A cross-syndrome comparison of sleep-dependent learning on a cognitive procedural task

Sleep plays a key role in the consolidation of newly acquired information and skills into long term memory. Children with Down syndrome (DS) and Williams syndrome (WS) frequently experience sleep problems, abnormal sleep architecture and difficulties with learning; thus, we predicted that children from these clinical populations would demonstrate impairments in sleep-dependent memory consolidation relative to children with typical development (TD) on a cognitive procedural task: The Tower of Hanoi. Children with DS (n = 17), WS (n = 22) and TD (n = 34) completed the Tower of Hanoi task. They were trained on the task either in the morning or evening, then completed it again following counterbalanced retention intervals of daytime wake and night time sleep. Children with TD and with WS benefitted from sleep for enhanced memory consolidation and improved their performance on the task by reducing the number of moves taken to completion, and by making fewer rule violations. We did not find any large effects of sleep on learning in children with DS, suggesting that these children are not only delayed, but atypical in their learning strategies. Importantly, our findings have implications for educational strategies for all children, specifically considering circadian influences on new learning and the role of children’s night time sleep as an aid to learning.<br/

A systematic review on cross-cultural comparative studies of sleep in young populations: The roles of cultural factors

Recent studies have shown that sleep is influenced and shaped by cultural factors, including cultural values, beliefs and practices. However, a systematic understanding of how cultural factors in countries may influence sleep duration and sleep disturbances is still lacking. Therefore, we focused on a comparison of sleep duration and disturbances in young populations between countries. We report cross-cultural differences between the child, parent and environmental factors, and their association with sleep duration and disturbances. The review is based on literature searches of seven databases published until December 2020. Studies were included if they investigated sleep duration and disturbances of individuals up to 18 years across at least two or more countries. The results of this review have shown that sleep duration and disturbances vary between countries and regions and certain factors (e.g., bedtime routines, sleeping arrangement, physical activity and psychological functioning) have been associated with sleep duration or disturbances. This review also demonstrates that certain factors which were associated with sleep duration or disturbances in one country, were not shown in other countries, suggesting a need for recommendations for age-related sleep duration and sleep interventions to consider cultural differences that influence sleep duration or disturbances in individual countries or regions

Neural Correlates of Social Behavior in Mushroom Body Extrinsic Neurons of the Honeybee Apis mellifera

The social behavior of honeybees (Apis mellifera) has been extensively investigated, but little is known about its neuronal correlates. We developed a method that allowed us to record extracellularly from mushroom body extrinsic neurons (MB ENs) in a freely moving bee within a small but functioning mini colony of approximately 1,000 bees. This study aimed to correlate the neuronal activity of multimodal high-order MB ENs with social behavior in a close to natural setting. The behavior of all bees in the colony was video recorded. The behavior of the recorded animal was compared with other hive mates and no significant differences were found. Changes in the spike rate appeared before, during or after social interactions. The time window of the strongest effect on spike rate changes ranged from 1 s to 2 s before and after the interaction, depending on the individual animal and recorded neuron. The highest spike rates occurred when the experimental animal was situated close to a hive mate. The variance of the spike rates was analyzed as a proxy for high order multi-unit processing. Comparing randomly selected time windows with those in which the recorded animal performed social interactions showed a significantly increased spike rate variance during social interactions. The experimental set-up employed for this study offers a powerful opportunity to correlate neuronal activity with intrinsically motivated behavior of socially interacting animals. We conclude that the recorded MB ENs are potentially involved in initiating and controlling social interactions in honeybees

Presenting the case for the application of multi-criteria analysis to mega transport infrastructure project appraisal

The paper commences with an overview of mega transport infrastructure decision-making as it relates to the megaproject development cycle and challenges of sustainable development, which are increasingly redefining the criterion for the evaluation of project success. The body of the paper presents a brief critique of various appraisal applications to mega transport infrastructure projects, including: Social Cost Benefit Analysis; Cost Effectiveness Analysis; Goal Achievement Matrix Methods and the Planning Balance Sheet, highlighting the merits and demerits of the outlined approaches. Here particular reference is made to the power of context on decision-making and other lessons from OMEGA Centre research. These include, most importantly, the treatment of risk, uncertainty and complexity of developments outside of the project and the challenges of meeting multiple stakeholder aspirations/needs thereby building up the case for the introduction and use of multi-criteria analysis and policy-led multi-criteria analysis to the appraisal of Mega Transport Projects

Application of policy-led multi-criteria analysis to the appraisal of the Northern Line Extension, London

This paper seeks to both illustrate and act as a proof of concept of how a policy-led multi-criteria analysis framework and its attendant process of the type introduced in the second paper, ‘Theory and Background of Multi-Criteria Analysis: Toward a policy-led approach for mega transport project infrastructure appraisal’, can be applied to the appraisal of a mega transport project in the form of the Northern Line Extension in London. It is offered with a view to help better identify the distribution of the projects costs and benefits and shed greater light on the possible ‘winners’ and ‘losers’ over space and time, and under given scenarios. Drawing from an extensive array of public domain literature the paper sets out both the policy and planning contexts for the project plus the business case that led to a decision by UK Treasury to guarantee a £1 billion loan to Transport for London for the construction of the Northern Line's extension. The paper looks at the scale and nature of the megaproject's features, particularly its line-haul and related real estate developments, especially those in the assigned development opportunity area. The text presents the policy, planning, legislative and regulative dimensions of the project likely to define its revenue generation prospects and environmental and social impacts, with special attention paid to those project outcomes affecting key stakeholders over time and space. The paper also seeks to explain the mechanics of how to employ a policy-led multi-criteria framework together with its associated processes within which stakeholder policies and agendas can be mapped and common/divergent interests identified. This is done with a view to ultimately facilitate stakeholder negotiation decision-making trade-offs in given scenarios under the policy guidance of the Greater London Authority with the support of the Treasury of the UK Government

