Sense Research Articles

Interpersonal Curiosity: A Missing Construct in the Field of Human Development

Children demonstrate a remarkable capacity for both intellectual and interpersonal curiosity, reflecting their desires to know about the physical, material, and natural world and about the thoughts, feelings, and experiences of other people. Yet the study of curiosity and its educational applications have focused almost exclusively on the former, even though interpersonal curiosity may be critical for social emotional learning, human connection, and the capacity to understand and take the perspective of others. In this paper, we review the research on intellectual and interpersonal curiosity, focusing on the latter and including our own research that indicates that it is associated with social emotional wellbeing, academic engagement, and a sense of common humanity (Author, 2023; Authors, 2024). We also review research on how ecological contexts (e.g., of families and schools) shape curiosity, how contextual variation may lead to individual variation (i.e., by gender and age), and offer directions for future research.

The Trigeminal Sensory System and Orofacial Pain

The trigeminal sensory system consists of the trigeminal nerve, the trigeminal ganglion, and the trigeminal sensory nuclei (the mesencephalic nucleus, the principal nucleus, the spinal trigeminal nucleus, and several smaller nuclei). Various sensory signals carried by the trigeminal nerve from the orofacial area travel into the trigeminal sensory system, where they are processed into integrated sensory information that is relayed to higher sensory brain areas. Thus, knowledge of the trigeminal sensory system is essential for comprehending orofacial pain. This review elucidates the individual nuclei that comprise the trigeminal sensory system and their synaptic transmission. Additionally, it discusses four types of orofacial pain and their relationship to the system. Consequently, this review aims to enhance the understanding of the mechanisms underlying orofacial pain.

Olfactory and gustatory chemical sensor systems in the African turquoise killifish: Insights from morphology.

Smell and taste are extensively studied in fish species as essential for finding food and selecting mates while avoiding toxic substances and predators. Depending on the evolutionary position and adaptation, a discrete variation in the morphology of these sense organs has been reported in numerous teleost species. Here, for the first time, we approach the phenotypic characterization of the olfactory epithelium and taste buds in the African turquoise killifish (Nothobranchius furzeri), a model organism known for its short lifespan and use in ageing research. Our observations indicate that the olfactory epithelium of N. furzeri is organized as a simple patch, lacking the complex folding into a rosette, with an average size of approximately 600µm in length, 300µm in width, and 70µm in thickness. Three main cytotypes, including olfactory receptor neurons (CalbindinD28K), supporting cells (β-tubulin IV), and basal cells (Ki67), were identified across the epithelium. Further, we determined the taste buds' distribution and quantification between anterior (skin, lips, oral cavity) and posterior (gills, pharynx, oesophagus) systems. We identified the key cytotypes by using immunohistochemical markers, i.e. CalbindinD28K, doublecortin, and neuropeptide Y (NPY) for gustatory receptor cells, glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) for supporting cells, and Ki67, a marker of cellular proliferation for basal cells. Altogether, these results indicate that N. furzeri is a microsmatic species with unique taste and olfactory features and possesses a well-developed posterior taste system compared to the anterior. This study provides fundamental insights into the chemosensory biology of N. furzeri, facilitating future investigations into nutrient-sensing mechanisms and their roles in development, survival, and ageing.

Cognitive functions explain discrete parameters of normal walking and dual-task walking, but not postural sway in quiet stance among physically active older people.

Postural control is dependent on the central nervous system's accurate interpretation of sensory information to formulate and execute adequate motor actions. Research has shown that cognitive functions are associated with both postural control and fall risk, but specific associations are not established. The aim of this study was to explore how specific components of everyday postural control tasks are associated with both general and specific cognitive functions. Forty-six community-dwelling older adults reported their age, sex, physical activity level, falls and fall-related concerns. The following cognitive aspects were assessed: global cognition, executive functions, processing speed and intraindividual variability. Postural control was quantified by measuring postural sway in quiet stance, walking at a self-selected pace, and walking while performing a concurrent arithmetical task. Separate orthogonal projections of latent structures models were generated for each postural control outcome using descriptive and cognitive variables as explanatory variables. Longer step length and faster gait speed were related to faster processing speed and less intraindividual variability in the choice reaction test. Moreover, longer step length was also related to less fall-related concerns and less severe fall-related injuries, while faster gait speed was also related to female sex and poorer global cognition. Lower dual-task cost for gait speed was explained by the executive function inhibition and faster processing speed. Postural sway in quiet stance was not explained by cognitive functions. Cognitive functions explained gait speed and step length during normal walking, as well as the decrease of gait speed while performing a concurrent cognitive task. The results suggest that different cognitive processes are important for different postural control aspects. Postural sway in quiet stance, step time and gait variability seem to depend more on physical and automatic processes rather than higher cognitive functions among physically active older people. The relationships between cognitive functions and postural control likely vary depending on the specific tasks and the characteristics of different populations.

