Human Behavior

NIH researchers discover brain area crucial for recognizing visual events – National Institutes of Health

News Release

Thursday, December 17, 2020

Researchers at the National Eye Institute (NEI) report that a brain region in the superior temporal sulcus (fSTS) is crucial for processing and making decisions about visual information. The findings, which could provide clues to treating visual conditions from stroke, appear today in the journal Neuron. NEI is part of the National Institutes of Health.

The human visual system recognizes, prioritizes, and categorizes visual objects and events to provide actionable information, said Richard Krauzlis, Ph.D., chief of the NEI Section on Eye Movements and Selective Attention and senior author of the study. We were surprised to learn that the fSTS is a crucial link in this story-building process, passing information from an evolutionarily ancient region in the midbrain to highly specialized regions of the visual cortex.

While aspects of visual processing begin in the eye, crucial steps in visual attention start in the superior colliculus, a part of the midbrain that handles a variety of sensory input. Previous work in Krauzlis lab showed that neuronal activity in the superior colliculus is necessary for the brain to notice an event in the visual field and decide that it is significant.

To study visual attention, the researchers work with monkeys trained to complete specific visual attention tasks. While fixing their eyes on a dot straight ahead, the monkeys pay attention to or specifically ignore events happening in the visual periphery in this case, a patch of moving dots that changes direction, on either the right side or the left side of their visual field. The superior colliculus is strongly triggered when the monkeys are paying attention to the visual event, and less so when theyre ignoring it.

Krauzlis and his colleagues described the discovery of the fSTS in a study published last year with David Leopold, Ph.D., chief of the Section on Cognitive Neurophysiology and Imaging at the National Institute of Mental Health. Together they had the monkeys complete the visual attention tasks inside a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) machine. fMRI imaging revealed that a specific region in the temporal cortexlater named fSTSwas, like the superior colliculus, strongly activated during these attention tasks. This was surprising because this cortical region was not yet known to be important for visual attention.

Led by co-first authors Amarender Bogadhi, Ph.D., and Leor Katz, Ph.D., the research team designed a series of experiments to further uncover the role of the fSTS in the visual attention circuits.

The researchers directly measured fSTS neurons firing in the areas previously revealed by fMRI. These direct measurements revealed that not only is a large proportion of fSTS neuronal activity dependent on the superior colliculus, these neurons use information from the superior colliculus to represent complex visual information.

The researchers were surprised that these regions of the cortex, which are involved in higher level processing, are so heavily dependent on input from the midbrain, Krauzlis said.

The fSTS neurons activated in response to attended events and changes in stimulus, and their activity strongly correlated with the likelihood that the monkey would report seeing an event. For ignored events, the fSTS neurons were much quieter. When the researchers dampened the superior colliculus, the fSTS neurons showed less distinction between attended and ignored events, with lowered activity to attended events and higher activity for ignored events. In other words, the fSTS depends on the superior colliculus to mark which events are important and which are not.

The researchers also found that some fSTS neurons fired in response to specific images, a property found only in areas of the brain that manage high-level processing. For example, some fSTS neurons would only fire in response to an image of a water bottle, but not a stereo or an abstract image. Without the contribution of the superior colliculus, many of these object-specific neurons in the fSTS failed to fire in response to their favored object.

Even in an animal like a mouse, which has a pretty sophisticated visual system, there are a lot of shortcuts to interpret what things mean, handling much of that in the superior colliculus, Krauzlis said. But in humans and other primates, that processing is spread out and delayed, passing information from the superior colliculus to the cortex through this fSTS region. And I think that lets us take advantage of a wider variety of visual features to help us figure out what a visual event means.

These findings are particularly relevant to a condition known as visual neglect, which can occur in people after a stroke or other brain injury that affects brain areas involved in visual attention. People with visual neglect can see all the objects and events in their visual field, but often arent aware of the events on the affected side, especially when the visual field is cluttered.

Visual attention has to do with the internal management of information, Krauzlis said. The connection with the superior colliculus is important, because we think it could be acting like a spatial index, that helps you keep track of the information that youre trying to process.

The study was funded through the Intramural programs of the NEI and the National Institute of Mental Health.

This press release describes a basic research finding. Basic research increases our understanding of human behavior and biology, which is foundational to advancing new and better ways to prevent, diagnose, and treat disease. Science is an unpredictable and incremental process each research advance builds on past discoveries, often in unexpected ways. Most clinical advances would not be possible without the knowledge of fundamental basic research. To learn more about basic research, visit https://www.nih.gov/news-events/basic-research-digital-media-kit.

NEI leads the federal governments research on the visual system and eye diseases. NEI supports basic and clinical science programs to develop sight-saving treatments and address special needs of people with vision loss. For more information, visit https://www.nei.nih.gov.

About the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH):The mission of the NIMH is to transform the understanding and treatment of mental illnesses through basic and clinical research, paving the way for prevention, recovery and cure. For more information, visit theNIMH website.

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH):NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit http://www.nih.gov.

