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Leading philosophical models of curiosity represent it as a desiderative attitude whose content is a question, and which is satisfied by knowledge of the answer to that question. I argue that these models do not capture the distinctive character of a form of curiosity that I call 'erotic curiosity'. Erotic curiosity addresses itself not to a question but to an object whose significance for the inquirer is affective as well as epistemic. This form of curiosity is best understood by analogy to erotic love as theorized by Plato in the Symposium. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental enrichment has the potential to improve the welfare and post‐release survival of hatchery fish stocked for conservation purposes. However, the effectiveness of environmental enrichment is partly dependent on the fish species, life stage, and specific enrichment structure used. To enhance the effectiveness of environmental enrichment, it is crucial to focus on characteristic differences in enrichment structures, such as type and level. This study investigated how differences in enrichment type and level affected physiological and behavioral aspects of the welfare of pre‐release juvenile rock bream Oplegnathus fasciatus by evaluating growth performance, basal and stressed cortisol levels, antioxidant enzyme activities, and exploratory behaviors regarding anxiety and flexibility. Fish were reared for 4 weeks in different enrichment treatments: barren, low‐level cover structure, high‐level cover structure, low‐level interference structure (LI), and high‐level interference structure (HI). The results revealed that fish reared with the LI treatment showed less anxiety and greater flexibility with respect to exploratory behaviors, without oxidative damage being detected. Despite exhibiting less anxiety as well, fish reared in the HI treatment had oxidative damage, indicated by lower superoxide dismutase activity, compared to those in the barren treatment. In addition, none of these enrichment structures enhanced growth performance or mitigate chronic and acute stress responses. Overall, the low‐level interference structure may be more favorable in promoting the behavioral welfare of the fish. Application of this type and level of enrichment may increase the survival of the hatchery fish after release, which is critical to stocking success. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Research reproducibility is a common problem in preclinical behavioral science. Mice are an important animal model for studying human behavioral disorders. Experimenters, processing methods, and rearing environments are the main causes of data variability in behavioral neuroscience. It is likely that mice adapt their behavior according to the environment outside the breeding cage. We speculated that mice housed on elevated shelves and mice housed on low shelves might have differently altered anxiety‐like behavior toward heights. Purpose: The purpose of this study was to investigate potential behavioral changes in mice raised at different heights for 3 weeks. Changes in behavior were examined using various experimental tests. Results: Mice housed on elevated shelves showed reduced anxiety‐like behavior in a light/dark traffic test compared with mice housed on low shelves. There were no significant differences between the two groups in terms of activity, exploratory behavior, muscle strength, or depression‐like behavior. Conclusions: Our results indicate that different cage heights and corresponding light exposure may alter the anxiety‐like behavior of mice in response to brightness. Researchers need to carefully control the cage height and light intensity experienced by the mice to produce reproducible test results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Curiosity has been seen as an important driver of individual innovation. However, empirical evidence regarding the relationship between curiosity and innovation is equivocal. We draw on the situational strength perspective to develop and test a contingency model that focuses on the contextual boundary conditions of this relationship among Chinese employees. In a controlled experiment with 191 part‐time MBA students, in which curiosity was examined as a state, we found that (1) the main effect of curiosity on innovative behavioral intention was insignificant; (2) authoritarian leadership and job autonomy moderated the association of curiosity with innovative behavioral intention, such that this association was positively significant under circumstances of low authoritarian leadership or high job autonomy but not under circumstances of high authoritarian leadership or low job autonomy; and (3) job autonomy functioned as a mediator for the moderating effect of authoritarian leadership. These findings were constructively replicated in a field study of 206 subordinate–supervisor dyads in which curiosity was examined as a trait and innovative behavior was rated by supervisors. Theoretical and practical implications of our findings and directions for future research are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The use of pesticides for plague control in agroecosystems generates a threat to wildlife and a major problem for human health. Pesticide compounds are also an important source of water and atmosphere contamination. Although insecticides are effective on their target organisms, they often affect organisms that are not their target. The aim of the present study was to research the effects of 3 types of neurotoxic insecticides—a pyrethroid (cypermethrin), a neonicotinoid (imidacloprid), and an organophosphate (chlorpyrifos)—on behavioral and physiological parameters of Pardosa saltans spider (Lycosidae). Our study analyzed for