scholarly journals Psychopathic traits mediate guilt-related anterior midcingulate activity under authority pressure

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Yawei Cheng ◽  
Judith Chou ◽  
Róger Marcelo Martínez ◽  
Yang-Teng Fan ◽  
Chenyi Chen

AbstractCoercive power has different effects on individuals, and which were unable to be fully addressed in Milgram’s famous studies on obedience to authority. While some individuals exhibited high levels of guilt-related anxiety and refused orders to harm, others followed coercive orders throughout the whole event. The lack of guilt is a well-known characteristic of psychopathy, and recent evidence portrays psychopathic personalities on a continuum of clustered traits, while being pervasive in a significant proportion in the population. To investigate whether psychopathic traits better explain discrepancies in antisocial behavior under coercion, we applied a virtual obedience paradigm, in which an experimenter ordered subjects to press a handheld button to initiate successive actions that carry different moral consequences, during fMRI scanning. Psychopathic traits modulated the association between harming actions and guilt feelings on both behavioral and brain levels. This study sheds light on the individual variability in response to coercive power.

2017 ◽  
Vol 39 (5) ◽  
pp. 926-936 ◽  
Author(s):  
Takashi Tarumi ◽  
Binu P Thomas ◽  
Ciwen Wang ◽  
Li Zhang ◽  
Jie Liu ◽  
...  

Ambulatory blood pressure (ABP) reflects the end-organ vascular stress in daily life; however, its influence on brain neuronal fiber integrity and cerebral blood flow (CBF) remains unclear. The objective of this study was to determine the associations among ABP, white matter (WM) neuronal fiber integrity, and CBF in older adults. We tested 144 participants via ABP monitoring and diffusion tensor imaging. The total level and pulsatile indices of CBF were measured by phase-contrast MRI and transcranial Doppler, respectively. Neuropsychological assessment was conducted in 72 participants. Among ambulatory and office BP measures, elevated 24-h pulse pressure (PP) was associated with the greatest number of WM skeleton voxels with decreased fractional anisotropy (FA) and increased mean diffusivity (MD). Furthermore, these associations remained significant after adjusting for age, antihypertensive use, aortic stiffness, WM lesion volume, and office PP. Radial diffusivity (RD) was elevated in the regions with decreased FA, while axial diffusivity was unaltered. The reduction in diastolic index explained a significant proportion of the individual variability in FA, MD, and RD. Executive function performance was correlated with WM fiber integrity. These findings suggest that elevated ambulatory PP may deteriorate brain neuronal fiber integrity via reduction in diastolic index.


2018 ◽  
Vol 48 (1) ◽  
pp. 97-112
Author(s):  
Anna Teekell

Kate O'Brien's 1943 The Last of Summer has been read as the novelist's riposte to an insular island that stifled both her publishing (through censorship) and her imagination (through cultural conservatism). Set on the eve of the neutral ‘Emergency’, O'Brien's sixth novel actually depicts Ireland as a complex space of negotiation, simultaneously desirable and condemnable, that challenges, rather than stifles, the individual imagination. The Last of Summer is a love triangle and a battle of wits, pitching a stage actress, the French ingénue Angèle, against an accomplished domestic performer, her potential mother-in-law, Hannah Kernahan. In the end, it is Hannah who wields ‘neutrality’ – both Ireland's in the war and her pretended neutrality in family matters – as a form of coercive power.


Author(s):  
O.V. Mareev ◽  
◽  
G.O. Mareev ◽  
M.E. Gutynina ◽  
D.A. Maksimova ◽  
...  

Author(s):  
Lucy Beishon ◽  
Rebecca H. Clough ◽  
Meeriam Kadicheeni ◽  
Tamara Chithiramohan ◽  
Ronney B. Panerai ◽  
...  

AbstractThe population is ageing worldwide, thus increasing the burden of common age-related disorders to the individual, society and economy. Cerebrovascular diseases (stroke, dementia) contribute a significant proportion of this burden and are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Thus, understanding and promoting healthy vascular brain ageing are becoming an increasing priority for healthcare systems. In this review, we consider the effects of normal ageing on two major physiological processes responsible for vascular brain function: Cerebral autoregulation (CA) and neurovascular coupling (NVC). CA is the process by which the brain regulates cerebral blood flow (CBF) and protects against falls and surges in cerebral perfusion pressure, which risk hypoxic brain injury and pressure damage, respectively. In contrast, NVC is the process by which CBF is matched to cerebral metabolic activity, ensuring adequate local oxygenation and nutrient delivery for increased neuronal activity. Healthy ageing is associated with a number of key physiological adaptations in these processes to mitigate age-related functional and structural declines. Through multiple different paradigms assessing CA in healthy younger and older humans, generating conflicting findings, carbon dioxide studies in CA have provided the greatest understanding of intrinsic vascular anatomical factors that may mediate healthy ageing responses. In NVC, studies have found mixed results, with reduced, equivalent and increased activation of vascular responses to cognitive stimulation. In summary, vascular and haemodynamic changes occur in response to ageing and are important in distinguishing “normal” ageing from disease states and may help to develop effective therapeutic strategies to promote healthy brain ageing.


