COVID-19 Vaccination Acceptance: A Case of Interplay Between Political and Health Dimensions

Vaccines are essential for the eradication of diseases. Yet for many reasons, individuals do not embrace them completely. In the COVID-19 pandemic and with the possibility of the Brazilian population's immunization against the disease, both political and health-related dimensions might have had a role in individual COVID-19 vaccination acceptance. In two studies (n = 974), we tested the hypothesis that participants' vaccination acceptance is related to their past vote in the 2018 Brazilian presidential election (being or not being a Jair Bolsonaro voter) and their different levels of perceived vulnerability to disease (PVD). We further tested whether Bolsonaro's opposition or ambiguous messages towards vaccination (vs. control) increased vaccination rejection among those who have (vs. have not) voted for him and who are low (vs. high) in PVD. Results show that Bolsonaro (vs. non-Bolsonaro) voters accepted less vaccination, with higher rejection rates when participants expressed low (vs. high) PVD. Also, when primed either with Bolsonaro's opposed or ambiguous messages towards COVID-19 vaccination, such participants accepted less vaccines (vs. participants primed with neutral information). These findings are the first to show that the COVID-19 vaccine acceptance is related to their past vote and leadership influence but also different levels of perceived vulnerability to disease.     

The comparative psychology of same-different judgments by humans (Homo sapiens) and monkeys (Macaca mulatta)

The authors compared the performance of humans and monkeys in a Same-Different task. They evaluated the hypothesis that for humans the Same-Different concept is qualitative, categorical, and rule-based, so that humans distinguish 0-disparity pairs (i.e., same) from pairs with any discernible disparity (i.e., different); whereas for monkeys the Same-Different concept is quantitative, continuous, and similarity-based, so that monkeys distinguish small-disparity pairs (i.e., similar) from pairs with a large disparity (i.e., dissimilar). The results supported the hypothesis. Monkeys, more than humans, showed a gradual transition from same to different categories and an inclusive criterion for responding Same. The results have implications for comparing Same-Different performances across species--different species may not always construe or perform even identical tasks in the same way. In particular, humans may especially apply qualitative, rule-based frameworks to cognitive tasks like Same-Different.     

Paradoxical sleep deprivation impairs acquisition, consolidation, and retrieval of a discriminative avoidance task in rats

The aim of the present study was to investigate the effects of paradoxical sleep deprivation (PSD) for 96 h on the learning/memory processes in rats submitted to the plus-maze discriminative avoidance task (PM-DAT), which simultaneously evaluates learning, memory, anxiety and motor function. Four experiments were performed in which rats were submitted to: (1) post-training and pre-test PSD; (2) post-training or pre-test PSD; (3) pre-training PSD or pre-training paradoxical sleep (PS) rebound (24 h) and (4) pre-test PSD rebound. Concerning Experiment I, post-training and pre-test PSD induced memory deficits, an anxiolytic-like behavior and an increase in locomotor activity. In Experiment II, both post-training PS-deprived and pre-test PS-deprived groups showed memory deficits per se. However, only the pre-test PS-deprived animals presented anxiolytic-like behavior and increased locomotor activity. In Experiment III, pre-training PS-deprived rats showed learning and memory deficits, anxiolytic-like behavior and increased locomotor activity. A 24h-sleep recovery period after the PSD abolished the learning and memory deficits but not anxiety and locomotor alterations. Finally, sleep rebound did not modify acquisition (Experiment III) and retrieval (Experiment IV). This study strengthened the critical role of paradoxical sleep (but not sleep rebound) in all the phases of learning and memory formation. In addition, it suggests that PSD effects on acquisition and consolidation do not seem to be related to other behavioral alterations induced by this procedure.     

Aversive experiences are associated with a rapid and transient activation of ERKs in the rat hippocampus.

The extracellular signal-regulated kinases (ERKs) family of mitogen-activated protein kinases (MAPKs) has been shown to participate in memory formation. We recently found that a hippocampal ERK/MAPK cascade is required for memory formation of an inhibitory avoidance training in rats. Here we reported that this learning task is accompanied by a rapid increase in the phosphorylation of hippocampal p44 MAPK. A single mild foot shock produced a similar effect and three consecutive foot shocks provoked the activation of both p44 and p42 MAPKs. In contrast, a brief exposure to the training box or the habituation to an open field did not alter hippocampal ERK/MAPK levels. Together, these findings indicate that aversive behavioral experiences induced a rapid and transient activation of ERK/MAPKs in the hippocampus.     

Peek-a-boo, I See You: Watching Japanese Hard-core Animation

This essay proposes a phenomenological approach to the viewing of Japanese hard-core animation (widely known in the West as “hentai”), a type of erotica frequently characterized by detailed, unusual and fantastic depictions of sexual activity habitually intended for sexual arousal. Pertinent instances of Japanese traditions of erotica and visual representation, as well as Japanese animation and its industry are briefly reviewed. The main theoretical focus is on the experience of viewing such animated material and is mostly informed by Western notions of pornography and film viewing, particularly Vivian Sobchack’s work on the phenomenology of film.

Learning reward expectations in honeybees

The aim of this study was to test whether honeybees develop reward expectations. In our experiment, bees first learned to associate colors with a sugar reward in a setting closely resembling a natural foraging situation. We then evaluated whether and how the sequence of the animals’ experiences with different reward magnitudes changed their later behavior in the absence of reinforcement and within an otherwise similar context. We found that the bees that had experienced increasing reward magnitudes during training assigned more time to flower inspection 24 and 48 h after training. Our design and behavioral measurements allowed us to uncouple the signal learning and the nutritional aspects of foraging from the effects of subjective reward values. We thus found that the animals behaved differently neither because they had more strongly associated the related predicting signals nor because they were fed more or faster. Our results document for the first time that honeybees develop long-term expectations of reward; these expectations can guide their foraging behavior after a relatively long pause and in the absence of reinforcement, and further experiments will aim toward an elucidation of the neural mechanisms involved in this form of learning.     

Tummy time without the tears: The impact of parent positioning and play

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) recommends that infants spend supervised time in the prone (tummy) position to foster motor development and prevent cranial deformities. However, infants may not tolerate the position, and consequently, caregivers may avoid placing their infants in the prone position. The AAP recommends that caregivers provide toys or interaction during tummy time. We evaluated the individual and combined effects of a play mat and experimenter interaction on negative vocalizations and head elevation during tummy time—positive effects were limited. Next, we evaluated a parent-led intervention wherein mothers interacted with their infants, using a toy, while lying chest-to-chest. This intervention was associated with a reduction in negative vocalizations and an increase in head elevation for the majority of infants. Additionally, mothers rated the effectiveness of the parent-led intervention more favorably than the experimenter-led intervention, suggesting the effects of the parent-led intervention were also socially valid.     

Beyond the image paradigm: Systemic evolution through participative planning

This paper is an attempt at introducing a formal framework for societal, participative, anticipatory, inner‐change oriented and open‐ended ‘’ learning for evolution.” The key point of our approach is that it considers the evolution of a social system not exclusively as an appropriate result of the given system structure, operating and behaving under external constraints; but mainly as an outer (or observable) consequence of some inner changes brought about from within the system of heterogenous actors‐designers in their effort to cope with complexities generated equally by external constraints and by the network of mutual relationships between them. The actors‐designers are thus trying to assess critically the courses the system could possibly take in the future and also to isolate —through a dialogue between them—the so‐called “evolutionary” ones. Consequently, a policy‐oriented approach to “social homcorhesis” is obtained. It opens the way to a participative planning outlook on societal learning.