Social Cognitive Affective Neuroscience

Despite the dominant role of the hormone oxytocin (OT) in social behavior, little is known about the role of OT in the perception of social relationships. Furthermore, it is unclear whether there are sex differences in the way that OT affects social perception. Here, we employed a double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover design to investigate the effect of OT on accurate social perception. Following treatment, 62 participants completed the Interpersonal Perception Task, a method of assessing the accuracy of social judgments that requires identification of the relationship between people interacting in real life video clips divided into three categories: kinship, intimacy and competition. The findings suggest that OT had a general effect on improving accurate perception of social interactions. Furthermore, we show that OT also involves sex-specific characteristics. An interaction between treatment, task category and sex indicated that OT had a selective effect on improving kinship ...

Why do interactions become more hostile when social relations shift from "me versus you" to "us versus them"? One possibility is that acting with a group can reduce spontaneous self-referential processing in the moral domain and, in turn, facilitate competitor harm. We tested this hypothesis in an fMRI experiment in which (i) participants performed a competitive task once alone and once with a group; (ii) spontaneous self-referential processing during competition was indexed unobtrusively by activation in an independently localized region of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) associated with self-reference; and (iii) we assessed participants' willingness to harm competitors versus teammates. As predicted, participants who showed reduced mPFC activation in response to descriptions of their own moral behaviors while competing in a group were more willing to harm competitors. These results suggest that intergroup competition (above and beyond inter-personal competition) can reduce self-referential processing of moral information, enabling harmful behaviors towards members of a competitive group.

Ironic language is typically more difficult to process and interpret than a literal equivalent, hence is assumed to serve several social and emotional functions not achieved by literal communication (such as politeness or introducing humor). Several factors may influence emotional responses to irony, such as the perspective from which the utterance is encountered (e.g., speaker vs. target) and the tone of voice (prosody) used. To examine these issues, we conducted two event-related brain potential (ERP) studies in which participants listened to scenarios describing emotional responses to either literal criticism or ironic criticism. Ironic criticism was delivered with either natural or ironic prosody. Scenarios either described an emotional response the speaker expected to elicit from the target (speaker perspective), or the target’s actual emotional response (target perspective). Expected or actual emotional responses were described as either “amused” (Experiment 1) or “hurt” (Experiment 2). ERPs were calculated time-locked to the end of the ironic or literal statements, and to the audio presentation of the critical emotion words. Results showed a significant effect of perspective for amused conditions, reflected by a larger late posterior positivity for the target than speaker conditions, indicating amused responses are more expected from speaker than target perspective. This effect was not seen for hurt conditions, suggesting these are equally expected from target and speaker perspectives. The data also revealed a more negative-going ERP waveform specifically for ironic criticism delivered with ironic prosody, reflecting prosodic processing. This suggests prosody may be able to speed the identification of irony.

Computational neuroscience integrate-and-fire attractor network models can be used to understand the factors that alter the stability of cortical networks in the face of noise caused for example by neuronal spiking times. A reduction of the firing rates of cortical neurons caused for example by reduced NMDA receptor function (present in schizophrenia) can lead to instability of the high firing rate attractor states that normally implement short-term memory and attention, contributing to the cognitive and negative symptoms of schizophrenia. Reduced cortical inhibition caused by a reduction of GABA neurotransmission (present in schizophrenia) can lead to instability of the spontaneous firing states of cortical networks, leading to a noise-induced jump to a high firing rate attractor state even in the absence of external inputs, contributing to the positive symptoms of schizophrenia. We consider how effects occurring at the time of late adolescence including synaptic pruning, decreases in grey matter volume, and changes in GABAmediated inhibition and dopamine may contribute to the onset in some individuals of schizophrenia at this time.

Most contemporary text books of neurology and of psychology pay little attention to the function of the cerebellum beyond noting it to be an organ of motor control. A historical overview of research on cerebellar function is presented, from pre-Sherrinton suggestions of sensory and motor function, through the post-Sherrinton and dominant 20 th . Century view of "motor" function, to the 21 st . century perspective of "sensorimotor" function. The intrinsic capability of the cerebellum is briefly considered in terms of: its size/complexity/capacity; its information representation/processing characteristics (with "a particular computational function"); its sensory information processing capability; and, its role in sensorimotor regulatory control. It is suggested that the cerebellum can process sensorimotor stimulus information in a statistical (connectionist type) manner and respond to in on the basis of its own learning based sensorimotor representations, albeit at a "level" that does not necessarily involve cerebral "awareness".

