The conventional way steroid hormones work through receptors inside cells is widely acknowledged. There are unanswered questions about what happens to the hormone in the end and why there isn't always a strong connection between how much tissue takes up and its biological effects through receptor binding. Steroid hormones can also have non-traditional effects that happen quickly but don't involve entering the cell. Several possible mechanisms for these non-traditional actions include (a) changes in membrane fluidity, (b) steroid hormones acting on receptors on the outer surface of cells, (c) steroid hormones regulating GABA receptors on cell membranes, and (d) activation of steroid receptors by factors like EGF, IGF-1, and dopamine. Data also suggests that steroid hormones may be inserted into DNA through receptors, acting as transcription factors. These proposed new mechanisms of action should not be seen as challenging the conventional mechanism. Instead, they contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of how hormones work, allowing for rapid, short-term, and prolonged effects to meet the body's physiological needs.

Exploratory behaviors can serve an adaptive role within novel or changing environments. Namely, they facilitate information gain, allowing an organism to maintain accurate beliefs about the environment and select actions that better maximize reward. However, finding the optimal balance between exploration and reward-seeking behavior - the so-called explore-exploit dilemma - can be challenging, as it requires sensitivity to one's own uncertainty and to the predictability of one's surroundings. Given the close relationship between uncertainty and anxiety, a body of work has now also emerged identifying associated effects on exploration. In particular, the field of computational psychiatry has begun to use cognitive computational models to characterize how anxiety may modulate underlying information processing mechanisms, such as estimation of uncertainty and the value of information, and how this might contribute to psychopathology. Here, we review computational modeling studies investigating how exploration is influenced by anxiety. While some apparent inconsistencies remain to be resolved, studies using reinforcement learning tasks suggest that directed (but not random) forms of exploration may be elevated by trait and/or cognitive anxiety, but reduced by state and/or somatic anxiety. Anxiety is also consistently associated with less exploration in foraging tasks. Some differences in exploration may further stem from how anxiety modulates changes in uncertainty over time (learning rates). Jointly, these results highlight important directions for future work in refining choice of tasks and anxiety measures and maintaining consistent methodology across studies.

Motor learning involves a complex network of brain structures and is crucial for tasks like speech. The cerebral cortex, subcortical nuclei, and cerebellum are involved in motor learning and vocalization. Vocal learning has been demonstrated across species. However, it is a task that should be further studied and reevaluated, particularly in species considered non-vocal learners, to potentially uncover new insights. FOXP2, a transcription factor, has been implicated in speech learning and execution. Several variants have been involved in speech and cognitive impairments; the most studied is the R553H, found in the KE family, where more than half of the members show verbal dyspraxia. Brain FOXP2 expression shows consistent patterns across species in regions associated with motor learning and execution. Animal models expressing mutated FOXP2 showed impaired motor learning and vocalization. Genes regulated by FOXP2 are related to neural differentiation, connectivity, and synaptic plasticity, indicating its role in brain development and function. This review explores the intricate relationship between FOXP2, motor learning, and speech in an anatomical and functional context.

Culture is a complex topic involving a comprehensive representation of human institutions, social customs, norms, and lifestyles. Over the past half-century, the methods of cultural studies have improved dramatically in the depth of the research questions posed. However, most contemporary research on cultural issues is conducted from a single perspective, which fails to account for the holistic and extensive nature of culture. The development of culture is influenced by various factors, encompassing not only the humanistic environment but also factors related to the natural environment and socio-economic conditions. Hence, culture involves multiple concepts with associated levels and dimensions, such as genes, molecules, brains, individuals, groups, institutions, societies, and political environments. Therefore, we propose the concept of Culturomics, a cross-level, interdisciplinary science that studies human behavior and cultural representation in high-order space. Under this concept, it is necessary to find new methods to compare multidimensional data from different levels directly. In this paper, we first review past cultural studies, then introduce the concept, research content, and methodology of Culturomics, and discuss future directions for this field.

Acomys cahirinus (referred to as "acomys" in this article) is a precocial rodent, born well-developed and mobile, capable of feeding independently and escaping predators shortly after birth. Notable for its advanced regenerative abilities and menstrual cycle, acomys serves as a unique model for studying diverse aspects of physiology and neuroscience, including developmental and regenerative neuroscience. Despite its significance, only sporadic and unsystematic data on the structure and development of the acomys brain are available. Therefore, the aim of this study was to systematically organize the existing information on the structure and development of the acomys brain and to compare it with that of commonly studied altricial rodent species (rats, mice, hamsters, and gerbils). This review is organized into several sections, focusing on general aspects of brain development, such as myelination and brain growth. It also discusses the development of brain structures involved in sensory processing (olfactory, visual, and auditory), motor control, learning and memory, and social behavior.

