scholarly journals Computational imaging during video game playing shows dynamic synchronization of cortical and subcortical networks of emotions

PLoS Biology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 18 (11) ◽  
pp. e3000900
Author(s):  
Joana Leitão ◽  
Ben Meuleman ◽  
Dimitri Van De Ville ◽  
Patrik Vuilleumier
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Computational Imaging ◽  
Physiological Mechanisms ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Current Events ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Appraisal Processes

Emotions are multifaceted phenomena affecting mind, body, and behavior. Previous studies sought to link particular emotion categories (e.g., fear) or dimensions (e.g., valence) to specific brain substrates but generally found distributed and overlapping activation patterns across various emotions. In contrast, distributed patterns accord with multi-componential theories whereby emotions emerge from appraisal processes triggered by current events, combined with motivational, expressive, and physiological mechanisms orchestrating behavioral responses. According to this framework, components are recruited in parallel and dynamically synchronized during emotion episodes. Here, we use functional MRI (fMRI) to investigate brain-wide systems engaged by theoretically defined components and measure their synchronization during an interactive emotion-eliciting video game. We show that each emotion component recruits large-scale cortico-subcortical networks, and that moments of dynamic synchronization between components selectively engage basal ganglia, sensory-motor structures, and midline brain areas. These neural results support theoretical accounts grounding emotions onto embodied and action-oriented functions triggered by synchronized component processes.

Gambling-like video game practices: A cross-sectional study of links with problem gambling and disordered gaming

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
David Zendle
Keyword(s):  
Video Games ◽  
Problem Gambling ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Significant Degree ◽  
Cross Sectional Study ◽  
Video Gaming ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Streaming Services ◽  
Clinically Significant

A variety of practices have recently emerged which are related to both video games and gambling. Most prominent of these are loot boxes. However, a broad range of other activities have recently emerged which are also related to both gambling and video games: esports betting, real-money video gaming, token wagering, social casino play, and watching videos of both loot box opening and gambling on game streaming services like Twitch.Whilst a nascent body of research has established the robust existence of a relationship between loot box spending and both problem gambling and disordered gaming, little research exists which examines whether similar links may exist for the diverse practices outlined above. Furthermore, no research has thus far attempted to estimate the prevalence of these activities.A large-scale survey of a representative sample of UK adults (n=1081) was therefore conducted in order to investigate these issues. Engagement in all measured forms of gambling-like video game practices were significantly associated with both problem gambling and disordered gaming. An aggregate measure of engagement was associated with both these outcomes to a clinically significant degree (r=0.23 and r=0.43). Engagement in gambling-like video game practices appeared widespread, with a 95% confidence interval estimating that 16.3% – 20.9% of the population engaged in these activities at least once in the last year. Engagement in these practices was highly inter-correlated: Individuals who engaged in one practice were likely to engage in several more.Overall, these results suggest that the potential effects of the blurring of lines between video games and gambling should not primarily be understood to be due to the presence of loot boxes in video games. They suggest the existence of a convergent ecosystem of gambling-like video game practices, whose causal relationships with problem gambling and disordered gaming are currently unclear but must urgently be investigated.

Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and its Sulphate (DHEAS) in Alzheimer’s Disease

2020 ◽  
Vol 17 (2) ◽  
pp. 141-157 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dubravka S. Strac ◽  
Marcela Konjevod ◽  
Matea N. Perkovic ◽  
Lucija Tudor ◽  
Gordana N. Erjavec ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Therapeutic Potential ◽  
Relevant Literature ◽  
Comprehensive Overview ◽  
Brain Functions ◽  
Specific Effects ◽  
And Behavior

Background: Neurosteroids Dehydroepiandrosterone (DHEA) and Dehydroepiandrosterone Sulphate (DHEAS) are involved in many important brain functions, including neuronal plasticity and survival, cognition and behavior, demonstrating preventive and therapeutic potential in different neuropsychiatric and neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer’s disease. Objective: The aim of the article was to provide a comprehensive overview of the literature on the involvement of DHEA and DHEAS in Alzheimer’s disease. Method: PubMed and MEDLINE databases were searched for relevant literature. The articles were selected considering their titles and abstracts. In the selected full texts, lists of references were searched manually for additional articles. Results: We performed a systematic review of the studies investigating the role of DHEA and DHEAS in various in vitro and animal models, as well as in patients with Alzheimer’s disease, and provided a comprehensive discussion on their potential preventive and therapeutic applications. Conclusion: Despite mixed results, the findings of various preclinical studies are generally supportive of the involvement of DHEA and DHEAS in the pathophysiology of Alzheimer’s disease, showing some promise for potential benefits of these neurosteroids in the prevention and treatment. However, so far small clinical trials brought little evidence to support their therapy in AD. Therefore, large-scale human studies are needed to elucidate the specific effects of DHEA and DHEAS and their mechanisms of action, prior to their applications in clinical practice.