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

Empathic arousal is the first ontogenetic building block of empathy to appear during infancy and early childhood. As development progresses, empathic arousal becomes associated with an increasing ability to differentiate between self and other, which is a critical aspect of mature empathetic ability (Decety and Jackson, 2004). This allows for better regulation of contagious distress and understanding others mental states. In the current study, we recorded electroencephalographic event-related potentials and mu suppression induced by short visual animations that depicted painful situations in 57 typically developing children aged between 3 and 9 years as well as 15 young adults. Results indicate that the difference wave of an early automatic component (N200), indexing empathic arousal, showed an age-related decrease in amplitude. In contrast, the difference wave of late-positive potentials (LPP), associated with cognitive appraisal, showed an age-related gain. Only early LPP was detected in children, whereas both early and late LPP were observed in adults. Furthermore,as compared with adults, children showed stronger mu suppression when viewing both painful and non-painful stimuli. These findings provide neurophysiological support for the development of empathy during childhood, as indicated by a gradual decrease in emotional arousal and an increase in cognitive appraisal with age.

This study tested the hypothesis that human behavioral responses to psycho-social stress are sexually dimorphic and conform to the 'flight-or-fight' response for males and 'tend-and-befriend' for females. One hundred and twenty young adults (60 male, 60 female), mostly college students, served as study participants. Participants were randomly assigned to either a stress condition (Trier Social Stress Test, a standardized laboratory procedure used to induce psychosocial stress) or a control condition. Stress induction was confirmed with self-report questionnaires about perceived stress and anxiety. Participants then underwent three social decision making tasks to assess their competitive and cooperative tendencies: an Ultimatum Game, a Prisoner's Dilemma, and a Prosocial Risk Taking task. We found evidence for interactive effects of stress and sex in all three tests, and all interactions were in the same direction. Relative to controls, stressed males made lower monetary offers to their partners and tended to be less willing to behave prosocially in a hypothetical risky situation, whereas stressed females offered higher monetary amounts in the Ultimatum Game and behaved more cooperatively in the Prisoner's Dilemma. These results suggest that stress renders males more selfish and competitive, while stressed females become more other-oriented, more generous, and more cooperative. These effects are consistent with the 'flight or fight' pattern for males and the 'tend and befriend' pattern for females, respectively. The role of risk taking and empathy as possible psychological mediators of the effects of acute psychosocial stress on social decision making in men and women needs to be further investigated, along with sex differences in physiological responsiveness to stress.

[AMAZON LINK BELOW TO BOOK ITSELF -- TOC and book intro in downloadable .pdf] 

"It is a common experience that a problem difficult at night is resolved in the morning after the committee of sleep has worked on it." --John Steinbeck Scientific research confirms what people have always known: answers, ideas, and inspiration do come to us in dreams. Harvard psychologist and world-renowned dream specialist Deirdre Barrett, Ph.D., offers this rich collection of examples of how the world's most creative practitioners in art, music, film, science, literature and other fields have used the revelations of their dream life to inform their work. Dr. Barrett offers insights showing us how to encourage lucid, meaningful dreaming, and how to apply the meanings of our dreams to solving problems--from the everyday to the extraordinary. This is the stuff dreams are made of. In the visual arts, Jasper Johns couldn't find his unique artistic vision until he dreamed it in the form of a large American flag. Salvador Dali and his colleagues built the startling new genre of surrealism out of dreams. Kubla Kahn dreamed the design for his stately pleasure dome; thousands of years later, Lucy Davis, chief architect at a major firm, continues the tradition of dreaming designs into life in her extraordinary buildings. Film is a fertile avenue for dreams: "Twice I have transferred dreams to film exactly as I had dreamed them," confides director Ingmar Bergman, as have Federico Fellini, Orson Welles, Akira Kurosawa, Robert Altman, and John Sayles. From Mary Shelley's terrible nightmare, which became Frankenstein, to Stephen King's haunting dream as a little boy, which led to his first bestseller, countless writers have consulted the Committee. Musicians from Beethoven to Billy Joel and Paul McCartney have whistled the Committee's tunes. In science, physiologist Otto Loewi dreamed the medical experiment that earned him the Nobel Prize. In sports, Marion Jones dreamed she'd broken a world record, then brought the dream to life. Gandhi translated his dream of resistance into a movement that changed the world. Since Freud, we take it for granted that our dreams reflect our past. In The Committee of Sleep, Barrett reveals how dreams can also tell us about our future potential--and how to reach it.

