Behavioral Studies Research Articles

Protective effects of flaxseed oil against dexamethasone induced skeletal muscle atrophy on rats

The production of omega-3 fatty acids in the lipids of muscle tissue was boosted by flaxseed oil (Linum usitatissimum), which is well-described in the Ayurvedic system of medicine. In skeletal muscle disorders, atrophy is a major problem which arises due to cachexia, sarcopenia and immobilization. Nevertheless, despite significant efforts, few FDA-approved medications are available in the market to treat skeletal muscle atrophy. The current project was conceptualized to investigate the protective effects of flaxseed oil against dexamethasone-induced muscular atrophy in adult Sprague Dawley Rats. Marketed preparation of dexamethasone was used to induce muscle atrophy and flaxseed oil was administered orally after disease induction of 7 days till 28 days. Body weight and behavioural studies were carried out to assess muscle mass and glucose. Due to its high antioxidant and fatty acid Omega-3 content, flaxseed oil promotes significant improvements in diseased animals. Rats administered with flaxseed oil demonstrated great weight gain and a decreased blood sugar level. After three weeks-blood sugar levels, muscle mass, momentary changes in rats and HDL levels were all significantly higher in the dexamethasone alone treated control group animals. Flaxseed oil protects against the biochemical and histopathological changes caused due to dexamethasone toxicity. The findings of this study reveals that, flaxseed oil protects against dexamethasone induced skeletal muscle atrophy and protective effect may be due to flaxseed oil's antioxidant properties. However, further research is essential to prove the protective effects of flaxseed oil in some more studies mainly revealing its actions at cellular and molecular level.

Effect of ACEA 1021 on Neurotoxicity Induced by Dexamethasone — Initial Behavioral Study

Considerable evidence suggests that glucocorticoids (GCs) play an important role in neurodegeneration. Chronic elevated levels of GCs can result in neuronal degeneration of the hippocampal piramidal neurons, which are paralleled by cognitive deficits. Moreover, GCs potentiate stress or ischemia-induced accumulation of excitatory amino acids (EAA) in the extracellular space of hippocampus. ACEA 1021 (licostinel), a selective antagonist of the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor, has been reported to prevent the excitotoxic action of high extracellular glutamate levels. The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of ACEA 1021 on neurotoxic effect of dexamethasone (DEX - a synthetic GCs receptor agonist). The experiments were carried out on Albino Swiss mice (25-30 g). ACEA 1021, at the doses: 1.25 and 2.5 mg/kg/day, ip, was administered 15 min before DEX (16 mg/kg/day, ip). The long-term memory acquisition (passive avoidance test) and the motor performance (“chimney” test) were evaluated 14 days after the drugs administration. The prolongation of climbing time in the “chimney” test and decrease of the retention time in the memory task of mice treated with DEX for 14 days. In mice treated with DEX for 14 days, ACEA 1021 at the both doses reduced the climbing time in the “chimney” test, at the dose of 1.25 mg/kg improved memory acquisition. The above findings suggest that ACEA 1021 could prevent the neurotoxic effects induced by DEX, but further study needs to be carried out to explain this effect.

Gut-brain barrier dysfunction bridge autistic-like behavior in mouse model of maternal separation stress: A behavioral, histopathological, and molecular study.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a fast-growing neurodevelopmental disorder throughout the world. Experiencing early life stresses (ELS) like maternal separation (MS) is associated with autistic-like behaviors. It has been proposed that disturbance in the gut-brain axis-mediated psychiatric disorders following MS. The role of disruption in the integrity of gut-brain barrier in ASD remains unclear. Addressing this knowledge gap, in this study we aimed to investigate role of the gut-brain barrier integrity in mediating autistic-like behaviors in mouse models of MS stress. To do this, mice neonates are separated daily from their mothers from postnatal day (PND) 2 to PND 14 for 3hours. During PND58-60, behavioral tests related to autistic-like behaviors including three-chamber sociability, shuttle box, and resident-intruder tests were performed. Then, prefrontal cortex (PFC), hippocampus, and colon samples were dissected out for histopathological and molecular evaluations. Results showed that MS is associated with impaired sociability and social preference indexes, aggressive behaviors, and impaired passive avoidance memory. The gene expression of CLDN1 decreased in the colon, and the gene expression of CLDN5, CLDN12, and MMP9 increased in the PFC of the MS mice. MS is associated with decrease in the diameter of CA1 and CA3 areas of the hippocampus. In addition, MS led to histopathological changes in the colon. We concluded that, probably, disturbance in the gut-brain barrier integrities mediated the autistic-like behavior in MS stress in mice.

