identity. Automated pitch detection algorithms are used to generate 23 pitch-related and spectral parameters for a collection of caws from 18 wild, marked crows. Using principal component analysis and mixed models, we identify independent axes of acoustic variation associated with behavioural context and with caller sex, respectively. We also have moderate success predicting caller sex and identity from call structure. However, we do not find significant acoustic variation with respect to caller age.}, } @article {pmid25347451, year = {2014}, author = {Carruthers, A and Bruce, S and de Coninck, A and Connolly, S and Cox, SE and Davis, PG and Campo, A and Lei, X and Somogyi, C and Lee, E and McLean, H and Beddingfield, F}, title = {Efficacy and safety of onabotulinumtoxinA for the treatment of crows feet lines: a multicenter, randomized, controlled trial.}, journal = {Dermatologic surgery : official publication for American Society for Dermatologic Surgery [et al.]}, volume = {40}, number = {11}, pages = {1181-1190}, doi = {10.1097/DSS.0000000000000128}, pmid = {25347451}, issn = {1524-4725}, mesh = {Adult ; Aged ; Botulinum Toxins, Type A/administration & dosage/adverse effects/*therapeutic use ; Double-Blind Method ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Skin Aging/*drug effects ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: This study was part of a Phase 3 program treating crow's feet lines (CFL) with onabotulinumtoxinA.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of onabotulinumtoxinA treatment of CFL.

METHODS: This multicenter, double-blind, placebo-controlled, 5-month study randomized subjects with moderate-to-severe CFL (maximum smile) to onabotulinumtoxinA (24 U; n = 222) or placebo (n = 223). Investigators and subjects assessed CFL severity (maximum smile and rest) using the 4-grade Facial Wrinkle Scale (FWS). Co-primary end points were investigator- and subject-assessed proportion of subjects achieving a CFL FWS grade of 0 (none) or 1 (mild) at maximum smile (Day 30). Additional efficacy end points, patient-reported outcomes, and safety/adverse events (AEs) were evaluated.

RESULTS: All primary and secondary end points were achieved; statistically significant differences favored onabotulinumtoxinA (p < .001, all comparisons vs placebo). Co-primary responder rates were 66.7% compared with 6.7% for investigator-assessed and 58.1% compared with 5.4% for subject-assessed response (onabotulinumtoxinA group and placebo, respectively; p < .001). A significantly greater proportion of the onabotulinumtoxinA group than placebo group achieved a 1 grade or greater improvement on the FWS (maximum smile and rest assessed by both the investigator and subject; all time points; p < .001). Most AEs were mild or moderate and did not result in discontinuations.

CONCLUSION: Treatment of moderate-to-severe CFL with onabotulinumtoxinA was effective and well tolerated.}, } @article {pmid25018143, year = {2014}, author = {Shibahashi, K and Morita, A and Kimura, T}, title = {Does a craniotomy for treatment of unruptured aneurysm affect cognitive function?.}, journal = {Neurologia medico-chirurgica}, volume = {54}, number = {10}, pages = {786-793}, pmid = {25018143}, issn = {1349-8029}, mesh = {Aged ; Cognition Disorders/diagnosis/*etiology ; *Craniotomy ; Female ; Humans ; Intracranial Aneurysm/*surgery ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Postoperative Complications/diagnosis/*etiology ; Prospective Studies ; Risk Factors ; *Surgical Instruments ; }, abstract = {The surgical procedure used to treat an unruptured intracranial aneurysm (UIA) has controversial effects on cognitive function. From January 2010 through December 2012, we enrolled patients who underwent surgical clipping for a UIA. Patients were tested within one week prior to surgery and again postoperatively (6.8 ± 2.3 days) using a neuropsychological battery comprising the Mini-Mental State Examination, the Trail Making Test (TMT), the Frontal Assessment Battery (FAB), and Raven's colored progressive matrices (RCPM). Differences between preoperative and postoperative test scores for each examination were analyzed across individuals. In an additional subgroup analysis, patients were grouped according to age (< 65 or ≥ 65 years), the largest dimension of the aneurysm, the location of the aneurysm (i.e., anterior communicating artery, internal carotid artery, or middle cerebral artery) and operation duration. Paired student's t-tests were used to examine potential differences between groups. Two-tailed P-values < 0.05 were considered significant. Seventy-one patients were included in the analysis. The surgical procedure used to correct a UIA resulted in significant changes in neuropsychological scores. After the procedure, the TMT-A score declined significantly, whereas the FAB and RCPM scores were significantly improved. In the subgroup analysis, a significant deterioration in TMT-A score was observed in older patients and those with larger aneurysms, anterior communicating artery aneurysms and longer surgeries. Our findings, therefore, indicate that the surgical procedure to correct a UIA affects cognitive function. Older patients and those with large aneurysms, anterior communicating aneurysms, and long operations represent the high-risk groups.}, } @article {pmid24918939, year = {2014}, author = {Korb, S and With, S and Niedenthal, P and Kaiser, S and Grandjean, D}, title = {The perception and mimicry of facial movements predict judgments of smile authenticity.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {9}, number = {6}, pages = {e99194}, pmid = {24918939}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Adult ; *Facial Expression ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Smiling ; *Social Perception ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {The mechanisms through which people perceive different types of smiles and judge their authenticity remain unclear. Here, 19 different types of smiles were created based on the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), using highly controlled, dynamic avatar faces. Participants observed short videos of smiles while their facial mimicry was measured with electromyography (EMG) over four facial muscles. Smile authenticity was judged after each trial. Avatar attractiveness was judged once in response to each avatar's neutral face. Results suggest that, in contrast to most earlier work using static pictures as stimuli, participants relied less on the Duchenne marker (the presence of crow's feet wrinkles around the eyes) in their judgments of authenticity. Furthermore, mimicry of smiles occurred in the Zygomaticus Major, Orbicularis Oculi, and Corrugator muscles. Consistent with theories of embodied cognition, activity in these muscles predicted authenticity judgments, suggesting that facial mimicry influences the perception of smiles. However, no significant mediation effect of facial mimicry was found. Avatar attractiveness did not predict authenticity judgments or mimicry patterns.}, } @article {pmid24760177, year = {2014}, author = {Röder, G and Canestrari, D and Bolopo, D and Marcos, JM and Villard, N and Baglione, V and Turlings, TC}, title = {Chicks of the great spotted cuckoo may turn brood parasitism into mutualism by producing a foul-smelling secretion that repels predators.}, journal = {Journal of chemical ecology}, volume = {40}, number = {4}, pages = {320-324}, pmid = {24760177}, issn = {1573-1561}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; Birds/*physiology ; Cats ; Crows/*parasitology/physiology ; Falconiformes/physiology ; *Food Chain ; Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry ; Insect Repellents ; Solid Phase Microextraction ; Spain ; *Symbiosis ; Volatile Organic Compounds/*metabolism ; }, abstract = {The great spotted cuckoo (Clamator glandarius) is an important brood parasite of carrion crows (Corvus corone corone) in northern Spain. We recently found that, unlike what is commonly known for cuckoo-host interactions, the great spotted cuckoo has no negative impact on average crow fitness in this region. The explanation for this surprising effect is a repulsive secretion that the cuckoo chicks produce when they are harassed and that may protect the brood against predation. Here, we provide details on the chemical composition of the cuckoo secretion, as well as conclusive evidence that the dominating volatile chemicals in the secretion are highly repellent to model species representative of common predators of the crows. These results support the notion that, in this particular system, the production of a repulsive secretion by the cuckoo chicks has turned a normally parasitic interaction into a mutualistic one.}, } @article {pmid24688856, year = {2014}, author = {Plotnik, JM and de Waal, FB}, title = {Asian elephants (Elephas maximus) reassure others in distress.}, journal = {PeerJ}, volume = {2}, number = {}, pages = {e278}, pmid = {24688856}, issn = {2167-8359}, support = {P51 OD011132/OD/NIH HHS/United States ; }, abstract = {Contact directed by uninvolved bystanders toward others in distress, often termed consolation, is uncommon in the animal kingdom, thus far only demonstrated in the great apes, canines, and corvids. Whereas the typical agonistic context of such contact is relatively rare within natural elephant families, other causes of distress may trigger similar, other-regarding responses. In a study carried out at an elephant camp in Thailand, we found that elephants affiliated significantly more with other individuals through directed, physical contact and vocal communication following a distress event than in control periods. In addition, bystanders affiliated with each other, and matched the behavior and emotional state of the first distressed individual, suggesting emotional contagion. The initial distress responses were overwhelmingly directed toward ambiguous stimuli, thus making it difficult to determine if bystanders reacted to the distressed individual or showed a delayed response to the same stimulus. Nonetheless, the directionality of the contacts and their nature strongly suggest attention toward the emotional states of conspecifics. The elephants' behavior is therefore best classified with similar consolation responses by apes, possibly based on convergent evolution of empathic capacities.}, } @article {pmid24597991, year = {2015}, author = {Rindermann, H and Stiegmaier, EM and Meisenberg, G}, title = {Cognitive ability of preschool, primary and secondary school children in Costa Rica.}, journal = {Journal of biosocial science}, volume = {47}, number = {3}, pages = {281-310}, doi = {10.1017/S0021932014000066}, pmid = {24597991}, issn = {1469-7599}, mesh = {Austria ; Body Height ; Body Mass Index ; Child ; Child Behavior/psychology ; Child, Preschool ; *Cognition ; Costa Rica ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; *Literacy/statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Parents/psychology ; Schools/statistics & numerical data ; Students/psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; }, abstract = {Cognitive abilities of children in Costa Rica and Austria were compared using three age groups (N = 385/366). Cognitive ability tests (mental speed, culture reduced/fluid intelligence, literacy/crystallized intelligence) were applied that differed in the extent to which they refer to school-related knowledge. Preschool children (kindergarten, 5-6 years old, N(CR) = 80, N(Au) = 51) were assessed with the Coloured Progressive Matrices (CPM), primary school children (4th grade, 9-11 years old, N(CR) = 71, N(Au) = 71) with ZVT (a trail-making test), Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) and items from PIRLS-Reading and TIMSS-Mathematics, and secondary school students (15-16 years old, N(CR) = 48, N(Au) = 48) with ZVT, Advanced Progressive Matrices (APM) and items from PISA-Reading and PISA-Mathematics. Additionally, parents and pupils were given questionnaires covering family characteristics and instruction. Average cognitive abilities were higher in Austria (Greenwich-IQ M(CR) = 87 and M(Au) = 99, d(IQ) = 12 points) and differences were smaller in preschool than in secondary school (d(IQ) = 7 vs 20 points). Differences in crystallized intelligence were larger than in fluid intelligence (mental speed: d(IQ) = 12, Raven: d(IQ) = 10, student achievement tests: d(IQ) = 17 IQ points). Differences were larger in comparisons at the level of g-factors. Austrian children were also taller (6.80 cm, d = 1.07 SD), but had lower body mass index (BMI(CR) = 19.35 vs BMI(Au) = 17.59, d = -0.89 SD). Different causal hypotheses explaining these differences are compared.}, } @article {pmid24439574, year = {2014}, author = {Kandel, JJ}, title = {Serendipity: translational research, high quality care, and the children's hospital. Jay and Margie Grosfeld Lecture.}, journal = {Journal of pediatric surgery}, volume = {49}, number = {1}, pages = {19-24}, doi = {10.1016/j.jpedsurg.2013.09.023}, pmid = {24439574}, issn = {1531-5037}, mesh = {Child ; Cooperative Behavior ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Hospitals, Pediatric/*history/standards ; Humans ; Interdisciplinary Communication ; Lymphatic Abnormalities/drug therapy/history ; Pediatrics/*history ; Propranolol/history/therapeutic use ; *Quality of Health Care ; Specialties, Surgical/*history ; Translational Research, Biomedical/*history ; United States ; }, abstract = {The word "serendipity" was coined by Horace Walpole, Earl of Orford, in a letter he wrote in January 1754. He defined serendipity as the making of "….discoveries, by accidents and sagacity, of things which [you] were not in quest of….you must observe that no discovery of a thing you are looking for comes under this description." I would like to make the case that a children's hospital can be a superb setting in which to attempt this feat-to generate Serendipity. I would also like to convince you that this attribute is absolutely essential to providing the very best care for children.}, } @article {pmid24268321, year = {2014}, author = {Stolk, A and Noordzij, ML and Volman, I and Verhagen, L and Overeem, S and van Elswijk, G and Bloem, B and Hagoort, P and Toni, I}, title = {Understanding communicative actions: a repetitive TMS study.}, journal = {Cortex; a journal devoted to the study of the nervous system and behavior}, volume = {51}, number = {}, pages = {25-34}, doi = {10.1016/j.cortex.2013.10.005}, pmid = {24268321}, issn = {1973-8102}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain/*physiology ; Brain Mapping ; *Communication ; Female ; Functional Laterality/physiology ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Psychomotor Performance/*physiology ; Task Performance and Analysis ; *Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Despite the ambiguity inherent in human communication, people are remarkably efficient in establishing mutual understanding. Studying how people communicate in novel settings provides a window into the mechanisms supporting the human competence to rapidly generate and understand novel shared symbols, a fundamental property of human communication. Previous work indicates that the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is involved when people understand the intended meaning of novel communicative actions. Here, we set out to test whether normal functioning of this cerebral structure is required for understanding novel communicative actions using inhibitory low-frequency repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). A factorial experimental design contrasted two tightly matched stimulation sites (right pSTS vs left MT+, i.e., a contiguous homotopic task-relevant region) and tasks (a communicative task vs a visual tracking task that used the same sequences of stimuli). Overall task performance was not affected by rTMS, whereas changes in task performance over time were disrupted according to TMS site and task combinations. Namely, rTMS over pSTS led to a diminished ability to improve action understanding on the basis of recent communicative history, while rTMS over MT+ perturbed improvement in visual tracking over trials. These findings qualify the contributions of the right pSTS to human communicative abilities, showing that this region might be necessary for incorporating previous knowledge, accumulated during interactions with a communicative partner, to constrain the inferential process that leads to action understanding.}, } @article {pmid24230988, year = {2014}, author = {López-Meraz, ML and Medel-Matus, JS and Morgado-Valle, C and Beltrán-Parrazal, L and Pérez-Estudillo, C and Manzo, J}, title = {Effect of lithium-pilocarpine-induced status epilepticus on ultrasonic vocalizations in the infant rat pup.}, journal = {Epilepsy & behavior : E&B}, volume = {31}, number = {}, pages = {263-266}, doi = {10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.10.006}, pmid = {24230988}, issn = {1525-5069}, mesh = {Age Factors ; Animals ; Animals, Newborn ; Chi-Square Distribution ; Convulsants/*toxicity ; Disease Models, Animal ; Female ; Lithium/*toxicity ; Male ; Maternal Deprivation ; Pilocarpine/*toxicity ; Rats ; Rats, Wistar ; Status Epilepticus/*chemically induced/*physiopathology ; Vocalization, Animal/*drug effects ; }, abstract = {Evidence shows that febrile convulsions induced in rat pups increase ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs); however, the effect of status epilepticus (SE) induced in developing rats on USVs has not been fully investigated. The goal of this study was to analyze USVs following lithium-pilocarpine-induced SE in fourteen-day-old (P14) rat pups. The rat pups were given 3-mEq/kg lithium chloride i.p. on the day before the induction of SE, which was carried out at P14 by subcutaneous injection of 100-mg/kg pilocarpine hydrochloride; control animals were given an equal volume of lithium chloride and saline on P13 and P14, respectively. Ultrasonic vocalizations were monitored at P15, P16, and P21 with a Mini 3 Bat Detector Ultra Sound Advice (15kHz-160kHz) set at 40±4kHz and digitally recorded in WAV format using the Audacity 1.3 beta software. A clear box (60×40×30cm) split down the middle with a holed wall was used; each pup was placed alone in one compartment, whereas its dam was placed on the other cage side at room temperature. Vocalizations were recorded over a 5-minute period, converted to sonograms and spectrograms, and analyzed using the Raven software. Parameters evaluated were as follows: USV frequency, latency to the first USV, and mean USV duration. There was a significant decrease in the latency (35.5±6.9s) and duration (50.8±8.6s) of USVs after SE compared with the control group (81.9±10.8s and 78.1±9.9s, respectively). Status epilepticus affected male and female rats differentially.}, } @article {pmid24225460, year = {2014}, author = {Polnaszek, TJ and Stephens, DW}, title = {Why not lie? Costs enforce honesty in an experimental signalling game.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {281}, number = {1774}, pages = {20132457}, pmid = {24225460}, issn = {1471-2954}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; Biological Evolution ; *Deception ; *Game Theory ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; Reward ; }, abstract = {Communication depends on reliability. Yet, the existence of stable honest signalling presents an evolutionary puzzle. Why should animals signal honestly in the face of a conflict of interest? While students of animal signalling have offered several theoretical answers to this puzzle, the most widely studied model, commonly called the 'handicap principle', postulates that the costs of signals stabilize honesty. This model is the motivating force behind an enormous research enterprise that explores signal costs--whether they are physiological, immunological, neural, developmental or caloric. While there can be no question that many signals are costly, we lack definitive experimental evidence demonstrating that costs stabilize honesty. This study presents a laboratory signalling game using blue jays (Cyanocitta cristata) that provides, to our knowledge, the first experimental evidence showing honesty persists when costs are high and disappears when costs are low.}, } @article {pmid24101898, year = {2013}, author = {de Boer, M and Toni, I and Willems, RM}, title = {What drives successful verbal communication?.}, journal = {Frontiers in human neuroscience}, volume = {7}, number = {}, pages = {622}, pmid = {24101898}, issn = {1662-5161}, abstract = {THERE IS A VAST AMOUNT OF POTENTIAL MAPPINGS BETWEEN BEHAVIORS AND INTENTIONS IN COMMUNICATION: a behavior can indicate a multitude of different intentions, and the same intention can be communicated with a variety of behaviors. Humans routinely solve these many-to-many referential problems when producing utterances for an Addressee. This ability might rely on social cognitive skills, for instance, the ability to manipulate unobservable summary variables to disambiguate ambiguous behavior of other agents ("mentalizing") and the drive to invest resources into changing and understanding the mental state of other agents ("communicative motivation"). Alternatively, the ambiguities of verbal communicative interactions might be solved by general-purpose cognitive abilities that process cues that are incidentally associated with the communicative interaction. In this study, we assess these possibilities by testing which cognitive traits account for communicative success during a verbal referential task. Cognitive traits were assessed with psychometric scores quantifying motivation, mentalizing abilities, and general-purpose cognitive abilities, taxing abstract visuo-spatial abilities. Communicative abilities of participants were assessed by using an on-line interactive task that required a speaker to verbally convey a concept to an Addressee. The communicative success of the utterances was quantified by measuring how frequently a number of Evaluators would infer the correct concept. Speakers with high motivational and general-purpose cognitive abilities generated utterances that were more easily interpreted. These findings extend to the domain of verbal communication the notion that motivational and cognitive factors influence the human ability to rapidly converge on shared communicative innovations.}, } @article {pmid24010226, year = {2013}, author = {Fantus, RJ}, title = {NTDB data points: As the crow flies.}, journal = {Bulletin of the American College of Surgeons}, volume = {98}, number = {7}, pages = {65-66}, pmid = {24010226}, issn = {0002-8045}, mesh = {Access to Information ; Aircraft ; *Databases, Factual ; General Surgery ; Humans ; Transportation of Patients/*methods ; United States ; *Wounds and Injuries ; }, } @article {pmid23904991, year = {2013}, author = {Kaplan, G and Rogers, LJ}, title = {Stability of referential signalling across time and locations: testing alarm calls of Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) in urban and rural Australia and in Fiji.}, journal = {PeerJ}, volume = {1}, number = {}, pages = {e112}, pmid = {23904991}, issn = {2167-8359}, abstract = {In many avian species, vocal repertoire expands and changes throughout life as new syllables are added and sounds adapted to neighbours and circumstances. Referential signals, on the other hand, demand stability and lack of variation so that their meaning can be understood by conspecifics at all times. It is not known how stable such signals may be when the context is changed entirely but the point of reference remains unchanged. We investigated these questions in a rare case of forced translocation of an avian species, the Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), from Australia to the remote Fijian island of Taveuni decades ago. By using playbacks of vocalisations to 45 magpie groups in Australia, we first established that magpies use functionally referential signals in their alarm call repertoire signalling aerial danger (measured as looking up in response to a specific alarm call even though the speakers were on the ground). With these results in hand, we then used the same playbacks to magpie groups on the island of Taveuni. Our results showed that the meaning of one specific call (eagle alarm call) is stable and maintained even in populations that have been isolated from Australian conspecifics over many (at least 10) generations. To our knowledge, this is the first time such a stability of a referential signal has been shown in the natural habitat.}, } @article {pmid23880509, year = {2013}, author = {Halász, J and Áspán, N and Bozsik, C and Gádoros, J and Inántsy-Pap, J}, title = {The relationship between conduct symptoms and the recognition of emotions in non-clinical adolescents.}, journal = {Psychiatria Hungarica : A Magyar Pszichiatriai Tarsasag tudomanyos folyoirata}, volume = {28}, number = {2}, pages = {104-110}, pmid = {23880509}, issn = {0237-7896}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Antisocial Personality Disorder/diagnosis/psychology ; Conduct Disorder/diagnosis/psychology ; *Emotions ; *Facial Expression ; Fear ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; *Recognition, Psychology ; Sex Factors ; *Social Perception ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: In adult individuals with antisocial personality disorder, impairment in the recognition of fear seems established. In adolescents with conduct disorder (antecedent of antisocial personality disorder), only sporadic data were assessed, but literature data indicate alterations in the recognition of emotions. The aim of the present study was to assess the relationship between emotion recognition and conduct symptoms in non-clinical adolescents.

METHODS: 53 adolescents participated in the study (13-16 years, boys, n=29, age 14.7±0.2 years; girls, n=24, age=14.7±0.2 years) after informed consent. The parent version of the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire was used to assess behavioral problems. The recognition of six basic emotions was established by the "Facial expressions of emotion-stimuli and tests", while Raven IQ measures were also performed.

RESULTS: Compared to boys, girls showed significantly better performance in the recognition of disgust (p<0.035), while no significant difference occurred in the recognition of other emotions. In boys, Conduct Problems score was inversely correlated with the recognition of fear (Spearman R=-0.40, p<0.031) and overall emotion recognition (Spearman R=-0.44, p<0.015), while similar correlation was not present in girls.

CONCLUSIONS: The relationship between the recognition of emotions and conduct problems might indicate an important mechanism in the development of antisocial behavior.}, } @article {pmid23825658, year = {2013}, author = {Seiler, M and Schwitzer, C and Gamba, M and Holderied, MW}, title = {Interspecific semantic alarm call recognition in the solitary Sahamalaza sportive lemur, Lepilemur sahamalazensis.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {8}, number = {6}, pages = {e67397}, pmid = {23825658}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; *Animal Communication ; Animals ; Lemuridae/*psychology ; *Recognition, Psychology ; *Semantics ; Sympatry ; }, abstract = {As alarm calls indicate the presence of predators, the correct interpretation of alarm calls, including those of other species, is essential for predator avoidance. Conversely, communication calls of other species might indicate the perceived absence of a predator and hence allow a reduction in vigilance. This "eavesdropping" was demonstrated in birds and mammals, including lemur species. Interspecific communication between taxonomic groups has so far been reported in some reptiles and mammals, including three primate species. So far, neither semantic nor interspecific communication has been tested in a solitary and nocturnal lemur species. The aim of this study was to investigate if the nocturnal and solitary Sahamalaza sportive lemur, Lepilemur sahamalazensis, is able to access semantic information of sympatric species. During the day, this species faces the risk of falling prey to aerial and terrestrial predators and therefore shows high levels of vigilance. We presented alarm calls of the crested coua, the Madagascar magpie-robin and aerial, terrestrial and agitation alarm calls of the blue-eyed black lemur to 19 individual Sahamalaza sportive lemurs resting in tree holes. Songs of both bird species' and contact calls of the blue-eyed black lemur were used as a control. After alarm calls of crested coua, Madagascar magpie-robin and aerial alarm of the blue-eyed black lemur, the lemurs scanned up and their vigilance increased significantly. After presentation of terrestrial alarm and agitation calls of the blue-eyed black lemur, the animals did not show significant changes in scanning direction or in the duration of vigilance. Sportive lemur vigilance decreased after playbacks of songs of the bird species and contact calls of blue-eyed black lemurs. Our results indicate that the Sahamalaza sportive lemur is capable of using information on predator presence as well as predator type of different sympatric species, using their referential signals to detect predators early, and that the lemurs' reactions are based on experience and learning.}, } @article {pmid23792265, year = {2013}, author = {Hasegawa, N and Kitamura, H and Murakami, H and Kameyama, S and Sasagawa, M and Egawa, J and Endo, T and Someya, T}, title = {Neural activity in the posterior superior temporal region during eye contact perception correlates with autistic traits.}, journal = {Neuroscience letters}, volume = {549}, number = {}, pages = {45-50}, doi = {10.1016/j.neulet.2013.05.067}, pmid = {23792265}, issn = {1872-7972}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Attention/*physiology ; Autistic Disorder/*physiopathology ; Brain Mapping ; Eye ; Facial Expression ; Female ; Humans ; Magnetoencephalography ; Male ; Photic Stimulation ; *Social Perception ; Temporal Lobe/*physiopathology ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {The present study investigated the relationship between neural activity associated with gaze processing and autistic traits in typically developed subjects using magnetoencephalography. Autistic traits in 24 typically developed college students with normal intelligence were assessed using the Autism Spectrum Quotient (AQ). The Minimum Current Estimates method was applied to estimate the cortical sources of magnetic responses to gaze stimuli. These stimuli consisted of apparent motion of the eyes, displaying direct or averted gaze motion. Results revealed gaze-related brain activations in the 150-250 ms time window in the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS), and in the 150-450 ms time window in medial prefrontal regions. In addition, the mean amplitude in the 150-250 ms time window in the right pSTS region was modulated by gaze direction, and its activity in response to direct gaze stimuli correlated with AQ score. pSTS activation in response to direct gaze is thought to be related to higher-order social processes. Thus, these results suggest that brain activity linking eye contact and social signals is associated with autistic traits in a typical population.}, } @article {pmid23662850, year = {2013}, author = {Yin Foo, R and Guppy, M and Johnston, LM}, title = {Intelligence assessments for children with cerebral palsy: a systematic review.}, journal = {Developmental medicine and child neurology}, volume = {55}, number = {10}, pages = {911-918}, doi = {10.1111/dmcn.12157}, pmid = {23662850}, issn = {1469-8749}, mesh = {Cerebral Palsy/*complications ; Child ; Databases, Factual/statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability/*diagnosis/*etiology ; *Intelligence Tests ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Quality Assurance, Health Care ; Reproducibility of Results ; }, abstract = {AIM: Cerebral palsy (CP) is defined as a primary disorder of posture and movement; however, approximately 45% of children with CP also have an intellectual impairment. Prevalence estimates are limited by a lack of guidelines for intelligence testing. This systematic review aims to identify and examine intelligence assessments for children with CP.

METHOD: Electronic databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, Web of Science, CINAHL, EMBASE, and ERIC) were searched to identify assessments that (1) measured intellectual function, (2) in children aged 4 to 18 years, (3) with CP, and (4) with psychometrics available.

RESULTS: Searches yielded 48 assessments, of which nine provided psychometric data for children with CP. The included tests were the Columbia Mental Maturity Scale, the Leiter International Performance Scale, the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the Pictorial Test of Intelligence, the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, the Stanford-Binet Intelligence Scales, the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale, the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children, and the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence.

INTERPRETATION: Intelligence assessments in children with CP lack reliability data, consensus regarding validity data, and population-specific norms. Research is required to establish psychometrics for children with CP. For children with higher motor involvement and/or communication and/or visual impairments, multiple options are required to assess intelligence appropriately.}, } @article {pmid23612306, year = {2013}, author = {Vail, AL and Manica, A and Bshary, R}, title = {Referential gestures in fish collaborative hunting.}, journal = {Nature communications}, volume = {4}, number = {}, pages = {1765}, pmid = {23612306}, issn = {2041-1723}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; Anthozoa/physiology ; *Cooperative Behavior ; Fishes/*physiology ; *Gestures ; Octopodiformes/physiology ; Predatory Behavior/*physiology ; Trout/physiology ; }, abstract = {In humans, referential gestures intentionally draw the attention of a partner to an object of mutual interest, and are considered a key element in language development. Outside humans, referential gestures have only been attributed to great apes and, most recently, ravens. This was interpreted as further evidence for the comparable cognitive abilities of primates and corvids. Here we describe a signal that coral reef fishes, the grouper Plectropomus pessuliferus marisrubri and coral trout Plectropomus leopardus, use to indicate hidden prey to cooperative hunting partners, including giant moray eels Gymnothorax javanicus, Napoleon wrasses Chelinus undulatus and octopuses Octopus cyanea. We provide evidence that the signal possesses the five attributes proposed to infer a referential gesture: it is directed towards an object, mechanically ineffective, directed towards a potential recipient, receives a voluntary response and demonstrates hallmarks of intentionality. Thus, referential gesture use is not restricted to large-brained vertebrates.}, } @article {pmid23432835, year = {2013}, author = {Chow, BW and Ho, CS and Wong, SW and Waye, MMY and Bishop, DVM}, title = {Generalist genes and cognitive abilities in Chinese twins.}, journal = {Developmental science}, volume = {16}, number = {2}, pages = {260-268}, pmid = {23432835}, issn = {1467-7687}, support = {082498/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom ; 082498/z/07/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Age Factors ; Asians/*psychology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; *Cognition ; Female ; Humans ; Infant ; Language ; *Language Development ; Male ; Models, Genetic ; Multivariate Analysis ; *Reading ; Twins, Dizygotic ; Twins, Monozygotic ; Vocabulary ; }, abstract = {This study considered how far nonverbal cognitive, language and reading abilities are affected by common genetic influences in a sample of 312 typically developing Chinese twin pairs aged from 3 to 11 years. Children were individually given tasks of Chinese word reading, receptive vocabulary, phonological memory, tone awareness, syllable and rhyme awareness, rapid automatized naming, morphological awareness and orthographic skills, and Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices. Factor analyses on the verbal tasks adjusted for age indicated two factors: Language as the first factor and Reading as the second factor. Univariate genetic analyses indicated that genetic influences were substantial for nonverbal cognitive ability and moderate for language and reading. Multivariate genetic analyses showed that nonverbal cognitive ability, language and reading were influenced by shared genetic origins, although there were specific genetic influences on verbal skills that were distinct from those on nonverbal cognitive ability. This study extends the Generalist Genes Hypothesis to Chinese language and reading skills, suggesting that the general effects of genes could be universal across languages.}, } @article {pmid23398325, year = {2013}, author = {Cahill, M and O'Donnell, M and Warren, A and Taylor, A and Gowan, O}, title = {Enhancing interprofessional student practice through a case-based model.}, journal = {Journal of interprofessional care}, volume = {27}, number = {4}, pages = {333-335}, doi = {10.3109/13561820.2013.764514}, pmid = {23398325}, issn = {1469-9567}, mesh = {*Cooperative Behavior ; Focus Groups ; Humans ; *Interprofessional Relations ; *Models, Educational ; *Preceptorship ; Qualitative Research ; Queensland ; *Students, Health Occupations ; }, abstract = {Healthcare workers are increasingly being called upon to work collaboratively in practice to improve patient care and it seems imperative that interprofessional working should be mirrored in student education, especially during placements. This short report describes a qualitative evaluation of a client-centered, case-based model of interprofessional education (IPE) which aimed to improve interprofessional communication and team working skills for the students and therapists involved in practice placements. The IPE project implemented the meet, assess, goal set, plan, implement, evaluate (MAGPIE) framework for interprofessional case-based teaching (Queensland-Health (2008)) alongside the International Classification of Function, Disability and Health (ICF) (WHO, 2001). Three separate focus groups explored the experiences of the students, therapists and placement facilitators from the disciplines of occupational therapy, physiotherapy and speech and language therapy. Three themes emerged: IPE as a motivating experience, IPE enhancing the depth of learning and clarity of expectations. This report concluded that IPE in the clinical setting, using the client-centered MAGPIE model, provided a strong foundation for enhanced learning in practice education contexts.}, } @article {pmid23336028, year = {2012}, author = {Pika, S}, title = {The case of referential gestural signaling: Where next?.}, journal = {Communicative & integrative biology}, volume = {5}, number = {6}, pages = {578-582}, pmid = {23336028}, issn = {1942-0889}, abstract = {Referential acts play a crucial part in our every day communication since human language is, in its essence, a referential system. Reference can be made via icons, indices and signs but also via ostensive/inferential gestural communication, in which the behavior of the actor directs the attention of the recipient to particular aspects of the environment. The earliest uses of ostensive/inferential communication can be observed in human children around the age of nine to 12 mo. However, what about comparable gestures in our closest living relatives, the nonhuman primates or other animal taxa? The present paper aims to provide a brief overview of the state of the art to encourage future research into the evolutionary origins and uses of referential gestural signaling.}, } @article {pmid23222444, year = {2013}, author = {Shaw, RC and Clayton, NS}, title = {Careful cachers and prying pilferers: Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) limit auditory information available to competitors.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {280}, number = {1752}, pages = {20122238}, pmid = {23222444}, issn = {1471-2954}, mesh = {*Acoustic Stimulation ; *Animal Communication ; Animals ; *Competitive Behavior ; Feeding Behavior ; Female ; Male ; Photic Stimulation ; Songbirds/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Food-storing corvids use many cache-protection and pilfering strategies. We tested whether Eurasian jays (Garrulus glandarius) reduce the transfer of auditory information to a competitor when caching and pilfering. We gave jays a noisy and a quiet substrate to cache in. Compared with when alone, birds cached less in the noisy substrate when with a conspecific that could hear but could not see them caching. By contrast, jays did not change the amount cached in the noisy substrate when they were with a competitor that could see and hear them caching compared with when they were alone. Together, these results suggest that jays reduce auditory information during caching as a cache-protection strategy. By contrast, as pilferers, jays did not attempt to conceal their presence from a cacher and did not prefer a silent viewing perch over a noisy one when observing caching. However, birds vocalized less when watching caching compared with when they were alone, when they were watching a non-caching conspecific or when they were watching their own caches being pilfered. Pilfering jays may therefore attempt to suppress some types of auditory information. Our results raise the possibility that jays both understand and can attribute auditory perception to another individual.}, } @article {pmid23088375, year = {2013}, author = {Barbeau, EB and Soulières, I and Dawson, M and Zeffiro, TA and Mottron, L}, title = {The level and nature of autistic intelligence III: Inspection time.}, journal = {Journal of abnormal psychology}, volume = {122}, number = {1}, pages = {295-301}, doi = {10.1037/a0029984}, pmid = {23088375}, issn = {1939-1846}, support = {//Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada ; }, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Autistic Disorder/*diagnosis/psychology ; Cognition/physiology ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; *Intelligence Tests ; Male ; Regression Analysis ; Speech/physiology ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Across the autism spectrum, level of intelligence is highly dependent on the psychometric instrument used for assessment, and there are conflicting views concerning which measures best estimate autistic cognitive abilities. Inspection time is a processing speed measure associated with general intelligence in typical individuals. We therefore investigated autism spectrum performance on inspection time in relation to two different general intelligence tests. Autism spectrum individuals were divided into autistic and Asperger subgroups according to speech development history. Compared to a typical control group, mean inspection time for the autistic subgroup but not the Asperger subgroup was significantly shorter (by 31%). However, the shorter mean autistic inspection time was evident only when groups were matched on Wechsler IQ and disappeared when they were matched using Raven's Progressive Matrices. When autism spectrum abilities are compared to typical abilities, results may be influenced by speech development history as well as by the instrument used for intelligence matching.}, } @article {pmid22998145, year = {2012}, author = {Shiba, M and Matsuo, K and Ban, R and Nagai, F}, title = {Evaluation of muscle hyperactivity of the grimacing muscles by unilateral tight eyelid closure and stapedius muscle tone.}, journal = {Journal of plastic surgery and hand surgery}, volume = {46}, number = {5}, pages = {318-325}, doi = {10.3109/2000656X.2012.696196}, pmid = {22998145}, issn = {2000-6764}, mesh = {Adult ; Eyelids/*physiology ; *Facial Expression ; Facial Muscles/innervation/physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Hyperkinesis/*physiopathology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Motor Neurons/physiology ; Muscle Contraction/physiology ; Muscle Tonus/*physiology ; Oculomotor Muscles/innervation/*physiology ; Stapedius/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Muscle hyperactivity of grimacing muscles, including the orbicularis oculi and corrugator supercilii muscles that cause crow's feet and a glabellar frown line with ageing, cannot be accurately evaluated by surface observation. In 71 subjects, this study investigated the extent to which grimacing muscles are innervated by the bilateral motor cortices, whether the corticofacial projection to the grimacing muscles affects the facially innervated stapedius muscle tone by measuring static compliance of the tympanic membrane, and whether unilateral tight eyelid closure with contraction of the grimacing muscles changes static compliance. Unilateral tight eyelid closure and its subsequent change in the contralateral vertical medial eyebrow position revealed that motor neurons of the orbicularis oculi and corrugator supercilii muscles were innervated by the bilateral motor cortices with weak-to-strong contralateral dominance. The orbicularis oculi, corrugator supercilii, and stapedius muscles innervated by the bilateral motor cortices had increased muscle hyperactivity, which lowered the vertical medial eyebrow position and decreased the static compliance of the tympanic membrane more than those innervated by the unilateral motor cortex. Unilateral enhanced tight eyelid closure with contraction of the grimacing muscles in certain subjects ipsilaterally decreased the static compliance with increased contraction of the stapedius muscle, which probably occurs to immobilise the tympanic membrane and protect the inner ear from loud sound. Evaluation of unilateral tight eyelid closure and the subsequent change in the contralateral vertical medial eyebrow position as well as a measurement of the static compliance for the stapedius muscle tone has revealed muscle hyperactivity of grimacing muscles.}, } @article {pmid22808144, year = {2012}, author = {Moreno-Rueda, G and Redondo, T and Trenzado, CE and Sanz, A and Zúñiga, JM}, title = {Oxidative stress mediates physiological costs of begging in magpie (Pica pica) nestlings.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {7}, number = {7}, pages = {e40367}, pmid = {22808144}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Animals ; Feeding Behavior/*physiology ; Likelihood Functions ; Linear Models ; Malondialdehyde/metabolism ; Nesting Behavior/*physiology ; *Oxidative Stress ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Theoretical models predict that a cost is necessary to guarantee honesty in begging displays given by offspring to solicit food from their parents. There is evidence for begging costs in the form of a reduced growth rate and immunocompetence. Moreover, begging implies vigorous physical activity and attentiveness, which should increase metabolism and thus the releasing of pro-oxidant substances. Consequently, we predict that soliciting offspring incur a cost in terms of oxidative stress, and growth rate and immune response (processes that generate pro-oxidants substances) are reduced in order to maintain oxidative balance.

We test whether magpie (Pica pica) nestlings incur a cost in terms of oxidative stress when experimentally forced to beg intensively, and whether oxidative balance is maintained by reducing growth rate and immune response. Our results show that begging provokes oxidative stress, and that nestlings begging for longer bouts reduce growth and immune response, thereby maintaining their oxidative status.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: These findings help explaining the physiological link between begging and its associated growth and immunocompetence costs, which seems to be mediated by oxidative stress. Our study is a unique example of the complex relationships between the intensity of a communicative display (begging), oxidative stress, and life-history traits directly linked to viability.}, } @article {pmid22787966, year = {2012}, author = {McMillan, I}, title = {Step change.}, journal = {Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)}, volume = {26}, number = {38}, pages = {18-20}, pmid = {22787966}, issn = {0029-6570}, mesh = {*Dancing ; Humans ; Learning Disabilities/*physiopathology ; London ; }, abstract = {Staffat a south east London NHS trust are discovering how dance can improve their communication with patients with learning disabilities. Weekly dance sessions, run by Magpie Dance, are now also being made available to people with dementia, autism and other conditions. Through dance people can express emotion, build confidence and change their lives.}, } @article {pmid22701149, year = {2012}, author = {Kanda, Y and Kumagami, H and Hara, M and Sainoo, Y and Sato, C and Yamamoto-Fukuda, T and Yoshida, H and Ito, A and Tanaka, C and Baba, K and Nakata, A and Tanaka, H and Fukushima, K and Kasai, N and Takahashi, H}, title = {What factors are associated with good performance in children with cochlear implants? From the outcome of various language development tests, research on sensory and communicative disorders project in Japan: nagasaki experience.}, journal = {Clinical and experimental otorhinolaryngology}, volume = {5 Suppl 1}, number = {Suppl 1}, pages = {S59-64}, pmid = {22701149}, issn = {2005-0720}, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: We conducted multi-directional language development tests as a part of the Research on Sensory and Communicative Disorders (RSVD) in Japan. This report discusses findings as well as factors that led to better results in children with severe-profound hearing loss.

METHODS: We evaluated multiple language development tests in 33 Japanese children with cochlear implants (32 patients) and hearing aid (1 patient), including 1) Test for question and answer interaction development, 2) Word fluency test, 3) Japanese version of the Peabody picture vocabulary test-revised, 4) The standardized comprehension test of abstract words, 5) The screening test of reading and writing for Japanese primary school children, 6) The syntactic processing test of aphasia, 7) Criterion-referenced testing (CRT) for Japanese language and mathematics, 8) Pervasive development disorders ASJ rating scales, and 9) Raven's colored progressive matrices. Furthermore, we investigated the factors believed to account for the better performances in these tests. The first group, group A, consisted of 14 children with higher scores in all tests than the national average for children with hearing difficulty. The second group, group B, included 19 children that scored below the national average in any of the tests.

RESULTS: Overall, the results show that 76.2% of the scores obtained by the children in these tests exceeded the national average scores of children with hearing difficulty. The children who finished above average on all tests had undergone a longer period of regular habilitation in our rehabilitation center, had their implants earlier in life, were exposed to more auditory verbal/oral communication in their education at affiliated institutions, and were more likely to have been integrated in a regular kindergarten before moving on to elementary school.