2021 ◽  
Vol 39 (15_suppl) ◽  
pp. 12042-12042
Author(s):  
Sofia Sánchez-Román ◽  
Yanin Chavarri Guerra ◽  
Andrea Morales Morales Alfaro ◽  
Daniela Ramirez Maza ◽  
Andrea de la O Murillo ◽  
...  

12042 Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the well-being of people not only due to the disease but also because of stay-at-home orders, social distancing, unemployment, and different kinds of loses. Older adults have particularly suffered during the pandemic, with increased health-related concerns and anxiety leading to increased vulnerability. However, little is known about the effects of the pandemic on older adults with cancer living in developing countries. They are facing issues related to their diagnosis and treatment, as well as the effects of the pandemic on their care and on the well-being of their families. To improve care for this vulnerable population, we studied the concerns and difficulties associated with COVID-19 among older Mexican adults with cancer. Methods: We included patients age ≥65 with the 10 most common tumors in Mexico according to GLOBOCAN and within 3-24 months of cancer diagnosis at two public hospitals in Mexico City. Patients were contacted telephonically and asked to complete a survey reporting the difficulties encountered during the COVID-19 pandemic and to rate their concerns associated with cancer care management using a 0-10 Likert-type scale, with higher ratings meaning increased concerns. Focused interviews were used to describe the individual experience of selected patients and their relatives related to COVID-19 and cancer care. Results: Between April 20, 2020 and December 1, 2021, 67 patients (mean age 71.9, min 65, max 90; 35.8% female; 62.7% living with a partner) were included. The most common tumors were prostate (43%), colon (16%), and lung (12%). 46% had Stage IV disease, and 61% had a life expectancy of more than a year. Twenty-five percent of patients reported encountering at least one difficulty in obtaining cancer care due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 43% of the patients reported difficulties with accessing follow-up cancer care; 39% reported issues with obtaining medications, including chemotherapy; and 34% reported problems obtaining medical care in general, including oncology visits. Regarding concerns, 33% of the patients reported being “very worried” or “extremely worried” about the COVID-19 pandemic. The most relevant concerns were related to getting infected with COVID-19 (or having a family member who became infected) (mean rating 7.9, SD 2.9); not being able to pay for cancer treatments or medical care (mean rating 6.9, SD 3.5); and worsening of cancer due to delayed care during the pandemic (mean rating 6.6, SD 3.7). Conclusions: A significant proportion of older adults with cancer in Mexico faced difficulties obtaining cancer treatment and follow-up care during the COVID-19 pandemic. Their most relevant concerns included getting infected, financial losses, and progression of disease. Creating systems to provide continued cancer care for vulnerable populations in developing countries is essential to face the COVID-19 pandemic.


2020 ◽  
Vol 46 (7) ◽  
pp. 1156-1168 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anna Maria C. Behler ◽  
Catherine S. J. Wall ◽  
Adriana Bos ◽  
Jeffrey D. Green

Two studies examined how envy influences prosocial and antisocial behavior. In Experiment 1, participants in an envious state (relative to a neutral state) were less helpful: They picked up fewer dropped pencils in their immediate vicinity. We expanded upon these findings by examining how envy affected both helping and harming behavior in a competitive scenario. In Experiment 2, individuals in envious or neutral states assigned puzzle tasks to another student in a prisoner’s dilemma style scenario. Prosocial and antisocial behaviors were assessed via the difficulty of the assigned puzzles (easy puzzles were considered helpful and difficult puzzles were harmful). We hypothesized that experiencing envy would result in greater motive to harm as well as greater likelihood of engaging in harmful behavior. The hypothesis was supported, suggesting that envy has detrimental ramifications that go beyond the individual and extend to interpersonal relationships.


2020 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 633-640
Author(s):  
Godfrey Ekuka ◽  
Ismael Kawooya ◽  
Edward Kayongo ◽  
Ronald Ssenyonga ◽  
Frank Mugabe ◽  
...  

Background: Drop out of presumptive TB individuals before making a final diagnosis poses a danger to the individual and their community. We aimed to determine the proportion of these presumptive TB drop outs and their associated factors in Bugembe Health Centre, Jinja, Uganda. Methods: We used data from the DHIS2, presumptive and laboratory registers of Bugembe Health Centre IV for 2017. Descriptive statistics were used to summarize the population characteristics. A modified Poisson regression model via the generalized linear model (GLM) with log link and robust standard errors was used for bivariate and multivariate analysis. Results: Among the 216 registered presumptive TB patients who were less than 1% of patients visiting the outpatients’ department, 40.7% dropped out before final diagnosis was made. Age and HIV status were significantly associated with pre-diagnostic drop out while gender and distance from the health center were not. Conclusion: A high risk to individuals and the community is posed by the significant proportion of presumptive TB pa- tients dropping out before final diagnosis. Health systems managers need to consider interventions targeting young persons, male patients, HIV positive persons. Keywords: Tuberculosis (TB); Pre-diagnostic drop out; Presumptive TB; SORT IT.


