Changes In Social Behavior Research Articles

Personal space increases during the COVID-19 pandemic in response to real and virtual humans.

Personal space is the distance that people tend to maintain from others during daily life in a largely unconscious manner. For humans, personal space-related behaviors represent one form of non-verbal social communication, similar to facial expressions and eye contact. Given that the changes in social behavior and experiences that occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, including “social distancing” and widespread social isolation, may have altered personal space preferences, we investigated this possibility in two independent samples. First, we compared the size of personal space measured before the onset of the pandemic to its size during the pandemic in separate groups of subjects. Personal space size was significantly larger in those assessed during (compared to those assessed before) the onset of the pandemic (all d > 0.613, all p < 0.007). In an additional cohort, we measured personal space size, and discomfort in response to intrusions into personal space, longitudinally before and during the pandemic, using both conventional and virtual reality-based techniques. Within these subjects, we found that measurements of personal space size with respect to real versus virtual humans were significantly correlated with one another (r = 0.625–0.958) and similar in magnitude. Moreover, the size of personal space, as well as levels of discomfort during personal space intrusions, increased significantly during (compared to before) the COVID-19 pandemic in response to both real and virtual humans (all d > 0.842, all p < 0.01). Lastly, we found that the practice of social distancing and perceived (but not actual) risk of being infected with COVID-19 were linked to this personal space enlargement during the pandemic (all p < 0.038). Taken together, these findings suggest that personal space boundaries expanded during the COVID-19 pandemic independent of actual infection risk level. As the day-to-day effects of the pandemic subside, personal space preferences may provide one index of recovery from the psychological effects of this crisis.

DAMPAK GAME ONLINE TERHADAP PERILAKU SOSIAL SISWA SMPN 1 PUNCAK SORIK MARAPI: SEBUAH ANALISIS FENOMENOLOGIS [IMPACT OF ONLINE GAMES ON SOCIAL BEHAVIOR OF SMPN 1 PUNCAK SORIK MARAPI STUDENTS: A PHENOMENOLOGICAL ANALYSIS

Adolescence is a period of transition between children and adults, at this time teenagers are also known as periods of difficulty. The current era of technology has received a lot of attention from the wider community, one of which is the problem of online games. This research is motivated by the existence of very rapid technological developments that cause students to experience changes in social behavior. The basic purpose of this study is to explain the positive and negative impacts of online games on the social behavior of students at SMP Negeri 1 Puncak Sorik Marapi. The research method used is a qualitative method. The approach used by the researcher is a phenomenological approach. This study will focus on the impact of online games on students' social behavior. The results of this study are the negative impact of students who are considered addicted to online games, of course, very diverse including students sometimes speak impolite and polite, some students also forget time for school because of the fun of playing, students also often spend time playing games at school, stealing time. during study hours so that it has an impact on social change which often forgets the surrounding environment, while the positive impact of online games on the social behavior of SMP Negeri 1 Puncak Sorik Marapi students is in the form of adding relationships, means of refreshing, collaborating, and students can express their emotions through playing online games.

Working Paper 40: Developing anti-corruption interventions addressing social norms

This Working Paper provides guidance on developing anti-corruption interventions based on a Social Norms and Behaviour Change (SNBC) approach. Still a relatively nascent field, SNBC interventions typically address social norms that make corruption acceptable or expected, and attempt to influence behaviours away from corrupt practices. &#x0D; The guidance is based on lessons learned from a largely successful pilot project in Tanzania that targeted social norms fuelling bribery ("gift giving") in health facilities and attempted to change the behaviours of both health care providers and users away from exchanging gifts. Survey results showed a 14–44% decrease in gift-giving intentions, attitudes and positive beliefs among hospital users following the pilot intervention.&#x0D; The guidance covers:&#x0D; &#x0D; How to identify when a SNBC approach is suitable&#x0D; Essential background research needed to design anti-corruption SNBC interventions&#x0D; Frameworks to formulate theories of change&#x0D; Specific elements to build into SNBC interventions&#x0D; What practitioners should expect when embarking on an SNBC intervention&#x0D; Ways they can help build evidence and understanding of SNBC approaches in the anti-corruption field.&#x0D; &#x0D; About and acknowledgements&#x0D; This publication was supported by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH on behalf of the Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). The contents of this publication do not represent the official position of either BMZ or GIZ.&#x0D; The pilot intervention that serves as the basis for most of the reflections included in this document was funded by the Global Integrity Anti-Corruption Evidence Programme (GI-ACE), funded with UK aid from the UK government.