Analogical Visuospatial Matrix Reasoning, Verbal Relational Reasoning, Verbal IQ and Memory Relationships With Maths and Science: A Behavioural and fMRI Study

There is no research that combines behavioural and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research approaches to investigate the relationships between analogical reasoning and the mediating and moderating effects of working memory, verbal IQ, visuospatial and verbal reasoning on students’ performance of maths and science. This paper investigates all these multiple relationships between working memory (WM), verbal IQ, visuospatial and verbal reasoning with performance in maths and science accuracy. The multimethod research consists of a behavioural survey and a fMRI neuroscience investigating the interactive and multiple relationships of all cognitive independent variables (IVs) with the dependent variables (DVs) of maths and science performance. Using structural Equation Modelling (SEM) and Warp Partial Least Squares (Warp PLS) analytical approach, the research discusses the findings of both, the behavioural and fMRI data. The adolescent sample (N=34) for the behavioural and fMRI study, was recruited from consenting schools in London, UK, and consisted of equal numbers of girls and boys between 11-15 years old. The hypothesised behavioural SEM model predicted positive relationships between all the independent variables (IV) of visuospatial matrix reasoning (VSMatAR), verbal analogical reasoning (VerbAR), verbal working memory (VWM), visuospatial working memory (VSWM) and verbal IQ, with performance in maths and science accuracy. The findings support all hypotheses except two and identifies verbal IQ, Verbal WM and VerbAR as the three strongest predictors of maths and science accuracy. The hypothesised fMRI SEM, produced mixed results, which supported some of the hypothesised relationships between the IVs of verbal AR and VSMatrix AR associations and four brain regions, namely, the bilateral dorso lateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), Parietal, Temporal and pre-supplementary motor area (PSMA). The paper makes two original contributions, firstly, by testing the hypothesis that Verbal WM mediates the independent variables’ effects on maths and science outcomes. And secondly, by using Warp PLS to test the SEM (behavioural and fMRI) models’ multiple non-linear interactions simultaneously between the IVs with the DVs of maths and science accuracy. The research produced some interesting new insights relevant for educational practitioners regarding the strong relationships between Verbal analogical reasoning and maths and science performance for adolescent students.

Resting State Brain Networks under Inverse Agonist versus Complete Knockout of the Cannabinoid Receptor 1.

The cannabinoid receptor 1 (CB1) is famous as the target of Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC), which is the active ingredient of marijuana. Suppression of CB1 is frequently suggested as a drug target or gene therapy for many conditions (e.g., obesity, Parkinson's disease). However, brain networks affected by CB1 remain elusive, and unanticipated psychological effects in a clinical trial had dire consequences. To better understand the whole brain effects of CB1 suppression we performed in vivo imaging on mice under complete knockout of the gene for CB1 (cnr1-/-) and also under the CB1 inverse agonist rimonabant. We examined white matter structural changes and brain function (network activity and directional uniformity) in cnr1-/- mice. In cnr1-/- mice, white matter (in both sexes) and functional directional uniformity (in male mice) were altered across the brain but network activity was largely unaltered. Conversely, under rimonabant, functional directional uniformity was not altered but network activity was altered in cortical regions, primarily in networks known to be altered by THC (e.g., neocortex, hippocampal formation). However, rimonabant did not alter many brain regions found in both our cnr1-/- results and previous behavioral studies of cnr1-/- mice (e.g., thalamus, infralimbic area). This suggests that chronic loss of cnr1 is substantially different from short-term suppression, subtly rewiring the brain but largely maintaining the network activity. Our results help explain why pathological mutations in CB1 (e.g., chronic pain) do not always provide insight into the side effects of CB1 suppression (e.g., clinical depression), and thus urge more preclinical studies for any drugs that suppress CB1.

