Bar-Ilan University

About: Bar-Ilan University is a education organization based out in Ramat Gan, Israel. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Poison control. The organization has 12835 authors who have published 34964 publications receiving 995648 citations. The organization is also known as: Bar Ilan University & BIU.

Parent–infant synchrony: a biobehavioral model of mutual influences in the formation of affiliative bonds

Abstract: Synchrony, a concept coined by the first researchers on parenting in social animals (Rosenblatt, 1965; Schneirla, 1946; Wheeler, 1928), describes the dynamic process by which hormonal, physiological, and behavioral cues are exchanged between parent and young during social contact. Over time and daily experience, parent and child adjust to the specific cues of the attachment partner and this biobehavioral synchrony provides the foundation for the parent–infant bond (Fleming, O’Day, & Kraemer, 1999). Affiliative bonds—defined as selective and enduring attachments—are formed on the basis of repeated exposure to the coordination between physiological states and interactive behavior within each partner, between partners, and between the physiology of one and the behavior of the other. Such social bonds, in turn, set the framework for the infant’s emotional development and shape the lifelong capacity to regulate stress, modulate arousal, and engage in coregulatory interactions, achievements that are central components of the child’s social– emotional growth (Feldman, 2007a). Moreover, the experience of biobehavioral synchrony in the first months of life sets the biological and behavioral systems that enable the child to provide optimal parenting to the next generation, thereby forming the cross-generation transmission of attachment patterns (Feldman, Gordon, & Zagoory-Sharon, 2010a). During the sensitive period of bond formation, infants’ brains are sensitized to the mutual influences between physiological systems, behavioral indicators, and their interactions. Studies in mammals propose that this process of synchrony—the system’s sensitivity to the coordination of physiology

Interface Geometry and Molecular Junction Conductance: Geometric Fluctuation and Stochastic Switching

Abstract: Metal/molecule/metal transport junctions can transport charge in the elastic scattering (Landauer) regime if the injection gap is large and the molecule is relatively short. Stochastic switching and broad conduction peak distributions have been observed in such junctions. We examine the effect of altering interface geometry on transport, using density functional calculations. For most structures, variations in conductance of order 0−300% are found, but when an atomic wire of Au binds to the molecule, symmetry changes can modify currents by a factor of 103.

Parenting Stress, Infant Emotion Regulation, Maternal Sensitivity, and the Cognitive Development of Triplets: A Model for Parent and Child Influences in a Unique Ecology

Abstract: To examine the development of triplets, 23 sets of triplets were matched with 23 sets of twins and 23 singletons (N=138). Maternal sensitivity was observed at newborn, 3, 6, and 12 months, and infants' cognitive and symbolic skills at 1 year. Triplets received lower maternal sensitivity across infancy and exhibited poorer cognitive competencies compared with singletons and twins. The most medically compromised triplet showed the lowest regulation, received lower maternal sensitivity, and demonstrated the weakest outcomes compared with siblings. Structural modeling charted three levels of influence on cognitive outcomes: direct, indirect, and contextual. The triplet ecology provides a context for assessing the relations among infant inborn dispositions, the rearing environment, and the role of exclusive parenting in development.

The role of mitochondria in aging

Abstract: The biological basis of human aging remains one of the greatest unanswered scientific questions. Increasing evidence, however, points to a role for alterations in mitochondrial function as a potential central regulator of the aging process. Here, we focus primarily on three aspects of mitochondrial biology that link this ancient organelle to how and why we age. In particular, we discuss the role of mitochondria in regulating the innate immune system, the mechanisms linking mitochondrial quality control to age-dependent pathology, and the possibility that mitochondrial-to-nuclear signaling might regulate the rate of aging.