Showing papers in "Current opinion in behavioral sciences in 2015"
TL;DR: This work suggests that institutions related to anonymous markets, moralizing religions, monogamous marriage and complex kinship systems fundamentally shape human psychology and behavior.
Abstract: Comparative research from diverse societies shows that human social behavior varies immensely across a broad range of domains, including cooperation, fairness, trust, punishment, aggressiveness, morality and competitiveness. Efforts to explain this global variation have increasingly pointed to the importance of packages of social norms, or institutions. This work suggests that institutions related to anonymous markets, moralizing religions, monogamous marriage and complex kinship systems fundamentally shape human psychology and behavior. To better tackle this, work on cultural evolution and culture-gene coevolution delivers the tools and approaches to develop theories to explain these psychological and behavioral patterns, and to understand their relationship to culture and human nature.
332 citations
TL;DR: Emerging evidence suggests that abstracted representations in medial prefrontal cortex guide reactivation of related memories during new encoding events, thus promoting hippocampal integration of related experiences.
Abstract: Everyday behaviors require a high degree of flexibility, in which prior knowledge is applied to inform behavior in new situations. Such flexibility is thought to be supported in part by memory integration, a process whereby related memories become interconnected in the brain through recruitment of overlapping neuronal populations. Recent advances in cognitive and behavioral neuroscience highlight the importance of a hippocampal-medial prefrontal circuit in memory integration. Emerging evidence suggests that abstracted representations in medial prefrontal cortex guide reactivation of related memories during new encoding events, thus promoting hippocampal integration of related experiences. Moreover, recent work indicates that integrated memories are called upon during novel situations to facilitate a host of behaviors, from spatial navigation to imagination.
294 citations
TL;DR: It has become apparent that schizophrenia shares risk alleles with other neuropsychiatric phenotypes, such as bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder.
Abstract: Schizophrenia is a common psychiatric disorder with a strong genetic component. Recent studies applying new genomic technology to large samples have yielded substantial advances in identifying specific, associated DNA variants as well as clarifying the underlying genetic architecture of the disorder. The genetic liability of schizophrenia is now established as polygenic, with risk alleles in many genes existing across the full allelic frequency spectrum. It has also become apparent that schizophrenia shares risk alleles with other neuropsychiatric phenotypes, such as bipolar disorder, major depressive disorder, autism spectrum disorder, intellectual disability and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. These risk variants aggregate in several sets of functionally related genes, thereby providing novel insights into disease pathogenesis and opportunities for research into discovering new treatments.
233 citations
TL;DR: The promising effects of physical activity and fitness on brain and cognition in children and older adults and more randomized trials are needed to understand heterogeneity in response to physical activity, mechanisms, and translation to public policy.
Abstract: In this brief review we summarize the promising effects of physical activity and fitness on brain and cognition in children and older adults. Research in children finds that higher fit and more active preadolescent children show greater hippocampal and basal ganglia volume, greater white matter integrity, elevated and more efficient patterns of brain activity, and superior cognitive performance and scholastic achievement. Higher fit and more physically active older adults show greater hippocampal, prefrontal cortex, and basal ganglia volume, greater functional brain connectivity, greater white matter integrity, more efficient brain activity, and superior executive and memory function. Despite these promising results, more randomized trials are needed to understand heterogeneity in response to physical activity, mechanisms, and translation to public policy.
228 citations
TL;DR: The human neuroimaging literature is reviewed that has begun to explore space-based, feature- based, object-based and category-based attentional control within the context of topographically defined frontoparietal cortex.
Abstract: Human frontoparietal cortex has long been implicated as a source of attentional control. However, the mechanistic underpinnings of these control functions have remained elusive due to limitations of neuroimaging techniques that rely on anatomical landmarks to localize patterns of activation. The recent advent of topographic mapping via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has allowed the reliable parcellation of the network into 18 independent subregions in individual subjects, thereby offering unprecedented opportunities to address a wide range of empirical questions as to how mechanisms of control operate. Here, we review the human neuroimaging literature that has begun to explore space-based, feature-based, object-based and category-based attentional control within the context of topographically defined frontoparietal cortex.
