Neuroscience

Rochester brain and cognitive sciences researchers receive national recognition – University of Rochester

February 16, 2021

Martina Poletti. (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Emanuel Gomez-Ramirez. (University of Rochester photo / J. Adam Fenster)

Two University of Rochester researchers in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences are being honored with a celebrated award for their contributions to and leadership in the scientific community.

Martina Poletti and Manuel Gomez-Ramirez, both assistant professors of brain and cognitive sciences and of neuroscience, are among this years recipients of Sloan Research Fellowships. Awarded annually by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation since 1955, the fellowships recognize young scientists for their independent research accomplishments, creativity, and potential to become leaders in the scientific community. Each fellowship carries a $75,000, two-year award. This year, 128 scientists across the US and Canada were awarded fellowships. Gomez-Ramirez and Poletti are the Universitys fourth and filth Sloan fellows in the last three years.

Poletti, together with Michele Rucci, professor of brain and cognitive sciences, runs the Active Perception Lab in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Her research focuses on how humans perceive the world by taking in visual information through a combination of sensory processing, motor behavior, and attention. In particular, she studies the foveolaa small region of the retina that is essential for high-resolution visionand how the foveola works in tandem with microscopic eye movements and attention to enable vision.

Martina has made critical discoveries that have led to a complete change in how we think about fixational eye movements and the function of the fovea, says Duje Tadin, professor and chair of the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. Her recent work has made major advances linking fixational eye movementsseemingly among the lowest levels of visual functionto higher aspects of visual functioning, including attention, visual exploration, and task-relevance.

Poletti joined the Rochester faculty in 2017, after serving as a research assistant professor at Boston University. She received her PhD in cognitive and neural systems from Boston University in 2010.

Gomez-Ramirez leads the Haptic Perception Lab in the Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences. His research focuses on the mechanisms that enable our hands to perceive, grab, and manipulate objects. The research is important in optimizing brain-computer interfaces and developing neuroprosthetics that integrate brain signals with prosthetic devices in order to control the devices.

This is a challenging area to study as it often involves difficult experiments, but Manny recognizes its importance as a great model of how the brain combines information from multiple sourcesa fundamental question in neuroscience, Tadin says.

Gomez-Ramirez joined the Rochester faculty in 2019 after serving as a research associate at Brown University and a postdoctoral research associate at Johns Hopkins University. He received his PhD in psychology from the City University of New York in 2009.

Tags: Arts and Sciences, Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Manuel Gomez-Ramirez, Martina Poletti, research funding, Sloan Research Fellowships

Category: Science & Technology

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Rochester brain and cognitive sciences researchers receive national recognition - University of Rochester

Neuroscience

Activision Blizzard Media, Alter Agents and Immersion Explore Impact of Advertising on Esports Audiences Compared to Traditional Sports Audiences -…

LOS ANGELES, Feb. 16, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Activision Blizzard Media engaged market research firm Alter Agents and neuroscience experts at Immersion to complete a study on the emotional impact of advertising and sponsorships on esports versus traditional sports viewers. The multi-cell, trimodal research study found that during sponsorship ads, the immersion (measured as the attention and emotional response of the viewer) was more sustained for esports viewers.

"Savvy marketers are learning that esports is a substantial conduit to a young, affluent and valuable audience. To match this savvy, esports platforms need to recognize that the onus is on us to empirically demonstrate the power of this platform and these audiences," said Jonathan Stringfield, VP, Global Business Marketing, Measurement and Insights, Activision Blizzard Media. "The findings from our immersive biometric study with Alter Agents and Immersion show that ads during esports keep viewer attention, perform higher and boost positive brand perception."

The research, which was conducted in late 2020, consisted of a survey of esports and traditional sports viewers from 16-40 years old. A series of in-depth respondent interviews to provide context and color to the findings. Emotional response sessions were conducted using Immersion's distributed and real-time neuroscience platform to reveal advertising's emotional impact at a physiological level.

