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[This study used a matrix game to explore adolescents' and young adults' flexibility of theory of mind (ToM) and to examine whether prediction could promote a person's ToM reasoning when the opponent's level of ToM changed during the course of the game. A total of 202 participants of different ages (13, 16, 19, and 24 years) were presented with the task. Results showed that the ToM flexibility in prediction and decision making was not significantly different across the age groups. A person's flexibility of ToM was better when the opponent's level was stable than when the level changed. It was even more difficult for a person to adapt when the opponent changed from a higher-order to lower-order level. The results showed prediction to be a kind of information clue that would prompt people to think further. It is both feasible and discriminative to explore even higher levels of ToM with matrix games.]
Stress has been demonstrated to play an important role in hair follicle function and the pathogenesis of some hair disorders. The central hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis is activated by stress stimuli, synthesizes and releases various components and eventually induces the pathogenesis and recurrence of peripheral diseases. Our aim is to compare the different responses under exposure of stress in hair follicle function among different mouse strains, and to detect the involvement of the central HPA axis after stress in hair follicle growth and melanogenesis. In this study, we exposed different mouse strains (C57BL/6, CBA/J, C3H/HeN, BALB/c and ICR) to a 21-day chronic restraint stress protocol and selected C57BL/6, CBA/J and BALB/c mice for further study because of their significant behavioral alterations. Then, we evaluated and compared the different responses and sensitivity to chronic restraint stress in hair follicle function and central HPA axis among the selected strains. The results showed that expression of POMC, CRF and GR mRNA and protein and serum levels of corticosterone were inhibited in response to stress. These findings suggested that chronic restraint stress may inhibit hair follicle growth and melanogenesis via regulating the key elements of the central HPA axis. In addition, the results revealed different mouse strains exhibit different responses in the central HPA axis and hair follicle after stress exposure. C57BL/6 might be the most sensitive strain among the three strains tested as well as an appropriate strain to study possible pathophysiological mechanisms by which the nervous system influences skin function and screen dermatological drugs suitable for psychotherapy. We believe the current study will provide some useful information for researchers who are interested in the bidirectional communication between the nervous and skin systems and the management of stress-induced cutaneous diseases. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]
As metabolomics is widely used in the study of disease mechanisms, an increasing number of studies have found that metabolites play an important role in the occurrence of diseases. The aim of this study is to investigate the effects and mechanisms of quercetin in high-fat-sucrose diet (HFD)-induced nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) development using nontargeted metabolomics. A rat model of NAFLD was established by feeding with an HFD for 30 and 50 days. The results indicated quercetin exhibited hepatoprotective activity in 30-day HFD-induced NAFLD rats by regulating fatty acid related metabolites (adrenic acid, etc.), inflammation-related metabolites (arachidonic acid, etc.), oxidative stress-related metabolites (2-hydroxybutyric acid) and other differential metabolites (citric acid, etc.). However, quercetin did not improve NAFLD in the 50-day HFD; perhaps quercetin was unable to reverse the inflammation induced by a long-term high-fat diet. These data indicate that dietary quercetin may be beneficial to NAFLD in early stages. Furthermore, combining metabolomics and experimental approaches opens avenues to study the effects and mechanisms of drugs for complex diseases.
Tai Chi Chuan (TCC) practice is currently intentionally applied in clinical populations, especially those with cardiovascular diseases because of its potential benefits on the autonomic nervous system. The long-term effect of TCC practice on heart rate variability (HRV) remains largely unknown. In this study, we recruited 23 TCC practitioners whose experience averaged approximately 21 years and 19 controls matched by age, sex and education to examine the effect of TCC practice on the autonomic nervous system during a resting state and during an abdominal breathing state. HRV was measured by traditional electrocardiogram (ECG) recording. The results showed that the low frequency, total power frequency, and normalized low frequency components and the low-frequency/high-frequency ratio were significantly higher, whereas the normalized high frequency was significantly lower in the TCC practitioners relative to controls during the abdominal breathing state. However, we did not detect any significant difference in the HRV measures during the resting state between the two groups. Additionally, TCC experience did not correlate with HRV components either in the abdominal state or the resting state in the TCC group. Considering all of these findings, we suggest that TCC improves vagal activity and the balance between sympathetic and parasympathetic activity during the relaxation state. This study also provides direct physiological evidence for the role of TCC practice in relaxation.