The Topical Novel Formulations of Interferon α-2в Effectively Inhibit HSV-1 Keratitis in the Rabbit Eye Model and HSV-2 Genital Herpes in Mice.

Herpes simplex viruses type 1 (HSV-1) and type 2 (HSV-2) are widespread human pathogens that establish chronic latent infections leading to recurrent episodes. Current treatments are limited, necessitating the development of novel antiviral strategies. This study aimed to assess the antiviral efficacy of novel topical formulations containing interferon alpha-2b (IFN α-2b) against HSV-1 and HSV-2. The formulations, Oftalmoferon® forte (eye drops) and Interferon Vaginal Tablets, demonstrated potent antiviral effects against HSV-1 and HSV-2 in Vero cells, respectively, with concentration-dependent inhibition of viral replication. Subsequently, their efficacy was tested in animal models: HSV-1 keratitis in the rabbit eye model and HSV-2 genital herpes in mice. Oftalmoferon® forte effectively treated HSV-1 keratitis, reducing clinical symptoms and ulcerations compared to virus control. Interferon Vaginal Tablets showed promising results in controlling HSV-2 genital herpes in mice, improving survival rates, reducing clinical signs, weight loss and viral replication. The novel IFN α-2b formulations exhibited significant antiviral activity against HSV infections in cell culture and animal models. These findings suggest the potential of these formulations as alternative treatments for HSV infections, particularly in cases resistant to current therapies. Further studies are warranted to optimize treatment regimens and assess clinical efficacy in humans.

Funny? Think About It! Selective effect of cognitive mechanisms of humour on insight problems.

The present study aims to elucidate whether insight problem solving could be facilitated by the cognitive component of humour. The authors take interest in whether the logical mechanisms of humour can affect how fast insight problems are solved. To that end, the authors conducted two experiments where participants solved insight problems after watching visual humorous stimuli such as videos and slideshows. The first experiment demonstrated the overall impact of facilitation by humour on insight problem solving; however, it did not show any difference in how particular logical mechanisms of humour affect the solution time of insight problems. The second experiment showed that the cognitive component of humour could selectively affect insight problems whose difficulty stems from different sources. These results suggest that the cognitive component of humour, when operationalised as logical mechanisms and schema switching, contributes to solving insight problems.

Tracing executive functions in insight.

Usually the central executive is considered as a single capacity in the insight studies which leads to inconsistent results on the link between the central executive of working memory and insight. We suppose a more detailed view on the process of insight solution in which various executive functions could be important at different solution stages: updating is necessary to build a problem's representation, inhibition-to overcome the impasse, shifting-to restructure the problem's representation. These assumptions were not confirmed in an experiment via dual-task paradigm and cognitive load. We did not find the relation between executive functions and solution stages, but we demonstrated that the more complexity of dual-task, the more cognitive load in problem solving. Moreover, the highest load of executive functions is observed at the end of insight solution. We speculate that the loading occurs either due to decrease of the free space in working memory storage systems, or due to a resource-intensive event (for example, representational change).

Surprise! Why Insightful Solution Is Pleasurable.

Insight problems-as a type of ill-defined problems-are often solved without an articulate plan, and finding their solution is accompanied by the Aha! experience (positive feeling from suddenly finding a solution). However, the solution of such problems can also be guided, for example, by expectations in terms of criteria for achieving the goal. We hypothesize that adjusting the expectation accuracy based on the reward prediction error (discrepancy between the reward and its prediction) affects the strength of affective components of the Aha! experience (pleasure and surprise), allowing to learn how to solve similar problems. We manipulated expectation accuracy by varying the similarity in problem solution principle and structure in a short learning set. Each set was followed by a critical problem where both the structure and solution principle were changed (except for control set). Subjective feelings, solution time, and expectation were measured after each problem. The results revealed that problems with similarities become more expected at the end of the set and their solution time is decreased. However, the critical problem featured a rapid increase in pleasure and surprise and decrease in expectedness only in the condition where both the solution principle and structure were expected, suggesting that problem structure is a key feature determining expectedness in insight problem solving. The Aha! experience is not an epiphenomenon; it plays a role in learning of problem solving through adjusting expectations.

How Working Memory Provides Representational Change During Insight Problem Solving.

Numerous studies of insight problem solving are focused on both the control and storage systems of working memory. We obtained contradictory data about how working memory systems are involved in insight problem solving process. We argue that measuring the dynamics of the control system and storage systems through the course of problem solving can provide a more refined view on the processes involved, as a whole, and explain the existing controversies. We theorize that specific insight mechanisms require varying working memory capacities at different stages of the problem solving process. Our study employed a dual task paradigm to track the dynamics of working memory systems load during problem solving by measuring the reaction time in a secondary probe-task during different stages of problem solving. We varied the modality (verbal, visual) and the complexity of the probe-task during insight and non-insight problem solving. The results indicated that the dynamics of working memory load in insight problems differs from those in non-insight problems. Our first experiment shows that the complexity of the probe-task affects overall probe-task reaction times in both insight and non-insight problem solving. Our second experiment demonstrates that the solution of a non-insight problem is primarily associated with the working memory control system, while insight problems rely on relevant storage systems. Our results confirm that insight process requires access to various systems of working memory throughout the solution. We found that working memory load in non-insight problems increases from stage to stage due to allocation of the attentional control resources to interim calculations. The nature of the dynamics of working memory load in insight problems remains debatable. We claim that insight problem solving demands working memory storage during the entire problem solving process and that control system plays an important role just prior to the solution.