Dopamine D4 Receptor Gene Associated with Fairness Preference in Ultimatum Game. In experimental economics, the preference for reciprocal fairness has been observed in the controlled and incentivized laboratory setting of the ultimatum game, in which two individuals decide on how to divide a sum of money, with one proposing the share while the second deciding whether to accept. Should the proposal be accepted, the amount is divided accordingly. Otherwise, both would receive no money. A recent twin study has shown that fairness preference inferred from responder behavior is heritable, yet its neurogenetic basis remains unknown.
The D4 receptor (DRD4) exon3 is a well-characterized functional polymorphism, which is known to be associated with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and personality traits including novelty seeking and self-report altruism. Applying a neurogenetic approach, we find that DRD4 is significantly associated with fairness preference. Additionally, the interaction among this gene, season of birth, and gender is highly significant. Figures. Viewing Pictures of a Romantic Partner Reduces Experimental Pain: Involvement of Neural Reward Systems. The early stages of a new romantic relationship are characterized by intense feelings of euphoria, well-being, and preoccupation with the romantic partner. Neuroimaging research has linked those feelings to activation of reward systems in the human brain. The results of those studies may be relevant to pain management in humans, as basic animal research has shown that pharmacologic activation of reward systems can substantially reduce pain.
Indeed, viewing pictures of a romantic partner was recently demonstrated to reduce experimental thermal pain. We hypothesized that pain relief evoked by viewing pictures of a romantic partner would be associated with neural activations in reward-processing centers. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we examined fifteen individuals in the first nine months of a new, romantic relationship. Figures Editor: Vladimir Brezina, Mount Sinai School of Medicine, United States of America Copyright: © 2010 Younger et al. Funding: Dr. Your Resting Brain CAREs about Your Risky Behavior. Background Research on the neural correlates of risk-related behaviors and personality traits has provided insight into mechanisms underlying both normal and pathological decision-making. Task-based neuroimaging studies implicate a distributed network of brain regions in risky decision-making.
What remains to be understood are the interactions between these regions and their relation to individual differences in personality variables associated with real-world risk-taking. Methodology/Principal Findings We employed resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (R-fMRI) and resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) methods to investigate differences in the brain's intrinsic functional architecture associated with beliefs about the consequences of risky behavior. Conclusions/Significance Figures Citation: Cox CL, Gotimer K, Roy AK, Castellanos FX, Milham MP, et al. (2010) Your Resting Brain CAREs about Your Risky Behavior. Editor: Angela Sirigu, CNRS, France Introduction Participants. Cooperation and Deception Recruit Different Subsets of the Theory-of-Mind Network. The term “theory of mind” (ToM) describes an evolved psychological mechanism that is necessary to represent intentions and expectations in social interaction.
It is thus involved in determining the proclivity of others to cooperate or defect. While in cooperative settings between two parties the intentions and expectations of the protagonists match, they diverge in deceptive scenarios, in which one protagonist is intentionally manipulated to hold a false belief about the intention of the other. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm using cartoons showing social interactions (including the outcome of the interaction) between two or three story characters, respectively, we sought to determine those brain areas of the ToM network involved in reasoning about cooperative versus deceptive interactions. Figures Citation: Lissek S, Peters S, Fuchs N, Witthaus H, Nicolas V, et al. (2008) Cooperation and Deception Recruit Different Subsets of the Theory-of-Mind Network.
Introduction. Amygdala Engagement in Response to Subthreshold Presentations of Anxious Face Stimuli in Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorders: Preliminary Insights. Current theoretical models of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have proposed that impairments in the processing of social/emotional information may be linked to amygdala dysfunction. However, the extent to which amygdala functions are compromised in ASD has become a topic of debate in recent years. In a jittered functional magnetic resonance imaging study, sub-threshold presentations of anxious faces permitted an examination of amygdala recruitment in 12 high functioning adult males with ASD and 12 matched controls. We found heightened neural activation of the amygdala in both high functioning adults with ASD and matched controls. Neither the intensity nor the time-course of amygdala activation differed between the groups. However, the adults with ASD showed significantly lower levels of fusiform activation during the trials compared to controls.
Figures Editor: André Aleman, University of Groningen, Netherlands Received: January 12, 2010; Accepted: May 3, 2010; Published: May 25, 2010. Single Medial Prefrontal Neurons Cope with Error. Learning from mistakes is a key feature of human behavior. However, the mechanisms underlying short-term adaptation to erroneous action are still poorly understood. One possibility relies on the modulation of attentional systems after an error. To explore this possibility, we have designed a Stroop-like visuo-motor task in monkeys that favors incorrect action.
