ABSTRACT
Punishment of moral norm violators is instrumental for human cooperation. Yet, social and affective neuroscience research has primarily focused on second- and third-party norm enforcement, neglecting the neural architecture underlying observed (vicarious) punishment of moral wrongdoers. We used naturalistic television drama as a sampling space for observing outcomes of morally-relevant behaviors to assess how individuals cognitively process dynamically evolving moral actions and their consequences. Drawing on Affective Disposition Theory, we derived hypotheses linking character morality with viewers' neural processing of characters' rewards and punishments. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine neural responses of 28 female participants while free-viewing 15 short story summary video clips of episodes from a popular US television soap opera. Each summary included a complete narrative structure, fully crossing main character behaviors (moral/immoral) and the consequences (reward/punishment) characters faced for their actions. Narrative engagement was examined via intersubject correlation and representational similarity analysis. Highest cortical synchronization in 9 specifically selected regions previously implicated in processing moral information was observed when characters who act immorally are punished for their actions with participants' empathy as an important moderator. The results advance our understanding of the moral brain and the role of normative considerations and character outcomes in viewers' engagement with popular narratives.
Subject(s)
Drama , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Morals , Punishment , Humans , Female , Punishment/psychology , Adult , Young Adult , Cortical Synchronization/physiology , Empathy/physiology , Cerebral Cortex/physiology , Cerebral Cortex/diagnostic imaging , NarrationABSTRACT
Moral intuitions are a central motivator in human behavior. Recent work highlights the importance of moral intuitions for understanding a wide range of issues ranging from online radicalization to vaccine hesitancy. Extracting and analyzing moral content in messages, narratives, and other forms of public discourse is a critical step toward understanding how the psychological influence of moral judgments unfolds at a global scale. Extant approaches for extracting moral content are limited in their ability to capture the intuitive nature of moral sensibilities, constraining their usefulness for understanding and predicting human moral behavior. Here we introduce the extended Moral Foundations Dictionary (eMFD), a dictionary-based tool for extracting moral content from textual corpora. The eMFD, unlike previous methods, is constructed from text annotations generated by a large sample of human coders. We demonstrate that the eMFD outperforms existing approaches in a variety of domains. We anticipate that the eMFD will contribute to advance the study of moral intuitions and their influence on social, psychological, and communicative processes.
Subject(s)
Crowdsourcing , Intuition , Humans , Judgment , MoralsABSTRACT
Cognitive control is a framework for understanding the neuropsychological processes that underlie the successful completion of everyday tasks. Only recently has research in this area investigated motivational contributions to control allocation. An important gap in our understanding is the way in which intrinsic rewards associated with a task motivate the sustained allocation of control. To address this issue, we draw on flow theory, which predicts that a balance between task difficulty and individual ability results in the highest levels of intrinsic reward. In three behavioral and one functional magnetic resonance imaging studies, we used a naturalistic and open-source video game stimulus to show that changes in the balance between task difficulty and an individual's ability to perform the task resulted in different levels of intrinsic reward, which is associated with different brain states. Specifically, psychophysiological interaction analyses show that high levels of intrinsic reward associated with a balance between task difficulty and individual ability are associated with increased functional connectivity between key structures within cognitive control and reward networks. By comparison, a mismatch between task difficulty and individual ability is associated with lower levels of intrinsic reward and corresponds to increased activity within the default mode network. These results suggest that intrinsic reward motivates cognitive control allocation.
