Age-related striatal BOLD changes without changes in behavioral loss aversion.

Loss aversion (LA), the idea that negative valuations have a higher psychological impact than positive ones, is considered an important variable in consumer research. The literature on aging and behavior suggests older individuals may show more LA, although it is not clear if this is an effect of aging in general (as in the continuum from age 20 and 50 years), or of the state of older age (e.g., past age 65 years). We also have not yet identified the potential biological effects of aging on the neural processing of LA. In the current study we used a cohort of subjects with a 30 year range of ages, and performed whole brain functional MRI (fMRI) to examine the ventral striatum/nucleus accumbens (VS/NAc) response during a passive viewing of affective faces with model-based fMRI analysis incorporating behavioral data from a validated approach/avoidance task with the same stimuli. Our a priori focus on the VS/NAc was based on (1) the VS/NAc being a central region for reward/aversion processing; (2) its activation to both positive and negative stimuli; (3) its reported involvement with tracking LA. LA from approach/avoidance to affective faces showed excellent fidelity to published measures of LA. Imaging results were then compared to the behavioral measure of LA using the same affective faces. Although there was no relationship between age and LA, we observed increasing neural differential sensitivity (NDS) of the VS/NAc to avoidance responses (negative valuations) relative to approach responses (positive valuations) with increasing age. These findings suggest that a central region for reward/aversion processing changes with age, and may require more activation to produce the same LA behavior as in younger individuals, consistent with the idea of neural efficiency observed with high IQ individuals showing less brain activation to complete the same task.

Development of a BCG challenge model for the testing of vaccine candidates against tuberculosis in cattle.

Vaccination is being considered as part of a sustainable strategy for the control of bovine tuberculosis (BTB) in the UK. The live attenuated Mycobacterium bovis bacillus Calmette-Guerin (BCG) has been used experimentally to vaccinate cattle against BTB. However, BCG confers partial protection against BTB and therefore, there is a need to develop improved vaccines. BTB vaccine efficacy experiments require the use of biosafety level 3 facilities which are expensive to maintain, generally oversubscribed and represent a bottle neck for the testing of vaccine candidates. One indicator of the induction of protective responses would be the ability of the host's immune response to control/kill mycobacteria. In this work we have evaluated an intranodal BCG challenge for the selection of vaccine candidates at biosafety level 2 which are capable of inducing mycobactericidal responses. To our knowledge, this is the first such report. Whilst BCG only confers partial protection, it is still the standard against which other vaccines are judged. Therefore we tested the BCG intranodal challenge in BCG (Danish strain) vaccinated cattle and showed that vaccinated cattle had lower BCG cfu counts than naïve cattle at 14 and 21 days after intranodal challenge with BCG (Tokyo strain). This model could help prioritize competing TB vaccine candidates and exploration of primary and secondary immune responses to mycobacteria.

Redefining neuromarketing as an integrated science of influence.

Multiple transformative forces target marketing, many of which derive from new technologies that allow us to sample thinking in real time (i.e., brain imaging), or to look at large aggregations of decisions (i.e., big data). There has been an inclination to refer to the intersection of these technologies with the general topic of marketing as "neuromarketing". There has not been a serious effort to frame neuromarketing, which is the goal of this paper. Neuromarketing can be compared to neuroeconomics, wherein neuroeconomics is generally focused on how individuals make "choices", and represent distributions of choices. Neuromarketing, in contrast, focuses on how a distribution of choices can be shifted or "influenced", which can occur at multiple "scales" of behavior (e.g., individual, group, or market/society). Given influence can affect choice through many cognitive modalities, and not just that of valuation of choice options, a science of influence also implies a need to develop a model of cognitive function integrating attention, memory, and reward/aversion function. The paper concludes with a brief description of three domains of neuromarketing application for studying influence, and their caveats.

Neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience: contributions to neurology.

