bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Vocal learning as a preadaptation for the evolution of human beat perception and synchronization
Authors: Patel Aniruddh D. 
Published: August 2021

The human capacity to synchronize movements to an auditory beat is central to musical behaviour and to debates over the evolution of human musicality. Have humans evolved any neural specializations for music processing, or does music rely entirely on brain circuits that evolved for other reasons? The vocal learning and rhythmic synchronization hypothesis proposes that our ability to move in time with an auditory beat in a precise, predictive and tempo-flexible manner originated in the neural circuitry for complex vocal learning. In the 15 years since the hypothesis was proposed a variety of studies have supported it. However, one study has provided a significant challenge to the hypothesis. Furthermore, it is increasingly clear that vocal learning is not a binary trait animals have or lack, but varies more continuously across species. In the light of these developments and of recent progress in the neurobiology of beat processing and of vocal learning, the current paper revises the vocal learning hypothesis. It argues that an advanced form of vocal learning acts as a preadaptation for sporadic beat perception and synchronization (BPS), providing intrinsic rewards for predicting the temporal structure of complex acoustic sequences. It further proposes that in humans, mechanisms of gene-culture coevolution transformed this preadaptation into a genuine neural adaptation for sustained BPS. The larger significance of this proposal is that it outlines a hypothesis of cognitive gene-culture coevolution which makes testable predictions for neuroscience, cross-species studies and genetics.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.
Rhythmic abilities in humans and non-human animals: a review and recommendations from a methodological perspective
Authors: Bouwer Fleur L. , Nityananda Vivek , Rouse Andrew A. , ten Cate Carel 
Published: August 2021

Rhythmic behaviour is ubiquitous in both human and non-human animals, but it is unclear whether the cognitive mechanisms underlying the specific rhythmic behaviours observed in different species are related. Laboratory experiments combined with highly controlled stimuli and tasks can be very effective in probing the cognitive architecture underlying rhythmic abilities. Rhythmic abilities have been examined in the laboratory with explicit and implicit perception tasks, and with production tasks, such as sensorimotor synchronization, with stimuli ranging from isochronous sequences of artificial sounds to human music. Here, we provide an overview of experimental findings on rhythmic abilities in human and non-human animals, while critically considering the wide variety of paradigms used. We identify several gaps in what is known about rhythmic abilities. Many bird species have been tested on rhythm perception, but research on rhythm production abilities in the same birds is lacking. By contrast, research in mammals has primarily focused on rhythm production rather than perception. Many experiments also do not differentiate between possible components of rhythmic abilities, such as processing of single temporal intervals, rhythmic patterns, a regular beat or hierarchical metrical structures. For future research, we suggest a careful choice of paradigm to aid cross-species comparisons, and a critical consideration of the multifaceted abilities that underlie rhythmic behaviour.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.
Rhythm interaction in animal groups: selective attention in communication networks
Authors: Greenfield Michael D. , Aihara Ikkyu , Amichay Guy , Anichini Marianna , Nityananda Vivek 
Published: August 2021

Animals communicating interactively with conspecifics often time their broadcasts to avoid overlapping interference, to emit leading, as opposed to following, signals or to synchronize their signalling rhythms. Each of these adjustments becomes more difficult as the number of interactants increases beyond a pair. Among acoustic species, insects and anurans generally deal with the problem of group signalling by means of ‘selective attention’ in which they focus on several close or conspicuous neighbours and ignore the rest. In these animals, where signalling and receiving are often dictated by sex, the process of selective attention in signallers may have a parallel counterpart in receivers, which also focus on close neighbours. In birds and mammals, local groups tend to be extended families or clans, and group signalling may entail complex timing mechanisms that allow for attention to all individuals. In general, the mechanisms that allow animals to communicate in groups appear to be fully interwoven with the basic process of rhythmic signalling.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.
Imperfect synchrony in animal displays: why does it occur and what is the true role of leadership?
Authors: Perez Daniela M. , Klunk Cristian L. , Araujo Sabrina B. L. 
Published: August 2021

