Familiar Locations Research Articles

A network linking scene perception and spatial memory systems in posterior cerebral cortex

The neural systems supporting scene-perception and spatial-memory systems of the human brain are well-described. But how do these neural systems interact? Here, using fine-grained individual-subject fMRI, we report three cortical areas of the human brain, each lying immediately anterior to a region of the scene perception network in posterior cerebral cortex, that selectively activate when recalling familiar real-world locations. Despite their close proximity to the scene-perception areas, network analyses show that these regions constitute a distinct functional network that interfaces with spatial memory systems during naturalistic scene understanding. These “place-memory areas” offer a new framework for understanding how the brain implements memory-guided visual behaviors, including navigation.

Psychometric properties of the Porto Saudade Scale

Saudade involves psychosocial reactions to several circumstances involving deprivation from loved people and/or familiar locations. This work concerns the development and preliminary validation of an instrument to assess general disposition to saudade, the Porto Saudade Scale (PSS). Three studies were conducted which indicated that the PSS has favorable psychometric properties. Exploratory factor analysis of the PSS demonstrated a single latent saudade factor. The confirmatory factor analysis showed that the single latent model of the PSS is adequate and possesses good internal consistency. As expected, the data also supported the convergent, discriminant, and external validity of the PSS. Saudade was more frequently reported among females than among males. These results suggest the validity of the PSS and emphasize that it is a brief measure with strong psychometric evidence for assessing saudade.

Transfibular approach to ankle arthrodesis: surgical technique guide and tips

Ankle arthrodesis remains a mainstay for treatment of end-stage ankle arthritis. Multiple approaches and techniques for tibiotalar arthrodesis are well described and the surgeon should choose the technique based on comfortability, fixation preference, and the state of the surrounding soft tissue. The lateral approach is often utilized due to its familiar anatomic location and shared incisional approach as with a standard distal fibular fracture. This technique guide describes a simplified and reproducible 2-incision lateral approach for the arthrodesis of the ankle joint in treatment of end-stage ankle arthritis.

Reinforcement learning approaches to hippocampus-dependent flexible spatial navigation.

Humans and non-human animals show great flexibility in spatial navigation, including the ability to return to specific locations based on as few as one single experience. To study spatial navigation in the laboratory, watermaze tasks, in which rats have to find a hidden platform in a pool of cloudy water surrounded by spatial cues, have long been used. Analogous tasks have been developed for human participants using virtual environments. Spatial learning in the watermaze is facilitated by the hippocampus. In particular, rapid, one-trial, allocentric place learning, as measured in the delayed-matching-to-place variant of the watermaze task, which requires rodents to learn repeatedly new locations in a familiar environment, is hippocampal dependent. In this article, we review some computational principles, embedded within a reinforcement learning framework, that utilise hippocampal spatial representations for navigation in watermaze tasks. We consider which key elements underlie their efficacy, and discuss their limitations in accounting for hippocampus-dependent navigation, both in terms of behavioural performance (i.e. how well do they reproduce behavioural measures of rapid place learning) and neurobiological realism (i.e. how well do they map to neurobiological substrates involved in rapid place learning). We discuss how an actor–critic architecture, enabling simultaneous assessment of the value of the current location and of the optimal direction to follow, can reproduce one-trial place learning performance as shown on watermaze and virtual delayed-matching-to-place tasks by rats and humans, respectively, if complemented with map-like place representations. The contribution of actor–critic mechanisms to delayed-matching-to-place performance is consistent with neurobiological findings implicating the striatum and hippocampo-striatal interaction in delayed-matching-to-place performance, given that the striatum has been associated with actor–critic mechanisms. Moreover, we illustrate that hierarchical computations embedded within an actor–critic architecture may help to account for aspects of flexible spatial navigation. The hierarchical reinforcement learning approach separates trajectory control via a temporal-difference error from goal selection via a goal prediction error and may account for flexible, trial-specific, navigation to familiar goal locations, as required in some arm-maze place memory tasks, although it does not capture one-trial learning of new goal locations, as observed in open field, including watermaze and virtual, delayed-matching-to-place tasks. Future models of one-shot learning of new goal locations, as observed on delayed-matching-to-place tasks, should incorporate hippocampal plasticity mechanisms that integrate new goal information with allocentric place representation, as such mechanisms are supported by substantial empirical evidence.