Sensorimotor Integration in Patients with Voice Disorders: A Scoping Review of Behavioral Research.

In recent years, research has determined that impaired sensorimotor integration is a contributor to the formation of voice symptoms and voice disorders. A scoping review is undertaken to explore the current state of scientific research regarding behavioral examinations of sensorimotor integration impairments in patients. Following the guidelines of the PRISMA Extension for Scoping Reviews, five online databases identified papers published 2000-2023, from which 17 publications were selected that used sensorimotor integration paradigms with voice-related acoustics as an outcome variable in individuals diagnosed with a voice disorder. Across the 17 studies, sensorimotor integration was behaviorally examined via auditory-motor paradigms in 315 patients with voice disorders and 344 controls. Broadly, patients with vocal hyperfunction demonstrated impaired auditory-motor and somatosensory-motor integration. Patients with unilateral vocal fold paralysis demonstrated impaired sensorimotor integration attributed to changes in the primary brain areas of speech motor control. Patients with laryngeal dystonia demonstrated varying results, with no conclusive evidence regarding sensorimotor integration in behavioral voicing tasks. Patients with Parkinson's disease demonstrated varying results as well, with a general trend of increased dependance on the feedback control system of voice production. Patients with ataxic dysarthria demonstrated that auditory feedback control was impaired possibly due to inaccurate error estimation and correction arising from the damage to their cerebellar pathways. Finally, patients with cerebellar degeneration demonstrated disruptions in both feedback and feed-forward control. Sensorimotor integration in the context of voice disorders is an important consideration in understanding how different sensory streams operate in healthy voice production, and how sensory feedback can be optimized in clinical treatments of voice disorders. The present scoping review reveals that behavioral research has focused primarily on auditory-motor integration paradigms, and this supports the possibility of a disconnect between these behavioral studies and existing theoretical conceptualizations of vocal motor control. .

Studies on increased utilization of high-ash Indian coal in coke-making

ABSTRACT Due to low-ash coking coal scarcity, India depends on high-cost imported coal for coke making. The present work aims to increase the Indian coal input in the original coal blend for coke making. One typical Indian high-ash and one imported low-ash coal were used as reference materials, presently used in coal blend for coke production in IISCO Steel Plant Burnpur (ISP), West Bengal, India. Coal samples were ground, changing various parameters. The ash distribution in different particle sizes was evaluated. It is observed that decreasing the particle size up to −88 µs can reduce ash content from (18–23%) to (12–14%), which is generally considered suitable for the blended coal mixture used for coke making in the coke-oven battery in ISP. Reduced ash containing fraction of high- ash coal was utilized to evaluate the dilatation behavior and economics of the coking process by considering blending with different percentages of beneficiated Indian coal. From the behavioral study, it was observed that 20% blending would be economical for coke making without hampering the original blend property. The improved dilatation behavior was observed by incorporating 20% dry beneficiated Indian coal in the original blend. The CRI, CSR, and Micum index properties are identical with the normal blend and within the acceptable limit.

In Vitro and In Vivo Pharmacological Profiles of LENART01, a Dermorphin-Ranatensin Hybrid Peptide.

