In this study, we have aimed at outlining the neural systems underlying the expression of contextual fear to social defeat. First, we have developed an experimental procedure, where defeated animals ...could express, without the presence of a dominant aggressive male, robust and reliable conditioned fear responses to the context associated with social defeat. Next, by examining the pattern of Fos expression, we have been able to outline a brain circuit comprising septal and amygdalar sites, as well as downstream hypothalamic paths, putatively involved in the expression of contextual fear to social threat. Of particular relevance, we have found that exposure to a defeat-associated context results in a striking Fos up-regulation in the dorsomedial part of the dorsal premammillary nucleus (PMDdm). To further understand the role of the PMDdm in the circuit organizing conditioned fear to social threats, we have been able to observe that pharmacological blockade of the PMDdm reduced fear responses to a social defeat-associated context. Next, we observed that pharmacological blockade of the dorsomedial part of the periaqueductal gray, one of the main targets of the PMDdm, produced an even higher reduction of conditioned fear in defeated intruders, and appears as an important node for the expression of contextual defensive responses to social threats. The present results help to elucidate the basic organization of the neural circuits underlying contextual conditioned responses to social defeat, and reveal that they share at least part of the same circuit involved in innate responses to social defeat to an aggressive conspecific.
Tetanus is a non-communicable disease, preventable with vaccination. Despite the implemented vaccination strategy, a certain number of tetanus cases per year continue to occur. The aim of the study ...was to evaluate the seroprevalence of anti-tetanus antibodies in the Italian population by age, sex and geographical area.
To determine the level of tetanus-specific antibodies, an immunoenzymatic assay was used.
A total of 3,821 serum samples were collected in the years 2019–20 from healthy subjects aged 6–90 years residing in 13 Italian regions. Overall, 85 % of the tested subjects resulted positive. The rate of subjects protected against tetanus showed a gradual decrease from the younger age groups to the older ones (6–12 years: 93.6 %, 13–24 years: 91.8 %, 25–39 years: 91.0 %, 40–64 years: 78.2 %, ≥ 65 years: 45.3 %); this is particularly evident in the Southern regions and Islands. Moreover, the prevalence of subjects with low protection (<0.1 IU/ml) was significantly higher in the ≥ 65 age group (10.3 %). Males and females’ prevalence showed a significant difference only in the oldest age group (M: 60.8 %, F: 30.4 %). In general, a higher prevalence was observed for Northern (90.8 %) and Central regions (87.3 %) than Southern regions and Islands (80.0 %).
These data, compared with epidemiological ones which showed a high number of cases in the elderly, confirmed that the population with lower protection has a greater risk of contracting the disease, demonstrating the need for adequate immunization through both primary vaccination and boosters for all ages and both sexes, in order to provide lifelong protection.
Abstract Combining the results of behavioral, neuronal immediate early gene activation, lesion and neuroanatomical experiments, we have presently investigated the role of the superior colliculus (SC) ...in predatory hunting. First, we have shown that insect hunting is associated with a characteristic large increase in Fos expression in the lateral part of the intermediate gray layer of the SC (SCig). Next, we have shown that animals with bilateral NMDA lesions of the lateral parts of the SC presented a significant delay in starting to chase the prey and longer periods engaged in other activities than predatory hunting. They also showed a clear deficit to orient themselves toward the moving prey and lost the stereotyped sequence of actions seen for capturing, holding and killing the prey. Our Phaseolus vulgaris -leucoagglutinin analysis revealed that the lateral SCig, besides providing the well-documented descending crossed pathway to premotor sites in brainstem and spinal cord, projects to a number of midbrain and diencephalic sites likely to influence key functions in the context of the predatory behavior, such as general levels of arousal, motivational level to hunt or forage, behavioral planning, appropriate selection of the basal ganglia motor plan to hunt, and motor output of the primary motor cortex. In contrast to the lateral SC lesions, medial SC lesions produced a small deficit in predatory hunting, and compared to what we have seen for the lateral SCig, the medial SCig has a very limited set of projections to thalamic sites related to the control of motor planning or motor output, and provides conspicuous inputs to brainstem sites involved in organizing a wide range of anti-predatory defensive responses. Overall, the present results served to clarify how the different functional domains in the SC may mediate the decision to pursue and hunt a prey or escape from a predator.
