3,577 research outputs found
The role of social cognition in decision making
Successful decision making in a social setting depends on our ability to understand the intentions, emotions and beliefs of others. The mirror system allows us to understand other people's motor actions and action intentions. âEmpathyâ allows us to understand and share emotions and sensations with others. âTheory of mindâ allows us to understand more abstract concepts such as beliefs or wishes in others. In all these cases, evidence has accumulated that we use the specific neural networks engaged in processing mental states in ourselves to understand the same mental states in others. However, the magnitude of the brain activity in these shared networks is modulated by contextual appraisal of the situation or the other person. An important feature of decision making in a social setting concerns the interaction of reason and emotion. We consider four domains where such interactions occur: our sense of fairness, altruistic punishment, trust and framing effects. In these cases, social motivations and emotions compete with each other, while higher-level control processes modulate the interactions of these low-level biases
Hypothesized mechanisms through which acute exercise influences episodic memory
Emerging research demonstrates that exercise is favorably associated with several cognitive outcomes, including episodic memory function. The majority of the mechanistic work describing the underlying mechanisms of this effect has focused on chronic exercise engagement. Such mechanisms include, e.g., chronic exercise-induced neurogenesis, gliogenesis, angiogenesis, cerebral circulation, and growth factor production. Less research has examined the mechanisms through which acute (vs. chronic) exercise subserves episodic memory function. The purpose of this review is to discuss these potential underlying mechanisms, which include, e.g., acute exercise-induced (via several pathways, such as vagus nerve and muscle spindle stimulation) alterations in neurotransmitters, synaptic tagging/capturing, associativity, and psychological attention
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Mobile Virtual Realities and Portable Magic Circles
Hybrid reality games such as PokĂ©mon GO enable new approaches to embodied space that problematise traditional understandings of play. More recently, smartphones have again become involved in the provision of a new kind of relationship with space: the space of virtual reality. It is the intention of this exploratory chapter to examine mobile virtual reality as part of the continuum of mobile media in the context of two related themes: (1) physical distraction and (2) embodied space. The chapter will consider how this reassessment might provide new understandings of playâs connection to the ordinary space of daily life before expanding upon these issues within the broader context of the âsmartphone movementâ and concluding with suggested directions for future research within the field
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Effects of combined tiotropium/olodaterol on inspiratory capacity and exercise endurance in COPD.
Two replicate, double-blind, 6-week, incomplete-crossover studies (MORACTO 1 and 2) assessed the effects of tiotropium/olodaterol on inspiratory capacity and exercise endurance time in patients with moderate to severe chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.For each patient, four of five treatments were administered once daily for 6â
weeks, with a 21-day washout between treatments: tiotropium/olodaterol 2.5/5â
”g or 5/5â
”g, tiotropium 5â
”g, olodaterol 5â
”g or placebo, all via the Respimat inhaler. Primary outcomes were inspiratory capacity prior to exercise and exercise endurance time during constant work-rate cycle ergometry to symptom limitation at 75% of peak incremental work rate after 6â
weeks (2â
h post-dose).295 and 291 patients were treated in MORACTO 1 and 2, respectively. Tiotropium/olodaterol 2.5/5 and 5/5â
”g provided significant improvements in inspiratory capacity versus placebo and monotherapies (p<0.0001), and significant improvements in exercise endurance time versus placebo (p<0.0001). Intensity of breathing discomfort was reduced following both doses of tiotropium/olodaterol versus placebo (p<0.0001).Once-daily tiotropium/olodaterol yielded improvements in lung hyperinflation versus placebo and statistically significant improvements versus monotherapies. Tiotropium/olodaterol also showed improvements in dyspnoea and exercise tolerance versus placebo but not consistently versus monotherapies
Forty years on: Uta Frith's contribution to research on autism and dyslexia, 1966â2006
Uta Frith has made a major contribution to our understanding of developmental disorders, especially autism and dyslexia. She has studied the cognitive and neurobiological bases of both disorders and demonstrated distinctive impairments in social cognition and central coherence in autism, and in phonological processing in dyslexia. In this enterprise she has encouraged psychologists to work in a theoretical framework that distinguishes between observed behaviour and the underlying cognitive and neurobiological processes that mediate that behaviour
Secrets and disclosure in donor conception
This paper considers the disclosure, sharing and exchange of information on being donor conceived within families, drawing on data from a study undertaken with donor-conceived adults registered with UK Donor Link (a voluntary DNA-linking register). It considers the narratives of how respondents found out they were donor-conceived and what events triggered disclosure of this information. It goes on to examine the role secrecy played in their family life and uses the concept of âdisplayâ to explore how it affected their relationships with their immediate and extended family. Secrets are notoriously âleakyâ and we found complex patterns of knowing and uncertainty about whom in the family knew that the person was donor-conceived. We argue that what is kept secret and from whom provides insights into the multifaceted web of social relationships that can be created by donor-conception, and how knowledge can be managed and controlled in attempts to display and maintain family narratives of biogenetic connection
Searching for ârelationsâ using a DNA linking register by adults conceived following sperm donation
