Aversive view memories and risk perception in navigating ants.

Many ants establish foraging routes through learning views of the visual panorama. Route models have focused primarily on attractive view use, which experienced foragers orient towards to return to known sites. However, aversive views have recently been uncovered as a key component of route learning. Here, Cataglyphis velox rapidly learned aversive views, when associated with a negative outcome, a period of captivity in vegetation, triggering increases in hesitation behavior. These memories were based on the accumulation of experiences over multiple trips with each new experience regulating forager hesitancy. Foragers were also sensitive to captivity time differences, suggesting they possess some mechanism to quantify duration. Finally, we analyzed foragers' perception of risky (i.e. variable) versus stable aversive outcomes by associating two sites along the route with distinct captivity schedules, a fixed or variable duration, with the same mean across training. Foragers exhibited fewer hesitations in response to risky outcomes compared to fixed ones, indicating they perceived risky outcomes as less severe. Results align with a logarithmic relationship between captivity duration and hesitations, suggesting that aversive stimulus perception is a logarithm of its actual value. We discuss how aversive view learning could be executed within the mushroom bodies circuitry following a prediction error rule.

Experiences of people with opioid use disorder during the COVID-19 pandemic: A qualitative study.

AIM: To capture pandemic experiences of people with opioid use disorder (OUD) to better inform the programs that serve them. DESIGN: We designed, conducted, and analyzed semi-structured qualitative interviews using grounded theory. We conducted interviews until theme saturation was reached and we iteratively developed a codebook of emerging themes. Individuals with lived experience of substance use provided feedback at all steps of the study. SETTING: We conducted phone or in-person interviews in compliance with physical distancing and public health regulations in outdoor Vancouver parks or well-ventilated indoor spaces between June to September 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Using purposive sampling, we recruited participants (n = 19) who were individuals with OUD enrolled in an intensive community outreach program, had visited one of two emergency departments, were over 18, lived within catchment, and were not already receiving opioid agonist therapy. MEASUREMENTS: We audio-recorded interviews, which were later transcribed verbatim and checked for accuracy while removing all identifiers. Interviews explored participants' knowledge of COVID-19 and related safety measures, changes to drug use and healthcare services, and community impacts of COVID-19. RESULTS: One third of participants were women, approximately two thirds had stable housing, and ages ranged between 23 and 59 years old. Participants were knowledgeable on COVID-19 public health measures. Some participants noted that fear decreased social connection and reluctance to help reverse overdoses; others expressed pride in community cohesion during crisis. Several participants mentioned decreased access to housing, harm reduction, and medical care services. Several participants reported using drugs alone more frequently, consuming different or fewer drugs because of supply shortages, or using more drugs to replace lost activities. CONCLUSION: COVID-19 had profound effects on the social lives, access to services, and risk-taking behaviour of people with opioid use disorder. Pandemic public health measures must include risk mitigation strategies to maintain access to critical opioid-related services.

Is cleanliness next to abstinence? The effect of cleanliness priming on attitudes towards harm reduction strategies for people with substance use disorders.

Can exposure to a cleanliness prime affect moral judgements towards harm reduction strategies (HRS) for individuals with substance use disorders? Our research examined (a) the effect of a cleanliness prime on attitudes towards HRS and (b) whether this effect would be attenuated by a brief educational presentation. Participants were randomly assigned to a priming condition and an educational presentation condition. Results demonstrated that (a) the cleanliness prime did not shift attitudes towards HRS, however, (b) the educational presentations significantly shifted attitudes to be more positive after the Harm Reduction presentation and more negative after the Healthy Living presentation. The literature on priming is mixed and our results support a growing body of research challenging the robustness of cleanliness priming and also demonstrates that brief presentations can change attitudes. Our research has implications for education on the benefits of HRS in reducing disease transmission, refuse in the community, and overdose deaths.

