The effect of subliminal incentives on goal-directed eye movements.

Over the last decades, several studies have demonstrated that conscious and unconscious reward incentives both affect performance in physical and cognitive tasks, suggesting that goal pursuit can arise from an unconscious will. Whether the planning of goal-directed saccadic eye movements during an effortful task can also be affected by subliminal reward cues has not been systematically investigated. We employed a novel task where participants made several eye movements back and forth between a fixation point and a number of peripheral targets. The total number of targets visited by the eyes in a fixed amount of time determined participants' monetary gain. The magnitude of the reward at stake was briefly shown at the beginning of each trial and masked by pattern images superimposed in time so that at shorter display durations participants perceived reward incentives subliminally. We found a main effect of reward across all display durations as higher reward enhanced participants' oculomotor effort measured as the frequency and peak velocity of saccades. This effect was strongest for consciously perceived rewards but also occurred when rewards were subliminally perceived. Although we did not find a statistically significant dissociation between the reward-related modulation of different saccadic parameters, across two experiments the most robust effect of subliminal rewards was observed for the modulation of the saccadic frequency but not the peak velocity. These results suggest that multiple indices of oculomotor effort can be incentivized by subliminal rewards and that saccadic frequency may provide the most sensitive indicator of subliminal incentivization of eye movements. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Reward incentives motivate humans to exert more effort, and they do so even when rewards are subconsciously perceived. It has been unknown whether these effects also extend to eye movements that have lower energetic demands compared with other movement types. We devised a behavioral task that required fast execution of multiple eye movements. Subliminal rewards enhanced the frequency and peak velocity of saccadic eye movements, with the most reliable effect observed for saccadic frequency.

Stimulus-specific behavioral responses of zebrafish to a large range of odors exhibit individual variability.

BACKGROUND: Odor-driven behaviors such as feeding, mating, and predator avoidance are crucial for animal survival. The neural pathways processing these behaviors have been well characterized in a number of species, and involve the activity of diverse brain regions following stimulation of the olfactory bulb by specific odors. However, while the zebrafish olfactory circuitry is well understood, a comprehensive characterization linking odor-driven behaviors to specific odors is needed to better relate olfactory computations to animal responses. RESULTS: Here, we used a medium-throughput setup to measure the swimming trajectories of 10 zebrafish in response to 17 ecologically relevant odors. By selecting appropriate locomotor metrics, we constructed ethograms systematically describing odor-induced changes in the swimming trajectory. We found that adult zebrafish reacted to most odorants using different behavioral programs and that a combination of a few relevant behavioral metrics enabled us to capture most of the variance in these innate odor responses. We observed that individual components of natural food and alarm odors do not elicit the full behavioral response. Finally, we show that zebrafish blood elicits prominent defensive behaviors similar to those evoked by skin extract and activates spatially overlapping olfactory bulb domains. CONCLUSION: Altogether, our results highlight a prominent intra- and inter-individual variability in zebrafish odor-driven behaviors and identify a small set of waterborne odors that elicit robust responses. Our behavioral setup and our results will be useful resources for future studies interested in characterizing innate olfactory behaviors in aquatic animals.

Functional treatment of an asymmetry case having left side paralysis: a case report.

This case report presents the results of functional and myofunctional treatment of a 9-year, 5-month-old male patient with laterognathy, facial asymmetry and dentofacial deformity. The patient had a history of herpes encephalitis at age 8.5 months and palsy on the left side in early childhood, and his left side remained paralyzed as a sequela. The patient had dentoalveolar asymmetry with a Class I right and Class III left canine relation, a 1.5 mm midline deviation, anterior cross-bite, an overjet of -3 mm and an overbite of 3 mm. The dentoalveolar and facial asymmetries were corrected using a modified removable appliance, with an acrylic vestibular shield inserted on the right side to guide the mandible in the upper arch and an acrylic plate with artificial teeth in the lower arch. The patient was instructed to practice myofunctional exercises regularly. In total, treatment, including observation, was completed in a period of 2 years and 10 months, at which time, a marked correction in facial asymmetry and profile and improvement in smile esthetics could be observed.

Dental anomalies in individuals with cleft lip and/or palate.

Significant heterogeneity has previously been reported but with no consensus on the prevalence of dental anomalies in subjects with a cleft lip and palate (CLP), thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the frequency of various dental anomalies in the upper dental arch in different cleft groups. Diagnostic records, i.e., panoramic, occlusal and periapical films, dental casts, and intra-oral photographs, of 122 subjects (mean age: 14 +/- 5 years; 67 males and 55 females) were grouped as either unilateral left cleft lip and palate (ULCLP), unilateral right cleft lip and palate (URCLP), bilateral cleft lip and palate (BCLP), or cleft palate (CP). Prevalence rates of 15 different dental anomalies were calculated for each group. Wilcoxon's test was used to determine if there was a statistically significant difference in the number of missing teeth between the right and left sides, in each cleft group. Overall, 96.7 percent of patients were found to have at least one dental anomaly. The most prevalent was agenesis in the anterior region on the cleft side (70.8-97.1 percent). There was a statistically significant difference in the prevalence of agenesis by cleft and non-cleft sides but only in the ULCLP group (P < 0.001). Significantly higher rates of impaction were observed in the anterior and premolar regions in the CLP groups (2.9-29.2 percent), with the highest rates in the anterior region on the cleft sides. A very high proportion of subjects were found to have at least one dental anomaly. Thus, the management of dental anomalies should be central to the treatment planning process of individuals with a cleft.

Muscular response to functional treatment of skeletal open-bite and deep-bite cases: an electromyographic study.

