Early Memory Research Articles

Th1 polarization in Bordetella pertussis vaccine responses is maintained through a positive feedback loop.

Outbreaks of Bordetella pertussis (BP), the causative agent of whooping cough, continue despite broad vaccination coverage and have been increasing since vaccination switched from whole-BP (wP) to acellular BP (aP) vaccines. wP vaccination has been associated with more durable protective immunity and an induced Th1 polarized memory T cell response. Here, a multi-omics approach was applied to profile the immune response of 30 wP and 31 aP-primed individuals and identify correlates of T cell polarization before and after Tdap booster vaccination. We found that transcriptional changes indicating an interferon response on day 1 post-booster along with elevated plasma concentrations of IFN-γ and interferon-induced chemokines that peaked at day 1-3 post-booster correlated best with the Th1 polarization of the vaccine-induced memory T cell response on day 28. Our studies suggest that wP-primed individuals maintain their Th1 polarization through this early memory interferon response. This suggests that stimulating the interferon pathway during vaccination could be an effective strategy to elicit a predominant Th1 response in aP-primed individuals that protects better against infection.

Functional MRI of imprinting memory in awake newborn domestic chicks

Filial imprinting, a crucial ethological paradigm, provides insights into the neurobiology of early learning and its long-term impact on behaviour. To date, invasive techniques like autoradiography or lesions have been used to study it, limiting the exploration of whole brain networks. Recent advances in fMRI for avian brains now open new windows to explore bird’s brain functions at the network level. We developed an fMRI technique for awake, newly hatched chicks, capturing BOLD signal changes during imprinting experiments. While early memory acquisition phases are understood, long-term storage and retrieval remain unclear. Our findings identified potential long-term storage of imprinting memories across a neural network, including the hippocampal formation, the medial striatum, the arcopallium, and the prefrontal-like nidopallium caudolaterale. This paradigm opens up new avenues for exploring the broader landscape of learning and memory in neonatal vertebrates, enhancing our understanding of behaviour and brain networks.

A study of long-term supraphysiologic-dose anabolic-androgenic steroid use on cognitive function in middle-aged men

ABSTRACT Background: Long-term use of supraphysiologic doses of anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) has been associated with impaired visuospatial memory in young men but little is known about its cognitive effects in middle-aged men. Objectives: We compared cognition in middle-aged men with histories of long-term AAS use and age-matched non-users. Methods: We administered cognitive tests from the CANTAB battery to 76 weightlifters aged 37–60 years (mean [SD] 48.5 [6.5] years), of whom 51 reported at least 2 years of cumulative AAS use and 25 reported no AAS exposure. Results: We found no significant AAS user versus non-user group differences on visuospatial, verbal memory, emotional recognition, or executive function tasks (corrected p’s ≥ .00089; effect sizes ≤ .5). Conclusions: Our null visuospatial task findings contrast with our prior younger cohort study (mean age 37.1 [7.1] years), in which we found impaired visuospatial task performance in people who use AAS, and with other reports of cognitive impairments in younger men use AAS. Men who use AAS may develop early visuospatial memory deficits that stabilize by middle age while middle-aged non-users’ performance may “catch up” due to normal age-related visuospatial declines. Similar effects could contribute to our null findings on other tasks. Between-study cohort substance use differences or environmental factor differences that modify cognition, such as study geographical location and time of year, also could contribute to our discordant findings. Since young adult male AAS users experience increased mortality from unnatural causes, improving our understanding of AAS cognitive effects in this age group is important.

The effect of childhood memories of happiness and peace on distress tolerance: the mediating role of emotional intelligence

