How the Listener's Attention Dynamically Switches Between Different Speakers During a Natural Conversation.

The neural mechanisms underpinning the dynamic switching of a listener's attention between speakers are not well understood. Here we addressed this issue in a natural conversation involving 21 triadic adult groups. Results showed that when the listener's attention dynamically switched between speakers, neural synchronization with the to-be-attended speaker was significantly enhanced, whereas that with the to-be-ignored speaker was significantly suppressed. Along with attention switching, semantic distances between sentences significantly increased in the to-be-ignored speech. Moreover, neural synchronization negatively correlated with the increase in semantic distance but not with acoustic change of the to-be-ignored speech. However, no difference in neural synchronization was found between the listener and the two speakers during the phase of sustained attention. These findings support the attenuation model of attention, indicating that both speech signals are processed beyond the basic physical level. Additionally, shifting attention imposes a cognitive burden, as demonstrated by the opposite fluctuations of interpersonal neural synchronization.

Nano-Bricks Assembly Toward 1D Metal Oxide Nanorods.

The rational design of hybrid nanocrystals structures facilitates electronic and energetic communication between different component, which can optimize their specific performance. In this study, an efficient approach for building intricate ZnO@h-CoO nanocomposites and their derivatives is presented, based on a lattice-match/mismatch mechanism. Due to the ultra-low lattice mismatch between ZnO and hexagonal CoO (as low as 0.18%), the h-CoO layer enables epitaxial growth on the ZnO templates, and ZnO can also grow epitaxially outside the CoO layer with ease. Similarly, the thickness of the epitaxial layer and the number of alternating layers can be adjusted arbitrarily. In contrast to h-CoO, the growth of cubic crystalline oxides (such as MnO) on ZnO results in the formation of nanoparticles due to a large mismatch index (following the Volmer-Weber models). Interestingly, when h-CoO is introduced as a further component into the MnO/ZnO composite, the cubic crystalline particles on the surface of the ZnO do not disturb the epitaxial growth of the h-CoO, allowing for the formation of nanocomposites with more components. Furthermore, additional units can be added to the nanocomposite further based on the lattice-match/mismatch mechanism, which is analogous to the building nano-bricks.

Interpersonal neural synchronization underlies mnemonic similarity during collaborative remembering.

Although collaborative remembering is a ubiquitous feature of human beings, its underlying neurocognitive process is not well understood. Here we hypothesized that interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) might underlie collaborative remembering, while real collaboration as opposed to other modes of offline collaboration should enhance INS and facilitate mnemonic similarity. To test these hypotheses, brain activity was measured simultaneously from two individuals who performed a group-based selective retrieval practice task either in a real collaboration or in a pseudo-collaboration, i.e., an individual performed the task together with a pre-recorded audio. The results showed that the memory of two individuals converged to a greater level than the chance level in real collaboration but not in control condition. Moreover, collaborative remembering was associated with significant INS increase in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) relative to the baseline in the real collaboration only. Additionally, INS increase was significantly greater in the real collaboration than in control condition. Finally, the PFC's INS increase was positively correlated with and could accurately predict the level of mnemonic similarity in real collaboration. These findings support the hypothesis that the enhanced INS underlies the cognitive process of collaborative remembering.

Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Fuels Cardiovascular Inflammation and Aggravates Ischemic Cardiac Injury.