Temporal judgments are more affected by space than vice versa. This asymmetry has often been interpreted as primacy of spatial representations over temporal ones. This interpretation is in line with conceptual metaphor theory that humans conceptualize time by spatial metaphors, but is inconsistent with the assumption of a common neuronal magnitude system. Here we review the accumulating evidence for a genuinely symmetric interference between time and space and discuss potential explanations as to why asymmetric interference can arise, both with respect to the interaction between spatial size and temporal duration, and the interaction between traveled distance and travel time. Contrary to the view of hierarchical representations of time and space, our review suggests that asymmetric interference can be explained on the basis of working memory processes and the aspect of speed inherent in dynamic stimuli. We conclude that the asymmetry we often get out (space affects time more than vice versa) is a consequence of the asymmetry we put in (by using biased paradigms and stimuli facilitating spatial processing).

Social connectedness (SC) is one of the most important predictors for physical and mental health. Consequently, SC is addressed in an increasing number of studies, providing evidence for the multidimensionality of the construct, and revealing several factors that contribute to individual differences in SC. However, a unified model that can address SC subcomponents is yet missing. Here we take a novel perspective and discuss whether individual differences in SC can be explained by a person's social information processing profile that represents individual tendencies of how social information is perceived and interpreted and leads to motivated social behavior. After summarizing the current knowledge on SC and core findings from the fields of social perception and mentalizing, social motivation and social action, we derive a working model that links individual stages of social information processing to structural, functional, and qualitative aspects of SC. This model allows for deriving testable hypotheses on the foundations of SC and we outline several suggestions how these aspects can be addressed by future research.

Numerous studies have investigated environmental risk factors in ADHD, and Bisphenol A (BPA), an endocrine disruptor, is suspected by several reviews. However, the quality of the studies has never been carefully assessed, leading us to rigorously examine associations between BPA exposure and ADHD and associated symptoms in children. Using PRISMA criteria, we conducted a systematic review on the MEDLINE/PubMed, Web of Science, EBSCOhost, PsycINFO, PsycARTICLES and Cochrane databases. We used the ROBINS-E tool to assess the quality, and the GRADE Approach. This study was registered with PROSPERO, CRD42023377150. Out of 10446 screened articles, 46 were included. Unlike pre-existing reviews, most studies failed to find clear links with ADHD or associated symptoms, with a high risk of bias and a very low level of certainty. Our systematic review reveals insufficient evidence regarding the impact of BPA on ADHD, despite some behavioral results that cannot be generalized. Future studies will require improved consideration of confounding factors and more precise sampling methods. This study did not receive specific funding.

Humans are highly efficient at recognising familiar faces. However, previous EEG/ERP research has given a partial and fragmented account of the neural basis of this remarkable ability. We argue that this is related to insufficient consideration of fundamental characteristics of familiar face recognition. These include image-independence (recognition across different pictures), levels of familiarity (familiar faces vary hugely in duration and intensity of our exposure to them), automaticity (we cannot voluntarily withhold from recognising a familiar face), and domain-selectivity (the degree to which face familiarity effects are selective). We review recent EEG/ERP work, combining uni- and multivariate methods, that has systematically targeted these shortcomings. We present a theoretical account of familiar face recognition, dividing it into early visual, domain-sensitive and domain-general phases, and integrating image-independence and levels of familiarity. Our account incorporates classic and more recent concepts, such as multi-dimensional face representation and course-to-fine processing. While several questions remain to be addressed, this new account represents a major step forward in our understanding of the neurophysiological basis of familiar face recognition.

Alterations in decision-making are considered core to anorexia nervosa (AN) phenomenology and may maintain illness through maladaptive choice behavior. This systematic review (n = 77) aimed to extend prior reviews beyond standard neuropsychological batteries by incorporating novel value-based choice tasks and computational methods. We organize findings across key factors, including: 1) illness stage, 2) developmental stage, and 3) AN subtype, and highlight available neuroimaging findings. Differences in decision-making appear consistent during illness, including in weight-restored samples, but not in recovery and not in all domains. Differences are not consistently present in adolescence, although punishment sensitivity may be heightened; AN subtypes are not consistently distinguishable. Overall, decision-making varies by context and is influenced by reward/punishment processing, risk/uncertainty, and flexibility/control. Utilization of computational modeling methods, possibly increasing precision, highlight that, although raw behavior may not differ at recovery, latent decision-making processes appear impacted. Clinical interventions may benefit from consideration of context when working to shape choice behavior and from consideration of latent decision-making processes that influence how choices are made.

