Nervous systems must not only generate specific adaptive behaviors, such as reproduction, aggression, feeding, and sleep, but also select a single behavior for execution at any given time, depending on both internal states and external environmental conditions. Despite their tremendous biological importance, the neural mechanisms of action selection remain poorly understood. In the past decade, studies in the model animal Drosophila melanogaster have demonstrated valuable neural mechanisms underlying action selection of innate behaviors. In this review, we summarize circuit mechanisms with a particular focus on a small number of sexually dimorphic neurons in controlling action selection among sex, fight, feeding, and sleep behaviors in both sexes of flies. We also discuss potentially conserved circuit configurations and neuromodulation of action selection in both the fly and mouse models, aiming to provide insights into action selection and the sexually dimorphic prioritization of innate behaviors.
Animals ; Mice ; Male ; Female ; Drosophila melanogaster/physiology* ; Sexual Behavior, Animal/physiology* ; Instinct ; Neurons/physiology* ; Aggression/physiology*

The nineteenth century neuroscience studied the instinct of animal to understand the human mind. In particular, it has been found that the inheritance of unconscious behavior like instinct is mediated through ganglion chains, such as the spinal cord or sympathetic nervous system, which control unconscious reflexes. At the same time, the theory of Inheritance of Acquired Characteristics (hereafter ‘IAC’) widely known as Lamarck's evolutionary theory provided the theoretical frame on the origin of instinct and the heredity of action that the parental generation's habits were converted into the nature of the offspring generation. Contrary to conventional knowledge, this theory was not originally invented by Lamarck, and Darwin also did not discard this theory even after discovering the theory of natural selection in 1838 and maintained it throughout his intellectual life. Above all, in the field of epigenetics, the theory of ‘IAC’ has gained attention as a reliable scientific theory today. Darwin discovered crucial errors in the late 1830s that the Lamarck version's theory of ‘IAC’ did not adequately account for the principle of the inheritance of unconscious behavior like instinct. Lamarck's theory regarded habits as conscious and willful acts and saw that those habits are transmitted through the brain to control conscious actions. Lamarck's theory could not account for the complex and elaborate instincts of invertebrate animals, such as brainless ants. Contrary to Lamarck's view, Darwin established the new theory of ‘IAC’ that could be combined with contemporary neurological theory, which explains the heredity of unconscious behavior. Based on the knowledge of neurology, Darwin was able to translate the ‘principle of habit’ into a neurological term called ‘principle of reflex’. This article focuses on how Darwin join the theory of ‘IAC’ with nineteenth century neuroscience and how the neurological knowledge from the nineteenth century contributed to Darwin's overcoming of Lamarck's ‘IAC’. The significance of this study is to elucidate Darwin's notion of ‘IAC’ theory rather than natural selection theory as a principle of heredity of behavior. The theory of ‘IAC’ was able to account for the rapid variation of instincts in a relatively short period of time, unlike natural selection, which operates slowly in geological time spans of tens of millions of years. The nineteenth century neurological theory also provided neurological principles for ‘plasticity of instinct,’ empirically supporting the fact that all nervous systems responsible for reflexes respond sensitively to very fine stimuli. However, researchers of neo-Darwinian tendencies, such as Richard Dawkins and evolutionary psychologists advocating the ‘selfish gene’ hypothesis, which today claim to be Darwin's descendants, are characterized by human nature embedded in biological information, such as the brain and genes, so that it cannot change at all. This study aims to contribute to reconstructing the evolutionary discourse by illuminating Darwin's insights into the “plasticity of nature” that instincts can change relatively easily even at the level of invertebrates such as earthworms.
Animals ; Ants ; Brain ; Epigenomics ; Ganglion Cysts ; Heredity ; Human Characteristics ; Humans ; Instinct ; Invertebrates ; Nervous System ; Neurology ; Neurosciences ; Oligochaeta ; Parents ; Psychology ; Reflex ; Selection, Genetic ; Spinal Cord ; Sympathetic Nervous System ; Transcutaneous Electric Nerve Stimulation ; Wills

