Two Strains of and the Progeny from Their Mating Display Differential Memory-Forming Ability on Associative Learning Tasks.

The pond snail learns and forms long-term memory (LTM) following both operant conditioning of aerial respiratory behavior and classical conditioning of taste aversive behavior. In the present study, we examined whether there are interstrain differences in the ability to form LTM following these two types of conditioning. A strain of (TC1) collected in Alberta, Canada exhibits superior memory-forming ability following aerial respiratory operant conditioning compared to a laboratory-reared strain of from Netherlands known as the Dutch strain.

Qualitatively Coherent Representation Makes Decision-Making Easier with Binary-Colored Multi-Attribute Tables: An Eye-Tracking Study.

We aimed to identify the ways in which coloring cells affected decision-making in the context of binary-colored multi-attribute tables, using eye movement data. In our black-white attribute tables, the value of attributes was limited to two (with a certain threshold for each attribute) and each cell of the table was colored either black or white on the white background. We compared the two natural ways of systematic color assignment: "quantitatively coherent" ways and "qualitatively coherent" ways (namely, the ways in which the black-white distinction represented the quantitative amount distinction, and the ways in which the black-white distinction represented the quality distinction).

Effects of an Additional Sequence of Color Stimuli on Visuomotor Sequence Learning.

Through practice, people are able to integrate a secondary sequence (e.g., a stimulus-based sequence) into a primary sequence (e.

The Role of Circadian Rhythms in Muscular and Osseous Physiology and Their Regulation by Nutrition and Exercise.

The mammalian circadian clock regulates the day and night cycles of various physiological functions. The circadian clock system consists of a central clock in the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN) of the hypothalamus and peripheral clocks in peripheral tissues. According to the results of circadian transcriptomic studies in several tissues, the majority of rhythmic genes are expressed in a tissue-specific manner and are influenced by tissue-specific circadian rhythms.

Homeostatically Maintained Resting Naive CD4 T Cells Resist Latent HIV Reactivation.

Homeostatic proliferation (HSP) is a major mechanism by which long-lived naïve and memory CD4 T cells are maintained and suggested to contribute to the persistence of the latent HIV-1 reservoir. However, while many latency models rely on CD4 T cells that were initially differentiated via T-cell receptor (TCR) stimulation into memory/effector cells, latent infection of naïve resting CD4 T cells maintained under HSP conditions has not been fully addressed. Here, we describe an HSP culture system utilizing the cytokines IL-7 and IL-15 that allows studying latency in naïve resting CD4 T cells.

Ecophysiology and Comparative Genomics of Ms1 Isolated from Autotrophic Nitrifying Granules of Wastewater Treatment Bioreactor.

Ammonia-oxidizing bacteria (AOB), which oxidize ammonia to nitrite in the first step of nitrification, play an important role in biological wastewater treatment systems. is an important and dominant AOB in various wastewater treatment systems. However, the detailed physiological and genomic properties of have not been thoroughly investigated because of limited success isolating pure cultures.

Avian Test Battery for the Evaluation of Developmental Abnormalities of Neuro- and Reproductive Systems.

Most of the currently used toxicity assays for environmental chemicals use acute or chronic systemic or reproductive toxicity endpoints rather than neurobehavioral endpoints. In addition, the current standard approaches to assess reproductive toxicity are time-consuming. Therefore, with increasing numbers of chemicals being developed with potentially harmful neurobehavioral effects in higher vertebrates, including humans, more efficient means of assessing neuro- and reproductive toxicity are required.

Probability Weighting Functions Derived from Hyperbolic Time Discounting: Psychophysical Models and Their Individual Level Testing.

A probability weighting function (w(p)) is considered to be a nonlinear function of probability (p) in behavioral decision theory. This study proposes a psychophysical model of probability weighting functions derived from a hyperbolic time discounting model and a geometric distribution. The aim of the study is to show probability weighting functions from the point of view of waiting time for a decision maker.

Color-Shape Associations in Deaf and Hearing People.

Studies have contended that neurotypical Japanese individuals exhibit consistent color-shape associations (red-circle, yellow-triangle, and blue-square) and those color-shape associations could be constructed by common semantic information between colors and shapes through learning and/or language experiences. Here, we conducted two experiments using a direct questionnaire survey and an indirect behavioral test (Implicit Association Test), to examine whether the construction of color-shape associations entailed phonological information by comparing color-shape associations in deaf and hearing participants. The results of the direct questionnaire showed that deaf and hearing participants had similar patterns of color-shape associations (red-circle, yellow-triangle, and blue-square).

The Influence of Human Body Orientation on Distance Judgments.

People maintain larger distances to other peoples' front than to their back. We investigated if humans also judge another person as closer when viewing their front than their back. Participants watched animated virtual characters (avatars) and moved a virtual plane toward their location after the avatar was removed.

Temporal and Spatial Predictability of an Irrelevant Event Differently Affect Detection and Memory of Items in a Visual Sequence.

We examined how the temporal and spatial predictability of a task-irrelevant visual event affects the detection and memory of a visual item embedded in a continuously changing sequence. Participants observed 11 sequentially presented letters, during which a task-irrelevant visual event was either present or absent. Predictabilities of spatial location and temporal position of the event were controlled in 2 × 2 conditions.