Olfactory dysfunction is recognized in neurodevelopmental disorders and may serve as an early indicator of global dysfunction. The present meta-analysis measures olfaction effect sizes in ...attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorders (ASDs), and obsessive–compulsive disorder (OCD). Meta-analysis included 320 ADHD, 346 ASD, and 208 OCD individuals as compared to 910 controls. Olfactory performance deficits were small-to-moderate and heterogeneous (d = − 0.42, 95% CI = − 0.59 < δ < − 0.25). Meta-analytic results indicate that olfactory dysfunction is evident in individuals with ASD and OCD, with small-to-negligible effects in ADHD. These findings imply olfactory dysfunction is related to clinical phenotype in ASD and OCD, but not ADHD, and warrant inclusion in clinical assessment and evaluation of certain neurodevelopmental disorders.
There are known relationships between psychopathology, personality, and executive function (EF), though the association between personality and EF, independent of psychopathology, remains ...understudied. The present study investigated relationships between Five Factor Model personality traits and indices of response inhibition, sustained attention, and response variability on a continuous performance test (CPT) among 50 healthy adults (male = 27, female = 23; Mage = 19.9 years, range 18–24 years) of primarily Caucasian descent (58.0%). Participants performed an open-source CPT, the Psychology Experiment Building Language Battery Test of Attentional Vigilance (TOAV), and completed self-ratings of conscientiousness, extraversion, and neuroticism on an inventory developed from the public-domain International Personality Item Pool. After controlling for the influences of age, gender, and other personality traits, neuroticism was significantly associated with faster error reaction time and a higher frequency of multiple responses. Neuroticism was also nominally predictive of more frequent commission errors and faster correct and mean reaction time. The present findings indicate that neuroticism is associated with error-prone behavioral performance on a CPT, suggesting that a propensity to experience negative emotions may manifest as impulsivity and hyperactivity on performance-based measures of EF.
Gene and genome duplications provide a source of genetic material for mutation, drift, and selection to act upon, making new evolutionary opportunities possible. As a result, many have argued that ...genome duplication is a dominant factor in the evolution of complexity and diversity. However, a clear correlation between a genome duplication event and increased complexity and diversity is not apparent, and there are inconsistencies in the patterns of diversity invoked to support this claim. Interestingly, several estimates of genome duplication events in vertebrates are preceded by multiple extinct lineages, resulting in preduplication gaps in extant taxa. Here we argue that gen(om)e duplication could contribute to reduced risk of extinction via functional redundancy, mutational robustness, increased rates of evolution, and adaptation. The timeline for these processes to unfold would not predict immediate increases in species diversity after the duplication event. Rather, reduced probabilities of extinction would predict a latent period between a genome duplication and its effect on species diversity or complexity. In this paper, we will develop the idea that genome duplication could contribute to species diversity through reduced probability of extinction.
In this study, the authors report the first record of egg masses deposited in solitary tunicates by the snubnose sculpin, Orthonopias triacis, from the Northeastern Pacific. Four egg masses were ...discovered in the tunicate Ascidia ceratodes that were genetically determined to be O. triacis. Female O. triacis had long ovipositors that allow deposition of their eggs inside the atrium of the tunicates. A comparison of host‐tunicate size with ovipositor length of sculpins from the Northwestern Pacific, including the genera Furcina and Pseudoblennius, revealed that O. triacis had shorter ovipositors and spawned in the atrium of smaller species of tunicates. Ancestral state reconstruction of egg deposition in solitary tunicates using 1.86Mbp RNAseq data of 20 sculpin species from Northeastern and Northwestern Pacific revealed that this unusual spawning behaviour may have evolved convergently in different species occurring in the Northeastern vs. the Northwestern Pacific.
