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bioRxiv2025

Analysis of the interactions between physiological substances and endogenous hormones in Bombax ceiba bud differentiation

2Plant bud differentiation is a process of transition from nutrient growth to reproductive growth, which is important for improving crop yield, breeding of good seeds and regulation of flowering time. To elucidate the morpho-physiological changes during bud differentiation in Bombax ceiba, this study was conducted in Haikou City, Hainan Province, employing paraffin sectioning, plant physiological assays, and LC-MS. We aimed to determine the dynamic changes occurring during this process. The results showed that 1) firstly, the transformation from growth point to flower bud is called floral primordial development, and secondly, the floral organ is mature.2) The content of soluble sugar and soluble starch of early-flowering and late-flowering Bombax ceiba first increased and then decreased, and the content of sucrose, soluble protein and malondialdehyde first decreased and then increased. The content of chlorophyll a gradually decreased and that of chlorophyll b and carotenoids gradually increased in early-flowering Bombax ceiba, while the opposite was true in late-flowering Bombax ceiba.3) 5Ds, CK and Auxin mainly acted in stage I and II, and ABA, SA, GA, ETH, and JA mainly acted in stage II and III.4) Soluble sugar and GA, soluble protein and IAA\CK, sucrose\malondialdehyde and IAA\CK\JA, soluble starch and IAA\CK\GA were significantly positively correlated, and chlorophyll and IAA\CK\SA were significantly negatively correlated, with the existence of synergistic and antagonistic effects co-regulating bud differentiation.This study provides a theoretical basis for exploring the mechanism of flower formation in Bombax ceiba and production practice. 3 Summary statementTo investigate the morphological and physiological characteristics of the bud differentiation process in Bombax ceiba, and to reveal the mechanisms of physiological substances and hormone interactions.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Human milk bacteria assembled into functionally distinct synthetic communities in infant formula differently affect intestinal physiology and microbiota in neonatal mini-piglets

The contribution of Human milk (HM) microbiota to infant gut health was addressed by evaluating the impact of HM bacteria, combined in two synthetic communities (SynComs) exhibiting anti-inflammatory (AI) or high immunomodulatory (HI) properties in vitro, on gut immune and barrier functions, and microbiota. Neonatal mini-piglets were fed either a formula without supplementation (CTRL) or supplemented with AI or HI SynComs, and were compared to sow milk-fed (SM) piglets over a period of 24 days. Feces were collected on postnatal day (PND) 8, and ileal, colonic and fecal samples were collected on PND24. The multifactorial analysis indicated that the two HM-derived SynComs impacted microbiota and intestinal functions differently. Several genera, mainly belonging to Bacillota, displayed different relative abundances between the formula-fed groups at both PND8 and PND24. At PND8, the fecal sIgA level in HI piglets was slightly lower than in SM piglets but markedly higher than in CTRL and AI piglets. SynComs HI and/or AI slightly increased the expression of genes involved in pro-inflammatory (IL6, TNFaR1), antioxidant (SOD2), anti-inflammatory (SOCS3) and Treg (FOXP3) pathways in ileal and colonic tissues compared with the CTRL group. Systemic immune functions were also modulated with a cytokine secretion capacity of peripheral blood mononuclear cells that tended to be higher with HI supplementation. Interestingly, SynCom bacteria were correlated with several ileal and colonic genera, and both were correlated with physiological variables. Overall, our findings support the influence of HM bacteria, provided in formulas as SynCom at a physiological concentration, on gut microbiota and functions. ImportanceEarly-life environmental factors, such as neonatal diet, influence the gut microbiota, which plays a key role in the functional development of the gut. However, the role of the human milk (HM) microbiota, particularly with regard to the immunomodulatory properties of HM bacteria, is not well understood. This study investigates the differential effects of two synthetic communities with a similar taxonomic composition representative of the taxonomic diversity of the HM microbiota. Thse communities exhibit contrasting immunomodulatory properties that were previously characterized using an in vitro intestinal quadricellular model. Daily supplementation with these two SynComs modulated the composition of the gut microbiota and the gut physiology differently, particularly the intestinal immune signatures. In conclusion, the functional profile of bacteria within the HM microbiota may induce distinct developmental profiles of gut physiology in infants.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2018

