Bu çalışma, İsviçre Ulusal Bilim Vakfı (PBEZP3-131.154 CE) hibe tarafından desteklenen

1. Konu İşe Alım <ol><li> Başlık yaklaşık 3000 gönüllü öğrenci bir listesini içeren bir on-line veritabanı 5 üzerinden alınırlar. Bu listeden sadece daha önce yapılan benzer çalışmalarda katılmamış kadınlar başvurun ve bu çalışmada katılan ilgilenen olmadığını onlara sormak. Akut testosteron, kadınların 6,7 arasında kurulduktan sonra nörofizyolojik etkileri zaman ders olarak münhasıran kadınlar davet ediyoruz. Erkekler için, bu kez ders henüz çok iyi anlaşılır değildir. </li><li> Ilgili konular daha sonra ilaç alımı, bedensel hastalıklar, hormonal kontrasepsiyon ya da herhangi bir nörolojik ya da psikiyatrik bozuklukları dışlamak için bir telefon görüşmesi gösterildi. </li><li> Endojen seks hormonlarının düzeyleri, kadın adet döngüsünün ilk bölümünde içinde düşük ve istikrarlı olma eğilimi Çünkü biz istikrar ve döngü süresi hakkında bilgi elde etmek için ikinci bir telefon görüşmesi yapar. Denekler daha sonra kendi adet döngüsü başından itibaren 10 gün içinde deneme için davet. Onlar daha fazla deney 24 saat önce alkol ya da kafein alımı ve sigara kaçınmaları talimatı verilmiştir. </li><li> Başlık İsviçre, Zürih, Ekonomi Deneysel Araştırma Enstitüsü deneysel laboratuar için 12 ortalama büyüklükte gruplar halinde davet ediyoruz. </li></ol> 2. Deneysel İşlemler <ol><li> Tüm oturumları, steroid hormon düzeyleri sirkadiyen varyasyon kontrol etmek için 13:00 &#39;da başlayacak. </li><li> Biz gebelik engel deney başlamadan önce bir gebelik testi yapıyoruz. </li><li> Deney, testosteron ve görsel olarak ayırt edilemez plasebo hapları hazırlık rastgele aksi takdirde deneyde ilgisi olmayan bir kişi tarafından laboratuvar oda içinde 12-1 işaretli oniki iş istasyonlarına dağıtılır. </li><li> Laboratuvara girişinde, her biri on iki konu üzerinde gizli bir numara ile bir kart çeker. Sayıları bir ila on iki değişir. </li><li> Denekler daha sonra, 36 bilgisayar işyerlerinin toplam ile donatılmış laboratuvar odasına alınır. Başlık ararlar ve işyeri girişinde çekti kartın gösterildiği gibi aynı numara ile işaretlenmiş oturup talimatı vardır. </li><li> Tüm konularda bilgilendirilmiş onam formunu okumak ve imzalamak. </li><li> Biz tükürük örnek toplama IBL SaliCaps Kiti (IBL-Hamburg, Hamburg, Almanya) kullanılarak bazal tükürük testosteron ve kortizol konsantrasyonları ölçmek. Başlık, ardından hemen -80 donmuş test tüpleri, ° C 1 ml tükürük transfer talep </li><li> Deneklerden kendi ağzına dilaltı hap almak, çiğnemek ve bir dakika boyunca ağızlarına parçalandı madde tutmak istenir. Oral mukoza ile HP-β-CD testosteron dahil kompleks maksimum temas sağlamak için, konu, dil ile çizerek hareketleri yapmak için talimat vardır. Bir dakika sonra, maddenin geri kalan 100 ml su ile yutulur. </li><li> Madde uygulamasını takiben hemen, konu farklı anketler tamamlamak için gereklidir. Durumluk-Sürekli Anksiyete Envanteri 9 ve Durumluk-Sürekli Öfke ve Öfke İfade Envanteri 10 çok boyutlu yoluyla Mood Anketi (MDBF) 8 ve anksiyete ve öfke özellikleri ve devletler yoluyla ruh hali ve uyarılma ölçmek. Bu anketler, deneklerin tesadüfi ruh hali, öfke ve anksiyete durumları olası etkilerinin yanı sıra, kişilik özellikleri kontrol etme amacı var. Ayrıca, deneklerin psikolojik sağlığını ölçmek için 90 maddelik Semptom Kontrol Listesi doğrulanmış Almanca sürümleri (revize edilmiş versiyonu) 11 tamamlayın. Çok yüksek puanlar (yukarıdaki iki kötü