The Effects of Divided Attention on Memory for Road Signs

We examined incidental learning of road signs under divided attention in a simulated naturalistic environment. We tested whether word-based versus symbol-based road signs were differentially maintained in working memory by dividing attention during encoding and measuring the effect on long-term memory. Participants in a lab watched a video from the point of view of a car driving the streets of a small town. Participants were instructed to indicate whether passing road signs in the video were on the left or right side of the street while either singing the Star-Spangled Banner (phonological divided attention) or describing familiar locations (visuospatial divided attention). For purposes of analysis, road signs were categorized as word signs if they contained words (e.g., a STOP sign) or as symbol signs if they contained illustrations or symbols (e.g., a pedestrian crosswalk sign). A surprise free recall test of the road signs indicated greater recall for word signs than symbol signs, and greater recall of signs for the phonological divided attention group than the visuospatial divided attention group. Critically, the proportion of correct recall of symbol signs was significantly lower for the visuospatial divided attention group than the phonological divided attention group, p = .02, d = 0.63, but recall for word signs was not significantly different between phonological and visuospatial groups, p = .09, d = 0.44. Results supported the hypothesis that visuospatial information—but not phonological information—is stored in working memory in a simulated naturalistic environment that involved incidental learning.

Understanding How Gastronomy Behaviours Influence the Repatronage Intention of Malaysian Muslim Tourists’ toward Japanese Street Food Vendors

The paper investigates the influences of gastronomy behaviours on the repatronage intention (RI) of Malaysian Muslim tourists toward Japanese street food vendors. The present literature review showcased multiple studies on street food vendors at various destinations. Despite this fact, there is a lack of information concerning Malaysian Muslim travellers and Japanese street food vendors. Notably, Malaysian Muslims love to travel to Japan due to its visa-free travel, the availability of various Muslim-friendly facilities, and its delicious street food. Street food is described as ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by hawkers or vendors in streets or any other public spaces (such as markets, fairs, or carnivals) for immediate consumption, including finger food and fast food. In general, people buy street foods because of factors such as convenience, reasonably-priced flavourful food, samples of ethnic cuisines, and nostalgia. Most importantly, street food reflects the local culture and appeals to many palates. Nowadays, savouring authentic local dishes of certain places has become a tourism trend. Moreover, statistics showed that millions of tourists have decided to revisit familiar locations to enjoy their local gastronomic culture. In fact, gastronomy is among the main factors that affect tourists’ destination choices. Based on current literature, this study theorised that gastronomy attractiveness (GA) and past gastronomy experience (GE) indirectly affects the repatronage intention (RI) through gastronomy satisfaction (GS). Furthermore, gastronomy knowledge (GK) and gastronomy motivation (GM) are direct predictors of RI. In this study, the analysed data showed significant relationships between GA, GE, and RI through GS and between GM and RI. However, GK and RI had an insignificant relationship.

Understanding How Gastronomy Behaviours Influence the Repatronage Intention of Malaysian Muslim Tourists’ toward Japanese Street Food Vendors

