scholarly journals Counterconditioning following memory retrieval diminishes reinstatement of appetitive memories in humans

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rani Gera ◽  
Segev Barak ◽  
Tom Schonberg
Keyword(s):  
Crucial Role ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Memory Reconsolidation ◽  
Appetitive Conditioning ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
Vital Part ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Memory Attenuation

AbstractAppetitive memories play a crucial role in learning and behavior but under certain circumstances become maladaptive and play a vital part in addiction and other psychopathologies. In recent years, scientific research demonstrated the ability of memories to be modified following their reactivation through memory retrieval, in a process termed memory reconsolidation. Several non-pharmacological behavioral manipulations yielded mixed results in their capacity to alter maladaptive memories in humans. Here, aiming to translate promising findings observed in rodents to humans, we constructed a novel three-day procedure to test the efficacy of aversive counterconditioning to alter appetitive memories when given following memory retrieval. On Day1 we used appetitive conditioning to form appetitive memories. On Day2, we retrieved these appetitive memories for half of the participants (Retrieval group). Subsequently, all participants underwent counterconditioning. On Day3, we tried to reinstate Day1 appetitive memories. We observed a significant reduction in the reinstatement of the original appetitive memory when counterconditioning was induced following memory retrieval. We provide here a novel human paradigm that models several memory processes, and demonstrate memory attenuation when counterconditioned after its retrieval. This paradigm can be used to study complex appetitive memory dynamics, e.g., memory reconsolidation, and their underlying brain mechanisms.

Science, Technology, and Virtues

2021 ◽  
Keyword(s):  
Ethical Dilemmas ◽  
New Technology ◽  
Science And Technology ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Modern Science ◽  
Religious Traditions ◽  
Science Technology ◽  
And Behavior

What makes for a good scientist or a good engineer? How does using a new technology or working in a research lab begin to shape our thought and behavior? How can we best anticipate and navigate the ethical dilemmas created by modern scientific research and technology? Scholars across multiple disciplines have begun turning to a surprising resource to address these questions: discussions of virtue that have their roots in ancient philosophical and religious traditions. This volume gathers a number of these perspectives to show how concepts of virtue can help us better understand, construct, and use the fruits of modern science and technology.

scholarly journals Electrophysiological signatures of memory reactivation in humans

2020 ◽  
Vol 375 (1799) ◽  
pp. 20190293 ◽  
Author(s):  
Thomas Schreiner ◽  
Tobias Staudigl
Keyword(s):  
Episodic Memory ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Functional Significance ◽  
State Of The Art ◽  
Memory Reactivation ◽  
Open Questions ◽  
Neural Processes

The reactivation of neural activity that was present during the encoding of an event is assumed to be essential for human episodic memory retrieval and the consolidation of memories during sleep. Pioneering animal work has already established a crucial role of memory reactivation to prepare and guide behaviour. Research in humans is now delineating the neural processes involved in memory reactivation during both wakefulness and sleep as well as their functional significance. Focusing on the electrophysiological signatures of memory reactivation in humans during both memory retrieval and sleep-related consolidation, this review provides an overview of the state of the art in the field. We outline recent advances, methodological developments and open questions and specifically highlight commonalities and differences in the neuronal signatures of memory reactivation during the states of wakefulness and sleep. This article is part of the Theo Murphy meeting issue ‘Memory reactivation: replaying events past, present and future’.

scholarly journals Stress-induced gene expression and behavior are controlled by DNA methylation and methyl donor availability in the dentate gyrus

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (17) ◽  
pp. 4830-4835 ◽  
Author(s):  
Emily A. Saunderson ◽  
Helen Spiers ◽  
Karen R. Mifsud ◽  
Maria Gutierrez-Mecinas ◽  
Alexandra F. Trollope ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Gene Expression ◽  
Dna Methylation ◽  
Dentate Gyrus ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Histone H3 ◽  
Behavioral Responses ◽  
Cpg Methylation ◽  
Granule Neurons ◽  
Methyl Donor ◽  
And Behavior

