Social context shapes cognitive abilities: associative memories are modulated by fight outcome and social isolation in the crab Neohelice granulata

Animal Cognition - Cognitive abilities of an animal can be influenced by distinct social experiences. However, the extent of this modulation has not been addressed in different learning scenarios:...     

Implicit open-mindedness: Evidence for and limits on stereotype malleability

Although stereotypes have traditionally been regarded as stable, research has documented their considerable malleability. One potential source of such malleability is intrusion into the stereotype of other concepts also activated when the stereotype is activated. In three experiments we assessed the extent to which stereotypes were influenced by stereotypic, stereotype-unrelated, or counter-stereotypic traits activated in a completely unrelated context immediately prior to stereotype measurement. Across experiments, priming of stereotype-unrelated traits increased their inclusion in the stereotype, whereas priming of counter-stereotypic traits had no effect in the subsequently assessed stereotype. In Experiment 3 we collected perceived dispersion measures and showed that although priming counter-stereotypic traits had no effect on overall characterization of the target group, it boosted perceptions of the group's variability. We accounted for these results by extending Higgins' (1989) Synapse Model of knowledge accessibility to the stereotype domain.     

Effects of game location, period, and quality of opposition in elite handball performances

The aims of the present study were to identify (i) home advantage in elite handball according to the quality of opponent, (ii) the game periods where the teams score more goals, and (iii) the game statistics associated with the teams' success according to the game's location. The sample comprised 480 regular season games (2007-2009) from the Spanish Professional Handball League. The goals scored and shot effectiveness (6 m, 7 m, 9 m and fast breaks) were analyzed for each 5-min. game period in games between players of balanced and unbalanced quality. The home advantage was 64%, with higher values (71%) in balanced and lower values (55%) in unbalanced games. The 5-min. game periods in which teams scored more goals were the last 5-min. period of each half, especially in the second half. The effectiveness was only different in shots closer to the goal (6 m), which supports the territoriality theory of home advantage.     

Angiotensin-(1-7)/Mas axis integrity is required for the expression of object recognition memory

It has been shown that the brain has its own intrinsic renin-angiotensin system (RAS) and angiotensin-(1-7) (Ang-(1-7)) is particularly interesting, because it appears to counterbalance most of the Ang II effects. Ang-(1-7) exerts its biological function through activation of the G-protein-coupled receptor Mas. Interestingly, hippocampus is one of the regions with higher expression of Mas. However, the role of Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis in hippocampus-dependent memories is still poorly understood. Here we demonstrated that Mas ablation, as well as the blockade of Mas in the CA1-hippocampus, impaired object recognition memory (ORM). We also demonstrated that the blockade of Ang II receptors AT1, but not AT2, recovers ORM impairment of Mas-deficient mice. Considering that high concentrations of Ang-(1-7) may activate AT1 receptors, nonspecifically, we evaluate the levels of Ang-(1-7) and its main precursors Ang I and Ang II in the hippocampus of Mas-deficient mice. The Ang I and Ang II levels are unaltered in the whole hipocampus of MasKo. However, Ang-(1-7) concentration is increased in the whole hippocampus of MasKo mice, as well as in the CA1 area. Taken together, our findings suggest that the functionality of the Ang-(1-7)/Mas axis is essential for normal ORM processing.     

Time-dependent effects of treadmill exercise on aversive memory and cyclooxygenase pathway function

Exercise induces brain function adaptations and improves learning and memory; however the time window of exercise effects has been poorly investigated. Studies demonstrate an important role for cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) pathway function in the mechanisms underlying memory formation. The aim of present work was to investigate the effects of treadmill exercise on aversive memory and COX-2, PGE(2) and E-prostanoid receptors contents in the rat hippocampus at different time points after exercise has ended. Adult male Wistar rats were assigned to non-exercised (sedentary) and exercised (running daily for 20min, for 2weeks) groups. The inhibitory avoidance task was used to assess aversive memory and the COX-2, PGE(2) and E-prostanoid receptors (EP1, EP2, EP3 and EP4) levels were determined 1h, 18h, 3days or 7days after the last training session of treadmill exercise. The step down latency in the inhibitory avoidance, COX-2 and EP4 receptors levels were acutely increased by exercise, with a significant positive correlation between aversive memory performance and COX-2 levels. Increased EP2 content decreased PGE(2) levels were observed 7days after the last running session. The treadmill exercise protocol facilitates inhibitory avoidance memory and induces time-dependent changes on COX-2 pathways function (COX-2, PGE(2) and EP receptors).     

Behavioral,Affective, and Cognitive Parenting Mechanisms of Child Internalizing and Externalizing Problems during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Research on Child and Adolescent Psychopathology - The COVID-19 pandemic has led to increased mental health concerns, including depression and anxiety among parents and internalizing and...     

Conceptual priming for realistic auditory scenes and for auditory words

Two experiments were conducted using both behavioral and Event-Related brain Potentials methods to examine conceptual priming effects for realistic auditory scenes and for auditory words. Prime and target sounds were presented in four stimulus combinations: Sound–Sound, Word–Sound, Sound–Word and Word–Word. Within each combination, targets were conceptually related to the prime, unrelated or ambiguous. In Experiment 1, participants were asked to judge whether the primes and targets fit together (explicit task) and in Experiment 2 they had to decide whether the target was typical or ambiguous (implicit task). In both experiments and in the four stimulus combinations, reaction times and/or error rates were longer/higher and the N400 component was larger to ambiguous targets than to conceptually related targets, thereby pointing to a common conceptual system for processing auditory scenes and linguistic stimuli in both explicit and implicit tasks. However, fine-grained analyses also revealed some differences between experiments and conditions in scalp topography and duration of the priming effects possibly reflecting differences in the integration of perceptual and cognitive attributes of linguistic and nonlinguistic sounds. These results have clear implications for the building-up of virtual environments that need to convey meaning without words.     

An Evaluation of Change Over Time in Everyday Cognitive Competence Among Alzheimer’s Patients

This short-term longitudinal study was designed to examine the pattern of change in everyday cognitive competence as assessed by an objective measure (i.e. the Test of Everyday Problem Solving for Cognitively Challenged Elderly; EPCCE; Willis, 1993) and by self- and caregiver reports (i.e. Instrumental Activities of Daily Living; IADL; Lawton & Brody, 1969). Patient and caregiver characteristics and clinical assessments were explored as predictors. Participants included 100 Alzheimer’s disease (AD) patients and their caregivers who were part of the Stanford Longitudinal Study. Four waves of data were examined via hierarchical linear modeling. Major findings revealed that the EPCCE and the patient IADL formed a linear pattern of decline while the caregiver IADL demonstrated a curvilinear form. Second, different sets of predictors explained the variance in the competence measures at initial status. Finally, the predictors did not account for a significant amount of variance in the instantaneous rate of change on any of the measures; however, a portion of the variance in the acceleration in the caregiver IADL was explained.