A Limited Systemic Scleroderma Patient with Social Behavior Change and Role of Gut Microbiome: a Case Report

The role of the gut microbiome in influencing immune function and homeostasis is being investigated. A 56-years-old female patient was referred due to nightmares, insomnia, pain, and redness in all her fingers. At first, Zolpidem was prescribed by a psychiatrist, but it induced a stuffy nose, change in behavior, drugged feeling, and tiredness. Previously she had been referred to a rheumatologist, and after some visits, atypical scleroderma had been diagnosed. She received psychiatric treatment with quetiapine and melatonin and was prescribed a probiotic diet. The patient was followed up and showed an excellent therapeutic response after augmentation with diet therapy. The treatment based on gut or fecal microbiome transplantation (FMT) may affect the patient's behavior and sleep disturbance. Thus the key point is the role of gut microbiota and FMT-based therapy in chronic rheumatic patients with resistance and refractory psychiatric symptoms, which improves the quality of life and acceptance of treatment.

Knowledge, Attitudes, and Behaviors towards Proper Nutrition and Lifestyles in Italian Diabetic Patients during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Prevention of diabetes mellitus is mainly based on a healthy lifestyle. The lockdown measures imposed during the COVID-19 pandemic resulted in major changes in daily life and social behavior, which may have an influence on diabetes self-management and glycemic control. The present work aims to assess the relationship between diabetic patients’ knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors towards proper nutrition and lifestyles in order to plan strategies for educational intervention from a health literacy perspective. Attitudes, behaviors, and knowledge of diabetic patients attending the Diabetes and Metabolic Diseases Department of the Local Health Authority of Sassari (ASL1-SS) were assessed with a cognitive survey conducted from April to July 2022. Three hundred twenty-one questionnaires were administered during the survey period. Fifty-two percent of diabetic patients were female and 48% male, with a mean age of 61.1 ± 18.5 years and 62.0 ± 15.1 years, respectively. The overall level of knowledge about the role of food and proper nutrition with respect to the risk of diabetes and its complications appeared to be generally unsatisfactory and inadequate. Nonetheless, females showed a significantly higher level of knowledge than males (p < 0.0001). Moreover, knowledge was seen to decrease according to the age of the patients (p = 0.035). As for the possible impact played by the COVID-19 pandemic on lifestyles, it should be noted that about 70% of the respondents stated that they had maintained a reasonable dietary standard or even improved it throughout. Thus, the study underlines the need to improve the knowledge of diabetic subjects about nutrition and, in particular, their self-management, positively influencing behaviors and attitudes.

PAIN ASSESSMENT IN DEMENTIA PATIENTS

In modern palliative medicine adequate and rapid pain assessment in nonverbal elderly patients with severe dementia is one of the key issues. With increasing severity of dementia patient-surrounding communication becomes more challenging and verbal assessment of the pain - less accurate. In patients with severe dementia, it is necessary to find different approach, like observational and surrogate assessment methods. There are multiple observational methods of assessment, which are based on nonverbal behavior (facial expression, paralinguistic sounds, tension, anxiety, changes in social behavior, sleep habit changes, aggressiveness, change in psycho-motor activation etc.) Article shows pain assessment scales used more frequently in clinical practice. Pain management in patient with dementia depends on the proper assessment of pain intensity. Pain assessment scales available for us, gives us ability to adequately and in a timely manner assess presence of the pain and its intensity.

Hospital admissions from alcohol-related acute pancreatitis during the COVID-19 pandemic: A single-centre study.

