Annals Of The New York Academy Of Sciences[JOURNAL]
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200 papers
Cardiac Synchrony During Collaborative Drawing: A Longitudinal Comparison of Same Generation and Intergenerational Dyads.
Moffat R, Naudszus LA, Cross ES
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945780 · Full text
Intergenerational social programs provide opportunities for people of all ages to form new relationships. Furthermore, existing qualitative and behavioral evidence from such programs points to health and wellbeing benefi...
Intergenerational social programs provide opportunities for people of all ages to form new relationships. Furthermore, existing qualitative and behavioral evidence from such programs points to health and wellbeing benefits, yet the physiological consequences of repeated intergenerational encounters remain unknown. A deeper understanding of how such programs shape dyadic physiological responses will illuminate the mechanisms of relationship formation. Across a six-session collaborative drawing program, we tracked cardiac synchrony within 31 intergenerational (older/younger adult) and 30 same generation (younger adult) dyads. Each session, dyads completed self-report measures, then drew together and alone while we recorded participants' actions with motion capture and physiological signals (neural and cardiac) using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. Collaborative behavior, self-reported social closeness, and interpersonal distance (i.e., proximity) showed group-specific patterns, whereby interpersonal distance emerged as a promising objective measure of relationship development. Cardiac synchrony did not covary with group, task, an interaction thereof, or any measure of behavior or social closeness-yet there was a trending relationship between collaboration while drawing together and cardiac synchrony for intergenerational dyads only. In summary, cardiac synchrony pointed to marginally enhanced arousal during active collaboration between older and younger adults. Relationship development was better characterized, in this study, by behavior and self-report measures than cardiac synchrony.
A Method of Machining Trajectory Planning Based on Multi-View Stereo Vision and Color Regional Growth.
Yin Y, Shi Y, He W … +5 more , Wei X, Hu Q, Cai Y, Li C, Zhu S
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945778 · Publisher ↗
To address the challenges of local trajectory planning in robotic manufacturing of curved surface components, this article introduces a method grounded in multi-view stereo reconstruction and color regional growth. Initi...
To address the challenges of local trajectory planning in robotic manufacturing of curved surface components, this article introduces a method grounded in multi-view stereo reconstruction and color regional growth. Initially, we apply color texture to the surface of a curved component. Subsequently, the improved PatchmatchNet model, which incorporates a high-resolution net and total variation loss, reconstructs high-quality 3D point clouds, achieving 10.42% improvement in accuracy and 10.59% improvement in completeness compared to the baseline. Then, a regional growth point cloud segmentation algorithm based on the hue-saturation-intensity color space and local color distribution similarity is used to segment the color-texture point cloud across three aerospace components with 82.2% Cat.mIoU and 77.1% Ins.mIoU. Following this, point cloud processing and curve fitting are executed on the single-color-texture point cloud, culminating in the derivation of the local processing trajectory feature line. The nonuniform rational B-splines (NURBS) curve fitting generates machining trajectories with R exceeding 0.94% and 30% lower root mean square error (RMSE) than polynomial and standard B-spline methods. Real machine grinding experiments validate the method's feasibility, demonstrating precise localization and effective material removal along planned trajectories. The proposed approach addresses critical challenges in local grinding of complex curved surfaces, offering significant practical value for aerospace manufacturing.
Manifolds in the Medial Premotor Cortex During Switching From Attending to Tapping to a Metronome.
Dotov D, Betancourt A, Gámez J … +1 more , Merchant H
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945771 · Full text
Animals synchronize their movements with external rhythms to coordinate perception and action, but the neural population mechanisms that allow them to attend and then initiate and sustain these rhythms remain unclear. Us...
Animals synchronize their movements with external rhythms to coordinate perception and action, but the neural population mechanisms that allow them to attend and then initiate and sustain these rhythms remain unclear. Using recordings from the medial premotor cortex (MPC) of two macaque monkeys, we investigated neural dynamics during an attend-then-synchronize tapping task with visual metronomes. We found low-dimensional neural manifolds that captured neural population trajectories. During the attention epoch, trajectories exhibited increasing amplitude and oscillatory strength with the successive stimuli, which is consistent with a dynamic system using a resonant mechanism. Then, the transition from perception to tapping synchronization was marked by a reliable shift into a distinct manifold subspace with rotatory dynamics, enabling accurate decoding of the switch in behavior. In addition, correct tapping trials were characterized by a more robust oscillatory structure not seen in incorrect trials. These findings demonstrate that the geometry and coherence of MPC neural trajectories encode different perceptual and motor aspects of tapping synchronization.