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NIH researchers discover brain area crucial for recognizing visual events - National Institutes of Health

Human Behavior

Europe’s coronavirus crisis is resurging. For months, 3 Nordic nations kept it under control without lockdowns – kuna noticias y kuna radio

Covid-19 vaccines are coming, but in most of Europe, winter is coming faster. In several countries, cases are surging again after many countries seemed to be turning the tide.

Politicians are desperate to find a balance of restrictions that flatten the curve without flattening the economy or upsetting residents who are eager to reunite for the holidays.

The key question now is to determine what is the optimal package of policies to maximize the health benefit at least cost, said Thomas Hale, an associate professor of public policy at the University of Oxford. However, this magic formula will likely differ across different countries and populations, and of course over time as the virus surges or recedes.

Its a complicated and ever-changing calculus, and every country is different.

But the approaches of three nations Finland, Norway and Denmark in recent months stand out, a CNN analysis shows. The analysis, which looked at data from the University of Oxford and Johns Hopkins University, found that while all three countries implemented some of the continents most relaxed combinations of restrictions, they still managed to keep average daily deaths low below one per million for the three-month period between September 1 and November 30.

Denmark success may be ending. In late November, Danish death rates exceeded one per million for the first time since May, Johns Hopkins data shows. On Friday, the number of newly reported cases topped 4,000. Earlier in the week, officials expanded restrictions and announced a nationwide lockdown aimed at tamping down rising infections.

But what led to the three nations success in the fall?

Denmark, Finland and Norway responded quickly to the slightest increase in infections, which allowed them to almost eradicate the virus during the summer and face the autumn from a stronger place, according to interviews with six scholars. Clear guidance and residents willingness to follow it was also key, the experts said. And ramping up testing and contact-tracing capacities and providing paid sick leave helped to keep any outbreaks localized.

Finland had Europes lowest average of infections and deaths per capita in recent months, Johns Hopkins data shows. It managed to contain local outbreaks while sticking to some of the most relaxed restrictions on the continent. Internal movement was not restricted, those who needed to could attend school and workplaces in person, and mask-wearing was not mandatory.

There is nothing magical about doing this we just have a pragmatic approach, said Pekka Nuorti, an epidemiology professor at Tampere University who has worked for public health agencies for more than 25 years.

Cultural, political and geographic factors such as low population density, less travel and high trust in government were helpful, Nuorti said, but it was the work of the countrys health agencies that made a difference.

During the summer, Finland built up tried-and-true field epidemiology practices, Nuorti said: Testing, isolating, contact tracing, quarantining and preventing superspreading events on a local level.

The average daily testing volume nearly quadrupled from 2,900 samples in May to 11,300 in August, health ministry data shows. In late November, Finnish laboratories performed up to 23,000 tests a day, or 90% of the current capacity.

Finland used the summer to prepare for the new wave by responding with preventative measures instead of a lockdown, said Mika Salminen, director of health security at the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare. Restricting international travel for most of the summer added to Finlands success in the fall, he said.

To help people isolate and stay home, the government provided economic support. Thousands of people who were exposed could quarantine because the government offered compensation for their lost income, Salminen said.

Its not that we havent had outbreaks, Nuorti said. Finland had local flare-ups and super spreader events, but local health authorities, coordinated by the central government, were able to contain them using real-time data, he said. But as case numbers rise, it becomes increasingly difficult to identify all transmission sources, Nuorti said.

If the situation deteriorates, Salminen said, a full lockdown has not been ruled out.

Across the border, Norwegian officials increased their focus on addressing the most vulnerable.

Norways spring lockdown was the strictest in Scandinavia. The countrys oil and gas industry was able to provide a large economic buffer to soften the effect on peoples purses, but the government soon faced a growing mental health crisis and officials shifted their restrictions.

Also, in late summer, health authorities found that roughly 40% of Covid-19 cases reported in July were among Norways foreign-born population. To adjust its communication strategy, the government committed about $770,000 to fund a Covid-19 awareness campaign for the countrys immigrant population. These targeted interventions appeared to contribute to a notable drop in infection rates among those communities, said Jonathan Tritter, a professor of sociology and policy at Aston University.

Three experts interviewed by CNN said a critical factor in Denmarks early success was clear and coherent messaging about risks and the need for behavioral changes. They attributed the countrys achievement to its history of mutual trust between residents and the government.

The government was able to activate that background of trust, the good default position, with effective communication, said Michael Bang Petersen, a political psychology professor at Aarhus University who runs the HOPE project, a research study examining how people and governments are coping with the pandemic.

Petersen said two factors determine whether people behave to avoid infection. One is motivation: Whether they are worried about becoming infected. The other is whether they know exactly what to do to prevent spreading the disease, which hinges on communication from health authorities and politicians, Petersen said.

One of the officials leading the Danish pandemic response echoed that point.

Handling a pandemic is all about human behavior, said Sren Brostrm, general director of the Danish Health Authority.

Human behavior helps diseases spread, and controlling it is where solutions lie, Brostrm said. Physical distancing, not a drug or vaccine, is the medical magic bullet everyone is hoping for, he said.

Brostm spoke to CNN prior to Denmarks recent surge in cases. But at a press conference on Wednesday, Prime Minister Mette Frederiksen addressed the countrys worsening situation.

