The Role of OXT, OXTR, AVP, and AVPR1a Gene Expression in the Course of Schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic mental illness, the symptoms of which usually appear for the first time in late adolescence or early adulthood. To date, much research has been conducted on the etiology of schizophrenia; however, it is still not fully understood. Oxytocin and vasopressin as neuromodulators that regulate social and emotional behavior are promising candidates for determining the vulnerability to schizophrenia. The aim of this study was to evaluate the expression of OXT, OXTR, AVP, and AVPR1a genes at the mRNA and protein levels in patients with schizophrenia. Due to the neurodegenerative nature of schizophrenia, the study group was divided into two subgroups, namely, G1 with a diagnosis that was made between 10 and 15 years after the onset of the illness, and G2 with a diagnosis made up to two years after the onset of the illness. Moreover, the relationship between the examined genes and the severity of schizophrenia symptoms, assessed using PANSS (Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale) and CDSS scales (Clinical Depression Scale for Schizophrenia) was evaluated. The analysis of the expression of the studied genes at the mRNA and protein levels showed statistically significant differences in the expression of all the investigated genes. OXT and AVPR1a gene expression at both the mRNA and protein levels were significantly lower in the schizophrenia group, and OXTR and AVP gene expression at both the mRNA and protein levels was higher in the schizophrenia subjects than in the controls. Furthermore, a significant correlation of OXT gene expression at the mRNA and protein levels with the severity of depressive symptoms in schizophrenia as assessed by CDSS was found.

The Association Between Bullying Victimization and Fighting in School Among US High School Students

In-school fighting often results in severe punishment and compromised learning outcomes, without adequate consideration of contextual factors or student vulnerabilities. In this study, using a large, nationally representative data sample from the 2019 Youth Risk Behavior Survey ( N = 13677), we assessed associations between a history of bullying victimization (at school and online) and past year fighting at school among U.S. high school students. Multiple regression models were used, adjusting first for demographics, and then for demographics and emotional-behavioral risks (depressive symptoms, alcohol consumption, and sexual violence victimization), for the total sample and then stratified by gender/sex. Both cyberbullying and in-school bullying were significantly associated with past year in-school fighting for the total sample, with associations retained, but marginally attenuated in fully adjusted models (cyberbullying: AOR: 1.30; 95% CI: 1.01–1.66 and in-school bullying: AOR: 1.96, 95% CI: 1.57–2.45). Gender/sex-stratified models demonstrated retained associations for males (cyberbullying: AOR: 1.93; 1.51–2.46 and in-school bullying: AOR: 2.70, 95% CI: 2.18–3.34) and females (cyberbullying: AOR: 1.89; 1.33–2.68 and in-school bullying: AOR: 1.66, 95% CI: 1.19–2.33) after adjusting for demographics, but only for males after adjusting for demographics and emotional-behavior risk factors (cyberbullying: AOR: 1.43; 95% CI: 1.07–1.93 and in-school bullying: AOR: 2.25; 95% CI: 1.73–2.92). These results demonstrate a significant association between bullying victimization and fighting, which was amplified for male students, and partially explained by social and emotional risks. This suggests that punitive approaches to fighting in school may be resulting in compounded harms for already vulnerable adolescents and that support-oriented approaches emphasizing conflict resolution, social-emotional well-being, positive gender identity development, and bullying prevention may be more appropriate.

Prediction of Self-Control Based on Cognitive Intelligence and Socio-Emotional Behavior Assessments in Early Childhood

Purpose: The infrastructure core of self-control, as an indicator of future success, is unsettled. To better investigate the nature of self-control, and strengthening it, it is necessary to know to what extent is self-control based on cognitive or socio-emotional abilities? Materials and Methods: The authors measured the cognitive intelligence and socio-emotional behavior of 377 healthy Iranian children (girl=46.1%) by Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scale of Intelligence (WPPSI-III) and Kindergarten Inventory of Social-Emotional Tendencies (KIST) at the age range of 42-66 months (mean=54.86, SD=5.88). Then, they assessed their Self-control competency 18 months later, to know which component of WPPSI or KIST could better predict Self-control. Results:.The correlation matrix between all study variables shows that there are more positive significant correlations among Self-control with KIST subsets (5/6) than WPPSI subsets (2/10). The results of automatic linear modelling show that the significant predictors of self-control in the total model (R2=0.161) were Hyperactivity-Maladaptive Behavior (HMB(, (coefficient=.137, importance=0.781), and Daily Living Skills (DLS) (coefficient=.127, importance=0.125), so HMB is the best predictor of self-control among the subsets examined in our research. Therefore, self-control is more related to the socio-emotional than cognitive domain. Conclusion: We suggest children who get a low score in socio-emotional assessments, need early supportive intervention and rehabilitation to prevent the maldevelopment of self-control.

Does Sexual and Emotional Behavior Differ Between Sexual Partners That Do Not Disclose HIV Status?

Objective: The objective of the study was to analyze whether the disclosure of HIV serological status among sexual partners is associated with differences in sexual affective behavior. Methods: Cross-sectional study was carried out with 173 participants in a specialized assistance service on the treatment of people with the Human Immunodeficiency Virus. Data were collected through interviews. Results: Our results show that from the participants who did not disclose their HIV status and who were sexually active, most had multiple sexual partners (44.6%), used combined methods of prevention (75.4%), had casual partners (63.0%), used condoms (66.2%), and had sexual intercourse while under the influence of alcohol (56.9%). The variables i.e., number of partners (p = 0.010) and type of relationship (p <0.001) showed statistical differences. Conclusion: Sexual affective behavior variables influenced the decision about disclosing HIV seropositivity to sexual partners that establish different forms of sexual partnerships.