The Roles of Autonomic Arousal and Self-Reported Stress in Children's Disclosure of a Minor Transgression.
Fulton LM, Peplak J, Klemfuss JZ
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945766 · Full text
Accurate disclosures from children are essential in child maltreatment investigations, yet many children are reluctant to disclose adverse experiences. Biologically sensitive children may experience stronger stress respo...
Accurate disclosures from children are essential in child maltreatment investigations, yet many children are reluctant to disclose adverse experiences. Biologically sensitive children may experience stronger stress responses in morally or socially charged situations, potentially inhibiting disclosure. The present study examined whether stress, measured physiologically via autonomic nervous system (ANS) arousal and subjectively via self-reported stress, predicted children's disclosure of a transgression. Children (N = 337; ages 4-9 years) participated in a laboratory-based paradigm, during which two toys broke in their hands, and a confederate asked them to keep it a secret. Acute ANS arousal was indexed by heart rate during the minute following the secrecy instruction relative to baseline. Children also self-reported their stress and calmness at baseline and immediately post-transgression. Children were then interviewed using a NICHD-informed forensic-style interview protocol. Higher ANS arousal post-secrecy instruction predicted a lower likelihood of disclosure. In contrast, higher self-reported calmness post-transgression predicted a reduced likelihood of disclosure, while self-reported stress was unrelated. Age was positively associated with disclosure but did not moderate stress-disclosure associations. Findings highlight the value of assessing stress beyond self-report, with heightened ANS arousal capturing nondisclosure risk that children may strategically downplay or fail to recognize in self-reports.
Machine Learning Identification of Progressive Pulmonary Fibrosis in ILD Using KL-6 and Routine Blood Parameters.
Chen Y, Yang Q, Liang X … +4 more , Liu C, Fang Y, Huang H, Sun B
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945762 · Publisher ↗
Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a high-mortality phenotype of ILD that poses diagnostic challenges in resource-limited settings lacking advanced imaging and can require invasive...
Progressive pulmonary fibrosis (PPF) in interstitial lung disease (ILD) is a high-mortality phenotype of ILD that poses diagnostic challenges in resource-limited settings lacking advanced imaging and can require invasive diagnostic procedures. We aimed to develop a machine learning model for PPF-ILD diagnosis using routine blood parameters and the biomarker Krebs von den Lungen-6 (KL-6). Data from 10,687 ILD patients (4399 stable, 6288 PPF-ILD) at the First Affiliated Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University (2016-2025) were divided into training (January 2016-October 2022) and temporal validation (November 2022-July 2025) cohorts. Significant variables were identified via univariable logistic regression; 12 algorithms generated 130 models evaluated by area under the curve (AUC), calibration, and decision curve analysis (DCA). The Lasso + random forest (RF) model (20 variables) achieved an AUC of 0.998 in training and 0.842 in validation; glmBoost + RF (10 variables) yielded an AUC of 0.996 in training and 0.831 in validation, a sensitivity of 90.0%, a specificity of 61.0%, and an F1 score of 83.3%. Both models exhibited excellent calibration and DCA net benefit. KL-6 was the strongest predictor (OR = 6.20, 95% CI = 5.67-6.79). This streamlined model offers performance comparable to the more complex Lasso + RF model but with superior clinical applicability, providing an objective, noninvasive tool for early PPF-ILD detection in resource-constrained environments.
The Emergence of a Universal Rhythmic Feature: Simple Models Can Produce Categorical Rhythms.
Coissac C, Ferreri L, Gamba M … +2 more , Ravignani A, Jadoul Y
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945706 · Full text
Across musical cultures, rhythm consists of discrete categories of interval durations. Such rhythmic categories are also increasingly quantified in various nonhuman species' displays. However, their evolutionary origins...
