Behavioral Studies Research Articles

Coaching stroke survivors to persevere with practice: An observational behavioural mapping study.

To quantitatively describe therapists' use of coaching with stroke survivors, in a hospital-based rehabilitation setting, to promote perseverance with longer-term practice. Prospective observational behavioural mapping study. Rehabilitation unit of a regional public hospital in Queensland, Australia. A custom-designed behavioural mapping tool was used to collect rehabilitation session contextual data and therapists' use of coaching. Data were captured in 3-minute epochs for a maximum of 30 minutes. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics. Thirty-six rehabilitation sessions, including 34 participants (therapists n = 22, stroke survivors n = 12) were observed. Rehabilitation sessions were mostly inpatient (n = 33, 91.7%), one-on-one (n = 30, 83.3%), and conducted in the physiotherapy (n = 160, 45.5%) or occupational therapy (n = 155, 44.0%) gym. Strategies to promote perseverance were used in 76.7% (n = 267) of observed epochs. The most frequently used strategy was monitoring the quality of practice and the least frequently used strategy was utilising a support person to facilitate practice. Coaching that may promote perseverance with practice was regularly used by therapists during hospital-based rehabilitation sessions. Coaching that may enable longer-term perseverance beyond a therapist-dependent rehabilitation model was less commonly observed.

The Application Progress of Optogenetics in Neuroscience and Behavioral Studies

Optogenetics, as an emerging interdisciplinary technology, has enabled the precise manipulation of neuronal activity by combining optical and genetic approaches. This paper summarizes the application of optogenetics in neuroscience and behavioral research and introduces its research background and topics. The application of optogenetics in neuronal activity regulation, neural loop resolution, exploration of learning and memory mechanisms, and treating neurological diseases were focused on. By combining a literature review and case analysis, we analyze the core principles of optogenetics and the technical points of optogenetics and demonstrate their potential applications in different research scenarios. The types and properties of photosensitive proteins and their application strategies in experiments are detailed, demonstrating the unique advantages of optogenetics in revealing the mysteries of neurobiological processes. The results show that optogenetic technology provides a powerful tool to reveal the mysteries of neurobiological processes, but it still faces challenges such as light transmission efficiency and gene delivery safety in practical applications. This paper summarizes the advantages and limitations of optogenetics and prospects for its future direction, providing an important reference for the continuous development of neuroscience and behavioral research.

Age and Sex Differences in Infants' Neural Sensitivity to Emotional Prosodies in Spoken Words: A Multifeature Oddball Study.

This study aimed to investigate infants' neural responses to changes in emotional prosody in spoken words. The focus was on understanding developmental changes and potential sex differences, aspects that were not consistently observed in previous behavioral studies. A modified multifeature oddball paradigm was used with emotional deviants (angry, happy, and sad) presented against neutral prosody (standard) within varying spoken words during a single electroencephalography recording session. The reported data included 34 infants (18 males, 16 females; age range: 3-12 months, average age: 7 months 26 days). Infants exhibited distinct patterns of mismatch responses (MMRs) to different emotional prosodies in both early (100-200 ms) and late (300-500 ms) time windows following the speech onset. While both happy and angry prosodies elicited more negative early MMRs than the sad prosody across all infants, older infants showed more negative early MMRs than their younger counterparts. The distinction between early MMRs to angry and sad prosodies was more pronounced in younger infants. In the late time window, angry prosody elicited a more negative late MMR than the sad prosody, with younger infants showing more distinct late MMRs to sad and angry prosodies compared to older infants. Additionally, a sex effect was observed as male infants displayed more negative early MMRs compared to females. These findings demonstrate the feasibility of the modified multifeature oddball protocol in studying neural sensitivities to emotional speech in infancy. The observed age and sex effects on infants' auditory neural responses to vocal emotions underscore the need for further research to distinguish between acoustic and emotional processing and to understand their roles in early socioemotional and language development. https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.27914553.