This paper considers how sperm donor-conceived adults registered with a voluntary DNA linking register, UK DonorLink, constructed identity and relatedness by examining two areas: how their identity was affected by becoming aware that they were donor-conceived; and the process of searching for their donor and donor-conceived siblings. The views and experiences of donor-conceived adults has, until recently, been a neglected area. This study is the first to consider the experiences of those searching through a DNA-based register, and contributes to the growing literature on searching. This paper presents qualitative data from a questionnaire-based study with 65 adults conceived following sperm donation. It examines emerging linkages by investigating how ideas of relatedness, kinship and identity were enacted and how narrative certainties were moved and removed by opening up new conceptions of what it means to be ârelatedâ. Their knowledge of being donor-conceived was both a powerful disrupter and a consolidator of family relationships. No single story of being donor-conceived emerged â with competing narratives about the effects and implications for respondentsâ kinship relationships and sense of identity. This study sheds light on how kinship relationships are negotiated and managed in adulthood by those conceived following sperm donation and how this can change over the life-course
Gamete donorsâ reasons for, and expectations and experiences of, registration with a voluntary donor linking register
This paper reports on a study of the views and experiences of 21 sperm donors and five egg donors registered with UK DonorLink (UKDL), a voluntary DNA-based contact register established to facilitate contact between adults who wish to identify and locate others to whom they are genetically related following donor conception. Specifically, the paper examines donorsâ reasons for searching for, or making information about themselves available to donor-conceived offspring. Their expectations of registration with UKDL, experiences of being registered and finally, the experiences of those who had contacted donor-conceived offspring and other genetic relatives are investigated. While most respondents reported largely positive experiences of registration, the study found significant issues relating to concerns about donation, DNA testing, possible linking with offspring and expectations of any relationship that might be established with offspring that have implications for support, mediation and counselling. Research that puts the experiences, perceptions and interests of gamete donors as the central focus of study is a relatively recent phenomenon. This study contributes to this debate and highlights directions for future research in this area
Expectations and experiences of gamete donors and donor-conceived adults searching for genetics relatives using DNA linking through a voluntary register
STUDY QUESTION:
What are the experiences of donor-conceived adults and donors who are searching for a genetic link through the use of a DNA-based voluntary register service?
SUMMARY ANSWER:
Donor-conceived adults and donors held positive beliefs about their search and although some concerns in relation to finding a genetically linked relative were reported, these were not a barrier to searching.
WHAT IS KNOWN ALREADY:
Research with donor-conceived people has consistently identified their interest in learning about-and in some cases making contact with-their donor and other genetic relatives. However, donor-conceived individuals or donors rarely have the opportunity to act on these desires.
STUDY DESIGN, SIZE, AND DURATION:
A questionnaire was administered for online completion using Bristol Online Surveys. The survey was live for 3 months and responses were collected anonymously.
PARTICIPANTS/MATERIALS, SETTING, AND METHODS:
The survey was completed by 65 donor-conceived adults, 21 sperm donors and 5 oocyte donors who had registered with a DNA-based voluntary contact register in the UK. The questionnaire included socio-demographic questions, questions specifically developed for the purposes of this study and the standardized Aspects of Identity Questionnaire (AIQ).
MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE:
Motivations for searching for genetic relatives were varied, with the most common reasons being curiosity and passing on information. Overall, participants who were already linked and those awaiting a link were positive about being linked and valued access to a DNA-based register. Collective identity (reflecting self-defining feelings of continuity and uniqueness), as assessed by the AIQ, was significantly lower for donor-conceived adults when compared with the donor groups (P 0.05) for donor-conceived adults.
LIMITATIONS, REASONS FOR CAUTION:
Participants were members of a UK DNA-based registry which is unique. It was therefore not possible to determine how representative participants were of those who did not register for the service, those in other countries or of those who do not seek information exchange or contact.
WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS:
This is the first survey exploring the experiences of donor-conceived adults and donors using a DNA-based voluntary register to seek information about and contact with genetic relatives and the first to measure aspects of identity using standardized measures. Findings provide valuable information about patterns of expectations and experiences of searching through DNA linking, identity and of having contact in the context of donor conception that will inform future research, practice and policy development
Voluntary DNA-based information exchange and contact services following donor conception: an analysis of service usersâ needs
Medical science has enabled the creation of families through the use of donor conception but some lifelong policy and practice implications are only recently being recognized. Research and practice have shown that donor conception can, for some, carry substantial long-term consequences. In this paper we present findings from a questionnaire-based study that sought to shed light on donor-conceived adultsâ and gamete donorsâ views on service and support needs when searching for genetic relatives with the aid of DNA testing. The findings demonstrate the complexity and sensitivity of providing services in this newly emerging area of need. Such provision requires collaboration between very different disciplines and agencies (scientific and psychosocial), introduces the potential for blurring of lines of accountability and responsibility, and highlights the challenges of identifying appropriate funding streams. In addition, the findings demonstrate the opportunities and limitations afforded by the use of DNA in identifying unknown genetic relatives
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