Neural correlates of personal goal processing during episodic future thinking and mind-wandering: An ALE meta-analysis

The neural correlates of physical exercise-induced general cognitive gains: A systematic review and meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging studies

The general-domain effect of physical exercise-induced cognitive gains in behavioral outcomes is well-documented, but a consensus on the neural correlates remains elusive. This meta-analysis aims to identify the neural correlates of physical exercise-induced general cognitive gains by examining task-related brain activation consistently modulated by physical exercise and its relationship to those gains. Our analysis of 52 studies with 1503 participants shows that physical exercise enhances cognitive task performance (Hedges' g = 0.271) and consistently increases task-related brain activation primarily in the bilateral precuneus. These increases in task-related brain activation correlate positively with cognitive task performance improvements improvements. Notably, physical exercise intensity, adherence, and social environment significantly modulate task-related brain activation changes induced by physical exercise. This meta-analysis offers an unprecedented comprehensive assessment of how physical exercise modulates task-related brain activation changes, providing neural evidence to support the general-domain effects on cognitive function induced by physical exercise.

The future, before, and after: Bayesian and multivariate analyses reveal shared and unique neural mechanisms of imagining and remembering the same unique event

Research shows that the brain regions that subserve our ability to remember the past are also involved in imagining the future. Given this similarity in brain activity, it remains unclear how brain activity distinguishes imagination from memory. In the current work, we scanned participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after they performed a highly unique and elaborate activity wherein they went skydiving for the first time in their lives. Multivariate pattern analysis, Bayesian inference, and a tightly controlled experimental design were used to identify the neural activity that differentiates between memory and imagination of the same events. The results showed that large swaths of the default mode network exhibited identical patterns of activity in recollection and imagination; several frontal areas were involved in imagination (but not in recollection). Representational similarity analysis revealed that the left ventral precuneus exhibited different patterns of memory and imagination. Further examination revealed that this subarea may be especially important for recollection of specific episodes. These results advance our understanding of how the critical distinction between the past and future might be manifested in the brain.

Frequent absent mindedness and the neural mechanism trapped by mobile phone addiction

With the increased availability and sophistication of digital devices in the last decade, young people have become mainstream mobile phone users. Heavy mobile phone dependence causes affective problems (depression, anxiety) and loss of attention on current activities, leading to more cluttered thoughts. Problematic mobile phone use has been found to increase the occurrence of mind wandering, but the neural mechanism underlying this relationship remains unclear. The current study aims to investigate the neural mechanism between mobile phone use and mind wandering. University students from datasets (ongoing research project named Gene-Brain-Behavior project, GBB) completed psychological assessments of mobile phone addiction and mind wandering and underwent resting-state functional connectivity (FC) scanning. FC matrix was constructed to further conduct correlation and mediation analyses. Students with high mobile phone addiction scores were more likely to have high mind wandering scores. FC among the default mode, motor, frontoparietal, basal ganglia, limbic, medial frontal, visual association, and cerebellar networks formed the neural basis of mind wandering. FC between the frontoparietal and motor networks, between the default mode network and cerebellar network, and within the cerebellar network mediated the relationship between mobile phone addiction and mind wandering. The findings confirm that mobile phone addiction is a risk factor for increased mind wandering and reveal that FC in several brain networks underlies this relationship. They contribute to research on behavioral addiction, education, and mental health among young adults.

EEG oscillations in recent suicide attempters: Assessing responses to positive and negative future imagination tasks

BACKGROUND

Our goal is to uncover Electroencephalography (EEG) power spectrum patterns during imagination tasks in individuals who attempted suicide within the past 1-4 weeks, addressing gaps in understanding the neural correlates of future imagination in suicidal behavior.

METHODS

This case-control study comprised a total of 60 participants, consisting of 47 females and 13 males. The sample comprised three groups: Attempted Suicide + Major Depressive Disorder (SA+MDD), Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), and Healthy Controls (HC). To assess participants' future imagination, a unique approach called the Positive and Negative Future Imagination Task was designed, which involved scenario visualization concurrent with EEG recording. Statistical analyses included ANOVA with post-hoc pairwise comparisons to compare EEG power spectrum between three groups.

RESULTS

It was observed that the SA+MDD group experienced significantly increased theta frequency band in the right frontocentral regions when compared to the MDD group during both positive and negative imagination tasks (P-value < 0.05). Furthermore, increased gamma activity was observed in the SA+MDD group compared to the HC group, predominantly in the right frontocentral areas during both imagination tasks.

CONCLUSION

The results of this study indicate that individuals who have recently attempted suicide exhibit heightened neural activity in the frontocentral regions of the right hemisphere of the brain, specifically in theta and gamma band frequencies, when contemplating both positive and negative aspects of the future. These findings, in the context of behavioral tasks may indicate a decrease in the ability to envision a positive future and an increase in visualizing a negative future.

Effectiveness and feasibility of the self-administered and repeated episodic future thinking exercises in smoking cessation

Delay discounting (DD) is associated with smoking behavior and relapses. Episodic future thinking (EFT) is one of the leading interventions shown to reduce DD. The 1-month follow-up study with 60 participants that employed EFT as active intervention and episodic recent thinking (ERT) as control intervention was conducted in participants receiving smoking cessation treatment. In EFT group, there was significant decrease in DD rates from pre-intervention to post-intervention (p = 0.009), whereas no significant change was observed in ERT group (p = 0.497). DD rates in EFT group did not change significantly over 1 month (p = 0.059), while decrease was detected in ERT group (p = 0.011). Smoking cessation rates between groups were similar (p = 0.486). Adherence with completing follow-up evaluation forms and performing relevant exercises was higher in EFT group (p = 0.038, p = 0.006). Adding EFT to usual smoking cessation treatment did not increase smoking cessation rates, however feasibility of the self-administered exercises needs to be improved to clarify clinical effects.