Across musical cultures, rhythm consists of discrete categories of interval durations. Such rhythmic categories are also increasingly quantified in various nonhuman species' displays. However, their evolutionary origins are still largely unknown. Complementing cross-species comparative work with computational modeling can help us understand the cognitive mechanisms underlying the emergence of this universal rhythmic feature and the minimum requirements for producing it. This study investigates whether minimal computational models can produce rhythmic categories. We compare two computational models: a single spiking neuron model representing a minimal neural system, and a model of cricket stridulation as a minimal synchronization mechanism. Both models transform a random temporal sequence into a more structured, isochronous rhythm; that is, randomly distributed temporal intervals get more similar in duration. An isochronous input sequence, in contrast, combined with the models' intrinsic bias, has a more complex effect on the produced temporal patterns. At frequencies that closely relate to the models' intrinsic frequency, the models produce stable temporal patterns with rhythmic categories. Our results show that rhythmic categories can emerge from simple mechanisms, likely shared across species, especially when multiple individually isochronous mechanisms interact. As such, we should expect to find categorical rhythms across an even larger range of animal displays.
Top-Down Attention Modulates Phase Effects on Audio-Tactile Processing.
Fu X, Criscuolo A, Riecke L
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945684 · Full text
Multisensory processing is necessary in our daily lives, which is modulated by the temporal alignment of multiple sensory inputs. However, it remains poorly understood if and how selective attention interacts with this t...
Multisensory processing is necessary in our daily lives, which is modulated by the temporal alignment of multiple sensory inputs. However, it remains poorly understood if and how selective attention interacts with this temporal alignment to further modulate audio-tactile processing. This study aimed to explore how selective attention and temporal alignment influence cortical responses to rhythmic audio-tactile streams. Participants were exposed to periodic auditory tones embedded in continuous background noise, either presented alone or paired with fluctuating tactile stimulation that was either in-phase or anti-phase with the tones. Selective attention was manipulated by instructing participants to perform an auditory detection task focusing on either the tones or the background noise. Electroencephalography recordings revealed that anti-phase audio-tactile inputs, compared to auditory-only inputs, elicited enhanced cortical steady-state responses and phase-locking to the tones. Importantly, this effect was further enhanced when participants paid attention to the tone, potentially reflecting the resolution of sensory competition among the simultaneous auditory and tactile inputs. In-phase tactile inputs elicited nonsignificant increases in tone processing regardless of attention. In sum, these findings underscore the dynamic interplay between bottom-up temporal alignment and top-down attentional modulations in audio-tactile processing, providing insights into how the brain integrates audio-tactile information.
Lightweight Multi-Occlusion Pear Detection via Multi-Auxiliary Domain Transfer Learning for Robotic Harvesting.
Lv P, Xue J, Liu S … +5 more , Wei W, Zhu H, Zhao T, Zhang T, Miao H
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945681 · Publisher ↗
Accurate detection of occluded pears is vital for selective robotic picking. However, existing methods face critical challenges: an inadequate trade-off between lightweight model design and detection accuracy, which rest...
Accurate detection of occluded pears is vital for selective robotic picking. However, existing methods face critical challenges: an inadequate trade-off between lightweight model design and detection accuracy, which restricts deployment on resource-constrained robotic platforms; a domain shift issue in transfer learning, resulting in long training times and wasted computational resources; and oversimplified single-category classification that misidentifies occluded fruits, causing picking failures and hardware damage. We propose a lightweight detector empowered by multi-auxiliary domain transfer learning (MADTL) for accurate multicategory pear detection. Specifically, built upon YOLOv8, the proposed detector optimizes the backbone and neck architectures by integrating advanced modules to enhance feature extraction and fusion efficiency. Crucially, the proposed MADTL strategy introduces apple and orange datasets to bridge the source-target domain gap, significantly accelerating convergence. Benchmarked against YOLOv8s, our detector reduces model size by 62.4% and floating-point operations by 53.7%. Notably, MADTL accelerates convergence by 75% while boosting accuracy. Field deployment achieves real-time inference at 47.39 ms per image. These improvements enable real-time deployment on resource-constrained edge devices while maintaining high detection accuracy, providing essential support for selective harvesting to minimize picking failures and enhance operational efficiency.
A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America Community-Based Mentoring Program.
