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The current set of papers in this special issue capture the range of viewpoints, scientific approaches, and populations needed to illuminate and tackle the issues of school achievement among vulnerable learners. This includes providing a framework for researchers to work from relevant policy findings, and literature reviews to small scale studies. The manuscripts also traverse different aspects of scientific inquiry – from data reported by federal and state programs, thus providing a "bird's eye view" of findings, to more granular neurobiological approaches. Across all papers is the clear theme of needing to shift from where we have been in order to establish a path forward for where we need to go to account for learners that have been relatively neglected in scientific studies. To break down barriers of inequity and increase our understanding of causes and consequences of vulnerable learners, there is a need to re‐think how we establish policies and allocate funds, as well as broadening our lens as we conduct scientific studies. Each piece in this special issue calls for the need to better understand these issues that vulnerable learners face to address inequities in our educational ecosystems. Together they provide a rich set of insights that have significant implications for science and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This Special Issue of Human Brain Mapping is dedicated to a 10‐year anniversary of the Enhancing NeuroImaging Genetics through Meta‐Analysis (ENIGMA) Consortium. It reports updates from a broad range of international neuroimaging projects that pool data from around the world to answer fundamental questions in neuroscience. Since ENIGMA was formed in December 2009, the initiative grew into a worldwide effort with over 2,000 participating scientists from 45 countries, and over 50 working groups leading large‐scale studies of human brain disorders. Over the last decade, many lessons were learned on how best to pool brain data from diverse sources. Working groups were created to develop methods to analyze worldwide data from anatomical and diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), resting state and task‐based functional MRI, electroencephalography (EEG), magnetoencephalography (MEG), and magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS). The quest to understand genetic effects on human brain development and disease also led to analyses of brain scans on an unprecedented scale. Genetic roadmaps of the human cortex were created by researchers worldwide who collaborated to perform statistically well‐powered analyses of common and rare genetic variants on brain measures and rates of brain development and aging. Here, we summarize the 31 papers in this Special Issue, covering: (a) technical approaches to harmonize analysis of different types of brain imaging data, (b) reviews of the last decade of work by several of ENIGMA's clinical and technical working groups, and (c) new empirical papers reporting large‐scale international brain mapping analyses in patients with substance use disorders, schizophrenia, bipolar disorders, major depression, posttraumatic stress disorder, obsessive compulsive disorder, epilepsy, and stroke. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Philosophy and science have always striven to make sense of the world, continuously influencing each other in the process. Their interplay paved the way for neurophilosophy, which harnesses neuroscientific insights to address traditionally philosophical questions. Given the rapid neuroscientific and technological advances in recent years, this paper argues that philosophers who wish to tackle intractable philosophical problems and influence public discourse and policies should engage in neuro‐techno‐philosophy. This novel type of inquiry describes the transdisciplinary endeavor of philosophers, (neuro)scientists, and others to anticipate the societal implications of the impending transformations of subjects and theorizers. While human enhancement is likely to irreversibly change what it means to be human, disruptive technologies might lead to the emergence of artificial intelligent agents and human‐machine hybrids. The paper predicts that neuro‐techno‐philosophy will be indispensable to understanding and engaging with these game‐changing innovations and thus play a pivotal role in the future of philosophy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Within geography, situated, contextualised, and contingent embodiment is a central theme in non‐representational theory, mobility theories, and feminist, affective, and emotional geographies. Despite this focus on the body, engagement with the strong embodiment hypotheses emerging out of neuroscience, psychology, and philosophy has been limited to only selective theoretical borrowings with practically no attention given to the burgeoning empirical evidence of the relationship between body, mind, and environment. While the neural turn within the discipline has been acknowledged, the flow of influence is found to be largely unidirectional, where cognitive science, and the neurogovernance that stems from it, pays scant attention to the contingencies of spatial lives. At the same time, geographers have been critical of the universalising tendencies and narrow empiricism of neuroscience. This paper advocates a rapprochement between geography and neuroscience following Barad's agential realism approach. Using the geographies of ageing as a case that has relevance across the discipline, cognitive embodiments are