Socially induced plasticity of the posterior tuberculum and motor behavior in zebrafish (Danio rerio).

Social dominance is prevalent throughout the animal kingdom. It facilitates the stabilization of social relationships and allows animals to divide resources according to social rank. Zebrafish form stable dominance relationships that consist of dominants and subordinates. Although social-status-dependent differences in behavior must arise due to neural plasticity, mechanisms of how neural circuits are reconfigured to cope with social dominance are poorly described. Here, we describe how the posterior tuberculum nucleus (PT), which integrates sensory social information to modulate spinal motor circuits, is morphologically and functionally influenced by social status. We combined non-invasive behavioral monitoring of motor activity (startle escape and swim) and histological approaches to investigate how social dominance affects the morphological structure, axosomatic synaptic connectivity, and functional activity of the PT in relation to changes in motor behavior. We show that dopaminergic cell number significantly increases in dominants compared to subordinates, while PT synaptic interconnectivity, demonstrated with PSD-95 expression, is higher in subordinates compared to dominants. Secondly, these socially induced morphological differences emerge after one week of dominance formation and correlate with differences in cellular activities illustrated with higher phosphor-S6 ribosomal protein expression in dominants compared to subordinates. Thirdly, these morphological differences are reversible as the social environment evolves and correlates with adaptations in startle escape and swim behaviors. Our results provide new insights of the neural bases of social behavior that may be applicable to other social species with similar structural and functional organization.

Why do bats fly into cave doors? Inattentional blindness in echolocating animals.

Echolocating bats can navigate complex 3D environments by integrating prior knowledge of spatial layouts and real-time sensory cues. This study demonstrates that inattentional blindness to sensory information undermines successful navigation in Egyptian fruit bats, Rousettus aegyptiacus , a species that has access to vision and echolocation to traverse natural environments. Bats flew over repeated trials to a perch at a fixed location in the light, allowing them to navigate using both vision and echolocation. The experiment was then repeated in the dark to exclude the bat's use of vision. The perch was subsequently displaced by either 15 or 30 cm in one of six different directions (up, down, left, right, front, back). Echolocation behavior was recorded using a 25-channel microphone array, while flight paths were tracked using 13 motion capture cameras. The directional aim of echolocation clicks served as a metric for the bat's spatial attention to locations in their environment. In the light, bats modified their flight paths to successfully land on a perch that was moved 15 cm but surprisingly, often failed to land on it when displaced by 30 cm. In the dark, bats often failed to land on the perch after it was moved by only 15 cm. Landing failures suggest that learned spatial priors invoked inattentional blindness to changes in the environment, which interfered with successful navigation. In both the light and dark, when bats failed to land on the perch at its new location, they directed their attention toward the original perch position. Performance differences in the light and dark suggest that the bat's attentional spotlight may be narrower when it relies on echolocation than vision. To our knowledge, these findings provide the first evidence of inattentional blindness in a flying echolocating animal, demonstrating that spatial priors can dominate sensory processing during navigation.

Visual imagination can influence visual perception - towards an experimental paradigm to measure imagination.

During visual imagination, a perceptual representation is activated in the absence of sensory input. This is sometimes described as seeing with the mind's eye. A number of physiological studies indicate that the brain uses more or less the same neural resources for visual perception of sensory information and visual imagination. The intensity of visual imagination is typically assessed with questionnaires, while more objective measures are missing. Aim of the present study was, to test a new experimental paradigm that may allow to objectively quantify imagination. For this, we used priming and adaptation effects during observation of ambiguous figures. Our perception of an ambiguous stimulus is unstable and alternates spontaneously between two possible interpretations. If we first observe an unambiguous stimulus variant (the conditioning stimulus), the subsequently presented ambiguous stimulus can either be perceived in the same way as the test stimulus (priming effect) or in the opposite way (adaptation effect) as a function of the conditioning time. We tested for these conditioning effects (priming and adaptation) using an ambiguous Necker Cube and an ambiguous Letter /Number stimulus as test stimuli and unambiguous variants thereof as conditioning stimuli. In a second experimental condition, we tested whether the previous imagination of an unambiguous conditioning stimulus variant - instead of its observation - can have similar conditioning effects on the subsequent test stimulus. We found no systematic conditioning effect on the group level, neither for the two stimulus types (Necker Cube stimuli and Letter /Number stimuli) nor for the two conditions (Real and Imaginary). However, significant correlations between effects of Real and Imaginary Condition were observed for both stimulus types. The absence of conditioning effects at the group level may be explained by using only one conditioning time, which may fit with individual priming and adaptation constants of some of our participants but not of others. Our strong correlation results indicate that observers with clear conditioning effects have about the same type (priming or adaptation) and intensity of imaginary conditioning effects. As a consequence, not only past perceptual experiences but also past imaginations can influence our current percepts. This is further confirmation that the mechanisms underlying perception and imagination are similar. Our post-hoc qualitative observations from three self-defined aphantasic observers indicate that our paradigm may be a promising objective measure to identify aphantasia.

