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This paper provides evidence that the ventral prefrontal cortex plays a role in the learning of tasks in which subjects must learn to associate visual cues and responses. Imaging with both positron-emission tomography (PET) and functional magnetic-resonance imaging (fMRI) reveals learning-related increases in activity when normal subjects learn visual associative tasks. Evidence is also presented from an event-related fMRI study that activity in this area is time-locked both to the presentation of the visual stimuli and also to the time of the motor response. Finally, it is shown in a study of monkeys that removal of the ventral prefrontal area 12 (including 45 A) impairs the ability of monkeys to relearn a visual associative task (visual matching), even though there were no demands on working memory. It is, therefore, proposed that the ventral prefrontal cortex constitutes part of the circuitry via which associations are formed between visual cues and the actions or choices that they specify. On the basis of the existing anatomical and electrophysiological data, it is argued that the prefrontal cortex is the only area that can represent cues, responses and outcomes.
\n \n\n \n \nStudies in monkeys show clear anatomical and functional distinctions among networks connecting with subregions within the prefrontal cortex. Three such networks are centered on lateral orbitofrontal cortex, medial frontal and cingulate cortex, and lateral prefrontal cortex and all have been identified with distinct cognitive roles. Although these areas differ in a number of their cortical connections, some of the first anatomical evidence for these networks came from tracer studies demonstrating their distinct patterns of connectivity with the mediodorsal (MD) nucleus of the thalamus. Here, we present evidence for a similar topography of MD thalamus prefrontal connections, using non-invasive imaging and diffusion tractography (DWI-DT) in human and macaque. DWI-DT suggested that there was a high probability of interconnection between medial MD and lateral orbitofrontal cortex, between caudodorsal MD and medial frontal/cingulate cortex, and between lateral MD and lateral prefrontal cortex, in both species. Within the lateral prefrontal cortex a dorsolateral region (the principal sulcus in the macaque and middle frontal gyrus in the human) was found to have a high probability of interconnection with the MD region between the regions with a high probability of interconnection with other parts of the lateral prefrontal cortex and with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex. In addition to suggesting that the thalamic connectivity in the macaque is a good guide to human prefrontal cortex, and therefore that there are likely to be similarities in the cognitive roles played by the prefrontal areas in both species, the present results are also the first to provide insight into the topography of projections of an individual thalamic nucleus in the human brain.
\n \n\n \n \nChronic deep brain stimulation (DBS) of subgenual cingulate white matter results in dramatic remission of symptoms in some previously treatment-resistant depression patients. The effects of stimulation may be mediated locally or via corticocortical or corticosubcortical connections. We use tractography to define the likely connectivity of cingulate regions stimulated in DBS-responsive patients using diffusion imaging data acquired in healthy control subjects. We defined 2 distinct regions within anterior cingulate cortex based on anatomical connectivity: a pregenual region strongly connected to medial prefrontal and anterior midcingulate cortex and a subgenual region with strongest connections to nucleus accumbens, amygdala, hypothalamus, and orbitofrontal cortex. The location of electrode contact points from 9 patients successfully treated with DBS lies within this subgenual region. The anatomical connectivity of the subgenual cingulate region targeted with DBS for depression supports the hypothesis that treatment efficacy is mediated via effects on a distributed network of frontal, limbic, and visceromotor brain regions. At present, targeting of DBS for depression is based on landmarks visible in conventional magnetic resonance imaging. Preoperatively acquired diffusion imaging for connectivity-based cortical mapping could improve neurosurgical targeting. We hypothesize that the subgenual region with greatest connectivity across the distributed network described here may prove most effective.
\n \n\n \n \nIt is widely agreed that the right posterior parietal cortex has a preeminent role in visuospatial and orienting attention. A number of lines of evidence suggest that although orienting and the preparation of oculomotor responses are dissociable from each other, the two are intimately related. If this is true, then it should be possible to identify other attentional mechanisms tied to other response modalities. We used repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) to demonstrate the existence of a distinct anterior parietal mechanism of motor attention. The critical area for motor attention is anterior to the one concerned with orienting, and it is lateralized to the left hemisphere in humans.
\n \n\n \n \nWe used positron emission tomography (PET) to measure movement set-related changes in regional cerebral blood flow (rCBF) when human subjects were asked to copy hand movements. Movement set-related activity in the brain is thought to reflect the processes of movement selection, preparation and inhibition. Four conditions were used. In the first condition, prepare and execute (PE), the hand stimulus to be copied was shown to subjects 3 s before an auditory \"go\"-cue instructed subjects to execute the movement; a large part of the scanning time was therefore spent in preparing to move. In the immediate execution condition (E), the hand stimulus and the go cue were presented simultaneously. The prepare-only condition (P) was similar to PE, except subjects only prepared to make the movement and did not actually execute any movement when they heard the auditory go-cue. The same stimuli were presented in a baseline condition (B), but the subjects were instructed to neither prepare nor execute movements. There were 5 principle findings: (1) In contrast to a previous study of human set-related activity in which movements were instructed by an arbitrary pattern of LEDs, preparing to make a copied movement causes rCBF changes in area 44 in posterior Broca's area; (2) set-related activity can be recorded in the cerebellar hemispheres and midline; (3) we confirmed that the supramarginal gyrus has a general role in preparing movements - there was more rCBF in the P than the E condition; (4) the cerebellar nuclei and the basal ganglia may be particularly involved in the initiation and execution of a planned movement; these regions were more active in the PE condition than the P condition; (5) the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and a left anterior cingulate area are part of a distributed system involved in the suppression of a motor response; these areas were significantly more active in the P than the PE condition.