Using this task, we previously found that single neurons recorded from the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) were closely tuned to behavioral performance and, more particularly, that the activity of most neurons was biased towards the evaluation of erroneous action. Figures Citation: Michelet T, Bioulac B, Guehl D, Goillandeau M, Burbaud P (2009) Single Medial Prefrontal Neurons Cope with Error. Editor: Georges Chapouthier, L'université Pierre et Marie Curie, France Received: May 7, 2009; Accepted: June 3, 2009; Published: July 17, 2009 Copyright: © 2009 Michelet et al. Introduction Learning often occurs by trial and error. Figure 1. Precursor or Sequela: Pathological Disorders in People with Internet Addiction Disorder. Background This study aimed to evaluate the roles of pathological disorders in Internet addiction disorder and identify the pathological problems in IAD, as well as explore the mental status of Internet addicts prior to addiction, including the pathological traits that may trigger Internet addiction disorder.
Methods and Findings 59 students were measured by Symptom CheckList-90 before and after they became addicted to the Internet. A comparison of collected data from Symptom Checklist-90 before Internet addiction and the data collected after Internet addiction illustrated the roles of pathological disorders among people with Internet addiction disorder. The obsessive-compulsive dimension was found abnormal before they became addicted to the Internet. After their addiction, significantly higher scores were observed for dimensions on depression, anxiety, hostility, interpersonal sensitivity, and psychoticism, suggesting that these were outcomes of Internet addiction disorder.
Conclusions. The Integration of Prosodic Speech in High Functioning Autism: A Preliminary fMRI Study. Background Autism is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by a specific triad of symptoms such as abnormalities in social interaction, abnormalities in communication and restricted activities and interests. While verbal autistic subjects may present a correct mastery of the formal aspects of speech, they have difficulties in prosody (music of speech), leading to communication disorders. Few behavioural studies have revealed a prosodic impairment in children with autism, and among the few fMRI studies aiming at assessing the neural network involved in language, none has specifically studied prosodic speech.
The aim of the present study was to characterize specific prosodic components such as linguistic prosody (intonation, rhythm and emphasis) and emotional prosody and to correlate them with the neural network underlying them. Methodology/Principal Findings Conclusions/Significance Figures Editor: André Aleman, University of Groningen, Netherlands Copyright: © 2010 Hesling et al. Self-Referential Cognition and Empathy in Autism. Background Individuals with autism spectrum conditions (ASC) have profound impairments in the interpersonal social domain, but it is unclear if individuals with ASC also have impairments in the intrapersonal self-referential domain. We aimed to evaluate across several well validated measures in both domains, whether both self-referential cognition and empathy are impaired in ASC and whether these two domains are related to each other.
Methodology/Principal Findings Thirty adults aged 19-45, with Asperger Syndrome or high-functioning autism and 30 age, sex, and IQ matched controls participated in the self-reference effect (SRE) paradigm. In the SRE paradigm, participants judged adjectives in relation to the self, a similar close other, a dissimilar non-close other, or for linguistic content. Conclusions/Significance We conclude that individuals with ASC have broad impairments in both self-referential cognition and empathy. Figures Copyright: © 2007 Lombardo et al. Introduction Figure 1. The Relation between Self-Reported Empathy and Motor Identification with Imagined Agents.
Background In a previous study, we found that when required to imagine another person performing an action, participants reported a higher correspondence between their own handedness and the hand used by the imagined person when the agent was seen from the back compared to when the agent was seen from the front. This result was explained as evidence of a greater involvement of motor areas in the back-view perspective, possibly indicating a greater proneness to put oneself in the agent's shoes in such a condition.
In turn, the proneness to put oneself in another's shoes could also be considered as a cue of greater identification with the other, that is a form of empathy. If this is the case, the proportion of lateral matches vs mismatches should be different for subjects with high and low self-reported empathy. In the present study, we aimed at testing this hypothesis. Methodology/Principal Findings Conclusions/Significance Figures Editor: Paul L. Copyright: © 2011 Marzoli et al. Methods. Affective Response to a Loved One's Pain: Insula Activity as a Function of Individual Differences.
Individual variability in emotion processing may be associated with genetic variation as well as with psychological predispositions such as dispositional affect styles. Our previous fMRI study demonstrated that amygdala reactivity was independently predicted by affective-cognitive styles (phobic prone or eating disorders prone) and genotype of the serotonin transporter in a discrimination task of fearful facial expressions. Since the insula is associated with the subjective evaluation of bodily states and is involved in human feelings, we explored whether its activity could also vary in function of individual differences.
In the present fMRI study, the association between dispositional affects and insula reactivity has been examined in two groups of healthy participants categorized according to affective-cognitive styles (phobic prone or eating disorders prone). Images of the faces of partners and strangers, in both painful and neutral situations, were used as visual stimuli. Figures. Brain Switches Utilitarian Behavior: Does Gender Make the Difference? Decision often implies a utilitarian choice based on personal gain, even at the expense of damaging others. Despite the social implications of utilitarian behavior, its neurophysiological bases remain largely unknown. To assess how the human brain controls utilitarian behavior, we delivered transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) over the ventral prefrontal cortex (VPC) and over the occipital cortex (OC) in 78 healthy subjects.