In the end, only one thing works against corona, Frederiksen said. That is if you and I and we all take responsibility for ourselves and for each other.

Multiple studies have concluded that lockdowns work. At Oxfords Blavatnik School of Government, scientists developed what they called a Stringency Index. The index rates about 180 countries and territories based on their restrictions, such as school closures and stay-at-home orders, on a scale of one to 100. Higher scores represent more stringent restrictions.

In a preprint study posted in July, the Oxford researchers found that in the spring, higher scores on their scale were associated with slower growth of daily deaths. On average, they found, a weeks delay in reaching medium stringency led to almost twice as many new deaths over the months that followed.

But as pandemic fatigue seeps in, people become more reluctant to follow strict new measures, experts told CNN.

Constant social distancing is not sustainable in the long run, Brostrm said. A country needs just enough restrictions to be able to control the pandemic.

I think we found we actually struck quite a good balance in this country in this regard, he said.

Even in Denmark, one misstep can have a detrimental effect on trust and then compliance, experts said.

A government decision to cull the countrys farmed mink over fears the animals could spread the coronavirus to humans is one example. After ordering the cull, officials realized they did not have the legal authority to do so and rolled back the mandate.

But the governments overreach shook Danish unity, Petersen said.

Right now, we are seeing an increased polarization. Were seeing decreased support of the government strategy. And the question that is facing us here in Denmark is, What will be the consequences of that for the pandemic over the next months?' Petersen said.

Danish officials willingness to impose stricter measures when necessary stands in contrast to Sweden, where officials first took a lighter hand to try and stem the pandemic.

There was a greater emphasis on voluntary measures, and without the extreme shutdown measures put in place in Denmark (in the spring), said Rowland Kao, a veterinary epidemiology professor at the University of Edinburgh.

Other Nordic countries are much more in line with the rest of Europe, Kao said. They had a stricter lockdown in spring and did it sooner.

Kao said this approach made Swedens uptick of cases in June, when most other European countries were recovering, inevitable. And in November, despite having a higher average stringency score than other Scandinavian countries, Sweden was struck by a nationwide outbreak.

Addressing his nation in late November, Prime Minister Stefan Lfven appeared to blame the resurgence, in part, on Swedes failure to follow government guidance in the autumn.

When Covid-19 arrived in our country, we all agreed to take responsibility, Lfven said. This autumn, too many of us have neglected to follow the advice and recommendations.

When it comes to a disease that spreads so fast, Kao, the Edinburgh professor, said very small differences in how things are done can make all the difference in the world.

For this story, we sought to examine the relationship between government restrictions and Covid-19 deaths during the period between September 1 and November 30, when many countries were in the throes of a resurgence.

To do so, we analyzed data from Johns Hopkins University to calculate the daily new deaths per million residents in 31 European countries. We used a moving average to account for variations in the data caused, for example, by delays in reporting on weekends, or changes in data collection methods that would otherwise result in a sudden spike in daily figures. We used new deaths instead of new cases because the reporting criteria for deaths is more consistent across countries than for cases, which is in part a function of testing volume.

We then plotted the new death rates against each countrys stringency score, which we found using Oxford Universitys Stringency Index. The index scores countries Covid-19 response measures on a scale of one to 100.

We analyzed the 27 European Union members, the United Kingdom and free trade countries (Iceland, Liechtenstein, Norway and Switzerland). We then excluded Liechtenstein because stringency scores for that country were not available.

Following interviews with experts, we defined countries with low infection rates as those with one or fewer death per million residents. We defined less restrictive countries as those with stringency scores below 60 because it was roughly the minimum score for countries with full lockdowns in October and November according to data we compiled on European countries lockdown status at that time.

We focused on Finland, Norway and Denmark because those were the only countries to consistently maintain low death rates (one per million or less) and stringency scores below 60 during the September 1 to November 30 period. Other countries also maintained low death rates, but we did not focus on them because they either implemented a strict lockdown (Ireland) or had a high stringency score (Cyprus).

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Europe's coronavirus crisis is resurging. For months, 3 Nordic nations kept it under control without lockdowns - kuna noticias y kuna radio

Human Behavior

Coronavirus mutation: Here’s what we know about the new strain | NewsBytes – NewsBytes

As the vaccine for COVID-19 had just started rolling out, the worrisome news of the coronavirus mutating has started circulating.

Nearly a year into the pandemic, which has sickened 76.8 million and killed 1.7 million, the United Kingdom has reported a mutated strain of the coronavirus which is up to "70% more transmissible."

Here's what we know about this new strain.

The UK variant of the virus has about 20 mutations, including many that impact how the virus infects human cells.

Dr. Muge Cevikan infectious disease expert at the University of St. Andrews in Scotland and a scientific advisor to the British governmenttold The New York Times that these mutations might make the virus more contagious.

Scientists had previously thought that the virus was stable.

Given the rise in infections concerning the new variant in London and surrounding areas, UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson has imposed the most stringent lockdown since March.

"When the virus changes its method of attack, we must change our method of defense," he said.