Synchrony can be defined as the precise coordination between independent individuals, and this behaviour is more enigmatic when it is imperfect. The traditional theoretical explanation for imperfect synchronous courtship is that it arises as a by-product of the competition between males to broadcast leading signals to attract female attention. This competition is considered an evolutionary stable strategy maintained through sexual selection. However, previous studies have revealed that leading signals are not honest indicators of male quality. We studied imperfect courtship synchrony in fiddler crabs to mainly test whether (i) signal leadership and rate are defined by male quality and (ii) signal leadership generates synchrony. Fiddler crab males wave their enlarged claws during courtship, and females prefer leading males—displaying ahead of their neighbour(s). We filmed groups of waving males in the field to detect how often individuals were leaders and if they engaged in synchrony. Overall, we found that courtship effort is not directly related to male size, a general proxy for quality. Contrary to the long-standing assumption, we also revealed that leadership is not directly related to group synchrony, but faster wave rate correlates with both leadership and synchrony.
This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.
Social synchronization of circadian rhythms with a focus on honeybees
Authors: Siehler Oliver , Wang Shuo , Bloch Guy 
Published: August 2021

Many animals benefit from synchronizing their daily activities with conspecifics. In this hybrid paper, we first review recent literature supporting and extending earlier evidence for a lack of clear relationship between the level of sociality and social entrainment of circadian rhythms. Social entrainment is specifically potent in social animals that live in constant environments in which some or all individuals do not experience the ambient day-night cycles. We next focus on highly social honeybees in which there is good evidence that social cues entrain the circadian clocks of nest bees and can override the influence of conflicting light-dark cycles. The current understanding of social synchronization in honeybees is consistent with self-organization models in which surrogates of forager activity, such as substrate-borne vibrations and colony volatiles, entrain the circadian clocks of bees dwelling in the dark cavity of the nest. Finally, we present original findings showing that social synchronization is effective even in an array of individually caged callow bees placed on the same substrate and is improved for bees in connected cages. These findings reveal remarkable sensitivity to social time-giving cues and show that bees with attenuated rhythms (weak oscillators) can nevertheless be socially synchronized to a common phase of activity.This article is part of the theme issue ‘Synchrony and rhythm interaction: from the brain to behavioural ecology’.
Respiratory syncytial virus-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) concentrations associate with environmental and genetic factors: the Factors Influencing Pediatric Asthma Study
Authors: Erdei Esther , Torgerson Dara , O’Leary Rae , Spear Melissa , Shedden Matias , O’Leary Marcia , Enright Kendra , Best Lyle 
Published: August 2021

AbstractExposure to respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) during childhood is nearly ubiquitous by age two, and infants who develop severe RSV bronchiolitis are more likely to develop asthma later in life. In the Factors Influencing Pediatric Asthma (FIPA) study including 319 children from a Northern Plains American Indian community, we found 73% of children to have high concentrations of RSV-specific IgG (>40 IU/mL). High concentration of RSV-specific IgG was associated with increased exposure to second-hand tobacco smoke (p=7.5×10−4), larger household size (p=4.0×10−3), and lower levels of total serum IgE (p=5.1×10−3). Parents of children with asthma more often reported an RSV diagnosis and/or hospitalization due to RSV, and children with asthma had lower concentrations of RSV IgG as compared to those without asthma among RSV-exposed individuals (mean 117 IU/mL vs. 154, p=7.1×10−4). However, lower RSV IgG was surprisingly exclusive to children with asthma recruited during the winter months when RSV is thought to circulate more broadly. Multivariate regression indicated the strongest predictors of RSV-specific IgG concentration included asthma status (p=0.040), per cent eosinophils (p=0.035), and an asthma x RSV season interaction (p=3.7×10−3). Among candidate genes, we identified a genetic association between an intronic variant in IFNL4 and RSV-specific IgG concentration whereby the minor allele (A) was associated with higher concentration (rs12979860, p=4.3×10−3). Overall our findings suggest there are seasonal differences in immunological response to RSV infection in asthma cases vs. controls, and identify both environmental and genetic contributions that warrant further investigation.
Predicting SARS-CoV-2 infections for children and youth with single symptom screening
Authors: Webster Richard J. , Reddy Deepti , Harrison Mary-Ann , Farion Ken J. , Wilmore Jacqueline , Foote Michelle , Thampi Nisha 
Published: August 2021

