108 research outputs found
The role of vasopressin in olfactory and visual processing
Neural vasopressin is a potent modulator of behaviour in vertebrates. It acts at both sensory processing regions and within larger
regulatory networks to mediate changes in social recognition, affiliation, aggression, communication and other social behaviours.
There are multiple populations of vasopressin neurons within the brain, including groups in olfactory and visual processing
regions. Some of these vasopressin neurons, such as those in the main and accessory olfactory bulbs, anterior olfactory nucleus,
piriform cortex and retina, were recently identified using an enhanced green fluorescent protein-vasopressin (eGFP-VP) transgenic
rat. Based on the interconnectivity of vasopressin-producing and sensitive brain areas and in consideration of autocrine,
paracrine and neurohormone-like actions associated with somato-dendritic release, we discuss how these different neuronal
populations may interact to impact behaviour.http://link.springer.com/journal/441am2019Neurolog
One Loop Predictions of the Finely Tuned SSM
We study the finely tuned SSM, recently proposed by Arkani-Hamed and
Dimopoulos, at the one loop level. The runnings of the four gaugino Yukawa
couplings, the mu term, the gaugino masses, and the Higgs quartic coupling are
computed. The Higgs mass is found to be 130 - 170 GeV for M_s > 10^6 GeV. If
the Yukawa coupling constants are measured at the 1% level, this can determine
the SUSY breaking scale to within an order of magnitude. Measuring the
relationships between the couplings to this accuracy provides a striking signal
for this model.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figures; v2: Minor corrections to anomalous dimensions and
beta functions. Numerical results are not significantly affected. v3: Minor
changes to figures and references, as published in PR
The Minimal Moose for a Little Higgs
Recently a new class of theories of electroweak symmetry breaking have been
constructed. These models, based on deconstruction and the physics of theory
space, provide the first alternative to weak-scale supersymmetry with naturally
light Higgs fields and perturbative new physics at the TeV scale. The Higgs is
light because it is a pseudo-Goldstone boson, and the quadratically divergent
contributions to the Higgs mass are cancelled by new TeV scale ``partners'' of
the {\em same} statistics. In this paper we present the minimal theory space
model of electroweak symmetry breaking, with two sites and four link fields,
and the minimal set of fermions. There are very few parameters and degrees of
freedom beyond the Standard Model. Below a TeV, we have the Standard Model with
two light Higgs doublets, and an additional complex scalar weak triplet and
singlet. At the TeV scale, the new particles that cancel the 1-loop quadratic
divergences in the Higgs mass are revealed. The entire Higgs potential needed
for electroweak symmetry breaking--the quartic couplings as well as the
familiar negative mass squared--can be generated by the top Yukawa coupling,
providing a novel link between the physics of flavor and electroweak symmetry
breaking.Comment: 15 pages. References added. Included clarifying comments on the
origin of quartic couplings, and on power-counting. More elegant model for
generating Higgs potential from top Yukawa coupling presente
Seasonal Differences of Gene Expression Profiles in Song Sparrow (Melospiza melodia) Hypothalamus in Relation to Territorial Aggression
) are territorial year-round; however, neuroendocrine responses to simulated territorial intrusion (STI) differ between breeding (spring) and non-breeding seasons (autumn). In spring, exposure to STI leads to increases in luteinizing hormone and testosterone, but not in autumn. These observations suggest that there are fundamental differences in the mechanisms driving neuroendocrine responses to STI between seasons. Microarrays, spotted with EST cDNA clones of zebra finch, were used to explore gene expression profiles in the hypothalamus after territorial aggression in two different seasons.Free-living territorial male song sparrows were exposed to either conspecific or heterospecific (control) males in an STI in spring and autumn. Behavioral data were recorded, whole hypothalami were collected, and microarray hybridizations were performed. Quantitative PCR was performed for validation. Our results show 262 cDNAs were differentially expressed between spring and autumn in the control birds. There were 173 cDNAs significantly affected by STI in autumn; however, only 67 were significantly affected by STI in spring. There were 88 cDNAs that showed significant interactions in both season and STI.Results suggest that STI drives differential genomic responses in the hypothalamus in the spring vs. autumn. The number of cDNAs differentially expressed in relation to season was greater than in relation to social interactions, suggesting major underlying seasonal effects in the hypothalamus which may determine the differential response upon social interaction. Functional pathway analyses implicated genes that regulate thyroid hormone action and neuroplasticity as targets of this neuroendocrine regulation
Pengkomputeran awam perkasa pembelajaran
Berikutan perkembangan teknologi maklumat semasa, cara kita menyelesaikan masalah dalam setiap aspek kehidupan turut berubah. Perisian komputer banyak mempengaruhi cara kita mencari maklumat, mengambil keputusan, membuat penilaian dan perancangan. Sistem maklumat ini meningkatkan keberkesanan dalam sistem penyampaian dan pembelajaran
Dehydroepiandrosterone heightens aggression and increases androgen receptor and aromatase mRNA expression in the brain of a male songbird
Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) is a testosterone/oestrogen precursor and known modulator of vertebrate aggression. Male song sparrows (Melospiza melodia morphna) show high aggression during breeding and nonbreeding life-history stages when circulating DHEA levels are high, and low aggression during molt when DHEA levels are low. We previously showed that androgen receptor and aromatase mRNA expression are higher during breeding and/or nonbreeding in brain regions associated with reproductive and aggressive behaviour, although the potential role of DHEA in mediating these seasonal changes remained unclear. In the present study, nonbreeding male song sparrows were captured and held in the laboratory under short days (8Â :Â 16Â h light/dark cycle) and implanted with s.c. DHEA-filled or empty (control) implants for 14Â days. DHEA implants increased aggression in a laboratory-based simulated territorial intrusion. Brains of DHEA-implanted birds showed higher aromatase mRNA expression in the preoptic area (POA) and higher androgen receptor mRNA expression in the periventricular nucleus of the medial striatum (pvMSt) and ventromedial nucleus of the hypothalamus. The DHEA-induced increases in aromatase expression in the POA and androgen receptor expression in the pvMSt are consistent with previously reported seasonal increases in these markers associated with naturally elevated DHEA levels. This suggests that DHEA facilitates seasonal increases in aggression in nonbreeding male song sparrows by up-regulating steroid signalling/synthesis machinery in a brain region-specific fashion
Eternal Chaotic Inflation is Prohibited by Weak Gravity Conjecture
We investigate whether the eternal chaotic inflation can be achieved when the
weak gravity conjecture is taken into account. We show that even the assisted
chaotic inflation with potential or can not be
eternal. The effective field theory description for the inflaton field breaks
down before inflation reaches the eternal regime. We also find that the total
number of e-folds is still bounded by the inflationary entropy for the assisted
inflation.Comment: 10 page
The brain's response to pleasant touch: an EEG investigation of tactile caressing
Somatosensation as a proximal sense can have a strong impact on our attitude toward physical objects and other human beings. However, relatively little is known about how hedonic valence of touch is processed at the cortical level. Here we investigated the electrophysiological correlates of affective tactile sensation during caressing of the right forearm with pleasant and unpleasant textile fabrics. We show dissociation between more physically driven differential brain responses to the different fabrics in early somatosensory cortex - the well-known mu-suppression (10-20 Hz) - and a beta-band response (25-30 Hz) in presumably higher-order somatosensory areas in the right hemisphere that correlated well with the subjective valence of tactile caressing. Importantly, when using single trial classification techniques, beta-power significantly distinguished between pleasant and unpleasant stimulation on a single trial basis with high accuracy. Our results therefore suggest a dissociation of the sensory and affective aspects of touch in the somatosensory system and may provide features that may be used for single trial decoding of affective mental states from simple electroencephalographic measurements
Testing String Theory with CMB
Future detection/non-detection of tensor modes from inflation in CMB
observations presents a unique way to test certain features of string theory.
Current limit on the ratio of tensor to scalar perturbations, r=T/S, is r <
0.3, future detection may take place for r > 10^{-2}-10^{-3}. At present all
known string theory inflation models predict tensor modes well below the level
of detection. Therefore a possible experimental discovery of tensor modes may
present a challenge to string cosmology.
The strongest bound on r in string inflation follows from the observation
that in most of the models based on the KKLT construction, the value of the
Hubble constant H during inflation must be smaller than the gravitino mass. For
the gravitino mass in the usual range, m_{3/2} < O(1) TeV, this leads to an
extremely strong bound r < 10^{-24}. A discovery of tensor perturbations with r
> 10^{-3} would imply that the gravitinos in this class of models are
superheavy, m_{3/2} > 10^{13} GeV. This would have important implications for
particle phenomenology based on string theory.Comment: 13 pages, 2 figure
Cosmology From Random Multifield Potentials
We consider the statistical properties of vacua and inflationary trajectories
associated with a random multifield potential. Our underlying motivation is the
string landscape, but our calculations apply to general potentials. Using
random matrix theory, we analyze the Hessian matrices associated with the
extrema of this potential. These potentials generically have a vast number of
extrema. If the cross-couplings (off-diagonal terms) are of the same order as
the self-couplings (diagonal terms) we show that essentially all extrema are
saddles, and the number of minima is effectively zero. Avoiding this requires
the same separation of scales needed to ensure that Newton's constant is stable
against radiative corrections in a string landscape. Using the central limit
theorem we find that even if the number of extrema is enormous, the typical
distance between extrema is still substantial -- with challenging implications
for inflationary models that depend on the existence of a complicated path
inside the landscape.Comment: revtex, 3 figures, 10 pages v2 refs adde
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