Blalockmcpherson5053

The finding of reasonably consistent spatial and temporal productions of actions across different body parts has been used to argue in favor of the existence of a high-order representation of motor programs. In these terms, a generalized motor program consists of an abstract memory structure apt to specify a class of non-specific instructions used to guide a broad range of movements (e.g., "grasp," "bite"). Although a number of studies, using a variety of tasks, have assessed the issue of effector independence in terms of action execution, little is known regarding the issue of effector independence within an action observation context. Here corticospinal excitability (CSE) of the right hand's first dorsal interosseous (FDI) and abductor digiti minimi (ADM) muscles was assessed by means of single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (spTMS) during observation of a grasping action performed by the hand, the foot, the mouth, the elbow, or the knee. The results indicate that observing a grasping action performed with different body parts activates the effector typically adopted to execute that action, i.e., the hand. Simufilam We contend that, as far as grasping is concerned, motor activations by action observation are evident in the muscles typically used to perform the observed action, even when the action is executed with another effector. Nevertheless, some exceptions call for a deeper analysis of motor coding. Copyright © 2019 Betti, Deceuninck, Sartori and Castiello.The fight and flight theory and the tend-and-befriend theory suggest two opposite behavioral stress responses, and heterogeneous research results revealed the importance of taking sex into account. The experiment was designed to investigate the effect of stress-related cortisol reactivity on subsequent prosocial decision-making behaviors, and the moderating role of sex and empathic concern (EC) in the process. Sixty-one healthy students (34 women, 27 men) underwent the Trier Social Stress Test for Groups (TSST-G) or the control condition. Subsequently, participants completed three economic tasks-the dictator game, the ultimatum game, and the third-party compensation game. Statistical analyses revealed a significant main effect of cortisol reactivity on individuals' third-party compensation behaviorssex. A sex-specific effect of stress-related cortisol change on prosocial behaviors was found, with men behaving more generously in the dictator game as stress-related cortisol reactivity increased. Furthermore, the level of EC was found to moderate the association between stress-related cortisol change and prosocial behaviors, that individuals with a low level of EC reported more generosity and third-party compensation behaviors. Overall, the present study contributes to a better understanding of the behavioral stress responses, that individuals whose hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis are highly activated in response to stress would exhibit tend-and-befriend responses, but only among men and those with a low level of EC. Copyright © 2019 Zhang, Ma and Nater.Sickness behavior is an evolutionarily conserved phenomenon found across a diverse range of animals involving a change in motivational priorities to theoretically maximize energetic investment in immune function and recovery. Typical components of sickness behavior include reduced sociability and activity, changes in diet, and depressed affect. Importantly, however, sickness behavior appears to be subject to other demands of life history in animal models, including reproduction and offspring survival. Thus, "feeling sick" is often context dependent with possible effects on morbidity and mortality. While humans may not always face the same life history trade-offs, sociocultural norms and values may similarly shape sickness behavior by establishing internalized parameters for "socially appropriate sickness." We explore the role of these factors in shaping sickness behavior by surveying a national U.S. sample (n = 1,259). Self-reported and recalled sickness behavior was measured using the SicknessQ instrument, whogen transmission and recovery times, potentially contributing to health disparities. Copyright © 2020 Shattuck, Perrotte, Daniels, Xu and Sunil.Background Educational psychology research has linked fluid intelligence (Gf) with working memory (WM), but it is still dubious whether electroencephalography (EEG) markers robustly indicate Gf. This study addresses this issue and notes the relationship between WM task-related EEG markers with Gf and academic performance. Method A sample of 62 healthy children between the ages of 9 and 12 years was selected to perform three tasks (1) Raven's Standard Progressive Matrices (RSPM) test to assess Gf; (2) 2-back task to assess central executive system (CES); and (3) delayed match-to-sample task to assess short-term storage. These subjects were divided into high ability (HA) and low ability (LA) groups based on their RSPM scores. Support vector machine and logistic regression were used to train the EEG candidate indicators. A multiple regression was used to predict children's academic performance using P3 amplitude, P2 latency, and θ-ERS. Results Behavioral results demonstrated that the correct rate of the HA group is higher than that of the LA group. The event-related potential results of the 2-back task showed that the P3 amplitude of the HA group was relatively larger and that the P2 latency was shorter than that observed in the LA group. For the delayed matching to sample task, the θ-ERS of the LA group was higher than that of the HA group. However, the area under the curve of these three indicators for Gf was less then 0.75 for each and less then 0.85 for the combined indicators. In predicting academic performance, only P3 amplitude showed a significant effect. Conclusion These results challenge previous findings, which reported that P3, P2, or theta power might be used in standard psychometric tests to assess an individual's intelligence. Copyright © 2020 Luo and Zhou.Observing another person in a stressful situation can cause a full-blown physiological stress response in the observer, which is referred to as empathic stress. One way through which stress-related information might be transmitted between individuals under conditions of empathic stress is chemosensory communication. In the present study, we investigated whether the odorant Hedione, as a potential chemosignal, affects the empathic stress response at a physiological and psychological level. For this purpose, two experiments were designed, each testing one group of participants in an odor-free room and a second group in a room scented with Hedione. In Experiment 1, 60 participants (25 males) watched a video of an unknown female participant in the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). In Experiment 2, 37 free-cycling females watched a live video of a male participant in the TSST. Observers' psychological and physiological stress response was captured via repeated measurements of salivary cortisol, alpha-amylase, and self-report ratings.