Specifically, the data indicated that:

Esports outperformed traditional sports on key immersion metrics, demonstrating its merit in delivering measurable impact for brands. The findings show that esports is a legitimate and effective advertising media channel, which can reach, engage and positively impact target audiences.

About Activision Blizzard Media

Activision Blizzard Media Ltd is the gateway for brands to the leading interactive entertainment company with hundreds of millions of monthly active users around the world. Our legendary portfolio includes iconic mobile game franchises such as Candy Crush, esports like the Call of Duty League, the Overwatch League and some of the top PC and console gaming franchises such as Call of Duty, World of Warcraft, and StarCraft. The idea is simple: great game experiences offer great marketing experiences. Learn more at http://www.activisionblizzardmedia.com

About Alter Agents

Alter Agents is a full-service market research consultancy reimagining research in the age of the constant change. With a long history of brand strategy and communications experience, the company focuses on collaborating with brands to reveal consumer needs, priorities, and context. Alter Agents specializes in reframing the context for consumer research to yield powerful insights for its clients, including brand giants such as SnapChat, YouTube, Activision, Viking Cruises, and many more. http://www.alteragents.com @Alter_Agents

About ImmersionImmersion is a distributed neuroscience SaaS, which provides a second-by-second measure of what people's brains value - anywhere & anytime - using the smartwatches they wear every day. Customers use our platform to predict buying, sharing, downloads, and information recall with over 80% accuracy. Immersion measures what the world loves, especially when the cost of being wrong is high. http://www.getimmersion.com

Media contact: Marie Melsheimer, 541-815-3951, [emailprotected]

SOURCE Alter Agents

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Neuroscience

Study explores the effects of alcohol and cannabis on aggression-linked brain circuitry in teens – News-Medical.Net

Alcohol and cannabis use during adolescence is a well-known risk factor for alcohol use disorder (AUD) and cannabis use disorder (CUD) during adulthood. Whether early drug use plays a causative role in predisposing teens to AUD and CUD is unknown, but researchers are investigating the possibility that it may have an impact on neural development. Evidence suggests that an increased propensity for aggression may underlie the risk.

Now, a study in Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging, published by Elsevier, shows that teens with more severe AUD or CUD displayed stronger retaliatory behaviors, but only those with AUD - and not CUD - had altered brain activity in aggression circuits.

One clue about substance use and risk for future AUD or CUD has emerged from the strong association between AUD and CUD and conduct disorder (CD), which includes increased aggressive behaviors. CD in young children can predict later substance use, suggesting that activity in neural networks involved in aggression may be a predisposing factor for substance use and abuse. In the current study, the authors hypothesized that, if heightened threat processing were a factor in AUD / CUD risk, then AUD / CUD severity would correlate with increased recruitment - or decreased regulation - of neural aggression circuitry.

R. James Blair, PhD, lead author of the study, and based at the Center for Neurobehavioral Research, Boys Town National Research Hospital, Boys Town, NE, USA said, "The findings indicated that, in adolescents, AUD severity in particular was associated with an exaggerated recruitment of regions implicated in retaliation, and that this relates to an increased risk for reactive aggression."

The study included 112 youths, aged 13 to 18 years of age, with substance use disorders or other mental health concerns. To assess neural processing associated with threat, the researchers used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to evaluate brain activity in subjects during a retaliation task. For the task, participants were presented with a $20 USD pot to be split with a partner either "fairly," with each receiving $10, or "unfairly," in which the participant received $2, $4, or $6 while the partner received the larger balance.

As part of the game, participants could accept or reject the offer, and could spend "punishment dollars," each of which caused their partner to lose $7. Participants were then graded on their propensity to retaliate in the task.

The investigators compared participants' AUD or CUD severity with their likelihood to retaliate during the task. In general, the teens retaliated more strongly as the offers became less fair. But those with more severe CUD were more likely to retaliate at lower levels of unfairness.

Surprisingly, AUD severity was not associated with higher retaliation behavior. AUD severity, however, was associated with disordered neural activity in key brain areas linked to aggression and retaliation.