Genotypic variation in root distribution changes and physiological responses of sugarcane induced by drought stress

Drought is an important factor reducing yield and quality of sugarcane. Root growth and physiological traits are important for maximizing water uptake to improve drought resistance. This study compared the root, shoot and physiological traits under drought stress (DS) and well-watered (WW) conditions of various sugarcane varieties grown in rhizoboxes in a greenhouse at the Field Crops Research Station of Khon Kaen University, Khon Kaen, Thailand. Data were recorded for the root, shoot and physiological traits (relative water content, stomatal conductance, SPAD chlorophyll meter reading and chlorophyll fluorescence) at 90 days after transplanting. Root samples were recovered from 11 soil layers at 10 cm intervals from the top to the bottom of the rhizobox, for root length and root dry weight measurements. Drought was imposed on sugarcane at early growth stages altered the root distribution patterns, and differences were evident among the sugarcane genotypes. The sugarcane genotypes adapted to water stress by increasing root length into deeper soil layers. Drought led to increased total root length in KK3, MPT06-166, K88-92, CP38-22, Kps01-12 and KPK98-40. Root lengths and stomatal conductance were positively correlated under WW and DS conditions. Root distribution in the lower soil layers and the percentage of root distribution were higher than those under well-watered conditions. The knowledge gained from this study will aid parental selection in sugarcane breeding programs for drought resistance as the findings strongly suggest that the physiological modification in the root system is a useful drought-resistant mechanism.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2019

Physiological determinants of the increase in oxygen consumption during exercise in individuals with stroke

BackgroundUnderstanding the physiological limitations of the increase in oxygen consumption ([V]O2) during exercise is essential to improve cardiorespiratory fitness in individuals with stroke. However, the physiological determinants of the increase in [V]O2 during exercise have not been examined using multivariate analysis in individuals with stroke. This study aimed to identify the physiological determinants of the increase in [V]O2 during a graded exercise in terms of the respiratory function, cardiac function, and ability of skeletal muscles to extract oxygen.\n\nMethodsEighteen individuals with stroke (60.1 {+/-} 9.4 years of age, 67.1 {+/-} 30.8 days poststroke) underwent a graded exercise test for the assessment of cardiorespiratory response to exercise. The increase in [V]O2 from rest to ventilatory threshold and that from rest to peak exercise were measured as a dependent variable. The increases in respiratory rate, tidal volume, heart rate, stroke volume, and arterial-venous oxygen difference from rest to ventilatory threshold and those from rest to peak exercise were measured as independent variables.\n\nResultsFrom rest to ventilatory threshold, the increases in heart rate ({beta} = 0.546) and arterial-venous oxygen difference ({beta} = 0.398) were significant determinants of the increase in [V]O2 (adjusted R2 = 0.703, p < 0.001). From rest to peak exercise, the increases in tidal volume ({beta} = 0.611) and heart rate ({beta} = 0.353) were significant determinants of the increase in [V]O2 (adjusted R2 = 0.702, p < 0.001).\n\nConclusion[V]O2 is well-known to increase nearly linearly with increasing heart rate; however, our results suggest that arterial-venous oxygen difference and tidal volume are also significant physiological determinants of the increase in [V]O2 from rest to ventilatory threshold and that from rest to peak exercise, respectively. Our findings could potentially contribute to the development of appropriate therapies to improve cardiorespiratory fitness in individuals with stroke.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2025

Reconstructing a physiological state space via chronic jugular microdialysis in freely moving mice