Thousands scrambled to leave London as European countries started sealing their borders for travelers from the UK.

UK officials have said that the virus is as much as 70% more transmissible.

However, Dr. Cevik told NYT that this might just be due to human behavior. A year into the pandemic, people have become laxer about precautions.

Dr. Cevik also said that the officials' claim of the new strain being more transmissible is based on modeling, not lab experiments.

In South Africa, where a similar version of the virus has emerged, scientists said that the apparent higher transmissibility might be due to human behavior. "Overall, I think we need to have a little bit more experimental data," Dr. Cevik said.

While the scientific community should definitely keep an eye on the virus mutating, experts say, it could take years before the virus can evolve enough to leave the current vaccines powerless.

For instance, even influenzawhich evolves quicklytakes up to five-seven years to mutate enough to evade the immune system, Jesse Bloom, an evolutionary biologist at Seattle's Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center, told NYT.

Dr. Bloom said, "No one should worry that there is going to be a single catastrophic mutation that suddenly renders all immunity and antibodies useless."

"It is going to be a process that occurs over the time scale of multiple years and requires the accumulation of multiple viral mutations," he added. "It's not going to be like an on-off switch."

The Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna vaccines notably induce an immune response to the spike protein present on the virus surface.

However, each infected person produces a large, complex collection of antibodies to this protein.

Kartik Chandran, a virologist at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York, said, "The fact is that you have a thousand big guns pointed at the virus."

Dr. Chandran added, "No matter how the virus twists and weaves, it's not that easy to find a genetic solution that can really combat all these different antibody specificities, not to mention the other arms of the immune response."

Emma Hodcrofta molecular epidemiologist at Switzerland's University of Bernsaid, "It would be a little surprising to me if we were seeing active selection for immune escape."

"In a population that's still mostly nave, the virus just doesn't need to do that yet," she added, "It's something we want to watch out for in the long term, especially as we start getting more people vaccinated."

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Coronavirus mutation: Here's what we know about the new strain | NewsBytes - NewsBytes

Human Behavior

10 Things To Know Before You Start Watching How To Get Away With Murder – Screen Rant

How To Get Away With Murder is a highly binge-able show, but there are 10 things potential viewers should know before they start the ABC mystery.

How to Get Away with Murder first (HTGAWM) aired on ABC in 2014. The show focuses on the lives of a group of Middleton University Law Students and their unorthodox relationship with their teacher and mentor, Annalise Keating. This abnormal relationship leads the group into many sorts of trouble challenging the very notion of their chosen paths as carriers of justice. The protagonists not only work to acquit defendants but also commit the crime themselves which sets the show up for a very dramatic 6 season run.

RELATED:How To Get Away With Murder: 10 Best Characters, Ranked

Despite its popularity and strong fan base, HTGAWM came to an end in May of 2020. However, this has not stopped fans as well as new watchers to continue their viewership of the show. Hence, for anyone else considering a HTGAWM rewatch or a new binge, there are things they should be aware of before hitting the play button.

How to Get Away with Murder is notoriously known for being unpredictable. With plot twists in every corner, new watchers should be aware not to hold attachments to any of the characters Although this can prove to be a difficult task, especially when considering the casts stellar performances, not holding favorites would save viewers future emotional distress and confusion.

How To Get Away With Murders unpredictability with its characters is also what keeps the show engaging, opening new possibilities for the introduction of new characters and storylines. Thanks to the regularity of flashbacks, the show works backward alongside the audience to solve a crime. This allows viewers to be more engaged in the show as viewers are encouraged to investigate based on the events leading up to the crime.

With a show called How to Get Away with Murder, frequent murders are expected. Whether it be in the defense of murderers on trial or for crimes committed by our main characters, the show never fails to educate fans on every way crimes can be committed. This is particularly useful to note as often the shows main characters get away with committing crimes which may not seem as serious to the audience.

RELATED:How To Get Away With Murder: The 5 Best Things Annalise Ever Did (& The 5 Worst)

Even when serious crimes are committed by the protagonist, viewers will at times be swayed into prioritizing the characters ultimate survival, forgiving their crimes in the meantime.Hence, audiences can expect quite often to see some of their favorites on the wrong side of the law often challenging the viewers own sense of morality.

One of the aspects which makes HTGAWM unique is the shows diversity. Diversity has been a longstanding issue within the industry, which has been trying to recenter of minority voices; the show prioritized representation by casting two African-American actors in the lead role.

Not only that, the show also portrayed characters of Latin and Asian descent which set a standard for its commitment of diversity. This can be credited to the trademark of executive producer Shonda Rhimes whose resume include hit shows like Grey's Anatomy and Scandal and give platform to many minority leads. Whilst changes are slowly happening in the industry, the celebration of racial and LGBTQIA+ diversity in HTGAWM is one to be noted.

How To Get Away With Murder is a show that is filled with mystery, drama and thrill. Nevertheless, at its core it can be more relatable than expected and is essentially also a human story. With characters that start as just young regular law students to criminal justice masterminds, the show really communicates to the audience the unpredictability of human behavior and development.