Subject(s)
Brain/physiology , Executive Function/physiology , Motivation/physiology , Reward , Brain/diagnostic imaging , Brain Mapping , Female , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Models, Theoretical , Rotation , Self-Control , Space Perception/physiology , Video Games , Visual Perception/physiology , Young AdultABSTRACT
Aggressive behavior is associated with dysfunctions in an affective regulation network encompassing amygdala and prefrontal areas such as orbitofrontal (OFC), anterior cingulate (ACC), and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). In particular, prefrontal regions have been postulated to control amygdala activity by inhibitory projections, and this process may be disrupted in aggressive individuals. The atypical antipsychotic quetiapine successfully attenuates aggressive behavior in various disorders; the underlying neural processes, however, are unknown. A strengthened functional coupling in the prefrontal-amygdala system may account for these anti-aggressive effects. An inhibition of this network has been reported for virtual aggression in violent video games as well. However, there have been so far no in-vivo observations of pharmacological influences on corticolimbic projections during human aggressive behavior. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled study, quetiapine and placebo were administered for three successive days prior to an fMRI experiment. In this experiment, functional brain connectivity was assessed during virtual aggressive behavior in a violent video game and an aggression-free control task in a non-violent modification. Quetiapine increased the functional connectivity of ACC and DLPFC with the amygdala during virtual aggression, whereas OFC-amygdala coupling was attenuated. These effects were observed neither for placebo nor for the non-violent control. These results demonstrate for the first time a pharmacological modification of aggression-related human brain networks in a naturalistic setting. The violence-specific modulation of prefrontal-amygdala networks appears to control aggressive behavior and provides a neurobiological model for the anti-aggressive effects of quetiapine.
Subject(s)
Aggression/drug effects , Antipsychotic Agents/pharmacology , Brain/drug effects , Dibenzothiazepines/pharmacology , Neural Pathways/drug effects , Adult , Double-Blind Method , Humans , Image Interpretation, Computer-Assisted , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Quetiapine Fumarate , Video Games , Young AdultABSTRACT
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is a highly prevalent neurodevelopmental disorder associated with suboptimal outcomes throughout the life-span. Extant work suggests that ADHD-related deficits in task performance may be magnified under high cognitive load and minimized under high perceptual load, but these effects have yet to be systematically examined, and the neural mechanisms that undergird these effects are as yet unknown. Herein, we report results from three experiments investigating how performance in ADHD is modulated by cognitive load and perceptual load during a naturalistic task. Results indicate that cognitive load and perceptual load influence task performance, reaction time variability (RTV), and brain network topology in an ADHD-specific fashion. Increasing cognitive load resulted in reduced performance, greater RTV, and reduced brain network efficiency in individuals with ADHD relative to those without. In contrast, increased perceptual load led to relatively greater performance, reduced RTV, and greater brain network efficiency in ADHD. These results provide converging evidence that brain network efficiency and intraindividual variability in ADHD are modulated by both cognitive and perceptual load during naturalistic task performance.
ABSTRACT
For decades, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) has been the focus of social neuroscience research, specifically regarding its role in competitive social decision-making. However, the distinct contributions of PFC subregions when making strategic decisions involving multiple types of information (social, non-social, and mixed information) remain unclear. This study investigates decision-making strategies (pure probability calculation vs. mentalizing) and their neural representations using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data collected during a two-person card game. We observed individual differences in information processing strategy, indicating that some participants relied more on probability than others. Overall, the use of pure probability decreased over time in favor of other types of information (e.g., mixed information), with this effect being more pronounced within-round trials than across rounds. In the brain, (1) the lateral PFC activates when decisions are driven by probability calculations; (2) the right lateral PFC responds to trial difficulty; and (3) the anterior medial PFC is engaged when decision-making involves mentalizing. Furthermore, neural synchrony, which reflects the real-time interplay between individuals' cognitive processes, did not consistently contribute to correct decisions and fluctuated throughout the experiment, suggesting a hierarchical mentalizing mechanism at work.