Stressful events evoke long-term changes in behavioral responses; however, the underlying mechanisms in the brain are not well understood. Previous work has shown that epigenetic changes and immediate-early gene (IEG) induction in stress-activated dentate gyrus (DG) granule neurons play a crucial role in these behavioral responses. Here, we show that an acute stressful challenge [i.e., forced swimming (FS)] results in DNA demethylation at specific CpG (5′-cytosine–phosphate–guanine-3′) sites close to the c-Fos (FBJ murine osteosarcoma viral oncogene homolog) transcriptional start site and within the gene promoter region of Egr-1 (early growth response protein 1) specifically in the DG. Administration of the (endogenous) methyl donor S-adenosyl methionine (SAM) did not affect CpG methylation and IEG gene expression at baseline. However, administration of SAM before the FS challenge resulted in an enhanced CpG methylation at the IEG loci and suppression of IEG induction specifically in the DG and an impaired behavioral immobility response 24 h later. The stressor also specifically increased the expression of the de novo DNA methyltransferase Dnmt3a [DNA (cytosine-5-)-methyltransferase 3 alpha] in this hippocampus region. Moreover, stress resulted in an increased association of Dnmt3a enzyme with the affected CpG loci within the IEG genes. No effects of SAM were observed on stress-evoked histone modifications, including H3S10p-K14ac (histone H3, phosphorylated serine 10 and acetylated lysine-14), H3K4me3 (histone H3, trimethylated lysine-4), H3K9me3 (histone H3, trimethylated lysine-9), and H3K27me3 (histone H3, trimethylated lysine-27). We conclude that the DNA methylation status of IEGs plays a crucial role in FS-induced IEG induction in DG granule neurons and associated behavioral responses. In addition, the concentration of available methyl donor, possibly in conjunction with Dnmt3a, is critical for the responsiveness of dentate neurons to environmental stimuli in terms of gene expression and behavior.

scholarly journals Disruption of relapse to alcohol seeking by aversive counterconditioning following memory retrieval

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Koral Goltseker ◽  
Hen Handrus ◽  
Segev Barak
Keyword(s):  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Lever Press ◽  
Water Flooding ◽  
Memory Reconsolidation ◽  
Place Conditioning ◽  
Self Administration ◽  
Conditioning Paradigm ◽  
Cocaine Seeking ◽  
Lever Pressing ◽  
Alcohol Seeking

AbstractRelapse to alcohol abuse is often caused by exposure to potent alcohol-associated cues. Therefore, disruption of the cue-alcohol memory can prevent relapse. It is believed that memories destabilize and become prone for updating upon their reactivation through retrieval, and then re-stabilize within 6 h during a “reconsolidation” process. We recently showed that relapse to cocaine seeking could be prevented by counterconditioning the cocaine-cues with aversive outcomes following cocaine-memory retrieval, in a place conditioning paradigm. However, to better model addiction-related behaviors, self-administration models are necessary. Here, we demonstrate that relapse to alcohol seeking can be prevented by aversive counterconditioning conducted during alcohol-memory reconsolidation, in conditioned place preference (CPP) and operant self-administration paradigms, in mice and rats, respectively. We found that the reinstatement of alcohol-CPP was abolished only when aversive counterconditioning with water-flooding was given shortly after alcohol-memory retrieval. Furthermore, rats trained to lever-press for alcohol showed decreased context-induced renewal of alcohol-seeking responding when the lever-pressing was counterconditioned with foot-shocks, shortly, but not 6 h, after memory retrieval. These results 0suggest that aversive counterconditioning can prevent relapse to alcohol seeking only when performed during alcohol-memory reconsolidation, presumably by updating, or replacing, the alcohol memory with aversive information. Also, we found that aversive counterconditioning preceded by alcohol-memory retrieval was characterized by upregulation of brain-derived neurotrophic factor (Bdnf) mRNA expression in the medial prefrontal cortex, suggesting that Bdnf plays a role in the memory updating process.