Investigating the neural substrate variations between easy and challenging creative association tasks during product design within an fMRI scanner

In practice, individuals strive to develop highly original and valuable creative products within specific limitations. However, previous functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies focused on divergent-thinking tasks without considering the "valuableness" of an idea. Additionally, different types of creative tasks (e.g., the easier association vs. the harder association task) may engage distinct cognitive processes. This study aimed to investigate the underlying neural mechanisms associated with different types of creative thinking, specifically focusing on the generation of the most original and valuable creative product within an fMRI scanner. Twenty-one college students participated in a block design study. During each trial, participants were instructed to draw the most original and valuable product inspired by a given figure. The findings revealed that, in comparison to the harder association task, the easier association task led to broader activation across multiple brain regions. However, this broader activation resulted in inefficient thinking and poorer creative performance. Notably, the orbitofrontal cortex exhibited activation across various creativity tasks and displayed connectivity with several seed brain regions, highlighting the importance of decision-making when only one original and valuable product design is allowed. Furthermore, the complex functional connectivity observed between different brain networks reflects the intricate nature of creative thinking. To conclude, widespread activation of brain regions does not necessarily indicate superior creativity. Instead, optimal creative performance within constraints is achieved through an efficient utilization of association for generating innovative ideas, inhibition for suppressing unoriginal ideas, and decision-making to select the most creative idea.

In the Eyes of the Future: Eye Movement during Near and Distant Future Thinking

Research has suggested that near future events are typically viewed from a first-person (an own-eyes, also known as field) perspective while distant future events are typically viewed from a third-person (an observer) perspective. We investigated whether these distinct mental perspectives would be accompanied by distinct eye movement activities. We invited participants to imagine near and distant future events while their eye movements (i.e., scan path) were recorded by eye-tracking glasses. Analysis demonstrated fewer but longer fixations for near future thinking than for distant future thinking. Analysis also demonstrated more "field" mental visual perspective responses for near than for distant future thinking. The long fixations during near future thinking may mirror a mental visual exploration involving processing of a more complex visual representation compared with distant future thinking. By demonstrating how near future thinking triggers both "field" responses and long fixations, our study demonstrates how the temporality of future thinking triggers both distinct mental imagery and eye movement patterns.

Mental Time Travel as Self-Affirmation

ACADEMIC ABSTRACT

This article integrates and advances the scope of research on the role of mental time travel in bolstering the self. We propose that imagining the self in the future (prospection) or in the past (retrospection) highlights central and positive self-aspects. Thus, bringing to mind one's future or past broadens the perceived bases of self-integrity and offers a route to self-affirmation. In reviewing corresponding research programs on self-prospection and nostalgia, we illustrate that mental time travel serves to affirm the self in terms of self-esteem, coherence, and control. Mental time travel could be implemented as a source of self-affirmation for facilitating coping and behavior change in several domains such as relationships, health, education, and organizational contexts.

PUBLIC ABSTRACT

People can mentally travel to their future or to their past. When people imagine what they will be like in the future, or what they were like in the past, they tend to think about themselves in terms of the important and positive attributes that they possess. Thinking about themselves in such an affirming way expands and consolidates their self-views. This broader image of themselves can increase self-esteem (the extent to which one likes who they are), coherence (the extent to which one perceives life as meaningful), and control (the extent to which one feels capable of initiating and pursuing goals or effecting desirable outcomes). Mental time travel, then, has favorable or affirming consequences for one's self-views. These consequences can be harnessed to modify one's behavior in such life domains as relationships, health, education, and work.

Feasibility of Intervention Program to Prevent Adolescent Health-Compromising Behaviors

Most people start experimenting with and/or initiating health-compromising behaviors and establishing behavioral patterns during adolescence. Possible selves and episodic future thinking have been used to foster behavioral changes. In this study, we aimed to (1) develop a program incorporating possible selves and episodic future thinking to decrease the risks associated with health-compromising behaviors, and (2) examine the feasibility and fidelity of implementing this intervention among Taiwanese adolescents. A novel combination of existing intervention approaches tailored for the Taiwanese context was applied to develop a school-based intervention, which we named the Future Mapping Master program. This program contains four core units: exploring the self, setting goals, developing strategies and problem solving, and understanding the threats of health-compromising behaviors. It includes daily episodic future thinking visualization exercises. The feasibility evaluation was conducted with 88 adolescents aged 12-14 years. Feedback from teachers and students supported the proposed program's feasibility and revealed favorable reactions to the intervention. The Future Mapping Master program is feasible and offers promising strategies for implementation in Taiwanese school settings.

Self-esteem mediates the relationship between the parahippocampal gyrus and decisional procrastination at resting state

When faced with a conflict or dilemma, we tend to postpone or even avoid making a decision. This phenomenon is known as decisional procrastination. Here, we investigated the neural correlates of this phenomenon, in particular the parahippocampal gyrus (PHG) that has previously been identified in procrastination studies. In this study, we applied an individual difference approach to evaluate participants' spontaneous neural activity in the PHG and their decisional procrastination levels, assessed outside the fMRI scanner. We discovered that the fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (fALFF) in the caudal PHG (cPHG) could predict participants' level of decisional procrastination, as measured by the avoidant decision-making style. Importantly, participants' self-esteem mediated the relationship between the cPHG and decisional procrastination, suggesting that individuals with higher levels of spontaneous activity in the cPHG are likely to have higher levels of self-esteem and thus be more likely to make decisions on time. In short, our study broadens the PHG's known role in procrastination by demonstrating its link with decisional procrastination and the mediating influence of self-esteem, underscoring the need for further exploration of this mediation mechanism.

