The psychological effects of terrorism are moderated by cultural worldviews

Terrorism cannot be easily studied experimentally for obvious reasons. We report the results of a laboratory study (N = 149) testing the effect of cultural worldviews on feelings of threat and hostility toward Muslims in France that include in the design the deadly terrorist attack of January 7th 2015 in Paris as a naturally occurring independent variable. The results replicate past research by showing that in a natural context, people felt more threatened and more hostile toward Muslims after the terrorist attack than before. However, the reverse occurred in an experimental condition that made the French cultural worldview of colorblind equality salient: People felt less threatened and less hostile after the terrorist attack than before. These results provide, for the first time in the context of a real terrorist attack, support for Terror Management Theory's proposal that cultural worldviews are an effective buffer against terror

Reversal of Cocaine-Conditioned Place Preference through Methyl Supplementation in Mice: Altering Global DNA Methylation in the Prefrontal Cortex

Analysis of global methylation in cells has revealed correlations between overall DNA methylation status and some biological states. Recent studies suggest that epigenetic regulation through DNA methylation could be responsible for neuroadaptations induced by addictive drugs. However, there is no investigation to determine global DNA methylation status following repeated exposure to addictive drugs. Using mice conditioned place preference (CPP) procedure, we measured global DNA methylation level in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and the prefrontal cortex (PFC) associated with drug rewarding effects. We found that cocaine-, but not morphine- or food-CPP training decreased global DNA methylation in the PFC. Chronic treatment with methionine, a methyl donor, for 25 consecutive days prior to and during CPP training inhibited the establishment of cocaine, but not morphine or food CPP. We also found that both mRNA and protein level of DNMT (DNA methytransferase) 3b in the PFC were downregulated following the establishment of cocaine CPP, and the downregulation could be reversed by repeated administration of methionine. Our study indicates a crucial role of global PFC DNA hypomethylation in the rewarding effects of cocaine. Reversal of global DNA hypomethylation could significantly attenuate the rewarding effects induced by cocaine. Our results suggest that methionine may have become a potential therapeutic target to treat cocaine addiction

Mechanisms of initiation and reversal of drug-seeking behavior induced by prenatal exposure to glucocorticoids

We would like to thank the members of the Neuroscience Research Domain at ICVS for all the helpful discussions and suggestions. We are especially thankful to the animal facility caretakers, and to Drs Sara Silva, António Melo and Ana Paula Silva and Dieter Fischer for their helpStress and exposure to glucocorticoids (GC) during early life render individuals vulnerable to brain disorders by inducing structural and chemical alterations in specific neural substrates. Here we show that adult rats that had been exposed to in utero GCs (iuGC) display increased preference for opiates and ethanol, and are more responsive to the psychostimulatory actions of morphine. These animals presented prominent changes in the nucleus accumbens (NAcc), a key component of the mesolimbic reward circuitry; specifically, cell numbers and dopamine (DA) levels were significantly reduced, whereas DA receptor 2 (Drd2) mRNA expression levels were markedly upregulated in the NAcc. Interestingly, repeated morphine exposure significantly downregulated Drd2 expression in iuGC-exposed animals, in parallel with increased DNA methylation of the Drd2 gene. Administration of a therapeutic dose of L-dopa reverted the hypodopaminergic state in the NAcc of iuGC animals, normalized Drd2 expression and prevented morphine-induced hypermethylation of the Drd2 promoter. In addition, L-dopa treatment promoted dendritic and synaptic plasticity in the NAcc and, importantly, reversed drug-seeking behavior. These results reveal a new mechanism through which drug-seeking behaviors may emerge and suggest that a brief and simple pharmacological intervention can restrain these behaviors in vulnerable individuals.This work was supported by the Institute for the Study of Affective Neuroscience (ISAN). AJR, BC and MC were supported by Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia (FCT) fellowship

The Psychological Effects of Terrorism are Moderated by Cultural Worldviews [Les Effets Psychologiques du Terrorisme sont Modérés par les Normes Culturelles]

International audienc

The effect of the normative context on intergroup discrimination: Implications for the scientific value of exact and conceptual replications

We tested the hypothesis that discriminatory behaviors against religious or ethnic minorities are largely governed by culturally specific intergroup norms that are tied to a given social context. In Study 1 (N=733), we compared participants from five countries and identified “new secularism” as the culture-specific norm predominant in the target country, France. In Study 2 (N=296) and Study 3 (N=135) conducted in France between November 2014 and January 2016, we assessed the effects of several distinct normative contexts on discriminatory behavior under high or low time pressure, and examined for the first time, the effect of a deadly terrorist attack on anti-Muslim discrimination. As predicted based on Study 1, the experimentally induced new secularism (“nouvelle laïcité” in French) normative context had a major effect on discrimination on its own, and in interaction with the terrorist attack, whereas no effect was found for the three normative contexts (assimilation, multiculturalism, and colorblindness) that have been the focus of research in social psychology over the last 40 years. These results support the claim that intergroup behaviors are highly sensitive to variations in the social context and that culture-specific intergroup norm play a causal role in the emergence of discrimination. The implications of the findings for the scientific value of exact versus conceptual replications in social psychology are discussed

Model Study of the Pressure Build-Up during Subcutaneous Injection

<div><p>In this study we estimate the subcutaneous tissue counter pressure during drug infusion from a series of injections of insulin in type 2 diabetic patients using a non-invasive method. We construct a model for the pressure evolution in subcutaneous tissue based on mass continuity and the flow laws of a porous medium. For equivalent injection forces we measure the change in the infusion rate between injections in air at atmospheric pressure and in tissue. From a best fit with our model, we then determine the flow permeability as well as the bulk modulus of the tissue, estimated to be of the order 10⁻¹¹–10⁻¹⁰ m² and 10⁵ Pa, respectively. The permeability is in good agreement with reported values for adipose porcine tissue. We suggest our model as a general way to estimate the pressure build-up in tissue during subcutaneous injection.</p></div

Average tissue counter pressure for eight patients.

<p>The boarder of the box is from the first to the third quartiles, with the median value marked as a black line. The whisker extend to the extreme values. The pressure is estimated from <a href="http://www.plosone.org/article/info:doi/10.1371/journal.pone.0104054#pone.0104054.e039" target="_blank">Eq. (4)</a> using estimated from the reference measurements in air and the flow rate in tissue.</p

Pressure evolution in the tissue.

<p>The pressure in the tissue as function of the radial distance from the needle tip at different times (in seconds). Initially the over-pressure is localized around the tip of the needle and then quickly becomes distributed in the surrounding tissue.</p