Previous studies have reported conflicting evidence concerning the contribution of declarative memory to advantageous decision-making on the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). One study, in which the measurement of psychophysiology during the task necessitated a 10-sec delay between card selections, found that six participants with amnesia due to hippocampal damage failed to develop a preference for advantageous decks over disadvantageous decks (Gutbrod et al., Neuropsychologia, Vol. 44, pp. 1315–1324, 2006). However, a single case study (where psychophysiology was not measured and no delay between card selections occurred) showed that an amnesic patient developed normal preference for advantageous decks (Turnbull & Evans, Neuropsychologia, Vol. 44, pp. 300–306, 2006). We sought to resolve these discrepant findings by examining IGT performances in five patients with profound amnesia (WMS-III General Memory Index M =63) and bilateral hippocampal damage caused by anoxia (n = 4) or herpes simplex encephalitis (n = 1). In one administration of the IGT, psychophysiology measurements were utilized and a 6-sec delay was interposed between card selections. In a second administration, no delay between card selections was interposed. While age-, sex-, and education-matched healthy comparison participants showed significant learning with a gradual preference for advantageous decks in both conditions, amnesic patients, irrespective of IGT administration condition and extent of medial temporal lobe damage, failed to develop this preference. These findings strongly discount the possibility that the delay between card selections explains why amnesic participants fail to learn in the IGT, and suggest instead a significant role for medial temporal lobe declarative memory systems in the type of complex decision-making tapped by the IGT.

Decision-making is a complex process that requires the orchestration of multiple neural systems. For example, decision-making is believed to involve areas of the brain involved in emotion (e.g., amygdala, ventromedial prefrontal cortex) and memory (e.g., hippocampus, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex). In this article, we will present findings related to the amygdala’s role in decision-making, and differentiate the contributions of the amygdala from those of other structurally and functionally connected neural regions. Decades of research have shown that the amygdala is involved in associating a stimulus with its emotional value. This tradition has been extended in newer work, which has shown that the amygdala is especially important for decision-making, by triggering autonomic responses to emotional stimuli, including monetary reward and punishment. Patients with amygdala damage lack these autonomic responses to reward and punishment, and consequently, cannot utilize “somatic marker” type cues to guide future decision-making. Studies using laboratory decision-making tests have found deficient decision-making in patients with bilateral amygdala damage, which resembles their real-world difficulties with decision-making. Additionally, we have found evidence for an interaction between sex and laterality of amygdala functioning, such that unilateral damage to the right amygdala results in greater deficits in decision-making and social behavior in men, while left amygdala damage seems to be more detrimental for women. We have posited that the amygdala is part of an “impulsive,” habit type system that triggers emotional responses to immediate outcomes.

Distal end clavicleNeer type 2 a b s t r a c t Management of fracture distal end clavicle has always puzzled the orthopaedic surgeons. Now-a-days with a relatively active lifestyle, patients want better results both cosmetically and functionally. Despite so much literature available for the management of this common fracture, there is no consensus regarding the gold standard treatment for this fracture. In this article, we reviewed the literature on various techniques of management for this fracture, both conservative as well as surgical, and their merits and demerits.

Signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3) is one of the crucial transcription factors, responsible for regulating cellular proliferation, cellular differentiation, migration, programmed cell death, inflammatory response, angiogenesis, and immune activation. In this review, we have discussed the classical regulation of STAT3 via diverse growth factors, cytokines, G‐protein‐coupled receptors, as well as toll‐like receptors. We have also highlighted the potential role of noncoding RNAs in regulating STAT3 signaling. However, the deregulation of STAT3 signaling has been found to be associated with the initiation and progression of both solid and hematological malignancies. Additionally, hyperactivation of STAT3 signaling can maintain the cancer stem cell phenotype by modulating the tumor microenvironment, cellular metabolism, and immune responses to favor drug resistance and metastasis. Finally, we have also discussed several plausible ways to target oncogenic STAT3 signaling using various small molecules derived from natural products.