Diverse chemical and pharmacological strategies are currently being explored to minimize the unwanted side effects of currently used opioid analgesics while achieving effective pain relief. The use of multitarget ligands with activity at more than one receptor represents a promising therapeutic approach. We recently reported a bifunctional peptide-based hybrid LENART01 combining dermorphin and ranatensin pharmacophores, which displays activity to the mu-opioid receptor (MOR) and dopamine D2 receptor (D2R) in rat brains and spinal cords. In this study, we investigated the in vitro binding and functional activities to the human MOR and the in vivo pharmacology of LENART01 in mice after subcutaneous administration. In vitro binding assays showed LENART01 to bind and be selective to the human MOR over the other opioid receptor subtypes and delta, kappa and nociceptin receptors. In the [35S]GTPγS binding assay, LENART01 acted as a potent and full agonist to the human MOR. In mice, LENART01 produced dose-dependent antinociceptive effects in formalin-induced inflammatory pain, with increased potency than morphine. Antinociceptive effects were reversed by naloxone, indicating MOR activation in vivo. Behavioral studies also demonstrated LENART01's properties to induce less adverse effects without locomotor dysfunction and withdrawal syndrome compared to conventional opioid analgesics, such as morphine. LENART01 is the first peptide-based MOR-D2R ligand known to date and the first dual MOR-dopamine D2R ligand for which in vivo pharmacology is reported with antinociceptive efficacy and reduced opioid-related side effects. Our current findings may pave the way to new pain therapeutics with limited side effects in acute and chronic use.

The 5HT2b Receptor in Alzheimer's Disease: Increased Levels in Patient Brains and Antagonist Attenuation of Amyloid and Tau Induced Dysfunction.

Background: Neurodegenerative diseases manifest behavioral dysfunction with disease progression. Intervention with neuropsychiatric drugs is part of most multi-drug treatment paradigms. However, only a fraction of patients responds to the treatments and those responding must deal with drug-drug interactions and tolerance issues generally attributed to off-target activities. Recent efforts have focused on the identification of underexplored targets and exploration of improved outcomes by treatment with selective molecular probes. As part of ongoing efforts to identify and validate additional targets amenable to therapeutic intervention, we examined levels of the serotonin 5-HT2b receptor (5-HT2bR) in Alzheimer's disease (AD) brains and the potential of a selective 5-HT2bR antagonist to counteract synaptic plasticity and memory damage induced by AD-related proteins, amyloid-β, and tau. This work used a combination of biochemical, chemical biology, electrophysiological, and behavioral techniques. Biochemical methods included analysis of protein levels. Chemical biology methods included the use of an in vivo molecular probe MW071, a selective antagonist for the 5HT2bR. Electrophysiological methods included assessment of long-term potentiation (LTP), a type of synaptic plasticity thought to underlie memory formation. Behavioral studies investigated spatial memory and associative memory. 5HT2bR levels are increased in brain specimens of AD patients compared to controls. 5HT2bR antagonist treatment rescued amyloid-β and tau oligomer-induced impairment of synaptic plasticity and memory. The increased levels of 5HT-2bR in AD patient brains and the attenuation of disease-related synaptic and behavioral dysfunctions by MW071 treatment suggest that the 5HT-2bR is a molecular target worth pursuing as a potential therapeutic target.

Religiosity-based behavioral study, Islamic finance users’ approach and selection standard: empirical evidence from Pakistan