Behavioral assessment of well-being in the naïve laboratory ferret (Mustela putorius furo)

Domestic ferrets (Mustela putorius furo) are an emerging model species in biomedical research. While behavioral studies are a critical translational tool for evaluating neurologic function in disease models and toxicology studies, there is a lack of ferret-specific behavioral assays and corresponding data on baseline behavior. Play behavior is a promising target for evaluation of psychological well-being, particularly because ferrets engage in solitary and social play well into adulthood. Therefore, in this study, an ethogram of behaviors associated with play, elevated mood, and environmental interaction was developed and applied in experimentally naïve juvenile and young adult male laboratory ferrets (3 and 6 months of age, respectively). Total play/positive affect behavior was significantly greater in adults relative to juveniles, mostly due to increased dook vocalizations. Juveniles also took significantly longer to first exit into the behavior suite than adults. This may be linked to contextual habituation or a developmentally associated shift in anxiety-like behavior. While the frequency of total environmental interaction did not differ by age, juveniles demonstrated increased exploration of objects whereas young adults engaged in more climbing onto/into objects. Overall, this study provides a simple and efficient method to assess psychological well-being and environmental exploration in both juvenile and young adult laboratory ferrets. Future studies are needed to determine the sensitivity of these measures to neurologic injury or disease.

The advertisement call of Leptobrachella dushanensis (Anura, Megophryidae)

We describe the advertisement call of the Dushan Leaf Litter Toad, Leptobrachella dushanensis, based on recordings obtained from three individuals from its type locality. The advertisement call of L. dushanensis consists of a single note with a dominant frequency of 4.84–4.91 kHz. Furthermore, we compare the differences in advertisement calls between L. dushanensis and its sister species, Leptobrachella dong. The advertisement calls of L. dushanensis and L. dong can be clearly distinguished. Our findings provide bioacoustic evidence supporting the taxonomic status of L. dushanensis and provide basic data for future behavioral and ecological studies on Leptobrachella.

Dizocilpine derivatives as neuroprotective NMDA receptor antagonists without psychomimetic side effects

We aimed to prepare novel dibenzo[a,d][7]annulen derivatives that act on N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptors with potential neuroprotective effects. Our approach involved modifying the tropane moiety of MK-801, a potent open-channel blocker known for its psychomimetic side effects, by introducing a seven-membered ring with substituted base moieties specifically to alleviate these undesirable effects. Our in silico analyses showed that these derivatives should have high gastrointestinal absorption and cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB). Our pharmacokinetic studies in rats supported this conclusion and confirmed the ability of leading compounds 3l and 6f to penetrate the BBB. Electrophysiological experiments showed that all compounds exhibited different inhibitory activity towards the two major NMDA receptor subtypes, GluN1/GluN2A and GluN1/GluN2B. Of the selected compounds intentionally differing in the inhibitory efficacy, 6f showed high relative inhibition (∼90% for GluN1/GluN2A), while 3l showed moderate inhibition (∼50%). An in vivo toxicity study determined that compounds 3l and 6f were safe at 10 mg/kg doses with no adverse effects. Behavioral studies demonstrated that these compounds did not induce hyperlocomotion or impair prepulse inhibition of startle response in rats. Neuroprotective assays using a model of NMDA-induced hippocampal neurodegeneration showed that compound 3l at a concentration of 30 μM significantly reduced hippocampal damage in rats. These results suggest that these novel dibenzo[a,d][7]annulen derivatives are promising candidates for developing NMDA receptor-targeted therapies with minimal psychotomimetic side effects.