Stimulus-dependent delay of perceptual filling-in by microsaccades.

To perceive, sense organs actively sample the environment-for example, by touching, sniffing, or moving the eyes. Visual sampling persists even when gaze is fixed on a single point: involuntary microsaccades continuously move the eye in small jumps. We investigated a previously documented observation that microsaccades prevent illusory fading of perceived visual boundaries during fixation. We discovered that despite being connected, microsaccades and fading are sensitive to different stimulus features. Boundaries separating surfaces with more distinct colors inherently took longer to fade. Boundaries closer to the center of vision also took longer to fade, but only because microsaccades were more effective. These findings reveal new insight into how pervasive sensory sampling delivers a stable and detailed perceptual experience.

The Role of the Insular Cortex and Serotonergic System in the Modulation of Long-Lasting Nociception.

The insular cortex (IC) is a brain region that both receives relevant sensory information and is responsible for emotional and cognitive processes, allowing the perception of sensory information. The IC has connections with multiple sites of the pain matrix, including cortico-cortical interactions with the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and top-down connections with sites of descending pain inhibition. We explored the changes in the extracellular release of serotonin (5HT) and its major metabolite, 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid (5HIAA), after inflammation was induced by carrageenan injection. Additionally, we explored the role of 5HT receptors (the 5HT1A, 5HT2A, and 5HT3 receptors) in the IC after inflammatory insult. The results showed an increase in the extracellular levels of 5HT and 5-HIAA during the inflammatory process compared to physiological levels. Additionally, the 5HT1A receptor was overexpressed. Finally, the 5HT1A, 5HT2A, and 5HT3 receptor blockade in the IC had antinociceptive effects. Our results highlight the role of serotonergic neurotransmission in long-lasting inflammatory nociception within the IC.

Brachial and Lumbosacral Plexopathies.

The brachial and lumbosacral plexuses are complex neural structures that transmit sensory, motor, and autonomic information between the spinal cord and the extremities. Plexus disorders can be particularly disabling because lesions in the plexus usually affect large groups of nerve fibers originating from several spinal levels. Electrodiagnostic studies are often required to confirm a plexus lesion and determine the extent of injury and prognosis. Magnetic resonance is the imaging modality of choice for detecting intrinsic nerve abnormalities; recently, high-resolution ultrasound has emerged as an alternative method for dynamic evaluation and visualization of internal nerve architecture. Once a plexopathy is confirmed, the list of possible etiologies is relatively limited and includes traumatic and nontraumatic causes. Treatment relies on symptom management and physical rehabilitation unless a treatable underlying condition is found. Surgical approaches, including nerve grafts or tendon transfers, may improve limb function when spontaneous recovery is suboptimal.

Valenced tactile information is evoked by neutral visual cues following emotional learning

Abstract Learning which stimuli in our environment co-occur with painful or pleasurable events is critical for survival. Previous research has established the basic neural and behavioral mechanisms of aversive and appetitive conditioning; however, it is unclear precisely what information content is learned. Here we examined the degree to which aspects of the unconditioned stimulus (US)—sensory information versus affective salience—are transferred to the conditioned stimulus (CS). To decode what stimuli features (e.g., valence vs. discriminative somatosensation) are represented in patterns of brain activation elicited during appetitive (soft touch) and aversive (painful touch) conditioning to faces, a novel approach to using modeling with representational similarity analysis (RSA) based on theoretically driven representational patterns of interest (POIs) was applied to fMRI data. Once associations were learned through conditioning, globally, the CS reactivated US representational patterns showing conditioning-dependent reactivation in specific high-order brain regions: In the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, the CS reactivated patterns associated with the affective salience of the US—suggesting that, with affective conditioning, these regions carry forward the affective associations of the experience.