PURPOSE: High self-awareness can promote communication and empathy. The Enneagram is a well-known personality tool to enhance self-awareness. We evaluated differences in empathy among medical students using the Enneagram typology. METHODS: This cross-sectional study included first and second grade students at the Inje University College of Medicine. The Jefferson Scale of Empathy was used to measure empathy and the Korean Enneagram Personality Type Indicator was used for examining personality characteristics. Empathy scores were analyzed according to the Triads, Hornevian group, Harmonic group, and each Enneagram type. RESULTS: The Instinctive triad, the Withdrawns, and the Positive outlook group were the most common, and the Feeling triad, the Assertives, and the Emotional realness group were the least common. Students in the Feeling triad and the Dutifuls had higher compassionate care (CC) scores as compared to their counterparts. Type 2 and 6 students showed the two highest empathy and CC scores. The empathy score of type 3 students was the lowest. Type 7 had the lowest CC score but the highest perspective taking score. CONCLUSION: These differences in empathy according to Enneagram personality types can be applied to medical education to maintain and improve medical students' empathy.
Cross-Sectional Studies ; Education, Medical ; Empathy ; Humans ; Instinct ; Students, Medical

PURPOSE: To understand the meaning and essence of Vietnamese migrant women's maternal experience after childbirth. METHODS: A phenomenological methodology was used for this study. Study participants were six Vietnamese marriage migrant women who had experience of childbirth in Korea. Data collection period was from February 1 through November 4, 2016. Data were collected through in-depth interview and analyzed with the Giorgi method. RESULTS: As a result of study, six main meanings and 12 themes were produced. The six main meanings produced in this study were ‘childbirth realized in the double difficulty’, ‘concerned health between the ở cữ and the sanhujori’, ‘tired body with hard parenting’, ‘crowding regret for international marriage after childbirth’, ‘Grateful partner becoming the prop’, and ‘Growing maternal instinct by moving the mind and body in a foreign country’. CONCLUSION: Consideration for postnatal care is necessary from Vietnamese marriage migrant women's viewpoint. Systematic education programs that can improve nursing capability of medical personnel for multicultured clinical practice with development of a postnatal care program suited to multiculture are also necessary.
Asian Continental Ancestry Group* ; Data Collection ; Education ; Emigrants and Immigrants* ; Female ; Humans ; Instinct ; Korea ; Marriage ; Methods ; Nursing ; Parturition* ; Postnatal Care ; Qualitative Research ; Transients and Migrants

Animals ; Behavior, Animal ; physiology ; Drosophila melanogaster ; physiology ; Female ; Instinct ; Male ; Nerve Net ; physiology ; Neurons ; physiology

Animals always seek rewards and the related neural basis has been well studied. However, what happens when animals fail to get a reward is largely unknown, although this is commonly seen in behaviors such as predation. Here, we set up a behavioral model of repeated failure in reward pursuit (RFRP) in Drosophila larvae. In this model, the larvae were repeatedly prevented from reaching attractants such as yeast and butyl acetate, before finally abandoning further attempts. After giving up, they usually showed a decreased locomotor speed and impaired performance in light avoidance and sugar preference, which were named as phenotypes of RFRP states. In larvae that had developed RFRP phenotypes, the octopamine concentration was greatly elevated, while tβh mutants devoid of octopamine were less likely to develop RFRP phenotypes, and octopamine feeding efficiently restored such defects. By down-regulating tβh in different groups of neurons and imaging neuronal activity, neurons that regulated the development of RFRP states and the behavioral exhibition of RFRP phenotypes were mapped to a small subgroup of non-glutamatergic and glutamatergic octopaminergic neurons in the central larval brain. Our results establish a model for investigating the effect of depriving an expected reward in Drosophila and provide a simplified framework for the associated neural basis.
Acetates ; pharmacology ; Animals ; Animals, Genetically Modified ; Avoidance Learning ; physiology ; Biogenic Amines ; metabolism ; Conditioning, Operant ; physiology ; Drosophila ; physiology ; Drosophila Proteins ; genetics ; metabolism ; Feeding Behavior ; drug effects ; physiology ; Instinct ; Larva ; physiology ; Locomotion ; drug effects ; genetics ; Nervous System ; cytology ; Neurons ; physiology ; Octopamine ; metabolism ; RNA Interference ; physiology ; Reward ; Statistics, Nonparametric ; Transcription Factors ; genetics ; metabolism

