UNASSIGNED: Frontline antidepressants such as selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) leave many patients with unmet treatment needs. Moreover, even when SSRIs reduce depressive symptoms, anhedonia, the loss of pleasure to previously rewarding activities, often remains unabated. This state of affairs is disheartening and calls for the development of medications to more directly treat anhedonia. The atypical psychedelic 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA) might have promise as a prohedonic medication given its efficacious applications for treatment-resistant post-traumatic stress disorder and comorbid depression. However, in addition to its prosocial effects as an entactogen, MDMA is also associated with neurotoxic cognitive deficits. The present studies were designed to examine the relative potency of MDMA in female and male rats across three distinct behavioral domains to assist in defining a preclinical profile of MDMA as a candidate prohedonic therapeutic.
UNASSIGNED: First, signal detection metrics of reward responsivity were examined using the touchscreen probabilistic reward task (PRT), a reverse-translated assay used to objectively quantify anhedonic phenotypes in humans. Second, to probe potential cognitive deficits, touchscreen-based assays of psychomotor vigilance and delayed matching-to-position were used to examine attentional processes and short-term spatial memory, respectively. Finally, MDMA\'s entactogenic effects were studied via pairwise assessments of social interaction facilitated by machine-learning analyses.
UNASSIGNED: Findings show (1) dose-dependent increases in reward responsivity as quantified by the PRT, (2) dose-dependent deficits in attention and short-term memory, and (3) dose-dependent increases in aspects of prosocial interaction in male but not female subjects. Neither the desirable (prohedonic) nor undesirable (cognition disruptive) effects of MDMA persisted beyond 24 h.
UNASSIGNED: The present results characterize MDMA as a promising prohedonic treatment, notwithstanding some liability for short-lived cognitive impairment following acute administration.

Prosocial behavior is a distinguishing characteristic of human nature. Although prosocial behaviors emerge early in development, contextual factors play an important role in how these behaviors are manifested over development. A large body of research focuses on the trajectory of prosocial development across diverse cultures and investigating contexts that foster it. Against this backdrop of developmental research endeavoring to understand and enhance the cooperative side of humanity, is the catastrophic impact of profoundly negative forces on social-emotional development for children forced to flee from violent conflict. Close to half a million Rohingya children, whose families were forced to flee genocide in Myanmar, now live in the largest refugee camp in the world. To examine the resilience of human prosociality in the face of extreme adversity, we documented initial levels of prosociality in Rohingya refugee children living in a mega-camp (Cox\'s Bazar, Bangladesh) and the extent to which those levels were improved following a multifaceted intervention designed to foster prosociality. The research was a partnership between Rohingya community members with lived experience, humanitarian practitioners, and developmental researchers. A sample of 152 Rohingya children (5-12 years) participated in pre- and postintervention assessments of prosocial behaviors and related cognitive-affective processes. The 10-day collaboration-based intervention was implemented between November 2021 and January 2022 by Rohingya researchers. Birthplace was used as a proxy measure of trauma level. Children born in Myanmar (N = 88) directly experienced relatively higher levels of trauma (genocide, forced migration) than children who were born in the camp after their families fled from Myanmar (N = 64). Children were individually tested pre- and postintervention with a task battery, including a helping (Origami) and two sharing tasks (Dictator Game [DG], Forced Choice sharing) measuring prosocial behavior. Assessments of related cognitive-affective processes included measures of empathic responding and emotion perspective-taking in story tasks (Imagine, Judgment) and executive function (EF) skills (Younger: Hearts & Flowers; Older: Dimensional Change Card Sorting). Small group intervention sessions conducted over 10 days targeted these prosocial behaviors and cognitive-affective processes and were based on collaborative activities, emotion perspective taking and EF skills training with the same partner throughout the intervention phase. We used latent change modeling to examine initial levels (preintervention) and intervention-related changes in these measures from pre- to postintervention. Prosocial responding was found across all measures (preintervention) and improvements (pre- to postintervention change) were apparent across most measures. Age and birthplace variables were significant predictors of initial levels and intervention-related change. Initial levels: Regarding age, older children (9-12 years) showed higher levels than younger children (5-8 years) of sharing in the Forced Choice task but lower levels in the DG. Older children also showed higher levels of empathic responding when asked to report how they would feel and respond to another person\'s misfortune in the Imagine task. Regarding birthplace, prior to the intervention camp-born children showed higher levels than Myanmar-born children of helping in the Origami task and reported more behavioral responses indicating how they would respond to misfortune in the Imagine task. In contrast, Myanmar-born children had higher levels of sharing in the DG and consistently chose equality over inequality in the Forced Choice sharing task, even when their partner would receive more, indicating a pattern of generosity in these children. Myanmar-born children had lower levels than camp-born children on EF measures. Intervention-related change: Regarding age, older but not younger children were more likely to increase choices for equality over inequality on the Forced Choice sharing task following the intervention. Regarding birthplace and helping, camp-born children increased behaviors that helped their partner make origami shapes themselves (\"how-to\" helping), whereas Myanmar-born children increased behavior that took over folding for their partner (\"do-for\" helping). For sharing tasks, Myanmar-born but not camp-born children increased sharing in the DG and showed an increased pattern of generosity in Forced Choice sharing task. In the Imagine story task, children born in Myanmar were more likely than those born in camp to increase empathic responding (i.e., imagining how they would feel). Children born in Myanmar showed less improvement on EF measures than children born in the camp. Taken together, these findings provide evidence that in a context of extreme adversity, Rohingya children exhibited prosociality and benefitted from a multifaceted intervention. Our research adds credence to the view that human prosociality is a fundamental characteristic of humanity that not only survives but can be enhanced in even the most adverse of childhood environments. Our multifaceted intervention, which was implemented within a collaborative social context and targeted prosocial behaviors and related cognitive-affective processes, was designed to be easily implemented within existing psychosocial support programs in refugee contexts. As the numbers of children affected by violent conflict and forced migration rise alarmingly worldwide, there is a critical need to expand research partnerships that aim to improve developmental outcomes for these millions of children.