Purpose Considering the speedy growth of Islamic finance and limited research work on Muslim behavior regarding Islamic Banking, this study aims to investigate to comprehend the stimulus of religiosity on customer’s behavior. Design/methodology/approach A conceptual model is developed on existing literature. The key dimensions of religiosity in the model include practice, knowledge, experience and consequences to capture the whole religiosity of customers. Model of the study investigates the impact of customer’s religiosity on their behavior in decision-making about selection of Islamic bank. Analysis of the study is based on the sample of 370 customers of Islamic banks from District Nowshera Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. The data for the study collected through random sampling by a comprehensive survey questionnaire. Binary logistic model is used to test the data for statistical analysis. Findings The key findings of the study suggest that religiosity influence customer behavior positively in decision-making regarding Islamic finance. Service standards of Islamic banking has also significant impact on customer perception, while the financial education of the customers has insignificant impact on customer behavior. Research limitations/implications This study mainly focused on the curiosity of the customer religious commitment, so religiosity is a vast phenomenon; there are deep sections in each dimension of religiosity, so further study is suggested for the comprehensive capture of each dimension of religiosity. Practical implications The results of the study have a great importance for the managers of Islamic finance industry to identify and detect the potential customers and divide the target market of banking industry on the base of religiosity. Furthermore, the study may bring significant managerial suggestions for marketing planners and can help them in market segmentation strategies. Originality/value The study examined the association between Muslim religiosity and Islamic banking customer’s selection behavior. This study spread the understanding of religiosity and its impact on Islamic banking customer’s behavior. Furthermore, the study is valuable to discover the level to which religiosity determines the inclinations of customers. This study helps marketing practitioners and researchers to grow their knowledge about customer’s motives in terms of religious commitment.

Echolocating Bats Have Evolved Decreased Susceptibility to Noise-Induced Temporary Hearing Losses.

Glenis Long championed the application of quantitative psychophysical methods to understand comparative hearing abilities across species. She contributed the first psychophysical studies of absolute and masked hearing sensitivities in an auditory specialist, the echolocating horseshoe bat. Her data demonstrated that this bat has hyperacute frequency discrimination in the 83-kHz range of its echolocation broadcast. This specialization facilitates the bat's use of Doppler shift compensation to separate echoes of fluttering insects from concurrent echoes of non-moving objects. In this review, we discuss another specialization for hearing in a species of echolocating bat that contributes to perception of echoes within a complex auditory scene. Psychophysical and behavioral studies with big brown bats show that exposures to long duration, intense wideband or narrowband ultrasonic noise do not induce significant increases in their thresholds to echoes and do not impair their ability to orient through a naturalistic sonar scene containing multiple distracting echoes. Thresholds of auditory brainstem responses also remain low after intense noise exposures. These data indicate that big brown bats are not susceptible to temporary threshold shifts as measured in comparable paradigms used with other mammals, at least within the range of stimulus parameters that have been tested so far. We hypothesize that echolocating bats have evolved a decreased susceptibility to noise-induced hearing losses as a specialization for echolocation in noisy environments.

Methodological considerations for behavioral studies relying on response time outcomes through online crowdsourcing platforms

This perspective paper explores challenges associated with online crowdsourced data collection, particularly focusing on longitudinal tasks with time-sensitive outcomes like response latencies. Based on our research, we identify two significant sources of bias: technical shortcomings such as low, variable frame rates, and human factors, contributing to high attrition rates. We explored potential solutions to these problems, such as enforcing hardware acceleration and defining study-specific frame rate thresholds, as well as pre-screening participants and monitoring hardware performance and task engagement over each experimental session. With this discussion, we intend to provide recommendations on how to improve the quality and reliability of data collected via online crowdsourced platforms and emphasize the need for researchers to be cognizant of potential pitfalls in online research.

Establishment of animal models and behavioral studies for autism spectrum disorders.

In recent years, the incidence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) has increased, but the etiology and pathogenesis remain unclear. In this narrative review, we review and systematically summarize the methods used to construct animal models to study ASD and the related behavioral studies based on recent literature. Utilization of various ASD animal models can complement research on the etiology, pathogenesis, and core behaviors of ASD, providing information and a foundation for further basic research and clinical treatment of ASD.