Characterization of novel nitazene recreational drugs: Insights into their risk potential from in vitro µ-opioid receptor assays and in vivo behavioral studies in mice

2-Benzylbenzimidazole derivatives or ‘nitazenes’ are increasingly present on the recreational drug market. Here, we report the synthesis and pharmacological characterization of 15 structurally diverse nitazenes that might be predicted to emerge or grow in popularity. This work expands the existing knowledge about 2-benzylbenzimidazole structure-activity relationships (SARs), while also helping stakeholders (e.g., forensic toxicologists, clinicians, policymakers) in their risk assessment and preparedness for the potential next generation of nitazenes. In vitro µ-opioid receptor (MOR) affinity was determined via competition radioligand (3[H]DAMGO) binding assays in rat brain tissue. MOR activation (potency and efficacy) was studied by means of a cell-based β-arrestin 2 recruitment assay. For seven nitazenes, including etonitazene, opioid-like pharmacodynamic effects (antinociception, locomotor activity, body temperature changes) were evaluated after subcutaneous administration in male C57BL/6J mice. The results showed that all nitazenes bound to MOR with nanomolar affinities, and the functional potency of several of them was comparable to or exceeded that of fentanyl. In vivo, dose-dependent effects were observed for antinociception, locomotor activity, and body temperature changes in mice. SAR insights included the high opioid-like activity of methionitazene, iso-butonitazene, sec-butonitazene, and the etonitazene analogues 1-ethyl-pyrrolidinylmethyl N-desalkyl etonitazene and ethylene etonitazene. The most potent analogue of the panel across all functional assays was α’-methyl etonitazene. Taken together, through critical pharmacological evaluation, this work provides a framework for strengthened preparedness and risk assessments of current and future nitazenes that have the potential to cause harm to users.

Action research practices, challenges and quality implications

This study dealt with investigating the existing practices and challenges to sustain quality of education through action research at the College of Education and Behavioral Studies (CEBS) of the Addis Ababa University (AAU). Data were collected from 76 staffs and 194 students at the College using questionnaires and by conducting interviews with 5 and 3 officials at the Ministry of Education and at AAU respectively. The findings have shown that teaching staffs at AAU conduct action research only to a limited extent. This was regardless of the widespread belief in the positive effects of action research to enhance education quality. Among the reasons for this were lack of staff empowerment, support, clear policies to link teaching with research, top-down prescriptions and staff members’ low commitment and conviction to assertively strive to improve their professional practices through action research which is entrusted with sustaining quality.

Knockdown of RUVBL2 improves hnRNPA2/B1-stress granules dynamics to inhibit perioperative neurocognitive disorders in aged mild cognitive impairment rats.

Perioperative neurocognitive disorders (PND) is common in aged mild cognitive impairment (MCI) patients and can accelerate the progression to dementia. This process involves heterogeneous nuclear ribonucleoprotein A2/B1 (hnRNPA2/B1)-mediated aggregates of stress granules (SGs), while RUVBL2 influences the dynamics of these SGs. Our research explored a new target for modulating hnRNAPA2/B1-SGs dynamics to accelerate their disassembly and potentially delay MCI progression due to PND. We assessed the effect of hippocampal RUVBL2 knockdown on hnRNPA2/B1-SGs in aged MCI rats through behavioral studies, biochemical experiments and MRI. We also examined hnRNPA2/B1-SGs dynamics using immunofluorescence staining and fluorescence recovery after photobleaching (FRAP) in rat primary hippocampal neurons. Our results revealed that hnRNPA2/B1 in the hippocampus of aged MCI rats translocates to the cytoplasm to form SGs following anesthesia. RUVBL2 knockdown promotes the disappearance of hnRNPA2/B1-SGs, allowing hnRNPA2/B1 to return to the nucleus and enhancing functional activity in the brain regions of aged MCI rats. In primary hippocampal neurons, RUVBL2 deletion facilitated hnRNPA2/B1-SGs transition from hydrogel to liquid, promoting disassembly. We compared three commonly used general anesthetics-3% sevoflurane, 40 mg·kg-1·h-1 propofol, and 9% desflurane. Sevoflurane upregulated RUVBL2, which decreased the intraneuronal pH and disrupted energy metabolism. These changes resulted in greater stabilization of hnRNPA2/B1- SGs. In conclusion, our findings indicated that the knockdown of RUVBL2 expression contributes to the transition of hnRNPA2/B1-SGs from the hydrogel phase to the liquid phase. Targeted interference with RUVBL2 may represent a novel approach to delay the progression to dementia due to PND in aged MCI patients.

