Himmelberg, M. M., West, R. J.H., Wade, A. R. and Elliott, C. J.H. (2018), A perceptive plus in Parkinson's disease. Mov Disord.. doi:10.1002/mds.27240
Comment on Beard JD, Steege AL, Ju J, Lu J, Luckhaupt SE, Schubauer-Berigan MK. Mortality from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease among different occupation groups—United States, 1985–2011. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep
2017;66(27):718-722.
The puzzle of Parkinson’s disease (PD) is particularly elusive, but the next part of the picture is appearing, and it is a curious one: a tale of men, mice, and flies. Recently, Beard and colleagues1 reported that people who went on to develop PD tended to have jobs with higher socioeconomic status.Their study of > 12 million Americans highlighted more than 110,000 deaths from PD, with excess numbers of workers incommunity services (48%), educational (46%), legal (40%) and the sciences (33%). Such jobs may be demanding of deeper thought, good discrimination, and quick judgments. In a second study of > 4.5 million people from the Swedish census, those with lower socioeconomic status had a lower PD incidence.2
Although this may appear (at first sight) far-fetched, advantages in cognition in people at risk of PD are predicted from our studies of young PD-mimic flies. These have faster, stronger visual responses3,4 when the flies are young; however, in old age they show a loss of response and neurodegeneration. This model is noteworthy because ever since the time of Cajal, the homology of vertebrate and fly visual systems has been recognized, with many similarities at the neural circuit, computational, and developmental levels. Crucially, both flies and vertebrates use dopamine for retinal gain control. Furthermore, it is widely accepted that the extra demand for energy is a major cause of neurodegeneration in PD, so that the loss of visual gain control in young flies will lead to increased visual responses, requiring more Adenosine Triphosphate to pump ions and maintain synaptic transmission.
Increased visual processing, and possibly faster neural signaling, as a result of deficits in retinal dopamine signaling may provide people at risk of PD with advantages in younger life, which impact before the later neurodegeneration. They may be more suited to jobs with higher socioeconomic status, both at interview and in the daily routine. This would explain the new observations.1,2
Furthermore, PD-linked mutations have been around since prehistoric times5 and may therefore have had a selective advantage for young people encountering situations demanding rapid responses, for example, escape or hunting activities.
References in the full article, that you may request.
Wednesday, January 17, 2018
The personality disorder profile of professional actors
Davison, M., & Furnham, A. (2018). The personality disorder profile of professional actors. Psychology of Popular Media Culture, 7(1), 33-46. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000101
Abstract: The personality disorder trait profiles of 214 professional actors were compared with a general population American sample. Both male and female actors scored significantly higher than nonactors on Antisocial, Narcissism, Histrionic, Borderline, and Obsessive–Compulsive personality disorder scales of the Coolidge Axis-II inventory (Coolidge, 2001). Male actors scored significantly higher than the male comparison group on Schizotypal, Avoidant, and Dependent personality disorder scales. Relationships between personality disorder traits in actors and their self-reported acting abilities, preferences, and success were examined. The results are discussed with reference to how heightened subclinical levels of personality disorders traits are potentially unhelpful to acting performance and managing the demands of the profession. Limitations of the study are noted.
Abstract: The personality disorder trait profiles of 214 professional actors were compared with a general population American sample. Both male and female actors scored significantly higher than nonactors on Antisocial, Narcissism, Histrionic, Borderline, and Obsessive–Compulsive personality disorder scales of the Coolidge Axis-II inventory (Coolidge, 2001). Male actors scored significantly higher than the male comparison group on Schizotypal, Avoidant, and Dependent personality disorder scales. Relationships between personality disorder traits in actors and their self-reported acting abilities, preferences, and success were examined. The results are discussed with reference to how heightened subclinical levels of personality disorders traits are potentially unhelpful to acting performance and managing the demands of the profession. Limitations of the study are noted.