DuBois DL, Herrera C, Rivera J … +2 more , Brechling V, Root S
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945671 · Publisher ↗
Mentoring programs are a widely used strategy for both the prevention of problem behavior and the promotion of healthy development and resilience among disadvantaged youth. The largest and longest-standing of these progr...
Mentoring programs are a widely used strategy for both the prevention of problem behavior and the promotion of healthy development and resilience among disadvantaged youth. The largest and longest-standing of these programs in the United States is the community-based mentoring (CBM) program of Big Brothers Big Sisters of America. This research reports findings from a randomized controlled trial of the CBM program that followed 1353 youth ages 10 and older for 4 years. Outcomes were assessed through youth and parent surveys and administrative records of arrest, with program effects examined through intent-to-treat analyses on hypothesized primary and secondary outcomes as assessed at study endpoint. For primary outcomes, the treatment group had significantly lower rates of violence-related delinquent behavior and recurring substance use and nonsignificantly lower rates of property-related delinquent behavior and arrest. For secondary outcomes, there were significant effects favoring the treatment group on measures of risk factors for problem behavior (e.g., negative peer associations), personal resources (e.g., self-control, social skills, coping efficacy), mental health (e.g., positive affect, depressive symptoms), academic performance, and the parenting behavior of the youth's caregiver; there were also numerous outcomes for which effects were nonsignificant, albeit in nearly all cases in a direction favoring the treatment group.
A Lightweight State Space Model With Multiscale Morphology and Low-Rank Head for Hyperspectral Image Classification.
Chai S, Zhang Z, Zhang Z … +3 more , Zeng Z, Lu D, Tian Y
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945669 · Publisher ↗
State space models (SSMs) have advanced hyperspectral image (HSI) classification, yet existing approaches have limitations. They typically rely on single-scale feature extractors, limiting their ability to model various...
State space models (SSMs) have advanced hyperspectral image (HSI) classification, yet existing approaches have limitations. They typically rely on single-scale feature extractors, limiting their ability to model various spatial geometries, and their standard backbones can exhibit training instability when processing complex HSI data. To overcome these challenges, this paper proposes a novel lightweight multiscale morphology-enhanced low-rank head residual state space network (MMLH-RSSN), built on a synergistic framework developed for robust feature representation and efficient modeling. Specifically, we first designed a multiscale morphological module to explicitly capture hierarchical spatial features, a crucial step for distinguishing spectrally similar classes with varying scales. To effectively encode these complex features, we then introduced an enhanced Residual SSM, which integrates residual connections and layer normalization to significantly improve model stability and learning capacity. An end-to-end lightweight design was ensured by a parameter-efficient low-rank decomposition head. Extensive experiments on four benchmark datasets show that MMLH-RSSN achieves state-of-the-art performance, with overall accuracies of 98.51% and 99.69% on the Pavia University and Botswana datasets, using only 0.063 M parameters. This work demonstrates that a synergistic combination of multiscale priors and a stabilized SSM backbone offers a highly accurate and efficient solution for HSI classification, particularly for resource-constrained scenarios.
Structure, Dynamics, and Neural Codes in a Bat Social Network.
Ray S, Las L, Ulanovsky N
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Apr · PMID 41945455 · Full text
Group formation and maintenance are critical for the survival of social organisms. We investigated a colony of highly social, wild Egyptian fruit bats in a laboratory-based cave to comprehensively characterize how their...
Group formation and maintenance are critical for the survival of social organisms. We investigated a colony of highly social, wild Egyptian fruit bats in a laboratory-based cave to comprehensively characterize how their social networks evolve and stabilize over weeks and months. Using state-of-the-art tracking methods and videography, we documented the identities, locations, and social interactions between individual bats. We characterized the structure of social networks based on proximity-based social affiliation and rate of social interactions-and found that the network structure evolved dynamically over a few days after the formation or alteration of the group, and subsequently stabilized. Social dominance relationships initially evolved and then remained stable over several months and were reflected in several aspects of the bats' natural behavior, such as the monopolization of food resources and sleeping arrangements. We also conducted wireless single-unit neural recordings in this freely behaving social colony and investigated hippocampal CA1 neurons. A subset of neurons encoded the relative (egocentric) location of other individuals and tracked the directions and distances to them. These egocentric neurons encoded more strongly high-hierarchy bats. Overall, after an initial dynamic period of group formation, the bats established a highly structured and stable social network, which was reflected in their neural codes.
