Functional asymmerty of the brain and emotions

Different kinds of emotional phenomena are related in a different way with the workings of the left and right hemispheres of the brain. Emotional reactions (phasic emotions), which appear on the basis of a cognitive loading (mental representation, recognition, play, prognostication, watching movies, reading of emotionally colored texts or separate words and so on) and which are tested with the help of electrophysiological methods, activate different regions of the left and right hemispheres of the brain depending on the complexity and novelty of emotiogenic situations as well as on the degree of subject's emotional tension. The tonic emotions individual background-mood, on which depends the emotional estimation (negative of positive) of the presented stimuli or events, are determined mostly by a prolonged, relatively stable, tonic activation of each hemisphere connected with subjects' individual characteristics. The predominance of the left hemisphere activity creates positive emotional background, whereas the predominance of the right hemisphere creates negative background.     

Evolutionarily unstable fitness maxima and stable fitness minima of continuous traits

Summary We present models of adaptive change in continuous traits for the following situations: (1) adaptation of a single trait within a single population in which the fitness of a given individual depends on the population's mean trait value as well as its own trait value; (2) adaptation of two (or more) traits within a single population; (3) adaptation in two or more interacting species. We analyse a dynamic model of these adaptive scenarios in which the rate of change of the mean trait value is an increasing function of the fitness gradient (i.e. the rate of increase of individual fitness with the individual's trait value). Such models have been employed in evolutionary game theory and are often appropriate both for the evolution of quantitative genetic traits and for the behavioural adjustment of phenotypically plastic traits. The dynamics of the adaptation of several different ecologically important traits can result in characters that minimize individual fitness and can preclude evolution towards characters that maximize individual fitness. We discuss biological circumstances that are likely to produce such adaptive failures for situations involving foraging, predator avoidance, competition and coevolution. The results argue for greater attention to dynamical stability in models of the evolution of continuous traits.     

The innovation triad: an EvoDevo agenda

This article introduces a special issue on evolutionary innovation and morphological novelty, two interrelated themes that have received a remarkable increase of attention over the past few years. We begin with a discussion of the question of whether innovation and novelty represent distinct evolutionary problems that require a distinct conceptualization. We argue that the mechanisms of innovation and their phenotypic results--novelty--can only be properly addressed if they are distinguished from the standard evolutionary themes of variation and adaptation, and we present arguments for making such a distinction. We propose that origination, the first formation of biological structures, is another distinct problem of morphological evolution, and that together with innovation and novelty it constitutes a conceptual complex we call the innovation triad. We define a problem agenda of the triad, which separates the analysis of the initiating conditions from the mechanistic realization of innovation, and we discuss the theoretical problems that arise from treating innovation as distinct from variation. Further, we categorize the empirical approaches that address themes of the innovation triad in recognizing four major strands of research: the morphology and systematics program, the gene regulation program, the epigenetic program, and the theoretical biology program. We provide examples of each program, giving priority to contributions in the present issue. In conclusion, we observe that the innovation triad is one of the defining topics of EvoDevo research and may represent its most pertinent contribution to evolutionary theory. We point out that an inclusion of developmental systems properties into evolutionary theory represents a shift of explanatory emphasis from the external factors of natural selection to the internal dynamics of developmental systems, complementing adaptation with emergence, and contingency with inherency.     

Differential Responsiveness of Great Tit Nestlings,Parus major,to Natural Auditory Stimuli

In one field and two laboratory experiments, wild, wild-captured and partly laboratory-raised 16 to 18-day old great tit nestlings were subjected to repeated presentations of auditory stimuli of varying biological significance. The frequency of occurrence of the stimuli in the study area was censused. — All nestlings showed strong aversive reactions to the ‘seeet’ alarm-call of the species. It is concluded that a selective responsiveness to this call develops independently of previous exposure to it. A functional interpretation of this reaction is derived from its presumed adaptive value. Three hypothetical interpretations are suggested to explain its emergence in the individual nestling; The ‘seeet’-call elicits aversive reactions because of, 1) its novelty, 2) its intensity in terms of relative concentration of energy over its frequency range and 3) its contrasting acoustic structure compared to the nestlings' begging-call which has become strongly associated with approach behavior.     

Adaptation and plasticity in life-history theory: How to derive predictions.

