Manifestations, social impact, and decay of conceptual beliefs: A cultural perspective.

INTRODUCTION: Believing comprises multifaceted processes that integrate information from the outside world through meaning-making processes with personal relevance. METHODS: Qualitative Review of the current literature in social cognitive neuroscience. RESULTS: Although believing develops rapidly outside an individual's conscious awareness, it results in the formation of beliefs that are stored in memory and play an important role in determining an individual's behavior. Primal beliefs reflect an individual's experience of objects and events, whereas conceptual beliefs are based on narratives that are held in social groups. Conceptual beliefs can be about autobiographical, political, religious, and other aspects of life and may be encouraged by participation in group rituals. We hypothesize that assertions of future gains and rewards that transcend but are inherent in these codices provide incentives to follow the norms and rules of social groups. CONCLUSION: The power of conceptual beliefs to provide cultural orientation is likely to fade when circumstances and evidence make it clear that what was asserted no longer applies.

Evolution of neurodegeneration in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus: a monocentric follow up study.

BACKGROUND: The aim of this study was to examine in patients with idiopathic and neurodegenerative normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) if motor and cognitive performance as well as changes in biomarkers in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) evolve differently. METHODS: 41 patients with a typical clinical and MR-/CT-morphological presentation of NPH divided into an Alzheimer-negative (AD-, n = 25) and an Alzheimer-positive (AD+, n = 16) group according to neurodegenerative biomarkers (S100 protein, neuron-specific enolase, ß-amyloid 1-42, Tau protein, phospho-Tau, protein-level and CSF pressure) in CSF. Follow-up of cognitive and gait functions before and after a spinal tap of 40-50 ml CSF of up to 49 months. Clinical, motor, neuropsychological and CSF biomarkers were analyzed using a repeated multifactorial analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post-hoc testing. RESULTS: Gait and neuropsychological performance and CSF biomarkers evolved differently between the AD- and AD+ patients. In particular, the AD+ patients benefited from the spinal tap regarding short-term memory. In contrast, gait parameters worsened over time in the AD+ patients, although they showed a relevant improvement after the first tap. CONCLUSIONS: The results substantiate the recently reported association between a tap-responsive NPH and CSF changes of Alzheimer disease. Furthermore, they suggest that the AD changes in CSF manifest in an age-related fashion in AD- patients presenting with NPH.

Bridging the Gap Between Believing and Memory Functions.

Believing has recently been recognized as a fundamental brain function linking a person's experience with his or her attitude, actions and predictions. In general, believing results from the integration of ambient information with emotions and can be reinforced or modulated in a probabilistic fashion by new experiences. Although these processes occur in the subliminal realm, humans can become aware of what they believe and express it verbally. We explain how believing is interwoven with memory functions in a multifaceted fashion. Linking the typically rapid and adequate reactions of a subject to what he/she believes is enabled by working memory. Perceptions are stored in episodic memory as beneficial or aversive events, while the corresponding verbal descriptions of what somebody believes are stored in semantic memory. After recall from memory of what someone believes, personally relevant information can be communicated to other people. Thus, memory is essential for maintaining what people believe.

Limits of the thermal tolerance of two lentic crustaceans: The role of lactate dehydrogenase.

Limits of thermal tolerance in animal life is dependent on energy supply. Accordingly, the lowered ATP production capacity in ectotherms at high temperatures, which arises from a mismatch between oxygen supply and demand and the consequent switch from aerobic to anaerobic metabolism, affects the thermal resistance of these animals. The anaerobic ATP production capacity depends on the functional properties of the enzymes that reduce pyruvate. Thus, the present study focused on the role of the lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) of two daphnid species for anaerobic energy production at warm temperatures and the implications for their specific heat tolerances. Daphnia magna showed a higher thermal limit (indicated by immobilization time at 37°C) than Daphnia pulex, and in both species, this limit increased with rising acclimation temperature. In contrast to D. pulex, D. magna accumulated significant amounts of lactate at higher ambient temperatures. The intensity of anaerobic metabolism was also affected by acclimation temperature. Studying the functional enzyme properties revealed altered maximal reaction rates and substrate inhibitions of the LDH suites of the two daphnid species. D. magna LDH showed a significantly lower substrate inhibition than D. pulex LDH. The LDH isoform composition and the temperature-induced changes differed between both species. The detected qualitative modulations of the LDH suites may have resulted from differential isoform expression and different maturation processes. The species-specific LDH characteristics imply a higher anaerobic energy production at warm temperatures in D. magna, which likely contributes to the higher heat tolerance of this species.