BackgroundThe main objectives of this study were to examine whether childhood memories of happiness and peace are associated with distress tolerance and to determine whether distress tolerance mediates the relationship between childhood memories of happiness and peace. We hypothesized that childhood memories of happiness and peace are directly and indirectly associ-ated with distress tolerance through emotional intelligence.Participants and procedureParticipants consisted of 538 individuals aged between 19 and 27 years and in emerging adulthood. Among these partici-pants, 426 were female and 112 were male. The data collection tools used in this study included the Early Memories of Warmth and Safeness Scale, the Distress Tolerance Scale, and the Rotterdam Emotional Intelligence Scale. A multiple medi-ation model was analysed using the bootstrapping technique.ResultsEarly memories of warmth and safety, other-focused emotion evaluation, self-focused emotion control, and distress toler-ance were positively correlated. Early warm and safe memories were positively correlated with self-focused, other-focused, and self-regulated emotions. However, self-focused emotion appraisal did not substantially affect distress tolerance. Boot-strapping technique indicated that early memories of warmth and safeness increased other-focused emotion appraisal and self-focused emotion regulation and increased distress tolerance. Early memories of warmth and safeness did not indirectly affect distress tolerance through self-focused emotion appraisal and other-focused emotion regulation.ConclusionsWe found positive associations between distress tolerance, early warmth and safety memories, and other- and self-focused emotion regulation. Early memories of warmth and safeness directly raised distress tolerance, without mediation by self-focused emotion evaluation or other-focused emotion control.

Inhibition of PI3Kγ/δ signaling promotes an early memory state in CAR T cells and enhances their in vivo persistence and efficacy

Inhibition of PI3Kγ/δ signaling promotes an early memory state in CAR T cells and enhances their in vivo persistence and efficacy

B - 80 The Long-Term Memory Sign in Adults Referred for Neuropsychological Evaluation

Abstract Objective We investigated the clinical utility of the newly described long-term memory (LTM) sign in adults referred for neuropsychological evaluation. Individuals with dementia often report short-term episodic memory decline or no memory decline, but rarely report long-term episodic memory decline. The LTM sign refers to patient self-report of long-term episodic memory decline, that is equivalent to/or greater than, subjective short-term episodic memory decline. Method The LTM sign was endorsed on a pre-visit intake form and established during clinical interview in 568 patients (M age = 63, SD = 14.3) referred for neuropsychological evaluation at a large medical center in the Northwest United States. Results In our sample of 568 patients, 79 (14%) reported the LTM sign. In 79 patients with the LTM sign, 45 were diagnosed with a primary psychiatric disorder (57%), 23 were diagnosed with mild neurocognitive disorder (29%), seven had no cognitive or psychiatric diagnosis (9%), and four had dementia (5%). The LTM sign was most common in those with a history of trauma in childhood or adolescence (52/79, 66%) and substance use disorders (50/79, 63%). Conclusions The LTM sign was rare in dementia, but common in those with a current psychiatric diagnosis. These findings support the literature on episodic memory decline in dementia populations and suggests that encoding of early memories and/or retrieval of old memories is negatively impacted by a current psychiatric disorder, traumatic events in childhood and adolescence, and lifetime history of substance use disorder. The LTM sign is a valuable addition to the clinical interview of neuropsychological patients.

Maf expression in B cells restricts reactive plasmablast and germinal center B cell expansion

Precise regulation of B cell differentiation is essential for an effective adaptive immune response. Here, we show that B cell development in mice with B cell-specific Maf deletion is unaffected, but marginal zone B cells, germinal centre B cells, and plasmablasts are significantly more frequent in the spleen of naive Maf-deficient mice compared to wild type controls. In the context of a T cell-dependent immunization, Maf deletion causes increased proliferation of germinal centre B cells and extrafollicular plasmablasts. This is accompanied by higher production of antigen-specific IgG1 antibodies with minimal modification of early memory B cells, but a reduction in plasma cell numbers. Single-cell RNA sequencing shows upregulation of genes associated with DNA replication and cell cycle progression, confirming the role of Maf in cell proliferation. Subsequent pathway analysis reveals that Maf influences cellular metabolism, transporter activity, and mitochondrial proteins, which have been implicated in controlling the germinal centre reaction. In summary, our findings demonstrate that Maf acts intrinsically in B cells as a negative regulator of late B cell differentiation, plasmablast proliferation and germinal centre B cell formation.