This work shows how noninvasive brain imaging can be used to provide new information about the differential effects ofalcohol and cannabis use on brain function in young people with conduct disorder."

Cameron Carter, MD, Editor, Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging

The study could not differentiate between the possibility that alcohol use affected the brain activity or whether the fMRI findings represented existing risk factors for AUD. In any case, the results suggest that alcohol and cannabis may affect brain circuitry differently and have different mechanisms for imparting future risk for abuse.

Source:

Journal reference:

Blair, R.J., et al. (2020) Alcohol Use Disorder and Cannabis Use Disorder symptomatology in adolescents and Aggression: Associations with recruitment of neural regions implicated in retaliation. Biological Psychiatry: Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroimaging. doi.org/10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.11.016.

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Neuroscience

Midwest Women in Agriculture Conference to take on food bullying – Purdue News Service

WEST LAFAYETTE, Ind. The 2021 Midwest Women in Agriculture Conference kicks off at 9:30 a.m. ET Feb. 25 for a full day of special guest speakers, breakout sessions and networking opportunities.

Michele Payn, founder of Cause Matters Corp., a company that connects farming and food, is the morning keynote speaker. Payn will illustrate how trends in neuroscience and psychology are changing common perceptions surrounding farming and agriculture. She will examine how trends have led to bullying within agriculture and how the agriculture industry can be more compassionate and share the complexities of the food system with consumers.

Breakout sessions throughout the day will cover the following topics: tractor and equipment maintenance, business management and leadership, building and strengthening relationships, and leading operations through volatility. In the afternoon session Monica McConkey, a rural mental health specialist in Minnesota, will share strategies to build self-confidence during challenging times.

Visit ag.purdue.edu/extension/WIA/Pages/default.aspx to register and view the conference agenda. Conference registration is $40. Attendees will receive a special swag bag after registration. For accommodation or more information, contact Kelly Heckaman at 574-372-2340 or kheckaman@purdue.edu.

Writer: Abby Leeds, 765-494-7817, mayer36@purdue.edu

Source: Kelly Heckaman, 574-372-2340, kheckaman@purdue.edu

Agricultural Communications:765-494-8415;

Maureen Manier, Department Head,mmanier@purdue.edu

Agriculture News Page

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Neuroscience

Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market 2021| COVID-19 UPDATE Future Challenges and Industry Magnification Perspective 2027 Key Companies Rockland…

This report studies the Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market with many aspects of the industry like the market size, market status, market trends and forecast, the report also provides brief information of the competitors and the specific growth opportunities with key market drivers. Find the complete Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market analysis segmented by companies, region, type and applications in the report.

The report offers valuable insight into the Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market progress and approaches related to the Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market with an analysis of each region. The report goes on to talk about the dominant aspects of the market and examine each segment.

Key Players: Rockland Immunochemicals, Merck KGaA, Cell Signaling Technology, F. Hoffmann-La Roche, Tecan, Siemens, Bio-Rad, BioLegend, Santa Cruz Biotechnology, Abcam, Thermo Fisher Scientific, and GenScript

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The global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market is segmented by company, region (country), by Type, and by Application. Players, stakeholders, and other participants in the global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market will be able to gain the upper hand as they use the report as a powerful resource. The segmental analysis focuses on revenue and forecast by region (country), by Type, and by Application for the period 2020-2026.

Market Segment by Regions, regional analysis covers

North America (United States, Canada and Mexico)

Europe (Germany, France, UK, Russia and Italy)

Asia-Pacific (China, Japan, Korea, India and Southeast Asia)

South America (Brazil, Argentina, Colombia etc.)

Middle East and Africa (Saudi Arabia, UAE, Egypt, Nigeria and South Africa)

Research objectives:

To study and analyze the global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market size by key regions/countries, product type and application, history data from 2013 to 2017, and forecast to 2026.

To understand the structure of Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays market by identifying its various sub segments.