The paper investigates the influences of gastronomy behaviours on the repatronage intention (RI) of Malaysian Muslim tourists toward Japanese street food vendors. The present literature review showcased multiple studies on street food vendors at various destinations. Despite this fact, there is a lack of information concerning Malaysian Muslim travellers and Japanese street food vendors. Notably, Malaysian Muslims love to travel to Japan due to its visa-free travel, the availability of various Muslim-friendly facilities, and its delicious street food. Street food is described as ready-to-eat food or drinks sold by hawkers or vendors in streets or any other public spaces (such as markets, fairs, or carnivals) for immediate consumption, including finger food and fast food. In general, people buy street foods because of factors such as convenience, reasonably-priced flavourful food, samples of ethnic cuisines, and nostalgia. Most importantly, street food reflects the local culture and appeals to many palates. Nowadays, savouring authentic local dishes of certain places has become a tourism trend. Moreover, statistics showed that millions of tourists have decided to revisit familiar locations to enjoy their local gastronomic culture. In fact, gastronomy is among the main factors that affect tourists’ destination choices. Based on current literature, this study theorised that gastronomy
 
 attractiveness (GA) and past gastronomy experience (GE) indirectly affects the repatronage intention (RI) through gastronomy satisfaction (GS). Furthermore, gastronomy knowledge (GK) and gastronomy motivation (GM) are direct predictors of RI. In this study, the analyzed data showed significant relationships between GA, GE, and RI through GS and between GM and RI. However, GK and RI had an insignificant relationship.

Chronic Disease Self-Management: Behavioral Intervention Preferences Informed by the PEN-3 Cultural Model

Chronic Disease Self-Management Program (CDSMP) is an evidence-based program shown to improve health status, healthcare utilization, and health behaviors among individuals diagnosed with chronic conditions. Aging African Americans, a population at a greater risk of chronic disease diagnosis and burden, are underrepresented in the utilization of self-management behavioral programs. Previous research suggested that cultural distinctions (e.g., values, beliefs, preferences, experiences) impact the participation of racial/ethnic minorities in health-related research, health behavior outcomes, and healthcare utilization. Little is known about unique cultural influences on CDSMP utilization among this target group. To our knowledge, no research has applied a culture-specific theory to understand preferences or use of CDSMP among aging African Americans. Guided by the PEN-3 cultural model, this study examines preferences, barriers, and facilitators that may influence CDSMP utilization for the management of diagnosed chronic conditions. Using a qualitative research design, African Americans (N=50) from six Atlanta Metropolitan faith-based organizations participated in the 6-week CDSMP and one of six focus groups. Participants were largely female (70%) experiencing multiple chronic conditions (M=2) with an average age of 70. Focus groups were transcribed, and a thematic analysis was applied to identify emergent themes. Participants preferred programs that included family, community liaisons, and relevant advertisement material suggesting the importance of cultural identity. Accessing CDSMP at a familiar location with an endorsement of program benefit from trusted sources suggests the importance of relationship and expectations. Findings shed light on factors that may cause aging African Americans to embrace or avoid CDSMP as a healthcare option.

Leaving Against Medical Advice Among Patients With Brain Tumours in the Middle East: Khoula Hospital Experience

Background: Leaving against medical advice (LAMA) can be defined broadly as a patient’s insistence upon leaving the hospital against the treating team has expressed advice, which is both a challenge and concern for physicians, as these patients lost to follow-up, and their outcomes remain unknown. There is no previous study conducted to find the prevalence and causes of LAMA in brain tumors patients in the Middle East to the best of our knowledge.Methods: Patients studied in this research are those who were diagnosed with any type of brain tumors and were admitted to the Neurosurgical Department in Khoula Hospital (KH) but signed LAMA in the two years between January 2017 to December 2018 by going through the electronic medical records. Data obtained from the health information system includes socioeconomic characteristics, health status-related data, diagnosis-related data, and the reasons for LAMA.Results: A total number of 302 patients with brain tumors included in this study. Twenty-eight patients (9.2%) signed LAMA with a majority of those who signed LAMA were in the young adult’s group (3-39 years) and represented 18 (64%). Eight patients (28.57%) among the LAMA group and 43 patients (15.69%) in the non-LAMA group have tumors in the frontal lobe, which has found to be the most familiar location (29%). There was a significant relationship between the reason for LAMA and gender (P = 0.020).Conclusion: Younger patients, male, Omani, newly diagnosed tumors, and tumors in the frontal lobe were all risk factors for LAMA. Education and awareness about LAMA recommended in order to avoid readmission and loss of follow up.