Why is life paced so differently across as well as within organisms? Can one expect across-species patterns to be repeated within a species too, among individuals? The answer to these questions requires understanding conditions under which reaction norms evolve. We provide an overview of what we believe to be understudied areas of life-history theory, to foster theoretical work and to help deriving predictions for the evolution of human reaction norms. We discuss both why one might expect reaction norms to be aligned with patterns across species, and why that expectation might sometimes fail. It is not impossible for environmental cues to shape life histories in the current generation, but compared with cue-independent genetic adaptation, the adaptive task is now more complex; cues may be unreliable or change in value with time; and parental strategies may differ between situations where offspring have the possibility to disperse to new habitats and situations where environmental conditions remain the same across generations. In that regard, we comment on the value of source-sink theory and on the importance of being specific about the way density regulation affects individual vital rates. We also remind the reader that adaptation does not necessarily optimize population growth rates when conflict between entities (e.g. between the two sexes) is a feature of the adaptive process. All these factors likely play an important role on the evolution of reaction norms, and we argue in favour of their more systematic inclusion in human life-history research.     

外来入侵植物反枝苋的研究进展

本文对反枝苋生物学特性、入侵过程及可能分布区域与影响其分布的相关因子、除防、应用的相关研究进行了综述。结果发现:反枝苋种子能够适应较广的萌发条件,特别是在高温条件下具有高萌发率;反枝苋能够调整生物量及生理生化过程来应对环境变化,具有很强的可塑性;随着气候环境的变化,反枝苋的入侵持续进行,下一步将会向中国西南地区入侵;研制、筛选新型除草剂及探索除草剂的施用方法是目前针对反枝苋产生抗药性的解决途径;反枝苋具有较高的营养价值及药用价值,且在植物修复方面具有潜在前景。目前对反枝苋的研究还存在不足,应在以下方面进行加强:(1)在环境压力下的适应性进化机制及快速适应性的分子基础;(2)对入侵地土壤微生物群落、植物群落及动物的影响及其机制的研究;(3)平衡应用与防御之间的矛盾。     

Neutral mutation as the source of genetic variation in life history traits

The mechanism underlying the maintenance of adaptive genetic variation is a long-standing question in evolutionary genetics. There are two concepts (mutation-selection balance and balancing selection) which are based on the phenotypic differences between alleles. Mutation - selection balance and balancing selection cannot properly explain the process of gene substitution, i.e. the molecular evolution of quantitative trait loci affecting fitness. I assume that such loci have non-essential functions (small effects on fitness), and that they have the potential to evolve into new functions and acquire new adaptations. Here I show that a high amount of neutral polymorphism at these loci can exist in real populations. Consistent with this, I propose a hypothesis for the maintenance of genetic variation in life history traits which can be efficient for the fixation of alleles with very small selective advantage. The hypothesis is based on neutral polymorphism at quantitative trait loci and both neutral and adaptive gene substitutions. The model of neutral - adaptive conversion (NAC) assumes that neutral alleles are not neutral indefinitely, and that in specific and very rare situations phenotypic (relative fitness) differences between them can appear. In this paper I focus on NAC due to phenotypic plasticity of neutral alleles. The important evolutionary consequence of NAC could be the increased adaptive potential of a population. Loci responsible for adaptation should be fast evolving genes with minimally discernible phenotypic effects, and the recent discovery of genes with such characteristics implicates them as suitable candidates for loci involved in adaptation.     

Aggressive behavior, its adaptive function and mechanisms of development of psychosomatic disorders and diseases of adaptation

A correlation between physiologic and behavioral responses to emotional stress and agonistic conflict (triad model), as well as ideas of autonomic-humoral support of subsequent activity suggest that motor activity and situational aggressive behavior are essential final stages of stress reaction and, therefore, mechanisms of adaptation. Failure in final the stage of adaptive response causes mobilization changes to be directed against the host organism itself. This phenomenon forms the basis for psychosomatic disorders. Aggression seems to be an adaptive response not only from ethologic, but from physiologic point of view as well. It has some elements of homeostatic control (together with non-homeostatic functions). Homeostatic role of aggression may be in "elimination" of mobilization metabolic changes caused by stress reaction and physical activity by means of expressive emotional response. Aggression as a non-homeostatic factor has an ethologic function.     