Subject(s)
Calculi , Decision Making , Humans , Decision Making/physiology , Cognition/physiology , Prefrontal Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Prefrontal Cortex/physiologyABSTRACT
Background: Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is a serious hereditary cardiomyopathy. It is characterized morphologically by an increased left ventricular wall thickness and mass and functionally by enhanced global chamber function and myocellular contractility, diastolic dysfunction, and myocardial fibrosis development. Typically, patients with HCM experience atrial fibrillation (AF), syncope, and ventricular fibrillation (VF), causing severe symptoms and cardiac arrest. In contrast, sinoatrial node (SAN) arrest in the setting of HCM is uncommon. In particular, during VF, it has not been described so far. Case summary: In this study, we report an 18-year-old woman patient with sudden cardiac arrest due to VF and successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation as the first clinical manifestation of non-obstructive HCM. Subsequently, a subcutaneous implantable cardioverter-defibrillator (ICD) was implanted for secondary VF prophylaxis. However, additional episodes of VF occurred. During these, device interrogation revealed a combined occurrence of VF, bradycardia, and SAN arrest, requiring a device exchange into a dual-chamber ICD. A heterozygous, pathogenic variant of the MYH7 gene (c.2155C>T; p.Arg719Trp) was identified as causative for HCM. Discussion: First published in 1994, the particular MYH7 variant (p.Arg719Trp) was described in HCM patients with a high incidence of premature cardiac death and a reduced life expectancy. Electrophysiological studies on HCM patients are mainly performed to treat AF and ventricular tachycardia. Further extraordinary arrhythmic phenotypes were reported only in a few HCM patients. Taken together, the present case with documented co-existing VF and SAN arrest is rare and also emphasizes addressing the presence of SAN arrest (in particular, during VF episodes) in HCM patients when a distinct ICD device is considered for implantation.
ABSTRACT
Moral foundations theory (MFT) holds that moral judgements are driven by modular and ideologically variable moral foundations but where and how these foundations are represented in the brain and shaped by political beliefs remains an open question. Using a moral vignette judgement task (n = 64), we probed the neural (dis)unity of moral foundations. Univariate analyses revealed that moral judgement of moral foundations, versus conventional norms, reliably recruits core areas implicated in theory of mind. Yet, multivariate pattern analysis demonstrated that each moral foundation elicits dissociable neural representations distributed throughout the cortex. As predicted by MFT, individuals' liberal or conservative orientation modulated neural responses to moral foundations. Our results confirm that each moral foundation recruits domain-general mechanisms of social cognition but also has a dissociable neural signature malleable by sociomoral experience. We discuss these findings in view of unified versus dissociable accounts of morality and their neurological support for MFT.
Subject(s)
Morals , Politics , Humans , Judgment , Ethical TheoryABSTRACT
The "replication crisis" in neuroscientific research has led to calls for improving reproducibility. In traditional neuroscience analyses, irreproducibility may occur as a result of issues across various stages of the methodological process. For example, different operating systems, different software packages, and even different versions of the same package can lead to variable results. Nipype, an open-source Python project, integrates different neuroimaging software packages uniformly to improve the reproducibility of neuroimaging analyses. Nipype has the advantage over traditional software packages (e.g., FSL, ANFI, SPM, etc.) by (1) providing comprehensive software development frameworks and usage information, (2) improving computational efficiency, (3) facilitating reproducibility through sufficient details, and (4) easing the steep learning curve. Despite the rich tutorials it has provided, the Nipype community lacks a standard three-level GLM tutorial for FSL. Using the classical Flanker task dataset, we first precisely reproduce a three-level GLM analysis with FSL via Nipype. Next, we point out some undocumented discrepancies between Nipype and FSL functions that led to substantial differences in results. Finally, we provide revised Nipype code in re-executable notebooks that assure result invariability between FSL and Nipype. Our analyses, notebooks, and operating software specifications (e.g., docker build files) are available on the Open Science Framework platform.
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND: Violent content in video games evokes many concerns but there is little research concerning its rewarding aspects. It was demonstrated that playing a video game leads to striatal dopamine release. It is unclear, however, which aspects of the game cause this reward system activation and if violent content contributes to it. We combined functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) with individual affect measures to address the neuronal correlates of violence in a video game. RESULTS: Thirteen male German volunteers played a first-person shooter game (Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror) during fMRI measurement. We defined success as eliminating opponents, and failure as being eliminated themselves. Affect was measured directly before and after game play using the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). Failure and success events evoked increased activity in visual cortex but only failure decreased activity in orbitofrontal cortex and caudate nucleus. A negative correlation between negative affect and responses to failure was evident in the right temporal pole (rTP). CONCLUSIONS: The deactivation of the caudate nucleus during failure is in accordance with its role in reward-prediction error: it occurred whenever subject missed an expected reward (being eliminated rather than eliminating the opponent). We found no indication that violence events were directly rewarding for the players. We addressed subjective evaluations of affect change due to gameplay to study the reward system. Subjects reporting greater negative affect after playing the game had less rTP activity associated with failure. The rTP may therefore be involved in evaluating the failure events in a social context, to regulate the players' mood.