RELATED:How To Get Away With Murder: 10 Hidden Details About Frank Delfino Everyone Missed

This creates an atmosphere that allows the audience to empathize and engage with the characters on a personal level realizing the fact that when faced with difficulties and trials, anyone can act out of turn. The show also does a great job at establishing the histories of both the characters and the crimes committed which remind the audience that there are reactions to every action, sometimes even those that are out of our control.

How To Get Away With Murder is also unique for its ability to give audiences a fresher and rawer look at the US criminal justice system. From the discrimination of Black people to courtroom corruption, HTGAWM immerses viewers into the realities of the justice system.

In the first season, this was seen mainly through the lens of Annalise Keatings experiences as a Black female attorney. Even though Keating held an authority in the courtroom and was riddled with years of experience, there were moments of real life injustices which brought about bigger questions about the state of the US justice system especially for Black people in America.

In Season One's sixth episode, Keating defends a wrongly accused Black man on death row reflecting the real-life miscarriages of justice faced by Black people everyday in the US. Simultaneously, it must also be noted that Keating has also used questionable methods, often illegal and involving bribing or tampering of evidence to win her cases, which is again a reflection on the greater cracks of injustices which exist in the US criminal justice system.

HTGAWM is a show with many twists and turns. At times, plot twists make the show difficult for viewers to understand. This is as HTGAWMs murder mysteries are often presented in flashbacks or memory flashes.

RELATED:How To Get Away With Murder: Best & Worst Episodes, According To IMDb

This can at times complicate the shows storylines and confuse rather than enlighten viewers. This means that audiences must learn to pay close attention to each episode and expect to dig deeper into each characters storylines. The shows complicated storylines are however what makes HTGAWM such an engaging watch and allows the audience to form stronger bonds with their favorite characters.

In season 4 episode 13, How To Get Away With Murder and Scandal did aspecial episode crossover. Scandal is another ABC show focusing on the life of crisis manager Olivia Pope. Both produced by Shona Rhimes, the show's present thrill and drama within the scope of the justice and political system.

This crossover was exciting for fans of both shows. The episode focuses on Annalise Keating and Olivia Pope reforming the legal justice system in the US supreme court. Without spoiling, the crossover was well received by fans and it is something that new watchers can look forward to.

The main protagonist of the show is Annalise Keating, played by Viola Davis. Being the lead role in the show, Davis showcased her capability as an actor and throughout the series, she continued to outdo herself with a mesmerizing performance.

RELATED: How To Get Away With Murder: 5 Most Likeable Characters (& 5 Fans Can't Stand)

With the role, she landed the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series in 2015. This would set her up to become the youngest and first African American to win the triple crown of acting. Viola Davis also has a great influence in the show as some scenes were specifically written at her request. In season 1 episode 4, Keating can be seen removing her makeup and wig. This scene was powerful for the audience to watch as Viola Davis stated in a 60 Minutes interview the scene was important as she wanted to humanize [Annalise Keating] as much as she could. With the honor, Viola Davis was able to make history and continued to showcase her talent to the world.

How To Get Away With Murder lives up to its name. With the protagonists working as defense attorneys, the audience sees how the law can be bent and is at times open for interpretation, being in favor of the defendant.

On the other hand, the show allows the audience to have a first-hand experience on how to get away with murder with the crimes committed by the same people who aim to balance justice. The aftermath of committing murder is brought to light as the show follows the steps on how to escape being caught, therefore living up to its name.

If the interesting plot is not enough to encourage you to watch the show, HTGAWM is highly critically acclaimed. According to Rotten Tomatoes, How To Get Away With Murder is described as tense and taught and was awarded a high rating of 88%.

Further, the show itself has accumulated a total of 8 awards, including a SAG award and Primetime Emmy thanks to Viola Davis performance. The show was also praised for its diversity and representation being awarded 2 NAACP awards in 2015 for acting and writing. With the high critical acclaim, the show has received over its 6 seasons, new watchers will not be disappointed.

NEXT:How To Get Away With Murder: 15 Shows To Watch If You Love This Series

Next The Office: 10 Times Jim Said Everything We Were Thinking

Emilia Andriamora is a TV show and movie enthusiast based in Sydney. She's a music lover, fashionista and lowkey hypebeast now covering ScreenRant for Valnet Inc.

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10 Things To Know Before You Start Watching How To Get Away With Murder - Screen Rant

Human Behavior

Kishore Pallapothu’s AI-Based HR Platform Revolutionizing the Recruitment Industry – Business Wire

HAYWARD, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--ChoozeHire was launched in 2017, offering many features that automate the hiring process. This AI-based HR platform has since revolutionized the recruiting industry. The brainchild of the Silicon Valley tech entrepreneur and investor Kishore Pallapothu, this platform has been at the forefront of the AI story in this industry.

Kishore Pallapothu the CEO and founder of the firm shed some light on the key features of this AI-based HR platform that makes it unique, The HR industry and in-house HR departments have always been under stress. We launched ChoozeHire at time when the concept of AI in recruiting was just taking shape.