psikolojik sağlık gösteren ortalama standart sapma) olanlar veri analizi hariç tutulur. Uzun bir bekleme süresi, genç, sağlıklı kadınların 6,7 0,5 mg testosteron dilaltı uygulama sonrası davranışsal etkileri bir görünüm için dört saatlik zaman farkı nedeniyle, çalışmanın bir parçasıdır . Bu dönemde, bizim konularda laboratuvar odasında kalmak ve kendilerini sessizce meşgul tutmak için gereklidir. Bu laboratuar dışında herhangi bir sosyal etkileşim eleştirilmiştir önlemleri yol açabilecek yer aldığı sağlamaktır. </li></ol> 3. Ultimatum Oyun <ol><li> Denekler daha sonra oyunda rolleri için talimatlar ve kağıt üzerinde ödeme kuralları almak ve onları okumak için istenir. Biz onlara talimatlar sonunda birden fazla denetim soruları tamamlamak zorunda ödeme yapısı anlama kontrol edin. </li><li> Daha sonra sözlü olarak deneysel prosedürü özetleyelim. Bunun nedeni konularda herkes aynı oyun yapısı hakkında bilgi ve ödemeler nasıl ar biliyoruz sağlamaktıre de &quot;ortak bilgi&quot; olarak anılacaktır olduğu belirlenmiştir. Özet aşağıdaki gibi: </li><li> Bu deneyde, &quot;Ultimatum Oyunu 10 para birimi (Muş) bölünmesi kabul etmeniz gereken iki tür oyuncu, teklifi getiren ve bir cevaplayıcı ile oynadı. Teklifi getiren Muş 10 dağıtım karar verebilir. Teklif sahipleri yanıt veren 5 teklif, 3, 2, ya da 0 Muş öneriyoruz. Yanıtlayan sonra bu öneriyi kabul ya da reddetmek için ya vardır. erdirilmesini teklifi getiren Kullanıcı teklifini kabul ederse, önerilen tahsisi uygulanan ve ücretli olacak. Ancak, cevaplayıcı da teklifi reddetmek, bu durumda taraflardan hiçbirinin bir şey kazanır &quot;. </li><li> Biz fuarı (5 Muş) olarak algılanan teklifler kabul edilir bir teklif arasında net bir ayrım sağlamak haksız (3, 2 veya 0 Muş) - 5 teklifler, 3, 2 veya 0 Muş kısıtlayarak. Denekler rastgele ve anonim öneren ya da yanıt veren ya da rolüne atanan ve daha sonra tüm deney için bu rolü kalır. Üç farklı rastgele seçilen bir etkileşim ortakları ile eşleştirilmiş Her teklifi getiren Muş dağılımı üç önermeler yapar. Hiçbir çift konularda bir kereden fazla etkileşime girer. Bu deneyde eşleştirilir kiminle kişilerin kimliğini öğrenmek asla. Teklifi getiren deney sonuna kadar yanıt seçenekleri hakkında geribildirim almaz. Ultimatom oyunu tüm kararları zTree yazılım uygulanan ve bilgisayar ekranları 12 sundu. </li><li> Testosteron popüler basında en çok tartışılan hormonların Çünkü konuları, etkileri Yaklaşık 13, önceden oluşturulmuş bir inanç (doğru veya yanlış) olması mümkündür . Ayrıca, etik kaygılar araştırmacılar, onlar da bir plasebo veya testosteron testosteron hakkında ön bilgi testosteron davranışı üzerindeki olası etkileri kirletebilecek alacağı konularda bilgilendirmek çünkü gerektirir. Bu nedenle onlar testosteron veya plasebo hap almış mı yoksa değil mi konuları sorarak algılanan grubu atama değerlendirir. </li><li> Algılanan bir grup atama birkaç sosyo-ekonomik özellikleri ile birlikte son anket kaydedilir. Son anket sırasında deneklerin ödeme hazırlar. </li></ol> 4. Konu Ödeme <ol><li> Denekler deney katılımı için yüz İsviçre Frangı bir taban ücret alırsınız. Gerçek parasal teşviklerin kullanılması, potansiyel bir sosyal istenirliğini önyargı ve önyargılı kendini-algıları büyük ölçüde azaltır. Bu nedenle, her bir konu başlığı için bir ultimatom oyunu kazanılan her MU İsviçre frangı (yaklaşık 1 ABD $) alır. Her bir denek, deney sonunda baz ücret artı özel kazanılan Muş oluşan kendi kazanç alır. </li></ol>