Blue Zones: Identifying Adaptation Opportunities Using Past, Present, and Future Flooding in New York City.
Royte L, Sanderson EW
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41920819 · Full text
Climate change poses escalating risks to urban populations and infrastructure, making adaptation strategies urgent. We overlaid the pre-urban, natural hydrology of New York City's five boroughs with places that flood tod...
Climate change poses escalating risks to urban populations and infrastructure, making adaptation strategies urgent. We overlaid the pre-urban, natural hydrology of New York City's five boroughs with places that flood today and predictions of future flooding to identify coincident localities ("Blue Zones") where adaptation is needed. We identified 538 Blue Zones, which collectively cover 21% of the city's land area, affecting approximately 1.2 million people and 11% of city buildings. Over two-thirds of the flood-prone area is estimated to be threatened by coastal flooding; 36% from combined coastal and pluvial flooding; and 5% from pluvial flooding only. Analysis of land tenure revealed that two-thirds of Blue Zone area is managed by government entities. Urban historical ecology provides important insights not only about the past but the future of cities.
Combinatorial Instrumental Sound-Making in a Captive Chimpanzee: Evolution of Vocal Externalization.
Hattori Y, Voinov P, Uchikoshi M
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41880532 · Publisher ↗
Instrumental music may have evolved from earlier vocal expressions, gradually expanding into rhythmic sound production using tools. We report a novel case in which a captive male chimpanzee spontaneously produced a struc...
Instrumental music may have evolved from earlier vocal expressions, gradually expanding into rhythmic sound production using tools. We report a novel case in which a captive male chimpanzee spontaneously produced a structured instrumental display using a self-fabricated tool. The display consisted of combinatorial sequences of rhythmic actions resembling the structure of pant-hoot vocalizations. Transition analyses revealed significant nonrandom transitions from tool-assisted drumming to object dragging, and from dragging to object throwing, and rhythm analyses showed that the drumming patterns were predominantly isochronous. Tool-assisted drumming was less variable than bodily drumming. Notably, facial expressions, including play face and silent bared teeth, were also observed, suggesting emotional engagement and potential social signaling. These findings indicate that emotional expression-usually mediated via vocalizations-can be externalized through instrumental sound. This behavior may provide important insights into evolutionary pathways leading to human musical expression. Our findings also support the hypothesis that music may have originated from affective vocal expression and evolved through multimodal integration of sound-making behaviors. Observations from captive environments, where constraints such as predator avoidance are relaxed, may reveal otherwise-hidden capacities for structured sound production. Our research highlights the evolutionary continuity between primate acoustic displays and the human capacity for music.
Tracking Tool for Fiddler Crabs in Natural Settings to Promote a Model Organism for Synchrony.
Khatib H, Abrams DM, Amichay G
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41876964 · Full text
Synchronization has been studied across vastly different spatiotemporal scales in physical, biological, and social systems. Research into the mechanisms that give rise to temporal order, however, has been, by and large,...
Synchronization has been studied across vastly different spatiotemporal scales in physical, biological, and social systems. Research into the mechanisms that give rise to temporal order, however, has been, by and large, mostly theoretical. Here, we seek to advance the fiddler crab as a model organism for collective synchronization. To attract mates, males of many fiddler crab species wave their claws in sync. These crabs are found in many places around the world, so they are generally accessible and observable. Translating observation (e.g., from recorded video) into actionable data, however, remains a challenge. We provide an easy-to-use and open source tracking algorithm that detects claw wave activity in video recordings and preserves IDs over time. We demonstrate the robustness of the algorithm by running it on videos displaying different species from different locations. We discuss possible future directions (both in the lab and the field) and call for renewed interest in these unique animals.
Nonlinear Characteristics of High-Density Electroencephalography Demonstrate Differences in Neural Processing of Musical Syntax by Musicians and Nonmusicians.