CalliCog: an open-source cognitive neuroscience toolkit for freely behaving nonhuman primates.

Cognitive neuroscience research involving nonhuman primates (NHPs) has traditionally been confined to a few highly specialized laboratories equipped with advanced infrastructure, expert knowledge, and specialized resources for housing and testing these animals. The common marmoset ( Callithrix jacchus ), a small NHP species, has gained popularity in cognitive research due to its ability to address some of these challenges. However, behavioral studies in marmosets remain labor-intensive and restricted mainly to experts in the field, making them less accessible to the broader scientific community. To address these barriers, we introduce an open and accessible platform designed for automated cognitive experiments in home cage settings with marmosets. This system supports the integration of cognitive behavioral analysis with wireless neural recordings, is cost-effective, and requires minimal technical expertise to build and operate.

A Simple Approach for Measuring Higher-Order Arrow-Pratt Coefficients of Risk Aversion

Although the importance of the second-order Arrow-Pratt coefficients of risk aversion is well established, the importance of higher-order risk attitudes has only recently begun to be recognized. In this paper, we introduce a nonparametric approach to directly measure higher-order Arrow-Pratt coefficients of risk aversion in an expected utility framework using choices between compound lotteries and show how it can be easily implemented in behavioral studies. Specifically, we provide a theoretical basis for using risk apportionment to reveal the intensity of higher-order risk attitudes, and then draw upon our theoretical results to develop a simple, systematic, and generalizable procedure for eliciting higher-order Arrow-Pratt coefficients. We demonstrate our approach in a laboratory experiment and find that the modal second-order, third-order, and fourth-order Arrow-Pratt coefficients are positive and small. Further, we find that degrees of risk aversion are positively correlated across orders. Additionally, we discuss alternative implementations of our procedure. This paper was accepted by Peng Sun, behavioral economics and decision analysis. Funding: R. J. Huang acknowledges financial support from the National Science and Technology Council of Taiwan [Grants MOST 110-2410-H-008 -017 -MY3]. R. J. Huang and L. Y. Tzeng gratefully acknowledge financial support from E.SUN Bank. L. Zhao acknowledges financial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China [Grants 72125003 and 72131003]. Supplemental Material: The online appendix and data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.02300 .

Meditation-Induced Self-Boundary Flexibility and Prosociality: A MEG and Behavioral Measures Study

Background: In the last decade, empirical studies on the beneficial effects of meditation on prosocial capacities have accumulated, but the underlying mechanisms remain unclear. Buddhist sources state that liberating oneself from a fixed view of the self by gaining access to its transitory and malleable nature leads to increased compassion and other prosocial traits. These, however, have not yet been empirically tested. Methods: The current study aims at filling this gap by first examining whether 44 long term meditators differ from 53 controls in prosocial capacities on different levels of the socio-cognitive hierarchy, and second by examining whether these are associated with meditation-induced ‘selfless’ states, operationalized here as the sense of boundary (SB) flexibility. We capitalize on our previous work on the neurophenomenology of mindfulness-induced SB dissolution, which yielded a neural index of SB-flexibility, solely for the meditators, and examine its correlations with a battery of validated behavioral prosociality tasks. Results: Our findings reveal enhanced low-level prosocial processes in meditators, including enhanced emotion recognition and reduced outgroup bias. We show the stability of SB flexibility over a year, demonstrating consistent high beta deactivation. The neural index of SB flexibility negatively correlates with recognizing negative emotions, suggesting a link to reduced social threat perception. Conclusions: These results connect the neural correlates of SB flexibility to prosociality, supported by stable high beta deactivations. We expect the results to raise awareness regarding the prosocial potential of flexing one’s self-boundaries through meditation.