207 citations
TL;DR: Current work demonstrates that empathy is underpinned by circuits connecting the brainstem, amygdala, basal ganglia, anterior cingulate cortex, insula and orbitofrontal cortex, which are conserved across many species.
Abstract: Empathy reflects an innate ability to perceive and be sensitive to the emotional states of others coupled with a motivation to care for their wellbeing. It has evolved in the context of parental care for offspring as well as within kinship. Current work demonstrates that empathy is underpinned by circuits connecting the brainstem, amygdala, basal ganglia, anterior cingulate cortex, insula and orbitofrontal cortex, which are conserved across many species. Empirical studies document that empathetic reactions emerge early in life, and that they are not automatic. Rather they are heavily influenced and modulated by interpersonal and contextual factors, which impact behavior and cognitions. However, the mechanisms supporting empathy are also flexible and amenable to behavioral interventions that can promote caring beyond kin and kith.
196 citations
TL;DR: Evidence is reviewed of promising support for the dual-hormone hypothesis across multiple behavioral domains relevant to the pursuit and maintenance of social status and outlines key directions for future research.
Abstract: The dual-hormone hypothesis posits that testosterone's role in status-relevant behavior should depend on concentrations of cortisol, a hormone released in response to physical and psychological stress This paper (i) reviews evidence for the dual-hormone hypothesis on measures of dominance, aggression, social status, risk-taking, and economic decision-making; (ii) discusses contextual and individual difference moderators of dual-hormone associations with behavior; and (iii) outlines key directions for future research Together, this review points to promising support for the dual-hormone hypothesis across multiple behavioral domains relevant to the pursuit and maintenance of social status
169 citations
TL;DR: Key evidence now supports the prediction that BG can act as a gate on the input to working memory, as a Gate on its output, and as a means of reallocating working memory representations rendered irrelevant by recent events.
Abstract: The contexts for action may be only transiently visible, accessible, and relevant. The cortico-basal ganglia (BG) circuit addresses these demands by allowing the right motor plans to drive action at the right times, via a BG-mediated gate on motor representations. A long-standing hypothesis posits these same circuits are replicated in more rostral brain regions to support gating of cognitive representations. Key evidence now supports the prediction that BG can act as a gate on the input to working memory, as a gate on its output, and as a means of reallocating working memory representations rendered irrelevant by recent events. These discoveries validate key tenets of many computational models, circumscribe motor and cognitive models of recurrent cortical dynamics alone, and identify novel directions for research on the mechanisms of higher-level cognition.
166 citations
TL;DR: It is proposed that the PFC comprises two arbitration systems: a peripheral system comprising premotor/caudal PFC regions and orbitofrontal regions involved in the selection of actions based on perceptual cues and reward values, respectively, and embedded in behavioral sets associated with external contingencies inferred as being stable.
Abstract: The prefrontal cortex (PFC) subserves decision-making and executive control. Here we review recent empirical and modeling works with a focus on neuroimaging studies, which start unifying these two conceptual approaches of PFC function. We propose that the PFC comprises two arbitration systems: (1) a peripheral system comprising premotor/caudal PFC regions and orbitofrontal regions involved in the selection of actions based on perceptual cues and reward values, respectively, and embedded in behavioral sets associated with external contingencies inferred as being stable; (2) a core system comprising ventromedial, dorsomedial, lateral and polar PFC regions involved in superordinate probabilistic reasoning for arbitrating online between exploiting/adjusting previously learned behavioral sets and exploring/creating new ones for efficient adaptive behavior in variable and open-ended environments.
158 citations
TL;DR: In this article, two fields where research continues to highlight the power of social norms, namely prejudice and energy use, are described and compared, and new approaches examining the effects of norms stemming from multiple groups, and utilizing normative referents to shift behaviors in social networks.
Abstract: Psychology has a long history of demonstrating the power and reach of social norms; they can hardly be overestimated. To demonstrate their enduring influence on a broad range of social phenomena, we describe two fields where research continues to highlight the power of social norms: prejudice and energy use. The prejudices that people report map almost perfectly onto what is socially appropriate, likewise, people adjust their energy use to be more in line with their neighbors. We review new approaches examining the effects of norms stemming from multiple groups, and utilizing normative referents to shift behaviors in social networks. Though the focus of less research in recent years, our review highlights the fundamental influence of social norms on social behavior.