The purpose of this study was to explore how recursive processing of meaningful language, expressed through resonant relationships, generates the neural architecture that is integral to the process of becoming an authentic servant-leader. Meaningful language does not sit in an isolated silo or echo silently in a vacuum; rather, it is intricately intertwined with the relational occurrences of everyday life. It plays a significant role in the formation and transformation of a person’s mind, brain, thoughts, behaviors, and identity.  The principles underlying the power of meaningful language, resonant relationships, and interpersonal neurobiology provide neuroscientific substantiation that changes in physical, mental, and emotional behavior can become indelible actualities in the identity formation of an authentic servant-leader.
Keywords: interpersonal neurobiology, resonant relationships, languaging, servant-leadership, mind-brain connection, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis, mindful awareness, leadership

This exploratory study examined the extent to which individual differences in sensory processing sensitivity (SPS), a temperament/personality trait characterized by social, emotional and physical sensitivity, are associated with neural response in visual areas in response to subtle changes in visual scenes. Sixteen participants completed the Highly Sensitive Person questionnaire, a standard measure of SPS. Subsequently, they were tested on a change detection task while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). SPS was associated with significantly greater activation in brain areas involved in high-order visual processing (i.e. right claustrum, left occipitotemporal, bilateral temporal and medial and posterior parietal regions) as well as in the right cerebellum, when detecting minor (vs major) changes in stimuli. These findings remained strong and significant after controlling for neuroticism and introversion, traits that are often correlated with SPS. These results provide the first evidence of neural differences associated with SPS, the first direct support for the sensory aspect of this trait that has been studied primarily for its social and affective implications, and preliminary evidence for heightened sensory processing in individuals high in SPS.

BACKGROUND:
In spite of its indusrial usefulness and varied daily uses, lead (Pb) pollution is a widespread ecological problem that faces the humans in the 21th century. Pb was found to produces a wide range of toxic effects including neurotoxicity especially to the developing and young offspring. Recently, the utilization of herbal plants has received a significant attention where there has been rising awareness in their therapeutic use; among these is the garlic.
AIM OF THE WORK:
In light of the above, the current study is designed experimentally in female pregnant rats in order to investigate the beneficial role of garlic extract in the protection from the maternal and fetal cerebellar damage that produced by administration of different doses of Pb during pregnancy.
MATERIALS AND METHODS:
Positively pregnant female rats were divided into five groups; one control group, two Pb-treated groups (exposed to 160 and 320 mg/kg b.wt. of Pb, respectively) and two groups treated with both Pb and garlic (exposed to Pb as previous groups together with 250 mg/ kg b.wt. /day of garlic extract). Treatments started from day 1 till day 20 of pregnancy, where the mother rats of different experimental groups were sacrified to obtain the fetuses. Pb level in the maternal nd fetal blood and cerebellum was estimated by spectrophotometry. Specimens of the cerebellum of different mother and fetal groups were processed to histological and immunohistochemical staining for microscopic examination.
RESULTS:
The results showed that administration of Pb to pregnant rats resulted in a dose-dependent toxicity for both mothers and fetuses in the form of decrease of maternal weight gain, placental and fetal weights, brain weight and diminished fetal growth parameters, which were prominent in rat's group treated with larger dose of Pb. In Pb-treated rats, Pb level in blood and cerebellum was high when compared to the control. The histopathological examination of the cerebellum of treated dams and fetuses showed marked alterations mainly in the form of Purkinje cell degeneration and lack of deveopmet of fetal cerebellum. Co-treatment of garlic extract along with Pb resulted in a significant decrease in Pb levels as compared with those treated with Pb alone with improvement of the histopathological changes.
CONCLUSIONS:
This study was useful in evaluating the hazardous effects of uncontrolled use of Pb in general and in assessing the developmental and neurotoxicity of fetuses due to exposure during pregnancy in particular. Co-administration of garlic has beneficial effects in amelioration of Pb-induced neurotoxicity and reversing the histopathological changes of the cerebellum of mother rats and fetuses.
KEYWORDS:
garlic; glial fibrillary acidic protein; lead; purkinje cells

Extraversion has been shown to positively correlate with activation within the ventral striatum, amygdala and other dopaminergically innervated, reward-sensitive regions. These regions are implicated in emotional responding, in a manner sensitive to attentional focus. However, no study has investigated the interaction among extraversion, emotion and attention. We used fMRI and dynamic, evocative film clips to elicit amusement and sadness in a sample of 28 women. Participants were instructed either to respond naturally (n^14) or to attend to and continuously rate their emotions (n^14) while watching the films. Contrary to expectations, striatal response was negatively associated with extraversion during amusement, regardless of attention. A negative association was also observed during sad films, but only when attending to emotion. These findings suggest that attentional focus does not influence the relationship between extraversion and neural response to positive (amusing) stimuli but does impact the response to negative (sad) stimuli.