Protective effects of geraniol in a male rat model of Alzheimer's disease: A behavioral, biochemical, and histological study.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) as a neurodegenerative disease can cause behavioral impairments due to oxidative stress. Aging and oxidative conditions are some AD risk factors. We assessed the influence of geraniol (GR), an acyclic monoterpene alcohol, on behavioral functions, hippocampal oxidative status, and histological alterations in AD rats induced by amyloid-β (Aβ). Male Wistar rats (n = 70) were randomly allocated to the control, sham, AD, control-GR (100 mg/kg; per oral: P.O.), AD-GR (100 mg/kg; P.O.; treatment), GR-AD (100 mg/kg; P.O.; pretreatment), and GR-AD-GR (100 mg/kg; P.O.; pretreatment + treatment) groups. GR administration was done for four continuous weeks. After treatments, novel object recognition (NOR) and Morris water maze (MWM) tests assessed the animals' behavior. Then, hippocampal specimens were collected for biochemical assessment. Finally, the number of intact neurons was identified in the hippocampus using hematoxylin and eosin staining. Aβ microinjection increased learning and memory deficits in both NOR and MWM tests, oxidative stress status, and neuronal loss. Oral GR administration improved behavioral deficits and reduced oxidative stress status and neuronal loss in the Aβ-infused animals. GR ameliorates behavioral impairments through a decrease in neuronal degeneration and oxidative stress.

Development of in vitro and in vivo evaluation of mucoadhesive in-situ gel for intranasal delivery of vinpocetine

Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which is marked by gradual neuronal decline and subsequent loss of cognitive functions and memory, poses significant treatment challenges. The present study involved the development, in vitro, and in vivo evaluation of a novel intranasal mucoadhesive in-situ gel of vinpocetine (VIN) with the aim to target the brain. An innovative gel formulation composed of poloxamer 407, HPMC E15 LV, and citric acid as a solubilizer was developed by 23 Factorial Design. The developed optimal formulation exhibited favorable rheological properties as it displayed ideal gelation time (31.6 ± 1.52 sec), optimum gelling temperature (32 ± 1.0 °C), enhanced mucoadhesive strength (6622 ± 2.64 dynes/cm2), prolonged adhesion (7.22 ± 0.57 hrs) compared with the baseline formulation (F18), and improved drug release in 12 hrs (39.59 ± 1.6%). In vivo, pharmacokinetics revealed a significant increase in Cmax (∼2-fold) and AUC0-t (∼2-fold) in the brain with the in-situ intranasal gel compared to the oral route. In the rat model of AD, in-situ intranasal gel demonstrated significantly greater efficacy (p < 0.001) than oral administration in alleviating AD symptoms as evidenced by behavioral and histological studies. Thus, VIN in-situ gel can be safe and noninvasive for nose-to-brain drug delivery.

Neural processing of rhythmic speech by children with developmental language disorder (DLD): An EEG study

Abstract Sensitivity to rhythmic and prosodic cues in speech has been described as a precursor of language acquisition. Consequently, atypical rhythmic processing during infancy and early childhood has been considered a risk factor for developmental language disorders. Despite many behavioural studies, the neural processing of rhythmic speech has not yet been explored in children with developmental language disorder (DLD). Here we utilise EEG to investigate the neural processing of rhythmic speech by 9-year-old children with and without DLD. In the current study, we investigate phase entrainment, angular velocity, power, event related potentials (ERPs), phase-amplitude coupling (PAC) and phase-phase coupling (PPC), at three frequency bands selected on the basis of the prior literature, delta, theta and low gamma. We predicted a different phase of entrainment in the delta band in children with DLD, and also greater theta power, atypical cross-frequency coupling and possibly atypical gamma-band responses. Contrary to prediction, children with DLD demonstrated significant and equivalent phase entrainment in the delta and theta bands to control children. However, only the control children showed significant phase entrainment in the low gamma band. The children with DLD also exhibited significantly more theta and low gamma power compared to the control children, and there was a significant gamma-band difference in angular velocity between the two groups. Finally, group resultant phase analyses showed that low-frequency phase (delta and theta) affected gamma oscillations differently by group. These EEG data show important differences between children with and without DLD in the neural mechanisms underpinning the processing of rhythmic speech. The findings are discussed in terms of auditory theories of DLD, particularly Temporal Sampling theory.