Preferences for discussion partners &groups that are similar to (same party &same opinion) or different from us (different party &different opinion) or that represent a combination: Complete similarity is not always preferred &partisan similarity is preferred over opinion similarity
Political Talk Preferences: Selection of Similar and Different Discussion Partners and Groups. Alyssa C. Morey, Steven B. Kleinman, Mark Boukes. International Journal of Communication, http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/7381
Abstract: Focusing on two distinct dimensions of similarity and difference (political identity, political opinions), this study uses a within-subjects experimental design implemented in an online survey to examine preferences for discussion partners and groups that are similar to (same party and same opinion) or different from (different party and different opinion) or that represent a combination of similarity and difference (same party and different opinion, or different party and same opinion) relative to oneself. Participants comprising a diverse national sample (N = 820) completed eight political discussion selection tasks (four discussion partner tasks, four discussion group tasks) by ranking four political discussion options from most to least preferred. Results indicate that complete similarity is not always preferred (in analyses of all ranked discussion groups) and that partisan similarity is preferred over opinion similarity (in analyses of first-ranked discussion partners). More generally, findings reveal that preferences for political discussion depend on the context of the discussion, including whether the discussion involves a single discussion partner or a discussion group and whether preference focuses on individuals’ most preferred option only or relative rankings across a range of options.
Keywords: political discussion, similarity/difference, agreement/disagreement, selective exposure
Abstract: Focusing on two distinct dimensions of similarity and difference (political identity, political opinions), this study uses a within-subjects experimental design implemented in an online survey to examine preferences for discussion partners and groups that are similar to (same party and same opinion) or different from (different party and different opinion) or that represent a combination of similarity and difference (same party and different opinion, or different party and same opinion) relative to oneself. Participants comprising a diverse national sample (N = 820) completed eight political discussion selection tasks (four discussion partner tasks, four discussion group tasks) by ranking four political discussion options from most to least preferred. Results indicate that complete similarity is not always preferred (in analyses of all ranked discussion groups) and that partisan similarity is preferred over opinion similarity (in analyses of first-ranked discussion partners). More generally, findings reveal that preferences for political discussion depend on the context of the discussion, including whether the discussion involves a single discussion partner or a discussion group and whether preference focuses on individuals’ most preferred option only or relative rankings across a range of options.
Keywords: political discussion, similarity/difference, agreement/disagreement, selective exposure
Feast for the Eyes: Effects of Food Perceptions and Computer Vision Features on Food Photo Popularity
Feast for the Eyes: Effects of Food Perceptions and Computer Vision Features on Food Photo Popularity. Yilang Peng, John B. Jemmott III. International Journal of Communication, http://ijoc.org/index.php/ijoc/article/view/6678
Abstract: The widely circulated food photos online have become an important part of our visual culture. Combining human ratings of food characteristics and computational analysis of visual aesthetics, we examined what contributed to the aesthetic appeal of a diversity of food photographs (N = 300) and likes and comments they received in an artificial newsfeed from participants (N = 399). The results revealed that people tended to like and share images containing tasty foods. Both healthy and unhealthy foods were able to gain likes. Aesthetic appeal and specific visual features, such as the use of arousing colors and different components of visual complexity, also influenced the popularity of food images. This work demonstrates the potential of applying computer vision methods in visual analysis, offers insights into image virality, and provides practical guidelines for communicating healthy eating.
Keywords: food, virality, computer vision, visual aesthetics, health communication
Abstract: The widely circulated food photos online have become an important part of our visual culture. Combining human ratings of food characteristics and computational analysis of visual aesthetics, we examined what contributed to the aesthetic appeal of a diversity of food photographs (N = 300) and likes and comments they received in an artificial newsfeed from participants (N = 399). The results revealed that people tended to like and share images containing tasty foods. Both healthy and unhealthy foods were able to gain likes. Aesthetic appeal and specific visual features, such as the use of arousing colors and different components of visual complexity, also influenced the popularity of food images. This work demonstrates the potential of applying computer vision methods in visual analysis, offers insights into image virality, and provides practical guidelines for communicating healthy eating.
Keywords: food, virality, computer vision, visual aesthetics, health communication
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