scholarly journals Pairwise maximum entropy model explains the role of white matter structure in shaping emergent co-activation states

2021 ◽  
Vol 4 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Arian Ashourvan ◽  
Preya Shah ◽  
Adam Pines ◽  
Shi Gu ◽  
Christopher W. Lynn ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
White Matter ◽  
Maximum Entropy ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Structural Connectivity ◽  
Quantitative Relationship ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Maximum Entropy Model ◽  
Entropy Model ◽  
Activation Patterns ◽  
Co Activation

AbstractA major challenge in neuroscience is determining a quantitative relationship between the brain’s white matter structural connectivity and emergent activity. We seek to uncover the intrinsic relationship among brain regions fundamental to their functional activity by constructing a pairwise maximum entropy model (MEM) of the inter-ictal activation patterns of five patients with medically refractory epilepsy over an average of ~14 hours of band-passed intracranial EEG (iEEG) recordings per patient. We find that the pairwise MEM accurately predicts iEEG electrodes’ activation patterns’ probability and their pairwise correlations. We demonstrate that the estimated pairwise MEM’s interaction weights predict structural connectivity and its strength over several frequencies significantly beyond what is expected based solely on sampled regions’ distance in most patients. Together, the pairwise MEM offers a framework for explaining iEEG functional connectivity and provides insight into how the brain’s structural connectome gives rise to large-scale activation patterns by promoting co-activation between connected structures.

scholarly journals Pilot Clinical Trial of Time-Restricted Eating in Patients with Metabolic Syndrome

Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 346
Author(s):  
Iwona Świątkiewicz ◽  
Celestyna Mila-Kierzenkowska ◽  
Alina Woźniak ◽  
Karolina Szewczyk-Golec ◽  
Jarosław Nuszkiewicz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Metabolic Syndrome ◽  
Clinical Trial ◽  
Dietary Intake ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
European Population ◽  
Cardiac Biomarkers ◽  
Cardiometabolic Health ◽  
And Behavior

Metabolic syndrome (MetS) and erratic eating patterns are associated with circadian rhythm disruption which contributes to an increased cardiometabolic risks. Restricting eating period (time-restricted eating, TRE) can restore robust circadian rhythms and improve cardiometabolic health. We describe a protocol of the Time-Restricted Eating on Metabolic and Neuroendocrine homeostasis, Inflammation, and Oxidative Stress (TREMNIOS) pilot clinical trial in Polish adult patients with MetS and eating period of ≥14 h/day. The study aims to test the feasibility of TRE intervention and methodology for evaluating its efficacy for improving metabolic, neuroendocrine, inflammatory, oxidative stress and cardiac biomarkers, and daily rhythms of behavior for such population. Participants will apply 10-h TRE over a 12-week monitored intervention followed by a 12-week self-directed intervention. Changes in eating window, body weight and composition, biomarkers, and rhythms of behavior will be evaluated. Dietary intake, sleep, activity and wellbeing will be monitored with the myCircadianClock application and questionnaires. Adherence to TRE defined as the proportion of days recorded with app during the monitored intervention in which participants satisfied 10-h TRE is the primary outcome. TREMNIOS will also provide an exploratory framework to depict post-TRE changes in cardiometabolic outcomes and behavior rhythms. This protocol extends previous TRE-related protocols by targeting European population with diagnosed MetS and including long-term intervention, validated tools for monitoring dietary intake and adherence, and comprehensive range of biomarkers. TREMNIOS trial will lay the groundwork for a large-scale randomized controlled trial to determine TRE efficacy for improving cardiometabolic health in MetS population.