BACKGROUND: 'Neuromarketing' is a term that has often been used in the media in recent years. These public discussions have generally centered around potential ethical aspects and the public fear of negative consequences for society in general, and consumers in particular. However, positive contributions to the scientific discourse from developing a biological model that tries to explain context-situated human behavior such as consumption have often been neglected. We argue for a differentiated terminology, naming commercial applications of neuroscientific methods 'neuromarketing' and scientific ones 'consumer neuroscience'. While marketing scholars have eagerly integrated neuroscientific evidence into their theoretical framework, neurology has only recently started to draw its attention to the results of consumer neuroscience. DISCUSSION: In this paper we address key research topics of consumer neuroscience that we think are of interest for neurologists; namely the reward system, trust and ethical issues. We argue that there are overlapping research topics in neurology and consumer neuroscience where both sides can profit from collaboration. Further, neurologists joining the public discussion of ethical issues surrounding neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience could contribute standards and experience gained in clinical research. SUMMARY: We identify the following areas where consumer neuroscience could contribute to the field of neurology:First, studies using game paradigms could help to gain further insights into the underlying pathophysiology of pathological gambling in Parkinson's disease, frontotemporal dementia, epilepsy, and Huntington's disease.Second, we identify compulsive buying as a common interest in neurology and consumer neuroscience. Paradigms commonly used in consumer neuroscience could be applied to patients suffering from Parkinson's disease and frontotemporal dementia to advance knowledge of this important behavioral symptom.Third, trust research in the medical context lacks empirical behavioral and neuroscientific evidence. Neurologists entering this field of research could profit from the extensive knowledge of the biological foundation of trust that scientists in economically-orientated neurosciences have gained.Fourth, neurologists could contribute significantly to the ethical debate about invasive methods in neuromarketing and consumer neuroscience. Further, neurologists should investigate biological and behavioral reactions of neurological patients to marketing and advertising measures, as they could show special consumer vulnerability and be subject to target marketing.

Neuroimaging and psychophysiological measurement in organizational research: an agenda for research in organizational cognitive neuroscience.

Although organizational research has made tremendous strides in the last century, recent advances in neuroscience and the imaging of functional brain activity remain underused. In fact, even the use of well-established psychophysiological measurement tools is comparatively rare. Following the lead of social cognitive neuroscience, in this review, we conceptualize organizational cognitive neuroscience as a field dedicated to exploring the processes within the brain that underlie or influence human decisions, behaviors, and interactions either (a) within organizations or (b) in response to organizational manifestations or institutions. We discuss organizational cognitive neuroscience, bringing together work that may previously have been characterized rather atomistically, and provide a brief overview of individual methods that may be of use. Subsequently, we discuss the possible convergence and integration of the different neuroimaging and psychophysiological measurement modalities. A brief review of prior work in the field shows a significant need for a more coherent and theory-driven approach to organizational cognitive neuroscience. In response, we discuss a recent example of such work, along with three hypothetical case studies that exemplify the link between organizational and psychological theory and neuroscientific methods.

Breastfeeding duration rates and factors affecting continued breastfeeding among infants born at an inner-city US Baby-Friendly hospital.

The effects of Baby-Friendly status on breastfeeding duration in the United States have not been published. The objectives of this study were to obtain breastfeeding rates at 6 months among babies born in a US Baby-Friendly hospital and to assess factors associated with continued breastfeeding at 6 months. The authors randomly selected 350 medical records of infants born in 2003 at Baby-Friendly Boston Medical Center. Of 336 eligible infants, 248 (74%) attended the 6-month well-child visit and 37.1% (92/248) were breastfeeding at 6 months. In multivariate logistic regression, the likelihood of breastfeeding at 6 months was decreased by presence of a feeding problem in the hospital (AOR 0.27; 95% CI 0.07-0.99), whereas the likelihood of breastfeeding at 6 months increased with maternal age (AOR 1.05; 95% CI 1.00-1.10) and for mothers born in Africa (AOR 4.29; 95% CI 1.36-13.5) or of unrecorded birthplace (AOR 3.29; 95% CI 1.38-7.85). Breastfeeding duration is traditionally poor in low-income, black populations in the United States. Among a predominantly low-income and black population giving birth at a US Baby-Friendly hospital, breastfeeding rates at 6 months were comparable to the overall US population.

What is "neuromarketing"? A discussion and agenda for future research.

Recent years have seen advances in neuroimaging to such an extent that neuroscientists are able to directly study the frequency, location, and timing of neuronal activity to an unprecedented degree. However, marketing science has remained largely unaware of such advances and their huge potential. In fact, the application of neuroimaging to market research--what has come to be called "neuromarketing"--has caused considerable controversy within neuroscience circles in recent times. This paper is an attempt to widen the scope of neuromarketing beyond commercial brand and consumer behaviour applications, to include a wider conceptualisation of marketing science. Drawing from general neuroscience and neuroeconomics, neuromarketing as a field of study is defined, and some future research directions are suggested.

The effect of peer counselors on breastfeeding rates in the neonatal intensive care unit: results of a randomized controlled trial.

