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Human Brain Mapping Apr 2014Reproductive behavior is mandatory for conservation of species and mediated by a state of sexual arousal (SA), involving both complex mental processes and bodily... (Meta-Analysis)
Meta-Analysis
Reproductive behavior is mandatory for conservation of species and mediated by a state of sexual arousal (SA), involving both complex mental processes and bodily reactions. An early neurobehavioral model of SA proposes cognitive, emotional, motivational, and autonomic components. In a comprehensive quantitative meta-analysis on previous neuroimaging findings, we provide here evidence for distinct brain networks underlying psychosexual and physiosexual arousal. Psychosexual (i.e., mental sexual) arousal recruits brain areas crucial for cognitive evaluation, top-down modulation of attention and exteroceptive sensory processing, relevance detection and affective evaluation, as well as regions implicated in the representation of urges and in triggering autonomic processes. In contrast, physiosexual (i.e., physiological sexual) arousal is mediated by regions responsible for regulation and monitoring of initiated autonomic processes and emotions and for somatosensory processing. These circuits are interconnected by subcortical structures (putamen and claustrum) that provide exchange of sensorimotor information and crossmodal processing between and within the networks. Brain deactivations may imply attenuation of introspective processes and social cognition, but be necessary to release intrinsic inhibition of SA.
Topics: Arousal; Brain; Brain Mapping; Humans; Likelihood Functions; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Magnetoencephalography; Male; Mental Processes; Neural Pathways; Penile Erection; Penis; Positron-Emission Tomography; Sexual Behavior; Social Perception; Visual Perception
PubMed: 23674246
DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22262 -
Acta Neurobiologiae Experimentalis 2002I present a hypothesis concerning the neuronal, mental and behavioral effects of all kinds of affective (emotional) stimuli, i.e., of unpleasant and pleasant stimuli. I... (Review)
Review
I present a hypothesis concerning the neuronal, mental and behavioral effects of all kinds of affective (emotional) stimuli, i.e., of unpleasant and pleasant stimuli. I use the term stimulus in its broad sense. Affective stimuli evoke two associated percepts: "cognitive" and "affective". A food in the mouth, for example, evokes the gustatory percept and the percept of pleasure. However, affective percepts are unstable parts of cognitive-affective compounds. Five types of affective percepts are pain, fear, pleasure, "desire" and appetite in the broad sense of these words. Desire is evoked by inadequate pleasant stimuli. Affective percepts are "lower" or "higher". The latter are not directly associated with bodily needs. Esthetic and social percepts are higher, for example. Although pain and pleasure are essentially innate, they can be modified by sensory experience. Alimentary and esthetic preferences and social values are modifiable, for example. The neurons of pain and fear and of the unpleasant components of desire and appetite motivate four types of voluntary actions. These are, respectively, escape, avoidance, "optimization" and approach actions. All these actions eliminate the motivating displeasure. In addition, avoidance actions protect from the signaled pain, optimization actions increase the existing pleasure and approach actions provide the signaled pleasure. Thus, voluntary actions associated with different percepts occur according to one universal principle. Voluntary actions are "internal" and behavioral. During internal actions a goal and then an action plan are decided. These actions often provide the images of the goal stimuli and of particular movements.
Topics: Affect; Behavior; Humans; Mental Processes; Models, Psychological; Nervous System Physiological Phenomena; Volition
PubMed: 12201038
DOI: 10.55782/ane-2002-1426 -
Behavioral and Brain Functions : BBF Jul 2012Perception and memory are imperfect reconstructions of reality. These reconstructions are prone to be influenced by several factors, which may result in false memories.... (Review)
Review
Perception and memory are imperfect reconstructions of reality. These reconstructions are prone to be influenced by several factors, which may result in false memories. A false memory is the recollection of an event, or details of an episode, that did not actually occur. Memory formation comprises at least three different sub-processes: encoding, consolidation and the retrieval of the learned material. All of these sub-processes are vulnerable for specific errors and consequently may result in false memories. Whereas, processes like imagery, self-referential encoding or spreading activation can lead to the formation of false memories at encoding, semantic generalization during sleep and updating processes due to misleading post event information, in particular, are relevant at the consolidation stage. Finally at the retrieval stage, monitoring processes, which are assumed to be essential to reject false memories, are of specific importance. Different neuro-cognitive processes have been linked to the formation of true and false memories. Most consistently the medial temporal lobe and the medial and lateral prefrontal cortex have been reported with regard to the formation of true and false memories. Despite the fact that all phases entailing memory formation, consolidation of stored information and retrieval processes, are relevant for the forming of false memories, most studies focused on either memory encoding or retrieval. Thus, future studies should try to integrate data from all phases to give a more comprehensive view on systematic memory distortions. An initial outline is developed within this review to connect the different memory stages and research strategies.