AbstractSymptom-based SARS-CoV-2 screening and testing decisions in children have important implications on daycare and school exclusion policies. Single symptoms account for a substantial volume of testing and disruption to in-person learning and childcare, yet their predictive value is unclear, given the clinical overlap with other circulating respiratory viruses and non-infectious etiologies. We aimed to determine the relative frequency and predictive value of single symptoms for paediatric SARS-CoV-2 infections from an Ottawa COVID-19 assessment centre from October 2020 through April 2021.Overall, 46.3% (n=10,688) of pediatric encounters were for single symptoms, and 2.7% of these tested positive. The most common presenting single symptoms were rhinorrhea (31.8%), cough (17.4%) and fever (14.0%). Among children with high-risk exposures children in each age group, the following single symptoms had a higher proportion of positive SARS-CoV-2 cases compared to no symptoms; fever and fatigue (0-4 years); fever, cough, headache, and rhinorrhea (5-12 years); fever, loss of taste or smell, headache, rhinorrhea, sore throat, and cough (13-17 years). There was no evidence that the single symptom of either rhinorrhea or cough predicted SARS-CoV-2 infections among 0-4 year olds, despite accounting for a large volume (61.1%) of single symptom presentations in the absence of high-risk exposures.Symptom-based screening needs to be responsive to changes in evidence and local factors, including the expected resurgence of other respiratory viruses following relaxation of social distancing/masking, to reduce infection-related risks in schools and daycare settings.
Pediatric critical COVID-19 and mortality in a multinational cohort
Authors: Gonzalez-Dambrauskas Sebastian , Vasquez-Hoyos Pablo , Camporesi Anna , Cantillano Edwin Mauricio , Dallefeld Samantha , Dominguez-Rojas Jesus , Francoeur Conall , Gurbanov Anar , Vega Liliana Mazzillo , Shein Steven , Yock-Corrales Adriana , Karsies Todd 
Published: August 2021