Efficacy of transcranial photobiomodulation in the treatment for major depressive disorder: A TMS-EEG and pilot study

BACKGROUND

Major depressive disorder (MDD) was a prevalent mental condition that may be accompanied by decreased excitability of left frontal pole (FP) and abnormal brain connections. An 820 nm tPBM can induce an increase in stimulated cortical excitability. The purpose of our study was to establish how clinical symptoms and time-varying brain network connectivity of MDD were affected by transcranial photobiomodulation (tPBM).

METHODS

A total of 11 patients with MDD received 820 nm tPBM targeting the left FP for 14 consecutive days. The severity of symptoms was evaluated by neuropsychological assessments at baseline, after treatment, 4-week and 8-week follow-up; 8-min transcranial magnetic stimulation combined electroencephalography (TMS-EEG) was performed for five healthy controls and five patients with MDD before and after treatment, and time-varying EEG network was analyzed using the adaptive-directed transfer function.

RESULTS

All of scales scores in the 11 patients decreased significantly after 14-day tPBM (p < .01) and remained at 8-week follow-up. The time-varying brain network analysis suggested that the brain regions with enhanced connection information outflow in MDD became gradually more similar to healthy controls after treatment.

CONCLUSIONS

This study showed that tPBM of the left FP could improve symptoms of patients with MDD and normalize the abnormal network connections.

A three-dimensional model of neural activity and phenomenal-behavioral patterns

How phenomenal experience and behavior are related to neural activity in physiology and psychopathology represents a fundamental question in neuroscience and psychiatry. The phenomenal-behavior patterns may be deconstructed into basic dimensions, i.e., psychomotricity, affectivity, and thought, which might have distinct neural correlates. This work provides a data overview on the relationship of these phenomenal-behavioral dimensions with brain activity across physiological and pathological conditions (including major depressive disorder, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder, anxiety disorders, addictive disorders, Parkinson's disease, Tourette syndrome, Alzheimer's disease, and frontotemporal dementia). Accordingly, we propose a three-dimensional model of neural activity and phenomenal-behavioral patterns. In this model, neural activity is organized into distinct units in accordance with connectivity patterns and related input/output processing, manifesting in the different phenomenal-behavioral dimensions. (1) An external neural unit, which involves the sensorimotor circuit/brain's sensorimotor network and is connected with the external environment, processes external inputs/outputs, manifesting in the psychomotor dimension (processing of exteroception/somatomotor activity). External unit hyperactivity manifests in psychomotor excitation (hyperactivity/hyperkinesia/catatonia), while external unit hypoactivity manifests in psychomotor inhibition (retardation/hypokinesia/catatonia). (2) An internal neural unit, which involves the interoceptive-autonomic circuit/brain's salience network and is connected with the internal/body environment, processes internal inputs/outputs, manifesting in the affective dimension (processing of interoception/autonomic activity). Internal unit hyperactivity manifests in affective excitation (anxiety/dysphoria-euphoria/panic), while internal unit hypoactivity manifests in affective inhibition (anhedonia/apathy/depersonalization). (3) An associative neural unit, which involves the brain's associative areas/default-mode network and is connected with the external/internal units (but not with the environment), processes associative inputs/outputs, manifesting in the thought dimension (processing of ideas). Associative unit hyperactivity manifests in thought excitation (mind-wandering/repetitive thinking/psychosis), while associative unit hypoactivity manifests in thought inhibition (inattention/cognitive deficit/consciousness loss). Finally, these neural units interplay and dynamically combine into various neural states, resulting in the complex phenomenal experience and behavior across physiology and neuropsychiatric disorders.

Time processing in neurological and psychiatric conditions

A central question in understanding cognition and pathology-related cognitive changes is how we process time. However, time processing difficulties across several neurological and psychiatric conditions remain seldom investigated. The aim of this review is to develop a unifying taxonomy of time processing, and a neuropsychological perspective on temporal difficulties. Four main temporal judgments are discussed: duration processing, simultaneity and synchrony, passage of time, and mental time travel. We present an integrated theoretical framework of timing difficulties across psychiatric and neurological conditions based on selected patient populations. This framework provides new mechanistic insights on both (a) the processes involved in each temporal judgement, and (b) temporal difficulties across pathologies. By identifying underlying transdiagnostic time-processing mechanisms, this framework opens fruitful avenues for future research.

Envisioning the future: An ALE meta-analysis on neural correlates of future thinking, prospective memory and delay discounting

Our representations of the future are processed in the service of several different cognitive functions, including episodic future thinking, prospective memory, and temporal discounting. The present meta-analysis used the Activation Likelihood Estimation method to understand whether there is a core network underlying future-oriented cognition and to identify the specific brain regions that support future-related processes in each function. Following the PRISMA guidelines, a total of 24, 19, and 27 neuroimaging studies were included for future thinking, prospective memory, and temporal discounting, respectively. Results showed that there is no specific region or network for the future. Instead, the 'future' seems to be represented on an anterior-posterior tangibility gradient, based on the level of abstractness/concreteness of the simulated scenario. Additionally, future-oriented cognition is mediated by two distinct networks: the Default Network and the Salience Network. The Default Network is mainly active in supporting future thinking, whereas the Salience Network is primarily involved in prospective memory and delay discounting.