\n \n\n \n \nWe review three ways in which transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been used to investigate causal interactions between different brain areas: (1) combined with functional imaging; (2) combined with EEG; and (3) applied successively over two brain areas. We discuss the theoretical advantages of each technique, illustrated by examples from the literature, and highlight the potential of these approaches to provide novel insights into the neural bases of action control.
\n \n\n \n \nAt what stage in the emotion process do people apprehend the relational meaning of their encounters with the practical or social environment? For many appraisal theorists, meaning (usually or always) comes first, shaping the activation of functional response modes by top-down influence. For transactional theorists, meaning emerges bottom-up in parallel with the real-time consolidation of the response syndrome. For attribution theorists, meaning is applied to emotional episodes after the fact, and is not an intrinsic part of any emotion-generative mechanisms. For communicative theorists, emotions are flexible strategies for conveying meanings to others. This paper reviews arguments and evidence for and against these four approaches and attempts to integrate their insights by sketching out a view of emotions as functional modes of engagement with the practical and social environment (relation alignment), whose operation is transformed by the imposition of societal prescriptions and descriptions. From this perspective, relational meaning is often implicated in the causes, content, and consequences of emotion but its roles in these phases of the transaction do not always coincide. Further, emotions should not be modelled simply as determinate responses to separately defined meanings or as communicative acts driven by internal goals, but also as situated adjustments to unfolding events and as active ways of transforming or producing meaning in collaboration with other people. \u00a9 2008 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
\n \n\n \n \nReactions to moral transgressions are subject to influence at both the cultural and individual levels. Transgressions against an individual's rights or against social conventions of hierarchy may elicit different reactions in individualistic and collectivistic cultures. In the current study, affective and behavioural reactions to transgressions of autonomy (rights) and community (hierarchy) were examined in India and Britain. Results revealed that although reactions to autonomy transgressions are similar in India and Britain, Indian participants express more moral outrage than do Britons in response to transgressions of community. Results also supported the contention of emotion-specificity in affective moral reaction: Participants in both India and Britain reported anger in response to autonomy transgressions, but contempt in response to violations of community. Importantly, these results extend previous research by demonstrating the importance of emotion specificity in moral reactions, as opposed to categorization or dilemma resolution. In addition, an individual difference measure of respect for persons was shown to moderate reactions to moral transgressions. Specifically, participants with high respect for persons were less negative to violators of the community ethic, but not the autonomy ethic. These findings highlight the importance of examining emotion-specific responses in the moral domain and introduce a significant individual difference variable, respect for persons, into the psychology of morality. Les r\u00e9actions aux transgressions morales sont susceptibles d'influence \u00e0 la fois aux niveaux culturel et individuel. Les transgressions contre les droits d'un individu ou contre les conventions sociales d'hi\u00e9rarchie peuvent susciter de diff\u00e9rentes r\u00e9actions dans les cultures individualiste et collectiviste. Dans la pr\u00e9sente \u00e9tude, les r\u00e9actions affective et comportementale aux transgressions de l'autonomie (droits) et de la communaut\u00e9 (hi\u00e9rachie) ont \u00e9t\u00e9 examin\u00e9es en Inde et en Grande-Bretagne. Les r\u00e9sultats ont indiqu\u00e9 que, malgr\u00e9 la similitude des r\u00e9actions aux transgressions de l'autonomie en Inde et en Grande-Bretagne, les participants indiens ont exprim\u00e9 plus d'indignation morale que les britanniques en r\u00e9ponse aux transgressions de la communaut\u00e9. Les r\u00e9sultats ont \u00e9galement appuy\u00e9 la controverse de la sp\u00e9cifit\u00e9 de l'\u00e9motion dans la relation morale affective: les participants \u00e0 la fois en Inde et en Grande-Bretagne ont rapport\u00e9 de la col\u00e8re en r\u00e9ponse aux transgressions de l'autonomie mais du m\u00e9pris en r\u00e9ponse aux transgressions de la communaut\u00e9. De fa\u00e7on importante, ces r\u00e9sultats ont \u00e9largi la recherche pass\u00e9e en d\u00e9montrant l'importance de la sp\u00e9cificit\u00e9 de l'\u00e9motion dans les r\u00e9actions morales, contrairement \u00e0 la cat\u00e9gorisation ou \u00e0 la solution du dilemme. En plus, il a \u00e9t\u00e9 d\u00e9montr\u00e9 qu'une mesure des diff\u00e9rences individuelles du respect envers les personnes a mod\u00e9r\u00e9 les r\u00e9actions aux transgressions morales. Sp\u00e9cifiquement, les participants ayant un grand respect envers