Subject(s)
Affect/physiology , Temporal Lobe/physiology , Video Games/psychology , Violence/psychology , Adult , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , RewardABSTRACT
PURPOSE: To present online scanner noise cancellation for speech acquired in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies. MATERIALS AND METHODS: An online active noise cancellation method for speech acquired in fMRI studies was developed. The approach consists of two automated steps: 1) creation of an MR noise template in a short "test" fMRI scan; 2) application of the template for automatic recognition and subtraction of the MR noise from the acquired microphone signal during an fMRI study. The method was applied in an experimental paradigm where a subject and an investigator communicated in an interactive verbal generation task during fMRI. RESULTS: By applying online active noise cancellation, the quality of the subject's speech was substantially improved. The present approach was found to be flexible, reliable, and easy to implement, providing a method for fMRI studies that investigate the neural correlates of interactive speech communication. CONCLUSION: Using online noise cancellation it is possible to improve the quality of acquired speech in fMRI. This approach may be recommended for interactive fMRI studies.
Subject(s)
Artifacts , Magnetic Resonance Imaging/methods , Noise , Signal Processing, Computer-Assisted , Speech , Adult , Brain Mapping/methods , Humans , Imaging, Three-Dimensional/methods , Male , Reproducibility of ResultsABSTRACT
Prevention neuroscience investigates the brain basis of attitude and behavior change. Over the years, an increasingly structurally and functionally resolved "persuasion network" has emerged. However, current studies have only identified a small handful of neural structures that are commonly recruited during persuasive message processing, and the extent to which these (and other) structures are sensitive to numerous individual difference factors remains largely unknown. In this project we apply a multi-dimensional similarity-based individual differences analysis to explore which individual factors-including characteristics of messages and target audiences-drive patterns of brain activity to be more or less similar across individuals encountering the same anti-drug public service announcements (PSAs). We demonstrate that several ensembles of brain regions show response patterns that are driven by a variety of unique factors. These results are discussed in terms of their implications for neural models of persuasion, prevention neuroscience and message tailoring, and methodological implications for future research.
ABSTRACT
Aggressive behavior in violent video games activates the reward system. However, this effect is closely related to game success. Aim of the present study was to investigate whether aggressive behavior has a rewarding value by itself. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was measured in fifteen right-handed males while playing the video game Carmageddon. Neuroimaging data were analyzed based on violent and non-violent success and failure events. Correlations with subjective game experience measured brain-behavior and -affect relationships. Results revealed a differential involvement of the striatal reward system: non-violent success elicited activation of the ventral striatum, whereas violent success activated specifically the dorsal striatum. Subjective game experience correlated with putamen and medial prefrontal cortex activation specifically for violent success. These results emphasize a differential neural processing of violent and non-violent success events in dorsal and ventral striatum. Virtual violence seems to enable selective responses of the reward system and positive in-game experience.
Subject(s)
Affect/physiology , Aggression/physiology , Brain/physiology , Reward , Video Games , Adult , Brain Mapping , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Nucleus Accumbens/physiology , Prefrontal Cortex/physiology , Putamen/physiology , Video Games/psychology , Young AdultABSTRACT
HISTORY: An 80-year old female was referred to our hospital with left internal carotid artery stenosis and a childhood history of hemoptysis. INVESTIGATIONS AND DIAGNOSIS: The ECG showed 2nd degree Mobitz atrio-ventricular block. The chest x-ray and computerized tomography identified a shift of the mediastinum and the heart to the left. The left lung was completely destroyed whilst the right lung was enlarged and crossed the midline. Pulmonary function tests revealed a moderate restrictive ventilation disorder. The diagnosis of autopneumonectomy was based on patient history together with radiological findings. TREATMENT AND COURSE: A pacemaker was implanted with two stimulation electrodes via a left cephalic venous cutdown. A carotid endarterectomy was also performed without any complication. CONCLUSION: After autopneumonectomy, postpneumonectomy like syndrome may occur in very rare cases, whereupon operative treatment is mandatory. Any respiratory infections should be treated with antibiotics. Pacemaker electrode placement via the subclavian vein is contraindicated due to the risk of a catastrophic pneumothorax.