Maintaining physiological homeostasis requires a complex interplay among endocrine organs, peripheral tissues, and distributed neuroendocrine control circuits, all of which are coupled through feedback loops that operate over minutes to hours. Although many physiological needs are broadcast through hormones, metabolites, and other chemical compounds circulating in the bloodstream, we rarely observe more than a few of these messengers together and at high cadence during behavior. To address this, we developed a minimally disruptive workflow to measure the free fraction of hundreds of amines and small peptides at a 7.5-minute cadence for [~]8 hrs in freely moving mice using chronic jugular microdialysis implants and chemical isotope labeling Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry. Single-compound profiles behave according to known physiology, such as purine turnover correlating with movement, delayed histamine/5-HIAA changes, and coordinated amino-acid dynamics. Our multiplexed measures enable high-dimensional analyses that uncover properties of the underlying dynamics. For example, systems-level analyses show that 10 dimensions explain over 70% of the variance in hormone/metabolite covariation, consistent with a low rank description of the physiological state space, with projections aligned to locomotion state transitions. Our work opens avenues for the discovery of hormonal dynamics, compound interactions, and their effects on behavior.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Whos been sleeping in my bedroom? Sleep and cardiorespiratory physiology when co-sleeping with a dog, cat, or child

Co-sleeping with pets or children is common, yet its effects on sleep, cardiorespiratory physiology, and behavioral outcomes are understudied. We examined within-person associations between co-sleeping with a dog, cat, or child and sleep characteristics, measures of cardiorespiratory physiology, and next-day physical activity in 1,649,083 person-days from 11,733 adults wearing the WHOOP wearable device. Participants reported nightly co-sleeping via a daily journal in the devices companion smartphone application, and linear mixed-effects models compared nights with and without co-sleeping within the same individual. Co-sleeping was associated with modest improvements in cardiorespiratory physiology, including lower resting heart rate (0.8-1.1 beats/min), lower respiratory rate (0.04-0.07 breaths/min), and higher heart rate variability (1.41-1.95 ms). Sleep outcomes were mixed, with longer sleep duration (5.5-9.6 min) but more disturbances (0.36-0.40 instances) and slightly less restorative sleep (0.23-1.17%). Associations were generally consistent across groups, although child co-sleeping showed greater sleep disruption. Next-day physical activity was higher following dog and cat co-sleeping (7.6 and 7.4 intensity-weighted min, respectively) but lower following child co-sleeping (2.6 intensity-weighted min). Although effect sizes were small ({beta} range: 0.008-0.045), findings suggest that co-sleeping is associated with a trade-off between modest cardiorespiratory benefits and mild sleep disruption, indicating that co-sleeping decisions may be driven more by personal and contextual factors than by concerns about physiologic impact.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2026

Physiological Group Synchrony Captures Individual Perceptions of Trust and Cohesion and Collective Performance through Multi-Channel Network Analysis

Humans coordinate in groups, yet much of what we know about coordination comes from dyadic interaction. In groups, however, how much people synchronize may not be enough. Pairwise synchrony can be distributed across teammates: who synchronizes with whom, and how these connections are distributed, may carry distinct social information. Here, we tested whether physiological group synchrony can be understood as a network topology of interpersonal coordination rather than as an aggregate of dyadic alignments. A total of 33 groups (N = 161 participants) completed cooperative and competitive joint drumming tasks while cardiac inter-beat intervals (IBI) and electrodermal activity (EDA) were recorded simultaneously. Pairwise physiological synchrony was estimated using lagged cross-correlation and used to construct synchrony-based networks. IBI-based networks showed stronger and broader cardiac connectivity during cooperation, with cardiac coupling also increasing during competitive drumming relative to baseline. EDA-based networks also showed task-sensitive changes in node-level connectivity and captured social and behavioral dimensions of group interaction, linking trust and cohesion to node-level connectivity, and collective behavioral synchrony to lower clustering and higher local efficiency. Together, these findings show that the social meaning of physiological group synchrony lies not only in how much individuals align, but in how physiological alignment is distributed across people, relationships, and biological systems. By preserving this configuration, synchrony-based network analysis captures information about group experience that is lost when synchrony is reduced to an average dyadic score, providing a route toward understanding group synchrony as a flexible, selective, and distributed property of social coordination.