Precise 3D Localization of Intracerebral Implants Using a Simple Brain Clearing Method.

Precise localization of intracerebral implants in rodent brains is required for physiological and behavioral studies, particularly if targeting deep brain nuclei. Traditional histological methods, based on manual estimation through sectioning can introduce errors and complicate data interpretation. Here, we introduce an alternative method based on recent advances in tissue-clearing techniques and light-sheet fluorescence microscopy. This method uses a simplified recipe of the Clear, Unobstructed Brain/Body Imaging Cocktails and Computational Analysis (CUBIC) method, which is a rapid clearing procedure using an aqueous-based solution compatible with fluorescence and fluorescence markers. We demonstrate the utility of this approach in anesthetized transgenic mice expressing channelrhodopsin-2 (ChR2) and enhanced yellow fluorescent fusion (EYFP) protein under the choline acetyltransferase (ChAT) promoter/enhancer regions (ChAT-ChR2-EYFP mice) with implanted linear silicon optrode probes into the midbrain interpeduncular nucleus (IPN). By applying the red fluorescent DiD' dye (DiIC18(5) solid (1,1'-Dioctadecyl-3,3,3',3'-Tetramethylindodicarbocyanine, 4-Chlorobenzenesulfonate Salt) to the electrode surface, we precisely visualize the electrode localization in the IPN of ChAT-ChR2-EYFP mice. Three-dimensional brain videos from different orientations highlight the potential of this method. Optogenetic responses recorded from electrodes placed in the IPN validate these findings. This method allows for precise localization of brain implantation sites in transgenic mice expressing cell-specific fluorescence markers. It enables virtual brain slicing in any orientation, making it a useful tool for functional studies in mice.

Corporate Social Responsibility and Media Visibility —Brazilian Companies’ Donations during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Recent behavioral finance studies have focused on understanding how online investors react to corporate giving announcements. This research analyzed Google Trends search indexes during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic for companies that made donations and also examined the variation in their financial returns. The study aimed to determine whether donor companies experienced greater growth in media visibility during the pandemic compared to non-donor companies. Using a sample of 289 organizations listed on the Brazilian Stock Exchange and employing the &amp;ldquo;differences in differences&amp;rdquo; method, the study found no statistical significance when the pandemic effect was applied, leaving the hypothesis on visibility inconclusive. However, favorable results were observed without the pandemic effect, consistent with studies demonstrating a link between social actions and positive consumer responses. As a result, Google Trends proved to be a valid predictor of Brazilian financial data, with the behavior of marketing variables in relation to search trends reinforcing ongoing research on the tool&amp;rsquo;s potential to gauge public sentiment and market fluctuations.

Interplay of physical and social drivers of movement in male African savanna elephants

Abstract Despite extensive research into the behavioral ecology of free-ranging animal groups, questions remain about how group members integrate information about their physical and social surroundings. This is because a) tracking of multiple group members is limited to a few easily manageable species; and b) the tools to simultaneously quantify physical and social influences on an individual’s movement remain challenging, especially across large geographic scales. A relevant example of a widely ranging species with complex social structure and of conservation concern is the African savanna elephant. We evaluate highly synchronized GPS tracks from five male elephants in Etosha National Park in Namibia by incorporating their dynamic social landscape into an established resource selection model. The fitted model predicts movement patterns based simultaneously on the physical landscape (e.g., repeated visitation of waterholes) and the social landscape (e.g., avoidance of a dominant male). Combining the fitted models for multiple focal individuals produces landscape-dependent social networks that vary over space (e.g., with distance from a waterhole) and time (e.g., as the seasons change). The networks, especially around waterholes, are consistent with dominance patterns determined from previous behavioral studies. Models that combine physical landscape and social effects, based on remote tracking, can augment traditional methods for determining social structure from intensive behavioral observations. More broadly, these models will be essential to effective, in-situ conservation and management of wide-ranging social species in the face of anthropogenic disruptions to their physical surroundings and social connections.