Staff Forecasting

The platform leverages machine learning algorithms to make staff forecasting. Consider prediction of employee turnover. Every year a company will have inevitable attrition and turnover. AI has the potential to inform the manager of the potential decisions of employees even before they announce leaving the company. Kishore Pallapothu explained one aspect of the platforms functioning.

The use of machine learning for predicting human behavior has become prevalent. This system learns from large volume of data to create pattern or general model, resulting in completing useful predictions.

Hiring the Right Talent

Selecting the right talent from large number of resumes has always been a cumbersome task for HR departments. However, with ChoozeHire, companies no longer have to put their HR teams through the same strenuous tasks.

The AI-based system no longer allows human biases in selecting talent. The interviewer would traditionally use the candidates speech, appearance, and presentation in making decisions. That is no longer the case with AI, explained Kishore Pallapothu.

This platform does resume scanning for HR teams, taking only a fraction of the time. It uses Natural Language Processing (NLP) that brings together the domains of AI, and computer science.

AI Applicant Tracking

Screening resumes and inviting qualifying candidates is a tedious job in the process. Companies often receive thousands of applications. The AI-based platform allows automation of the process of screening and applicant tracking. This enables better-quality recommendations.

There are many areas in the recruiting process that ChoozeHire automates. For more information about the platform, the company, and the entrepreneur Kishore Pallapothu, it is recommended to directly contact their representative.

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Kishore Pallapothu's AI-Based HR Platform Revolutionizing the Recruitment Industry - Business Wire

Neuroscience

Post-doctoral Fellow in Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Human Neuroscience job with THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG | 239264 – Times Higher Education…

Work type: Full-timeDepartment: Department of Psychology (30200)Categories: Academic-related Staff

Applications are invited for appointment as Post-doctoral Fellow in Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Human Neuroscience in the Department of Psychology (Ref.: 502876), to commence as soon as possible for two years, with the possibility of renewal subject to satisfactory performance and funding availability.

The labs research focuses on the cognitive and affective networks and mechanisms that regulate adaptive and maladaptive human behaviours. We integrated neuroimaging, computational modeling, and behavioral research methodologies to address the research aims.

Candidates should have a Ph.D. in psychology, neuroscience, or a related field and experience in any of the following areas: advanced neuroimaging/neurophysiological (EEG) techniques and/or computational modelling techniques. Candidates should have a strong interest in experimental research and demonstrated scientific expertise and excellent writing skills by publications in refereed journals. Knowledge and experience with advanced statistical techniques, database management, solid programming skills, and computational modelling are desirable.

Duties will include participation in laboratory administration, project management and implementation, data management, analysis, and manuscript/grant preparation. Publication opportunities and collaborative research opportunities are available. The fellow will also have opportunities to provide mentorship, collaborate with doctoral students, and supervise junior research students/staffs research projects. For more information about the position, please contact Professor Tatia Lee at tmclee@hku.hk.

A highly competitive salary commensurate with qualifications and experience will be offered, in addition to annual leave and medical benefits.

The University only accepts online application for the above post. Applicants should apply online and upload an up-to-date C.V., and provide the name of two referees on the online application form. Review of applications will commence immediately and continue untilMarch 31, 2021, or until the post is filled, whichever is earlier.

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Post-doctoral Fellow in Laboratory of Neuropsychology and Human Neuroscience job with THE UNIVERSITY OF HONG KONG | 239264 - Times Higher Education...

Neuroscience

AI provides clues to understand how we think – Baylor College of Medicine News

Until now there has been no method to measure thoughts. Neuroscientists have been interested in analyzing the brain computations underlying this complex activity because it can help them understand how the brain produces complex behavior and provide new perspectives on neurological conditions

A team led by researchers at Baylor College of Medicine and Rice University has developed artificial intelligence (AI) models that open a window into the brain activity behind thoughts. The researchers first developed a new model that can estimate thoughts by evaluating behavior, and then tested their model on a trained artificial brain where they found neural activity associated with those estimates of thoughts.

For centuries, neuroscientists have studied how the brain works by relating brain activity to inputs and outputs. For instance, when studying the neuroscience of movement, scientists measure muscle movements as well as neuronal activity, and then relate those two measurements, said corresponding author Dr. Xaq Pitkow, assistant professor of neuroscience at Baylor and of electrical and computer engineering at Rice. To study cognition in the brain, however, we dont have anything to compare the measured neural activity to.

To understand how the brain gives rise to thought, researchers first need to measure a thought. They developed a method called Inverse Rational Control that looks at a behavior and infers the beliefs or thoughts that best explain that behavior.

Traditionally, researchers in this field have worked with the idea that animals solve tasks optimally, behaving in a way that maximizes their net benefits. But when scientists study animal behavior, they find that this is not always the case.

Sometimes animals have wrong beliefs or assumptions about whats going on in their environment, but still they try to find the best long-term outcomes for their task, given what they believe is going on around them. This could account for why animals seem to behave suboptimally, said Pitkow, who also is a McNair Scholar at Baylor, co-director of Baylors Center for Neuroscience and Artificial Intelligence and member of the Rice Neuroengineering Initiative.

