Two-person neuroscience and naturalistic social communication: The role of language and linguistic variables in brain-coupling research

Social cognitive neuroscience (SCN) seeks to understand the brain mechanisms through which we comprehend others? emotions and intentions in order to react accordingly. For decades, SCN has explored relevant domains by exposing individual participants to predesigned stimuli and asking them to judge their social (e.g., emotional) content. Subjects are thus reduced to detached observers of situations that they play no active role in. However, the core of our social experience is construed through real-time interactions requiring the active negotiation of information with other people. To gain more relevant insights into the workings of the social brain, the incipient field of two-person neuroscience (2PN) advocates the study of brain-to-brain coupling through multi-participant experiments. In this paper, we argue that the study of online language-based communication constitutes a cornerstone of 2PN. First, we review preliminary evidence illustrating how verbal interaction may shed light on the social brain. Second, we advance methodological recommendations to design experiments within language-based 2PN. Finally, we formulate outstanding questions for future research.Fil: García, Adolfo Martín. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Lenguas; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Diego Portales; ChileFil: Ibanez Barassi, Agustin Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Universidad Diego Portales; Chile. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe; Colombia. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders; Australi

Lichens in the nests of European starling Sturnus vulgaris serve a mate attraction rather than insecticidal function

The European starling Sturnus vulgaris is a hole-nesting bird in which the male builds a voluminous nest using a wide variety of materials such as twigs, grass, leaves, feathers, and lichens. The function of lichens in starling nests has not been assessed until now and we hypothesize that this material is related to a mate attraction function or is used to protect nestlings from parasites due to the presence of secondary compounds with insecticidal effects with the lichens. We aimed to identify the lichen species and frequency of lichen use in European starling nests, and to determine if the presence of this material is correlated with mate attraction or with an insecticidal function. We found lichens in 45% of nests, mainly represented by Ramalina celastri. The lichens were added to the nests mainly before the beginning and at the end of nest building and egg-laying started earlier in nests with lichens than those without lichens. No association was found between the presence of lichen and the intensity of Philornis larvae (Diptera), a parasite that infests starling nestlings. Our results suggest that the addition of lichens could be related to mate attraction and a stimulus for the beginning of egg-laying but did not have an antiparasitic function in European starling nests.Fil: Ibañez, Lucía Mariel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico Zoología Vertebrados; ArgentinaFil: García, Renato Andrés. Laboratorio de Entrenamiento Multidisciplinario para la Investigación Tecnológica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Fiorini, Vanina Dafne. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ecología, Genética y Evolución de Buenos Aires; ArgentinaFil: Montalti, Diego. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Naturales y Museo. Departamento Científico Zoología Vertebrados; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Human and animal models for translational research on neurodegeneration: Challenges and opportunities from South America