157 citations
TL;DR: It is found that social interactions can affect the taxonomic and genic composition of animal microbiomes, with consequences for microbiome function and potentially host fitness, and that microbiomes can affect host social behavior by producing chemical signals used in social communication and by directly influencing host nervous systems.
Abstract: Animals are home to diverse bacterial communities that can affect their hosts’ physiology, metabolism, and susceptibility to disease. Here we highlight recent research that reveals surprising and important connections between an individual's microbiome and its social behavior. We focus on two recent discoveries: (i) that social interactions can affect the taxonomic and genic composition of animal microbiomes, with consequences for microbiome function and potentially host fitness, and (ii) that microbiomes can affect host social behavior by producing chemical signals used in social communication and by directly influencing host nervous systems. Investigating the reciprocal relationships between host behavior and the microbiome thus promises to shed new light on both the evolution of host social behavior and microbial transmission strategies.
TL;DR: Developing cognitively and ecologically informed tests allows neophobia to be empirically evaluated where appropriate and controlled for where it interferes with other behavioural measures.
Abstract: Psychologists and behavioural ecologists use neophobia tests to measure behaviours ranging from anxiety to predatory wariness. Psychologists typically focus on underlying cognitive mechanisms at the expense of ecological validity, while behavioural ecologists generally examine adaptive function but ignore cognition. However, neophobia is an ecologically relevant fear behaviour that arises through a cognitive assessment of novel stimuli. Both fields have accrued conflicting results using various testing protocols, making it unclear what neophobia tests measure and what correlations between neophobia and other traits mean. Developing cognitively and ecologically informed tests allows neophobia to be empirically evaluated where appropriate and controlled for where it interferes with other behavioural measures. We offer guidelines for designing tests and stress the need for interdisciplinary dialogue to better explore neophobia's proximate causes and ecological consequences.
TL;DR: The neural mechanisms of pair bonding behavior have been investigated most rigorously in Microtine rodents, which exhibit diverse social organizations and have highlighted mesolimbic dopamine pathways, social neuropeptides, and other neural systems as integral factors in the formation, maintenance, and expression of pair bonds.
Abstract: Species have evolved diverse social behavior and mating strategies in response to selective forces in their environments. While promiscuity is the predominant mating strategy across most vertebrate taxa, convergent evolution of monogamous mating systems has occurred multiple times across distant lineages. Monogamous behavior is thought to be facilitated by a neurobiological capacity to form and maintain selective social attachments, or pair bonds, with a mating partner. The neural mechanisms of pair bonding behavior have been investigated most rigorously in Microtine rodents, which exhibit diverse social organizations. These studies have highlighted mesolimbic dopamine pathways, social neuropeptides (oxytocin and vasopressin), and other neural systems as integral factors in the formation, maintenance, and expression of pair bonds.
TL;DR: The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) patterns generalize across time, culture, level of analysis, targets from individuals to subtypes to groups to nations, and measures (from neural to self-report to societal indicators).
Abstract: Impressions of others, including societal groups, systematically array along two dimensions, warmth (trustworthiness/friendliness) and competence. Social structures of competition and status respectively predict these usually orthogonal dimensions. Prejudiced emotions (pride, pity, contempt, and envy) target each quadrant, and distinct discriminatory behavioral tendencies result. The Stereotype Content Model (SCM) patterns generalize across time (2oth century), culture (every populated continent), level of analysis (targets from individuals to subtypes to groups to nations), and measures (from neural to self-report to societal indicators). Future directions include individual differences in endorsement of these cultural stereotypes and how perceivers view combinations across the SCM space.
TL;DR: This work focuses on the growing interest in the potential of noninvasive brain stimulation, particularly transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES), to enhance cognitive abilities in healthy individuals through the modulation of neuronal membrane potentials, specific brain oscillations or the delivery of electrical ‘noise’ to the system.