O circuito dos afetos na drogadição: uma explicação alternativa para a servidão às drogas / El circuito de los afectos en la drogadicción: una explicación alternativa para la servidumbre a las drogas / The circuit of affects in drug addiction: an alternative explanation for the servitude to drugs

Apresentamos uma explicação alternativa para a noção de drogadição, refletindo sobre os motivos que levam uma pessoa a perseverar no consumo de drogas, mesmo sabendo dos malefícios decorrentes. Referenciado pelas obras de Humberto Maturana e pela teoria dos afetos na Ética de Spinoza, assumimos o pressuposto de que os seres humanos são movidos por paixões e formulamos o circuito dos afetos da drogadição. Identificamos nesse circuito três complexos afetivos: complexo singular pessoal, complexo de alívio/oblívio e complexo psicossocial, que formam uma dinâmica espiral de afetos tristes. Tais afetos compelem o indivíduo a continuar nessa dinâmica, e o papel das drogas passa a ser acessório. Cada complexo afetivo é caracterizado por afetos de origens distintas e a compreensão da particularidade e da especificidade de cada um organiza a ação de cuidado correspondente, a fim de interromper a dinâmica espiral do circuito. (AU)

Presentamos una explicación alternativa para la noción de drogadicción, reflexionando sobre los motivos que llevan a una persona a perseverar en el consumo de drogas, incluso sabiendo de los perjuicios que causan. Referenciado por las obras de Humberto Maturana y por la teoría de los afectos en la Ética de Spinoza, asumimos la presuposición de que los seres humanos son movidos por pasiones y formulamos el circuito de los afectos de la drogadicción. En ese circuito identificamos tres complejos afectivos: complejo singular personal, complejo de alivio/olvido y complejo psicosocial que forman una dinámica espiral de afectos tristes. Tales afectos compelen al individuo a continuar en esa dinámica y el papel de las drogas pasa a ser accesorio. Cada complejo afectivo se caracteriza por afectos de orígenes distintos y la comprensión de la particularidad y de la especificidad de cada uno organiza la acción de cuidado correspondiente, de forma que interrumpa la dinámica espiral del circuito. (AU)

We present an alternative explanation for drug addiction, reflecting on the reasons that lead a person to persevere in drug consumption despite knowing the harm that this consumption brings. Based on the works by Humberto Maturana and on the theory of affects in Spinoza's Ethics, we assume that human beings are moved by passions and formulate the circuit of affects of drug addiction. In this circuit, we have identified three affective complexes: the singular personal complex, the relief/oblivion complex, and the psychosocial complex, which form a spiral dynamics of sad affects. Such affects impel the individual to continue in this dynamics, and drugs play only an accessory role. Affects from different origins characterize each affective complex and understanding their particular and specific features guides the corresponding care action, in order to interrupt the spiral dynamics of the circuit. (AU)

Evaluation of a personally-tailored opioid overdose prevention education and naloxone distribution intervention to promote harm reduction and treatment readiness in individuals actively using illicit opioids.

BACKGROUND: Opioid overdose prevention education and naloxone distribution (OEND) programs include information on general risk factors, overdose recognition, and naloxone utilization. This study evaluated a personally-tailored OEND (PTOEND) intervention designed to promote harm reduction and treatment readiness for illicit opioid users by also including education about personal overdose-risk factors and medication for opioid use disorder (MOUD). METHOD: A secondary analysis of a randomized controlled trial testing a Peer recovery support service (PRSS) intervention, relative to Control, in adult illicit opioid users reporting treatment for an overdose in the prior 6 months. PTOEND, a 30-minute computer-guided intervention, was administered by a research assistant at the randomization visit to all participants (N = 80). Participants completed a telephone visit 3 weeks post-randomization (n = 74) to assess changes in opioid overdose/MOUD knowledge and treatment readiness. Participants completed in-person visits at 3 (n = 66), 6 (n = 58), and 12 (n = 44) months post-randomization to assess illicit opioid use and naloxone utilization (all time points) and overdose-risk behaviors (12 months). We conducted pre-post analyses of the impact of PTOEND controlling for the PRSS effect. RESULTS: PTOEND increased knowledge of overdose (79.8% to 81.5%, p < 0.05) and MOUD (66.9% to 75.0%, p < 0.01) and decreased perceived treatment barriers (2.1 to 1.9, p < 0.01); desire to quit all substances increased (7.2 to 7.8, p = 0.05). Self-reported opioid use was significantly decreased at each follow-up (all p < 0.01). Self-reported overdose-risk behaviors decreased significantly (6.2 to 2.4, p < 0.01). A majority of participants (65 %) reported naloxone utilization. CONCLUSIONS: PTOEND may be effective for promoting harm reduction and treatment readiness.

Severity of self-reported depressive symptoms in a healthy sample is modulated by trait Harm Avoidance, not by 5-HTTLPR polymorphism.