physiology↗

bioRxiv2017

Physiological Gaussian Process Priors for the Hemodynamics in fMRI Analysis

Inference from fMRI data faces the challenge that the hemodynamic system, that relates the underlying neural activity to the observed BOLD fMRI signal, is not known. We propose a new Bayesian model for task fMRI data with the following features: (i) joint estimation of brain activity and the underlying hemodynamics, (ii) the hemodynamics is modeled nonparametrically with a Gaussian process (GP) prior guided by physiological information and (iii) the predicted BOLD is not necessarily generated by a linear time-invariant (LTI) system. We place a GP prior directly on the predicted BOLD time series, rather than on the hemodynamic response function as in previous literature. This allows us to incorporate physiological information via the GP prior mean in a flexible way. The prior mean function may be generated from a standard LTI system, based on a canonical hemodynamic response function, or a more elaborate physiological model such as the Balloon model. This gives us the nonparametric flexibility of the GP, but allows the posterior to fall back on the physiologically based prior when the data are weak. Results on simulated data show that even with an erroneous prior for the GP, the proposed model is still able to discriminate between active and non-active voxels in a satisfactory way. The proposed model is also applied to real fMRI data, where our Gaussian process model in several cases finds brain activity where previously proposed LTI models, parametric and nonparametric, does not.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Contrasting adaptations to synaptic physiology of prefrontal cortex interneuron subtypes in a mouse model of binge drinking

Alcohol use disorder (AUD) affects all sexes, however women who develop AUD may be particularly susceptible to cravings and other components of the disease. While many brain regions are involved in AUD etiology, proper function of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) is particularly important for top-down craving management and the moderation of drinking behaviors. Essential regulation of PFC output is provided by local inhibitory interneurons, yet the effects of chronic drinking on interneuron physiology remain poorly understood, particularly in female individuals. To address this gap, we generated fluorescent reporter transgenic mice to label the two major classes of interneuron in deep layer prelimbic PFC, based on expression of parvalbumin (PV-IN) or somatostatin (SST-IN). We then interrogated PV-IN and SST-IN membrane and synaptic physiology in a rodent model of binge drinking. Beginning in late adolescence, mice received 3-4 weeks of intermittent access (IA) ethanol. One day after the last drinking session, adaptations to PV-IN and SST-IN intrinsic physiology were observed in male mice but not in female mice. Furthermore, IA ethanol precipitated diametrically opposing changes to PV-IN synaptic physiology based on sex. IA ethanol decreased excitatory synaptic strength onto PV-INs from female mice and potentiated excitatory transmission onto PV-INs male mice. In contrast, decreased synaptic strength onto SST-INs was observed following IA ethanol in all groups of mice. Together, these findings illustrate novel sex differences in drinking-related PFC pathophysiology. Discovering means to restore PV-IN and SST-IN dysfunction following extended drinking provides opportunities for developing new treatments for all AUD patients.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Mapping physiological ADP-ribosylation using Activated Ion Electron Transfer Dissociation (AI-ETD)

ADP-ribosylation (ADPr) is a post-translational modification that plays pivotal roles in a wide range of cellular processes. Mass spectrometry (MS)-based analysis of ADPr under physiological conditions, without relying on genetic or chemical perturbation, has been hindered by technical limitations. Here, we describe the applicability of Activated Ion Electron Transfer Dissociation (AI-ETD) for MS-based proteomics analysis of physiological ADPr using our unbiased Af1521 enrichment strategy. To benchmark AI-ETD, we profiled 9,000 ADPr peptides mapping to >5,000 unique ADPr sites from a limited number of cells exposed to oxidative stress, corresponding to 120% and 28% more ADPr peptides compared to contemporary strategies using ETD and EThcD, respectively. Under physiological conditions AI-ETD identified 450 ADPr sites on low-abundant proteins, including in vivo cysteine auto-modifications on PARP8 and tyrosine auto-modifications on PARP14, hinting at specialist enzymatic functions for these enzymes. Collectively, our data provides new insights into the physiological regulation of ADP-ribosylation.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Morphological and physiological response strategies of Vallisneria natans at different water depths and light conditions