Facing the alarming growth of dementia and neurodegenerative conditions has become a critical priority across the globe (Alzheimer´s Disease International, 2009;Lancet, 2015;Shah et al., 2016;Parra et al., 2018). Neurodegenerative diseases are the most frequent cause of dementia, representing a burden for public health systems (especially in middle and middle-high income countries). Although most research on this subject is concentrated in first-world centers, growing efforts in South American countries (SACs) are affording important breakthroughs. This emerging agenda poses not only new challenges for the region, but also new opportunities for the field at large. SACs have witnessed a promising development of relevant research in humans and animals, giving rise to new regional challenges. As highlighted in a recent experts? consensus paper Latin-American countries (LAC), and SACs in particular (Parra et al., 2018), face a critical situation. Higher demographic rates and the predicted prevalence of dementia have reached and even exceeded those of developing countries. In SACs, low- and middle-income countries (e.g., Bolivia, Paraguay), the prevalence of dementia will double that of high-income countries, while upper-middle-income countries in the region (e.g., Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Peru, Uruguay, and Venezuela) will experience the greatest impact of dementia. The WHO estimated that the standardized prevalence of dementia in Latin America was 8.5%, but multiple SACs have been underrepresented or underestimated in such a calculation (Parra et al., 2018). Moreover, raw prevalence rates across studies are characterized by high variability within and between countries (e.g., Argentina: 8.3; Brazil: 7.1-2.0; Chile: 4.4-7.0; Colombia: 6.0; Peru: 6.72-9.3; Uruguay: 3.1; Venezuela: 5.7-13,7) (Parra et al., 2018). In addition, most of these studies are undermined by various limitations and methodological problems. Even considering these data, SACs possess the highest global prevalence of dementia after North Africa/Middle East in people above the age of 60 (Parra et al., 2018). Moreover, the harmonization of global strategies against dementia in these contexts is hindered not only by reduced epidemiological data, but also by the lack of standardized clinical practice, insufficient training of physicians, limited resources, and poor governmental support, let alone poverty and more general cultural barriers and stigmas. All of these factors have impacted the type and amount of research conducted in SACs. A regional network, based on multiinstitutional actors from research, governmental, and private sectors is fundamental to overcome these challenges (Parra et al., 2018).Fil: Ibanez Barassi, Agustin Mariano. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Laboratorio de Psicología Experimental y Neurociencia; Argentina. Universidad Autónoma del Caribe; Colombia. Universidad Adolfo Ibañez; ChileFil: Sedeño, Lucas. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Laboratorio de Psicología Experimental y Neurociencia; ArgentinaFil: García, Adolfo Martín. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Laboratorio de Psicología Experimental y Neurociencia; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Cuyo. Facultad de Educación Elemental y Especial; ArgentinaFil: Deacon, Robert. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Laboratorio de Psicología Experimental y Neurociencia; Argentina. Universidad de Chile; ChileFil: Cogram, Patricia. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Houssay. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva. Fundación Favaloro. Instituto de Neurociencia Cognitiva; Argentina. Instituto de Neurología Cognitiva. Laboratorio de Psicología Experimental y Neurociencia; Argentina. Universidad de Chile; Chil

Caos en sistemas hamiltonianos

En el presente trabajo estudiaremos numéricamente la dinámica del modelo propuesto por Hénon y Heiles en [14]: un sistema conservativo que puede entenderse como la perturbación de un oscilador armónico bidimensional. Dicha dinámica presenta caos para valores elevados de la energía del sistema, por lo que será imprescindible utilizar un integrador numérico que respete las principales cualidades del espacio fásico para resolver las correspondientes ecuaciones de movimiento. Para ello, en primer lugar introduciremos los conceptos sobre Mecánica y Teoría del caos que necesitaremos para desarrollar nuestro trabajo. Posteriormente, abordaremos la construcción de los integradores numéricos adecuados, así como la elección de indicadores cuantitativos del caos robustos y eficientes. Finalmente, mostraremos y discutiremos los resultados obtenidos tras la simulación por ordenador.In the present work we will study numerically the dynamics of the Hénon-Heiles model, originally introduced in [14]: it is a conservative system which can be understood as a perturbation of a bidimensional harmonic oscillator. The aforementioned dynamics presents chaos when the energy is high enough, so it is completely necessary to use a numerical integrator that respects the main properties of phase space in order to solve the corresponding equations of motion. To do so, firstly we will introduce the fundamental concepts of Mechanics and Chaos Theory we need to develop our research. Secondly, we will tackle the construction of appropriate numerical integrators, as well as the election of robust and efficient chaotic numerical indices. And nally, we will show and discuss the results obtained after computer simulations.Universidad de Sevilla. Doble Grado en Física y Matemática

