Rewiring connection: The role of oxytocin in interactive media behavior.

Adolescent social isolation facilitates tau spread in raphe nuclei, linking depression and hyperalgesia in Alzheimer's disease.

Wet markets, live animals, and infection concerns in Thailand: A cross-sectional study.

Revealing the association between challenging events encountered by students and their social regulation behaviors in GAI-supported collaborative learning

Dual emotional mechanisms of fear of exclusion and fear of missing out: Extending the S–O–R framework in social commerce repurchase behavior

Oxytocin is a neuropeptide that has historically been recognised for its role in childbirth, lactation, and sexual reproduction. Subsequently, research expanded its influence to include social bonding and behaviors, emphasising its role in facilitating interpersonal relationships. More recent studies, however, have revealed its broader influence, extending to non-social behaviors and cognitive processes, underscoring its ability to modulate a diverse array of behavioral and mental functions. This evolving understanding calls for a critical re-evaluation of oxytocin's classification as a "social" hormone. The Allostatic Theory of Oxytocin, which integrates both psychological and physiological dimensions, provides an alternative framework that accounts for how oxytocin modulates both social and non-social behaviors. At the core of this framework is behavioral flexibility, which is essential for adapting to dynamic environments. In this review, we explore the role of oxytocin in facilitating behavioral and cognitive flexibility using mechanistic and evolutionary perspectives. Additionally, we describe the neurobiological mechanisms that support oxytocin's influence on behavioral flexibility. Collectively, our findings underscore the benefits of reframing oxytocin's function in behavior within a broader framework that encompasses both social and non-social aspects. This more expansive perspective not only deepens our understanding of oxytocin's multifaceted roles, but also opens avenues for novel research approaches.

Autistic girls are often diagnosed late, missed, or misdiagnosed, which can negatively impact quality of life and mental health. Although research shows the social profiles of autistic girls differ from boys in systematic ways that might explain gaps in diagnosis, little is known about how autistic girls' social language compares to their same-sex non-autistic peers. This study investigated social words-words that make reference to other people-produced by 138 age- and IQ-matched autistic and non-autistic youth (ages 6-15) during one Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule, Second Edition task. Girls used significantly more social words than boys across both diagnostic groups. There was a larger gap in social word production between autistic girls and non-autistic girls than autistic boys and non-autistic boys, with non-autistic girls using the most social words. Non-autistic girls' social language behavior-including their social word production-sets an especially high bar for autistic girls, who often report trying to blend in with other girls. Growing evidence of the distinct social language profiles of autistic and non-autistic girls versus boys should guide researchers and clinicians to assess autism in ways that are sensitive to sex-associated differences and develop interventions that consider the norms of youth's target social circles.Lay AbstractAutism is often diagnosed later in girls and women as compared to boys and men. More research is needed to understand how autism presents differently in girls. This study investigates how autistic and non-autistic youth aged 6 to 15 years use social words (e.g. "friend," "mom," "help," "talk") during an interview about friends, relationships, and marriage as part of an autism diagnostic assessment. Overall, girls used more social words compared to boys and talked more about friends. Specifically, non-autistic girls used the most social words in comparison with other groups. Highly social language produced by non-autistic girls may make it especially hard for autistic girls to blend in with other girls and could lead them to engage in more camouflaging behaviors to hide their autistic characteristics. With such different average social language behavior from girls and boys, researchers should consider adapting autism assessments and interventions to support the unique needs of autistic girls.

Sensitive windows, sensitive outcomes: Early or late-postnatal maternal separation differentially impacts puberty and behavior.