understood as body–mind–environment assemblages that continuously co‐constitute material difference, constraint, and possibility for bodies as they age. A focus on recent studies of embodied ageing that show cognition to be both embodied and inherently spatial is used to inspire a critical neuro‐geography that rethinks ageing in place, age‐friendly cities, and age‐related public health interventions, such as those for the COVID‐19 crisis. The paper aims to inspire further critical neuro‐geographies that think through body–mind–environment assemblages and material–discursive intra‐actions without separating mind/body or nature/culture. This paper sets out a critical neuro‐geography of ageing using Barad's agential realism approach. Body–mind–environment assemblages bring together literature from geographical gerontology, environmental gerontology, and the latest findings from studies of the embodied cognition of older adults. A contextualised critical neuro‐geography has the potential to inform public health policy and the design of spaces that prolong health and well‐being not just for older persons but at all stages of the life course. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Consumer neuroscience is a growing field in both marketing and consumer behavior research. The number of articles published on the topic has increased exponentially in the last 15 years. However, there is still no comprehensive analysis of the literature highlighting the main constructs, trends and research gaps found in such a large collection of papers. Therefore, this paper provides a text mining (TM) analysis that clusters and systematizes the complex and dispersed information of 469 articles, using the correlated topic model algorithm (CTM). Results show that "consumer neuroscience", "brand memory", and "willingness to buy" are the most relevant topics in the field. This study also reveals that the literature has been focusing on ethical concerns as well as on controversial concerns in the use of consumer neuroscience techniques. We include a final section on future research questions and opportunities that emerged from the conducted research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Psychodynamic psychotherapy does not feature in current treatment guidelines for attention‐deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in the United Kingdom. However, there is some psychoanalytic understanding of the disorder, which is corroborated in current neuroscientific theory, and supports clinicians in thinking beyond the behaviourally biased diagnosis and treatment models. One of the core features of ADHD is distortions in chronoception. This clinical paper therefore explores the psychoanalytic and neuroscientific theories of time perception as a way of exploring a discrete element of the complex idea of executive functioning more generally. It supports therapists approaching such executive dysfunction and to reconsider the treatment guidelines. A case example is used to explore how a transference‐, affect‐ and relationally‐focussed therapy can effect lasting change for people with ADHD in a way that behavioural and medication approaches do not. It is argued that such an intervention can improve oscillatory attention between subjective‐ and objective‐time and increase the capacity to self‐contain emotions. This brings patients into alignment with reality and restarts their psychic development towards themselves, others, the parental couple and grieving, which stalled in infancy. The internalised schema of the 50‐minute therapy session also provides a frame of reference for future tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The clonal selection theory (CST) is the centrepiece of the current paradigm used to explain immune recognition and memory. Throughout the past decades, the original CST had been expanded and modified to explain new experimental evidences since its original publication by Burnet. This gave origin to new paradigms that govern experimental immunology nowadays, such as the associative recognition of antigen model and the stranger/danger signal model. However, these new theories also do not fully explain experimental findings such as natural autoimmune immunoglobulins, idiotypic networks, low and high dose tolerance, and dual‐receptor T and B cells. To make sense of these empirical data, some authors have been trying to change the paradigm of immune cognition using a systemic approach, analogies with brain processing and concepts from second‐order cybernetics. In the present paper, we review the CST and some of the theories/hypotheses derived from it, focusing on immune recognition. We point out their main weaknesses and highlight arguments made by their opponents and believers. We conclude that, until now, none of the proposed theories can fully explain the totality of immune phenomena and that a theory of everything is needed in immunology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recent work in several fields of psychology has advanced understanding of how humans imaginatively construct, simulate and (pre‐)feel the future. These advances have not yet been substantively engaged in social and cultural geography. In this paper, we identify, review and begin to draw together scholarship in human geography and several subfields of psychology on the ways in which people imagine and navigate towards the future. The most influential existing work on the future in geography has concerned powerful institutional and discursive depictions of threatening times‐to‐come. In contrast, psychological and neuroscientific work on cognitive processes involved in prospection extends possibilities for a human geographical approach to the future considering how people relate to discursive imaginaries and spatial environments. Reinvigoration of the human geography‐psychology nexus can further critical understanding of the spatialities through which futures are imaginatively formed and felt by individuals, and are thereby brought into the realm of political and social possibility. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The initial version of the article by Clithero, Karmarkar, Nave, and Plassmann (Journal of Consumer Psychology, 2024) was critiqued by open comments from a small group of scholars. Their suggestions encouraged the authors to clarify challenging relationships between brain processes and emotions, beliefs, and actions. The revision expanded fMRI and EEG to include measures of vision, facial expression, breathing, heart rhythms, and blood chemistry. The paper provides multiple avenues of joint work between neurological and psychological scholars. The comments below reflect different reactions to the final article. Wes Hutchinson acknowledges that neuroscience insights complement cognitive measures that generate explicit measures of thought, emotion, or preferences, but he warns that repeated measures over time are problematic for both types of measurement, and the inherent complexity of brain–behavior relationships is often underestimated. With both orientations, understanding the functioning of human behavior is akin to making sense of an orchestra, where the interactive blending of different instruments and musicians reflects a complex activity that generates sounds, emotions, and stories. Both consumer neuroscientists and psychologists need to broaden their paradigmatic approaches with bodily measures and advanced psychological procedures to overcome challenges to joint progress. Martin Reiman asserts that despite difficulties with measures that have different levels of abstraction or velocity, research has provided remarkable associations between brain activity and consumer behavior. Effective studies merging brain and behavior can effectively proceed with studies that differ in two dimensions: first, by altering the number of variables, and second, by shifting whether the scientific paradigm is inductive or deductive. In its simple form, the Excavation path explores brain activity when a person is exposed to specific statements or emotions. In its most challenging form, Integrative Studies generate predictions from theories that test the convergent validity of divergent measures and leverage skills from different researchers. Studies reflecting high levels on one dimension but low levels on the other can also provide fruitful research opportunities. Brian Knutson, like Reimann, counters the idea that consumer psychology has not lived up to its promises. He references studies showing that activity from very specific areas of the brain reliably predicts choices better than explicit ratings or choices. Such research generates deductions from increasingly precise neural maps that enable confirmation of theory. That said, he acknowledges that consumer neuroscience is not able to identify a brain button that would alter choice through manipulated neurostimulation. However, since human brains are similar across people, the depth of neural insights that are consistent across a small sample of 40 respondents may generate greater insights than conventional marketing research with 2000 respondents. The cost of neuroscience will further decrease with gains in reliability, validity, and generalizability, particularly if augmented with bodily measures. He acknowledges that the theoretical side has developed more slowly than applications, particularly applications that are supported by sponsoring organizations more satisfied with local insights than general models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Integrative psychotherapeutic practice is the process of creating a broad, overarching framework as a guide to selecting and combining concepts and interventions. Attracting attention over the past 20 years, it has been identified as the dominant trend in family therapy moving into the 21st century. It is no surprise that clinicians necessarily combine several theories, techniques, and factors in their work given the multidimensional nature of work with clients and families. Integrative practice has evolved over time with different models and frameworks proposed, and yet in the field, there are concerns that it is not widely taught despite many identifying as eclectic or integrative. The purpose of this paper is twofold. Firstly, it reviews the topic of integrative practice, its history, evolution, strengths and pitfalls, and models. Secondly, a systemic meta‐framework is proposed as a guide to clinical practice and teaching. The review found a move from eclecticism to integrative practice, with the evolution of integration leading to five primary methods. The proposed QIFT Systemic Meta‐Framework for Integrative Practice both fits within and extends these methods, with the following key elements: way of being, therapeutic alliance with a focus on neurobiology, systemic assessment and formulation, and decision‐making highlighting theory of change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of an online module in promoting study strategies based on neuroscience applied to education for first‐year dental students at the University of the Andes in Santiago, Chile. Methods: Four weeks after the start of the 2018 first academic