AIM: To examine the muscular response of masseter and anterior temporal muscles to functional orthodontic treatment in skeletal open-bite and deep-bite subjects using electromyography (EMG). METHODS: The study sample consisted of 31 subjects (18 males, 13 females) grouped into skeletal open-bite (mean age 12.6 ± 2.5 years) and deep-bite (mean age 11.6 ± 2.1 years) groups and into prepubertal and pubertal growth stages. All subjects received functional orthognathic treatment. EMGs recorded masseter (MMA) and anterior temporal muscle activity (ATMA) bilaterally during swallowing, chewing, and maximum intercuspitation before treatment (T1), 3 months after treatment (T2), and 6 months after treatment (T3). The differences in muscular response of the masseter and anterior temporal muscles to functional treatment in skeletal open-bite and deep-bite subjects were examined using repeated measurement (ANOVA) in factorial sequence and Duncan tests. RESULTS: The open-bite group showed increased masticatory muscle activity and anterior rotation of the mandible. The deep-bite group showed decreased masticatory muscle activity, posterior rotation of the mandible, and an increase in gonial angle. Muscular response to functional treatment was observed during both growth stages, but it was more pronounced during puberty. CONCLUSION: Skeletal and neuromuscular improvements were observed in both treatment groups. Alterations in muscle activity as a result of functional treatment were observed in both growth stages, but they were more pronounced during puberty. For neuromuscular adaptation to occur, at least 6 months of functional treatment is required.

Report of a patient with a Class II occlusion using the Begg technique to move the first molars distally.

A 14-year-old female with a Class II occlusion and an increased overbite was treated using a Begg appliance and a modified Henrikson's arch. The treatment resulted in a Class I occlusion and ideal overjet, overbite, and incisor angulation. Class I occlusion was achieved after 6 months, and total treatment time was 1 year 6 months. The Begg technique with intermaxillary traction to move posterior teeth distally is an effective method to correct a Class II occlusion with minimum mandibular crowding.

Prevalence of dental anomalies in various malocclusions.

INTRODUCTION: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of dental anomalies in different orthodontic malocclusions. METHODS: Based on pretreatment diagnostic records, 900 orthodontic patients were classified as Class I (n = 358), Class II (n = 325), Class II Division 2 (n = 51), or Class III (n = 166). The occurrence rates of each dental anomaly were calculated as percentages of the total sample. Differences in incidence rates of each dental anomaly by sex and malocclusion were analyzed by using chi-square, Fisher exact, and z tests. The Mann-Whitney U test was used to determine whether there were significant differences in the occurrence of dental anomalies by age. RESULTS: It was found that 40.3% of patients (n = 363) had at least 1 dental anomaly. Agenesis was the most common (21.6%), followed by dens evaginatus (6.2%), invaginatus (5.0%), pulp stones (4.2%), and impaction (2.9%). No statistically significant correlations were found between dental anomaly and type of malocclusion, with the exception of impaction and short or blunt roots (P <0.01 and P <0.05, respectively). The Mann-Whitney U test indicated no significant difference in dental anomalies by age. CONCLUSIONS: A remarkably high rate of dental anomalies was recorded in orthodontic patients; therefore, orthodontists should carefully examine pretreatment records for dental anomalies to include their management in the treatment planning.

Long-term follow-up of patients with a skeletal Angle Class III relationship treated with chin caps.

AIM: To evaluate the long-term result of chin-cap treatment in patients with a skeletal Angle Class III relationship due to mandibular prognathism. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Records of nine patients (five girls and four boys) with a mean age of 10.8 ± 1.6 years at the start of treatment were retrieved from the archives. The records comprised lateral cephalograms, intra- and extraoral photographs, and dental casts. The subjects were recalled at 6.1 ± 1.5 years after the completion of active orthodontic treatment. Cephalometric measurements from the treatment's beginning (T1), end (T2), and follow-up (T3) were calculated by using PorDios software. Subjects with a positive overjet at T3 were grouped as stable, and those with a negative overjet were grouped as relapse. Differences between the two groups were analyzed by repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) and the Duncan test. RESULTS: Five individuals maintained a positive overjet at T3, while four relapsed as indicated by a negative overjet. SNA increased in the stable group between T2 and T3 but not in the relapse group. CONCLUSION: About half of the young individuals with a mandibular prognathism treated with a chin cap relapsed over time. The relapse seemed to originate from skeletal rather than dentoalveolar changes.

Evaluation of long-term satisfaction with orthodontic treatment for skeletal class III individuals.

The aim of this study was to investigate the long-term satisfaction rate among skeletal class III patients following orthodontic treatment. Questionnaires were sent to 315 post-retention (between 5 to 22.5 years) patients who had received orthodontic treatment without any type of surgery for the correction of skeletal class III malocclusion. The questionnaire contained 28 questions: 10 regarding orthodontic treatment, 13 regarding satisfaction with orthodontic treatment outcomes, and five regarding psychosocial benefits of orthodontic treatment. The frequency of each variable was calculated and chi-squared test was used to determine gender correlations. The survey response rate was 15.8% (n = 40). Most patients were satisfied with their facial appearance (92.5%) and final esthetic profile (95%). Of the 5% who were dissatisfied with their final profiles, prognathic mandible was given as the reason. Most patients (90%) were satisfied with the overall treatment results. Moreover, patient perceptions of psychosocial benefits of treatment were mainly positive, with the majority (72.5%) stating their social communication had improved following orthodontic treatment. Chi-squared test indicated almost no variations in response by gender. In conclusion, the majority of skeletal class III patients in the long-term post-retention period who had received orthodontic treatment were satisfied with the overall treatment outcome.