Yang Z, Ge Y, Xie J … +7 more , Zeng H, Su H, Miu J, Zhao R, Han C, Zhang S, Xu G
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41875275 · Publisher ↗
This study investigates the impact of music training on the neural processing of musical syntax, as captured by electroencephalography (EEG) signals. It addresses the complex, long-term brain state changes and inter-regi...
This study investigates the impact of music training on the neural processing of musical syntax, as captured by electroencephalography (EEG) signals. It addresses the complex, long-term brain state changes and inter-regional interactions during syntactic processing, which remain poorly understood. We compared the syntactic sensitivity of musicians and nonmusicians by exposing them to music fragments with varying degrees of syntactical violations according to music theory. Our findings reveal that music training enhances brain sensitivity to syntactic violations, with musicians exhibiting lower low-band power and higher high-band power in EEG signals compared to nonmusicians. Additionally, musicians showed higher dispersion entropy and fractal dimension in EEG signals, indicating greater complexity in neural processing. Brain connectivity, as measured by covariance, decreased for nonmusicians but increased for musicians when listening to the most syntactically irregular version of a familiar piece of music, suggesting differential neural engagement. Phase locking value analysis demonstrated consistently higher brain connectivity in musicians. This research provides insights into the advanced cognitive processes underlying music syntax processing and offers a novel approach for evaluating music cognition levels, contributing to the understanding of enhanced cognition in musicians.
Repurposing Drugs as Bacteroides fragilis BFT-3 Inhibitors in the Animal Infection Model Galleria mellonella.
Jiménez-Alesanco A, Gómara-Lomero M, Jeblaoui H … +4 more , Vega S, Velázquez-Campoy A, Aínsa JA, Abián O
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41871160 · Full text
Bacteroides fragilis is a key component of the human gut microbiota, although enterotoxigenic strains (ETBF), which produce B. fragilis toxin (BFT), can act as opportunistic pathogens. BFT disrupts intestinal epithelial...
Bacteroides fragilis is a key component of the human gut microbiota, although enterotoxigenic strains (ETBF), which produce B. fragilis toxin (BFT), can act as opportunistic pathogens. BFT disrupts intestinal epithelial integrity and contributes to conditions such as inflammatory bowel disease and colorectal cancer. This study aimed to characterize three allosteric inhibitors of BFT-3 (isoform 3 of BFT), previously identified by our group through high-throughput screening of US Food and Drug Administration approved drugs. We evaluated their activities in vitro and in vivo. Using Galleria mellonella larvae as a novel infection model for B. fragilis, we assessed the antimicrobial and antivirulence potential of these compounds. Among the three tested compounds, MOA4 demonstrated superior efficacy, enhanced bacterial clearance in vivo, and increased larval survival in a dose-dependent manner, with minimal toxicity. Synergy studies have revealed the potential combinatory effects of MOA4 and conventional antibiotics. These findings establish G. mellonella as a valuable alternative model for studying B. fragilis infections and highlight MOA4 as a promising candidate to be repurposed for the treatment of B. fragilis-mediated diseases while preserving commensal microbiota.
Reassessing Transketolase Assays: Methodological Considerations for Detecting Functional Thiamine Deficiency.
Edwards KA
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41870883 · Full text
Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency due to degradation, inadequate intake, impaired absorption, or increased metabolic demand remains prevalent in both human and animal populations. In its diphosphate form (thiamine diphosp...
Thiamine (vitamin B1) deficiency due to degradation, inadequate intake, impaired absorption, or increased metabolic demand remains prevalent in both human and animal populations. In its diphosphate form (thiamine diphosphate, TDP), thiamine serves as an essential cofactor for metabolic enzymes, including transketolase (TKT), a rate-limiting enzyme of the pentose-phosphate pathway. Measurement of TKT activity with and without exogenous TDP provides a functional assessment of thiamine utilization that serves as a surrogate for or complements direct quantification of thiamine forms. Beyond its historical role as a deficiency-screening tool, the TKT assay offers opportunities to interrogate enzyme function and cofactor dependence. Strategic variation of assay conditions, such as higher TDP concentrations to identify low-affinity TKT variants or including or omitting magnesium to assess functional cofactor limitation, can distinguish true deficiency from impaired enzyme utilization or altered enzyme properties. This review evaluates preanalytical variables, assay methodologies, and data presentation strategies used for TKT measurements in erythrocytes and other tissues across human and nonhuman studies. Emphasis is placed on biological and methodological determinants that shape measured activity and responsiveness. Improved interpretation frameworks and thoughtful assay design can expand the utility of TKT measurements as indicators of functional thiamine status across clinical, translational, and ecological contexts.