Background. The Well-being Questionnaire (W-BQ) has been designed to measure psychological well-being in people with a chronic somatic illness and is recommended by the World Health Organization for widespread use. However, studies into the factor structure of this instrument are still limited and their findings are inconsistent. This study aimed to investigate the factor structure of the Dutch version of the W-BQ.Methods. A cross-validation design was used. A total of 1472 people with diabetes completed the W-BQ and were randomly assigned to group A or B. In group A (N = 736), exploratory factor analyses were conducted. Group B (N = 736) was split up into four subgroups of male or female patients with type 1 or type 2 diabetes. In these subgroups, confirmatory factor analyses were employed to test the model(s) developed in group A and the two models described in the literature (four-factor model with 22 items and a three-factor model with 12 items).Results. Exploratory factor analy...

This talk starts from the presumption that the quantum challenge, as a set of philosophical questions, was a dialogue far beyond the discipline of physics. Quantum sociologist Gabriel Tarde, and philosophers Henri Bergson and Alfred North Whitehead, amongst others, were active participants in the debates over causality, time, and action at a distance, as well as the grander metaphysical questions about life raised by Bohr and Schrödinger in particular. Following Bohr and Tarde, I argue that quantum phenomena are not constrained to the subatomic, but in fact are essential components of human social and political relations.
Mostly ignored until recently, the panpsychist traditions that emerged from these early interdisciplinary debates over quantum are essential to understanding the character of contemporary terrorism, and more broadly global politics in an age of non-scalable events. By non-scalable I mean that the measurement of the brute materiality of an event does not in any predictable way translate into its effect. In our age, apocalyptic crises barely register, and statistically insignificant events shake the entire international order. In fact, International Relations theory has, from its beginning, endeavored to explain ‘spooky action at a distance’, as the relations of the international are by definition both in a no-space of the international, and habituated into the local practices and places of diplomacy, deterrence, and war. While the entangled and non-locality of global politics has always been true, I argue that media and quantum savvy organizations like ISIS succeed precisely because of their ability to leverage this characteristic of global life.
Given the difficulty of theorizing such events, it is necessary to revise Benedict Anderson’s model of the imagined community as an imaginary space of shared continuity and simultaneity in favor of a quantum-inflected notion of virtual entanglement. Here, the ‘community’ is created by the non-spatial but still real acceleration of distrust for the world, and those bearing the marks of racialized difference. Events like those that erupted in Paris, France and San Bernardino, California are only the most recent examples. The latter event had no explicit connection to ISIS, and yet this spectacular violence is an undeniable asset to the atmosphere of terror that ISIS requires to increase its international significance. In fact, no amount of discourse about the non-connection of San Bernardino to ISIS was sufficient to disentangle them. Events such as those in France and California do not operate in a three dimensional space in which we can measure something like speed or mass. Instead, contemporary terrorism takes place in an affective dimension where space/time is often irrelevant to the intensity of the consequences of an event. When a pineapple soda can becomes a ‘bomb’ and takes down a Russian airliner, the everyday objects around us provoke a sense of metaphysical doubt or skepticism most commonly known as horror. Therefore, International Relations needs a quantum turn so that we can understand the very real consequences of events and things whose capacities defy both physical and casual explanation, but far exceed constructivist concepts of discourse or ideas. Link to talk https://youtu.be/-71newlDkhI?t=13m17s

Special issue of "Culture Unbound". Through an introduction and six original articles, the issue investigates a variety of cultural and scientific discourses and practices that in different ways are related to neuroscience and the brain.

The special issue was edited by guest editors Peter Bengtsen and Kristofer Hansson.

Statistical thresholding (i.e. P-values) in fMRI research has become increasingly conservative over the past decade in an attempt to diminish Type I errors (i.e. false alarms) to a level traditionally allowed in behavioral science research. In this article, we examine the unintended negative consequences of this single-minded devotion to Type I errors: increased Type II errors (i.e. missing true effects), a bias toward studying large rather than small effects, a bias toward observing sensory and motor processes rather than complex cognitive and affective processes and deficient meta-analyses. Power analyses indicate that the reductions in acceptable P-values over time are producing dramatic increases in the Type II error rate. Moreover, the push for a mapwide false discovery rate (FDR) of 0.05 is based on the assumption that this is the FDR in most behavioral research; however, this is an inaccurate assessment of the conventions in actual behavioral research. We report simulations demonstrating that combined intensity and cluster size thresholds such as P < 0.005 with a 10 voxel extent produce a desirable balance between Types I and II error rates. This joint threshold produces high but acceptable Type II error rates and produces a FDR that is comparable to the effective FDR in typical behavioral science articles (while a 20 voxel extent threshold produces an actual FDR of 0.05 with relatively common imaging parameters). We recommend a greater focus on replication and meta-analysis rather than emphasizing single studies as the unit of analysis for establishing scientific truth. From this perspective, Type I errors are self-erasing because they will not replicate, thus allowing for more lenient thresholding to avoid Type II errors.

