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Behavioral control is not unitary. It comprises parallel systems, model based and model free, that respectively generate flexible and habitual behaviors. Model-based decisions use predictions of the specific consequences of actions, but how these are implemented in the brain is poorly understood. We used calcium imaging and optogenetics in a sequential decision task for mice to show that the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) predicts the state that actions will lead to, not simply whether they are good or bad, and monitors whether outcomes match these predictions. ACC represents the complete state space of the task, with reward signals that depend strongly on the state where reward is obtained but minimally on the preceding choice. Accordingly, ACC is necessary only for updating model-based strategies, not for basic reward-driven action reinforcement. These results reveal that ACC is a critical node in model-based control, with a specific role in predicting future states given chosen actions.Akam et al. investigate mouse anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in a sequential decision-making task, finding that ACC predicts future states given chosen actions and indicates when these predictions are violated. Transiently inhibiting ACC prevents mice from using observed state transitions to guide subsequent choices, impairing model-based reinforcement learning.

Foram utilizados 24 suínos machos castrados com o objetivo de determinar o efeito da temperatura ambiente sobre suas respostas termorreguladoras durante o estresse agudo por calor durante 48 horas. Os animais foram alojados em duas câmaras climatizadas com controle de temperatura, umidade e ventilação. Em uma das câmaras, os animais estavam em conforto térmico para a categoria (22ºC) e em outra, em estresse por calor (34ºC). Em cada câmara foram alojados 12 suínos, sendo a parcela experimental representada por dois animais na baia, totalizando seis repetições. As condições ambientais das câmaras climáticas e os parâmetros fisiológicos de frequência respiratória, temperatura retal e superficial foram monitoradas no início e a cada 12 horas durante o período experimental. No período observado, suínos em crescimento apresentaram respostas termorregulatórias efetivas a partir de 12 horas de exposição ao estresse agudo de calor (34°C).

Item does not contain fulltext, Performance decrements in multitasking have been explained by limitations in cognitive capacity, either modelled as static structural bottlenecks or as the scarcity of overall cognitive resources that prevent humans, or at least restrict them, from processing two tasks at the same time. However, recent research has shown that individual differences, flexible resource allocation, and prioritization of tasks cannot be fully explained by these accounts. We argue that understanding human multitasking as a choice and examining multitasking performance from the perspective of judgment and decision-making (JDM), may complement current dual-task theories. We outline two prominent theories from the area of JDM, namely Simple Heuristics and the Decision Field Theory, and adapt these theories to multitasking research. Here, we explain how computational modelling techniques and decision-making parameters used in JDM may provide a benefit to understanding multitasking costs and argue that these techniques and parameters have the potential to predict multitasking behavior in general, and also individual differences in behavior. Finally, we present the one-reason choice metaphor to explain a flexible use of limited capacity as well as changes in serial and parallel task processing. Based on this newly combined approach, we outline a concrete interdisciplinary future research program that we think will help to further develop multitasking research.

Action potentials generated spontaneously (SAPs) and evoked by electrical stimulation (APs) in tomato plants (Solanum lycopersicum L.) cv. Micro-Tom ABA-deficient mutants (sitiens—MTsit) and its wild type (MTwt) were characterized by continuous monitoring of electrical activity for 66 h and by application of an electrical stimulation supplied extracellularly. MTsit generated SAPs which spread along the stem, including petioles and roots with an amplitude of 44.6 ± 4.4 mV, half-time (t½) of 33.1 ± 2.9 s and velocity of 5.4 ± 1.0 cm min−1. Amplitude and velocity were 43 and 108 % higher in MTsit than in MTwt, respectively. The largest number of SAPs was registered in the early morning in both genotypes. MTsit was less responsive to electrical stimuli. The excitation threshold and the refractory period were greater in MTsit than in MTwt. After current application, APs were generated in the MTwt with 21.2 ± 2.4 mV amplitude and propagated with 5.6 ± 0.5 cm min−1 velocity. Lower intensity stimuli did not trigger APs in these plants. In MTsit APs were measured with amplitude of 26.8 ± 4.8 mV and propagated with velocity of 8.5 ± 0.1 cm min−1.

Experiments have demonstrated the ability of action potentials to actively backpropagate in striatal medium spiny (MS) neurons, affecting the calcium levels in the dendrites [1, 2, 3]. Increased calcium levels trigger changes in plasticity [4, 5], which is important for learning and other functions [6]. Studies in the hippocampus have shown that GABAergic input can modulate the backpropagation of action potentials from the soma to the distal dendrites [7]. The MS neurons receive both proximal feedforward GABAergic inhibition from fast spiking interneurons (FS), and distal feedback inhibition from other neighbouring MS neurons. In the present study the effect of GABAergic inputs on the dendritic calcium dynamics is investigated., QC 20120119

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Zoologi, adfærd, kommunikation, video playback, fiddler crab, field study

Zoologi, adfærd, visual communication, experimental design, vision, motion, color

Zoologi, adfærd, fiddler crab, conservation