Topics: Brain; Cognition; Humans; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Memory; Mental Processes; Repression, Psychology
PubMed: 22827854
DOI: 10.1186/1744-9081-8-35 -
Neurobiology of Learning and Memory Feb 2014We review evidence that supports the conclusion that people can and do learn in two distinct ways - one associative, the other propositional. No one disputes that we... (Review)
Review
We review evidence that supports the conclusion that people can and do learn in two distinct ways - one associative, the other propositional. No one disputes that we solve problems by testing hypotheses and inducing underlying rules, so the issue amounts to deciding whether there is evidence that we (and other animals) also rely on a simpler, associative system, that detects the frequency of occurrence of different events in our environment and the contingencies between them. There is neuroscientific evidence that associative learning occurs in at least some animals (e.g., Aplysia californica), so it must be the case that associative learning has evolved. Since both associative and propositional theories can in principle account for many instances of successful learning, the problem is then to show that there are at least some cases where the two classes of theory predict different outcomes. We offer a demonstration of cue competition effects in humans under incidental conditions as evidence against the argument that all such effects are based on cognitive inference. The latter supposition would imply that if the necessary information is unavailable to inference then no cue competition should occur. We then discuss the case of unblocking by reinforcer omission, where associative theory predicts an irrational solution to the problem, and consider the phenomenon of the Perruchet effect, in which conscious expectancy and conditioned response dissociate. Further discussion makes use of evidence that people will sometimes provide one solution to a problem when it is presented to them in summary form, and another when they are presented in rapid succession with trial-by trial information. We also demonstrate that people trained on a discrimination may show a peak shift (predicted by associative theory), but given the time and opportunity to detect the relationships between S+ and S-, show rule-based behavior instead. Finally, we conclude by presenting evidence that research on individual differences suggests that variation in intelligence and explicit problem solving ability are quite unrelated to variation in implicit (associative) learning, and briefly consider the computational implications of our argument, by asking how both associative and propositional processes can be accommodated within a single framework for cognition.
Topics: Animals; Association Learning; Cognition; Cues; Humans; Learning; Mental Processes; Models, Psychological
PubMed: 24096204
DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2013.09.014 -
Cognitive Science May 2020How do we make causal judgments? Many studies have demonstrated that people are capable causal reasoners, achieving success on tasks from reasoning to categorization to...
How do we make causal judgments? Many studies have demonstrated that people are capable causal reasoners, achieving success on tasks from reasoning to categorization to interventions. However, less is known about the mental processes used to achieve such sophisticated judgments. We propose a new process model-the mutation sampler-that models causal judgments as based on a sample of possible states of the causal system generated using the Metropolis-Hastings sampling algorithm. Across a diverse array of tasks and conditions encompassing over 1,700 participants, we found that our model provided a consistently closer fit to participant judgments than standard causal graphical models. In particular, we found that the biases introduced by mutation sampling accounted for people's consistent, predictable errors that the normative model by definition could not. Moreover, using a novel experimental methodology, we found that those biases appeared in the samples that participants explicitly judged to be representative of a causal system. We conclude by advocating sampling methods as plausible process-level accounts of the computations specified by the causal graphical model framework and highlight opportunities for future research to identify not just what reasoners compute when drawing causal inferences, but also how they compute it.
Topics: Algorithms; Causality; Humans; Judgment; Problem Solving
PubMed: 32419205
DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12839 -
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews Feb 2024Affect-sharing, the ability to vicariously feel another person's emotions, is the primary component of empathy that is typically thought to rely on the observer's... (Review)
Review
Affect-sharing, the ability to vicariously feel another person's emotions, is the primary component of empathy that is typically thought to rely on the observer's capacity to feel the emotions of others. However, external signals, such as the target's physical characteristics, have been demonstrated to influence affect-sharing in the neuroscientific literature that speaks to the underappreciated role of external factors in eliciting affect-sharing. We consider factors that influence affect-sharing, including physical cues, emotional cues, situational factors, and observer-target relationships, as well as the neural circuits involved in these processes. Our review reveals that, while neural network activation is primarily responsible for processing affect-sharing, external factors also co-activate a top-down cognitive processing network to modulate the conscious process of affect-sharing. From this knowledge, an integrative framework of external factor interactions with affect-sharing are explained in detail. Finally, we identify critical areas for future research in social and affective neuroscience, including research gaps and incorporation of ecologically valid paradigms.
Topics: Humans; Emotions; Empathy; Cues; Neurosciences; Mental Processes
PubMed: 38211739
DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105540 -
Neuron Jan 2007It is well established that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) plays an important role in the processing and representation of numerical magnitude. Two recent studies by... (Review)
Review
It is well established that the intraparietal sulcus (IPS) plays an important role in the processing and representation of numerical magnitude. Two recent studies by Piazza et al. and Cohen Kadosh et al. published in this issue of Neuron used fMRI adaptation to explore the extent to which parietal number processing is dependent upon or independent of a numbers' surface format. Their results, while slightly different, converge to suggest that the answer may be neither, but rather that it depends on the hemisphere.