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Ise gözlenen ortalama sunmaktadır diğer çalışmalarda ne buldum benzer sonuçların geçerli olduğunu bir göstergesidir. Tipik olarak, ortalama teklifler 30 arasında -% 40 toplam miktarın ve deneklerin yaklaşık yarısı eşit pay 14 sunuyoruz . Diğer taraftan,% 50&#39;den fazla teklif gözlenmektedir konularda oyunun kurallarını anlamak olmadığını olası bir göstergesidir. Bu hatırı sayılır bir heterojenlik sunan yaklaşık 15 dünya çalışmalarda gözlenen dağıtım ve or...

combining behavioral endocrinology and experimental economics: testosterone and social decision making

Insanlarda olduğu gibi hayvanlarda Davranış endokrinolojik araştırma, testosteron sosyal etkileşimlerinde önemli bir rol oynar. Kemirgenlerde yapılan çalışmalar, testosteron, antisosyal, egoist, hatta agresif davranış 2 indükler, testosteron ve saldırgan davranışlar 1 ve halk bilgeliği, bu bulguların insanlar için adapte arasında doğrudan bir bağ olduğunu göstermiştir. Ancak, birçok araştırmacı testosteron öncelikle durumla ilgili davranış 3,4 katkısı olduğunu savundu, insanlarda testosteron saldırmazlık doğrudan bağlantı şüphe. Yüksek bir durumu da agresif ve antisosyal yollarla elde edilebilir gibi arama davranışı, anti-sosyal ve durumu birbirinden ayırt etmek zor olabilir. Bu nedenle durumu sadece olumlu sosyal yoluyla elde edilebilir, hangi deneysel bir ortam. Çift-kör ve plasebo kontrollü bir deneyde, 121 kadınlar için 0.5 mg testosteron dilaltı tek bir doz (bir hidroksipropil-β-siklodekstrin taşıyıcı) idare ve ekonomik bir pazarlık paradigması, sosyal etkileşim davranışları araştırıldı. Gerçek parasal teşvikler söz konusu bu paradigma; her oyuncunun belli bir miktar para alır ve parayı paylaşmak için nasıl bir teklif yapmak için başka bir oyuncu B. Yatak kabul ederse, o ne teklif edildi alır ve oyuncu geri kalanı tutar. B teklifi reddederse, hiç kimse bir şey alır. Oyuncu arayan bir durum yani daha yüksek teklifler yaparak, olumlu sosyal bir şekilde davranmak tarafından reddedilen önlemek için bekleniyor. Testosteron hormonu ile ilgili beklentilerini kontrol edilir, plasebo ile karşılaştırıldığında önemli bir artış adil bir pazarlık için açar sunduğu göstermektedir. Beklentilerin rolü aslında onlar testosteron almış inanıyorum konularda onlar bir plasebo ile tedavi edildiğini söyleyenler daha düşük teklifler yapmak yansır. Bu bulgular, deneysel ekonomi yaklaşımı hormon uygulaması ile elde edilen ince olarak nörobiyolojik etkilerini tespit etmek için hassas olduğunu düşündürmektedir. Ayrıca, bulgular, insanın sosyal davranışı üzerinde testosteron etkisi belirleyen hem de psikososyal yanı sıra nöroendokrin faktörler önemine işaret etmektedir.

