Photobiomodulation regulates adult neurogenesis in the hippocampus in a status epilepticus animal model.

Status epilepticus (SE) refers to a single seizure that lasts longer than typical seizures or a series of consecutive seizures. The hippocampus, which is vulnerable to the effects of SE, has a critical role in memory storage and retrieval. The trisynaptic loop in the hippocampus connects the substructures thereof, namely the dentate gyrus (DG), CA3, and CA1. In an animal model of SE, abnormal neurogenesis in the DG and aberrant neural network formation result in sequential neural degeneration in CA3 and CA1. Photobiomodulation (PBM) therapy, previously known as low-level laser (light) therapy (LLLT), is a novel therapy for the treatment of various neurological disorders including SE. However, the effects of this novel therapeutic approach on the recovery process are poorly understood. In the present study, we found that PBM transformed SE-induced abnormal neurogenesis to normal neurogenesis. We demonstrated that PBM plays a key role in normal hippocampal neurogenesis by enhancing the migration of maturing granular cells (early neuronal cells) to the GCL, and that normal neurogenesis induced by PBM prevents SE-induced hippocampal neuronal loss in CA1. Thus, PBM is a novel approach to prevent seizure-induced neuronal degeneration, for which light devices may be developed in the future.

Descriptive or injunctive: How do restaurant customers react to the guidelines of COVID-19 prevention measures? The role of psychological reactance.

In this study, we employed an experimental design to empirically test how restaurant customers react differently to normative appeals (descriptive vs. injunctive) relating to COVID-19 prevention measures through freedom threat and negative cognition. We conducted t-tests, serial mediation, moderation, and moderated serial mediation analysis to test the hypotheses using SPSS 23.0 and PROCESS macro v.3.5 (model 6 and model 85). Injunctive normative appeal causes an increase in freedom and a less favorable attitude than descriptive normative appeals. The findings also demonstrate the serial-mediated effect of freedom threat and negative cognition on attitude. Furthermore, the effectiveness of normative appeals depends on an individual's age. This study contributes to the academic literature on hospitality by applying psychological reactance theory and testing the model within a restaurant context. It also discusses the implications of its findings for consumers and restaurant managers.