Interview with Ailbhe Ní Bhriain

Ailbhe Ni Bhriain is an Irish artist working with film, photography and installation. Using collage and computer-generated imagery (CGI), she transforms familiar images and locations into worlds of dream-like theatricality, drawing the viewer into an altered experience of time and place. Her work has been exhibited widely both nationally and internationally and regularly involves collaboration with musicians and composers. She holds a PhD by practice in Fine Art, Kingston University, UK (2008...

Individual learning phenotypes drive collective behavior

Individual differences in learning can influence how animals respond to and communicate about their environment, which may nonlinearly shape how a social group accomplishes a collective task. There are few empirical examples of how differences in collective dynamics emerge from variation among individuals in cognition. Here, we use a naturally variable and heritable learning behavior called latent inhibition (LI) to show that interactions among individuals that differ in this cognitive ability drive collective foraging behavior in honey bee colonies. We artificially selected two distinct phenotypes: high-LI bees that ignore previously familiar stimuli in favor of novel ones and low-LI bees that learn familiar and novel stimuli equally well. We then provided colonies differentially composed of different ratios of these phenotypes with a choice between familiar and novel feeders. Colonies of predominantly high-LI individuals preferred to visit familiar food locations, while low-LI colonies visited novel and familiar food locations equally. Interestingly, in colonies of mixed learning phenotypes, the low-LI individuals showed a preference to visiting familiar feeders, which contrasts with their behavior when in a uniform low-LI group. We show that the shift in feeder preference of low-LI bees is driven by foragers of the high-LI phenotype dancing more intensely and attracting more followers. Our results reveal that cognitive abilities of individuals and their social interactions, which we argue relate to differences in attention, drive emergent collective outcomes.

Flexible use of allocentric and egocentric spatial memories activates differential neural networks in mice

Goal-directed navigation can be based on world-centered (allocentric) or body-centered (egocentric) representations of the environment, mediated by a wide network of interconnected brain regions, including hippocampus, striatum and prefrontal cortex. The relative contribution of these regions to navigation from novel or familiar routes, that demand a different degree of flexibility in the use of the stored spatial representations, has not been completely explored. To address this issue, we trained mice to find a reward relying on allocentric or egocentric information, in a modified version of the cross-maze task. Then we used Zif268 expression to map brain activation when well-trained mice were required to find the goal from a novel or familiar location. Successful navigation was correlated with the activation of CA1, posterior-dorsomedial striatum, nucleus accumbens core and infralimbic cortex when allocentric-trained mice needed to use a novel route. Allocentric navigation from a familiar route activated dorsomedial striatum, nucleus accumbens, prelimbic and infralimbic cortex. None of the structures analyzed was significantly activated in egocentric-trained mice, irrespective of the starting position. These data suggest that a flexible use of stored allocentric information, that allows goal finding even from a location never explored during training, induces a shift from fronto-striatal to hippocampal circuits.

Importance of the hippocampus for the learning of route fidelity in homing pigeons

The avian hippocampal formation (HF) is thought to regulate map-like memory representations of visual landmarks/landscape features and has more recently been suggested to be similarly important for the perceptual integration of landmarks/landscapes. Aspects of spatial memory and perception likely combine to support the now well-documented ability of homing pigeons to learn to retrace the same route when homing from familiar locations, leading to the prediction that damage to the HF would result in a diminished ability to repeatedly fly a similar route home. HF-lesioned homing pigeons were repeatedly released from three sites to assess the importance of the hippocampus as pigeons gradually learn a familiar route home guided by familiar landmark and landscape features. As expected, control pigeons displayed increasing fidelity to a familiar route home, and by inference, successful perceptual and memory processing of familiar landmarks/landscape features. By contrast, the impoverished route fidelity of the HF-lesioned pigeons indicated an impaired sensitivity to the same landmark/landscape features.