A compact setup for behavioral studies measuring limb acceleration

Behavioral studies contribute largely to a broader understanding of human brain mechanisms and the process of learning and memory. An established method to quantify motor learning is the analysis of thumb activity. In combination with brain stimulation, the effect of various treatments on neural plasticity and motor learning can be assessed. So far, the setups for thumb abduction measurements employed consist of bulky amplifiers and digital-to-analog devices to record the data. We developed a compact hardware setup to measure acceleration data which can be integrated into a wearable, including a sensor board and a microcontroller board which can be connected to a PC via USB. Additionally, we provide two software packages including graphical user interfaces, one to communicate with the hardware and one to evaluate and process the data. This work demonstrates the construction and application of our setup at the example of thumb acceleration measurement with a custom made glove and its use for research. Using integrated circuits, the size of the measurement devices is reduced to this wearable. It is simple to construct and can be operated easily by non-technical staff.

Behavioral indicators of heterogeneous subjective experience in animals across the phylogenetic spectrum: Implications for comparative animal phenomenology

This behavioral study was undertaken to provide empirical evidence in favor of or opposed to the notion that animals across a wide breadth of the animal kingdom have subjective (personal) experience that varies with their lifestyles, ecological constraints, or phylogeny. Twelve species representing two invertebrate phyla and six vertebrate classes were observed unobtrusively in 15-min episodes, during which three modes of behavior (volitional, interactive, and egocentric) were quantified according to the frequency, variety, and dynamism of each mode. Volitional behavior was the most prevalent and dynamic mode for nearly all species, largely without regard to phylogenetic position. Interactive behavior likewise varied inconsistently across the entire evolutionary spectrum. Egocentric behavior was concentrated among the avian and mammalian species, but evidence of it were observed in the invertebrate species as well. Diagrams of the matrix constructed from the three qualitative modes and three quantitative attributes for each mode provide a metaphorical representation of the unique experiential profile of each species. To the extent that these behavioral measures correlate with the nature of the animal's subjective experience, they support the growing view that phenomenology is heterogeneous, multimodal, and non-linear in extent across the animal kingdom.

Sentence superiority in the reading brain

When a sequence of written words is briefly presented and participants are asked to identify just one word at a post-cued location, then word identification accuracy is higher when the word is presented in a grammatically correct sequence compared with an ungrammatical sequence. This sentence superiority effect has been reported in several behavioral studies and two EEG investigations. Taken together, the results of these studies support the hypothesis that the sentence superiority effect is primarily driven by rapid access to a sentence-level representation via partial word identification processes that operate in parallel over several words. Here we used MEG to examine the neural structures involved in this early stage of written sentence processing, and to further specify the timing of the different processes involved. Source activities over time showed grammatical vs. ungrammatical differences first in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG: 321-406 ms), then the left anterior temporal lobe (ATL: 466-531 ms), and finally in both left IFG (549-602 ms) and left posterior superior temporal gyrus (pSTG: 553-622 ms). We interpret the early IFG activity as reflecting the rapid bottom-up activation of sentence-level representations, including syntax, enabled by partly parallel word processing. Subsequent activity in ATL and pSTG is thought to reflect the constraints imposed by such sentence-level representations on on-going word-based semantic activation (ATL), and the subsequent development of a more detailed sentence-level representation (pSTG). These results provide further support for a cascaded interactive-activation account of sentence reading.

Visual perception of highly memorable images is mediated by a distributed network of ventral visual regions that enable a late memorability response.

Behavioral and neuroscience studies in humans and primates have shown that memorability is an intrinsic property of an image that predicts its strength of encoding into and retrieval from memory. While previous work has independently probed when or where this memorability effect may occur in the human brain, a description of its spatiotemporal dynamics is missing. Here, we used representational similarity analysis (RSA) to combine functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with source-estimated magnetoencephalography (MEG) to simultaneously measure when and where the human cortex is sensitive to differences in image memorability. Results reveal that visual perception of High Memorable images, compared to Low Memorable images, recruits a set of regions of interest (ROIs) distributed throughout the ventral visual cortex: a late memorability response (from around 300 ms) in early visual cortex (EVC), inferior temporal cortex, lateral occipital cortex, fusiform gyrus, and banks of the superior temporal sulcus. Image memorability magnitude results are represented after high-level feature processing in visual regions and reflected in classical memory regions in the medial temporal lobe (MTL). Our results present, to our knowledge, the first unified spatiotemporal account of visual memorability effect across the human cortex, further supporting the levels-of-processing theory of perception and memory.

