Cognitive and Neural Mechanisms of Social Eye Gaze

Social interactions are characterised by exchanges of a variety of social signals to communicate with other people. A key feature in real-life interactions is that we are in the presence of other people who can see us (audience), and we modulate our behaviour to send and receive signals (audience effect). Although social neuroscience research has traditionally examined how we respond to pictures and videos of humans, second-person neuroscience suggests that interactions with pre-recorded versus live people recruit distinct neurocognitive mechanisms. The aim of this thesis was to investigate which cognitive and neural mechanisms underlie changes in behaviour when being watched, particularly focusing on eye gaze, facial displays and prosocial behaviour as social signals. Using a novel ecologically valid paradigm, the first study showed that the opportunity to signal good reputation is a key modulator of eye gaze and prosocial behaviour. Using the same paradigm, the second study found no evidence to support the hypothesis that audience effects are mediated by an increase in self-referential processing. The third study focused on the time-course of eye gaze and facial displays patterns in relation to speech, both in typical and autistic individuals: contrary to what was expected both groups modulated eye gaze and facial displays according to the belief in being watched and speaker/listener role. Finally, the fourth study tested the role of reciprocity in live interactions: sharing information with a partner modulated eye gaze, facial displays, and brain activity in regions related to mentalising and decision-making. I discuss the theoretical implications of these findings and set out a cognitive model of gaze processing in live interactions. Finally, I outline directions for future research in social neuroscience

Social signalling as a framework for second-person neuroscience

Despite the recent increase in second-person neuroscience research, it is still hard to understand which neurocognitive mechanisms underlie real-time social behaviours. Here, we propose that social signalling can help us understand social interactions both at the single- and two-brain level in terms of social signal exchanges between senders and receivers. First, we show how subtle manipulations of being watched provide an important tool to dissect meaningful social signals. We then focus on how social signalling can help us build testable hypotheses for second-person neuroscience with the example of imitation and gaze behaviour. Finally, we suggest that linking neural activity to specific social signals will be key to fully understand the neurocognitive systems engaged during face-to-face interactions

The Role of Eye Gaze During Natural Social Interactions in Typical and Autistic People

Social interactions involve complex exchanges of a variety of social signals, such as gaze, facial expressions, speech and gestures. Focusing on the dual function of eye gaze, this review explores how the presence of an audience, communicative purpose and temporal dynamics of gaze allow interacting partners to achieve successful communication. First, we focus on how being watched modulates social cognition and behavior. We then show that the study of interpersonal gaze processing, particularly gaze temporal dynamics, can provide valuable understanding of social behavior in real interactions. We propose that the Interpersonal Gaze Processing model, which combines both sensing and signaling functions of eye gaze, provides a framework to make sense of gaze patterns in live interactions. Finally, we discuss how autistic individuals process the belief in being watched and interpersonal dynamics of gaze, and suggest that systematic manipulation of factors modulating gaze signaling can reveal which aspects of social eye gaze are challenging in autism

High performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) in the quality control of herbal products

Podeu consultar el llibre complet a: http://hdl.handle.net/2445/128014The introduction of high performance thin-layer chromatography (HPTLC) for quality control of herbal products, using standardised methodology and system suitability tests for the qualification of the plates, has improved reproducibility. The use of intensity markers implemented by the Ph. Eur. improved the description and interpretation of the chromatograms. Quantitative information can be retrieved from the electronic images of the chromatograms and used for comprehensive HPTLC fingerprinting: a single HPTLC analysis gives information on identity, purity and content of an herbal drug/preparation/product, simplifying the quality control