Development of Central and Peripheral Vision and Visual Field Asymmetries from Preschoolers to Adults.
Tsai LT, Chen CC, Hou CH
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41870333 · Publisher ↗
This study explored how meridian, eccentricity, contrast, and age influence the development of central and peripheral visual acuity (VA) in 37 children (aged 4-12)-divided into three groups-and eight adults. Psychophysic...
This study explored how meridian, eccentricity, contrast, and age influence the development of central and peripheral visual acuity (VA) in 37 children (aged 4-12)-divided into three groups-and eight adults. Psychophysical methods were used to measure VA using Lea symbols at contrast levels of 40% and 80%, measured at the fovea and at eccentricities of 2°, 4°, 6°, and 8° along the superior, inferior, right, and left meridians. The results showed that children aged 6 to <8 years had already achieved adult-like VA performance at both central and peripheral locations across contrast levels. At 40% contrast, younger children (4 to <6 years) showed significantly lower VA, especially at the fovea and across eccentricities. The analyses revealed better VA along the horizontal meridian relative to the vertical meridian, and superior meridian performance relative to the inferior meridian, with these asymmetries becoming more pronounced with age. Although the results indicated significant differences between the right and left meridians, post-hoc analyses identified such differences only in a few conditions. Overall, the findings demonstrate that the development of VA is influenced by the interaction of meridional orientation, eccentricity, contrast, and age, highlighting an age-related increase in visual field asymmetry.
Defensive Freezing and the Evolutionary Origins of Meditation in Humans.
Black DS, Reed P
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41870324 · Publisher ↗
The biological origins of meditation in humans remain underexplored, despite extensive scholarship on its cultural history and health effects. We present a theoretical account that traces the origins of meditation to the...
The biological origins of meditation in humans remain underexplored, despite extensive scholarship on its cultural history and health effects. We present a theoretical account that traces the origins of meditation to the evolutionarily conserved repertoire of defensive freezing. We propose that this ancient survival response-characterized by motoric immobility, heightened vigilance with narrowed attentional focus, and bradycardia-provided a behavioral, neural, and physiological substrate upon which operant and social reinforcement could act. Over evolutionary time, these response components may have been co-opted and selectively reinforced within early human social communities, giving rise to complex, structured behavioral repertoires resembling modern sitting and slow-movement meditative practices embedded within various cultural systems of teaching. Rather than viewing meditation as a human psychological innovation, we suggest it represents a culturally refined expression of an ancestral survival strategy, maintained and elaborated through reinforcement, mimicry, and verbal instruction, spanning the late Paleolithic era (approximately 150,000-200,000 years before present) to the present day. This framework recasts meditation as an evolved modulation of a more basic stress- and threat-related freezing response template, shaped and maintained through social reinforcement.
Intention-Outcome Trade-Off in Moral Character Learning.
Huang G, Xu Y, Derrington E … +2 more , Dreher JC, Qu C
Ann N Y Acad Sci · 2026 Mar · PMID 41855378 · Publisher ↗
To evaluate an individuals' moral character the intentions behind their actions must be discriminated from the actual outcome. How this is achieved remains unclear. We developed a novel paradigm that dissociates the perc...
To evaluate an individuals' moral character the intentions behind their actions must be discriminated from the actual outcome. How this is achieved remains unclear. We developed a novel paradigm that dissociates the perception of intentions from outcome. Participants separately predicted and received feedback on agents' intentions and outcomes. They then made moral evaluations of the agent. Four independent experiments (120 participants in total) demonstrated that intentions and outcomes mutually influenced each other during the learning process before integrating them for subsequent moral evaluation. Computational modeling further revealed that intentions biased the predictions of outcomes, while outcomes directly modified the beliefs about intentions. Moreover, participants considered both intention and outcome when making moral evaluations, but placed greater weight on intention, regardless of sampling bias and presentation order. These findings offer new insights concerning how individuals process intention and outcome when learning about others' moral character.
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