It's the intention that matters : neural representations of learning from intentional harm in social interactions

As a social species, humans are not only driven by the pursuit of necessities such as food and shelter, but also complex processes such as social interactions. To navigate our everyday life, we use information gathered throughout a lifetime of social interactions in which we learn from others and their actions but also, and not less importantly, about others. To create a complete picture of a social interaction, we assess the individual we interact with, make judgements about them and their actions, and integrate what we know with the consequences of their actions. This way, we learn the relationship between events (e.g. others’ actions) and environmental stimuli, such as other individuals that predict the actions. As we encounter more people and go through more interactions, we continuously update information stored in memory from previous experiences. A common task, for example, going through the busy corridor in our workplace in a hurry does not only include avoiding physical harm caused by bumping into the coffee machine with a sharp corner, but also avoiding a co-worker we are in a feud with, and whom we believed knowingly spilled hot coffee on another co-worker the week before. How social information is processed is key in understanding rarer but more impactful events that can have lifelong impact on an individual’s life. Interpersonal trauma, a type of trauma that is acquired from harm received from another individual, leads more often to post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) than non-socially related trauma, for example, a car crash (Kleim, Ehlers, & Glucksman, 2007). To understand why a specific social harm affect us negatively, it is crucial to study how the brain integrates social, as well as nonsocial (physical) information during the harmful event. In Study I, II, and III we investigated how different streams of information (social and physical) are integrated during a social interaction. We were interested in how intentionality of an action that has direct aversive consequences on an individual can change the individuals’ judgements of the action and the person performing it. Using a time-based neuroimaging approach, we investigated how the value of an action is integrated with that of the intention behind it. Study I revealed evidence that suggests that intentionality of a directly experienced aversive action is represented throughout the cortex in neural activity patterns that form over time. Study II highlighted the importance of timing and sample size in similar paradigms, and that neural pattern formation in response to aversive actions regardless of the intentions behind them are robustly replicated. In Study III we asked questions about how these learned action outcomes and knowledge about the people performing the harmful action change neural connectivity, and how this translates into changes in perception and memory 24-hours later. We found an increased connectivity between the hippocampus and the amygdala, which correlated with generalized memory responses to images associated with shocks from an intentional harm do-er, and increased connectivity between the FFA and the insula, as well as the FFA and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) correlated with facilitated recognition of the intentional harm do-er’s face

Model-based representational similarity analysis of blood-oxygen-level-dependent fMRI captures threat learning in social interactions

Past research has shown that attributions of intentions to other's actions determine how we experience these actions and their consequences. Yet, it is unknown how such attributions affect our learning and memory. Addressing this question, we combined neuroimaging with an interactive threat learning paradigm in which two interaction partners (confederates) made choices that had either threatening (shock) or safe (no shock) consequences for the participants. Importantly, participants were led to believe that one partner intentionally caused the delivery of shock, whereas the other did not (i.e. unintentional partner). Following intentional versus unintentional shocks, participants reported an inflated number of shocks and a greater increase in anger and vengeance. We applied a model-based representational similarity analysis to blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD)-MRI patterns during learning. Surprisingly, we did not find any effects of intentionality. The threat value of actions, however, was represented as a trial-by-trial increase in representational similarity in the insula and the inferior frontal gyrus. Our findings illustrate how neural pattern formation can be used to study a complex interaction

A study protocol for the evaluation of occupational mutagenic/carcinogenic risks in subjects exposed to antineoplastic drugs: a multicentric project

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Some industrial hygiene studies have assessed occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs; other epidemiological investigations have detected various toxicological effects in exposure groups labeled with the job title. In no research has the same population been studied both environmentally and epidemiologically. The protocol of the epidemiological study presented here uses an integrated environmental and biological monitoring approach. The aim is to assess in hospital nurses preparing and/or administering therapy to cancer patients the current level of occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs, DNA and chromosome damage as cancer predictive effects, and the association between the two.</p> <p>Methods/Design</p> <p>About 80 healthy non-smoking female nurses, who job it is to prepare or handle antineoplastic drugs, and a reference group of about 80 healthy non-smoking female nurses not occupationally exposed to chemicals will be examined simultaneously in a cross-sectional study. All the workers will be recruited from five hospitals in northern and central Italy after their informed consent has been obtained.</p> <p>Evaluation of surface contamination and dermal exposure to antineoplastic drugs will be assessed by determining cyclophosphamide on selected surfaces (wipes) and on the exposed nurses' clothes (pads). The concentration of unmetabolized cyclophosphamide as a biomarker of internal dose will be measured in end-shift urine samples from exposed nurses.</p> <p>Biomarkers of effect and susceptibility will be assessed in exposed and unexposed nurses: urinary concentration of 8-hydroxy-2-deoxyguanosine; DNA damage detected using the single-cell microgel electrophoresis (comet) assay in peripheral white blood cells; micronuclei and chromosome aberrations in peripheral blood lymphocytes. Genetic polymorphisms for enzymes involved in metabolic detoxification (i.e. glutathione <it>S</it>-transferases) will also be analysed.</p> <p>Using standardized questionnaires, occupational exposure will be determined in exposed nurses only, whereas potential confounders (medicine consumption, lifestyle habits, diet and other non-occupational exposures) will be assessed in both groups of hospital workers.</p> <p>Statistical analysis will be performed to ascertain the association between occupational exposure to antineoplastic drugs and biomarkers of DNA and chromosome damage, after taking into account the effects of individual genetic susceptibility, and the presence of confounding exposures.</p> <p>Discussion</p> <p>The findings of the study will be useful in updating prevention procedures for handling antineoplastic drugs.</p

