CHO-human hybrid cells as models for human chromosome non-disjunction

We have used Chinese hamster ovary (CHO)-human hybrid cells containing chromosomes 16, 18, X, and 21 to test the ability of human kinetochores to successfully bind to spindle microtubules and to be distributed to the daughter cells. We have established the intrinsic rate of non-disjunction among these human chromosomes noted above and compared these rates with those in cells presented with mitotic challenges such as taxol, nocodazole, and mitosis with unreplicated genomes (MUG). Cells were grown on culture slides, fixed and processed for immunofluorescence and fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Daughter pairs were identified by staining with anti-á-tubulin to identify midbodies. Human centromere DNA probes were used for FISH in order to test for the successful passage of human kinetochores to daughter cells during anaphase. Our data indicate that different human kinetochores vary in their ability to properly engage the spindle and to be successfully distributed. In addition, mitotic challenges have been shown to affect the rate of non-disjunction. The mechanism of this effect is not yet known

Web addiction in the brain: Cortical oscillations, autonomic activity, and behavioral measures

Background and aims Internet addiction (IA) was recently defined as a disorder tagging both the impulse control and the reward systems. Specifically, inhibitory deficits and reward bias were considered highly relevant in IA. This research aims to examine the electrophysiological correlates and autonomic activity [skin conductance response (SCR) and heart rate] in two groups of young subjects (N = 25), with high or low IA profile [tested by the Internet Addiction Test (IAT)], with specific reference to gambling behavior. Methods Oscillatory brain activity (delta, theta, alpha, beta, and gamma) and autonomic and behavioral measures [response times (RTs) and error rates (ERs)] were acquired during the performance of a Go/NoGo task in response to high-rewarding (online gambling videos and video games) or neutral stimuli. Results A better performance (reduced ERs and reduced RTs) was revealed for high IAT in the case of NoGo trials representing rewarding cues (inhibitory control condition), probably due to a “gain effect” induced by the rewarding condition. In addition, we also observed for NoGo trials related to gambling and video games stimuli that (a) increased low-frequency band (delta and theta) and SCR and (b) a specific lateralization effect (more left-side activity) delta and theta in high IAT. Discussion Both inhibitory control deficits and reward bias effect were considered to explain IA

Multilevel analysis of facial expressions of emotion and script: Self-report (arousal and valence) and psychophysiological correlates

Background: The paper explored emotion comprehension in children with regard to facial expression of emotion. The effect of valence and arousal evaluation, of context and of psychophysiological measures was monitored. Indeed subjective evaluation of valence (positive vs. negative) and arousal (high vs. low), and contextual (facial expression vs. facial expression and script) variables were supposed to modulate the psychophysiological responses. Methods: Self-report measures (in terms of correct recognition, arousal and valence attribution) and psychophysiological correlates (facial electromyography, EMG, skin conductance response, SCR, and heart rate, HR) were observed when children (N = 26; mean age = 8.75 y; range 6-11 y) looked at six facial expressions of emotions (happiness, anger, fear, sadness, surprise, and disgust) and six emotional scripts (contextualized facial expressions). The competencies about the recognition, the evaluation on valence and arousal was tested in concomitance with psychophysiological variations. Specifically, we tested for the congruence of these multiple measures. Results: Log-linear analysis and repeated measure ANOVAs showed different representations across the subjects, as a function of emotion. Specifically, children' recognition and attribution were well developed for some emotions (such as anger, fear, surprise and happiness), whereas some other emotions (mainly disgust and sadness) were less clearly represented. SCR, HR and EMG measures were modulated by the evaluation based on valence and arousal, with increased psychophysiological values mainly in response to anger, fear and happiness. Conclusions: As shown by multiple regression analysis, a significant consonance was found between self-report measures and psychophysiological behavior, mainly for emotions rated as more arousing and negative in valence. The multilevel measures were discussed at light of dimensional attribution model

When gratitude and cooperation between friends affect inter-brain connectivity for EEG

Background Recently several studies in the psychological and social field have investigated the social function of gift exchange as a useful way for the consolidation of interpersonal and social relationships and the implementation of prosocial behaviors. Specifically, the present research wanted to explore if gift exchange, increased emotional sharing, gratitude and interpersonal cooperation, leading to an improvement in cognitive and behavioral performance. In this regard, neural connectivity and cognitive performance of 14 pairs of friends were recorded during the development of a joint attention task that involved a gift exchange at the beginning or halfway through the task. The moment of gift exchange was randomized within the pairs: for seven couples, it happened at task beginning, for the remaining seven later. Individuals' simultaneous brain activity was recorded through the use of two electroencephalograms (EEG) systems that were used in hyperscanning. Results The results showed that after gift exchange there was an improvement in behavioral performance in terms of accuracy. For what concerns EEG, instead, an increase of delta and theta activation was observed in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) when gift exchange occurred at the beginning of the task. Furthermore, an increase in neural connectivity for delta and theta bands was observed. Conclusion The present research provides a significant contribution to the exploration of the factors contributing to the strengthening of social bonds, increasing cooperation, gratitude and prosocial behavior