Watch this Scientific Journal Video about Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making at JoVE.com

Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Bu protokol açıklanan prosedür testosteron testosteron hakkında yönetim ve halk inançları, sosyal davranışları ile doğrudan karşı ilişkili olabileceğini göstermektedir.

Davranış Endokrinoloji ve Deneysel İktisat birleştiren: Testosteron ve Sosyal Karar Verme

Behavioral endocrinological research in humans as well as in animals suggests that testosterone plays a key role in social interactions. Studies in ...

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15.0K Görüntüleme.  University of Zurich. Bu protokol açıklanan prosedür testosteron testosteron hakkında yönetim ve halk inançları, sosyal davranışları ile doğrudan karşı ilişkili olabileceğini göstermektedir.

Video: Combining Behavioral Endocrinology and Experimental Economics: Testosterone and Social Decision Making

Combining Computer Game-Based Behavioural Experiments With High-Density EEG and Infrared Gaze Tracking

Experimental paradigms are valuable insofar as the timing and other parameters of their stimuli are well specified and controlled, and insofar as they yield data relevant to the cognitive processing that occurs under ecologically valid conditions. These two goals often are at odds, since well controlled stimuli often are too repetitive to sustain subjects' motivation. Studies employing electroencephalography (EEG) are often especially sensitive to this dilemma between ecological validity and experimental control: attaining sufficient signal-to-noise in physiological averages demands large numbers of repeated trials within lengthy recording sessions, limiting the subject pool to individuals with the ability and patience to perform a set task over and over again. This constraint severely limits researchers' ability to investigate younger populations as well as clinical populations associated with heightened anxiety or attentional abnormalities. Even adult, non-clinical subjects may not be able to achieve their typical levels of performance or cognitive engagement: an unmotivated subject for whom an experimental task is little more than a chore is not the same, behaviourally, cognitively, or neurally, as a subject who is intrinsically motivated and engaged with the task. A growing body of literature demonstrates that embedding experiments within video games may provide a way between the horns of this dilemma between experimental control and ecological validity. The narrative of a game provides a more realistic context in which tasks occur, enhancing their ecological validity (Chaytor &amp; Schmitter-Edgecombe, 2003). Moreover, this context provides motivation to complete tasks. In our game, subjects perform various missions to collect resources, fend off pirates, intercept communications or facilitate diplomatic relations. In so doing, they also perform an array of cognitive tasks, including a Posner attention-shifting paradigm (Posner, 1980), a go/no-go test of motor inhibition, a psychophysical motion coherence threshold task, the Embedded Figures Test (Witkin, 1950, 1954) and a theory-of-mind (Wimmer &amp; Perner, 1983) task. The game software automatically registers game stimuli and subjects' actions and responses in a log file, and sends event codes to synchronise with physiological data recorders. Thus the game can be combined with physiological measures such as EEG or fMRI, and with moment-to-moment tracking of gaze. Gaze tracking can verify subjects' compliance with behavioural tasks (e.g. fixation) and overt attention to experimental stimuli, and also physiological arousal as reflected in pupil dilation (Bradley et al., 2008). At great enough sampling frequencies, gaze tracking may also help assess covert attention as reflected in microsaccades - eye movements that are too small to foveate a new object, but are as rapid in onset and have the same relationship between angular distance and peak velocity as do saccades that traverse greater distances. The distribution of directions of microsaccades correlates with the (otherwise) covert direction of attention (Hafed &amp; Clark, 2002).

Procedures for recording high-density EEG and gaze data during computer game-based cognitive tasks are described. Using a video game to present cognitive tasks enhances ecological validity without sacrificing experimental control.