Basics of Internet of Things

The Internet of Things (IoT) is a rapidly growing technological paradigm that enables the interconnection of physical devices, sensors, and systems through the internet. IoT allows devices to collect, exchange, and act on data autonomously, creating seamless communication between the digital and physical worlds. It has applications across diverse domains, including smart homes, healthcare, transportation, agriculture, and industrial automation. IoT ecosystems involve key components like sensors, actuators, cloud platforms, communication protocols, and analytics tools. The technology's benefits include improved efficiency, real-time monitoring, automation, and enhanced decision- making through data analytics. However, IoT also presents challenges related to data security, privacy, interoperability, and scalability. As the number of connected devices continues to grow, advancements in 5G, artificial intelligence, and edge computing are expected to drive the evolution of IoT, making it a cornerstone of future smart environments. This abstract provides a concise overview of the IoT landscape, highlighting both its transformative potential and associated challenges. Keywords: IOT (Internet of Things) , Smart Devices, Sensors and Actuators, Connectivity, Real-time Monitoring, Automation, Cloud Computing, Edge Computing, 5G Networks, Interoperability.

Bayesian inference in arm posture perception.

To configure our limbs in space the brain must compute their position based on sensory information provided by mechanoreceptors in the skin, muscles, and joints. Because this information is corrupted by noise, the brain is thought to process it probabilistically, and integrate it with prior belief about arm posture, following Bayes' rule. Here, we combined computational modeling with behavioral experimentation to test this hypothesis. The model conceives the perception of arm posture as the combination of a probabilistic kinematic chain composed by the shoulder, elbow, and wrist angles, compromised with additive Gaussian noise, with a Gaussian prior about these joint angles. We tested whether the model explains errors in a VR-based posture matching task better than a model that assumes a uniform prior. Human participants were required to align their unseen right arm to a target posture, presented as a visual configuration of the arm in the horizontal plane. Results show idiosyncratic biases in how participants matched their unseen arm to the target posture. We used maximum likelihood estimation to fit the Bayesian model to these observations and estimate key parameters including the prior means and its variance-covariance structure. The Bayesian model including a Gaussian prior explained the response biases and variance much better than a model with a uniform prior. The prior varied across participants, consistent with the idiosyncrasies in arm posture perception, and in alignment with previous behavioral research. Our work clarifies the biases in arm posture perception within a new perspective on the nature of proprioceptive computations.

Amplification of vibration induced nystagmus in patients with peripheral vestibular loss by head tilt.

In patients with unilateral loss of vestibular function (UVL) vibration of the skull leads to a response of the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) called vibration-induced nystagmus (VIN), with slow phases usually directed toward the paretic ear. This response is thought to result from the difference between the neural discharge in semicircular canal afferents from the healthy and the affected labyrinth. The brain interprets this difference as a sustained imbalance in angular (rotational) vestibular tone, which in natural circumstances would only occur when the head was rotating at a constant acceleration. To study this effect, we used a contemporary model of the neural network that combines sensory information about head rotation, translation, and tilt relative to gravity to estimate head orientation and motion. Based on the model we hypothesize that in patients with UVL, the brain may estimate not only a "virtual" rotation from the induced canal imbalance but also a subsequent "virtual" translation from the incorrect computation of the orientation of the head relative to gravity. If this is the case, the pattern of vibration-induced nystagmus will depend on the orientation of the head relative to gravity during the stimulation. This model predicts that this "virtual" translation will alter the baseline VIN elicited with the head upright; augmenting it when the affected ear is down and diminishing it when the affected ear is up. Confirming this hypothesis, we recorded VIN in 3 patients with UVL (due to vestibular neuritis) in upright, right ear-down, and left ear-down positions and each showed the expected pattern. From a practical, clinical view, our results and modeling suggest that positional VIN might reveal a hidden imbalance in angular vestibular tone in patients with UVL, when patients have equivocal signs of a vestibular imbalance, such as a minute amount of spontaneous or vibration-induced nystagmus with the head upright. This research provides insights into the underlying mechanisms of vestibular processing, the analysis of nystagmus in patients with UVL, and guides the design of a new bedside diagnostic test to assess vestibular function in patients with dizziness and imbalance.

Aesthete Pattern Diversity in Chiton Clades (Mollusca: Polyplacophora): Balancing Sensory Structures and Strength in Valve Architecture.

