scholarly journals Curiosity from the Perspective of Systems Neuroscience

Author(s):  
Roberto Lopez Cervera ◽  
Maya Zhe Wang ◽  
Benjamin Hayden

Curiosity refers to a demand for information that has no instrumental benefit. Because of its critical role in development and in the regulation of learning, curiosity has long fascinated psychologists. However, it has been difficult to study curiosity from the perspective of the single neuron, the circuit, and systems neuroscience. Recent advances, however, have made doing so more feasible. These include theoretical advances in defining curiosity in animal models, the development of tasks that manipulate curiosity, and the preliminary identification of circuits responsible for curiosity-motivated learning. Taken together, resulting scholarship demonstrates the key roles of executive control, reward, and learning circuits in driving curiosity; and has helped us to understand how curiosity relates to information-seeking more broadly. This work has implications for mechanisms of reward-based decisions in general. Here we summarize these results and highlight important remaining questions for the future of curiosity studies.

2001 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 172-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lawrence A. Pervin

David Magnusson has been the most articulate spokesperson for a holistic, systems approach to personality. This paper considers three concepts relevant to a dynamic systems approach to personality: dynamics, systems, and levels. Some of the history of a dynamic view is traced, leading to an emphasis on the need for stressing the interplay among goals. Concepts such as multidetermination, equipotentiality, and equifinality are shown to be important aspects of a systems approach. Finally, attention is drawn to the question of levels of description, analysis, and explanation in a theory of personality. The importance of the issue is emphasized in relation to recent advances in our understanding of biological processes. Integrating such advances into a theory of personality while avoiding the danger of reductionism is a challenge for the future.


2016 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Melody Hermel ◽  
Rebecca Duffy ◽  
Alexander Orfanos ◽  
Isabelle Hack ◽  
Shayna McEnteggart ◽  
...  

Cardiac registries have filled many gaps in knowledge related to arrhythmogenic cardiovascular conditions. Despite the less robust level of evidence available in registries when compared with clinical trials, registries have contributed a range of clinically useful information. In this review, the authors discuss the role that registries have played – related to diagnosis, natural history, risk stratification, treatment, and genetics of arrhythmogenic cardiovascular conditions – in closing knowledge gaps, and their role in the future.


Author(s):  
Artem S. Belousov ◽  
Anton Esipovich ◽  
Evgeny Kanakov ◽  
Ksenia V. Otopkova

Living in the time of the most heighten environmental issues, humanity should take care about the future. Green Chemistry provides a broad range of possibilities for researchers to design of...


Vaccines ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 354
Author(s):  
Chia-Ming Su ◽  
Raymond Robert Richard Rowland ◽  
Dongwan Yoo

Cellular receptors play a critical role in viral infection. At least seven cellular molecules have been identified as putative viral entry mediators for porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV). Accumulating data indicate that among these candidates, CD163, a cysteine-rich scavenger receptor on macrophages, is the major receptor for PRRSV. This review discusses the recent advances and understanding of the entry of PRRSV into cells, viral pathogenesis in CD163 gene-edited swine, and CD163 as a potential target of receptor–ligand for the control of PRRS.


Forests ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (6) ◽  
pp. 752
Author(s):  
Yichen Zhou ◽  
Zengxin Zhang ◽  
Bin Zhu ◽  
Xuefei Cheng ◽  
Liu Yang ◽  
...  

Cunninghamia lanceolata (Lamb.) Hook. (Chinese fir) is one of the main timber species in Southern China, which has a wide planting range that accounts for 25% of the overall afforested area. Moreover, it plays a critical role in soil and water conservation; however, its suitability is subject to climate change. For this study, the appropriate distribution area of C. lanceolata was analyzed using the MaxEnt model based on CMIP6 data, spanning 2041–2060. The results revealed that (1) the minimum temperature of the coldest month (bio6), and the mean diurnal range (bio2) were the most important environmental variables that affected the distribution of C. lanceolata; (2) the currently suitable areas of C. lanceolata were primarily distributed along the southern coastal areas of China, of which 55% were moderately so, while only 18% were highly suitable; (3) the projected suitable area of C. lanceolata would likely expand based on the BCC-CSM2-MR, CanESM5, and MRI-ESM2-0 under different SSPs spanning 2041–2060. The increased area estimated for the future ranged from 0.18 to 0.29 million km2, where the total suitable area of C. lanceolata attained a maximum value of 2.50 million km2 under the SSP3-7.0 scenario, with a lowest value of 2.39 million km2 under the SSP5-8.5 scenario; (4) in combination with land use and farmland protection policies of China, it is estimated that more than 60% of suitable land area could be utilized for C. lanceolata planting from 2041–2060 under different SSP scenarios. Although climate change is having an increasing influence on species distribution, the deleterious impacts of anthropogenic activities cannot be ignored. In the future, further attention should be paid to the investigation of species distribution under the combined impacts of climate change and human activities.