Utilitarian judgment was assessed with the moral judgment task before and after tDCS. At baseline, females provided fewer utilitarian answers than males for personal moral dilemmas (p = .007). Figures Citation: Fumagalli M, Vergari M, Pasqualetti P, Marceglia S, Mameli F, et al. (2010) Brain Switches Utilitarian Behavior: Does Gender Make the Difference? Editor: Alessandro Antonietti, Catholic University of Sacro Cuore, Italy Received: April 30, 2009; Accepted: January 5, 2010; Published: January 25, 2010 Copyright: © 2010 Fumagalli et al. Introduction. Intention Understanding in Autism. Corrections 13 Jun 2009: Boria S, Fabbri-Destro M, Cattaneo L, Sparaci L, Sinigaglia C, et al. (2009)Correction: Intention Understanding in Autism.PLoS ONE 4(6):10.1371/annotation/3f865d29-8d14-4f15-86dc-061631ff6d78. doi: 10.1371/annotation/3f865d29-8d14-4f15-86dc-061631ff6d78 | View correction When we observe a motor act (e.g. grasping a cup) done by another individual, we extract, according to how the motor act is performed and its context, two types of information: the goal (grasping) and the intention underlying it (e.g. grasping for drinking).
Here we examined whether children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) are able to understand these two aspects of motor acts. Two experiments were carried out. In the first, one group of high-functioning children with ASD and one of typically developing (TD) children were presented with pictures showing hand-object interactions and asked what the individual was doing and why. Figures Copyright: © 2009 Boria et al. Introduction Methods Results. Gender Differences in the Mu Rhythm of the Human Mirror-Neuron System.
Background Psychologically, females are usually thought to be superior in interpersonal sensitivity than males. The human mirror-neuron system is considered to provide the basic mechanism for social cognition. However, whether the human mirror-neuron system exhibits gender differences is not yet clear. Methodology/Principal Findings We measured the electroencephalographic mu rhythm, as a reliable indicator of the human mirror-neuron system activity, when female (N = 20) and male (N = 20) participants watched either hand actions or a moving dot. Conclusions/Significance The present findings indirectly lend support to the extreme male brain theory put forward by Baron-Cohen (2005), and may cast some light on the mirror-neuron dysfunction in autism spectrum disorders.
Figures Citation: Cheng Y, Lee P-L, Yang C-Y, Lin C-P, Hung D, et al. (2008) Gender Differences in the Mu Rhythm of the Human Mirror-Neuron System. Editor: Aldo Rustichini, University of Minnesota, United States of America Results. Socioeconomic Inequality in the Prevalence of Autism Spectrum Disorder: Evidence from a U.S. Cross-Sectional Study. Background This study was designed to evaluate the hypothesis that the prevalence of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) among children in the United States is positively associated with socioeconomic status (SES). Methods A cross-sectional study was implemented with data from the Autism and Developmental Disabilities Monitoring Network, a multiple source surveillance system that incorporates data from educational and health care sources to determine the number of 8-year-old children with ASD among defined populations.
For the years 2002 and 2004, there were 3,680 children with ASD among a population of 557 689 8-year-old children. Area-level census SES indicators were used to compute ASD prevalence by SES tertiles of the population. Results Prevalence increased with increasing SES in a dose-response manner, with prevalence ratios relative to medium SES of 0.70 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.64, 0.76) for low SES, and of 1.25 (95% CI 1.16, 1.35) for high SES, (P<0.001).
Conclusions Figures. Traits Contributing to the Autistic Spectrum. Perception of Shadows in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorders. The Brain Functional Networks Associated to Human and Animal Suffering Differ among Omnivores, Vegetarians and Vegans. Do Synesthetes Have a General Advantage in Visual Search and Episodic Memory? A Case for Group Studies. Evaluation of Pax6 Mutant Rat as a Model for Autism. Alexithymic Trait and Voluntary Control in Healthy Adults. Prefrontal Cortex Glutamate Correlates with Mental Perspective-Taking. Activation of Anterior Insula during Self-Reflection. Mapping Brain Response to Pain in Fibromyalgia Patients Using Temporal Analysis of fMRI. Unstable Prefrontal Response to Emotional Conflict and Activation of Lower Limbic Structures and Brainstem in Remitted Panic Disorder. Towards Reproducible Descriptions of Neuronal Network Models. Big Losses Lead to Irrational Decision-Making in Gambling Situations: Relationship between Deliberation and Impulsivity.