Evidence-based Kernels: Fundamental Units of Behavioral Influence

This paper describes evidence-based kernels, fundamental units of behavioral influence that appear to underlie effective prevention and treatment for children, adults, and families. A kernel is a behavior–influence procedure shown through experimental analysis to affect a specific behavior and that is indivisible in the sense that removing any of its components would render it inert. Existing evidence shows that a variety of kernels can influence behavior in context, and some evidence suggests that frequent use or sufficient use of some kernels may produce longer lasting behavioral shifts. The analysis of kernels could contribute to an empirically based theory of behavioral influence, augment existing prevention or treatment efforts, facilitate the dissemination of effective prevention and treatment practices, clarify the active ingredients in existing interventions, and contribute to efficiently developing interventions that are more effective. Kernels involve one or more of the following mechanisms of behavior influence: reinforcement, altering antecedents, changing verbal relational responding, or changing physiological states directly. The paper describes 52 of these kernels, and details practical, theoretical, and research implications, including calling for a national database of kernels that influence human behavior

Improved PeT Molecules for Optically Sensing Voltage in Neurons

VoltageFluor (VF) dyes have the potential to measure voltage optically in excitable membranes with a combination of high spatial and temporal resolution essential to better characterize the voltage dynamics of large groups of excitable cells. VF dyes sense voltage with high speed and sensitivity using photoinduced electron transfer (PeT) through a conjugated molecular wire. We show that tuning the driving force for PeT (Δ<i>G</i>_PeT + <i>w</i>) through systematic chemical substitution modulates voltage sensitivity, estimate (Δ<i>G</i>_PeT + <i>w</i>) values from experimentally measured redox potentials, and validate the voltage sensitivities in patch-clamped HEK cells for 10 new VF dyes. VF2.1­(OMe).H, with a 48% Δ<i>F</i>/<i>F</i> per 100 mV, shows approximately 2-fold improvement over previous dyes in HEK cells, dissociated rat cortical neurons, and medicinal leech ganglia. Additionally, VF2.1­(OMe).H faithfully reports pharmacological effects and circuit activity in mouse olfactory bulb slices, thus opening a wide range of previously inaccessible applications for voltage-sensitive dyes