The Rare Cry For Help: First Record of An Agonistic Call From A Snake In South America

Discussions about auditory systems and sound dynamics in snakes are frequent. The known frequency of sounds produced by snakes ranges from 0.2 - 7.5 KHz, ranging from imperceptible sounds to humans to audible and observable squeaks. The hiss and whistles are the most common sound and are not considered vocalizations. During a nocturnal survey on June 13, 2021, in the northern Brazilian Amazon, we observed the first record of vocalization in a South American snake. Emitted by the individual from Dipsas catesbyi has a duration of 0.06 seconds, reaching 3036 Hz in its peak frequency, with an amplitude of 2761 to 4152 Hz of frequency in its main emission. Vocalizations were made during the exhalation of air through the larynx. The modulation differs from all patterns observed for snakes resembling the agonistic call of anuran amphibians, which could characterize an evolutionary mimicry of this behavior. Vocal emission via the larynx can generate internal vibrations perceptible to the auditory system of snakes, which, when vocalizing, vibrate the laryngeal cartilage and vocal cord. Our hypothesis is that structured vocal emission through laryngeal air exhalation may be a characteristic shared by other species of the Colubridae family.

A cry for help: Dramatherapists can intervene to change the language and environment in mental health care by engaging critically with the new diagnostic category of Complex PTSD

In funded healthcare settings, access to dramatherapy and other arts therapies is limited. Patients suffering the long-term emotional effects of childhood or prolonged trauma are often not helped by short-term funded therapies. These therapies that engage in the diagnostic model of suffering with disorder specific research speak little to those suffering multiple traumas. This leaves dramatherapists unable to reach those most in need of their skills. At the same time, survivors are left bewildered and shamed again as they ‘fail’ to benefit from the limited symptom management approaches on offer. While the diagnostic model of suffering may be approaching obsolescence, what still seems a long way away is a major overhaul of the mainstream understanding of suffering and mental health that could fuel a reorganisation of how services are delivered and research conducted. In this context, the new diagnostic criteria of Complex Post Traumatic Stress Disorder in the International Classification of Diseases-11 provides an opportunity and perhaps even a rallying cry for dramatherapists to evidence how our skills can provide a framework and method for survivors to re-imagine themselves and understand and claim their place in the world by loosening the chains of fear and shame.

Uncovering Blind Spots in the Intention to Provide Adequate Help to Suicidal Individuals

Background: An adequate reaction from families, friends, and colleagues who can provide help to suicidal individuals is a preventive factor. Despite the logical assumption that the mere presence of risk factors in individuals needing help may affect others' helping intentions, empirical evidence is lacking in this regard. Method: We tested whether the presence of various risk factors influences the intention to provide help to suicidal individuals. Individuals ( N = 890) were exposed to a vignette in which they were asked to imagine meeting a distant acquaintance. Such persons talk about serious problems and suddenly use the word “suicide.” In a one-factorial between-subjects design with 21 groups, we manipulated person-related attributes corresponding to risk factors for suicide. Results: Some attributes increased helping intentions: male gender, very young and old age, homosexuality and transsexuality, terminal illness, previous nonsuicidal self-injury, previous suicide attempt, and seeking out lethal means. However, some attributes did not: female gender, major depression, chronic pain, different stressful life events, previously experienced violence, a family history of suicide, and a cry for help. Limitations: We measured self-reported behavioral intentions. Conclusions: Although people seem to adapt their helping intentions in response to some attributes, there seem to be many blind spots.

The Chemistry of Stress: Understanding the ‘Cry for Help’ of Plant Roots

Plants are faced with various biotic and abiotic stresses during their life cycle. To withstand these stresses, plants have evolved adaptive strategies including the production of a wide array of primary and secondary metabolites. Some of these metabolites can have direct defensive effects, while others act as chemical cues attracting beneficial (micro)organisms for protection. Similar to aboveground plant tissues, plant roots also appear to have evolved “a cry for help” response upon exposure to stress, leading to the recruitment of beneficial microorganisms to help minimize the damage caused by the stress. Furthermore, emerging evidence indicates that microbial recruitment to the plant roots is, at least in part, mediated by quantitative and/or qualitative changes in root exudate composition. Both volatile and water-soluble compounds have been implicated as important signals for the recruitment and activation of beneficial root-associated microbes. Here we provide an overview of our current understanding of belowground chemical communication, particularly how stressed plants shape its protective root microbiome.