Speculation, Conceptualization, or Evidence?

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christina A. Downey ◽  
Reggie E. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Positive Psychology ◽  
Paradigm Shift ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Scientific Discipline ◽  
Institutional Characteristics ◽  
Ongoing Debate ◽  
Positive Functioning ◽  
History Of ◽  
And Behavior

This chapter traces the history of examinations of well-being since the founding of psychology in 1879. Seligman and Csikszentmihalyi (2000) asserted that positive psychology as a scientific discipline was to focus on empirical examinations of valued individual experiences and traits, as well as group and institutional characteristics that mark positive functioning. Positive psychology set parameters on the types of evidence that would be given credence in the field. Many scholars had described well-being prior to 2000, but much of this work could not counted as within the bounds of the new positive psychology because of how the different movements approached gathering evidence. Therefore, the founding of positive psychology represented another step in an ongoing debate in psychology regarding the conduct of scientific research on human characteristics and behavior, and its accomplishments can be viewed as a paradigm shift in the study of well-being.

Multiple traces or Fuzzy Traces? Converging evidence for applications of modern cognitive theory to psychotherapy

2015 ◽  
Vol 38 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie F. Reyna ◽  
Yulia Landa
Keyword(s):  
Behavior Change ◽  
Cognitive Theory ◽  
Behavioral Therapy ◽  
Emotional Experience ◽  
Therapeutic Change ◽  
Memory Reconsolidation ◽  
Trace Theory ◽  
Fuzzy Trace Theory ◽  
Youth At Risk ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractNeurobiologically informed integration of research on memory, emotion, and behavior change in psychotherapy is needed, which Lane at al. advance. Memory reconsolidation that incorporates new emotional experience plays an important role in therapeutic change, converging with evidence for Fuzzy Trace Theory. Applications of Fuzzy Trace Theory to Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (CBT) for youth at risk for psychosis, and to other aspects of behavior change, are discussed.

scholarly journals Dynamics of Interpersonal Communication Between Spouses with a Long Marriage Experience in the Period of Self-Isolation

2021 ◽  
Vol 20 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-26
Author(s):  
Nadezhda A. Tsvetkova ◽  
◽  
Kira E. Lagvilava ◽  
◽  
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Family Life ◽  
Life Experience ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Married Couples ◽  
Dominant Strategy ◽  
The Past ◽  
Conflict Situations ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Attitudes And Behavior

The article presents the results of testing the hypothesis about changes in the nature of interpersonal communication between spouses in conditions of self-isolation, determined by the dynamics of destructive communicative attitudes and behavior style in conflict situations. 30 married couples with 15 years of family life experience were examined. Data obtained at the very beginning of restrictions and after a three-month period of self-isolation were compared. It is noted that the interpersonal communication of the spouses over the past three months has become more intense, tense, aggressive and conflicted. The spouses managed to intensify and maintain the usual system of implementing destructive attitudes in interpersonal communication, as well as the stylistic features of behavior in conflict situations, but they did not manage to prefer cooperation to compromise: compromise was and remains the dominant strategy of behavior of each of the spouses in the conflict. It is shown that during the three-month period of self-isolation, wives became somewhat detached from reality, while their husbands became significantly more realistic, but also significantly more openly violent. Attention is drawn to the need for further scientific research of this problem, as well as improving the practice of psychological support for families in situations of this type.

scholarly journals Flat-Smacked! Converting to Flat Eartherism

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alex Olshansky ◽  
Robert M. Peaslee ◽  
Asheley R. Landrum
Keyword(s):  
Social Media ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Conversion Process ◽  
The Moon ◽  
Multiple Exposures ◽  
Gradual Process ◽  
Biblical Literalism ◽  
Youtube Videos ◽  
Young Earth Creationism ◽  
And Behavior