Background: The study aimed to elucidate previously observed associations between morningness-eveningness and depressive symptomatology in university students. Relations between components of depressive symptomatology and morningness-eveningness were analysed.
Methods: Nine hundred and seventy-four university students completed Polish versions of the Centre for Epidemiological Studies – Depression scale (CES-D; Polish translation appended to this paper) and the Composite Scale of Morningness. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to test the structure of depressive symptoms. Pearson and partial correlations (with age and sex controlled), along with regression analyses with morning affect (MA) and circadian preference as predictors, were used.
Results: PCA revealed three components of depressive symptoms: depressed/somatic affect, positive affect, interpersonal relations. Greater MA was related to less depressive symptoms in three components. Morning circadian preference was related to less depressive symptoms in depressed/somatic and positive affects and unrelated to interpersonal relations. Both morningness-eveningness components exhibited stronger links with depressed/somatic and positive affects than with interpersonal relations. Three CES-D components exhibited stronger links with MA than with circadian preference. In regression analyses only MA was statistically significant for positive affect and better interpersonal relations, whereas more depressed/somatic affect was predicted by lower MA and morning circadian preference (relationship reversed compared to correlations).
Limitations: Self-report assessment.
Conclusions: There are three groups of depressive symptoms in Polish university students. Associations of MA with depressed/somatic and positive affects are primarily responsible for the observed links between morningness-eveningness and depressive symptoms in university students. People with evening circadian preference whose MA is not lowered have less depressed/somatic affect.

Video games are an exciting part of new media. Although game play has been intensively studied, the underlying neurobiology is still poorly understood. Flow theory is a well-established model developed to describe subjective game experience. In 13 healthy male subjects, we acquired fMRI data during free play of a video game and analyzed brain activity based on the game content. In accordance with flow theory, we extracted the following factors from the game content: (i) balance between ability and challenge; (ii) concentration and focus; (iii) direct feedback of action results; (iv) clear goals; and (v) control over the situation/activity. We suggest that flow is characterized by specific neural activation patterns and that the latter can be assessedat least partiallyby content factors contributing to the emergence of flow. Each of the content factors was characterized by specific and distinguishable brain activation patterns, encompassing reward-related midbrain structures, as well as cognitive and sensorimotor networks. The activation of sensory and motor networks in the conjunction analyses underpinned the central role of simulation for flow experience. Flow factors can be validated with functional brain imaging which can improve the understanding of human emotions and motivational processes during media entertainment.

This chapter reviews instructional methods (techniques, strategies, and tactics) in the literature used to promote positive affective states resulting in the acquisition of “robust” knowledge and skill develop- ment; mitigate negative affective states, which inhibit learning; enhance and maintain learner engagement to maximize opportunities for learning; and support the development of learner perseverance or grit. For purposes of our discussion, an instructional technique is a domain-independent and largely learner- independent method used in either human- or computer-based tutoring. In other words, the technique is implemented within an ITS as a method that has been shown to have positive effect on learning across training and educational domains, and across a variety of learners and learner states and traits. Instruc- tional techniques are best practices developed over time and include, but are not limited to error-sensitive feedback, mastery learning, adaptive spacing and repetition, metacognitive prompting, and faded worked examples. Generalized instructional techniques are discussed later in this chapter.

Racism and in-group favoritism is prevalent in our society and has been studied in Social Psychology for a long time. Recently it has become possible to investigate the neural mechanisms that underlie these in-group biases, and hence this review will give an overview of recent developments on the topic. Rather than relying on a single brain region or network, it seems that subtle changes in neural activation across the brain, depending on the modalities involved, underlie how we divide the world into ‘us’ versus ‘them’.
These insights have important implications for our understanding of how in-group biases develop and could potentially lead to new insights on how to reduce them.

Concepts of "the self" and "self-awareness", and aspects of the experience of types of consciousness, are explored in terms of "cognitive" systems and their interactions. Some roles of the cerebrum, the cerebellum, and their interactions are considered in relation to sentient consciousness, the sense of self, and conscious regulation of behavior. This 'introductory paper' is composed of modified selected extracts from: totalBRAINtotalMIND Vol.1 : An Integrated Brain/Mind Architecture Part 2: A Cognitive Architecture (pp16 -136) Part 3. Total Brain: structure, development, function, and an integrated neurocognitive architecture (pp137-321). tBtM Vol.1 is now available as an e-book from: http://totalbraintotalmind.co.uk/

