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Behaviour Research and Therapy Feb 2021Excessive avoidance behaviour is a cardinal symptom of anxiety disorders. Avoidance is not only associated with the benefits of avoiding threats, but also with the costs...
Excessive avoidance behaviour is a cardinal symptom of anxiety disorders. Avoidance is not only associated with the benefits of avoiding threats, but also with the costs of missing out on rewards upon exploration. Psychological and psychophysiological mechanisms contributing to these costly avoidance decisions in prospect of mixed outcomes remain unclear. We developed a novel Fearful Avoidance Task (FAT) that resembles characteristics of real-life approach-avoidance conflicts, enabling to disentangle reward and threat effects. Using the FAT, we investigated individual differences in avoidance behaviour and anticipatory psychophysiological states (i.e. startle reflex and skin conductance) in a relatively large sample of 343 (78 females) participants. Avoidance under acute threat of shock depends on a trade-off between perceived reward and threat. Both increased startle and skin conductance in the absence of threat of shock emerged as predictors of increased avoidance (potentially indicative of fear generalization). Increased avoidance was also associated with female sex and trait anxiety, dependent on reward and threat levels. Our findings highlight distinct possible predictors of heightened avoidance and add to mechanistic understanding of how individual propensity for costly avoidance may emerge. Distinct avoidance typologies based on differential reward and threat sensitivities may have different mechanistic origins and thereby could benefit from different treatment strategies.
Topics: Avoidance Learning; Fear; Female; Humans; Individuality; Psychophysiology; Reflex, Startle
PubMed: 33422745
DOI: 10.1016/j.brat.2020.103788 -
Scandinavian Journal of Work,... 1990Measurement of subjective work load has emerged as a central topic of interest in the study of physical work and effort. From the practical point of view, subjective... (Review)
Review
Measurement of subjective work load has emerged as a central topic of interest in the study of physical work and effort. From the practical point of view, subjective estimates of physical effort can contribute greatly to the assessment of work loads in physical activities and to the design of manual handling tasks. The rationale of this approach is that subjective estimates reflect the individual perception of the amount of physical and motivational resources that the subjects invest to meet the demand imposed by the physical task. The present paper provides an illustration of some of the techniques used in measuring the perception of physical effort and reviews and discusses the main results obtained with these techniques in the assessment of manual materials handling.
Topics: Fatigue; Humans; Perception; Physical Exertion; Psychophysiology; Work
PubMed: 2189222
DOI: 10.5271/sjweh.1820 -
Frontiers in Neural Circuits 2013Understanding how the brain implements social behavior on one hand, and how social processes feedback on the brain to promote fine-tuning of behavioral output according... (Review)
Review
Understanding how the brain implements social behavior on one hand, and how social processes feedback on the brain to promote fine-tuning of behavioral output according to changes in the social environment is a major challenge in contemporary neuroscience. A critical step to take this challenge successfully is finding the appropriate level of analysis when relating social to biological phenomena. Given the enormous complexity of both the neural networks of the brain and social systems, the use of a cognitive level of analysis (in an information processing perspective) is proposed here as an explanatory interface between brain and behavior. A conceptual framework for a cognitive approach to comparative social neuroscience is proposed, consisting of the following steps to be taken across different species with varying social systems: (1) identification of the functional building blocks of social skills; (2) identification of the cognitive mechanisms underlying the previously identified social skills; and (3) mapping these information processing mechanisms onto the brain. Teleost fish are presented here as a group of choice to develop this approach, given the diversity of social systems present in closely related species that allows for planned phylogenetic comparisons, and the availability of neurogenetic tools that allows the visualization and manipulation of selected neural circuits in model species such as the zebrafish. Finally, the state-of-the art of zebrafish social cognition and of the tools available to map social cognitive abilities to neural circuits in zebrafish are reviewed.