Believing Processes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Analysis.

Cognition, emotion, emotional regulation, and believing play a special role in psychosocial functioning, especially in times of crisis. So far, little is known about the process of believing during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study was to examine the process of believing (using the Model of Credition) and the associated psychosocial strain/stress during the first lockdown in the COVID-19 pandemic. An online survey via LimeSurvey was conducted using the Brief Symptom Inventory-18 (BSI-18), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI), and a dedicated Believing Questionnaire, which assesses four parameters of credition (propositions, certainty, emotion, mightiness) between April and June, 2020, in Austria. In total, n = 156 mentally healthy participants completed all questionnaires. Negative credition parameters were associated with higher global symptom load (from BSI-18): narratives: r = 0.29, p < 0.001; emotions r = 0.39, p < 0.001. These findings underline the importance of credition as a link between cognition and emotion and their impact on psychosocial functioning and stress regulation in implementing novel strategies to promote mental health.

Believing and social interactions: effects on bodily expressions and personal narratives.

The processes of believing integrate external perceptual information from the environment with internal emotional states and prior experience to generate probabilistic neural representations of events, i.e., beliefs. As these neural representations manifest mostly below the level of a person's conscious awareness, they may inadvertently affect the spontaneous person's bodily expressions and prospective behavior. By yet to be understood mechanisms people can become aware of these representations and reflect upon them. Typically, people can communicate the content of their beliefs as personal statements and can summarize the narratives of others to themselves or to other people. Here, we describe that social interactions may benefit from the consistency between a person's bodily expressions and verbal statements because the person appears authentic and ultimately trustworthy. The transmission of narratives can thus lay the groundwork for social cooperation within and between groups and, ultimately, between communities and nations. Conversely, a discrepancy between bodily expressions and narratives may cause distrust in the addressee(s) and eventually may destroy social bonds.

Believing processes around COVID-19 vaccination: An exploratory study investigating workers in the health sector.

Background: The processes underlying believing have been labeled "creditions", which are important brain functions between emotion and cognition. Creditions are influenced by both internal and external factors, one of which is the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the vaccination against the disease. Methods: To investigate believing processes shortly before the implementation of a mandatory vaccination in Austria, both vaccinated and unvaccinated workers in the health sector (WHS) were surveyed in December 2021/January 2022. In total, 1,062 vaccinated and 97 unvaccinated WHS (920 females) completed the online survey. Beliefs were assessed using the parameters of the credition model (narrative, certainty, emotion, and mightiness) with regard to (1) the COVID-19 pandemic in general, and (2) the vaccination. Type of emotion and narrative were divided into positive, negative, and indifferent. Moreover, the congruence between emotion and narrative was calculated. Results: The vaccination rate of the sample was 91.6%, with a significantly higher percentage of men being in the group of vaccinated (21.1%) as compared to unvaccinated individuals (12.4%). Pertaining beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccination, unvaccinated WHS reported more negative and less positive emotions as well as content of narrative than vaccinated WHS. In addition, they showed higher levels of certainty as well as mightiness while believing and felt less sufficiently informed about governmental and workplace-related COVID-19 measures. The groups did not differ in the type of emotion or content of narrative in their beliefs about the pandemic in general. Conclusion: In conclusion, unvaccinated WHS had more negative and less positive emotions and thoughts than vaccinated WHS in their beliefs about the COVID-19 vaccination and their motivations for not having received it. They were more certain about their beliefs and felt stronger negative emotions in their beliefs compared to vaccinated individuals. Providing unvaccinated WHS with adequate information might be helpful in reducing their mental burden.

Believing processes during the COVID-19 pandemic in individuals with bipolar disorder: An exploratory study.

