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Abstract\nLay summary\nIMPLICATIONS FOR PRACTICEThis study explores the impact of app-based imagery and traditional methods (i.e., reflective diary) on cognitive-specific (CS) imagery in junior national squash athletes. A total of 75 participants (mean age = 15.22, SD = 2.14) without prior imagery training were allocated into app-based imagery (n = 25), reflective diary (n = 25), and control groups (n = 25). After an imagery workshop and a 12-week reinforcement, CS imagery scores were assessed pretest, post-test, and follow-up using the Sport Imagery Questionnaire (SIQ), as well as technical shot execution (i.e., drive, boast, dropshot, lob, and volley). Using one-way repeated measures analysis of variance and the Friedman test, we examined differences in CS imagery and technical skills across timepoints. The app-based group showed significant improvements in SIQ scores at post- (F(2,72) = 58.53, p < .001, η2 = 0.61) and follow-up tests (F(2,72) = 97.31, p < .001, η2 = 0.73), as well as in technical skills (drive, χ2(2) = 40.92, p < 0.001; boast, χ2(2) = 45.81, p < 0.001; dropshot, χ2(2) = 38.57, p < 0.001; lob, χ2(2) = 42.51, p < 0.001; volley, χ2(2) = 41.81, p < 0.001). A post-hoc analysis revealed that the app-based imagery group experienced the most substantial effect, surpassing reflective diary and control groups, indicating the effectiveness of app-based interventions in enhancing CS imagery and technical performance. The results demonstrate that mobile applications represent a practical and effective substitute for traditional imagery and mental skill reinforcement techniques, rendering these essential tools more accessible to athletes.This study supports the effectiveness of app-based imagery in enhancing cognitive-specific imagery and technical skills among junior national squash athletes. It presents a robust alternative to the conventional reinforcement method, demonstrating greater effectiveness in comparative testing.Implementing app-based imagery as reinforcement following an imagery workshop can enhance the retention of knowledge and behavioral change in imagery skills.Mobile application technology serves as an effective medium for delivering reinforcement plans and improving imagery and technical performance.Given its interactive design tailored to an age group accustomed to mobile learning, app-based imagery can surpass conventional methods in effectiveness.Implementing app-based imagery as reinforcement following an imagery workshop can enhance the retention of knowledge and behavioral change in imagery skills.Mobile application technology serves as an effective medium for delivering reinforcement plans and improving imagery and technical performance.Given its interactive design tailored to an age group accustomed to mobile learning, app-based imagery can surpass conventional methods in effectiveness. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

AbstractObjectiveDesignStudy sampleResultsConclusionsVisual reinforcement audiometry (VRA) is a well-established behavioural test used to assess hearing in infants and young children. This scoping review aimed to summarise the evidence for different approaches to optimising and improving the effectiveness of VRA for clinical practice.A pre-registered scoping review was conducted.Fifty-nine original articles were included in the review.The review identified a number of factors which improved response behaviour, such as increased variety and complexity of visual reinforcers, short reinforcer durations, and providing breaks. Intermittent conditioning, where as few as 50% of conditioning trials were rewarded, did not have an impact on response behaviour, and neither did the (suprathreshold) presentation level used during conditioning. More responses were achieved for younger (around 12 months) than older (around 18–24 months) infants. Once infants were developmentally ready to condition to play audiometry, this allowed for a more comprehensive hearing evaluation.VRA is a successful behavioural hearing test for most infants of developmental age around 7–24 months, with well-established protocols describing its clinical implementation. Further evidence is needed to assess potential benefits of different reinforcers, different auditory stimuli (e.g. filtered familiar sounds), and technologies to assist response detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Contract bridge is a competitive-cooperative multiplayer game. In the bidding phase, the decision-making process is complex, given the extensive range of inaccessible information from the partner and opponents. Inferring partner private information seems to be a viable way to promote cooperation. However, extant research has neglected the reliability and effective utilization of inferred information, consequently limiting adaptability in the face of unpredictable policies and hidden hands of opponents. This paper introduces a novel bidding decision algorithm for contract bridge, utilizing generative adversarial inferring (GAI) and alternate inference-decision reinforcement learning (AID-RL). Specifically, GAI advances the reliability and rationality of partner information inference, factoring in stochastic noises and utilizing adversarial training. Concurrently, AID-RL strengthens the effective and explicit exploitation of inference by integrating a reinforcement objective that increases decision-making payoff into the inference model training alongside the original generative objective. Moreover, a novel self-play approach, augmented by the counterfactual difference reward (CDR) mechanism is proposed to expedite policy updates and ensure robust decision-making against inference biases and unknown opponents. Empirical results demonstrate the superior performance of our algorithm, attaining a noteworthy victory of + 0.359 IMPs against Wbridge5, outperforming EPNN and SiB + 0.596 and + 0.062 IMPs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cannabis demand is sensitive to next‐day responsibilities, such as job interviews; however, it is unclear how demand is affected by non‐work‐related responsibilities and how reported compatibility of cannabis use (i.e., how suitable one perceives cannabis use to be in a situation) influences demand. This study examined the effects of a range of responsibilities on cannabis demand in a crowdsourced sample of adults who smoked cannabis at least monthly (n = 177; 78% White; 47% women; mean age = 36.52). Participants completed hypothetical marijuana purchase tasks asking how much cannabis they would consume at escalating prices in the context of no responsibilities and next‐day responsibilities spanning work, leisure, and caregiving. Cannabis demand was significantly reduced in all responsibility conditions (ps < .008; ds .28–.94), with the largest reductions for the job interview and caring‐for‐kids conditions. Higher ratings of suitability of cannabis use in each situation were correlated with higher demand. Finally, a qualitative thematic analysis characterized why cannabis use was considered suitable or unsuitable with each responsibility. These results suggest that demand is sensitive to next‐day responsibilities. However, these effects are not uniform, and future research is needed to examine these individual differences and the timing of upcoming responsibilities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this study is to evaluate the feasibility and acceptability of a newly developed online psychoeducation intervention on childhood anxiety for school staff using a within groups pre‐post design. The intervention is informed by cognitive behavioural therapy principles. Seventy six participants volunteered to attend a brief online training, and complete two brief questionnaires pre and post the training. Following the intervention, school staff reported that they were significantly less likely to respond to children's anxious behaviours with anxiety‐promoting responses (i.e., sanctions, avoidance reinforcement and overprotection), and were more likely to respond with autonomy‐promoting responses in line with cognitive behavioural theory (i.e., problem‐solving, reward and encouragement). On average, participants found the intervention engaging, useful, suitable, appropriate and easy‐to‐access. Participants also reported that they felt more confident in understanding childhood anxiety and implementing anxiety strategies in their work following the intervention. Areas of development were noted regarding the drop‐out rates of the online intervention. Overall, the novel, online intervention appears to be a feasible and acceptable method for those who participated. In addition, the preliminary outcomes show promise and warrant further investigation. Limitations of the study are discussed with suggestions for future research and areas for improvement. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Functional communication training is an effective intervention for establishing an appropriate, alternative response that produces the functional reinforcer maintaining challenging behavior. Once the alternative response is established, it is differentially reinforced—typically using dense schedules—while challenging behavior is placed on extinction. After achieving clinically significant reductions in challenging behavior, reinforcement schedule thinning is conducted to promote the maintenance of the alternative response under more practical reinforcement schedules. In the current study, we compared two different methods for thinning the schedule of reinforcement for the alternative response to a terminal schedule. One method, referred to as the dense‐to‐lean (DTL) approach, involves gradually decreasing the density of alternative reinforcement over successive sessions until the terminal schedule is reached. Another method, referred to as the fixed‐lean (FL) approach, involves abruptly decreasing the density of alternative reinforcement by rapidly transitioning to the terminal schedule. Whereas the former approach has been evaluated extensively within the applied literature, the latter approach has not been the focus of much empirical work in either the clinic or the laboratory. An alternating treatment design was used to directly compare these approaches, both of which included noncontingent access to competing stimuli. Participants achieved clinically significant reductions in challenging behavior at the terminal schedule more readily with the FL than the DTL approach. The results are further discussed in terms of the efficacy and efficiency for both approaches, the potential mediating effect of competing stimuli, and implications for future research. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the role of reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) in statistics education among two distinct samples of undergraduate psychology students. In Study 1, 318 students in a third-year statistics course completed self-report measures of RST, anxiety, attitudes, and self-efficacy concerning the study of statistics. In Study 2, 577 students from first-, second-, and third-year statistics courses participated. Controlling for age and gender, both studies found students who were high in goal-drive persistence reported lower statistics anxiety, higher statistics self-efficacy and more favourable attitudes toward learning statistics, while students who were high in the tendency to avoid threat reported higher statistics anxiety. Those with a more sensitive behavioural inhibition system reported greater statistics anxiety and less favourable attitudes, in Study 2 but not Study 1. Results indicate that RST dimensions account for as much as 23% of additional variance in statistics anxiety, 18% in statistics self-efficacy, and 11% in attitudes, after controlling for age and gender. These studies highlight the utility of RST dimensions, notably goal-drive persistence, threat sensitivity, and behavioural inhibition, in providing critical information as to personality differences among students that need to be considered when developing programs targeting statistics anxiety, attitudes, and self-efficacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

For flight test engineering, the flight test task schedule is of great importance to the delivery node and the development cost of an aircraft, while in the real flight test process, dynamic events may frequently occur, which affect the schedule implementation and flight test progress. To adaptively adjust the real-world flight test schedule, this paper proposes a deep reinforcement learning (DRL) approach to solve the dynamic task scheduling problem for flight tests, with the objectives of flight test duration and task tardiness. Firstly, the task scheduling characteristics for flight tests are introduced, and a mixed-integer programming (MIP) model is constructed. Then, the addressed problem is formulated as a Markov decision process (MDP), including the well-designed state features, reward functions, and action space based on the heuristic rules for selecting the uncompleted flight test task and allocating the selected task to an appropriate aircraft. Proximal policy optimization (PPO) is adopted to train and learn the optimal policy. Finally, extensive experiments are carried out to verify the proposed method's effectiveness and efficiency in constructing a high-quality flight test task schedule in a dynamic flight test environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Although personality traits are assumed to have biological/physiological foundations, research has yielded mixed evidence regarding the relationship between personality and physiological stress responses. Moreover, the field has often overlooked the contemporary neuroscience-based personality approach, known as the Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (RST) of Personality, in stress research. Method: The present study examined the relationship between the revised RST's personality dimensions and heart rate and skin conductance level (SCL) in response to the Trier Social Stress Test in a sample of 61 healthy university students. Results: Piecewise latent growth curve analysis controlling for the participants' current life stress, smoking use, and caffeine intake revealed that individuals with higher behavioral inhibition exhibited higher physiological reactivity, whereas those with high reward sensitivity showed smaller heart rate reactivity. The behavioral disengagement facet of the behavioral inhibition scale was associated with reduced sympathetic arousal during the stress task. Additionally, reward interest was associated with a larger recovery of SCL. Conclusion: Results were generally in line with the revised theory. The study findings were discussed within the paradigm of the approach-avoidance conflict and highlighted the importance of reward sensitivity in stress resilience. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Under the condition of urban rail transit uncertainty of passenger demand and the high frequency of departure intervals, this study presents an innovative real-time urban rail transit (URT) train service scheduling control framework. In the context of a bidirectional urban rail transit line, a high-fidelity urban rail transit simulation environment was constructed. Within this environment, an advantage actor–critic (A2C) reinforcement learning approach was utilized to train a suitable strategy aimed at minimizing both passenger waiting costs and transit authority operational expenses. Subject to specific constraints, the strategy is designed to generate real-time train schedule based on the representation of traffic state using station congestion levels and train positions. Experimental results on Lines 3 and S7 of Nanjing Metro demonstrated the agent's effectiveness in achieving high-performance schedules across various scenarios. This research integrates deep reinforcement learning into the optimization of dynamic traffic systems, showing great potential for enhancing the efficiency and resilience of urban transport systems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Exploring what practices early childhood special education (ECSE) teachers have been exposed to and use may highlight the need for improved dissemination and implementation supports. In this survey study, 312 U.S. ECSE teachers reported exposure (familiarity, training) and use of evidence-based practices (EBPs) and low-value practices (LVPs) for children with autism. Teachers reported high familiarity, training, and use of many EBPs (e.g., modeling, reinforcement), while other EBPs remain minimally used despite high familiarity (video modeling; 23.4%). Some teachers reported not using EBPs they had been trained in. Overall, teachers reported some familiarity and use of LVPs (m = 20.47, 0%–50.64%) and minimal training (preservice = 1.6%–33.33%). Research should explore exposure and other possible explanations of the limited use of effective practices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: SYNGAP1‐ related intellectual disability (SYNGAP1‐ID) is a rare genetic disorder presenting with intellectual disability (ID), epilepsy, maladaptive behaviours and communication challenges. To date, few studies have assessed the context in which these maladaptive behaviours occur. This study aims to investigate the prevalence of problem behaviours, characterise the behavioural phenotype and use well‐validated measures to explore variables that maintain the behaviours. Methods: Our sample includes 19 individuals diagnosed with SYNGAP1‐ID and their parents. Parents provided information on behaviours that their children engage in, as well as their general behavioural dispositions. Well‐validated measures (e.g., the Repetitive Behaviour Scale‐Revised, Sensory Profile‐2 and Vineland Adaptive Behaviour Scale) were used. A subset of individuals underwent further direct experimental assessment of their problem behaviour to identify the variables maintaining those problem behaviours. Parental reports were analysed using nonparametric statistical analysis; the direct assessments of individuals' problem behaviour were analysed using visual analysis and validated supplemental measures. Results: All 19 individuals engaged in some form of maladaptive problem behaviour. Ratings of ritualistic, sameness and restricted behaviours measured by the RBS‐R were commensurate with individuals diagnosed with idiopathic autism spectrum disorder (ASD) while self‐injurious behaviours were endorsed at a higher level in SYNGAP1‐ID when compared with idiopathic ASD. The problem behaviours in our cohort of patients with SYNGAP1‐ID were maintained by automatic reinforcement and social attention and are positively correlated with atypical sensory responses. Conclusions: Individuals with SYNGAP1‐ID engage in problem behaviours commensurate with other populations (e.g., those with ASD), they exhibit atypical response to sensory stimuli. Problem behaviours were frequently maintained by automatic reinforcement, which may result from a dysregulated sensory system. Children with SYNGAP1‐ID may benefit from strategies used in persons with ASD. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aiming at the problem of isolating semantic information of existing transformer-based models in the image captioning tasks, a transformer model incorporating local graph semantic attention (TLGSA) is proposed. TLGSA consists of a multi-layer image convolutional encoder, a multi-label semantic recognizer, and a multi-layer natural language generation decoder. The image convolutional feature encoder outputs the spatial feature self-attention information, and the multi-label semantic recognizer combines the global corpus with the current image feature to output image semantic graph node encoding features using a graph convolutional neural network (GCN). The natural language decoder incorporates the input semantic self-attention, graph node encoding features, and spatial feature self-attention to form a local semantic multi-head attention, and finally generates a natural language caption of the image. Experimental results show that the proposed method has higher accuracy with meaningful semantic information than the existing SOTA methods, achieving 23%/23.2%/31.57% of Bleu-4 on the widely used test datasets Flickr8K, Flickr30K, and MS COCO, respectively, without reinforcement optimization stage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale and objective: Avoidance of opioid withdrawal plays a key role in human opioid addiction. Here, we present a procedure for studying operant negative reinforcement in rats that was inspired by primate procedures where opioid-dependent subjects lever-press to prevent naloxone infusions. Methods: In Experiment 1, we trained rats (n = 30, 15 females) to lever-press to escape and then avoid mild footshocks (0.13–0.27 mA) for 35 days (30 trials/d). Next, we catheterized them and implanted minipumps containing methadone (10 mg/kg/day) or saline. We then paired (4 times, single session) a light cue (20-s) with a naloxone infusion (20 µg/kg, i.v) that precipitated opioid withdrawal. Next, we trained the rats to escape naloxone injections for 10 days (30 trials/d). Each trial started with the onset of the opioid-withdrawal cue. After 20-s, the lever extended, and an infusion of naloxone (1 to 2.2 µg/kg/infusion) began; a lever-press during an 11-s window terminated the withdrawal-paired cue and the infusion. In Experiment 2, we trained rats (n = 34, 17 females) on the same procedure but decreased the footshock escape/avoidance training to 20 days. Results: All rats learned to lever-press to escape or avoid mild footshocks. In both experiments, a subset, 56% (10/18) and 33% (8/24) of methadone-dependent rats learned to lever-press to escape naloxone infusions. Conclusions: We introduce an operant negative reinforcement procedure where a subset of opioid-dependent rats learned to lever-press to escape withdrawal-inducing naloxone infusions. The procedure can be used to study mechanisms of individual differences in opioid negative reinforcement-related behaviors in opioid-dependent rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a prosthesis made to compensate for the residual loss of the amputee's limb, the shoulder disarticulation upper limb prosthesis replaces the missing arm function of the shoulder amputee to a certain extent. However, the current upper limb prosthesis mainly interacts with the outside world through the prosthetic hand for grasping and gripping, and the interaction between other parts and the environment is often neglected, which is not in line with the use habits of the human arm. To address this problem, this paper proposes a reinforcement learning–based method for controlling the forearm interaction of a shoulder-disconnected upper limb prosthesis, and analyzes and solves the forces during the interaction, reducing the impact of uncertainty on interaction actions and accelerating training while ensuring the stability of handheld items. We evaluated the performance of the control method during the interaction between the upper limb prosthesis and the external environment through simulation experiments. After the training, the bionic arm was able to push the object into the target range for different objects and pushing distance requirements, which showed the good control effect of the method. Also, the control method can be applied to improve the interaction between the robotic arm and the environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The original Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (oRST) proposes two systems of approach (BAS) and avoidance (BIS) motivation to underpin personality and behavior. The revised‐RST (rRST) model separates avoidance motivation into passive (BIS; anxiety) and active (FFFS; fear) systems. Prior research has attempted to map RST onto lateralized frontal asymmetry to provide a neurophysiological marker of RST. The main aim is to examine the relationships of the o/rRST scales with trait (baseline) and state (manipulated through experimental paradigms) frontal asymmetry. A systematic review was conducted, resulting in 158 studies designated to neuroimaging research. In total, 54 studies were included in this review using either frontal asymmetry or spectral power. The results were split into three main categories: resting frontal alpha asymmetry (N = 23), emotional induction and state‐related frontal alpha asymmetry (N = 20), and spectral analysis (N = 16). Findings indicated that BAS was associated with enhanced left frontal asymmetry at baseline and during state‐related paradigms. Findings for BIS were more inconsistent, especially at rest, suggesting that BIS, in particular, may require active engagement with the environment. Only 9 of the 54 papers included used the revised RST model, highlighting the need for more rRST research. In a systematic review of reinforcement sensitivity (RST) and frontal asymmetry, we observed an over‐reliance on the original RST model (BIS/BAS). This may contribute to inconsistent findings between BIS and resting frontal asymmetry, as the original RST conflates passive (anxiety) and active (fear) avoidance into one system. We argue for the shift towards the revised‐RST model. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• Integrated planning for observation and data downlink tasks. • A priority adjustment method for higher revenue rate. • Rapid inference speed for multiple satellites. The autonomous coordination and integrated planning of observation and data downlink missions for the distributed agile Earth observation satellite (AEOS) constellation hold significant importance in practical applications. In order to address this issue, we introduce an abstract universal mission model and present an algorithm rooted in deep reinforcement learning (DRL), termed the Attention-based Distributed Satellite Mission Planning (ADSMP) algorithm, which is designed to generate effective planning solutions. This algorithm employs a neural network that utilizes the attention mechanism, enabling each satellite to independently make decisions with equal intelligence. Furthermore, a mission priority adjustment method is devised to facilitate the coordination of data download and observation scheduling. The ADSMP is trained using the REINFORCE algorithm with Rollout Baseline. By conducting comparative experiments, we demonstrate that the proposed algorithm attains the highest revenue rate in corresponding scenarios, while simultaneously ensuring fast inference speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory (rRST) assumes the existence of three systems controlling motivation and behavior: the behavioral activation system (BAS), the behavioral inhibition system (BIS), and the fight-flight-freeze system (FFFS). This study aims to examine for the first time the features of BAS, BIS, and FFFS among karate players in comparison with athletes representing other sports disciplines (physical education students) and physically inactive people. The specific configuration of temperament traits and profiles characterizing karate players will also be found. Methods: The cross-sectional study was performed among male karate athletes and control groups (physically active and inactive men). The study used the modified Reinforcement Sensitivity Questionnaire (rRSQ) to measure BAS, BIS, and FFFS. Results: The ANOVA showed that both karate competitors KS and KK scored significantly higher in BAS than the sample of PI participants. In addition, KK athletes scored significantly lower in Freeze than in PI and KS groups. Research also suggests that KK athletes presented significantly lower overall scores in FFFS than PI individuals. Furthermore, the results of K-means cluster analysis indicated the existence of two distinct patterns of temperamental traits: (1) Cluster 1 suggests avoidance tendencies (high Flight and Freeze, and low BAS, BIS, and Fight levels); while (2) the Cluster 2 describes approach tendencies (high BIS, BAS and Fight scores, and low levels of Flight and Freeze). Significantly more KK athletes were included in Cluster 2 than in Cluster 1, compared to PI, PA, and KS samples. Conclusions: The research indicates that individuals engaged in karate, particularly those practicing Kyokushin karate, tend to exhibit a heightened sensitivity to rewards (high BAS). This finding holds significance for coaches and sports instructors, suggesting that motivating karate athletes through incentives is more effective, while the use of punishment should be minimized during training. Additionally, the study proposes that the practice of Kyokushin karate has the potential to significantly diminish the freezing response in threatening situations and enhance overall fear management by reducing levels of the Fight-Flight-Freeze System (FFFS). Consequently, the Kyokushin karate style may be considered more advantageous than the Karate Shotokan (KS) style in these aspects, despite both styles contributing to the improvement of BAS. Given that a higher BAS is linked to positive emotions, optimism, and happiness, karate training emerges as a form of health intervention, acting as a preventive measure against mental disorders and promoting overall well-being. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: To report the surgical safety of reinforced bio-interventional cyclodialysis with scleral allograft reinforcement. Methods: This was a consecutive case series of 243 eyes with open-angle glaucoma who underwent a bio-scaffolded cyclodialysis (BSC) procedure for uveoscleral outflow enhancement using allogeneic bio-spacers to maintain patency of the internal filtration conduit. Results: 79% of the eyes underwent concomitant phacoemulsification cataract surgery prior to BSC intervention, while the remaining eyes underwent stand-alone BSC surgery. All patients had a postoperative surgical safety period of at least 30 days. There were no sight-threatening or serious ocular adverse events. There was one case of prolonged iritis beyond 30 days, which resolved with topical treatment. Two cases (0.8%) of intraoperative and five (2%) of postoperative non-sight-threatening hyphema were without clinical sequelae, which resolved with conservative management. There were 11 cases of IOP elevation and one case of numeric hypotony without maculopathy, which resolved within the study period. The rate of secondary surgical intervention for IOP control was low, and overall, IOP for the cohort improved in the postoperative period, with 78.6% of eyes achieving IOP ≤ 18 mmHg without an increase in medications. Conclusions: Allogeneic biotissue for cyclodialysis intervention demonstrates a biocompatible ocular profile as an implantable material for internal scleral reinforcement during uveoscleral outflow enhancement surgery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Prior research has implied that promoting sustaining physical activity through nudges is challenging and boosting health literacy is important for the long-term establishment of behaviors. This study aimed to investigate the effects of commitment-based health application on step count and health literacy. Methods: A control experiment was conducted involving employees from companies located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. Participants were divided into three groups: the commitment app group (utilizing a commitment-based application "Minchalle," where teams of around five members were randomly assigned to declare a target step count and report daily step count with pictures), the self-commitment group (individuals declaring a target step count and endeavoring on their own), and the control group (no intervention). Changes in step count and health literacy were examined over one month. Results: A total of 109 employees from 7 companies participated. The changes in step count were an increase of 893 steps for the commitment app group, 243 steps for the self-commitment group, and 178 steps for the control group, with a significant increase in the commitment app group compared to the control group. Regarding health literacy measures, there was significant progress in four items out of five for the commitment app group compared to the control group, and significant progress in one item for the self-commitment group compared to the control group. Conclusion: Communication within the app teams, such as commitment, sharing photos of their goal achievements and provide encouraging comments to others, functioned as social nudges, suggesting the potential for an immediate increase in step count and long-term behavioral reinforcement through improved health literacy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Joint attention is an important developmental skill. This series of studies investigated the teaching of component joint attention skills to 10 children with autism ranging in age from three to five years. The goal was to teach gaze shifting within a joint attention interaction. An additional goal was to expand some participants' community of reinforcers to include social reinforcers. Each study employed a single‐case research design using design variations for one dependent variable: gaze shifting. All 10 children improved their ability to shift their gaze to a therapist. Four participants demonstrated acquisition of social reinforcers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In vertical vehicle dynamics control, semi-active dampers are used to enhance ride comfort and road-holding with only minor additional energy expenses. However, a complex control problem arises from the combined effects of (1) the constrained semi-active damper characteristic, (2) the opposing control objectives of improving ride comfort and road-holding, and (3) the additionally coupled vertical dynamic system. This work presents the application of Reinforcement Learning to the vertical dynamics control problem of a real street vehicle to address these issues. We discuss the entire Reinforcement Learning-based controller design process, which started with deriving a sufficiently accurate training model representing the vehicle behavior. The obtained model was then used to train a Reinforcement Learning agent, which offered improved vehicle ride qualities. After that, we verified the trained agent in a full-vehicle simulation setup before the agent was deployed in the real vehicle. Quantitative and qualitative real-world tests highlight the increased performance of the trained agent in comparison to a benchmark controller. Tests on a real-world four-post test rig showed that the trained RL-based controller was able to outperform an offline-optimized benchmark controller on road-like excitations, improving the comfort criterion by about 2.5% and the road-holding criterion by about 2.0% on average. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Whilst reward pathologies are major and common in stress-related neuropsychiatric disorders, their neurobiology and treatment are poorly understood. Imaging studies in human reward pathology indicate attenuated BOLD activity in nucleus accumbens (NAc) coincident with reward anticipation but not reinforcement; potentially, this is dopamine (DA) related. In mice, chronic social stress (CSS) leads to reduced reward learning and motivation. Here, DA-sensor fibre photometry is used to investigate whether these behavioural deficits co-occur with altered NAc DA activity during reward anticipation and/or reinforcement. In CSS mice relative to controls: (1) Reduced discriminative learning of the sequence, tone-on + appetitive behaviour = tone-on + sucrose reinforcement, co-occurs with attenuated NAc DA activity throughout tone-on and sucrose reinforcement. (2) Reduced motivation during the sequence, operant behaviour = tone-on + sucrose delivery + sucrose reinforcement, co-occurs with attenuated NAc DA activity at tone-on and typical activity at sucrose reinforcement. (3) Reduced motivation during the sequence, operant behaviour = appetitive behaviour + sociosexual reinforcement, co-occurs with typical NAc DA activity at female reinforcement. Therefore, in CSS mice, low NAc DA activity co-occurs with low reward anticipation and could account for deficits in learning and motivation, with important implications for understanding human reward pathology. In mice, conditioned behaviour combined with fibre photometry reveals that chronic stress causes reduced nucleus accumbens dopamine during reward anticipation specifically, a finding with important implications for understanding human anhedonia. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this article, we describe a mediational theory of emergent or derived relations resulting from matching‐to‐sample procedures that produce equivalence and transformation of function. According to a mediational theory, behaviors that occur at the time of reinforcement mediate subsequent behavioral relations referred to as “derived” or “emergent.” Such relations have been documented for decades in studies using mostly matching‐to‐sample procedures with humans and nonhumans. In both verbal human and nonhuman participants, the mediating behaviors consist of differential responding to the sample stimulus. In humans, such behaviors are mostly, but not necessarily, verbal; in nonhumans they include a variety of sample‐specific responses, sometimes called “coding.” The proposed mediational theory, based only on the four‐term contingency and the basic principles of operant learning, makes specific predictions and explains results from a broad range of experiments. There are at least three important implications of a mediational theory. First, if by “derived” or “emergent” one means untrained or unreinforced, then derived relations may not exist. Second, if there are no derived relations, then theories of such relations may not be necessary. Third, a mediational theory of relational responding has potentially important implications for clinical practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, a Q-learning-based task scheduling