Acute and constitutive increases in central serotonin levels reduce social play behaviour in peri-adolescent rats

Item does not contain fulltextRATIONALE: Serotonin is an important modulator of social behaviour. Individual differences in serotonergic signalling are considered to be a marker of personality that is stable throughout lifetime. While a large body of evidence indicates that central serotonin levels are inversely related to aggression and sexual behaviour in adult rats, the relationship between serotonin and social behaviour during peri-adolescence has hardly been explored. OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of acute and constitutive increases in serotonin neurotransmission on social behaviour in peri-adolescent rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Social behaviour in peri-adolesent rats (28-35 days old) was studied after genetic ablation of the serotonin transporter, causing constitutively increased extra-neuronal serotonin levels, and after acute treatment with the serotonin reuptake inhibitor fluoxetine or the serotonin releasing agent 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA). A distinction was made between social play behaviour that mainly occurs during peri-adolescence, and non-playful social interactions that are abundant during the entire lifespan of rats. RESULTS: In serotonin transporter knockout rats, social play behaviour was markedly reduced, while non-playful aspects of social interaction were unaffected. Acute treatment with fluoxetine or MDMA dose-dependently inhibited social play behaviour. MDMA also suppressed non-playful social interaction but at higher doses than those required to reduce social play. Fluoxetine did not affect non-playful social interaction. CONCLUSIONS: These data show that both acute and constitutive increases in serotonergic neurotransmission reduce social play behaviour in peri-adolescent rats. Together with our previous findings of reduced aggressive and sexual behaviour in adult serotonin transporter knockout rats, these data support the notion that serotonin modulates social behaviour in a trait-like manner

The Role of Binary Pulsars in Testing Gravity Theories

Radio pulsars are neutron stars (NSs) which emit collimated beams of radio waves, observed as pulses, once per rotation of the NS. A subgroup of the radio pulsars behave as highly stable clocks and monitoring the times of arrival of their radio pulses can provide an accurate determination of their positional, rotational, and orbital parameters, as well as indications on the properties of their space-time environment. In this chapter, we focus on the so-called relativistic binary pulsars, recycled NSs orbiting around a compact companion star. Some of them can be used as unique tools to test general relativity and other gravitational theories. The methodology for exploiting these sources as laboratories for gravity theories is first explained and then some of the most relevant recent results are reviewed. <P /

Creating Inclusion to Leverage Workforce Diversity from a Work Characteristics Perspective

Over the past couple of decades, organisational scholars have been investigating barriers that prevent minorities (e.g. women) from entering and remaining at all levels of organisations. Consequently, the management of workforce diversity and inclusion became a central topic for organisations and research. Despite this attention, our understanding of how diversity shapes the work context in organisations and how these can be translated into an inclusive climate that fosters employees’ performance and well-being is limited. Based on insights of the diversity and inclusion literature and occupational health research, this chapter presents a conceptual framework that suggests that work environments are influenced by the extent of workforce diversity that is present in the organisation (e.g. homogeneous organisations mostly have processes and infrastructures that are developed by and based on the needs of the majority group, minority employees might thus face an unfavourable work context). Moreover, the framework points out that the work context affects employees’ experience of inclusion. The more resourceful one’s work (e.g. the freedom to fulfil task in an authentic way) and the less demanding the work environment (e.g. fewer discrimination), the more one feels an accepted member of their work environment. Higher levels of feeling included is likely to result in better performance and well-being of employees. Finally, the framework proposes that inclusive organisations, in which employees feel good and perform well, will in the long term have more diversity among employees and more gender equality because they attract and retain a diverse workforce