Evidencia clínica de STW 5 (Iberogast®) en patología digestiva

La dispepsia funcional (DF) y el síndrome del intestino irritable (SII) son las alteraciones gastrointestinales funcionales más frecuentes. Requieren un tratamiento multifactorial ya que su aparición se relaciona con diversas afecciones funcionales, como alteraciones de la motilidad, hipersensibilidad gastrointestinal, inflamación, alteración de la microbiota intestinal, estrés y trastornos psicológicos, entre otros. SWT 5 es una combinación de 9 extractos vegetales con actividades sinérgicas y complementarias que es capaz de modular la motilidad gástrica e intestinal, inhibe la secreción ácida gástrica, tiene actividad antiinflamatoria y protectora de la mucosa, y reduce la hipersensibilidad intestinal. Desde 1990, se ha demostrado una eficacia estadísticamente significativa en 6 ensayos clínicos aleatorizados, a doble ciego y controlados: cinco en DF (4 frente a placebo y uno frende a cisaprida) y uno en SII (frente a placebo). La eficacia en DF y SII también se ha mostrado en estudios observacionales que involucran más de 5000 adultos y 44000 niños tratados con STW 5. La combinación de extractos presenta una excelente tolerabilidad y un buen perfil de seguridad, con una incidencia de efectos adversos muy baja. Palabras clave Dispepsia funcional, síndrome del intestino irritable, malestar digestivo, STW 5, Iberis amara, manzanilla común, angélica, alcaravea, cardo mariano, celidonia, melisa, menta piperita, regaliz

Head Nodding and Hand Coordination Across Dyads in Different Conversational Contexts

Patrick Falk, Roser Cañigueral, Jamie A Ward et al. , 03 November 2023, PREPRINT (Version 1) available at Research Square [https://doi.org/10.21203/rs.3.rs-3526068/v1] This paper aims to explore what different patterns of head nodding and hand movement coordination mean in conversation by recording and analysing interpersonal coordination as it naturally occurs in social interactions. Understanding the timing and at which frequencies such movement behaviours occur can help us answer how and why we use these signals. Here we use high-resolution motion capture to examine three different types of two-person conversation involving different types of information-sharing, in order to explore the potential meaning and coordination of head nodding and hand motion signals. We also test if the tendency to engage in fast or slow nodding behaviour is a fixed personality trait that differs between individuals. Our results show coordinated slow nodding only in a picture-description task, which implies that this behaviour is not a universal signal of affiliation but is context driven. We also find robust fast nodding behaviour in the two contexts where novel information is exchanged. For hand movement, we find hints of low frequency coordination during one-way information sharing, but found no consistent signalling during information recall. Finally, we show that nodding is consistently driven by context but is not a useful measure of individual differences in social skills. We interpret these results in terms of theories of nonverbal communication and consider how these methods will help advance automated analyses of human conversation behaviours

Intra-individual variability adaptively increases following inhibition training during middle childhood

There is ongoing debate on the relationship between intra-individual variability (IIV) of cognitive processes and task performance. While psychological research has traditionally assumed that lower intra-individual variability (IIV) aids consistent task performance, some studies suggest that greater IIV can also be adaptive, especially when flexible responding is required. Here we selectively manipulate inhibitory control (Stopping) and response speed (Going) by means of a training paradigm to 1) assess how this manipulation impacts Stopping IIV and its relationship to task performance, and 2) replicate previous findings showing that reductions in Going IIV are adaptive. A group of 208 6-13-year-old children were randomly allocated to an 8-week training targeting Stopping (experimental group) or Going (control group). The stop signal task was administered before and after training. Training Stopping led to adaptive increases in Stopping IIV, where greater flexibility in cognitive processing may be required to meet higher task demands. In line with previous studies, training Going led to adaptive reductions in Going IIV, which allows more consistent and efficient Going performance. These findings provide systematic and causal evidence of the process-dependent relationship of IIV and task performance in the context of Stopping and Going, suggesting a more nuanced perspective on IIV with implications for developmental, ageing and intervention studies

Face processing in young adults with autism and ADHD: an event related potentials study

Background: Atypicalities in perception and interpretation of faces and emotional facial expressions have been reported in both autism and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) during childhood and adulthood. Investigation of face processing during young adulthood (18 to 25 years), a transition period to full-fledged adulthood, could provide important information on the adult outcomes of autism and ADHD. Methods: In this study, we investigated event-related potentials (ERPs) related to visual face processing in autism, ADHD, and co–occurring autism and ADHD in a large sample of young adults (N = 566). The groups were based on the Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in Adults 2.0 (DIVA-2) and the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule-2 (ADOS-2). We analyzed ERPs from two passive viewing tasks previously used in childhood investigations: (1) upright and inverted faces with direct or averted gaze; (2) faces expressing different emotions. Results: Across both tasks, we consistently found lower amplitude and longer latency of N170 in participants with autism compared to those without. Longer P1 latencies and smaller P3 amplitudes in response to emotional expressions and longer P3 latencies for upright faces were also characteristic to the autistic group. Those with ADHD had longer N170 latencies, specific to the face-gaze task. Individuals with both autism and ADHD showed additional alterations in gaze modulation and a lack of the face inversion effect indexed by a delayed N170. Conclusion: Alterations in N170 for autistic young adults is largely consistent with studies on autistic adults, and some studies in autistic children. These findings suggest that there are identifiable and measurable socio-functional atypicalities in young adults with autism