2020 ◽  
Vol 306 ◽  
pp. 123189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Petter Paulsen Thoresen ◽  
Leonidas Matsakas ◽  
Ulrika Rova ◽  
Paul Christakopoulos

2013 ◽  
Vol 26 (5) ◽  
pp. 264-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mousumi Tania ◽  
Md. Asaduzzaman Khan ◽  
Kun Xia

ObjectiveAutism, a lifelong neuro-developmental disorder is a uniquely human condition. Animal models are not the perfect tools for the full understanding of human development and behavior, but they can be an important place to start. This review focused on the recent updates of animal model research in autism.MethodsWe have reviewed the publications over the last three decades, which are related to animal model study in autism.ResultsAnimal models are important because they allow researchers to study the underlying neurobiology in a way that is not possible in humans. Improving the availability of better animal models will help the field to increase the development of medicines that can relieve disabling symptoms. Results from the therapeutic approaches are encouraging remarkably, since some behavioral alterations could be reversed even when treatment was performed on adult mice. Finding an animal model system with similar behavioral tendencies as humans is thus vital for understanding the brain mechanisms, supporting social motivation and attention, and the manner in which these mechanisms break down in autism. The ongoing studies should therefore increase the understanding of the biological alterations associated with autism as well as the development of knowledge-based treatments therapy for those struggling with autism.ConclusionIn this review, we have presented recent advances in research based on animal models of autism, raising hope for understanding the disease biology for potential therapeutic intervention to improve the quality of life of autism individuals.


2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Purvendu Sharma

PurposeThe present research aims to introduce and understand the promising nature of destination evangelism in the context of social media-based tourism communities (SMTCs). Further, factors that influence evangelism and information-seeking behaviors on SMTCs are examined.Design/methodology/approachA conceptual model is developed that features an interplay of destination distinctiveness, destination evangelism, travel commitment and information-seeking engagement. Data were collected from 215 active users of SMTCs and analyzed using structural equation models.FindingsThe research findings indicate that destination distinctiveness and information-seeking positively lead to destination evangelism. Information-seeking is found to mediate the relationship between (1) destination evangelism and travel commitment and (2) destination evangelism and distinctiveness.Research limitations/implicationsThe research offers meaningful insights into exploring constituents of destination evangelism. The research also understands and highlights the critical role of information-seeking engagement about distinct destinations.Practical implicationsThis research highlights key areas to build, improve and inspire destination evangelism on SMTCs.Originality/valueThis study offers a fresh contribution to tourism literature by investigating destination evangelism and its drivers. This is explained by closely uniting vital research streams of evangelism, tourism and engagement. It further highlights the dual mediating role of information seeking, suggesting that these engagements are critical to evangelizing destinations.


Galaxies ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Karen Olsen ◽  
Andrea Pallottini ◽  
Aida Wofford ◽  
Marios Chatzikos ◽  
Mitchell Revalski ◽  
...  

Modeling emission lines from the millimeter to the UV and producing synthetic spectra is crucial for a good understanding of observations, yet it is an art filled with hazards. This is the proceedings of “Walking the Line”, a 3-day conference held in 2018 that brought together scientists working on different aspects of emission line simulations, in order to share knowledge and discuss the methodology. Emission lines across the spectrum from the millimeter to the UV were discussed, with most of the focus on the interstellar medium, but also some topics on the circumgalactic medium. The most important quality of a useful model is a good synergy with observations and experiments. Challenges in simulating line emission are identified, some of which are already being worked upon, and others that must be addressed in the future for models to agree with observations. Recent advances in several areas aiming at achieving that synergy are summarized here, from micro-physical to galactic and circum-galactic scale.


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