This article examines an influential conceptual trope in theology and biblical studies: the distinction between 'individualistic' and 'communal' orientations as a typology for distinguishing soteriological frameworks. This distinction has been widely deployed in Paul studies, in particular, where for decades it has been invoked in order to illuminate problems with traditional Protestant soteriologies. The present article clarifies and extends recent critiques of the 'individualism vs. communalism' trope by drawing on conceptual tools from the fields of social cognition and social emotion. It argues that in appealing to the 'individualism vs. communalism' trope Paul scholars have often been operating with unarticulated assumptions about the shaping effects of soteriological frameworks on Christian experience that are subject to analysis and critique. After identifying four such assumptions, conceptual tools psychologists have developed for understanding the experience of social relation between human and human-like agents are explicated. It is argued that these psychological resources can augment and extend recent suggestions by Susan Eastman, Volker Rabens, and others that individuality and relationality are mutually entangled rather than opposed in Paul. Finally, it is suggested that analyzing Paul's soteriology through the lens of relational experience and social emotion can open up new hermeneutical vistas for both theologians and biblical scholars.

The drive for a theoretical integration of psychotherapy arises out of is dissatisfaction with the inadequacy of single systems/theories. It has been suggested that there is a need for a 'meta-theory' that provides a framework to integrate different psychotherapy theories in terms of some shared construct. The theoretical integration should take into account behaviour, emotion, cognition, and interpersonal factors. In addition, trans-theoretical considerations should include theory and data from neurology and psychiatry. Some different integrative 'frameworks' are noted, including Clarkson's 'Systemic Integrative Psychotherapy'. Some neuroscience based frameworks for integration are also mentioned. It is proposed that homeostasis could serve as a meta-theory that encapsulates principles in terms of which to 'systematically' integrate aspects of psychotherapy, including trans-theoretical dimensions.

Attachment theory, developed by the British psychoanalyst John Bowlby and his American colleague Mary Ainsworth (Bowlby, Attachment and loss, 1969; Ainsworth et al., Patterns of attachment, 1978), aims at explaining why early interactions with caregivers have such a pervasive and lasting effect on personality development beyond childhood. Combining aspects of Darwinian evolutionary biology with social and personality psychology, attachment theory is built upon an inherent cross talk between disciplines. Attachment is conceptualized to rely upon both a behavioral system with a biological function and a cognitive substrate in terms of mental representations of person-environment interactions. Because of its comprehensive nature, attachment theory has become one of the most heavily researched conceptual frameworks in modern psychology (Mikulincer & Shaver, Attachment in adulthood: structure, dynamics, and change, 2007) and has recently inspired growing interest in the field of social neuroscience (Vrtička & Vuilleumier, Front Hum Neurosci 6, 212, 2012). Within the context of this book concerned with the missing link between neuroscience and social science, attachment theory offers a good practical example of a fruitful dialogue between disciplines helping to better understand human development. In the present chapter, I will first describe the fundamental assumptions of attachment theory and discuss their implications from an evolutionary as well as sociocultural perspective. I will then illustrate how attachment theory has inspired applied research in the field of social neuroscience and how the insights gained so far can inform possible prevention and intervention strategies in the context of mental and physical health and policy making across disciplines. Finally, I will comment on the remaining issues and future avenues of this still very young and exciting field of research termed “the social neuroscience of attachment.”

This chapter presents ethnographic and social neuroscientific insights on the emerging subculture of juicing: an extreme eating practice grounded in food beliefs about purity and pollution enacted through a set of highly prescriptive rituals to ‘flush’ out undesirable substances and achieve ‘cleansing’. Drawing on our ethnographic evidence and recent work in cognitive anthropology, the philosophy of psychiatry, and social neuroscience, we argue that the positive results achieved by juicers are largely attributable to the prosocial rewards of constructing a juicer identity reinforced in ritual, and to implicit sociocognitive substrates of the placebo effects. The cult-like dimensions of juicing culture, in turn, presents us with a fascinating window for the study of emergent sociality and its physiological effects, and, by extension, for the theoretical and empirical study of embodiment in cultural epidemiology

El Diseño Universal para el Aprendizaje (DUA) es un paradigma que surgió a principios de los años 90 para garantizar una educación de calidad e igualitaria. Su origen se debe a una necesidad por reducir las barreras que en ocasiones se generan de manera involuntaria y que impiden el aprendizaje de nuestro alumnado. Algunas de estas barreras se generan en los entornos de aprendizaje, los cuales ejercen una gran influencia en el desarrollo cerebral y, en general, en el aprendizaje. En este sentido, las interacciones contexto-individuo y la relación entre afecto y cognición pueden favorecer la activación de las redes afectivas, que resultan esenciales para motivarnos e implicarnos en nuestro aprendizaje. El estímulo adecuado de estas redes y una correcta aplicación de los principios del DUA pueden reducir las barreras para el aprendizaje y maximizar las habilidades lectoras para la adquisición de lenguas extranjeras.