CONCLUSION: In this study, we suggest that taking the above four factors into consideration will have an affect on the language development of children with severe-profound hearing loss.}, } @article {pmid28072221, year = {2012}, author = {}, title = {Step change Ian McMillan Step change is a Freelance journalist.}, journal = {Nursing standard (Royal College of Nursing (Great Britain) : 1987)}, volume = {26}, number = {38}, pages = {18-20}, doi = {10.7748/ns.26.38.18.s26}, pmid = {28072221}, issn = {2047-9018}, abstract = {Staff at a south east London NHS trust are discovering how dance can improve their communication with patients with learning disabilities. Weekly dance sessions, run by Magpie Dance, are now also being made available to people with dementia, autism and other conditions. Through dance people can express emotion, build confidence and change their lives.}, } @article {pmid22538713, year = {2012}, author = {Wascher, CA and Szipl, G and Boeckle, M and Wilkinson, A}, title = {You sound familiar: carrion crows can differentiate between the calls of known and unknown heterospecifics.}, journal = {Animal cognition}, volume = {15}, number = {5}, pages = {1015-1019}, pmid = {22538713}, issn = {1435-9456}, support = {Y 366/FWF_/Austrian Science Fund FWF/Austria ; }, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; Animal Communication ; Animals ; *Auditory Perception ; *Crows ; *Discrimination, Psychological ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Recognition, Psychology ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {In group-living animals, it is adaptive to recognize conspecifics on the basis of familiarity or group membership as it allows association with preferred social partners and avoidance of competitors. However, animals do not only associate with conspecifics but also with heterospecifics, for example in mixed-species flocks. Consequently, between-species recognition, based either on familiarity or even individual recognition, is likely to be beneficial. The extent to which animals can distinguish between familiar and unfamiliar heterospecifics is currently unclear. In the present study, we investigated the ability of eight carrion crows to differentiate between the voices and calls of familiar and unfamiliar humans and jackdaws. The crows responded significantly more often to unfamiliar than familiar human playbacks and, conversely, responded more to familiar than unfamiliar jackdaw calls. Our results provide the first evidence that birds can discriminate between familiar and unfamiliar heterospecific individuals using auditory stimuli.}, } @article {pmid22521788, year = {2012}, author = {Boeckle, M and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Long-term memory for affiliates in ravens.}, journal = {Current biology : CB}, volume = {22}, number = {9}, pages = {801-806}, pmid = {22521788}, issn = {1879-0445}, support = {Y 366/FWF_/Austrian Science Fund FWF/Austria ; }, mesh = {Animals ; Crows/*physiology ; *Memory, Long-Term ; }, abstract = {Complex social life requires individuals to recognize and remember group members and, within those, to distinguish affiliates from nonaffiliates. Whereas long-term individual recognition has been demonstrated in some nonhuman animals, memory for the relationship valence to former group members has received little attention. Here we show that adult, pair-housed ravens not only respond differently to the playback of calls from previous group members and unfamiliar conspecifics but also discriminate between familiar birds according to the relationship valence they had to those subjects up to three years ago as subadult nonbreeders. The birds' distinction between familiar and unfamiliar individuals is reflected mainly in the number of calls, whereas their differentiation according to relationship valence is reflected in call modulation only. As compared to their response to affiliates, ravens responded to nonaffiliates by increasing chaotic parts of the vocalization and lowering formant spacing, potentially exaggerating the perceived impression of body size. Our findings indicate that ravens remember relationship qualities to former group members even after long periods of separation, confirming that their sophisticated social knowledge as nonbreeders is maintained into the territorial breeding stage.}, } @article {pmid22506964, year = {2012}, author = {Derégnaucourt, S and Saar, S and Gahr, M}, title = {Melatonin affects the temporal pattern of vocal signatures in birds.}, journal = {Journal of pineal research}, volume = {53}, number = {3}, pages = {245-258}, doi = {10.1111/j.1600-079X.2012.00993.x}, pmid = {22506964}, issn = {1600-079X}, mesh = {Animals ; *Coturnix ; Female ; *Finches ; Learning ; Male ; Melatonin/*pharmacology ; *Photoperiod ; Pineal Gland/*physiology ; Social Isolation ; Time Factors ; Vocalization, Animal/*drug effects ; }, abstract = {In humans and other animals, melatonin is involved in the control of circadian biological rhythms. Here, we show that melatonin affects the temporal pattern of behavioral sequences in a noncircadian manner. The zebra finch (Taeniopygia guttata) song and the crow of the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) are courtship vocalizations composed of a stereotyped sequence of syllables. The zebra finch song is learned from conspecifics during infancy, whereas the Japanese quail crow develops normally without auditory input. We recorded and analyzed the complete vocal activity of adult birds of both species kept in social isolation for several weeks. In both species, we observed a shortening of signal duration following the transfer from a light-dark (LD) cycle to constant light (LL), a condition known to abolish melatonin production and to disrupt circadian rhythmicity. This effect was reversible because signal duration increased when the photoperiod was returned to the previous LD schedule. We then tested whether this effect was directly related to melatonin by removal of the pineal gland, which is the main production site of circulating melatonin. A shortening of the song duration was observed following pinealectomy in LD. Likewise, melatonin treatment induced changes in the temporal structure of the song. In a song learning experiment, young pinealectomized finches and young finches raised in LL failed to copy the temporal pattern of their tutor's song. Taken together, these results suggest that melatonin is involved in the control of motor timing of noncircadian behavioral sequences through an evolutionary conserved neuroendocrine pathway.}, } @article {pmid22344448, year = {2012}, author = {Wei, W and Lu, H and Zhao, H and Chen, C and Dong, Q and Zhou, X}, title = {Gender differences in children's arithmetic performance are accounted for by gender differences in language abilities.}, journal = {Psychological science}, volume = {23}, number = {3}, pages = {320-330}, doi = {10.1177/0956797611427168}, pmid = {22344448}, issn = {1467-9280}, mesh = {*Aptitude ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; *Language ; Male ; *Mathematics ; Sex Factors ; }, abstract = {Studies have shown that female children, on average, consistently outperform male children in arithmetic. In the research reported here, 1,556 pupils (8 to 11 years of age) from urban and rural regions in the greater Beijing area completed 10 cognitive tasks. Results showed that girls outperformed boys in arithmetic tasks (i.e., simple subtraction, complex multiplication), as well as in numerosity-comparison, number-comparison, number-series-completion, choice reaction time, and word-rhyming tasks. Boys outperformed girls in a mental rotation task. Controlling for scores on the word-rhyming task eliminated gender differences in arithmetic, whereas controlling for scores on numerical-processing tasks (number comparison, numerosity estimation, numerosity comparison, and number-series completion) and general cognitive tasks (choice reaction time, Raven's Progressive Matrices, and mental rotation) did not. These results suggest that girls' advantage in arithmetic is likely due to their advantage in language processing.}, } @article {pmid22324495, year = {2012}, author = {Whitehouse, AJ and Robinson, M and Newnham, JP and Pennell, CE}, title = {Do hypertensive diseases of pregnancy disrupt neurocognitive development in offspring?.}, journal = {Paediatric and perinatal epidemiology}, volume = {26}, number = {2}, pages = {101-108}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-3016.2011.01257.x}, pmid = {22324495}, issn = {1365-3016}, mesh = {Child ; Child Behavior Disorders/etiology ; Child Development/physiology ; Cognition Disorders/*etiology ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; *Hypertension, Pregnancy-Induced ; Language Development ; Language Development Disorders/*etiology ; Language Tests/standards ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests/standards ; Pregnancy ; Regression Analysis ; Risk Factors ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; Western Australia ; }, abstract = {The current study sought to determine whether hypertensive diseases of pregnancy (gestational hypertension and pre-eclampsia) are associated with neurocognitive outcomes in middle childhood. Participants were members of the Western Australian Pregnancy Cohort (Raine) Study. Data were available for 1389 children (675 females; mean age = 10.59 years; SD = 0.19). Twenty-five per cent of these participants were offspring of pregnancies complicated by either gestational hypertension (n = 279), or pre-eclampsia (n = 34). Verbal ability at age 10 years was assessed with the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test - Revised (PPVT-R), and non-verbal ability with Ravens Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM). Separate multivariable regression analyses, incorporating sociodemographic, antenatal, obstetric and postnatal covariates, investigated the effect of a two- (normotensive pregnancy vs. hypertensive pregnancy) and three-level (normotensive pregnancy vs. gestational hypertension vs. pre-eclampsia) predictor variable on PPVT-R and RCPM scores. Offspring of pregnancies complicated by maternal hypertension (gestational hypertension or pre-eclampsia) had a mean PPVT-R score that was 1.83 ([95% confidence interval (CI) -3.48, -0.17], P = 0.03) points lower than children from normotensive pregnancies. Multivariable regression analysis also identified a significant inverse association between the three-level predictor variable and offspring PPVT-R scores (P = 0.02). Gestational hypertension (without pre-eclampsia) reduced offspring PPVT-R scores by 1.71 points [95% CI -3.39, -0.03] and pre-eclampsia led to a reduction of 3.53 points [95% CI -8.41, 1.35], although this latter association did not achieve statistical significance. There was no effect of the two- (P = 0.99) or three-level (P = 0.92) predictor variable on RCPM scores. Maternal hypertensive diseases of pregnancy are a risk factor for a small reduction in offspring verbal ability.}, } @article {pmid22281374, year = {2012}, author = {Iwasaki, S and Nishio, S and Moteki, H and Takumi, Y and Fukushima, K and Kasai, N and Usami, S}, title = {Language development in Japanese children who receive cochlear implant and/or hearing aid.}, journal = {International journal of pediatric otorhinolaryngology}, volume = {76}, number = {3}, pages = {433-438}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijporl.2011.12.027}, pmid = {22281374}, issn = {1872-8464}, mesh = {Age Factors ; *Asians ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; *Cochlear Implantation ; *Cochlear Implants ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; *Hearing Aids ; Hearing Loss/ethnology/psychology/*therapy ; Humans ; Japan ; *Language Development ; Male ; Treatment Outcome ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to investigate a wide variety of factors that influence auditory, speech, and language development following pediatric cochlear implantation (CI).

STUDY DESIGN: Prospective collection of language tested data in profound hearing-impaired children.

HYPOTHESIS: Pediatric CI can potentially be effective to development of practical communication skills and early implantation is more effective.

METHODS: We proposed a set of language tests (assessment package of the language development for Japanese hearing-impaired children; ALADJIN) consisting of communication skills testing (test for question-answer interaction development; TQAID), comprehensive (Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised; PVT-R and Standardized Comprehension Test for Abstract Words; SCTAW) and productive vocabulary (Word Fluency Test; WFT), and comprehensive and productive syntax (Syntactic processing Test for Aphasia; STA). Of 638 hearing-impaired children recruited for this study, 282 (44.2%) with >70 dB hearing impairment had undergone CI. After excluding children with low birth weight (<1800 g), those with >11 points on the Pervasive Developmental Disorder ASJ Rating Scale for the test of autistic tendency, and those <2 SD on Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices for the test of non-verbal intelligence, 190 children were subjected to this set of language tests.

RESULTS: Sixty children (31.6%) were unilateral CI-only users, 128 (67.4%) were CI-hearing aid (HA) users, and 2 (1.1%) were bilateral CI users. Hearing loss level of CI users was significantly (p<0.01) worse than that of HA-only users. However, the threshold level, maximum speech discrimination score, and speech intelligibility rating in CI users were significantly (p<0.01) better than those in HA-only users. The scores for PVT-R (p<0.01), SCTAW, and WFT in CI users were better than those in HA-only users. STA and TQAID scores in CI-HA users were significantly (p<0.05) better than those in unilateral CI-only users. The high correlation (r=0.52) has been found between the age of CI and maximum speech discrimination score. The scores of speech and language tests in the implanted children before 24 months of age have been better than those in the implanted children after 24 months of age.

CONCLUSIONS: We could indicate that CI was effective for language development in Japanese hearing-impaired children and early CI was more effective for productive vocabulary and syntax.}, } @article {pmid22242144, year = {2011}, author = {Brañas-Garza, P and Rustichini, A}, title = {Organizing effects of testosterone and economic behavior: not just risk taking.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {6}, number = {12}, pages = {e29842}, pmid = {22242144}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Adult ; Attitude ; *Economics ; Female ; Fingers/anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Male ; Negotiating ; Regression Analysis ; *Risk-Taking ; Sex Characteristics ; Task Performance and Analysis ; Testosterone/*metabolism ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Recent literature emphasizes the role that testosterone, as well as markers indicating early exposure to T and its organizing effect on the brain (such as the ratio of second to fourth finger, [Formula: see text]), have on performance in financial markets. These results may suggest that the main effect of T, either circulating or in fetal exposure, on economic behavior occurs through the increased willingness to take risks. However, these findings indicate that traders with a low digit ratio are not only more profitable, but more able to survive in the long run, thus the effect might consist of more than just lower risk aversion. In addition, recent literature suggests a positive correlation between abstract reasoning ability and higher willingness to take risks. To test the two hypotheses of testosterone on performance in financial activities (effect on risk attitude versus a complex effect involving risk attitude and reasoning ability), we gather data on the three variables in a sample of 188 ethnically homogeneous college students (Caucasians). We measure a [Formula: see text] digit ratio, abstract reasoning ability with the Raven Progressive Matrices task, and risk attitude with choice among lotteries. Low digit ratio in men is associated with higher risk taking and higher scores in abstract reasoning ability when a combined measure of risk aversion over different tasks is used. This explains both the higher performance and higher survival rate observed in traders, as well as the observed correlation between abstract reasoning ability and risk taking. We also analyze how much of the total effect of digit ratio on risk attitude is direct, and how much is mediated. Mediation analysis shows that a substantial part of the effect of T on attitude to risk is mediated by abstract reasoning ability.}, } @article {pmid22217722, year = {2012}, author = {Kondo, N and Izawa, E and Watanabe, S}, title = {Crows cross-modally recognize group members but not non-group members.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {279}, number = {1735}, pages = {1937-1942}, pmid = {22217722}, issn = {1471-2954}, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; *Animal Communication ; Animals ; Crows/*physiology ; Female ; Hierarchy, Social ; Male ; Photic Stimulation ; *Recognition, Psychology ; *Social Behavior ; }, abstract = {Recognizing other individuals by integrating different sensory modalities is a crucial ability of social animals, including humans. Although cross-modal individual recognition has been demonstrated in mammals, the extent of its use by birds remains unknown. Herein, we report the first evidence of cross-modal recognition of group members by a highly social bird, the large-billed crow (Corvus macrorhynchos). A cross-modal expectancy violation paradigm was used to test whether crows were sensitive to identity congruence between visual presentation of a group member and the subsequent playback of a contact call. Crows looked more rapidly and for a longer duration when the visual and auditory stimuli were incongruent than when congruent. Moreover, these responses were not observed with non-group member stimuli. These results indicate that crows spontaneously associate visual and auditory information of group members but not of non-group members, which is a demonstration of cross-modal audiovisual recognition of group members in birds.}, } @article {pmid25892846, year = {2012}, author = {Loretto, MC and Fraser, ON and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Ontogeny of Social Relations and Coalition Formation in Common Ravens (Corvus corax).}, journal = {International journal of comparative psychology}, volume = {25}, number = {3}, pages = {180-194}, pmid = {25892846}, issn = {0889-3667}, support = {Y 366/FWF_/Austrian Science Fund FWF/Austria ; }, abstract = {The social intelligence hypothesis, originally developed for primates to explain their high intelligence and large relative brain size, assumes that challenges posed by social life in complex societies with many group members lead to the evolution of advanced cognitive abilities. In birds, pair-bonded species have larger brains than non-pair bonded species, indicating that the quality of social relationships better predicts social complexity than group size. Ravens are a long-term monogamous and territorial species, renowned for their sophisticated socio-cognitive skills and complex social relationships. Notably, during their early years they live in fission-fusion-like non-breeder societies in which social relationships could be of particular importance. Here we observed the development of dominance and affiliative relationships in 12 hand-raised captive ravens, examining the influence of age, sex and kinship on social interactions. Furthermore, we investigated at which developmental step a stable hierarchy emerged, whether third-party interventions played a role and how selectively birds intervened in others' conflicts. At 4-5 months post-fledging, we found an increase in socio-positive behaviour and a decrease in aggression, along with the establishment of a linear dominance rank hierarchy. In line with kin selection theory, siblings exhibited a greater degree of tolerance and engaged in more socio-positive behaviour. In their first few months, ravens frequently intervened in others' conflicts but supported mainly the aggressor; later on, their support became more selective towards kin and close social partners. These findings indicate that ravens engage in sophisticated social behaviours and form stable relationships already in their first year of life.}, } @article {pmid23502563, year = {2012}, author = {Morange, M}, title = {Synthetic biology: a challenge to mechanical explanations in biology?.}, journal = {Perspectives in biology and medicine}, volume = {55}, number = {4}, pages = {543-553}, doi = {10.1353/pbm.2012.0048}, pmid = {23502563}, issn = {1529-8795}, mesh = {Animals ; *Bioengineering ; Biological Evolution ; *Biomedical Research ; Cooperative Behavior ; Humans ; Interdisciplinary Communication ; Models, Biological ; *Synthetic Biology ; Systems Biology ; }, abstract = {In their plans to modify organisms, synthetic biologists have contrasted engineering and tinkering. By drawing this contrast between their endeavors and what has happened during the evolution of organisms by natural selection, they underline the novelty of their projects and justify their ambitions. Synthetic biologists are at odds with a long tradition that has considered organisms as "perfect machines." This tradition had already been questioned by Stephen Jay Gould in the 1970s and received a major blow with the comparison made by François Jacob between organisms and the results of "bricolage" (tinkering). These contrasts between engineering and tinkering, synthetic biology and evolution, have no raison d'être. Machines built by humans are increasingly inspired by observations made on organisms. This is not a simple reversal of the previous trend-the mechanical conception of organisms-in which the characteristics of the latter were explained by comparison with human-built machines. Relations between organisms and machines have always been complex and ambiguous.}, } @article {pmid21991394, year = {2011}, author = {Soulières, I and Dawson, M and Gernsbacher, MA and Mottron, L}, title = {The level and nature of autistic intelligence II: what about Asperger syndrome?.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {6}, number = {9}, pages = {e25372}, pmid = {21991394}, issn = {1932-6203}, support = {MOP-84243//Canadian Institutes of Health Research/Canada ; }, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Algorithms ; Asperger Syndrome/*diagnosis ; Autistic Disorder/*diagnosis/psychology ; Child ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders/diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; Intelligence Tests ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Speech ; Wechsler Scales ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {A distinctively uneven profile of intelligence is a feature of the autistic spectrum. Within the spectrum, Asperger individuals differ from autistics in their early speech development and in being less likely to be characterized by visuospatial peaks. While different specific strengths characterize different autistic spectrum subgroups, all such peaks of ability have been interpreted as deficits: isolated, aberrant, and irreconcilable with real human intelligence. This view has recently been challenged by findings of autistic strengths in performance on Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), an important marker of general and fluid intelligence. We investigated whether these findings extend to Asperger syndrome, an autistic spectrum subgroup characterized by verbal peaks of ability, and whether the cognitive mechanisms underlying autistic and Asperger RPM performance differ. Thirty-two Asperger adults displayed a significant advantage on RPM over Wechsler Full-Scale and Performance scores relative to their typical controls, while in 25 Asperger children an RPM advantage was found over Wechsler Performance scores only. As previously found with autistics, Asperger children and adults achieved RPM scores at a level reflecting their Wechsler peaks of ability. Therefore, strengths in RPM performance span the autistic spectrum and imply a common mechanism advantageously applied to different facets of cognition. Autistic spectrum intelligence is atypical, but also genuine, general, and underestimated.}, } @article {pmid21924907, year = {2011}, author = {Koizumi, K and Wu, S and MacRae-Crerar, A and Gallagher, KL}, title = {An essential protein that interacts with endosomes and promotes movement of the SHORT-ROOT transcription factor.}, journal = {Current biology : CB}, volume = {21}, number = {18}, pages = {1559-1564}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2011.08.013}, pmid = {21924907}, issn = {1879-0445}, mesh = {Arabidopsis/genetics/growth & development/*metabolism ; Arabidopsis Proteins/analysis/genetics/metabolism/*physiology ; Carrier Proteins/genetics/metabolism/*physiology ; Cell Nucleus/metabolism ; Endosomes/*metabolism ; Green Fluorescent Proteins/analysis ; Mutagenesis, Site-Directed ; Plant Roots/growth & development/metabolism/physiology ; Protein Transport/physiology ; Transcription Factors/analysis/metabolism/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Plant cells can communicate through the direct transport of transcription factors [1-7]. One of the best-studied examples of this phenomenon is SHORT-ROOT (SHR), which moves from the stele cells into the endodermis and root tip of Arabidopsis, where it specifies endodermal cell identity and stem cell function, respectively [8-10]. In the endodermis, SHR upregulates the transcription factors SCARECROW (SCR) [2] and JACKDAW (JKD), which in turn inhibit movement of SHR from the endodermis [11]. Although much is known about the regulatory pathways that mediate expression and activity of SHR [1, 8-14], little is known about the factors that promote its movement or the movement of other transcription factors. We have identified a novel protein, SHORT-ROOT INTERACTING EMBRYONIC LETHAL (SIEL), that interacts with SHR, CAPRICE (CPC), TARGET OF MONOPTEROUS 7 (TMO7), and AGAMOUS-LIKE 21 (AGL21). Null alleles of SIEL are embryonic lethal. Hypomorphic alleles produce defects in root patterning and reduce SHR movement. Surprisingly, both SHR and SCR regulate expression of SIEL, so that siel/scr and siel/shr double mutants have extremely disorganized roots. SIEL localizes to the nucleus and cytoplasm of root cells where it is associated with endosomes. We propose that SIEL is an endosome-associated protein that promotes intercellular movement.}, } @article {pmid21887286, year = {2011}, author = {Li, C and Yang, X and Ding, Y and Zhang, L and Fang, H and Tang, S and Jiang, Z}, title = {Do Père David's deer lose memories of their ancestral predators?.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {6}, number = {8}, pages = {e23623}, pmid = {21887286}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Animals ; Deer/*physiology ; Dogs ; Female ; Male ; Memory/*physiology ; Models, Biological ; Predatory Behavior/*physiology ; Tape Recording ; Vocalization, Animal/physiology ; }, abstract = {Whether prey retains antipredator behavior after a long period of predator relaxation is an important question in predator-prey evolution. Père David's deer have been raised in enclosures for more than 1200 years and this isolation provides an opportunity to study whether Père David's deer still respond to the cues of their ancestral predators or to novel predators. We played back the sounds of crows (familiar sound) and domestic dogs (familiar non-predators), of tigers and wolves (ancestral predators), and of lions (potential naïve predator) to Père David's deer in paddocks, and blank sounds to the control group, and videoed the behavior of the deer during the experiment. We also showed life-size photo models of dog, leopard, bear, tiger, wolf, and lion to the deer and video taped their responses after seeing these models. Père David's deer stared at and approached the hidden loudspeaker when they heard the roars of tiger or lion. The deer listened to tiger roars longer, approached to tiger roars more and spent more time staring at the tiger model. The stags were also found to forage less in the trials of tiger roars than that of other sound playbacks. Additionally, it took longer for the deer to restore their normal behavior after they heard tiger roars, which was longer than that after the trial of other sound playbacks. Moreover, the deer were only found to walk away after hearing the sounds of tiger and wolf. Therefore, the tiger was probably the main predator for Père David's deer in ancient time. Our study implies that Père David's deer still retain the memories of the acoustic and visual cues of their ancestral predators in spite of the long term isolation from natural habitat.}, } @article {pmid21829930, year = {2011}, author = {Varanda, Cde A and Fernandes, FD}, title = {[Syntactic awareness: probable correlations with central coherence and non-verbal intelligence in autism].}, journal = {Jornal da Sociedade Brasileira de Fonoaudiologia}, volume = {23}, number = {2}, pages = {142-151}, doi = {10.1590/s2179-64912011000200011}, pmid = {21829930}, issn = {2179-6491}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Autistic Disorder/*psychology ; Awareness/*physiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cognition ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; *Language Development ; Male ; *Semantics ; Severity of Illness Index ; *Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {PURPOSE: To evaluate syntactic awareness, central coherence, non-verbal intelligence, social and communication development, interests and behavior of children with autistic spectrum disorders and to examine their probable correlations.

METHODS: Participants were ten subjects diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorder, eight male and two female, with ages between 4 years e 9 months and 13 years and 4 months (mean age 9 years), who used oral language for communication. The following tests were used: Syntactic Awareness Test - Adapted (Prova de Consciência Sintática - Adaptada), Computerized jigsaw puzzles with picture and background and only with background; and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices - Special Scale. Subjects' parents answered the protocol Autism Diagnostic Interview - Revised (ADI-R).

RESULTS: The children with autism presented syntactic awareness performance similar to that of 6-year-old children with typical development. Sixty percent of the subjects showed non-verbal intelligence at a superior or average level. There were no correlations between the performances in syntactic awareness and the other tested variables.

CONCLUSION: There was no relationship between the performance in syntactic awareness and the results related to central coherence, non-verbal intelligence and social interaction deficits, difficulties in communication and restrict patterns interests of subjects with autism. The results suggest that these children seem to follow the development pattern of typically developing 6-year-old children in syntactic awareness abilities, only delayed.}, } @article {pmid21816172, year = {2011}, author = {Perego, P and Turconi, AC and Andreoni, G and Maggi, L and Beretta, E and Parini, S and Gagliardi, C}, title = {Cognitive ability assessment by brain-computer interface validation of a new assessment method for cognitive abilities.}, journal = {Journal of neuroscience methods}, volume = {201}, number = {1}, pages = {239-250}, doi = {10.1016/j.jneumeth.2011.06.025}, pmid = {21816172}, issn = {1872-678X}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain/*physiology ; Cognition/*physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests/*standards ; Psychomotor Performance/*physiology ; *User-Computer Interface ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Brain-Computer Interfaces (BCIs) are systems which can provide communication and environmental control to people with severe neuromuscular diseases. The current study proposes a new BCI-based method for psychometric assessment when traditional or computerized testing cannot be used owing to the subject's output impairment. This administration protocol was based on, and validated against, a widely used clinical test (Raven Colored Progressive Matrix) in order to verify whether BCI affects the brain in terms of cognitive resource with a misstatement result. The operating protocol was structured into two phases: phase 1 was aimed at configuring the BCI system on the subject's features and train him/her to use it; during phase 2 the BCI system was reconfigured and the test performed. A step-by-step checking procedure was adopted to verify progressive inclusion/exclusion criteria and the underpinning variables. The protocol was validated on 19 healthy subjects and the BCI-based administration was compared with a paper-based administration. The results obtained by both methods were correlated as known for traditional assessment of a similarly culture free and reasoning based test. Although our findings need to be validated on pathological participants, in our healthy population the BCI-based administration did not affect performance and added a further control of the response due to the several variables included and analyzed by the computerized task.}, } @article {pmid21503645, year = {2011}, author = {Flouri, E and Panourgia, C}, title = {Adverse life events and emotional and behavioral problems in adolescence: the role of non-verbal cognitive ability and negative cognitive errors.}, journal = {Journal of abnormal child psychology}, volume = {39}, number = {5}, pages = {695-709}, pmid = {21503645}, issn = {1573-2835}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Affective Symptoms/etiology/*psychology ; Child Behavior Disorders/etiology/*psychology ; *Cognition ; Emotions ; Female ; Humans ; *Life Change Events ; Male ; Psychological Tests ; Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {The aim of this study was to test whether negative cognitive errors (overgeneralizing, catastrophizing, selective abstraction, and personalizing) mediate the moderator effect of non-verbal cognitive ability on the association between adverse life events (life stress) and emotional and behavioral problems in adolescence. The sample consisted of 430 children (aged 11-15 years) from three state secondary schools in disadvantaged areas in one county in the South East of England. Total difficulties (i.e., emotional symptoms, peer problems, hyperactivity, and conduct problems) were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Adjustment was made for gender, age, ethnicity, special educational needs, exclusion history, family structure, and family socio-economic disadvantage. Adverse life events were measured with Tiet et al.'s (Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 37, 1191-1200, 1998) Adverse Life Events Scale. Non-verbal cognitive ability was measured with Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices Plus. Non-verbal cognitive ability moderated the effect of adverse life events both on total difficulties and on emotional symptoms. Overgeneralizing mediated the moderator effect of non-verbal cognitive ability on the association between adverse life events and total difficulties. Adverse life events were related to a tendency to overgeneralize which was associated with emotional and behavioral problems, but particularly among those adolescents with lower non-verbal cognitive ability.}, } @article {pmid21490255, year = {2011}, author = {Martín-Gálvez, D and Pérez-Contreras, T and Soler, M and Soler, JJ}, title = {Benefits associated with escalated begging behaviour of black-billed magpie nestlings overcompensate the associated energetic costs.}, journal = {The Journal of experimental biology}, volume = {214}, number = {Pt 9}, pages = {1463-1472}, doi = {10.1242/jeb.050153}, pmid = {21490255}, issn = {1477-9145}, mesh = {Animals ; Cyproheptadine/pharmacology ; Energy Metabolism/drug effects/*physiology ; Feeding Behavior/drug effects/*physiology ; Nesting Behavior/drug effects/*physiology ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; Video Recording ; }, abstract = {Several experimental results support the existence of costs associated with exaggerated begging behaviour, which are assumed by some theoretical models of honest signalling in parent-offspring communication. However, to understand how honest begging behaviour is evolutionarily maintained in nature, the long-term cost-benefit output associated with exaggerated signals should also be estimated. As far as we know, the net cost-benefit balance of begging display has not previously been explored. Here, we used an appetite stimulant, cyproheptadine hydrochloride, to increase the feeling of hunger in some magpie nestlings. Supporting the use of cyproheptadine to manipulate hunger level and thereby begging behaviour, we found that experimental nestlings increased the frequency of begging and received more food than their control nestmates. Contrary to the expectation that physiological costs per se counteract the associated benefits of escalated begging signals, we found that near-fledging experimental magpies showed a better physical condition than control nestlings. These findings stress the interesting question of why magpie nestlings do not show to adults an escalated level of hunger if it implies an advantage. We discuss the responsibility of inclusive fitness costs and indirect genetic effects for the maintenance of honesty in parent-offspring communication.}, } @article {pmid21473166, year = {2011}, author = {Hsu, H}, title = {Seeing Jay-Z in Taipei.}, journal = {Daedalus}, volume = {140}, number = {1}, pages = {163-173}, doi = {10.1162/daed_a_00068}, pmid = {21473166}, issn = {0011-5266}, mesh = {*African Americans/education/ethnology/history/legislation & jurisprudence/psychology ; *Asian Americans/education/ethnology/history/legislation & jurisprudence/psychology ; *Cross-Cultural Comparison ; Emigrants and Immigrants/education/history/legislation & jurisprudence/psychology ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Population Groups/education/ethnology/history/legislation & jurisprudence/psychology ; Race Relations/history/legislation & jurisprudence/psychology ; *Social Behavior/history ; Social Change/history ; *Social Identification ; Taiwan/ethnology ; *Technology/economics/education/history ; United States/ethnology ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {How does the newly arrived immigrant respond to the news that an identity already awaits him? How does an African American hip-hop artist translate his struggles and triumphs across oceanic divides? What significance do American demographic shifts have in a global context? Hsu's essay examines what happens once individuals or identities migrate beyond the contexts that first produced them. He explores a variety of circuits: the satellite communities of Asian immigrant students who arrived on American university campuses in the late 1960s; enduring debates about a "post-city" identity, spurred by advances in cheap, efficient, world-shrinking communication technologies; and the new affinities and categories of self-identification made possible by a present-day culture that prizes interactivity and participation.}, } @article {pmid21466341, year = {2011}, author = {Yang, C and Zhang, Y and Cai, Y and Stokke, BG and Liang, W}, title = {Female crowing and differential responses to simulated conspecific intrusion in male and female Hainan partridge (Arborophila ardens).}, journal = {Zoological science}, volume = {28}, number = {4}, pages = {249-253}, doi = {10.2108/zsj.28.249}, pmid = {21466341}, issn = {0289-0003}, mesh = {Animals ; China ; Female ; Galliformes/*physiology ; Male ; Sex Factors ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Vocalizations of Hainan partridges (Arborophila ardens) during the breeding season were studied, by making use of playback experiments, in Yinggeling Nature Reserve, Hainan Island, China. Both males and females were found to crow and to produce duet calls during the breeding season, and there was a sex difference in crowing as shown by spectrogram analyses. Both sexes responded strongly to simulated intrusion from pairs of conspecifics. However, it was found that males responded to intrasexual intrusion to a greater extent than to intersexual intrusion. Moreover, females responded strongly to both intra- and intersexual intrusion. Female-female response is proposed as a behavioral mechanism that favors monogamy in the Hainan partridge, and a generally high response to any kind of vocal stimuli indicates that females may play an important role in territory defense in this species. To our knowledge, this is the first report for female crowing in the genus Arborophila, and the second case for female crowing in the family Phasianidae.}, } @article {pmid21428525, year = {2011}, author = {Collins, MD}, title = {Putative audio recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis).}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {129}, number = {3}, pages = {1626-1630}, doi = {10.1121/1.3544370}, pmid = {21428525}, issn = {1520-8524}, mesh = {Animals ; Birds/*physiology ; Endangered Species ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Sound Spectrography ; Species Specificity ; Time Factors ; Video Recording ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Putative audio recordings of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker (Campephilus principalis) are presented along with discussions of the videos from which they were extracted and the observations that were made when these data were obtained. On two occasions, high-pitched calls were heard coming from the direction of a bird that was identified in the field as an Ivory-billed Woodpecker. These calls seem to match the description of an alarm call that was reported in the 1930s. One of the videos captured a series of the high-pitched calls, which sound similar to the Blue Jay (Cyanocitta cristata) bell call but do not match published sonograms of that call. A putative double knock, which is characteristic of the Ivory-billed Woodpecker, was captured in another video a little over a minute before a large bird with characteristics consistent with an Ivory-billed Woodpecker flew into view. Since it is extremely difficult to observe this critically endangered species, information on audio clues could have an impact on its conservation.}, } @article {pmid21373192, year = {2011}, author = {Range, F and Virányi, Z}, title = {Development of gaze following abilities in wolves (Canis lupus).}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {6}, number = {2}, pages = {e16888}, pmid = {21373192}, issn = {1932-6203}, support = {P 21244/FWF_/Austrian Science Fund FWF/Austria ; }, mesh = {Animal Communication ; Animals ; Attention/*physiology ; Behavior, Animal/physiology ; *Biological Evolution ; Cues ; Dogs ; Fixation, Ocular/*physiology ; Habituation, Psychophysiologic/physiology ; Humans ; Models, Biological ; Visual Perception/physiology ; Wolves/*physiology ; }, abstract = {The ability to coordinate with others' head and eye orientation to look in the same direction is considered a key step towards an understanding of others mental states like attention and intention. Here, we investigated the ontogeny and habituation patterns of gaze following into distant space and behind barriers in nine hand-raised wolves. We found that these wolves could use conspecific as well as human gaze cues even in the barrier task, which is thought to be more cognitively advanced than gazing into distant space. Moreover, while gaze following into distant space was already present at the age of 14 weeks and subjects did not habituate to repeated cues, gazing around a barrier developed considerably later and animals quickly habituated, supporting the hypothesis that different cognitive mechanisms may underlie the two gaze following modalities. More importantly, this study demonstrated that following another individuals' gaze around a barrier is not restricted to primates and corvids but is also present in canines, with remarkable between-group similarities in the ontogeny of this behaviour. This sheds new light on the evolutionary origins of and selective pressures on gaze following abilities as well as on the sensitivity of domestic dogs towards human communicative cues.}, } @article {pmid21359204, year = {2011}, author = {Dekleva, M and Dufour, V and de Vries, H and Spruijt, BM and Sterck, EH}, title = {Chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) fail a what-where-when task but find rewards by using a location-based association strategy.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {6}, number = {2}, pages = {e16593}, pmid = {21359204}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Animals ; Association Learning/*physiology ; Choice Behavior/physiology ; Feeding Behavior/physiology/psychology ; Female ; Food Preferences ; Gestures ; Male ; Memory/*physiology ; Models, Biological ; Pan troglodytes/*physiology/psychology ; Reinforcement, Psychology ; *Reward ; Space Perception/*physiology ; Task Performance and Analysis ; }, abstract = {Recollecting the what-where-when of an episode, or episodic-like memory, has been established in corvids and rodents. In humans, a linkage between remembering the past and imagining the future has been recognised. While chimpanzees can plan for the future, their episodic-like memory has hardly been investigated. We tested chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) with an adapted food-catching paradigm. They observed the baiting of two locations amongst four and chose one after a given delay (15 min, 1 h or 5 h). We used two combinations of food types, a preferred and a less preferred food that disappeared at different rates. The subjects had to base their choices on the time elapsed since baiting, and on their memory of which food was where. They could recover either their preferred food or the one that remained present. All animals failed to obtain the preferred or present foods above chance levels. They were like-wise unsuccessful at choosing baited cups above chance levels. The subjects, thus, failed to use any feature of the baiting events to guide their choices. Nonetheless, their choices were not random, but the result of a developed location-based association strategy. Choices in the second half of the study correlated with the rewards obtained at each location in the first half of the study, independent from the choices made for each location in the first half of the study. This simple location-based strategy yielded a fair amount of food. The animals' failure to remember the what-where-when in the presented set-up may be due to the complexity of the task, rather than an inability to form episodic-like memories, as they even failed to remember what was where after 15 minutes.}, } @article {pmid21347359, year = {2011}, author = {Chow, BW and Ho, CS and Wong, SW and Waye, MM and Bishop, DV}, title = {Genetic and environmental influences on Chinese language and reading abilities.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {6}, number = {2}, pages = {e16640}, pmid = {21347359}, issn = {1932-6203}, support = {/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom ; 082498/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom ; 082498/z/07/WT_/Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Child ; Child, Preschool ; China ; Cognition/physiology ; *Environment ; Female ; *Heredity ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Genetic ; Nonverbal Communication/physiology ; *Reading ; }, abstract = {This study investigated the etiology of individual differences in Chinese language and reading skills in 312 typically developing Chinese twin pairs aged from 3 to 11 years (228 pairs of monozygotic twins and 84 pairs of dizygotic twins; 166 male pairs and 146 female pairs). Children were individually given tasks of Chinese word reading, receptive vocabulary, phonological memory, tone awareness, syllable and rhyme awareness, rapid automatized naming, morphological awareness and orthographic skills, and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices. All analyses controlled for the effects of age. There were moderate to substantial genetic influences on word reading, tone awareness, phonological memory, morphological awareness and rapid automatized naming (estimates ranged from .42 to .73), while shared environment exerted moderate to strong effects on receptive vocabulary, syllable and rhyme awareness and orthographic skills (estimates ranged from .35 to .63). Results were largely unchanged when scores were adjusted for nonverbal reasoning as well as age. Findings of this study are mostly similar to those found for English, a language with very different characteristics, and suggest the universality of genetic and environmental influences across languages.}, } @article {pmid21324651, year = {2011}, author = {Giovagnoli, AR and Bell, B}, title = {Drawing from memory in focal epilepsy: a cognitive and neural perspective.}, journal = {Epilepsy research}, volume = {94}, number = {1-2}, pages = {69-74}, doi = {10.1016/j.eplepsyres.2011.01.004}, pmid = {21324651}, issn = {1872-6844}, mesh = {Adult ; Analysis of Variance ; Cognition Disorders/*etiology ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/*complications/*pathology ; Female ; Functional Laterality/physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Memory Disorders/classification/*etiology ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Psychomotor Performance/*physiology ; Regression Analysis ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {This study provides evidence of non-verbal cognitive functioning in temporal (TLE) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) patients by exploring the mechanisms and neural correlates of drawing abilities. Sixty-six patients with left (n=32) or right TLE (n=34), 30 patients with left (n=18) or right FLE (n=12), and 30 healthy subjects were compared. The Drawing from Memory (DfM) test required participants to design 16 living or non-living items; the total score was the sum of all scores blindly provided by three judges who had to identify the drawings. The verbal and visual Pyramid and Palm Trees Test (PPTT), Raven Colored Progressive Matrices (Raven CPM), Cube Analysis, Token Test, Word Fluency, Card Classification, and Rey Complex Figure Test Copy trial (Rey CFC) assessed different verbal and non-verbal functions. Non-parametric statistics indicated that, with respect to controls, both TLE groups and the left FLE patients had significantly lower DfM scores. In the TLE group, hierarchical regression analyses revealed that the DfM score was predicted by the Raven CPM and PPTT scores, while, in the FLE group, it was predicted by the Rey CFC. Thus, drawing abilities may be impaired by TLE or FLE owing to different mechanisms that involve semantic or executive abilities. Implying cooperation between temporal and frontal areas that support these functions, DfM may be a sensitive index of integrity of cortical areas or neural pathways damaged by focal epilepsy.}, } @article {pmid21271427, year = {2011}, author = {Simonds, VW and Rudd, RE and Sequist, TD and Colditz, G}, title = {An assessment of printed diabetes-prevention materials available to a Northern Plains tribe.}, journal = {Journal of health communication}, volume = {16}, number = {4}, pages = {431-447}, doi = {10.1080/10810730.2010.546482}, pmid = {21271427}, issn = {1087-0415}, mesh = {Comprehension ; Diabetes Mellitus/*prevention & control ; *Health Literacy ; Humans ; Indians, North American/*education ; Montana ; *Pamphlets ; Patient Education as Topic/*standards ; Reading ; }, abstract = {The purpose of this study was to characterize the literacy demands of print materials used to encourage diabetes prevention on the Crow Reservation. Diabetes-prevention materials included pamphlets, booklets, and fact sheets provided to Crow people. Readability was assessed using the SMOG formula. Diabetes related vocabulary was assessed to determine whether medical/scientific words were used and if they were defined. Numeracy demand was assessed by counting the number of times different numeracy concepts were used in each material. Lists, charts, and graphs were assessed using the PMOSE/IKIRSCH tool. We found that materials were written at a readability level higher than recommended. Across all materials, vocabulary terms were used often but not always defined. Numeric terms were not often used, but when used they were not defined. Most of the materials required the reader to read numbers or count. However, overall numeracy demand was relatively low. The PMOSE/IKIRSCH scores for materials were adequate. The authors found a mismatch between the level of skills required in some of the materials and the skills of the average person, including adults on the Crow Reservation. This study highlights the need for designing materials specifically for the intended audience, including rigorous pilot testing of materials.}, } @article {pmid21117771, year = {2010}, author = {Hernandez, EN and Solangi, M and Kuczaj, SA}, title = {Time and frequency parameters of bottlenose dolphin whistles as predictors of surface behavior in the Mississippi Sound.}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {127}, number = {5}, pages = {3232-3238}, doi = {10.1121/1.3365254}, pmid = {21117771}, issn = {1520-8524}, mesh = {Analysis of Variance ; Animals ; Bottle-Nosed Dolphin/*physiology ; Discriminant Analysis ; Feeding Behavior ; Mississippi ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; Social Behavior ; Sound Spectrography ; Swimming ; Time Factors ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Acoustic characteristics related to contour of the whistle (such as highest and lowest frequency, beginning and ending frequency, whistle duration, and number of turns) of bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops truncatus) whistles were measured to test whether any of the measurements were related to the behavioral state of the dolphins when the whistle was recorded (coded as mill, travel, mill/travel, feed, or social). Objective measures of time and frequency were obtained using Raven, while number of turns in a whistle was determined by human raters. In all a series of discriminant function analyses using the acoustic characteristics to predict the behavioral state, the highest standardized canonical discriminant function coefficients were: lowest frequency, number of turns, and duration. The models that incorporated these variables performed significantly better than chance at correctly assigning the whistles into the surface behavior category in which they were recorded. The rate of whistling was related to group size, surface behavior and season via a series of two-way ANOVAs (analysis of variance).}, } @article {pmid21109010, year = {2011}, author = {Koester, D and Schiller, NO}, title = {The functional neuroanatomy of morphology in language production.}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {55}, number = {2}, pages = {732-741}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.11.044}, pmid = {21109010}, issn = {1095-9572}, mesh = {Adult ; Brain/*physiology ; *Brain Mapping ; Female ; Humans ; Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Speech/*physiology ; Visual Perception/*physiology ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {The present study investigated the neural correlates of morphological priming in overt Dutch language production using a long-lag priming paradigm. Compound words were read out loud as primes that were morphologically related to picture names (e.g. the word jaszak, 'coat pocket' was used for a picture of a coat; Dutch jas), or primes were form-related, but not morphologically related monomorphemic words (e.g. jasmijn, 'jasmine'). The morphologically related compounds could be semantically transparent (e.g. eksternest, 'magpie nest') or opaque (e.g. eksteroog, lit. 'magpie eye,' 'corn,' for a picture of a magpie, Dutch ekster). These four priming conditions were complemented by two matched, unrelated conditions. The production of morphologically related, complex words but not the production of form-related words facilitated subsequent picture naming. Also, morphologically related but not form-related words led to a neural priming effect in the left inferior frontal gyrus (LIFG). The effects did not differ for transparent and opaque relations. The results point to a functional role of LIFG in morphological information processing during language production contrary to previous meta-analytic findings. Specifically, morphological priming effects in language production seem to be independent from semantic overlap. However, further research should confirm the independence of morphological and phonological factors. It is suggested that LIFG subserves word form encoding in language production.}, } @article {pmid21103918, year = {2011}, author = {Kunda, M and Goel, AK}, title = {Thinking in Pictures as a cognitive account of autism.}, journal = {Journal of autism and developmental disorders}, volume = {41}, number = {9}, pages = {1157-1177}, pmid = {21103918}, issn = {1573-3432}, mesh = {Autistic Disorder/*psychology ; Child ; *Cognition ; Humans ; *Imagination ; Neuropsychological Tests ; *Pattern Recognition, Visual ; Photic Stimulation/methods ; *Thinking ; *Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {We analyze the hypothesis that some individuals on the autism spectrum may use visual mental representations and processes to perform certain tasks that typically developing individuals perform verbally. We present a framework for interpreting empirical evidence related to this "Thinking in Pictures" hypothesis and then provide comprehensive reviews of data from several different cognitive tasks, including the n-back task, serial recall, dual task studies, Raven's Progressive Matrices, semantic processing, false belief tasks, visual search, spatial recall, and visual recall. We also discuss the relationships between the Thinking in Pictures hypothesis and other cognitive theories of autism including Mindblindness, Executive Dysfunction, Weak Central Coherence, and Enhanced Perceptual Functioning.}, } @article {pmid20942587, year = {2010}, author = {Katsarou, Z and Bostantjopoulou, S and Zikouli, A and Kazazi, E and Kafantari, A and Tsipropoulou, V and Kourtesi, G and Peitsidou, E}, title = {Performance of Greek demented and nondemented subjects on the Greek version of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale. A validation study.}, journal = {The International journal of neuroscience}, volume = {120}, number = {11}, pages = {724-730}, doi = {10.3109/00207454.2010.518779}, pmid = {20942587}, issn = {1563-5279}, mesh = {Adult ; Aged ; Alzheimer Disease/*psychology ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders/*diagnosis/epidemiology ; Female ; Greece ; Humans ; Language ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Neuropsychological Tests ; Parkinson Disease/*psychology ; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales/*standards ; Severity of Illness Index ; }, abstract = {A translated version of the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale (DRS) into Greek ((DRS-GR) was applied to a sample of Greek population (N = 356) comprising normal middle-aged and elderly subjects (controls), as well as patients suffering from Parkinson's (PD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD) to test its reliability and validity. A well-known dementia screening instrument, the Mini Mental State Examination test (MMSE), and a nonverbal measure of abstract reasoning, the Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices, were employed as measures of DRS-GR concurrent validity. Reliability analysis was satisfactory with Cronbach's alpha reaching 0.82 and item to total correlations yielding high coefficients for most items. DRS-GR scores were influenced by age and education, but not by gender. Correlation between MMSE and the total DRS-GR score was significant in patients and normal controls, but correlation between DRS-GR and RCPM was significant in AD and nondemented PD only. Specificity and sensitivity for dementia screening, calculated on a Receiver Operating Characteristic curve, with a cut-off score the mean value minus two standard deviations, corrected for age and education, was 96% and 80%, respectively. Our preliminary findings show that DRS-GR is a reliable and well-adapted instrument for clinical application in the Greek population.}, } @article {pmid20852867, year = {2011}, author = {Suthers, RA and Wild, JM and Kaplan, G}, title = {Mechanisms of song production in the Australian magpie.}, journal = {Journal of comparative physiology. A, Neuroethology, sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology}, volume = {197}, number = {1}, pages = {45-59}, pmid = {20852867}, issn = {1432-1351}, support = {R01 NS029467/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Acoustics ; Animals ; Female ; Functional Laterality ; Male ; Nonlinear Dynamics ; Phonation/*physiology ; Respiratory Mechanics/*physiology ; Songbirds/*physiology ; Sound Spectrography ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen) are notable for their vocal prowess. We investigated the syringeal and respiratory dynamics of vocalization by two 6-month-old males, whose songs had a number of adult features. There was no strong lateral syringeal dominance and unilateral phonation was most often achieved by closing the syringeal valve on the contralateral side of the syrinx. Unlike other songbirds studied, magpies sometimes used an alternative syringeal motor pattern during unilateral phonation in which both sides of the syrinx are partially adducted and open to airflow. Also, in contrast to most other songbirds, the higher fundamental frequency during two-voice syllables was usually generated on the left side of the syrinx. Amplitude modulation, a prominent feature of magpie song, was produced by linear or nonlinear interactions between different frequencies which may originate either on opposite sides of the syrinx or on the same side. Pulse tones, similar to vocal fry in human speech, were present in some calls. Unlike small songbirds, the fundamental of the modal frequency can be as low as that of the pulse tone, suggesting that large birds may have evolved pulse tones to increase acoustic diversity, rather than decrease the fundamental frequency.}, } @article {pmid20850602, year = {2010}, author = {Halayem, S and Bouden, A and Halayem, MB and Tabbane, K and Amado, I and Krebs, MO}, title = {[Neurological soft signs in pervasive developmental disorders].}, journal = {L'Encephale}, volume = {36}, number = {4}, pages = {307-313}, doi = {10.1016/j.encep.2009.12.012}, pmid = {20850602}, issn = {0013-7006}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Child ; Child Development Disorders, Pervasive/*diagnosis/psychology ; Comorbidity ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence ; Male ; Motor Skills Disorders/*diagnosis/psychology ; Nervous System Diseases/*diagnosis/psychology ; Neurologic Examination/*methods ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Many studies have focused on specific motor signs in autism and Asperger's syndrome, but few has been published on the complete range of neurological soft signs (NSS) in children with pervasive developmental disorder (PDD). Scarce are the studies evaluating NSS in children suffering from PDD not otherwise specified (PDDNOS).

