Domains Of Social Behavior Research Articles

Veterinary education and experience shape beliefs about dog breeds. Part 2: Trust

Dog breed stereotypes are frequently used to inform people’s expectations about canine behavior, despite evidence that breed is largely uninformative in predicting individual dog behavior. Further, these beliefs differ among populations. However, it remains unknown how ratings of warmth toward a breed are associated with ratings of other social behavioral domains, and whether differences exist between populations with varying experience with dogs. The purpose of this study was to evaluate ratings of trust and warmth among survey respondents including veterinary students, veterinary faculty and staff, undergraduates in animal-health related majors and members of the general public. Using an online survey, respondents rated their likelihood to trust a dog in varying scenarios for 10 different dog breeds. Additionally, respondents used a feelings thermometer to rate how warm or cool they felt towards each breed. Findings revealed differences in feelings thermometer and trust ratings across populations. All ratings were lower among the veterinary academic respondents compared to the general public and undergraduates. Veterinary students further along in their training, as well as undergraduates with clinical experience, reflected perceptions similar to those of the veterinary faculty and staff providing support for cultural transmission of beliefs during veterinary education and training.

Circuits underlying social function and dysfunction.

Substantial advances have been made toward understanding the genetic and environmental risk factors for autism, a neurodevelopmental disorder with social impairment as a core feature. In combination with optogenetic and chemogenetic tools to manipulate neural circuits in vivo, it is now possible to use model systems to test how specific neural circuits underlie social function and dysfunction. Here, we review the literature that has identified circuits associated with social interest (sociability), social reward, social memory, dominance, and aggression, and we outline a preliminary roadmap of the neural circuits driving these social behaviors. We highlight the neural circuitry underlying each behavioral domain, as well as develop an interactive map of how these circuits overlap across domains. We find that some of the circuits underlying social behavior are general and are involved in the control of multiple behavioral aspects, whereas other circuits appear to be specialized for specific aspects of social behavior. Our overlapping circuit map therefore helps to delineate the circuits involved in the various domains of social behavior and to identify gaps in knowledge.

Phenotypic profiling of mGlu7 knockout mice reveals new implications for neurodevelopmental disorders.

Neurodevelopmental disorders are characterized by deficits in communication, cognition, attention, social behavior and/or motor control. Previous studies have pointed to the involvement of genes that regulate synaptic structure and function in the pathogenesis of these disorders. One such gene, GRM7, encodes the metabotropic glutamate receptor 7 (mGlu7 ), a G protein-coupled receptor that regulates presynaptic neurotransmitter release. Mutations and polymorphisms in GRM7 have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders in clinical populations; however, limited preclinical studies have evaluated mGlu7 in the context of this specific disease class. Here, we show that the absence of mGlu7 in mice is sufficient to alter phenotypes within the domains of social behavior, associative learning, motor function, epilepsy and sleep. Moreover, Grm7 knockout mice exhibit an attenuated response to amphetamine. These findings provide rationale for further investigation of mGlu7 as a potential therapeutic target for neurodevelopmental disorders such as idiopathic autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and Rett syndrome.

Family-school engagement across child and adolescent development.

Family school engagement practices (e.g., family school partnerships and parental involvement) are empirically supported across academic and social-behavioral domains. Despite family school engagement and parent involvement being deemed important across elementary and secondary schooling, much of the research has focused on early childhood and elementary students. Understanding family school engagement across all stages of development is important, as aspects of family school engagement practices often become more challenging as children grow into middle- and high-school students. This special series works to build our knowledge of family school engagement across development. The series presents a set of studies which confer current knowledge on the association between family school engagement and child outcomes in elementary, middle, and high school while offering important implications for school personnel. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2019 APA, all rights reserved).

Early childhood social communication deficits in youth at clinical high-risk for psychosis: Associations with functioning and risk.

