A influência do feedback verbal na cooperação em crianças

Human cooperation is a hallmark of this species due to its wide extension to genetically unrelated individuals and complex division of labor. It is considered an evolutionary puzzle, because the theory of evolution by natural selection predicts that self-interested individuals tend to be selected. Different theories have been proposed to explain the evolution of cooperation, which the most important are kin selection and reciprocal altruism. Considering the evolutionary continuity between species, humans and other primates have several common traits that help to promote cooperation between individuals of these species. Two features, however, seem to be particularly humans: inequality aversion and preferences in relation to others. Although human cooperation is not necessarily related to morality, cooperative traits are the basis for moral tendencies. The development of human morality is a combination of early prosocial tendencies, cooperative skills displayed at different ages, social learning and cultural transmission of norms. The social stimulus seems to be particularly important in promoting cooperative behavior in children and adults. In order to study the influence of social stimuli, as verbal feedback, on children cooperation, a study was conducted with children in a public goods game. 407 children from public schools in Natal / RN, divided into 21 groups, between six and nine years, participated in eight rounds of this game. After each round, seven groups received praise for larger donations, seven groups have been criticized by smaller donations, and the other seven received no comment. Children cooperated more when criticized, without significant differences between sexes, although young children have cooperated more negative than older children. The results are likely related to the anticipation and avoidance of punishment associated with the feedback (although this did not occur), and greater sensitivity to the authority in younger children. Nevertheless, the cooperation decreased in all groups until the last day of play. The results suggest an early sensitivity to moral punishment, whose role in the maintenance of social relations must have been important in the evolution of cooperation in humans

Participação do circuito dopaminérgico nas alterações do comportamento de medo inato de camundongos infectados pelo Toxoplasma gondii

The protozoan parasite Toxoplasma gondii transforms the innate aversion of rats for cat urine into a fatal attraction, that increases the likelihood of the parasite completing its life cycle in the cat s intestine. The neural circuits implicated in innate fear, anxiety, and learned fear all overlap considerably, raising the possibility, that T. gondii may disrupt all of these nonspecifically. In this study, we evaluated immunoreactivity for tyrosine hydroxylase (TH) in areas associated with innate fear of infected male swiss mice. The latent Toxoplasma infection converted the aversion of mice to feline odors into attraction. This loss of fear is remarkably specific, as demonstrated by Vyas et al (2007), because infection did not diminish learned fear, anxiety-like behavior, olfaction, or nonaversive learning. However, the neurochemical mechanism related to alterations in innate fear due to T. gondii infection remains poorly studied. 20 mice were inoculated with bradyzoites (25 cysts) from a Toxoplasma gondii (Me-49 strain). The brains were removed after 60 days, sectioned and processed for TH immunohistochemistry. The correlation between the amount of cysts per area and the densitometric analysis of neurotransmitter reactivity was low in the areas implicated in innate fear of infected animals, when comparated with noninfected controls

Criação de empresas à luz do modelo de decisão effectuation: um estudo com mulheres empreendedoras no município de Currais Novos/RN

This study analysed the creation of businesses by entrepreneur women in the Currais Novos city, looking for verifying if they used making decision processes aligned to the Effectuation logic throughout the creation of their companies. To this, was accomplished a multiple cases and exploratory study, whit a qualitative approach of analyse, using the thematic life history technique that match accounts and semi-structured interview route, being accomplished like a long interview, where the researcher interact with the informer continuously. The semi-structured interview route was created by the adaptation of the interview route used by Tasic (2007). The present study appealed to a intentional selection of individuals in function of their importance in relation to the boarded theme. This means that the individuals were chosen in function of their social and theoretical representatively inside the considered situation. The participant individuals of this research were five entrepreneur women that act in the Currais Novos city, owners of five different companies. To the data treatment and analyse, was chosen the content analyse technique. This study worked with a priori theoretical categories. The categories of analyse in this study was obtained with base in the Effectuation approach (SARASVATHY, 2001a, 2001b, 2008), that is an alternative model of making decision to the classic model based in the causality principle. These categories are Clarity of Initial Aims , Tolerance to the Lost and Initials Investments , Control of Resources ( who I am , what I know and who I know ) and Promoting Over Contingencies . As result, the entrepreneur women researched, in a general way, hadn t clear initial aims at the companies creation moment, hadn t aversion to the risk to lose the time and the money that they were investing in the company in formation, they highlighted the products and services identity that offered with a strong link with Seridó region, they had experience in the field of activity in which they decided to open their companies, had the commitment of partners in the beginning of the business and they knew to transform the initial difficulties in opportunities. By the end, this study conclude that the entrepreneur women studied used, in a big part, making decision processes aligned to the Effectuation logic throughout the creation of their companies

On the use of transgenic mice and optogenetics to characterize genetically defined subpopulations of neurons

Neuroscientists have a variety of perspectives with which to classify different parts of the brain. With the rise of genetic-based techniques such as optogenetics, it is increasingly important to identify whether a group of cells, defined by morphology, function or anatomical location possesses a distinct pattern of expression of one or more genetic promoters. This would allow for better ways to study of these genetically defined subpopulations of neurons. In this work, I present a theoretical discussion and threeexperimental studies in which this was the main question being addressed. Paper I discusses the issues involved in selecting a promoter to study structures and subpopulations in the Ventral Tegmental Area. Paper II characterizes a subpopulation of cells in the Ventral Tegmental Area that shares the expression of a promoter and is anatomically very restricted, and induces aversion when stimulated. Paper III utilizes a similar strategy to investigate a subpopulation in the subthalamic nucleus that expresses PITX2 and VGLUT2 which, when inactivated, causes hyperlocomotion. Paper IV exploits the fact that a previously identified group of cells in the ventral hippocampus expresses CHRNA2, and indicates that this population may be necessary and sufficient for the establishment of the theta rhythm (2-8 Hz) in the Local Field Potential of anesthetized mice. All of these studies were guided by the same strategy of characterizing and studying the role of a genetically defined subpopulation of cells, and they demonstrate the different ways in which this approach can generate new discoveries.