Birleştiren Bilgisayar Oyun-Tabanlı Yüksek Yoğunlukta EEG ve Kızılötesi Gaze Takip Davranışsal deneyler

Experimental paradigms are valuable insofar as the timing and other parameters of their stimuli are well specified and controlled, and insofar as they ...

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Brain Imaging Investigation of the Neural Correlates of Observing Virtual Social Interactions

The ability to gauge social interactions is crucial in the assessment of others&#x2019; intentions. Factors such as facial expressions and body language affect our decisions in personal and professional life alike 1. These "friend or foe" judgements are often based on first impressions, which in turn may affect our decisions to "approach or avoid". Previous studies investigating the neural correlates of social cognition tended to use static facial stimuli 2. Here, we illustrate an experimental design in which whole-body animated characters were used in conjunction with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) recordings. Fifteen participants were presented with short movie-clips of guest-host interactions in a business setting, while fMRI data were recorded; at the end of each movie, participants also provided ratings of the host behaviour. This design mimics more closely real-life situations, and hence may contribute to better understanding of the neural mechanisms of social interactions in healthy behaviour, and to gaining insight into possible causes of deficits in social behaviour in such clinical conditions as social anxiety and autism 3.

This article demonstrates an experimental design in which whole-body animated characters are used in conjunction with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate the neural correlates of observing virtual social interactions.

Sanal Sosyal Etkileşimleri Gözlem Sinir Bağlantılı Beyin Görüntüleme İncelenmesi

The ability to gauge social interactions is crucial in the assessment of others&#x2019; intentions. Factors such as facial expressions and body language ...

Measuring the Subjective Value of Risky and Ambiguous Options using Experimental Economics and Functional MRI Methods

Most of the choices we make have uncertain consequences. In some cases the probabilities for different possible outcomes are precisely known, a condition termed "risky". In other cases when probabilities cannot be estimated, this is a condition described as "ambiguous". While most people are averse to both risk and ambiguity1,2, the degree of those aversions vary substantially across individuals, such that the subjective value of the same risky or ambiguous option can be very different for different individuals. We combine functional MRI (fMRI) with an experimental economics-based method3 to assess the neural representation of the subjective values of risky and ambiguous options4. This technique can be now used to study these neural representations in different populations, such as different age groups and different patient populations.
In our experiment, subjects make consequential choices between two alternatives while their neural activation is tracked using fMRI. On each trial subjects choose between lotteries that vary in their monetary amount and in either the probability of winning that amount or the ambiguity level associated with winning. Our parametric design allows us to use each individual's choice behavior to estimate their attitudes towards risk and ambiguity, and thus to estimate the subjective values that each option held for them. Another important feature of the design is that the outcome of the chosen lottery is not revealed during the experiment, so that no learning can take place, and thus the ambiguous options remain ambiguous and risk attitudes are stable. Instead, at the end of the scanning session one or few trials are randomly selected and played for real money. Since subjects do not know beforehand which trials will be selected, they must treat each and every trial as if it and it alone was the one trial on which they will be paid. This design ensures that we can estimate the true subjective value of each option to each subject. We then look for areas in the brain whose activation is correlated with the subjective value of risky options and for areas whose activation is correlated with the subjective value of ambiguous options.

Using functional MRI and behavioral methods to determine the neural representation of the subjective value of risky and ambiguous options in the human brain.

Deneysel İktisat ve Fonksiyonel MRI yöntemleri kullanarak Riskli ve belirsiz Seçenekleri Sübjektif Değer Ölçme

Most of the choices we make have uncertain consequences. In some cases the probabilities for different possible outcomes are precisely known, a condition ...

