Journal of visualized experiments : JoVE
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This study presents laboratory methods for the quantification of hypopigmentation activity in vitro. Melanin, the major pigment in melanocytes, is synthesized in response to multiple cellular and environmental factors. Melanin protects skin cells from ultraviolet damage, but also has biophysical and biochemical functions. ⋯ Although the results of these in vitro assays may not always be reproduced in human skin, these methods are widely used in melanogenesis research, especially as the initial step to identify potential hypopigmentation activity. These methods can also be used to assess melanocyte activity, growth, and differentiation. Consistent results with the three different methods ensure the validity of the effects.
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Self-distancing (i.e., creating mental distance between the self and a stimulus by adopting a less egocentric perspective) has been studied as a way to improve adolescents' and adults' emotion regulation. These studies instruct adolescents and adults to use visual imagery or language to create distance from the self before engaging in self-regulation tasks and when thinking about past and future events. For example, adults are asked to recall past, negative emotional experiences from either a first-person perspective (no distance) or a third-person perspective (self-distanced). ⋯ In the exemplar condition, the greatest distance from the self is created by asking children to pretend to be a media character and to think about that character's thoughts and feelings (e.g., "How is Batman feeling?"). Studies using the self-distancing paradigm with 4-6-year-olds have found that as the amount of distance from the self increases (self-immersed < third-person < exemplar), children perform better on self-regulation tasks. These findings suggest that the strategies implemented in the self-distancing protocol may be useful to include in self-regulation interventions for young children.