Gonadal steroid hormones, namely, testosterone, progesterone, and estrogens, influence the physiological state of an organism through the regulation of gene transcription. Steroid hormones activate nuclear hormone receptor (HR), transcription factors (TFs), which bind DNA in a tissue- and cell type-specific manner to influence cellular function. Identifying the genomic binding sites of HRs is essential to understanding mechanisms of hormone signaling across tissues and disease contexts. Traditionally, chromatin immunoprecipitation followed by sequencing (ChIP-seq) has been used to map the genomic binding of HRs in cancer cell lines and large tissues. However, ChIP-seq lacks the sensitivity to detect TF binding in small numbers of cells, such as genetically defined neuronal subtypes in the brain. Cleavage Under Targets & Release Under Nuclease (CUT&RUN) resolves most of the technical limitations of ChIP-seq, enabling the detection of protein-DNA interactions with as few as 100-1000 cells. In this chapter, we provide a stepwise CUT&RUN protocol for detecting and analyzing the genome-wide binding of estrogen receptor α (ERα) in mouse brain tissue. The steps described here can be used to identify the genomic binding sites of most TFs in the brain.

BACKGROUND: In Chinese culture, the concept of Mianzi holds significant importance in interpersonal interactions. Mianzi represents one\'s social standing, dignity, and reputation, influencing behaviors and decisions within various contexts. Mianzi consciousness manifests in two primary forms: proactive and defensive. Proactive Mianzi consciousness involves efforts to enhance one\'s social image, while defensive Mianzi consciousness focuses on protecting one\'s existing reputation. Analyzing the impact of the two Mianzi consciousness dimensions on individuals\' attitudes and behaviors is effective for understanding interpersonal dynamics in China. This study specifically examined the relationship between high Mianzi consciousness congruence and unethical pro-organizational behavior (UPB). UPB refers to actions taken by employees that are intended to benefit their organization but are unethical or morally questionable. By investigating how congruence in proactive and defensive Mianzi consciousness influences the likelihood of engaging in UPB, this research aimed to uncover the underlying social and psychological mechanisms driving such behavior.
METHODS: Employing polynomial regression and response surface analysis method, this study developed a model that combines the proactive Mianzi consciousness and the defensive Mianzi consciousness into different Mianzi management strategies and tested the relationship between high Mianzi consciousness congruence and UPB.
RESULTS: Sample data collected at two time points one month apart supported all hypotheses. Specifically, the findings revealed that high levels of Mianzi consciousness congruence (i.e., all-around type in Mianzi management strategies) positively relate to UPB, and verified the mediation effect of external work locus of control and the moderation effect of relational psychological contract.
CONCLUSIONS: This research advanced a novel, synergistic perspective on the role of social Mianzi and contributed to the localized UPB research, thus helping to find a path to prevent UPB from occurring in the Chinese sociocultural context.