Subject(s)
Carotid Stenosis , Lung Diseases , Aged, 80 and over , Carotid Stenosis/complications , Carotid Stenosis/diagnostic imaging , Carotid Stenosis/surgery , Electrocardiography , Female , Humans , Lung Diseases/complications , Lung Diseases/diagnostic imaging , Lung Diseases/physiopathology , Pacemaker, ArtificialABSTRACT
The article "Central serotonin modulates neural responses to virtual violent actions in emotion regulation networks", written by Dhana Wolf, Martin Klasen, Patrick Eisner, Florian D. Zepf, Mikhail Zvyagintsev, Nicola PalomeroGallagher, René Weber, Albrecht Eisert, Klaus Mathiak was originally published electronically on the publisher's internet portal (currently SpringerLink) on June, 08, 2018 without open access.
ABSTRACT
Aggressive behavior is associated with dysfunctional frontolimbic emotion regulation circuits. Recent findings suggest serotonin as a primary transmitter for prefrontal amygdala control. However, the association between serotonin levels, amygdala regulation, and aggression is still a matter of debate. Neurobehavioral models furthermore suggest a possible mediating influence of the monoamine oxidase A gene (MAOA) on this brain-behavior relationship, with carriers of low expressing allele varieties being a risk group for aggression. In the present study, we investigated the influence of brain serotonin modulation and MAOA genotype on functional amygdala connectivity during aggressive behavior. Modulation of serotonergic neurotransmission with acute tryptophan depletion (ATD) and placebo were administered in a double-blind, cross-over design in 38 healthy male participants. Aggressive behavior was modeled in a violent video game during simultaneous assessment of brain activation with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Trait aggression was measured with the Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BP-AQ), and MAOA genotypes were assessed from blood samples. Voxel-wise functional connectivity with anatomically defined amygdala was calculated from the functional data. Tryptophan depletion with ATD reduced aggression-specific amygdala connectivity with bilateral supramarginal gyrus. Moreover, ATD impact was associated with trait aggression and MAOA genotype in prefrontal cortex regions. In summary, serotonergic corticolimbic projections contribute to aggressive behavior. Genotype-specific vulnerability of frontolimbic projections may underlie the elevated risk in low expressing allele carriers.
ABSTRACT
This study investigates the dynamics of attention during continuous, naturalistic interactions in a video game. Specifically, the effect of repeated distraction on a continuous primary task is related to a functional model of network connectivity. We introduce the Non-linear Attentional Saturation Hypothesis (NASH), which predicts that effective connectivity within attentional networks increases non-linearly with decreasing distraction over time, and exhibits dampening at critical parameter values. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data collected using a naturalistic behavioral paradigm coupled with an interactive video game is used to test the hypothesis. As predicted, connectivity in pre-defined regions corresponding to attentional networks increases as distraction decreases. Moreover, the functional relationship between connectivity and distraction is convex, that is, network connectivity somewhat increases as distraction decreases during the continuous primary task, however, connectivity increases considerably as distraction falls below critical levels. This result characterizes the non-linear pattern of connectivity within attentional networks, particularly with respect to their dynamics during behavior. These results are also summarized in the form of a network structure analysis, which underscores the role of various nodes in regulating the global network state. In conclusion, we situate the implications of this research in the context of cognitive complexity and an emerging theory of flow during media exposure.