Focuses on the key global Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays players, to define, describe and analyze the value, market share, market competition landscape, SWOT analysis and development plans in next few years.

To analyze the Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays with respect to individual growth trends, future prospects, and their contribution to the total market.

To share detailed information about the key factors influencing the growth of the market (growth potential, opportunities, drivers, industry-specific challenges and risks).

To project the size of Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays submarkets, with respect to key regions (along with their respective key countries).

To analyze competitive developments such as expansions, agreements, new product launches and acquisitions in the market.

To strategically profile the key players and comprehensively analyze their growth strategies.

The report lists the major players in the regions and their respective market share on the basis of global revenue. It also explains their strategic moves in the past few years, investments in product innovation, and changes in leadership to stay ahead in the competition. This will give the reader an edge over others as a well-informed decision can be made looking at the holistic picture of the market.

Table of Contents: Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market

Chapter 1: Overview of Neuroscience Antibodies and Assays Market

Chapter 2: Global Market Status and Forecast by Regions

Chapter 3: Global Market Status and Forecast by Types

Chapter 4: Global Market Status and Forecast by Downstream Industry

Chapter 5: Market Driving Factor Analysis

Chapter 6: Market Competition Status by Major Manufacturers

Chapter 7: Major Manufacturers Introduction and Market Data

Chapter 8: Upstream and Downstream Market Analysis

Chapter 9: Cost and Gross Margin Analysis

Chapter 10: Marketing Status Analysis

Chapter 11: Market Report Conclusion

Chapter 12: Research Methodology and Reference

Key questions answered in this report

What will the market size be in 2026 and what will the growth rate be?

What are the key market trends?

What is driving this market?

What are the challenges to market growth?

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What are the market opportunities and threats faced by the key vendors?

What are the strengths and weaknesses of the key vendors?

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Neuroscience

New study suggests genetic testing could be appropriate for all motor neuron disease (MND) patients whether or not they have a family history of the…

Research from the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) suggests that routine genetic testing may be appropriate for all MND patients and could impact disease subclassification and clinical care.

Research from the Sheffield Institute for Translational Neuroscience (SITraN) suggests that routine genetic testing may be appropriate for all MND patients and could impact disease subclassification and clinical care.

The new study, published today (15 February 2021) in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry (JNNP), performed targeted genetic sequencing of MND-relevant genes on 100 patients.

Researchers found higher than expected genetic changes in the group of patients. The paper recommends that genetic testing could be appropriate for all MND patients whether or not they have a family history of the disease.

While the majority of MND cases are considered sporadic, five per cent to 10 per cent have been shown to be familial. Currently only patients with a family history of MND, dementia, or who experience disease onset at a young age are routinely offered genetic screenings in the UK. However, with the development of new therapies targeting specific genetic forms of the disease, researchers are recommending that all MND patients are offered a screening.

Prof Janine Kirby, Professor of Neurogenetics at the University of Sheffield, said Our study found that 42 per cent of patients involved in the screening showed variants in known MND-linked genes. This doesnt mean that 42 per cent of MND cases are familial - but shows that some familial and sporadic cases can share the same genetic cause of disease.

We found that 21 per cent of patients had a clinically reportable genetic alteration that has been proven to increase the likelihood of developing MND. Of these, 93 per cent had no family history of MND and 15 per cent met the inclusion criteria for a current MND gene therapy clinical trial.

As future studies expand the number of verified genetic causes of MND, we will continue to see if they are also found in cases without a family history.

Professor Dame Pamela Shaw, Director of SITraN and the NIHR Sheffield Biomedical Research Centre said Our study suggests that all patients with MND should, with careful counselling, be offered genetic testing.

We hope that by screening all MND patients for gene mutations that are a known factor in MND, we can further our knowledge on subclassification of the disease, but also ensure that patients have access to clinical trials that are relevant for them personally."

This is increasingly important in light of the new personalised medicine treatments in development for MND that target a specific gene mutation to ensure that patients have access to potential treatments that could be beneficial to them.