semester, all 82 first‐year dental students (72% females, 28% males, average 19.0 years old) were invited to voluntarily and anonymously complete the self‐reported Study Strategies Questionnaire (SSQ) in a session of an Introduction to Dentistry course, which served as a baseline. Subsequently, the session included an interactive workshop on learning how to learn so that students could analyse how the human brain learns and relate this information to mental tools to foster learning. Furthermore, during the semester, students were sent information via email to reinforce the content they were exposed to during the learning how to learn activity so that they could use the toolbox of study techniques to improve their learning in all subjects. At the end of the semester, students were invited to voluntarily and anonymously complete a second SSQ to assess the effects of the study intervention. Exam marks from the previous (2017) and studied year (2018), as well as both SSQ results, were compared and analysed using IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Results: A total of 75 and 71 students answered the SSQ before and after the intervention, respectively. The mean exam mark from 2017 was 63.7% (SD = 8.8), whilst in 2018, it was 69.6% (SD = 5.0) (p <.044); the effect size of the intervention was 0.75. The most significant changes observed after the intervention were reductions in the number of students who studied whilst checking messages on their smartphones (p =.001), studied by highlighting and/or underlining in their notes or textbooks (p ≤.0001) and studied the day before an examination (p ≥.0001). On the contrary, there were significant increases in the number of students who studied without access to social networks (p =.046), wrote notes or words in the margins of texts (p =.001), practised self‐testing (p =.001) and studied the day before an examination (p ≤.0001). Conclusions: An online module to promote evidence‐based study strategies in first‐year dental students can have an impact on increasing students' marks as well as on some practices that can improve their academic achievements and learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Over the last three decades, the human brain and its role in determining behavior have been receiving a growing amount of attention in academia as well as in society more generally. Neuroscientific explanations of human behavior or other phenomena are often especially appealing to lay people. Therefore, neuroscientific explanations that can affect individuals, groups, or social relations in general should be formulated in a careful and responsible way. One field in which especially feminist scholars request more caution is the neuroscientific examination of sex/gender differences. Feminist scholars have described various ways in which sexist bias might be present in neuroscientific research on sex/gender differences. In this context, they coined the term "neurosexism" to describe the entanglement between neuroscientific work and sexist ideology, and "neurofeminism" as a response to that. Here, we aim to give an overview over the contemporary neurofeminist literature. In the first part, common levels of analysis in the neurofeminist literature are presented and the research level is explored in more detail. In the second part, some common developments in more recent neurofeminist scholarship are discussed. For this, we review recent publications with the aim to provide neuroscientists with a solid understanding of neurofeminist criticism so that they may evaluate neuroscientific claims about on sex/gender differences from this critical perspective. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus have been implicated as part of a tinnitus network by a number of studies. These structures are usually considered in the context of a "limbic system," a concept typically invoked to explain the emotional response to tinnitus. Despite this common framing, it is not apparent from current literature that this is necessarily the main functional role of these structures in persistent tinnitus. Here, we highlight a different role that encompasses their most commonly implicated functional position within the brain—that is, as a memory system. We consider tinnitus as an auditory object that is held in memory, which may be made persistent by associated activity from the hippocampus and parahippocampal gyrus. Evidence from animal and human studies implicating these structures in tinnitus is reviewed and used as an anchor for this hypothesis. We highlight the potential for the hippocampus/parahippocampal gyrus to facilitate maintenance of the memory of the tinnitus percept via communication with auditory cortex, rather than (or in addition to) mediating emotional responses to this percept. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Age‐associated alterations in bladder control affect millions of older adults, with a heavy burden added to families both economically and in quality of life. Therapeutic options are limited with poor efficacy in older adults, lending to a growing need to address the gaps in our current understanding of urinary tract aging. This review summarizes the current knowledge of age‐associated alterations in the structure and function of the brain–bladder axis and identifies important gaps in the field that have yet to be addressed. Urinary aging is associated with decreased tissue responsiveness, decreased control over the voiding reflex, signaling dysfunction along the brain–bladder axis, and structural changes within the bladder wall. Studies are needed to improve our understanding of how age affects the brain–bladder axis and identify genetic targets that correlate with functional outcomes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The history of Danish neuroscience starts with an account of impressive contributions made at the 17th century. Thomas Bartholin was the first Danish neuroscientist, and his disciple Nicolaus Steno became internationally one of the most prominent neuroscientists in this period. From the start, Danish neuroscience was linked to clinical disciplines. This continued in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries with new initiatives linking basic neuroscience to clinical neurology and psychiatry in the same scientific environment. Subsequently, from the middle of the 20th century, basic neuroscience was developing rapidly within the preclinical university sector. Clinical neuroscience continued and was even reinforced during this period with important translational research and a close co‐operation between basic and clinical neuroscience. To distinguish 'history' from 'present time' is not easy, as many historical events continue in present time. Therefore, we decided to consider 'History' as new major scientific developments in Denmark, which were launched before the end of the 20th century. With this aim, scientists mentioned will have been born, with a few exceptions, no later than the early 1960s. However, we often refer to more recent publications in documenting the developments of initiatives launched before the end of the last century. In addition, several scientists have moved to Denmark after the beginning of the present century, and they certainly are contributing to the present status of Danish neuroscience—but, again, this is not the History of Danish neuroscience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the staggering complexity of the brain and its neural circuitry, neuroscientists rely on the analysis of mathematical models to elucidate its function. From Hodgkin and Huxley's detailed description of the action potential in 1952 to today, new theories and increasing computational power have opened up novel avenues to study how neural circuits implement the computations that underlie behaviour. Computational neuroscientists have developed many models of neural circuits that differ in complexity, biological realism or emergent network properties. With recent advances in experimental techniques for detailed anatomical reconstructions or large‐scale activity recordings, rich biological data have become more available. The challenge when building network models is to reflect experimental results, either through a high level of detail or by finding an appropriate level of abstraction. Meanwhile, machine learning has facilitated the development of artificial neural networks, which are trained to perform specific tasks. While they have proven successful at achieving task‐oriented behaviour, they are often abstract constructs that differ in many features from the physiology of brain circuits. Thus, it is unclear whether the mechanisms underlying computation in biological circuits can be investigated by analysing artificial networks that accomplish the same function but differ in their mechanisms. Here, we argue that building biologically realistic network models is crucial to establishing causal relationships between neurons, synapses, circuits and behaviour. More specifically, we advocate for network models that consider the connectivity structure and the recorded activity dynamics while evaluating task performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Positron emission tomography (PET) is a powerful tool in medicine and drug development, allowing for non‐invasive imaging and quantitation of biological processes in live organisms. Targets are often probed with small molecules, but antibody‐based PET is expanding because of many benefits, including ease of design of new antibodies toward targets, as well as the very strong affinities that can be expected. Application of antibodies to PET imaging of targets in the central nervous system (CNS) is a particularly nascent field, but one with tremendous potential. In this review, we discuss the growth of PET in imaging of CNS targets, present the promises and progress in antibody‐based CNS PET, explore challenges faced by the field, and discuss questions that this promising approach will need to answer moving forward for imaging and perhaps even radiotherapy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The calculation of so-called "brain age" from structural MRIs has been an emerging biomarker in aging research. Data suggests that discrepancies between chronological age and the predicted age of the brain may be predictive of mortality and morbidity (for review, see Cole, Marioni, Harris, & Deary, 2019). However, with these promising results come technical complexities of how to calculate brain age. Various groups have deployed methods leveraging different statistical approaches, often crafting novel algorithms for assessing this biomarker derived from structural MRIs. There remain many open questions about the reliability, collinearity, and predictive power of different algorithms. Here, we complete a rigorous systematic comparison of three commonly used, previously published brain age algorithms (XGBoost, brainageR, and DeepBrainNet) to serve as a foundation for future applied research. First, using multiple datasets with repeated structural MRI scans, we calculated two metrics of reliability (intraclass correlations and Bland--Altman bias). We then considered