METHODS: This study compared performance of 11 autistic children (AD) and 10 children with PDDNOS, with controls matched on age, sex and cognitive performance on Krebs et al.'s NSS scale. Because of the duration of the assessments and specific difficulties encountered in managing some items, an adaptation of the scale had to be made during a pilot study with the agreement of the author. To be eligible, patients had to meet the following inclusion criteria: an age range of 6-16 years, a diagnosis of autistic disorder or PDDNOS based on the DSM IV criteria (American Psychiatric Association 1994). The autism diagnostic interview-revised (ADI-R) was used in order to confirm the diagnosis and to evaluate the association of the symptoms to the severity of the NSS. The childhood autism rating scale (CARS) was completed for the patients in order to evaluate symptoms at the time of the NSS examination. Cognitive ability was assessed with Raven's progressive matrices. Were excluded patients with: history of cerebral palsy, congenital anomaly of the central nervous system, epilepsy, known genetic syndrome, tuberous sclerosis, neurofibromatosis, antecedent of severe head trauma, Asperger's syndrome, obvious physical deformities or sensory deficits that would interfere with neurological assessment, deep mental retardation and recent or chronic substance use or abuse. Healthy controls shared the same exclusion criteria, with no personal history of neurological, psychiatric disorder or substance abuse, no family history of psychiatric disorder and normal or retardation in schooling. All study procedures were approved by the local Ethics Committee (Comité d'éthique, Razi Hospital), according to the declaration of Helsinki.

RESULTS: There was no difference between patients and controls with respect to sex, age and cognitive function. All children had an IQ higher than 81. Significant differences were found between AD children and control group in the motor integration function and sensory integration function. Different NSS scores were significantly higher in the PDDNOS group than in controls: the total scores, motor coordination, motor integration function, sensory integration and abnormal movements. Lower performance in motor coordination skills was associated with higher ADI-R communication score in the AD group. No relationship was found between NSS and CARS' total sore.

CONCLUSION: This study confirms the impaired neurological functioning in autistic as well as PDDNOS children. The association of motor impairment with autistic symptoms highlights the argument that motor control problems can be part of the autism spectrum disorders. The lack of relationship between NSS and intellectual aptitude in the clinical sample provides new elements for the neurodevelopment model of the autism spectrum.}, } @article {pmid20734247, year = {2010}, author = {Abbey, E}, title = {Themes and variation of N. S. Thompson--song.}, journal = {Integrative psychological & behavioral science}, volume = {44}, number = {4}, pages = {348-350}, pmid = {20734247}, issn = {1936-3567}, mesh = {Animals ; History, 20th Century ; History, 21st Century ; Humans ; Poetry as Topic/history ; Songbirds/physiology ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Nick Thompson studied many animals over the course of his career, including non-human primates, dogs, crows, human babies, and mockingbirds. Amidst such variation, Nick maintained a common focus. He sought to provide more accurate and truthful representations of the particular phenomenon of interest. His writings on mentalism, design, anthropomorphism and use of metaphor have provided fellow scientists with insight and helped advance his field of study.}, } @article {pmid20623420, year = {2010}, author = {Zhu, B and Chen, C and Loftus, EF and Lin, C and He, Q and Chen, C and Li, H and Xue, G and Lu, Z and Dong, Q}, title = {Individual differences in false memory from misinformation: cognitive factors.}, journal = {Memory (Hove, England)}, volume = {18}, number = {5}, pages = {543-555}, doi = {10.1080/09658211.2010.487051}, pmid = {20623420}, issn = {1464-0686}, mesh = {Adult ; *Cognition ; *Communication ; Facial Expression ; Female ; Humans ; *Individuality ; Intelligence ; Judgment ; Male ; *Memory ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Recognition, Psychology ; *Repression, Psychology ; Visual Perception ; }, abstract = {This research investigated the cognitive correlates of false memories that are induced by the misinformation paradigm. A large sample of Chinese college students (N=436) participated in a misinformation procedure and also took a battery of cognitive tests. Results revealed sizable and systematic individual differences in false memory arising from exposure to misinformation. False memories were significantly and negatively correlated with measures of intelligence (measured with Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices and Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale), perception (Motor-Free Visual Perception Test, Change Blindness, and Tone Discrimination), memory (Wechsler Memory Scales and 2-back Working Memory tasks), and face judgement (Face Recognition and Facial Expression Recognition). These findings suggest that people with relatively low intelligence and poor perceptual abilities might be more susceptible to the misinformation effect.}, } @article {pmid20479189, year = {2010}, author = {Lewandowsky, S and Oberauer, K and Yang, LX and Ecker, UK}, title = {A working memory test battery for MATLAB.}, journal = {Behavior research methods}, volume = {42}, number = {2}, pages = {571-585}, doi = {10.3758/BRM.42.2.571}, pmid = {20479189}, issn = {1554-3528}, mesh = {Adult ; Asians ; Female ; Humans ; *Language ; Male ; *Memory, Short-Term ; Models, Psychological ; Psychological Tests/*statistics & numerical data ; Psychometrics/*instrumentation ; Software ; Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {We present a battery of four working memory tasks that are implemented using MATLAB and the free Psychophysics Toolbox. The package includes preprocessing scripts in R and SPSS to facilitate data analysis. The four tasks consist of a sentence-span task, an operation-span task, a spatial short-term memory test, and a memory updating task. These tasks were chosen in order to provide a heterogeneous set of measures of working memory capacity, thus reducing method variance and tapping into two content domains of working memory (verbal, including numerical, vs. spatial) and two of its functional aspects (storage in the context of processing and relational integration). The task battery was validated in three experiments conducted in two languages (English and Chinese), involving more than 350 participants. In all cases, the tasks were found to load on a single latent variable. In a further experiment, the latent working memory variable was found to correlate highly but not perfectly with performance on Raven's matrices test of fluid intelligence. We suggest that the battery constitutes a versatile tool to assess working memory capacity with either English- or Chinese-speaking participants. The battery can be downloaded from www.cogsciwa.com ("Software" button).}, } @article {pmid20206985, year = {2010}, author = {Baldo, JV and Bunge, SA and Wilson, SM and Dronkers, NF}, title = {Is relational reasoning dependent on language? A voxel-based lesion symptom mapping study.}, journal = {Brain and language}, volume = {113}, number = {2}, pages = {59-64}, pmid = {20206985}, issn = {1090-2155}, support = {5 P01 NS040813/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States ; M01 RR019975-010016/RR/NCRR NIH HHS/United States ; P01 NS040813/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States ; R01 DC000216-22/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; 5 R01 DC00216/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; R01 DC000216/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Aphasia/etiology/physiopathology ; Brain/*physiology ; *Brain Mapping ; Female ; Functional Laterality ; Humans ; *Language ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Problem Solving/*physiology ; Stroke/complications/*physiopathology ; }, abstract = {Previous studies with brain-injured patients have suggested that language abilities are necessary for complex problem-solving, even when tasks are non-verbal. In the current study, we tested this notion by analyzing behavioral and neuroimaging data from a large group of left-hemisphere stroke patients (n=107) suffering from a range of language impairment from none to severe. Patients were tested on the Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM), a non-verbal test of reasoning that requires participants to complete a visual pattern or sequence with one of six possible choices. For some items, the solution could be determined by visual pattern-matching, but other items required more complex, relational reasoning. As predicted, performance on the relational-reasoning items was disproportionately affected in language-impaired patients with aphasia, relative to non-aphasic, left-hemisphere patients. A voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM) procedure was used to relate patients' RCPM performance with areas of damage in the brain. Results showed that deficits on the relational reasoning problems were associated with lesions in the left middle and superior temporal gyri, regions essential for language processing, as well as in the left inferior parietal lobule. In contrast, the visual pattern-matching condition was associated with lesions in posterior portions of the left hemisphere that subserve visual processing, namely, occipital and inferotemporal cortex. These findings provide compelling support for the idea that language is critical for higher-level reasoning and problem-solving.}, } @article {pmid20195481, year = {2010}, author = {Derégnaucourt, S}, title = {Interspecific hybridization as a tool to understand vocal divergence: the example of crowing in quail (Genus Coturnix).}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {5}, number = {2}, pages = {e9451}, pmid = {20195481}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Animals ; Breeding/*methods ; Coturnix/genetics ; Crows/genetics ; Female ; Genetic Speciation ; Genetic Variation/*genetics ; Hybridization, Genetic/*genetics ; Male ; Seasons ; Sound Spectrography ; Species Specificity ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Understanding the mechanisms that lead organisms to be separated into distinct species remains a challenge in evolutionary biology. Interspecific hybridization, which results from incomplete reproductive isolation, is a useful tool to investigate such mechanisms. In birds, interspecific hybridization is relatively frequent, despite the fact that closed species exhibit morphological and behavioural differences. Evolution of behaviour is difficult to investigate on a large timescale since it does not 'fossilize'. Here I propose that calls of hybrid non-songbirds that develop without the influence of learning may help in understanding the gradual process that leads to vocal divergence during speciation. I recorded crows produced by the European quail (Coturnix c. coturnix), the domestic Japanese quail (Coturnix c. japonica) and their hybrids (F1, F2 and backcrosses). Most crowing patterns were intermediate to those of the parental species; some were similar to one or the other parental species, or not present in either parental species. I also observed vocal changes in hybrid crows during the breeding season and from one year to the other. This vocal variability resembles those observed during the ontogeny of the crow in quails. It is likely that similar mechanisms involved in vocal changes during ontogeny might have driven vocal divergence in the species of Palearctic quails. I suggest that hybrid crows might have resembled those produced by intermediary forms of quails during speciation.}, } @article {pmid20174004, year = {2010}, author = {Scheuer, J and Shtaif, M}, title = {Band splitting and modal dispersion induced by symmetry braking in coupled-resonator slowlight waveguide structures.}, journal = {Optics express}, volume = {18}, number = {2}, pages = {1762-1776}, doi = {10.1364/OE.18.001762}, pmid = {20174004}, issn = {1094-4087}, mesh = {Computer Simulation ; Computer-Aided Design ; Equipment Design ; Equipment Failure Analysis ; Light ; *Models, Theoretical ; *Optical Devices ; Refractometry/*instrumentation ; Scattering, Radiation ; *Transducers ; }, abstract = {We study the dispersion relations in slow-light waveguide structures consisting of coupled microdisk resonators. A group theoretical analysis of the symmetry properties of the propagating modes reveals a fundamental phenomenon: The degeneracy of the CW and CCW rotating modes is removed, giving rise to two distinct transmission bands. This effect induces symmetry-based dispersion which may limit the usable bandwidth of such structures. The properties of this band splitting and its impact on CROW performance for optical communications are studied in detail.}, } @article {pmid19997343, year = {2009}, author = {Doménech, JD and Muñoz, P and Capmany, J}, title = {The longitudinal offset technique for apodization of coupled resonator optical waveguide devices: concept and fabrication tolerance analysis.}, journal = {Optics express}, volume = {17}, number = {23}, pages = {21050-21059}, doi = {10.1364/OE.17.021050}, pmid = {19997343}, issn = {1094-4087}, mesh = {Algorithms ; Computer Simulation ; Computer-Aided Design ; Equipment Design ; Optical Devices ; *Optics and Photonics ; Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; }, abstract = {In this paper, a novel technique to set the coupling constant between cells of a coupled resonator optical waveguide (CROW) device, in order to tailor the filter response, is presented. The technique is demonstrated by simulation assuming a racetrack ring resonator geometry. It consists on changing the effective length of the coupling section by applying a longitudinal offset between the resonators. On the contrary, the conventional techniques are based in the transversal change of the distance between the ring resonators, in steps that are commonly below the current fabrication resolution step (nm scale), leading to strong restrictions in the designs. The proposed longitudinal offset technique allows a more precise control of the coupling and presents an increased robustness against the fabrication limitations, since the needed resolution step is two orders of magnitude higher. Both techniques are compared in terms of the transmission esponse of CROW devices, under finite fabrication resolution steps.}, } @article {pmid19964184, year = {2009}, author = {Lum, MJ and Rosen, J and King, H and Friedman, DC and Lendvay, TS and Wright, AS and Sinanan, MN and Hannaford, B}, title = {Teleoperation in surgical robotics--network latency effects on surgical performance.}, journal = {Annual International Conference of the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society. Annual International Conference}, volume = {2009}, number = {}, pages = {6860-6863}, doi = {10.1109/IEMBS.2009.5333120}, pmid = {19964184}, issn = {2375-7477}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Florida ; Humans ; Laparoscopy/*methods ; Robotics/*methods ; Telemedicine/*methods ; Time Factors ; Washington ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {A teleoperated surgical robotic system allows surgical procedures to be conducted across long distances while utilizing wired and wireless communication with a wide spectrum of performance that may affect the outcome. An open architecture portable surgical robotic system (Raven) was developed for both open and minimally invasive surgery. The system has been the subject of an intensive telesurgical experimental protocol aimed at exploring the boundaries of the system and surgeon performance during a series of field experiments in extreme environments (desert and underwater) teleportation between US, Europe, and Japan as well as lab experiments under synthetic fixed time delay. One standard task (block transfer emulating tissue manipulation) of the Fundamentals of Laparoscopic Surgery (FLS) training kit was used for the experimental protocol. Network characterization indicated a typical time delay in the range of 16-172 ms in field experiments. The results of the lab experiments showed that the completion time of the task as well as the length of the tool tip trajectory significantly increased (alpha< 0.02) as time delay increased in the range of 0-0.5 sec increased. For teleoperation with a time delay of 0.25s and 0.5s the task completion time was lengthened by a factor of 1.45 and 2.04 with respect to no time delay, whereas the length of the tools' trajectory was increased by a factor of 1.28 and 1.53 with respect to no time delay. There were no statistical differences between experienced surgeons and non-surgeons in the number of errors (block drooping) as well as the completion time and the tool tip path length at different time delays.}, } @article {pmid19937310, year = {2010}, author = {Ratnayake, CP and Goodale, E and Kotagama, SW}, title = {Two sympatric species of passerine birds imitate the same raptor calls in alarm contexts.}, journal = {Die Naturwissenschaften}, volume = {97}, number = {1}, pages = {103-108}, pmid = {19937310}, issn = {1432-1904}, mesh = {Animal Communication ; Animals ; Ecosystem ; Fear/physiology ; Humans ; Imitative Behavior/*physiology ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; *Predatory Behavior ; Raptors/*physiology ; Species Specificity ; Sri Lanka ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {While some avian mimics appear to select sounds randomly, other species preferentially imitate sounds such as predator calls that are associated with danger. Previous work has shown that the Greater Racket-tailed Drongo (Dicrurus paradiseus) incorporates predator calls and heterospecific alarm calls into its own species-typical alarm vocalizations. Here, we show that another passerine species, the Sri Lanka Magpie (Urocissa ornata), which inhabits the same Sri Lankan rainforest, imitates three of the same predator calls that drongos do. For two of these call types, there is evidence that magpies also use them in alarm contexts. Our results support the hypothesis that imitated predator calls can serve as signals of alarm to multiple species.}, } @article {pmid19877837, year = {2009}, author = {Wang, R and Sun, Y and Zhang, X and Zeng, S and Xie, W and Yu, Y and Zhang, X and Zuo, M}, title = {Song control nuclei in male and female large-billed crows (Corvus macrorhynchos).}, journal = {Zoological science}, volume = {26}, number = {11}, pages = {771-777}, doi = {10.2108/zsj.26.771}, pmid = {19877837}, issn = {0289-0003}, mesh = {Animals ; Brain/*anatomy & histology/*physiology ; Crows/*anatomy & histology/*physiology ; Female ; Male ; *Sex Characteristics ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {We show that the learned vocalizations of male and female large-billed crows (Corvus macrorhynchos) are similar and that their functions and physical features show significant differences from those of other oscine species. We investigate whether the song control nuclei of crows show any sexual differences in size, reflecting differences in their singing behavior, and whether these nuclei are different from those of other songbirds in terms of neural connectivity size and relative to the forebrain. Our Nissl staining results reveal that 1) of the four song nuclei examined (HVC; the robust nucleus of the arcopallium [RA]; Area X; and the dorsolateral medial nucleus [DLM]), HVC, RA, and Area X volumes are significantly larger in males than in females, but DLM volume and body and brain weights show no significant gender differences; and 2) the sizes of song nuclei relative to the forebrain are within the range of other oscines. By injecting a neural tract tracer (DiI) into various song nuclei in brain slices, we found that, as in other songbirds, HVC projects to RA and Area X, while Area X projects to the lateral magnocellular nucleus of the anterior nidopallium (IMAN) and DLM, DLM to IMAN, and IMAN to RA. Our results Indicate that, although the crow has songs very different from those of other oscine species, Its song nuclei and the connections between them are not obviously different.}, } @article {pmid19760529, year = {2010}, author = {Otto-Salaj, LL and Traxel, N and Brondino, MJ and Reed, B and Gore-Felton, C and Kelly, JA and Stevenson, LY}, title = {Reactions of heterosexual African American men to women's condom negotiation strategies.}, journal = {Journal of sex research}, volume = {47}, number = {6}, pages = {539-551}, pmid = {19760529}, issn = {1559-8519}, support = {P30 MH052776/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; P30-MH52776/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R03-MH58522/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; African Americans/*psychology ; Cluster Analysis ; Condoms/*statistics & numerical data ; Contraception Behavior/*ethnology/*psychology ; Female ; HIV Infections ; *Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Heterosexuality/ethnology ; Humans ; Male ; Negotiating/methods/*psychology ; Video Recording ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {This study describes responses of 172 single heterosexual African American men, ages 18 to 35, to condom negotiation attempts. Strategies used included reward, coercive, legitimate, expert, referent, and informational strategies, based on Raven's (1992) influence model. The purpose was (a) to identify strategies influencing participant acquiescence to request and (b) to identify predictors of participant compliance/refusal to comply with negotiation attempts. Participants viewed six videotape segments showing an actress, portrayed in silhouette, speaking to the viewer as a "steady partner." After each segment, participants completed measures of request compliance, positive and negative affect, and attributions concerning the model and themselves. No significant differences were found in men's ratings across all vignettes. However, differences in response existed across subgroups of individuals, suggesting that, although the strategy used had little impact on participant response, the act of suggesting condom use produced responses that differed across participant subgroups. Subgroups differed on levels of AIDS risk knowledge, sexually transmitted disease history, and experience with sexual coercion. Also, the "least willing to use" subgroup was highest in anger-rejection and least likely to make attributions of caring for partner. Effective negotiation of condom use with a male sexual partner may not be determined as much by specific strategy used as by partner characteristics.}, } @article {pmid19743648, year = {2009}, author = {Crowley, J}, title = {Jay Crowley the FDA's perspective on the unique device identification system.}, journal = {Healthcare financial management : journal of the Healthcare Financial Management Association}, volume = {63}, number = {9}, pages = {48-51}, pmid = {19743648}, issn = {0735-0732}, mesh = {Diffusion of Innovation ; *Equipment and Supplies ; *Equipment and Supplies, Hospital ; Materials Management, Hospital/*standards ; United States ; *United States Food and Drug Administration ; }, } @article {pmid23293376, year = {2009}, author = {Ellis, JM and Langen, TA and Berg, EC}, title = {Signaling for food and sex? Begging by reproductive female white-throated magpie-jays.}, journal = {Animal behaviour}, volume = {78}, number = {3}, pages = {615-623}, pmid = {23293376}, issn = {0003-3472}, support = {R01 MH060461/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; }, abstract = {Food begging is common in nutritionally dependent young of many animals, but structurally homologous calls recur in adult signal repertoires of many species. We propose eight functional hypotheses for begging in adults; these stem from observations in birds but apply broadly to other taxa in which begging occurs. Adult cooperatively-breeding white-throated magpie-jays (Calocitta formosa) use loud begging vocalizations, particularly near the nest site during reproduction. We analysed the social context and behavioural phenology of loud calling and allofeeding in this species and compared these with predictions from each functional hypothesis. We found that reproductive females are the primary producers of beg calls, and their begging peaks during the fertile period when reproductive conflict among males and females was highest. Loud begging rates correlated positively with provisioning rates, but females called more in the pre-incubation fertile period than after they initiated incubation. Based on the context, phenology and active space of the signal, we conclude that female loud begging vocalizations function to signal nutritional need to group members, but also have been evolutionarily co-opted to advertise fertility to potential extra-pair partners. The location of calling is likely a consequence of nest guarding by breeding females to prevent intraspecific brood parasitism.}, } @article {pmid19657761, year = {2010}, author = {Fox, MC and Charness, N}, title = {How to gain eleven IQ points in ten minutes: thinking aloud improves Raven's Matrices performance in older adults.}, journal = {Neuropsychology, development, and cognition. Section B, Aging, neuropsychology and cognition}, volume = {17}, number = {2}, pages = {191-204}, doi = {10.1080/13825580903042668}, pmid = {19657761}, issn = {1744-4128}, support = {2P01 AG17211/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Aged ; Aging ; Analysis of Variance ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; Intelligence Tests ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests ; *Speech ; *Thinking ; Time Factors ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {Few studies have examined the impact of age on reactivity to concurrent think-aloud (TA) verbal reports. An initial study with 30 younger and 31 older adults revealed that thinking aloud improves older adult performance on a short form of the Raven's Matrices (Bors & Stokes, 1998, Educational and Psychological Measurement, 58, p. 382) but did not affect other tasks. In the replication experiment, 30 older adults (mean age = 73.0) performed the Raven's Matrices and three other tasks to replicate and extend the findings of the initial study. Once again older adults performed significantly better only on the Raven's Matrices while thinking aloud. Performance gains on this task were substantial (d = 0.73 and 0.92 in Experiments 1 and 2, respectively), corresponding to a fluid intelligence increase of nearly one standard deviation.}, } @article {pmid19605383, year = {2009}, author = {Stulp, G and Emery, NJ and Verhulst, S and Clayton, NS}, title = {Western scrub-jays conceal auditory information when competitors can hear but cannot see.}, journal = {Biology letters}, volume = {5}, number = {5}, pages = {583-585}, pmid = {19605383}, issn = {1744-957X}, support = {//Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; *Animal Communication ; Animals ; *Competitive Behavior ; Female ; Male ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; Photic Stimulation ; Sound ; }, abstract = {Western scrub-jays (Aphelocoma californica) engage in a variety of cache-protection strategies to reduce the chances of cache theft by conspecifics. Many of these strategies revolve around reducing visual information to potential thieves. This study aimed to determine whether the jays also reduce auditory information during caching. Each jay was given the opportunity to cache food in two trays, one of which was filled with small pebbles that made considerable noise when cached in ('noisy' tray), whereas the other one contained soil that made little detectable noise when cached in ('quiet' tray). When the jays could be heard, but not seen, by a competitor, they cached proportionally less food items in the 'noisy' substrate than when they cached alone in the room, or when they could be seen and heard by competitors. These results suggest that western scrub-jays know when to conceal auditory information, namely when a competitor cannot see but can hear the caching event.}, } @article {pmid19490396, year = {2009}, author = {Tsukahara, N and Kamata, N and Nagasawa, M and Sugita, S}, title = {Bilateral innervation of syringeal muscles by the hypoglossal nucleus in the jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos).}, journal = {Journal of anatomy}, volume = {215}, number = {2}, pages = {141-149}, pmid = {19490396}, issn = {1469-7580}, mesh = {Animals ; Crows/*anatomy & histology/physiology ; Female ; Horseradish Peroxidase ; Hypoglossal Nerve/*anatomy & histology ; Male ; Muscle, Skeletal/anatomy & histology/*innervation ; Trachea/anatomy & histology/*innervation ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Bird vocalizations are produced by contractions of syringeal muscles, which are controlled by the hypoglossal nucleus. In oscines, syringeal muscles are controlled by the hypoglossal nucleus ipsilaterally, whereas syringeal innervation is bilateral in non-oscines. We have determined the course of hypoglossal nerves in the jungle crow Corvus macrorhynchos. Our results indicate a cross-over of the hypoglossal nerve from the left side to the right side on the trachea 7 mm rostral to the Musculus sternotrachealis. We also investigated the innervation of the syringeal muscles of jungle crows from the hypoglossal nucleus using the horseradish peroxidase (HRP) method. After HRP was injected into the syringeal muscles on each side, HRP-labeled cells were found bilaterally in the hypoglossal nerve. These results suggest that the syringeal muscles of jungle crows are innervated bilaterally from the hypoglossal nucleus, although these birds are categorized as oscines.}, } @article {pmid19474047, year = {2009}, author = {Griesser, M}, title = {Mobbing calls signal predator category in a kin group-living bird species.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {276}, number = {1669}, pages = {2887-2892}, pmid = {19474047}, issn = {0962-8452}, mesh = {Animals ; Hawks/*physiology ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; *Predatory Behavior ; *Social Behavior ; Strigiformes/*physiology ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Many prey species gather together to approach and harass their predators despite the associated risks. While mobbing, prey usually utter calls and previous experiments have demonstrated that mobbing calls can convey information about risk to conspecifics. However, the risk posed by predators also differs between predator categories. The ability to communicate predator category would be adaptive because it would allow other mobbers to adjust their risk taking. I tested this idea in Siberian jays Perisoreus infaustus, a group-living bird species, by exposing jay groups to mounts of three hawk and three owl species of varying risks. Groups immediately approached to mob the mount and uttered up to 14 different call types. Jays gave more calls when mobbing a more dangerous predator and when in the presence of kin. Five call types were predator-category-specific and jays uttered two hawk-specific and three owl-specific call types. Thus, this is one of the first studies to demonstrate that mobbing calls can simultaneously encode information about both predator category and the risk posed by a predator. Since antipredator calls of Siberian jays are known to specifically aim at reducing the risk to relatives, kin-based sociality could be an important factor in facilitating the evolution of predator-category-specific mobbing calls.}, } @article {pmid19460119, year = {2009}, author = {Chen, YJ and Ho, MY and Chen, KJ and Hsu, CF and Ryu, SJ}, title = {Estimation of premorbid general fluid intelligence using traditional Chinese reading performance in Taiwanese samples.}, journal = {Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences}, volume = {63}, number = {4}, pages = {500-507}, doi = {10.1111/j.1440-1819.2009.01970.x}, pmid = {19460119}, issn = {1440-1819}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Asians/psychology/*statistics & numerical data ; Educational Status ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence Tests/*statistics & numerical data ; *Language ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Psychometrics ; *Reading ; Regression Analysis ; Reproducibility of Results ; Taiwan ; Wechsler Scales/statistics & numerical data ; }, abstract = {AIMS: The aims of the present study were to (i) investigate if traditional Chinese word reading ability can be used for estimating premorbid general intelligence; and (ii) to provide multiple regression equations for estimating premorbid performance on Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM), using age, years of education and Chinese Graded Word Reading Test (CGWRT) scores as predictor variables.

METHODS: Four hundred and twenty-six healthy volunteers (201 male, 225 female), aged 16-93 years (mean +/- SD, 41.92 +/- 18.19 years) undertook the tests individually under supervised conditions. Seventy percent of subjects were randomly allocated to the derivation group (n = 296), and the rest to the validation group (n = 130).

RESULTS: RSPM score was positively correlated with CGWRT score and years of education. RSPM and CGWRT scores and years of education were also inversely correlated with age, but the declining trend for RSPM performance against age was steeper than that for CGWRT performance. Separate multiple regression equations were derived for estimating RSPM scores using different combinations of age, years of education, and CGWRT score for both groups. The multiple regression coefficient of each equation ranged from 0.71 to 0.80 with the standard error of estimate between 7 and 8 RSPM points. When fitting the data of one group to the equations derived from its counterpart group, the cross-validation multiple regression coefficients ranged from 0.71 to 0.79. There were no significant differences in the 'predicted-obtained' RSPM discrepancies between any equations.

CONCLUSION: The regression equations derived in the present study may provide a basis for estimating premorbid RSPM performance.}, } @article {pmid19441950, year = {2009}, author = {Doarn, CR and Anvari, M and Low, T and Broderick, TJ}, title = {Evaluation of teleoperated surgical robots in an enclosed undersea environment.}, journal = {Telemedicine journal and e-health : the official journal of the American Telemedicine Association}, volume = {15}, number = {4}, pages = {325-335}, doi = {10.1089/tmj.2008.0123}, pmid = {19441950}, issn = {1556-3669}, mesh = {*Ecosystem ; Humans ; Oceans and Seas ; *Robotics ; *Surgery, Computer-Assisted ; }, abstract = {The ability to support surgical care in an extreme environment is a significant issue for both military medicine and space medicine. Telemanipulation systems, those that can be remotely operated from a distant site, have been used extensively by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) for a number of years. These systems, often called telerobots, have successfully been applied to surgical interventions. A further extension is to operate these robotic systems over data communication networks where robotic slave and master are separated by a great distance. NASA utilizes the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) Aquarius underwater habitat as an analog environment for research and technology evaluation missions, known as NASA Extreme Environment Mission Operations (NEEMO). Three NEEMO missions have provided an opportunity to evaluate teleoperated surgical robotics by astronauts and surgeons. Three robotic systems were deployed to the habitat for evaluation during NEEMO 7, 9, and 12. These systems were linked via a telecommunications link to various sites for remote manipulation. Researchers in the habitat conducted a variety of tests to evaluate performance and applicability in extreme environments. Over three different NEEMO missions, components of the Automated Endoscopic System for Optimal Positioning (AESOP), the M7 Surgical System, and the RAVEN were deployed and evaluated. A number of factors were evaluated, including communication latency and semiautonomous functions. The M7 was modified to permit a remote surgeon the ability to insert a needle into simulated tissue with ultrasound guidance, resulting in the world's first semi-autonomous supervisory-controlled medical task. The deployment and operation of teleoperated surgical systems and semi-autonomous, supervisory-controlled tasks were successfully conducted.}, } @article {pmid19377012, year = {2009}, author = {Martin, GM}, title = {The 2008 American Federation For Aging Annual Research Conference: aging and cancer: two sides of the same coin?.}, journal = {The journals of gerontology. Series A, Biological sciences and medical sciences}, volume = {64}, number = {6}, pages = {615-617}, doi = {10.1093/gerona/glp053}, pmid = {19377012}, issn = {1758-535X}, mesh = {Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aging/genetics/metabolism/*pathology/*physiology ; Biological Evolution ; Biological Phenomena ; Cellular Senescence ; *Congresses as Topic ; Disease Progression ; Geriatrics ; Humans ; Interprofessional Relations ; Mitochondrial Diseases/physiopathology ; Neoplasms/genetics/metabolism/*physiopathology ; Oxidative Stress ; *Research ; Signal Transduction ; Stem Cells ; Telomere ; }, abstract = {The 2008 Research Conference of the American Federation for Aging Research took place in New York City on October 6-7 and had, as its theme, the interface between the biology of cancer and the biology of aging. The first day was devoted to a series of 5-year progress reports by grantees of an innovative program jointly sponsored by the National Cancer Institute and the National Institute on Aging aimed at fostering both basic and clinical interactions and integrations among investigators with primary research interests in either the biology of aging or the biology of cancer. This was followed by a series of presentations on cell biology (Judith Campisi), evolutionary biology (Steven N. Austad), mitochondrial damage (Lawrence A. Loeb), stem cell functionality (Thomas A. Rando), oxidative stress and cancer resistance (Rochelle Buffenstein), signal transduction and replicative senescence in cancer and aging (Norman E. Sharpless), and telomere biology (Jack D. Griffith). Overview presentations were given by John W. Rowe and Harvey Jay Cohen. The conference closed with a roundtable discussion with representatives of industry in an effort to enhance communications with academicians.}, } @article {pmid19345101, year = {2009}, author = {von Bayern, AM and Emery, NJ}, title = {Jackdaws respond to human attentional states and communicative cues in different contexts.}, journal = {Current biology : CB}, volume = {19}, number = {7}, pages = {602-606}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2009.02.062}, pmid = {19345101}, issn = {1879-0445}, support = {BBS/B/05354/BB_/Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Animals ; Attention/*physiology ; Behavior, Animal/physiology ; *Communication ; Conflict, Psychological ; Crows/*physiology ; *Cues ; Eye Movements ; Facial Expression ; Fixation, Ocular/*physiology ; Humans ; *Social Behavior ; Visual Perception/physiology ; }, abstract = {Humans communicate their intentions and disposition using their eyes, whereas the communicative function of eyes in animals is less clear. Many species show aversive reactions to eyes, and several species gain information from conspecifics' gaze direction by automatically co-orienting with them. However, most species show little sensitivity to more subtle indicators of attention than head orientation and have difficulties using such cues in a cooperative context. Recently, some species have been found responsive to gaze direction in competitive situations. We investigated the sensitivity of jackdaws, pair-bonded social corvids that exhibit an analogous eye morphology to humans, to subtle attentional and communicative cues in two contexts and paradigms. In a conflict paradigm, we measured the birds' latency to retrieve food in front of an unfamiliar or familiar human, depending on the state and orientation of their eyes toward food. In a cooperative paradigm, we tested whether the jackdaws used familiar human's attentional or communicative cues to locate hidden food. Jackdaws were sensitive to human attentional states in the conflict situation but only responded to communicative cues in the cooperative situation. These findings may be the result of a natural tendency to attend to conspecifics' eyes or the effect of intense human contact during socialization.}, } @article {pmid19324760, year = {2009}, author = {Derégnaucourt, S and Saar, S and Gahr, M}, title = {Dynamics of crowing development in the domestic Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica).}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {276}, number = {1665}, pages = {2153-2162}, pmid = {19324760}, issn = {0962-8452}, mesh = {Animals ; Coturnix/*growth & development ; Male ; *Sexual Maturation ; Social Behavior ; Time Factors ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Species-specific behaviours gradually emerge, via incomplete patterns, to the final complete adult form. A classical example is birdsong, a learned behaviour ideally suited for studying the neural and molecular substrates of vocal learning. Young songbirds gradually transform primitive unstructured vocalizations (subsong, akin to human babbling) into complex, stereotyped sequences of syllables that constitute adult song. In comparison with birdsong, territorial and mating calls of vocal non-learner species are thought to exhibit little change during development. We revisited this issue using the crowing behaviour of domestic Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Crowing activity was continuously recorded in young males maintained in social isolation from the age of three weeks to four months. We observed developmental changes in crow structure, both the temporal and the spectral levels. Speed and trajectories of these developmental changes exhibited an unexpected high inter-individual variability. Mechanisms used by quails to transform sounds during ontogeny resemble those described in oscines during the sensorimotor phase of song learning. Studies on vocal non-learners could shed light on the specificity and evolution of vocal learning.}, } @article {pmid19252000, year = {2009}, author = {Smith, CL and Evans, CS}, title = {Silent tidbitting in male fowl, Gallus gallus: a referential visual signal with multiple functions.}, journal = {The Journal of experimental biology}, volume = {212}, number = {Pt 6}, pages = {835-842}, doi = {10.1242/jeb.023572}, pmid = {19252000}, issn = {0022-0949}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; Chickens/*physiology ; Feeding Behavior/*physiology ; Female ; Male ; Social Behavior ; }, abstract = {With the notable exception of bee dances, there are no established examples of multimodal referential signals. The food calls of male fowl, Gallus gallus, are functionally referential and the acoustic component of a multimodal display. However, the specificity of the receiver's response to the visual component (tidbitting) has never been tested. Here we provide the first detailed analysis of tidbitting, and test the hypothesis that these characteristic movements are functionally referential. We conducted a playback experiment with five high-definition video stimuli: Silent tidbit, Matched-frequency motion in the opposite direction, Silent crows, Inactive male and Empty cage. Females searched for food more during Silent tidbitting than under any other condition, suggesting that this visual display specifically predicts the presence of food and hence has similar functional properties to food calls. Silent tidbitting was also singularly effective at evoking approach and close inspection, which may enhance signal memorability. These social responses suggest that the visual component of the display has the unique function of triggering assessment of signaler identity and quality as a potential mate. The acoustic and visual components are hence redundant as a food signal, but synergistic when additional functions are considered. These findings emphasize the perceptual complexity of multimodal displays and provide the first demonstration of multimodal referential signaling in a vertebrate.}, } @article {pmid20522321, year = {2009}, author = {Sherry, DF and Hoshooley, JS}, title = {The seasonal hippocampus of food-storing birds.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {80}, number = {3}, pages = {334-338}, doi = {10.1016/j.beproc.2008.12.012}, pmid = {20522321}, issn = {1872-8308}, mesh = {Animals ; Behavior, Animal/physiology ; Birds/*physiology ; Cognition/physiology ; Feeding Behavior/*physiology ; Food ; Hippocampus/*physiology ; Memory/*physiology ; Neurons/physiology ; Seasons ; Space Perception/*physiology ; Spatial Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {Food storing is seasonal in birds like chickadees, nuthatches and jays, occurring at high levels in fall and winter and low levels in spring and summer. Memory for cache sites is hippocampus dependent in chickadees and both the recruitment of new neurons into the hippocampus and the total size of the hippocampus change seasonally. Unlike seasonal change in the vocal control nuclei of songbirds, however, change in the hippocampus appears not to be controlled by photoperiod. The annual timing of hippocampal neuronal recruitment and change in hippocampal size is quite variable, reaching maximum levels at different times of year in different studies. The amount of food-storing activity by chickadees is known to be influenced by flock dominance structure, energy balance, food availability, and other seasonally varying factors. The variable timing of seasonal change in the hippocampus may indicate that the hippocampus of food-storing birds changes annually in response to change in the intensity of food storing behaviour itself.}, } @article {pmid19240813, year = {2009}, author = {Dall, SR and Wright, J}, title = {Rich pickings near large communal roosts favor 'gang' foraging by juvenile common ravens, Corvus corax.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {4}, number = {2}, pages = {e4530}, doi = {10.1371/journal.pone.0004530}, pmid = {19240813}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Age Factors ; Animal Communication ; Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; Crows ; *Feeding Behavior ; Seasons ; *Social Behavior ; Social Environment ; }, abstract = {Ravens (Corvus corax) feed primarily on rich but ephemeral carcasses of large animals, which are usually defended by territorial pairs of adults. Non-breeding juveniles forage socially and aggregate in communal winter roosts, and these appear to function as 'information centers' regarding the location of the rare food bonanzas: individuals search independently of one another and pool their effort by recruiting each other at roosts. However, at a large raven roost in Newborough on Anglesey, North Wales, some juveniles have been observed recently to forage in 'gangs' and to roost separately from other birds. Here we adapt a general model of juvenile common raven foraging behavior where, in addition to the typical co-operative foraging strategy, such gang foraging behavior could be evolutionarily stable near winter raven roosts. We refocus the model on the conditions under which this newly documented, yet theoretically anticipated, gang-based foraging has been observed. In the process, we show formally how the trade off between search efficiency and social opportunity can account for the existence of the alternative social foraging tactics that have been observed in this species. This work serves to highlight a number of fruitful avenues for future research, both from a theoretical and empirical perspective.}, } @article {pmid19223971, year = {2009}, author = {Angrilli, A and Spironelli, C and Elbert, T and Crow, TJ and Marano, G and Stegagno, L}, title = {Schizophrenia as failure of left hemispheric dominance for the phonological component of language.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {4}, number = {2}, pages = {e4507}, pmid = {19223971}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Articulation Disorders/*physiopathology ; Brain Mapping ; Case-Control Studies ; *Dominance, Cerebral ; Evoked Potentials ; Hallucinations ; Humans ; *Language ; Schizophrenia/*physiopathology ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: T. J. Crow suggested that the genetic variance associated with the evolution in Homo sapiens of hemispheric dominance for language carries with it the hazard of the symptoms of schizophrenia. Individuals lacking the typical left hemisphere advantage for language, in particular for phonological components, would be at increased risk of the typical symptoms such as auditory hallucinations and delusions.