BACKGROUND: The length of the serotonin transporter polymorphic region (5-HTTLPR) has been suggested to be associated with risk for developing depression, though with inconsistent evidence. Likewise, the personality trait Harm Avoidance (HA) has been linked to vulnerability for developing depression. However, no study has investigated whether there is an interaction effect between 5-HTTLPR and trait HA on depressive symptoms in healthy individuals. METHODS: A total of 319 healthy individuals were included in this cross-sectional study. All participants were genotyped for the 5-HTTLPR polymorphism and completed self-reported measures of personality trait HA with the Temperament and Character Inventory (TCI), and of depression with the Major Depression Inventory (MDI). Linear regression analyses were used to test interaction effects between 5-HTTLPR and HA on MDI. Post hoc analyses were further performed to investigate main effects of HA and possible interaction effects between 5-HTTLPR and HA sub-scales on MDI. RESULTS: No significant interaction effect between 5-HTTLPR and HA on MDI was found. A significant main effect of trait HA on MDI was found, indicating that personality trait HA is a viable vulnerability factor for even sub-clinical depressive symptoms. CONCLUSION: This study finds a strong significant relationship between HA and MDI. Moreover, the present study supports the line of research indicating that candidate gene-by-interactions does not increase vulnerability for developing depression even at a sub-clinical level.

Understanding the increase in opioid overdoses in New Hampshire: A rapid epidemiologic assessment.

BACKGROUND: New Hampshire (NH) has had among the highest rates of fentanyl-related overdose deaths per capita in the United States for several years in a row-more than three times the national average in 2016. This mixed-methods study investigated drug-using practices and perspectives of NH residents who use opioids to inform policy in tackling the overdose crisis. METHODS: Seventy-six participants from six NH counties completed demographic surveys and semi-structured interviews focused on drug-using practices and perspectives, including use precursors, fentanyl-seeking behaviors, and experiences with overdose. Rigorous qualitative methods were used to analyze interview data including transcription, coding and content analysis. Descriptive statistics were calculated on quantitative survey data. RESULTS: Eighty-four percent of interviewees had knowingly used fentanyl in their lifetime, 70 % reported overdosing at least once, and 42 % had sought a batch of drugs known to have caused an overdose. The majority stated most heroin available in NH was laced with fentanyl and acknowledged that variability across batches increased overdose risk. Participants reported high availability of fentanyl and limited access to prevention, treatment, and harm reduction programs. There was widespread support for expanding education campaigns for youth, increasing treatment availability, and implementing needle exchange programs. CONCLUSIONS: A confluence of factors contribute to the NH opioid overdose crisis. Despite consensus that fentanyl is the primary cause of overdoses, individuals continue to use it and affirm limited availability of resources to address the problem. Policies targeting innovative prevention, harm reduction, and treatment efforts are needed to more effectively address the crisis.

Evidence of compensation among waterpipe smokers using harm reduction components.

OBJECTIVES: We examined two waterpipe tobacco smoking components advertised to reduce harm to determine if they result in lower levels of biomarkers of acute exposure. METHODS: We conducted a crossover study of 34 experienced waterpipe smokers smoking a research-grade waterpipe in three configurations ad libitum in a controlled chamber: control (quick-light charcoal), electric (electric heating) and bubble diffuser (quick-light charcoal and bubble diffuser). We collected data on smoking topography, environmental carbon monoxide (CO), subjective effects, heart rate, plasma nicotine and exhaled CO and benzene. RESULTS: Smokers' mean plasma nicotine, heart rate, and exhaled benzene and CO boost were all significantly lower for electric compared with control. However, smokers puffed more intensely and took significantly more and larger volume puffs for a larger total puffing volume (2.0 times larger, p<0.0001) when smoking electric; machine yields indicate this was likely due to lower mainstream nicotine. Smokers rated electric smoking experience less satisfying and less pleasant. For charcoal heating, the mean mass of CO emitted into the chamber was ~1 g when participants smoked for a mean of 32 minutes at a typical residential ventilation rate (2.3 hr-1). CONCLUSION: Waterpipe smokers engaged in compensation (i.e., increased and more intense puffing) to make up for decreased mainstream nicotine delivery from the same tobacco heated two ways. Waterpipe components can affect human puffing behaviours, exposures and subjective effects. Evidence reported here supports regulation of waterpipe components, smoking bans in multifamily housing and the use of human studies to evaluate modified or reduced risk claims.

Specks of Dirt and Tons of Pain: Dosage Distinguishes Impurity From Harm.