correlations between brain age variables, chronological age, biological sex, and image quality. We also calculated the magnitude of collinearity between approaches. Finally, we used machine learning approaches to identify significant predictors across brain age algorithms related to clinical diagnoses of cognitive impairment. Using a large sample (N = 2557), we find all three commonly used brain age algorithms demonstrate excellent reliability (r > .9). We also note that brainageR and DeepBrainNet are reasonably correlated with one another, and that the XGBoost brain age is strongly related to image quality. Finally, and notably, we find that XGBoost brain age calculations were more sensitive to the detection of clinical diagnoses of cognitive impairment. We close this work with recommendations for future research studies focused on brain age. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Spatial transcriptomics is a newly emerging field that enables high‐throughput investigation of the spatial localization of transcripts and related analyses in various applications for biological systems. By transitioning from conventional biological studies to "in situ" biology, spatial transcriptomics can provide transcriptome‐scale spatial information. Currently, the ability to simultaneously characterize gene expression profiles of cells and relevant cellular environment is a paradigm shift for biological studies. In this review, recent progress in spatial transcriptomics and its applications in neuroscience and cancer studies are highlighted. Technical aspects of existing technologies and future directions of new developments (as of March 2023), computational analysis of spatial transcriptome data, application notes in neuroscience and cancer studies, and discussions regarding future directions of spatial multi‐omics and their expanding roles in biomedical applications are emphasized. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aims: Substance use disorders (SUD) are associated with cognitive deficits that are not always addressed in current treatments, and this hampers recovery. Cognitive training and remediation interventions are well suited to fill the gap for managing cognitive deficits in SUD. We aimed to reach consensus on recommendations for developing and applying these interventions. Design, Setting and Participants: We used a Delphi approach with two sequential phases: survey development and iterative surveying of experts. This was an on‐line study. During survey development, we engaged a group of 15 experts from a working group of the International Society of Addiction Medicine (Steering Committee). During the surveying process, we engaged a larger pool of experts (n = 54) identified via recommendations from the Steering Committee and a systematic review. Measurements: Survey with 67 items covering four key areas of intervention development: targets, intervention approaches, active ingredients and modes of delivery. Findings Across two iterative rounds (98% retention rate), the experts reached a consensus on 50 items including: (i) implicit biases, positive affect, arousal, executive functions and social processing as key targets of interventions; (ii) cognitive bias modification, contingency management, emotion regulation training and cognitive remediation as preferred approaches; (iii) practice, feedback, difficulty‐titration, bias modification, goal‐setting, strategy learning and meta‐awareness as active ingredients; and (iv) both addiction treatment work‐force and specialized neuropsychologists facilitating delivery, together with novel digital‐based delivery modalities. Conclusions: Expert recommendations on cognitive training and remediation for substance use disorders highlight the relevance of targeting implicit biases, reward, emotion regulation and higher‐order cognitive skills via well‐validated intervention approaches qualified with mechanistic techniques and flexible delivery options. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Studies in diverse species have associated higher temperatures with shorter lifespan and lower temperatures with longer lifespan. These inverse effects of temperature on longevity are traditionally explained using the rate of living theory, which posits that higher temperatures increase chemical reaction rates, thus speeding up the aging process. Recent studies have identified specific molecules and cells that affect the longevity response to temperature, indicating that this response is regulated, not simply thermodynamic. Here, we demonstrate that in Caenorhabditis elegans, functional loss of NPR‐8, a G protein‐coupled receptor related to mammalian neuropeptide Y receptors, increases worm lifespan at 25°C but not at 20°C or 15°C, and that the lifespan extension at 25°C is regulated by the NPR‐8‐expressing AWB and AWC chemosensory neurons as well as AFD thermosensory neurons. Integrative transcriptomic analyses revealed that both warm temperature and old age profoundly alter gene expression and that genes involved in the metabolic and biosynthetic processes increase expression at 25°C relative to 20°C, indicating elevated metabolism at warm temperature. These data demonstrate that the temperature‐induced longevity response is neurally regulated and also provide a partial molecular basis for the rate of living theory, suggesting that these two views are not mutually exclusive. Genetic manipulation and functional assays further uncovered that the NPR‐8‐dependent longevity response to warm temperature is achieved by regulating the expression of a subset of collagen genes. As