DCP: A pipeline toolbox for diffusion connectome.

The brain structural network derived from diffusion magnetic resonance imaging (dMRI) reflects the white matter connections between brain regions, which can quantitatively describe the anatomical connection pattern of the entire brain. The development of structural brain connectome leads to the emergence of a large number of dMRI processing packages and network analysis toolboxes. However, the fully automated network analysis based on dMRI data remains challenging. In this study, we developed a cross-platform MATLAB toolbox named "Diffusion Connectome Pipeline" (DCP) for automatically constructing brain structural networks and calculating topological attributes of the networks. The toolbox integrates a few developed packages, including FSL, Diffusion Toolkit, SPM, Camino, MRtrix3, and MRIcron. It can process raw dMRI data collected from any number of participants, and it is also compatible with preprocessed files from public datasets such as HCP and UK Biobank. Moreover, a friendly graphical user interface allows users to configure their processing pipeline without any programming. To prove the capacity and validity of the DCP, two tests were conducted with using DCP. The results showed that DCP can reproduce the findings in our previous studies. However, there are some limitations of DCP, such as relying on MATLAB and being unable to fixel-based metrics weighted network. Despite these limitations, overall, the DCP software provides a standardized, fully automated computational workflow for white matter network construction and analysis, which is beneficial for advancing future human brain connectomics application research.

The impact of stereotype threat on endogenous poverty-elimination dynamics in generationally poor individuals.

Introduction: The study examines the impact of stereotype threat on generationally poor individuals and its effect on achievement motivation. It also explores the extent to which self-affirmation has an intervention effect on the negative impact of stereotype threat. Methods and results: In Study 1, statements that contained negative stereotypes were used to elicit stereotype threat in generationally poor individuals; the results show that stereotype threat reduced the performance of generationally poor individuals in a mental-rotation task. Study 2 used a questionnaire to measure the endogenous dynamics of generationally poor individuals attempting to escape poverty after experiencing stereotype threat; participants in the stereotype-threat group showed lower-level endogenous poverty-elimination dynamics than those in the control group. In Study 3, a self-affirmation intervention was administered to the stereotype-threat group after the stereotype threat was induced. Participants in the self-affirmation group were shown to have higher-level endogenous poverty-elimination dynamics than those in the control group. Discussion: These findings confirm the negative effect of stereotype threat on endogenous poverty-elimination dynamics and verify the effectiveness of self-affirmation in mitigating the negative effects of stereotype threat.

Amplitude of Low-Frequency Fluctuations and Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Trait Positive Empathy: A Resting-State fMRI Study.

Positive empathy is the ability to share and understand the positive emotions of others. In recent years, although positive empathy has received more and more attention, trait positive empathy (TPE)-related spontaneous brain activity during the resting state has not been extensively explored. We used the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) of the resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging signal to explore TPE-associated brain regions. We found that higher TPE was associated with higher ALFFs in the right insula and lower ALFFs in the right subgenual cingulate (SGC), right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), and right precuneus. RSFC analyses showed that higher functional connectivity between the right insula and left parahippocampal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule and left middle temporal gyrus were related to higher TPE. Moreover, the connection between the right dmPFC and the left medial orbitofrontal cortex, left middle occipital gyrus and left posterior cingulate cortex were positively related to TPE. Meanwhile, the strength of functional connectivity between the right SGC and left supplementary motor area was positively associated with TPE. These findings may indicate that TPE is linked to emotional (especially the experience of more positive emotions and better negative emotion regulation) and self-referential processing.

How Leader-Member Exchange Affects Creative Performance: An Examination From the Perspective of Self-Determination Theory.

It has been shown that leadership is a major factor that influences creative performance. Although past studies have found that leader-member exchange (LMX) has direct effects on employee creative performance, there continues to be a lack of research examining how the LMX relationship mediates creative performance. This study used self-determination theory to examine the mediating effects of the LMX relationship on creative performance through attitudinal and emotional processes. Participants were supervisors and subordinates of township enterprises in the Pearl River Delta in China. There were 386 valid supervisor-subordinate dyads. Supervisors were responsible for assessing creative performance and the remaining variables were completed by employees. Results showed that high LMX increased the positive moods of subordinates, improved creative performance, and stimulated intrinsic motivation for improvement. Based on the results, we have proposed academic and practical recommendations such as organizations that want to encourage creativity, could begin by training managers to demonstrate high LMX by strengthening their relationships with employees. We also described study limitations, and suggested directions for future studies.

