Social brain, social dysfunction and social withdrawal

The human social brain is complex. Current knowledge fails to define the neurobiological processes underlying social behaviour involving the (patho-) physiological mechanisms that link system-level phenomena to the multiple hierarchies of brain function. Unfortunately, such a high complexity may also be associated with a high susceptibility to several pathogenic interventions. Consistently, social deficits sometimes represent the first signs of a number of neuropsychiatric disorders including schizophrenia (SCZ), Alzheimer's disease (AD) and major depressive disorder (MDD) which leads to a progressive social dysfunction. In the present review we summarize present knowledge linking neurobiological substrates sustaining social functioning, social dysfunction and social withdrawal in major psychiatric disorders. Interestingly, AD, SCZ, and MDD affect the social brain in similar ways. Thus, social dysfunction and its most evident clinical expression (i.e., social withdrawal) may represent an innovative transdiagnostic domain, with the potential of being an independent entity in terms of biological roots, with the perspective of targeted interventions

Salivary oxytocin after oxytocin administration: Examining the moderating role of childhood trauma

Contains fulltext : 219363pub.pdf (publisher's version ) (Open Access)Although oxytocin administration influences behavior, its effects on peripheral oxytocin concentrations are mixed and derived from studies on healthy subjects. Additionally, trauma attenuates the behavioral effects of oxytocin, but it is unknown whether it also influences its effect on peripheral circulation. This study examined whether salivary oxytocin increased after oxytocin administration and whether trauma attenuated this effect. We conducted a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, within-subjects study in 100 male adolescents living in residential youth care facilities. Participants self-administered intranasally 24 IU of oxytocin and placebo (one week later) and provided a saliva sample before and 15 min after administration. Salivary oxytocin increased significantly after oxytocin administration, but this effect might be inflated by exogenous oxytocin reaching the throat. Trauma did not moderate this effect. Our findings suggest that trauma did not attenuate the effect of oxytocin administration on salivary oxytocin, but more robust methodologies are recommended to draw more solid conclusions.6 p

Effects of cadmium toxicity on the physiology and growth of a halophytic plant,Tamarix usneoides (E. Mey. ex Bunge)

Heavy metal polluted soils can be remediated using plants, a process called phytoremediation. However, high concentrations of heavy metals can negatively affect plant physiology and growth. We experimentally evaluated the effects of cadmium (Cd) on the growth, (i.e. height, shoot and biomass) and physiology (i.e. leaf chlorophyll and relative water contents) ofTamarix usneoides. In a greenhouse experiment,T. usneoidesclones were subjected to a once off treatment of 100 mmol/l NaCl with three different Cd concentrations (6, 12, and 18 mg/kg) applied 3 times/week for eight weeks. We predicted that plant health would decrease with an increase in Cd concentration. Results revealed a 35.9% reduction in chlorophyll content between the 18 mg/kg Cd treated plants and the control, suggesting thatT. usneoidesexperienced a reduction in photosynthetic rate, which in turn influenced the growth and relative water content (RWC) of the plant. AlthoughT.usneoides' growth and physiology were significantly decreased at 12 and 18 mg/kg Cd concentrations, the plants tolerated up to 6 mg/kg Cd concentration, a level found in most anthropogenic Cd-contaminated soils.Tamarix usneoidesshould thus be confirmed as a good phytoremediation candidate once its ability to extract, translocate and concentrate Cd has been determined

Genetic diversity assessment of Tamarix in South Africa – biocontrol and conservation implications

Genetic diversity information can be valuable for establishing successful management strategies for indigenous and invasive species. Here we conducted a genetic assessment of two invasive and one native Tamarix species in South Africa,where all species are known to hybridize.Hybridization can encourage biological invasion by creating unique allele combinations that facilitate invasiveness in plants. Using 9 microsatellite markers, we genotyped 150 individuals from four Tamarix taxa, viz. T. usneoides, T. chinensis, T. ramosissima, and Tamarix hybrids. We investigated the genetic diversity in the indigenous and invasive Tamarix species, and their genetic differentiation in South Africa, and compared the genetic diversity between South African Tamarix hybrids to hybrids from the United States. We aimed to elucidate information useful for the biocontrol efforts against the invasive genotypes and the conservation of the indigenous species. Our results showed that there is clear genetic differentiation between the indigenous and invasive species of Tamarix in South Africa. The indigenous T. usneoides was found to have greater genetic diversity than the exotic T. chinensis, but lower than the alien T. ramosissima. Higher genetic diversity was detected in South African Tamarix hybrids compared to hybrids of the same species from the United States and there is substantial genetic differentiation between Tamarix hybrids from the two countries. Additionally, remote places in the northwest of South Africa contain private alleles suggesting non-polluted indigenous T. usneoides germplasm which should be preserved. These results suggest that there would be minimal risk of non-target effects on the indigenous species should a biocontrol program for the alien invasive species be implemented

Practitioner Review: Psychological treatments for children and adolescents with conduct disorder problems - a systematic review and meta-analysis