increased collagen expression is a common feature of many lifespan‐extending interventions and enhanced stress resistance, collagen expression could be critical for healthy aging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This investigation tests whether adding an early caucus (EC) before joint session is beneficial or detrimental to the mediation process. Parties and mediators were asked open‐ended questions about the use of EC to evaluate its benefits and costs. Party and mediator responses were overwhelmingly positive. In addition, there was no evidence of potential costs of EC, increasing mediator bias or impinging on time for joint session. Most responses showed that EC helped foster a sense of control, set a calm tone, and build rapport, counteracting the typical stressors in a joint session that can hamper settlement. EC also improved the process for the mediator, providing crucial information on what to expect in joint session, time to plan for emotional joint sessions, and an early opportunity to build rapport prior to the joint session. When surveyed 5 years later, mediators had sustained their positive views about EC. To supplement these findings in a wider range of cases, the parties' evaluations of the entire mediation session were also studied, comparing previous cases without an EC, to cases with EC and other types of Prior Meetings (IPVA Screens and both EC and IPVA Screens). Prior Meetings did not degrade perception of the mediation. In fact, Prior Meetings increased parties' perceptions that mediators understood and respected them and tended to increase perceptions that the mediator clearly explained what would happen and gave everyone a chance to talk about what was important. The EC experience can be generalized to other types of meetings with the mediator prior to joint session. This empirical study has implications for the current discussions about use of pre‐mediation sessions and concerns about declining use of joint session. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of mixed reality in science education has been increasing and as such it has become more important to understand how information is learned in these virtual environments. Spatial ability is important in many learning contexts, but especially in neuroanatomy education where learning the locations and spatial relationships between brain regions is paramount. It is currently unclear what role spatial ability plays in mixed reality learning environments, and whether it is different compared to traditional physical environments. To test this, a learning experiment was conducted where students learned neuroanatomy using both mixed reality and a physical plastic model of a brain (N = 27). Spatial ability was assessed and analyzed to determine its effect on performance across the two learning modalities. The results showed that spatial ability facilitated learning in mixed reality (β = 0.21, P = 0.003), but not when using a plastic model (β = 0.08, P = 0.318). A non‐significant difference was observed between the modalities in terms of knowledge test performance (d = 0.39, P = 0.052); however, mixed reality was more engaging (d = 0.59, P = 0.005) and learners were more confident in the information they learned compared to using a physical model (d = 0.56, P = 0.007). Overall, these findings suggest that spatial ability is more relevant in virtual learning environments, where the ability to manipulate and interact with an object is diminished or abstracted through a virtual user interface. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Intersections between psychotherapy and neurosciences are at its dawn. The quest to understand the neural underpinnings of psychological processes has led several generations of scientists to explore neural correlates between mind, brain and behaviour. Neuroscience methods and research have given psychology new perspectives and insights about the structure and function of complex neural pathways that underlie human functioning (cognition, emotion, motivation, somatic reactions and interpersonal behaviour). By translating neuroscientific findings into psychotherapeutic principles of change, it is possible to promote responsiveness towards brain dysfunction that underlies patients' psychological malfunctioning. In psychotherapy, responsiveness is a core aspect of the therapeutic change process, especially to adapt psychological interventions to patients' motivational stages and preferences, coping styles, neurobehavioural modes and emotional needs. Within a transtheoretical and translational approach, contemporary neuroscientific findings are revised, discussed and used to attempt to build on 14 theoretical brain‐based principles that may be applied to psychotherapy. Translating these empirical findings into practical principles, clinical strategies and tasks is expected to enhance psychotherapy responsiveness grounded on a science‐based knowledge of brain functioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Establishment of correct synaptic connections is a crucial step during neural circuitry formation. The Teneurin family of neuronal transmembrane proteins promotes cell–cell adhesion via homophilic and heterophilic interactions, and is required for synaptic partner matching in the visual and hippocampal systems in vertebrates. It remains unclear how individual Teneurins form macromolecular cis‐ and trans‐synaptic protein complexes. Here, we present a 2.7 Å cryo‐EM structure of the dimeric ectodomain of human Teneurin4. The structure reveals a compact conformation of the dimer, stabilized by