BACKGROUND: Believing or "credition" refers to psychological processes that integrate the cognitions and emotions that influence our behavior. In the credition model by Angel and Seitz, four parameters are postulated: proposition, certainty, emotion and mightiness. It is assumed that believing processes are influenced by both the individual as well as socio-cultural factors and external circumstances. External or environmental circumstances can include threatening situations such as the ongoing pandemic. It has been hypothesized that believing processes related to the pandemic differ between individuals with bipolar disorder (BD) and healthy controls (HC). AIM: To investigate credition in individuals with BD during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. METHODS: Psychiatrically stable individuals with BD (n = 52) and age- and sex matched HC (n = 52) participated in an online survey during the first lockdown of the COVID-19 pandemic. The survey took place between April 9th and June 4th, 2020, in Austria. Participants completed the Brief Symptom Inventory-18, the Beck Depression Inventory-II, the Altman Self-Rating Mania Scale, the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index and a dedicated Believing Questionnaire assessing four parameters of credition (proposition, certainty, emotion and mightiness). The MAXQDA software was used to analyze the qualitative data. Statistical analyses included analyses of variance, a multivariate analysis of variance and a multivariate analysis of co-variance. RESULTS: Individuals with BD reported significantly more negative propositions [F (1,102) = 8.89, P = 0.004, η2 p = 0.08] and negative emotions [Welch´s F (1,82.46) = 18.23, P < 0.001, η2 p = 0.18], while HC showed significantly more positive propositions [F (1,102) = 7.78, P = 0.006, η2 p = 0.07] and emotions [F (1,102) = 14.31, P < 0.001, η2 p = 0.12]. In addition, individuals with BD showed a higher incongruence between their propositions and their emotions [F (1,102) = 9.42, P = 0.003, η2 p = 0.08] and showed strong correlations between the parameters of the Believing Questionnaire and their psychiatric symptoms (r = 0.51-0.77, all P < 0.001). Positive as well as negative emotions and propositions were associated with scores measuring symptoms of depression, anxiety and sleep quality. CONCLUSION: Believing parameters were associated with psychiatric symptoms in BD during the pandemic. Findings broaden knowledge about the susceptibility of believing processes for ambient challenges in individuals with BD.

Beliefs: A challenge in neuropsychological disorders.

INTRODUCTION: Beliefs have recently been defined as the neural product of perception of objects and events in the external world and of an affirmative internal affective state reflecting personal meaning. It is, however, undetermined in which way diseases of the brain affect these integrative processes. METHODS: Here, the formation and updating of abnormal beliefs in cerebral disorders are described. RESULTS: It will be shown that well-defined neuropsychological syndromes resulting from brain lesions also interfere with the neural processes that enable the formation, up-dating and communication of beliefs. Similarly, in neuropsychiatric disorders abnormal and delusional beliefs appear to be caused by altered perception and/or misattribution of aversive meaning. CONCLUSION: Given the importance of beliefs for ordinary social behaviour, abnormal beliefs are a challenge in neuropsychological disorders.

Structural Connectivity Remote From Lesions Correlates With Somatosensory Outcome Poststroke.

Background and Purpose: Changes in connectivity of white matter fibers remote to a stroke lesion, suggestive of structural connectional diaschisis, may impact on clinical impairment and recovery after stroke. However, until recently, we have not had tract-specific techniques to map changes in white matter tracts in vivo in humans to enable investigation of potential mechanisms and clinical impact of such remote changes. Our aim was to identify and quantify white matter tracts that are affected remote from a stroke lesion and to investigate the associations between reductions in tract-specific connectivity and impaired touch discrimination function after stroke. Methods: We applied fixel-based analysis to diffusion magnetic resonance imaging data from 37 patients with stroke (right lesion =16; left lesion =21) and 26 age-matched healthy adults. Three quantitative metrics were compared between groups: fiber density; fiber-bundle cross-section; and a combined measure of both (fiber-bundle cross-section) that reflects axonal structural connectivity. Results: Compared with healthy adults, patients with stroke showed significant common fiber-bundle cross-section and fiber density reductions in 4 regions remote from focal lesions that play roles in somatosensory and spatial information processing. Structural connectivity along the somatosensory fibers of the lesioned hemisphere was correlated with contralesional hand touch function. Touch function of the ipsilesional hand was associated with connectivity of the superior longitudinal fasciculus, and, for the right-lesion group, the corpus callosum. Conclusions: Remote tract-specific reductions in axonal connectivity indicated by diffusion imaging measures are observed in the somatosensory network after stroke. These remote white matter connectivity reductions, indicative of structural connectional diaschisis, are associated with touch impairment in patients with stroke.

Metabolic adjustments during starvation in Daphnia pulex.

