Behavioral Sciences

Article Behavioral Sciences

Comparisons are Odious? The neural basis of in-group and out-group social comparison among game players: An fMRI study

Zijie Fang, Hongwei Wen, Yuhong Zhou, Xuemei Gao

Summary: Social comparison is an important way for individuals to define their social characteristics. This study aimed to explore the activation of brain regions triggered by different social comparisons in game players and the moderating effect of group identity. The results showed that downward comparison activated different brain regions compared to upward comparison, and the moderating effect of group identity was not significant. Further functional connectivity analysis based on the brain region activation results was conducted.

BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Clinical effects of anodal tDCS and identifying response markers in post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD): An open-label study

Mehdi Rezaei, Mohammad Mahdi Shariat Bagheri

Summary: This study examined the efficacy of tDCS for PTSD and related symptoms, as well as the factors that may predict response to tDCS. The results showed that tDCS had a positive effect in reducing symptoms of PTSD, depression, anxiety, and anhedonia. The severity of symptoms at baseline may also predict the response to tDCS.

BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Self-esteem and cortical thickness correlate with aggression in healthy children: A surface-based analysis

Huimin Wu, Yiqun Guo, Yaoyao Zhang, Le Zhao, Cheng Guo

Summary: Aggression can have serious consequences, but little is known about its personality and neurological origins in children. This study investigated the relationship between self-esteem, aggression, and brain structure in healthy children, and found that self-esteem was negatively associated with aggression. The study also revealed that increased cortical thickness in certain brain areas may be a potential mechanism linking low self-esteem to aggression in children.

BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Effects of reproductive status on behavioral and neural responses to isolated pup stimuli in female California mice

Kerianne M. Wilson, April M. Arquilla, Manal Hussein, Kelsey M. Rosales-Torres, May G. Chan, Wendy Saltzman

Summary: The transition to motherhood in mammals involves changes in females' perception and responsiveness to sensory stimuli from infants. This study examined the effects of reproductive status on behavioral responses and brain activity in California mice. The results showed that reproductive status influenced females' behavioral responses to pup stimuli, particularly odors, and inhibited defense circuitry in response to pup stimuli.

BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Enhancing fentanyl antinociception and preventing tolerance with α-2 adrenoceptor agonists in rats

Deniz Yildiz Pehlivan, Ali Yucel Kara, Ahmet Koyu, Fatma Simsek

Summary: This study examines the effects of alpha-2 adrenoceptor agonists on fentanyl tolerance and antinociception, and suggests that combined drugs can prevent tolerance and enhance fentanyl's pain-relieving effects. The findings have promising implications for chronic pain management.

BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Experiences of emotional eating in an Acceptance and Commitment Therapy based weight management intervention (SWiM): A qualitative study

Laura Kudlek, Rebecca A. Jones, Carly Hughes, Robbie Duschinsky, Andrew Hill, Rebecca Richards, Megan Thompson, Ann Vincent, Simon J. Griffin, Amy L. Ahern

Summary: This study explored how participants of an ACT-based weight management intervention (WMI) experience emotional eating and highlighted the importance of self-awareness and alternative coping strategies in improving emotional eating. It also emphasized the need for ongoing and personalized interventions to support individuals with external locus of control and complex emotional eating experiences.

APPETITE (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Australian adults cooked more and tried new recipes during COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns

Claire Margerison, Gozde Aydin, Christel Larsson, Alison Booth, Anthony Worsley, Janandani Nanayakkara

Summary: The COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdowns resulted in changes in food accessibility and availability, leading to shifts in food habits and behaviors among people worldwide. A study conducted in Australia examined the self-reported changes in food habits and behaviors of adults during the COVID-19 restrictions in 2020. The majority of respondents reported developing positive food habits, such as trying new recipes, cooking from scratch, and reducing take-away meals. The study also found that family involvement in food preparation and eating together increased during the restrictions. However, there were negative experiences, including difficulties in purchasing certain foods and limited access to food outlets.

APPETITE (2024)

Review Behavioral Sciences

How are overweight and obesity associated with reinforcement learning deficits? A systematic review

Gibson Weydmann, Patricia Maidana Miguel, Nour Hakim, Laurette Dube, Patricia Pelufo Silveira, Lisiane Bizarro

Summary: This study systematically reviewed the association between obesity and overweight with reinforcement learning performance. It was found that obesity might be associated with impairments in utilizing aversive outcomes to change behavior, but further research is needed to confirm this association.

APPETITE (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Differential effects of nutritive and non-nutritive sweet mouth rinsing on appetite in adults with obesity

Betsy Cogan, Jamie A. Cooper

Summary: This study aimed to assess the effect of dietary sweetness on appetite in adults with and without obesity. The results showed that the response of ghrelin to unsweetened rinses was energy-specific for all adults, while rinses containing sucralose led to greater cephalic phase cholecystokinin release in adults with a BMI between 18.5 and 24.9 kg/m(2).

APPETITE (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

The temporal dynamics of how the brain structures natural scenes

Astrid Prochnow, Xianzhen Zhou, Foroogh Ghorbani, Paul Wendiggensen, Veit Roessner, Bernhard Hommel, Christian Beste

Summary: Individuals organize events in their environment by partitioning them into discrete units. This study reveals that the neural activity in the brain plays a critical role in this process, reflecting the key elements of event segmentation.

CORTEX (2024)

Review Behavioral Sciences

Revealing the confusion of the evolution of the term sagittal stratum. Historical overview and systematic literature review

Beste Gulsuna, Abuzer Gungor, Alp O. Borcer, Ugur Ture

Summary: The fiber dissection technique has been used to study the internal structures of the brain, with less focus on white matter. The sagittal stratum, a white matter structure, has not received enough attention and has been a subject of controversy. Recent studies suggest potential functions of the sagittal stratum, emphasizing the importance of understanding this structure accurately.