Alterations in Regional Brain Regional Volume Associated with Dioxin Exposure in Men Living in the Most Dioxin-Contaminated Area in Vietnam: Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) Analysis Using Voxel-Based Morphometry (VBM)

To clarify the influence of dioxin exposure on brain morphometry, the present study investigated associations between dioxin exposure at high levels and brain structural irregularities in 32 Vietnamese men. Two exposure markers were used: blood dioxin levels, as a marker of exposure in adulthood, and perinatal dioxin exposure, estimated by maternal residency in a dioxin-contaminated area during pregnancy. All subjects underwent brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scans. We analyzed correlations between regional gray matter volumes and blood dioxin levels, and compared regional volumes between men with and without perinatal dioxin exposure using the voxel-based morphometry (VBM) tool from Statistical Parametric Mapping 12 (SPM12). Blood 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin (TCDD) was associated with low volume of the medial temporal pole and fusiform gyrus. Toxic equivalency (TEQ)-PCDDs were correlated with low medial temporal pole volume. However, 1,2,3,4,7,8-HxCDD was associated with high middle frontal gyrus and cerebellum volume. In men with perinatal dioxin exposure, the left inferior frontal gyrus pars orbitalis volume was significantly lower than in those without perinatal exposure. These results suggest that dioxin exposure during the perinatal period and in adulthood may alter regional brain volume, which might lead to cognitive deficits and unusual social emotional behavior in Vietnamese men living in dioxin-contaminated areas.

Unexpected short- and long-term effects of chronic adolescent HU-210 exposure on emotional behavior

Chronic adolescent cannabinoid receptor agonist exposure has been shown to lead to persistent increases in depressive-like behaviors. This has been a key obstacle to the development of cannabinoid-based therapeutics. However, most of the published work has been performed with only three compounds, namely ∆9-tetrahydrocannabinol, CP55,940 and WIN55,212-2. Hypothesizing that different compounds may lead to distinct outcomes, we herein used the highly potent CB1R/CB2R full agonist HU-210, and first aimed at replicating cannabinoid-induced long-lasting effects, by exposing adolescent female Sprague-Dawley rats to increasing doses of HU-210, for 11 days and testing them at adulthood, after a 30-day drug washout. Surprisingly, HU-210 did not significantly impact adult anxious- or depressive-like behaviors. We then tested whether chronic adolescent HU-210 treatment resulted in short-term (24h) alterations in depressive-like behavior. Remarkably, HU-210 treatment simultaneously induced marked antidepressant- and prodepressant-like responses, in the modified forced swim (mFST) and sucrose preference tests (SPT), respectively. Hypothesizing that mFST results were a misleading artifact of HU-210-induced behavioral hyperreactivity to stress, we assessed plasmatic noradrenaline and corticosterone levels, under basal conditions and following an acute swim-stress episode. Notably, we found that while HU-210 did not alter basal noradrenaline or corticosterone levels, it greatly augmented the stress-induced increase in both. Our results show that, contrary to previously studied cannabinoid receptor agonists, HU-210 does not induce persisting depressive-like alterations, despite inducing marked short-term increases in stress-induced reactivity. By showing that not all cannabinoid receptor agonists may induce long-term negative effects, these results hold significant relevance for the development of cannabinoid-based therapeutics.

How the Emotional Environment Shapes the Emotional Life of the Child

Emotion understanding facilitates the development of healthy social interactions. To develop emotion knowledge, infants and young children must learn to make inferences about people's dynamically changing facial and vocal expressions in the context of their everyday lives. Given that emotional information varies so widely, the emotional input that children receive might particularly shape their emotion understanding over time. This review explores how variation in children's received emotional input shapes their emotion understanding and their emotional behavior over the course of development. Variation in emotional input from caregivers shapes individual differences in infants’ emotion perception and understanding, as well as older children's emotional behavior. Finally, this work can inform policy and focus interventions designed to help infants and young children with social-emotional development.

The Three Versions of the Ultimatum Game

We examine the 1914-1918 creation of the Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes as a form of the ultimatum game. The negotiations among the Serbian Cabinet and the yugoslav Committee representatives of the Habsburg Souths Slavs from 1914-1918 exemplify three versions of this game. The first version is a typical (rational choice) type of the ultimatum game in which the receiver is satisfied with any offer by the Proposer. The second version is an instance of behavioral game theory. When the Proposer gives an unfair offer, it provokes an emotional reaction in the receiver who will reject it at the cost of harming themselves. We observe this behavior in the emotional behavior of frano Supilo, a Croat and one of the leaders of the yugoslav Committee. The third version of the behavioral ultimatum game can be observed in the behavior of Serbian Prime minister nikola Pašić who opposed any concessions to the yugoslav Committee, thus giving an ultimatum to the Croat side to accept the Serbian offer or remain with nothing, which was harmful to the Serbian side, too. This example is important because it produces two conclusions. first, historical games are often a mixture of several versions. Second, Proposers, too, can have an emotional reaction and give an offer that can hurt themselves. This aspect of the ultimatum game is less mentioned because it is difficult to simulate in experiments.