Levels of moral condemnation often vary with outcome severity (e.g., extreme destruction is morally worse than moderate damage), but this is not always true. We investigated whether judgments of purity transgressions are more or less sensitive to variation in dosage than judgments of harm transgressions. In three studies, adults (N = 426) made moral evaluations of harm and purity transgressions that systematically varied in dosage (frequency or magnitude). Pairs of low-dosage and high-dosage transgressions were presented such that the same sets of modifiers (e.g., "occasionally" vs. "regularly," "small" vs. "large") or amounts (e.g., "millimeter" vs. "centimeter") were reused across moral domains. Statistical interactions between domain and dosage indicated robust distinctions between the perceived wrongness of high-dosage and low-dosage harms, whereas moral evaluations of impure acts were considerably less influenced by dosage. Our findings support the existence of a cognitive distinction between purity-based and harm-based morals and challenge current wisdom regarding relationships between intentions and outcomes in moral judgment.

The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace: Narratives engage cognitive biases to increase electronic cigarette substitution.

BACKGROUND: The Experimental Tobacco Marketplace (ETM) is a digital storefront in which participants can purchase tobacco products using an account balance that reflects their typical tobacco product purchasing. The ETM is also an ideal resource to investigate the harm-reduction potential of alternative nicotine products such as e-cigarettes. In a series of experiments, we explored the effects of harm-reduction narratives that encouraged e-cigarette substitution of conventional cigarettes in the ETM. These narratives incorporated different cognitive biases in order to determine which strategy is most effective. METHODS: In both experiments, participants, recruited from Amazon Mechanical Turk, read a narrative about a friend that either falls ill or faces financial difficulties and then made purchases in the ETM. Some of these narratives specifically incorporated different cognitive biases including trusting authority. Across ETM trials, the price of conventional cigarettes increased while the price of the alternative products, including e-cigarettes, remained constant. RESULTS: Across both experiments, a general pattern emerged supporting the effectiveness of narratives in increasing e-cigarette purchasing. Importantly, from a harm-reduction perspective, this increase in e-cigarette substitution frequently corresponded with a decrease in conventional cigarette purchasing. CONCLUSIONS: Narratives can decrease conventional cigarette and increase e-cigarette purchasing in an ETM that mimics real-world marketplaces. Invoking different cognitive biases may bolster this effect. Narratives can be a valuable harm-reduction tool because they are cost-effective, can be widely disseminated, and can be personalized to individuals.

Widespread Belief That Organic and Additive-Free Tobacco Products are Less Harmful Than Regular Tobacco Products: Results From the 2017 US Health Information National Trends Survey.

SIGNIFICANCE: US smokers of Natural American Spirit, a brand marketed as "organic" and "additive-free," are more likely than other cigarette smokers to believe that their brand might be less harmful than other brands. This article (1) describes the prevalence of belief that "organic" and "additive-free" tobacco is less harmful than regular tobacco products in the US population and (2) describes the sociodemographic characteristics of adults who believe tobacco products with these descriptors are less harmful. METHODS: Data were drawn from the 2017 Health Information National Trends Survey (HINTS), a nationally representative survey of US adults. Logistic regression models were used to examine correlates of the belief that "organic" or "additive-free" tobacco products are less harmful than regular tobacco products. RESULTS: Overall, 26.7% of US adults and 45.3% of adult smokers believe that "organic" tobacco products are less harmful than regular tobacco products. Similarly, 35.2% of US adults and 47.1% of smokers believe that "additive-free" tobacco products are less harmful. When examining gender, age, education, race/ethnicity, sexual orientation, and smoking status, only age (adjusted odds ratio [aOR] ~0.98, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.97, 0.99 for both outcomes) and smoking status (current vs. never smokers, aOR ~1.78, 95% CI 1.03, 3.07 for both outcomes) were correlates of believing that "organic" or "additive-free" tobacco is less harmful than regular tobacco products. CONCLUSIONS: Belief that "organic" and "additive-free" tobacco products are less harmful than other products is widespread. Younger adults and current smokers are most likely to be misinformed by "organic" or "additive-free" tobacco product descriptors. IMPLICATIONS: Belief that "organic" and "additive-free" tobacco products are less harmful than other products is widespread among US adults and most prevalent among smokers. Removal of terms that incorrectly imply reduced harm may correct current and future consumers' misperceptions about the brand.

