{"title":"What makes people want more impactful climate policy?","authors":"Wilhelm Hofmann , Sonja Grelle","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101479","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101479","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>The dire challenge of climate change and the history of inadequate policy action by governments around the globe raise the critical question of how more impactful, structural climate solutions may be advanced. Here, we examine the role of citizen’s public policy acceptance as a key signal for the policymaking process with a focus on structural solutions. We briefly highlight the role of public policy support and key differences among policies low vs. high in regulatory depth. We then review work on the main predictors of the desire for more governmental intervention in climate policy domains and the acceptance of structural policy measures within an integrative policy acceptance framework. We highlight some open questions for future research, as well as implications for policymaking, such as how they may garner more support for impactful policies.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 101479"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2025-02-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143153217","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dopamine in the nucleus accumbens in valence-based learning: is it really important?","authors":"Ana João Rodrigues","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101462","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101462","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Striatal dopamine is widely recognized as a pivotal neuromodulator in reward processing and reinforcement learning. Recent studies have unveiled its significant role in aversive learning as well. However, emerging evidence challenges the notion of uniform dopamine signaling across the striatum in response to valence stimuli and associative learning. The timing, location, and type of dopamine release appear to unlock its diverse effects on neuronal activity and behavior. This review evaluates current literature on dopamine’s role in valence-based learning, with an emphasis on the nucleus accumbens (NAc). It highlights the anatomical and temporal specificity of dopamine signaling across NAc subregions and its influence in diverse facets of valence-based learning. While much is yet to be understood, it is clear that innovative and systematic approaches are required to unravel the intricate mechanisms through which dopamine shapes neuronal activity and rewarding and aversive behaviors.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"61 ","pages":"Article 101462"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-29","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142743504","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Transcranial magnetic stimulation in schizophrenia: exploring dosage and working memory enhancement","authors":"Shih-Chiang Ke , Philip Tseng","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101461","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101461","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Schizophrenia often presents with working memory impairment, associated with abnormal dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation. While noninvasive brain stimulation techniques, such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), have demonstrated effective working memory enhancement in healthy individuals with just one session of stimulation, the same protocol has not shown similar improvements in working memory for individuals with schizophrenia. Here, we briefly review the TMS and working memory literature in schizophrenia and highlight the possible role of TMS dosage. Specifically, previous studies with fewer than 20 TMS sessions show limited response, while studies with 20 sessions present mixed findings. Interestingly, a higher number of sessions, notably 40, reveal a potentially promising effect on working memory improvement, albeit with delayed manifestation. The optimal TMS dosage for robust neural plasticity remains unclear. Future research should explore increased TMS sessions, coupled with longer follow-up durations, to comprehensively investigate working memory enhancement in schizophrenia.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 101461"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142705756","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Form, function and mechanics of femoral chordotonal organs in insects","authors":"Simran Virdi, Sanjay P Sane","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101459","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101459","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Insect legs function as locomotory organs as well as highly sensitive multisensory probes. Specifically, they contain mechanosensory femoral chordotonal organs (FeCO) that monitor femorotibial movements and mediate behaviours ranging from local leg reflexes to whole-body movements. The structure and material properties of FeCO prefilter incoming mechanical signals, which are encoded by the underlying mechanosensory neurons. FeCO consists of functionally specialised subunits within which pairs of neurons are organised into scolopidia that connect to tibia via a receptor apodeme, an invagination of the tibial cuticle. In some hemimetabolous insects, the apodeme connects to individual scolopidia at different points, activating them at different tibial positions and mechanically fractionating the stimulus range. However, in some holometabolous insects, mechanical stimulus is channelled into different components and directed to various FeCO subunits. FeCO thus serves as an ideal mechanosensory organ to study the role of structure in determining sensory function.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 101459"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142705755","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"A light at the end of the axon: genetically encoded fluorescent indicators shine light on the dopamine system","authors":"Zacharoula Kagiampaki , Xuehan Zhou , Paul J Lamothe-Molina , Tommaso Patriarchi","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101460","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101460","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>In this focused review, we center the attention on detection technologies used for monitoring dopamine (DA) release during animal behavior. We briefly examine the evolution of DA measurement techniques, from traditional methods like microdialysis and fast-scan cyclic voltammetry to cutting-edge genetically encoded fluorescent indicators (GEFIs). We then delve into how this latest generation technologies are contributing to unraveling some of the intricacies of the DA system, ranging from the spatial and molecular regulation of DA release, to the underlying rules governing its system-level functions. By showcasing recent exemplar works, we highlight how these modern tools provide new insights into the heterogeneity of DA signaling across different brain regions and help refining the theoretical framework of DA functions extending beyond the conventional reward prediction error model. Finally, we provide important methodological recommendations to be taken into consideration when employing DA GEFIs in neuroscience research.