Twelve schizophrenic patients treated with low levels of neuroleptics and twelve matched healthy controls participated in an event-related potential experiment. Subjects matched word-pairs in three tasks: rhyming/phonological, semantic judgment and word recognition. Slow evoked potentials were recorded from 26 scalp electrodes, and a laterality index was computed for anterior and posterior regions during the inter stimulus interval. During phonological processing individuals with schizophrenia failed to achieve the left hemispheric dominance consistently observed in healthy controls. The effect involved anterior (fronto-temporal) brain regions and was specific for the Phonological task; group differences were small or absent when subjects processed the same stimulus material in a Semantic task or during Word Recognition, i.e. during tasks that typically activate more widespread areas in both hemispheres.

CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: We show for the first time how the deficit of lateralization in the schizophrenic brain is specific for the phonological component of language. This loss of hemispheric dominance would explain typical symptoms, e.g. when an individual's own thoughts are perceived as an external intruding voice. The change can be interpreted as a consequence of "hemispheric indecision", a failure to segregate phonological engrams in one hemisphere.}, } @article {pmid19158950, year = {2009}, author = {Nagyvary, J and Guillemette, RN and Spiegelman, CH}, title = {Mineral preservatives in the wood of Stradivari and Guarneri.}, journal = {PloS one}, volume = {4}, number = {1}, pages = {e4245}, pmid = {19158950}, issn = {1932-6203}, mesh = {Acoustics ; History, 18th Century ; Italy ; Materials Testing ; Minerals ; Models, Statistical ; Multivariate Analysis ; Music/history ; Scattering, Radiation ; Spectrophotometry/methods ; *Wood ; X-Rays ; }, abstract = {Following the futile efforts of generations to reach the high standard of excellence achieved by the luthiers in Cremona, Italy, by variations of design and plate tuning, current interest is being focused on differences in material properties. The long-standing question whether the wood of Stradivari and Guarneri were treated with wood preservative materials could be answered only by the examination of wood specimens from the precious antique instruments. In a recent communication (Nature, 2006), we reported about the degradation of the wood polymers in instruments of Stradivari and Guarneri, which could be explained only by chemical manipulations, possibly by preservatives. The aim of the current work was to identify the minerals from the small samples of the maple wood which were available to us from the antique instruments. The ashes of wood from one violin and one cello by Stradivari, two violins by Guarneri, one viola by H. Jay, one violin by Gand-Bernardel were analyzed and compared with a variety of commercial tone woods. The methods of analysis were the following: back-scattered electron imaging, X-ray fluorescence maps for individual elements, wave-length dispersive spectroscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy and quantitative microprobe analysis. All four Cremonese instruments showed the unmistakable signs of chemical treatments in the form of chemicals which are not present in natural woods, such as BaSO4, CaF2, borate, and ZrSiO4. In addition to these, there were also changes in the common wood minerals. Statistical evaluation of 12 minerals by discriminant analysis revealed: a. a difference among all four Cremona instruments, b. the difference of the Cremonese instruments from the French and English antiques, and c. only the Cremonese instruments differed from all commercial woods. These findings may provide the answer why all attempts to recreate the Stradivarius from natural wood have failed. There are many obvious implications with regard to how the green tone wood should be treated, which chould lead to changes in the practice of violin-making. This research should inspire others to analyze more antique violins for their chemical contents.}, } @article {pmid19083571, year = {2008}, author = {Har-Shai, Y and Gil, T and Metanes, I and Scheflan, M}, title = {Brow lift for the correction of visual field impairment.}, journal = {Aesthetic surgery journal}, volume = {28}, number = {5}, pages = {512-517}, doi = {10.1016/j.asj.2008.07.009}, pmid = {19083571}, issn = {1527-330X}, mesh = {Aged ; *Eyebrows/anatomy & histology ; Facial Expression ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Rhytidoplasty/*methods ; *Visual Fields ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Eyebrow ptosis and hooding gives the eye a sad, heavy look that often disturbs the visual field.

OBJECTIVE: A direct extended scalpel-shaped brow lift is proposed to correct this functional and aesthetic disfigurement. This manuscript reviews our experience with the presented technique and evaluates the clinical results in the light of ongoing concerns regarding the appearance of the postoperative scar. In addition, the indications and patient selection criteria are elaborated.

METHODS: An incision was made along the superior border of the brow, extending laterally and downward, often within a "crow's feet" crease. The upper border of the incision joined the 2 extremities of the skin outline of the lower incision in a gentle convex curve. The general outline of the incision resembled the shape of a No. 20 scalpel blade, in which the maximal width is located laterally at the temple "crow's feet" area.

RESULTS: Fourteen patients, including 8 males (48-74 yrs of age) and 6 females (67-71 yrs of age) underwent this procedure. The surgical scar was hardly noticeable after 6 to 9 months, and often fell within a preexisting crow's feet crease. Elimination of some of the crow's feet occurred in all the patients. Subjective and objective functional relief with respect to the vision field and the heavy-feeling brow and satisfaction with the aesthetic result were reported by all patients.

CONCLUSIONS: The most appropriate candidates for the direct extended scalpel-shaped brow lift are patients older than 50 years of age, with eyebrow ptosis accompanied with lateral hooding, well developed crow's feet, and forehead skin laxity; long, dense eyebrows, and low transverse forehead wrinkles aid in concealment of the scar.}, } @article {pmid19045673, year = {2008}, author = {Heller, JR and Pinezich, JD}, title = {Automatic recognition of harmonic bird sounds using a frequency track extraction algorithm.}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {124}, number = {3}, pages = {1830-1837}, doi = {10.1121/1.2950085}, pmid = {19045673}, issn = {1520-8524}, mesh = {*Algorithms ; Animals ; Birds/*physiology ; Charadriiformes/physiology ; Crows/physiology ; Geese/physiology ; *Models, Statistical ; *Pattern Recognition, Automated ; Reproducibility of Results ; *Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted ; *Sound Spectrography ; Time Factors ; Vocalization, Animal/*classification ; }, abstract = {This paper demonstrates automatic recognition of vocalizations of four common bird species (herring gull [Larus argentatus], blue jay [Cyanocitta cristata], Canada goose [Branta canadensis], and American crow [Corvus brachyrhynchos]) using an algorithm that extracts frequency track sets using track properties of importance and harmonic correlation. The main result is that a complex harmonic vocalization is rendered into a set of related tracks that is easily applied to statistical models of the actual bird vocalizations. For each vocalization type, a statistical model of the vocalization was created by transforming the training set frequency tracks into feature vectors. The extraction algorithm extracts sets of frequency tracks from test recordings that closely approximate harmonic sounds in the file being processed. Each extracted set in its final form is then compared with the statistical models generated during the training phase using Mahalanobis distance functions. If it matches one of the models closely, the recognizer declares the set an occurrence of the corresponding vocalization. The method was evaluated against a test set containing vocalizations of both the 4 target species and 16 additional species as well as background noise containing planes, cars, and various natural sounds.}, } @article {pmid18956787, year = {2008}, author = {Tsukahara, N and Yang, Q and Sugita, S}, title = {Structure of the syringeal muscles in jungle crow (Corvus macrorhynchos).}, journal = {Anatomical science international}, volume = {83}, number = {3}, pages = {152-158}, doi = {10.1111/j.1447-073X.2007.00225.x}, pmid = {18956787}, issn = {1447-6959}, mesh = {Animals ; Bronchi/*anatomy & histology ; Crows/*anatomy & histology ; Fascia/anatomy & histology ; Female ; Male ; Muscles/*anatomy & histology/physiology ; Trachea/*anatomy & histology ; Vocalization, Animal/physiology ; }, abstract = {Birds' vocalizations are produced by the syrinx, which is located between the trachea and the two primary bronchi. Oscine birds have multiple pairs of syringeal muscles in the syrinx. To determine the detailed structure of the syringeal muscle in jungle crows, an oscine bird, a histological study and gross examination of the syrinx were performed. In the histological study, sections of the syrinxes from four jungle crows were stained with Azan and observed. Each syringeal muscle was classified by the limit of the fascia from neighbor fascicules. From the gross examination a 3-D image of the structure of the syringeal muscles was generated. The combined histological and anatomical results show that there are seven pairs of syringeal muscles in jungle crows. Muscle fusions were observed in some of the syringeal muscles. It is likely that each syringeal muscle has a specific role. Jungle crows may be able to generate various calls because they have several pairs of syringeal muscles.}, } @article {pmid18950549, year = {2009}, author = {Mavroveli, S and Petrides, KV and Sangareau, Y and Furnham, A}, title = {Exploring the relationships between trait emotional intelligence and objective socio-emotional outcomes in childhood.}, journal = {The British journal of educational psychology}, volume = {79}, number = {Pt 2}, pages = {259-272}, doi = {10.1348/000709908X368848}, pmid = {18950549}, issn = {0007-0998}, mesh = {*Character ; Child ; *Emotions ; Facial Expression ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; Male ; Pattern Recognition, Visual ; Personality Inventory ; Psychometrics/statistics & numerical data ; Reproducibility of Results ; *Self Efficacy ; Sex Factors ; *Social Behavior ; Socialization ; Sociometric Techniques ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Trait emotional intelligence (trait EI or trait emotional self-efficacy) is a constellation of emotion-related self-perceptions and dispositions located at the lower levels of personality hierarchies. This paper examines the validity of this construct, as operationalized by the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Child Form (TEIQue-CF), in primary schoolchildren.

AIMS: The main aim was to examine the construct validity of trait EI in middle and late childhood by exploring its relationships with cognitive ability, emotion perception, and social behaviour.

SAMPLE: The sample comprised 140 children aged between 8 and 12 years (M=9.26 years, SD=1.00 year; 63 girls) from two English state primary schools.

METHOD: Pupils completed the TEIQue-CF, the standard progressive matrices (SPM), the guess who peer assessment, the social skills training (SST) test, and the assessment of children's emotion skills (ACES) during formal class periods. The procedure took approximately two hours with a short break between assessments.

RESULTS: Trait EI scores were positively related both to peer-rated prosocial behaviour and to overall peer competence. They also predicted emotion perception accuracy beyond overall peer competence. As hypothesized in trait EI theory, the construct was unrelated to IQ (Raven's matrices) and academic performance.

CONCLUSIONS: Trait EI is successfully operationalized through the TEIQue-CF and has important and multifaceted implications for the socialization of primary schoolchildren.}, } @article {pmid18848946, year = {2009}, author = {Hosokawa, N and Chiba, A}, title = {Embryonic and posthatching treatments with sex steroids demasculinize the motivational aspects of crowing behavior in male Japanese quail.}, journal = {Hormones and behavior}, volume = {55}, number = {1}, pages = {139-148}, doi = {10.1016/j.yhbeh.2008.09.005}, pmid = {18848946}, issn = {1095-6867}, mesh = {Analysis of Variance ; Animals ; Body Weight/drug effects ; Cloaca/drug effects/growth & development ; Coturnix/embryology/*physiology ; Dihydrotestosterone/*pharmacology ; Estradiol/*analogs & derivatives/pharmacology ; Female ; Male ; Organ Size/drug effects ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*drug effects ; Stress, Psychological ; Testis/drug effects/growth & development ; Testosterone Propionate/*pharmacology ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Demasculinizing action of embryonic estrogen on crowing behavior in male Japanese quails was examined. Eggs were treated with either 20 microg of estradiol benzoate (EB) or vehicle on the 10th day of incubation. Chicks hatched from both groups of eggs were injected daily with either testosterone propionate (TP; 10 microg/g b.w.), 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (DHT, a non-aromatizable androgen; 10 microg/g b.w.), or vehicle from 11 to 50 days after hatching, and during this period their calling behaviors were observed. Irrespective of embryonic treatments, all birds received posthatching treatment with either TP or DHT, but not with vehicle, emitted crows in place of distress calls in a stress (non-sexual) context of being isolated in a recording chamber. The posthatching TP, but not posthatching DHT, induced crowing in a sexual context (crowing in their home-cages) from much earlier age than posthatching vehicle in the birds received control embryonic treatment with vehicle. The same TP treatment, however, completely eliminated the crowing in a sexual context in the birds received EB during their embryonic life. In the birds treated with either posthatching DHT or posthatching vehicle, the crowing in a sexual context was only slightly decreased by embryonic EB treatment. These data suggest that posthatching estrogen, derived from testosterone aromatization, enhances the demasculinizing action of embryonic estrogen, and thus strongly reduces the sexual motivation for crowing behavior. This demasculinizing action, however, would not influence vocal control system which generates acoustic pattern of crowing in the presence of androgens allowing the birds to crow in a non-sexual context.}, } @article {pmid18825168, year = {2008}, author = {Ye, T and Yan, C and Lu, Y and Liu, F and Su, Y}, title = {All-optical regenerative NRZ-to-RZ format conversion using coupled ring-resonator optical waveguide.}, journal = {Optics express}, volume = {16}, number = {20}, pages = {15325-15331}, doi = {10.1364/oe.16.015325}, pmid = {18825168}, issn = {1094-4087}, abstract = {This paper proposes a scheme for format conversion from a distorted non-return-to-zero (NRZ) signal to a high-quality return-to-zero (RZ) signal, using the nonlinearity in a coupled ring-resonator optical waveguide (CROW) on a silicon chip. In this method, a distorted NRZ signal is amplified and fed into the CROW together with an RZ pulse train. The CROW performs as a nonlinear step gate for the RZ pulse train, which outputs amplitude-equalized RZ pulses inheriting the information from the NRZ signal. Clearly, the integration of the format conversion and regeneration simplifies the system. Our simulations performed at 10 Gb/s and 40 Gb/s verify the feasibility of our proposal.}, } @article {pmid18715277, year = {2008}, author = {Aragón, AS and Coriale, G and Fiorentino, D and Kalberg, WO and Buckley, D and Gossage, JP and Ceccanti, M and Mitchell, ER and May, PA}, title = {Neuropsychological characteristics of Italian children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders.}, journal = {Alcoholism, clinical and experimental research}, volume = {32}, number = {11}, pages = {1909-1919}, pmid = {18715277}, issn = {1530-0277}, support = {AA014828/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U01 AA014786/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U24 AA014811/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U01 AA014786-03/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U01 AA014786-02/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; AA014811/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U01 AA014786-01/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; U24 AA014828/AA/NIAAA NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Attention ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child Behavior Disorders/diagnosis/*psychology ; Educational Status ; Female ; Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorders/*psychology ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability/diagnosis/*psychology ; Intelligence ; Italy ; Language ; Learning ; Male ; *Neuropsychological Tests ; Pregnancy ; Social Class ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Children with fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASD) display many problems ranging from deficits in intelligence to behavioral difficulties. Thus, many studies have aimed at defining the neuropsychological characteristics of children with FASD. The current article describes the neuropsychological characteristics of Italian children with severe diagnosis within FASD and compares them with controls. It was expected that intellectual functioning, language comprehension, academic skills, and inattention/hyperactivity would discriminate children with FASD from randomly selected peers without FASD.

METHODS: This article presents data from a second cohort of children examined in 2005 as part of an in-school epidemiological study of FASD in Italy. Of 80 children, 23 diagnosed with a FASD, and 57 randomly selected control children from the same first-grade classes, participated. After screening for FASD via growth and dysmorphology, the children were administered a test of general intelligence (WISC-R) as well as tests of nonverbal reasoning (Raven Colored Progressive Matrices), language comprehension (Rustioni), academic achievement (IPDA), and problem behavior (Disruptive Behavior Disorder Rating Scale).

RESULTS: Children diagnosed with a FASD achieved lower scores than control children on Verbal, Performance, and Full Scale IQ. Profile analysis of the WISC-R indicates overall differences between the groups. However, some intact functioning within the FASD group was found, as the Similarities and Vocabulary subtests were similar to the controls. After an alpha adjustment to 0.004, the Block Design, Object Assembly, and Mazes subtests were significantly different from controls. On tests of nonverbal reasoning, language comprehension, and academic achievement, the children with a FASD scored significantly lower. Moreover, teachers rated children with a severe diagnosis within FASD as showing more inattentive symptoms than controls, while hyperactive/impulsive characteristics among children with a FASD were comparable with the control children. Significant correlations between head circumference, child dysmorphology, WISC-R, and Raven CPM scores are also reported.

CONCLUSIONS: This study indicates that a sample of Italian children with a FASD, when compared with control children, display poorer functioning on measures of general intelligence, nonverbal reasoning, academic achievement, and teacher-rated problem behaviors. The findings also contribute to the formulation of a neuropsychological profile of children diagnosed with a FASD.}, } @article {pmid18674626, year = {2008}, author = {Koester, D and Schiller, NO}, title = {Morphological priming in overt language production: electrophysiological evidence from Dutch.}, journal = {NeuroImage}, volume = {42}, number = {4}, pages = {1622-1630}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroimage.2008.06.043}, pmid = {18674626}, issn = {1095-9572}, mesh = {Adult ; Brain/*physiology ; Electroencephalography/*methods ; Evoked Potentials/*physiology ; Female ; Humans ; *Language ; Male ; Netherlands ; Semantics ; Speech/*physiology ; Young Adult ; }, abstract = {The present study investigated morphological priming in Dutch and its time course in overt speech production using a long-lag priming paradigm. Prime words were compounds that were morphologically related to a picture name (e.g. the word jaszak, 'coat pocket' was used for a picture of a coat; Dutch jas) or form-related monomorphemic words (e.g. jasmijn, 'jasmine'). The morphologically related compounds could be semantically transparent (e.g. eksternest, 'magpie nest') or opaque (e.g. eksteroog, lit. 'magpie eye', 'corn', for a picture of a magpie, Dutch ekster). Behavioral and event-related potential (ERP) data were collected in two sessions. The production of morphologically related and complex words facilitated subsequent picture naming and elicited a reduced N400 compared with unrelated prime words. The effects did not differ for transparent and opaque relations. Mere form overlap between a prime word and a target picture name did not affect picture naming. These results extend previous findings from German to another language and demonstrate the feasibility of measuring cognitive ERP components during overt speech. Furthermore, the results suggest that morphological priming in language production cannot be reduced to semantic and phonological processing. The time course of these priming effects as reflected in the ERP measure is in accordance with a meta-analytic temporal estimate of morphological encoding in speaking [Indefrey, P., & Levelt, W.J.M. (2004). The spatial and temporal signatures of word production components. Cognition, 92, 101-144.] suggesting that morphological relations are encoded at the word form level.}, } @article {pmid18671882, year = {2008}, author = {Bello, KD and Goharpey, N and Crewther, SG and Crewther, DP}, title = {A puzzle form of a non-verbal intelligence test gives significantly higher performance measures in children with severe intellectual disability.}, journal = {BMC pediatrics}, volume = {8}, number = {}, pages = {30}, pmid = {18671882}, issn = {1471-2431}, mesh = {Attention/physiology ; Autistic Disorder/diagnosis/psychology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cognition Disorders/diagnosis/*psychology ; Cross-Over Studies ; Down Syndrome/diagnosis/psychology ; Female ; Form Perception/*physiology ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability/diagnosis/*psychology ; Intelligence Tests/*statistics & numerical data ; Language Tests/statistics & numerical data ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data ; Reference Values ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Assessment of 'potential intellectual ability' of children with severe intellectual disability (ID) is limited, as current tests designed for normal children do not maintain their interest. Thus a manual puzzle version of the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM) was devised to appeal to the attentional and sensory preferences and language limitations of children with ID. It was hypothesized that performance on the book and manual puzzle forms would not differ for typically developing children but that children with ID would perform better on the puzzle form.

METHODS: The first study assessed the validity of this puzzle form of the RCPM for 76 typically developing children in a test-retest crossover design, with a 3 week interval between tests. A second study tested performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in a sample of 164 children with ID.

RESULTS: In the first study, no significant difference was found between performance on the puzzle and book forms in typically developing children, irrespective of the order of completion. The second study demonstrated a significantly higher performance and completion rate for the puzzle form compared to the book form in the ID population.

CONCLUSION: Similar performance on book and puzzle forms of the RCPM by typically developing children suggests that both forms measure the same construct. These findings suggest that the puzzle form does not require greater cognitive ability but demands sensory-motor attention and limits distraction in children with severe ID. Thus, we suggest the puzzle form of the RCPM is a more reliable measure of the non-verbal mentation of children with severe ID than the book form.}, } @article {pmid18592042, year = {2008}, author = {Spironelli, C and Angrilli, A and Stegagno, L}, title = {Failure of language lateralization in schizophrenia patients: an ERP study on early linguistic components.}, journal = {Journal of psychiatry & neuroscience : JPN}, volume = {33}, number = {3}, pages = {235-243}, pmid = {18592042}, issn = {1488-2434}, mesh = {Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Antipsychotic Agents/therapeutic use ; Brain/*physiopathology ; Electroencephalography ; Evoked Potentials/*physiology ; Female ; Functional Laterality/*physiology ; Humans ; *Language ; Language Disorders/*etiology ; *Linguistics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reaction Time ; Schizophrenia/*complications/drug therapy/*physiopathology ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVE: In line with Crow's hypothesis, altered hemispheric lateralization of language would cause the main symptoms of schizophrenia. The present experiment aimed to demonstrate the loss of the hemispheric specialization for linguistic processing in schizophrenia patients at the level of early automatic evoked potentials (N150).

METHODS: A sample of 10 outpatients with schizophrenia treated with low levels of neuroleptics and 10 matched healthy control subjects were administered 3 linguistic tasks based on stimulus pair comparisons (phonological, semantic and word-picture matching tasks). Laterality scores of early evoked potentials were analyzed during 2 time windows corresponding to the N150- and N400-like components.

RESULTS: The patients failed to develop the typical left hemispheric N150 component evoked by the first word (S1), which was consistently achieved by the healthy control group in posterior sites (p < 0.01). The effect was specific and stable for linguistic stimuli. As well, for the N150 elicited by the target stimulus (S2), the patients exhibited a lack of linguistic lateralization. In the control task (word-picture matching task), in which S2 was a picture, the 2 groups revealed very similar bilateral recognition potentials.

CONCLUSION: The results point to a failure of language lateralization in patients with schizophrenia, a deficit involving those linguistic networks automatically activated in the earliest phase of word recognition (N150). Consistent with the current view of schizophrenia, this finding may be related to lack of integration among specific processes and reduced interconnection of underlying linguistic networks.}, } @article {pmid18569536, year = {2008}, author = {Otto-Salaj, L and Reed, B and Brondino, MJ and Gore-Felton, C and Kelly, JA and Stevenson, LY}, title = {Condom use negotiation in heterosexual African American adults: responses to types of social power-based strategies.}, journal = {Journal of sex research}, volume = {45}, number = {2}, pages = {150-163}, pmid = {18569536}, issn = {0022-4499}, support = {P30 MH052776/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R03 MH058522-02/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R03-MH58522/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R03 MH058522-01/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; P30-MH52776/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Adult ; African Americans/*psychology ; Condoms/*statistics & numerical data ; Contraception Behavior ; Female ; Heterosexuality/psychology ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Male ; Negotiating/*psychology ; Power, Psychological ; Safe Sex/*psychology ; Sex Factors ; Sexual Partners/*psychology ; Social Perception ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; }, abstract = {This study examined gender differences and preferences in the use of and response to six different styles of condom use negotiation with a hypothetical sexual partner of the opposite gender. Participants were 51 heterosexually active African American adults attending an inner-city community center. Participants completed a semistructured qualitative interview in which they were presented with six negotiation strategies based on Raven's 1992 Power/Interaction Model of Interpersonal Influence. Results showed that female participants responded best to referent, reward, and legitimate strategies, and worst to informational tactics. Male participants responded best to reward strategies, and worst to coercion to use condoms. Further, responses given by a subset of participants indicated that use of negotiation tactics involving coercion to use condoms may result in negative or angry reactions. Response to strategies may vary with the value of the relationship as viewed by the target of negotiation. Implications for HIV prevention efforts are discussed.}, } @article {pmid18498938, year = {2008}, author = {Kaplan, G}, title = {Alarm calls and referentiality in Australian magpies: between midbrain and forebrain, can a case be made for complex cognition?.}, journal = {Brain research bulletin}, volume = {76}, number = {3}, pages = {253-263}, doi = {10.1016/j.brainresbull.2008.02.006}, pmid = {18498938}, issn = {1873-2747}, mesh = {Adaptation, Biological ; Animals ; Cognition/*physiology ; Humans ; Learning/physiology ; Mesencephalon/*physiology ; Predatory Behavior ; Prosencephalon/*physiology ; *Songbirds ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {The ability to communicate intentionally and referentially about predators by issuing specific and unique alarm calls per predator type, usually considered indicative of forebrain activity, is generally regarded as evidence of complex cognition. However, the neurobiology of such expressions is not well-understood and the relationship of song to alarm calls is not clear. In the very few studies of brain activity in calls of non-songbirds and songbirds so far, it was found that it is only the midbrain that is involved in the production of calls. The paper argues that such midbrain activity, even in so-called referential signalling, may have been misconstrued as higher cognition when, in fact, it may be merely indicative of a well-preserved (even 'clever') midbrain survival mechanism of prey species, and may be based on instantaneous 'non-thinking' activities of the midbrain. This does not rule out that, in specific species of songbird and in specific types of calls, the production of alarm calls may indeed involve activity and interaction of nuclei in midbrain and forebrain. Such a possible interaction in the production of vocalisations (unlearned and learned) has also been shown in some songbirds, including the zebra finch. A study of alarm calls in Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen), a prolific songbird, is used here to give an example of possible considered responses in alarm calling based on behavioural evidence.}, } @article {pmid18454005, year = {2008}, author = {Knoll, BI and Attkiss, KJ and Persing, JA}, title = {The influence of forehead, brow, and periorbital aesthetics on perceived expression in the youthful face.}, journal = {Plastic and reconstructive surgery}, volume = {121}, number = {5}, pages = {1793-1802}, doi = {10.1097/PRS.0b013e31816b13fe}, pmid = {18454005}, issn = {1529-4242}, mesh = {Adult ; Aging/*physiology ; Emotions ; *Esthetics ; Eyebrows/*anatomy & histology ; Eyelids/*anatomy & histology ; *Facial Expression ; Female ; Forehead/*anatomy & histology ; Humans ; Male ; Rhytidoplasty/*methods ; Skin Aging/physiology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; *Visual Perception ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: The purpose of this study was to characterize the relative influence of eyebrow position and shape, lid position, and facial rhytides on perceived facial expression as related to blepharoplasty, with a specific focus on the perception of tiredness.

METHODS: A standardized photograph of a youthful upper face was modified using digital imaging software to independently alter a number of variables: brow position/shape, upper/lower lid position, pretarsal show, and rhytides. Subjects (n = 20) were presented with 16 images and asked to quantify, on a scale from 0 to 5, the presence of each of seven expressions/emotions as follows: "surprise," "anger," "sadness," "disgust," "fear," "happiness," and "tiredness."

RESULTS: Statistically significant values for tiredness were achieved by changes of increasing and decreasing the pretarsal skin crease, lowering the upper eyelid, and depressing the lateral brow. Happiness was perceived by elevation of the lower lid or the presence of crow's feet. Brow shape had a greater influence than absolute position on perceived expression. Elevation of the lateral brow was perceived as surprise, whereas depression of the medial brow and rhytides at the glabella were perceived as anger and disgust. Elevation of the medial brow elicited a minimal increase for sadness.

CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that the perception of tiredness is most affected by the length of pretarsal lid height (e.g., ptosis). Surprisingly, simulating the skin resection of an upper blepharoplasty results in a paradoxical increase in the perception of tiredness as well. Modifications of brow contour elicit profound changes in perceived facial mood to a greater degree than absolute brow position.}, } @article {pmid18376384, year = {2008}, author = {Smith, AJ and Christopher, S and LaFromboise, VR and Letiecq, BL and McCormick, AK}, title = {Apsáalooke women's experiences with Pap test screening.}, journal = {Cancer control : journal of the Moffitt Cancer Center}, volume = {15}, number = {2}, pages = {166-173}, doi = {10.1177/107327480801500209}, pmid = {18376384}, issn = {1073-2748}, mesh = {Female ; Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice ; Humans ; *Indians, North American ; *Mass Screening ; Patient Acceptance of Health Care ; Patient Satisfaction ; United States ; Uterine Cervical Neoplasms/*pathology ; *Vaginal Smears ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Cervical cancer mortality rates are among the highest in the United States for Northern Plains Native American women compared with white and other Native American women. The aims of Messengers for Health, a community-based participatory research project based on the Apsáalooke (Crow Indian) Reservation, are to decrease cervical cancer screening barriers, improve knowledge regarding screening and prevention, and increase the proportion of women receiving Pap tests. This paper presents results from a survey assessing women's perceptions of the level of comfort and care received by health care providers in their most recent Pap test appointment.

METHODS: A survey assessing patient communication and satisfaction with their health care providers was conducted with a random sample of 101 Apsáalooke women. Qualitative and quantitative methods were utilized to analyze the survey data.

RESULTS: Women reported both positive and negative experiences with their provider regarding their Pap test appointments. They noted positive experiences when trust was established and when the provider offered information, reassured or encouraged them, was personable, was familiar or consistent, maintained confidentiality, and was a woman. The women reported negative experiences when the examination was too short, when they did not have a consistent or female provider, and when they did not feel comfortable with the provider's nonverbal communication.

CONCLUSIONS: Continued work with both providers and patients is necessary to decrease communication barriers and increase satisfaction with Pap test appointments.}, } @article {pmid18342341, year = {2008}, author = {Denny, K}, title = {Cognitive ability and continuous measures of relative hand skill: a note.}, journal = {Neuropsychologia}, volume = {46}, number = {7}, pages = {2091-2094}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2008.02.004}, pmid = {18342341}, issn = {0028-3932}, mesh = {*Achievement ; Aptitude/*physiology ; Child ; Cognition/*physiology ; Cognition Disorders/diagnosis/physiopathology ; Comprehension/physiology ; Functional Laterality/*physiology ; Humans ; Mathematics ; Motor Skills/*physiology ; Problem Solving ; Psychomotor Performance/physiology ; Reading ; Task Performance and Analysis ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {This note re-examines a finding by Crow et al. [Crow, T. J., Crow, L. R., Done, D. J., & Leask, S. (1998). Relative hand skill predicts academic ability: Global deficits at the point of hemispheric indecision. Neuropsychologia, 36(12), 1275-1281] that equal skill of right and left hands is associated with deficits in cognitive ability. This is consistent with the idea that failure to develop dominance of one hemisphere is associated with various pathologies such as learning difficulties. Using the same data source but utilising additional data, evidence is found of a more complex relationship between cognitive ability and relative hand skill.}, } @article {pmid18312310, year = {2008}, author = {Pueyo, R and Junqué, C and Vendrell, P and Narberhaus, A and Segarra, D}, title = {Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices as a measure of cognitive functioning in Cerebral Palsy.}, journal = {Journal of intellectual disability research : JIDR}, volume = {52}, number = {Pt 5}, pages = {437-445}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2788.2008.01045.x}, pmid = {18312310}, issn = {1365-2788}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Cerebral Palsy/complications/*psychology ; Cognition ; Cognition Disorders/*diagnosis/etiology/psychology ; Color ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; Male ; Memory ; Neuropsychological Tests/*standards/statistics & numerical data ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Reproducibility of Results ; Severity of Illness Index ; Space Perception ; Spain ; Visual Perception ; Vocabulary ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Cognitive dysfunction is frequent in Cerebral Palsy (CP). CP motor impairment and associated speech deficits often hinder cognitive assessment, with the result being that not all CP studies consider cognitive dysfunction. Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices is a simple, rapid test which can be used in persons with severe motor impairment and speech limitations. We studied whether this test can offer a reliable measure of cognitive functioning in CP.

METHOD: Visuoperceptual, language, memory and frontal lobe functions were evaluated in 30 participants with severe motor impaired CP and a variety of speech difficulties. The relationship between Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and a variety of tests was analysed.

RESULTS: Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices performance was associated with visuoperceptual, language, visual and verbal memory but not with frontal functions. Receptive vocabulary and visuospatial measures were the best predictors of Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices raw scores.

CONCLUSIONS: Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices is a fast, easy-to-administer test able to obtain a measure related with linguistic, visuoperceptual, and memory cognitive functioning in persons with CP despite their motor and speech disorders.}, } @article {pmid18220481, year = {2008}, author = {Schmidt, KA and Ostfeld, RS}, title = {Eavesdropping squirrels reduce their future value of food under the perceived presence of cache robbers.}, journal = {The American naturalist}, volume = {171}, number = {3}, pages = {386-393}, doi = {10.1086/527497}, pmid = {18220481}, issn = {1537-5323}, mesh = {Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; *Competitive Behavior ; *Feeding Behavior ; Food ; New York ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; Sciuridae/*physiology ; *Social Behavior ; }, abstract = {Caching behavior frequently occurs within a social context that may include heterospecific cache pilferers. All else equal, the value of cacheable food should decline as the probability of cache recovering declines. We manipulated gray squirrels' (Sciurus carolinensis) estimate of the probability of cache recovery using experimental playbacks of the vocalizations of a potential cache robber, the blue jay (Cyanocitta cristata). We used giving-up densities (GUDs) to quantify relative changes in squirrels' valuation of cacheable and noncacheable foods. We collected GUDs during playback experiments to test whether squirrels (1) eavesdrop on vocalizations to detect jay presence, (2) devalue cacheable food in the (perceived) presence of jays (i.e., perceive jays as cache pilferers), and (3) are sensitive to distant effects (i.e., lower devaluation of cacheable food at sites far from the perceived location of jays). Consistent with our predictions, squirrels decreased the value of cacheable hazelnuts by two nuts, on average, during jay playbacks, but only at foraging stations near the jay playback sites. We conclude that through eavesdropping, squirrels assess site-specific risks of cache pilfering and alter their caching behavior to reduce the likelihood of pilferage. Evidence suggests that tree seed consumers in eastern deciduous forests exist within a complex communication network.}, } @article {pmid18177716, year = {2008}, author = {Griesser, M}, title = {Referential calls signal predator behavior in a group-living bird species.}, journal = {Current biology : CB}, volume = {18}, number = {1}, pages = {69-73}, doi = {10.1016/j.cub.2007.11.069}, pmid = {18177716}, issn = {0960-9822}, mesh = {Animals ; Hawks/*physiology ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; *Predatory Behavior ; Social Behavior ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Predation is a powerful agent of natural selection, driving the evolution of antipredator calls [1]. These calls have been shown to communicate predator category [2-4] and/or predator distance to conspecifics [5-7]. However, the risk posed by predators depends also on predator behavior [8], and the ability of prey to communicate predator behavior to conspecifics would be a selective advantage reducing their predation risk. I tested this idea in Siberian jays (Perisoreus infaustus), a group-living bird species. Predation by hawks, and to a lesser extent by owls, is substantial and the sole cause of mortality in adult jays [9]. By using field data and predator-exposure experiments, I show here that jays used antipredator calls for hawks depending on predator behavior. A playback experiment demonstrated that these prey-to-prey calls were specific to hawk behavior (perch, prey search, attack) and elicited distinct, situation-specific escape responses. This is the first study to demonstrate that prey signals convey information about predator behavior to conspecifics. Given that antipredator calls in jays aim at protecting kin group members [10, 11], consequently lowering their mortality [9], kin-selected benefits could be an important factor for the evolution of predator-behavior-specific antipredator calls in such systems.}, } @article {pmid18177178, year = {2008}, author = {Jensen, KK and Larsen, ON and Attenborough, K}, title = {Measurements and predictions of hooded crow (Corvus corone cornix) call propagation over open field habitats.}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {123}, number = {1}, pages = {507}, doi = {10.1121/1.2817363}, pmid = {18177178}, issn = {1520-8524}, mesh = {Animals ; Crows ; *Ecosystem ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {In a study of hooded crow communication over open fields an excellent correspondence is found between the attenuation spectra predicted by a "turbulence-modified ground effect plus atmospheric absorption" model, and crow call attenuation data. Sound propagation predictions and background noise measurements are used to predict an optimal frequency range for communication ("sound communication window") from an average of crow call spectra predicted for every possible combination of the sender/receiver separations 300, 600, 900, and 1200 m and heights 3,6,9 m thereby creating a matrix assumed relevant to crow interterritorial communication. These predictions indicate an optimal frequency range for sound communication between 500 Hz and 2 kHz. Since this corresponds to the frequency range in which crow calls have their main energy and crow hearing in noise is particularly sensitive, it suggests a specific adaptation to the ground effect. Sound propagation predictions, together with background noise measurements and hearing data, are used to estimate the radius of the hooded crow active space. This is found to be roughly 1 km in moderately windy conditions. It is concluded that the propagation modeling of the sort introduced here could be used for assessing the impact of human noise on animal communication.}, } @article {pmid19579708, year = {2008}, author = {Cachón, V and Barahona, A and Ayala, FJ}, title = {The rhetorical construction of Eldredge and Gould's article on the theory of punctuated equilibria in 1972.}, journal = {History and philosophy of the life sciences}, volume = {30}, number = {3-4}, pages = {317-337}, pmid = {19579708}, issn = {0391-9714}, mesh = {*Biological Evolution ; Biology/*history ; History, 20th Century ; Humans ; Models, Genetic ; Paleontology/*history ; *Persuasive Communication ; }, abstract = {This article seeks to show how several rhetorical tools were used and, in fact, played a central role in the argumentation advanced by Niles Eldredge and Stephen Jay Gould in their 1972 seminal article on the theory of Punctuated Equilibria. It is analyzed how Eldredge and Gould proceeded through three steps that, sequentially integrated, made their argument compelling. It is shown how they made use of analogies, metaphors and other rhetorical tools. It is sustained that they began by priming the reader to distrust the current interpretation of the fossil record offered by most paleontologists and then, in a second step, they used specific visual representations in order to suggest that the competitor theory was committed to the idea of an even and slow evolution at a constant rate, an image utilized by them as straw man. Finally, it is analyzed how, in their third step, Eldredge and Gould made use of several rhetorical arguments to present their theory as new for paleontology while, at the same time, placing it well inside the frame of the modern synthesis, and how they also managed to present their theory as more promising and capable of making predictions for future researches than the competitor theory.}, } @article {pmid18095479, year = {2007}, author = {Tsukahara, N and Aoyama, M and Sugita, S}, title = {[Differences in vocalization and morphology of the syrinx between Carrion crows (Corvus corone) and Jungle crows (C. macrorhynchos)].}, journal = {Kaibogaku zasshi. Journal of anatomy}, volume = {82}, number = {4}, pages = {129-135}, pmid = {18095479}, issn = {0022-7722}, mesh = {Animals ; Crows/*anatomy & histology/*physiology ; Female ; Laryngeal Muscles/anatomy & histology ; Larynx/*anatomy & histology/physiology ; Male ; Sound Spectrography ; Species Specificity ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {The vocal characteristics and the morph of the syrinx in Carrion crows (Corvus corone) and those in Jungle crows (C. macrorhynchos) were compared. The vocalizations of both species of crow were recorded into sonograms and analyzed. The appearance and inner configuration of the syrinx were observed using stereoscopic microscope. In addition, the inside diameter of the syrinx, the sizes of the labia and the attached position of the syringeal muscles were measured. The attached figures of syringeal muscles were different between the two species. The vocalizations of Carrion crows were noisier than possibly because their labias were noticeably smaller than those of Jungle crows. The attachment patterns of the syringeal muscles in Jungle crows suggested that they allow for more flexibility on the inside structure of the syrinx. The inner space of the syrinx in Jungle crows was also wider than those of Carrion crows. These results suggested that Jungle crows may be able to make various vocalizations because of these morphological characteristics.}, } @article {pmid18052787, year = {2008}, author = {Wendelken, C and Nakhabenko, D and Donohue, SE and Carter, CS and Bunge, SA}, title = {"Brain is to thought as stomach is to ??": investigating the role of rostrolateral prefrontal cortex in relational reasoning.}, journal = {Journal of cognitive neuroscience}, volume = {20}, number = {4}, pages = {682-693}, doi = {10.1162/jocn.2008.20055}, pmid = {18052787}, issn = {0898-929X}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; *Brain Mapping ; Concept Formation/*physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Linear Models ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Prefrontal Cortex/*physiology ; Problem Solving/*physiology ; Semantics ; Verbal Behavior/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Brain imaging studies suggest that the rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC), is involved in relational reasoning. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies involving Raven's Progressive Matrices or verbal propositional analogies indicate that the RLPFC is engaged by tasks that require integration across multiple relational structures. Several studies have shown that the RLPFC is more active when people must evaluate an analogy (e.g., Is shoe to foot as glove is to hand?) than when they must simply evaluate two individual semantic relationships, consistent with the hypothesis that this region is important for relational integration. The current fMRI investigation further explores the role of the RLPFC in reasoning and relational integration by comparing RLPFC activation across four different propositional analogy conditions. Each of the four conditions required either relation completion (e.g., Shoe is to foot as glove is to WHAT? --> "hand") or relation comparison (e.g., Is shoe to foot as glove is to hand? --> "yes"). The RLPFC was engaged more strongly by the comparison subtask relative to completion, suggesting that the RLPFC is particularly involved in comparing relational structures.}, } @article {pmid18042996, year = {2007}, author = {Starr, JM and Deary, IJ and Fox, H and Whalley, LJ}, title = {Blood pressure and cognition in the Aberdeen 1936 birth cohort.}, journal = {Gerontology}, volume = {53}, number = {6}, pages = {432-437}, doi = {10.1159/000111696}, pmid = {18042996}, issn = {1423-0003}, support = {//Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council/United Kingdom ; //Wellcome Trust/United Kingdom ; }, mesh = {Aged ; *Blood Pressure ; *Cognition ; Cohort Studies ; Female ; Health Surveys ; Humans ; Longitudinal Studies ; Male ; Mental Recall ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; United Kingdom ; Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: The relationship between blood pressure and cognition in old age remains unclear. Some data indicate that elevated blood pressure causes cognitive deficits whilst others show that lower early life mental ability predicts high blood pressure in adulthood. Longitudinal studies in which mental ability earlier in life is known are needed to clarify the relationship.