Dr Brian Dickie, Director of Research Development at the Motor Neurone Disease Association said MND is a complex disease involving a complex mix of genetic and environmental factors. This latest research sheds more light on the genetic component and will hopefully lead to greater availability of genetic testing to aid earlier diagnosis and more tailored treatments in the future.

This study was supported by funds raised through the Ice Bucket Challenge and will be widened to include analysis of additional samples from two other clinics collaborating on this MND Association funded project. This will provide an even clearer picture of the UK MND genetic landscape.

MND - also known as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) - is an adult-onset neurodegenerative disease characterised by progressive injury and cell death of upper and lower motor neurons. This leads to progressive failure of the neuromuscular system with death, usually from respiratory failure, within 25 years of symptoms in most cases.

Currently, there is no cure for MND and no effective treatments to halt or reverse the progression of this devastating disease.

The National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) is the nations largest funder of health and care research. The NIHR:

The NIHR was established in 2006 to improve the health and wealth of the nation through research, and is funded by the Department of Health and Social Care. In addition to its national role, the NIHR commissions applied health research to benefit the poorest people in low- and middle-income countries, using Official Development Assistance funding.

This work uses data provided by patients and collected by the NHS as part of their care and support and would not have been possible without access to this data. The NIHR recognises and values the role of patient data, securely accessed and stored, both in underpinning and leading to improvements in research and care. http://www.nihr.ac.uk/patientdata

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New study suggests genetic testing could be appropriate for all motor neuron disease (MND) patients whether or not they have a family history of the...

Neuroscience

Know your body and your headache symptoms, and understand there are specialists who can help – Norton Healthcare

Understanding the types of headaches and which kind are affecting you can help you understand better whether your primary care provider or a headache specialist can help.

If youre uncomfortable or your life is being disrupted, please dont hesitate to seek help, said neurologistBrian M. Plato, D.O., headache and migraine specialist with Norton Neuroscience Institute.

There are two broad types of headaches: primary and secondary. Primary headaches are their own condition and are not caused by another condition. Examples are tension type headache and migraine. Secondary headaches can result from medication overuse, trauma to the head, infections or other causes.

The most common forms of daily headache are chronic tension-type headache and chronic migraine, both of which are primary disorders Dr. Plato said.

The areas leading providers of migraine and headache care are now available with Norton Telehealth and shorter wait times for appointments.

(502) 899-6782

A chronic tension-type headache occurs more than 15 days per month. Symptoms include aching head pain and contraction of muscles between the head and neck. Patients often describe the feeling as a tight band around their head, according to Dr. Plato.

When medical attention can help:

Migraines are typically more severe than tension-type headaches and can last anywhere from a couple of hours to a couple of days. Common symptoms are nausea, vomiting and heightened sensitivity to light and sound. Many patients also report a throbbing pain, generally on one side of the head.

When medical attention can help:

Seek urgent medical attention for a sudden thunderclap headache or neurological symptoms such as weakness, numbness or inability to speak.

The American Headache Societys SNOOP acronym helps to break down secondary headaches and evaluate how dangerous they may be.

We have specialists who have dedicated their careers to the study and treatment of headache disorders, but it starts with you. Know your body, know your symptoms, but most of all know that these are serious conditions that can be debilitating, Dr. Plato said.

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Know your body and your headache symptoms, and understand there are specialists who can help - Norton Healthcare

Neuroscience

Bad experience with food could impact future eating habits – News-Medical.Net

A negative experience with food usually leaves us unable to stomach the thought of eating that particular dish again. Using sugar-loving snails as models, researchers at the University of Sussex believe these bad experiences could be causing a switch in our brains, which impacts our future eating habits.

Like many other animals, snails like sugar and usually start feeding on it as soon as it is presented to them. But through aversive training which involved tapping the snails gently on the head when sugar appeared, the snails' behavior was altered and they refused to feed on the sugar, even when hungry.