Postpartum pain, a common symptom after a cesarean birth, is influenced by psychosocial factors. This exploratory qualitative study examined patient perspectives on social support and healthcare communication behaviors in the postpartum setting in relation to the pain experience. In-depth, semi-structured, qualitative interviews about postpartum pain experiences were conducted 2-3 days and 2-6 weeks postpartum with individuals who underwent a cesarean birth (2020-2021). Data were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Among 49 postpartum individuals, themes related to social support and healthcare communication were identified in relation to postpartum pain. Participants discussed the impact of non-healthcare social support (e.g., partners, extended family, other children) on postpartum pain, highlighting emotional and practical assistance. Most commonly mentioned were the positive impacts of emotional and logistical support with household activities and childcare on postpartum pain recovery. The second theme covered individuals' views on how healthcare support and communication affected postpartum pain, with themes of both positive and negative experiences. Some participants discussed positive experiences of shared decision-making and responsiveness of the healthcare team, whereas others recounted negative experiences of lack of counseling and poor outpatient communication. Social support and healthcare communication are integral influences on pain recovery after a cesarean birth. These findings highlight the need for interventions to address psychosocial support and healthcare team communication in the immediate postpartum period.

Environmental corporate social responsibility, citizenship behavior, and ethical climate: Drivers of female green entrepreneurial intention in Gilgit-Baltistan.

Cognitive social capital-including trust, reciprocity, and attachment-may play a crucial role in shaping health and well-being in later life. This study examined these associations among older adults in Japan. We analyzed two datasets from the Japan Gerontological Evaluation Study. Dataset 1 included three-wave longitudinal data from 2016, 2019, and 2022 (n=41,758), covering 42 self-reported outcomes. Dataset 2 linked 2016-2019 survey data with administrative records on mortality, dementia, and functional disability from 2019 to 2022 (n=56,153). Cognitive social capital was assessed in 2019. Outcomes in 2022 were grouped into seven domains: (1) happiness and life satisfaction, (2) mental and physical health, (3) meaning and purpose, (4) character and virtue, (5) structural social capital, (6) health behaviors, and (7) cognitive social capital. Multivariable regression models were adjusted for pre-baseline covariates and prior exposure and outcome values. Bonferroni correction was applied (p<0.0011). Higher levels of trust, reciprocity, and attachment were consistently associated with better outcomes across all domains. For example, trust was linked to greater human flourishing (β=0.11) and fewer depressive symptoms (β=-0.09). However, associations were not uniform across population groups, with subgroup differences observed by gender and educational attainment. Cognitive social capital is broadly associated with multidimensional health and well-being in later life, especially within psychological domains. Given the observed heterogeneity, approaches to strengthening social connections may benefit from considering group-specific characteristics. Community efforts to foster social capital may help promote psychological health and healthy aging.

Early life energy drink exposure impairs social and cognitive behaviour in female rats before and after pregnancy.

The exercise-irisin-prefrontal cortex axis in regulating social cognition: A new framework for understanding and treating substance use disorders.

Prevalence and mental health correlates of non-suicidal self-injury in elementary school children.

The aim of this paper is to develop and evaluate a nature-inspired metaheuristic strategy for Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) strategy in Proton Exchange Membrane Fuel Cells (PEMFCs), whose efficiency is highly sensitive to dynamic operating conditions such as cell temperature and the partial pressures of hydrogen and oxygen. These fluctuations continually shift the system’s Maximum Power Point (MPP), necessitating adaptive control methods to maintain optimal power extraction. This study introduces a novel MPPT technique based on the Horse Herd Optimization Algorithm (HOA), a recent bio-inspired metaheuristic modeled on the social behavior of horse populations. To the best of our knowledge, this work presents the first application of HOA to PEMFC systems. A comprehensive dynamic model is constructed, integrating the electrochemical characteristics of a 50 kW PEMFC stack, a DC-DC boost converter, and an adaptive MPPT controller guided by HOA. The algorithm adjusts the converter’s duty cycle by mimicking behavioral mechanisms—such as grazing, hierarchy, sociability, imitation, defense, and roaming—organized across age-based groups to enhance convergence speed and accuracy. The effectiveness of the HOA-based MPPT is benchmarked against the Cuckoo Search Optimization (CSO) method under various conditions, including standard operation, temperature variations (328 K to 348 K), and pressure fluctuations (1.0–2.0 atm). Simulation results using MATLAB/Simulink demonstrate that the HOA algorithm achieves superior performance, with a maximum power point tracking efficiency of 99.7 % compared to 99.64 % for CSO. Additionally, HOA exhibits a significantly faster settling time of 0.0570 s, outperforming CSO's 0.12 s, and maintains comparable rise times ( 0 . 0016 s ) while eliminating voltage and current oscillations. Under varying thermal and pressure conditions, HOA demonstrates exceptional robustness, rapid convergence, and high stability, maintaining optimal power delivery where conventional methods degrade. This work represents the first successful integration of the Horse Herd Optimization Algorithm into MPPT control for PEM fuel cells and demonstrates its superiority over both traditional and intelligent techniques. It offers a highly efficient and adaptive solution, with promising prospects for future scalability and deployment in real-world fuel cell energy management systems. • First study applying Horse Herd Optimization Algorithm for MPPT in PEM fuel cells, introducing bio-inspired control. • Proposed HOA-based MPPT achieves 99.7% efficiency and 50% faster settling than Cuckoo Search Optimization. • Models six horse behaviors—grazing, hierarchy, sociability, imitation, defense, and roaming—for adaptive MPPT. • Maintains stable power tracking across 328–348 K temperature and 1–2 atm pressure variations. • Opens a new direction for real-time, scalable optimization in hydrogen energy systems.