BACKGROUND: Reducing cardiovascular disease burden among women remains challenging. Epidemiologic studies have indicated that polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), the most common endocrine disease in women of reproductive age, is associated with an increased prevalence and extent of coronary artery disease. However, the mechanism through which PCOS affects cardiac health in women remains unclear. METHODS: Prenatal anti-Müllerian hormone treatment or peripubertal letrozole infusion was used to establish mouse models of PCOS. RNA sequencing was performed to determine global transcriptomic changes in the hearts of PCOS mice. Flow cytometry and immunofluorescence staining were performed to detect myocardial macrophage accumulation in multiple PCOS models. Parabiosis models, cell-tracking experiments, and in vivo gene silencing approaches were used to explore the mechanisms underlying increased macrophage infiltration in PCOS mouse hearts. Permanent coronary ligation was performed to establish myocardial infarction (MI). Histologic analysis and small-animal imaging modalities (eg, magnetic resonance imaging and echocardiography) were performed to evaluate the effects of PCOS on injury after MI. Women with PCOS and control participants (n=200) were recruited to confirm findings observed in animal models. RESULTS: Transcriptomic profiling and immunostaining revealed that hearts from PCOS mice were characterized by increased macrophage accumulation. Parabiosis studies revealed that monocyte-derived macrophages were significantly increased in the hearts of PCOS mice because of enhanced circulating Ly6C+ monocyte supply. Compared with control mice, PCOS mice showed a significant increase in splenic Ly6C+ monocyte output, associated with elevated hematopoietic progenitors in the spleen and sympathetic tone. Plasma norepinephrine (a sympathetic neurotransmitter) levels and spleen size were consistently increased in women with PCOS when compared with those in control participants, and norepinephrine levels were significantly correlated with circulating CD14++CD16- monocyte counts. Compared with animals without PCOS, PCOS animals showed significantly exacerbated atherosclerotic plaque development and post-MI cardiac remodeling. Conditional Vcam1 silencing in PCOS mice significantly suppressed cardiac inflammation and improved cardiac injury after MI. CONCLUSIONS: Our data documented previously unrecognized mechanisms through which PCOS could affect cardiovascular health in women. PCOS may promote myocardial macrophage accumulation and post-MI cardiac remodeling because of augmented splenic myelopoiesis.

Neurocomputations on dual-brain signals underlie interpersonal prediction during a natural conversation.

Prediction on the partner's speech plays a key role in a smooth conversation. However, previous studies on this issue have been majorly conducted at the single-brain rather than dual-brain level, leaving the interpersonal prediction hypothesis untested. To fill this gap, this study combined a neurocomputational modeling approach with a natural conversation paradigm in which two salespersons persuaded a customer to buy their product with their haemodynamic signals being collected using functional near-infrared spectroscopy hyperscanning. First, the results showed a cognitive hierarchy in a natural conversation, with the lower-level process (i.e., pragmatic representation of the persuasion) in the salesperson interacting with the higher-level process (i.e., value representation of the product) in the customer. Next, we found that the right dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (rdlPFC) and temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) were associated with the representation of the product's value in the customer, while the right inferior frontal cortex (rIFC) was associated with the representation of the pragmatic processes in the salesperson. Finally, neurocomputational modeling results supported the prediction of the salesperson's lower-level brain activity based on the customer's higher-level brain activity. Moreover, the updating weight of the prediction model based on the neural computation between the rIFC of the salesperson and the rTPJ of the customer was closely associated with the interaction context, whereas that based on the rIFC-rdlPFC was not. In summary, these findings provide initial support for the interpersonal prediction hypothesis at the dual-brain level and reveal a hierarchy for the interpersonal prediction process.

The Influences of Perinatal Androgenic Exposure on Cardiovascular and Metabolic Disease of Offspring of PCOS.

Hyperandrogenism is an endocrine disorder affecting a large population of reproductive-aged women, thus proportionally high number of fetuses are subjected to prenatal androgenic exposure (PNA). The short-term stimulations at critical ontogenetic stages can wield lasting influences on the health. The most commonly diagnosed conditions in reproductive age women is polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). PNA may affect the growth and development of many systems in the whole body and disrupts the normal metabolic trajectory in the offspring of PCOS, contributing to the prevalence of cardiovascular and metabolic diseases (CVMD), including myocardial hypertrophy, hypertension, hyperinsulinemia, insulin resistance, hyperglycemia, obesity, and dyslipidemia, which are the leading causes of hospitalizations in young PCOS offspring. In this review, we focus on the effects of prenatal androgenic exposure on the cardiovascular and metabolic diseases in offspring, discuss the possible pathogenesis respectively, and summarize potential management strategies to improve metabolic health of PCOS offspring. It is expected that the incidence of CVMD and the medical burden will be reduced in the future.