Chitons possess the most elaborate system of shell pores found in any hard-shelled invertebrate. Although chitons possess some anteriorly located sense organs, they lack true cephalization, as their major sensory systems are not concentrated in a distinct head region. Instead, the aesthete system within their shells forms a dense sensory network that overcomes the barrier of their hard dorsal armour. The basic arrangement of neural structures embedded within a solid, opaque matrix, has confounded understanding of the overall network. In this study, we use synchrotron X-ray μCT to visualise the aesthete canal networks inside chiton valves. We selected representatives from all three major chiton clades: Lepidopleurida, the basal branching clade, and Callochitonida and Chitonida, which both havemore complex shell morphology, to compare internal structure. Lepidopleurida aesthete canals are oriented vertically and pass directly through the shell to connect with the body. By contrast, aesthetes canals in Callochitonida and Chitonida have complex internal structures with extended horizontal passages, coalescing at the shell diagonal that corresponds to the valve insertion slits. This represents a stepwise evolution of chiton shell form, where thicker and more complex valves require a diverting and rewiring of the entire sensorynetwork. Aspects of the aesthete system, such as the microscopic arrangement of surface pores, have long been used in chiton taxonomy for species diagnoses; insertion slits should also be understood as a secondary feature of the aesthete system. Chiton shell structures that are used for morphological systematics are driven by sensory adaptations.

SENSORY INTEGRATION AS AN INNOVATIVE METHOD OF WORKING WITH CHILDREN WITH SPECIAL EDUCATIONAL NEEDS

The method of sensory integration is very relevant in modern science and practice, especially in the context of child development and correctional pedagogy. More and more children have difficulties in processing sensory information, which affects their behaviour, learning and socialisation, and more and more studies confirm the effectiveness of this method in working with children with autism, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders. Purpose. To analyse and systematise sensory integration as an innovative method of working with children with special educational needs. Materials and methods. To achieve the objectives of the study, the scientific literature was analysed and information was systematised using electronic databases such as PubMed, Google Scholar and others Research results. Sensory integration is the organisation of sensations that will be used in some way. Williamson and Anzalone have identified five interrelated components that help explain how sensory integration occurs: sensory registration, orientation, interpretation, organisation of the response, and execution (carrying out) of the response. Sensory registration occurs when a person first becomes aware of a sensory event. Sensory orientation helps to pay attention to new sensory information. A person can determine which sensory information requires attention and which can be ignored. The ability to interpret sensory information helps to choose what to respond to and what not to respond to. A person compares new sensory experiences with old ones. To organise a response, the human brain determines whether a response to a sensory stimulus is required and chooses a response option. Making a motor, cognitive or emotional response to a sensory message is the final stage of the sensory integration process. The following sensory systems are distinguished: tactile (sensation of temperature, humidity, texture of the environment and objects), vestibular (perception of body position in space, interpretation of the feeling of gravity, balance), proprioceptive (feeling of muscles, joints), visual (perception of visual information), auditory (perception of auditory information), olfactory (taste and smell). Disorders in sensory integration refer to difficulties in processing and organising sensory information received by the brain. These disorders can affect various aspects of a child's development, including motor, emotional, cognitive and social skills. The disorders are manifested in the form of hypersensitivity or hyposensitivity. Hypersensitivity (or sensory hypersensitivity) occurs when a person has an unusually high response to sensory stimuli. This means that even small or ordinary stimuli can cause discomfort or even pain. Hypersensitivity (or sensory insufficiency) means that a person needs stronger or more pronounced sensory stimuli to notice or react to them. These disorders can occur in any sensory system. Conclusions. Sensory integration is the ordering of sensations that will be used in some way. When sensory integration is impaired, hypersensitivity and hypersensitivity occur in a particular sensory system. Research in this area shows that sensory impairments can also be observed in children with general development, but in children with special educational needs it is more pronounced. The inclusion of sensory integration in the correctional process significantly improves the studied indicators and contributes to a more successful adaptation of the child and his or her integration into society.

Assessment of Changes in Sensory Characteristics of Strawberries during 5-Day Storage through Correlation between Human Senses and Electronic Senses.