Absolute coding of stimulus novelty in the human substantia nigra/VTA

Novelty exploration can enhance hippocampal plasticity in animals through dopaminergic neuromodulation arising in the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA). This enhancement can outlast the exploration phase by several minutes. Currently, little is known about dopaminergic novelty processing and its relationship to hippocampal function in humans. In two functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, SN/VTA activations in humans were indeed driven by stimulus novelty rather than other forms of stimulus salience such as rareness, negative emotional valence, or targetness of familiar stimuli, whereas hippocampal responses were less selective. SN/VTA novelty responses were scaled according to absolute rather than relative novelty in a given context, unlike adaptive SN/VTA responses recently reported for reward outcome in animal studies. Finally, novelty enhanced learning and perirhinal/parahippocampal processing of familiar items presented in the same context. Thus, the human SN/VTA can code absolute stimulus novelty and might contribute to enhancing learning in the context of novelty.     

基因置换发展研究综述

基因置换,又称基因替代作用,它指的是遗传信息单向的从一个序列向其同源序列传递的过程。近年来,人们对遗传重组的发生机制、功能及影响有了新的认识,尤其是发现"重组"造成的基因置换远超过以前认识。与遗传重组不同,基因置换有可能改变等位基因频率,搅乱等位基因的组合,降低连锁不平衡的程度,影响核苷酸多样性的即时效应和长期的效应。这些发现有助于去理解基因置换的机制,去探索基因置换对物种进化及遗传多样性更深远的影响,如基因置换对染色体基因结构和功能有哪些影响及基因置换对更深层次的生物进化起什么样的作用等。本文对基因置换进行了综合论述,重点介绍了基因置换的当前发展趋势,并以基因四联子为模型,总结了基因置换事件的推断,并对基因置换的研究前景进行了讨论。     

Phylogenetic constraint on male parental care in the dabbling ducks

Phylogenetic constraint and inertia, i.e. limitations on future evolutionary trajectories imposed by previous adaptation, are often invoked to explain behavioural, morphological and physiological traits that defy explanation in an adaptive context. We reconstructed historical changes in male parental care behaviour in the dabbling ducks (family: Anatidae; tribe: Anatini) using a phylogeny based on mitochondrial DNA sequences. Male parental care is observed in many tropical and Southern hemisphere dabbling ducks but is lacking in all Northern hemisphere species. Southern hemisphere species that are very recently derived from Northern hemisphere ancestors, however, are exceptions to this general pattern. Lack of male parental care in these species can be attributed to phylogenetic constraint.     

Hybridization and adaptive radiation

Whether interspecific hybridization is important as a mechanism that generates biological diversity is a matter of controversy. Whereas some authors focus on the potential of hybridization as a source of genetic variation, functional novelty and new species, others argue against any important role, because reduced fitness would typically render hybrids an evolutionary dead end. By drawing on recent developments in the genetics and ecology of hybridization and on principles of ecological speciation theory, I develop a concept that reconciles these views and adds a new twist to this debate. Because hybridization is common when populations invade new environments and potentially elevates rates of response to selection, it predisposes colonizing populations to rapid adaptive diversification under disruptive or divergent selection. I discuss predictions and suggest tests of this hybrid swarm theory of adaptive radiation and review published molecular phylogenies of adaptive radiations in light of the theory.     

Unconsciously Triggered Emotional Conflict by Emotional Facial Expressions

The present study investigated whether emotional conflict and emotional conflict adaptation could be triggered by unconscious emotional information as assessed in a backward-masked affective priming task. Participants were instructed to identify the valence of a face (e.g., happy or sad) preceded by a masked happy or sad face. The results of two experiments revealed the emotional conflict effect but no emotional conflict adaptation effect. This demonstrates that emotional conflict can be triggered by unconsciously presented emotional information, but participants may not adjust their subsequent performance trial-by trial to reduce this conflict.     

On the Measurement of Ecological Novelty: Scale-Eating Pupfish Are Separated by 168 my from Other Scale-Eating Fishes

The colonization of new adaptive zones is widely recognized as one of the hallmarks of adaptive radiation. However, the adoption of novel resources during this process is rarely distinguished from phenotypic change because morphology is a common proxy for ecology. How can we quantify ecological novelty independent of phenotype? Our study is split into two parts: we first document a remarkable example of ecological novelty, scale-eating (lepidophagy), within a rapidly-evolving adaptive radiation of Cyprinodon pupfishes on San Salvador Island, Bahamas. This specialized predatory niche is known in several other fish groups, but is not found elsewhere among the 1,500 species of atherinomorphs. Second, we quantify this ecological novelty by measuring the time-calibrated phylogenetic distance in years to the most closely-related species with convergent ecology. We find that scale-eating pupfish are separated by 168 million years of evolution from the nearest scale-eating fish. We apply this approach to a variety of examples and highlight the frequent decoupling of ecological novelty from phenotypic divergence. We observe that novel ecology is not always tightly correlated with rates of phenotypic or species diversification, particularly within recent adaptive radiations, necessitating the use of additional measures of ecological novelty independent of phenotype.     