Transcranial direct current stimulation of the right anterior temporal lobe changes interpersonal neural synchronization and shared mental processes.

BACKGROUND: Previous studies have shown that interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) is a ubiquitous phenomenon between individuals, and recent studies have further demonstrated close associations between INS and shared external sensorimotor input and/or internal mental processes within a dyad. However, most previous studies have employed an observational approach to describe the behavior-INS correlation, leading to difficulties in causally disentangling the relationship among INS, external sensorimotor input and the internal mental process. OBJECTIVE/HYPOTHESIS: The present study aimed to directly change the level of INS through anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to test whether the change in INS would directly impact the internal mental process (Hypothesis 1) or indirectly through external sensorimotor input; the interaction behaviors were also changed (Hypothesis 2) or not (Hypothesis 3). METHODS: Thirty pairs of romantically involved heterosexual couples were recruited for a within-subjects design. Three conditions were assessed: a true stimulation condition with 20-min anodal high-definition tDCS to the right anterior temporal lobe (rATL) of women before they communicated with their partners, a sham stimulation condition and a control brain region stimulation condition. The comparison between the true and sham or control brain region conditions allows us to detect the true effect of brain stimulation on INS. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning was used to simultaneously collect dyadic participants' hemodynamic signals during communication. INS, empathy, and interaction behaviors were examined and compared among different stimulation conditions. RESULTS: True brain stimulation significantly decreased INS between the rATL of the women and sensorimotor cortex (SMC) of the men compared to the sham stimulation condition (t(27.8) = -2.821, P = 0.009, d = 0.714) and control brain region stimulation condition (t(27.2) = -2.606, P = 0.015, d = 0.664) during communication. It also significantly decreased the level of emotional empathy (F(2,145) = 6.893, P = 0.001) but did not change sensorimotor processes, such as verbal or nonverbal interaction behaviors. However, nonverbal behaviors mediated the relationship between the changes in INS and emotional empathy (lower limit confidence interval = 0.01, upper limit confidence interval = 2.66). CONCLUSION(S): These findings support the third hypothesis, suggesting that INS is associated with the shared internal mental process indirectly via the sensorimotor process, but the sensorimotor process itself does not covary with the INS and the associated internal mental process. These results provide new insight into the hierarchical architecture of dual-brain function from a bottom-up perspective.

Neurocomputational mechanisms of young children's observational learning of delayed gratification.

The ability to delay gratification is crucial for a successful and healthy life. An effective way for young children to learn this ability is to observe the action of adult models. However, the underlying neurocomputational mechanism remains unknown. Here, we tested the hypotheses that children employed either the simple imitation strategy or the goal-inference strategy when learning from adult models in a high-uncertainty context. Results of computational modeling indicated that children used the goal-inference strategy regardless of whether the adult model was their mother or a stranger. At the neural level, results showed that successful learning of delayed gratification was associated with enhanced interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) between children and the adult models in the dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex but was not associated with children's own single-brain activity. Moreover, the discounting of future reward's value obtained from computational modeling of the goal-inference strategy was positively correlated with the strength of INS. These findings from our exploratory study suggest that, even for 3-year-olds, the goal-inference strategy is used to learn delayed gratification from adult models, and the learning strategy is associated with neural interaction between the brains of children and adult models.

Biasing the neurocognitive processing of videos with the presence of a real cultural other.