approach for mixed-critical application on heterogeneous multi-cores (QSMix) to optimize their main design challenges is proposed. This approach employs reinforcement learning capabilities to optimize execution time, power consumption, reliability and temperature of the heterogeneous multi-cores during task scheduling process. In QSMix, a reward function is defined to consider all target design parameters simultaneously and is tuned based on applying punishment for unwanted conditions during the learning. The learning process of QSMix is led by utilizing the defined reward function during constructing the Q-table for various execution scenarios. Afterward, the best solution is selected from the constructed Q-table based on the system's policy to achieve a near-optimal solution that meets the existing trade-offs among objectives while considering its constraints properly. To evaluate our proposed QSMix, several experiments are performed to show its effectiveness in finding appropriate solutions and its gradual behavior during learning process. Moreover, the performance of QSMix in terms of optimizing the target design parameters is compared to various related research. The results confirm that QSMix has average improvement about 9% over related studies in joint optimization of execution time, power consumption, reliability and temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Compulsive behaviors in Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder (OCD) are posited to be negatively reinforced via short-term negation of distress-inducing triggers, but neural activity during negative reinforcement in the context of OCD remains poorly understood. Methods: In 18 people with OCD and 16 healthy matched comparison subjects completing functional MRI, we tested the effect of a novel negative reinforcement behavioral paradigm. Three visual stimulus types (Compulsion-Related, Negative, Neutral) were displayed in the scanner and removed by participants pressing a button, yielding two analysis epochs: image presentation and image removal. Results: OCD patients showed a larger increase in medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC; BA11) activation after image removal that was specific to compulsion-related images. People with OCD also showed altered patterns of deactivation following compulsion-related and negative image removal in the right and left amygdala, respectively. People with OCD also showed larger deactivations in the ventral tegmental area (VTA) after removal of all image types, and increased overall activation to negative images in the right nucleus accumbens (NAcc). Conclusion: We provide initial data demonstrating altered neural activity during negative reinforcement in OCD patients, providing empirical support for dominant behavioral models emphasizing the role of negative reinforcement in etiology and maintenance of pathological compulsive behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Subthreshold depression is a risk factor for depression among university students. Positive environmental reinforcement is a significant mediator of avoidance and depression in healthy university students. However, this relationship is understudied in those with subthreshold depression or depression. Therefore, this study examined these associations in healthy university students and those who fit the criteria for subthreshold depression or depression. We conducted an online survey with 1200 undergraduate students (600 women and 600 men, mean age = 20.61, SD = 1.59). The results revealed significant differences in avoidance patterns (behavioral social, behavioral nonsocial, cognitive social, and cognitive nonsocial), with participants with depression presenting the highest scores. The results of the mediation analysis were similar to those of previous studies in healthy groups. However, in the subthreshold-depression group, positive environmental reinforcement was mediated by behavioral social and behavioral non-social avoidance and depressive symptoms. In the group with depression, positive environmental reinforcement was mediated only by behavioral nonsocial avoidance and depressive symptoms. Associations between avoidance patterns, positive environmental reinforcement, and depressive symptoms vary with the degree of depressive symptoms. The results revealed by this study provide new foundational insights to prevent subthreshold depression among university students from deteriorating into depression. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this secondary systematic review of single-case and controlled group design intervention studies conducted with transition-age autistic youth, we examined features of 48 studies with 273 participants that measured at least one "problem behavior" outcome (Prospero registration number: 231764). We searched 11 databases for relevant studies, and the final search date was November 2022. Our primary aims were to determine how problem behaviors were defined and selected for reduction, how functions were determined, and the interventions used to address them. Studies were coded and codes were tabulated and converted to percentages to answer each research question. Thirty-eight percent of studies defined problem behavior, and 88% of studies implemented behavioral strategies to reduce problem behaviors. Behaviors with low potential for harm constituted the majority of the 67 outcome variables (61%), while behaviors with high potential for harm were a minority (39%). The most common intervention target was stereotypic behavior. Fewer than half of studies: reported procedures for selecting behaviors, reported procedures to determine behavior function, or ascribed functions to behaviors. We were unable to report on some demographic features of participants (e.g. race/ethnicity) because they were rarely reported in primary studies. We conclude that problem behavior is poorly conceptualized in this research. In a previous study, we looked at research done on strategies to support autistic people who were between 14 and 22 years old. For this study, we looked at all of the studies in our previous study that tried to decrease or stop autistic people from doing certain things—many researchers call these things "problem behavior." There were 48 studies that tried to reduce problem behavior, and most of them used strategies like prompting and reinforcement to try get autistic people to change their behavior. We found many things wrong with these studies. Most of them did not define the group of behaviors they were trying to stop autistic people from doing. None of the studies looked at whether any side effects happened when they tried the strategy they were studying. Also, most of the studies tried to stop autistic people from doing behaviors that probably were not harmful, like stereotypic behavior. Most of the studies did not say how they decided that the behaviors they tried to stop were a problem for the autistic people in the study, and most studies did not try to figure out why the autistic people in the study did the behaviors the researchers were trying to stop them from doing. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Local planning is a critical and difficult task for intelligent vehicles in dynamic transportation environments. In this paper, a new method Suppress Q Deep Q Network (SQDQN) combining traditional deep reinforcement learning Deep Q Network (DQN) with information entropy is proposed for local planning in automatic driving. In the proposed approach, local planning strategy in complex traffic environment established by the actor–critic network based on DQN, the method adopts the way of execution action-evaluation action-update network to explore the optimal local planning strategy. Proposed strategy does not rely on accurate modeling of the scene, so it is suitable for complex and changeable traffic scenes. At the same time, evaluate the update process and determine the update range by using information entropy to solve a common problem in the network that over expectation of actions damage the performance of strategies. Use this approach to improve strategic performance. The trained local planning strategy is evaluated in three simulation scenarios: overtaking, following, driving in hazardous situations. The results illustrate the advantages of the proposed SQDQN method in solving local planning problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The endocannabinoid system interacts with the reward system to modulate responsiveness to natural reinforcers, as well as drugs of abuse. Previous preclinical studies suggested that direct blockade of CB1 cannabinoid receptors (CB1R) could be leveraged as a potential pharmacological approach to treat substance use disorder, but this strategy failed during clinical trials due to severe psychiatric side effects. Alternative strategies have emerged to circumvent the side effects of direct CB1 binding through the development of allosteric modulators. We hypothesized that negative allosteric modulation of CB1R signalling would reduce the reinforcing properties of morphine and decrease behaviours associated with opioid misuse. By employing intravenous self‐administration in mice, we studied the effects of GAT358, a functionally‐biased CB1R negative allosteric modulator (NAM), on morphine intake, relapse‐like behaviour and motivation to work for morphine infusions. GAT358 reduced morphine infusion intake during the maintenance phase of morphine self‐administration under a fixed ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement. GAT358 also decreased morphine‐seeking behaviour after forced abstinence. Moreover, GAT358 dose dependently decreased the motivation to obtain morphine infusions under a progressive ratio schedule of reinforcement. Strikingly, GAT358 did not affect the motivation to work for food rewards in an identical progressive ratio task, suggesting that the effect of GAT358 in decreasing opioid self‐administration was reward specific. Furthermore, GAT58 did not produce motor ataxia in the rotarod test. Our results suggest that CB1R NAMs reduced the reinforcing properties of morphine and could represent a viable therapeutic route to safely decrease misuse of opioids. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