Topics: Animals; Cognition; Humans; Models, Animal; Nerve Net; Psychophysiology; Social Behavior; Zebrafish
PubMed: 23964204
DOI: 10.3389/fncir.2013.00131 -
Perception 1999
Topics: Germany; History, 19th Century; Humans; Psychophysiology
PubMed: 10664753
DOI: 10.1068/p2805ed -
Physical Therapy May 2018There has been growing interest in psychologically oriented pain management over the past 3 to 4 decades, including a 2011 description of psychologically informed... (Review)
Review
There has been growing interest in psychologically oriented pain management over the past 3 to 4 decades, including a 2011 description of psychologically informed practice (PIP) for low back pain. PIP requires a broader focus than traditional biomechanical and pathology-based approaches that have been traditionally used to manage musculoskeletal pain. A major focus of PIP is addressing the behavioral aspects of pain (ie, peoples' responses to pain) by identifying individual expectations, beliefs, and feelings as prognostic factors for clinical and occupational outcomes indicating progression to chronicity. Since 2011, the interest in PIP seems to be growing, as evidenced by its use in large trials, inclusion in scientific conferences, increasing evidence base, and expansion to other musculoskeletal pain conditions. Primary care physicians and physical therapists have delivered PIP as part of a stratified care approach involving screening and targeting of treatment for people at high risk for continued pain-associated disability. Furthermore, PIP is consistent with recent national priorities emphasizing nonpharmacological pain management options. In this perspective, PIP techniques that range in complexity are described, considerations for implementation in clinical practice are offered, and future directions that will advance the understanding of PIP are outlined.
Topics: Disability Evaluation; Humans; Musculoskeletal Pain; Pain Management; Pain Measurement; Physical Therapy Modalities; Psychophysiology; Psychotherapy; Risk Assessment
PubMed: 29669084
DOI: 10.1093/ptj/pzy024 -
Revista de Neurologia Aug 2019Interest in the causal relation between consciousness and the underlying neuronal activity has grown in recent decades. Numerous experimental studies have been carried... (Review)
Review
Interest in the causal relation between consciousness and the underlying neuronal activity has grown in recent decades. Numerous experimental studies have been carried out on the brain structures and networks underlying consciousness in animal models, in patients with brain damage and with very precise functional neuroimaging. In spite of the great multitude of findings, there is no theoretical proposal that integrates this knowledge under a coherent theoretical framework based on the evidence obtained. Existing theories offer a dismembered view of consciousness, since they pose causal explanations that do not include a global functional perspective of the interaction of the different brain networks involved in consciousness. This work offers a theoretical framework that integrates the empirical knowledge, generated in recent decades, into a neurofunctional model of consciousness. This model represents consciousness as an epiphenomenon resulting from the sequential activation of different neural loops that are formed by specific brain structures and networks which receive feedback from their own operations in order to reconfigure their own functional states and the entire system. The ascending reticular activating system, the thalamocortical networks and the cortico-cortical networks sustain cognitive processes that are differentiated, although highly dependent and fundamental for the final experience of consciousness. All these systems form a single physiological space where the individual can deploy different cognitive skills that allow the emergence of complex behaviours such as language, thought and social cognition.
Topics: Cerebral Cortex; Consciousness; Emotions; Feedback, Physiological; Higher Nervous Activity; Humans; Memory; Models, Neurological; Models, Psychological; Neural Pathways; Psychophysiology; Thalamus
PubMed: 31334559
DOI: 10.33588/rn.6904.2019072 -
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal... Apr 2018This brief opinion contribution reflects on the application of Anokhin's functional systems theory in the development of models of temperament in Russian differential... (Review)
Review
This brief opinion contribution reflects on the application of Anokhin's functional systems theory in the development of models of temperament in Russian differential psychophysiology. It points to the benefits of using an activity-specific approach in temperament theory. This approach suggests separating traits related to physical, communicative and mental aspects of behaviour.This article is part of the theme issue 'Diverse perspectives on diversity: multi-disciplinary approaches to taxonomies of individual differences'.
Topics: Emotions; History, 20th Century; History, 21st Century; Humans; Individuality; Models, Psychological; Neuronal Plasticity; Psychomotor Performance; Psychophysiology; Russia; Systems Theory; Temperament; Terminology as Topic
PubMed: 29483350
DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2017.0166 -
PloS One 2022We study the relationships between the real-time psychophysiological activity of professional traders, their financial transactions, and market fluctuations. We...