C. elegans Tracking and Behavioral Measurement

We have developed instrumentation, image processing, and data analysis techniques to quantify the locomotory behavior of C. elegans as it crawls on the surface of an agar plate. For the study of the genetic, biochemical, and neuronal basis of behavior, C. elegans is an ideal organism because it is genetically tractable, amenable to microscopy, and shows a number of complex behaviors, including taxis, learning, and social interaction1,2. Behavioral analysis based on tracking the movements of worms as they crawl on agar plates have been particularly useful in the study of sensory behavior3, locomotion4, and general mutational phenotyping5. Our system works by moving the camera and illumination system as the worms crawls on a stationary agar plate, which ensures no mechanical stimulus is transmitted to the worm. Our tracking system is easy to use and includes a semi-automatic calibration feature. A challenge of all video tracking systems is that it generates an enormous amount of data that is intrinsically high dimensional. Our image processing and data analysis programs deal with this challenge by reducing the worms shape into a set of independent components, which comprehensively reconstruct the worms behavior as a function of only 3-4 dimensions6,7. As an example of the process we show that the worm enters and exits its reversal state in a phase specific manner.

C. elegans Tracking and Behavioral Measurement

We have developed a video-rate tracking microscope system that can record and quantify C. elegans behavior at high resolution and high speeds. We have also developed computational methods to reduce the dimensionality of the worm images to a fundamental set of measurements that completely describe the shape of the worm.

C. elegans Takip ve Davranış Ölçme

We have developed instrumentation, image processing, and data analysis techniques to quantify the locomotory behavior of C. elegans as it crawls on the ...

A Low Cost Setup for Behavioral Audiometry in Rodents

In auditory animal research it is crucial to have precise information about basic hearing parameters of the animal subjects that are involved in the experiments. Such parameters may be physiological response characteristics of the auditory pathway, e.g. via brainstem audiometry (BERA). But these methods allow only indirect and uncertain extrapolations about the auditory percept that corresponds to these physiological parameters. To assess the perceptual level of hearing, behavioral methods have to be used. A potential problem with the use of behavioral methods for the description of perception in animal models is the fact that most of these methods involve some kind of learning paradigm before the subjects can be behaviorally tested, e.g. animals may have to learn to press a lever in response to a sound. As these learning paradigms change perception itself 1,2 they consequently will influence any result about perception obtained with these methods and therefore have to be interpreted with caution. Exceptions are paradigms that make use of reflex responses, because here no learning paradigms have to be carried out prior to perceptual testing. One such reflex response is the acoustic startle response (ASR) that can highly reproducibly be elicited with unexpected loud sounds in na&iuml;ve animals. This ASR in turn can be influenced by preceding sounds depending on the perceptibility of this preceding stimulus: Sounds well above hearing threshold will completely inhibit the amplitude of the ASR; sounds close to threshold will only slightly inhibit the ASR. This phenomenon is called pre-pulse inhibition (PPI) 3,4, and the amount of PPI on the ASR gradually depends on the perceptibility of the pre-pulse. PPI of the ASR is therefore well suited to determine behavioral audiograms in na&iuml;ve, non-trained animals, to determine hearing impairments or even to detect possible subjective tinnitus percepts in these animals. In this paper we demonstrate the use of this method in a rodent model (cf. also ref. 5), the Mongolian gerbil (Meriones unguiculatus), which is a well know model species for startle response research within the normal human hearing range (e.g. 6).

A fast and inexpensive method for the behavioral determination of hearing parameters like hearing thresholds, hearing impairments or phantom perceptions (subjective tinnitus) is described. It uses pre-pulse inhibition of the acoustic startle response and can be easily implemented in a personal computer using a programmable AD/DA-converter and a piezo sensor.

Kemirgenler Davranış Odyometri için Düşük Maliyetli Kurulum

In auditory animal research it is crucial to have precise information about basic hearing parameters of the animal subjects that are involved in the ...