When the team of Sussex Neuroscience researchers led by Dr Ildiko Kemenes looked a little closer, they discovered a neuronal mechanism that effectively reversed the snails' usual response to sugar after the conditioning training had taken place.

Dr Ildiko Kemenes, Reader in Neuroscience in the University of Sussex's School of Life Sciences, explained: "There's a neuron in the snail's brain which normally suppresses the feeding circuit. This is important, as the network is prone to becoming spontaneously activated, even in the absence of any food. By suppressing the feeding circuit, it ensures that the snail doesn't just eat everything and anything. But when sugar or other food stimulus is present, this neuron becomes inhibited so that feeding can commence.

"After the aversive training, we found that this neuron reverses its electrical response to sugar and becomes excited instead of inhibited by it. Effectively, a switch has been flipped in the brain which means the snail no longer eats the sugar when presented with it, because sugar now suppresses rather than activates feeding."

When researchers presented the trained snails with a piece of cucumber instead, they found that the animal was still happy to eat the healthy option - showing that the taps were associated with only the particular type of food they were trained to reject.

Snails provide us with a similar yet exceptionally basic model of how human brains work. The effect of the inhibitory neuron which suppresses the feeding circuit in the snail is quite similar to how, in the human brain, cortical networks are under inhibitory control to avoid 'runaway' activation which may lead to overeating resulting in obesity. In our research, the negative experience the snail had with the sugar could be likened to eating a bad takeaway curry which then puts us off that particular dish in future."

George Kemenes, Professor and Senior Member, Investigator Team, Neuroscience, University of Sussex

"We believe that in a human brain, a similar switch could be happening where particular groups of neurons reverse their activity in line with the negative association of a particular food. "

The research, funded by the Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) and published in Current Biology, also revealed that when the neuron was removed entirely from trained snails, they returned to eating sugar again.

Dr Ildiko Kemenes said: "This suggests that the neuron is necessary for the expression of the learned behavior and for altering the response to sugar.

"However, we cannot rule out that the sugar-activated sensory pathway also undergoes some changes, so we don't make the assumption that this is all that's happening in the brain."

Source:

Journal reference:

Pirger, Z., et al. (2021) Interneuronal mechanisms for learning-induced switch in a sensory response that anticipates changes in behavioral outcomes. Current Biology. doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.072.

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Neuroscience

The future of fashion will be shaped by these four factors – Drapers

Futurologist Shivvy Jervis, founder of innovation consultancy FutureScape 248, looks into the future for retail leaders.

As we move closer to the hope of emerging at the other end of the pandemic, retail leaders have pressing questions about the future of the sector. Will physical stores be phased out? How might creative digital solutions infuse emotion back into online shopping? Could the science behind what sparks incentive or intrigue be used to inform retail decisions?

As a futurologist studying market forces and consumer psychology, I believe four factors will be shaping retail for the long term.

One shift we are already at the cusp of today is ecommerce incorporating a more "real life" element via the use of augmented reality (AR), in turn evolving to what my forecasting lab FutureScape 248 has coined "a-commerce".

The premise does not call for expensive headsets. Consumers can fire up their mobile devices camera, point it at a visual trigger a QR code or brand logo, for instance and then at their kitchen, street or even themselves. The AR experience pushes digital information to their phone, projecting over their real world. Shoppers can visualise whether the pair of pricey sneakers they are coveting will be flattering on their feet, or how that sofa would look in their living room and if it would fit the space.

We anticipate potential revenue generation from AR ads on personal devices to stand at between $12bn-$14bn (8bn-10bn) globally by 2022 and conversion increases over traditional ecommerce methods to hit 250% for retail sites.

Reach out: elevate your employees to the status of "storyteller"

Using influencer marketing to build reach is not new. Broadening our notion of who qualifies as an influencer, however, could provide an early edge.

Considering the long-term impacts of Covid on the industry, retailers would do well to think beyond partnering with typical market influencers crucial as they might be and invest time and resource into their own workforces. This could be by encouraging users to engage using a brand challenge or hashtag, or supporting employees who create brand profiles themselves to showcase products more editorially, or even an intimate day in the life that reveals pressures and pleasures of the brand alike.