BACKGROUNDThe United Kingdom government introduced lockdown restrictions for the first time on 23 March 2020 due to coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. These were partially lifted on 15 June and further eased on 4 July. Changes in social behaviour, including increased alcohol consumption were described at the time. However, there were no data available to consider the impact of these changes on the number of alcohol-related disease admissions, specifically alcohol-related acute pancreatitis (AP). This study evaluated the trend of alcohol-related AP admissions at a single centre during the initial COVID-19 lockdown.AIMTo evaluate the trend in alcohol-related AP admissions at a single centre during the initial COVID-19 lockdown in the United Kingdom.METHODSAll patients admitted with alcohol-related AP from March to September 2016 to 2020 were considered in this study. Patient demographics, their initial presentation with AP, any recurrent admissions, disease severity and length of stay, were evaluated using ANOVA and χ2 and Kruskal–Wallis tests.RESULTSOne hundred and thirty-six patients were included in the study. The highest total number of AP admissions was seen in March–September 2019 and the highest single-month period was in March–May 2020. Admissions for first-time presentations of AP were highest in 2020 compared to other year groups and were significantly higher compared to previous years, for example, 2016 (P < 0.05). Furthermore, the rate of admissions decreased by 38.89% between March–May 2020 and June–September 2020 (P < 0.05), coinciding with the easing of lockdown restrictions. This significant decrease was not observed in the previous year groups during those same time periods. Admissions for recurrent AP were highest in 2019. The median length of hospital stay did not differ between patients from each of the year groups.CONCLUSIONAn increased number of admissions for alcohol-related AP were observed during months when lockdown restrictions were enforced; a fall in figures was noted when restrictions were eased.

Globalization‐induced social changes and their environmental impacts: Assessing the role of information and communication technology in sub‐Saharan Africa

AbstractThis study examines how the growing transformation in social globalization propelled by the rapid diffusion of information and communication technology affects carbon emissions in sub‐Saharan Africa using data over the period 1990–2018. The results show a neutral effect on carbon emissions, as the carbon‐mitigating effect of the de jure conditions offsets the carbon‐emitting impact of the de facto conditions underlying the process of information globalization. To induce social behavioural change with emphasis on environmental protection, there is need for sub‐Saharan African countries to expand access to cross‐border information, leveraging on mass media platforms, and more importantly, ensuring press freedom.

O3-2 Evaluation of implementation and impact of a national mass media campaign to promote active lifestyles in Portugal: ‘Follow the Whistle: Physical Activity is Calling You'

Abstract Background Portugal has one of the highest rates of physical inactivity in Europe. To raise the profile of physical activity (PA) among adults, the Portuguese National Physical Activity Promotion Program of the Directorate-General of Health developed and implemented a national mass media campaign in 2019 named ?Follow the Whistle?. The campaign was based on social marketing principles and behavior change theory, namely the COM-B model, and was developed through formative research. We aim to describe the implementation process and short-term impact evaluation data. Methods ‘Follow the Whistle' was launched in June 2019 and continued for 4 weeks (TV, Radio, Online and Cinema, newspapers, outdoors). Pre (n = 878, 57%women) and post (n = 1319, 58%women) independent adult population samples were used to assess campaign impact. Participants were recruited through the mailing list of a Portuguese mutual insurance company, a network from across Portugal. The online questionnaire comprised socio-demographic factors, campaign awareness and recall, and psychosocial and behavioral measures linked to the four targets of the COM-B model, including items to assess perceived capability for physical activity(C), perceived opportunity for practice/ ease of integration of PA in daily living(O), motivation for PA practice(M) and behavior(B) assessed with IPAQ and the Activity Choice Index. Results Pre-and post-campaign samples were broadly demographically similar. Campaign recall increased significantly from 1% to 24% in prompted tagline recall (1/3 at post-campaign correctly recalled specific campaign images). All the targeted COM-B indicators changed in the expected direction, suggesting increases in perceived capability to engage in PA, perceived daily opportunities for being physically active, and in motivation (considering PA as fun, important, and compatible with other important things in life) (all p &amp;gt; 0.05). Results from PA behavior measures revealed increases only for vigorous activities (p &amp;gt; 0.001). Conclusions The GAPPA recommends the creation of active societies starting with best-practice community-wide communications campaigns. Although one focus of the ?Follow-the whistle? (i.e. promotion of active transport and incidental everyday forms of physical activity) was not entirely achieved (i.e. changes only in vigorous activities), the initial campaign objectives of increases in awareness, and influencing intermediate outcomes were achieved. Further campaign waves are planned for future years.

Developmental differences in amygdala projection neuron activation associated with isolation-driven changes in social preference.