AbstractObjectivesTo understand the international epidemiology of critical pediatric COVID-19 and compare presentation, treatments, and outcomes of younger (<2 years) and older (>2 years) children.DesignProspective, observational study from April 1 to December 31, 2020SettingInternational multicenter study from 55 sites from North America, Latin America, and Europe.ParticipantsPatients <19 years old hospitalized with critical COVID-19InterventionsnoneMain outcomes measuredClinical course, treatments, and outcomes were compared between younger and older children. Multivariable logistic regression was used to calculate adjusted odds ratios (aOR) for hospital mortality.Results557 subjects (median age, 8 years; 24% <2 years) were enrolled from 55 sites (63% Latin American). Half had comorbidities. Younger children had more respiratory findings (56% vs 44%), viral pneumonia (45% vs 29%), and treatment with invasive ventilation (50% vs 37). Gastrointestinal (28% vs 69%) or mucocutaneous (16% vs 44%) findings, vasopressor requirement (44% vs 60%), and MIS-C (15% vs 40%) were less common in younger children. Hospital mortality was 10% overall but 15% in younger children (odds ratio 1.89 [95%CI 1.05-3.39]). When adjusted for age, sex, region, and illness severity, mortality-associated factors included cardiac (aOR 2.6; 95%CI 1.07-6.31) or pulmonary comorbidities (aOR 4.4; 95%CI 1.68-11.5), admission hypoxemia (aOR 2.33; 95%CI 1.24-4.37), and lower respiratory symptoms (aOR 2.83; 95%CI 1.49-5.39). Gastrointestinal (aOR 0.49; 95%CI 0.26-0.92) or mucocutaneous symptoms (aOR 0.31; 95%CI 0.15-0.64), treatment with intravenous immune globulin (aOR 0.33; 95%CI 0.17-0.65), and MIS-C (aOR 0.26; 95%CI 0.11-0.64) were associated with lower mortality.ConclusionsWe identified age-related differences in presentation and mortality for critical pediatric COVID-19 that should prompt more attention to improving management in younger children, especially in developing countries.Table of Contents SummaryThis is a multinational study describing critical pediatric COVID-19 clinical spectrum and related mortality in high and low-middle income countries during 2020.What’s known on this subjectPediatric critical illness due to COVID-19 is uncommon and have lower mortality compared to adults when hospitalized. While larger cohorts are from high-income countries (HICs), studies including data from low-middle-income countries (LMICs) remain scarce.What this study addsIn our multinational cohort of critical pediatric COVID-19, we identified higher mortality than previously reported and age-related disease patterns. Children <2 years old had more respiratory disease and higher mortality, and older children had more non-pulmonary disease and better outcomes.
Long-term effects of increased adoption of artemisinin combination therapies in Burkina Faso
Authors: Zupko Robert J. , Nguyen Tran Dang , Somé Anyirékun Fabrice , Tran Thu Nguyen-Anh , Gerardin Jaline , Dudas Patrick , Hoang Giang Dang Duy , Tran Kien Trung , Wesolowski Amy , Ouédraogo Jean-Bosco , Boni Maciej F. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractArtemisinin combination therapies (ACTs) are the WHO-recommended first-line therapies for uncomplicated Plasmodium falciparum malaria. The emergence and spread of artemisinin-resistant genotypes is a major global public health concern due to the increased rate of treatment failures that result. This is particularly germane for WHO designated ‘high burden to high impact’ (HBHI) countries, such as Burkina Faso, where there is increased emphasis on improving guidance, strategy, and coordination of local malaria response in an effort to reduce the prevalence of P. falciparum malaria. To explore how the increased adoption of ACTs may affect the HBHI malaria setting of Burkina Faso, we added spatial structure to a validated individual-based stochastic model of P. falciparum transmission and evaluated the long-term effects of increased ACT use. We explored how de novo emergence of artemisinin-resistant genotypes, such as pfkelch13 580Y, may occur under scenarios in which private-market drugs are eliminated or multiple first-line therapies (MFT) are deployed. We found that elimination of private market drugs would result in lower treatment failures rates (between 11.98% and 12.90%) when compared to the status quo (13.11%). However, scenarios incorporating MFT with equal deployment of artemether-lumefantrine (AL) and dihydroartemisinin-piperaquine (DHA-PPQ) may accelerate near-term drug resistance (580Y frequency ranging between 0.62 to 0.84 in model year 2038) and treatment failure rates (26.69% to 34.00% in 2038), due to early failure and substantially reduced treatment efficacy resulting from piperaquine-resistant genotypes. A rebalanced MFT approach (90% AL, 10% DHA-PPQ) results in approximately equal long-term outcomes to using AL alone but may be difficult to implement in practice.
Shared responsibility decreases the sense of agency in the human brain
Authors: El Zein Marwa , Dolan Ray J. , Bahrami Bahador 
Published: August 2021