FutureScape 248 predicts employee advocacy will surge by as much as 30%-40% over the next two years alone. Retailers that elevate their own employees to storyteller status will also result in attracting more diverse new talent.

Ease off: it is important to ensure the shopper does not feel "pushed" to buy

Traditional market research can be riddled with bias and skewed figures. Bringing neuroscience into the mix gives us more intimate insights, and can tell us what happens to the actual neurotransmitters or signals in our brain when we face a choice overload, abandon a decision or feel stimulated.

For example, it has been discovered that just before we give up on an activity say, a search for a certain product our brains emit nociceptin. This chemical suppresses dopamine the "feel-good" neurotransmitter, which is frequently associated with motivation. The crisp and clear takeaway? Ensure the customer does not feel manipulated or "pushed" during the buyer journey (on or offline) and keep rewards a mix of short-term and long-term goals. Doing this prevents the nociceptin being emitted in too great a quantity and keeps the right amount of dopamine flowing.

For retail to thrive far into the rest of this decade, it will need to keep abreast of neuroscience discoveries more closely. Our analysis reveals brands that make scientifically backed decisions stand to triple revenue over others.

Finally, we may enjoy the ease of use of virtual browsing, but by and large the public have a deep-seated, often romantic view of bricks-and-mortar stores as an experience in themselves. The social aspect of shopping milling around in a store with great ambience simply cannot be undervalued.

Despite physical presence being scaled down as a response to the pandemic, the stores still standing that are prepared to embrace digital developments will see these human-centred advances augment and accentuate, rather than replacingthe shopping experience for many.

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The future of fashion will be shaped by these four factors - Drapers

Neuroscience

Researchers discover the role of a gene involved in cardiac rhythm – News-Medical.Net

Researchers have used the zebrafish (Danio rerio) to identify the role of a gene involved in cardiac rhythm, which could help explain the fundamentals of what it takes to make a human heartbeat.

The University of Melbourne study also found that mutation of the gene, Tmem161b, causes potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmia. 2.5 per cent of Australians are living with cardiac arrhythmia (ABS). In 2019, it took 3090 years of potential life. Mutations in this gene may be contributing to the cause of this.

Published in Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America (PNAS), the research could lead to better understanding and treatment of the condition in humans.

University of Melbourne Associate Professor Kelly Smith said the research discovered what Tmem161b does, when previously we had no idea of its function.

Zebrafish eggs were used as they have complex beating hearts, similar to humans. Eighty per cent of zebrafish genes are like ours and both use the same basic 'equipment'."

Kelly Smith, Associate Professor, University of Melbourne

The researchers used naturally produced eggs to observe organ development under a microscope. The eggs are translucent, which allowed observation without interference.

Associate Professor Smith said this important discovery would improve our knowledge of the heartbeat.

"What's important is, it describes a new gene in cardiac rhythm, which helps us to understand the fundamentals of what it takes to make a heartbeat," Associate Professor Smith said.

"Until now, no-one has known what it does, which makes this research so exciting.

"We screened thousands of zebrafish families and found one with inherited arrhythmia. Working backwards from there, we found which gene was mutated to cause the arrhythmia. It turned out to be a gene that was completely uncharacterized."

Associate Professor Smith said she suspected the finding would be relevant in humans.

"Given the prevalence of cardiac arrhythmia in Australia, the more we know about how the heart works, the better," she said.

"The gene described in the research appears to play a central function, so we expect it to be important in more than just controlling heart rhythm. But that will take time to explore.

"If this turns out to be significant in humans, it will provide a new candidate for genetic screening of patients with cardiac arrhythmias."

The project also involved the University of Queensland, the Hubrecht Institute at Utrecht University, Amsterdam Medical Centre and the Florey Institute of Neuroscience and Mental Health.

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Researchers discover the role of a gene involved in cardiac rhythm - News-Medical.Net