How priming with body odors affects decision speeds in consumer behavior

To date, odor research has primarily focused on the behavioral efects of common odors on consumer perception and choices. We report a study that examines, for the frst time, the efects of human body odor cues on consumer purchase behaviors. The infuence of human chemosignals produced in three conditions, namely happiness, fear, a relaxed condition (rest), and a control condition (no odor), were examined on willingness to pay (WTP) judgments across various products. We focused on the speed with which participants reached such decisions. The central fnding revealed that participants exposed to human odors reached decisions signifcantly faster than the no odor control group. The main driving force is that human body odors activate the presence of others during decision-making. This, in turn, afects response speed. The broader implications of this fnding for consumer behavior are discussed.Comunidade Europeia e Generalitat Valencianainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Comparison of two alternative procedures to obtain packed red blood cells for β-thalassemia major transfusion therapy

β-thalassemia major (βTM) patients require frequent blood transfusions, with consequences that span from allogenic reactions to iron overload. To minimize these effects, βTM patients periodically receive leucodepleted packed red blood cells (P-RBCs) stored for maximum 14 days. The aim of this study was to compare two alternative routine procedures to prepare the optimal P-RBCs product, in order to identify differences in their content that may somehow affect patients’ health and quality of life (QoL). In method 1, blood was leucodepleted and then separated to obtain P-RBCs, while in method 2 blood was separated and leucodepleted after removal of plasma and buffycoat. Forty blood donors were enrolled in two independent centers; couples of phenotypically matched whole blood units were pooled, divided in two identical bags and processed in parallel following the two methods. Biochemical properties, electrolytes and metabolic composition were tested after 2, 7 and 14 days of storage. Units prepared with both methods were confirmed to have all the requirements necessary for βTM transfusion therapy. Nevertheless, RBCs count and Hb content were found to be higher in method-1, while P-RBCs obtained with method 2 contained less K+, iron and storage lesions markers. Based on these results, both methods should be tested in a clinical perspective study to determine a possible reduction of transfusion-related complications, improving the QoL of βTM patients, which often need transfusions for the entire lifespan

An SK3 Channel/nWASP/Abi-1 Complex Is Involved in Early Neurogenesis

BACKGROUND: The stabilization or regulated reorganization of the actin cytoskeleton is essential for cellular structure and function. Recently, we could show that the activation of the SK3-channel that represents the predominant SK-channel in neural stem cells, leads to a rapid local outgrowth of long filopodial processes. This observation indicates that the rearrangement of the actin based cytoskeleton via membrane bound SK3-channels might selectively be controlled in defined micro compartments of the cell. PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: We found two important proteins for cytoskeletal rearrangement, the Abelson interacting protein 1, Abi-1 and the neural Wiskott Aldrich Syndrome Protein, nWASP, to be in complex with SK3- channels in neural stem cells (NSCs). Moreover, this interaction is also found in spines and postsynaptic compartments of developing primary hippocampal neurons and regulates neurite outgrowth during early phases of differentiation. Overexpression of the proteins or pharmacological activation of SK3 channels induces obvious structural changes in NSCs and hippocampal neurons. In both neuronal cell systems SK3 channels and nWASP act synergistic by strongly inducing filopodial outgrowth while Abi-1 behaves antagonistic to its interaction partners. CONCLUSIONS: Our results give good evidence for a functional interplay of a trimeric complex that transforms incoming signals via SK3-channel activation into the local rearrangement of the cytoskeleton in early steps of neuronal differentiation involving nWASP and Abi-1 actin binding proteins

Changes in response time after anodal tDCS preconditioning over the human orbitofrontal cortex and emotional stimulation in moral decision making

Morality is a multidimensional phenomenon that includes cognitive and affective processes and affects social issues (as the resolution of conflicts between individual interests and the optimization of mutual benefit). For long time, research on moral judgment have emphasized the role of reason in the formulation of moral judgment [Fig.1], while more recently it has been given wide coverage and emphasis to the role of emotions [Fig.2]. Several neuroscientific studies have highlighted the importance of emotions in moral judgment: using the typical moral dilemmas it has been possible to analyze how these dilemmas entailed a different emotional involvement on people, and how these affect the moral judgment. In several studies it was shown that in the famous \u201cTrolley\u201d dilemma (impersonal) the majority of the participants answer in a utilitarian way, maximizing the utility of sacrificing one person to save five [Fig.4]. On the contrary, in the \u201cFootbridge\u201d dilemma (personal), people respond in a non-utilitarian way, claiming not to be willing to sacrifice one person in order to save five [Fig.5]. Greene et al. (2001) argued that personal moral dilemmas elicit negative emotional repsonses that induce individual to consider the action as not appropriate. In order to judge a personal moral dillemma as appropriate, the decision maker should go beyond the emotional reaction using a sort of \u201ccognitive control\u201d that would allow him to respond in a utilitarian way, considering the moral violation as acceptable if is for a greater good [Fig.3]. Moreover, cognitive control allows to find a justification to the action. In addition to the variable personal vs. impersonal, we have identified other variables that can influence the frequency of utilitarian and non-utilitarian responses: presence vs. absence of physical contact, action vs. omission and deliberate action vs. not intentional action. fMRI studies have shown that utilitarian and non-utilitarian reasoning are supported by different brain circuits. The non-utilitarian reasoning is mediated by automatic emotional responses, related to the activation of the OFC, while utilitarian reasoning is mediated by activation of the DLPFC, linked to cognitive processes

How priming with body odors affects decision speeds in consumer behavior

Abstract To date, odor research has primarily focused on the behavioral effects of common odors on consumer perception and choices. We report a study that examines, for the first time, the effects of human body odor cues on consumer purchase behaviors. The influence of human chemosignals produced in three conditions, namely happiness, fear, a relaxed condition (rest), and a control condition (no odor), were examined on willingness to pay (WTP) judgments across various products. We focused on the speed with which participants reached such decisions. The central finding revealed that participants exposed to human odors reached decisions significantly faster than the no odor control group. The main driving force is that human body odors activate the presence of others during decision-making. This, in turn, affects response speed. The broader implications of this finding for consumer behavior are discussed