Phenotypic plasticity is an important adaptation to spatial and temporal environmental variations. For submerged macrophytes, adaptation to water depth and light variation is particularly important. To determine the morphological and physiological adaptive strategies of Vallisneria natans at different water depths and light conditions, we combined field investigation, light control experiment and in situ physiological response experiment. In the field investigation and the light control experiment, both water depth and light intensity had prominent effects on the morphological of V. natans, especially in fresh weight and leaf length. The leaf length elongated more rapidly at intermediate water depth sites with lower light intensity. In the in situ experiment, the survival boundary of V. natans is 5.5 m in Lake Erhai. Below this depth, the chlorophyll-a content increased gradually with increasing water depth. Our results demonstrated that V. natans can adapt to water depth and light availability by changing morphological, physiological and resource allocation. At low light condition, V. natans invested more resource for light acquisition, simultaneously, changing the photosynthetic pigment content to compensate for light attenuation; conversely, more resource was directed towards reproduction. These results will provide new insight for species selection when conducting aquatic plants restoration in freshwater ecosystem. HIGHLIGHTSO_LIWater depth and light availability affect the morphology, physiology, and resource allocation of V. natans. C_LIO_LIAn alternative resource allocation pattern of V. natans could shift between light acquisition and reproduction. C_LI

ecology↗

bioRxiv2020

The frailty syndrome as an emergent state of parallel dysregulation in multiple physiological systems

Frailty is a clinical syndrome often present in older adults and characterized by a heightened vulnerability to stressors. The biological antecedents and etiology of frailty are unclear despite decades of research: frailty is associated with dysregulation in a wide range of physiological systems, but no specific cause has been identified. Here, we test predictions stemming from the hypothesis that there is no specific cause: that frailty is an emergent property arising from the complex systems dynamics of the broad loss of organismal homeostasis. Specifically, we use dysregulation of six physiological systems using the Mahalanobis distance approach in two cohorts of older adults to test the breadth, diffuseness, and nonlinearity of associations between frailty and system-specific dysregulation. We find clear support for the breadth of associations between frailty and physiological dysregulation: positive associations of all systems with frailty in at least some analyses. We find partial support for diffuseness: the number of systems or total amount of dysregulation is more important than the identity of the systems dysregulated, but results only partially replicate across cohorts. We find partial support for nonlinearity: trends are exponential but not always significantly so, and power is limited for groups with very high levels of dysregulation. Overall, results are consistent with - but not definitive proof of - frailty as an emergent property of complex systems dynamics. Substantial work remains to understand how frailty relates to underlying physiological dynamics across systems.

systems biology↗

bioRxiv2020

Absence of reliable physiological signature of illusory body ownership revealed by f ine-grained autonomic measurement during the rubber hand illusion