For example, consider an animal that is hunting and hears many noises it associates with prey. If one potential prey is making all the noises, the optimal behavior for the hunter is to consistently target its movements to a single noise. If the hunter mistakenly believes the noises are coming from many different animals, it may choose a suboptimal behavior, like constantly scanning its surroundings to try and pinpoint one of them. By acting according to its belief or assumption that there are many potential prey nearby, the hunter is behaving in a way that is simultaneously rational and suboptimal.

In the second part of the work, Pitkow and his colleagues developed a model to relate the thoughts that were identified using the Inverse Rational Control method to brain activity.

We can look at the dynamics of the modeled thoughts and at the dynamics of the brains representations of those thoughts. If those dynamics run parallel to each other, then we have confidence that we are capturing the aspects of the brain computations involved in those thoughts, Pitkow said.

This theoretical study appears in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Other contributors to this work include Zhengwei Wu, Minhae Kwon, Saurabh Daptardar and Paul Schrater. The authors are affiliated with one or more of the following institutions: Baylor College of Medicine, Rice University, Soongsil University, Google Maps, and the University of Minnesota.

This work was supported in part by in part by BRAIN Initiative grant NIH 5U01NS094368, an award from the McNair Foundation, the Simons Collaboration on the Global Brain award 324143, the National Science Foundation award 1450923 BRAIN 43092 and NSF CAREER Award IOS-1552868.

By Ana Mara Rodrguez, Ph.D.

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AI provides clues to understand how we think - Baylor College of Medicine News

Neuroscience

Drug helps mice with autism-linked mutation recognize others – Spectrum

Ion flow: A protein (red) that ferries potassium out of nerve cells abounds in a small part of the brains memory hub linked to social behavior.

Courtesy of Macayla Donegan

A drug that has been tested in clinical trials as a treatment for depression restores social memory in a mouse model of 22q11.2 deletion syndrome, according to a new study. The findings hint that the drug might also be useful to treat social cognitive difficulties in people with conditions such as autism, experts say.

People who are missing one copy of a chromosomal region known as 22q11.2 have heart abnormalities, distinctive facial features and an increased risk of schizophrenia and other psychiatric conditions. About 16 percent have autism. People with the syndrome also have a smaller-than-average hippocampus, a structure that functions as the brains memory hub.

The findings extend what researchers know about the role of the hippocampus in social behavior by suggesting that a small region of the hippocampus known as CA2 springs to life when an animal encounters an individual it hasnt met before.

A strength of the study is that it describes the basic biology of a brain circuit, shows how that circuit is disrupted in a mouse model and identifies a therapeutic target to reverse those disruptions, says Anthony LaMantia, professor of developmental disorders and genetics at Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, who was not involved in the work. This is one of the best papers sort of going from soup to nuts that has come out.

Previous studies showed that CA2 is crucial for social memory, the ability to recognize and remember others. But we really didnt have a good handle on what type of information CA2 was providing to the rest of the brain, says study leader Steven Siegelbaum, professor of neuroscience and pharmacology at Columbia University.

Siegelbaums team recorded the electrical activity of CA2 neurons in six wildtype mice, as well as that of neurons in the neighboring CA1 region in three of the animals.

Most of the cells in CA2 show little activity as a mouse explores its cage or objects placed in it, the team found. But the cells become more active when another mouse is present. And some of the cells are even more active when that mouse is a stranger. The findings appeared in October in Nature Neuroscience.

In order to remember an individual, you first have to recognize whether you know them or you dont, and we think that CA2 is initially providing this novelty signal, Siegelbaum says.

The team fed information about the activity of CA1 and CA2 neurons into a machine-learning algorithm. Based on CA2 activity, the algorithm could decode when a mouse was interacting with another mouse, and whether that mouse was a stranger. Based on activity in CA1 a region known for making mental maps the algorithm could identify a mouses location in the cage.

The algorithm is a clever approach, says Enrico Cherubini, professor of neuroscience at the International School for Advanced Studies in Trieste, Italy, who was not involved in the work. Mice move during social interactions, so it can be difficult to distinguish place-related neural activity from that related to social behavior.

Because mice navigate by sight and recognize each other largely by smell, whereas people depend on sight for both functions, it does raise the issue of whether or not you can really make the comparisons, LaMantia says.

The hippocampus is known to be able to integrate multiple sources of sensory information, Siegelbaum says.

The researchers also recorded the activity of CA2 neurons in five 22q11.2 mice. These mice are known to have deficits in social memory, although they are just as interested in socializing as wildtype mice are. The model mice also show a loss of a certain type of neuron in CA2, as do postmortem brains of people with schizophrenia.

The CA2 neurons in the 22q11.2 mice are less active than those in controls, regardless of what the mice are doing, the researchers found. The cells dont become as active when the mice interact with other mice, and they dont show the marked increase in activity when theres a new mouse around.

Instead, the cells activity tends to reflect where the mouse is in the cage similar to the typical behavior of CA1 neurons. The gain of function was surprising, Siegelbaum says.

The researchers had evidence that the abnormally sluggish firing of CA2 neurons in the 22q11.2 mice could be due to overactivity of TREK-1, a protein that aids the flow of potassium ions out of the cell. (Too much potassium ion outflow inhibits a neuron from firing.)