Abstract: Noninvasive brain stimulation is being widely investigated to understand and modulate human brain function, and offers novel therapeutic approaches to neurologic and psychiatric disorders. Here, we focus on the growing interest in the potential of noninvasive brain stimulation, particularly transcranial Electrical Stimulation (tES), to enhance cognitive abilities in healthy individuals through the modulation of neuronal membrane potentials, specific brain oscillations or the delivery of electrical ‘noise’ to the system. We also emphasize the potential of tailoring tES parameters to individual trait and state characteristics for a personalized-medicine approach. Finally, we address the increasing use of tES by lay people, the ethical issues this raises, and consequently call for appropriate regulation.
TL;DR: The principles of latent causal inference may provide a general theory of structure learning across cognitive domains, and are reviewed with a focus on Pavlovian conditioning.
Abstract: Effective reinforcement learning hinges on having an appropriate state representation. But where does this representation come from? We argue that the brain discovers state representations by trying to infer the latent causal structure of the task at hand, and assigning each latent cause to a separate state. In this paper, we review several implications of this latent cause framework, with a focus on Pavlovian conditioning. The framework suggests that conditioning is not the acquisition of associations between cues and outcomes, but rather the acquisition of associations between latent causes and observable stimuli. A latent cause interpretation of conditioning enables us to begin answering questions that have frustrated classical theories: Why do extinguished responses sometimes return? Why do stimuli presented in compound sometimes summate and sometimes do not? Beyond conditioning, the principles of latent causal inference may provide a general theory of structure learning across cognitive domains.
TL;DR: A value-based alternative to the BSBF model is proposed, in which prosocial norm compliance and antisocial norm violations both arise from interactions between prefrontal model-based and striatal model-free decision-making systems.
Abstract: Social norms facilitate large-scale cooperation by promoting prosocial interactions and constraining antisocial behavior. Dominant models of norm compliance emphasize the role of effortful, capacity-limited inhibitory control in prosocial cooperation. Similarly, clinical science has focused on inhibitory deficits as a key source of persistent norm-violating behavior. Support for an inhibition-based ‘braking success/braking failure’ (BSBF) model is derived from evidence of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) engagement during norm-guided behavior, and of DLPFC dysfunction in antisocial individuals. However, three challenges motivate an alternative explanation for links between self-control, DLPFC, and norm-based behavior. Here, I propose a value-based alternative to the BSBF model, in which prosocial norm compliance and antisocial norm violations both arise from interactions between prefrontal model-based and striatal model-free decision-making systems.
TL;DR: Evidence is mounting to suggest that multiple decision processes are tuned differently in adolescents and adults including reward reactivity, uncertainty-tolerance, delay discounting, and experiential assessments of value and risk.
Abstract: Adolescence is a phase of lifespan associated with greater independence, and thus greater demands to make self-guided decisions in the face of risks, uncertainty, and varying proximal and distal outcomes. A new wave of developmental research takes a neuroeconomic approach to specify what decision processes are changing during adolescence, along what trajectory they are changing, and what neurodevelopmental processes support these changes. Evidence is mounting to suggest that multiple decision processes are tuned differently in adolescents and adults including reward reactivity, uncertainty-tolerance, delay discounting, and experiential assessments of value and risk. Unique interactions between prefrontal cortical, striatal, and salience processing systems during adolescence both constrain and amplify various component processes of mature decision-making.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the literature of field experiments designed to promote cooperative behavior in policy-relevant settings outside the laboratory (e.g., conservation, charitable donations, voting).
Abstract: We review the growing literature of field experiments designed to promote cooperative behavior in policy-relevant settings outside the laboratory (e.g. conservation, charitable donations, voting). We focus on four categories of intervention that have been well studied. We find that material rewards and increased efficacy, interventions focused on altering the costs and benefits of giving, have at best mixed success. Social Interventions based on observability and descriptive norms, conversely, are consistently highly effective. We then demonstrate how a theoretical framework based on reciprocity and reputation concerns explains why Social Interventions are typically more effective than Cost–Benefit Interventions, and suggests ways to make Cost–Benefit Interventions more effective. We conclude by discussing other less-studied types of intervention, and promising directions for future research.