Effective social functioning requires a broad range of social communication skills that are impaired in psychosis populations. However, little is known about early childhood (4- to 5-year period) social communication during the premorbid (pre-illness) stage of psychosis. The present study utilized retrospective parent reports to examine total early childhood social communication deficits, as well as deficits in two distinct domains, reciprocal social interaction (social smiling/eye gaze) and communication (social chat/gesture), in youth at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis (ages 13-21; 37.2% female). Furthermore, associations between early childhood social communication and CHR youth's current functioning (social, academic/work), symptoms (positive/negative), and risk for conversion to psychosis were examined. Compared to healthy controls, CHR individuals had greater deficits in total and communication-specific early childhood social communication. Early childhood total, communication, and reciprocal social interaction deficits were associated with worse current functioning and greater current negative symptom severity (amotivation/anhedonia) in CHR youth. Early childhood total and reciprocal social interaction deficits were also associated with increased risk for conversion. These findings inform the field's understanding of the etiology and pathophysiology of psychosis by extending the current developmental literature on premorbid deficits in psychosis populations to specific domains of social behavior in a critical developmental period.

Effect of early natal supplementation of paracetamol on attenuation of exotoxin/endotoxin induced pyrexia and precipitation of autistic like features in albino rats.

The present study was aimed to test the hypothesis that paracetamol (PCM) can precipitate autistic like features when used to counteract vaccine-induced fever using experimental rat pups. The pups were treated with measles mumps rubella (MMR) vaccine, diphtheria tetanus and pertussis (DPT) vaccines and lipopolysaccharide (LPS) with subsequent PCM treatment. The pups were evaluated for postnatal growth (weight gain, eye opening) and behavior alterations (swimming performance, olfactory discrimination, negative geotaxis, nociception, and locomotor activity) by performing battery of neurobehavioral test. Significant correlation was observed between social behavioral domains (nociception, anxiety and motor coordination) and pro-inflammatory load in the pups when treated with MMR/LPS along with PCM. A significant change in pro and anti-inflammatory (IL-4, IL-6, IL-10) markers were observed in rats treated with PCM, MMR, LPS, DPS alone or in combination with MMR, LPS and DPT (5128.6±0.000, 15,488±0.000***, 9661.1±157.29***a, 15,312±249.29***, 10,471±0.00***a, 16,789±273.34*** and 12,882±0.00***a). Pups were also scrutinized for the markers of oxidative stress, inflammation and histopathologically. All the treatment groups showed significant alteration in the behavioral changes, oxidative markers (TBARS-in control-4.33±0.02, PCM-9.42±0.18***, MMR-5.27±0.15***, MMR+PCM-8.57±0.18*** a, LPS-6.84±0.10***, LPS+PCM-4.51±0.30***a, DPT-5.68±0.12***, DPT+PCM-7.26±0.18***a) and inflammatory markers without following any specific treatment. These observation could be accorded to variable phenotypes of autistic spectrum disorders (ASDs).

Indonesian Cultural Preference in Designing User Interface

Interface design is the first thing users can see when accessing website. First impression is presented here. If they feel interested, users will continue exploring website. But, if they feel not interested, users will leave website with negative impression. They will be reluctant to access the website in the future, because the first impression is not good. In order to design good and interesting interface design, there is no particular methods can be used to absolutely measure it. Measuring the interface design is closely related with the domain of social behavior. Each user has different perspective, which means has different taste of design. So far, there is no existing method that can be used to measure the taste of interface design accurately. Interface design tend to be measured subjectively. The only way to measure interface design is use usability principles, which is tend to focus on the interaction not to the interface design itself. Indonesia has there are 1331 tribes across the country which are have unique and richness of cul-tural ornament. Their ornament has known well by people because it had been applied into their various kinds of product, such as carving, clothes, and house. Finally, the purpose of this research aim to provide new idea about cultural preference in order to design the interface. At the end of this research, we offer methods which can be used to ensure the interface design based cultural is met with the usability principles.