OBJECTIVES: In this study I made investigations how ‘strange hunger’ and ‘compulsive overeating’ threatening the ego could be resolved and healed. And I aim to present a healing model of psychotherapy and analysis as one of methods of treatment for ‘eating disorder’. METHODS: The analysands of this study were outpatients who visited the department of psychiatry of Yong-In Mental Hospital from March 2008 to February 2017 with ‘hunger’ and ‘compulsive overeating’ as their chief complaints. This study is based on the detailed records of the process of analysis including dreams and visions. RESULTS: 1) Throughout the process of analysis that explore both consciousness and unconsciousness(dream, vision), hunger and compulsive overeating is improved and healed in all analysands. 2) The Imago of ‘Snake’ appeared in dreams and visions of all analysands. 3) By suffering impulse rather than acting it out, impulse transformes itself into ‘Imago’. As impulse transforms into ‘Imago’ and reveals the ‘meaning’ of it, ego-threatening power of impulse weakens and mood is calmed. And as a result, synthesis of consciousness and unconsciousness and creative transformation of personality can be possible. CONCLUSIONS: In some people, ‘hunger’ and ‘compulsive overeating’ are ‘creative impulses’ that aim ‘Self-realization’ which can be fruited as creative transformation of personality and as creative transformation in the relation with the world. ‘Creative impulses’, which often can be experienced as instinctive impulse or emotional suffering unless ego realizes the meaning, reveal the meaning in dreams or visions through ‘Imago’ and ‘Symbol’.
Consciousness ; Dreams ; Ego ; Fruit ; Gyeonggi-do ; Hospitals, Psychiatric ; Humans ; Hunger ; Hyperphagia ; Instinct ; Outpatients ; Psychotherapy ; Unconsciousness

PURPOSE: Today, an increasing number of divorce is shifting family forms and gender role practices. The purpose of this qualitative study was to understand life's experiences of middle-aged divorced women with higher education and profession lives in Korea. METHODS: For this study, 6 middle-aged divorced women with similar backgrounds were recruited from December 2013 to June 2014, using in-depth individual interviews. Data analysis was performed using Giorgi's phenomenological methodology. RESULTS: Individual interviews revealed the following 15 meaning of themes and 5 themes. 1) A woman considering herself to be ashamed that she has not lived an ordinary life. 2) The destiny of a woman not having a fortune. 3) An exhilarated mood like a teenage girl's 4) Suppressing an instinctive desire of sex. 5) Being a mother as a woman head of household. CONCLUSION: This study provides deep understanding of middle-aged divorced women with higher levels of education and professional lives of women who experienced difficult times and overcame their problems. Based on the results of this study, nursing strategies for enhancing quality of life need to be created and implemented for all professional women by Korean community networking gradually.
Community Networks ; Divorce* ; Education* ; Family Characteristics ; Female ; Gender Identity ; Humans ; Instinct ; Korea ; Middle Aged ; Mothers ; Nursing ; Quality of Life ; Statistics as Topic

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify nursing professional values and job satisfaction depending on the types of personality in visiting nurses. METHODS: Two hundred twenty six visiting nurses participated in this study. Data collection was conducted in 26 Public Health Centers in Korea. The Korean version of the Enneagram nursing professional values and job satisfaction was used to measure the nursing professional values and job satisfaction. RESULTS: The most common personality is type 9, a center of the Instinctive Center where energy tends to stress outwards. There was a significant difference in nursing professional values depending on the type of personality. The type 1, 2 and type 9 had a significant difference by depending on the type of personality. There was but no difference in job satisfaction. There was a negative correlation between nursing professional values and job satisfaction by depending on the type of personality. The nurses with the type 9 and type 1 of personality showed a significant differences with the negative correlation between professional values and job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study showed the necessity of a self-understanding program to improve the working efficiency by increasing the professional values and job satisfaction of visiting nurses.
Community Health Nursing ; Data Collection ; Instinct ; Job Satisfaction ; Korea ; Public Health

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study is to identify nursing professional values and job satisfaction depending on the types of personality in visiting nurses. METHODS: Two hundred twenty six visiting nurses participated in this study. Data collection was conducted in 26 Public Health Centers in Korea. The Korean version of the Enneagram nursing professional values and job satisfaction was used to measure the nursing professional values and job satisfaction. RESULTS: The most common personality is type 9, a center of the Instinctive Center where energy tends to stress outwards. There was a significant difference in nursing professional values depending on the type of personality. The type 1, 2 and type 9 had a significant difference by depending on the type of personality. There was but no difference in job satisfaction. There was a negative correlation between nursing professional values and job satisfaction by depending on the type of personality. The nurses with the type 9 and type 1 of personality showed a significant differences with the negative correlation between professional values and job satisfaction. CONCLUSION: The findings of this study showed the necessity of a self-understanding program to improve the working efficiency by increasing the professional values and job satisfaction of visiting nurses.
Community Health Nursing ; Data Collection ; Instinct ; Job Satisfaction ; Korea ; Public Health