Relationship between relative deprivation and health of Hainan Island residents: mediating effect of negative health behaviors.

Despite extensive evidence of the direct impact of relative deprivation on health, the mediating role of tobacco, alcohol and betel nuts in this impact has been largely ignored. This study aimed to verify whether these negative health behaviors are mediating factors for relative deprivation and health according to the mediating effect concept. Data from the Hainan Island Residents Health Interview Survey in 2017 were used. Variables including age, marital status, educational level, chronic diseases and area of residence were controlled for in multivariate analysis with separate sex analyses. Mediating effects of smoking, alcohol drinking and betel nut chewing, and whether the effects were complete or partial, were analyzed by logistic regression analysis. Smoking, alcohol drinking and betel nut chewing had a significant mediating effect in men, but not in women; however, alcohol drinking and betel nut chewing had similar, significant complete mediation in both sexes. Dissatisfaction following relative deprivation due to uneven income distribution may be relieved through these negative health behaviors. Therefore, better medical resources should be provided to improve residents' health and the impact of income inequality on health, particularly the growing gap between the rich and poor, should be addressed.

Does Perceiving the Poor as Warm and the Rich as Cold Enhance Perceived Social Justice? The Effects of Activating Compensatory Stereotypes on Justice Perception.

Compensatory stereotypes are the fundamental components of social perception, and competence and warmth are the two fundamental dimensions of social cognition. Previous studies have concluded that, to maintain belief in justice, the system justification motive leads people to believe that upper- and lower-class groups each have their own unique and mutually offsetting advantages and disadvantages (e.g., the rich have low warmth and the poor have high warmth). The present study introduced the variable of social justice perception (personal and systemic justice perception) and hypothesized that endowing upper-class groups with negative characteristics and lower-class groups with positive characteristics could enhance people's social justice perception. Participants were presented with vignettes that activated compensatory/non-compensatory stereotypes in four ways (compensatory competence, non-compensatory competence, compensatory warmth, non-compensatory warmth) regarding individuals described as rich and poor. Justice perception toward these individuals was then rated by the participants. The results showed that compensatory stereotypes triggered by system justification motives can affect the social justice perceptions of individuals to a certain extent. That is, perceiving the poor as warm and the rich as cold enhances perceived social justice, whereas perceiving the poor as competent and the rich as incompetent reduces perceived personal justice but does not affect perceived systemic justice. Especially in the context of the Chinese Confucian culture, which emphasizes warmth but ignores competence, the effect of compensatory stereotypes on perceptions of social justice underscores a cultural difference with the West that warmth is superior to competence. Further, compensatory stereotypes may be either beneficial for or detrimental to individuals of low socioeconomic status, and the results also question whether justice perception reflects the true fairness of society.

The impact of emotion valence on brain processing of behavioral inhibitory control: spatiotemporal dynamics.

Emotion is known to interact with behavioral inhibitory control (BIC), an ability critical for adaptive living. Nevertheless, how emotion valence influences this control, and the spatiotemporal dynamics underlying this influence, remain undetermined. For this purpose, the present study recorded event-related potentials (ERPs) for a standard stimulus which required no BIC, and for deviant stimuli that required controlling habitual responses during pleasant, neutral and unpleasant blocks. Behavioral results showed prolonged reaction times (RTs) and diminished accuracy rates for deviant than for standard stimuli, irrespective of the emotionality of deviants. Moreover, there were significant main effects of stimulus type, and significant stimulus and emotion interaction effects on the averaged amplitudes of the 200-300ms and 300-500ms intervals. Through analyzing the deviant-standard difference ERPs that index BIC directly, we found larger N2 and smaller P3 amplitudes during the unpleasant block than during the neutral block. The pleasant block, in contrast, showed a trend of more pronounced P3 amplitudes than the neutral block. Thus, by synchronizing BIC with emotion induction, we found distinct impact of pleasant and unpleasant emotions on behavioral inhibitory processing, not only in early monitoring of response conflicts but also in the late stage of response inhibition.