Even with accumulating knowledge, no consensus regarding the understanding of intelligence or cognition exists, and the universal brain bases for these functions remain unclear. Traditionally, our understanding of cognition is based on self-evident principles that appear indisputable when looking only at our species; however, this can distance us from understanding its essence (anthropocentrism, corticocentrism, intellectocentrism, neurocentrism, and idea of orthogenesis of brain evolution). Herein, we use several examples from biology to demonstrate the usefulness of comparative ways of thinking in relativizing these biases. We discuss the relationship between the number of neurons and cognition and draw attention to the highly developed cognitive performance of animals with small brains, to some "tricks" of evolution, to how animals cope with small hardware, to some animals with high-quality brains with an alternative architecture to vertebrates, and to surprising basal cognitive skills in aneural, unicellular organisms. Cognition can be supplemented by the idea of a multicellular organism as a continuum, with many levels of cognitive function, including the possible basal learning in single cells.

Interpersonal trust is essential for societal well-being, underpinning relationships from individuals to institutions. Neuroscience research on trust has advanced swiftly since 2001. While quantitative reviews, meta-analyses, and theoretical frameworks have effectively synthesized trust neuroscience research, bibliometric analysis remains underutilized. Our bibliometric analysis aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of trust neuroscience's current state and future directions by examining its historical development, key contributors, geographic distribution, methodological paradigms, influential works, thematic trends, and overall impact. This field has been characterized by the input of a few key contributors through international collaboration, with significant contributions from the U.S., China, the Netherlands, and Germany. Research predominantly utilizes the trust game and fMRI, with a rising focus on neural networks, general trust, and differentiating behavioral from attitudinal trust. Integrating insights from psychology, economics, and sociology, this interdisciplinary field holds promise for advancing our understanding of trust through a neurobiological lens. In conclusion, our bibliographic literature review provides valuable insights and guidance for scholars, spotlighting potential avenues for further investigation in this fast-growing field.

Improved neural understanding of posttraumatic growth (PTG) is required for effective trauma care. PTG is the advantageous psychological change some individuals derive from their struggle to overcome trauma. This comprehensive review critically examined the limited neural PTG research, to identify electrophysiological training targets for future research examining neurofeedback to enhance PTG, and provides novel insights into the emerging neural theory of PTG. PRISMA-ScR (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for Scoping Reviews) informed the process. Findings from the studies N=8 (participants N=765) revealed PTG was correlated with left-lateralised alpha frequency power patterns. Specifically, PTG was associated with lower left frontal alpha power, higher left central alpha power, and lower parietal alpha power. Differences between studies may identify different components of PTG-related neural circuitry, or represent variations in PTG and sub-factor strength, mechanistic differences between studies, or the potential confounding presence of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While lower alpha power has been associated with higher PTSD in existing literature, higher left central alpha power was associated with lower PTSD. Therefore, alpha upregulation neurofeedback delivered over the sensorimotor cortex of the brain, around left central EEG electrode C3, presented the most promising neurofeedback target.

Depression is a debilitating mental disorder that causes a persistent feeling of sadness and loss of interest. Approximately 280 million individuals worldwide suffer from depression by 2023. Despite the heavy medical and social burden imposed by depression, pathophysiology remains incompletely understood. Emerging evidence indicates various bidirectional interplay enable communication between the gut and brain. These interplays provide a link between intestinal and central nervous system as well as feedback from cortical and sensory centers to enteric activities, which also influences physiology and behavior in depression. This review aims to overview the significant role of the enteric nervous system (ENS) in the pathophysiology of depression and gut-brain axis's contribution to depressive disorders. Additionally, we explore the alterations in enteric glia cells (EGCs) and glial cell line-derived neurotrophic factor (GDNF) in depression and their involvement in neuronal support, intestinal homeostasis maintains and immune response activation. Modulating ENS function, EGCs and GDNF level could serve as novel strategies for future antidepressant therapy.

Despite the rising number of NPS-related deaths, comprehensive data on their prevalence, identification, and associated organ damage remain scarce.