MiNDToolkit is a novel psychoeducational intervention for carers to support management of behavioral symptoms in people living with motor neuron disease (PlwMND). Implementation of MiNDToolkit involves delivery of an online intervention to carers, which is reinforced by trained healthcare professionals (HCPs). A mixed-methods process evaluation of the MiNDToolkit feasibility trial was conducted, focusing on reinforcement of the intervention by HCPs. Quantitative data, descriptively analyzed, were included from platform analytics, questionnaire, and 10 semi-structured interviews with HCPs. Interviews were transcribed verbatim; data were inductively analyzed using Reflective Thematic Analysis. The MiNDToolkit training and platform is a beneficial and acceptable resource for HCPs with potential to increase knowledge and confidence in identifying and managing behavioral symptoms in MND. Implementation barriers included HCPs' perceptions that highlighting behavior changes would be burdensome to carers and assumptions that carers would take the initiative to ask for support from clinicians. Degree of intervention reinforcement varied, with most HCPs delegating intervention delivery solely to the online platform. Implementation of the MiNDToolkit was viewed to be feasible and the platform thought to increase accessibility of support to carers. The flexible approach to delivery (online platform and optional HCP reinforcement) is acceptable as an intervention for supporting carers of PlwMND with behavioral symptoms. However, MiNDToolkit should not negate HCP involvement in providing medical and practical information to PlwMND and families. Future research should explore ways to incorporate support for carers in the management of PlwMND alongside standard care, alongside tools such as the MiNDToolkit. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Why you should read this article: • To recognise the need to proactively address the barriers to accessing healthcare that people with learning disabilities may experience • To learn about the development of a desensitisation programme for people with learning disabilities and a fear of needles to support them to receive the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccine • To consider interventions that you could implement in your practice to support people with learning disabilities to access healthcare interventions. Many people with learning disabilities have a fear of needles and as a result they find receiving injections and vaccinations challenging. Therefore, community learning disability nurses and positive behaviour support practitioners developed a desensitisation programme with the aim of supporting people with learning disabilities who had a needle phobia to receive coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines. Additionally, reasonable adjustments were made for five individuals who did not have a fear of needles but required a home visit with familiar healthcare professionals who they felt comfortable with. Of the 24 people who engaged in the desensitisation programme, 88% (n=21) received all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine, while 80% (n=4) of five people who were provided with reasonable adjustments received all doses of the COVID-19 vaccine. This article discusses how and why the desensitisation programme was developed, what worked well, the challenges encountered and other areas where the approaches used could be implemented to support people with learning disabilities with accessing other healthcare interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Rationale: Cognitive flexibility, the ability to adapt behaviour in response to a changing environment, is disrupted in several neuropsychiatric disorders, including obsessive–compulsive disorder and major depressive disorder. Evidence suggests that flexibility, which can be operationalised using reversal learning tasks, is modulated by serotonergic transmission. However, how exactly flexible behaviour and associated reinforcement learning (RL) processes are modulated by 5-HT action on specific receptors is unknown. Objectives: We investigated the effects of 5-HT2A receptor (5-HT2AR) and 5-HT2C receptor (5-HT2CR) antagonism on flexibility and underlying RL mechanisms. Methods: Thirty-six male Lister hooded rats were trained on a touchscreen visual discrimination and reversal task. We evaluated the effects of systemic treatments with the 5-HT2AR and 5-HT2CR antagonists M100907 and SB-242084, respectively, on reversal learning and performance on probe trials where correct and incorrect stimuli were presented with a third, probabilistically rewarded, stimulus. Computational models were fitted to task choice data to extract RL parameters, including a novel model designed specifically for this task. Results: 5-HT2AR antagonism impaired reversal learning only after an initial perseverative phase, during a period of random choice and then new learning. 5-HT2CR antagonism, on the other hand, impaired learning from positive feedback. RL models further differentiated these effects. 5-HT2AR antagonism decreased punishment learning rate (i.e. negative feedback) at high and low doses. The low dose also decreased reinforcement sensitivity (beta) and increased stimulus and side stickiness (i.e., the tendency to repeat a choice regardless of outcome). 5-HT2CR antagonism also decreased beta, but reduced side stickiness. Conclusions: These data indicate that 5-HT2A and 5-HT2CRs both modulate different aspects of flexibility, with 5-HT2ARs modulating learning from negative feedback as measured using RL parameters and 5-HT2CRs for learning from positive feedback assessed through conventional measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The revised reinforcement sensitivity theory (RST) proposes that neurobiological systems control behavior: the fight‐flight‐freeze (FFFS) for avoidance of threat; behavioral approach/activation (BAS) for approach to rewards; and behavioral inhibition (BIS) for conflict resolution when avoidance and approach are possible. Neuroimaging studies have confirmed some theoretical associations between brain structures and the BAS and BIS; however, little representative population data are available for the FFFS. We investigated the neural correlates of the revised RST in a sample of 404 middle‐aged adults (Mage = 47.18 (SD = 1.38); 54.5% female). Participants underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and completed health questionnaires and the BIS/BAS/FFFS scales. We used multiple regression analyses to investigate the association between scale scores and volumes of a priori theoretically linked regions of interest while controlling for sex, age, intracranial volume, and cardio‐metabolic variables; and conducted exploratory analyses on cortical thickness. The BIS was negatively associated with hippocampus laterality. At standard significance levels, the fear component of the FFFS was positively associated with anterior cingulate cortex; the BAS was positively associated with bilateral caudate; and the BIS was positively associated with posterior cingulate cortex volume. Furthermore, these neurobiological systems showed distinct patterns of association with cortical thickness though future work is needed. Our results showed that the neurobiological systems of the revised RST characterized in rodents can also be identified in the human brain. The revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory provides a comprehensive integration of neurobiology and behavior to help understand individual differences in physical and mental health, yet efforts to study the link between brain and behavior have been hampered due to inadequate measures. Using a revised and validated questionnaire, we showed that brain structure volume and cortical thickness differences are associated with each of the proposed neurobiological systems of the revised Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This research investigates the historical role of the president's letter, and in particular how impression management was used by the Brazilian company Petrobras, during the military dictatorship (1964–1985), to build up and legitimise the company and the regime. Following an interpretative approach, and through a framework that includes both impression management tactics and presentational methods, the study analyses both narrative and visual images of the letters. The adoption of assertive impression management tactics helped to propagate Petrobras in the ascendancy and with it the Brazilian nation. Reinforcement, rhetorical manipulation and visual emphasis were adopted to convey a message of ascendancy and optimism, even in periods of crisis and shocks to legitimacy. Simultaneously, the omission tactic allowed it to keep invisible damaging events. As a recurrent, voluntary accounting narrative, the president's letters provided valuable storytelling and impression management opportunities which were used to promote Petrobras and as a legitimate façade for the government. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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In a world of increasingly extensive information, rational investors can make better decisions. However, reinforcement-oriented investors are also more likely to observe preferred signals close to their own perception. A focus on these signals distorts the perceived aggregate signal in the direction of the prior estimate. This reduces belief adaptation. Hence, the empirically well-documented selective exposure/reinforcement theory reduces the positive impact of greater information availability on price efficiency. Additional information can sometimes even decrease perception correctness. In a market with biased investors, managers have an incentive to announce more diffuse (fewer precise) signals in case of negative (positive) information. This results in postearnings-announcement drift and dispersion anomaly. Also, the distribution shape matters for information processing. For unimodal, symmetric distributions, agents' perceptions converge to the fundamental—even though at a reduced speed. For multimodal signal distributions, the estimate can diverge from the fundamental. This paper was accepted by Yan Chen, behavioral economics and decision analysis. Supplemental Material: The data files are available at https://doi.org/10.1287/mnsc.2023.4941. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As clinicians involved in the care of patients with disorders of gut–brain interaction (DGBIs), we—and many colleagues—have the impression that social media are adversely shaping the nature, presentation, and ability to manage these disorders, especially at the severe end of the DGBI clinical spectrum. We turned to the research literature to see if these clinical impressions were corroborated but found it virtually nonexistent. Social media have rapidly become a ubiquitous, pervasive part of the lives of most people on the planet. Although they bring many benefits, they are also replete with health misinformation, reinforcement of abnormal sick‐role behavior, and undermining of the legitimacy of psychological care. We first set out four reasons for concern about social media and DGBIs, particularly severe DGBIs. These reasons stem from phenomena described in medical fields outside DGBIs, but there is no reason to think DGBIs should be exempt from such phenomena. We then present the results of a literature search, which yielded only eight disparate recent empirical studies. We review these studies, which, although not uninformative, reveal a field in its infancy. We set out implications, most urgently multidisciplinary research directly addressing the role of social media and evaluation of interventions to mitigate its ill effects. Gastroenterological clinicians involved in DGBI care and research need to collaborate with experts in social media research, which is a very rapidly evolving, specialized field. Although knowledge is at an early stage, there are implications for specialist practice, education and training, and DGBI service delivery. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Checklists are a common tool used in order to mitigate risks caused by human factors and can facilitate the safe induction of anesthesia as well as handovers. SBAR (Situation, Background, Assessment, Recommendation) is a checklist recommended by the WHO and DGAI for handovers, while SOAP-M (Suction, Oxygen, Airway, Pharmaceuticals, Monitoring) is a checklist for the induction of anesthesia. This study investigates the implementation and adoption of these two checklists. Methods: We conducted a single-center online survey one year after the implementation of SOAP-M and SBAR at a university hospital's anesthesiology department, using scales from three validated questionnaires to assess safety attitudes as well as the behavior of staff and the perceived usefulness of the checklists. Results: Staff with a high score in general attitude towards patient safety, as determined by the safety attitudes questionnaire, considered both checklists useful additions to their work environment. Nurses and physicians (p = 0.102) as well as groups divided according to work experience (p = 0.077) showed no significant differences in using SOAP-M and SBAR. Perceived usefulness was significantly higher (p < 0.001) among users of the checklists, and the same goes for positive reinforcement (p < 0.001), social cues (p = 0.0215) and goal cues (p = 0.0252). Conclusion: SOAP-M and SBAR are perceived as useful checklists for patient handovers and anesthesia induction by tertiary referral hospital's employees with high score in general safety attitude and were therefore commonly used one year after their introduction. No significant difference in checklist adoption between occupations as well as groups divided according to work experience could be found. Perceived usefulness is significantly higher among users of the checklist, who feel using the checklists provides more support. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bronze artifacts often suffer from "bronze disease" due to the presence of chloride ions, which result from copper chlorides forming on their surfaces during storage. Therefore, reinforced protection is essential for these unearthed cultural artifacts, and new materials for the reinforced protection of fragile bronzes are urgently needed. In this study, cuprammonium solvent and nanocellulose (CNC) were utilized as reinforcement materials to protect fragile bronzes. The chemical and aesthetic properties before and after reinforcement were analyzed using ultra-depth field microscopes, SEM-EDX, XRD, and Raman spectroscopy. The results indicated that at a nano-cuprammonium reinforcer concentration of 2.5 mol/L, the optimal reinforcement effect on simulated bronze powdery rust samples was achieved.Mechanical strength increased by an average of 77.59%. The mass growth rate reached 84.8%, while the color difference Δ E remained below 4.0. Additionally, aging resistance significantly improved, aligning with cultural artifact protection standards.Meanwhile, a compact and stable protective membrane formed on the surface of the bronzes, isolating the bronze matrix from direct contact with the external environment, which delayed bronze corrosion and contributed to long-term stable preservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reinforcement learning inspires much theorizing in neuroscience, cognitive science, machine learning, and AI. A central question concerns the conditions that produce the perception of a contingency between an action and reinforcement--the assignment-of-credit problem. Contemporary models of associative and reinforcement learning do not leverage the temporal metrics (measured intervals). Our information-theoretic approach formalizes contingency by time-scale invariant temporal mutual information. It predicts that learning may proceed rapidly even with extremely long action--reinforcer delays. We show that rats can learn an action after a single reinforcement, even with a 16-min delay between the action and reinforcement (15-fold longer than any delay previously shown to support such learning). By leveraging metric temporal information, our solution obviates the need for windows of associability, exponentially decaying eligibility traces, microstimuli, or distributions over Bayesian belief states. Its three equations have no free parameters; they predict one-shot learning without iterative simulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A competing stimulus assessment is used to identify stimuli that are associated with a low level of challenging behavior and a high level of engagement. These stimuli are often used as a treatment component for challenging behavior that is maintained by automatic reinforcement. One limitation of implementing competing stimulus assessments is that they may be time consuming. The purpose of the current study was to evaluate the efficacy and efficiency of a latency‐based competing stimulus assessment. During the asssessment, a therapist presented potential competing stimuli to the participants and contingent on the first occurrence of challenging behavior, the trial was terminated. The results of a brief treatment evaluation indicated that stimuli that were associated with the longest latency to challenging behavior were more effective in competing with challenging behavior relative to stimuli that were associated with shorter latencies. However, procedural modifications were necessary for one participant. The use of latency‐based measures improved the efficiency of conducting a competing stimulus assessment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Teachers report that disruptive behaviour in their classrooms consumes a significant amount of their time and attention. Research studying disruptive behaviour often focuses on differences between those pupils who meet categorical diagnostic criteria for developmental disorders and those who do not. However, there is much to be learned about disruption from a normative personality approach to individual differences. This study investigates the relationship between personality and disruptive behaviours in 457 pupils between 11 and 16 years old in UK schools. Our analysis focuses