Adolescence is a developmental period characterized by brain maturation and changes in social engagement. Changes in the social environment influence social behaviors. Memories of social events, including remembering familiar individuals, require social engagement during encoding. Therefore, existing differences in adult and adolescent social repertoires and environmentally-driven changes in social behavior may impact novel partner preference, associated with social recognition. Several amygdala subregions are sensitive to the social environment and can influence social behavior, which is crucial for novelty preference. Amygdala neurons project to the septum and nucleus accumbens (NAc), which are linked to social engagement. Here, we investigated how the social environment impacts age-specific social behaviors during social encoding and its subsequent impact on partner preference. We then examined changes in amygdala-septal and -NAc circuits that accompany these changes. Brief isolation can drive social behavior in both adults and adolescents and was used to increase social engagement during encoding. We found that brief isolation facilitates social interaction in adolescents and adults, and analysis across time revealed that partner discrimination was intact in all groups, but there was a shift in preference within isolated and non-isolated groups. We found that this same isolation preferentially increases basal amygdala (BA) activity relative to other amygdala subregions in adults, but activity among amygdala subregions was similar in adolescents, even when considering conditions (no isolation, isolation). Further, we identify isolation-driven increases in BA-NAc and BA-septal circuits in both adults and adolescents. Together, these results provide evidence for changes in neuronal populations within amygdala subregions and their projections that are sensitive to the social environment that may influence the pattern of social interaction within briefly isolated groups during development.

Non-pharmaceutical interventions and their relevance in the COVID-19 vaccine rollout in Saudi Arabia and Arab Gulf countries.

In the early stages of the pandemic, Saudi Arabia and other countries in the Arab Gulf region relied on non-pharmaceutical therapies to limit the effect of the pandemic, much like other nations across the world. In comparison to other nations in the area or globally, these interventions were successful at lowering the healthcare burden. This was accomplished via the deterioration of the economy, education, and a variety of other societal activities. By the end of 2020, the promise of effective vaccinations against SARS-CoV-2 have been realized, and vaccination programs have begun in developed countries, followed by the rest of the world. Despite this, there is still a long way to go in the fight against the disease. In order to explore disease transmission, vaccine rollout and prioritisation, as well as behavioural dynamics, we relied on an age-structured compartmental model. We examine how individual and social behaviour changes in response to the initiation of vaccination campaigns and the relaxation of non-pharmacological treatments. Overall, vaccination remains the most effective method of containing the disease and resuming normal life. Additionally, we evaluate several vaccination prioritisation schemes based on age group, behavioural responses, vaccine effectiveness, and vaccination rollout speed. We applied our model to four Arab Gulf nations (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, and Oman), which were chosen for their low mortality rate compared to other countries in the region or worldwide, as well as their demographic and economic settings. We fitted the model using actual pandemic data in these countries. Our results suggest that vaccinations focused on the elderly and rapid vaccine distribution are critical for reducing disease resurgence. Our result also reinforces the cautious note that early relaxation of safety measures may compromise the vaccine's short-term advantages.

Multiple sclerosis and COVID-19: Assessing risk perception, patient behaviors and access to disease-modifying therapies

BackgroundFollowing the outbreak of COVID-19, global healthcare systems have had to rapidly adapt. People with multiple sclerosis (pwMS) were required to make decisions about their individual risk and consequent work and social behaviors. This study aimed to evaluate risk perception and patterns of shielding behavior amongst pwMS at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent impact on patients’ employment and access to disease modifying therapies (DMTs). MethodsPostal surveys were sent to 1690 people within a UK population-based MS cohort during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic. Patients were surveyed on: (i) perceived vulnerability to COVID-19; (ii) isolation behavior; (iii) interruption to DMT; (iv) employment status; (v) level of satisfaction with their current working arrangement. ResultsResponses were received from 1000 pwMS. Two thirds of patients reported isolating at home during the first wave of the pandemic. This behavior was associated with increased age (p<0.0001), higher disability (p<0.0001) and use of high-efficacy DMTs (p = 0.02). The majority of patients reported feeling vulnerable (82%) with perceived vulnerability associated with higher EDSS (p<0.0001) and receiving a high-efficacy DMT (p = 0.04). Clinician-defined risk was associated with shielding behavior, with those at high-risk more likely to self-isolate/shield (p<0.0001). Patients on high-efficacy DMTs were more likely to have an interruption to their treatment (50%) during the first wave of the pandemic. Most pwMS experienced a change to their working environment, and most were satisfied with the adjustments. ConclusionThis study highlights the risk perception, social behavioral practices and changes to treatment experienced by pwMS during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic in a large, well-described UK cohort. The results may help inform management of pwMS during future pandemic waves.

