Managing Learner’s Affective States in Intelligent Tutoring Systems

Abstract. Recent works in Computer Science, Neurosciences, Education, and Psychology have shown that emotions play an important role in learning. Learner’s cognitive ability depends on his emotions. We will point out the role of emotions in learning, distinguishing the different types and models of emotions which have been considered until now. We will address an important issue con-cerning the different means to detect emotions and introduce recent approaches to measure brain activity using Electroencephalograms (EEG). Knowing the influ-ence of emotional events on learning it becomes important to induce specific emo-tions so that the learner can be in a more adequate state for better learning or memorization. To this end, we will introduce the main components of an emotion-ally intelligent tutoring system able to recognize, interpret and influence learner’s emotions. We will talk about specific virtual agents that can influence learner’s emotions to motivate and encourage him and involve a more cooperative work, particularly in narrative learning environments. Pushing further this paradigm, we will present the advantages and perspectives of subliminal learning which inter

Genome-wide association and Mendelian randomisation analysis provide insights into the pathogenesis of heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. A small proportion of HF cases are attributable to monogenic cardiomyopathies and existing genome-wide association studies (GWAS) have yielded only limited insights, leaving the observed heritability of HF largely unexplained. We report results from a GWAS meta-analysis of HF comprising 47,309 cases and 930,014 controls. Twelve independent variants at 11 genomic loci are associated with HF, all of which demonstrate one or more associations with coronary artery disease (CAD), atrial fibrillation, or reduced left ventricular function, suggesting shared genetic aetiology. Functional analysis of non-CAD-associated loci implicate genes involved in cardiac development (MYOZ1, SYNPO2L), protein homoeostasis (BAG3), and cellular senescence (CDKN1A). Mendelian randomisation analysis supports causal roles for several HF risk factors, and demonstrates CAD-independent effects for atrial fibrillation, body mass index, and hypertension. These findings extend our knowledge of the pathways underlying HF and may inform new therapeutic strategies

Age at first birth in women is genetically associated with increased risk of schizophrenia

Prof. Paunio on PGC:n jäsenPrevious studies have shown an increased risk for mental health problems in children born to both younger and older parents compared to children of average-aged parents. We previously used a novel design to reveal a latent mechanism of genetic association between schizophrenia and age at first birth in women (AFB). Here, we use independent data from the UK Biobank (N = 38,892) to replicate the finding of an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women, and to estimate the genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in women stratified into younger and older groups. We find evidence for an association between predicted genetic risk of schizophrenia and AFB in women (P-value = 1.12E-05), and we show genetic heterogeneity between younger and older AFB groups (P-value = 3.45E-03). The genetic correlation between schizophrenia and AFB in the younger AFB group is -0.16 (SE = 0.04) while that between schizophrenia and AFB in the older AFB group is 0.14 (SE = 0.08). Our results suggest that early, and perhaps also late, age at first birth in women is associated with increased genetic risk for schizophrenia in the UK Biobank sample. These findings contribute new insights into factors contributing to the complex bio-social risk architecture underpinning the association between parental age and offspring mental health.Peer reviewe

The influence of media violence on youth

Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/83429/1/2003.Anderson_etal.InfluenceofMediaViolenceonYouth.PsychologicalScienceinthePublicInterest.pd