Nonoperating room anaesthesia: safety, monitoring, cognitive aids and severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2.

Purpose of reviewWith an ageing population, mounting pressure on the healthcare dollar, significant advances in medical technology, and now in the context of coronavirus disease 2019, the traditional paradigm in which operative procedures are undertaken is changing. Increasingly, procedures are performed in more distant, isolated and less familiar locations, challenging anaesthesiologists and requiring well developed situational awareness. This review looks at implications for the practitioner and patient safety, outlining considerations and steps involved in translation of systems and processes well established in the operating room to more unfamiliar environments.Recent findingsDespite limited nonoperating room anaesthesia outcome data, analysis of malpractice claims, anaesthesia-related medical disputes and clinical outcome registries have suggested higher morbidity and mortality. Complications were often associated with suboptimal monitoring, nonadherence to recommended guidelines and sedationist or nonanaesthesiologist caregivers. More recently, clear monitoring guidelines, global patient safety initiatives and widespread implementation of cognitive aids may have contributed to nonoperating room anaesthesia (NORA) outcomes approaching that of traditional operating rooms.SummaryAs NORA caseloads increase, understanding structural and anaesthetic requirements is essential to patient safety. The severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 pandemic has provided an opportunity for anaesthesiologists to implement lessons learned from previous analyses, share expertise as patient safety leaders and provide valuable input into protecting patients and caregivers.

What spatial environments mean

Language is one of the most prominent means of representing human thought. Spatial cognition research has made use of this fact for decades, exploring how humans perceive and understand their spatial environments through language analysis. So far, this research has mainly focused on generic cognitive aspects underlying everyday purposes such as knowing where objects are, how they relate to each other, and how to find one's way to a familiar or unfamiliar location. However, human concepts about space can be threatened by change, as the environment changes. Across the globe, people become increasingly aware of climate-change related threats to their surroundings. For spatial language research, this calls for a fundamental shift in focus, towards the ways in which humans relate to space meaningfully--what spatial environments mean to us, how we respond to them and how we cope with changes and threats to our habitual space. This paper lays out how linguistic research can support building resilience on the basis of meaningful relationships to spatial environments.

School‐Based Health Centers in the United States: Roots, Reality, and Potential

Given the amount of time children and adolescents spend in school, these locations may be ideal for simultaneously supporting young people's health and academic achievement. School-based health centers (SBHCs) not only bring care to students in accessible and familiar locations, these centers also provide guidance for young people during a life stage when they are establishing lifelong health behavior habits. This article examines the literature exploring the impact of SBHCs from the perspective of multiple stakeholder groups including students, guardians, school personnel, community members, providers, hospital administrators, public health officials, and insurers. Studies describe the positive effects of SBHCs on students' health and educational outcomes. SBHCs are generally associated with decreased health care disparities among students, accelerated treatment, and increased school attendance. Additional research exploring strategies for optimizing SBHC's economic efficiency and tailoring SBHC services to meet the needs of vulnerable patient populations is essential. Investigation into the impacts of SBHCs on community stakeholders outside of the student population is also vital.

Investigating Memory Updating in Mice Using the Objects in Updated Locations Task

In the laboratory, memory is typically studied as ade novoexperience, in which a naïve animal is exposed to a discrete learning event that is markedly different from its past experiences. Most real-world memories, however, are updates-modifications or additions-to existing memories. This is particularly true in the aging, experienced brain. To better understand memory updating, we have developed a new behavioral paradigm called the objects in updated locations (OUL) task. OUL relies on hippocampus-dependent spatial learning and has the advantage of being able to test both the original memory and the updated information in a single test session. Further, OUL relies on incidental learning that avoids unnecessary stress that might hinder the performance of aging animals. In OUL, animals first learn the location of two identical objects in a familiar context. This memory is then updated by moving one object to a new location. Finally, to assess the animals' memory for the original and the updated information, all animals are given a test session in which they are exposed to four copies of the object: two in the original training locations, one in the updated location, and one in a novel location. By comparing exploration of the novel location to the familiar locations, we can infer whether the animal remembers the original and updated object locations. OUL is a simple but powerful task that could provide new insights into the cellular, circuit-level, and molecular mechanisms that support memory updating. © 2020 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

