61,478 research outputs found
Strain-dependent differences in corticolimbic processing of aversive or rewarding stimuli
Aberrations in the elaboration of both aversive and rewarding stimuli characterize
several psychopathologies including anxiety, depression and addiction. Several studies
suggest that different neurotrasmitters, within the corticolimbic system, are critically
involved in the processing of positive and negative stimuli. Individual differences in
this system, depending on genotype, have been shown to act as a liability factor for
different psychopathologies. Inbred mouse strains are commonly used in preclinical
studies of normal and pathological behaviors. In particular, C57BL/6J (C57) and DBA/2J
(DBA) strains have permitted to disclose the impact of different genetic backgrounds
over the corticolimbic system functions. Here, we summarize the main findings
collected over the years in our laboratory, showing how the genetic background
plays a critical role in modulating amminergic and GABAergic neurotransmission in
prefrontal-accumbal-amygdala system response to different rewarding and aversive
experiences, as well as to stress response. Finally, we propose a top-down model for the
response to rewarding and aversive stimuli in which amminergic transmission in prefrontal
cortex (PFC) controls accumbal and amygdala neurotransmitter response
The effects of extrinsic rewards on intrinsic motivation: Reinforcement theory or cognitive evaluation theory
Intrinsically motivated behaviors are those for which there is no apparent reward except the activity itself. Such rewards are mediated within the individual. Rather than bringing about external rewards, intrinsically motivated behaviors bring about internal states that the individual finds rewarding (Deci, 1975a)
Acceptability of the transitional wearable companion “+me” in typical children: a pilot study
This work presents the results of the first experimentation of +me-the first prototype of
Transitional Wearable Companion–run on 15 typically developed (TD) children with ages
between 8 and 34 months. +me is an interactive device that looks like a teddy bear that
can be worn around the neck, has touch sensors, can emit appealing lights and sounds,
and has input-output contingencies that can be regulated with a tablet via Bluetooth.
The participants were engaged in social play activities involving both the device and
an adult experimenter. +me was designed with the objective of exploiting its intrinsic
allure as an attractive toy to stimulate social interactions (e.g., eye contact, turn taking,
imitation, social smiles), an aspect potentially helpful in the therapy of Autism Spectrum
Disorders (ASD) and other Pervasive Developmental Disorders (PDD). The main purpose
of this preliminary study is to evaluate the general acceptability of the toy by TD children,
observing the elicited behaviors in preparation for future experiments involving children
with ASD and other PDD. First observations, based on video recording and scoring,
show that +me stimulates good social engagement in TD children, especially when their
age is higher than 24 months
Risk and Protective Factors in the Lives of Caregivers of Persons With Autism: Caregivers’ Perspectives
PURPOSE
The purpose of this descriptive exploratory study is to understand the experience of being a caregiver of a person with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the light of the resilience theory.
METHODS
Qualitative data were collected as a part of a larger quantitative study. Ninety-three caregivers completed this qualitative study and responded to the two open-ended questions. In the parent study, subjects were recruited by convenience sampling from the Interactive ASD Network (IAN).
FINDINGS
The identified categories appeared to reflect three distinct categories consistent with the resilience theory, labeled as follows: risk factors, protective factors, and overlapping factors.
PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS
These findings help to inform the planning of tailored interventions to enhance caregivers’ resilience
Sustained anterior cingulate cortex activation during reward processing predicts response to psychotherapy in major depressive disorder
The purpose of the present investigation was to evaluate whether pre-treatment neural activation in response to rewards is a predictor of clinical response to Behavioral Activation Therapy for Depression (BATD), an empirically validated psychotherapy that decreases depressive symptoms by increasing engagement with rewarding stimuli and reducing avoidance behaviors
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