OBJECTIVE: To measure the effect of blood pressure on cognition in late adulthood after adjusting for early life mental ability.

METHODS: The sample comprised survivors of the 1947 Scottish Mental Survey who had validated IQ scores at age 11. Six cognitive tests - Mini-Mental State Examination, Raven's Progressive Matrices, Rey Auditory Verbal Learning Test, Uses of Common Objects Test, Digit Symbol Test and Block Design - were administered at ages 64, 66 and 68 years. Sitting and standing blood pressure was also measured at each wave of follow-up. Mixed general linear models were constructed with each cognitive test treated as a repeated measure of an underlying cognitive trait and with wave of testing also set as a repeated measure. Mental ability at age 11 was entered as a covariate.

RESULTS: 504 participants were tested at wave 1 with 368 returning at wave 2 and 300 at wave 3. Age 11 mental ability did not predict any of the blood pressure measures. There were several significant associations between blood pressure variables and cognitive test scores in univariate models. After adjusting for significant effects of wave of testing, type of cognitive test, the interaction between these, age 11 mental ability, age, gender and occupation in a multivariate model, the main effect of BP trait was no longer significant (p = 0.44) nor its effect over time (p = 0.26), though there was a significant interaction between blood pressure trait (BP) and test type with a distinctly negative effect of BP on Auditory Verbal Learning Test (p = 0.007, -0.13 points per mm Hg higher, 95% CI -0.22 to -0.033).

CONCLUSION: The effects of blood pressure on cognition in old age are finely nuanced. Multivariate repeated measures models reveal a differential effect of blood pressure on verbal recall.}, } @article {pmid17980944, year = {2008}, author = {Hayashi, M and Kato, M and Igarashi, K and Kashima, H}, title = {Superior fluid intelligence in children with Asperger's disorder.}, journal = {Brain and cognition}, volume = {66}, number = {3}, pages = {306-310}, doi = {10.1016/j.bandc.2007.09.008}, pmid = {17980944}, issn = {0278-2626}, mesh = {Asperger Syndrome/*psychology ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; Male ; *Problem Solving ; Reference Values ; *Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {Asperger's disorder is one of autistic spectrum disorders; sharing clinical features with autism, but without developmental delay in language acquisition. There have been some studies of intellectual functioning in autism so far, but very few in Asperger's disorder. In the present study, we investigated abstract reasoning ability, whose form of intelligence has been labeled fluid intelligence in the theory of Cattell [Cattell, R. B. (1963). Theory of fluid and crystallized intelligence: A critical experiment. Journal of Educational Psychology, 54, 1-22.], in children with Asperger's disorder. A test of fluid intelligence, the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices Test, was administered to 17 children with Asperger's disorder and 17 age-, gender-, and FIQ-matched normal children. The results showed that children with Asperger's disorder outperformed on the test of fluid reasoning than typically developing children. We suggest that individuals with Asperger's disorder have higher fluid reasoning ability than normal individuals, highlighting superior fluid intelligence.}, } @article {pmid17892392, year = {2007}, author = {Shafto, MA and Burke, DM and Stamatakis, EA and Tam, PP and Tyler, LK}, title = {On the tip-of-the-tongue: neural correlates of increased word-finding failures in normal aging.}, journal = {Journal of cognitive neuroscience}, volume = {19}, number = {12}, pages = {2060-2070}, pmid = {17892392}, issn = {0898-929X}, support = {R37 AG008835-12/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; R37 AG008835-16S1/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; R37 AG008835-17/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; R37 AG008835-16/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; G19/27/MRC_/Medical Research Council/United Kingdom ; AG 08835/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; R37 AG008835/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Factors ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aging/*psychology ; *Brain Mapping ; Female ; Humans ; Imaging, Three-Dimensional ; *Language ; Language Disorders/*pathology/psychology ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods ; Male ; *Mental Recall ; Middle Aged ; Reading ; }, abstract = {Tip-of-the-tongue (TOT) experiences are frustrating word-finding failures where people are temporarily unable to produce a word they are certain they know. TOT frequency increases with normal aging during adulthood, and behavioral evidence suggests that the underlying deficit is in retrieving the complete phonology of the target word during production. The present study investigated the neural correlates of this phonological retrieval deficit. We obtained 3-D T1-weighted structural magnetic resonance images (MRI) for healthy participants between 19 and 88 years old and used voxel-based morphometry to measure gray matter density throughout the brain. In a separate session, participants named celebrities cued by pictures and descriptions, indicating when they had a TOT, and also completed Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM), a task that does not involve phonological production. The number of TOTs increased with age and also with gray matter atrophy in the left insula, an area implicated in phonological production. The relation between TOTs and left insula atrophy cannot be attributed to the correlation of each variable with age because TOTs were related to insula atrophy even with age effects removed. Moreover, errors on the RPM increased with age, but performance did not correlate with gray matter density in the insula. These results provide, for the first time, an association between a region in the neural language system and the rise in age-related word-finding failures and suggest that age-related atrophy in neural regions important for phonological production may contribute to age-related word production failures.}, } @article {pmid17762942, year = {2008}, author = {Schloegl, C and Kotrschal, K and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Do common ravens (Corvus corax) rely on human or conspecific gaze cues to detect hidden food?.}, journal = {Animal cognition}, volume = {11}, number = {2}, pages = {231-241}, doi = {10.1007/s10071-007-0105-4}, pmid = {17762942}, issn = {1435-9448}, mesh = {Animal Communication ; Animals ; Attention/*physiology ; *Concept Formation ; Crows/*physiology ; Female ; *Fixation, Ocular ; Humans ; Imitative Behavior/*physiology ; Male ; Nonverbal Communication ; *Problem Solving ; Species Specificity ; }, abstract = {The ability of non-human animals to use experimenter-given cues in object-choice tasks has recently gained interest. In such experiments, the location of hidden food is indicated by an experimenter, e.g. by gazing, pointing or touching. Whereas dogs apparently outperform all other species so far tested, apes and monkeys have problems in using such cues. Since only mammalian species have been tested, information is lacking about the evolutionary origin of these abilities. We here present the first data on object-choice tasks conducted with an avian species, the common raven. Ravens are highly competitive scavengers, possessing sophisticated cognitive skills in protecting their food caches and pilfering others' caches. We conducted three experiments, exploring (i) which kind of cues ravens use for choosing a certain object, (ii) whether ravens use humans' gaze for detecting hidden food and (iii) whether ravens would find hidden food in the presence of an informed conspecific who potentially provides gaze cues. Our results indicate that ravens reliably respond to humans' touching of an object, but they hardly use point and gaze cues for their choices. Likewise, they do not perform above chance level in the presence of an informed conspecific. These findings mirror those obtained for primates and suggest that, although ravens may be aware of the gaze direction of humans and conspecifics, they apparently do not rely on this information to detect hidden food.}, } @article {pmid17725979, year = {2007}, author = {Jensen, KK and Cooper, BG and Larsen, ON and Goller, F}, title = {Songbirds use pulse tone register in two voices to generate low-frequency sound.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {274}, number = {1626}, pages = {2703-2710}, pmid = {17725979}, issn = {0962-8452}, support = {R01 DC004390/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; R01 DC006876/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; R01 DC 04390/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; R01 DC 06876/DC/NIDCD NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Animals ; Crows/*anatomy & histology/*physiology ; Sound Spectrography ; Video Recording ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {The principal physical mechanism of sound generation is similar in songbirds and humans, despite large differences in their vocal organs. Whereas vocal fold dynamics in the human larynx are well characterized, the vibratory behaviour of the sound-generating labia in the songbird vocal organ, the syrinx, is unknown. We present the first high-speed video records of the intact syrinx during induced phonation. The syrinx of anaesthetized crows shows a vibration pattern of the labia similar to that of the human vocal fry register. Acoustic pulses result from short opening of the labia, and pulse generation alternates between the left and right sound sources. Spontaneously calling crows can also generate similar pulse characteristics with only one sound generator. Airflow recordings in zebra finches and starlings show that pulse tone sounds can be generated unilaterally, synchronously or by alternating between the two sides. Vocal fry-like dynamics therefore represent a common production mechanism for low-frequency sounds in songbirds. These results also illustrate that complex vibration patterns can emerge from the mechanical properties of the coupled sound generators in the syrinx. The use of vocal fry-like dynamics in the songbird syrinx extends the similarity to this unusual vocal register with mammalian sound production mechanisms.}, } @article {pmid17644273, year = {2008}, author = {Schloegl, C and Kotrschal, K and Bugnyar, T}, title = {Modifying the object-choice task: is the way you look important for ravens?.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {77}, number = {1}, pages = {61-65}, doi = {10.1016/j.beproc.2007.06.002}, pmid = {17644273}, issn = {0376-6357}, mesh = {Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; *Choice Behavior ; Crows ; Cues ; Female ; Fixation, Ocular ; Male ; Random Allocation ; Videotape Recording ; }, abstract = {Most animals seem to have difficulties in using gaze cues to find hidden food in object-choice tasks. For instance, chimpanzees usually fail in these tests, even though they are capable of following other's gaze geometrically behind barriers. Similar to chimpanzees, common ravens are skilled in tracking other's gaze but fail in object-choice tasks. We here explored whether procedural modifications, which had been used successfully in chimpanzees, would also yield positive results in ravens. In our modifications (a) the experimenter approached the cup while gazing at it, (b) the gaze cue was accompanied by a sound and (c) the experimenter could actually see the food while giving the gaze cue. Two out of seven birds performed above chance level in some of these conditions. However, we ascribe this improvement to the individuals' learning ability rather than to an understanding of the communicative nature of the task. This interpretation is further supported by results of a follow-up experiment suggesting that ravens may not rely on conspecifics' gaze cues for finding food caches in a natural foraging context. In sum, our results suggest that ravens may not transfer their gaze follow abilities to foraging situations involving hidden food.}, } @article {pmid17498715, year = {2007}, author = {Schoech, SJ and Bowman, R and Bridge, ES and Morgan, GM and Rensel, MA and Wilcoxen, TE and Boughton, RK}, title = {Corticosterone administration does not affect timing of breeding in Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens).}, journal = {Hormones and behavior}, volume = {52}, number = {2}, pages = {191-196}, doi = {10.1016/j.yhbeh.2007.04.004}, pmid = {17498715}, issn = {0018-506X}, mesh = {Animals ; Birds/blood/*physiology ; Corticosterone/blood/*pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Feeding Behavior/drug effects ; Female ; Oviparity/drug effects ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*drug effects ; Time Factors ; }, abstract = {Providing supplemental food to Florida scrub-jays (Aphelocoma coerulescens) causes a reliable advance in clutch initiation of 1 to 2 weeks. In some years, supplemental food appeared to not only advance laying date but also decrease baseline concentrations of corticosterone (CORT) relative to controls. The coincidence of low CORT levels and early breeding led us to hypothesize that CORT serves to communicate information about environmental conditions to the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal (HPG) axis, which ultimately influences the timing of breeding. To test this hypothesis, we administered small oral doses of CORT three times each day to female breeders that were provisioned with supplemental food. We compared clutch initiation dates of the CORT-dosed females to females with supplementation but no exogenous CORT and to females with neither CORT nor supplemental food. CORT administration had a strong temporary effect on circulating CORT concentrations but clutch initiation did not differ between the two groups of supplemented birds, both of which laid eggs approximately 10 days earlier than nonsupplemented birds. Furthermore, during the year of our study we found no reduction in baseline CORT concentrations in our undosed supplemental groups, as had been observed in past studies.}, } @article {pmid17407915, year = {2007}, author = {Jensen, KK}, title = {Comodulation detection differences in the hooded crow (Corvus corone cornix), with direct comparison to human subjects.}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {121}, number = {3}, pages = {1783-1789}, doi = {10.1121/1.2434246}, pmid = {17407915}, issn = {0001-4966}, mesh = {Acoustics ; *Animal Communication ; Animals ; Auditory Threshold ; Crows/*physiology ; Humans ; Perceptual Masking ; Psychophysics ; }, abstract = {Envelope modulations have been shown important in determining the effectiveness of masking noises. For example, the threshold for detecting a signal flanked by maskers is lower if the maskers and the signal are modulated with different envelopes, rather than the same envelope (comodulation). This threshold change is called the comodulation detection difference (CDD). CDDs were studied in two wild-caught hooded crows, using a 1.5 kHz signal and two maskers at 0.9 and 2.1 kHz, presented at an overall level of 55 dB SPL (re 20 microPa). For direct comparison with human psychophysics, three human subjects were tested in the same setup. CDDs averaged 15 dB for the two crow subjects and 11 dB for the human subjects. The species difference between average CDDs was insignificant. The significance of the CDD effect in a natural setting is discussed.}, } @article {pmid17342677, year = {2007}, author = {Malloy-Diniz, LF and Bentes, RC and Figuereido, PM and Brandao-Bretas, D and da Costa-Abrantes, S and Parizzi, AM and Borges-Leite, W and Salgado, JV}, title = {[Standardisation of a battery of tests to evaluate language comprehension, verbal fluency and naming skills in Brazilian children between 7 and 10 years of age: preliminary findings].}, journal = {Revista de neurologia}, volume = {44}, number = {5}, pages = {275-280}, pmid = {17342677}, issn = {0210-0010}, mesh = {Age Factors ; Brazil ; Child ; Female ; Humans ; *Language ; *Language Tests ; Male ; *Neuropsychological Tests ; Verbal Behavior/*physiology ; }, abstract = {INTRODUCTION: The neuropsychological assessment of language requires instruments that evaluate its receptive and expressive aspects. Due to cultural discrepancies, the use of neuropsychological tests demands normalization studies to the population in which they will be used.

AIM: To provide normative data for Brazilian schoolchildren in relation to the Token Test, Semantic Verbal Fluency Test and the Minas Gerais Naming Test (animals, body parts and food categories).

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: 101 children (51 males, 50 females) with ages between 7 to 10 years (mean: 8 years and 8 months), with 2 to 4 years of formal education. Exclusion criteria included score below 25 percentile in the Raven Test. RESULTS. There were no differences between male and female performance. Age was significantly related to performance in all tests.

CONCLUSION: The results are compatible to the literature and, thought preliminary, they may be used as reference in research and clinical settings in our country.}, } @article {pmid17330535, year = {2007}, author = {Nejat, F and Kazmi, SS and Habibi, Z and Tajik, P and Shahrivar, Z}, title = {Intelligence quotient in children with meningomyeloceles: a case-control study.}, journal = {Journal of neurosurgery}, volume = {106}, number = {2 Suppl}, pages = {106-110}, doi = {10.3171/ped.2007.106.2.106}, pmid = {17330535}, issn = {0022-3085}, mesh = {Age Factors ; Attention/classification ; Case-Control Studies ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cohort Studies ; Educational Status ; Fecal Incontinence/complications ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Gait/physiology ; Humans ; Intelligence/*classification ; Male ; Meningomyelocele/complications/*psychology/surgery ; Parents/education ; Social Class ; Urinary Incontinence/complications ; Ventriculoperitoneal Shunt/adverse effects ; Verbal Behavior/classification ; }, abstract = {OBJECT: Meningomyelocele (MMC) is a common central nervous system birth defect. As one of many problems facing patients with MMC, learning disabilities are often overlooked. The aim of this study was to evaluate IQs in a group of children with MMCs and determine if a correlation exists between intelligence level and the presence of an MMC and/or its complications.

METHODS: A case-control study was conducted at the Children's Hospital Medical Center in Tehran, Iran, from December 2004 through December 2005. The patient group included 50 children with MMC from 5 to 12 years of age who were referred to the authors' institution for treatment of complications or for follow up after surgery for MMC closure. The patient group was individually matched for age and sex with a control group of 50 children referred to the hospital for other reasons and who did not have MMC or other neurological abnormalities. The IQs in all children in this study were evaluated using the Ravens Progressive Matrices test. The children in both groups were similar in the socioeconomic status of the family (p = 0.347) and educational status of the father (p = 0.117) and mother (p = 0.439). Patient age at the time of surgery for MMC closure varied from 1 day to 96 months (mean 4.1 months). Only 20% of the patients with MMC could walk with a normal gait. Forty-six percent of the patients had undergone placement of a ventriculoperitoneal shunt, and half of these patients experienced shunt-related complications; 72% of the children in the patient group were completely incontinent for both urine and feces. The IQ results obtained in the patient group ranged from 73 to 134 with a mean (+/- standard deviation) of 96.62 +/- 13.01. In the control group the IQ range was 70 to 128, and the mean was 104.82 +/- 12.30. Compared with the control group there was a statistically significant correlation between having an MMC and having a lower IQ (p < 0.001, paired t-test).

CONCLUSIONS: Although the average IQ in the patient group was significantly lower than that in the control group, it is important to note that all children in the patient group had an average or above-average IQ. In contrast with the results reported in other studies, earlier repair of the MMC, the presence of a shunt or shunt-related complications, walking difficulty, and the spinal level of the lesion did not correlate significantly with IQs. Therefore, the lower IQ and reduced cognitive levels noted in these patients result from the disease process itself and not from the associated complications.}, } @article {pmid17313979, year = {2007}, author = {van 't Wout, M and Aleman, A and Kessels, RP and Cahn, W and de Haan, EH and Kahn, RS}, title = {Exploring the nature of facial affect processing deficits in schizophrenia.}, journal = {Psychiatry research}, volume = {150}, number = {3}, pages = {227-235}, doi = {10.1016/j.psychres.2006.03.010}, pmid = {17313979}, issn = {0165-1781}, mesh = {Adult ; Affect ; Automatism ; Decision Making ; Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders ; *Facial Expression ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Perceptual Disorders/*diagnosis/*epidemiology ; *Recognition, Psychology ; Schizophrenia/*epidemiology ; Severity of Illness Index ; }, abstract = {Schizophrenia has been associated with deficits in facial affect processing, especially negative emotions. However, the exact nature of the deficit remains unclear. The aim of the present study was to investigate whether schizophrenia patients have problems in automatic allocation of attention as well as in controlled evaluation of facial affect. Thirty-seven patients with schizophrenia were compared with 41 control subjects on incidental facial affect processing (gender decision of faces with a fearful, angry, happy, disgusted, and neutral expression) and degraded facial affect labeling (labeling of fearful, angry, happy, and neutral faces). The groups were matched on estimates of verbal and performance intelligence (National Adult Reading Test; Raven's Matrices), general face recognition ability (Benton Face Recognition), and other demographic variables. The results showed that patients with schizophrenia as well as control subjects demonstrate the normal threat-related interference during incidental facial affect processing. Conversely, on controlled evaluation patients were specifically worse in the labeling of fearful faces. In particular, patients with high levels of negative symptoms may be characterized by deficits in labeling fear. We suggest that patients with schizophrenia show no evidence of deficits in the automatic allocation of attention resources to fearful (threat-indicating) faces, but have a deficit in the controlled processing of facial emotions that may be specific for fearful faces.}, } @article {pmid17264697, year = {2007}, author = {Eiser, AR and Ellis, G}, title = {Viewpoint: Cultural competence and the African American experience with health care: The case for specific content in cross-cultural education.}, journal = {Academic medicine : journal of the Association of American Medical Colleges}, volume = {82}, number = {2}, pages = {176-183}, doi = {10.1097/ACM.0b013e31802d92ea}, pmid = {17264697}, issn = {1040-2446}, mesh = {African Americans/*ethnology/*psychology ; Attitude to Health/ethnology ; Cultural Characteristics ; Delivery of Health Care/*organization & administration ; Education, Medical/*organization & administration ; Humans ; Physician-Patient Relations ; Religion ; United States ; }, abstract = {Achieving cultural competence in the care of a patient who is a member of an ethnic or racial minority is a multifaceted project involving specific cultural knowledge as well as more general skills and attitude adjustments to advance cross-cultural communication in the clinical encounter. Using the important example of the African American patient, the authors examine relevant historical and cultural information as it relates to providing culturally competent health care. The authors identify key influences, including the legacy of slavery, Jim Crow discrimination, the Tuskegee syphilis study, religion's interaction with health care, the use of home remedies, distrust, racial concordance and discordance, and health literacy. The authors propose that the awareness of specific information pertaining to ethnicity and race enhances cross-cultural communication and ways to improve the cultural competence of physicians and other health care providers by providing a historical and social context for illness in another culture. Cultural education, modular in nature, can be geared to the specific populations served by groups of physicians and provider organizations. Educational methods should include both information about relevant social group history as well as some experiential component to emotively communicate particular cultural needs. The authors describe particular techniques that help bridge the cross-cultural clinical communication gaps that are created by patients' mistrust, lack of cultural understanding, differing paradigms for illness, and health illiteracy.}, } @article {pmid17258241, year = {2007}, author = {Burke, MR and Adkins-Regan, E and Wade, J}, title = {Laterality in syrinx muscle morphology of the Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica).}, journal = {Physiology & behavior}, volume = {90}, number = {4}, pages = {682-686}, pmid = {17258241}, issn = {0031-9384}, support = {MH065907/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R01 MH055488/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; R29 MH055488/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; K02 MH065907/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; MH55488/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Androgens/pharmacology ; Animals ; Coturnix/*anatomy & histology ; Female ; Functional Laterality/drug effects/*physiology ; Laryngeal Muscles/*anatomy & histology/drug effects ; Male ; Sex Characteristics ; Testosterone/pharmacology ; Vocalization, Animal/drug effects/*physiology ; }, abstract = {In the Japanese quail, normally only males crow, but treatment of adult females with testosterone (T) facilitates the behavior. The sternotrachealis muscles are thought to adjust the length of the trachea during inspiration and/or expiration and control rigidity of the cartilages of the vocal organ (syrinx) during phonation. These muscles are heavier in males than females, and T increases their mass in females [Balthazart J, Schumacher M, Otttinger MA. Sexual differences in the japanese quail: Behavior, morphology, and intracellular metabolism of testosterone. Gen Comp Endocrinol 1983; 51:191-207., Schumacher M, Balthazart J. The effects of testosterone and its metabolites on sexual behavior and morphology in male and female Japanese quail. Physiol Behav 1983; 30:335-339.]. To investigate sex differences in morphology and potential effects of T in more detail, we examined several components of male, female, and T-treated female quail syrinx. No group effects were detected on overall tracheal size, size of the tracheal lumen, quantity of cartilage, overall muscle volume, or cross-sectional muscle area. However, the area and estimated volume of the muscles were greater on the right than left, due to increased fiber number. The similarity across groups suggests that if the sternotrachealis muscles are critical for crowing, morphology in females is sufficient, and the sex difference in behavior has another source. In contrast, these muscles may not play as large a role as previously hypothesized. If the increased number of fibers on the right has a functional consequence, it likely reflects one similar in the two sexes, for example a common role in the vocalizations they each produce--the male's crow and the female's cricket call.}, } @article {pmid16922849, year = {2006}, author = {Gimona, A and Brewer, MJ}, title = {Local environmental effects and spatial effects in macroecological studies using mapped abundance classes: the case of the rook Corvus frugilegus in Scotland.}, journal = {The Journal of animal ecology}, volume = {75}, number = {5}, pages = {1140-1146}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-2656.2006.01134.x}, pmid = {16922849}, issn = {0021-8790}, mesh = {Animals ; Bayes Theorem ; Crows/*physiology ; Ecology ; *Environment ; Geography ; *Models, Biological ; Population Density ; Scotland ; }, abstract = {1. The study of the spatial pattern of species abundance is complicated by statistical problems, such as spatial autocorrelation of the abundance data, which lead to the confusion of environmental effects and dispersal. 2. Atlas-derived data for the rook in Scotland are used as a case study to propose an approach for assessing the likely contribution of dispersal and local environmental effects, based on a Bayesian Conditional Autoregressive (CAR) approach. 3. The availability of moist grasslands is a key factor explaining the spatial pattern of abundance. This is influenced by a combination of climatic and soil-related factors. A direct link to soil properties is for the first time reported for the wide-scale distribution of a bird species. In addition, for this species, dispersal seems to contribute significantly to the spatial pattern and produces a smoother than expected decline in abundance at the north-western edge of its distribution range. Areas where dispersal is most likely to be important are highlighted. 4. The approach described can help ecologists make more efficient use of atlas data for the investigation of the structure of species abundance, and can highlight potential sink areas at the landscape and regional scale. 5. Bayesian spatial models can deal with data autocorrelation in atlas-type data, while clearly communicating uncertainty through the estimation of the full posterior probability distribution of all parameters.}, } @article {pmid16903131, year = {2006}, author = {Schrauf, RW and Weintraub, S and Navarro, E}, title = {Is adaptation of the word accentuation test of premorbid intelligence necessary for use among older, Spanish-speaking immigrants in the United States?.}, journal = {Journal of the International Neuropsychological Society : JINS}, volume = {12}, number = {3}, pages = {391-399}, doi = {10.1017/s1355617706060462}, pmid = {16903131}, issn = {1355-6177}, support = {P30 AG13854/AG/NIA NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis/*ethnology ; Dementia/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Emigration and Immigration/*statistics & numerical data ; Feasibility Studies ; Hispanic or Latino/*statistics & numerical data ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; *Language ; Multilingualism ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Phonetics ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Severity of Illness Index ; United States/epidemiology ; *Vocabulary ; }, abstract = {Adaptations of the National Adult Reading Test (NART) for assessing premorbid intelligence in languages other than English requires (a) generating word-items that are rare and do not follow grapheme-to-phoneme mappings common in that language, and (b) subsequent validation against a cognitive battery normed on the population of interest. Such tests exist for Italy, France, Spain, and Argentina, all normed against national versions of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale. Given the varieties of Spanish spoken in the United States, the adaptation of the Spanish Word Accentuation Test (WAT) requires re-validating the original word list, plus possible new items, against a cognitive battery that has been normed on Spanish-speakers from many countries. This study reports the generation of 55 additional words and revalidation in a sample of 80 older, Spanish-dominant immigrants. The Batería Woodcock-Muñoz Revisada (BWM-R), normed on Spanish speakers from six countries and five U.S. states, was used to establish criterion validity. The original WAT word list accounted for 77% of the variance in the BWM-R and 58% of the variance in Ravens Colored Progressive Matrices, suggesting that the unmodified list possesses adequate predictive validity as an indicator of intelligence. Regression equations are provided for estimating BWM-R and Ravens scores from WAT scores.}, } @article {pmid16896595, year = {2006}, author = {Dobler, B and Lorenz, F and Wertz, H and Polednik, M and Wolff, D and Steil, V and Lohr, F and Wenz, F}, title = {Intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) with different combinations of treatment-planning systems and linacs: issues and how to detect them.}, journal = {Strahlentherapie und Onkologie : Organ der Deutschen Rontgengesellschaft ... [et al]}, volume = {182}, number = {8}, pages = {481-488}, doi = {10.1007/s00066-006-1544-6}, pmid = {16896595}, issn = {0179-7158}, mesh = {Film Dosimetry ; Humans ; Phantoms, Imaging ; *Quality Assurance, Health Care ; Radiometry ; Radiotherapy Dosage ; *Radiotherapy Planning, Computer-Assisted/instrumentation/methods ; Radiotherapy, Intensity-Modulated/*instrumentation/*standards ; Software ; }, abstract = {PURPOSE: To compare different combinations of intensity-modulated radiation therapy (IMRT) system components with regard to quality assurance (QA), especially robustness against malfunctions and dosimetry.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: Three different treatment-planning systems (TPS), two types of linacs and three multileaf collimator (MLC) types were compared: commissioning procedures were performed for the combination of the TPS Corvus 5.0 (Nomos) and KonRad v2.1.3 (Siemens OCS) with the linacs KD2 (Siemens) and Synergy (Elekta). For PrecisePLAN 2.03 (Elekta) measurements were performed for Elekta Synergy only. As record and verify (R&V) system Multi-Access v7 (IMPAC) was used. The use of the serial tomotherapy system Peacock (Nomos) was investigated in combination with the Siemens KD2 linac.

RESULTS: In the comparison of calculated to measured dose, problems were encountered for the combination of KonRad and Elekta MLC as well as for the Peacock system. Multi-Access failed to assign the collimator angle correctly for plans with multiple collimator angles per beam. Communication problems of Multi-Access with both linacs were observed, resulting in incorrect recording of the treatment. All reported issues were addressed by the manufacturers.

CONCLUSION: For the commissioning of IMRT systems, the whole chain from the TPS to the linac has to be investigated. Components that passed the commissioning in another clinical environment can have severe malfunctions when used in a new environment. Therefore, not only single components but the whole chain from planning to delivery has to be evaluated in commissioning and checked regularly for QA.}, } @article {pmid16860451, year = {2006}, author = {Leask, SJ and Crow, TJ}, title = {A single optimum degree of hemispheric specialisation in two tasks, in two UK national birth cohorts.}, journal = {Brain and cognition}, volume = {62}, number = {3}, pages = {221-227}, doi = {10.1016/j.bandc.2006.06.001}, pmid = {16860451}, issn = {0278-2626}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain/*physiology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cognition/*physiology ; Cohort Studies ; Data Interpretation, Statistical ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Functional Laterality/*physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Motor Skills ; Normal Distribution ; Reference Values ; Sex Factors ; Task Performance and Analysis ; United Kingdom ; Verbal Behavior/*physiology ; }, abstract = {How differences between the two sides of the brain (or 'laterality') relate to level of function are important components of theories of the origin and purpose of hemispheric asymmetry, although different measures show different relationships, and this heterogeneity makes discerning any underlying relationships a difficult task. There are some exceptions, for example it has been concluded that increasing lateralization (eg of hand skill or planum temporale area) occurs at the expense of the non-dominant hemisphere. However, we have previously demonstrated this latter relationship to be an artefact: a consequence of plotting two variables against each other, that are not independent of each other [Leask, S. J., & Crow, T. J. (1997) How far does the brain lateralize? An unbiased method for determining the optimum degree of hemispheric specialisation. Neuropsychologia, 36, 1275-1282; Mazoyer, B. M., & Tzourio-Mazoyer, N. G. (2004). Title Planum temporale asymmetry and models of dominance for language: a reappraisal. Neuroreport, 15, 1057-1059]. Two approaches to discerning any underlying relationships are presented in data from over 20,000 10- and 11-year olds from the 1958 and 1970 UK national cohort studies. These demonstrate that maximal performance, both cognitive and hand function, is found in association with one particular degree of functional lateralization.}, } @article {pmid16809205, year = {2006}, author = {King, KA and Hough, MS and Walker, MM and Rastatter, M and Holbert, D}, title = {Mild traumatic brain injury: effects on naming in word retrieval and discourse.}, journal = {Brain injury}, volume = {20}, number = {7}, pages = {725-732}, doi = {10.1080/02699050600743824}, pmid = {16809205}, issn = {0269-9052}, mesh = {Adult ; Brain Injuries/*psychology ; Educational Status ; Female ; Humans ; Language Disorders/diagnosis/*etiology ; Male ; *Mental Recall ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Pilot Projects ; Psychometrics ; }, abstract = {PRIMARY OBJECTIVE: To investigate differences between a group with mild traumatic brain injury (MTBI) and a control group relative to standard scores and error type during word retrieval in both naming and discourse tasks.

METHODS AND PROCEDURES: Ten participants with MTBI were age-, gender- and education-matched with 10 participants without injury. Pre-experimental tasks for the participants with MTBI included the Scales of Cognitive Ability for Traumatic Brain Injury and the Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and both groups received the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-III. Experimental tasks included the Test of Adolescent/Adult Word Finding and the Test of Word Finding in Discourse.

MAIN OUTCOMES AND RESULTS: Few participants (three on each experimental task) demonstrated psychometrically-based word retrieval deficits (standard score < 85); however, a significant difference in performance for the TAWF as compared to the TWFD was observed between groups. More word finding errors occurred with confrontational naming than with discourse tasks for both groups, with latency as the primary error type.

CONCLUSIONS: Confrontational naming tasks may be more sensitive to subtle language difficulties occurring after MTBI. The study of adults with MTBI and their performance on semantically-based tasks offers important information for the advancement of therapeutic intervention and education.}, } @article {pmid16548705, year = {2006}, author = {Compton, J}, title = {Serious as a heart attack: health-related content of late-night comedy television.}, journal = {Health communication}, volume = {19}, number = {2}, pages = {143-151}, doi = {10.1207/s15327027hc1902_6}, pmid = {16548705}, issn = {1041-0236}, mesh = {Disabled Persons ; *Heart Diseases ; Humans ; Public Opinion ; *Television ; *Wit and Humor as Topic ; }, abstract = {Although the medical community hoped that Vice President Dick Cheney's public experiences with heart problems and subsequent treatments would serve to raise awareness, educate the public about heart disease and treatment options, and showcase advances in cardiac care, late-night comedians saw Cheney's health problems as joke fodder. Comedians like Jay Leno, David Letterman, and Conan O'Brien ridiculed Cheney in their monologues, suggesting the vice president was frail, weak, and near death-certainly not a "poster boy" for contemporary cardiac care. This investigation presents a textual analysis of late-night comedy monologue jokes from July 25, 2000, to October 7, 2003. The themes that emerge in the jokes include Cheney's infirmity, his questionable fitness for office, and ridicule for his state-of-the-art defibrillator. Implications of health-related content in late-night comedy programs are offered, including the potential impacts on health knowledge and attitudes toward illness. This study takes an important step toward understanding health messages in an unconventional yet powerful media venue.}, } @article {pmid16521788, year = {2006}, author = {Jensen, KK and Klokker, S}, title = {Hearing sensitivity and critical ratios of hooded crows (Corvus corone cornix).}, journal = {The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America}, volume = {119}, number = {2}, pages = {1269-1276}, doi = {10.1121/1.2159431}, pmid = {16521788}, issn = {0001-4966}, mesh = {Adaptation, Physiological ; Adult ; Animals ; Auditory Threshold/physiology ; Conditioning, Psychological ; Crows/*physiology ; Female ; Hearing/*physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Pitch Perception/physiology ; Psychoacoustics ; Time Factors ; Vocalization, Animal/physiology ; }, abstract = {The hearing threshold and critical ratios were estimated psycho-acoustically for captive wild-caught hooded crows by a yes/no procedure and the method of constant stimuli. Human subjects were tested in the same setup for direct comparison and to check for experimental artifacts. The hooded crows were found to have excellent low-frequency hearing capabilities compared to other passerine birds. Their hearing sensitivity is very close to that of humans at and below 5.6 kHz. The distribution of the critical ratios differed from that of the average bird and humans in being rather constant with frequency and not increasing monotonically. It furthermore showed a middle region of 5-6 dB lower critical ratio values between 500 Hz and 2 kHz. It is suggested that this improved range for hearing in noise is an adaptation to long distance communication. Human critical ratios gave the expected values and were between 3 and 6 dB lower than those of the crows.}, } @article {pmid16512618, year = {2005}, author = {Prajsner, B and Pilch, B and Bałajewicz, A and Wesołowska, E}, title = {[Causes of tic disorders in children].}, journal = {Przeglad lekarski}, volume = {62}, number = {11}, pages = {1263-1268}, pmid = {16512618}, issn = {0033-2240}, mesh = {Brain/diagnostic imaging/pathology/physiopathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Environment ; Female ; Hospitalization ; Humans ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Projective Techniques ; Self Concept ; Severity of Illness Index ; Tic Disorders/*etiology/physiopathology/*rehabilitation ; Tomography, X-Ray Computed ; }, abstract = {THE AIM OF THE WORK: Tic disorders are differentiated in their symptomatology and time of duration. Assessing the courses of tics can be crucial for more successful treatment. The aim of the study was to identify the egzogenic and endogenic causes of tic disorders.

MATERIAL AND METHODS: The group of 20 children and adolescents, 6 girls and 14 boys, aged 4-16 years, with tic disorders were analysed. 8 of them were identified as having transient tics 6 chronic motor or vocal tics and 6 Tourette's syndrome. WISC-R, Terman-Merrill, and Raven, Bender-Koppitz and Benton tests and questionnaire "Who are you", and projection tests, talk to children and their parents were used.

RESULTS: The analysed group consisted of 70% boys. Gestational and perinatal risk factors were confirmed in 5 children, in similar percentage of different types of tics. In 20% of patients CT or MRI examination showed mild abnormalities, whereas EEG examination excluded epileptic discharges. Majority of children with tics demonstrated significant emotional sesitivity (70%) and tendency to repress fear and anger (60%). Hyperkinetic disorders co-existing with Tourette's syndrome in 3 patients, while learning disabilities were confirmed in 30% children with tic disorders. The presence of negative environmental factors which may contribute to trigger tics showed a half of children from analysed group. Above all children experienced stress in family (40%) and/or in school (20%). The biological and/or environmental factors were detected in 80% children. They were not established in four patients: in one with transient tics and in three with Tourrete's syndrome.

CONCLUSION: The identification of biological and environmental factors is necessary in children with tics, because they are present and significant in majority of children. In 20% of children these factors were not confirmed and in this group other causes should be considered. Considering the risk of disordered emotional and social functioning of children with tics, leading in many cases to tics exacerbation, complex therapeutic care should be provided.}, } @article {pmid16401246, year = {2005}, author = {Kashiwa, Y and Kitabayashi, Y and Narumoto, J and Nakamura, K and Ueda, H and Fukui, K}, title = {Anosognosia in Alzheimer's disease: association with patient characteristics, psychiatric symptoms and cognitive deficits.}, journal = {Psychiatry and clinical neurosciences}, volume = {59}, number = {6}, pages = {697-704}, doi = {10.1111/j.1440-1819.2005.01439.x}, pmid = {16401246}, issn = {1323-1316}, mesh = {Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease/*complications/*psychology ; Cognition Disorders/*etiology/*psychology ; Depressive Disorder/psychology ; Female ; Frontal Lobe/physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Memory/physiology ; Memory Disorders/*etiology/*psychology ; Mental Disorders/*etiology/*psychology ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Psychiatric Status Rating Scales ; Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {Anosognosia is one of the major problems in the treatment and care of Alzheimer's disease (AD) patients. The aim of the study was to determine the patient characteristics, psychiatric symptoms, and cognitive deficits associated with anosognosia, because these are currently poorly understood. Eighty-four patients who met the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disease and Stroke-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association criteria for probable AD were examined for anosognosia based on the difference between questionnaire scores of the patient and their caregiver. The relationship of anosognosia with patient characteristics (age, age at onset, duration of illness, education, Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE), Clinical Dementia Rating (CDR), Hyogo Activities of Daily Living Scale (HADLS)), psychiatric symptoms (Neuropsychiatric Inventory (NPI), Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS)), and cognitive function (Digit Span, Word Fluency Test, Trail Making Test, Stroop Test, Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices Test) were studied. Anosognosia showed positive correlations with age, age at onset, duration of illness, CDR, HADLS, and NPI disinhibition, and negative correlations with MMSE and GDS. Regarding cognitive function, only Part III of the Stroop Test was a predictor of anosognosia. The severity of anosognosia increased with disease progression and with a later age at onset. Subjective complaints of depression requiring self-monitoring of mood tended to decrease and, in contrast, inhibition of socially unsuitable behavior became more difficult as anosognosia worsened. Regarding cognitive function, anosognosia appeared to be associated with response inhibition impairment. Both disinhibition, as a psychiatric symptom, and response inhibition impairment are known to be correlated with disturbance of orbitofrontal function, which therefore may be associated with anosognosia.}, } @article {pmid16383072, year = {2005}, author = {Abdel-Khalek, AM}, title = {Reliability and factorial validity of the standard progressive matrices among Kuwaiti children ages 8 to 15 years.}, journal = {Perceptual and motor skills}, volume = {101}, number = {2}, pages = {409-412}, doi = {10.2466/pms.101.2.409-412}, pmid = {16383072}, issn = {0031-5125}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Child ; Cross-Cultural Comparison ; *Developing Countries ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence Tests/*standards/statistics & numerical data ; Kuwait ; Language ; Male ; Psychometrics/statistics & numerical data ; Reference Values ; Reproducibility of Results ; }, abstract = {The Raven Standard Progressive Matrices was administered to a sample of 6,529 children in Kuwait ranging in age from 8 to 15 years. Test-retest reliability (N = 968) ranged between .69 and .85, while Cronbach coefficients alpha ranged from .88 to .93, showing from acceptable to good temporal stability and from good to high internal consistency. The loadings of the five sets of matrices on the only salient factor ranged from .73 to .89 indicating the good factorial validity of the scale. The rtest seems useful in the Kuwaiti context.}, } @article {pmid16002068, year = {2006}, author = {Chiba, A and Hosokawa, N}, title = {Effects of androgens and estrogens on crowings and distress callings in male Japanese quail, Coturnix japonica.}, journal = {Hormones and behavior}, volume = {49}, number = {1}, pages = {4-14}, doi = {10.1016/j.yhbeh.2005.05.020}, pmid = {16002068}, issn = {0018-506X}, mesh = {Aggression/drug effects ; Aging/physiology ; Androgens/*pharmacology ; Animals ; Body Weight/drug effects ; Cloaca/drug effects ; Coturnix/*physiology ; Dihydrotestosterone/pharmacology ; Estradiol/analogs & derivatives/pharmacology ; Estrogens/*pharmacology ; Female ; Male ; Organ Size/drug effects ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*drug effects ; Sexual Maturation/drug effects ; Testis/drug effects ; Testosterone Propionate/pharmacology ; Vocalization, Animal/*drug effects ; }, abstract = {In male Japanese quail, crowing behavior is considered to be strictly androgen-dependent. It was previously shown that in chicks, treatment with either testosterone or 5alpha-dihydrotestosterone (5alpha-DHT; a non-aromatizable androgen) induced crowing with motivation for distress calling in acutely isolated conditions. Many studies, however, have shown that the potencies of testosterone and 5alpha-DHT in activating crowing in castrated males are different. To clarify the effects of androgenic and estrogenic actions on the production of crows and distress calls, we injected quail daily from 11 to 42 days after hatching (Day 11 to 42) with testosterone propionate (TP), 5alpha-DHT, estradiol benzoate (EB) or vehicle and examined their calling behaviors both in a recording chamber (acutely isolated conditions) and in their home-cages (well-acclimated conditions). Both TP- and 5alpha-DHT-treated birds began to crow by Day 13 when isolated in the recording chamber. The TP-treated birds, however, crowed less frequently than 5alpha-DHT-treated ones. This, combined with the observations that distress calling was strongly inhibited in EB-treated birds, suggests that estrogen converted from testosterone may inhibit the motivation for distress calling. On the other hand, after chronic treatment of TP, but not of 5alpha-DHT, birds began to crow intensely in their home-cages earlier than vehicle treated controls, suggesting that estrogen is needed to initiate crowing behavior in sexually active males. Taken together, it is suggested that estrogenic actions affect the motivation underlying vocal behaviors, while the androgenic action is indispensable in generating crowing.}, } @article {pmid15866326, year = {2005}, author = {Jausovec, N and Jausovec, K}, title = {Differences in induced gamma and upper alpha oscillations in the human brain related to verbal/performance and emotional intelligence.}, journal = {International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology}, volume = {56}, number = {3}, pages = {223-235}, doi = {10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2004.12.005}, pmid = {15866326}, issn = {0167-8760}, mesh = {Adult ; Algorithms ; *Alpha Rhythm ; Brain/*physiology ; *Electroencephalography ; Emotions/*physiology ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence/*physiology ; Language ; Male ; Psychomotor Performance/*physiology ; Sex Characteristics ; Verbal Behavior/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Participating in the study were 30 respondents, who could be clustered as high-average verbal/performance intelligent (HIQ/AIQ), or emotionally intelligent (HEIQ/AEIQ). The EEG was recorded while students were performing two tasks: the Raven's advanced progressive matrices (RAPM), and identifying emotions in pictures (IDEM). Significant differences in event-related desynchronization/synchronization (ERD/ERS) related to verbal/performance intelligence were only observed while respondents solved the RAPM. The HIQ and AIQ groups displayed temporal and spatial differently induced gamma band activity. Significant differences in ERD/ERS related to emotional intelligence were only observed for the IDEM task. HEIQ individuals displayed more gamma band ERS and less upper alpha band ERD than did AEIQ individuals. It can be concluded that HIQ and HEIQ individuals employed more adequate strategies for solving the problems at hand. The results further suggest that emotional intelligence and verbal/performance intelligence represent distinct components of the cognitive architecture.}, } @article {pmid15851662, year = {2005}, author = {Håstad, O and Victorsson, J and Odeen, A}, title = {Differences in color vision make passerines less conspicuous in the eyes of their predators.}, journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America}, volume = {102}, number = {18}, pages = {6391-6394}, pmid = {15851662}, issn = {0027-8424}, mesh = {Adaptation, Physiological ; *Animal Communication ; Animals ; Color Perception/*physiology ; *Environment ; Feathers/*physiology ; Passeriformes/*physiology ; Pigmentation/*physiology ; *Selection, Genetic ; Sex Factors ; Species Specificity ; Spectrophotometry ; Sweden ; }, abstract = {Sexual selection often favors brighter and exaggerated traits, which also increase the risk of detection by predators. Signals that are preferentially conspicuous to conspecifics would reduce the predation cost of signaling and, therefore, might facilitate the evolution of stronger sexual and social signals. This selective signaling is possible if predators and prey have differently tuned sensory systems. By using a retinal model to compare reflectance from the plumages of Swedish songbirds to the reflectance of their natural backgrounds, we found their color badges to be significantly more conspicuous to other songbirds (which have a UV-tuned visual system) than to raptors and corvids (which have a violet-tuned system) in both coniferous and deciduous forests, consistent with an adaptive private communication system.}, } @article {pmid15831180, year = {2005}, author = {Ripley, K and Yuill, N}, title = {Patterns of language impairment and behaviour in boys excluded from school.}, journal = {The British journal of educational psychology}, volume = {75}, number = {Pt 1}, pages = {37-50}, doi = {10.1348/000709905X27696}, pmid = {15831180}, issn = {0007-0998}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Child ; Child Behavior Disorders/*epidemiology ; Child Language ; Humans ; Language Disorders/diagnosis/*epidemiology ; Language Tests ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Nonverbal Communication ; Student Dropouts/*statistics & numerical data ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: High levels of behaviour problems are found in children with language impairments, but less is known about the level and nature of language impairment in children with severe behavioural problems. In particular, previous data suggest that at primary age, receptive impairments are more closely related to behaviour problems, whereas expressive language has a closer link at a later age.