DAMPAK SOSIAL DAN EKONOMI PANDEMI COVID-19 TERHADAP PEDAGANG BUAH DI KECAMATAN CURUP KABUPATEN REJANG LEBONG

The study of the Social and Economic Impact of the Covid-19 Pandemic on Fruit Traders in Curup District, Rejang Lebong Regency, aims to analyze the social impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fruit traders and analyze the economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on fruit traders in Curup District. This research was conducted in February - March 2022 in Curup District, Rejang Lebong Regency, with the consideration that in Curup District is part of the livelihood as a livelihood and includes quite a lot of fruit traders. The analytical method used in this study is the Wilcoxon signed rank test analysis method, using the SPSS Statistics for windows software as a tool. Processed using excel software. The results showed that the impact of changes in social behavior and maintaining cleanliness that occurred to traders in Curup District, it has been tested that the indicator variables before and before the covid-19 pandemic on changes in attitude and maintaining cleanliness experienced a significant decrease from 0.05, meaning that there was a change between before and before the COVID-19 pandemic. The economic impact has been tested on indicators of changes in income before and before the covid-19 pandemic, the value of which is small from 0.05, which means there is a change, the covid-19 pandemic situation has a negative impact on economic traders causing a decrease in the monthly average&#x0D; &#x0D;

A Social Marketing Framework for the Sharing Economy

Background Socio-economic issues; such as social economic inequality, sustainability of resources, and environmental concern are major social concerns and the call for economic reforms to address these issues is growing louder. Sharing economy, as a socio-economic system, presents a solution to the current linear economic model having the potential to address the aforementioned socio-economic issues. Sharing, being environmentally friendly and sustainable in nature, bridges the gap of social economic inequality prevalent in society. The attributes of the sharing economy are different from the traditional economic model which is more “social” in nature, hence making social marketing techniques more suitable than the conventional marketing approach. Focus of the Article The conceptual paper is focused on the application of social marketing in the sharing economy to address socio-economic issues and in doing so presents a framework to achieve its goal. Research Question How can social marketing effectively influence social behavioural changes as they relate to socio-economic changes? Program Design/Approach The framework developed outlines three levels of intervention for the successful implementation of social marketing in the sharing economy. The downstream intervention focuses on influencing consumer behavioural traits necessary for the adoption of the sharing economy by applying an appropriate marketing mix strategy. The upstream intervention focuses on policy and lawmakers, social and economic institutions, environmental groups, advocacy bodies, and lobbying organisations capable of addressing the root cause of the issue. The midstream intervention focuses on integrating upstream intervention with downstream through service providers. Importance to the Social Marketing Field The research paper extends social marketing application from influencing social behavioural issues to addressing and influencing socio-economic issues with its proposed application in sharing economy. The study provides a framework to address key socio-economic (social economic inequality) and consumer behavioural issues (materialism and ownership) that are prevalent in society. Method The proposed social marketing framework for the sharing economy is created after carrying out a systematic literature review on social marketing and sharing economy. The extant literature analysis focussed on key definitional parameters and their evolution over time. With the identification of key elements and benchmark framework, the three levels of social marketing intervention are developed and presented for the actionable implementation of a successful marketing strategy. Future Research The research paper provides an initial framework for the social marketing intervention in the sharing economy and in influencing socio-economic change which opens the door for future research direction; what additional upstream and midstream social marketing intervention is necessary to bring socio-cultural and socio-economic change to tackle the issue of social economic inequality? Paper type Conceptual paper.

Host genetics and pathogen species modulate infection-induced changes in social aggregation behaviour.

Identifying how infection modifies host behaviours that determine social contact networks is important for understanding heterogeneity in infectious disease dynamics. Here, we investigate whether group social behaviour is modified during bacterial infection in fruit flies (Drosophila melanogaster) according to pathogen species, infectious dose, host genetic background and sex. In one experiment, we find that systemic infection with four different bacterial species results in a reduction in the mean pairwise distance within infected female flies, and that the extent of this change depends on pathogen species. However, susceptible flies did not show any evidence of avoidance in the presence of infected flies. In a separate experiment, we observed genetic- and sex-based variation in social aggregation within infected, same-sex groups, with infected female flies aggregating more closely than infected males. In general, our results confirm that bacterial infection induces changes in fruit fly behaviour across a range of pathogen species, but also highlight that these effects vary between fly genetic backgrounds and can be sex-specific. We discuss possible explanations for sex differences in social aggregation and their consequences for individual variation in pathogen transmission.

