It’s the way he tells them (and who is listening):men’s dominance is positively correlated with their preference for jokes told by dominant-sounding men

While much research has explored humorous exchange in relation to mate choice, recent perspectives have emphasized the importance of humor for monitoring interest within social partnerships more generally. Indeed, given that similarity is thought to be important in the maintenance of social partnerships, we may expect humor appreciation to vary according to the degree of similarity between humor producers and recipients. In the current study we report evidence for such variation that is specific to men’s judgments of other men’s humor. Here we manipulated voice pitch in a set of ‘one-liner’ jokes to create low-pitched and high-pitched versions of men and women telling jokes. A composite measure of men’s own dominance was positively correlated with their preference for jokes told by other men with lowered voice pitch (a vocal cue to dominance). A follow-up study demonstrated that self-reported dominance was positively related to men’s choice of low-pitch men as friends when judging humorous audio clips but not when judging neutral control audio clips, suggesting that humor may be important in mediating the effect of dominance on friendship choice. These studies indicate systematic variation in humor appreciation related to friendship choices which may function to promote cohesion within male partnerships based on status

Correlated male preferences for femininity in female faces and voices

Sexually dimorphic physical traits are important for mate choice and mate preference in many species, including humans. Several previous studies have observed that women's preferences for physical cues of male masculinity in different domains (e.g., visual and vocal) are correlated. These correlations demonstrate systematic, rather than arbitrary, variation in women's preferences for masculine men and are consistent with the proposal that sexually dimorphic cues in different domains reflect a common underlying aspect of male quality. Here we present evidence for a similar correlation between men's preferences for different cues of femininity in women; although men generally preferred feminized to masculinized versions of both women's faces and voices, the strength of men's preferences for feminized versions of female faces was positively and significantly correlated with the strength of their preferences for feminized versions of women's voices. In a second study, this correlation occurred when men judged women's attractiveness as long-term, but not short-term, mates, which is consistent with previous research. Collectively, these findings (1) present novel evidence for systematic variation in men's preferences for feminine women, (2) present converging evidence for concordant preferences for sexually dimorphic traits in different domains, and (3) complement findings of correlations between women's facial and vocal femininity

Acute kidney injury in the UK:a replication cohort study of the variation across three regional populations

Objectives A rapid growth in the reported rates of acute kidney injury (AKI) has led to calls for greater attention and greater resources for improving care. However, the reported incidence of AKI also varies more than tenfold between previous studies. Some of this variation is likely to stem from methodological heterogeneity. This study explores the extent of cross-population variation in AKI incidence after minimising heterogeneity. Design Population-based cohort study analysing data from electronic health records from three regions in the UK through shared analysis code and harmonised methodology. Setting Three populations from Scotland, Wales and England covering three time periods: Grampian 2003, 2007 and 2012; Swansea 2007; and Salford 2012. Participants All residents in each region, aged 15 years or older. Main outcome measures Population incidence of AKI and AKI phenotype (severity, recovery, recurrence). Determined using shared biochemistry-based AKI episode code and standardised by age and sex. Results Respectively, crude AKI rates (per 10 000/year) were 131, 138, 139, 151 and 124 (p=0.095), and after standardisation for age and sex: 147, 151, 146, 146 and 142 (p=0.257) for Grampian 2003, 2007 and 2012; Swansea 2007; and Salford 2012. The pattern of variation in crude rates was robust to any modifications of the AKI definition. Across all populations and time periods, AKI rates increased substantially with age from ∼20 to ∼550 per 10 000/year among those aged <40 and ≥70 years. Conclusion When harmonised methods are used and age and sex differences are accounted for, a similar high burden of AKI is consistently observed across different populations and time periods (∼150 per 10 000/year). There are particularly high rates of AKI among older people. Policy-makers should be careful not draw simplistic assumptions about variation in AKI rates based on comparisons that are not rigorous in methodological terms