CORTEX (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Assessing processing speed and its neural correlates in the three variants of primary progressive aphasia with a non-verbal tablet-based task

Andrea Gajardo-Vidal, Maxime Montembeault, Diego L. Lorca-Puls, Abigail E. Licata, Rian Bogley, Sabrina Erlhoff, Buddhika Ratnasiri, Zoe Ezzes, Giovanni Battistella, Elena Tsoy, Christa Watson Pereira, Jessica Deleon, Boon Lead Tee, Maya L. Henry, Zachary A. Miller, Katherine P. Rankin, Maria Luisa Mandelli, Katherine L. Possin, Maria Luisa Gorno-Tempini

Summary: This study investigates the potential differences in processing speed and neural correlates among the three variants of Primary Progressive Aphasia (PPA). The findings reveal that non-verbal cognitive abilities, such as processing speed, are significantly impacted in nfvPPA and lvPPA patients compared to healthy controls and svPPA patients. Neuroimaging results confirm the importance of fronto-parietal regions associated with processing speed and executive control.

CORTEX (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Comparison of uni- and multimodal motion stimulation on visual neglect: A proof-of-concept study

Nora Geiser, Brigitte Charlotte Kaufmann, Samuel Elia Johannes Knobel, Dario Cazzoli, Tobias Nef, Thomas Nyffeler

Summary: This study compared the effects of auditory and visual motion stimulation on spatial neglect and found that both interventions were equally effective in improving neglect. Multimodal motion stimulation also improved neglect, but did not show greater improvement than unimodal auditory or visual motion stimulation alone.

CORTEX (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

The functional connectivity between right parahippocampal gyrus and precuneus underlying the association between reward sensitivity and procrastination

Zhenzhen Huo, Zhiyi Chen, Rong Zhang, Junye Xu, Tingyong Feng

Summary: Procrastination has adverse effects on personal growth and social development. Reward sensitivity is positively correlated with procrastination. This study used VBM and RSFC analyses to investigate the neural substrates underlying the association between reward sensitivity and procrastination. The results showed that the functional connectivity of the right parahippocampal gyrus-precuneus mediated the relationship between reward sensitivity and procrastination.

CORTEX (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Bayesian multi-level modelling for predicting single and double feature visual search

Anna E. Hughes, Anna Nowakowska, Alasdair D. F. Clarke

Summary: This study examines the relationship between search slopes and search efficiency in visual search tasks, introduces the Target Contrast Signal (TCS) Theory, and extends it to a Bayesian multi-level framework. The findings demonstrate that TCS can predict data well, but distinguishing between contrast combination models proves to be difficult.

CORTEX (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Functional and representational differences between bilateral inferior temporal numeral areas

Darren J. Yeo, Courtney Pollack, Benjamin N. Conrad, Gavin R. Price

Summary: The processing of numerals as visual objects is supported by an Inferior Temporal Numeral Area (ITNA) in the bilateral inferior temporal gyri (ITG). Extant findings suggest some degree of hemispheric asymmetry in how the bilateral ITNAs process numerals. The study found that digit sensitivity did not differ between ITNAs, and digit sensitivity in both left and right ITNAs was associated with calculation skills. The study also revealed a right lateralization in engagement in alphanumeric categorization, and that the right ITNA showed greater discriminability between digits and letters.

CORTEX (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

How neural representations of newly learnt faces change over time: Event-related brain potential evidence for overnight consolidation

Holger Wiese, Tsvetomila Popova, Maya Schipper, Deni Zakriev, Mike Burton, Andrew W. Young

Summary: Previous experiments have shown that brief exposure to unfamiliar individuals leads to the formation of new facial representations, which undergo changes and consolidation within the first day after learning.

CORTEX (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Temperament and probabilistic predictive coding in visual-spatial attention

Stefano Lasaponara, Gabriele Scozia, Silvana Lozito, Mario Pinto, David Conversi, Marco Costanzi, Tim Vriens, Massimo Silvetti, Fabrizio Doricchi

Summary: Cholinergic (Ach), Noradrenergic (NE), and Dopaminergic (DA) pathways are crucial in regulating spatial attention and determining inter-individual differences in temperamental traits. This study found that temperamental traits predict individual differences in the ability to orient spatial attention based on the probabilistic association between cues and targets. These findings highlight the importance of considering temperamental and personality traits in social and professional environments where attention control is essential.

CORTEX (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

How a pilot's brain copes with stress and mental load? Insights from the executive control network

Mickael Causse, Damien Mouratille, Yves Rouillard, Radouane El Yagoubi, Nadine Matton, Antonio Hidalgo-Munoz

Summary: In aviation, mental workload and stress have significant impacts on a pilot's performance and decision-making. Monitoring the pilot's mental state can help prevent dangerous effects caused by excessive workload and stress.

BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH (2024)

Article Behavioral Sciences

Enhancing long-term memory through strength training: An experimental study in adult and middle-aged rats

Gabriela Quines Mendelski, Cristiane Regina Guerino Furini, Giuseppe Potrick Stefani, Lorenza Pabst Botton, Rafael Reimann Baptista

Summary: This study aimed to investigate the impact of strength training on long-term memory in adult and middle-aged rodents. The results showed that strength training had generally beneficial effects on memory tasks, with different facilitatory effects observed in different age groups. In addition, strength training had positive effects on anxiety symptoms, body mass, and adipose tissue composition. These findings provide crucial insights into the potential of exercise interventions in improving cognitive health and mitigating age-related cognitive decline.

BEHAVIOURAL BRAIN RESEARCH (2024)