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Young children develop causal knowledge through everyday family conversations and activities. Children's museums are an informative setting for studying the social context of causal learning because family members engage together in everyday scientific thinking as they play in museums. In this multisite collaborative project, we investigate children's developing causal thinking in the context of family interaction at museum exhibits. We focus on explaining and exploring as two fundamental collaborative processes in parent-child interaction, investigating how families explain and explore in open-ended collaboration at gear exhibits in three children's museums in Providence, RI, San Jose, CA, and Austin, TX. Our main research questions examined (a) how open-ended family exploration and explanation relate to one another to form a dynamic for children's learning; (b) how that dynamic differs for families using different interaction styles, and relates to contextual factors such as families' science background, and (c) how that dynamic predicts children's independent causal thinking when given more structured tasks. We summarize findings on exploring, explaining, and parent-child interaction (PCI) styles. We then present findings on how these measures related to one another, and finally how that dynamic predicts children's causal thinking. In studying children's exploring we described two types of behaviors of importance for causal thinking: (a) Systematic Exploration: Connecting gears to form a gear machine followed by spinning the gear machine. (b) Resolute Behavior: Problem-solving behaviors, in which children attempted to connect or spin a particular set of gears, hit an obstacle, and then persisted to succeed (as opposed to moving on to another behavior). Older children engaged in both behaviors more than younger children, and the proportion of these behaviors were correlated with one another. Parents and children talked to each other while interacting with the exhibits. We coded causal language, as well as other types of utterances. Parents' causal language predicted children's causal language, independent of age. The proportion of parents' causal language also predicted the proportion of children's systematic exploration. Resolute behavior on the part of children did not correlate with parents' causal language, but did correlate with children's own talk about actions and the exhibit. We next considered who set goals for the play in a more holistic measure of parent-child interaction style, identifying dyads as parent-directed, child-directed, or jointly-directed in their interaction with one another. Children in different parent-child interaction styles engaged in different amounts of systematic exploration and had parents who engaged in different amounts of causal language. Resolute behavior and the language related to children engaging in such troubleshooting, seemed more consistent across the three parent-child interaction styles. Using general linear mixed modeling, we considered relations within sequences of action and talk. We found that the timing of parents' causal language was crucial to whether children engaged in systematic exploration. Parents' causal talk was a predictor of children's systematic exploration only if it occurred prior to the act of spinning the gears (while children were building gear machines). We did not observe an effect of causal language when it occurred concurrently with or after children's spinning. Similarly, children's talk about their actions and the exhibit predicted their resolute behavior, but only when the talk occurred while the child was encountering the problem. No effects were found for models where the talk happened concurrently or after resolving the problem. Finally, we considered how explaining and exploring related to children's causal thinking. We analyzed measures of children's causal thinking about gears and a free play measure with a novel set of gears. Principal component analysis revealed a latent factor of causal thinking in these measures. Structural equation modeling examined how parents' background in science related to children's systematic exploration, parents' causal language, and parent-child interaction style, and then how those factors predicted children's causal thinking. In a full model, with children's age and gender included, children's systematic exploration related to children's causal thinking. Overall, these data demonstrate that children's systematic exploration and parents' causal explanation are best studied in relation to one another, because both contributed to children's learning while playing at a museum exhibit. Children engaged in systematic exploration, which supported their causal thinking. Parents' causal talk supported children's exploration when it was presented at certain times during the interaction. In contrast, children's persistence in problem solving was less sensitive to parents' talk or interaction style, and more related to children's own language, which may act as a form of self-explanation. We discuss the findings in light of ongoing approaches to promote the benefit of parent-child interaction during play for children's learning and problem solving. We also examine the implications of these findings for formal and informal learning settings, and for theoretical integration of constructivist and sociocultural approaches in the study of children's causal thinking.

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Free radicals (FR) act on living organisms and present unpaired electrons in the molecular orbitals of oxygen or nitrogen species. They are classified as redox reactions and account for a wide range of processes in biological systems. Genetic and environmental factors may alter the levels of FR in the cell, leading to deleterious consequences such as membrane lipid peroxidation, protein nitration, enzyme, carbohydrate and DNA damage, ultimately resulting in premature aging and a pro-inflammatory microenvironment as observed in Alzheimer's disease (AD) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD). O2 radical ability to act as a Lewis base and to form a complex with metal transition such as iron and copper (Lewis acids) leads to biomolecules oxidation at physiological pH, thus increasing the possibility of injury and oxidative damage in biological tissues. In this review, we discuss the role of metals, like copper, and the amyloid precursor protein (APP) derivative (s-APP-alpha) as an antioxidant and a possible adjuvant in the treatment of some autistic spectrum disorder symptoms (ASD).