The role of posterior parietal cortex and medial prefrontal cortex in distraction and mind-wandering

Distraction reflects a drift of attention away from the task at hand towards task-irrelevant external or internal information (mind-wandering). The right posterior parietal cortex (PPC) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) are known to mediate attention to external information and mind-wandering, respectively, but it is not clear whether they support each process selectively or rather they play similar roles in supporting both. In this study, participants performed a visual search task including salient color singleton distractors before and after receiving cathodal (inhibitory) transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to the right PPC, the mPFC, or sham tDCS. Thought probes assessed the intensity and contents of mind-wandering during visual search. The results show that tDCS to the right PPC but not mPFC reduced the attentional capture by the singleton distractor during visual search. tDCS to both mPFC and PPC reduced mind-wandering, but only tDCS to the mPFC specifically reduced future-oriented mind-wandering. These results suggest that the right PPC and mPFC play a different role in directing attention towards task-irrelevant information. The PPC is involved in both external and internal distraction, possibly by mediating the disengagement of attention from the current task and its reorienting to salient information, be this a percept or a mental content (mind-wandering). By contrast, the mPFC uniquely supports mind-wandering, possibly by mediating the endogenous generation of future-oriented thoughts capable to draw attention inward, away from ongoing activities.

20 years of the default mode network: A review and synthesis

The discovery of the default mode network (DMN) has revolutionized our understanding of the workings of the human brain. Here, I review developments that led to the discovery of the DMN, offer a personal reflection, and consider how our ideas of DMN function have evolved over the past two decades. I summarize literature examining the role of the DMN in self-reference, social cognition, episodic and autobiographical memory, language and semantic memory, and mind wandering. I identify unifying themes and propose new perspectives on the DMN's role in human cognition. I argue that the DMN integrates and broadcasts memory, language, and semantic representations to create a coherent "internal narrative" reflecting our individual experiences. This narrative is central to the construction of a sense of self, shapes how we perceive ourselves and interact with others, may have ontogenetic origins in self-directed speech during childhood, and forms a vital component of human consciousness.

Mental time travel for self and others in individuals with a high level of schizotypy

Mental time travel (MTT) is the ability to project oneself to the past or future through mental simulation. Moreover, MTT can involve self-related or other-related information. This study aimed to compare MTT in individuals with high levels of schizotypy and that in their counterparts with low levels of schizotypy. Participants with high (n = 37) and low (n = 37) levels of schizotypy completed an MTT task with four conditions [2 (Condition: self vs. other) × 2 (Time orientation: past vs. future)]. They were required to recall past events that had happened to themselves or to a non-intimate person, and to imagine possible future events that might happen to themselves or to a non-intimate person, related to cue words. Outcome measures included specificity, vividness, sense of experience, emotional valence, emotional intensity, proportion of first-person visual perspective in events, and difficulty in event generation. A 2 (Group: high vs. low levels of schizotypy) × 2 (Condition) × 2 (Time orientation) mixed analysis of variance was conducted on each index. Results showed that self-related MTT was more specific than other-related MTT in low levels of schizotypy participants but not in high levels of schizotypy participants. Participants with a high level of schizotypy reported fewer specific events, and reported events with lower vividness and positive emotion than did those with a low level of schizotypy. Self-related MTT showed higher levels of phenomenological characteristics than did other-related MTT. In conclusion, individuals with a high level of schizotypy have altered MTT, and cannot benefit from the self-advantage effect on the specificity of MTT.

A Pilot Goal-Oriented Episodic Future Thinking Weight Loss Intervention for Low-Income Overweight or Obese Young Mothers

BACKGROUND

Episodic future thinking (EFT) has shown efficacy in laboratory settings. We conducted a pilot goal-oriented EFT (GoEFT) intervention in a real-world setting to help low-income overweight or obese mothers lose weight. This paper presents intervention acceptability and efficacy.

METHODS

The study used a single-group, before-after design. During the 3-week intervention, participants (N = 15) completed weekly web-based lessons and online health coaching sessions to manage stress and emotion, eat healthier, and be more physically active. Participants completed online surveys at baseline and immediately after the intervention. They also completed an interview to evaluate intervention acceptability. We applied paired t-tests to evaluate efficacy and used content analysis to discover interview themes.

RESULTS

Participants consistently identified the intervention as acceptable, noting the usefulness of pre-written goals, GoEFT strategies, and goal progress evaluations. The intervention effectively promoted weight loss (d = -0.69), fruit and vegetable intake (d = 0.45-0.49), and emotion control (d = 0.71). It also reduced fat (d = -0.51) and added sugar intake (d = -0.48) and alleviated stress (d = -0.52). Moreover, the intervention increased autonomous motivation (d = 0.75-0.88) and self-efficacy (d = 0.46-0.61).

CONCLUSION

The GoEFT intervention was acceptable to participants, showing strong preliminary efficacy.

Functional connectivity changes between frontopolar cortex and nucleus accumbens following cognitive behavioral therapy in major depression: A randomized clinical trial

Cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) is a psychotherapy that challenges distorted cognitions; however, the neural mechanisms that underpin CBT remain unclear. Hence, we aimed to assess the treatment-related resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) changes in the brain regions associated with future thinking and the associations between rsFC changes and clinical improvements. Thirty-eight adult patients with MDD were randomly assigned with equal likelihood to receive 16-week individual CBT or talking control with a 12-month follow-up period. We evaluated the rsFC changes in the frontal regions, nucleus accumbens, amygdala, and limbic structures key to the depression pathophysiology and future thinking with 2 ×  2 mixed ANOVA interaction analysis. Pearson's correlation analysis with Bonferroni's correction was also performed to examine the associations with clinical symptoms, such as depression severity and automatic thoughts in follow-up evaluations. Treatment-specific changes include enhancement in frontopolar connectivity with the nucleus accumbens. An increased rsFC was associated with lower negative automatic thoughts postoperatively, together with lower depressive symptoms and higher positive automatic thoughts at follow-up. Conclusively, rsFC changes in the fronto-limbic neural control circuit after CBT, particularly between the frontal pole and nucleus accumbens, may be clinically meaningful functional changes related to the depression recovery process.