Gang Research in the Twenty-First Century

2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Caylin Louis Moore ◽  
Forrest Stuart
Keyword(s):  
Large Scale ◽  
Criminological Theory ◽  
First Century ◽  
Annual Review ◽  
Publication Date ◽  
Theoretical Frameworks ◽  
Twenty First Century ◽  
State Interventions ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Analytical Approaches

For nearly a century, gang scholarship has remained foundational to criminological theory and method. Twenty-first-century scholarship continues to refine and, in some cases, supplant long-held axioms about gang formation, organization, and behavior. Recent advances can be traced to shifts in the empirical social reality and conditions within which gangs exist and act. We draw out this relationship—between the ontological and epistemological—by identifying key macrostructural shifts that have transformed gang composition and behavior and, in turn, forced scholars to revise dominant theoretical frameworks and analytical approaches. These shifts include large-scale economic transformations, the expansion of punitive state interventions, the proliferation of the Internet and social media, intensified globalization, and the increasing presence of women and LGBTQ individuals in gangs and gang research. By introducing historically unprecedented conditions and actors, these developments provide novel opportunities to reconsider previous analyses of gang structure, violence, and other related objects of inquiry. Expected final online publication date for the Annual Review of Criminology, Volume 5 is January 2022. Please see http://www.annualreviews.org/page/journal/pubdates for revised estimates.

Towards a Conceptual Framework of Comprehensive Video Game Player Profiles: Player Models, Mental Models, and Behavior Models

2021 ◽  
Vol 65 (1) ◽  
pp. 807-811
Author(s):  
Jessica Williams ◽  
Rhyse Bendell ◽  
Stephen M. Fiore ◽  
Florian Jentsch
Keyword(s):  
Video Game ◽  
Behavioral Modeling ◽  
Data Driven ◽  
Proof Of Concept ◽  
Component Technique ◽  
Player Profiles ◽  
Game Player ◽  
Video Game Player ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Behavior Models

Current approaches to player profiling are limited in that they typically employ only a single one of numerous of available techniques shown to have utility for categorizing and explaining player behavior. We propose a more comprehensive Video Game Player Profile Framework that considers the demographic, psychographic, mental model, and behavioral modeling approaches shown to be effective for describing gamer populations. We suggest that our proposed approach can improve the efficacy of video game player profiles by grounding data-driven techniques in game analytics with the theoretical backing of demographic, psychometric, and psychographic measurements. We provide an overview of our proposed framework, discuss the usage and relevance of each component technique, and provide a proof-of-concept demonstration with archived data.

scholarly journals “The Entrepreneurial Gamer”: Regendering the Order of Play

2018 ◽  
Vol 13 (7) ◽  
pp. 728-746 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jennifer Jenson ◽  
Suzanne de Castell
Keyword(s):  
Emerging Economies ◽  
Video Game ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Scale Transformation ◽  
Playing Field ◽  
Opening Up

The designation “gamer” is structurally bound to networked economies of digital play that are rewarded fiscally, socially, and publically, an order of play that is proving difficult to overturn. That girls and women have enjoyed at best marginal positions within video game cultures is by now well recognized, yet at the very same time is too easily dismissed in light of persuasively documented increases in the numbers of women who play. This article traces a large-scale transformation of ludic engagement from participation to spectatorship that parallels the professionalizing and commodifying of traditionally embodied sports, games, and play to demonstrate how new and emerging economies of gameplay, far from opening up the playing field, threaten a further entrenchment of gendered relations.

scholarly journals A Large-scale Comparison of Cortical and Subcortical Structural Segmentation Methods in Alzheimer’s Disease: a Statistical Approach

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jafar Zamani ◽  
Ali Sadr ◽  
Amir-Homayoun Javadi
Keyword(s):  
Alzheimer’S Disease ◽  
Alzheimer's Disease ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Automated Segmentation ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Brain Areas ◽  
Segmentation Methods ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
Underlying Mechanisms ◽  
The Brain