The amyloid beta 42/38 ratio as a plasma biomarker of early memory deficits in cognitively unimpaired older adults

The amyloid beta (Aβ) 42/40 ratio has been widely studied as a biomarker in Alzheimer’s disease (AD); however, other Aβ peptides could also represent relevant biomarkers. We measured levels of Aβ38/40/42 in plasma samples from cognitively-unimpaired older adults and determined the relationships between Aβ levels and amyloid positron-emission-tomography (PET) and performance on a learning and memory task. We found that all Aβ peptides individually and the Aβ42/40 ratio, but not the Aβ42/38 ratio, were significantly correlated with brain amyloid (Aβ-PET). Multiple linear modeling, adjusting for age, sex, education, APOE4 and Aβ-PET showed significant associations between the Aβ42/38 ratio and memory. Further, associations between the Aβ42/38 ratio and learning scores were stronger in males and in Aβ-PET-negative individuals. In contrast, no significant associations were detected between the Aβ42/40 ratio and any learning measure. These studies implicate the Aβ42/38 ratio as a biomarker to assess early memory deficits and underscore the utility of the Aβ38 fragment as an important biomarker in the AD field.

The Role of Object Relations in the Physician-Patient Relationship in a Primary Care Setting.

A good physician-patient relationship is essential for the delivery of quality health care and is associated with better health outcomes. This study explored the association between patients' object relations and the physician-patient relationship. Primary care patients (n = 72) and physicians (n = 21) participated in the study. Patients' early memories were obtained prior to their medical visit and were coded with the Social Cognition and Object Relations-Global Method (SCORS-G). Patients and physicians independently rated the quality of the physician-patient encounter. Results indicated that object relations (SCORS-G Cognitive-structural and Self factors) incrementally predicted physician-patient relationship ratings, as rated by the patient, above and beyond psychological distress, somatization, and level of physician training. Patient education, psychological distress, and level of physician training predicted physician ratings of the medical encounter. The authors discuss the discrepancy between physician and patient ratings as they relate to patients' object relations.

LATCHES – a memory aide for the principles of attachment for effective breastfeeding: findings of a regional pilot in the Northeast of England and North Cumbria

BackgroundThis paper outlines a pilot of a new memory aide for breastfeeding conducted in the Northeast of England and North Cumbria between April and August 2023. The United Kingdom has some of the lowest rates of breastfeeding, particularly in the Northeast of England, and as such more needs to be done to support mothers to breastfeed for as long as they would like to. Good support from health professionals can be effective in influencing decisions to breastfeed as well as helping to ensure initiation and continuation of breastfeeding but there is evidence to suggest that professionals and students do not always feel adequately trained and it is here, where memory aides may have value.MethodsKey breastfeeding practitioners and educators were brought together to select one of two memory aides for principles of attachment for effective breastfeeding. The selected memory aide, LATCHS, was piloted with 57 participants with a key role in promotion and support of breastfeeding in the Northeast of England and North Cumbria.ResultsParticipants conveyed mixed views about the proposed memory aide with more experienced staff reporting more favourable opinions than student midwives and early years practitioners. Experienced staff felt the new memory aide would complement an early memory aide, CHINS, which focused on principles of positioning.DiscussionFindings of the pilot indicate there is a role for a mnemonic to help practitioners understand, recall, and retain theory around attachment for effective breastfeeding and that memory aides can play an important role in complementing existing approaches to education and practice. The participants felt the proposed memory aide had some limitations and suggested important ways for it to be improved, particularly in adding an E to reflect the expecting wording. This produced the final memory aide: LATCHES.ConclusionUsing data from the pilot, the memory aide was refined, and the final version LATCHES agreed for wider dissemination. Future research is needed to understand the value of LATCHES on the wider breastfeeding workforce and whether any future improvements can be made to enhance its utility.

Expectations and needs of people with illicit substance use disorders in general practice: a qualitative study in Belgium

BackgroundPeople who use illicit drugs cumulate medical and psychosocial vulnerabilities, justifying a rounded health approach. Both caregivers and patients can form barriers to accessing care, leading to inadequate care. This study aimed to identify the needs and expectations of such patients in general practice.MethodsQualitative research was conducted using semi-structured interviews with 23 people with illicit substance use disorder in Brussels in 2020. Multicentric recruitment was conducted to obtain a heterogeneous mix of sociodemographic profiles and care trajectories. Thematic analysis was performed using RQDA package software.ResultsParticipants highlighted several vulnerabilities. These include the presence of significant self-stigmatization and guilt, sometimes to the extent of self-dehumanization, even after years of care, and overdoses masking suicide attempts and early memory disorders. Multiple substance use, smoking in almost all participants, and misuse of benzodiazepines were also noted. The majority of participants expressed the need for an open-minded, non-stigmatizing and empathic GP with a holistic approach that could guide them throughout their life course. The competencies of the GPs in the field of addiction seemed secondary to the participants. Knowledge and good collaboration with the mental health network were assets.ConclusionParticipants expressed the need for GPs with good interpersonal skills, including a non-stigmatizing attitude. The care coordinator role of the GP was highlighted as a key element, as it was a holistic approach focusing on global health (including the social determinants of health) and not only on substance use disorders.