the first time the exploratory behavior of the spider mothers in the presence of these 3 insecticides on their egg‐sacs and also on the ground. We also evaluated the oxidative stress effects on the juveniles hatched in the egg‐sac protected by silk in relation to variations in detoxification enzymes (catalase, glutathione reductase, superoxide dismutase, glutathione‐S‐transferase, and glutathione peroxidase) and lipid peroxidation (reactive oxygen species [ROS]). The results show that these insecticides are repellents for mothers (cypermethrin is the most repellent), and maternal behavior is modified after detection of an insecticide on their egg‐sac but mothers do not abandon their egg‐sacs. These neurotoxic insecticides affect the juveniles inside their egg‐sac. Cypermethrin and chlorpyrifos caused more oxidative stress in juveniles than did imidacloprid. The ROS generated by these insecticides seemed to be adequately eliminated by the juveniles' antioxidant systems. Environ Toxicol Chem 2021;40:2861–2873. © 2021 SETAC [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

P2X2 and P2X3 receptors are widely expressed in both the peripheral nervous system and the central nervous system and have been proven to participate in different peripheral sensory functions, but there are few studies on the involvement of P2X2 and P2X3 receptors in animal behaviors. Here we used P2X2 and P2X3 knockout mice to address this issue. P2X2 knockout mice showed normal motor function, exploratory behavior, anxiety‐like behaviors, learning and memory behaviors and passive coping response to behavioral challenge. Nevertheless, the effect of ATP infusion in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) on the passive coping response was blocked by P2X2 but not P2X3 receptor deletion. Additionally, no deficits in a wide variety of behavioral tests were observed in P2X3 knockout mice. These findings demonstrate a role of P2X2 receptor in the mPFC in adenosine‐5′‐triphosphate modulation of the passive coping response to behavioral challenge and show that the P2X2/P2X3 receptor is dispensable for behaviors. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Feeding on floral nectar has multiple positive effects on parasitic wasps, including increased longevity and fecundity, and in addition, nectar feeding can also alter parasitoid behaviour. To advance understanding of the effects of nectar feeding on Diaeretiella rapae (McIntosh) [Hymenoptera: Braconidae], the activities of 1-day-old female D. rapae with or without a prior buckwheat ( Fagopyrum esculentum) nectar meal were quantified. Nectar increased searching time of D. rapae by a factor of 40 compared with individuals provided with water only and reduced the time spent stationary. The number of attacks to aphids by nectar-fed parasitoids was not significantly (P = 0.06) higher than that of unfed D. rapae, suggesting that the conditions of the experiment facilitated host finding by 'quiet' parasitoids. Nevertheless, nectar feeding modified the behaviour of D. rapae in a way that parasitoids were more explorative and less inactive. This represents one additional mechanism through which nectar feeding impacts parasitoid biology and suggests that a synergy between increased host searching, increased longevity and increased fecundity should lead to an enhancement of biocontrol when D. rapae females have access to nectar in the field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Infants' own activities create and actively select their learning experiences. Here we review recent models of embodied information seeking and curiosity-driven learning and show that these mechanisms have deep implications for development and evolution. We discuss how these mechanisms yield self-organized epigenesis with emergent ordered behavioral and cognitive developmental stages. We describe a robotic experiment that explored the hypothesis that progress in learning, in and for itself, generates intrinsic rewards: The robot learners probabilistically selected experiences according to their potential for reducing uncertainty. In these experiments, curiosity-driven learning led the robot learner to successively discover object affordances and vocal interaction with its peers. We explain how a learning curriculum adapted to the current constraints of the learning system automatically formed, constraining learning and shaping the developmental trajectory. The observed trajectories in the robot experiment share many properties with those in infant development, including a mixture of regularities and diversities in the developmental patterns. Finally, we argue that such emergent developmental structures can guide and constrain evolution, in particular with regard to the origins of language. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Individuals characterized as high-novelty seekers are more likely to abuse drugs than are low-novelty seekers, and it is possible that the biological substrates underlying novelty seeking and drug abuse are similar. We selectively bred replicate lines of mice from a B6D2 F3 hybrid stock for high exploratory behavior (HEB) or low exploratory behavior (LEB) as measured by the number of head dips on a hole board. To determine whether common genes might influence exploratory behavior and behaviors relevant to drug abuse, we tested HEB and LEB mice for conditioned place preference produced by ethanol andd-amphetamine and also examined oral methamphetamine intake. After four generations of selection, HEB and LEB mice did not differ in the magnitude of place preference for ethanol, but LEB mice showed a greater place preference for an amphetamine-paired location than did HEB mice. However, this difference did not replicate in mice tested from the fifth generation of selection. The selected lines also did not differ in sensitization to the locomotor stimulant effects ofd-amphetamine that developed across the conditioning trials. Finally, HEB and LEB mice consumed equivalently low amounts of methamphetamine. These results suggest that common genes do not influence head dipping and several behaviors potentially relevant to drug abuse. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Event-related brain potentials (ERPs) in response to novel pictures and subsequent visual exploration were examined. Eighteen undergraduates viewed 120 novel drawings as long as they wished. ERPs were calculated separately for drawings that were viewed longer or shorter than the median viewing time of each participant. The drawings viewed longer elicited a larger anterior negativity (N2) peaking at 245 ms than the shorter viewed drawings. This effect disappeared and the overall amplitude of the N2 decreased when the same set of drawings was presented again in a subsequent interest-rating session. Drawings rated as more interesting elicited a larger N2 than did drawings rated as less interesting. This study demonstrates a type of anterior N2 that is sensitive to stimulus unfamiliarity or difficulty in encoding, which reflects a conflict between stimulus input and existing knowledge and prompts further recognition processes and visual exploration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents a study on the nature of childrens' questions. A total of 68 children aged 1 to 5 from the Bing Nursery School comprised the respondents. A total of 81% asked information-seeking questions, 67% on facts, and 14% on explanation. The younger children asked for facts while the older children gravitated toward question which required explanation. Also, children ask both isolated queries and questions that take place in a series that build on one another. Thus, the building questions act as the bridge between the information-seeking questions and exploratory questions.

The article presents an analysis of the Child Language Data Exchange System database concerning the issues surrounding the study of childrens' questions. The areas of inquiry are the identity of the conversation partner of the child, social class variation in the persistence and frequency of the child's questions, the method by which children reply to answers to their inquiries, and the cognitive of replying to children's questions. The analysis shows that children ask questions to gather information. Also, children obtain the information they request, and are motivated to obtain the information they request. Lastly, children gather questions specifically to attain an objective, and utilize the information they have obtained to reach that objective and realize a change in knowledge state.

The article discusses whether the questions children ask within a sole domain have the potential of helping them learn about that domain. The analysis was centered on the questions children ask regarding animals. The objectives are to examine inquiries that are specialized to the field of biological knowledge, find out how stimulus type affects the inquiries that children ask regarding biological knowledge. The findings show that children inquire on more biological information when in the presence of animals than in other settings.

In our search for guiding principles out of which to conduct therapy, we encounter two temptations: temptations of power and certainty. When therapists do not adequately account for the position of our clients, we fall prey to the temptation of certainty. When we attempt to impose corrections from such certainty, we fall victim to the temptation of power. Colonization occurs in therapy when our commitment to "expert knowledge" blinds us to the experience in the room. This paper offers suggestions for sidestepping power/certainty by contrasting therapies of power and certainty with therapies of curiosity and empowerment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In addition to gene expression differences in distinct cell types, there is substantial post‐transcriptional regulation driven in part by RNA binding proteins (RBPs). Loss‐of‐function RBP mutations have been associated with neurodevelopmental disorders, such as Fragile‐X syndrome and syndromic autism. Work performed in animal models to elucidate the influence of neurodevelopmental disorder‐associated RBPs on distinct behaviors has showed a connection between normal post‐transcriptional regulation and conditioned learning. We previously reported cognitive inflexibility in a mouse model null for the RBP CUG‐BP, Elav‐like factor 6 (CELF6), which we also found to be associated with human autism. Specifically, these mice failed to potentiate exploratory hole‐poking behavior in response to familiarization to a rewarding stimuli. Characterization of Celf6 gene expression showed high levels in monoaminergic populations such as the dopaminergic midbrain populations. To better understand the underlying behavioral disruption mediating the resistance to change exploratory behavior in the holeboard task, we tested three hypotheses: Does Celf6 loss lead to global restricted patterns of behavior, failure of immediate response to reward or failure to alter behavior in response to reward (conditioning). We found the acute response to reward was intact, yet Celf6 mutant mice exhibited impaired conditioned learning to both reward and aversive stimuli. Thus, we found that the resistance to change by the Celf6 mutant in the holeboard was most parsimoniously explained as a failure of conditioning, as the mice had blunted responses even to potent rewarding stimuli such as cocaine. These findings further support the role of RBPs in conditioned learning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]