A Neuroeconomic Theory of Attention- and Task-Switching with Implications for Autism and ADHD

This paper presents a theoretical and neurobiologically-grounded model of attention- and task-switching in response to novel stimuli. Within this framework, I show how key features of autism and of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) can be explained by simple “biases” (which can be alternatively interpreted as preference shifters) with regards to how agents value potential diversions in relation to a preoccurring task. Specifically, the theory suggests that diversions of this sort are systematically undervalued in autism and overvalued in ADHD, giving rise to the atypically low attention- and task-switching propensities observed in autism and the reverse in ADHD. While making a broader case for the potential value of economic theory as a lens through which to understand such psychiatric conditions, I draw on a range of formal economic concepts — opportunity cost, willingness-to-pay, risk aversion, time preferences, payoff/cost elasticities — to capture many other documented patterns in autism and in ADHD. In doing so, the model motivates a new classification of autism and ADHD as opposites in that their behavioral symptoms arise from opposite underlying biases. That said, the results also show how many of their symptoms — including some in the domain of social behavior — can overlap, if crudely defined, suggesting a potential clinical benefit from more precise diagnostic criteria.

Effects of Intranasal Oxytocin on Aggressive Responding in Antisocial Personality Disorder

The oxytocin receptor is important in several domains of social behavior, and administration of oxytocin modulates social responding in several mammalian species, including humans. Oxytocin has both therapeutic and scientific potential for elucidating the neural and behavioral mechanisms governing social behavior. In the present study, operationally-defined aggressive behavior of six males with Antisocial Personality Disorder (ASPD) was measured following acute intranasal oxytocin dosing (12, 24, and 48 international units) and placebo, using a well-validated laboratory task of human aggression (Point-Subtraction Aggression Paradigm, or PSAP). The PSAP provides participants with concurrently available monetary-earning and operationally-defined aggressive response options, maintained by fixed ratio schedules of consequences. Shifts in response rates and inter-response time (IRT) distributions were observed on the aggressive response option following oxytocin doses, relative to placebo. Few changes were observed in monetary-reinforced responding. However, across participants the direction and magnitude of changes in aggressive responding were not systematically related to dose. No trends were observed between psychometric or physiological data and oxytocin dosing or aggressive behavior. While this report is to our knowledge the first to examine the acute effects of oxytocin in this population at high risk for violence and other forms of antisocial behavior, several limitations in the experimental design and the results cast the study as a preliminary report. Strategies for more extensive future projects are discussed.

Personal Space Regulation in Childhood Autism Spectrum Disorders

People appropriately adjust the distance between themselves and others during social interaction, and they may feel discomfort and move away when another person intrudes on their personal space. In the present study, we investigated personal space in children with persistent difficulties in the domain of social behavior, such as children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD), and in children with typical development (TD). The stop-distance paradigm was used to derive estimates of interpersonal distance, before and after a brief interaction with an unfamiliar adult confederate. The results showed that ASD children felt comfortable at a greater distance compared to TD children. Moreover, personal space shrunk after interaction with the confederate in TD children, but it failed to do so in ASD children. These findings reveal that autism deeply affects the regulation of personal space, influencing both its size and flexibility.

Gender and Age Differences in the Core Triad of Impairments in Autism Spectrum Disorders: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Autism is an extensively studied disorder in which the gender disparity in prevalence has received much attention. In contrast, only a few studies examine gender differences in symptomatology. This systematic review and meta-analysis of 22 peer reviewed original publications examines gender differences in the core triad of impairments in autism. Gender differences were transformed and concatenated using standardized mean differences, and analyses were stratified in five age categories (toddlerhood, preschool children, childhood, adolescence, young adulthood). Boys showed more repetitive and stereotyped behavior as from the age of six, but not below the age of six. Males and females did not differ in the domain of social behavior and communication. There is an underrepresentation of females with ASD an average to high intelligence. Females could present another autistic phenotype than males. As ASD is now defined according to the male phenotype this could imply that there is an ascertainment bias. More research is needed into the female phenotype of ASD with development of appropriate instruments to detect and ascertain them.