Hippocampal Insulin Microinjection and In vivo Microdialysis During Spatial Memory Testing

Glucose metabolism is a useful marker for local neural activity, forming the basis of methods such as 2-deoxyglucose and functional magnetic resonance imaging. However, use of such methods in animal models requires anesthesia and hence both alters the brain state and prevents behavioral measures. An alternative method is the use of in vivo microdialysis to take continuous measurement of brain extracellular fluid concentrations of glucose, lactate, and related metabolites in awake, unrestrained animals. This technique is especially useful when combined with tasks designed to rely on specific brain regions and/or acute pharmacological manipulation; for example, hippocampal measurements during a spatial working memory task (spontaneous alternation) show a dip in extracellular glucose and rise in lactate that are suggestive of enhanced glycolysis1-3,4-5, and intrahippocampal insulin administration both improves memory and increases hippocampal glycolysis6. Substances such as insulin can be delivered to the hippocampus via the same microdialysis probe used to measure metabolites. The use of spontaneous alternation as a measure of hippocampal function is designed to avoid any confound from stressful motivators (e.g. footshock), restraint, or rewards (e.g. food), all of which can alter both task performance and metabolism; this task also provides a measure of motor activity that permits control for nonspecific effects of treatment. Combined, these methods permit direct measurement of the neurochemical and metabolic variables regulating behavior.

Hippocampal Insulin Microinjection and In vivo Microdialysis During Spatial Memory Testing

Modulation of hippocampally-dependent spatial working memory by direct intrahippocampal microinjection, accompanied and followed by in vivo microdialysis for metabolites in conscious, behaving animals.

Hipokampal İnsülin Mikroenjeksiyon ve<em&gt; In vivo</emMekansal Bellek Test sırasında&gt; mikrodivaliz

Glucose metabolism is a useful marker for local neural activity, forming the basis of methods such as 2-deoxyglucose and functional magnetic resonance ...

Effects of Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation on the Primary Motor Cortex by Online Combined Approach with Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) is a neuromodulatory technique able to act through sinusoidal electrical waveforms in a specific frequency and in turn modulate ongoing cortical oscillatory activity. This neurotool allows the establishment of a causal link between endogenous oscillatory activity and behavior. Most of the tACS studies have shown online effects of tACS. However, little is known about the underlying action mechanisms of this technique because of the AC-induced artifacts on Electroencephalography (EEG) signals. Here we show a unique approach to investigate online physiological frequency-specific effects of tACS of the primary motor cortex (M1) by using single pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) to probe cortical excitability changes. In our setup, the TMS coil is placed over the tACS electrode while Motor Evoked Potentials (MEPs) are collected to test the effects of the ongoing M1-tACS. So far, this approach has mainly been used to study the visual and motor systems. However, the current tACS-TMS setup can pave the way for future investigations of cognitive functions. Therefore, we provide a step-by-step manual and video guidelines for the procedure.

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) allows the modulation of cortical excitability in a frequency-specific fashion. Here we show a unique approach which combines online tACS with single pulse Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) in order to "probe" cortical excitability by means of Motor Evoked Potentials.

Transkraniyal manyetik stimülasyon ile transkranyal alternatif akım stimülasyon Online kombine yaklaşım tarafından birincil Motor korteks üzerinde etkileri

Transcranial Alternating Current Stimulation (tACS) is a neuromodulatory technique able to act through sinusoidal electrical waveforms in a specific ...

Operant Protocols for Assessing the Cost-benefit Analysis During Reinforced Decision Making by Rodents

Reinforcement-guided decision making is the ability to choose between competing courses of action based on the relative value of the benefits and their consequences. This process is integral to the normal human behavior and has been shown to be disrupted by neurological and psychiatric disorders such as addiction, schizophrenia, and depression. Rodents have long been used to uncover the neurobiology of human cognition. To this end, several behavioral tasks have been developed; however, most are non-automated and are labor-intensive. The recent development of the open-source microcontroller has enabled researchers to automate operant-based tasks for assessing a variety of cognitive tasks, standardizing the stimulus presentation, improving the data recording and consequently, improving the research output. Here, we describe an automated delay-based reinforcement-guided decision-making task, using an operant T-maze controlled by custom-written software programs. Using these decision-making tasks, we show the changes in the local field potential activities in the anterior cingulate cortex of a rat whilst it performs a delay-based cost-and-benefit decision-making task.

A cost-benefit analysis is a weighing-scale approach that the brain performs during the course of decision making. Here, we propose a protocol to train rats on an operant-based decision-making paradigm where rats choose higher rewards at the expense of waiting for 15 s to receive them.