In the digital age, while short videos present vital events with powerful information, the presence of cultural cues may bias our processing of videos of foreign cultures. However, the underlying neurocognitive processes remain unclear. In this study, we hypothesized that cultural cues might bias video processing by either enhancing cultural perspective-taking or shifting cultural self-schema. To test these hypotheses, we used a novel paradigm in which the cultural cue was a real cultural other (the priming participants) who watched American/Chinese videos together with the primed participants. The results showed that when the cue was present, the right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) response to videos with other cultural content was shifted, showing a priming effect. Moreover, the activity pattern in the rTPJ was more congruent with the primed culture than with the original culture, reflecting a neural biasing effect. Finally, intersubject representational similarity analysis indicated that the neural biasing effect in the rTPJ was more closely associated with cultural perspective-taking than with cultural self-schema. In summary, these findings support the perspective-taking hypothesis, suggesting that cultural cues can significantly bias our cultural mindset by altering cultural perspective-taking when we are exposed to culture-relevant naturalistic stimuli.

Interpersonal conflict increases interpersonal neural synchronization in romantic couples.

Previous studies on dual-brain social interaction have shown different patterns of interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) between conflictual and supportive interactions, but the role of emotion in the dual-brain mechanisms of such interactions is not well understood. Furthermore, little is known about how the dual-brain mechanisms are affected by relationship type (e.g., romantic relationship vs. friendship) and interaction mode (e.g., verbal vs. nonverbal). To elaborate on these issues, this study used functional near-infrared spectroscopy to collect hemodynamic signals from romantic couples and cross-sex friends while they were discussing conflictual, neutral, or supportive topics. For the couples but not the friends, INS between the sensorimotor cortex of both participants was greater when discussing the conflictual topic than when discussing the supportive topic. INS was positively correlated with the arousal level but not the valence level of communication contents. INS was also positively correlated with interpersonal physiological synchronization based on galvanic skin response, a physiological measure of arousal. Furthermore, the differences in INS between the conflictual and supportive topics were closely associated with verbal rather than nonverbal behaviors. Together, these findings suggest that it is the arousal level induced by verbal interactions during interpersonal conflicts that increases romantic couples' INS.

Measurement of the Directional Information Flow in fNIRS-Hyperscanning Data using the Partial Wavelet Transform Coherence Method.

Social interaction is of vital importance for human beings. While the hyperscanning approach has been extensively used to study interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) during social interactions, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) is one of the most popular techniques for hyperscanning naturalistic social interactions because of its relatively high spatial resolution, sound anatomical localization, and exceptionally high tolerance of motion artifacts. Previous fNIRS-based hyperscanning studies usually calculate a time-lagged INS using wavelet transform coherence (WTC) to describe the direction and temporal pattern of information flow between individuals. However, the results of this method might be confounded by the autocorrelation effect of the fNIRS signal of each individual. For addressing this issue, a method termed partial wavelet transform coherence (pWTC) was introduced, which aimed to remove the autocorrelation effect and maintain the high temporal-spectrum resolution of the fNIRS signal. In this study, a simulation experiment was performed first to show the effectiveness of the pWTC in removing the impact of autocorrelation on INS. Then, step-by-step guidance was offered on the operation of the pWTC based on the fNIRS dataset from a social interaction experiment. Additionally, a comparison between the pWTC method and the traditional WTC method and that between the pWTC method and the Granger causality (GC) method was drawn. The results showed that pWTC could be used to determine the INS difference between different experimental conditions and INS's directional and temporal pattern between individuals during naturalistic social interactions. Moreover, it provides better temporal and frequency resolution than the traditional WTC and better flexibility than the GC method. Thus, pWTC is a strong candidate for inferring the direction and temporal pattern of information flow between individuals during naturalistic social interactions.

How Mother-Child Interactions are Associated with a Child's Compliance.