Structural basis of empathy and the domain general region in the anterior insular cortex

Empathy is key for healthy social functioning and individual differences in empathy have strong implications for manifold domains of social behavior. Empathy comprises of emotional and cognitive components and may also be closely linked to sensorimotor processes, which go along with the motivation and behavior to respond compassionately to another person's feelings. There is growing evidence for local plastic change in the structure of the healthy adult human brain in response to environmental demands or intrinsic factors. Here we have investigated changes in brain structure resulting from or predisposing to empathy. Structural MRI data of 101 healthy adult females was analyzed. Empathy in fictitious as well as real-life situations was assessed using a validated self-evaluation measure. Furthermore, empathy-related structural effects were also put into the context of a functional map of the anterior insular cortex (AIC) determined by activation likelihood estimate (ALE) meta-analysis of previous functional imaging studies. We found that gray matter (GM) density in the left dorsal AIC correlates with empathy and that this area overlaps with the domain general region (DGR) of the anterior insula that is situated in-between functional systems involved in emotion–cognition, pain, and motor tasks as determined by our meta-analysis. Thus, we propose that this insular region where we find structural differences depending on individual empathy may play a crucial role in modulating the efficiency of neural integration underlying emotional, cognitive, and sensorimotor information which is essential for global empathy.

Longitudinal Patterns of Behavioral, Emotional, and Social Difficulties and Self-Concepts in Adolescents With a History of Specific Language Impairment

This study explored the prevalence and stability of behavioral difficulties and self-concepts between the ages of 8 and 17 years in a sample of children with a history of specific language impairment (SLI). We investigated whether earlier behavioral, emotional, and social difficulties (BESD); self-concepts; and language and literacy abilities predicted behavioral difficulties and self-concepts at 16/17 years. In this prospective longitudinal study, 65 students were followed up with teacher behavior ratings and individual assessments of language, literacy, and self-concepts at 8, 10, 12, 16, and 17 years. The students had consistently higher levels than norms of 5 domains of BESD, which had different trajectories over time, and poorer scholastic competence, whose trajectory also varied over time. Earlier language ability did not predict later behavioral difficulties or self-concepts, but the prediction of academic self-concept at 16 by literacy at 10 years approached significance. The importance of distinguishing domains of behavioral difficulties and self-concept is demonstrated. Language, when measured at 8 or 10 years of age, was not a predictor of behavior or self-concepts at 16 years, or of self-concepts at 17 years. The study stresses the importance of practitioners addressing academic abilities and different social-behavioral domains in delivering support for adolescents with SLI.

Insight in social behavioral dysfunction in schizophrenia: Preliminary study

Previous studies have demonstrated attenuated insight among schizophrenia subjects about having a mental disorder and about their psychopathology. Few studies, however, have investigated in detail patients' unconcern for their social behavioral problems. Using the subjective and objective versions of the Frontal Systems Behavior Scale (FrSBe), the nature of awareness of social behavioral problems was investigated in chronic schizophrenia subjects. First, schizophrenia subjects were found to have problems in three major domains of social behavior: apathy, disinhibition, and executive dysfunction. Second, awareness, estimated by the difference between the subjective and objective ratings, was not uniformly disturbed in schizophrenia subjects, although it had a significant interaction with the subjects' estimated IQs: subjects with higher IQs had a tendency to overestimate their problems, while those with lower IQs had the opposite tendency. Third, the same pattern of interaction was demonstrated for the retrospective premorbid ratings of FrSBe. Awareness among schizophrenia subjects of their social behavioral problems is affected by their cognitive capacity, and this applies not only to current behaviors but also to the retrospective estimation of their behaviors in the social domain.