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 101460"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142659038","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Dopaminergic computations for perceptual decisions","authors":"Samuel Liebana, Matthias Fritsche, Armin Lak","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101458","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101458","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Studies linking the brain’s dopamine signals with learning and decision making have enjoyed enormous progress using predominantly value-based decision-making tasks. However, recent studies have demonstrated pervasive dopamine signaling also during perceptual decision making. These signals have been shown to depend on both feedback and perceptual parameters, such as perceptual decision confidence and sensory statistics. Here, we review recent studies investigating dopamine signals in simple and complex forms of perceptual decision tasks across species and dopaminergic circuits. We discuss how reinforcement learning (RL) models can account for key aspects of learning during perceptual decision making and its dopaminergic underpinnings, thus bridging the gap with the literature on dopamine in value-based decisions. Finally, we propose that RL may provide a promising framework to address current challenges in the dopamine literature, such as explaining the function of its heterogeneous responses and its role in learning from naive to expert.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 101458"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-11-15","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142659036","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"From sensory motor and perceptual development to primary consciousness in the fetus: converging neural, behavioral, and imaging correlates of cognition-mediated emergent transitions","authors":"Gerry Leisman , Rahela Alfasi , Amedeo D’Angiulli","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101455","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101455","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>We reviewed current evidence from experimental, clinical, and animal research about the level and content of cognition and consciousness in the fetus from convergent observations of behavior and measurable neurobiological changes, including neuroimaging findings. Between the second and the third trimesters, there are compelling observations that the fetus is capable of basic cognitive and behavioral processes that can scaffold the emergence of primary consciousness, mediated and governed by the connectivities between brainstem, thalamic, cortical subplate circuitry, and the maturing cortex. This work integrates the most recent transdisciplinary body of evidence demonstrating that the building of functional connectivities and integration of complex brain functions typically associated with minimal human consciousness start early <em>in utero</em> and suggesting that consciousness is not an all-or-none process but rather a continuum of increasingly complex and emergent interactions within multiple neural networks.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 101455"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142536108","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Nonsynaptic encoding of behavior by neuropeptides","authors":"Gáspár Jékely , Rafael Yuste","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101456","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101456","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>A basic tenet of neuroscience is that animal behavior is generated by neural circuits that operate through synaptic transmission. On top of this synaptic ‘chassis’ of nervous systems, neuropeptides and hormones have traditionally been considered as slow neuromodulatory signals that fine-tune synaptic circuits. However, neuropeptides can generate many behaviors, including quite complex ones, from cnidarians to humans. Moreover, neuropeptide actions span larger temporal scales than fast synaptic transmission and are thus better matched to behavioral time courses than synaptic circuits. Furthermore, in some metazoans, the effects of neuropeptides are independent of synaptic connectivity, and in many species, the systemic application of neuropeptides can trigger selective behaviors. Based on this, we argue that nonsynaptic neuropeptide signaling via chemical networks — forming a ‘chemical’ connectome — represents the ancestral mechanism to encode behavioral sequences, whereas synaptic networks co-evolved as a specialization complementing chemical networks in the control of behaviors and computational functions.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 101456"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142536106","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diversity of REM sleep","authors":"Sho T Yamaguchi , Zhiwen Zhou , Hiroaki Norimoto","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101457","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101457","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>Recently, progress has been made in understanding sleep and wakefulness regulation at the molecular and neurocircuitry levels. Research on the evolution of sleep has also advanced remarkably across a wide range of animal species, from invertebrates to vertebrates. Pioneering studies on electroencephalography and other physiological features of sleep have raised the concept of two-stage sleep, categorizing sleep in some animals into two stages: slow-wave sleep (SWS) and rapid eye movement sleep (REMS). Currently, it is widely accepted that SWS and REMS occur in mammals and birds. Although these sleep stages have been observed in a wide range of animals, debates continue regarding their roles and evolutionary origins. This review discusses the diversity of REMS by evaluating their reported similarities and differences across various species.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 101457"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142445123","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Stress-free indulgence: indulge adaptively to promote goal pursuit and well-being","authors":"Shuna S Khoo , Lile Jia , Junhua Dang , Ying Li","doi":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101454","DOIUrl":"10.1016/j.cobeha.2024.101454","url":null,"abstract":"<div><div>People pursue long-term goals amidst abundant hedonic options made available by modern society’s technological and productivity advancements. Curiously, individuals often find their enjoyment in leisure and pleasure contaminated by stressful cognitive and affective reactions. We argue that the stunted experience of indulgence is an overlooked source of self-control problems and diminished well-being. We review the social cognitive process related to this notion of stressful indulgence and propose that an adaptive incorporation of indulgence into long-term pursuits, choosing the right type of indulgence, and mindful savoring can reduce the consternation and stress associated with hedonic activities. When done right, indulgence can be adaptive and stress free, facilitates goal pursuit, and promotes psychological resilience and well-being. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":56191,"journal":{"name":"Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences","volume":"60 ","pages":"Article 101454"},"PeriodicalIF":4.9,"publicationDate":"2024-10-16","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"142441530","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"心理学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}