While social interaction between a mother and her child has been found to play an important role in the child's committed compliance, the underlying neurocognitive process remains unclear. To investigate this process, we simultaneously recorded and assessed brain activity in 7-year-old children and in children's mothers or strangers during a free-play task using functional near-infrared spectroscopy-based hyperscanning. The results showed that a child's committed compliance was positively associated with the child's responsiveness but was negatively associated with mutual responsiveness and was not associated with the mother's responsiveness during mother-child interactions. Moreover, interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) at the temporoparietal junction mediated the relationship between the child's responsiveness and the child's committed compliance during mother-child interactions when the child's brain activity lagged behind that of the mother. However, these effects were not found during stranger-child interactions, nor were there significant effects in the mother-child pair when no real interactions occurred. Finally, we found a transfer effect of a child's committed compliance from mother-child interactions to stranger-child interactions via the mediation of mother-child INS, but the opposite did not occur. Together, these findings suggest that a child's responsiveness during mother-child interactions can significantly facilitate her or his committed compliance by increasing mother-child INS.

Interpersonal Neural Synchronization during Interpersonal Touch Underlies Affiliative Pair Bonding between Romantic Couples.

Interpersonal touch plays a key role in creating and maintaining affiliative pair bonds in romantic love. However, the neurocognitive mechanism of interpersonal touch in affiliative pair bonding remains unclear. Here, we hypothesized that interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) during interpersonal touch underlies affiliative pair bonding between romantic couples. To test this hypothesis, INS between heterosexual romantic couples and between opposite-sex friends was measured using functional near-infrared spectroscopy-based hyperscanning, while the pairs of participants touched or vocally communicated with each other. The results showed significantly greater INS between the mentalizing and sensorimotor neural systems of two members of a pair during interpersonal touch than during vocal communication between romantic couples but not between friends. Moreover, touch-induced INS was significantly correlated with the self-reported strength of romantic love. Finally, the results also showed that men's empathy positively modulated the association between touch-induced INS increase and the strength of romantic love. These findings support the idea that INS during interpersonal touch underlies affiliative pair bonding between romantic couples and suggest that empathy plays a modulatory role in the neurocognitive mechanism of interpersonal touch in affiliative pair bonding.

Early Diagnosed Gestational Diabetes Mellitus Is Associated With Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes: A Prospective Cohort Study.

CONTEXT: The significance of an early diagnosis of gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) with oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT) has not been determined. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this work is to investigate GDM diagnosed by early and standard OGTTs and determine adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes associated with early GDM diagnosis. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: The Early Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus study is a prospective cohort study. Each participant in the study underwent 2 OGTTs, an early OGTT at 18 to 20 gestational weeks (gws) and a standard OGTT at 24 to 28 gws. The reproduciblity between early and standard OGTT were analyzed. Maternal and neonatal metabolic disorders and pregnancy outcomes were compared across groups. RESULTS: A total of 522 participants completed both the early and standard OGTTs. The glucose values in the early OGTT were not significantly different from those in the standard OGTT (fasting: 4.31 ± 0.41 mmol/L vs 4.29 ± 0.37 mmol/L, P = .360; 1-hour: 7.68 ± 1.71 mmol/L vs 7.66 ± 1.59 mmol/L, P = .826; 2-hour: 6.69 ± 1.47 mmol/L vs 6.71 ± 1.39 mmol/L, P = .800). The reproducibility of early and standard OGTT results was 74.9%. Pregnant women in the GDM group had higher glycated hemoglobin, C-peptide, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance in the late gestational period. Neonates born to mothers in the GDM group were at a higher risk of being large for gestational age (odds ratio [OR]: 3.665; 95% CI, 1.006-11.91) and were also more prone to neonatal hyperinsulinemia (OR: 3.652; 95% CI, 1.152-10.533). CONCLUSION: Early-onset GDM diagnosed by OGTT at 18 to 20 gws is associated with maternal and neonatal metabolic disorders and adverse pregnancy outcomes. Further randomized controlled trials on the therapeutic efficacy for early-onset GDM will confirm the significance of early screening for GDM.

Affiliative bonding between teachers and students through interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity.