interactions mediated by the C‐rich, YD‐shell, and ABD domains. A 1.5 Å crystal structure of the C‐rich domain shows three conserved calcium binding sites, and thermal unfolding assays and SAXS‐based rigid‐body modeling demonstrate that the compactness and stability of Teneurin4 dimers are calcium‐dependent. Teneurin4 dimers form a more extended conformation in conditions that lack calcium. Cellular assays reveal that the compact cis‐dimer is compatible with homomeric trans‐interactions. Together, these findings support a role for teneurins as a scaffold for macromolecular complex assembly and the establishment of cis‐ and trans‐synaptic interactions to construct functional neuronal circuits. Synopsis: Teneurin‐family transmembrane proteins promoting homo‐ and heterophilic neuronal interactions are important for synaptic partner matching. Here, structural studies of the dimeric human Teneurin4 ectodomain reveal a compact conformation compatible with homomeric trans interactions. 2.7 Å cryo‐EM structure reveals a compact calcium‐stabilized conformation of the Teneurin4 dimer ectodomain.Crystal structure of the C‐rich domain shows three calcium ions coordinated by conserved residues.Teneurin4 can change its conformation in cis from an extended form to a more compact one.The compact Teneurin4 dimer supports homomeric cell‐cell interactions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Augmented, mixed, and virtual reality applications and content have surged into the higher education arena, thereby allowing institutions to engage in research and development projects to better understand their efficacy within curricula. However, despite the increasing interest, there remains a lack of robust empirical evidence to justify the mainstream acceptance of this approach as an effective and efficient learning tool. In this study, the impact of a mixed reality application focused on long spinal cord sensory and motor pathways is explored in comparison to an existing resource already embedded within an active curriculum (e.g., anatomy drawing screencasts). To assess the changes in learner gain, a quasi‐randomized control trial with a pre‐ and post‐test methodology was used on a cohort of Year 2 medical students, with both the absolute and normalized gain calculated. Similar patterns of learner gain were observed between the two groups; only the multiple‐choice questionnaires were shown to be answered significantly higher with the screencast group. This study adds important empirical data to the emerging field of immersive technologies and the specific impact on short‐term knowledge gain for neuroanatomy teaching, specifically that of long sensory and motor pathways. Despite the limitations of the study, it provides important additional data to the field and intends to support colleagues across the education landscape in making evidence‐informed decisions about the value of including such resources into their curricula. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cells expressing high levels of the cyclin‐dependent kinase (CDK)4/6 inhibitor p16 (p16High) accumulate in aging tissues and promote multiple age‐related pathologies, including neurodegeneration. Here, we show that the number of p16High cells is significantly increased in the central nervous system (CNS) of 2‐year‐old mice. Bulk RNAseq indicated that genes expressed by p16High cells were associated with inflammation and phagocytosis. Single‐cell RNAseq of brain cells indicated p16High cells were primarily microglia, and their accumulation was confirmed in brains of aged humans. Interestingly, we identified two distinct subpopulations of p16High microglia in the mouse brain, with one being age‐associated and one present in young animals. Both p16High clusters significantly differed from previously described disease‐associated microglia and expressed only a partial senescence signature. Taken together, our study provides evidence for the existence of two p16‐expressing microglia populations, one accumulating with age and another already present in youth that could positively and negatively contribute to brain homeostasis, function, and disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some philosophers and scientists have argued that we humans cannot be held morally responsible for anything. Invoking results of the neurosciences and the cognitive sciences, they argue that humans lack the kind of conscious control and awareness required for moral responsibility. For theological ethics and Christian theology as a whole, moral responsibility is indispensable. I will begin by outlining some empirical results that are invoked in support of moral responsibility skepticism. I will, then, examine the subsequent discussion and the question why conscious awareness is central to moral responsibility. Consciousness contributes to morally relevant control over action in multiple ways. I will briefly examine some accounts of conscious control that are resistant to the skeptical challenge. Although the empirical results might lead us to revise the degree and range of conscious control, there seems to be enough of it to ground many everyday practices of responsibility. I will conclude the article with some theological reflections. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Research examining the effects of smoking on neurobiological reward systems continues to grow, but has had limited influence outside the field of neuroscience. Methodological innovations that help bridge the gap between laboratory and real-world contexts are critical for maximizing the real-world impact of this work.