Investigating the functions of subregions within anterior hippocampus.

Previous functional MRI (fMRI) studies have associated anterior hippocampus with imagining and recalling scenes, imagining the future, recalling autobiographical memories and visual scene perception. We have observed that this typically involves the medial rather than the lateral portion of the anterior hippocampus. Here, we investigated which specific structures of the hippocampus underpin this observation. We had participants imagine novel scenes during fMRI scanning, as well as recall previously learned scenes from two different time periods (one week and 30 min prior to scanning), with analogous single object conditions as baselines. Using an extended segmentation protocol focussing on anterior hippocampus, we first investigated which substructures of the hippocampus respond to scenes, and found both imagination and recall of scenes to be associated with activity in presubiculum/parasubiculum, a region associated with spatial representation in rodents. Next, we compared imagining novel scenes to recall from one week or 30 min before scanning. We expected a strong response to imagining novel scenes and 1-week recall, as both involve constructing scene representations from elements stored across cortex. By contrast, we expected a weaker response to 30-min recall, as representations of these scenes had already been constructed but not yet consolidated. Both imagination and 1-week recall of scenes engaged anterior hippocampal structures (anterior subiculum and uncus respectively), indicating possible roles in scene construction. By contrast, 30-min recall of scenes elicited significantly less activation of anterior hippocampus but did engage posterior CA3. Together, these results elucidate the functions of different parts of the anterior hippocampus, a key brain area about which little is definitely known.

"Tu seras Psychologue, ma fille". La transmission intergénérationnelle du choix professionnel : Une co-construction entre parents et enfants.

The aim of the study is to understand how the family influences the choice of becoming a psychologist and how an occupational choice is repeated in the family, via intergenerational transmission. We interviewed seven female students in a Master of Science in Psychology : first, they filled in a genosociogramm including data about occupations of their ancestors on about four generations ; then, they took part into a semi-structured qualitative enquiry. Our results have shown that a little bit less than half of the subjects have a parent who have social or care jobs, but more than half if we add the grand-parents. In a conscious level, subjects tend to deny any kind of family influence, in the majority ; afterwards, they discover influences they didn't notice. Secondly, the content analysis reveals five categories of family influence : the educational path (doubts, choices), the choice of psychology via the development of self-efficacy (interest, personality and soft skills), the exploration of occupations and activities during childhood and adulthood (leisure activities, professional world, suggestions, advice, education), the transmission of values (immaterial and material) and the family relationships during childhood and teenage years (relationship issues and difficulties, confidences and secrets, relationships and role in the brotherhood and/or sisterhood). The importance for the career counselor to investigate the relational context of his/her consultant is discussed, as much as the need for him to think about his own motivations to help others, linked with his family background.

Most and Least Preferred Colours Differ According to Object Context : New Insights from an Unrestricted Colour Range

Humans like some colours and dislike others, but which particular colours and why remains to be understood. Empirical studies on colour preferences generally targeted most preferred colours, but rarely least preferred (disliked) colours. In addition, findings are often based on general colour preferences leaving open the question whether results generalise to specific objects. Here, 88 participants selected the colours they preferred most and least for three context conditions (general, interior walls, t-shirt) using a high-precision colour picker. Participants also indicated whether they associated their colour choice to a valenced object or concept. The chosen colours varied widely between individuals and contexts and so did the reasons for their choices. Consistent patterns also emerged, as most preferred colours in general were more chromatic, while for walls they were lighter and for t-shirts they were darker and less chromatic compared to least preferred colours. This meant that general colour preferences could not explain object specific colour preferences. Measures of the selection process further revealed that, compared to most preferred colours, least preferred colours were chosen more quickly and were less often linked to valenced objects or concepts. The high intra- and inter-individual variability in this and previous reports furthers our understanding that colour preferences are determined by subjective experiences and that most and least preferred colours are not processed equally.