Animal vigilance is often investigated under a narrow set of scenarios, but this approach may overestimate its contribution to animal lives. A solution may be to sample all looking behaviours and investigate numerous competing hypotheses in a single analysis. In this study, using a wild group of habituated chacma baboons (Papio ursinus griseipes) as a model system, we implemented a framework for predicting the key drivers of looking by comparing the strength of a full array of biological hypotheses. This included methods for defining individual-specific social threat environments, quantifying individual tolerance to human observers, and incorporating predator resource selection functions. Although we found evidence supporting reactionary and within-group (social) vigilance hypotheses, risk factors did not predict looking with the greatest precision, suggesting vigilance was not a major component of the animals\' behavioural patterns generally. Instead, whilst some behaviours constrain opportunities for looking, many shared compatibility with looking, alleviating the pressure to be pre-emptively vigilant for threats. Exploring looking patterns in a thorough multi-hypothesis framework should be feasible across a range of taxa, offering new insights into animal behaviour that could alter our concepts of fear ecology.

Dietary phospholipids (PLs) are promising supplements that are commonly found as natural food ingredients and emulsifier additives. The present study aimed to evaluate the effect of major PLs found in food supplements on social behavior in mice. In this study, the effect of short-term high dietary PL content was studied in terms of social odor discrimination and social interactions with male and female intruders in male mice. We used odor discrimination and habituation tests to demonstrate that PL-fed male mice tend to lose preference toward female odor and fail to discriminate against socially significant scents. At the same time, test animals recognize non-social odors. We also found that PL affected the social behavior of the test males, who tend to behave indiscriminately toward male and female intruders during direct contact. Brain metabolomic profiling revealed no major changes in the intermediary metabolism or neurotransmitter biosynthesis. At the same time, intranasal PL application resembled the effects of dietary supplementation. These data suggest that certain PL might suppress pheromone perception in the olfactory system and affect the sense of socially important odor cues.

Generalization, the tendency to respond in the same way to different but similar stimuli, is one of the main cognitive abilities that make category formation possible and thus is a prerequisite for efficiency in learning. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience pervasive difficulty with producing generalized responses across materials, people, places, and contexts. Increasing evidence suggests that \"ASD-like\" social impairments appear endogenously and spontaneously in family dogs providing a high-validity model for understanding the phenotypic expression of human ASD. The present study aims to further investigate the dog model of ASD by the approach of searching for analogues in dogs showing \"ASD-like\" social impairments of cognitive phenomena in humans specific to ASD, specifically impairments of generalization abilities. We have tested 18 family dogs with formerly established \"ASD-like\" behaviour scores (F1, F2, F3) in a generalization task involving three conditions (size, colour and texture). We found a significant association between F1 scores and test performance as well as improvement during testing sessions. Our study provides further support for the notion that dogs with lower social competence-similarly to humans with ASD-exhibit attentional and perceptual abnormalities, such as being sensitive to minor changes to a non-adaptive extent.

Prolonged or chronic social isolation has pronounced effects on animals, ranging from altered stress responses, increased anxiety and aggressive behaviour, and even increased mortality. The effects of shorter periods of isolation are much less well researched; however, short periods of isolation are used routinely for testing animal behaviour and physiology. Here, we studied how a 3 h period of isolation from a cagemate affected neural gene expression in three brain regions that contain important components of the social decision-making network, the hypothalamus, the nucleus taeniae of the amygdala, and the bed nucleus of the stria terminalis, using a gregarious bird as a model (zebra finches). We found evidence suggestive of altered neural activity, synaptic transmission, metabolism, and even potentially pain perception, all of which could create cofounding effects on experimental tests that involve isolating animals. We recommend that the effects of short-term social isolation need to be better understood and propose alternatives to isolating animals for testing.

Although pair bonding has been studied for several decades, only somewhat recently have researchers began studying the neural consequences of separation from a pair bond partner. Here we examined the impact of partner separation on the socially monogamous Mongolian gerbil. Using a within-subjects design, we assessed nonsocial, nonreproductive, and reproductive behavior in male gerbils pre- and post- either 4 weeks of cohabitation with or separation from a pair bond partner. We then conducted an immediate early gene study to examine the influence of partner separation on hypothalamic oxytocin and vasopressin neural responses to interactions with a novel, opposite-sex conspecific.

Fan et al. use electrical stimulation during a novel social interaction paradigm to demonstrate a role for the orbitofrontal cortex in directing social attention. Their results shed new light on the basic functions of the orbitofrontal cortex and have translational value in understanding circuit modulation for psychiatric disorders.