Antagonistic pleiotropy at the human IL6 promoter confers genetic resilience to the pro-inflammatory effects of adverse social conditions in adolescence

The authors tested the evolutionary genetic hypothesis that the functional form of an asymmetrically risky Gene × Environment interaction will differ as a function of age-related antagonistic pleiotropy (i.e., show opposite effects in young vs. old individuals). Previous studies have identified a polymorphism in the human IL6 promoter (rs1800795; IL6-74 G/C) that interacts with adverse socioenvironmental conditions to promote chronic inflammation in older adults (elevated C-reactive protein). This study identifies a protective effect of the same polymorphism in 17- to 19-year-old adolescents confronting socioeconomic adversity. Over 60% of the environmental risk contribution to the IL6 × Socioeconomic Status interaction could be accounted for by interpersonal stress and adult role burden. Thus, the IL6-174G allele does not represent an undifferentiated risk factor but instead sensitizes inflammatory biology to socioenvironmental conditions, conferring either genetic vulnerability or resilience depending on the developmental "somatic environment" that interacts with social conditions to influence gene expression.     

Effect of racial bias on composite construction

We investigated how prior bias about a face's racial characteristics can affect its encoding and resultant facial composite construction. In total, 61 participants (24 Europeans, 18 Indians living in India and 19 Indians living in Europe) saw a racially ambiguous unfamiliar face and were led to believe it was either European or Indian. They created a composite of this face, using EFIT6. Two groups of independent raters (one Indian, the other European) then assessed the apparent race of each composite. A different two groups (one Indian, one European) assessed each composite's degree of resemblance to the target face, to determine whether this was influenced by the constructors' initial categorisation of the target face as “own-race” or “other-race.” Composites appeared significantly more “Asian” or “European” according to the bias induced in their creators, but there was no evidence of any own-race bias in the resemblance ratings for the composites.     

Sound changes that lead to seeing longer-lasting shapes

To survive, people must construct an accurate representation of the world around them. There is a body of research on visual scene analysis, and a largely separate literature on auditory scene analysis. The current study follows up research from the smaller literature on audiovisual scene analysis. Prior work demonstrated that when there is an abrupt size change to a moving object, observers tend to see two objects rather than one—the abrupt visual change enhances visible persistence of the briefly presented different-sized object. Moreover, if a sequence of tones accompanies the moving object, visible persistence is enhanced if the tone frequency suddenly changes at the same time that the object’s size changes. Here, we show that although a sound change must occur at roughly the same time as a visual change to enhance visible persistence, there is a fairly wide time frame during which the sound change can occur. In addition, the impact of a sound change on visible persistence is not simply matter of the physical pattern: The same pattern of sound can enhance visible persistence or not, depending on how the pattern is itself perceived. Specifically, a change in a tone’s frequency can enhance visible persistence when it accompanies a visual size change, but the same frequency change will not do so if the shift is embedded in a larger pattern that makes the change merely a continuation of alternating frequencies. The current study supports a scene analysis process that is both multimodal and actively constructive.     

Historiography of Indian Philosophy: Reflections on Periodization and Conceptualization

Journal of Indian Council of Philosophical Research - This paper provides one of the many ways of doing historiography, specifically concerning Indian philosophy. After making some general...