Quantifying the Speed of Chromatophore Activity at the Single-Organ Level in Response to a Visual Startle Stimulus in Living, Intact Squid

The speed of adaptive body patterning in coleoid cephalopods is unmatched in the natural world. While the literature frequently reports their remarkable ability to change coloration significantly faster than other species, there is limited research on the temporal dynamics of rapid chromatophore coordination underlying body patterning in living, intact animals. In this exploratory pilot study, we aimed to measure chromatophore activity in response to a light flash stimulus in seven squid, Doryteuthis pealeii. We video-recorded the head/arms, mantle, and fin when squid were presented with a light flash startle stimulus. Individual chromatophores were detected and tracked over time using image analysis. We assessed baseline and response chromatophore surface area parameters before and after flash stimulation, respectively. Using change-point analysis, we identified 4,065 chromatophores from 185 trials with significant surface area changes elicited by the flash stimulus. We defined the temporal dynamics of chromatophore activity to flash stimulation as the latency, duration, and magnitude of surface area changes (expansion or retraction) following the flash presentation. Post stimulation, the response’s mean latency was at 50 ms (± 16.67 ms), for expansion and retraction, across all body regions. The response duration ranged from 217 ms (fin, retraction) to 384 ms (heads/arms, expansion). While chromatophore expansions had a mean surface area increase of 155.06%, the retractions only caused a mean reduction of 40.46%. Collectively, the methods and results described contribute to our understanding of how cephalopods can employ thousands of chromatophore organs in milliseconds to achieve rapid, dynamic body patterning

Psychological well-being in Europe after the outbreak of war in Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has had devastating effects on the Ukrainian population and the global economy, environment, and political order. However, little is known about the psychological states surrounding the outbreak of war, particularly the mental well-being of individuals outside Ukraine. Here, we present a longitudinal experience-sampling study of a convenience sample from 17 European countries (total participants = 1,341, total assessments = 44,894, countries with >100 participants = 5) that allows us to track well-being levels across countries during the weeks surrounding the outbreak of war. Our data show a significant decline in well-being on the day of the Russian invasion. Recovery over the following weeks was associated with an individual’s personality but was not statistically significantly associated with their age, gender, subjective social status, and political orientation. In general, well-being was lower on days when the war was more salient on social media. Our results demonstrate the need to consider the psychological implications of the Russo-Ukrainian war next to its humanitarian, economic, and ecological consequences

A global experience-sampling method study of well-being during times of crisis : The CoCo project

We present a global experience-sampling method (ESM) study aimed at describing, predicting, and understanding individual differences in well-being during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This international ESM study is a collaborative effort of over 60 interdisciplinary researchers from around the world in the “Coping with Corona” (CoCo) project. The study comprises trait-, state-, and daily-level data of 7490 participants from over 20 countries (total ESM measurements = 207,263; total daily measurements = 73,295) collected between October 2021 and August 2022. We provide a brief overview of the theoretical background and aims of the study, present the applied methods (including a description of the study design, data collection procedures, data cleaning, and final sample), and discuss exemplary research questions to which these data can be applied. We end by inviting collaborations on the CoCo dataset

Psychological well-being in Europe after the outbreak of war in Ukraine

The Russian invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022, has had devastating effects on the Ukrainian population and the global economy, environment, and political order. However, little is known about the psychological states surrounding the outbreak of war, particularly the mental well-being of individuals outside Ukraine. Here, we present a longitudinal experience-sampling study of a convenience sample from 17 European countries (total participants = 1,341, total assessments = 44,894, countries with >100 participants = 5) that allows us to track well-being levels across countries during the weeks surrounding the outbreak of war. Our data show a significant decline in well-being on the day of the Russian invasion. Recovery over the following weeks was associated with an individual’s personality but was not statistically significantly associated with their age, gender, subjective social status, and political orientation. In general, well-being was lower on days when the war was more salient on social media. Our results demonstrate the need to consider the psychological implications of the Russo-Ukrainian war next to its humanitarian, economic, and ecological consequences

A global experience-sampling method study of well-being during times of crisis : the CoCo project

[Corrections added on 5 July 2023 after first online publication: The authorship footnote has been modified on page 1 and the duplicate phrase “experience sampling” has been removed on page 2.]We present a global experience-sampling method (ESM) study aimed at describing, predicting, and understanding individual differences in well-being during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This international ESM study is a collaborative effort of over 60 interdisciplinary researchers from around the world in the “Coping with Corona” (CoCo) project. The study comprises trait-, state-, and daily-level data of 7490 participants from over 20 countries (total ESM measurements = 207,263; total daily measurements = 73,295) collected between October 2021 and August 2022. We provide a brief overview of the theoretical background and aims of the study, present the applied methods (including a description of the study design, data collection procedures, data cleaning, and final sample), and discuss exemplary research questions to which these data can be applied. We end by inviting collaborations on the CoCo dataset.Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft.https://wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/spc3am2024PsychologySDG-03:Good heatlh and well-bein