Psychosocial factors associated with malaria care-seeking in rural Ethiopia

BackgroundEthiopia’s National Malaria Control and Elimination Program aims to diagnose all suspected malaria cases within 24 h of fever onset and provide prompt treatment for confirmed cases. This study explored psychosocial factors associated with no-, delayed- and prompt- care-seeking among female caregivers of children under five years with fever in rural Ethiopia.MethodsHousehold surveys were conducted from 2016–2019 among female caregivers (N = 479) of children under five years old with fever in Oromia; Amhara; Southern Nations, Nationalities, and Peoples Region (SNNPR); and Tigray. Prompt and delayed care-seeking were defined as seeking treatment within ≤ 24 h or > 24 h of symptom onset respectively. Contextual factors explored included sociodemographic factors, household supply of bed nets, exposure to health messages, and household vulnerability (a measure of financial access to food, shelter, schooling, and medical treatment). Ideational factors included psychosocial factors related to care-seeking (knowledge, self-efficacy, response efficacy, attitudes, involvement in decision-making, and household social support).ResultsThe prevalence of fever among children under five years was 18% (ranging from 9% in Tigray to 34% in SNNPR. Overall, 45% of caregivers of children with fever sought care promptly, while 23% delayed care-seeking and 32% sought no care. Prompt care-seeking rates were higher among caregivers with positive attitudes toward prompt care-seeking (48%), involved in decision-making (48%) or perceived equitable gender norms in the community (65%). Caregivers with a high care-seeking ideation had increased odds of prompt care-seeking (aOR: 2.65; 95% CI: 1.74–4.02). Significant contextual factors included residence in the Oromia region (aOR: 2.99; 95% CI:1.40–6.41), caregivers age 35–49 years (aOR: 0.49; 95% CI: 0.26–0.95), residence in vulnerable households (aOR: 2.01; 95% CI: 1.28–3.18).ConclusionsAmong this rural Ethiopian population, prompt care-seeking was low but positively influenced by both ideational and contextual psychosocial factors occurring at the caregiver level. Multi-sectoral interventions at the individual, community, and health facility levels are needed to improve prompt care-seeking. These include social behavior change interventions to improve ideation, complemented by health facility interventions to ensure provision of high-quality services and structural interventions to increase educational attainment in these rural settings.

BEHAVIORAL IMPACT OF IMITATING ONLINE GAME SAKURA SCHOOL SIMULATOR

Abstract :This research was conducted against the background of the impact on students playing the online game sakura school simulator on changes in social behavior imitating elementary school students. The purpose of this study was to determine the impact of students playing the online game sakura school simulator on the social behavior of imitating students at Madarasah Ibtidaiyah. This study uses qualitative methods with case study instruments, collecting data from online game players through direct observation, interviews and documentation. Based on the results of the study, it was concluded that playing the online game sakura school simulator had an impact on imitating social behavior in students. Children are very easy to imitate or imitate a model that is found and desired to be imitated. The results of imitating the online game sakura school simulator can be shown directly or in the future. The procedures carried out in the imitation process include (1) the process of paying attention, (2) the process of remembering, (3) motor reproduction, and (4) the reinforcement and motivational process.Keywords: online games, imitating social behavior

Women's contraceptive profiles in Burundi: Knowledge, attitudes, and interactions with media and health services.

Reproductive health program managers seek information about existing and potential clients’ motivations, behaviors, and barriers to services. Using sequence and cluster analysis of contraceptive calendar data from the 2016–17 Burundi Demographic and Health Survey, we identified discrete clusters characterizing patterns in women’s contraceptive and pregnancy behaviors over the previous 5 years. This study pairs these clusters with data on factors typically targeted in social behavior change interventions: knowledge, attitudes, and women’s interactions with media and health services, to create composite profiles of women in these clusters. Of six clusters, three are characterized by contraceptive use and three are characterized by its absence. Media exposure and attitudes regarding sex preference, wife beating, and self-efficacy largely do not explain cluster membership. Contraceptive knowledge is positively associated with two clusters (Family Builder 1 and Traditional Mother) and negatively associated with a third (Quiet Calendar). Clusters also differ in their members’ fertility desires, contraceptive intentions, and interactions with health services. Two “Family Builder” clusters are both characterized by the presence (but not timing) of multiple pregnancies in their calendar histories, but differ in that women with high contraceptive knowledge, intentions to use contraception, and well-articulated family size ideals are characteristic of one cluster (Family Builder 1), and low contraceptive knowledge, no use of contraception, and vague family size preferences are characteristic of the other (Family Builder 2). These results can guide reproductive health programs as they target social and behavioral change and other interventions to the unique subpopulations they seek to serve.