The influence of repeated cold water immersion on adaptations to strength and power training

Introduction Cold Water Immersion (CWI) is a popular recovery strategy utilised by athletes in order to attenuate the negative influence of strenuous exercise on subsequent performance. One of the proposed physiological mechanisms underpinning the use of CWI is the potential to limit the inflammatory response after acute exercise. Given that the inflammatory cascade ultimately leads to muscle regeneration and repair, it is pertinent to investigate the longer term impact of regular cryotherapy exposure on adaptations to strength and power training. Methods Thirteen resistance trained males (mean age 25.8 ± 5.5 years; height 1.8 ± 0.1 m; mass 83.6 ± 15.7 kg; 4RM back squat 146.2 ± 38.5 kg) completed an 8 week (1 x 4 week strength and 1 x 4 week power block) lower body resistance training program. Participants were match-paired into either the CWI (10 min at 10° ± 0.5°) or placebo group based on a ratio of lean mass to 4RM back squat. Participants completed 2 training sessions per week and completed their allocated recovery intervention after each training session. Measures of muscle fibre pennation angle, maximal voluntary isometric contraction (MVIC) at 90°, peak torque of the knee extensors (60deg∙s), and isometric squat parameters (peak force and rate of force development (RFD))were measured at baseline, midpoint and post training intervention. Results were analysed using magnitude based inferences. Results At the post testing session, CWI demonstrated a likely moderate harmful effect on muscle fibre pennation angle compared to the placebo group (CWI: 11.4; ±4.8%; placebo: 21.5; ±8.4%). However, CWI demonstrated a likely large beneficial effect on peak torque (60deg∙s) compared to the placebo group (CWI: 7.5; ±6.5%; placebo: -2.4; ±4.0%) at midpoint. There were trivial differences between groups for isometric peak force and peak torque (60deg∙s) from baseline to post. All other effects were unclear. Discussion The greater increase in muscle fibre pennation angle in the placebo group compared to the CWI group would indicate a greater increase lean muscle mass. However, CWI still demonstrated a positive impact on peak torque at 60 deg∙s compared to the placebo group. Blood sample analyses are ongoing and may offer further insight into the underpinning mechanisms. Further investigation is warranted to better understand the potential negative impact of repeated cryotherapy exposure on functional adaptations to strength and power training stimuli

Whole body cryotherapy, cold water immersion, or a placebo following resistance exercise: a case of mind over matter?

PURPOSE: The use of cryotherapy as a recovery intervention is prevalent amongst athletes. Performance of high volume, heavy load resistance exercise is known to result in disturbances of muscle function, perceptual responses and blood borne parameters. Therefore, this study investigated the influence of cold water immersion (CWI), whole body cryotherapy (WBC) or a placebo (PL) intervention on markers of recovery following an acute resistance training session. METHODS: 24 resistance trained males were matched into a CWI (10 min at 10 °C), WBC (3- and 4 min at - 85 °C) or PL group before completing a lower body resistance training session. Perceptions of soreness and training stress, markers of muscle function, inflammation and efflux of intracellular proteins were assessed before, and up to 72 h post exercise. RESULTS: The training session resulted in increased soreness, disturbances of muscle function, and increased inflammation and efflux of intracellular proteins. Although WBC attenuated soreness at 24 h, and positively influenced peak force at 48 h compared to CWI and PL, many of the remaining outcomes were trivial, unclear or favoured the PL condition. With the exception of CRP at 24 h, neither cryotherapy intervention attenuated the inflammatory response compared to PL. CONCLUSION: There was some evidence to suggest that WBC is more effective than CWI at attenuating select perceptual and functional responses following resistance training. However, neither cryotherapy intervention was more effective than the placebo treatment at accelerating recovery. The implications of these findings should be carefully considered by individuals employing cryotherapy as a recovery strategy following heavy load resistance training

Autistic adults' personal experiences of navigating a social world prior to and during Covid-19 lockdown in Spain

BACKGROUND: The SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus pandemic brought significant movement restrictions and national lockdowns. These drastic changes impacted routines, social life and support networks for the autistic community. AIMS: This study investigated the lived experiences of autistic adults with social expectations before and during the first Covid-19 lockdown in Spain. METHODS: A qualitative Reflexive Thematic Analysis was applied to 10 Photo Elicitation Interviews using images provided by five autistic adults. Interviews were conducted at two time points, before the pandemic and during the first lockdown. FINDINGS: Three themes before the pandemic were identified: (1) everyday interactions, (2) finding sense of belonging, and (3) fractured wellbeing, which revealed the participants' eagerness to fit in socially whilst experiencing rejection, weakening their mental health. During the first Covid-19 lockdown, two master themes were identified: (1) daily, positive experiences, and (2) surfacing failures, which emphasised an increased lived stigma as well as an ineffective autism support network, contributing to a heightened anxiety. CONCLUSIONS: The current study provides further support to the recent findings highlighting lack of appropriate mental health support for the autistic communities during the pandemic, across the world. Future research should aim to provide more data on the experiences and needs of autistic communities when sudden societal changes are imposed