TL;DR: This research suggests that the hippocampus may code the path to the goal while the entorhinal cortex represents the vector toThe goal and reveals that the engagement of the hippocampus and entorHinal cortex varies across the different operational stages of navigation.
Abstract: Much is known about how neural systems determine current spatial position and orientation in the environment. By contrast little is understood about how the brain represents future goal locations or computes the distance and direction to such goals. Recent electrophysiology, computational modelling and neuroimaging research have shed new light on how the spatial relationship to a goal may be determined and represented during navigation. This research suggests that the hippocampus may code the path to the goal while the entorhinal cortex represents the vector to the goal. It also reveals that the engagement of the hippocampus and entorhinal cortex varies across the different operational stages of navigation, such as during travel, route planning, and decision-making at waypoints.
TL;DR: In this paper, the authors review the literature examining the perceptual, attentional, and cognitive benefits of playing one sub-type of video games known as action video games, as well as the mechanistic underpinnings of these behavioral effects.
Abstract: Here we review the literature examining the perceptual, attentional, and cognitive benefits of playing one sub-type of video games known as ‘action video games,’ as well as the mechanistic underpinnings of these behavioral effects. We then outline evidence indicating the potential usefulness of these commercial off-the-shelf games for practical, real-world applications such as rehabilitation or the training of job-related skills. Finally, we discuss potential core characteristics of action video games that allow for wide learning generalization.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors review the recent literature in behavioral ethics and moral psychology on ordinary unethical behavior, including cheating, deception, organizational misconduct, and many other forms of unethical behavior.
Abstract: Cheating, deception, organizational misconduct, and many other forms of unethical behavior are among the greatest challenges in today's society. As regularly highlighted by the media, extreme cases and costly scams are common. Yet, even more frequent and pervasive are cases of ‘ordinary’ unethical behavior — unethical actions committed by people who value and care about morality but behave unethically when faced with an opportunity to cheat. In this article, I review the recent literature in behavioral ethics and moral psychology on ordinary unethical behavior.
TL;DR: In this article, the authors explore the emerging field of cognitive training via distinct types of interactive digital media: those designed primarily for entertainment (video games) and those created for the purpose of cognitive enhancement (cognitive exercises).
Abstract: In this review we explore the emerging field of cognitive training via distinct types of interactive digital media: those designed primarily for entertainment (‘video games’) and those created for the purpose of cognitive enhancement (‘cognitive exercises’). Here we consider how specific design factors associated with each tool (e.g., fun, motivation, adaptive mechanics) and the study itself (e.g., participant expectancy, dose effects) can influence cognitive enhancement effects. We finally describe how the development of hybrid interventions that capitalize on strengths of each type of interactive digital media are anticipated to emerge as this field matures.
TL;DR: This paper reviewed emerging findings supporting at least two seemingly distinct mechanisms for how the brain draws on memories in the service of choice, and discussed evidence supporting each of these mechanisms and the implications for understanding the role of memory in decision-making.
Abstract: Adaptive decisions are guided by past experience. Yet, decisions are often made between alternatives that have not been directly experienced before, requiring the integration of memories across multiple past events. We review emerging findings supporting at least two seemingly distinct mechanisms for how the brain draws on memories in the service of choice. Prospective integration is triggered when a new decision is faced, allowing inferences to be drawn on the spot. A complementary retrospective mechanism integrates existing memories into a network of related experiences before a decision is actually faced. We discuss evidence supporting each of these mechanisms and the implications for understanding the role of memory in decision-making.
TL;DR: Many commonly observed physiological "signatures" that have previously been interpreted as directly related to the retention of information in visual STM may require reinterpretation as more general, state-related changes that can accompany cognitive-task performance.
Abstract: Our understanding of the neural bases of visual short-term memory (STM), the ability to mentally retain information over short periods of time, is being reshaped by two important developments: the application of methods from statistical machine learning, often a variant of multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA), to functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalographic (EEG) data sets; and advances in our understanding of the physiology and functions of neuronal oscillations. One consequence is that many commonly observed physiological "signatures" that have previously been interpreted as directly related to the retention of information in visual STM may require reinterpretation as more general, state-related changes that can accompany cognitive-task performance. Another is important refinements of theoretical models of visual STM.
