Publications by authors named "Brier Rigby Dames"
How the neural structures supporting human cognition developed and arose in evolution is an enduring question of interest. Yet, we still lack appropriate procedures to align ages across primates, and this lacuna has hindered progress in understanding the evolution of biological programs. We generated a dataset of unprecedented size consisting of 573 time points from abrupt and gradual changes in behavior, anatomy, and transcription across human and 8 nonhuman primate species.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by brain plaques, tangles, and cognitive impairment. AD is one of the most common age-related dementias in humans. Progress in characterizing AD and other age-related disorders is hindered by a perceived dearth of animal models that naturally reproduce diseases observed in humans.
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- This chapter explores the connections between typical brain aging and neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's and Parkinson's, highlighting aging as a primary risk factor.
- Researching aging at both evolutionary and molecular levels can reveal why older individuals are more susceptible to these diseases.
- The study indicates that while neurodegenerative diseases share some characteristics with typical aging, they differ molecularly and may represent an accelerated aging process in the brain.
Article Synopsis
- Overconsumption of high-energy foods is linked to obesity rates, prompting a study on interventions in worksite cafeterias to decrease energy intake by changing food options and portion sizes.
- The study utilized a stepped-wedge randomised controlled trial design in 19 cafeterias, where one group replaced high-energy foods with lower-energy options and another group reduced portions of high-energy foods over 25 weeks.
- Results showed a significant reduction in energy purchased from intervention categories, with a decrease of 4.8% during the first phase and 11.5% during the combined intervention phase, indicating that these changes can effectively lower energy intake.
Infants are highly social and much early learning takes place in a social context during interactions with caregivers. Previous research shows that social scaffolding - responsive parenting and joint attention - can confer benefits for infants' long-term development and learning. However, little previous research has examined whether dynamic (moment-to-moment) adaptations in adults' social scaffolding are able to produce immediate effects on infants' performance.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground: Overconsumption of energy from food contributes to high rates of overweight and obesity in many populations. A promising set of interventions tested in pilot studies in worksite cafeterias, suggests energy intake may be reduced by increasing the proportion of healthier - i.e.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChildren, as well as adults, often imitate causally unnecessary actions. Three experiments investigated whether such "over-imitation" occurs because these actions are interpreted as performed for the movement's sake (i.e.
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