Neural correlates of mental time travel in individuals with high level of schizotypy

BACKGROUND

Mental time travel (MTT) is the ability to re-experience past events (autobiographic memory, AM) and pre-experience possible future events (episodic future thinking, EFT) through mental simulation. Empirical findings suggest that individuals with high level of schizotypy exhibit MTT impairment. However, the neural correlates of this impairment remain unclear.

METHOD

Thirty-eight individuals with high level of schizotypy and 35 low level of schizotypy were recruited to complete an MTT imaging paradigm. Participants were required to recall past events (AM condition), imagine possible future events (EFT condition) related to cue words, or generate exemplars related to category words (control condition) while undergoing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI).

RESULTS

AM showed greater activation in precuneus, bilateral posterior cingulate cortex, thalamus, and middle frontal gyrus than EFT. Individuals with high level of schizotypy exhibited reduced activation in the left anterior cingulate cortex during AM (vs. Control) and in the medial frontal gyrus during EFT (vs. Control) compared to individuals with low level of schizotypy. Although psychophysiological interaction analyses did not show any significant group difference, individuals with high level of schizotypy exhibited functional connectivity between left anterior cingulate cortex (seed) and right thalamus, between medial frontal gyrus (seed) and left cerebellum during MTT, whereas individuals with low level of schizotypy did not exhibit these functional connectivities.

CONCLUSION

These findings suggest that decreased brain activations may underlie MTT deficits in individuals with high level of schizotypy.

Prospection deficits in patients with first-episode schizophrenia: a cross-sectional comparative study

Prospection refers to the ability to simulate and pre-experience future events. Schizophrenia patients have difficulty in anticipating pleasure in future events, but previous studies examined prospection deficits in chronic schizophrenia patients. This study aimed to investigate prospection deficits in first-episode schizophrenia patients. Thirty first-episode schizophrenia patients and 31 healthy controls completed the Affective Prospection Task, which utilized pictorial cues to involve positive, neutral and negative prospection. Participants' ratings regarding the phenomenal characteristics of their prospected events were collected, and their prospected narratives were coded using a valid scoring manual. We also assessed intelligence, working memory and logical memory. The results showed, in all participants, valence of the cues significantly influenced participants' sense of pre-experience, temporal distance, emotion experience, vividness and participation of the prospected events, as well as the richness of sensory details. The two groups did not differ in self-report phenomenal characteristics of their prospected events. For coded characteristics, schizophrenia patients' prospected narratives were less rich in thought/emotion than controls, even after controlling for intelligence and memory deficits. We extended empirical evidence for prospection deficits from chronic schizophrenia samples to first-episode schizophrenia patients.

Motivational decline and proactive response under thermal environmental stress are related to emotion- and problem-focused coping, respectively: Questionnaire construction and fMRI study

Despite the diversity of human behavioral and psychological responses to environmental thermal stress, the major dimensions of these responses have not been formulated. Accordingly, the relevance of these responses to a framework of coping with stress (i.e., emotion- and problem-focused) and the neural correlates are unexplored. In this study, we first developed a multidimensional inventory for such responses using social surveys and a factor analysis, and then examined the neural correlates of each dimension using a functional magnetic resonance imaging; we manipulated the ambient temperature between uncomfortably hot and cold, and the correlations between the inventory factor scores and discomfort-related neural responses were examined. We identified three factors to construct the inventory: motivational decline, proactive response, and an active behavior, which appeared to reflect inefficient emotion-focused coping, efficient problem-focused coping, and positive appreciation of extreme environmental temperatures, respectively, under environmental thermal stress. Motivational decline score was positively associated with common neural response to thermal stress in the frontal and temporoparietal regions, implicated in emotion regulation, while proactive response score negatively with the neural responses related to subjective discomfort in the medial and lateral parietal cortices, implicated in problem-solving. We thus demonstrated that two of three major dimensions of individual variation in response to and coping with environmental thermal stress conform to an influential two-dimensional framework of stress coping. The current three-dimensional model may expand the frontiers of meteorological human science in both basic and application domains.

Evidence for Spinozan "Unbelieving" in the Right Inferior Prefrontal Cortex

Humans can think about possible states of the world without believing in them, an important capacity for high-level cognition. Here, we use fMRI and a novel "shell game" task to test two competing theories about the nature of belief and its neural basis. According to the Cartesian theory, information is first understood, then assessed for veracity, and ultimately encoded as either believed or not believed. According to the Spinozan theory, comprehension entails belief by default, such that understanding without believing requires an additional process of "unbelieving." Participants (n = 70) were experimentally induced to have beliefs, desires, or mere thoughts about hidden states of the shell game (e.g., believing that the dog is hidden in the upper right corner). That is, participants were induced to have specific "propositional attitudes" toward specific "propositions" in a controlled way. Consistent with the Spinozan theory, we found that thinking about a proposition without believing it is associated with increased activation of the right inferior frontal gyrus. This was true whether the hidden state was desired by the participant (because of reward) or merely thought about. These findings are consistent with a version of the Spinozan theory whereby unbelieving is an inhibitory control process. We consider potential implications of these results for the phenomena of delusional belief and wishful thinking.