Translatome and transcriptome profiling of neonatal mice hippocampus exposed to sevoflurane anesthesia

Exposure to anesthesia in early life may cause severe damage to the brain and lead to cognitive impairment. The underlying mechanisms, which have only been investigated in a limited scale, remains largely elusive. We performed translatome and transcriptome sequencing together for the first time in hippocampus of neonatal mice that were exposed to sevoflurane. We treated a group of neonatal mice with 2.5 % sevoflurane for 2 h on day 6, 7, 8, 9 and treated another group on day 6, 7. We performed behavioral study after day 30 for both groups and the control to evaluate the cognitive impairment. On day 36, we collected translatome and transcriptome from the hippocampus in the two groups, compared the gene expression levels between the groups and the control, and validated the results with RT-qPCR. We identified 1750 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) from translatome comparison and 1109 DEGs from transcriptome comparison. As expected, translatome-based DEGs significantly overlapped with transcriptome-based DEGs, and functional enrichment analysis generated similar enriched cognition-related GO terms and KEGG pathways. However, for many genes like Hspa5, their alterations in translatome differed remarkably from those in transcriptome, and Western blot results were largely concordant with the former, suggesting that translational regulation plays a significant role in cellular response to sevoflurane. Our study revealed global alterations in translatome and transcriptome of mice hippocampus after neonatal exposure to sevoflurane anesthesia and highlighted the importance of translatome analysis in understanding the mechanisms responsible for anesthesia-induced cognitive impairment.

When unpleasantness meets feminines: a behavioural study on gender agreement and emotionality

ABSTRACT The emotional connotation of words is known to affect word and sentence processing. However, the when and how of the interaction between emotion and grammar are still up for debate. In this behavioural experiment, 35 female university students read noun phrases (NPs) composed by a determiner and a noun in their L1 (Spanish), and were asked to indicate if the NPs were grammatically correct (el masc camarero masc ) or not (*la fem tornillo masc ; i.e. a gender agreement task). The type of gender (arbitrary/natural), the emotionality (unpleasant/neutral), and the gender class (feminine/masculine) of the nouns were manipulated. We found an overall grammaticality effect, responses being faster in grammatically correct trials than in incorrect ones. However, the effects of emotionality and gender class varied depending on gender type. For arbitrary gender, the grammaticality effect was greater in feminine nouns than in masculine nouns and independent of emotionality. For natural gender, the grammaticality effect interacted with gender class and emotionality, this effect only emerging in unpleasant stimuli for feminine nouns. Our results reveal that it is possible to find emotional effects at the behavioural level in an intrinsically grammatical task. Yet, these effects depend on gender properties like the type of gender and the gender class.

Are People Willing to Pay for Reduced Inequality?

Would consumers be willing to pay more for goods for which there is less inequality in wages across those involved in their production? In incentive-compatible behavioral choice studies on representative samples of the English and U.S. populations, we find significantly positive willingness to pay for such inequality reductions in more than 80% of subjects. Although it varies with political leaning and the extent of the inequality reduction, willingness to pay is positive across the political spectrum and for all studied inequality differences. It is higher for more intuitive and informative inequality-reporting formats. Our findings have policy implications for both governments and firms. On the one hand, they suggest the promise of universal provision of product-level inequality information as a tool for moderating income inequality. On the other hand, they highlight the potential relevance of inequality reporting for firms’ marketing strategies. This paper was accepted by Dorothea Kübler, behavioral economics and decision analysis. Funding: This work was supported by the Agence Nationale de la Recherche [LabEx Ecodec/ANR-11-LABX-0047] and the Fondation HEC [Budget F]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.01974 .