The neural representation of a biological self is linked theoretically to the control of bodily physiology. In an infleuntial model, selfhood relates to internal agency and higher-order interoceptive representation, inferred from the predicted impact of efferent autonomic nerves on afferent viscerosensory feedback. Here we tested if an altered representation of physical self (illusory embodiment of an artificial hand) is accompanied by sustained shifts in autonomic activity. Participants (N=37) underwent procedures for induction of the rubber hand illusion (synchronous stroking of own unseen hand and observed stroking of artificial hand) and a control condition (asychronous stroking). We recorded electrodermal activity, electrocardiography, and non-invasive measurement of multiunit skin sympathetic nerve activity (SKNA) from the chest. We compared measures between task conditions, and between individuals who did and did not experience the illusion. Bayes factors quantified the strength of evidence for and against null hypotheses. Subjective reports and observed proprioceptive drift confirmed the efficacy of synchronous vs asynchronous condition in inducing illusory hand ownership. Stringent discriminant analysis classified 24 /37 individuals as experiencing the rubber hand illusion. Electrodermal activity, heart rate, heart rate variability, and SKNA measures revealed no autonomic differences between synchronous vs asynchronous conditions, nor between individuals who did or did not experience the rubber hand illusion. Bayes factors confirmed there was substantial evidence for no physiological differences. In contrast to earlier reports, our cardiac and electrodermal autonomic data, including fine grained SKNA measurement, provide substantial evidence for the absence of a reliable change in physiological state during induction or experience of the rubber hand illusion. If illusory body ownership is coupled to, or facilitated by, changes in efferent autonomic activity and afferent viscerosensory feedback, our findings suggest that such changes in bodily physiology are not sustained as an obligatory component of the illusion.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2020

Data-driven analysis of facial thermal responses to an emotional movie reveals consistent stimulus-locked physiological changes

Facial infra-red imaging (IRI) is a contact-free technique complimenting the traditional psychophysiological measures to characterize physiological profile. However, its full potential in affective research is arguably unmet due to the analytical challenges it poses. Here we acquired facial IRI data, facial expressions and traditional physiological recordings (heart rate and skin conductance) from healthy human subjects whilst they viewed a 20-minute-long unedited emotional movie. We present a novel application of motion correction and the results of spatial independent component analysis of the thermal data. Three distinct spatial components are recovered associated with the nose, the cheeks and a respiratory component. We first benchmark this methodology against a traditional region-of-interest based technique. We then show significant correlation of all the physiological responses across subjects, including the thermal signals, suggesting common dynamic shifts in emotional state induced by the movie. Finally, we show that thermal responses were significantly anti-correlated with the positive emotional content of the movie thus an index of emotionally-driven physiological response. In sum, this study introduces an innovative approach to analyse facial IRI data and highlights the potential of thermal imaging to robustly capture emotion-related changes in ecological contexts.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

Integrative physiological, biochemical and transcriptomic analysis of hexaploid wheat roots and shoots provides new insights into the molecular regulatory network during Fe & Zn starvation

In plants, iron (Fe) & zinc (Zn) uptake and transportation from the rhizosphere to the grain is a critical process regulated by complex transcriptional regulatory networks. However, understanding the combined effect of Fe & Zn starvation on their uptake and transportation and the molecular regulatory networks that control them lack in wheat. Here, we performed a comprehensive physiological, biochemical and transcriptome analysis in two bread wheat genotypes, i.e. Narmada 195 and PBW 502, differing in inherent Fe & Zn content to understand the mechanism of Fe & Zn homeostasis. Compared to PBW 502, Narmada 195 exhibited increased tolerance to Fe & Zn withdrawal by an increased level of antioxidant enzymes and DPPH radical scavenging activity along with less malondialdehyde (MDA), H2O2 level, increased PS accumulation and lower reduction of root and shoot Fe & Zn content and length, leaf chlorosis, and leaf area. By integrating physiological and biochemical data along with co-expression & functional genome annotation and gene expression analysis, we identified 25 core genes associated with four key pathways, i.e. Met cycle (10), PS biosynthesis (4), antioxidant (3) and transport system (8) that were significantly modulated by Fe & Zn withdrawal in both the genotypes. Genes of these four pathways were more considerably up-regulated in Narmada 195, allowing better tolerance to Fe & Zn withdrawal and efficient uptake and transportation of Fe & Zn. Chromosomal distribution and sub-genome wise mapping of these genes showed a contribution from all the chromosomes except group 5 chromosomes with the highest number of genes mapped to chromosome 4 (24%) and sub-genome D (40%). Besides, we also identified 26 miRNAs targeting 14 core genes across the four pathways. Together, our work provides a crucial angle for an in-depth understanding of regulatory cross-talk among physiological, biochemical and transcriptional reprogramming underlying Fe & Zn withdrawal in wheat. Core genes identified can serve as valuable resources for further functional research for genetic improvement of Fe & Zn content in wheat grain. HighlightOur work provides a crucial angle for a comprehensive understanding of the regulatory mechanism underlying Fe & Zn withdrawal associated with physiological, biochemical and transcriptional reprogramming in wheat.