The biological effects of diagnostic cardiac imaging on chronically exposed physicians: the importance of being non-ionizing

Ultrasounds and ionizing radiation are extensively used for diagnostic applications in the cardiology clinical practice. This paper reviewed the available information on occupational risk of the cardiologists who perform, every day, cardiac imaging procedures. At the moment, there are no consistent evidence that exposure to medical ultrasound is capable of inducing genetic effects, and representing a serious health hazard for clinical staff. In contrast, exposure to ionizing radiation may result in adverse health effect on clinical cardiologists. Although the current risk estimates are clouded by approximations and extrapolations, most data from cytogenetic studies have reported a detrimental effect on somatic DNA of professionally exposed personnel to chronic low doses of ionizing radiation. Since interventional cardiologists and electro-physiologists have the highest radiation exposure among health professionals, a major awareness is crucial for improving occupational protection. Furthermore, the use of a biological dosimeter could be a reliable tool for the risk quantification on an individual basis

Analysis of Cement Clinker Properties and Determination of Forces Acting on Chain in Drag Conveyor Application

Drag conveyors are used frequently to convey cement clinker. Even though drag conveyors have been in use for decades, little research has been performed to understand their characteristics and the way they behave in certain applications; instead experience was used to find answers to problems. One of the areas that the experience is taken for granted is the analysis of the forces on the chain and the material height that can be reliably conveyed. In this thesis the basics of bulk material handling is explained. Using this information, a testing program is constructed that will provide insights to following issues: - Forces formed during material conveying at different material heights. - Material size effect on these force readings. - Exploring where shear takes place for each material size, and using this information to determine what material height can be utilized as a basis for design. To eliminate scaling and modeling issues, a real- size drag conveyor is tested with typical cement clinker that is obtained from a cement plant. Using four different material sizes, the tests are performed, and results compared

Real Time Target Evaluation Search

ABSTRACT In this paper we propose a real-time search algorithm called RealTime Target Evaluation Search (RTTES) for the problem of searching a route in grid worlds from a starting point to a static or dynamic target point in real-time. The algorithm makes use of a new effective heuristic method which utilizes environmental information to successfully find solution paths to the target in dynamic and partially observable environments. The method requires analysis of obstacles to determine closed directions and estimate the goal relevance of open directions in order to identify the most beneficial move. The environment is assumed to be a planar grid and the agent has limited perception. In this paper, we compared RTTES with Real-Time A* (RTA*) and Real-Time Edge Follow (RTEF), and observed a significant improvement

Real Time Target Evaluation Search

In this paper we propose a real-time search algorithm called Real-Time Target Evaluation Search (RTTES) for the problem of searching a route in grid worlds from a starting point to a static or dynamic target point in real-time. The algorithm makes use of a new effective heuristic method which utilizes environmental information to successfully find solution paths to the target in dynamic and partially observable environments. The method requires analysis of obstacles to determine closed directions and estimate the goal relevance of open directions in order to identify the most beneficial move. The environment is assumed to be a planar grid and the agent has limited perception. In this paper, we compared RTTES with Real-Time A * (RTA*) and Real-Time Edge Follow (RTEF), and observed a significant improvement

Multi-agent real-time pursuit

In this paper, we address the problem of multi-agent pursuit in dynamic and partially observable environments, modeled as grid worlds; and present an algorithm called Multi-Agent Real-Time Pursuit (MAPS) for multiple predators to capture a moving prey cooperatively. MAPS introduces two new coordination strategies namely Blocking Escape Directions and Using Alternative Proposals, which help the predators waylay the possible escape directions of the prey in coordination. We compared our coordination strategies with the uncoordinated one against a prey controlled by Prey A*, and observed an impressive reduction in the number of moves to catch the prey

Real-Time Moving Target Search

In this paper, we propose a real-time moving target search algorithm for dynamic and partially observable environments, modeled as grid world. The proposed algorithm, Real-time Moving Target Evaluation Search (MTES), is able to detect the closed directions around the agent, and determine the best direction that avoids the nearby obstacles, leading to a moving target which is assumed to be escaping almost optimally. We compared our proposal with Moving Target Search (NITS) and observed a significant improvement in the solution paths. Furthermore, we also tested our algorithm against A* in order to report quality of our solutions

RTTES: Real-time search in dynamic environments

In this paper we propose a real-time search algorithm called Real-Time Target Evaluation Search (RTTES) for the problem of searching a route in grid worlds from a starting point to a static or dynamic target point in real-time. The algorithm makes use of a new effective heuristic method which utilizes environmental information to successfully find solution paths to the target in dynamic and partially observable environments. The method requires analysis of nearby obstacles to determine closed directions and estimate the goal relevance of open directions in order to identify the most beneficial move. We compared RTTES with other competing real-time search algorithms and observed a significant improvement on solution quality