Utilizing Deep Neural Networks to Fill Gaps in Small Genomes.

With the widespread adoption of next-generation sequencing technologies, the speed and convenience of genome sequencing have significantly improved, and many biological genomes have been sequenced. However, during the assembly of small genomes, we still face a series of challenges, including repetitive fragments, inverted repeats, low sequencing coverage, and the limitations of sequencing technologies. These challenges lead to unknown gaps in small genomes, hindering complete genome assembly. Although there are many existing assembly software options, they do not fully utilize the potential of artificial intelligence technologies, resulting in limited improvement in gap filling. Here, we propose a novel method, DLGapCloser, based on deep learning, aimed at assisting traditional tools in further filling gaps in small genomes. Firstly, we created four datasets based on the original genomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Neurospora crassa, and Micromonas pusilla. To further extract effective information from the gene sequences, we also added homologous genomes to enrich the datasets. Secondly, we proposed the DGCNet model, which effectively extracts features and learns context from sequences flanking gaps. Addressing issues with early pruning and high memory usage in the Beam Search algorithm, we developed a new prediction algorithm, Wave-Beam Search. This algorithm alternates between expansion and contraction phases, enhancing efficiency and accuracy. Experimental results showed that the Wave-Beam Search algorithm improved the gap-filling performance of assembly tools by 7.35%, 28.57%, 42.85%, and 8.33% on the original results. Finally, we established new gap-filling standards and created and implemented a novel evaluation method. Validation on the genomes of Saccharomyces cerevisiae, Schizosaccharomyces pombe, Neurospora crassa, and Micromonas pusilla showed that DLGapCloser increased the number of filled gaps by 8.05%, 15.3%, 1.4%, and 7% compared to traditional assembly tools.

Potential Risk Factors and Early Experiences to the Development of Social Phobia in Adolescents

This paper explores potential risk factors and underlying experiences associated with the development of social phobia in adolescents, emphasizing the importance of early intervention and treatment. Factors investigated include gender roles, cultural influences, socioeconomic status, parental psychopathology, alcohol use, early memories, and family environment. Gender differences reveal higher rates of social phobia among females, while collectivist cultures and adverse childhood experiences significantly contribute to its prevalence. Dysfunctional family environments are associated with an increased risk and higher persistence of social phobia, particularly due to their influence on childhood experiences. Alcohol use may exacerbate symptoms and lead to higher persistence due to its link to alcohol dependence. Parental psychopathology demonstrates a higher prevalence and co-occurrence with other comorbidities across all ages. Low socioeconomic status and popularity serve as additional risk factors. The paper critiques understudied aspects of these factors and suggests future research directions to enhance understanding and inform effective prevention strategies.

Bullying Behaviors of Adolescents: The Role of Attachment to Teachers and Memories of Childhood Care

Bullying is a social phenomenon that involves the repetition of aggressive, intentional and harmful behaviors directed at a specific person. Currently, one in three children is a victim of bullying. The present study aimed to analyze the relationship between the quality of the relationship with teachers, memories of childhood care and bullying in adolescents. The sample consisted of 416 adolescents aged between 12 and 17 years old. Data were collected using a sociodemographic questionnaire, the Cuestionario de Evaluación de la Violencia entre Iguales en la Escuela y en el Ocio, the Inventory of Parent and Peer Attachment and the Early Memories of Warmth and Safeness Scale. The results demonstrated that bullying behaviors are more often perpetrated by males and with higher levels of aggression in private schools. They also revealed that students who perceive higher levels of support, understanding, trust and openness from teachers tend to be less likely to be targets of bullying. The results also demonstrated a relationship between positive memories of childhood care and students’ perceptions of greater support, understanding, trust and openness from their teachers. An analysis of the results was discussed considering attachment theory due to the implications of memories of primary care and the quality of teacher–student relationships regarding bullying.