Communication and sociality are intimately related, as many important social processes are mediated by communication between signal senders and receivers. Despite recent advances in social network analysis, animal communication networks remain difficult to characterize because the interactions that comprise the network structure depend on receiver sensory, perceptual, and cognitive processes. Collectively, these receiver psychological traits process social information and lead to decisions regarding whether and how to interact with signallers, generating variation in social interactions and the structure of communication networks. Here, we review the evidence that variation in receiver psychology affects both individuals' positions within the communication network and the structure of the communication network as a whole. These effects range from limits on signal active space imposed by receiver sensory acuity and sensitivity, to facilitation of social connections by learning and memory of signal characteristics. Although we identify numerous receiver psychological traits that likely affect connections between receivers and signallers, few studies have explicitly examined the role of receiver psychology on variation in communication network structure. We therefore review recent methodological advances that could facilitate such studies. We then show that the effects of receiver psychology on communication networks could have strong impacts on ecological and evolutionary processes. In particular, we discuss the reciprocal links between receiver psychology and social structure, and how these individual-group feedbacks are expected to generate coevolution between communication and sociality. Our review synthesizes diverse evidence that receiver psychology can affect communication interactions and provides a path forward for integrating sensory, perceptual, and cognitive mechanisms of signal processing with individual behavioural variation and ecological and evolutionary consequences of variation in animal social behaviour.

3-year-olds engage in joint action, but 5-year-olds engage in joint ideation.

Beyond oxytocin: A hypothalamic neuropeptide framework for socioaffective resonance and its dysregulation in psychiatry.

Prosocial behavior plays a positive role in promoting adolescents' mental health and behavioral performance. Guided in ecological systems theory and social cognitive theory, this study used machine learning to identify the risk factors of adolescents' prosocial behavior, and a total of six machine learning algorithms (Logistic Regression, Naive Bayes, Decision Tree, Random Forest, KNN, and LightGBM) were tested and compared to detect the 55 potentially risk factors (e.g., individual, community, family, school, and social) of prosocial behavior. The sample includes 8,364 adolescents (age varied from 13 to 15; 47.9% girls) from middle and high schools in Zhejiang province, China, collected by a multi-stage cluster random sampling. The logistic regression algorithm and LightGBM algorithm are better than the other four algorithms. By comparing the relative importance of each factor, the results of the study suggest that individual perceived relative deprivation and negative attachment type have a higher value in predicting prosocial behavior, which can help adolescents in developing positive social behavior and provide stronger support for social adjustment. This study contributes to understanding and revealing the influencing factors and mechanisms of adolescents' prosocial behavior among adolescents. Its applied value lies in helping schools and counselors identify adolescents whose low prosocial behavior may reflect difficulties in attachment or internet addiction, thereby informing early support for adolescent social well-being.

War-related mental health and resilience: Understanding potential ethnical pathways.