Human beings organise socially. Theories have posited that interpersonal neural synchronisation might underlie the creation of affiliative bonds. Previous studies tested this hypothesis mainly during a social interaction, making it difficult to determine whether the identified synchronisation is associated with affiliative bonding or with social interaction. This study addressed this issue by focusing on the teacher-student relationship in the resting state both before and after a teaching period. Brain activity was simultaneously measured in both individuals using functional near-infrared spectroscopy. The results showed a significant increase in brain synchronisation at the right sensorimotor cortex between the teacher and student in the resting state after, but not before, the teaching period. Moreover, the synchronisation increased only after a turn-taking mode of teaching but not after a lecturing or video mode of teaching. A chain mediation analysis showed that brain synchronisation during teaching partially mediated the relationship between the brain synchronisation increase in the resting state and strength of the affiliative bond. Finally, both role assignment and social interaction were found to be required for affiliative bonding. Together, these results support the hypothesis that interpersonal synchronisation in brain activity underlies affiliative bonding and that social interaction mechanically mediates the bonding process.

Continuous elevation of plasma asprosin in pregnant women complicated with gestational diabetes mellitus: A nested case-control study.

INTRODUCTION: To investigate the expression of asprosin, a novel insulin resistance-related factor, in plasma and placenta of pregnant women with and without gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM). METHODS: This is a nested case-control study within the prospective study named Early Diagnosis of Gestational Diabetes Mellitus (EDoGDM). Forty pregnant women with GDM and forty control cases with normal glucose tolerance (NGT) were recruited in the present study. Asprosin levels were tested by ELISA in maternal plasma at 18-20 and 24-28 gestational weeks and before delivery, as well as in umbilical plasma. Asprosin concentrations were compared between GDM and NGT groups, and the relationship between asprosin and other parameters were analyzed. Expression of asprosin in placenta was examined by Western blot and immunohistochemistry. RESULTS: Asprosin was elevated in plasma of GDM pregnant women and their offspring, after adjusted by maternal and neonatal clinical characteristics and lipid profiles. Asprosin was expressed in placenta from both GDM and NGT pregnant women. DISCUSSION: Protein asprosin is expressed in human placenta and is elevated in the plasma of pregnant women complicated with GDM and their offspring. As an insulin resistance-related factor increased before 20 gestational weeks, asprosin may play a role as a potential early biomarker of GDM.

Metagenomic analysis reveals gestational diabetes mellitus-related microbial regulators of glucose tolerance.

AIMS: Recent studies have suggested a possible association between microbiota and gestational diabetes (GDM). However, the results are inconsistent. Our objective was to investigate further the relationship between GDM and microbiota and verify the potential microbial marker. METHODS: Two complementary approaches were used for the demonstration. First, we compared the gut microbial composition of 23 GDM patients and 26 non-GDM ethnically Chinese Han pregnant women, by using whole-metagenome shotgun sequencing of their stool samples collected at the third trimester. Second, we used Q-PCR (quantitative polymerase chain reaction) to evaluate the gut microbial composition in the stool samples from another cohort of 150 Chinese pregnant women (113 Control and 37 GDM), to further confirm the potential microbial marker. RESULTS: The gut microbiota of GDM women show lower albeit not statistically significant (p = 0.18) alpha diversity at the species level than non-GDM women. However, the species-level beta-diversity or between-sample diversity measured by Bray-Curtis distance shows significant differences (p < 2.2e-16) between the two groups. The species Bacteroides dorei positively correlated with both OGTT (oral glucose tolerance test) 0-Hour (p = 0.0099) and OGTT 1-Hour (p = 0.0070). There is a similar trend between Bacteroides sp. 3_1_33FAA and both OGTT 0-Hour (p = 0.014) and OGTT 1-Hour (p = 0.0101) response variables. The species Alistipes putredinis negatively correlated with OGTT 1-Hour (p = 0.0172) and OGTT 2-Hour (p = 0.0147). Q-PCR validation further confirmed the association between the glucose tolerance loci of Bacteroides dorei and OGTT response. CONCLUSIONS: Gut microbiome is related to the diabetic status of Chinese women during pregnancy. Specific species such as Bacteroides dorei associate with glucose response and could be potential monitoring and therapeutic microbial markers for GDM.