AIMS: The study assessed expressive and receptive language problems in boys excluded from primary and secondary schools, to investigate the extent of impairment, the pattern of relations between age, receptive and expressive language, and relations with different aspects of behaviour.

SAMPLE: Nineteen boys (8 - 16 years of age) who had been excluded from school and 19 non-excluded controls matched for age and school participated.

METHOD: The sample was given assessments of: receptive language from the British Picture Vocabulary Scale (BPVS), and Wechsler Objective Language Dimensions (WOLD); expressive-language evaluations from the Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children (WISC); auditory working memory evaluations from the Clinical Evaluation of Language Fundamentals (CELF); verbal reasoning (from the WISC); and non-verbal IQ assessments Raven's matrices. Teachers completed behaviour ratings using the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ).

RESULTS: Excluded boys were significantly poorer than controls on expressive measures but similar on receptive language and non-verbal IQ. Boys excluded from primary school were poorer than controls on auditory working memory. Expressive problems were linked with high levels of emotional symptoms.

CONCLUSION: Many of the excluded boys had previously unidentified language problems, supporting the need for early recognition and assessment of language in boys with behaviour problems. Expressive problems in particular may be a risk factor.}, } @article {pmid15729495, year = {2005}, author = {Rosci, C and Sacco, D and Laiacona, M and Capitani, E}, title = {Interpretation of a complex picture and its sensitivity to frontal damage: a reappraisal.}, journal = {Neurological sciences : official journal of the Italian Neurological Society and of the Italian Society of Clinical Neurophysiology}, volume = {25}, number = {6}, pages = {322-330}, doi = {10.1007/s10072-004-0365-6}, pmid = {15729495}, issn = {1590-1874}, mesh = {Adult ; Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Brain Damage, Chronic/diagnosis/*pathology/psychology ; Female ; Frontal Lobe/*pathology ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Neuropsychological Tests/statistics & numerical data ; Photic Stimulation/methods ; Pilot Projects ; *Portraits as Topic ; Sensitivity and Specificity ; Trail Making Test/statistics & numerical data ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; Visual Perception/*physiology ; }, abstract = {A. R. Luria introduced the interpretation of a meaningful picture as a tool for assessing pre-frontal impairment. We gave this test to 196 normal adults, who were asked to communicate what was happening in the portrayed scene (a boy chases a mouse hidden under a cupboard, while three frightened girls assist). The same subjects were given two other frontal tests (verbal fluency on phonemic cue and Trail Making Test (TMT)) and Raven's Matrices. Twenty-three normal subjects (12%) failed to correctly interpret the picture. We also examined 20 patients whose brain lesion encroached upon pre-frontal areas, in order to check if this version of the test could be easily administered to this type of patient, and if its difficulty level was appropriate for avoiding ceiling and floor effects. Twelve patients were unable to interpret the picture (60%). A similar failure rate was observed with the same subjects on verbal fluency and TMT, while Raven's Matrices were less impaired (35%). Some dissociation was found between Picture Interpretation and the TMT. The Italian version of the Picture Interpretation Test is suitable for the examination of pre-frontal patients.}, } @article {pmid15680688, year = {2005}, author = {Charlier, TD and Ball, GF and Balthazart, J}, title = {Sexual behavior activates the expression of the immediate early genes c-fos and Zenk (egr-1) in catecholaminergic neurons of male Japanese quail.}, journal = {Neuroscience}, volume = {131}, number = {1}, pages = {13-30}, doi = {10.1016/j.neuroscience.2004.09.068}, pmid = {15680688}, issn = {0306-4522}, support = {MH50388/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Animals ; Catecholamines/*physiology ; Coturnix/*physiology ; DNA-Binding Proteins/*genetics ; Early Growth Response Protein 1 ; *Gene Expression Regulation ; *Genes, fos ; Immediate-Early Proteins/*genetics ; Male ; Neurons/*physiology ; *Sexual Behavior, Animal ; Transcription Factors/*genetics ; }, abstract = {We analyzed the expression of the immediate early genes c-fos and Zenk (egr-1) in the brain of male quail that were gonadally intact (I) or castrated and treated (CX+T) or not (CX) with testosterone and had been exposed for 60 min either to a sexually mature female (F), or to an empty arena (EA) or were left in their home cage (HC). Alternate sections in the brains collected 90 min after the start of behavioral interactions were stained by immunocytochemistry for the proteins FOS or ZENK alone or in association with tyrosine hydroxylase (TH), a marker of catecholaminergic neurons. C-fos and Zenk expression was statistically increased in six brain areas of sexually active birds (I+F, CX+T+F) compared with controls (CX+F, CX+T+EA, CX+T+HC), i.e. the preoptic area, bed nucleus striae terminalis, arcopallium, nucleus intercollicularis, periaqueductal gray and the ventral tegmental area. Interestingly, c-fos and Zenk expression was high in the nucleus intercollicularis, a midbrain vocal control nucleus, of I+F and CX+T+F birds that displayed copulatory behavior but emitted few crows but not in the nucleus intercollicularis of CX+T+EA birds that crowed frequently. Increases in c-fos expression were observed in TH-immunoreactive cells in the periaqueductal gray and ventral tegmental area, but not in the substantia nigra, of I+F and CX+T+F birds indicating the activation of dopaminergic neurons during sexual behavior. Together, these data confirm the implication of the steroid-sensitive preoptic area and bed nucleus striae terminalis in the control of copulation and support the notion that dopamine is involved in its control.}, } @article {pmid15639383, year = {2005}, author = {Dahlin, CR and Balda, RP and Slobodchikoff, C}, title = {Food, audience and sex effects on pinyon jay (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) communication.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {68}, number = {1}, pages = {25-39}, doi = {10.1016/j.beproc.2004.09.003}, pmid = {15639383}, issn = {0376-6357}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; Birds ; Discrimination, Psychological ; Female ; Food ; Male ; Sex Factors ; Social Behavior ; Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Pinyon jays (Gymnorhinus cyanocephalus) have a complex social system that may require a complex communication system. They need to interact with multiple flock members, and they form life-long pair-bonds. We researched whether pinyon jays would selectively vocalize depending on the presence or absence of food and certain flock members. We recorded the vocalizations of nine pinyon jays (four pair-bonds and one single male) in response to different audience types. The calls of the test bird were recorded after it was given either an empty food cup or one containing 50 pinyon pine (Pinus edulis) seeds, and the bird was in the presence of one of the following audience types: (1) two males and two females including subject's mate; (2) two males and two females excluding subject's mate; (3) four males excluding mate; (4) three females excluding mate; and (5) no audience. Birds gave fewer calls when there was food. When alone, birds called in a manner that may maximize long-distance transmission. Trends indicate that birds call differently to their mate. A sex effect was also found in that males and females called in a distinct manner, possibly reflecting differences in dominance status. Overall, birds responded to the presence or absence of an audience.}, } @article {pmid15533553, year = {2004}, author = {Storms, G and Saerens, J and De Deyn, PP}, title = {Normative data for the Boston Naming Test in native Dutch-speaking Belgian children and the relation with intelligence.}, journal = {Brain and language}, volume = {91}, number = {3}, pages = {274-281}, doi = {10.1016/j.bandl.2004.03.005}, pmid = {15533553}, issn = {0093-934X}, mesh = {Belgium ; Child ; Culture ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; *Language ; Language Disorders/*diagnosis ; *Language Tests ; Male ; North America ; Semantics ; }, abstract = {This paper reports the results of a normative study of the 60-item version of the Boston Naming Test (BNT) in a group of 371 native Dutch-speaking Flemish children between the ages of 6 and 12 years. Analysis of test results revealed that BNT performance was significantly affected by age and gender. The gathered norms were shown to be significantly lower than published norms for comparable North-American children. Error analysis disclosed remarkable similarities with data from elderly subjects, with verbal semantic paraphasias and 'don't know' responses occurring most frequently. Finally, BNT scores were shown to correlate strongly with general intelligence as measured with the Raven Progressive Matrices. The relation between both measures can be of help in the diagnosis of identification naming deficits and impaired word-retrieval capacities.}, } @article {pmid15327911, year = {2004}, author = {Marx, G and Jurkevich, A and Grossmann, R}, title = {Effects of estrogens during embryonal development on crowing in the domestic fowl.}, journal = {Physiology & behavior}, volume = {82}, number = {4}, pages = {637-645}, doi = {10.1016/j.physbeh.2004.05.010}, pmid = {15327911}, issn = {0031-9384}, mesh = {Androgens/blood ; Animals ; Aromatase/metabolism ; Chick Embryo ; Chickens/*physiology ; Energy Metabolism/drug effects/physiology ; Enzyme Inhibitors/pharmacology ; Estradiol/biosynthesis/pharmacology ; Estrogen Antagonists/pharmacology ; Estrogens/*pharmacology ; Fadrozole/pharmacology ; Female ; Male ; Sex Characteristics ; Vocalization, Animal/*drug effects ; }, abstract = {In the domestic fowl, crowing is typically a male-specific vocal behavior while the females normally do not crow. These sex differences in vocalization may result from organizational actions of estrogens during specific periods of embryonic development. To further investigate the role of estrogens in differentiation of crowing and development of the acoustic characteristics of crow calls, male domestic fowls were treated on Incubation Day 8 with estradiol benzoate (EB) or either oil or saline vehicles. On the same incubation day, the female fowls were treated with an aromatase inhibitor, fadrozole, or saline vehicle. An adulthood vocalization of cocks and hens was recorded during corresponding tests of sexual behavior. The exposure to EB or fadrozole had no effect on sexual differentiation of the gonads and all fadrozole-treated hens laid eggs at a rate similar to the control hens that received saline. While the levels of plasma testosterone at adulthood did not differ in treated and untreated cocks, the incidence of crowing rate was significantly lower in cocks that were exposed to estradiol. Acoustic analysis revealed a considerable reduction in duration and acoustic energy of calls while the main frequency characteristics were not changed. Four out of the seven tested fadrozole-treated hens demonstrated regularly crow-like vocalization with shorter duration and lower energy of calls in comparison to crows of the control males. These findings point out to a role for estradiol in organization of crowing behavior and a specific temporal pattern of the crowing call.}, } @article {pmid15315684, year = {2004}, author = {Bhagabati, NK and Brown, JL and Bowen, BS}, title = {Geographic variation in Mexican jays (Aphelocoma ultramarina): local differentiation, polyphyly or hybridization?.}, journal = {Molecular ecology}, volume = {13}, number = {9}, pages = {2721-2734}, doi = {10.1111/j.1365-294X.2004.02290.x}, pmid = {15315684}, issn = {0962-1083}, mesh = {Animals ; Base Sequence ; Beak/growth & development ; Body Constitution ; Cluster Analysis ; DNA Primers ; Gene Frequency ; *Genetic Variation ; Geography ; *Hybridization, Genetic ; Locus Control Region/genetics ; Mexico ; Microsatellite Repeats/genetics ; Molecular Sequence Data ; Ovum/physiology ; *Phylogeny ; Sequence Analysis, DNA ; Social Behavior ; Songbirds/*genetics ; Species Specificity ; Vocalization, Animal/physiology ; }, abstract = {Studies of genetic variation within highly variable taxa can provide valuable insight into the factors influencing biological diversification. We examined six microsatellite loci, a nuclear intron and the mitochondrial control region to determine if the Mexican jay subspecies Aphelocoma ultramarina couchii and A. u. potosina have hybridized with western scrub-jays (A. californica). We suspected hybridization because these Mexican Jay populations resemble scrub-jays in several traits. We sampled six Mexican jay (N = 105) and four scrub-jay (N = 78) populations. Suspected hybrid Mexican Jay populations did not share any mitochondrial types or intron alleles with scrub-jays. All microsatellite alleles found in the suspected hybrid Mexican jay populations are also found in the control Mexican jay populations. Genetic distance-based trees from microsatellites supported reciprocal monophyly of Mexican jays and scrub-jays with bootstrap support > 80%. We randomized genotypes among populations to test scenarios consistent with hybridization. In some areas where Mexican jays and scrub-jays occur in sympatry or geographical proximity, randomization tests yield results expected under hybridization (100% support for seven of nine scenarios). However, these populations were not the primary candidates for hybridization based on phenotype. Even if low-level hybridization did occur, hybridization does not appear to be the main reason some Mexican jay populations resemble scrub-jays more than others. The scrub-jay-like traits in these populations may be due to drift, adaptation or plasticity. Alternatively, ancient hybridization, followed by selection for scrub-jay like traits in some Mexican jay populations, might have given rise to the observed variation.}, } @article {pmid15291199, year = {2004}, author = {Shaunessy, E and Karnes, FA and Cobb, Y}, title = {Assessing potentially gifted students from lower socioeconomic status with nonverbal measures of intelligence.}, journal = {Perceptual and motor skills}, volume = {98}, number = {3 Pt 2}, pages = {1129-1138}, doi = {10.2466/pms.98.3c.1129-1138}, pmid = {15291199}, issn = {0031-5125}, mesh = {Child ; *Child, Gifted ; Culture ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; Intelligence Tests ; Male ; *Nonverbal Communication ; Socioeconomic Factors ; *Students ; }, abstract = {The screening and identification of gifted students has historically been conducted using verbal measures of intelligence. However, the underrepresentation in gifted programs of culturally diverse children, who may have limited English proficiency or cultural values different from those measured in traditional intelligence tests, has prompted researchers to consider other measures. Nonverbal measures of intelligence have been utilized to increase the number of gifted children from diverse backgrounds. Researchers in the current study sought to increase the number of culturally diverse gifted students at a rural public school enrolling predominantly African-American students from low socioeconomic homes. 169 students in Grades 2 through 6 were assessed using three nonverbal measures of intelligence: the Culture-Fair Intelligence Test, the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test, and the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices. The scores on these nonverbal measures indicated that the Culture-Fair Intelligence Test and the Raven Standard Progressive Matrices identified more students than the Naglieri Nonverbal Abilities Test. A discussion of the results and implications for research are presented.}, } @article {pmid15118882, year = {2004}, author = {Formisano, R and Carlesimo, GA and Sabbadini, M and Loasses, A and Penta, F and Vinicola, V and Caltagirone, C}, title = {Clinical predictors and neuropsychological outcome in severe traumatic brain injury patients.}, journal = {Acta neurochirurgica}, volume = {146}, number = {5}, pages = {457-462}, doi = {10.1007/s00701-004-0225-4}, pmid = {15118882}, issn = {0001-6268}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain Injuries/complications/*physiopathology/psychology ; Case-Control Studies ; Cognition/*physiology ; Coma, Post-Head Injury/etiology/physiopathology/psychology ; Enteral Nutrition ; Female ; Glasgow Outcome Scale ; Humans ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Recovery of Function ; Time Factors ; Treatment Outcome ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: The aim of the study was to evaluate the possible significant role of some clinical factors in predicting cognitive outcome in a group of severe traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients, with Glasgow Coma Scale (GCS) lower than 8 and duration of unconsciousness for at least 15 days (prolonged coma).

METHOD: A consecutive sample of 25 survivors of severe TBI attending the Physical and Cognitive Rehabilitation program participated in this study. The neuropsychological test battery included: Word-list Learning, Prose recall, Rey Figure Delayed recall, Word fluency, Raven's Progressive Matrices' 47. The clinical variables evaluated in correlation with the neuropsychological outcome were the following: age, duration of unconsciousness, duration of post-traumatic amnesia, interval from head trauma to neuropsychological evaluation, interval from head trauma to recovery of oral feeding, and finally interval from head trauma to first verbal communication.

FINDINGS: The clinical variable with a significant predictive value on most neuropsychological scores was the interval from head trauma to the recovery of oral feeding.

CONCLUSIONS: If this result is confirmed in larger samples, time interval of oral feeding recovery from head trauma should be considered as a possible predictor of neuropsychological outcome in TBI patients with prolonged coma.}, } @article {pmid14967548, year = {2004}, author = {Langdon, R and Coltheart, M}, title = {Recognition of metaphor and irony in young adults: the impact of schizotypal personality traits.}, journal = {Psychiatry research}, volume = {125}, number = {1}, pages = {9-20}, doi = {10.1016/j.psychres.2003.10.005}, pmid = {14967548}, issn = {0165-1781}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Female ; Humans ; *Language ; Male ; *Metaphor ; Phobic Disorders/psychology ; *Recognition, Psychology ; Schizotypal Personality Disorder/diagnosis/*psychology ; Semantics ; Severity of Illness Index ; *Speech Perception ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; Wechsler Scales ; *Wit and Humor as Topic ; }, abstract = {Patients with schizophrenia demonstrate two dissociable impairments of pragmatic language comprehension: (1) an insensitivity to irony, which is associated with poor theory-of-mind (i.e. a difficulty with inferring other people's thoughts); and (2) poor recognition of metaphors, which may reflect degraded semantics. This study investigated whether non-clinical high-schizotypal adults show similar impairments of pragmatic language. Thirty-six university students completed the Raine Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire, the Wechsler Memory Scale Logical-Memories subtest, Raven's Progressive Matrices and a story comprehension task that tested the ability to discriminate between incongruous statements and appropriate uses of ironical, metaphorical or literal speech. Counter to the pattern found for patients, high-schizotypal adults were just as capable as low-schizotypal adults of identifying appropriate metaphors, suggesting a discontinuity between schizophrenia and schizotypy for the metaphor-recognition problem. This study's finding of intact metaphor recognition in high-schizotypal adults contrasts with previous findings of poor proverb comprehension in these individuals and is interpreted in terms of different semantic processes required for recognizing and interpreting metaphors. Consistent with the pattern found for patients, high-schizotypal adults were significantly impaired in their ability to appreciate when a literally contradictory utterance could be interpreted as ironical, suggesting continuity between schizophrenia and schizotypy for the irony-appreciation problem.}, } @article {pmid14700386, year = {2003}, author = {Hustad, KC and Jones, T and Dailey, S}, title = {Implementing speech supplementation strategies: effects on intelligibility and speech rate of individuals with chronic severe dysarthria.}, journal = {Journal of speech, language, and hearing research : JSLHR}, volume = {46}, number = {2}, pages = {462-474}, pmid = {14700386}, issn = {1092-4388}, mesh = {Adult ; Analysis of Variance ; Cerebral Palsy/complications ; Communication Aids for Disabled ; Dysarthria/etiology/physiopathology/*therapy ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Reproducibility of Results ; *Speech Acoustics ; *Speech Intelligibility ; Speech Therapy/*methods ; }, abstract = {A growing body of experimental research suggests that speech supplementation strategies can markedly increase speech intelligibility for individuals with dysarthria (D. Beukelman & K. Yorkston, 1977; E. Crow & P. Enderby, 1989; L. Hunter, T. Pring, & S. Martin, 1991; K. C. Hustad & D. R. Beukelman, 2001). However, studies in which speech supplementation strategies were actually implemented by speakers with dysarthria are limited, leaving their clinical efficacy unknown. The present study compared intelligibility and speech rate differences following speaker implementation of 3 strategies (topic, alphabet, and combined topic and alphabet supplementation) and a habitual (noncued) speech control condition for 5 speakers with severe dysarthria. Results revealed that combined cues and alphabet cues yielded significantly higher intelligibility scores and slower speech rates than topic cues and noncued speech. Overall, topic cues and noncued speech did not differ from one another with regard to intelligibility or speech rate. Combined cues and alphabet cues did not differ from one another with regard to intelligibility; however, speech rate was significantly different between the 2 strategies. Individual differences among speakers were generally consistent with group findings. Results were somewhat different from previous research in which strategies were experimentally superimposed on the habitual speech signal. However, findings provide evidence that alphabet cues and combined cues can have an important effect on intelligibility for speakers with severe dysarthria.}, } @article {pmid14658059, year = {2004}, author = {Griffin, DR and Speck, GB}, title = {New evidence of animal consciousness.}, journal = {Animal cognition}, volume = {7}, number = {1}, pages = {5-18}, doi = {10.1007/s10071-003-0203-x}, pmid = {14658059}, issn = {1435-9448}, mesh = {Animal Communication ; Animals ; Awareness ; *Behavior, Animal ; *Consciousness ; }, abstract = {This paper reviews evidence that increases the probability that many animals experience at least simple levels of consciousness. First, the search for neural correlates of consciousness has not found any consciousness-producing structure or process that is limited to human brains. Second, appropriate responses to novel challenges for which the animal has not been prepared by genetic programming or previous experience provide suggestive evidence of animal consciousness because such versatility is most effectively organized by conscious thinking. For example, certain types of classical conditioning require awareness of the learned contingency in human subjects, suggesting comparable awareness in similarly conditioned animals. Other significant examples of versatile behavior suggestive of conscious thinking are scrub jays that exhibit all the objective attributes of episodic memory, evidence that monkeys sometimes know what they know, creative tool-making by crows, and recent interpretation of goal-directed behavior of rats as requiring simple nonreflexive consciousness. Third, animal communication often reports subjective experiences. Apes have demonstrated increased ability to use gestures or keyboard symbols to make requests and answer questions; and parrots have refined their ability to use the imitation of human words to ask for things they want and answer moderately complex questions. New data have demonstrated increased flexibility in the gestural communication of swarming honey bees that leads to vitally important group decisions as to which cavity a swarm should select as its new home. Although no single piece of evidence provides absolute proof of consciousness, this accumulation of strongly suggestive evidence increases significantly the likelihood that some animals experience at least simple conscious thoughts and feelings. The next challenge for cognitive ethologists is to investigate for particular animals the content of their awareness and what life is actually like, for them.}, } @article {pmid12953359, year = {2003}, author = {Howe, EG}, title = {Lessons from "Jay Carter".}, journal = {The Journal of clinical ethics}, volume = {14}, number = {1-2}, pages = {109-117}, pmid = {12953359}, issn = {1046-7890}, mesh = {Asperger Syndrome/psychology/therapy ; Beneficence ; Guidelines as Topic ; Humans ; Informed Consent/*ethics ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Narration ; Periodicals as Topic ; Personal Autonomy ; Physician-Patient Relations/*ethics ; Psychiatry/*ethics ; Publishing/*ethics ; }, } @article {pmid12826731, year = {2003}, author = {Searcy, YM and Caine, NG}, title = {Hawk calls elicit alarm and defensive reactions in captive Geoffroy's marmosets (Callithrix geoffroyi).}, journal = {Folia primatologica; international journal of primatology}, volume = {74}, number = {3}, pages = {115-125}, doi = {10.1159/000070645}, pmid = {12826731}, issn = {0015-5713}, mesh = {Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Behavior, Animal/*physiology ; Callithrix/*physiology/psychology ; Female ; Male ; Motor Activity ; Predatory Behavior ; Raptors/*physiology ; Reflex, Startle ; Tape Recording ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Most descriptions of callitrichid antipredator behavior have come from observations of visual encounters with predators, but there is also anecdotal evidence suggesting that callitrichids may use auditory cues associated with raptors for the early detection of potential danger. In the present study, Geoffroy's marmosets consistently reacted to the tape-recorded calls of a red-tailed hawk (Buteo jamaicensis) with high-intensity antipredator behaviors. Compared to the taped calls of a raven (Corvus corax) and the taped sound of a power drill, the hawk calls elicited more startle reactions, more alarm calls, longer freeze times, increased use of safe areas of their enclosure and greater disruption in ongoing behavior. Once in a relatively safe location in the enclosure, the marmosets visually monitored the site of origin of the calls for 10 min and minimized locomotion for 30 min, but resumed baseline levels of other activities that had been disrupted by the hawk calls. Marmosets may use the auditory cues associated with predators for early detection, and subsequent avoidance, of a potential predator in the vicinity.}, } @article {pmid12737666, year = {2003}, author = {Hunt, GR and Gray, RD}, title = {Diversification and cumulative evolution in New Caledonian crow tool manufacture.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {270}, number = {1517}, pages = {867-874}, pmid = {12737666}, issn = {0962-8452}, mesh = {Animal Communication ; Animals ; *Behavior, Animal ; *Biological Evolution ; Birds/*physiology ; Environment ; Manufactured Materials ; Mental Processes ; New Caledonia ; *Technology ; }, abstract = {Many animals use tools but only humans are generally considered to have the cognitive sophistication required for cumulative technological evolution. Three important characteristics of cumulative technological evolution are: (i) the diversification of tool design; (ii) cumulative change; and (iii) high-fidelity social transmission. We present evidence that crows have diversified and cumulatively changed the design of their pandanus tools. In 2000 we carried out an intensive survey in New Caledonia to establish the geographical variation in the manufacture of these tools. We documented the shapes of 5550 tools from 21 sites throughout the range of pandanus tool manufacture. We found three distinct pandanus tool designs: wide tools, narrow tools and stepped tools. The lack of ecological correlates of the three tool designs and their different, continuous and overlapping geographical distributions make it unlikely that they evolved independently. The similarities in the manufacture method of each design further suggest that pandanus tools have gone through a process of cumulative change from a common historical origin. We propose a plausible scenario for this rudimentary cumulative evolution.}, } @article {pmid12735938, year = {2003}, author = {Noveck, IA and Posada, A}, title = {Characterizing the time course of an implicature: an evoked potentials study.}, journal = {Brain and language}, volume = {85}, number = {2}, pages = {203-210}, doi = {10.1016/s0093-934x(03)00053-1}, pmid = {12735938}, issn = {0093-934X}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Brain/physiology ; Electroencephalography ; Electrooculography ; Evoked Potentials/*physiology ; Functional Laterality/physiology ; Humans ; Language ; Reaction Time ; *Semantics ; Speech Perception ; }, abstract = {This work employs Evoked Potential techniques as 19 participants are confronted with sentences that have the potential to produce scalar implicatures, like in Some elephants have trunks. Such an Underinformative utterance is of interest to pragmatists because it can be considered to have two different truth values. It can be considered true when taken at face value but false if one were to treat Some with the implicature Not All. Two accounts of implicature production are compared. The neo-Gricean approach (e.g., Levinson, 2000) assumes that implicatures intrude automatically on the semantics of a term like Some. Relevance Theory (Sperber & Wilson, 1985/1996) assumes that implicatures are effortful and not automatic. In this experiment, the participants are presented with 25 Underinformative sentences along with 25 sentences that are Patently True (e.g. Some houses have bricks) and 25 that are Patently False (e.g. Some crows have radios). As reported in an earlier study (Noveck, 2001), Underinformative sentences prompt strong individual differences. Seven participants here responded true to all (or nearly all) of the Underinformative sentences and the remaining 12 responded false to all (or nearly all) of them. The present study showed that those who responded false to the Underinformative sentences took significantly longer to do so that those who responded true. The ERP data indicate that: (a) the Patently True and Patently False sentences prompt steeper N400's--indicating greater semantic integration--than the Underinformative sentences and that (b) regardless of one's ultimate response to the Underinformative sentences, the N400's were remarkably flat, indicating no particular reaction to these sentences. Collectively, the data are taken to show that implicatures are part of a late-arriving, effort-demanding decision process.}, } @article {pmid12592404, year = {2003}, author = {Gray, JR and Chabris, CF and Braver, TS}, title = {Neural mechanisms of general fluid intelligence.}, journal = {Nature neuroscience}, volume = {6}, number = {3}, pages = {316-322}, doi = {10.1038/nn1014}, pmid = {12592404}, issn = {1097-6256}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Attention/physiology ; Brain/*physiology ; Brain Mapping ; Choice Behavior ; Cognition/physiology ; Conflict, Psychological ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence/*physiology ; Intelligence Tests ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Memory, Short-Term/physiology ; Multivariate Analysis ; Parietal Lobe/physiology ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Prefrontal Cortex/physiology ; Problem Solving/*physiology ; Reference Values ; Regression Analysis ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {We used an individual-differences approach to test whether general fluid intelligence (gF) is mediated by brain regions that support attentional (executive) control, including subregions of the prefrontal cortex. Forty-eight participants first completed a standard measure of gF (Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices). They then performed verbal and nonverbal versions of a challenging working-memory task (three-back) while their brain activity was measured using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Trials within the three-back task varied greatly in the demand for attentional control because of differences in trial-to-trial interference. On high-interference trials specifically, participants with higher gF were more accurate and had greater event-related neural activity in several brain regions. Multiple regression analyses indicated that lateral prefrontal and parietal regions may mediate the relation between ability (gF) and performance (accuracy despite interference), providing constraints on the neural mechanisms that support gF.}, } @article {pmid12475131, year = {2002}, author = {Suutama, T and Ruoppila, I and Stig, B}, title = {Changes in cognitive functioning from 75 to 80 years of age: a 5-year follow-up in two Nordic localities.}, journal = {Aging clinical and experimental research}, volume = {14}, number = {3 Suppl}, pages = {29-36}, pmid = {12475131}, issn = {1594-0667}, mesh = {Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Aging/*psychology ; *Cognition ; Demography ; Female ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; Intelligence ; Male ; Memory ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Psychometrics/methods ; Psychomotor Performance ; Scandinavian and Nordic Countries ; Thinking ; Verbal Behavior ; Visual Perception ; }, abstract = {The purpose of the study was to analyze changes and stability in cognitive functions among older persons aged from 75 to 80 years, as well as differences in this development between two Nordic localities. The number of subjects taking part in the follow-up phase was 188 in Jyväskylä, Finland, and 184 in Göteborg, Sweden. Cognitive functions were assessed using conventional memory tests (Digit Span Forward and Backward for assessing primary working memory; Visual Reproduction for visual memory) and intelligence tests (Digit Symbol for assessing psychomotor speed; Word Fluency for verbal ability; Raven's Matrices for non-verbal reasoning). With few exceptions, the mean test scores declined significantly among the retested men and women in both localities. Analyses showed that generally over half of the subjects maintained their level of performance over the 5-year period, while a part of the deteriorating minority had a steep decline. There were significant differences in the test performance between the localities both at the baseline and follow-up assessments, but few differences between women and men. On the whole, however, the groups of older women and men from the two Nordic localities had a similar pattern of cognitive development from 75 to 80 years of age.}, } @article {pmid12436396, year = {2002}, author = {Rivero Martinez, E and Pascual Castroviejo, I}, title = {[Joubert syndrome. Report of four cases with a favourable evolution].}, journal = {Revista de neurologia}, volume = {35}, number = {10}, pages = {918-921}, pmid = {12436396}, issn = {0210-0010}, mesh = {Ataxia/complications/*physiopathology ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Ocular Motility Disorders/complications/*physiopathology ; Prognosis ; Psychomotor Disorders/complications/*physiopathology ; Syndrome ; Telencephalon/*abnormalities ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: To present 4 patients with Joubert syndrome who had a favourable evolution as well as to show that many cases have better prognosis than it is usually though.

CASE REPORT: Anamnesis, image and psychological studies of 4 children with Joubert syndrome, who had been seen in the Pediatric Neurology Service of the University Hospital La Paz of Madrid.

RESULTS: Four of our 11 patients with Joubert syndrome (36.36%) presented a favourable evolution. Their age ranged between 25 months old and 12 years old. The comprehensive language corresponded to their ages in 3 patients. Two patients began to talk at 19 and 20 months respectively. Three children exhibited a normal language and 1 only communicated by gestures at the time of the last clinical study. All the four children walked without help. The mental level was calculated by the Raven scale in 2 cases and they showed a borderline intellectual quotient (IQ). Both patients were self sufficient in their daily cleanliness and feeding. A patient was able to read, to write and to make mathematical calculi.

CONCLUSIONS: The Joubert syndrome is a heterogeneous disease from the clinic and genetics points of view, as well as in the evolution. Because of that, an attentive neuropsychological evaluation is necessary before giving the prognosis of the children.}, } @article {pmid12210104, year = {2002}, author = {Shaw, BK and Kennedy, GG}, title = {Evidence for species differences in the pattern of androgen receptor distribution in relation to species differences in an androgen-dependent behavior.}, journal = {Journal of neurobiology}, volume = {52}, number = {3}, pages = {203-220}, doi = {10.1002/neu.10079}, pmid = {12210104}, issn = {0022-3034}, mesh = {Animals ; Behavior, Animal/*physiology ; Chickens ; Chimera ; Coturnix ; Immunohistochemistry ; Mesencephalon/*chemistry/physiology ; Receptors, Androgen/*analysis ; Rhombencephalon/*chemistry/physiology ; Species Specificity ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) and Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica), two closely related gallinaceous bird species, exhibit a form of vocalization-crowing-which differs between the species in two components: its temporal acoustic pattern and its accompanying postural motor pattern. Previous work utilizing the quail-chick chimera technique demonstrated that the species-specific characteristics of the two crow components are determined by distinct brain structures: the midbrain confers the acoustic pattern, and the caudal hindbrain confers the postural pattern. Crowing is induced by androgens, acting directly on androgen receptors. As a strategy for identifying candidate neurons in the midbrain and caudal hindbrain that could be involved in crow production, we performed immunocytochemistry for androgen receptors in these brain regions in both species. We also investigated midbrain-to-hindbrain vocal-motor projections. In the midbrain, both species showed prominent androgen receptor immunoreactivity in the nucleus intercollicularis, as had been reported in previous studies. In the caudal hindbrain, we discovered characteristic species differences in the pattern of androgen receptor distribution. Chickens, but not quail, showed strong immunoreactivity in the tracheosyringeal division of the hypoglossal nucleus, whereas quail, but not chickens, possessed strong immunoreactivity in a region of the ventrolateral medulla. Some of these differences in hindbrain androgen receptor distribution may be related to the species differences in the postural component of crowing behavior. The results of the present study imply that the spatial distribution of receptor proteins can vary even between closely related species. Such variation in receptor distribution could underlie the evolution of species differences in behavior.}, } @article {pmid12013662, year = {2002}, author = {Smirnova, AA and Lazareva, OF and Zorina, ZA}, title = {[Prototype symbolization in hooded crows].}, journal = {Zhurnal vysshei nervnoi deiatelnosti imeni I P Pavlova}, volume = {52}, number = {2}, pages = {241-254}, pmid = {12013662}, issn = {0044-4677}, mesh = {*Animal Communication ; Animals ; Birds/*physiology ; }, abstract = {The ability in prototype symbolization was studied in four crows trained in matching concept. The experimental approach was characterized by the absence of direct training providing an association between the pictured arrays and Arabic numerals. Experimental sessions were divided into demonstrative and test phases. In the demonstrative phases, the sample and the reinforced stimulus belonged to the same category: if the sample was a pictured array, the reinforced stimulus was also the pictured array, if the sample was a numeral, the reinforced stimulus was likewise a numeral. Matching-to-sample competence was sufficient to perform this task successfully. In case of a correct choice a crow received some mealworms, their number was equal to the number of items in the pictured array or the Arabic numeral. In the test phases, the sample and the comparison stimuli were of different categories. If the sample was a pictured array, the comparison stimuli were numerals; if the sample was a numeral, the comparisons were the pictured arrays. Such tests required the birds to choose a numeric symbol corresponding to the pictured array or to choose the array of pictured items numerically equal to the Arabic symbol. All four crows performed this task successfully. Birds were able to set up a correspondence between the Arabic numeral from 1 to 4 and the number of elements in pictured arrays by way of mental juxtaposition of the earlier received information. Similar experiments showed that crows are likely to be able to perform mental operations with numerals analogous to simple arithmetic addition.}, } @article {pmid11962141, year = {2002}, author = {Galloro, V}, title = {Unexpected turn of events. After a five-year battle, an appeals court overturns the fraud convictions of two former Columbia/HCA executives.}, journal = {Modern healthcare}, volume = {32}, number = {13}, pages = {6-7, 16, 1}, pmid = {11962141}, issn = {0160-7480}, mesh = {Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, U.S. ; Disclosure ; Florida ; Fraud/*legislation & jurisprudence ; Hospital Administrators/*legislation & jurisprudence ; Hospitals, Proprietary/economics/legislation & jurisprudence ; Medicare/*legislation & jurisprudence ; United States ; }, abstract = {For former Columbia/HCA executives Jay Jarrell and Robert Whiteside, the overturning of their 1999 fraud convictions was a get-out-of-jail-free card. A federal appeals court ruled that the government didn't prove its case against them and that the rules they were meant to follow were confusing. And if the government didn't prove its case here, what does this judgment mean for other fraud cases?}, } @article {pmid11836903, year = {2002}, author = {Range, P}, title = {Video communication visions.}, journal = {Health estate}, volume = {56}, number = {1}, pages = {30-31}, pmid = {11836903}, mesh = {Europe ; Hospital Communication Systems ; Hotlines ; Information Centers ; *Information Systems ; State Medicine/organization & administration ; Systems Integration ; Telecommunications/*trends ; United Kingdom ; Videotape Recording/*trends ; }, abstract = {In a recent study, entitled: Study on the Use of Advanced Telecoms by Healthcare Establishments, commissioned by the Information Society Directorate General of the European Commission, it was emphasised that: "Telecommunications networks and services are central to the achievement of seamless care, where patients' needs are addressed smoothly and efficiently, by whatever services they need, as and when they need it." Video communications, as part of an integrated information and communications strategy, has the capability to provide a continuum of care throughout a person's lifespan--from the cradle to the grave. Moreover in the future, video-enabled healthcare will help the government redesign the health service around the patient. It is a fast developing area and estate managers will need to be part of any implementation strategy, as exemplified in the IP network being developed across the Welsh healthcare estate. Motion Media is a founding member of the UK e-Health Association, a circle member of the American Telemedicine Association and a member of the European Health Telematics Association (EHTEL). The company was chosen recently by the EHTEL to run the first approved Telehealth demonstration centre in Europe. In October 2001 Motion Media appointed Dr Jay Sanders as its Consulting Medical Director. Dr Sanders is known throughout the US healthcare industry as the "Father of Telemedicine."}, } @article {pmid11757995, year = {2001}, author = {Bischoff, K and Morgan, S and Chelsvig, J and Spencer, D}, title = {4-aminopyridine poisoning of crows in the Chicago area.}, journal = {Veterinary and human toxicology}, volume = {43}, number = {6}, pages = {350-352}, pmid = {11757995}, issn = {0145-6296}, mesh = {4-Aminopyridine/*poisoning ; Animals ; Bird Diseases/*chemically induced ; Fatal Outcome ; Female ; Potassium Channel Blockers/*poisoning ; Seizures/chemically induced ; *Songbirds ; Vocalization, Animal ; Zea mays/chemistry ; }, abstract = {Poisoning of crows with the avicide 4-aminopyridine is reported. Seven crows had frequent vocalization and nervous signs; 6 died. Postmortem examination of 4 found evidence of trauma and corn-based bait present in the gastrointestinal tract. The bait contained 4-aminopyridine, a rapidly fatal nervous system toxin. When utilized by pest control professionals using manufacturer's recommendations, 4-aminopyridine has little risk of direct or relay toxicosis to non-target species. Treatment of exposed individuals involves symptomatic care and control of seizures.}, } @article {pmid11712954, year = {2001}, author = {Wilson, BA and Gracey, F and Bainbridge, K}, title = {Cognitive recovery from "persistent vegetative state": psychological and personal perspectives.}, journal = {Brain injury}, volume = {15}, number = {12}, pages = {1083-1092}, doi = {10.1080/02699050110082197}, pmid = {11712954}, issn = {0269-9052}, mesh = {Adult ; Cognition Disorders/etiology/*psychology/*rehabilitation ; Encephalomyelitis/complications/psychology/rehabilitation ; Female ; Humans ; Persistent Vegetative State/etiology/*psychology/*rehabilitation ; Psychological Tests ; }, abstract = {This study reports on the case of a young woman who, at the age of 26, developed a severe encephalomyelopathy and was in a vegetative state or minimally conscious state for 6 months. She showed a sleep-wake cycle, but no evidence of cognitive functioning. Six months after her illness, she began to respond to her environment and eventually returned home to the care of her parents, with regular periods of respite care in a home for people with severe physical disabilities. She remains in a wheelchair with a severe dysarthria and communicates via a letter board. Two years after her illness, staff at the home requested an assessment of her cognitive functioning. On the WAIS-R verbal scale and the Raven's Progressive Matrices, the woman's scores were in the normal range. So too were her recognition of real versus nonsense words and her memory functioning (apart from a visual recognition memory test which was in the impaired range). Although she enjoyed the tests, she became distressed when asked about her illness and previous hospitalization. She was reassessed 1 year later, when there were few significant changes in her test scores but she could talk about her illness and hospitalization without becoming distressed. She was angry, however, about her experiences in the first hospital. Further tests suggested good executive functioning. In short, this woman's cognitive functioning is in the normal range for most tasks assessed, despite a severe physical disability and dysarthria, and despite the fact that she was vegetative for 6 months. Although some recovery following 6 months of being vegetative/minimally conscious is not unknown, it is rare, particularly for those with non-traumatic injuries, and the majority of people similarly affected remain with significant cognitive deficits. This client has, by and large, made an almost complete cognitive recovery. She feels positive about her life now and says the formal assessment showed people she was not stupid and this made her happy. The paper concludes with the young woman's own comments and views about what happened to her and her present feelings.}, } @article {pmid11672936, year = {2001}, author = {Derégnaucourt, S and Guyomarc'h, J and Richard, V}, title = {Classification of hybrid crows in quail using artificial neural networks.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {56}, number = {2}, pages = {103-112}, doi = {10.1016/s0376-6357(01)00188-7}, pmid = {11672936}, issn = {1872-8308}, abstract = {In galliforms, calls are strongly determined genetically and no influence of learning has ever been demonstrated. Hybridization is a useful tool for investigating patterns of heritability. The vocal repertoire of the European quail (Coturnix c. coturnix) and of the Japanese quail (C. c. japonica) are similar except for their crows. The European quail possesses two forms of crows and the Japanese quail only one form. We produced hybrids from the following crosses; F(1), F(2) and backcrosses. Visual analysis of spectrograms showed that hybrid crows presented all intermediaries between the three forms of crows produced by the two subspecies. According to the level of analysis of a crow, visual classifications of spectrograms probably include some subjectivity. Artificial Neural Networks (ANN) are now widely used as a powerful classification technique in behavioural sciences. We trained an ANN to recognize the three crows of the two subspecies. Then we analysed its classification of hybrid crows. The ANN revealed important inter-individual variability between the crows of the F(1) and the F(2) crosses. Birds issued from backcrosses produced crows similar to those of the European quail to which they were backcrossed. This study confirms that ANN is a useful tool to classify spectrograms rapidly.}, } @article {pmid11574436, year = {2001}, author = {McAulay, V and Deary, IJ and Ferguson, SC and Frier, BM}, title = {Acute hypoglycemia in humans causes attentional dysfunction while nonverbal intelligence is preserved.}, journal = {Diabetes care}, volume = {24}, number = {10}, pages = {1745-1750}, doi = {10.2337/diacare.24.10.1745}, pmid = {11574436}, issn = {0149-5992}, mesh = {Adult ; *Attention ; Blood Glucose/analysis ; Cognition Disorders/*etiology ; Female ; Glucose Clamp Technique ; Hearing ; Humans ; Hyperinsulinism ; Hypoglycemia/*complications ; *Intelligence ; Male ; Memory ; Verbal Behavior ; Vision, Ocular ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVE: Experimentally induced hypoglycemia in humans causes progressive but reversible cognitive dysfunction, but it is not known to what extent neuropsychological tests index abilities of cognitive functioning that are important in everyday life. This study examines the effects of acute insulin-induced hypoglycemia on attention and intelligence in nondiabetic humans.

RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: A hyperinsulinemic glucose clamp was used to achieve controlled euglycemia (4.50 [0.22] mmol/l) and hypoglycemia (blood glucose 2.59 [0.19] mmol/l) in 20 healthy volunteers. Subjects were studied on two occasions in a counterbalanced order. During each study condition, subjects completed parallel tests of cognitive function. Cognitive function was assessed by the Test of Everyday Attention and Raven's Progressive Matrices.

RESULTS: Hypoglycemia induced a significant deterioration in tests sensitive to both visual and auditory selective attention. During hypoglycemia, attentional flexibility deteriorated and speed of information processing was delayed. Sustained attention was preserved and intelligence scores did not deteriorate during hypoglycemia.

CONCLUSIONS: During hypoglycemia, a significant deterioration occurs in attentional abilities, whereas fluid intelligence is preserved. On the basis of these results, it can be surmised that many complex attention tasks relevant to everyday life are impaired during moderate hypoglycemia.}, } @article {pmid11560686, year = {2000}, author = {Emerson, J and Enderby, P}, title = {Concerns of speech-impaired people and those communicating with them.}, journal = {Health & social care in the community}, volume = {8}, number = {3}, pages = {172-179}, doi = {10.1046/j.1365-2524.2000.00240.x}, pmid = {11560686}, issn = {1365-2524}, abstract = {This study investigated the perception and experiences of people with speech impairments and of the general public when communicating with speech impaired people. The aim was to identify the actual concerns of people and factors that make communication easier or more difficult, to inform treatment programmes and information. A triangulated approach was used. Discussion groups were held with members of the public, in-depth interviews were conducted with speech-impaired people and an experimental study examined encounters between speech-impaired people and shop workers. In a partial replication of the work of Crow (1988) the views of speech-impaired people were elicited by a questionnaire. Concerns identified in group discussions related to the importance of time and the need for information. The experiment suggested that the type of speech impairment might influence attitudes. Findings from the questionnaire and the interviews emphasized the importance of taking time and being assertive. The limitations of the findings and the possible service implications are discussed.}, } @article {pmid11403342, year = {2001}, author = {Bostantjopoulou, S and Kiosseoglou, G and Katsarou, Z and Alevriadou, A}, title = {Concurrent validity of the Test of Nonverbal Intelligence in Parkinson's disease patients.}, journal = {The Journal of psychology}, volume = {135}, number = {2}, pages = {205-212}, doi = {10.1080/00223980109603691}, pmid = {11403342}, issn = {0022-3980}, mesh = {Aged ; Case-Control Studies ; Female ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; Intelligence Tests/*standards ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests/standards ; Nonverbal Communication/*psychology ; Parkinson Disease/*psychology ; Predictive Value of Tests ; Regression Analysis ; Reproducibility of Results ; }, abstract = {The Test of Nonverbal Intelligence (TONI-2; L. Brown, R. J. Sherbenou, & S. Johnsen, 1990) and Raven's Colored Progressive Matrices (RCPM; J. C. Raven, 1965) are defined as language-free measures of cognitive ability. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the relation between the RCPM and the TONI-2 for samples of patients with Parkinson's disease (n = 75) and controls (n = 47). A regression equation was computed to evaluate the relation of the RCPM scores to the TONI-2 quotient. Regression equation results indicate that there is a significant overlapping linear variance between the two measures in both patients and controls.}, } @article {pmid11377732, year = {2001}, author = {Deng, C and Kaplan, G and Rogers, LJ}, title = {Similarity of the song nuclei of male and female Australian magpies (Gymnorhina tibicen).}, journal = {Behavioural brain research}, volume = {123}, number = {1}, pages = {89-102}, doi = {10.1016/s0166-4328(01)00200-5}, pmid = {11377732}, issn = {0166-4328}, mesh = {Animals ; Basal Nucleus of Meynert/anatomy & histology/cytology/physiology ; Behavior, Animal/physiology ; Birds/*physiology ; Brain/anatomy & histology/cytology/*physiology ; Coloring Agents ; Courtship ; Female ; Male ; Neostriatum/anatomy & histology/cytology/physiology ; Sex Characteristics ; Tissue Fixation ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {The organisation of the song control nuclei of the Australian magpie (Gymnorhina tibicen), a species with highly complex song, was investigated. In contrast to most of the songbirds studied so far, the Australian magpie sings throughout the year and both males and females sing. All of the forebrain song nuclei, including the high vocal centre (HVC), the robust nucleus of the archistriatum (RA), Area X and the lateral and medial magnocellular nuclei of the anterior neostriatum (lMAN and mMAN) were found to be well developed in both male and female magpies. Consistent with the known vocal competence of juvenile magpies, all of the song nuclei were also well-developed in juvenile magpies (2--3 months old). HVC in both male and female magpies consists of a rostrolateral and a caudomedial region. The ventromedial part of RA differs from the dorsolateral part by having medium-sized neurons packed in higher density. The HVC to RA projections were labelled anterogradely by DiI and DiA. However, no HVC to Area X projections were labeled by DiI or DiA, suggesting a possible difference from songbirds studied previously.}, } @article {pmid11082237, year = {2000}, author = {Hall, ML}, title = {The function of duetting in magpie-larks: conflict, cooperation, or commitment?.}, journal = {Animal behaviour}, volume = {60}, number = {5}, pages = {667-677}, doi = {10.1006/anbe.2000.1517}, pmid = {11082237}, issn = {0003-3472}, abstract = {Avian duetting is a poorly understood phenomenon despite many hypotheses as to its function. Contrary to the recent view that duetting functions for mate guarding and is a result of conflict between the sexes, Australian magpie-larks, Grallina cyanoleuca, do not use duetting as a paternity guard. I used a playback experiment to investigate the role of antiphonal duetting in territorial defence and pair bond maintenance, two traditional hypotheses about the function of duetting. The experiment showed that, like many nonduetting species, magpie-larks recognize neighbours on the basis of song. It also provided evidence of functional differences between duetting and solo singing which indicate that temporal coordination of song between partners is used to maintain the territory and pair bond. Duets were more threatening territorial signals than solo songs: males initiated more vocalizations in response to playback of duets than playback of solos. Simulated intrusion also caused males and females to approach the speaker together and coordinate more of their vocalizations to form duets. Females did not engage in sex-specific territorial defence, responding equally strongly to playback of male and female song, and maintaining both territory and pair bond by attempting to exclude intruders of either sex. Males initiated more vocalizations in response to playback of male than female song, and their likelihood of duetting appeared to be related more to threats to the pair bond, in particular desertion by their partner. Copyright 2000 The Association for the Study of Animal Behaviour.}, } @article {pmid11016790, year = {2000}, author = {Shaw, BK}, title = {Involvement of a midbrain vocal nucleus in the production of both the acoustic and postural components of crowing behavior in Japanese quail.}, journal = {Journal of comparative physiology. A, Sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology}, volume = {186}, number = {7-8}, pages = {747-757}, doi = {10.1007/s003590000128}, pmid = {11016790}, mesh = {Animals ; Behavior, Animal/*physiology ; Coturnix/*physiology ; Electric Stimulation ; Electrodes ; Female ; Male ; Mesencephalon/*physiology ; Nerve Net/physiology ; Posture/*physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Many bird species produce vocalizations which are accompanied by distinctive postural displays, but the neural mechanisms that allow such integrated production of vocal and postural motor patterns are not understood. In the crowing behavior of Japanese quail, a characteristic vocal pattern is accompanied by and coordinated with a postural display that consists of a sequence of rapid, patterned head movements. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the role of a midbrain vocal nucleus, the nucleus intercollicularis, in the production of the acoustic and postural components of crowing in quail. Brief electrical stimuli were applied to the nucleus intercollicularis during spontaneously emitted crows in quail with chronically implanted electrodes, to determine if perturbing neural activity in the nucleus intercollicularis resulted in a disruption of ongoing crowing behavior. The most common effect of such stimuli was a concurrent, premature termination of both the acoustic and head movement components of the crow. These results imply that the nucleus intercollicularis plays a role in the production of both the acoustic and postural components of crowing in quail.}, } @article {pmid10840506, year = {2000}, author = {Everatt, J and Smythe, I and Adams, E and Ocampo, D}, title = {Dyslexia screening measures and bilingualism.}, journal = {Dyslexia (Chichester, England)}, volume = {6}, number = {1}, pages = {42-56}, doi = {10.1002/(SICI)1099-0909(200001/03)6:1<42::AID-DYS157>3.0.CO;2-0}, pmid = {10840506}, issn = {1076-9242}, mesh = {Child ; Dyslexia/*diagnosis ; Female ; Humans ; Language ; Male ; *Multilingualism ; Verbal Learning ; }, abstract = {A series of measures used in a number of dyslexia screening tests was administered to groups of 7-8-year old English monolinguals and Sylheti/English bilinguals. Within these groups a subgroup of children was distinguished by poor spelling and reading in the absence of general ability, sensory, emotional or behavioural problems, i.e. specific literacy difficulties (SpLD). General ability (assessed by Raven's matrices), chronological age, male/female ratio and mono/bilingualism were controlled between SpLD and control groups. Screening measures assessed phonological skills, rapid naming, the ability to recite or repeat sequences of verbal and non-verbal stimuli, and visual and motor skills. Sample sizes were small owing to the selection criteria used and the small number of bilingual SpLD children identified. However, the results were encouraging in differentiating SpLD bilinguals from their peers, with the phonological measures in particular presenting consistent findings across bilingual and monolingual groupings. Those differences found between bilinguals and monolinguals are discussed in terms of a bilingual influence on the skills assessed or the reduced reliability of the measure.}, } @article {pmid10800626, year = {2000}, author = {Pontón, MO and Gonzalez, JJ and Hernandez, I and Herrera, L and Higareda, I}, title = {Factor analysis of the Neuropsychological Screening Battery for Hispanics (NeSBHIS).}, journal = {Applied neuropsychology}, volume = {7}, number = {1}, pages = {32-39}, doi = {10.1207/S15324826AN0701_5}, pmid = {10800626}, issn = {0908-4282}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Aged ; Attention ; *Cognition ; Factor Analysis, Statistical ; Female ; Hispanic or Latino/*psychology ; Humans ; *Language ; Learning ; Male ; Memory ; Middle Aged ; Neuropsychological Tests/*standards ; Reproducibility of Results ; }, abstract = {The Neuropsychological Screening Battery for Hispanics (NeSBHIS; Pontón et al., 1996) was developed to provide clinicians and researchers with appropriate tests and norms to assess the Latino population. However, the construct validity of the NeSBHIS is unclear, and its clinical utility is untested. This study provides data on the construct validity of this battery via factor analytic methodology. Five factors were identified: (a) a language factor, which included the Controlled Oral Word Association Test, the Pontón-Satz Boston Naming Test, and the Escala de Inteligencia Wechsler para Adultos (EIWA; Wechsler, Green, & Martinez, 1968) Digit Span; (b) a verbal learning factor, which included all the World Health Organization--University of California, Los Angeles Auditory Verbal Learning Test scores (Trials V, VII, and VIII); (c) an attentional-mental control factor, which included the EIWA Digit Symbol, Color Trails 1 and 2, and the EIWA Block Design; (d) a visuospatial factor, made up of the Rey-Osterrieth Complex Figure Test Copy and Memory and the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices total score; and (e) a psychomotor factor, the Pin Test. This was a stable factor structure, suggesting that the NeSBHIS has a robust construct validity.}, } @article {pmid10629976, year = {1999}, author = {Berger, J}, title = {Anthropogenic extinction of top carnivores and interspecific animal behaviour: implications of the rapid decoupling of a web involving wolves, bears, moose and ravens.}, journal = {Proceedings. Biological sciences}, volume = {266}, number = {1435}, pages = {2261-2267}, doi = {10.1098/rspb.1999.0917}, pmid = {10629976}, issn = {0962-8452}, mesh = {Animals ; *Behavior, Animal ; *Birds ; Carnivora/*psychology ; Deer/*psychology ; North America ; *Statistical Distributions ; Ursidae/psychology ; Wolves/psychology ; }, abstract = {The recent extinction of grizzly bears (Ursus arctos) and wolves (Canis lupus) by humans from 95-99% of the contiguous USA and Mexico in less than 100 years has resulted in dramatically altered and expanded prey communities. Such rampant ecological change and putative ecological instability has not occurred in North American northern boreal zones. This geographical variation in the loss of large carnivores as a consequence of anthropogenic disturbance offers opportunities for examining the potential consequences of extinction on subtle but important ecological patterns involving behaviour and interspecific ecological interactions. In Alaska, where scavengers and large carnivores are associated with carcasses, field experiments involving sound playback simulations have demonstrated that at least one prey species, moose (Alces alces), is sensitive to the vocalizations of ravens (Corvus corax) and may rely on their cues to avoid predation. However, a similar relationship is absent on a predator-free island in Alaska's Cook Inlet and at two sites in the Jackson Hole region of the Rocky Mountains (USA) where grizzly bears and wolves have been extinct for 50-70 years. While prior study of birds and mammals has demonstrated that prey may retain predator recognition capabilities for thousands of years even after predation as a selective force has been relaxed, the results presented here establish that a desensitization in interspecific responsiveness can also occur in less than ten generations. These results affirm (i) a rapid decoupling in behaviour involving prey and scavengers as a consequence of anthropogenic-caused predator-prey disequilibriums, and (ii) subtle, community-level modifications in terrestrial ecosystems where large carnivores no longer exist. If knowledge about ecological and behavioural processes in extant systems is to be enhanced, the potential effects of recently extinct carnivores must be incorporated into current programmes.}, } @article {pmid10577266, year = {1999}, author = {Giovagnoli, AR}, title = {Verbal semantic memory in temporal lobe epilepsy.}, journal = {Acta neurologica Scandinavica}, volume = {99}, number = {6}, pages = {334-339}, doi = {10.1111/j.1600-0404.1999.tb07361.x}, pmid = {10577266}, issn = {0001-6314}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Age of Onset ; Case-Control Studies ; Cognition Disorders/physiopathology ; Concept Formation/*physiology ; Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe/*physiopathology ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Memory Disorders/classification/*physiopathology ; Neuropsychological Tests ; *Semantics ; Statistics as Topic ; Temporal Lobe/physiopathology ; Verbal Behavior/*physiology ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVES: Temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) may determine memory difficulties not explained by episodic memory impairment. The present study was aimed to verify the presence of specific semantic memory dysfunctions in TLE and to explore their relations to epilepsy variables.

SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Forty-seven patients with lateralized temporal (n = 26) or extra-temporal lobe epilepsy (n = 21) and 23 healthy subjects were compared. Picture Naming and Pointing to a Picture were used to explore expressive and receptive vocabulary and the Semantic Questionnaire evaluated semantic judgment of verbally presented items. The Selective Reminding Procedure for word list learning and Story Recall were used to assess episodic memory. Spontaneous speech and the Token Test controlled for language disturbances, and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices were used to evaluate abstract reasoning ability.

RESULTS: Multivariate analysis of variance of test scores showed significant impairment of semantic memory in patients with left TLE compared to healthy controls, whereas episodic memory was impaired in left temporal and extra-temporal epilepsy (as measured by word learning) and all epilepsy groups (as measured by Story Recall). In the TLE groups, naming abilities were more compromised than single-word comprehension and semantic judgment - which were not significantly affected. No deficits in language abilities or in abstract reasoning were found in any patient group. Factor analysis of memory tests scores in the patients produced two factors, one semantic and the other episodic. Regression analysis revealed that the semantic factor was related to abstract reasoning, left hemisphere lateralization of seizures, and age of seizure onset; while the episodic factor was related to age.

CONCLUSIONS: Left TLE may determine significant verbal semantic memory compromise, maybe due to impaired access to the semantic-lexical storage. In non-aphasic epilepsy patients, comparison of performance on semantic and episodic memory tests may be useful for assessing the nature of memory failures, and may complement clinical and neurophysiological means for defining the epileptic center.}, } @article {pmid10544420, year = {1999}, author = {Blough, LK and Rittenhouse, RK and Dancer, J}, title = {Identification of gifted deaf children: a complex but critical educational process.}, journal = {Perceptual and motor skills}, volume = {89}, number = {1}, pages = {219-221}, doi = {10.2466/pms.1999.89.1.219}, pmid = {10544420}, issn = {0031-5125}, mesh = {Attitude ; Child ; Child, Gifted/*classification/*education ; Deafness/complications/*psychology/rehabilitation ; *Education, Special ; Humans ; Psychological Tests/statistics & numerical data ; Sign Language ; Teaching ; }, abstract = {11 deaf students in a large midwestern school for the deaf were divided into gifted and nongifted groups by ratings of teachers and school administrators. There were six subjects in the gifted group (3 boys and 3 girls) and five subjects in the comparison group (3 boys and 2 girls). There was no statistically significant difference between mean raw scores of the two groups on Raven's Advanced Progressive Matrices. Also, teachers' rankings of the subjects identified as gifted did not correlate significantly with their Raven scores. Identification of gifted deaf students is too complex to be based only on teachers' ratings.}, } @article {pmid10507514, year = {1999}, author = {Crow, TJ}, title = {Commentary on Annett, Yeo et al., Klar, Saugstad and Orr: cerebral asymmetry, language and psychosis--the case for a Homo sapiens-specific sex-linked gene for brain growth.}, journal = {Schizophrenia research}, volume = {39}, number = {3}, pages = {219-231}, doi = {10.1016/s0920-9964(99)00076-6}, pmid = {10507514}, issn = {0920-9964}, mesh = {*Biological Evolution ; Cerebral Cortex/growth & development ; Developmental Disabilities/genetics ; Dominance, Cerebral/*genetics ; Female ; Genetic Linkage ; Genetic Predisposition to Disease/genetics ; Humans ; Language ; Language Development ; Male ; *Models, Genetic ; Psychotic Disorders/*genetics ; Selection, Genetic ; Sex Chromosomes/*genetics ; Species Specificity ; }, abstract = {Annett, Yeo et al. and Klar have each proposed theories that relate the genetics of cerebral lateralization to predisposition to psychosis. These theories are considered in relation to the central paradox that psychosis is associated with a substantial biological disadvantage. Annett's heterozygote advantage hypothesis critically identified lateralization as a major determinant of ability, but it appears that what is inherited is degrees (as suggested by Yeo et al.) rather than (or as well as) direction of lateralization. Relative hand skill has been shown (Crow, T.J., Crow, L.R., Done, D.J., Leask, S.J., 1998. Relative hand skill predicts academic ability: global deficits at the point of hemispheric indecision. Neuropsychologia 36, 1275-1282.) to be a powerful predictor (interacting with sex) of academic ability but the greatest region of vulnerability (that includes reading disability and predisposition to psychosis) is close to the point of equal hand skill ('hemispheric indecision'). In contrast with Annett's single locus, Yeo's polygenic and Klar's strand-segregation hypotheses, each of which postulates an autosomal locus or loci, the hypothesis of a single gene for asymmetry located in a sex-specific region of homology on both X and Y chromosomes can account for sex differences, as observed in age of onset, and premorbid precursors of psychosis, as well as differences in the general population in relation to degrees of hand skill, verbal ability and cerebral asymmetry. The evolutionarily recent transposition to, and subsequent paracentric inversion in, the Y chromosome short arm of a 4-Mb block from Xq21.3 (the proximal long arm of the X) are candidates for speciation events in the lineage that led to Homo sapiens. A gene associated with a range of variation (that may be due to a high mutation site, or perhaps to epigenetic modification) on the Y that overlaps with, but differs quantitatively from, that on the X may explain the sex differences associated with psychosis, and may be relevant to its persistence. Such a gene could be the principal determinant in Man of the rate of brain growth, as suggested by Saugstad and by the findings of a recent study of adolescent onset psychosis (James, A., Crow, T.J., Renowden, S., Wardell, M., Smith, D.M., Anslow, P., in press. Is the course of brain development in schizophrenia delayed? Evidence from onsets in adolescence. Schizophr. Res.).}, } @article {pmid10498014, year = {1999}, author = {Wagner, BT and Hess, CW}, title = {Supervisors' use of social power with graduate supervisees in speech-language pathology.}, journal = {Journal of communication disorders}, volume = {32}, number = {5}, pages = {351-67; quiz 367-8}, doi = {10.1016/s0021-9924(99)00016-7}, pmid = {10498014}, issn = {0021-9924}, mesh = {Adult ; *Education, Graduate ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Power, Psychological ; Speech-Language Pathology/*education ; *Students ; }, abstract = {This investigation discusses social power as an identifiable and measurable aspect of the supervisory process in speech-language pathology (SLP). This study examined the use of French and Raven's (1959) types of social power by 61 clinical supervisors with their 69 beginning and 69 advanced graduate supervisees from 14 university programs. Both supervisors' and supervisees' perceptions of supervisors' use of expert, referent, coercive, legitimate, and reward power were obtained with modified versions of the Rahim Leader Power Inventory (RLPI) (Rahim, 1988). The supervisors' perceptions of their use of the five types of social power with beginning supervisees were not significantly different from the beginning supervisees' perceptions. By contrast, the study yielded discrepant perceptions of supervisors' use of social power with advanced supervisees. Further, supervisors reported differential use of power with supervisees with different amounts of clinical experience. Yet, the perceptions of beginning and advanced supervisees did not differ relative to supervisors' use of any of the five types of social power. These findings can sensitize clinical supervisors to the sources of social power inherent in their practice.}, } @article {pmid10077861, year = {1999}, author = {Yazaki, Y and Matsushima, T and Aoki, K}, title = {Testosterone modulates stimulation-induced calling behavior in Japanese quails.}, journal = {Journal of comparative physiology. A, Sensory, neural, and behavioral physiology}, volume = {184}, number = {1}, pages = {13-19}, doi = {10.1007/s003590050302}, pmid = {10077861}, mesh = {Animals ; Antineoplastic Agents, Hormonal/metabolism/*pharmacology ; Brain Chemistry/*physiology ; Cell Size/drug effects/physiology ; Coturnix ; Dendrites/drug effects/physiology ; Electric Stimulation ; Female ; Male ; Mesencephalon/cytology/physiology ; Neuronal Plasticity/*drug effects/physiology ; Neurons/cytology/physiology/ultrastructure ; Sex Characteristics ; Silver Staining ; Testosterone/*pharmacology/physiology ; Vocalization, Animal/*drug effects/physiology ; }, abstract = {Japanese quails have a variety of calling patterns depending on sex and age. Sexually mature adult males emit a characteristic crow which has a frequency-modulated acoustical trill element. Recently we reported that the intercollicular nucleus of the mesencephalon is the vocal neural system for producing the distress call in untreated chick and the crowing vocalization in testosterone-treated chick in Japanese quails. We postulated that the intercollicular nucleus could mediate this testosterone action on vocal behavior. The present study showed histologically that the intercollicular nucleus neurons of adult males have many more dendrites than those of females. The adult males produced the call with trill element with electrical stimulation of the intercollicular nucleus alone. Females produced the simple call, which has no frequency modulation, with electrical stimulation; 4 days after the testosterone treatment together with electrical stimulation, they also produced the call with trill element, the characteristic call of males. We suggest that the vocal neural system in the intercollicular nucleus is modulated by testosterone during development and produces the crow in males, and the intercollicular nucleus neurons in adults mediate the action of testosterone on vocal behavior. The crow of adult males could therefore be due to effects of testosterone on the neural mechanism in the intercollicular nucleus.}, } @article {pmid9865799, year = {1998}, author = {Shimomura, T and Mori, E and Yamashita, H and Imamura, T and Hirono, N and Hashimoto, M and Tanimukai, S and Kazui, H and Hanihara, T}, title = {Cognitive loss in dementia with Lewy bodies and Alzheimer disease.}, journal = {Archives of neurology}, volume = {55}, number = {12}, pages = {1547-1552}, doi = {10.1001/archneur.55.12.1547}, pmid = {9865799}, issn = {0003-9942}, mesh = {Aged ; Alzheimer Disease/diagnosis/*psychology ; Cognition/*classification ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Memory ; Motor Skills ; *Neuropsychological Tests ; Parkinson Disease/diagnosis/*psychology ; Visual Perception ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB) is emerging as a common cause of degenerative dementia. Some preliminary evidence exists that the pattern of cognitive impairment in DLB is different from that in Alzheimer disease (AD).

OBJECTIVE: To delineate features of cognitive impairment of DLB on standardized neuropsychological tests.

METHODS: We performed neuropsychological assessments of 26 patients with probable DLB (based on criteria of the consortium on DLB international workshop) and of 52 patients with probable AD (based on criteria of the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke [now the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke])-Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association) who were matched to the patients with DLB 2:1 by age, sex, education, and Mini-Mental State Examination score.

RESULTS: Compared with the group with probable AD, the group with probable DLB scored significantly lower on the picture arrangement, block design, object assembly, and digit symbol substitution subtests of the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised and on the Raven Colored Progressive Matrices test and significantly higher on the Mini-Mental State Examination locational orientation subtest and the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale word recall subtest. A discriminant analysis revealed that the word recall score on the Alzheimer's Disease Assessment Scale and the block design score on the Wechsler Adult Intelligence Scale-Revised were the best discriminant factors.

CONCLUSIONS: The disproportionately severe visuoperceptual, visuoconstructive, and visuospatial dysfunction and the disproportionately mild memory impairment in DLB compared with AD, which likely reflect the distribution of the pathologic changes in DLB, can help to differentiate DLB from AD.}, } @article {pmid9599947, year = {1998}, author = {Hemam, NS and Reddy, BM}, title = {Demographic implications of socioeconomic transition among the tribal populations of Manipur, India.}, journal = {Human biology}, volume = {70}, number = {3}, pages = {597-619}, pmid = {9599947}, issn = {0018-7143}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Age Distribution ; Aged ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cluster Analysis ; Emigration and Immigration/statistics & numerical data ; Ethnicity/*genetics ; Female ; *Genetics, Population ; Humans ; India/epidemiology ; Infant ; Infant Mortality/trends ; Male ; Marriage/statistics & numerical data ; Middle Aged ; Population Surveillance ; Sex Distribution ; *Social Conditions ; Socioeconomic Factors ; }, abstract = {The demographic implications of socioeconomic transition are studied among the three subsistence categories of the Gangte, a little known tribe from northeast India. Reproductive histories of 444 ever-married women and other data on the 343 households from which these women were drawn were collected from 11 villages representing the 3 transitional groups. A trend of increasing household income and literacy of couples was observed from shifting cultivators to settled agriculturists to the town-dwelling Gangte. The effect of socioeconomic transition is also seen in the constriction at the base of the age-sex pyramid of the town dwellers compared with the other subsistence categories, suggesting a relatively lower proportion of children in the 0-5-year-old age group. Although exogamy is practiced among all the subsistence categories, a considerably higher percentage of admixture with non-Gangte is observed among the town dwellers compared with the others. Overall infant and child mortality among the Gangte is low. However, variation exists among the three subsistence groups in the sense that a considerable reduction is seen from the traditional shifting cultivators to the urbanized town dwellers, reflecting better socioeconomic conditions and greater awareness and accessibility of the town dwellers to public health amenities. No consistent or perceptible trend is evident in mean number of live births. The genetic implications of this demographic transition are reflected in Crow's indexes of selection.}, } @article {pmid9562305, year = {1998}, author = {Roudier, M and Marcie, P and Grancher, AS and Tzortzis, C and Starkstein, S and Boller, F}, title = {Discrimination of facial identity and of emotions in Alzheimer's disease.}, journal = {Journal of the neurological sciences}, volume = {154}, number = {2}, pages = {151-158}, doi = {10.1016/s0022-510x(97)00222-0}, pmid = {9562305}, issn = {0022-510X}, mesh = {Alzheimer Disease/*psychology ; *Discrimination, Psychological ; *Dissociative Disorders ; *Emotions ; *Facial Expression ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Mental Status Schedule ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVE: To investigate processing of human faces identity and of emotional expressions in patients with Alzheimer's Disease (AD).

BACKGROUND: Mechanisms responsible for discriminating facial identity may be dissociated from those involved in discriminating facial expressions. Patients with prosopagnosia often have preserved capacities for processing emotional facial expressions and occasionally, patients with focal lesions may recognize human faces without being able to recognize their facial expression. Such a dissociation has not been clearly shown in groups of AD patients.

METHODS: Thirty-one probable AD patients and 14 control subjects were administered tasks of discrimination of faces and of emotions.

RESULTS: AD patients were significantly impaired in discriminating facial identities and in naming and pointing to named emotions, but were comparable to controls in discriminating facial expressions of emotion. The deficits of facial discrimination and of identification of emotions were, on the whole, correlated with the MMS and Raven scores. Discrimination of emotions was not correlated to either test, suggesting that this ability is based on cognitive processes different from those underlying the MMS and the PM47.

CONCLUSIONS: This dissociation implies two separate systems, one dedicated to discrimination of facial identities and the other to discrimination of emotions. This is compatible with the modular organization of cognitive deficits in AD and may explain the well known experience that nonverbal communication often remains effective even in patients with severe dementia.}, } @article {pmid9559992, year = {1998}, author = {Tanaka, F and Kachi, T and Yamada, T and Sobue, G}, title = {Auditory and visual event-related potentials and flash visual evoked potentials in Alzheimer's disease: correlations with Mini-Mental State Examination and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices.}, journal = {Journal of the neurological sciences}, volume = {156}, number = {1}, pages = {83-88}, doi = {10.1016/s0022-510x(98)00004-5}, pmid = {9559992}, issn = {0022-510X}, mesh = {Aged ; Aged, 80 and over ; Alzheimer Disease/*physiopathology ; *Evoked Potentials, Auditory ; *Evoked Potentials, Visual ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; *Neuropsychological Tests ; }, abstract = {We investigated possible correlations among neurophysiological examinations [auditory and visual event-related potentials (A-ERPs, V-ERPs), and flash visual evoked potentials (F-VEPs)] and neuropsychological tests [Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE) and Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices (RCPM)] in 15 subjects with probable or possible Alzheimer's disease (AD) according to the National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke and the Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders Association (NINCDS-ADRDA) criteria. The P300 latency of A-ERPs was correlated with the scores of MMSE but not with those of RCPM. The P300 latency of V-ERPs was more significantly correlated with the scores of RCPM than with those of MMSE. The P2 latency of F-VEPs was more significantly correlated with the scores of RCPM than with those of MMSE. The P2 latency of F-VEPs was not correlated with the P300 latency of A-ERPs but was correlated with the P300 latency of V-ERPs. The close relationship among V-ERPs, F-VEPs and RCPM suggests that these examinations at least partly reflect the functions of visual association areas in AD. Furthermore, discrepancy between P300 latency by A-ERPs and V-ERPs suggests that the mechanism responsible for P300 generation is not identical between these two stimulus modalities.}, } @article {pmid9519387, year = {1998}, author = {Dollaghan, C}, title = {Late talker or SLI?: the story of Jay X.}, journal = {Seminars in speech and language}, volume = {19}, number = {1}, pages = {7-14}, doi = {10.1055/s-2008-1064030}, pmid = {9519387}, issn = {0734-0478}, mesh = {Child Development ; Child, Preschool ; Humans ; Language Development Disorders/*diagnosis ; Male ; }, abstract = {Distinguishing between children who will "catch up" after delays in early language development (late talkers), and children whose early delays are a harbinger of the condition known as specific language impairment (SLI), remains one of the biggest mysteries facing speech-language pathologists who work with young children. The case of Jay X, a preschool child with a history of delayed language acquisition, illustrates the process by which the crucial pieces of clinical information are accumulated and interpreted to make this determination.}, } @article {pmid9517831, year = {1998}, author = {Castagna, C and Absil, P and Foidart, A and Balthazart, J}, title = {Systemic and intracerebroventricular injections of vasotocin inhibit appetitive and consummatory components of male sexual behavior in Japanese quail.}, journal = {Behavioral neuroscience}, volume = {112}, number = {1}, pages = {233-250}, doi = {10.1037//0735-7044.112.1.233}, pmid = {9517831}, issn = {0735-7044}, support = {R01 MH50388/MH/NIMH NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Animals ; Appetitive Behavior/*drug effects ; Brain/*drug effects ; Copulation/*drug effects ; Coturnix ; Diuresis/drug effects ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Injections, Intramuscular ; Injections, Intraventricular ; Male ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*drug effects ; Testosterone/pharmacology ; Vasotocin/*pharmacology ; Vocalization, Animal/drug effects ; }, abstract = {The authors investigated the behavioral actions of vasotocin (VT) in castrated testosterone-treated male Japanese quail. The appetitive and consummatory components of sexual behavior as well as the occurrence frequency of crows were inhibited, in a dose-dependent manner, by injections of VT. The authors observed opposite effects after injection of the V1 receptor antagonist, dPTyr(Me)AVP. Lower doses of VT were more active after central than after systemic injection, and effects of systemic injections of VT were blocked by a central injection of dPTyr(Me)AVP. The behavioral inhibition was associated with a modified diuresis after systemic but not central injection. These results provide direct evidence that VT affects male sexual behavior in quail by a direct action on the brain independent of its peripheral action on diuresis.}, } @article {pmid9360313, year = {1997}, author = {Tobalske, BW and Olson, NE and Dial, KP}, title = {Flight style of the black-billed magpie: variation in wing kinematics, neuromuscular control, and muscle composition.}, journal = {The Journal of experimental zoology}, volume = {279}, number = {4}, pages = {313-329}, doi = {10.1002/(sici)1097-010x(19971101)279:4<313::aid-jez1>3.0.co;2-r}, pmid = {9360313}, issn = {0022-104X}, mesh = {Animals ; Biomechanical Phenomena ; Birds/*physiology ; Electromyography ; Flight, Animal/*physiology ; Muscle Fibers, Fast-Twitch/physiology ; Muscle, Skeletal/anatomy & histology/*physiology ; }, abstract = {Black-billed magpies (Pica pica; Corvidae) exhibit an unusual flight style with pronounced, cyclic variation in wingbeat frequency and amplitude during level, cruising flight. In an effort to better understand the underlying internal mechanisms associated with this flight style, we studied muscle activity patterns, fiber composition of the pectoralis muscle, and wingbeat kinematics using both laboratory and field techniques. Over a wide range of speeds in a windtunnel (0-13.4 m s-1), wingbeat frequency, wingtip elevation, and relative intensity of electromyographic (EMG) signals s-1 from the flight muscles were least at intermediate speeds, and increased at both slower and faster speeds, in approximate agreement with theoretical models that predict a U-shaped curve of power output with flight speed. Considerable variation was evident in kinematic and electromyographic variables, but variation was continuous, and, thus, was not adequately described by the simple two-gait system which is currently accepted as describing gait selection during vertebrate flight. Indirect evidence suggests that magpies vary their flight style consistent with reducing average power costs in comparison to costs associated with continuous flapping at a fixed level of power per wingbeat. The range of variation for the kinematic variables was similar in the field and lab; however, in the field, proportionally fewer flights showed significant correlations between wingbeat frequency and the other variables. Average flight speed in the field was 8.0 m s-1. Average wingbeat frequency was less in the field than in the windtunnel, but mean values for wingtip elevation and wingspan at midupstroke were not significantly different. Histological study revealed that the pectoralis muscle of magpies contained only fast-twitch (acid-stable) muscle fibers, which were classified as red (R) and intermediate (I) based on oxidative and glycolytic capacities along with fiber diameter. This fiber composition may be related to variation in wingbeat kinematics, but such composition is found in the pectoralis of other bird species. This suggests that the muscle fibers commonly found in the pectoralis of small to medium sized birds are capable of a wider range of efficient contractile velocities than predicted by existing theory. Future studies should explore alternative explanations for variation in wingbeat kinematics, including the potential role of nonverbal communication among cospecifics.}, } @article {pmid9106083, year = {1997}, author = {Ellis, DA and Tan, AK}, title = {Cosmetic upper-facial rejuvenation with botulinum.}, journal = {The Journal of otolaryngology}, volume = {26}, number = {2}, pages = {92-96}, pmid = {9106083}, issn = {0381-6605}, mesh = {Botulinum Toxins, Type A/*therapeutic use ; Contraindications ; Drug Monitoring ; Facial Expression ; Humans ; Neuromuscular Agents/*therapeutic use ; Prospective Studies ; Rhytidoplasty/adverse effects/*methods ; Skin Aging/*drug effects/pathology ; Treatment Outcome ; }, abstract = {OBJECTIVE: This study was conducted to evaluate the cosmetic use of botulinum toxin type A (Botox), which blocks the release of acetylcholine at the presynaptic neuromuscular junction leading to an irreversible, but temporary chemical denervation muscular paralysis and weakness. This produces a significant cosmetic improvement of wrinkling in the upper face due to hyperfunctional animation.

METHOD: A prospective clinical study representing our experience with this new technique is presented. Patient selection and evaluation, classification of animation lines, techniques, results and complications are discussed. In a 15-month period, 23 patients with seven anatomic sites were injected. Twenty-three patients had the lateral aspect and the inferior aspect of their squint lines injected, and 26 patients had their glabellar frownlines injected.

RESULTS: Significant improvement occurred to the average depth and length of the glabellar frownlines. The subjective improvement by the patients was also significant. Regarding the crow's feet, the lateral canthal lines showed more improvement than the inferior lateral canthal lines because the latter has a greater component of zygomaticus major and minor muscle, which contributes to the inferior lateral squint line.

CONCLUSION: Botox is a safe, easy-to-use, effective modality for the temporary elimination of hyperfunctioning upper-facial muscles.}, } @article {pmid24896081, year = {1996}, author = {Koene, P}, title = {Temporal structure of red jungle fowl crow sequences: single-case analysis.}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {38}, number = {2}, pages = {193-202}, doi = {10.1016/s0376-6357(96)00028-9}, pmid = {24896081}, issn = {0376-6357}, abstract = {Vocalisations can be indicators of the physical state or condition of an animal, for instance the crow of a rooster. There are no published data on the temporal structure of crow sequences. In this paper 536 crows in 22 sequences of one red jungle fowl rooster (rooster 1) were recorded and analysed. Calls were very characteristic and there was little variation between the calls. Rooster 1 crowed with a mean latency of 287 s after onset of a light in the early morning. The average crow sequence consisted of 29 calls which lasted for 1416 ms on average. A gradual increase in pre-call interval was characteristic of each sequence. The variation in note durations is systematic and especially the last note correlated highly with the total call duration. Both the pre-call interval and the duration of the 4th note (doooo) may be parameters of fatigue and thus of physical condition. The number of crows in a sequence was positively related to air pressure outdoors. An experiment is done in which the physical condition of a rooster (rooster 2) is manipulated by food deprivation. The results are analysed with single case randomisation tests. The number of crows in a sequence is significantly reduced after food deprivation, while the pre-call intervals are significantly increased. Prediction of the number of crows in the sequence can be done on base of the pre-call interval of the second call: both rooster 1 and 2 showed long pre-call intervals in short call sequences. Food deprivation and the possible loss of condition have a significant effect on the temporal structure of crow sequences and cause a decrease in the number of crows in a call sequence.}, } @article {pmid8828394, year = {1996}, author = {Elphick, R}, title = {Issues in comparing the speechreading abilities of hearing-impaired and hearing 15 to 16 year-old pupils.}, journal = {The British journal of educational psychology}, volume = {66 (Pt 3)}, number = {}, pages = {357-365}, doi = {10.1111/j.2044-8279.1996.tb01202.x}, pmid = {8828394}, issn = {0007-0998}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Female ; Hearing/*physiology ; *Hearing Loss, Sensorineural ; Humans ; *Lipreading ; Male ; }, abstract = {The speechreading skills of 57 hearing-impaired 15 to 16-year-olds were compared with a sample of 30 hearing pupils in the same school year. Previous comparative studies have included a complete population of hearing-impaired pupils or have been confined to those who are severely-profoundly deaf. In the present study only pupils who had sufficient verbal memory to be able to repeat up to six words in a sentence were included. The test stimuli consisted of two word lists, one from the AB isophonemic word lists and the other from the New Manchester Picture Test together with a sentence list from the Manchester Speechreading (Lipreading) Test. The hearing-impaired pupils were placed full time in mainstream units for the hearing impaired and special schools for the hearing impaired. The sample also contained a small group of five who were placed in schools for children with moderate learning difficulties. The hearing-impaired group scored significantly better than the hearing group in all of the lists. Intelligence factors assessed by the Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices were not a major influence except for the MLD group. The superiority of the hearing-impaired sample is attributed to a greater need for speechreading and the practice derived from it. Evidence from this study supports the view that sufficient development in memory for spoken language needs to occur for a child to maximise speechreading skills.}, } @article {pmid8618971, year = {1996}, author = {Mogelvang, C}, title = {Brow lift by flap transposition in the glabrous brow area.}, journal = {Plastic and reconstructive surgery}, volume = {97}, number = {5}, pages = {1040-50; discussion 1051-2}, doi = {10.1097/00006534-199604001-00025}, pmid = {8618971}, issn = {0032-1052}, mesh = {Aged ; *Eyebrows ; Facial Expression ; Female ; Forehead ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Postoperative Care ; Preoperative Care ; Rhytidoplasty/*methods ; Surgical Flaps/*methods ; Suture Techniques ; }, abstract = {In brow lift, if a direct approach is utilized, the suture line medially is placed in a normal frontalis crease, and then the lateral part of the suture line, by lateral transfer of a small superiorly based flap, is caused to fall into a natural "laugh line" or "crow's feet" crease, three improvements result: 1. Greater control and predictability of shaping and position than with other techniques; 2. A more normal appearance, including better lateral lift and a much more inconspicuous scar than with supraciliary direct lift; 3. A longer-lasting result. In approximately 150 patients, scar appearance has been very gratifying indeed, with only 3 limited segmental scar revisions and 2 secondary midforehead elliptical excisions. It is believed that the principle exhibited in the tightening of the upper suture line by flap transfer, referred to by analogy as the worm principle, accounts for much of the improvement, especially in durability. This principle is seen as an aid in thinking through the mechanics of several other plastic surgical situations as well.}, } @article {pmid8867407, year = {1996}, author = {Jay, SJ}, title = {A conversation with C. Everett Koop, M.D.. Interview by Stephen J. Jay.}, journal = {Indiana medicine : the journal of the Indiana State Medical Association}, volume = {89}, number = {2}, pages = {116-120}, pmid = {8867407}, issn = {0746-8288}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Advertising/legislation & jurisprudence ; Child ; Health Education/legislation & jurisprudence ; Humans ; Smoking/adverse effects/legislation & jurisprudence ; *Smoking Prevention ; United States ; }, } @article {pmid8833689, year = {1996}, author = {Thomas, P and Kearney, G and Napier, E and Ellis, E and Leuder, I and Johnson, M}, title = {Speech and language in first onset psychosis differences between people with schizophrenia, mania, and controls.}, journal = {The British journal of psychiatry : the journal of mental science}, volume = {168}, number = {3}, pages = {337-343}, doi = {10.1192/bjp.168.3.337}, pmid = {8833689}, issn = {0007-1250}, mesh = {Bipolar Disorder/*psychology ; Cognition Disorders/diagnosis ; Educational Status ; Female ; Humans ; *Language ; Male ; Psychotic Disorders/*psychology ; *Schizophrenia ; Severity of Illness Index ; Social Class ; *Speech ; }, abstract = {BACKGROUND: Several studies have revealed linguistic differences between diagnostic groups. This study investigates the extent to which these differences are accounted for by factors such as chronicity, or disturbances in cognition associated with acute psychosis.