Contains fulltext : 169788.pdf (publisher's version ) (Closed access)BACKGROUND: This meta-analysis evaluates the efficacy of nonpharmacological treatments for conduct disorder (CD) problems in children and adolescents, based on child, parent and teacher report. METHODS: PubMed, PsycINFO and EMBASE were searched for peer-reviewed articles published between January 1970 and March 2015. Main inclusion criteria were nonpharmacological treatment, participants younger than 18 years, clinical CD problems/diagnosis, randomized controlled trials and inclusion of at least one CD problem-related outcome. Treatment efficacy is expressed in effect sizes (ESs) calculated for each rater (parent, teacher, self and blinded observer). RESULTS: Of 1,549 articles retrieved, 17 (published between June 2004 and January 2014) describing 19 interventions met the inclusion criteria. All studies used psychological treatments; only three studies included a blinded observer to rate CD problems. Most studies were of very poor to fair quality. ESs were significant but small for parent-reported outcomes (0.36, 95% CI = 0.27-0.47), teacher-reported outcomes (0.26, 95% CI = 0.12-0.49) and blinded observer outcomes (0.26, 95% CI = 0.06-0.47), and they were nonsignificant for self-reported outcomes (-0.01, 95% CI = -0.25 to 0.23). Comorbidity, gender, age, number of sessions, duration, intervention type, setting, medication use or dropout percentage did not influence the effect of treatment. CONCLUSIONS: Psychological treatments have a small effect in reducing parent-, teacher- and observer-rated CD problems in children and adolescents with clinical CD problems/diagnosis. There is not enough evidence to support one specific psychological treatment over another. Future studies should investigate the influence of participant characteristics (e.g. age of CD onset), use more homogeneous outcome measures and allow better evaluation of study quality. Many reports failed to provide detailed information to allow optimization of psychological treatment strategies

Downregulation of the ERK 1 and 2 mitogen activated protein kinases using antisense oligonucleotides inhibits proliferation of porcine vascular smooth muscle cells

The current model of the arterial response to injury suggests that proliferation of vascular smooth muscle cells is a central event. Mitogen activated protein kinases are part of the final common pathway of intracellular signalling involved in cell division and thus constitute an attractive target in attempting to inhibit this proliferation. We hypothesised that antisense oligonucleotides to mitogen activated protein kinase would inhibit serum induced smooth muscle cell proliferation by downregulating the protein. Porcine vascular smooth muscle cells were cultured and an antisense oligonucleotide sequence against the ERK family of mitogen activated protein kinases (AMK1) was introduced by liposomal transfection. Sense oligonucleotides and a random sequence were used as controls. Proliferation was inhibited by AMK1 versus the sense controls, as assessed by tritiated thymidine incorporation (P<0.01). Immunoblots revealed downregulation of the target protein by AMK1 by 63% versus the sense control (P<0.05). In conclusion, antisense oligonucleotides specifically inhibited proliferation and downregulated the target protein. This is consistent with a central role for mitogen activated protein kinases in vascular smooth muscle cell proliferation in the porcine model. In addition, the data suggest a possible role for antisense oligonucleotides in the modulation of the arterial injury response

Emotional face recognition in male adolescents with autism spectrum disorder or disruptive behavior disorder: An eye-tracking study

Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD), and Conduct Disorder (CD) are often associated with emotion recognition difficulties. This is the first eye-tracking study to examine emotional face recognition (i.e., gazing behavior) in a direct comparison of male adolescents with Autism Spectrum Disorder or Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder, and typically developing (TD) individuals. We also investigate the role of psychopathic traits, callous–unemotional (CU) traits, and subtypes of aggressive behavior in emotional face recognition. A total of 122 male adolescents (N = 50 ASD, N = 44 ODD/CD, and N = 28 TD) aged 12-19 years (M = 15.4 years, SD= 1.9) were included in the current study for the eye-tracking experiment. Participants were presented with neutral and emotional faces using a Tobii 1750 eye-tracking monitor to record gaze behavior. Our main dependent eye-tracking variables were: (1) fixation duration to the eyes of a face and (2) time to the first fixation to the eyes. Since distributions of eye-tracking variables were not completely Gaussian, non-parametric tests were chosen to investigate gaze behavior across the diagnostic groups with Autism Spectrum Disorder, Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder, and Typically Developing individuals. Furthermore, we used Spearman correlations to investigate the links with psychopathy, callous, and unemotional traits and subtypes of aggression as assessed by questionnaires. The relative total fixation duration to the eyes was decreased in both the Autism Spectrum Disorder group and the Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder group for several emotional expressions. In both the Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Oppositional Defiant Disorder/Conduct Disorder group, increased time to first fixation on the eyes of fearful faces only was nominally significant. The time to first fixation on the eyes was nominally correlated with psychopathic traits and proactive aggression. The current findings do not support strong claims for differential cross-disorder eye-gazing deficits and for a role of shared underlying psychopathic traits, callous–unemotional traits, and aggression subtypes. Our data provide valuable and novel insights into gaze timing distributions when looking at the eyes of a fearful face

Habitat use and home range traits of resident and relocated hares ( Lepus europaeus

The aim of the study was to know the habitat preferences and home range of resident and relocated brown hares during the no hunting period. The trial was carried out in a protected area (PA) and in a free hunting territory (FHT), both located in Florence province. During captures 21 hares were equipped with a necklace radio tag: 7 hares, resident group, were released in the same area of capture and 14 hares, relocated group, were relocated in six different locations within the FHT. The effect of place of release was analyzed by ANOVA and/or non parametric methods. Results showed that the home ranges of the resident group were characterised by a greater presence of fallow land and shrub land than relocated group (P< 0.05). Home range sizes and Max distances from the releasing sites differed between the two groups. Resident hares preferred landscape characterized by a higher density of patches than the relocated hares (152 vs. 70 n/100ha, 43 vs. 12 n/100ha, 4703 vs. 8142 sq.m respectively; P<0.01). The landscape structure indexes, the home range sizes and the maximum distance from the releasing sites suggest that the relocated hares even if released in suited habitats, will move from their releasing point to look for better habitats. Landscape with most complexity are preferred from the resident hare, and this result should be consider when a project to reintroduction of this lagomorph in a territory is programmed, or when it is necessary to improve the dynamic of a natural population