HPV is involved in cervical, anal, penile, vulvar and oropharyngeal cancers, as well as genital warts. It is important to investigate knowledge and attitudes among university students, considering in ...this age a shift in healthcare decision-making from parents to students themselves. The aim of this study was to estimate knowledge and perception of HPV in terms of potential shame for HPV-related conditions, trust in vaccine efficacy and worry for potential side effects.
The study involved students (18-25 years old) from the Universities of Padua and Verona, Italy. Socio-demographic and behavioural characteristics were collected with a questionnaire (n = 9988).
Female gender and older age were positively associated with higher knowledge. The adjusted logistic regression showed an association between the set of perceptions investigated and the vaccination status, while a direct connection with knowledge was not found. However, another adjusted linear regression showed that a good set of perceptions could be partially explained by a high level of knowledge. Perceptions seem to fill an intermediate position between the knowledge and the decision to get vaccinated. The potential shame deriving from asking for HPV-vaccination was not identified as a relevant barrier. Having received information from healthcare workers, family and school showed to be positively associated with the adhesion to the vaccination policy.
This study identifies university students as a possible target for HPV vaccination and pinpoints specific areas that might be targeted as first to encourage vaccine uptake. Primary prevention together with screening programmes remains essential in further reducing the burden of HPV-related diseases.
Previous studies have documented a subjective temporal attraction between actions and their effects. This finding, named intentional binding, is thought to be the result of a cognitive function that ...links actions to their consequences. Although several studies have tried to outline the necessary and sufficient conditions for intentional binding, a quantitative comparison between the roles of temporal contiguity, predictability and voluntary action and the evaluation of their interactions is difficult due to the high variability of the temporal binding measurements. In the present study, we used a novel methodology to investigate the properties of intentional binding. Subjects judged whether an auditory stimulus, which could either be triggered by a voluntary finger lift or be presented after a visual temporal marker unrelated to any action, was presented synchronously with a reference stimulus. In three experiments, the predictability, the interval between action and consequence and the presence of action itself were manipulated. The results indicate that (1) action is a necessary condition for temporal binding; (2) a fixed interval between the two events is not sufficient to cause the effect and (3) only in the presence of voluntary action do temporal predictability and contiguity play a significant role in modulating the effect.These findings are discussed in the context of the relationship between intentional binding and temporal expectation.
Lesion symptom mapping (LSM) tools are used on brain injury data to identify the neural structures critical for a given behavior or symptom. Univariate lesion symptom mapping (ULSM) methods provide ...statistical comparisons of behavioral test scores in patients with and without a lesion on a voxel by voxel basis. More recently, multivariate lesion symptom mapping (MLSM) methods have been developed that consider the effects of all lesioned voxels in one model simultaneously. In the current study, we provide a much‐needed systematic comparison of several ULSM and MLSM methods, using both synthetic and real data to identify the potential strengths and weaknesses of both approaches. We tested the spatial precision of each LSM method for both single and dual (network type) anatomical target simulations across anatomical target location, sample size, noise level, and lesion smoothing. Additionally, we performed false positive simulations to identify the characteristics associated with each method's spurious findings. Simulations showed no clear superiority of either ULSM or MLSM methods overall, but rather highlighted specific advantages of different methods. No single method produced a thresholded LSM map that exclusively delineated brain regions associated with the target behavior. Thus, different LSM methods are indicated, depending on the particular study design, specific hypotheses, and sample size. Overall, we recommend the use of both ULSM and MLSM methods in tandem to enhance confidence in the results: Brain foci identified as significant across both types of methods are unlikely to be spurious and can be confidently reported as robust results.
In the current study, we conducted the first comprehensive, empirical comparison of several univariate and multivariate lesion symptom mapping (LSM) methods using both synthetic and real behavioral data to identify the potential strengths and weaknesses of both approaches. Cumulatively, our analyses indicated that both univariate and multivariate methods can be equally robust in locating brain–behavior relationships, depending on the design of the study, the research question being asked, and with proper spatial metrics. The results provide crucial insights into the accuracy of different LSM methods and their susceptibility to artifact, providing a first of its kind data‐driven navigational guide for users of LSM analyses.
