Facial Recognition and Brain Asymmetries: Clues to Underlying Mechanisms

Abstract Core body temperature (Tb) is defended within narrow limits through thermoregulatory behaviors like huddling, nesting, and physical activity as well as autonomic responses like brown fat thermogenesis. While Tb displays regulated fluctuations across different behavioral states and rest/arousal cycles, the neural control of these transitions is poorly understood. Here, we investigate the relationship between oxytocin neurons of the paraventricular hypothalamus (PVN OT ) and behavioral and autonomic thermoeffector pathways across physiological states in mice. First, we show that PVN OT neurons are activated during social thermoregulation. We then demonstrate that in vivo PVN OT calcium dynamics align with transitions from rest to thermogenesis and behavioral arousal. Counter to our initial hypothesis, these dynamics were observed in both social and non-social contexts. Using a computer vision model to track thermoeffector pathways, we demonstrate that precisely timed stimulation of PVN OT neurons during low-Tb resting states increases thermogenesis followed by behavioral arousal. We therefore suggest a model in which PVN OT neurons facilitate homeostatic state-dependent transitions in thermo-behavioral states.

The article discusses the synergetic approach to teaching chess—specifically, methods aimed at system comprehension, information processing, and child development—which can lead to the self-organization of the child's cognitive activity within the context of the cognitive schema proposed by Jean Piaget. The aim of the article is to substantiate the synergetic effects involved in the process of a preschooler's development. Research methodology and selected methods. Methodologically, we drew upon general systems theory, structural and functional approaches to chess instruction, and the theoretical and applied developments regarding the "activity concept"—as well as theories of argumentation and personality development—formulated by L. Vygotsky, A. Leontiev, A. Luria, and their followers. The methods employed included the analysis of professional literature, observation (of both moves and emotional states), interviews, experimentation, and the analysis of results. The study’s ultimate finding is that, through trial and error, imitation, or precise instruction by an adult, the processes of assimilation and accommodation become accessible to the child; their combination yields synergistic effects, manifesting as the purposeful organization and management of educational-cognitive activity. Therefore, theoretical-applied approaches that generate synergistic effects during chess instruction are applicable to the developmental process of preschoolers. Main conclusion: The feasibility of employing approaches that yield synergistic effects in the development of preschoolers and the self-organization of their activities is demonstrated.