Decoding motor expertise from fine-tuned oscillatory network organization

First published: 11 March 2022Can motor expertise be robustly predicted by the organization of frequency-specific oscillatory brain networks? To answer this question, we recorded high-density electroencephalography (EEG) in expert Tango dancers and naïves while viewing and judging the correctness of Tango-specific movements and during resting. We calculated task-related and resting-state connectivity at different frequency-bands capturing task performance (delta [δ], 1.5–4 Hz), error monitoring (theta [θ], 4–8 Hz), and sensorimotor experience (mu [μ], 8–13 Hz), and derived topographical features using graph analysis. These features, together with canonical expertise measures (i.e., performance in action discrimination, time spent dancing Tango), were fed into a data-driven computational learning analysis to test whether behavioral and brain signatures robustly classified individuals depending on their expertise level. Unsurprisingly, behavioral measures showed optimal classification (100%) between dancers and naïves. When considering brain models, the task-based classification performed well (~73%), with maximal discrimination afforded by theta-band connectivity, a hallmark signature of error processing. Interestingly, mu connectivity during rest outperformed (100%) the task-based approach, matching the optimal classification of behavioral measures and thus emerging as a potential trait-like marker of sensorimotor network tuning by intense training. Overall, our findings underscore the power of fine-tuned oscillatory network signatures for capturing expertise-related differences and their potential value in the neuroprognosis of learning outcomes.Basque Government; Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; (CONICET) Ikerbasque, Basque Foundation for Science; Spanish State Research Agency, Grant/Award Number: SEV-2015-0490; Programa Interdisciplinario de Investigaci on Experimental en Comunicaci on y Cognici on (PIIECC), Facultad de Humanidades, USACH; ANID; FONDECYT Regular, Grant/Award Numbers: 1210195, 1210176; Global Brain Health Institute (GBHI

Módulos de pré-concentração miniaturizados mediante o uso da tecnologia LTCC e zeólitas.

A conjugação do binômio miniaturizaçãointegração tem permitido estabelecer a base conceitual para o desenvolvimento de uma nova geração de dispositivos miniaturizados, capazes de integrar todas as etapas necessárias para a realização de uma análise química. As cerâmicas verdes apresentam-se muito mais versáteis que qualquer dos materiais com os quais já se trabalhou até o momento no campo da miniaturização, dado que permitem a construção de dispositivos tridimensionais, de uma maneira rápida e simples. O objetivo desse trabalho é avaliar a zeólita natural como material para a construção de filtros empregados na préconcentração de fosfatos presentes na água, mediante sua integração em um dispositivo reutilizável baseado em cerâmicas verdes

Evolución conceptual de los protocolos de puentes transparentes

Los puentes Ethernet transparentes son un elemento cada vez más importante en las redes\ud de telecomunicaciones. Este artículo ofrece una visión panorámica de la evolución conceptual de los\ud paradigmas de puentes durante las últimas décadas, desde los puentes transparentes con árbol de\ud expansión hasta las propuestas actualmente en estandarización: por una parte Shortest Path Bridges,\ud Provider Bridges y Provider Backbone Bridges en el IEEE 802.1; por otra parte Routing Bridges en el\ud IETF. Estas propuestas buscan aumentar la escalabilidad y obtener una alta utilización de la infraestructura\ud de red, así como la provisión de servicios basados en Ethernet a gran número de usuarios. Mediante\ud un mapa genealógico y una tabla se resumen e ilustran los aspectos funcionales, la evolución de los\ud puentes propuestos en cuanto a los mecanismos básicos empleados para el encaminamiento, reenvío\ud y la prevención de bucles tales como protocolos de vector distancia y de estado de enlaces, árboles\ud múltiples de expansión, jerarquización mediante encapsulado de tramas y prohibición de algunos giros\ud en los nodos. La evolución reciente de las propuestas muestra claramente varias tendencias: el predominio\ud de los protocolos de estado de enlaces como IS-IS para el encaminamiento y/o construcción de\ud árboles múltiples, de los mecanismos de encapsulado, y la multiplicación de tipos de identificadores\ud para etiquetar y procesar separada y homogéneamente miles de servicios y clientes