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether peer counselors impacted breastfeeding duration among premature infants in an urban population. DESIGN: This was a randomized controlled clinical trial. SETTING: The trial was conducted in the Newborn Intensive Care Unit at Boston Medical Center, an inner-city teaching hospital with approximately 2000 births per year. PARTICIPANTS: One hundred eight mother-infant pairs were enrolled between 2001 and 2004. Pairs were eligible if the mother intended and was eligible to breastfeed per the 1997 guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics and if the infant was 26 to 37 weeks' gestational age and otherwise healthy. INTERVENTION: Subjects were randomized to either a peer counselor who saw the mother weekly for 6 weeks or to standard of care. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: The main outcome measure was any breast-milk feeding at 12 weeks postpartum. RESULTS: Intervention and control groups were similar on all measured sociodemographic factors. The average gestational age of infants was 32 weeks (range, 26.3-37 weeks) with a mean birth weight of 1875 g (range, 682-3005 g). At 12 weeks postpartum, women with a peer counselor had odds of providing any amount of breast milk 181% greater than women without a peer counselor (odds ratio, 2.81 [95% confidence interval, 1.11-7.14]; P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Peer counselors increased breastfeeding duration among premature infants born in an inner-city hospital and admitted to the neonatal intensive care unit. Peer counseling programs can help to increase breastfeeding in this vulnerable population.

Breast pump access in the inner city: a hospital-based initiative to provide breast pumps for low-income women.

An effective electric breast pump is an important tool for the management of breastfeeding challenges such as provision of human milk to sick or premature infants. A breast pump is also, in Western culture, critical for breastfeeding mothers who return to work. Obtaining an effective electric breast pump can be particularly difficult for uninsured or impoverished women because of the expense, complicated insurance reimbursements, and scarcity of providers that supply breast pumps to the inner-city community. To address this problem at Boston Medical Center (BMC), an inner-city hospital that serves a poor and minority urban population, members of the Breastfeeding Center worked with a local charity and local insurance companies to increase access to pumps for all women at BMC and to guarantee that every breastfeeding mother with an infant in the neonatal intensive care unit receive a double-setup electric breast pump, regardless of her insurance status or ability to pay.

Breastfeeding rates in US Baby-Friendly hospitals: results of a national survey.

OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to analyze all available breastfeeding data from US Baby-Friendly hospitals in 2001 to determine whether breastfeeding rates at Baby-Friendly designated hospitals differed from average US national, regional, and state rates in the same year and to determine prime barriers to implementation of the Baby-Friendly Hospital Initiative. METHODS: In 2001, 32 US hospitals had Baby-Friendly designation. Using a cross-sectional design with focused interviews, this study surveyed all 29 hospitals that retained that designation in 2003. Demographic data, breastfeeding rates, and information on barriers to becoming Baby-Friendly were also collected. Simple linear regression was used to assess factors associated with breastfeeding initiation. RESULTS: Twenty-eight of 29 hospitals provided breastfeeding initiation rates: 2 from birth certificate data and 26 from the medical record. Sixteen provided in-hospital, exclusive breastfeeding rates. The mean breastfeeding initiation rate for the 28 Baby-Friendly hospitals in 2001 was 83.8%, compared with a US breastfeeding initiation rate of 69.5% in 2001. The mean rate of exclusive breastfeeding during the hospital stay (16 of 29 hospitals) was 78.4%, compared with a national mean of 46.3%. In simple linear regression analysis, breastfeeding rates were not associated with number of births per institution or with the proportion of black or low-income patients. Of the Ten Steps to Successful Breastfeeding the 3 described as most difficult to meet were Steps 6, 2, and 7. The reason cited for the problem with meeting Step 6 was the requirement that the hospital pay for infant formula. CONCLUSION: Baby-Friendly designated hospitals in the United States have elevated rates of breastfeeding initiation and exclusivity. Elevated rates persist regardless of demographic factors that are traditionally linked with low breastfeeding rates.

Calls to an inner-city hospital breastfeeding telephone support line.

Support for breastfeeding mothers after they leave the hospital is often inadequate in low-income, inner-city areas where few resources are available. In becoming a Baby-Friendly Hospital, inner-city Boston Medical Center established a breastfeeding telephone support line to overcome this discrepancy. Records of support line calls for the first 5 years of operation were reviewed to record the level of need and determine reasons for use. A total of 1959 calls for 2482 reasons were received between January 1999 and December 2003. The most common reason for calling was "need help obtaining a breast pump" or "need information about breast pumps" (44%; 1096/2482), followed by "breast issue" (7%; 181/2482) and "milk supply question" (7%; 167/2482). The results indicate that inner-city women seek breastfeeding support and demonstrate a substantial need for breast pumps. These findings suggest that the lack of breast pumps may be a barrier to continued breastfeeding for inner-city breastfeeding women.