Synthetic biology confronts publics and policy makers: challenges for communication, regulation and commercialization

The novelty of synthetic biology lies in the use of synthesized parts that can be arranged to make useful products. Such advanced, high-throughput genetic engineering projects redesign and fabricate existing biological systems as well as new biological parts, devices and systems that do not occur in nature. This Opinion discusses challenges raised by synthetic biology for public acceptance, regulation, commercialization and the emerging global issue of access to genetic resources and information. As with all new fields of research, maintaining the trust of the public and policy regulators is paramount. Hype and exaggerated claims are counterproductive to developing adaptive and ethically sound regulatory models responsive to stakeholder concerns.     

Emotions in farm animals: a new approach to animal welfare in applied ethology

One of the major topics of applied ethology is the welfare of animals reared by humans. Welfare can be defined as a state of harmony between an individual and its environment. Any marked deviation from this state, if perceived by the individual, results in a welfare deficit due to negative emotional experiences. In humans, verbal language helps to assess emotional experiences. In animals, only behavioural and physiological measurements help to detect emotions. However, how to interpret these responses in terms of emotional experiences remains an open question. The information on the cognitive abilities of farm animals, which are available but scattered, could help the understanding of their emotions. We propose a behavioural approach based on cognitive psychology: emotions can be investigated in farm animals in terms of the individual's appraisal of the situation. This evaluative process depends on: (a) the intrinsic characteristics of the eliciting event (suddenness, novelty, pleasantness); (b) the degree of conflict of that event with the individual's needs or expectations; and (c) the individual's coping possibilities offered by the environment. The result of such an evaluation determines the negative versus positive emotions. We propose an analysis of the emotional repertoire of farm animals in terms of the relationship between the evaluative process of the event on the one hand and the behavioural and physiological responses on the other hand.     

Does the 48-hour biological rhythm exist?

The daily monitoring (8:00–10:00 a.m.) of clinical and laboratory variables in humans and animals exposed to the action of extreme factors (myocardial infarction, operative intervention, immobilization stress, hypothermia, model of acute turpentine inflammation) showed that the value trends in the dynamics of the adaptation process have the character of damping fluctuations with a period of 48 h. Published data are cited, and the question as to the existence of this endogenous biological rhythm in the acute period of adaptation to stressors and its possible mechanism is discussed.     

Adaptation of the exocrine pancreas to dietary fats

This article reviews studies on the adaptation of the exocrine pancreas to dietary fat. We include all the latest information about the mechanisms that underlie the adaptation of the secretory mechanism of the exocrine pancreas to the amount and the type of dietary fat. We review the kinetics of pancreatic adaptation and the mediators of the adaptive response of the pancreas including cellular and molecular mechanisms (modulation of intracellular messengers and gene expression of the different enzymes and secretagogues involved in the adaptation process). At the same time we include our results in this field in dogs and humans.     

大鼠下丘神经元对重复刺激适应性的时频表征

自由声场下,通过给大鼠不同刺激呈现率（presentation rate,PR）的重复声刺激,用钨丝单电极记录神经元的放电信号,系统分析了下丘神经元对重复刺激的表征特性。作为发放率表征的刺激后脉冲发放数（spike count,SC）随着刺激重复不断减少,作为时间表征的首次发放潜伏期（first spike latency,FSL）逐渐延长,时间过程均呈指数形式变化。起始型神经元FSL 的时间常数大于SC,在FSL上呈现慢适应;持续性神经元FSL 的时间常数小于SC,在SC 上呈现慢适应。随着刺激呈现率PR 的增加,过渡过程的时间常数缩短,稳态SC减少,
稳态FSL延长。稳态SC 和FSL与PR呈对数线性关系,SC 的线性度更高。下丘神经元的适应性能够提高对新奇刺激的响应能力,为皮层下检测异常信息提供了可能。