Why people hesitate to help: Neural correlates of the counter-dynamics of altruistic helping and individual differences in daily helping tendencies

Recent psychological and neuroimaging studies on altruism–egoism dilemmas have promoted our understanding of the processes underlying altruistic motivation; however, little attention has been paid to the egoistic counter-dynamics that prompt hesitancy to help. These counter-dynamics may involve the construction of reasons not to help based on contextual elaboration and explain individual differences in the tendency to help others in daily life. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we explored the neural correlates of altruism–egoism dilemmas during empathy-driven helping decisions, with particular attention to the counter-dynamics related to individual helping tendency traits. We used two context-rich helping decision scenarios. In the empathy dilemma (Emp) scenario, empathy-driven motivation to help a poor person was associated with a cost, whereas in the economic-dilemma (Eco) scenario, self-beneficial motivation to help a non-poor person was associated with a cost. Our results showed activation of the right anterior prefrontal cortices, supramarginal gyrus, and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) for the altruism–egoism dilemma (i.e., Emp &gt; Eco). A significant negative effect of the helping tendency trait score was observed on PCC activation; interestingly, this effect was observed for both Emp and Eco dilemmas. The identified neural correlates of altruism–egoism dilemmas appear to be related to the construction of decision reasons based on contextual elaboration in naturalistic situations. In contrast to the classical view, our results suggest a two-stage model that includes an altruistic helping decision followed by counter-dynamics to determine the individual helping tendency.

Reconceptualizing mind wandering from a switching perspective

Mind wandering is a universal phenomenon in which our attention shifts away from the task at hand toward task-unrelated thoughts. Despite it inherently involving a shift in mental set, little is known about the role of cognitive flexibility in mind wandering. In this article we consider the potential of cognitive flexibility as a mechanism for mediating and/or regulating the occurrence of mind wandering. Our review begins with a brief introduction to the prominent theories of mind wandering-the executive failure hypothesis, the decoupling hypothesis, the process-occurrence framework, and the resource-control account of sustained attention. Then, after discussing their respective merits and weaknesses, we put forward a new perspective of mind wandering focused on cognitive flexibility, which provides an account more in line with the data to date, including why older populations experience a reduction in mind wandering. After summarizing initial evidence prompting this new perspective, drawn from several mind-wandering and task-switching studies, we recommend avenues for future research aimed at further understanding the importance of cognitive flexibility in mind wandering.

Seeing the future: Connectome strength and network efficiency in visual network predict individual ability of episodic future thinking

Episodic future thinking (EFT) refers to the critical ability that enables people to construct and pre-experience the vivid mental imagery about future events, which impacts on the decision-making for individuals and group. Although EFT is generally believed to have a visual nature by theorists, little neuroscience evidence has been provided to verify this assumption. Here, by employing the approach of connectome-based predictive modeling (CPM) and graph-theoretical analysis, we analyzed resting-state functional brain image from 191 participants to predict their variability of EFT ability (leave-one-out cross-validation), and validated the results by applying different parcellation schemas and feature selection thresholds. At the connectome strength level, CPM-based analysis revealed that EFT ability could be predicted by the connectome strength of visual network. Besides, at the network level, graph-theoretical analysis showed that EFT ability could be predicted by the network efficiency of visual network. Moreover, these findings were replicated using different parcellation schemas and feature selection thresholds. These results robustly and collectively supported that the visual network might be one of the neural substrates underlying EFT ability from a comprehensive perspective of resting-state functional connectivity strength and the neural network. This study provides indications on how the function of visual network supports EFT ability, and enhances our understanding of the EFT ability from a neural basis perspective.

Neural modulations in the auditory cortex during internal and external attention tasks: A single-patient intracranial recording study

Brain sensory processing is not passive, but is rather modulated by our internal state. Different research methods such as non-invasive imaging methods and intracranial recording of the local field potential (LFP) have been used to study to what extent sensory processing and the auditory cortex in particular are modulated by selective attention. However, at the level of the single- or multi-units the selective attention in humans has not been tested. In addition, most previous research on selective attention has explored externally-oriented attention, but attention can be also directed inward (i.e., internal attention), like spontaneous self-generated thoughts and mind-wandering. In the present study we had a rare opportunity to record multi-unit activity (MUA) in the auditory cortex of a patient. To complement, we also analyzed the LFP signal of the macro-contact in the auditory cortex. Our experiment consisted of two conditions with periodic beeping sounds. The participants were asked either to count the beeps (i.e., an "external attention" condition) or to recall the events of the previous day (i.e., an "internal attention" condition). We found that the four out of seven recorded units in the auditory cortex showed increased firing rates in "external attention" compared to "internal attention" condition. The beginning of this attentional modulation varied across multi-units between 30-50 msec and 130-150 msec from stimulus onset, a result that is compatible with an early selection view. The LFP evoked potential and induced high gamma activity both showed attentional modulation starting at about 70-80 msec. As the control, for the same experiment we recorded MUA activity in the amygdala and hippocampus of two additional patients. No major attentional modulation was found in the control regions. Overall, we believe that our results provide new empirical information and support for existing theoretical views on selective attention and spontaneous self-generated cognition.