Ca2+ imaging of self and other in medial prefrontal cortex during social dominance interactions in a tube test

The study of social dominance interactions between animals offers a window onto the decision-making involved in establishing dominance hierarchies and an opportunity to examine changes in social behavior observed in certain neurogenetic disorders. Competitive social interactions, such as in the widely used tube test, reflect this decision-making. Previous studies have focused on the different patterns of behavior seen in the dominant and submissive animal, neural correlates of effortful behavior believed to mediate the outcome of such encounters, and interbrain correlations of neural activity. Using a rigorous mutual information criterion, we now report that neural responses recorded with endoscopic calcium imaging in the prelimbic zone of the medial prefrontal cortex show unique correlations to specific dominance-related behaviors. Interanimal analyses revealed cell/behavior correlations that are primarily with an animal's own behavior or with the other animal's behavior, or the coincident behavior of both animals (such as pushing by one and resisting by the other). The comparison of unique and coincident cells helps to disentangle cell firing that reflects an animal's own or the other's specific behavior from situations reflecting conjoint action. These correlates point to a more cognitive rather than a solely behavioral dimension of social interactions that needs to be considered in the design of neurobiological studies of social behavior. These could prove useful in studies of disorders affecting social recognition and social engagement, and the treatment of disorders of social interaction.

Relationship Between MR Spectroscopy-Detected Glutamatergic Neurometabolites and Changes in Social Behaviors in a Pilot Open-Label Trial of Memantine for Adults With Autism Spectrum Disorder.

BackgroundThe neurobiology underlying ASD is largely unknown but altered neural excitability/inhibitory ratios have been reported. Memantine is an N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) glutamatergic antagonist studied for the treatment of core ASD symptoms, with mixed results. We examined whether glutamatergic levels were associated with and predicted response to memantine in an exploratory pilot study.MethodsTen adult participants with ASD underwent proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (1H-MRS) imaging at baseline and behavioral assessments before and after 12-weeks of open-label memantine. Post-treatment scores on Clinical Global Impressions–Improvement (CGI-I) for social interaction were the primary outcome measure, and scores on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) were included as a secondary outcome. LCModel was used to quantify the concentrations of Point RESolved Spectroscopy-detected glutamate+glutamine (Glx) (and other neurometabolites, i.e., N-acetylaspartate, NAA; creatine+phosphocreatine, Cr+PCr, and myo-inositol, Ins), within the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (LDLPFC) and right (R) posterolateral cerebellum. SPM was used to perform brain tissue segmentation within the spectroscopic voxels. CGI-I scores post-treatment were used to classify the participants into two groups, responders (scores 1–3; n = 5) and non-responders (scores 4–7, or withdrew due to increase behaviors; n = 5). Independent samples t-tests, partial correlations and linear hierarchical regression models (SPSS) were used to determine between-group differences in neurometabolite concentrations and associations between neurometabolites and behavioral scores.ResultsResponders and non-responders did not significantly differ in Glx levels in any region of interest, but differed in NAA levels in LDLPFC (higher in responders vs. non-responders). Although changes in CGI-I social scores were not correlated with Glx in any region of interest, the linear hierarchical regression did reveal that Glx and Ins levels in LDLPFC were predictors of post-treatment CGI-I social scores. Changes in SRS scores were correlated with baseline Cr+PCr levels in the LDLPFC.DiscussionOur pilot data suggest that baseline Glx, a marker of glutamatergic neurotransmission, did not directly predict response to memantine for social outcomes in adults with ASD. However, interactions between Glx and the neurometabolite associated with glial integrity (Ins) may help predict treatment response. Further, those with highest baseline NAA, a putative neuronal marker, and Cr+pCr, a brain energy metabolism marker, were the best responders. These preliminary results may explain some of the mixed results reported in previous memantine trials in ASD. Future studies will need to examine these results in a larger sample.