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Objetivo. Esta investigación tuvo por objetivo crear y validar un conjunto de imágenes relacionadas con el consumo de tabaco que fueran capaces de generar, en los consumidores, la activación del sistema motivacional apetitivo y un nivel alto de activación, con el fin de que puedan ser utilizadas en la evaluación de las respuestas emocionales asociadas al consumo de tabaco. Método. Se siguió el protocolo de visualización de imágenes afectivas. Participaron 60 personas consumidoras frecuentes de tabaco con baja motivación para abandonar el consumo. Se utilizó una encuesta para evaluar la historia de consumo de tabaco, la escala breve para evaluar estadios de cambio, 28 imágenes de tabaco creadas por los investigadores, 46 imágenes de la adaptación colombiana del Sistema Internacional de Imágenes Afectivas y el Self-Assessment Manikin (Lang, Bradley y Cuthbert, 1997). Resultados. Los resultados muestran que 26 de las 28 imágenes desarrolladas se encuentran ubicadas en el polo positivo del espacio afectivo bidimensional, compuesto por una valencia positiva y un nivel medio-alto de activación. No se encontraron diferencias significativas entre hombres y mujeres. Conclusión. Los resultados indican que estas imágenes activan el sistema motivacional apetitivo y generan un nivel de activación significativo, por lo que pueden ser utilizadas para evaluar la respuesta emocional en consumidores de tabaco.

Objective. The aim of this research was to create and validate a set of tobacco-related images that would be capable of activating in the consumer the appetitive motivational system (positive valence) and a high level of arousal, so that they could be used in the assessment of emotional responses associated with tobacco consumption. Method. The affective picture viewing protocol was followed. The participants were 60 frequent cigarette consumers with low motivation to stop smoking. A survey was used to assess the history of tobacco consumption, along with the brief scale for assessing stages of change, 28 tobacco images created by the researchers, 46 images from the Colombian adaptation of the International Affective Picture System and Self-Assessment Manikin (Lang, Bradley & Cuthbert, 1997). Results. The results show that 26 out of the 28 images are located in the positive pole of the two-dimensional affective space consisting of a positive valence and a medium-high level of arousal. No significant differences between men and women were found. Conclusión. These results indicate that these images activate the appetitive motivational system and generate a significant level of arousal, and can therefore be used to assess emotional response in tobacco consumers.

Escopo. Esta pesquisa teve por escopo criar e validar um conjunto de imagens relacionadas com o consumo de tabaco que foram capazes de gerar, nos consumidores, a ativação do sistema motivacional apetitivo e um nível alto de ativação, com o fim que possam ser usadas na avaliação das respostas emocionais associadas ao consumo de tabaco. Metodologia. Foi seguido o protocolo de visualização de imagens afetivas. Participaram 60 pessoas consumidoras frequentes de tabaco com baixa motivação para abandonar o consumo. Foi usada uma sondagem para avaliar a história de consumo de tabaco criadas por pesquisadores, 46 imagens da adaptação colombiana do Sistema Internacional de Imagens Afetivas e o Self Assesment Mankin (Lang, Bradley e Cuthbert, 1997). Resultados. Os resultados mostram que 26 das 28 imagens desenvolvidas estão no polo positivo do espaço afetivo bidimensional composto por uma valência positiva e um nível medio-alto de ativação. Não foram achadas diferencias significativas entre homens e mulheres. Conclusão. Os resultados indicam que estas imagens ativam o sistema motivacional apetitivo e geram um nível de ativação significativo, pelo que podem ser usadas para avaliar a resposta emocional em consumidores de tabaco.

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El objetivo de la investigación fue identificar las diferencias en la valoración de las dimensiones de la emoción, según el grado de disposición al cambio con respecto al abandono del consumo de tabaco. El estudio se desarrolló bajo el paradigma de visualización de imágenes afectivas con un diseño descriptivo comparativo. Participaron 90 personas y se utilizaron 51 imágenes validadas en Colombia del Sistema Internacional de Imágenes Afectivas, 9 imágenes validadas y asociadas al consumo de tabaco, la escala breve para evaluar los estadios de cambio y el SAM (Self Assessment Manikin). Los resultados muestran una valencia apetitiva, alto arousal y baja dominancia en las etapas iniciales del cambio; valencia aversiva, alto arousal y dominancia media en las etapas intermedias; y valencia neutral, bajo arousal y alta dominancia al finalizar el proceso de cambio. Los resultados se explican a partir de los modelos motivacionales del cambio.

The objective of this research was to identify differences in the dimensions valuation of emotion according to the degree of readiness to change regarding the cessation of tobacco consumption. The study was conducted under the paradigm of affective picture viewing with a comparative descriptive design. 90 participants and 51 images validated in Colombia of the International Affective Picture System were used, as well as 9 images validated and associated with tobacco consumption, the brief scale to assess stages of change and the SAM (Self Assessment Manikin). The results show an appetitive valence, high arousal and low dominance in the early stages of change; aversive valence, arousal and dominance high average in the intermediate stages, and neutral valence, low arousal and high dominance by the end of the change process. The results are explained from the motivational models of change.