Zooplankton organisms face a variable food supply in their habitat. Metabolic adjustments during periods of starvation were analysed from changes in metabolite level to gene expression in the microcrustacean Daphnia pulex during starvation. The animals exploited their carbohydrate stores first, but their lipid and protein reserves were also degraded, albeit more slowly. Glycogenolysis and probably gluconeogenesis led to hyperglycaemia after 16 h of starvation. The concentration of α-ketoglutarate and the rate of oxygen consumption also reached maxima during this period. Nuclear HIF-1α levels and α-ketoglutarate concentration showed inverse correlation. Effects of this 2-oxoacid on prolyl hydroxylase activity, HIF-1α stability and the role of this transcription factor in the changes of the expression level of several putatively HIF-1-mediated metabolic genes are discussed. Transcriptome profiling via RNA-Seq revealed a downregulation of genes for protein biosynthesis and an upregulation of genes for carbohydrate metabolism during starvation. Thus, the adjustments of energy metabolism in response to food deprivation were quantified from the level of metabolites, signal transduction and gene expression, and possible connections of the respective dynamics of observed changes were analysed.

Deficient visuomotor hand coordination in normal pressure hydrocephalus.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate if visuomotor coordination of hand movements is impaired in patients with normal pressure hydrocephalus (NPH) identified by dedicated testing procedures. METHODS: Forty-seven patients admitted for diagnostic workup for suspected NPH were studied prospectively with MRI, testing of cognitive and motor functions, lumbar puncture, and visuomotor coordination of hand movements using the PABLOR-device before and after a spinal tap of 40-50 ml CSF. Statistical analyses were carried out with repeated measures ANOVA and non-parametric correlation analyses. RESULTS: Fourteen patients were found to suffer from ideopathic NPH. They were severely impaired in visuomotor control of intermittent arm movements in comparison to patients who were found not to be affected by NPH (n = 18). In the patients with NPH the deficient arm control was improved after the spinal tap in proportion to the improvement of gait. There was no improvement of cognitive and motor functions in the patients not affected by NPH, while the patients with possible NPH (n = 15) showed intermediate deficit and improvement patterns. INTERPRETATION: Our data underline the importance of a multiparametric assessment of NPH and provide evidence for a motor control deficit in idiopathic NPH involving leg and arm movements. It is suggested that this motor control deficit resulted from an affection of the output tracts from the supplementary motor area in the periventricular vicinity.

Diagnosis of Open Tibial Fracture Showed High Positive Predictive Value in the Swedish National Patient Register.

INTRODUCTION: The Swedish National Patient Register was validated only for a few diagnoses in the field of trauma. In this study, we calculated the positive predictive values (PPV) of the diagnosis of open tibial fracture and corresponding E-codes (cause of injury). PATIENTS AND METHODS: Out of 2845 cases from a 10-year period (2007-2016), a random sample of 300 cases was selected for review of medical records. The accuracy of the diagnosis and cause of injury was calculated and presented as PPV. We divided the study population into two subgroups (moderate and severe injury) that were analyzed separately. Severe injury was defined as when a patient had an amputation and/or reconstructive surgical procedures, indicated by corresponding ICD-codes. RESULTS: The PPV of the diagnosis of open tibial fracture was 87% (95% CI: 86-88%) overall, 86% (95% CI: 79-91%) for moderate injuries and 96% (95% CI: 91-98%) for severe injuries. The PPV for E-codes was 74% (95% CI: 65-81%). The majority of injuries were caused by falls (47%) or transport accidents (38%). Most of these injuries were caused by high-energy trauma (60%). CONCLUSION: The PPV of the diagnosis of open tibial fracture in the Swedish National Patient Register is high (87%). The PPV of E-codes was lower (79%). The results imply that the register is well suited for healthcare evaluation and research purposes regarding trauma diagnoses. Most open tibial fractures are high-energy injuries.

Aerial strategies advance volcanic gas measurements at inaccessible, strongly degassing volcanoes.

Volcanic emissions are a critical pathway in Earth's carbon cycle. Here, we show that aerial measurements of volcanic gases using unoccupied aerial systems (UAS) transform our ability to measure and monitor plumes remotely and to constrain global volatile fluxes from volcanoes. Combining multi-scale measurements from ground-based remote sensing, long-range aerial sampling, and satellites, we present comprehensive gas fluxes-3760 ± [600, 310] tons day-1 CO2 and 5150 ± [730, 340] tons day-1 SO2-for a strong yet previously uncharacterized volcanic emitter: Manam, Papua New Guinea. The CO2/ST ratio of 1.07 ± 0.06 suggests a modest slab sediment contribution to the sub-arc mantle. We find that aerial strategies reduce uncertainties associated with ground-based remote sensing of SO2 flux and enable near-real-time measurements of plume chemistry and carbon isotope composition. Our data emphasize the need to account for time averaging of temporal variability in volcanic gas emissions in global flux estimates.