Episodic future thinking predicts differences in delay discounting: The mediating role of hippocampal structure

A growing body of evidence suggests that engagement in episodic future thinking (EFT) could reduce delay discounting rates. However, little is known about whether individual differences in the ability of EFT are associated with differences in delay discounting in young adults. In the present study, this association was tested in healthy college students (n = 106, 19.98 ± 1.56 years), and the neural basis underlying this association was also examined using voxel-based morphometry (VBM) method. Behavioral analysis indicated that individual differences in EFT ability can significantly negatively predict discounting rates. VBM analysis first revealed that the EFT score positively correlated with gray matter volume (GMV) of a cluster in hippocampus, while negatively correlated with GMV of a cluster in rostral anterior cingulate cortex. We also found the GMV of a cluster in the mPFC was positively correlated with delay discounting. ROI analysis further revealed that individual differences in delay discounting could be reliably predicted by the GMV in the hippocampus and mPFC. The final mediation analysis showed that the GMV of the hippocampus plays a significant mediating role in the association between EFT and delay discounting, and the indirect effect of the hippocampal GMV accounts for 33.2% of the total effect. Our results suggest that individuals’ EFT ability may be an important determinant of differences in delay discounting, and highlight the hippocampal structure as a neural biomarker for explaining the association between EFT ability and delay discounting.

"Look at the future": Maintained fixation impoverishes future thinking

We evaluated the relationship between eye movements and future thinking. More specifically, we evaluated whether maintained fixation could influence cognitive characteristics of future thinking. We invited participants to imagine future events in two conditions: while freely exploring a white wall and while fixating a cross on the wall. Results demonstrated fewer and longer fixations, as well as fewer and shorter saccades during maintained fixation condition than in the free gaze condition. Shorter total amplitude of saccades was also observed during the maintained fixation condition than during the free-gaze condition. Regarding the cognitive characteristics of future thinking, fewer spatiotemporal details and less visual imagery, slower retrieval time, and shorter descriptions were observed for future thinking during maintained fixation than during free-gaze condition. These results demonstrate that maintaining fixation results in an effortful construction of future scenarios. We suggest that maintained fixation limits the cognitive resources that are required for future thinking.

Self-Enhancement and the Medial Prefrontal Cortex: The Convergence of Clinical and Experimental Findings

Self-enhancement (SE) is often overlooked as a fundamental cognitive ability mediated via the Prefrontal Cortex (PFC). Here, we present research that establishes the relationship between the PFC, SE, and the potential evolved beneficial mechanisms. Specifically, we believe there is now enough evidence to speculate that SE exists to provide significant benefits and should be considered a normal aspect of the self. Whatever the metabolic or social cost, the upside of SE is great enough that it is a core and fundamental psychological construct. Furthermore, though entirely theoretical, we suggest that a critical reason the PFC has evolved so significantly in Homo sapiens is to, in part, sustain SE. We, therefore, elaborate on its proximate and ultimate mechanisms.

Simulating the best and worst of times: the powers and perils of emotional simulation

We are remarkably capable of simulating events that we have never experienced. These simulated events often paint an emotional picture to behold, such as the best and worst possible outcomes that we might face. This review synthesises dispersed literature exploring the role of emotion in simulation. Drawing from work that suggests that simulations can influence our preferences, decision-making, and prosociality, we argue for a critical role of emotion in informing the consequences of simulation. We further unpack burgeoning evidence suggesting that the effects of emotional simulation transcend the laboratory. We propose avenues by which emotional simulation may be harnessed for both personal and collective good in applied contexts. We conclude by offering important future directions.

Neural substrates of brand equity: applying a quantitative meta-analytical method for neuroimage studies

Although the concept of brand equity has been investigated using various approaches, a comprehensive neural basis for brand equity remains unclear. The default mode network (DMN) as a mental process might influence brand equity related consumers' decision-making, as reported in the marketing literature. While studies on the overlapping regions between the DMN and value-based decision-making related brain regions have been reported in neuroscience literature, relationships between the DMN and a neural mechanism of brand equity have not been clarified. The aim of our study is to identify neural substrates of brand equity and examine brand equity-related mental processes by comparing them to the DMN. To determine the neural substrates of brand equity, we first carried out the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis. We examined 26 studies using branded objects as experimental stimuli for the ALE. Next, we set the output regions from ALE as the region of interest for meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM). Further, we compared the brand equity-related brain network (BE-RBN) revealed by the MACM with the DMN. We confirmed that the BE-RBN brain regions overlap with the medial temporal lobule (MTL) sub-system, a module composed of the DMN but excluding the retrosplenial cortex. Further, we discovered that several brain regions apart from the DMN are also distinctive BE-RBN brain regions (i.e., the insula, the inferior frontal gyrus, amygdala, ventral striatum, parietal region). We decoded the BE-RBN brain regions using the BrandMap module. The decoded results revealed that the brand equity-related mental processes are complex constructs integrated via multiple mental processes such as self-referential, reward, emotional, memory, and sensorimotor processing. Our study demonstrated that the DMN alone is insufficient to engage in brand equity-related mental processes. Therefore, marketers are required to make strategic plans to integrate the five consumer's multiple mental processes while building brand equity.

How do cannabis users mentally travel in time? Evidence from an fMRI study of episodic future thinking

RATIONALE

Episodic future thinking (EFT) is a cognitive function that allows individuals to imagine novel experiences that may happen in the future. Prior studies show that EFT is impaired in different groups of substance users. However, there is no evidence regarding the neurobiological mechanisms of EFT in cannabis users.

OBJECTIVES

We aimed to compare brain activations of regular cannabis users and non-using controls during an EFT fMRI task. Exploratory analyses were also conducted to investigate the association between EFT and cannabis use variables (e.g., duration of use, age onset, frequency of use).

METHODS

Twenty current cannabis users and 22 drug-naïve controls underwent an fMRI scanning session while completing a task involving envisioning future-related events and retrieval of past memories as a control condition. The EFT fMRI task was adapted from the autobiographical interview and composed of 20 auditory cue sentences (10 cues for past and 10 cues for future events). Participants were asked to recall a past or generate a future event, in response to the cues, and then rate their vividness after each response.