Topics: Humans; Mathematics; Mental Processes; Parietal Lobe
PubMed: 17224400
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2007.01.001 -
Bulletin Du Cancer May 2007How articulate information, mutidisciplinary practice, choice and decision of the treatment in a good patient-doctor relationship, an ethical relationship ? Doctor is an... (Review)
Review
How articulate information, mutidisciplinary practice, choice and decision of the treatment in a good patient-doctor relationship, an ethical relationship ? Doctor is an expert who gets the information (patients have more and more others sources of information). Choice of the treatment depends of the facts (the evidence) and personal values (the preferences). The selection between the different options (most often they are several options) may be done by the physician or by physicians in a multidisciplinary clinics, in the presence of the patient or not. The final decision to do or not the treatment belongs to the patient (who is not always aware of that). Initial sharing of the information between patient and doctor may permit the patient to choose himself the best option. More complete is sharing of the information, more the patient is able to do a free choice (without the influence of the doctor). It is often possible (genetics, prevention, screening, adjuvant treatments) to share in full the available information (knowing its relativity and limits). In oncology, the full sharing of the information is not always realistic, neither asked by the patient. Nevertheless, it is possible to go progressively with the patient to a preferred choice through a deliberative process, a co-construction of the decision. But often, the doctor refer to a pre-established protocol, build by physicians, representing the choice of the majority (doctors and/or patients) in the "same" situation. Only one option is offered to the patient from whom consent is asked, the information been then delivered to explain the choice already done. This paternalistic attitude is very effective, comfortable and don't alter the satisfaction of the majority of the patients, however, it limits the patient's autonomy. The patient is not allowed to choose between all the possibilities but accept or refuse the doctor's choice. With the extreme variability of the situations, it would be illusive to defend a unique attitude. Doctor has yet to try to adapt himself to every single case.
Topics: Breast Neoplasms; Choice Behavior; Decision Making; Female; Humans; Informed Consent; Medical Oncology; Mental Processes; Neoplasm Metastasis
PubMed: 17535783
DOI: No ID Found -
Current Opinion in Neurobiology Aug 2012Many neural circuits process information in multiple distinct modes. For example, the hippocampus is involved in memory encoding, retrieval, and consolidation processes.... (Review)
Review
Many neural circuits process information in multiple distinct modes. For example, the hippocampus is involved in memory encoding, retrieval, and consolidation processes. These different mnemonic computations require processing of differing balances of current sensory input and previously stored associations. Here we explore patterns of activity in hippocampal output area CA1 associated with different information processing states. We discuss the evidence linking these patterns to specific inputs to CA1 and describe behavioral factors that are related to the balance of synaptic drive. We suggest that understanding the factors that influence information flow in the hippocampal circuit could provide important new insights into how neural circuits are reconfigured on the fly to perform different functions at different times.
Topics: CA1 Region, Hippocampal; Humans; Mental Processes; Models, Neurological; Nerve Net; Neurons
PubMed: 22480878
DOI: 10.1016/j.conb.2012.03.007 -
Human Brain Mapping Jul 2014Rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) is part of a frontoparietal network of regions involved in relational reasoning, the mental process of working with relationships...
Rostrolateral prefrontal cortex (RLPFC) is part of a frontoparietal network of regions involved in relational reasoning, the mental process of working with relationships between multiple mental representations. RLPFC has shown functional and structural changes with age, with increasing specificity of left RLPFC activation for relational integration during development. Here, we used dynamic causal modeling (DCM) to investigate changes in effective connectivity during a relational reasoning task through the transition from adolescence into adulthood. We examined fMRI data of 37 healthy female participants (11–30 years old) performing a relational reasoning paradigm. Comparing relational integration to the manipulation of single relations revealed activation in five regions: the RLPFC, anterior insula, dorsolateral PFC, inferior parietal lobe, and medial superior frontal gyrus. We used a new exhaustive search approach and identified a full DCM model, which included all reciprocal connections between the five clusters in the left hemisphere, as the optimal model. In line with previous resting state fMRI results, we showed distinct developmental effects on the strength of long-range frontoparietal versus frontoinsular short-range fixed connections. The modulatory connections associated with relational integration increased with age. Gray matter volume in left RLPFC, which decreased with age, partly accounted for changes in fixed PFC connectivity. Finally, improvements in relational integration performance were associated with greater modulatory and weaker fixed PFC connectivity. This pattern provides further evidence of increasing specificity of left PFC function for relational integration compared to the manipulation of single relations, and demonstrates an association between effective connectivity and performance during development.
Topics: Adolescent; Adult; Aging; Child; Discrimination, Psychological; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Mental Processes; Neural Pathways; Nonlinear Dynamics; Oxygen; Photic Stimulation; Prefrontal Cortex; Young Adult
PubMed: 25050424
DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22400