HCV seroconversion in a cohort of people who use drugs followed in a mobile harm reduction unit in Madrid: Breaking barriers for HCV elimination.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Harm reduction strategies have been shown to decrease the incidence of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection in people who inject drugs (PWID), but the results have been inconsistent when it comes to prevention of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection. We aimed to examine the rate of HCV seroconversion among people who use drugs (PWUD) followed at a mobile harm reduction unit (MHRU) to evaluate if a low-threshold methadone substitution program (LTMSP) is associated with a low HCV seroconversion rate and subsequently identify barriers for elimination. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A cohort of PWUD have been followed at a MRHU in Madrid between 2013 and 2016. Individuals who were negative for HCV antibodies at baseline and who had at least one retest for HCV antibodies were eligible. Kaplan-Meier methods were employed to estimate the global incidence density. RESULTS: During the study period, 946 PWUD were screened for HCV at least once. At baseline 127 PWUD were negative for HCV antibodies and had at least one follow-up HCV antibodies test. The baseline HCV prevalence was 33%. After a median 0.89 (IQR 0.3-1.5) years of follow-up and 135 person-years of risk for HCV infection, 28 subjects seroconverted. The incidence density for HCV seroconversion for this sample was 20.7 cases (95% CI: 14.3-29.7) per 100 person-years. Injecting drugs in the last year was strongly associated to HCV seroconversion (AHR 15.5, 95%CI 4.3-55.8, p < 0.001). Methadone status was not associated to HCV seroconversion. CONCLUSIONS: A high incidence of HCV infection was found among PWUD at a MHRU in Madrid. In this setting opiate substitutive treatment (OST) as a LTMSP does not appear to protect against HCV seroconversion.

Marijuana eCHECKUPTO GO: Effects of a personalized feedback plus protective behavioral strategies intervention for heavy marijuana-using college students.

BACKGROUND: Marijuana use is common among U.S. college students. Liberalization of marijuana use policies is hypothesized to decrease social norms discouraging use, which protects against marijuana use. This may increase the importance of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) to reduce marijuana use harm. METHODS: This study tested direct and moderated (by sex) program effects of an adapted version of the Marijuana eCHECKUPTO GO, a web-based marijuana use intervention providing university-specific personalized feedback (PF) with normative information and PBS to students attending a university in a state with legalized adult recreational marijuana. Participants were 298 heavy-using college students randomly assigned to receive Marijuana eCHECKUPTO GO or strategies for healthy stress management (HSM). General linear models (GLMs) tested direct program effects on proximal intervention targets, marijuana use, and use consequences. Multi-group GLMs then tested the moderating effect of sex on direct intervention effects. RESULTS: Marijuana eCHECKUPTO GO participants reported decreases in estimated use prevalence (i.e., descriptive norms), self-reported hours high per week, days high per week, periods high per week, and weeks high per month. Sex moderated intervention effects on the use of PBS such that females in the PF condition increased their use of PBS more than males. CONCLUSION: Results demonstrate preliminary support for the adapted Marijuana eCHECKUPTO GO in reducing marijuana use for "heavy college-aged users". Future research should test adapted Marijuana eCHECKUPTO GO sustained effects over time, and examine whether program effects on harm reduction manifest after sustained (e.g., booster) program implementation.

Mediators and Moderators of a Personalized Feedback Alcohol Intervention for Nonstudent Emerging Adult Drinkers.

BACKGROUND: The main objective of this study was to test proposed mediators and moderators of a personalized feedback alcohol intervention (PFI) on alcohol use. Data for the current investigation came from an earlier randomized controlled trial of a PFI targeted for nonstudent heavy drinkers between 18 and 25 years. METHODS: Participants were 164 (65.9% men) drinkers recruited from the community. They were randomly assigned to either a single-session PFI or an assessment-only (AO) control group. Follow-up assessments at 1 and 3 months were included for analysis. RESULTS: Perceived drinking norms mediated the intervention effect on quantity, frequency, and peak drinking; 2 dimensions of protective behavioral strategies (PBS) mediated the intervention effect on peak drinking; and drinking to cope motives did not mediate any drinking outcomes. Of the moderating factors examined (i.e., norms, PBS, drink to cope motives, age, gender), only PBS related to serious harm reduction moderated intervention impact. Specifically, for those high in serious harm reduction PBS at baseline, postintervention reductions in drinking were stronger for the PFI group compared to AO. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, findings highlight the importance of correcting misperceived drinking norms and addressing the use of specific PBS in brief interventions. The knowledge gained from this study represents an important step toward minimizing drinking-related harms that are disproportionately experienced by those with lower educational attainment.

