Individual decision making and the evolutionary roots of institutions

Just as many aspects of individual decisions are sometimes called unconscious or automatic, we know that some institutions have evolved through unconscious, nondeliberative mechanisms. Their function can also be largely nondeliberative, as in the case of some institutions that may structure behavior without requiring any reflection on the part of the participants. On the other hand, political institutions exist for the purpose of bringing deliberative mechanisms to bear on institutions in the hope of changing them for the better. The immense project of building an integrated explanation of institutions from individual brains to nations-has only barely begun. In this chapter, we report on our discussions that attempted to sketch the mechanisms that connect individuals to large-scale institutions. We begin with a discussion of current thought on the design of individual decision making. If institutions regulate behavior, then presumably the mechanisms that have evolved to produce individual behavior will be relevant to the broader enterprise of integrating these two scales of explanation. Then we explore ways in which institutions may have evolved, both as a result of individual decision making and as a result of processes distinct from those that govern individual behavior. We approach this topic from two perspectives. Seen one way, unconscious psychological forces constrain the design of institutions, sometimes powerfully. Seen another way, unconscious population-level processes create functional institutional design that few social architects could conceive of with their individual deliberate faculties

Postictal serotonin levels are associated with peri-ictal apnea.

ObjectiveTo determine the relationship between serum serotonin (5-HT) levels, ictal central apnea (ICA), and postconvulsive central apnea (PCCA) in epileptic seizures.MethodsWe prospectively evaluated video EEG, plethysmography, capillary oxygen saturation (SpO2), and ECG for 49 patients (49 seizures) enrolled in a multicenter study of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Postictal and interictal venous blood samples were collected after a clinical seizure for measurement of serum 5-HT levels. Seizures were classified according to the International League Against Epilepsy 2017 seizure classification. We analyzed seizures with and without ICA (n = 49) and generalized convulsive seizures (GCS) with and without PCCA (n = 27).ResultsPostictal serum 5-HT levels were increased over interictal levels for seizures without ICA (p = 0.01), compared to seizures with ICA (p = 0.21). In patients with GCS without PCCA, serum 5-HT levels were increased postictally compared to interictal levels (p < 0.001), but not in patients with seizures with PCCA (p = 0.22). Postictal minus interictal 5-HT levels also differed between the 2 groups with and without PCCA (p = 0.03). Increased heart rate was accompanied by increased serum 5-HT levels (postictal minus interictal) after seizures without PCCA (p = 0.03) compared to those with PCCA (p = 0.42).ConclusionsThe data suggest that significant seizure-related increases in serum 5-HT levels are associated with a lower incidence of seizure-related breathing dysfunction, and may reflect physiologic changes that confer a protective effect against deleterious phenomena leading to SUDEP. These results need to be confirmed with a larger sample size study

Facial Attractiveness

Facial attractiveness has important social consequences. Despite a widespread belief that beauty cannot be defined, in fact, there is considerable agreement across individuals and cultures on what is found attractive. By considering that attraction and mate choice are critical components of evolutionary selection, we can better understand the importance of beauty. There are many traits that are linked to facial attractiveness in humans and each may in some way impart benefits to individuals who act on their preferences. If a trait is reliably associated with some benefit to the perceiver, then we would expect individuals in a population to find that trait attractive. Such an approach has highlighted face traits such as age, health, symmetry, and averageness, which are proposed to be associated with benefits and so associated with facial attractiveness. This view may postulate that some traits will be universally attractive; however, this does not preclude variation. Indeed, it would be surprising if there existed a template of a perfect face that was not affected by experience, environment, context, or the specific needs of an individual. Research on facial attractiveness has documented how various face traits are associated with attractiveness and various factors that impact on an individual's judgments of facial attractiveness. Overall, facial attractiveness is complex, both in the number of traits that determine attraction and in the large number of factors that can alter attraction to particular faces. A fuller understanding of facial beauty will come with an understanding of how these various factors interact with each other

A critical test of the assumption that men prefer conformist women and women prefer nonconformist men.

Five studies tested the common assumption that women prefer nonconformist men as romantic partners, whereas men prefer conformist women. Studies 1 and 2 showed that both men and women preferred nonconformist romantic partners, but women overestimated the extent to which men prefer conformist partners. In Study 3, participants ostensibly in a small-group interaction showed preferences for nonconformist opposite-sex targets, a pattern that was particularly evident when men evaluated women. Dating success was greater the more nonconformist the sample was (Study 4), and perceptions of nonconformity in an ex-partner were associated with greater love and attraction toward that partner (Study 5). On the minority of occasions in which effects were moderated by gender, it was in the reverse direction to the traditional wisdom: Conformity was more associated with dating success among men. The studies contradict the notion that men disproportionately prefer conformist women

Algal nutrient competition in continuous culture

Natural phytoplankton from Lake Constance was exposed to competition experiments in continuous culture at 6 different molar rations of PratioSi as potentially limiting nutrients. As predicted by theory there was competitive exclusion of all species but one at single nutrient limitation, and coexistence of two species in steady state when P was limiting for one and Si for the other species. In one case coexistence of three species occurred. Equilibrium species composition, which stabilized after 3 to 6 weeks of cultivation, was independent of the species composition of the inoculum and only controlled by the nutrient regime. Comparability of experimental results and field observations is discussed

Tragedy revisited

“Freedom in a commons brings ruin to all.” So argued ecologist Garrett Hardin in “The Tragedy of the Commons” in the 13 December 1968 issue of Science (1). Hardin questioned society's ability to manage shared resources and avoid an environmentally and socially calamitous free-for-all. In the 50 years since, the essay has influenced discussions ranging from climate change (see page 1217) to evolution, from infectious disease to the internet, and has reached far beyond academic literature—but not without criticism. Considerable work, notably by Nobelist Elinor Ostrom (2), has challenged Hardin, particularly his emphasis on property rights and government regulatory leviathans as solutions. Instead, research has documented contexts, cases, and principles that reflect the ability of groups to collectively govern common resources. To mark this anniversary and celebrate the richness of research and practice around commons and cooperation, Science invited experts to share some contemporary views on such tragedies and how to avert them. —Brad Wibl

Central Serotonergic Neurons Activate and Recruit Thermogenic Brown and Beige Fat and Regulate Glucose and Lipid Homeostasis

SummaryThermogenic brown and beige adipocytes convert chemical energy to heat by metabolizing glucose and lipids. Serotonin (5-HT) neurons in the CNS are essential for thermoregulation and accordingly may control metabolic activity of thermogenic fat. To test this, we generated mice in which the human diphtheria toxin receptor (DTR) was selectively expressed in central 5-HT neurons. Treatment with diphtheria toxin (DT) eliminated 5-HT neurons and caused loss of thermoregulation, brown adipose tissue (BAT) steatosis, and a >50% decrease in uncoupling protein 1 (Ucp1) expression in BAT and inguinal white adipose tissue (WAT). In parallel, blood glucose increased 3.5-fold, free fatty acids 13.4-fold, and triglycerides 6.5-fold. Similar BAT and beige fat defects occurred in Lmx1bf/fePet1Cre mice in which 5-HT neurons fail to develop in utero. We conclude 5-HT neurons play a major role in regulating glucose and lipid homeostasis, in part through recruitment and metabolic activation of brown and beige adipocytes