TL;DR: Some of the recent literature in rodent and human neuroscience are reviewed and it is discussed how these studies have the potential to provide new insights into the behavioral expression, computations, and the neural circuits that underlie healthy and pathological fear and anxiety.
Abstract: Prey are relentlessly faced with a series of survival problems to solve. One enduring problem is predation, where the prey's answers rely on the complex interaction between actions cultivated during its life course and defense reactions passed down by descendants. To understand the proximate neural responses to analogous threats, affective neuroscientists have favored well-controlled associative learning paradigms, yet researchers are now creating semi-realistic environments that examine the dynamic flow of decision-making and escape calculations that mimic the prey's real world choices. In the context of research from the field of ethology and behavioral ecology, we review some of the recent literature in rodent and human neuroscience and discuss how these studies have the potential to provide new insights into the behavioral expression, computations, and the neural circuits that underlie healthy and pathological fear and anxiety.
TL;DR: This work has shown that under more ecologically valid conditions, in which gaze signals are exchanged as part of an ongoing reciprocal social interaction, an ‘interactive turn’ is beginning to yield new insights into the behavioral dynamics and neural mechanisms of gaze behavior as they unfold in real life
Abstract: The gaze of others fascinates us from birth onwards. Traditionally, experimental approaches to study the effects of gaze have focused on how human observers respond to gaze cues and how attention, perception and action control is influenced by them. In recent years, the investigation of gaze behavior has moved toward the inclusion of more ecologically valid conditions, in which gaze signals are exchanged as part of an ongoing reciprocal social interaction. Such an ‘interactive turn’ is beginning to yield new insights into the behavioral dynamics and neural mechanisms of gaze behavior as they unfold in real life.
TL;DR: The role of mimicry in social disorders is reviewed and how mimicry may underlie social deficits in these disorders is discussed.
Abstract: People both mimic and are mimicked in nearly every social interaction, though neither the mimicker nor the mimicked are generally aware of its occurrence. People mimic what they observe in others, including facial expressions, emotions, behavioral movements, and verbal patterns. In the current review we focus on the causes and consequences of mimicry. Specifically, what causes mimicry to occur within a given social interaction and what are the downstream consequences of such mimicry? We position recent developments in the context of prior findings in order to emphasize the current direction of mimicry research. Then we turn to the role of mimicry in social disorders and discuss how mimicry may underlie social deficits in these disorders.
TL;DR: Evidence for the distinction between model-based and model-free reinforcement-learning and their arbitration, and the possibility of integrating across these different domains as a means of gaining a more complete understanding of how the brain learns from reinforcement are evaluated.
Abstract: Here we review recent developments in the application of reinforcement-learning theory as a means of understanding how the brain learns to select actions to maximize future reward, with a focus on human neuroimaging studies. We evaluate evidence for the distinction between model-based and model-free reinforcement-learning and their arbitration, and consider hierarchical reinforcement-learning schemes and structure learning. Finally we discuss the possibility of integrating across these different domains as a means of gaining a more complete understanding of how it is the brain learns from reinforcement.
TL;DR: This review will focus on the cognitive and molecular relationship between environmental enrichment and adult neurogenesis, which is thought to play a fundamental role in hippocampus-dependent behavior and are modulated by experience and changes in the environment.
Abstract: The brain is a dynamic structure that constantly undergoes cellular and molecular changes in response to the environment. Ultimately, these experience-dependent changes modify and shape behavior. One example of this neuroplasticity is the robust and continuous generation of new neurons that occurs in the dentate gyrus (DG) of the hippocampus. These new neurons are thought to play a fundamental role in hippocampus-dependent behavior and are modulated by experience and changes in the environment. In this review, we will focus on the cognitive and molecular relationship between environmental enrichment and adult neurogenesis. In addition, we discuss some of the similarities between the human and animal literature in regards to neurogenesis, hippocampus-dependent behavior, and environmental enrichment.