Effects of supplemental creatine and guanidinoacetic acid on spatial memory and the brain of weaned Yucatan miniature pigs.

The emergence of creatine as a potential cognitive enhancement supplement for humans prompted an investigation as to whether supplemental creatine could enhance spatial memory in young swine. We assessed memory performance and brain concentrations of creatine and its precursor guanidinoacetic acid (GAA) in 14-16-week-old male Yucatan miniature pigs supplemented for 2 weeks with either 200 mg/kg∙d creatine (+Cr; n = 7) or equimolar GAA (157 mg/kg∙d) (+GAA; n = 8) compared to controls (n = 14). Spatial memory tests had pigs explore distinct sets of objects for 5 min. Objects were spatially controlled, and we assessed exploration times of previously viewed objects relative to novel objects in familiar or novel locations. There was no effect of either supplementation on memory performance, but pigs successfully identified novel objects after 10 (p < 0.01) and 20 min (p < 0.01) retention intervals. Moreover, pigs recognized spatial transfers after 65 min (p < 0.05). Regression analyses identified associations between the ability to identify novel objects in memory tests and concentrations of creatine and GAA in cerebellum, and GAA in prefrontal cortex (p < 0.05). The concentration of creatine in brain regions was not influenced by creatine supplementation, but GAA supplementation increased GAA concentration in cerebellum (p < 0.05), and the prefrontal cortex of +GAA pigs had more creatine/g and less GAA/g compared to +Cr pigs (p < 0.05). Creatine kinase activity and maximal reaction velocity were also higher with GAA supplementation in prefrontal cortex (p < 0.05). In conclusion, there appears to be a relationship between memory performance and guanidino compounds in the cerebellum and prefrontal cortex, but the effects were unrelated to dietary supplementation. The cerebellum is identified as a target site for GAA accretion.

Ultrasound tour of the anterior neck for the interventional pain physician

Ultrasound tour of the anterior neck for the interventional pain physician

Quantifying how much attention rodents allocate to motivationally-salient objects with a novel object preference test

The allocation of attention can be modulated by the emotional value of a stimulus. In order to understand the biasing influence of emotion on attention allocation further, we require an animal test of how motivational salience modulates attention. In mice, female odour triggers arousal and elicits emotional responses in males. Here, we determined the extent to which objects labelled with female odour modulated the attention of C57BL/6J male mice. Seven experiments were conducted, using a modified version of the spontaneous Novel Object Recognition task. Attention was operationalised as differential exploration time of identical objects that were labelled with either female mouse odour (O+), a non-social odour, almond odour (Oa) or not labelled with any odour (O−). In some experiments we tested trial unique (novel) objects than never carried an odour (X−). Using this novel object preference test we found that when single objects were presented, as well as when two objects were presented simultaneously (so competed with each other for attention), O+ received preferential attention compared to O−. This result was independent of whether O+ was at a novel or familiar location. When compared with Oa at a novel location, O+ at a familiar location attracted more attention. Compared to X−, O+ received more exploration only when placed at a novel location, but attention to O+ and X− was equivalent when they were placed in a familiar location. These results suggest that C57BL/6J male mice weigh up aspects of odour, object novelty and special novelty for motivational salience, and that, in some instances, female odour elicits more attention (object exploration) compared to other object properties. The findings of this study pave the way to using motivationally-significant odours to modulate the cognitive processes that give rise to differential attention to objects.