Relationship between chronotype and temperament/character among university students.

Chronotype is largely classified as being morning or evening types according to preference for daily activity and the preferred bedtime. This study examined the relationship between chronotype and temperament/character dimensions among university students. A total of 2857 participants completed the 140-item Temperament and Character Inventory-Revised Short version (TCI-RS) from a 5-score scale as well as the 13-item composite scale for morningness-eveningness (CSM). In this study, we classified chronotype as "morning," "neither," or "evening" types according to CSM scores and compared the scores in terms of 4 temperament dimensions and 3 character dimensions. The evening type showed high values for novelty seeking and harm avoidance, whereas the morning type had high scores for persistence, self-directedness, and cooperativeness. A logistic regression analysis after controlling for age and gender showed that chronotype significantly associated with persistence and novelty seeking. The results of this study suggest that chronotype is different according to gender and age and in addition, chronotype closely correlates with temperament and character. Among these, eveningness was associated with high novelty seeking, whereas morningness was associated with high persistence. Further studies are required to investigate the relationship between chronotype and temperament/character dimensions in a wider age bracket.

Stress and adolescent well-being: the need for an interdisciplinary framework.

Stress and strain among adolescents have been investigated and discussed largely within three separate disciplines: mental health, where the focus has been on the negative effects of stress on emotional health; criminology, where the emphasis has been on the effects of strain on delinquency; and biology, where the focus has been to understand the effects of stress on physiology. Recently, scholars have called for increased multilevel developmental analyses of the bio-psychosocial nature of risk and protection for behaviors of individuals. This paper draws on several different but converging theoretical perspectives in an attempt to provide an overview of research relevant to stress in adolescence and puts forth a new framework that aims to provide both a common language and consilience by which future research can analyze the effects of multiple biological, social and environmental factors experienced during specific developmental periods, and cumulatively over time, on harmful behavior during adolescence. We present a framework to examine the effects of stress on diverse behavioral outcomes among adolescents, including substance use, suicidal behavior, self-inflicted harm, and delinquency.

Drug-induced neurotoxicity in addiction medicine: From prevention to harm reduction.

Neurotoxicity is considered as a major cause of neurodegenerative disorders. Most drugs of abuse have nonnegligible neurotoxic effects many of which are primarily mediated by several dopaminergic and glutamatergic neurotransmitter systems. Although many researchers have investigated the medical and cognitive consequences of drug abuse, the neurotoxicity induced by these drugs still requires comprehensive attention. The science of neurotoxicity promises to improve preventive and therapeutic strategies for brain disorders such as Alzheimer disease and Parkinson's disease. However, its clinical applications for addiction medicine remain to be defined adequately. This chapter reviews the most commonly discussed mechanisms underlying neurotoxicity induced by common drugs of abuse including amphetamines, cocaine, opiates, and alcohol. In addition, the known factors that trigger and/or predispose to drug-induced neurotoxicity are discussed. These factors include drug-related, individual-related, and environmental insults. Moreover, we introduce some of the potential pharmacological antineurotoxic interventions deduced from experimental animal studies. These interventions involve various targets such as dopaminergic system, mitochondria, cell death signaling, and NMDA receptors, among others. We conclude the chapter with a discussion of addicted patients who might benefit from such interventions.

Sex Differences in Exploration Behavior and the Relationship to Harm Avoidance.

Venturing into novel terrain poses physical risks to a female and her offspring. Females have a greater tendency to avoid physical harm, while males tend to have larger range sizes and often outperform females in navigation-related tasks. Given this backdrop, we expected that females would explore a novel environment with more caution than males, and that more-cautious exploration would negatively affect navigation performance. Participants explored a novel, large-scale, virtual environment in search of five objects, pointed in the direction of each object from the origin, and then navigated back to the objects. We found that females demonstrated more caution while exploring as reflected in the increased amounts of pausing and revisiting of previously traversed locations. In addition, more pausing and revisiting behaviors led to degradation in navigation performance. Finally, individual levels of trait harm avoidance were positively associated with the amount of revisiting behavior during exploration. These findings support the idea that the fitness costs associated with long-distance travel may encourage females to take a more cautious approach to spatial exploration, and that this caution may partially explain the sex differences in navigation performance.