We study the relationships between the real-time psychophysiological activity of professional traders, their financial transactions, and market fluctuations. We collected multiple physiological signals such as heart rate, blood volume pulse, and electrodermal activity of 55 traders at a leading global financial institution during their normal working hours over a five-day period. Using their physiological measurements, we implemented a novel metric of trader's "psychophysiological activation" to capture affect such as excitement, stress and irritation. We find statistically significant relations between traders' psychophysiological activation levels and such as their financial transactions, market fluctuations, the type of financial products they traded, and their trading experience. We conducted post-measurement interviews with traders who participated in this study to obtain additional insights in the key factors driving their psychophysiological activation during financial risk processing. Our work illustrates that psychophysiological activation plays a prominent role in financial risk processing for professional traders.
Topics: Commerce; Heart Rate; Psychophysiology
PubMed: 35877608
DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0269752 -
Psychophysiology Oct 2022A common belief is that narcissism is a manifestation of high self-esteem. Here, we argue that self-esteem and narcissism are fundamentally distinct and have unique...
A common belief is that narcissism is a manifestation of high self-esteem. Here, we argue that self-esteem and narcissism are fundamentally distinct and have unique early physiological indicators. We hypothesized that children predisposed to narcissism would show elevated, whereas children predisposed to high self-esteem would show lowered, physiological arousal in social-evaluative contexts. We tested this in a prospective study including 113 children, who were first assessed at age 4.5, a critical age when children begin evaluating themselves through others' eyes. At age 4.5, children sang a song in front of an audience while being videotaped. Children's physiological arousal (skin conductance, heart rate, and heart rate variability) was assessed while children anticipated, performed, and recovered from the singing task. At age 7.5, children's narcissism and self-esteem levels were assessed. Consistent with our predictions, children predisposed to higher narcissism levels showed elevated skin conductance levels during anticipation. Their skin conductance levels further rose during performance (but less so than for other children) and failed to return to baseline during recovery. By contrast, children predisposed to higher self-esteem levels showed lowered skin conductance levels throughout the procedure. The effects emerged for skin conductance but not heart rate or heart rate variability, suggesting that arousal was sympathetically driven. Effects were larger and more robust for self-esteem than for narcissism. Together, these findings uncover distinct physiological indicators of narcissism and self-esteem: Narcissism is predicted by indicators reflecting early social-evaluative concerns, whereas self-esteem is predicted by indicators reflecting an early sense of comfort in social-evaluative contexts.
Topics: Arousal; Child; Child, Preschool; Galvanic Skin Response; Heart Rate; Humans; Narcissism; Prospective Studies; Self Concept; Social Environment
PubMed: 35503928
DOI: 10.1111/psyp.14082 -
Behavior Research Methods Jun 2019Pupillometry has been one of the most widely used response systems in psychophysiology. Changes in pupil size can reflect diverse cognitive and emotional states, ranging...
Pupillometry has been one of the most widely used response systems in psychophysiology. Changes in pupil size can reflect diverse cognitive and emotional states, ranging from arousal, interest and effort to social decisions, but they are also widely used in clinical practice to assess patients' brain functioning. As a result, research involving pupil size measurements has been reported in practically all psychology, psychiatry, and psychophysiological research journals, and now it has found its way into the primatology literature as well as into more practical applications, such as using pupil size as a measure of fatigue or a safety index during driving. The different systems used for recording pupil size are almost as variable as its applications, and all yield, as with many measurement techniques, a substantial amount of noise in addition to the real pupillometry data. Before analyzing pupil size, it is therefore of crucial importance first to detect this noise and deal with it appropriately, even prior to (if need be) resampling and baseline-correcting the data. In this article we first provide a short review of the literature on pupil size measurements, then we highlight the most important sources of noise and show how these can be detected. Finally, we provide step-by-step guidelines that will help those interested in pupil size to preprocess their data correctly. These guidelines are accompanied by an open source MATLAB script (available at https://github.com/ElioS-S/pupil-size ). Given that pupil diameter is easily measured by standard eyetracking technologies and can provide fundamental insights into cognitive and emotional processes, it is hoped that this article will further motivate scholars from different disciplines to study pupil size.
Topics: Arousal; Emotions; Guidelines as Topic; Noise; Pupil
PubMed: 29992408
DOI: 10.3758/s13428-018-1075-y