Donate or receive? Social hyperscanning application with fNIRS

Recent research in social neuroscience has shown how prosocial behavior can increase perceived self-efficacy, perception of cognitive abilitites and social interactions. The present research explored the effect of prosocial behavior, that is giving a gift during an interpersonal exchange, measuring the hyperscanning among two brains. The experiment aimed to analyze the behavioral performance and the brain-to-brain prefrontal neural activity of 16 dyads during a joint action consisting in a cooperative game, which took place in a laboratory setting controlled by an experimenter, to play before and after a gift exchange. Two different types of gift exchange were compared: experiential and material. Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) was applied to record brain activity. Inter-brain connectivity was calculated before and after the gift exchange. In behavioral data, a behavioral performance increase was observed after gift exchange, with accuracy improvement and response times decrease. Regarding intra-brain analyses, an increase in oxygenated hemoglobin was detected, especially in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) in both donor and receiver; and in the dorsal part of the premotor cortex (DPMC) in the donor. Moreover, as regards the gift type, greater activation in the DPLFC emerged in both the donor and the receiver after receiving an experiential gift. Finally, the results of the inter-brain connectivity analysis showed that after gift exchange, the donor and receiver brain activity was more synchronized in the DPMC and Frontal Eye Fields (FEF) areas. The present study provides a contribution to the identification of inter-brain functional connectivity when prosocial behaviors are played out

A gift for gratitude and cooperative behavior. Brain and cognitive effects

Recently, different psychological studies have been interested in identifying the factors that regulate the development and maintenance of long-lasting interpersonal and social relationships. Specifically, the present research explored the link between gift exchange, gratitude and cognitive effects. The behavioral performance and neural activity of 32 participants were recorded during a cooperative game to be played before and after gift exchange. Specifically, participants had to perform the task coupled with a dear friend. Half of the couples were asked to exchange a gift before the task performance; the other half was asked to exchange a gift halfway through the task performance. For hemodynamic brain responses, functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used. Results showed that an increase in cognitive performance occurred after the exchange of gifts, with improved accuracy and lower response times in task performance. Regarding hemodynamic responses, an increase in oxygenated hemoglobin was detected, especially in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex following the gift exchange. Furthermore, it was observed that gift exchange before the beginning of the task increased the performance level. The present study provides a significant contribution to the identification of those factors that enable the increased cognitive performance based on cooperative relationships

Gene discovery for improvement of kernel quality-related traits in maize

Developing maize plants with improved kernel quality traits involves the ability to use existing genetic variation and to identify and manipulate commercially important genes. This will open avenues for designing novel variation in grain composition and will provide the basis for the development of the next generation of specialty maize. This paper provides an overview of current knowledge on the identification and exploitation of genes affecting the composition, development, and structure of the maize kernel with particular emphasis on pathways relevant to endosperm growth and development, differentiation of starch-filled cells, and biosynthesis of starches, storage proteins, lipids, and carotenoids. The potential that the new technologies of cell and molecular biology will provide for the creation of new variation in the future are also indicated and discussed

Exploring the Connected Brain by fNIRS: Human-to-Human Interactions Engineering

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) is a relatively new neuroimaging technique adequate and useful for exploring neural activity in social contexts involving human interactions. Compared to functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), fNIRS is easy-to-use safe, noninvasive, silent, relatively low cost and portable, and applicable to subjects of all ages, thus resulting in a good option for ecological studies involving humans in their real-life context. Moreover, by using hyperscanning technique, fNIRS allows recording the hemodynamic cerebral activity of two interacting subjects in an ecological context or during a shared performance. Thus, moving from a simple analysis about each subject\u2019s neural response during joint actions towards more complex computations makes possible to investigate brain synchrony, that is the if and how one\u2019s brain activity is related to that of another interacting partner simultaneously recorded. Here, we discuss how connectivity analyses, with respect to both time and frequency domain procedures, permitted to deepen some aspects of inter-brain synchrony in relation to emotional closeness, and to highlight how concurrent, cooperative actions can lead to interpersonal synchrony and bond construction

Osmolyte-related recovery of the opaque-6 lethal phenotype in Zea mays L

Endosperm growth and development is a complex phenomenon, driven by the coordinate expression of several genes. A series of endosperm mutants with altered timing and zein synthesis rate have been studied, allowing the partial unravelling of a multifarious system, integrating carbohydrate, amino acid, and storage protein me¬tabolisms, and operating during endosperm growth and development. The exact biological function of one of these loci, the Opaque-6 (O6) gene, remains to be acknowledged. The o6 locus determines a general reduction of 19- and 22 kDa zeins as well as a number of non-zein polypeptides present in the wild type endosperm. The o6 mutants present a collapsed, dull endosperm, leaf striations and early seedling death; however, o6 seedlings can survive when grown in the presence of exogenous proline. It has been suggested that, in mutant seeds and in con¬trast with the development of the normal seeds, proline does not reach the sites of protein synthesis in adequate amounts. Yet, it has been demonstrated that amino acids other than proline are also able to restore o6 seedling le¬thality, contradicting this hypothesis. In this paper, we explored the possibility that the observed proline-mediated rescue of o6 mutant seedling lethality regarded an osmolyte-mediated mitigation of aberrant protein folding rather than the restoration of a reduced proline flux needed for protein synthesis. This hypothesis was tested by means of in vitro cultivation of o6 seedlings in the presence of putative osmolytes including a series of amino acids, me¬thylamines, and polyols. Several osmolytes were identified, which were able to restore normal growth in o6 mutant seedlings. Root reestablishment required higher osmolyte concentrations than those necessary for the recovery of the aboveground plant parts. The results presented in this paper provide sufficient preliminary evidence to assume that proline-induced recovery of the o6 mutant phenotype depends on the osmolytic properties of this amino acid