Quantitative analysis of toxicity risks in the operation of ammonia-fueled tugboats

Ocean Engineering, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 310, P. 118759 - 118759

Published: July 20, 2024

Language: Английский

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The CogLearn Toolkit for Unity: Validating a virtual reality paradigm for human avoidance learning

Behavior Research Methods, Journal Year: 2025, Volume and Issue: 57(6)

Published: April 29, 2025

Abstract Avoidance learning encompasses the acquisition of behaviours that enable individuals to evade or withdraw from potentially harmful stimuli, prior their occurrence. Maladaptive avoidance is a crucial feature anxiety and trauma-related disorders. In biological clinical settings, usually involve uninstructed, idiosyncratic complex motor actions. However, there lack laboratory paradigms allow investigating how such actions are acquired. To fill this gap, we developed wireless virtual reality platform investigate in naturalistic with an uncomfortable sound as unconditioned stimulus (US), physically plausible action, allowing for unconstrained movements. This platform, CogLearn Toolkit Unity, publicly available allows conducting various types experiments simple text files input. We validated exploration-confirmation approach five independent experiments. Overall, participants showed successful behaviour all three exploration experiments, refined paradigm identified mean distance US location during conditioned (CS) presentation (before occurs) sensitive measure avoidance. Two confirmation revealed stronger CS+ than CS- learning, whether not phase was preceded by Pavlovian acquisition. Furthermore, demonstrated reduced extinction instruction CS, but persistent residual phase. found evidence reinstatement one two our study provides robust supporting efficacy studying conditions high ecological relevance.

Language: Английский

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How emotional expressions motivate action

Published: March 16, 2023

Social adaptation requires humans to respond others’ nonverbal emotional cues, by selecting and executing adaptive motor responses. In this chapter, we provide a general overview of how visual perception expressions, particularly threatening faces bodies, promotes rapid processing elaboration multiple opportunities for action, at different levels complexity. Notably, will highlight subcortical cortical neural pathways interact flexibly orchestrate our social behavior in response ranging from simple stimulus-driven reactions more elaborated goal-directed actions. We review recent findings research on other animals, discuss clinical implications, as well future challenges perspectives.

Language: Английский

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No cardiac phase bias for threat perception under naturalistic conditions in immersive virtual reality

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Feb. 2, 2024

Abstract Previous studies have found that threatening stimuli are more readily perceived and intensely experienced when presented during cardiac systole compared to diastole. Also, judged as physically closer than neutral ones. In a pre-registered study, we tested these effects their interaction using naturalistic (interactive, 3D) experimental design in immersive virtual reality: We briefly displayed non-threatening animals (four each) at varying distances (1.5–5.5 meters) group of young, healthy participants (n = 41), while recording ECGs (electrocardiograms). Participants then pointed the location where they had seen animal (ca. 29k trials total). Our analyses indicated both did not differ significantly between phases – with Bayesian analysis supporting null hypothesis. There was also no evidence for an association subjective fear proximity animals. These results contrast previous findings used verbal or declarative distance measures less conditions. Furthermore, our suggest phase-related variation threat processing may generalize across different paradigms be relevant scenarios under abstract Impact statement To knowledge, this is first study assess influence interoceptive signals on visual perception reality. based experiment reports about biases role cycle but observe expected effects. This poses question generalizability from settings setups, featuring greater behavioral engagement richer sensory environment.

Language: Английский

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Transdiagnostic psychiatric symptom dimensions predict behavioural cautiousness

Published: May 8, 2024

Approach-avoidance conflict (AAC), a laboratory representation of risky foraging, serves as mainstay pre-clinical anxiety disorder research across species. This is largely motivated by the impact anxiolytic drugs on cautious behaviour within these tests. While such cautiousness appears to be stable behavioural trait in humans, growing evidence suggests that it insufficiently explained type self-reported standard questionnaires. Here, we ask what other clinically relevant personality traits might explain cautiousness, using an exploration-confirmation approach two large online samples (N1 = 315; N2 690). Participants chose whether, and how rapidly, reward under risk virtual predator with varying threat probability magnitude. They also completed comprehensive psychiatric questionnaire battery known three-factor structure, consisting Compulsive Behaviour Intrusive Thought (CIT), Anxious-Depression (AD), Social-Withdrawal (SW). We found transdiagnostic compulsivity (i.e. CIT) was best predictor all readouts. Higher predicted decreased passive avoidance, increased inhibition, reduced sensitivity features. high implied altered subjective model relations environment. Analysing individual scores revealed broad unspecific personality-behaviour relationships, underscoring value dimensions over traditional phenotyping. Crucially, no associations were between anxiety-depression AD) or gender. In conclusion, this study highlights AAC tasks comprised components, which are linked opposite ways, but not specifically particularly strongly anxiety. finding challenges understanding opens up new view every-day situations.