AbstractSharing responsibility in social decision-making helps individuals use the flexibility of the collective context to benefit themselves by claiming credit for good outcomes or avoiding the blame for bad outcomes. Using magnetoencephalography (MEG), we examined the neuronal basis of the impact that social context has on this flexible sense of responsibility. Participants performed a gambling task in various social contexts and reported feeling less responsibility when playing as a member of a team. A reduced MEG outcome processing effect was observed as a function of decreasing responsibility at 200 ms post outcome onset and was centred over parietal and pre-central brain regions. Prior to outcome revelation in socially made decisions, an attenuated motor preparation signature at 500 ms after stimulus onset was found. A boost in reported responsibility for positive outcomes in social contexts was associated with increased activity in regions related to social and reward processing. Together, these results show that sharing responsibility with others reduces agency, influencing pre-outcome motor preparation and post-outcome processing, and provides opportunities to flexibly claim credit for positive outcomes.
Patient-Derived Three-Dimensional Cortical Neurospheres to Model Parkinson’s Disease
Authors: Raja Waseem K. , Neves Esther , Burke Christopher , Jiang Xin , Xu Ping , Rhodes Kenneth J , Khurana Vikram , Scannevin Robert H , Chung Chee Yeun 
Published: August 2021

AbstractThere are currently no preventive or disease-modifying therapies for Parkinson’s Disease (PD). Failures in clinical trials necessitate a re-evaluation of existing pre-clinical models in order to adopt systems that better recapitulate underlying disease mechanisms and better predict clinical outcomes. In recent years, models utilizing patient-derived induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have emerged as attractive models to recapitulate disease-relevant neuropathology in vitro without exogenous overexpression of disease-related pathologic proteins. Here, we utilized iPSCs derived from patients with early-onset PD and dementia phenotypes that harbored either a point mutation (A53T) or multiplication at the α-synuclein/SNCA gene locus. We generated a three-dimensional (3D) cortical neurosphere culture model to better mimic the tissue microenvironment of the brain. We extensively characterized the differentiation process using quantitative PCR, Western immunoblotting and immunofluorescence staining. Differentiation and aging of the neurospheres revealed alterations in fatty acid profiles and elevated total and pathogenic phospho-α-synuclein levels in both A53T and the triplication lines compared to their isogenic control lines. Furthermore, treatment of the neurospheres with a small molecule inhibitor of stearoyl CoA desaturase (SCD) attenuated the protein accumulation and aberrant fatty acid profile phenotypes. Our findings suggest that the 3D cortical neurosphere model is a useful tool to interrogate targets for PD and amenable to test small molecule therapeutics.
Bantam regulates the adult sleep circuit in Drosophila
Authors: Hobin Michael , Dorfman Katherine , Adel Mohamed , Rivera-Rodriguez Emmanuel J. , Griffith Leslie C. 
Published: August 2021

AbstractSleep is a highly conserved feature of animal life characterized by dramatic changes in behavior, neural physiology and gene expression. The gene regulatory factors responsible for these sleep-dependent changes remain largely unknown. microRNAs are post-transcriptional modulators of gene expression which have been implicated in sleep regulation. Our previous screen identified 25 sleep-regulating microRNAs in Drosophila melanogaster, including the developmental regulator bantam (ban). Here we show that ban promotes early nighttime sleep through a population of glutamatergic neurons- the γ5β′2a/β′2mp/β′2mp_bilateral Mushroom Body Output Neurons (MBONs). We found that knockdown of ban in these neurons led to a reduction in early night sleep. The γ5β′2a/β′2mp/β′2mp_bilateral MBONs were previously shown to be wake-promoting, suggesting that ban acts to inhibit these neurons. GCaMP calcium imaging revealed that bantam inhibits the neural activity of the γ5β′2a/β′2mp/β′2mp_bilateral MBONs during the night but not the day. Blocking synaptic transmission in the γ5β′2a/β′2mp/β′2mp_bilateral MBONs rescued the effect of ban knockdown on sleep. Together these results suggest that ban promotes night sleep via the inhibition of the γ5β′2a/β′2mp/β′2mp_bilateral MBONs. RNAseq further revealed that bantam negatively regulates the wake-promoting mRNAs Kelch and CCHamide-2 receptor in the γ5β′2a/β′2mp/β′2mp_bilateral MBONs. These experiments establish bantam as an active regulator of sleep and neural activity within the fly brain.