les personnes ont \u00e9t\u00e9 moins n\u00e9gatifs envers les violateurs de l'\u00e9thique de la communaut\u00e9 mais pas de l'\u00e9thique de l'autonomie. Ces r\u00e9sultats soulignent l'importance d'examiner les r\u00e9ponses sp\u00e9cifique \u00e0 l'\u00e9motion dans le domaine moral et introduisent une variable des diff\u00e9rences individuelles, soit le respect envers les personnes, dans la psychologie de la moralit\u00e9. Las reacciones a las transgresiones morales est\u00e1n sujetas a la influencia a niveles culturales e individuales. Las transgresiones contra los derechos individuales o convenciones sociales de jerarqu\u00edas pueden provocar distintas reacciones en las culturas individualistas y colectivistas. En el presente estudio, se examinaron las reacciones afectivas y conductuales a las transgresiones contra la autonom\u00eda (derechos) y comunidad (jerarqu\u00eda) en la India y en Gran Breta\u00f1a. Los resultados demostraron que, aunque las reacciones a las transgresiones contra la autonom\u00eda fueran parecidas en la India y en Gran Breta\u00f1a, los participantes indios expresaron m\u00e1s indignaci\u00f3n moral que los brit\u00e1nicos en la respuesta a la transgresi\u00f3n contra la comunidad. Los resultados tambi\u00e9n apoyan la visi\u00f3n de la especificidad emocional en la reacci\u00f3n afectiva moral: los participantes en la India y tambi\u00e9n en Gran Breta\u00f1a mostraron ira en respuesta a la transgresi\u00f3n contra la autonom\u00eda y desprecio en respuesta a la violaci\u00f3n de la comunidad. De forma importante, estos resultados ampl\u00edan los estudios anteriores demostrando la importancia de la especificidad emocional en las reacciones morales frente a la categorizaci\u00f3n o resoluci\u00f3n de los dilemas. Adicionalmente, las medidas de las diferencias individuales en el respeto para personas moderan las reacciones a la transgresi\u00f3n moral. Espec\u00edficamente, los participantes con alto respeto para personas fueron menos negativos a la hora de violar la \u00e9tica de la comunidad pero no la \u00e9tica de la autonom\u00eda. Estos resultados subrayan la importancia de estudiar las respuestas emocionales espec\u00edficas en el dominio moral e introducen una variable de diferencias individuales significativas, respeto para personas, dentro de la psicolog\u00eda de la moralidad.
\n \n\n \n \nComments on the original article by S. Siemer and R. Reisenzein regarding the process of emotion inference. When processing situational information, people can reach emotional conclusions without explicitly registering corresponding appraisals. Does this mean that appraisal cues must be guiding inference in less obvious ways? If one assumes that the emotional meaning of any situation depends on the protagonist's relation to what is happening, then emotion inference can never entirely bypass relational information. However, not all relational information is specifically appraisal-based. Further, actual emotion causation, like emotion inference, can involve explicit or implicit appraisals or even no appraisals at all. Indeed, humans do not first learn to associate emotions with situations by extracting appraisal information.
\n \n\n \n \n"The fifth edition of this highly successful text, An Introduction to Social Psychology has been fully revised and updated.
\n \n\n \n \nShould I strap a battery to my head? When should I listen to my heart? and Can good moods kill? These are some of the many unusual questions about human emotion that psychologists try to answer in this book.
\n \n\n \n \nShould I strap a battery to my head? When should I listen to my heart? and Can good moods kill? These are some of the many unusual questions about human emotion that psychologists try to answer in this book.
\n \n\n \n \nSeveral recent studies have shown that attentional capture is not an automatic process. For example, abrupt peripheral onsets do not affect the processing of targets presented subsequently at that location when participants have to concurrently perform a perceptually demanding task elsewhere. This result leaves open the question of whether peripheral onsets lose their effectiveness in capturing attention or whether, instead, the performance of a perceptually demanding task entails a faster disengagement of attention from the cued location. Here, we measured exogenous spatial attentional-orienting effects either while participants performed a concurrent perceptually demanding central-monitoring task (a rapid serial visual presentation of letters for a to-be-detected digit target; Experiments 1 and 2) or in isolation (the baseline condition in Experiment 2). The results showed that peripheral onsets captured participants' attention at both the 80- and 190-ms stimulus onset asynchronies (SOAs) in the baseline condition. Crucially, however, during concurrent central monitoring, peripheral onsets were effective in capturing attention only at an 80-ms SOA, while the orienting effect disappeared as soon as a changing letter drew participants' attention back to the central stream (at an SOA of 190 ms). These findings demonstrate that task-irrelevant abrupt onsets cannot be entirely overridden by top-down attentional control, although attentional capture effects are dramatically reduced by an ongoing perceptually demanding task.
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