brains and behavior

increased ACC and insula activity separates hoarders from non-hoarders

2012-08-06T18:42:00.000-07:00

the study's findings are particularly impressive because they compare activity not just to healthy controls, but also to those diagnosed with obsessive-compulsive disorder and find greater ACC and insula activity compared to both groups. moreover, they find activity in these regions correlates with hoarding severity. read more here.

gender differences attentional attractions and distractions

2012-08-01T18:46:00.001-07:00

these differences could be important for those using eye tracking mythologies in studies of social behavior. read about the study here.

lateral prefrontal cortex and exploration

2012-02-23T23:11:00.002-08:00

A new study reports that the rostral lateral PFC (RPFC) tracks relative uncertainty, whereas DLPFC tracks mean uncertainty. Read more here.

motivation, effort, and the ventral striatum

2012-02-23T22:47:00.001-08:00

A new study suggests that the ventral striatum is the common link in motivation to exert both mental and physical effort. Read it here.

tenative link between impulsivity and video games

2012-02-23T22:44:00.002-08:00

Read more here on the link between impulsivity and games.

On the other hand, games have been found to improve cognitive abilities in older adults.

conscious vs. unconscious processing

2011-12-06T18:42:00.000-08:00

a new study uses continuous flash suppression to illustrate that conscious awareness isn't required for several types of complex processing of information.

read the study here.

response to monetary reward modulated by PFC gray matter volume

2011-12-06T18:34:00.000-08:00

The EEG P300 (sometimes associated with assessing value) peak from monetary reward correlates significantly with gray matter volume in the OFC, ACC, and DLPFC, and VLPFC. interestingly, this relationship is disrupted in drug addicts.

read the study here.

new mesh for in vivo recordings

2011-11-22T15:51:00.000-08:00

researchers report on a newly-developed method for cortical surface in vivo recordings. it appears to be a much thinner and higher resolution form of recording that previous versions. read about it here.

lower GABA levels in DLPFC linked to impulsivity

2011-11-20T16:44:00.000-08:00

utilizing magnetic resonance spectroscopy, researchers find that GABA levels in the DLPFC are inversely related to questionnaire measures of impulsivity.

read the study here.

update: full text free (to everyone, i think?) here.

new technique to track Da release in humans

2011-11-20T16:36:00.001-08:00

a new study in PLoS ONE by led by read montague claims that changes in dopamine levels track market changes, and can even predict future market behaviors.

more importantly, the study showcases a newly-developed method using carbon fiber microelectrodes to track neurotransmitter release in the human caudate.

power and rules

2011-11-20T16:09:00.001-08:00

if you don't feel powerful, you're less likely to fight rules you'd otherwise object to, a new study suggests*.

this presents a potential viscous cycle. previous research shows that breaking rules makes a person seem powerful. however, this new research indicates that you must first feel empowered to change rules before you can attempt to change them.

* this copy probably won't be up for long. the paper is: Laurin, K., Kay., A. C., & Fitzsimons, G. J. (in press). Reactance versus rationalization: Divergent responses to constrained freedom. Psychological Science.

visceral state influences reaction to temptation (indulgence or control)

2011-11-20T15:42:00.000-08:00

in this study, researchers put men in relationships in either hot or cold emotional states (e.g., erotic video vs. fashion show), and measured how long they looked at photos of attractive women. in a "hot" state, they looked longer at each photo. in a separate experiment they find that participants given a monetary incentive to delay gratification are able to modify their preferences (here, rating smoking less pleasurable) giving them a reason to delay smoking if they were in a cool state. in the hot state, participants rated smoking much more pleasurable, providing justification to indulge.

influence of explaining your preferences on your preferences

2011-11-20T15:35:00.000-08:00

gushing about hedonic experiences versus physical objects have opposite effects, a new study finds. for example, telling someone how amazing a piece of cake was makes you like it less, whereas doing the same thing about your new laptop makes you like it more. my guess is that this is because there is a longer list of rational justifications, other than pure preference, for liking physical objects. the laptop has a large memory store, is fast, has this or that software program. a piece of cake just is delicious. i doubt they'd find the same effect if their sample included a large number of professional chefs, however, who could give the same rational justifications for food items.