Language: Английский

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Social threat avoidance depends on action-outcome predictability

Communications Psychology, Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: 2(1)

Published: Oct. 26, 2024

Avoiding threatening individuals is pivotal for adaptation to our social environment. Yet, it remains unclear whether threat avoidance subtended by goal-directed processes, in addition stimulus-response associations. To test this, we manipulated outcome predictability during spontaneous approach/avoidance decisions from avatars displaying angry facial expressions. Across three virtual reality experiments, showed that participants avoided more often when they could predict the of their actions, indicating processes. However, above-chance rate facing unpredictable outcomes suggested associations also played a role. We identified two latent classes participants: "goal-directed class" only predictable condition, while "stimulus-response no credible difference between conditions but had higher overall rate. The class exhibited greater cardiac deceleration associated with better value integration decision-making. Computationally, this an increased drift-rate reflecting estimation avoidance. In contrast, responsiveness threat, indicated and muscular activity at response time. These results support central role processes reveal its physiological computational correlates.

Language: Английский

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An intracranial dissection of human escape circuits

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Jan. 16, 2024

Abstract Predators attack at different spatiotemporal scales, spurring prey to elicit escape responses that range from simple motor reactions and strategic planning involve more complex cognitive processes. Recent work in humans suggests relies on two distinct circuits: the reactive fear circuits. However, specific involvement of these circuits stages human escaping remains poorly characterized. In this study, we recorded intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG) epilepsy patients while they performed a modified flight initiation distance (FID) task. We found brain regions circuit, including ventromedial prefrontal cortex hippocampus, encoded threat level during information processing stage. The actual stage, especially under rapid attack, prominently activated areas within midcingulate amygdala. Furthermore, observed negative correlation between high gamma activity (HGA) amygdala HGA vmPFC HPC attacks. This indicates may suppress circuit attacks, enabling organism react quickly ensure survival imminent threat. These findings highlight roles provide accounts for importance decisions.

Language: Английский

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Social threat avoidance depends on action-outcome predictability

Published: Jan. 25, 2024

Adaptative action selection in threatening social contexts, for example when facing aggressive individuals, is core to behavior. It debated whether, threat, initial opportunities are mostly determined by automatic tendencies – i.e., reactive stimulus-response (SR) associations or rapid and implicit goal-directed (GD) processes, which depend on the predicted consequences of available actions. To investigate balance between SR GD, we conducted three experiments manipulating predictability action-outcomes associations, a novel approach-avoidance decision task virtual reality. Participants presented greater avoidance rate from angry individuals action-outcome association was predictable. Computationally, this subtended more efficient evidence accumulation, as indicated an increased drift rate. Furthermore, cardiac deceleration around time choice predictable condition allowed value attributed outcome be better integrated into decision. Finally, while most participants avoided only under predictability, supporting predominant role GD minority them regardless predictability. Overall, our results shed light computational architecture avoidance, opening interesting new research clinical perspectives.

Language: Английский

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Social threat avoidance depends on action-outcome predictability

Research Square (Research Square), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Feb. 28, 2024

Adaptative action selection in threatening social contexts, for example when facing aggressive individuals, is core to behavior. It debated whether, threat, initial opportunities are mostly determined by automatic tendencies – i.e., reactive stimulus-response (SR) associations or rapid and implicit goal-directed (GD) processes, which depend on the predicted consequences of available actions. To investigate balance between SR GD, we conducted three experiments manipulating predictability action-outcomes associations, a novel approach-avoidance decision task virtual reality. Participants presented greater avoidance rate from angry individuals action-outcome association was predictable. Computationally, this subtended more efficient evidence accumulation, as indicated an increased drift rate. Furthermore, cardiac deceleration around time choice predictable condition allowed value attributed outcome be better integrated into decision. Finally, while most participants avoided only under predictability, supporting predominant role GD minority them regardless predictability. Overall, our results shed light computational architecture avoidance, opening interesting new research clinical perspectives.

Language: Английский

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The CogLearn Toolkit for Unity: A Virtual Reality Paradigm for Human Avoidance Learning

Published: June 25, 2024

Avoidance learning encompasses the acquisition of behaviours that enable individuals to evade or withdraw from potentially harmful stimuli, prior their occurrence. Maladaptive avoidance is a crucial feature anxiety and trauma-related disorders. In biological clinical settings, usually involve uninstructed, idiosyncratic complex motor actions. However, there lack laboratory paradigms allow investigating how such actions are acquired. To fill this gap, we developed wireless virtual reality platform investigate in naturalistic with an uncomfortable sound as unconditioned stimulus (US), physically plausible action, allowing for unconstrained movements. This platform, CogLearn Toolkit Unity, publicly available allows conducting various types experiments only text files input. We validated exploration-confirmation approach 5 independent experiments. Overall, participants showed successful behaviour all three exploration experiments, refined paradigm identified mean distance source during conditioned (CS) presentation (before US occurs) sensitive measure among several dependent variables. Two confirmation revealed stronger CS+ than CS- learning, whether not phase was preceded by Pavlovian acquisition. Furthermore, demonstrated reduced extinction instruction CS, but persistent residual phase. found evidence reinstatement one two our study provides robust supporting efficacy conditions high ecological relevance.

Language: Английский

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