Influences on gambling during youth: comparisons between at-risk/problem, non-problem and non-gambling adolescents in Australia

ABSTRACT Gambling patterns among young people are diverse, yet factors that affect changes in their gambling behaviour as they mature remain poorly understood. This study explores gambling trajectories and related sources of influence during childhood, early adolescence and later adolescence, and amongst adolescents at different levels of gambling risk. Qualitative interviews and online communities with 89 Australians aged 12–17 years explored their gambling experiences, from childhood to the present. Reflexive thematic narrative analysis revealed that children often learn how to gamble through their parents. Parents, peers, sports interests, advertising and simulated gambling continue to transfer gambling knowledge and skills throughout adolescence. Gambling is further reinforced through social rewards and is highly normalised through advertising. At-risk/problem gambling adolescents tended to report positive early memories of gambling, but also harmful parental gambling. They reported having friendship groups where betting is highly normalised. They purposefully honed their betting knowledge to demonstrate skill, and also gambled with in-game items (skins). Conversely, non-gamblers reported very little exposure to parental gambling, mirrored their parents’ negative attitudes to gambling, were unlikely to have friends who gambled, and reported less interest in professional sport. Reducing youth gambling and gambling harm requires measures to tackle multiple layers of influence.

Loss of Mitochondrial Tusc2/Fus1 Triggers a Brain Pro-Inflammatory Microenvironment and Early Spatial Memory Impairment.

Brain pathological changes impair cognition early in disease etiology. There is an urgent need to understand aging-linked mechanisms of early memory loss to develop therapeutic strategies and prevent the development of cognitive impairment. Tusc2 is a mitochondrial-resident protein regulating Ca2+ fluxes to and from mitochondria impacting overall health. We previously reported that Tusc2-/- female mice develop chronic inflammation and age prematurely, causing age- and sex-dependent spatial memory deficits at 5 months old. Therefore, we investigated Tusc2-dependent mechanisms of memory impairment in 4-month-old mice, comparing changes in resident and brain-infiltrating immune cells. Interestingly, Tusc2-/- female mice demonstrated a pro-inflammatory increase in astrocytes, expression of IFN-γ in CD4+ T cells and Granzyme-B in CD8+T cells. We also found fewer FOXP3+ T-regulatory cells and Ly49G+ NK and Ly49G+ NKT cells in female Tusc2-/- brains, suggesting a dampened anti-inflammatory response. Moreover, Tusc2-/- hippocampi exhibited Tusc2- and sex-specific protein changes associated with brain plasticity, including mTOR activation, and Calbindin and CamKII dysregulation affecting intracellular Ca2+ dynamics. Overall, the data suggest that dysregulation of Ca2+-dependent processes and a heightened pro-inflammatory brain microenvironment in Tusc2-/- mice could underlie cognitive impairment. Thus, strategies to modulate the mitochondrial Tusc2- and Ca2+- signaling pathways in the brain should be explored to improve cognitive health.

Dating early memories: When did events really happen?

Can children accurately date their early memories? This question has important real-life consequences such as when jurors evaluate the credibility of child eyewitness testimony in court. Answering this question is difficult given that adults present at remembered events may be inaccurate themselves in retroactively dating the memories recalled by their children, and often cannot provide reliable validation. In this study, prior to child interviews the parents of 6- to 13-year-olds provided eight memories of events with known dates, two each from when children were age 2, 3, 4, and 5 years. A total of 104 6- to 13-year-olds participated (47 % female, 70 % White and 26 % Asian or multi-ethnic), recruited from Canada (36 %) and USA (64 %). Children typically made systematic dating errors. Memories of events that had occurred when children had been age 2 were misdated by 1½ years on average, and as children’s age at the time of remembered events increased, misdating errors decreased. Errors usually involved children thinking they had been older at the time of remembered events than they actually were – a phenomenon termed ‘forward telescoping’ (versus ‘backward telescoping, when individuals think that they had been older at the time of remembered events than they actually had been). For example, many of the events from when children were age 2 were recalled by the children, but they misdated them to older ages. Although ‘age of memory’ (age of the child at the time of the remembered event) was significantly related to errors in dating, with more errors for memories from younger periods of their lives, ‘age of child’ at the time they did the memory task did not differ depending upon how old the children were. Findings have theoretical and forensic implications.

