An essential component of the human diet, L-tryptophan is critical in a number of metabolic functions and has been widely used in numerous research and clinical trials. This review provides a brief overview of the role of L-tryptophan in protein synthesis and a number of other metabolic functions. With emphasis on L-tryptophan's role in synthesis of brain serotonin, details are provided on the ...

An extensive literature suggests a link between executive functions and aggressive behavior in humans, pointing mostly to an inverse relationship, i.e., increased tendencies toward aggression in individuals scoring low on executive function tests. This literature is limited, though, in terms of the groups studied and the measures of executive functions. In this paper, we present data from two s...

Anxiety symptoms have been reported to be present in many patients with diabetes mellitus. However, little is known about the effects of hyperglycemia in critical periods of the central nervous system development. We assessed locomotive, exploratory, and anxiety behaviors in adult rats that remained from infantile repeated hyperglycemia by the open field and elevated plus maze tests. Our findin...

The present study attempts to analyze Iraq war against Iran based on Parsons' subsystems. The main question aims at finding the social positive/negative functions of the war. According to the studies, the first effect of the war was damaging behavioral organism subsystem so that it couldn't realize its functions. Subsequently, the chaos spread to the personality subsystem. Except for the qualit...

BACKGROUND Male-specific products of the fruitless (fru) gene control the development and function of neuronal circuits that underlie male-specific behaviors in Drosophila, including courtship. Alternative splicing generates at least three distinct Fru isoforms, each containing a different zinc-finger domain. Here, we examine the expression and function of each of these isoforms. RESULTS We s...

a 4 : 2 pp.123 – 147, 2008 BRAIN AND BEHAVIORAL FUNCTIONS SUPPORTING THE INTENTIONALITY OF MENTAL STATES João de F. Teixeira and Alfredo Pereira Jr Abstract This paper relates intentionality, a central feature of human consciousness, with brain functions controlling adaptive action. Mental intentionality, understood as the “aboutness” of mental states, includes two modalities: semantic intentio...

The field of synthetic biology is looking forward engineering framework for safely designing reliable de-novo biological functions. In this undertaking, Computer-Aided-Design (CAD) environments should play a central role for facilitating the design. Although, CAD environment is widely used to engineer artificial systems the application in synthetic biology is still in its infancy. In this artic...

Testosterone influences the brain via organizational and activational effects. Numerous relevant studies on rodents and a few on humans focusing on specific behavioral and cognitive parameters have been published. The results are, unfortunately, controversial and puzzling. Dosing, timing, even the application route seem to considerably affect the outcomes. In addition, the methods used for the ...

Adolescent self-mutilative behavior (SMB) is a pervasive and dangerous problem, yet factors influencing the performance of SMB are not well understood. The authors examined the contextual features and behavioral functions of SMB in a sample of 89 adolescent psychiatric inpatients. SMB typically was performed impulsively, in the absence of physical pain, and without the use of alcohol or drugs. ...