Previous studies suggested a role for the rostral lateral periaqueductal gray (PAG) in the inhibition of maternal behavior induced by low doses of morphine in dams with previous morphine experience. ...In the present study, we first showed that unilateral NMDA lesions placed in this particular PAG region prevented the morphine-induced inhibition of maternal behavior in previously morphine-sensitized dams. As suggested by previous Fos data on the PAG, predatory hunting appears as a likely candidate to replace maternal behavior in the morphine-treated dams. By testing saline- and morphine-treated dams with live cockroaches only, we have presently shown that morphine challenge increased insect hunting. Moreover, morphine- and saline-treated dams were also observed in an environment containing pups and roaches. Although most of the saline-treated animals displayed active nursing and only occasionally presented insect hunting, all of the morphine-treated animals ignored the pups and avidly pursued and caught the roaches. We next questioned whether the rostral lateral PAG would be involved in this behavioral switch. Our results showed that unilateral lesions of the rostral lateral PAG, but not other parts of the PAG, partially impaired predatory hunting and restored part of the maternal response. Moreover, bilateral lesions of the rostral lateral PAG produced even more dramatic effects in inhibiting insect hunting and restoring maternal behavior. The present findings indisputably show that the rostral lateral PAG influences switching from maternal to hunting behavior in morphine-treated dams, thus supporting a previously unsuspected role for the PAG in selecting adaptive behavioral responses.
•We investigated whether temporal binding is result of prior bias or learning.•We measured how temporal estimates evolved throughout experimental blocks.•Temporal estimates became shorter in blocks ...with and without action.•Participants had different prior biases as to intervals in which action was involved.
It has consistently been shown that agents judge the intervals between their actions and outcomes as compressed in time, an effect named intentional binding. In the present work, we investigated whether this effect is result of prior bias volunteers have about the timing of the consequences of their actions, or if it is due to learning that occurs during the experimental session. Volunteers made temporal estimates of the interval between their action and target onset (Action conditions), or between two events (No-Action conditions). Our results show that temporal estimates become shorter throughout each experimental block in both conditions. Moreover, we found that observers judged intervals between action and outcomes as shorter even in very early trials of each block. To quantify the decrease of temporal judgments in experimental blocks, exponential functions were fitted to participants’ temporal judgments. The fitted parameters suggest that observers had different prior biases as to intervals between events in which action was involved. These findings suggest that prior bias might play a more important role in this effect than calibration-type learning processes.
Proactive interference in working memory refers to the fact that memory of past experiences can interfere with the ability to hold new information in working memory. The left inferior frontal gyrus ...(LIFG) has been proposed to play an important role in resolving proactive interference in working memory. However, the role of white matter pathways and other cortical regions has been less investigated. Here we investigated proactive interference in working memory using the Recent Probes Test (RPT) in 15 stroke patients with unilateral chronic lesions in left (
= 7) or right (
= 2) prefrontal cortex (PFC), or left temporal cortex (
= 6). We examined the impact of lesions in both gray and white matter regions on the size of the proactive interference effect. We found that patients with left PFC lesions performed worse overall, but the proactive interference effect in this patient group was comparable to that of patients with right PFC lesions, temporal lobe lesions, and controls. Interestingly, the size of the interference effect was significantly correlated with the degree of damage in the extreme/external capsule and marginally correlated with the degree of damage in the inferior frontal occipital fasciculus (IFOF). These findings suggests that ventral white matter pathways connecting the LIFG to left posterior regions play a role in resolving proactive interference in working memory. This effect was particularly evident in one patient with a very large interference effect (>3 SDs above controls) who had mostly spared LIFG, but virtually absent ventral white matter pathways (i.e., passing through the extreme/external capsules and IFOF). This case study further supports the idea that the role of the LIFG in resolving interference in working memory is dependent on connectivity with posterior regions via ventral white matter pathways.
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