The ventral midline thalamus, including the reuniens and rhomboid (ReRh) nuclei, connects bidirectionally with the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampus (Hip), both essential for memory processes. This review compiles and discusses studies on a role for the ReRh nuclei in the system consolidation of memories, also considering their potentially limited participation in memory retrieval or early phases of consolidation. It also examines scientific literature on short- and long-term plasticity in ReRh-mPFC and ReRh-Hip connections, emphasizing plasticity's importance in understanding these nuclei's role in memory. The idea that the two nuclei are at the crossroads of information exchange between the mPFC and the Hip is not new, but the relationship between this status and the plasticity of their connections remains elusive. Since this perspective is relatively recent, our concluding section suggests conceptual and practical avenues for future research, aiming perhaps to bring more order to the apparently multi-functional implication of the ventral midline thalamus in cognition.

Context has long been regarded as an important element of long-term memory, and episodic memory in particular. The ability to remember not only the object or focus of a memory but also contextual details allow us to reconstruct integrated representations of events. However, despite its prevalence in the memory literature, context remains difficult to define and identify, with different studies using context to refer to different sets of stimuli or concepts. These varying definitions of context have not prevented it from being a key element of many models of memory. Within these models, context is usually explicitly encoded as an element of an event and processed through different neural pathways to other elements of the event, such as objects. Here we challenge the notion that context in memory is encoded. We offer an alternative where context in memory takes a variety of forms depending on the question being asked. We propose events are simply encoded, but the focus of retrieval (object) and context are not defined until recall.

Recent decades have witnessed a rapid development of novel neuromodulation techniques that allow direct manipulation of cortical pathways in the human brain. These techniques, known as cortico-cortical paired stimulation (ccPAS), apply magnetic stimulation over two cortical regions altering interregional connectivity. This review evaluates ccPAS's effectiveness to induce plastic changes in cortical pathways in the healthy brain. A systematic database search identified 41 studies investigating the effect of ccPAS on neurophysiological or behavioural measures, and a subsequent multilevel meta-analysis focused on the standardized mean differences to assess ccPAS's efficacy. Most studies report significant neurophysiological and behavioural changes from ccPAS interventions across several brain networks, consistently showing medium effect sizes. Moderator analyses revealed limited influence of experimental manipulations on effect sizes. The multivariate approach and lack of small-study bias suggest reliable effect estimates. ccPAS is a promising tool to manipulate neuroplasticity in cortical pathways, showing reliable effects on brain cortical networks. Important areas for further research on the influence of experimental procedures and the potential of ccPAS for clinical interventions are highlighted.

Oxytocin, popularly known as the "social hormone", has wide implications for the regulation of socially relevant cognitions, emotions and behaviors. Individual differences in oxytocin may be relevant to mental health treatment outcomes, given the centrality of the therapeutic relationship in psychotherapy.

Methamphetamine use disorder (MUD) is a neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by binge drug taking episodes, intervals of abstinence, and relapses to drug use even during treatment. MUD has been modeled in rodents and investigators are attempting to identify its molecular bases. Preclinical experiments have shown that different schedules of methamphetamine self-administration can cause diverse transcriptional changes in the dorsal striatum of Sprague-Dawley rats. In the present review, we present data on differentially expressed genes (DEGs) identified in the rat striatum following methamphetamine intake. These include genes involved in transcription regulation, potassium channel function, and neuroinflammation. We then use the striatal data to discuss the potential significance of the molecular changes induced by methamphetamine by reviewing concordant or discordant data from the literature. This review identified potential molecular targets for pharmacological interventions. Nevertheless, there is a need for more research on methamphetamine-induced transcriptional consequences in various brain regions. These data should provide a more detailed neuroanatomical map of methamphetamine-induced changes and should better inform therapeutic interventions against MUD.

Spatial attention control involves specialized functions in both hemispheres of the brain, leading to hemispheric asymmetries. Neuropsychological models explain this lateralization mainly based on patient studies of hemineglect. Studies in healthy volunteers can mimic hemineglect using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) by disrupting the left/right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) during visual detection tasks, enabling a comparison of hemispheric contributions to stimulus detection in the contra- versus ipsilateral hemifields. Kinsbourne's opponent processor model and Heilman's hemispatial model present contrasting hypotheses regarding the behavioral consequences of unilateral PPC disruption. A pivotal prediction in distinguishing between these models is the occurrence of ipsilateral enhancement. Our meta-analysis assessed inhibitory TMS effects on PPC during visual detection tasks across ten studies (1994-2022). PPC disruption caused contralateral impairment for bilateral stimuli, but no ipsilateral enhancement for unilateral or bilateral stimuli. These results are at odds with influential reports of ipsilateral enhancement after PPC disruption in healthy volunteers that have shaped the field of spatial attention research and should prompt a re-evaluation of current theoretical models of attention and their application to novel brain stimulation-based therapeutic interventions.