Low reward responsiveness (RR) is associated with poor psychological well-being, psychiatric disorder risk, and psychotropic treatment resistance. Functional MRI studies have reported decreased ...activity within the brain's reward network in individuals with RR deficits, however the neurochemistry underlying network hypofunction in those with low RR remains unclear. This study employed ultra-high field glutamate chemical exchange saturation transfer (GluCEST) imaging to investigate the hypothesis that glutamatergic deficits within the reward network contribute to low RR. GluCEST images were acquired at 7.0 T from 45 participants (ages 15-29, 30 females) including 15 healthy individuals, 11 with depression, and 19 with psychosis spectrum symptoms. The GluCEST contrast, a measure sensitive to local glutamate concentration, was quantified in a meta-analytically defined reward network comprised of cortical, subcortical, and brainstem regions. Associations between brain GluCEST contrast and Behavioral Activation System Scale RR scores were assessed using multiple linear regressions. Analyses revealed that reward network GluCEST contrast was positively and selectively associated with RR, but not other clinical features. Follow-up investigations identified that this association was driven by the subcortical reward network and network areas that encode the salience of valenced stimuli. We observed no association between RR and the GluCEST contrast within non-reward cortex. This study thus provides new evidence that reward network glutamate levels contribute to individual differences in RR. Decreased reward network excitatory neurotransmission or metabolism may be mechanisms driving reward network hypofunction and RR deficits. These findings provide a framework for understanding the efficacy of glutamate-modulating psychotropics such as ketamine for treating anhedonia.
Sympatric speciation has been contentious since its inception, yet is increasingly recognized as important based on accumulating theoretical and empirical support. Here, we present a compelling case ...of sympatric speciation in a taxon of marine reef fishes using a comparative and mechanistic approach. Hexagrammos otakii and H. agrammus occur in sympatry throughout their ranges. Molecular sequence data from six loci, with complete sampling of the genus, support monophyly of these sister species. Although hybridization occurrs frequently with an allopatric congener in an area of slight distributional overlap, we found no F₁ hybrids between the focal sympatric taxa throughout their coextensive ranges. We present genetic evidence for complete reproductive isolation based on SNP analysis of 382 individuals indicating fixed polymorphisms, with no shared haplotypes or genotypes, between sympatric species. To address questions of speciation, we take a mechanistic approach and directly compare aspects of reproductive isolation between allopatric and sympatric taxa both in nature and in the laboratory. We conclude that the buildup of reproductive isolation is strikingly different in sympatric vs. allopatric taxa, consistent with theoretical predictions. Lab reared hybrids from allopatric species crosses exhibit severe fitness effects in the F₁ or backcross generation. No intrinsic fitness effects are observed in F₁ hybrids from sympatric species pairs, however these treatments exhibited reduced fertilization success and complete pre-mating isolation is implied in nature because F₁ hybrid adults do not occur. Our study addresses limitations of previous studies and supports new criteria for inferring sympatric speciation.
Bt technologies have played a major role in the control of bollworm, Helicoverpa zea (Boddie) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae), in cotton.Variation in expression levels among varieties and plant parts, along ...with selection pressure on bollworm populations, has led to the development of resistance to some Bt proteins. Trials were conducted to evaluate how cotton varieties expressing different Bt proteins affect bollworm larval behavior and their damage in flowering cotton. Differences in larval recovery were observed among cotton varieties at 3 d with 3-gene Bt cotton having the lowest recovery and non-Bt cotton having the greatest recovery. Loss of bloom tags and abscission of small bolls at the site of infestation affected bollworm larval recovery among varieties. Day after infestation was the main factor that affected bollworm movement across all varieties. Number of total damaged fruiting forms by an individual bollworm larva was different among all varieties. Overall, flower bud (square) and fruit (boll) damage by an individual larva was lower on 3-gene cotton than 2-gene cotton and non-Bt cotton. An individual larva damaged fewer squares on 2-gene cotton than non-Bt cotton, but boll damage from bollworm was similar among 2-gene cotton and non-Bt cotton. The level of square and boll damage in 2-gene cotton has increased compared to previous research further supporting the occurrence of bollworm resistance to Cry proteins. The 3-gene cotton containing the Vip3A gene experienced low levels of damage and survival. These results will be important for improving management recommendations of bollworm in Bt cotton technologies.