AbstractBackgroundAlzheimer’s disease (AD) is a neurodegenerative disease that leads to anatomical atrophy, as evidenced by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Automated segmentation methods are developed to help with the segmentation of different brain areas. However, their reliability has yet to be fully investigated. To have a more comprehensive understanding of the distribution of changes in AD, as well as investigating the reliability of different segmentation methods, in this study we compared volumes of cortical and subcortical brain segments, using automated segmentation methods in more than 60 areas between AD and healthy controls (HC).MethodsA total of 44 MRI images (22 AD and 22 HC, 50% females) were taken from the minimal interval resonance imaging in Alzheimer’s disease (MIRIAD) dataset. HIPS, volBrain, CAT and BrainSuite segmentation methods were used for the subfields of hippocampus, and the rest of the brain.ResultsWhile HIPS, volBrain and CAT showed strong conformity with the past literature, BrainSuite misclassified several brain areas. Additionally, the volume of the brain areas that successfully discriminated between AD and HC showed a correlation with mini mental state examination (MMSE) scores. The two methods of volBrain and CAT showed a very strong correlation. These two methods, however, did not correlate with BrainSuite.ConclusionOur results showed that automated segmentation methods HIPS, volBrain and CAT can be used in the classification of AD and HC. This is an indication that such methods can be used to inform researchers and clinicians of underlying mechanisms and progression of AD.

scholarly journals Face Perception Deficits in Developmental Prosopagnosia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
◽  
Ella Macaskill
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Perception ◽  
Test Performance ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Memory Deficits ◽  
Face Memory ◽  
The Face ◽  
Component Processes ◽  
Severe Difficulty ◽  
Scale Experiment

<p>Face recognition is a fundamental cognitive function that is essential for social interaction – yet not everyone has it. Developmental prosopagnosia is a lifelong condition in which people have severe difficulty recognising faces but have normal intellect and no brain damage. Despite much research, the component processes of face recognition that are impaired in developmental prosopagnosia are not well understood. Two core processes are face perception, being the formation of visual representations of a currently seen face, and face memory, being the storage, maintenance, and retrieval of those representations. Most studies of developmental prosopagnosia focus on face memory deficits, but a few recent studies indicate that face perception deficits might also be important. Characterising face perception in developmental prosopagnosia is crucial for a better understanding of the condition. In this thesis, I addressed this issue in a large-scale experiment with 108 developmental prosopagnosics and 136 matched controls. I assessed face perception abilities with multiple measures and ran a broad range of analyses to establish the severity, scope, and nature of face perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosia. Three major results stand out. First, face perception deficits in developmental prosopagnosia were severe, and could be comparable in size to face memory deficits. Second, the face perception deficits were widespread, affecting the whole sample rather than a subset of individuals. Third, the deficits were mainly driven by impairments to mechanisms specialised for processing upright faces. Further analyses revealed several other features of the deficits, including the use of atypical and inconsistent strategies for perceiving faces, difficulties matching the same face across different pictures, equivalent impact of lighting and viewpoint variations in face images, and atypical perceptual and non-perceptual components of test performance. Overall, my thesis shows that face perception deficits are more central to developmental prosopagnosia than previously thought and motivates further research on the issue.</p>

scholarly journals Efektivitas Pendidikan Kesehatan melalui Media Permainan Ludo terhadap Peningkatan Pengetahuan, Sikap, dan Perilaku Siswa Sekolah Dasar dalam Pencegahan Adiksi Video Game

2018 ◽  
Vol 32 (9) ◽  
pp. 317
Author(s):  
Ana Puspita Indah ◽  
Indria Laksmi Gamayanti ◽  
Rendra Widyatama
Keyword(s):  
Elementary School ◽  
Health Education ◽  
Elementary School Students ◽  
Video Game ◽  
School Students ◽  
Attitudes And Behaviors ◽  
Interactive Lectures ◽  
And Behaviors ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Attitudes And Behavior

Effectiveness of video game addiction prevention using ludo game for elementary school studentsPurposeThis study aimed to determine the effectiveness of ‘Ludo game’ for increasing knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors of elementary school students concerning video-game addiction.MethodsThe research was a quasi-experimental study with pre and post tests and a control group design. The subjects were 99 elementary school students who were divided into treatment groups (two groups of intervention) and a control group. The data were collected using a questionnaire of knowledge, attitudes and behavior. Data analysis used paired t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA) with significance level of 95% (p <0.05). ResultsThe characteristics of the study subjects in all three groups before the intervention were normally distributed. Paired t-test results showed that the ludo game and interactive lectures can improve knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors. However, there was no significant difference of knowledge, attitudes, and behaviors through Ludo compared to health education through interactive lectures in health education delivery. ConclusionLudo game and interactive lectures together can effectively improve the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of elementary school students. Health education through ludo games was no more effective than the interactive lecture methods in increasing the knowledge, attitudes, and behavior of students on the prevention of video-game addictions. 

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