Multi-proxy approach was used to reconstruct the environmental conditions of remote lakes in the High Tatra Mountains (Slovakia) over the past few centuries (approximately 500-1000 years). Short sediment cores (*30 cm) taken from three morphologically similar glacial lakes distributed along altitudinal gradient (subalpine to alpine conditions) were analysed for organic matter content (LOI), diatoms and chironomids. Both descriptive and correlative approaches were used for analysing stratigraphical data. Predictive canonical correspondence analysis and co-correspondence analysis were applied to directly relate physical and biological proxies to each other. The relationship between LOI and biotic proxies was inconsistent across groups and lakes. Concordant patterns in diatom and chironomid composition were found in two non-acidified lakes. Common trends in those assemblages indicated major past environmental events such as the Little Ice Age, air pollution and lake acidification. In contrast, no relationship between the composition of diatom and chironomid assemblages was found in the formerly acidified lake, suggesting different responses of assemblages to acidification. While chironomids showed shifts that are attributable to recovery, diatoms assemblage remained relatively stable throughout the uppermost layers of the sediment record. On the other hand, climatic-driven changes in assemblages detected in the deeper layers were more pronounced in diatoms than in chironomids.

Morality is an important social construct necessary for understanding what is right and wrong. Neuroimaging studies investigating morality have used a wide variety of paradigms and implicated many different brain areas. Yet, it remains unclear whether differences amongst morality tasks are the cause for such heterogeneous findings. Therefore, in the present study, a series of activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses were conducted on 123 datasets (inclusive of 1963 participants) to address this question. The ALE meta-analyses revealed a series of common brain areas associated with all moral tasks, including medial prefrontal cortex, lateral orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, temporoparietal junction, and precuneus. However, individual and contrast analyses also revealed unique networks associated with each moral modality, suggesting that different moral tasks recruit specialised brain regions.

It has long been theorised that there are two temporally distinct forms of self-reference: extended self-reference linking experiences across time, and momentary self-reference centred on the present. To characterise these two aspects of awareness, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine monitoring of enduring traits ('narrative' focus, NF) or momentary experience ('experiential' focus, EF) in both novice participants and those having attended an 8 week course in mindfulness meditation, a program that trains individuals to develop focused attention on the present. In novices, EF yielded focal reductions in self-referential cortical midline regions (medial prefrontal cortex, mPFC) associated with NF. In trained participants, EF resulted in more marked and pervasive reductions in the mPFC, and increased engagement of a right lateralised network, comprising the lateral PFC and viscerosomatic areas such as the insula, secondary somatosensory cortex and inferior parietal lobule. Functional connectivity analyses further demonstrated a strong coupling between the right insula and the mPFC in novices that was uncoupled in the mindfulness group. These results suggest a fundamental neural dissociation between two distinct forms of self-awareness that are habitually integrated but can be dissociated through attentional training: the self across time and in the present moment.

We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate how performing formalized and improvised forms of praying changed the evoked BOLD response in a group of Danish Christians. Distinct from formalized praying and secular controls, improvised praying activated a strong response in the temporopolar region, the medial prefrontal cortex, the temporo- parietal junction and precuneus. This finding supports our hypothesis that religious subjects, who consider their God to be ‘real’
10 and capable of reciprocating requests, recruit areas of social cognition when they pray. We argue that praying to God is an intersubjective experience comparable to ‘normal’ interpersonal interaction.

Physical education (PE) professionals must believe that all students can learn, and they should equip themselves with the knowledge and expertise to instruct each student effectively. This article focuses on the effect that a PE teacher can have on the lives of students who come from low socioeconomic status (SES) households. It provides PE teachers with specific ideas and examples of how to teach life skills effectively within the PE setting to marginalized children affected by poverty. PE teachers often must intentionally influence the development of life skills, and some feel that practitioners are responsible for implementing ways to encourage that development. Personal and interpersonal skills are essential developmental factors that can be influenced through PE. This article highlights ways of incorporating proper affective assessments , developing a growth mind-set, and giving exposure to specific PE curricular models that focus on life skill growth. Finally, it provides a practitioner's example to further elucidate the effect that intentional life skill instruction may have on students of low SES.