empowerment may induce better food choices

2011-11-20T15:18:00.000-08:00

in line with previous research that status items are more prevalent among those with poor peer groups (e.g., see here), a new study suggests that food choices may be related to status. researchers find that consumers selecting larger food sizes (e.g., a "venti" coffee) are perceived to have have higher status. in turn, participants induced into a "powerless" (lower status) group selected larger food sizes. this begs a question: if empowering people helps them make better food choices, how can we empower them? this study suggests that policies aimed at improving health, which do so by taking away choice (e.g. trans fats bans), may have perverse effects by disempowering them.

loneliness changes preferences

2011-11-20T15:12:00.000-08:00

a new study measured loneliness and asked people whether they preferred a project endorsed by the majority or a minority of people. they found that loneliness increased the likelihood of selecting the minority-induced item. it also looks like lonely individuals' choices were more influenced by whether or not their choices were public.

gene expression across the lifespan

2011-10-28T16:57:00.000-07:00

a polymorphism in the gene coding for BDNF (brain-derived neurotropic factor) has been linked to increased mental decline. interestingly, one specific polymorphism on this gene was negatively correlated with both cognitive decline and hippocampus size. read the study here.

also of note, this new study charting changes in gene express across the lifespan.

a new animal model of depression

2011-10-28T16:51:00.000-07:00

animal models of disease can be useful in testing new treatments, particularly invasive ones. however, developing animal models of psychological disorders proves difficult, as much of the symptoms are subjective. however, a new study reports on a new rat model for depression using dorsal periaqueductal gray stimulation.

more genetic risk factors for depression found

2011-10-28T16:46:00.000-07:00

a study of over a thousand individuals found that several genes, especially RNF123, are linked to risk for major depression. interestingly, RNF123 is related to neural growth. read the study here

chimps and humans differ in cooperation task

2011-10-16T10:53:00.000-07:00

a new study in current biology suggests that chimp and human social behavior is widely divergent. when given the option to coordinate or work solo, human children prefer to work together whereas chimps prefer the reverse. this calls into question the use of chimpanzees in both social and neuroscience studies as a model of human behaviors.

Sharing in infants

2011-10-08T19:47:00.000-07:00

Infants recognize unequal distributions of goods, a new study finds. In the study, infants watched videos of distribution of foods between two people, and stared longer (typically used as a measure of surprise in the developmental literature) when the distribution was unequal. Researchers interpret this to say that the infants expected an equal distribution instead.

Most interestingly, researchers found that babies that shared a preferred toy ("altruistic" sharing) in a second study, spent longer looking at unequal distributions than babies that shared a less-preferred toy ("selfish sharing").

Read it here.

Predictive coding in olfaction

2011-10-08T19:42:00.000-07:00

A new study uses MVPA analysis of fMRI data to help answer the question of how smells are identified. Their data suggest that a network including the OFC and piriform cortex to generate templates to compare smells with.
Read it here.

the value of choice

2011-10-06T22:17:00.001-07:00

quote from an interesting new study in psych science:

Participants reported liking cues that predicted a future opportunity to make a choice more than cues that predicted no choice. The anticipation of choice itself was associated with increased activity in corticostriatal regions, particularly the ventral striatum, involved in affective and motivational processes. This study is the first direct examination of the affective value of having the opportunity to choose.

Caltech named #1 school

2011-10-05T17:38:00.000-07:00

From the press release:

The California Institute of Technology (Caltech) has been rated the world's number one university in the 2011–2012 Times Higher Education global ranking of the top 200 universities, knocking Harvard University out of the top spot for the first time in the survey's eight-year history.

insulin's role in food reward

2011-10-05T17:32:00.000-07:00

Insulin increases firing of reward-related midbrain dopaminergic neurons of mice, a new study finds.

Read it here.

prestige vs. status

2011-10-05T17:20:00.000-07:00

during peaceful periods, people prefer high-prestige (respectable, admired) leaders, but high status (dominant, power-seeking) individuals otherwise. the study also shows, experimentally, a link between certain behaviors, such as sharing with in- and out-group members, and people's perceived status and prestige. most surprisingly, sharing with both members of your own group and out-group members decreases both prestige and status.
Read the study here (pdf).