Kemirgenler tarafından güçlendirilmiş karar verme sırasında maliyet-fayda analizi değerlendirmek için operant protokolleri

Reinforcement-guided decision making is the ability to choose between competing courses of action based on the relative value of the benefits and their ...

Abbiategrasso Brain Bank Protocol for Collecting, Processing and Characterizing Aging Brains

In a constantly aging population, the prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders is expected to rise. Understanding disease mechanisms is the key to find preventive and curative measures. The most effective way to achieve this is through direct examination of diseased and healthy brain tissue. The authors present a protocol to obtain, process, characterize and store good quality brain tissue donated by individuals registered in an antemortem brain donation program. The donation program includes a face-to-face empathic approach to people, a collection of complementary clinical, biological, social and lifestyle information and serial multi-dimensional assessments over time to track individual trajectories of normal aging and cognitive decline. Since many neurological diseases are asymmetrical, our brain bank offers a unique protocol for slicing fresh specimens. Brain sections of both hemispheres are alternately frozen (at -80 &#176;C) or fixed in formalin; a fixed slice on one hemisphere corresponds to a frozen one on the other hemisphere. With this approach, a complete histological characterization of all frozen material can be obtained, and omics studies can be performed on histologically well-defined tissues from both hemispheres thus offering a more complete assessment of neurodegenerative disease mechanisms. Correct and definite diagnosis of these diseases can only be achieved by combining the clinical syndrome with the neuropathological evaluation, which often adds important etiological clues necessary to interpret the pathogenesis. This method can be time consuming, expensive and limited as it only covers a limited geographical area. Regardless of its limitations, the high degree of characterization it provides can be rewarding. Our ultimate goal is to establish the first Italian Brain Bank, all the while emphasizing the importance of neuropathologically verified epidemiological studies.

This protocol describes a method to track individual brain-aging trajectories through a brain donation program and proper characterization of brains. Brain donors are involved in a long-term longitudinal study including serial multi-dimensional assessments. The protocol contains a detailed description of brain processing and an accurate diagnostic methodology.

Abbiategrasso Beyin Bankası Toplama, İşleme ve Yaşlanma Beyinleri Karakterize için Protokol

In a constantly aging population, the prevalence of neurodegenerative disorders is expected to rise. Understanding disease mechanisms is the key to find ...

Post-Movie Subliminal Measurement (PMSM), for Investigating Implicit Social Bias

New knowledge is continuously gained from a social environment that can influence how people respond to each other. Such responses often occur implicitly, at a subliminal perceptual level, and related brain mechanisms can be experimentally isolated by presenting the stimuli quickly. Subliminal presentation of faces that belong to different ethnicity groups, races, or gender has been shown to be successful in investigating social implicit responses. However, many implicit responses are based on knowledge previously gained about the faces (e.g., sexual orientation, political views, and socioeconomic status) and not solely on physical appearance. Here, a novel method called post-movie subliminal measurement (PMSM) is presented. When watching a socially engaging movie, a spectator gains knowledge about the protagonist and becomes familiar with his/her identity and world views. When the face of the protagonist is presented subliminally after the movie, it evokes an implicit neural response depending on what is learned about the protagonist. With a vast number of movies available, each depicting a variety of people with different identities, the PMSM method enables investigation of the brain&#39;s complex implicit biases in a manner that resembles real-life social perceptions.

Post-Movie Subliminal Measurement PMSM, for Investigating Implicit Social Bias

This protocol describes the use of movies to investigate brain mechanisms underlying implicit social biases during functional magnetic resonance imaging. When the face of a protagonist is presented after a movie subliminally, it evokes an implicit response based on knowledge of the protagonist gained during the movie.

Film Sonrası Bilinçaltı Ölçümü (PMSM), Örtük Sosyal Önyargıyı Araştırmak İçin

New knowledge is continuously gained from a social environment that can influence how people respond to each other. Such responses often occur implicitly, ...