Early differential impact of MeCP2 mutations on functional networks in Rett syndrome patient-derived human cerebral organoids.

Human cerebral organoids derived from induced pluripotent stem cells can recapture early developmental processes and reveal changes involving neurodevelopmental disorders. Mutations in the X-linked methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) gene are associated with Rett syndrome, and disease severity varies depending on the location and type of mutation. Here, we focused on neuronal activity in Rett syndrome patient-derived organoids, analyzing two types of MeCP2 mutations - a missense mutation (R306C) and a truncating mutation (V247X) - using calcium imaging with three-photon microscopy.

Coming out as trans: parental support mediates mental health effects.

Objective: The present study explores how coming out to parents - in terms of both status (being out vs. not) and, if out, experience (continuum from rejection to acceptance) - affects trans people's mental health.

Method: Participants were 509 young adult trans individuals from Germany (community-based sample; 50% gender binary, 50% nonbinary; 16-35 years).

Men's baldness stigma: A mixed methods international survey.

Men's baldness can be structurally stigmatized. For example, commercialized psychology research medicalizes it as a distressing "disease." A mixed-methods survey on baldness stigma among 357 balding men (49% from Central- and South- America, Africa, Asia) was conducted.

Heterosexual, Lesbian, and Gay Adults' Reactions to Same-Gender versus Other-Gender Flirtation: Findings from a German Study.

Using a vignette methodology, this study examined reactions to same-gender versus other-gender flirtation in a sample of 445 German young adults: 320 participants with a heterosexual orientation and 125 participants with a lesbian or gay (LG) orientation. Even in LG-friendly societies as Germany, receiving advances from someone of the same gender might still evoke heterosexuals' homonegativity. Another factor that might influence heterosexuals' reactions to same-gender flirtation is the fear of being misidentified as LG (social contagion concerns).