ABSTRACT
Disruptions in the cortico-limbic emotion regulation networks have been linked to depression, anxiety, impulsivity, and aggression. Altered transmission of the central nervous serotonin (5-HT) contributes to dysfunctions in the cognitive control of emotions. To date, studies relating to pharmaco-fMRI challenging of the 5-HT system have focused on emotion processing for facial expressions. We investigated effects of a single-dose selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitor (escitalopram) on emotion regulation during virtual violence. For this purpose, 38 male participants played a violent video game during fMRI scanning. The SSRI reduced neural responses to violent actions in right-hemispheric inferior frontal gyrus and medial prefrontal cortex encompassing the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), but not to non-violent actions. Within the ACC, the drug effect differentiated areas with high inhibitory 5-HT1A receptor density (subgenual s25) from those with a lower density (pregenual p32, p24). This finding links functional responses during virtual violent actions with 5-HT neurotransmission in emotion regulation networks, underpinning the ecological validity of the 5-HT model in aggressive behavior. Available 5-HT receptor density data suggest that this SSRI effect is only observable when inhibitory and excitatory 5-HT receptors are balanced. The observed early functional changes may impact patient groups receiving SSRI treatment.
Subject(s)
Cognition , Emotions , Exposure to Violence/psychology , Neurons/metabolism , Prefrontal Cortex/metabolism , Serotonin/metabolism , Video Games/psychology , Adult , Brain Mapping/methods , Citalopram/administration & dosage , Cognition/drug effects , Cross-Over Studies , Double-Blind Method , Emotions/drug effects , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Neural Pathways/metabolism , Neurons/drug effects , Prefrontal Cortex/diagnostic imaging , Prefrontal Cortex/drug effects , Random Allocation , Selective Serotonin Reuptake Inhibitors/administration & dosage , Young AdultABSTRACT
While a persuasion network has been proposed, little is known about how network connections between brain regions contribute to attitude change. Two possible mechanisms have been advanced. One hypothesis predicts that attitude change results from increased connectivity between structures implicated in affective and executive processing in response to increases in argument strength. A second functional perspective suggests that highly arousing messages reduce connectivity between structures implicated in the encoding of sensory information, which disrupts message processing and thereby inhibits attitude change. However, persuasion is a multi-determined construct that results from both message features and audience characteristics. Therefore, persuasive messages should lead to specific functional connectivity patterns among a priori defined structures within the persuasion network. The present study exposed 28 subjects to anti-drug public service announcements where arousal, argument strength, and subject drug-use risk were systematically varied. Psychophysiological interaction analyses provide support for the affective-executive hypothesis but not for the encoding-disruption hypothesis. Secondary analyses show that video-level connectivity patterns among structures within the persuasion network predict audience responses in independent samples (one college-aged, one nationally representative). We propose that persuasion neuroscience research is best advanced by considering network-level effects while accounting for interactions between message features and target audience characteristics.
Subject(s)
Health Education , Nerve Net/physiology , Persuasive Communication , Risk-Taking , Substance-Related Disorders/prevention & control , Substance-Related Disorders/psychology , Affect , Arousal , Attitude , Brain Mapping , Female , Humans , Magnetic Resonance Imaging , Male , Young AdultABSTRACT
The interaction of low perceptual stimulation or goal-directed behavior with a negative subjective evaluation may lead to boredom. This contribution to boredom may shed light on its neural correlates, which are poorly characterized so far. A video game served as simulation of free interactive behavior without interruption of the game's narrative. Thirteen male German volunteers played a first-person shooter game (Tactical Ops: Assault on Terror) during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Two independent coders performed the time-based analysis of the audio-visual game content. Boredom was operationalized as interaction of prolonged absence of goal-directed behavior with lowered affect in the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule (PANAS). A decrease of positive affect (PA) correlated with response amplitudes in bilateral insular clusters extending into the amygdala to prolonged inactive phases in a game play and an increase in negative affect (NA) was associated with higher responses in bilateral ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). Precuneus and hippocampus responses were negatively correlated with changes in NA. We describe for the first time neural contributions to boredom, using a video game as complex virtual environment. Further our study confirmed that PA and NA are separable constructs, reflected by distinct neural patterns. PA may be associated with afferent limbic activity whereas NA with affective control.