Men’s Preferences for Women’s Femininity in Dynamic Cross-Modal Stimuli

Men generally prefer feminine women’s faces and voices over masculine women’s faces and voices, and these cross-modal preferences are positively correlated. Men’s preferences for female facial and vocal femininity have typically been investigated independently by presenting soundless still images separately from audio-only vocal recordings. For the first time ever, we presented men with short video clips in which dynamic faces and voices were simultaneously manipulated in femininity/masculinity. Men preferred feminine men’s faces over masculine men’s faces, and preferred masculine men’s voices over feminine men’s voices. We found that men preferred feminine women’s faces and voices over masculine women’s faces and voices. Men’s attractiveness ratings of both feminine and masculine faces were increased by the addition of vocal femininity. Also, men’s attractiveness ratings of feminine and masculine voices were increased by the addition of facial femininity present in the video. Men’s preferences for vocal and facial femininity were significantly and positively correlated when stimuli were female, but not when they were male. Our findings complement other evidence for cross-modal femininity preferences among male raters, and show that preferences observed in studies using still images and/or independently presented vocal stimuli are also observed when dynamic faces and voices are displayed simultaneously in video format

Faking it: deliberately altered voice pitch and vocal attractiveness

Previous research has shown that men prefer higher-pitched women's voices and women prefer lower-pitched men's voices. However, both men and women can modulate their voice pitch, which can affect others' perceptions of the voice. Here we tested whether deliberate pitch changes affect speakers' vocal attractiveness. Our results suggest that deliberately exaggerating sex-typical voice pitch (i.e. lowering pitch in men and raising pitch in women) does not necessarily increase vocal attractiveness but that exaggerating sex-atypical voice pitch (i.e. raising pitch in men and lowering pitch in women) may decrease vocal attractiveness. By contrast with these findings for attractiveness, listeners interpreted lowered-pitch voices as sounding more dominant than habitually pitched voices in same-sex voices, which may aid in avoiding the costs associated with intrasexual competition. These findings suggest that the way humans perceive deliberate manipulations of voice pitch can mitigate the potential costs of using an alterable cue to assess attractiveness, and that functional honesty may only evolve in domains where such honesty would be favourable to perceivers

Sociosexual attitudes and dyadic sexual desire independently predict women’s preferences for male vocal masculinity

Research suggests that the desire to behave sexually with a partner (dyadic sexual desire) may reflect desire for intimacy whereas solitary sexual desire may reflect pleasure seeking motivations more generally. Because direct reproductive success can only be increased with a sexual partner, we tested whether dyadic sexual desire was a better predictor of women’s preferences for lower pitched men’s voices (a marker of relatively high reproductive success) than was solitary sexual desire. In Study 1, women (N = 95) with higher dyadic sexual desire scores on the Sexual Desire Inventory-2 preferred masculinized male voices more than did women with lower dyadic sexual desire scores. We did not find a significant relationship between women’s vocal masculinity preferences and their solitary sexual desire scores. In Study 2, we tested whether the relationship between voice preferences and dyadic sexual desire scores was related to differences in sociosexual orientation. Women (N = 80) with more positive attitudes towards uncommitted sex had stronger vocal masculinity preferences regardless of whether men’s attractiveness was judged for short-term or long-term relationships. Independent of the effect of sociosexual attitudes, dyadic sexual desire positively predicted women’s masculinity preferences when assessing men’s attractiveness for short-term but not long-term relationships. These effects were independent of women’s own relationship status and hormonal contraceptive use. Our results provide further evidence that women’s mate preferences may independently reflect individual differences in both sexual desire and openness to short-term relationships, potentially with the ultimate function of maximizing the fitness benefits of women’s mate choices

Mean and SEM of attractiveness ratings per stimuli category, per sex of stimuli.

<p>Mean and SEM of attractiveness ratings per stimuli category, per sex of stimuli.</p

Neural Basis of Δ-9-Tetrahydrocannabinol and Cannabidiol:Effects During Response Inhibition

Background: This study examined the effect of Delta-9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) and cannabidiol (CBD) on brain activation during a motor inhibition task. Methods: Functional magnetic resonance imaging and behavioural measures were recorded while 15 healthy volunteers performed a Go/No-Go task following administration of either THC or CBD or placebo in a double-blind, pseudo-randomized, placebo-controlled repeated measures within-subject design. Results: Relative to placebo, THC attenuated activation in the right inferior frontal and the anterior cingulate gyrus. In contrast, CBD deactivated the left temporal cortex and insula. These effects were not related to changes in anxiety, intoxication, sedation, and psychotic symptoms. Conclusions: These data suggest that THC attenuates the engagement of brain regions that mediate response inhibition. CBD modulated function in regions not usually implicated in response inhibition.Psychiatry Research Trust, United KingdomMRC Clinical Research Training FellowshipGuy`s & St. Thomas Charitable FoundationNew Services and Innovations in Health Car