Researchers studying memory conformity have made significant advances in our understanding of the phenomenon, but have used methods with significant shortcomings. Mori's three-stage method addresses many of these concerns. To date the technique has not been replicated on a Western sample. We present such a study, and discuss two significant improvements to Mori's method. We found that subjects were more likely to report the correct answer for non-discussed critical details than discussed critical details. Our data also suggested that when subjects agreed with their partner's information during the discussion, they did so because they thought that information was accurate; only a minority of the time did they go along with their partner during discussion and revert to their own answer at the test. We draw parallels between the unknown mechanisms driving memory conformity effects and the search for mechanisms driving the misinformation effect two decades ago.

Research on memory conformity shows that collaborative remembering--typically in the form of discussion--can influence people's memories. One question that remains is whether it matters with whom we discuss our memories. To address this question we compared people's memories for an event after they discussed that event with either their romantic partner or a stranger. Pairs of subjects watched slightly different versions of a movie, and then discussed some details from the movie, but not others. Subjects were better at remembering non-discussed details than discussed details: when remembering discussed details they incorrectly reported information from their partner's version instead of their own. In addition, subjects who discussed the event with their romantic partner (rather than with a stranger) were even more likely to report false memories. We discuss our findings in relation to other research on memory conformity, social influences on false memories, and memory systems within romantic relationships.

Fukuyama muscular dystrophy (FCMD; MIM253800), one of the most common autosomal recessive disorders in Japan, was the first human disease found to result from ancestral insertion of a SINE-VNTR-Alu (SVA) retrotransposon into a causative gene1-3. In FCMD, the SVA insertion occurs in the 3′-untranslated region (UTR) of the fukutin gene. The pathogenic mechanism for FCMD is unknown, and no effective clinical treatments exist. Here we show that aberrant mRNA splicing, induced by SVA exon-trapping, underlies the molecular pathogenesis of FCMD. Quantitative mRNA analysis pinpointed a region that was missing from transcripts in FCMD patients. This region spans part of the 3′ end of the fukutin coding region, proximal part of the 3′ UTR, and the SVA insertion. Correspondingly, fukutin mRNA transcripts in FCMD patients and SVA knock-in (KI) model mice were shorter than the expected length. Sequence analysis revealed an abnormal splicing event, provoked by a strong acceptor site in SVA and a rare alternative donor site in fukutin exon 10. The resulting product truncates the fukutin C-terminus and adds 129 amino acids encoded by the SVA. Introduction of antisense oligonucleotides (AONs) targeting the splice acceptor, the predicted exonic splicing enhancer, and the intronic splicing enhancer prevented pathogenic exon-trapping by SVA in FCMD patient cells and model mice, rescuing normal fukutin mRNA expression and protein production. AON treatment also restored fukutin functions, including O-glycosylation of α-dystroglycan (α-DG) and laminin binding by α-DG. Moreover, we observe exon-trapping in other SVA insertions associated with disease (hypercholesterolemia4, neutral lipid storage disease5) and human-specific SVA insertion in a novel gene. Thus, although splicing into SVA is known6-8, we have discovered in human disease a role for SVA-mediated exon-trapping and demonstrated the promise of splicing modulation therapy as the first radical clinical treatment for FCMD and other SVA-mediated diseases.

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In the present experiment, we replicated Asch's seminal study on social conformity without using confederates. We adapted a presentation trick in order to present two different stimuli secretly to groups of participants to create minorities and majorities without utilizing confederates. One hundred and four Japanese undergraduates (40 men and 64 women) carried out Asch-equivalent tasks in same-sex groups of four. In each group, we adapted the fMORI Technique to present the tasks such that one person (minority participant) observed different stimuli than the other three people (majority participants). The same nine stimulus sets that Asch had used were carefully reproduced as PowerPoint slides and projected onto a half-transparent screen. As for the critical tasks, the top part of the standard lines appeared in either green or magenta so that two groups of participants would see them differently when they wore two types of polarizing sunglasses that filtered either green or magenta to make the lines appear longer or shorter. A post-experimental questionnaire confirmed that no participant among either the minority or majority viewers noticed the presentation trick. The results showed that, in line with Asch's basic findings, the minority women participants conformed to the majority. However, our study produced two different results: While minority women conformed, minority men did not. Contrary to Asch's findings, the frequency of conformity of minority participants was almost the same regardless of whether the majority answered unanimously or not.

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