Behavioral Responses to Pulses of Light in the Longfin Inshore Squid, \u3ci\u3eDoryteuthis pealeii\u3c/i\u3e (Lesueur, 1821)

The coleoid cephalopods (octopus, squid, and cuttlefish) are masters of rapid, adaptive camouflage. Unlike the slower hormonal chromatophore control of flatfish and chameleons, coleoid mollusks can change body patterns in milliseconds. Visual camouflage in coleoids is driven by a sensorimotor system consisting of visual input of their surroundings, a sophisticated central nervous system for information processing, and a neuromuscular control for body patterning. Motor neurons selectively activate millions of muscles, alternately expanding and reducing the pigmented chromatophores to generate visible brown, red, orange and yellow patterns on the skin. Below the chromatophore-layered skin are two types of reflecting cells, iridophores that diffract wavelengths and leucophores (in octopus and sepia) which are broadband reflectors. Essentially, the body pattern visible on a coleoid at a given instant is the combined action of the different skin elements and the frequency of neural activation in space and time. The chromatophore sensorimotor system enables rapid dynamic displays with speed and resolution that are unparalleled. The question of how cephalopods control their chromatophores has received detailed attention from the perspectives of pattern, color modulation, and contrast in ethology; there are excellent descriptions of the arrangement of the neuromuscular components of chromatophores and behavioral analysis of the sensory contributions of the visual system. However, the temporal dynamics underlying the information processing of the chromatophore control system that enables such behavior is still unknown. Recent findings described here demonstrate the effectiveness of employing a light stimulation method to study the spectral sensitivity of squid as well as to activate the chromatophore sensorimotor system to measure its spatiotemporal dynamics

Validation study of a wellbeing scale (SPANE) in the Arab Gulf region: A multicountry study.

The Scale of Positive and Negative Experience (SPANE) is an emerging wellbeing scale to measure the frequency of positive and negative emotions. This study explores the psychometric properties of SPANE on a sample from the Arab Gulf region. The Arab Gulf region shares cultural elements with the broader Muslim and Arab world, but maintains distinct features that warrants validation studies for psychological instruments. There were 1393 participants from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Kuwait and other Arab Gulf countries. The factorial structure of SPANE was examined using a principal axis factor analysis, followed up with a confirmatory factor analysis. The convergent validity was examined by correlating SPANE with the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS). The findings confirmed a two-factor structure of SPANE, and demonstrated adequate psychometric properties and convergent validity. In conclusion, this study indicates that SPANE shows sufficient validity for use as a measure of wellbeing in the Arab Gulf region

A global experience‐sampling method study of well‐being during times of crisis: The CoCo project

We present a global experience-sampling method (ESM) study aimed at describing, predicting, and understanding individual differences in well-being during times of crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. This international ESM study is a collaborative effort of over 60 interdisciplinary researchers from around the world in the “Coping with Corona” (CoCo) project. The study comprises trait-, state-, and daily-level data of 7490 participants from over 20 countries (total ESM measurements = 207,263; total daily measurements = 73,295) collected between October 2021 and August 2022. We provide a brief overview of the theoretical background and aims of the study, present the applied methods (including a description of the study design, data collection procedures, data cleaning, and final sample), and discuss exemplary research questions to which these data can be applied. We end by inviting collaborations on the CoCo dataset

A global experience‐sampling method study of well‐being during times of crisis: The CoCo project

Abstract We present a global experience‐sampling method (ESM) study aimed at describing, predicting, and understanding individual differences in well‐being during times of crisis such as the COVID‐19 pandemic. This international ESM study is a collaborative effort of over 60 interdisciplinary researchers from around the world in the “Coping with Corona” (CoCo) project. The study comprises trait‐, state‐, and daily‐level data of 7490 participants from over 20 countries (total ESM measurements = 207,263; total daily measurements = 73,295) collected between October 2021 and August 2022. We provide a brief overview of the theoretical background and aims of the study, present the applied methods (including a description of the study design, data collection procedures, data cleaning, and final sample), and discuss exemplary research questions to which these data can be applied. We end by inviting collaborations on the CoCo dataset.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishe

Large-scale cross-societal examination of real- and minimal-group biases

Biases in favor of culturally prevalent social ingroups are ubiquitous, but random assignment to arbitrary experimentally created social groups is also sufficient to create ingroup biases (i.e., the minimal group effect; MGE). The extent to which ingroup bias arises from specific social contexts versus more general psychological tendencies remains unclear. This registered report focuses on three questions. First, how culturally prevalent is the MGE? Second, how do critical cultural and individual factors moderate its strength? Third, does the MGE meaningfully relate to culturally salient real-world ingroup biases? We compare the MGE to bias in favor of a family member (first cousin) and a national ingroup member. We propose to recruit a sample of > 200 participants in each of > 50 nations to examine these questions and advance our understanding of the psychological foundations and cultural prevalence of ingroup bias