Association about dietary vitamin C intake on the risk of ovarian cancer: a meta-analysis.

Changes in dietary vitamin C intake have been related to the risks of various cancers. However, the association between dietary vitamin C intake and the risk of ovarian cancer has not been fully determined. A meta-analysis was performed to evaluate the relationship between vitamin C intake and ovarian cancer risk. Observational studies that evaluated the association between vitamin C intake and ovarian cancer risk were identified via systematic search of PubMed and Embase databases. A random-effect model was used to combine relative risk (RR) with corresponding 95% confidence intervals (CIs). As a result, 16 studies (5 cohort studies and 11 case-control studies) with 4553 cases and 439,741 participants were included. Pooled results showed that dietary vitamin C intake had non-significant association on the risk of ovarian cancer (RR = 0.95, 95%CI = 0.81-1.11, I2 = 52.1%, Pfor heterogeneity = 0.008). Subgroup analyses according to characteristics including geographic location and study design showed consistent results with the overall result. In summary, findings from the present study indicated that dietary vitamin C intake is not associated with the risk of ovarian cancer.

Shared neural representations of syntax during online dyadic communication.

When people communicate, they come to see the world in a similar way to each other by aligning their mental representations at such levels as syntax. Syntax is an essential feature of human language that distinguishes humans from other non-human animals. However, whether and how communicators share neural representations of syntax is not well understood. Here we addressed this issue by measuring the brain activity of both communicators in a series of dyadic communication contexts, by using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS)-based hyperscanning. Two communicators alternatively spoke sentences either with the same or with different syntactic structures. Results showed a significantly higher-level increase of interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) at right posterior superior temporal cortex when communicators produced the same syntactic structures as each other compared to when they produced different syntactic structures. These increases of INS correlated significantly with communication quality. Our findings provide initial evidence for shared neural representations of syntax between communicators.

The effect of exercise during pregnancy on gestational diabetes mellitus in normal-weight women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Gestational diabetes mellitus (GDM) is one of the most common complications during pregnancy, and it has both short- and long-term adverse effects on the health of mothers and fetuses. To investigate the effect of exercise during pregnancy on the occurrence of GDM among normal-weight pregnant women. METHODS: We searched for studies published between January 1994 and June 2017 that appeared in the Web of Science, Scopus, ClinicalTrials.gov or Cochrane library databases. Randomized controlled trials that investigated the preventive effect of exercise on GDM in normal-weight women were included. Interventions including any confounding factors (e.g., dietary) were excluded. We extracted maternal characteristics, the diagnostic criteria of GDM, and basic information for intervention and obstetric outcomes. The primary outcome was the occurrence of GDM, and the secondary outcomes included gestational weight gain, gestational age at birth, birth weight, and the odds of cesarean section. A meta-analysis was conducted based on calculations of pooled estimates using the random-effects model. RESULTS: Eight studies were included in this systematic review and meta-analysis. Exercise during pregnancy was shown to decrease the occurrence of GDM [RR = 0.58, 95% CI (0.37, 0.90), P = 0.01 and RR = 0.60, 95% CI (0.36, 0.98), P = 0.04 based on different diagnosis criteria, respectively] in normal-weight women. Regarding secondary outcomes, exercise during pregnancy can decrease gestational weight gain [MD = - 1.61, 95% CI (- 1.99, - 1.22), P<0.01], and  had no significant effects on gestational age at birth [MD = - 0.55, 95% CI (- 1.57, 0.47), P = 0.29], birth weight [MD = - 18.70, 95% CI (- 52.49, 15.08), P = 0.28], and the odds of caesarean section [RR = 0.88, 95% CI (0.72, 1.08), P = 0.21], respectively. CONCLUSIONS: Exercise during pregnancy can ostensibly decrease the occurrence of GDM without reducing gestational age at delivery and increasing the odds of cesarean section in normal-weight women.