Two major noncortical inputs to the striatum originate from the substantia nigra and the thalamic centré median-parafascicular complex. Although it is established that in Parkinson's disease there is degeneration of the nigral dopaminergic neurons, there has been little analysis of the glutamatergic centré median-parafascicular complex. We therefore evaluated these and neighboring thalamic nuclei (for specificity of any changes) in 9 Parkinson's disease patients and 8 age-matched controls. Degeneration in the substantia nigra and centré median-parafascicular complex was estimated by using quantitative neuronal counts. On average, 70% of the pigmented nigral neurons degenerated and there was 30% to 40% neuronal loss in the centré median-parafascicular complex in Parkinson's disease. Thalamic degeneration was marked in neuronal subpopulations (50% loss of parvalbumin-positive neurons in the parafascicular, and 70% loss of non-parvalbumin-positive neurons in the centré median nuclei). In contrast, adjacent thalamic nuclei did not degenerate, which supports a selective neurodegeneration of the centré median-parafascicular complex. Our results show that the thalamic centré median-parafascicular complex is an additional nondopaminergic site of neurodegeneration in Parkinson's disease. Because this thalamic region provides important sensorimotor feedback to the striatum, degeneration of this region is likely to exacerbate the clinical signs and symptoms of Parkinson's disease.
This research quantifies for the first time in the literature how strong the direct and indirect relationships are between satisfaction, trust, and commitment and giving intention versus giving behavior. We constructed a unique data set of over 17,000 donors from five large charities. We applied the latest mediation framework for categorical variables from consumer behavior. We found that at a group level, most of the direct and indirect effects that exist between satisfaction, trust, commitment, and giving intention also exist between these factors and giving behavior, but the effect sizes are between 3 to 8 times larger in modeling giving intentions than in modeling giving behavior. When giving intention and giving behavior are matched at an individual level, all group-level findings are replicated. In addition, we found 27% of the donors with no intention to give, actually gave. Theoretical, empirical, methodological, and practical implications are discussed.
A demonstration field experiment in a live-radio fund drive shows that women (but not men) primed with moral traits give about 20% more. The authors test one understudied explanation for this finding: gender differences in how market behavior (e.g., giving and supporting a nonprofit) shrinks moral identity discrepancy (i.e., the gap between actual and ideal moral identity). Field Survey 1 demonstrates the basic effect: the less money women (but not men) have historically given on average to a nonprofit, the larger their moral identity discrepancy. Field Experiment 2 shows a managerial implication of this basic effect: when primed with moral identity, women (but not men) who have supported the nonprofit less frequently in the past are more likely to follow an emailed link to help the nonprofit again. Study 3 tests one possible pathway underpinning this finding: even though giving makes women and men experience similar feelings of encouragement and uplift and similar reinforcement of their moral identity, only women with larger prebehavior moral identity discrepancy consequently shrink this discrepancy.
Introduction From the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, public health officials have sought to develop evidence-based messages to reduce COVID-19 transmission by communicating key information to media outlets and the public. We describe the development of an interdisciplinary rapid message testing model to quickly create, test, and share messages with public health officials for use in health campaigns and policy briefings. Methods An interdisciplinary research team from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assembled in March 2020 to assist the state health department in developing evidence-based messages to influence social distancing behaviors in the state. We developed and iteratively executed a rapid message testing model; the components of the 4-step model were message creation, survey development, survey administration, and analysis and presentation to health department officials. The model was executed 4 times, each during a 7-day period in April and May, and each subsequent survey included new phrasing and/or messaging informed by the previous week’s survey. A total of 917 adults from North Carolina participated in the 4 surveys. Results Survey participants rated messages focused on protecting oneself and others higher than messages focused on norms and fear-based approaches. Pairing behaviors with motivations increased participants’ desire to social distance across all themes and subgroups. For example, adding “Protect your grandmother, your neighbor with cancer, and your best friend with asthma,” to messaging received a 0.9-point higher score than the base message, “Stay 6 feet apart from others when out in public.” Practice Implications Our model to promote social distancing in North Carolina during the COVID-19 pandemic can be used for rapid, iterative message testing during public health emergencies.
Date Presented 04/06/19
This quantitative study examined parents’ perspective of caregiver training to support their child’s feeding disorder and how it affected mealtimes. A total of 108 parents completed a web-based survey. Results revealed caregivers feel supported but desire more support; relationships in the family are adversely affected. Implications for OT practitioners include practicing family-centered care; addressing holistic home training topics, and considering treatment in natural environments.
Primary Author and Speaker: Kathryn Carpenter
Additional Authors and Speakers: Mindy Garfinkel
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.