Searching for QPOs in BATSE short gamma-ray bursts based on narrowband and broadband features

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs), especially short GRBs, are often considered potential candidates for exhibiting kilohertz quasi-periodic oscillations (QPOs) due to their origin from binary mergers. It has already been discovered that two bursts exhibit QPOs. While systematic searches for QPOs in GRBs typically concentrate on the kilohertz range, there has been no comprehensive exploration in the hundred-hertz range. In this study, we systematically conducted QPO searches on all BATSE short burst data within the 0-1000 Hz range. Using nested significance tests, we observed that the reference distributions for different GRBs are quite similar. This observation prompted us to analyze the data by selectively focusing on those with larger statistical values, obviating the need to iterate through all the data and significantly reducing computational workload. Ultimately, our findings did not reveal any compelling evidence for QPOs, which may suggest that the GRB jet has lost the early merging memory.

Direct access to specific autobiographical memories is lower in healthy middle‐aged to older adult Apolipoprotein E ε4 carriers compared to non‐carriers

AbstractRecent research suggests that the retrieval of autobiographical memories among cognitively healthy middle‐aged and older adults is sensitive to the Apolipoprotein E ε4 (APOE4) allele, a genetic marker that increases the risk of Alzheimer's disease (AD) dementia. However, whether the APOE4‐associated alteration in autobiographical memory retrieval encompasses rapid (i.e. direct retrieval) or iterative (i.e. generative retrieval) processes remains unclear. In the present study, 39 APOE4 carriers and 45 non‐carriers (ages 60–80) who scored within normal limits on neuropsychological testing were cued to generate specific autobiographical events. We examined group differences in direct and generative retrieval and correlated direct and generative retrieval rates with performance on neuropsychological tests. Direct retrieval rates were lower in the APOE4 carriers compared to non‐carriers. Episodic memory positively correlated with direct retrieval rates across the sample, though this relationship became non‐significant when factoring in age and sex. There were no significant findings related to successful generative retrieval rates and its efficiency. In summary, compared to non‐carriers, cognitively unimpaired middle‐aged to older adult APOE4 carriers demonstrated greater difficulty, rapidly reconstructing specific autobiographical events without the support of semantic memory, suggesting that early autobiographical memory retrieval processes demonstrate vulnerability to AD‐related risk factors.

How do early affiliative memories explain body image shame? A 12-month longitudinal study in adolescent girls

ObjectiveThis study aimed to explain adolescent girls’ body image shame across a 12- month longitudinal design, and its relationship with early parental memories of warmth and safeness and fear of receiving compassion from others. Design and methodsParticipants included 231 adolescent girls, who completed self-report measures at three different periods: baseline (W1), 6-month follow-up (W2), and 12-month follow-up (W3). Descriptive and correlational analyses were performed, and differences between participants at the different waves were explored through repeated measures ANOVA. A cross-lagged panel model tested the mediational effect of fears of receiving compassion on the association between early affiliative memories (W1) and body image shame (W3). ResultsANOVA results found significant differences throughout time in memories of warmth and safeness (tending to diminish) and in body image shame (tending to rise). Correlation analysis revealed that all variables were significantly associated in the expected directions, across the three waves. Finally, path analysis revealed that early affiliative parental memories (in W1) had a direct effect on body image shame (in W3), through the fear of receiving compassion from others (in W2), accounting for 85% of body image shame's variance (W3). ConclusionsThese findings indicate that the lack of early affiliative memories often leads to the development of defensive mechanisms such as fears of receiving compassion from others which in turn can foster isolation and distant relationships, enhancing feelings of inferiority and inadequacy, which in female adolescents can emerge centered on body image – body image shame. This study further highlights the importance of prevention and intervention strategies based on compassion to specifically target fears of receiving compassion from others, in adolescent girls dealing with feelings of inferiority and shame regarding their body.