molecular biology↗

bioRxiv2021

Agonism and grooming behavior explain social status effects on physiology and gene regulation in rhesus macaques

Variation in social status predicts molecular, physiological, and life history outcomes across a broad range of species, including our own. Experimental studies indicate that some of these relationships persist even when the physical environment is held constant. Here, we draw on data sets from one such study--experimental manipulation of dominance rank in captive female rhesus macaques--to investigate how social status shapes the lived experience of these animals to alter gene regulation, glucocorticoid physiology, and mitochondrial DNA phenotypes. We focus specifically on dominance rank-associated dimensions of the social environment, including both competitive and affiliative interactions. Our results show that simple summaries of rank-associated behavioral interactions are often better predictors of molecular and physiological outcomes than dominance rank itself. However, while measures of immune function are best explained by agonism rates, glucocorticoid-related phenotypes tend to be more closely linked to affiliative behavior. We conclude that dominance rank serves as a useful summary for investigating social environmental effects on downstream outcomes. Nevertheless, the behavioral interactions that define an individuals daily experiences reveal the proximate drivers of social status-related differences, and are especially relevant for understanding why individuals who share the same social status sometimes appear physiologically distinct.

genomics↗

bioRxiv2021

Trial-wise exposure to visual appetitive cues increases physiological arousal but not temporal discounting.

Humans and many animals devalue future rewards as a function of time (temporal discounting). Increased discounting has been linked to various psychiatric conditions, including substance-use-disorders, behavioral addictions and obesity. Despite its high intra-individual stability, temporal discounting is partly under contextual control. One prominent manipulation that has been linked to increases in discounting is the exposure to highly arousing appetitive cues. However, results from trial-wise cue exposure studies appear highly mixed, and changes in physiological arousal were not adequately controlled. Here we tested the effects of appetitive (erotic), aversive and neutral visual cues on temporal discounting in thirty-five healthy male participants. The contribution of single-trial physiological arousal was assessed using comprehensive monitoring of autonomic activity (pupil size, heart rate, electrodermal activity). Physiological arousal was elevated following aversive and in particular erotic cues. In contrast to our pre-registered hypothesis, if anything, we observed decreased temporal discounting following erotic cue exposure. Aversive cues tended to increase decision noise. Computational modeling revealed that trial-wise arousal only accounted for minor variance over and above aversive and erotic condition effects, arguing against a general effect of physiological arousal on temporal discounting.

neuroscience↗

bioRxiv2021

The effect of pre-analytical and physiological variables on cell-free DNA fragmentation.

Assays that account for the biological properties and fragmentation of cell-free DNA (cfDNA) can improve the performance of liquid biopsy. However, pre-analytic and physiological differences between individuals on fragmentomic analysis are poorly defined. We analyzed the impact of collection tube, plasma processing time and physiology on the size distribution of cfDNA, their genome-wide representation and sequence diversity at the cfDNA fragment-ends using shallow Whole Genome Sequencing. We observed that using different stabilizing collection tubes, or processing times does not affect the cfDNA fragment sizes, but can impact the genome-wide fragmentation patterns and fragment-end sequences of cfDNA. In addition, beyond differences depending on the gender, the physiological conditions tested between 63 individuals (age, body mass index, use of medication and chronic conditions) minimally influenced the outcome of fragmentomic methods. Our results highlight that fragmentomic approaches have potential for implementation in the clinic, pending clear traceability of analytical and physiological factors.

genomics↗