2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vera Weisbecker ◽  
Thomas Guillerme ◽  
Cruise Speck ◽  
Emma Sherratt ◽  
Hyab Mehari Abraha ◽  
...  

AbstractBackgroundWithin-species skull shape variation of marsupial mammals is widely considered low and strongly size-dependent (allometric), possibly due to developmental constraints arising from the altricial birth of marsupials. However, species whose skulls are impacted by strong muscular stresses – particularly those produced through mastication of tough food items – may not display such intrinsic patterns very clearly because of the known plastic response of bone to muscle activity of the individual. In such cases, shape variation should not be dominated by allometry; ordination of shape in a geometric morphometric context through principal component analysis (PCA) should reveal main variation in areas under masticatory stress (incisor region/zygomatic arches/mandibular ramus); but this main variation should emerge from high individual variability and thus have low eigenvalues.ResultsWe assessed the evidence for high individual variation through 3D geometric morphometric shape analysis of crania and mandibles of thre species of grazing-specialized wombats, whose diet of tough grasses puts considerable strain on their masticatory system. As expected, we found little allometry and low Principal Component 1 (PC1) eigenvalues within crania and mandibles of all three species. Also as expected, the main variation was in the muzzle, zygomatic arches, and masticatory muscle attachments of the mandibular ramus. We then implemented a new test to ask if the landmark variation reflected on PC1 was reflected in individuals with opposite PC1 scores and with opposite shapes in Procrustes space. This showed that correspondence between individual and ordinated shape variation was limited, indicating high levels of individual variability in the masticatory apparatus.DiscussionOur results are inconsistent with hypotheses that skull shape variation within marsupial species reflects a constraint pattern. Rather, they support suggestions that individual plasticity can be an important determinant of within-species shape variation in marsupials (and possibly other mammals) with high masticatory stresses, making it difficult to understand the degree to which intrinsic constraint act on shape variation at the within-species level. We conclude that studies that link micro- and macroevolutionary patterns of shape variation might benefit from a focus on species with low-impact mastication, such as carnivorous or frugivorous species.


2020 ◽  
Vol 19 (4) ◽  
pp. 10-14
Author(s):  
Z. Masna

The individual face shape, the ratio of its proportions, the articulation capabilities of each person to a significant extent depend on the characteristics of occlusion and occlusion, in turn, are determined by the size, shape and ratio of dental, alveolar and basal arches. Two of them - alveolar and basal - pass at the corresponding levels of the alveolar areas of the jaws, which means that it is almost impossible to correct them, therefore they play the role of landmarks for setting the dental arch during dental prosthetics. A full-fledged aesthetic and functional restoration of the maxillofacial region after prosthetics largely depends on the dentist taking into account the individual morphological characteristics of the jaws, their cellular areas and specifically the morphometric parameters of the collar and basal arches. In order to determine the possible variants of the shape of the alveolar and basal arches of the upper jaw and the patterns of their ratio during the routine dental examination, 55 people (27 men and 28 women) aged 21-60 years with preserved maxillary dentition were examined. It has been established that the alveolar and basal arches of the upper jaw can have the shape of five geometric shapes: an oval, a semicircle, an ellipse, a trapezoid or a square. In this case, the shape of the collar and basal arches can coincide or be combined in various combinations. The analysis of the obtained results showed that in men the alveolar arch most often had the shape of an oval (70%), in women - an oval or semicircle (43%, respectively). With the aim of possible variants of the alveolar and basal arches form determination and peculiarities of their correlation 55 individuals (27 men and 28 women) in age of 21-60 years with the preserved teeth row were examined during planned dental examination. All examined were patients of the “Dental clinic of dr. Dakhno” (Kyiv). Computer tomographic investigation was made to these patients according to medical indications, scanning was made parallely to the occlusal plane. Image reconstruction was conducted with the use of highly dimentional bone algorithm. Alveolar and basal arch form of the upper jaw were determined on the images. It was established that alveolar and basal arches of the upper jaw can have a form of five geometrical figures: oval, semicircle, ellipse, trapeze or square. Form of the alveolar and basal arches can match or can combine in different combinations. Received results analysis testified that alveolar arch has a form of the oval in men and oval or semicircle – in women. Basal arch in men also most frequently has a form of oval, less often – semicircle, square and trapeze. In women basal arch more often has a form of trapeze or semicircle, less often – oval or square. In men alveolar and basal arches form matched in 41% of cases, in women – only in 31% of cases among total amount of all examined individuals. Most often alveolar and basal arches matched in the form of oval and semicircle, only in one case arches of the trapeze form matched in man, in woman – square form. Maxillary alveolar and basal arches form variants analysis let to determine areas, where distance between alveolar crests was maximal. Most variable this index was in individuals with the oval form of the alveolar arch on the level of 16-26, 17-27 or 18-28 teeth. Peculiarities of the alveolar and basal arches form of the alveolar process of the upper jaw in male and female individuals are characterized with expressed individual variability. These peculiarities consideration during dental prosthesis let avoid series of complications connected with the pressure redistribution on the osseous tissue of the jaws during articulation. 


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