Muscle type-specific effects of bilateral abobotulinumtoxinA injection on muscle growth and contractile function in spastic mice.

Intramuscular injection of botulinum neurotoxin type A (BoNT-A) is commonly used to improve or maintain the joint range of motion in young children with spasticity. However, the effectiveness of BoNT-A treatment is variable and movement limitations are recurrent. Here we show long-term effects of a single, bilateral abobotulinumtoxinA (aboBoNT-A) injection in the gastrocnemius medialis and soleus muscles of wild-type and spastic (B6.Cg-Glrbspa/J with a mutation in the glycine receptor) mice at a young age (6-7 days). Specifically, we evaluated the impact of aboBoNT-A-A on gait, physical performance, and spontaneous physical behavior, as well as on contractile force characteristics, morphology, and histological phenotype of soleus and gastrocnemius muscles by comparing their results to those of saline-injected controls up to 9 weeks after the injection. The detailed time course of the study specifies the timing of the aboBoNT-A injection at 1 week, the period of behavioral studies from 4-9 weeks, and the age of the mice (10 weeks) at the time of contractile force characteristics and histology assessments. In spastic mice, aboBoNT-A injection had a minor and very specific effect on physical performance, by only modestly increasing stride length as a function of age. aboBoNT-A injection caused a reduction in the force-generating capacity and a slightly smaller physiological cross-sectional area in gastrocnemius medialis, but not in soleus. Reduced physiological cross-sectional area in aboBoNT-A-injected muscles was due to a lower number of muscle fibers, rather than reduced muscle fiber cross-sectional area. The percentage of slow-type muscle fibers and mitochondrial succinate dehydrogenase activity were increased, which was associated with an improved muscle endurance capacity. In conclusion, aboBoNT-A injection reduced the number of muscle fibers, causing muscle hypertrophy in remaining fibers and a shift towards more oxidative fibers, resulting in an improved endurance capacity and gait. This study proposed potential cellular mechanisms for the therapeutic efficacy of aboBoNT-A in spasticity.

Comparing remote and hand-held video observation methods for quantifying a cleaning mutualism.

Field studies of cleaning mutualisms use a variety of methods to quantify behavioral dynamics. Studies in marine systems typically utilize data recorded by human observers on scuba or snorkel or via remote underwater video. The effects of these different methods on cleaner-client behaviors have not been rigorously assessed. We quantified cleaner-client interactions at 13 bluestreak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) cleaning stations in Moorea, French Polynesia using hand-held and remote videos. We found that cleaning, cheating, and client posing rates, cleaning duration, and client species richness were all greater in the remote than in the hand-held videos, suggesting that human presence disrupts cleaning interactions by inducing antipredator responses among clients. Some metrics, such as the ratio of cleaner chasing to cleaning behavior and the cleaners' benthic feeding rate, were higher for the hand-held than the remote videos, possibly due to limited access of cleaners to clients in the presence of humans. Other metrics, such as cleaner and client chasing rates, the ratio of cleaning to cheating behaviors, and the duration of cleaner chases, did not differ between video types. Finally, piscivorous clients were far more abundant in the remote than the hand-held videos, suggesting that piscivores are particularly sensitive to human presence, likely because they are targeted by fishers. Overall, our study suggests that human presence can bias studies of cleaning behavior and cleaner-client interactions, and that remote cameras should be used to conduct behavioral studies. These potential biases should be considered when interpreting existing behavioral data.