The tarnished plant bug, Lygus lineolaris (Palisot de Beauvois), is an important pest of cotton in many areas of the southern United States. An experiment was conducted at two locations in ...Mississippi during 2016 and 2017 to evaluate action thresholds for tarnished plant bug on a novel Bacillus thuringiensis cotton that expresses the Cry51Aa2.834_16 toxin. Treatments included the current action threshold, a 2× threshold, and treatments where insecticides were only applied during the early season (preflower) or only during late season (during flowering) based on the current action thresholds. These were compared to an untreated control and a weekly insecticide use regime that received weekly insecticide sprays. All treatments were imposed on both Bt Cry1Aa2.834_16 cotton and a nontraited cotton. The Bt Cry1Aa2.834_16 trait reduced the number of tarnished plant bugs and injury, and improved yields compared to nontraited cotton. For all spray treatments except the weekly insecticide use regime, yields were greater for the Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 cotton than the nontraited cotton. In terms of thresholds, Bt Cry1Aa2.834_16 cotton sprayed based on current action thresholds resulted in similar yields to the weekly insecticide use regime of both cotton types. In contrast, the 2× threshold resulted in lower yields than the current threshold for both cotton types. Though thresholds intermediate to the currently recommended action threshold and the 2× threshold were not tested, these data suggest that currently recommended action thresholds appear appropriate for Bt Cry51Aa2.834_16 cotton. These results suggest that this trait will be an important component of current IPM programs in cotton where tarnished plant bug is an important pest.
Olfactory dysfunction in epilepsy is well-documented in several olfactory domains. However, the clinical specificity of these deficits remains unknown. The aim of this systematic meta-analysis was to ...determine which domains of olfactory ability were most impaired in individuals with epilepsy, and to assess moderating factors affecting olfactory ability. Extant peer-reviewed literature on olfaction in epilepsy were identified via a computerized literature search using PubMed, MEDLINE, PsycInfo, and Google Scholar databases. Twenty-one articles met inclusion criteria. These studies included a total of 912 patients with epilepsy and 794 healthy comparison subjects. Included studies measured olfaction using tests of odor identification, discrimination, memory, and detection threshold in patients with different types of epilepsy, including temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE), mixed frontal epilepsy (M-F), and mixed epilepsy (MIX). Olfactory deficits were robust in patients with epilepsy when compared to healthy individuals, with effect sizes in the moderate to large range for several olfactory domains, including odor identification (d = −1.59), memory (d = −1.10), discrimination (d = −1.04), and detection threshold (d = −0.58). Olfactory deficits were most prominent in patients with TLE and M-F epilepsy. Amongst patients with epilepsy, sex, age, smoking status, education, handedness, and age of illness onset were significantly related to olfactory performance. Overall, these meta-analytic findings indicate that the olfactory system is compromised in epilepsy and suggest that detailed neurobiological investigations of the olfactory system may provide further insight into this disorder.
Studies were conducted in 2020 and 2021 at the Delta Research and Extension Center in Stoneville, MS, to determine the residual concentrations of chlorantraniliprole in cotton (
, L.) leaves, as well ...as the concentrations in petals and anthers that developed after the time of application. Foliar applications of chlorantraniliprole were applied at four rates for leaves and two rates for petals and anthers at the second week of bloom. Additional bioassays were conducted to determine mortality of corn earworm (
, Boddie) in anthers. For the leaf study, plants were partitioned into three zones consisting of top, middle, and bottom zones. Leaf samples from each zone were analyzed for chemical concentrations at 1, 7, 14, 21, and 28 days after treatment (DAT). Residual concentrations, although variable, persisted through all sampling dates, rates, and zones tested. In this study, chlorantraniliprole remained detectable up to 28 DAT. Results from the cotton flower petal and anther studies detected concentrations of chlorantraniliprole in petals at 4, 7, 10, and 14 DAT, but no concentrations were detected in anthers. Therefore, no mortality of corn earworm was recorded in the anther bioassays. A series of diet-incorporated bioassays were conducted using concentrations previously found in the petal study to determine baseline susceptibilities of corn earworms and predicted mortality. Results from the diet-incorporated bioassays showed similar susceptibility in field and lab colony corn earworms. Concentrations of chlorantraniliprole could provide up to 64% control of corn earworm when feeding occurs on the petals.
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