En este capítulo realizaremos una revisión bibliográfica de la evolución, función y mecanismos neurales de las emociones sociales como parte de los procesos de cognición social. Por ello, pondremos las emociones sociales como parte de los mecanismos de cognición social, evolucionados a partir de la compleja dinámica de la vida en sociedad. Enseguida, se describe la evolución del procesamiento socioemocional y su función. Entenderemos función como el valor adaptativo de una característica (su valor en términos de sobrevivencia y reproducción), es decir, las consecuencias últimas (función adaptativa) ya que, entre éstas y el comportamiento que nos interesa puede haber una larga cadena de consecuencias inmediatas o intermedias. Se identifican sus componentes, los cuales se desarrollan a partir del mecanismo de la autorregulación centrado en el control de atención que, a su vez, involucra dos procesos: la regulación emocional y la memoria de trabajo. Asimismo, también revisaremos si estas emociones sociales son parte de las experiencias y competencias socioemocionales humanas tan importantes en términos del desempeño de los humanos en el ambiente social. También revisaremos los principales avances de la neurociencia cognitiva en relación con el desarrollo socioemocional, el cual se considera un concepto que deriva de la cognición social, ya que, en él, intervienen procesos que modulan las respuestas apropiadas en las interacciones sociales, donde se ponen en juego los intereses de un grupo inmediato e incluso de la especie. Para ello, desde una perspectiva de las diferencias individuales, se aborda cómo los fenómenos y las habilidades socioemocionales engloban funciones que integran la cognición-emoción. Se presentan los diversos modelos multidimensionales de la competencia socioemocional y posteriormente se describe la ontogenia de estas habilidades socioemocionales; ya que si bien el cerebro humano, debido a la evolución, al nacer viene equipado para regular su metabolismo, cuenta con dispositivos básicos para obtener conocimientos y comportamientos sociales. De tal manera que, se considera el papel de la sociedad y la cultura como parte del desarrollo socioemocional del ser humano así como su enorme capacidad de flexibilidad neuronal. Por ello, finalmente, se argumenta desde un enfoque interdisciplinar la plausibilidad y viabilidad de estrategias de intervención para el aprendizaje socioemocional.

[AMAZON LINK BELOW TO BOOK ITSELF -- TOC and book summary in downloadable .doc]      Our instincts—for food, sex, or territorial protection— evolved for life on the savannah 10,000 years ago, not in today’s world of densely populated cities, technological innovations, and pollution. We now have access to a glut of larger-than-life objects, from candy to pornography to atomic weapons—that gratify these gut instincts with often-dangerous results. Animal biologists coined the term “supernormal stimuli” to describe imitations that appeal to primitive instincts and exert a stronger pull than real things, such as soccer balls that geese prefer over eggs. Evolutionary psychologist Deirdre Barrett applies this concept to the alarming disconnect between human instinct and our created environment, demonstrating how supernormal stimuli are a major cause of today’s most pressing problems, including obesity and war. However, Barrett does more than show how unfettered instincts fuel dangerous excesses. She also reminds us that by exercising self-control we can rein them in, potentially saving ourselves and civilization.

This research is dedicated to investigate the orientation of cognitive science called embodied cognition, in its attempt to create an alternative to propositional logic, computational, model of human cognition through the enhancement of individual body experiences in explaining the latter. It is argued in this thesis that the embodied cognition has sought to maintain the unity of the cognitive sciences through efforts at the same time scientific and political, and thus has presented issues that affect not only the multidisciplinary field that studies cognition, but also Philosophy, Culture, therapies, education, and other social activities. Also this thesis postulates that the embodied cognition constitutes a cohesive whole through the articulation of three main research fronts: enactivist, conceptual and affective and, and that, although it is still a new approach, their theses are strong enough to generate consequences in cognitive science and their applications.
Key words: Cognition. Embodied. Intelligence. Enaction. Experience.

Rozdział 1: Inspiracje kognitywistyczne w badaniach nad poznaniem społecznym.
Rozdział 2: Warstwy poznania społecznego.
Rozdział 3: Ewolucyjne i rozwojowe źródła poznania społecznego.
Rozdział 4: Mentalizacja, symulacja, interakcja - wokół debaty na temat sposobów poznawania innych umysłów.

There is ongoing disagreement about the moral implications of developing and/or using neurotechnologies that would affect romantic love and relationships. In this paper, we argue that scientists should actively pursue a research program into such technology. Our call for research is based in part on the fact that a number of pharmaceuticals already in use are very likely to have ramifications for our relationships (romantic and otherwise), and we suggest that we should attempt to understand the effects of these drugs on our interpersonal commitments. In a similar vein, we argue for a shift in scientific research norms, according to which the study of relationships and other social factors would be given higher priority than they currently are given. Finally, in an appendix, we discuss our use of the term “love drug,” and consider whether it is appropriate in light of debates about neuroreductionism.