METHOD: Transcripts of interviews with patients suffering from RDC schizophrenia (n=38), mania (n=11) and controls (n=16) were examined using the Brief Syntactic Analysis (BSA). Patients were within two years of first onset of psychotic symptoms, and received tests of working memory and attention.

RESULTS: The speech of patients with schizophrenia was syntactically less complex than that of controls. Patients with schizophrenia and mania made more errors than controls. These differences were, to some extent, related to group differences in social class, working memory and attention, although significant group differences in language persisted after the effects of covariates were removed.

CONCLUSIONS: The study confirms the existence of differences in the speech of psychiatric patients. Low complexity appears to be a particular feature of speech in schizophrenia, even in the earliest stages of the condition. The importance of this finding is discussed in relation to two recent theories of schizophrenia: Crow's evolutionary model, and Frith's neuro-psychological model.}, } @article {pmid8920326, year = {1996}, author = {Kulig, J and Thorpe, K}, title = {Teaching and learning needs of culturally diverse post-R.N. students.}, journal = {The Canadian journal of nursing research = Revue canadienne de recherche en sciences infirmieres}, volume = {28}, number = {2}, pages = {119-123}, pmid = {8920326}, issn = {0844-5621}, mesh = {Adaptation, Psychological ; Adult ; *Cultural Diversity ; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/*organization & administration ; Education, Professional, Retraining/*organization & administration ; Female ; Humans ; Learning ; Mentors ; Social Support ; Students, Nursing/*psychology ; Surveys and Questionnaires ; }, abstract = {Despite the multicultural nature of our country, Canadian schools of nursing have generally attracted white middle-class females. The literature has identified many of the difficulties culturally diverse students experience in coping with and completing their program. The reasons noted for these difficulties include differences in learning styles, with culturally diverse students preferring visual learning (Crow, 1993; More, 1989); differences in language aptitude, particularly for those students whose first language is not English (Bowker, 1992; Harrison, 1992; Phillips & Hartley, 1990); differences in communication style (Wax & Thomas, 1961); lack of role models and social support within their cultural group (Bowker, 1992; Edwards, Smith, & French, 1989; Sedlacek, 1983); and a lack of understanding among faculty and other students regarding their lifestyles, backgrounds, and belief systems (Abu-Saad, Kaysar-Jones, & Gutierrez, 1981; Crow, 1993; Harrison, 1992).}, } @article {pmid8905148, year = {1996}, author = {Gaasterland, T and Sensen, CW}, title = {Fully automated genome analysis that reflects user needs and preferences. A detailed introduction to the MAGPIE system architecture.}, journal = {Biochimie}, volume = {78}, number = {5}, pages = {302-310}, doi = {10.1016/0300-9084(96)84761-4}, pmid = {8905148}, issn = {0300-9084}, mesh = {Automation ; Computational Biology/*methods ; Computer Communication Networks ; DNA, Bacterial/*genetics ; Sequence Alignment ; Sequence Analysis/*methods ; Sequence Homology, Amino Acid ; Sequence Homology, Nucleic Acid ; *Software ; }, abstract = {A system called MAGPIE (Multipurpose Automated Genome Project Investigation Environment) has been designed and implemented to meet the challenges of automated whole genome analysis. The system initiates large numbers of remote and local transactions, each depending on evolving criteria and on changing remote and local conditions. Transactions are requested from different types of remote and local resources. The remote request load is fairly balanced with other community demands on server resources. Local decision modules monitor and obey user preferences and combine evidence from multiple sources to formulate credible hypotheses about sequence function. Consistency checks from multiple types of data are integrated into the ongoing local analysis. The system performs reliably on local UNIX workstations and communicates with remote resources through standard networking protocols.}, } @article {pmid11539288, year = {1995}, author = {Cater, JP and Huffman, SD}, title = {Use of the Remote Access Virtual Environment Network (RAVEN) for coordinated IVA-EVA astronaut training and evaluation.}, journal = {Presence (Cambridge, Mass.)}, volume = {4}, number = {2}, pages = {103-109}, doi = {10.1162/pres.1995.4.2.103}, pmid = {11539288}, issn = {1054-7460}, mesh = {Astronauts/*education ; Astronomy/instrumentation ; *Computer Communication Networks ; *Computer Simulation ; Computer Systems ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; *Extravehicular Activity ; Humans ; Space Flight/*instrumentation ; Space Simulation ; *User-Computer Interface ; }, abstract = {This paper presents a unique virtual reality training and assessment tool developed under a NASA grant, "Research in Human Factors Aspects of Enhanced Virtual Environments for Extravehicular Activity (EVA) Training and Simulation." The Remote Access Virtual Environment Network (RAVEN) was created to train and evaluate the verbal, mental and physical coordination required between the intravehicular (IVA) astronaut operating the Remote Manipulator System (RMS) arm and the EVA astronaut standing in foot restraints on the end of the RMS. The RAVEN system currently allows the EVA astronaut to approach the Hubble Space Telescope (HST) under control of the IVA astronaut and grasp, remove, and replace the Wide Field Planetary Camera drawer from its location in the HST. Two viewpoints, one stereoscopic and one monoscopic, were created all linked by Ethernet, that provided the two trainees with the appropriate training environments.}, } @article {pmid7981593, year = {1994}, author = {Bresolin, N and Castelli, E and Comi, GP and Felisari, G and Bardoni, A and Perani, D and Grassi, F and Turconi, A and Mazzucchelli, F and Gallotti, D}, title = {Cognitive impairment in Duchenne muscular dystrophy.}, journal = {Neuromuscular disorders : NMD}, volume = {4}, number = {4}, pages = {359-369}, doi = {10.1016/0960-8966(94)90072-8}, pmid = {7981593}, issn = {0960-8966}, mesh = {Adolescent ; Adult ; Animals ; Child ; Child, Preschool ; Cognition Disorders/diagnosis/*etiology ; Gene Deletion ; Humans ; Intelligence ; Language ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging ; Male ; Memory ; Muscular Dystrophies/*complications/genetics/psychology ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Psychometrics ; Psychomotor Performance ; Tomography, Emission-Computed ; }, abstract = {Cognitive function and dystrophin gene mutations were investigated in 50 DMD patients (mean age 11.1 yr; range 3.5-20.3). General intelligence assessment showed 31% of patients with Wechsler full intelligence quotient (FIQ) lower than 75 (normal values: 100 +/- 14), and only 24% with appropriate FIQ level. Modal distribution of Wechsler verbal, performance, and FIQs, and Raven IQs was normal. Verbal IQ was more affected than performance IQ (PIQ) only in the younger group of subjects. Low PIQ correlated with the presence of macroglossia, detected in 13 out of 50 patients. Impairment of productive language was of non-dysphasic nature and correlated with defects of short-term memory, which was also affected in non-verbal skills. DMD patients shared the same spectrum of neuropsychological defects, regardless of whether they were or were not mentally retarded. The proportion of patients with dystrophin gene deletions was 64%. No statistically significant correlations were found between genetic data and psychometric assessment. Finally, (18F)-fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography studies demonstrated cerebellar hypometabolism in all the DMD patients examined and variable involvement of associative cortical areas. These findings suggest a possible role of the cerebral and cerebellar hypometabolism in the cognitive impairment of DMD.}, } @article {pmid7961050, year = {1994}, author = {Mitrushina, M and Stamm, J}, title = {Task-induced differential cortical activation pattern.}, journal = {International journal of psychophysiology : official journal of the International Organization of Psychophysiology}, volume = {17}, number = {1}, pages = {15-23}, doi = {10.1016/0167-8760(94)90051-5}, pmid = {7961050}, issn = {0167-8760}, mesh = {Adult ; Attention/physiology ; Cerebral Cortex/*physiology ; Cognition/*physiology ; *Electroencephalography ; Fourier Analysis ; Functional Laterality/physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Models, Neurological ; Space Perception/physiology ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {Measures of task-dependent cortical activation were assessed by bilateral EEG recordings from frontal, temporal, parietal and occipital areas. Two pictorial tests, the Raven Advanced Progressive Matrices and the Space Relations Test were used for verbal and spatial conditions, respectively. Recordings were obtained for 20 trials of each task from 22 right-handed adult males and 16 s. trial epochs were subjected to Fast Fourier analyses. Averaged intensity values for the alpha band were compared between verbal and spatial tasks for all subjects and between subgroups of verbalizers and visualizers, allotted on the basis of subject's performance index, derived from response speed and accuracy on the two tasks. The results were as follows: (1) The most pronounced EEG discriminators between the two performance subgroups are the left and right parietal and the right frontal area; (2) The left parietal zone provides the most pronounced discrimination between two groups; (3) There were significant interactions between the left parietal and the right frontal region; (4) The two parietal areas show characteristic frequency shifts in opposite directions for the task conditions. The findings imply complex interplay among the two parietal and right frontal areas, associated with sequential and holistic strategies. The results urge researchers to take into consideration subjectively preferred cognitive strategy, which along with objective task demands influences the process of problem solving and accompanying physiological changes.}, } @article {pmid8037075, year = {1994}, author = {Blennerhassett, L and Strohmeier, SJ and Hibbett, C}, title = {Criterion-related validity of Raven's Progressive Matrices with deaf residential school students.}, journal = {American annals of the deaf}, volume = {139}, number = {2}, pages = {104-110}, doi = {10.1353/aad.2012.0053}, pmid = {8037075}, issn = {0002-726X}, mesh = {Achievement ; Adolescent ; *Deafness ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence ; *Intelligence Tests ; Language ; Male ; *Reproducibility of Results ; *Residential Facilities ; *Schools ; *Students ; }, abstract = {Criterion-related validity of Raven's Progressive Matrices (RPM) was investigated using a sample of 107 deaf residential adolescents. Data collection involved retrieval of psychoeducational test scores (RPM; WISC-R Performance IQ; VMI-R; Bender-Gestalt; and SAT-HI Reading Comprehension, Spelling, and Language) from student files. Concurrent validity between the Standard Progressive Matrices (SPM) and WISC-R PIQ was established, with significant (p .001) correlations of .598 (using WISC-R deaf norms) and .616 (using WISC-R hearing norms). Predictive validity was supported by significant correlations between the SPM and SAT-HI Reading Comprehension, Spelling, and Language scores.}, } @article {pmid8123260, year = {1994}, author = {Bathurst, K and Kee, DW}, title = {Finger-tapping interference as produced by concurrent verbal and nonverbal tasks: an analysis of individual differences in left-handers.}, journal = {Brain and cognition}, volume = {24}, number = {1}, pages = {123-136}, doi = {10.1006/brcg.1994.1007}, pmid = {8123260}, issn = {0278-2626}, mesh = {Adult ; *Attention ; Dominance, Cerebral ; Female ; *Functional Laterality ; Humans ; *Individuality ; Male ; Mental Recall ; *Motor Activity ; *Motor Skills ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Orientation ; Pattern Recognition, Visual ; Problem Solving ; *Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {Verbal cerebral asymmetry was examined in 96 right- and left-handed college students using dual-task methods. The manual task was finger-tapping; verbal tasks were anagram-solution in silent and aloud conditions; nonverbal tasks were solution of Raven's Progressive Matrices and forms memory. Both handedness groups were sensitive to the task manipulation, i.e., verbal tasks produced a significant change in tapping rate from a no-change rate of zero; nonverbal tasks produced no significant change in tapping rate. Right-handers experienced the expected asymmetric manual performance indicative of left-hemisphere language laterality. Left-handers as a group experienced no asymmetric pattern but rather a percentage decrease in both hands which suggested bilateralization of language functions. Only when examining manual performance patterns within specific left-handed subpopulations (composed of a complete crossing of handwriting posture, familial sinistrality, and sex) did laterality patterns emerge. Specifically, asymmetric manual performance was found only in familial sinistral inverted posture females. Results demonstrate the advantage of controlling for subject characteristics when assessing cerebral laterality in left-handers.}, } @article {pmid11656324, year = {1993}, author = {Pellegrino, ED}, title = {Autonomy, beneficence, and the experimental subject's consent: a response to Jay Katz.}, journal = {Saint Louis University law journal}, volume = {38}, number = {1}, pages = {55-62}, pmid = {11656324}, issn = {0036-3030}, mesh = {*Altruism ; *Beneficence ; Decision Making ; *Disclosure ; Ethics Committees ; Ethics Committees, Research ; Federal Government ; *Freedom ; Government ; Government Regulation ; *Human Experimentation ; Human Rights ; Humans ; *Informed Consent ; Moral Obligations ; *Paternalism ; Patients ; Peer Review ; *Personal Autonomy ; Physician-Patient Relations ; *Physicians ; Privacy ; *Research Personnel ; *Research Subjects ; *Researcher-Subject Relations ; Social Control, Formal ; Social Responsibility ; *Social Values ; *Virtues ; }, } @article {pmid1816594, year = {1991}, author = {Sosnowski, T and Nurzynska, M and Polec, M}, title = {Active-passive coping and skin conductance and heart rate changes.}, journal = {Psychophysiology}, volume = {28}, number = {6}, pages = {665-672}, doi = {10.1111/j.1469-8986.1991.tb01011.x}, pmid = {1816594}, issn = {0048-5772}, mesh = {Adaptation, Psychological/*physiology ; Adolescent ; Adult ; Arousal/*physiology ; Female ; Galvanic Skin Response/*physiology ; Heart Rate/*physiology ; Humans ; Problem Solving/physiology ; Psychophysiology ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {Sixty subjects were administered 33 tasks, selected from the Raven Progressive Matrices, in conditions that differed by type of monetary reinforcement (reward, frustration, and control group). Subjects were tested in pairs. One subject, assigned as the active one, was asked to solve a problem while the other was only a passive observer. Heart rate level and the amplitude of evoked skin conductance responses were measured. Statistical analysis detected a higher heart rate level in active versus passive subjects at the beginning stage of the experiment, as well as a faster heart rate decrease in the former versus the latter group during subsequent blocks of four tasks. Changes in skin conductance response magnitude during the ensuing task phases exhibited a descending trend in passive subjects and an ascending trend in active subjects. The monetary reinforcement manipulation was not effective. The results support a concept put forward by Fowles (1988), who maintained that tonic heart rate and skin conductance response amplitude may serve as indices of the behavioral activation system and behavioral inhibition system, respectively, as postulated by Gray's model of arousal.}, } @article {pmid1891123, year = {1991}, author = {Bargagliotti, LA and Jones, DL and Trygstad, L and Hayward, M and Crow, G and Bower, FL}, title = {Joint venture arrangement for RN to BSN. A model of synergy between academia and service.}, journal = {Nursing & health care : official publication of the National League for Nursing}, volume = {12}, number = {7}, pages = {380-384}, pmid = {1891123}, issn = {0276-5284}, mesh = {Advertising ; Education, Nursing, Baccalaureate/*organization & administration ; Education, Professional, Retraining/*organization & administration ; Humans ; *Interinstitutional Relations ; Multi-Institutional Systems/*organization & administration ; Program Evaluation ; San Francisco ; Schools, Nursing/*organization & administration ; }, abstract = {The joint venture between or among educational and practice institutions is fast becoming the norm in nursing education and practice. Authors Bargagliotti, Jones, Trygstad, Hayward, Crow, and Bower, describe one such program enabling RNs to pursue the BSN degree.}, } @article {pmid1799130, year = {1991}, author = {Larraguibel, M and Lolas Stepke, F}, title = {[Oral and written affective expression in children of low socioeconomic status].}, journal = {Acta psiquiatrica y psicologica de America latina}, volume = {37}, number = {2}, pages = {129-135}, pmid = {1799130}, issn = {0001-6896}, mesh = {Anxiety ; Child ; Chile ; Female ; Hostility ; Humans ; Male ; Psychological Tests ; *Psychology, Child ; Socioeconomic Factors ; *Verbal Behavior ; *Writing ; }, abstract = {Descriptive data on affective expression of 58 children (33 girls and 25 boys) of low socioeconomic status (Graffar index), with ages between 8 and 12 are presented. Intelligence was assessed by means of Raven Progressive Matrixes Test, all subjects exhibiting mean level. Evaluated were the six forms of anxiety and the four hostility forms defined by the Gottschalk method of verbal content analysis. Hope scores, positive and negative, were also obtained from the same verbal samples. The oral sample consisted in speech produced spontaneously during 5 minutes, in response to a standard instruction, and the written sample consisted in brief stories produced under standardized conditions during 15 minutes. The most frequently expressed form of anxiety was separation anxiety, while the most frequently expressed form of hostility was directed outwards covert hostility. "Positive" hope was expressed more frequently than "negative" hope. Data are discussed in terms of their contribution to the establishment of population norms in Spanish-speaking populations for the psychological constructs explored. It is concluded that the method of content analysis of verbal behavior may represent a useful tool for the study of child psychology in different contexts.}, } @article {pmid2019516, year = {1991}, author = {Fleming, J}, title = {Child health and education in Kenyan schools programmes.}, journal = {Health visitor}, volume = {64}, number = {3}, pages = {80-81}, pmid = {2019516}, issn = {0017-9140}, mesh = {Child ; Community Health Nursing/*organization & administration/standards ; Health Education/*organization & administration/standards ; Humans ; Kenya ; School Health Services/*organization & administration/standards ; }, abstract = {Jane Fleming describes the health education in schools programme launched by the Aga Khan Health Services in Kisumu, Kenya. The project has brought major improvements in child health and mortality rates as well as better health awareness to the community as a whole.}, } @article {pmid2282490, year = {1990}, author = {Grassi, S and Ottaviani, F and Bambagioni, D}, title = {Vocalization-related stapedius muscle activity in different age chickens (Gallus gallus), and its role in vocal development.}, journal = {Brain research}, volume = {529}, number = {1-2}, pages = {158-164}, doi = {10.1016/0006-8993(90)90823-t}, pmid = {2282490}, issn = {0006-8993}, mesh = {Aging ; Animals ; Chickens ; Electric Stimulation ; Electromyography ; Male ; Mesencephalon/physiology ; Muscle Development ; Muscles/innervation ; Occipital Lobe/physiology ; Reference Values ; Sexual Maturation ; Stapedius/growth & development/*physiology ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {The stapedius muscle activity associated with vocalization was analyzed in young and adult roosters. Our results show that remarkable differences in the behavior of vocalization-related stapedius muscle activity exist between these two ages. Unlike young roosters, electrical stimulation in the midbrain of adult cocks yields vocalizations associated with stapedius muscle EMG responses that always show a higher threshold and a longer latency than those of the vocalization induced. Moreover, the maximal amplitude of the stapedius muscle EMG response is consistently lower than that detected in young roosters, despite the fact that the maximal vocalization amplitude of the adult birds is much higher. On the whole our results demonstrate that vocalization-related stapedius muscle activity is strongly reduced in adulthood. The possibility that stapedius muscle may play a role during the vocal development was verified by comparing the crow of normal roosters with that of cocks from which the stapedius muscle had been removed shortly after hatching. Strong differences exist in the amplitude/frequency distribution of the crowing of normal and stapedectomized roosters, suggesting that the stapedius muscle exerts an important role in auditory feedback modulation, and that this feedback is used for normal vocal development.}, } @article {pmid2606469, year = {1989}, author = {Clifton, PG and Andrew, RJ}, title = {Contrasting effects of pre- and posthatch exposure to gonadal steroids on the development of vocal, sexual, and aggressive behavior of young domestic fowl.}, journal = {Hormones and behavior}, volume = {23}, number = {4}, pages = {572-589}, doi = {10.1016/0018-506x(89)90043-3}, pmid = {2606469}, issn = {0018-506X}, mesh = {Aggression/*drug effects ; Animals ; Arousal/drug effects ; Chickens ; Dihydrotestosterone/*analogs & derivatives/pharmacology ; Dose-Response Relationship, Drug ; Estradiol/*pharmacology ; Male ; Sex Differentiation/*drug effects ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/*drug effects ; Sexual Maturation/*drug effects ; Testosterone/*pharmacology ; Vocalization, Animal/*drug effects ; }, abstract = {Prehatch treatment of domestic chicks with 17 beta-estradiol dipropionate (EDP) reduces later testosterone-facilitated sexual behavior, crowing, and suppression of peeping. Prehatch treatment with 5 alpha-dihydrotestosterone propionate (DHTP) reduces later testosterone-facilitated aggressive behavior and produces greatly enhanced avoidance that interferes with sexual behavior in some test situations. It also disturbs crowing by removing trilled call elements and increasing the number of elements/crow but has little effect on crowing posture. The majority of these results can be understood as "demasculinizing" effects of gonadal steroids on the developing male fetus, but the possibility that some result from more extreme pathological changes is also discussed. Posthatch treatment with DHTP facilitates attack and cackling but has no effect on sexual behavior or crowing; the synthetic androgen R1881 has similar effects on cackling and also has no effect on sexual behavior or crowing. Posthatch treatment with EDP enhances sexual behavior but has no effect on attack; the aromatase inhibitor 1,4,6-Androstatrien-3,17-dione (ATD) blocked the suppression of peeping by testosterone but had no effect on testosterone-facilitated sexual behavior. Combined posthatch treatment with EDP and DHTP facilitated crowing although treatment with either steroid alone was ineffective.}, } @article {pmid3169393, year = {1988}, author = {Smith, IM and Bryson, SE}, title = {Monozygotic twins concordant for autism and hyperlexia.}, journal = {Developmental medicine and child neurology}, volume = {30}, number = {4}, pages = {527-531}, doi = {10.1111/j.1469-8749.1988.tb04780.x}, pmid = {3169393}, issn = {0012-1622}, mesh = {Autistic Disorder/genetics/psychology ; Child ; Child Development ; *Diseases in Twins ; Humans ; Intellectual Disability/genetics ; Male ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Reflex, Abnormal/*genetics/psychology ; Twins, Monozygotic ; }, abstract = {The authors describe male monozygotic twins, Jon and Jay, who are concordant for autism and hyperlexia. Autism and mental retardation were diagnosed at the age of 2 years 5 months. Jay was the more advanced twin in motor co-ordination, attention span and receptive abilities, but had frequent tantrums. When psychologically assessed at 7 years 2 months, Jon showed borderline/severe mental retardation on the measure of non-verbal intelligence and Jay was moderately retarded. Their receptive language age was greater than their expressive language age: Jon's speech was less mature but more communicative and Jay's was perseverative and ritualistic. Even though Jon was the more mentally retarded twin, Jay was the more autistic in some behavioral aspects. These twins highlight the relationship between autism and hyperlexia.}, } @article {pmid11649915, year = {1987}, author = {Caplan, AL}, title = {Can we talk? A review of Jay Katz, The Silent World of Doctor and Patient.}, journal = {Western New England law review}, volume = {9}, number = {1}, pages = {43-52}, pmid = {11649915}, issn = {0190-6593}, mesh = {Attitude ; *Communication ; *Decision Making ; Disclosure ; Economics ; *Freedom ; Human Experimentation ; Humans ; *Informed Consent ; Medicine ; Moral Obligations ; *Paternalism ; Patient Care ; *Patient Participation ; Patients ; *Personal Autonomy ; *Physician-Patient Relations ; Research Personnel ; Research Subjects ; Social Dominance ; Social Responsibility ; Social Values ; }, } @article {pmid3445809, year = {1987}, author = {Bruck, JC and Baker, TJ and Gordon, H}, title = {Facial mimics and the coronal brow lift.}, journal = {Aesthetic plastic surgery}, volume = {11}, number = {4}, pages = {199-201}, pmid = {3445809}, issn = {0364-216X}, mesh = {Eyebrows/*surgery ; Facial Expression ; Facial Muscles/*surgery ; Female ; Humans ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Surgery, Plastic/*methods ; }, abstract = {The classic rhytidectomy leaves the upper third of the face without improvement. Yet the eye-eyebrow region is the most influential in determining facial expressions. There is only a narrow range of positions of the eyebrows in which they are perceived as attractive. The influence of the coronal browlift on facial mimics is discussed as it seems to be a way to predictably reposition the eyebrows and improve crow's feet and forehead, and glabellar wrinkles at the same time. The results of 56 patients surveyed 1-3 years postoperatively are presented.}, } @article {pmid3557641, year = {1986}, author = {North, AJ and Ulatowska, HK and Macaluso-Haynes, S and Bell, H}, title = {Discourse performance in older adults.}, journal = {International journal of aging & human development}, volume = {23}, number = {4}, pages = {267-283}, doi = {10.2190/BPF0-2BWD-BGNQ-HWCW}, pmid = {3557641}, issn = {0091-4150}, mesh = {Age Factors ; Aged ; *Aging ; Cognition ; Female ; Humans ; *Language ; Mental Recall ; Middle Aged ; Speech ; }, abstract = {Thirty-three elderly women, whose mean age was 76.2 years, and eighteen middle-aged women, whose mean age was 45.6 years, were assessed on a number of linguistic discourse tasks. The women were well educated, and most of them were or had been engaged in the teaching profession. Each woman was given narrative discourse tasks involving recall of stories, summarizing stories, giving the morals of the stories, procedural discourse tasks, interview to assess cognitive functioning and communicative abilities, and the following cognitive tests: Block Design, Symbol-Digit, Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices, and Word Fluency. The findings were that the older group generally performed more poorly than did the middle-aged group on most of the discourse tasks and cognitive tests. Within the older group, measures of quality of discourse were generally negatively related to age and positively related to scores on cognitive tests.}, } @article {pmid2863872, year = {1985}, author = {Goldberg, SC}, title = {Negative and deficit symptoms in schizophrenia do respond to neuroleptics.}, journal = {Schizophrenia bulletin}, volume = {11}, number = {3}, pages = {453-456}, doi = {10.1093/schbul/11.3.453}, pmid = {2863872}, issn = {0586-7614}, mesh = {Antipsychotic Agents/*therapeutic use ; Arousal/drug effects ; Humans ; Interpersonal Relations ; Neurocognitive Disorders/drug therapy ; Schizophrenia/*drug therapy ; Schizophrenia, Disorganized/drug therapy ; Schizophrenic Language ; *Schizophrenic Psychology ; Social Environment ; Verbal Behavior/drug effects ; }, abstract = {Five large-scale placebo-controlled studies are cited to show that, contrary to the contention of Johnstone et al. (1976) and Crow (1980), negative and/or deficit symptoms in schizophrenia do indeed respond to neuroleptic treatment. Further evidence is given that it is the "organic-like" symptoms (visual and olfactory hallucinations, disorientation, and memory deficit) that do not respond to neuroleptics. This would more sensibly reformulate the hypothesis of Johnstone et al. (1976) and Crow (1980) to state that schizophrenic patients with enlarged ventricles tend to show symptoms of organicity and tend not to respond to neuroleptics.}, } @article {pmid6206094, year = {1984}, author = {David, RM and Skilbeck, CE}, title = {Raven IQ and language recovery following stroke.}, journal = {Journal of clinical neuropsychology}, volume = {6}, number = {3}, pages = {302-308}, doi = {10.1080/01688638408401220}, pmid = {6206094}, issn = {0165-0475}, mesh = {Aged ; Aphasia/diagnosis/*psychology ; Cerebral Infarction/*psychology ; Follow-Up Studies ; Humans ; *Intelligence Tests ; Male ; Psychometrics ; }, abstract = {The relationship between IQ and language recovery in aphasic patients was investigated using Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices, Functional Communication Profile, and Schuell scores. The study involved 148 stroke patients who were part of a controlled trial of speech therapy. Although initial IQ correlated with severity of aphasia, no evidence was found for a relationship between IQ and subsequent language recovery. Nevertheless, initial IQ level was found to relate to some measures of physical status and to death soon after testing.}, } @article {pmid24896518, year = {1984}, author = {Røskaft, E and Espmark, Y}, title = {Sibling recognition in the rook (Corvus frugilegus).}, journal = {Behavioural processes}, volume = {9}, number = {2-3}, pages = {223-230}, doi = {10.1016/0376-6357(84)90042-1}, pmid = {24896518}, issn = {0376-6357}, abstract = {In this study we tested whether rook siblings were able to recognize each other vocally when 2-2 1 2 months-old and, if so, whether this recognition still persisted about 10 months later. Twelve rook nestlings were hand-reared. Vocal recognition by the young birds (aged 2-2 1 2 months) was tested. The birds responded significantly more frequently to the call of a sibling than to the call of a non-sibling. This indicates that audible cues are at least important for sibling recognition. The individual rooks were thereafter visually isolated, in 12 individual cages, for a further 10 months. The birds were then put together in an aviary and their social relationships studied. Siblings were significantly less aggressive towards each other than towards non-siblings and siblings remained close together significantly more often than non-siblings. The significance of sibling recognition is discussed.}, } @article {pmid6483175, year = {1984}, author = {Vocate, DR}, title = {Differential cerebral speech lateralization in Crow Indian and Anglo children.}, journal = {Neuropsychologia}, volume = {22}, number = {4}, pages = {487-494}, doi = {10.1016/0028-3932(84)90043-5}, pmid = {6483175}, issn = {0028-3932}, mesh = {Child ; *Dominance, Cerebral ; Humans ; Indians, North American/*psychology ; *Language ; Montana ; Phonetics ; Semantics ; *Speech Perception ; }, abstract = {Sixty pairs of dichotically presented CV syllables were administered to matched samples of bilingual Native American Crow and monolingual Anglo subjects. While sex and grade were not significant factors, a significant variance was found between the performance of the bilingual Native American Crow and the monolingual Anglo subjects. As predicted (1) the bilingual children demonstrated a more symmetrical cerebral representation for language processing than the monolingual children; and (2) the bilingual primary Crow speakers had a greater right hemisphere involvement in receptive language processing than the monolingual English speakers. Possible factors influencing these results are discussed.}, } @article {pmid7054135, year = {1982}, author = {Gibian, GL and Kim, DO}, title = {Cochlear microphonic evidence for mechanical propagation of distortion products (f2 - f1) and (2f1 - f2).}, journal = {Hearing research}, volume = {6}, number = {1}, pages = {35-59}, doi = {10.1016/0378-5955(82)90006-5}, pmid = {7054135}, issn = {0378-5955}, support = {NS 00162/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States ; NS 07057/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States ; NS 07498/NS/NINDS NIH HHS/United States ; }, mesh = {Acoustic Stimulation ; Animals ; Basilar Membrane/physiology ; Chinchilla ; Cochlear Duct/physiology ; *Cochlear Microphonic Potentials ; Cochlear Nerve/physiology ; *Evoked Potentials, Auditory ; Models, Biological ; }, abstract = {The present cochlear microphonic (CM) study was undertaken to help resolve a conflict in the literature regarding cochlear nonlinear properties. The CM studies of Dallos and his coworkers have concluded that "(up to 70-80 dB SPL [re 20 mu Pa]), all orders of distortion components...do not seem to be accompanied by traveling waves of their own" (Dallos, P. (1973): The Auditory Periphery: Biophysics and Physiology. Academic Press, New York). However, studies of spatial distributions of cochlear nerve fiber responses, acoustic distortion products in the ear canal, and related modeling studies of Kim et al. (Kim, D.O. and Molnar, C.E. (1975): in: The Nervous System, Vol. 3: Human Communication and Its Disorders. Editor: D.B. Tower. Raven Press, New York; Kim, D.O., Molnar, C.E. and Matthews, J.W. (1980): J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67, 1704-1721) have led to conclusions to the contrary. In the present study, CM data were obtained from the second and third turns of the chinchilla cochlea using fluid-filled glass micropipettes in scala media and nichrome wire electrodes in scala vestibuli and scala tympani. We sought responses containing predominant distortion products (f2 - f1) and (2f1 - f2) by fixing a distortion frequency (fD) near the characteristic frequency (CF) of the recording site and varying the stimulus frequencies f1 and f2 and SPLs (with L1 = L2). By subsequently varying the distortion frequency around the CF, e.g., fixing f1 well above the CF and varying f2, we measured the tuning characteristics of the distortion products (f2 - f1) and (2f1 - f2). Tuning characteristics of single-tone responses were measured by applying single-tone stimuli of various frequencies with a constant SPL at the eardrum. We have observed, with SPLs as low as 25 dB, that these distortion products in CM display tuning similar to the single-tone response which is consistent with above neural results. From these tuning similarities, we conclude that our CM data reflect the presence of mechanically propagated distortion products at low SPLs, in agreement with the above studies by Kim et al. Validity of our results is supported by the sensitivity and sharp tuning of our CM data and, in the case of the scala media recordings, by the presence of a normal d.c. endolymphatic potential. Plausible explanations for the opposing conclusions of previous studies of Dallos et al. and the present study are discussed.}, } @article {pmid7193453, year = {1980}, author = {Foch, TT and Plomin, R}, title = {Specific cognitive abilities in 5- to 12-year-old twins.}, journal = {Behavior genetics}, volume = {10}, number = {6}, pages = {507-520}, pmid = {7193453}, issn = {0001-8244}, mesh = {Child ; Child, Preschool ; *Cognition ; Environment ; Female ; Humans ; Intelligence ; Male ; Memory ; Pregnancy ; Space Perception ; Twins/*psychology ; Twins, Dizygotic/psychology ; Twins, Monozygotic/psychology ; Verbal Behavior ; Visual Perception ; Wechsler Scales ; }, abstract = {Eleven tests of specific cognitive abilities were administered to 108 pairs of young twins (average age of 7.6 years). Internal consistencies are high for all measures except Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and Delayed Picture Memory. Two-month, test-retest reliabilities are also reported. The twin sample is representative in terms of both means and variances when compared to normative data from standardization samples, and twin correlations for height and weight are similar to those obtained in six other twin studies. Because all measures were highly correlated with age (average correlation with age was 0.64), scores were aged adjusted. Previous twin studies of specific cognitive abilities in adolescents and adults found genetic variance for nearly all tests. In contrast, our study of young twins yielded significant genetic influence for only 1 of the 11 measures, PIAT Reading Recognition, and suggested the possibility of genetic influence on 2 others (vocabulary and WISC-R mazes). Environmental influences seem to dominate, particularly for nonverbal measures, as children begin their education. In accord with other studies, we found that between-family environmental factors have an important influence on the development of nearly all of the measures of specific cognitive abilities. However, we found that our tests of perceptual speed and memory were substantially influenced by within-family environmental factors independent of error.}, } @article {pmid111841, year = {1979}, author = {Andrieux, M}, title = {[Operant vocal conditioning in the raven (Corvus corax L.)].}, journal = {Comptes rendus des seances de l'Academie des sciences. Serie D, Sciences naturelles}, volume = {288}, number = {15}, pages = {1191-1194}, pmid = {111841}, issn = {0567-655X}, mesh = {Animals ; Birds/*physiology ; Conditioning, Operant/*physiology ; Psychophysiology/methods ; Vocalization, Animal/*physiology ; }, } @article {pmid567911, year = {1978}, author = {Miller, DB}, title = {Species-typical and individually distinctive acoustic features of crow calls of red jungle fowl.}, journal = {Zeitschrift fur Tierpsychologie}, volume = {47}, number = {2}, pages = {182-183}, doi = {10.1111/j.1439-0310.1978.tb01830.x}, pmid = {567911}, issn = {0044-3573}, mesh = {Animals ; Animals, Wild ; Birds/*physiology ; Chickens/physiology ; Humans ; Male ; Sex Factors ; Species Specificity ; Stereotyped Behavior ; *Vocalization, Animal ; }, abstract = {Crow calls of red jungle fowl (Gallus gallus) were analyzed for the purposes of (a) determining the extent of commonality and variability of acoustic features within and between individual roosters, and (b) characterizing the modal crow call of this species. Comparisons were made between crow calls of jungle fowl and those of domestic fowl to assess the extent to which domestication has affected these motor patterns.}, } @article {pmid655202, year = {1978}, author = {Carlson, JS and Wiedl, KH}, title = {Use of testing-the-limits procedures in the assessment of intellectual capabilities in children with learning difficulties.}, journal = {American journal of mental deficiency}, volume = {82}, number = {6}, pages = {559-564}, pmid = {655202}, issn = {0002-9351}, mesh = {Child ; Feedback ; Form Perception ; Humans ; *Intelligence Tests ; Learning Disabilities/*psychology ; Perceptual Closure ; Problem Solving ; Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {Various testing-the-limits procedures were employed in administering the Raven Coloured Progressive Matrices test to 108 subjects with learning difficulties (age range 8.4 to 12.9 years). Both the picture and the puzzle forms of the test were employed in a repeated-measures format. Results revealed significant improvement in performance due to testing condition, test version, and repeated testing. Testing conditions involving verbalization and feedback were most salient. Performance on the second testing was higher than on the first testing. Localization of these effects was made to subgroupings of items on the test. The results were discussed in theoretical and practical terms.}, } @article {pmid320829, year = {1977}, author = {Miceli, G and Caltagirone, C and Gainotti, G}, title = {Gangliosides in the treatment of mental deterioration. A double-blind comparison with placebo.}, journal = {Acta psychiatrica Scandinavica}, volume = {55}, number = {2}, pages = {102-110}, doi = {10.1111/j.1600-0447.1977.tb00145.x}, pmid = {320829}, issn = {0001-690X}, mesh = {Clinical Trials as Topic ; Drug Evaluation ; Educational Status ; Gangliosides/*therapeutic use ; Humans ; Intelligence Tests ; Mental Disorders/*drug therapy ; Neurocognitive Disorders/drug therapy ; Neuropsychological Tests ; Placebos ; Psychological Tests ; Spatial Behavior ; Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {Thirty patients showing signs of mental deterioration were submitted to a neuropsychological battery before and after treatment with gangliosides. Their performances were compared, in a double-blind study, with those obtained on the same tests by 30 patients affected by similar degrees of dementia and treated with placebo. The improvement shown on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices and on Immediate Visual Memory by the active group was significantly higher than that shown by the placebo group. Furthermore, an evaluation of the overall effect of gangliosides therapy showed a highly significant difference between the active and placebo group, still in favour of the subjects treated with gangliosides. It is concluded that gangliosides may exert a positive effect in the treatment of demential syndromes.}, } @article {pmid956802, year = {1976}, author = {Andreasen, NC}, title = {Do depressed patients show thought disorder?.}, journal = {The Journal of nervous and mental disease}, volume = {163}, number = {3}, pages = {186-192}, doi = {10.1097/00005053-197609000-00006}, pmid = {956802}, issn = {0022-3018}, mesh = {Adult ; Association ; *Depression/therapy ; Humans ; Middle Aged ; *Thinking ; Verbal Behavior ; }, abstract = {Twenty-one patients suffering from major depressive disorder are compared for evidence of thought disorder on admission and at the time of discharge. Two aspects of cognition are evaluated: the ability to abstract, and the quality of association. These aspects of cognition were tested using the Shipley-Hartford, the Raven Progressive Matrices, and the Goldstein-Scheerer Object Sorting Test. Althouh the patients showed some improvement in ability to abstract, and although their associations became somewhat less underinclusive or improverished, these improvements did not achieve statistical significance. Consequently, this group of depressed patients did not appear to show any thought disorder of the type under investigation.}, } @article {pmid773368, year = {1976}, author = {Carter-Saltzman, L and Scarr-Salapatek, S and Barker, WB and Katz, S}, title = {Left-handedness in twins: incidence and patterns of performance in an adolescent sample.}, journal = {Behavior genetics}, volume = {6}, number = {2}, pages = {189-203}, pmid = {773368}, issn = {0001-8244}, mesh = {Adolescent ; African Americans ; Child ; Cognition/*physiology ; Concept Formation/physiology ; Female ; *Functional Laterality ; Humans ; Male ; Pregnancy ; Projective Techniques ; Sex Factors ; Space Perception/physiology ; *Twins ; Twins, Dizygotic ; Twins, Monozygotic ; Verbal Behavior/physiology ; }, abstract = {Data on handedness and cognitive performance in an adolescent sample of same-sex twins were collected, and questions about incidence of left-handedness in twins and the relation between handedness and cognitive performance were considered. Same-sex twins have been found to have a higher incidence of left-handedness than that usually reported in the general population. There is a high incidence of handedness discordance (one twin right-handed and his cotwin left-handed) in both monozygotic and dizygotic twin pairs. In this sample, males and Blacks had particularly high rates of left-handedness. Among the monozygotic and dizygotic discordant pairs, quite different patterns of cognitive performance were found. On the Raven Progressive Matrices, the Columbia Test of Mental Maturity, and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test, the left-handers did better than their right-handed cotwins in the monozygotic pairs and the right-handers did better than their left-handed cotwins in the dizygotic pairs. Within subjects, no signficant differences were found for superiority of spatial or verbal abilities for either right-handers or left-handers. No general statements can be made about the performance of left-handed twins, since performance differs according to zygosity and handedness of cotwin configurations.}, } @article {pmid1218375, year = {1975}, author = {Kertesz, A and McCabe, P}, title = {Intelligence and aphasia: performance of aphasics on Raven's coloured progressive matrices (RCPM).}, journal = {Brain and language}, volume = {2}, number = {4}, pages = {387-395}, doi = {10.1016/s0093-934x(75)80079-4}, pmid = {1218375}, issn = {0093-934X}, mesh = {*Aphasia ; Brain Damage, Chronic ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; *Intelligence Tests ; Language ; Speech ; }, } @article {pmid4784918, year = {1973}, author = {Kertesz, A}, title = {Intelligence and aphasia. Performance of aphasies on Raven's Coloured Progressive Matrices.}, journal = {Transactions of the American Neurological Association}, volume = {98}, number = {}, pages = {126-128}, pmid = {4784918}, issn = {0065-9479}, mesh = {Adult ; *Aphasia/complications ; Brain Damage, Chronic ; Evaluation Studies as Topic ; Humans ; *Intelligence ; Intelligence Tests ; Language ; Mental Disorders/etiology ; }, }