Comportamiento al cultivo experimental en Aragón de Lippia alba para la normalización de la materia prima obtenida

Dentro de un amplio proyecto de normalización de productos naturales obtenidos de especies de la flora aromática latinoamericana, en el presente trabajo se presenta el estudio del comportamiento de los tres años iniciales de adaptación a cultivo de la especie Lippia alba (Fam. Verbenáceas), en diferentes condiciones agroclimáticas dentro la Comunidad Autónoma de Aragón. El material vegetal procedía de dos quimiotipos correspondientes a poblaciones de Uruguay y Costa Rica. La experimentación se realizó en parcelas de ensayo en Teruel y Ejea de los Caballeros (Zaragoza, España). La respuesta de adaptación a las zonas ensayadas ha sido diferente para cada uno de los quimiotipos estudiados. Ninguno de los dos ha soportado las condiciones agroclimáticas de la zona de Teruel, mientras que en Ejea de los Caballeros solamente se ha adaptado el quimiotipo Uruguay. El factor limitante ha sido fundamentalmente las bajas temperaturas durante los meses de invierno. Se ha realizado un seguimiento para cada espécimen de planta en cada una de las fases del cultivo con tratamiento individualizado planta a planta con el fin de comprobar su grado de selección. La biomasa producida ha proporcionado muestras normalizadas para comprobar su respuesta en materia seca y aceite esencial. El aceite esencial se ha obtenido por dos diferentes métodos de extracción, hidrodestilación y con dióxido de carbono supercrítico. Asimismo, se ha efectuado la analítica de los extractos obtenidos de las plantas en estudio. Químicamente, se ha confirmado el mantenimiento de las características del quimiotipo adaptado al cultivo en Aragón

Ethnopharmacological and Chemical Characterization of Salvia Species Used in Valencian Traditional Herbal Preparations

In Valencia Region (Spain), some wild and cultivated sages are used for medicinal purposes. Among them, Salvia officinalis subsp. lavandulifolia (SL) is widely employed and known for production of Spanish sage oil and herbal products. Nevertheless, it shares the market with S. blancoana subsp. mariolensis (SB) and, to a lesser extent, with their hybrid S. x hegelmaieri (SH). The knowledge on these two species is far low and confusion between them is possible. The aim of the present paper is to improve the ethnopharmacological, morphological and chemical knowledge of these sages, and to contribute to setting up quality specifications for improving identification and distinction from other Salvia species, such as, S. officinalis subsp. officinalis, S. x auriculata and S. microphylla var. microphylla. Samples were collected in Valencia Region and surrounding mountain areas during the ethnopharmacological field work. Twenty-nine medicinal uses were reported for SL, 13 of them being also recorded for SB. Of particular interest is a homemade liquor, used as digestive and known as “salvieta,” which is mainly prepared with SB. The macro- and microscopic characters are insufficient for identification of cut, crushed or powdered material. The study of the essential oil and a HPTLC (High Performance Thin Layer Chromatography) fingerprint of their extracts could help to distinguish SB from the other sages. The essential oil from dried aerial parts of SB (content: 1.8–4.5%) was characterized by GC-FID (Gas Chromatography with Flame Ionization Detector) and GC-MS (Gas Chromatography coupled to Mass Spectrometry) showing a composition close to that currently accepted for Spanish sage essential oil in the European Pharmacopoeia, ISO (International Standard Organization) and UNE (Una Norma Española) standards, with 1,8-cineole (13.7–45.7%) and camphor (12.1–28.6%) as major constituents. HPTLC methods, based on the analysis of hydroalcoholic and dichloromethane extracts, allowed to distinguish SB from other Salvia taxa currently found in Valencia region, except from its hybrid SH. This interdisciplinary study, that combines popular knowledge with botany and chemistry, allows to identify the raw herbal material from SB and to distinguish it from other Salvia species, ensuring a proper commercialization as herbal teas or for the preparation of spirits.This work had the financial support through the Borsa d'Estudi Països Catalans of the Institute for Catalan Studies to VM, and the financial support from an ERASMUS Internship (FsTRASBO48) to EH