The Flat Earth movement appears to have emerged from a combination of Biblical literalism (e.g., young Earth creationism, geocentricism) and conspiracy theorizing (e.g., belief that NASA faked the moon landings). Interviews with participants of the first International Flat Earth Conference in 2017 revealed that the majority of Flat Earthers have come to endorse Flat Earth ideas only within the last few years after watching videos on YouTube. However, the novelty of the movement means that there is a lack of literature on this group, including what exactly convinced these new Flat Earthers and how that conversion took place. Here, we provide evidence for a gradual process of conversion after multiple exposures to Flat Earth YouTube videos to which viewers were initially skeptical but report failing to adequately debunk. Furthermore, evidence is presented here regarding the crucial role YouTube played in their conversion process, suggesting the platform is potentially a strong avenue for changing beliefs. The narratives provided here also support much of the research on conversion, describing a gradual process of deep personal change, via the relatively new mechanism of social media, where one finds a new center of concern, interest, and behavior, as well as a different view of reality.

scholarly journals Associations between Basal Cortisol Levels and Memory Retrieval in Healthy Young Individuals

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (11) ◽  
pp. 1896-1907 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sandra Ackermann ◽  
Francina Hartmann ◽  
Andreas Papassotiropoulos ◽  
Dominique J.-F. de Quervain ◽  
Björn Rasch
Keyword(s):  
Individual Differences ◽  
Memory Retrieval ◽  
Recall Performance ◽  
Emotional Valence ◽  
Recall Condition ◽  
Short Delay ◽  
Memory Processes ◽  
Basal Cortisol ◽  
Cortisol Levels ◽  
Episodic Memories

Cortisol is known to affect memory processes. On the one hand, stress-induced or pharmacologically induced elevations of cortisol levels enhance memory consolidation. On the other hand, such experimentally induced elevations of cortisol levels have been shown to impair memory retrieval. However, the effects of individual differences in basal cortisol levels on memory processes remain largely unknown. Here we tested whether individual differences in cortisol levels predict picture learning and recall in a large sample. A total of 1225 healthy young women and men viewed two different sets of emotional and neutral pictures on two consecutive days. Both sets were recalled after a short delay (10 min). On Day 2, the pictures seen on Day 1 were additionally recalled, resulting in a long-delay (20 hr) recall condition. Cortisol levels were measured three times on Days 1 and 2 via saliva samples before encoding, between encoding and recall as well as after recall testing. We show that stronger decreases in cortisol levels during retrieval testing were associated with better recall performance of pictures, regardless of emotional valence of the pictures or length of the retention interval (i.e., 10 min vs. 20 hr). In contrast, average cortisol levels during retrieval were not related to picture recall. Remarkably during encoding, individual differences in average cortisol levels as well as changes in cortisol did not predict memory recall. Our results support previous findings indicating that higher cortisol levels during retrieval testing hinders recall of episodic memories and extend this view onto interindividual changes in basal cortisol levels.

Why Theorize and Can You Learn to Do It?

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Richard Swedberg
Keyword(s):  
Social Science ◽  
Crucial Role ◽  
Scientific Research ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Scientific Analysis ◽  
To Come

This introductory chapter begins with a description of a crime solved in the summer of 1879 to shed some light on the importance of theory in social science. The victim of the crime, and also the person who solved it, was philosopher and scientist Charles S. Peirce. In a letter to his friend, he described what had happened as an instance of the “theory why it is so that people so often guess right.” Guessing, in Peirce's view, plays a crucial role in scientific research. It is precisely through guessing that the most important part of the scientific analysis is produced—namely, the explanation. The term that Peirce most often used in his work for the guess of a hypothesis is abduction. Human beings, as he saw it, are endowed by nature with a capacity to come up with explanations. They have a “faculty of guessing,” without which science would not be possible in the first place.

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