So they injected the mice with spadin, a drug that blocks TREK-1 activity. The treatment normalized the activity of the CA2 neurons. It also enabled the mice to remember other mice that they had met before.

The researchers also used a genetic technique to turn down the activity of TREK-1 in the CA2 region. This method, too, corrects social memory problems in the 22q11.2 mice.

Siegelbaum plans similar studies to investigate CA2 function in other mouse models with genetic alterations linked to autism, such as those affecting SHANK3 and CNTNAP2.

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Drug helps mice with autism-linked mutation recognize others - Spectrum

Neuroscience

The Neuroscience of Choice – Newsmax

Misplacing your keys, forgetting someone's name at a party, or coming home from the market without the most important item these are just some of the many common memory slips we all experience from time to time.

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Each month, you'll embark on a new journey into the world of your brain. You'll discover the latest on topics such as Alzheimer's disease and memory loss, anxiety and depression, diet advice for a healthy brain, natural supplements and drugs that aid mental functioning and lessen pain and fatigue, and much more.

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Neuroscience

A brain and behavior expert explains how to give better gifts – Business Insider – Business Insider

Q: Do you have advice on how to find a good gift for a family member who already has everything and they don't need anything?

Giving gifts is easy if you pay attention throughout the year. It is very likely that the person you're giving gifts to, at some point, mentioned something they wanted/needed during the year. If you had listened and made a note you will have had the answer already.

So, as a first tip for the future, start a mini diary where you make a note every time someone says they want/need/miss something. Come Christmas you'll find that you have a lot of ideas in your diary. This not only makes things easier, it also highly impresses the recipient to know that you've been paying attention.

This is true, by the way, even if by now they actually already gotten the Bluetooth speaker they mentioned in July, or the silk bedding that came up in the conversation in March.

So now, let's assume you don't have this diary and have no inside information. What now?

For someone who has everything, there are a couple of answers. One quite popular these days is to gift a shared experience (i.e., a dinner you cook, a kayaking trip you go to together, or a spa day you arrange for the two of you).

Moran Cerf. Moran Cerf

Even if they had that experience before, they haven't had it with you. So the experience context is new, and assuming they like you is seen as a gift.

If you want to go for something material, and you believe the person really does have everything, or can afford to have everything they want, one thing you can do is aim for something in your budget that is the "top of a category they wouldn't buy themselves." John Ruhlin, author of "Giftology," has the example of buying an expensive "box" for a friend.

Read more: The lucrative lives of professional Christmas decorators, who charge as much as $80,000 to deck a house's halls and say business is booming this year

He suggests that if you were going to spend $50 on a gift, and the person really loves watches, for example, then buying them a $50 watch may not do the job compared to the ones a watch collector may own. But getting them a box for a watch that costs $50 may actually prove quite fancy.

So instead of getting a cheaper thing in category A, you get an expensive item in category B, a cheaper category. You get the top item in a different domain rather than a lower item in a domain you cannot afford. Instead of a fancy new game console, you can buy the best game for it; or instead of an expensive power tool, you get a really good level.

Thinking about the brain in that context, the way our brain resolves internal challenges is often not by identifying the optimal solution, but rather by reframing the problem. This is a key tool in emotion regulation and in therapy that allows our brain to overcome problems without always solving them.

Q: This year for Christmas, we're not to be there in person for the gift-giving, so I'm wondering: Is there any advice on how to make the people mostly kids, but not only who receive the gift associate it with me? (Sorry about the vanity, but I hate that my nieces don't know the gift came from me, after all the effort.)

One way to make a gift associated with you rather than, say, Santa is to put yourself in the gift. Here are a few ways.

If the gift has a visual component (i.e., a picture frame, or an external hard drive) you can add something of yours to it. If it's a picture frame you can put a picture of you and your nieces in it when you gift it. They may replace the picture, but the initial link is generated in their episodic memory. If it is a hard drive, you may leave a file that you want them to have: maybe a movie that you want them to watch, or a folder with some app they like.

Research in neuroscience shows that only a single association between an item and a person is needed to create a memory, IF it is the first association created for an experience meaning, if your nieces get a picture of you and them in the frame you will be registered with this frame even after the replaced your initial content.

Read more: Sleep-tracking ring Oura is beloved by some of the biggest names in tech. We asked 7 investors and execs how it's helped them revamp their routines to sleep better and live healthier.

And one last thought on the nieces' gift.

There are quite a few studies in brain development and memory, and the unfortunate bottom line is that it's likely that kids until the age of 2 will not really form explicit memories. They will form impressions (and events leave marks on them, and define trajectories of their personality development), but most likely won't remember much of the gift or your involvement in it at this stage.

So think of the gift as a way to shape their future self, and to start building a path together. And if you optimize for explicit memory, save some of the planned expenses for the next year or two, when they are more likely to code your role in the summoning of the Barbie Dollhouse.

Moran Cerf is a professor of neuroscience and business who explores how we can harness our understanding of the brain to improve our behavior, our business, and society. He's a former hacker, a science consultant to Hollywood films and TV shows, and the founder of a number of companies.

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