In the last decade, significant efforts have been made to predict sensory characteristics using electronic senses, such as the electronic nose (e-nose) and the electronic tongue (e-tongue), and discuss their relationship to the eating quality evaluated by human panels. This study was conducted (1) to characterize the aroma and taste profiles of strawberries over a 5-day storage period (4 °C) using both electronic senses and human panels and (2) to correlate the electronic sense data with human panel data. A total of 10 sensory attributes of strawberries, including 7 aroma and 3 taste attributes, were analyzed by a descriptive sensory panel (n = 16) over the five days. Although the human panel did not find significant differences in the intensities of the strawberry attributes over the five days, the intensity ratings showed an increasing or decreasing trend over the storage period. However, the e-nose and the e-tongue discriminated each of the storage days of the strawberry samples. Furthermore, the partial least square regression coefficients of determination (R2) indicated that the e-nose and the e-tongue were highly predictive in their evaluation of the intensities of all the descriptive sensory attributes. Lastly, the concentrations of furaneol, one of the key volatiles imparting a distinct ripe strawberry aroma, were determined using an e-nose to correlate with the intensities of aroma attributes evaluated by the panel. A significant positive Pearson's correlation coefficient was found with the intensities of overripe aroma. The findings indicate the potential of electronic senses to determine sensory characteristics and their excellent capability to predict the eating quality of strawberries.

Impairments in Proprioceptively-Referenced Limb and Eye Movements in Chronic Stroke.

Upper limb proprioceptive impairments are common after stroke and affect daily function. Recent work has shown that stroke survivors have difficulty using visual information to improve proprioception. It is unclear how eye movements are impacted to guide action of the arm after stroke. Here, we aimed to understand how upper limb proprioceptive impairments impact eye movements in individuals with stroke. Control (N = 20) and stroke participants (N = 20) performed a proprioceptive matching task with upper limb and eye movements. A KINARM exoskeleton with eye tracking was used to assess limb and eye kinematics. The upper limb was passively moved by the robot and participants matched the location with either an arm or eye movement. Accuracy was measured as the difference between passive robot movement location and active limb matching (Hand-End Point Error) or active eye movement matching (Eye-End Point Error). We found that individuals with stroke had significantly larger Hand (2.1×) and Eye-End Point (1.5×) Errors compared to controls. Further, we found that proprioceptive errors of the hand and eye were highly correlated in stroke participants (r = .67, P = .001), a relationship not observed for controls. Eye movement accuracy declined as a function of proprioceptive impairment of the more-affected limb, which was used as a proprioceptive reference. The inability to use proprioceptive information of the arm to coordinate eye movements suggests that disordered proprioception impacts integration of sensory information across different modalities. These results have important implications for how vision is used to actively guide limb movement during rehabilitation.

Neural, genetic, and cognitive signatures of creativity

Creativity is typically operationalized as divergent thinking (DT) ability, a form of higher-order cognition which relies on memory, attention, and other component processes. Despite recent advances, creativity neuroscience lacks a unified framework to model its complexity across neural, genetic, and cognitive scales. Using task-based fMRI from two independent samples and MVPA, we identified a neural pattern that predicts DT, validated through cognitive decoding, genetic data, and large-scale resting-state fMRI. Our findings reveal that DT neural patterns span brain regions associated with diverse cognitive functions, with positive weights in the default mode and frontoparietal control networks and negative weights in the visual network. The high correlation with the primary gradient of functional connectivity suggests that DT involves extensive integration from concrete sensory information to abstract, higher-level cognition, distinguishing it from other advanced cognitive functions. Moreover, neurobiological analyses show that the DT pattern is positively correlated with dopamine-related neurotransmitters and genes influencing neurotransmitter release, advancing the neurobiological understanding of creativity.

A INSTABILIDADE POSTURAL NO ENVELHECIMENTO COMO FATOR DE RISCO DE QUEDA EM IDOSOS

Aging is defined as a natural, progressive and irreversible development, something common to all human beings and which can bear the influence of social, economic, psychological and political factors. Postural instability is reported worldwide as a geriatric syndrome but it is also defined as the individual's inability to adjust to an upright posture to preserve and maintain balance, thus the body's sensory information is not understood. Aging causes physical changes and impairs balance control due to motor and sensory deficits. The objective of this work is to point out postural instability in aging as a risk factor for falls in the elderly. The present study is an integrative review of the literature, with data collected from the following databases: U.S. National Library of Medicine (PUBMED) and Scientific Electronic Library Online (SCIELO). The inclusion criteria were: Studies published from 2018 to 2023 in Portuguese and English, randomized clinical trials, meta-analysis and compatible themes. In the search, 23,781 studies were identified. Of these, after initial exclusion by titles and abstracts, a total of 26 articles were selected according to the eligibility criteria for full reading, and 10 articles were finally included. Considering the results of the analysis of this integrative review, it can be concluded that postural instability is considered a risk factor for falls in elderly people.