on the relationship between self- and teacher-reported disruptive behaviour, and three measures of personality: Empathy, Reinforcement Sensitivity Theory, and Implicit Theories of Intelligence. Disruptive behaviour (measured via both self- and teacher-report) had negative relationships with empathy and incremental learning beliefs. These findings reinforce the importance of understanding disruptive behaviours from a normative individual differences perspective and have implications for research and practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Recurrent neural networks (RNNs) hold immense potential for computations due to their Turing completeness and sequential processing capabilities, yet existing methods for their training encounter efficiency challenges. Backpropagation through time (BPTT), the prevailing method, extends the backpropagation (BP) algorithm by unrolling the RNN over time. However, this approach suffers from significant drawbacks, including the need to interleave forward and backward phases and store exact gradient information. Furthermore, BPTT has been shown to struggle to propagate gradient information for long sequences, leading to vanishing gradients. An alternative strategy to using gradient-based methods like BPTT involves stochastically approximating gradients through perturbation-based methods. This learning approach is exceptionally simple, necessitating only forward passes in the network and a global reinforcement signal as feedback. Despite its simplicity, the random nature of its updates typically leads to inefficient optimization, limiting its effectiveness in training neural networks. In this study, we present a new approach to perturbation-based learning in RNNs whose performance is competitive with BPTT, while maintaining the inherent advantages over gradient-based learning. To this end, we extend the recently introduced activity-based node perturbation (ANP)method to operate in the time domain, leading to more efficient learning and generalization. We subsequently conduct a range of experiments to validate our approach. Our results show similar performance, convergence time and scalability when compared to BPTT, strongly outperforming standard node perturbation and weight perturbation methods. These findings suggest that perturbation-based learningmethods offer a versatile alternative to gradient-basedmethods for training RNNs which can be ideally suited for neuromorphic computing applications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Visual reinforcement learning is important in various practical applications, such as video games, robotic manipulation, and autonomous navigation. However, a major challenge in visual reinforcement learning is the generalization to unseen environments, that is, how agents manage environments with previously unseen backgrounds. This issue is triggered mainly by the high unpredictability inherent in high-dimensional observation space. To deal with this problem, techniques including domain randomization and data augmentation have been explored; nevertheless, these methods still cannot attain a satisfactory result. This paper proposes a new method named Internal States Simulation Auxiliary (ISSA), which uses internal states to improve generalization in visual reinforcement learning tasks. Our method contains two agents, a teacher agent and a student agent: the teacher agent has the ability to directly access the environment's internal states and is used to facilitate the student agent's training; the student agent receives initial guidance from the teacher agent and subsequently continues to learn independently. From another perspective, our method can be divided into two phases, the transfer learning phase and traditional visual reinforcement learning phase. In the first phase, the teacher agent interacts with environments and imparts knowledge to the vision-based student agent. With the guidance of the teacher agent, the student agent is able to discover more effective visual representations that address the high unpredictability of high-dimensional observation space. In the next phase, the student agent autonomously learns from the visual information in the environment, and ultimately, it becomes a vision-based reinforcement learning agent with enhanced generalization. The effectiveness of our method is evaluated using the DMControl Generalization Benchmark and the DrawerWorld with texture distortions. Preliminary results indicate that our method significantly improves generalization ability and performance in complex continuous control tasks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Global communication, an integral part of modern life, increases the risk of transmitting infectious diseases to individuals. Based on the transtheoretical model (TTM), this study aimed to identify the most effective factors in adherence to health protocols among marketers and guilds. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted among 400 market sellers and guilds of Ardabil City, Iran, in 2023. The TTM questionnaire was distributed among the participants which included four sub-constructs: (1) stages of change, (2) process of change, (3) self-efficacy, and (4) decisional balance. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 20. One-way ANOVA and linear regression tests were employed to evaluate the prediction of effective factors of the stage transition. Results: Most participants (63.5%) were between 21 and 40. Most participants (65.5%) were in the passive stages of change (precontemplation, contemplation, and preparation). Pros (β = 0.133, P < 0.001) and behavioral processes of change (β = 0.058, P < 0.001) were the strongest predictors of the stage of change or improvement of stages of participants' willingness to follow health protocols. Conclusion: A correct understanding of the stages of behavior change can strengthen strategies for promoting healthy behaviors. Also, understanding the benefits of healthy behavior means compliance with health protocols and behavioral processes such as stimulus control, reinforcement management, counterconditioning, and self-liberation, along with high self-efficacy, have an impact on improving the stages of behavior change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study proposes a reinforcement learning‐based finite‐time cross‐media tracking control approach for a slender body cross‐media vehicle encountering unknown hydrodynamics, wind, and wave disturbances. Initially, a reinforcement learning framework consisting of the actor neural network and critic neural network is constructed. The critic neural network monitors the actions of the actor neural network and approximates the cost function, while the actor neural network estimates the unknown hydrodynamics and disturbances, minimising the cost function to optimise performance. Subsequently, the command filter featuring finite‐time convergence is formulated, effectively managing the corresponding filter error through a proposed error compensating signal. By integrating these techniques, a reinforcement learning‐based finite‐time control strategy is developed, circumventing the singularity issue inherent in traditional finite‐time backstepping strategies. Comparative analysis with existing methods demonstrates the strong robustness of the proposed scheme against unknown hydrodynamics and disturbances, ensuring finite‐time convergence of the system's states and optimising controller performance. Finally, simulations confirm the effectiveness and superiority of the presented approach. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Reward and punishment modulate behavior. In real-world motor skill learning, reward and punishment have been found to have dissociable effects on optimizing motor skill learning, but the scientific basis for these effects is largely unknown. Methods: In the present study, we investigated the effects of reward and punishment on the performance of real-world motor skill learning. Specifically, three groups of participants were trained and tested on a ping-pong ball bouncing task for three consecutive days. The training and testing sessions were identical across the three days: participants were trained with their right (dominant) hand each day under conditions of either reward, punishment, or a neutral control condition (neither). Before and after the training session, all participants were tested with their right and left hands without any feedback. Results: We found that punishment promoted early learning, while reward promoted late learning. Reward facilitated short-term memory, while punishment impaired long-term memory. Both reward and punishment interfered with long-term memory gains. Interestingly, the effects of reward and punishment transferred to the left hand. Discussion: The results show that reward and punishment have different effects on real-world motor skill learning. The effects change with training and transfer readily to novel contexts. The results suggest that reward and punishment may act on different learning processes and engage different neural mechanisms during real-world motor skill learning. In addition, high-level metacognitive processes may be enabled by the additional reinforcement feedback during real-world motor skill learning. Our findings provide new insights into the mechanisms underlying motor learning, and may have important implications for practical applications such as sports training and motor rehabilitation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]