RESULTS

We found that cannabis users compared to non-user controls had lower activation within the cerebellum, medial and superior temporal gyrus, lateral occipital cortex, and occipital fusiform gyrus while envisioning future events. Cannabis users rated the vividness of past events significantly lower than non-users (P < 0.005). There were marginal group differences for rating the vividness of future events (P = 0.052). Significant correlations were also found between the medial and superior temporal gyrus activities and behavioral measures of EFT and episodic memory.

CONCLUSIONS

Cannabis users, compared to drug-naïve controls, have lower brain activation in EFT relevant regions. Thus, any attempts to improve aberrant EFT performance in cannabis users may benefit from EFT training.

Perceptual coupling and decoupling of the default mode network during mind-wandering and reading

While reading, our mind can wander to unrelated autobiographical information, creating a perceptually decoupled state detrimental to narrative comprehension. To understand how this mind-wandering state emerges, we asked whether retrieving autobiographical content necessitates functional disengagement from visual input. In Experiment 1, brain activity was recorded using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in an experimental situation mimicking naturally occurring mind-wandering, allowing us to precisely delineate neural regions involved in memory and reading. Individuals read expository texts and ignored personally relevant autobiographical memories, as well as the opposite situation. Medial regions of the default mode network (DMN) were recruited during memory retrieval. In contrast, left temporal and lateral prefrontal regions of the DMN, as well as ventral visual cortex, were recruited when reading for comprehension. Experiment two used functional connectivity both at rest and during tasks to establish that (i) DMN regions linked to memory are more functionally decoupled from regions of ventral visual cortex than regions in the same network engaged when reading; and (ii) individuals with more self-generated mental contents and poorer comprehension, while reading in the lab, showed more decoupling between visually connected DMN sites important for reading and primary visual cortex. A similar pattern of connectivity was found in Experiment 1, with greater coupling between this DMN site and visual cortex when participants reported greater focus on reading in the face of conflict from autobiographical memory cues; moreover, the retrieval of personally relevant memories increased the decoupling of these sites. These converging data suggest we lose track of the narrative when our minds wander because generating autobiographical mental content relies on cortical regions within the DMN which are functionally decoupled from ventral visual regions engaged during reading.

As your eyes scan these words, you may be thinking about what to make for dinner, how to address an unexpected hurdle at work, or how many emails are sitting, unread, in your inbox. This type of mind-wandering disrupts our focus and limits how much information we comprehend, whilst also being conducive to creative thinking and problem-solving.

Despite being an everyday occurrence, exactly how our mind wanders remains elusive. One possible explanation is that the brain disengages from visual information from the external world and turns its attention inwards. A greater understanding of which neural circuits are involved in this process could reveal insights about focus, attention, and reading comprehension.

Here, Zhang et al. investigated whether the brain becomes disengaged from visual input when our mind wanders while reading. Recalling personal events was used as a proxy for mind-wandering. Brain activity was recorded as participants were shown written statements; sometimes these were preceded by cues to personal memories. People were asked to focus on reading the statements or they were instructed to concentrate on their memories while ignoring the text. The analyses showed that recalling memories and reading stimulated distinct parts of the brain, which were in direct competition during mind-wandering.

Further work examined how these regions were functionally connected. In individuals who remained focused on reading despite memory cues, the areas activated by reading showed strong links to the visual cortex. Conversely, these reading-related areas became ‘decoupled’ from visual processing centres in people who were focusing more on their internal thoughts.

These results shed light on why we lose track of what we are reading when our mind wanders: recalling personal memories activates certain brain areas which are functionally decoupled from the regions involved in processing external information – such as the words on a page.

In summary, the work by Zhang et al. builds a mechanistic understanding of mind-wandering, a natural feature of our daily brain activity. These insights may help to inform future interventions in education to improve reading, comprehension and focus.

Patterns of a structural covariance network associated with dispositional optimism during late adolescence

Dispositional optimism (hereinafter, optimism), as a vital character strength, reflects the tendency to hold generalized positive expectancies for future outcomes. A great number of studies have consistently shown the importance of optimism to a spectrum of physical and mental health outcomes. However, less attention has been given to the intrinsic neurodevelopmental patterns associated with interindividual differences in optimism. Here, we investigated this important question in a large sample comprising 231 healthy adolescents (16-20 years old) via structural magnetic resonance imaging and behavioral tests. We constructed individual structural covariance networks based on cortical gyrification using a recent novel approach combining probability density estimation and Kullback-Leibler divergence and estimated global (global efficiency, local efficiency and small-worldness) and regional (betweenness centrality) properties of these constructed networks using graph theoretical analysis. Partial correlations adjusted for age, sex and estimated total intracranial volume showed that optimism was positively related to global and local efficiency but not small-worldness. Partial least squares correlations indicated that optimism was positively linked to a pronounced betweenness centrality pattern, in which twelve cognition-, emotion-, and motivation-related regions made robust and reliable contributions. These findings remained basically consistent after additionally controlling for family socioeconomic status and showed significant correlations with optimism scores from 2.5 years before, which replicated the main findings. The current work, for the first time, delineated characteristics of the cortical gyrification covariance network associated with optimism, extending previous neurobiological understandings of optimism, which may navigate the development of interventions on a neural network level aimed at raising optimism.

Cognitive behavioral therapy effects on frontopolar cortex function during future thinking in major depressive disorder: A randomized clinical trial

BACKGROUND

Despite the importance of Beck's theoretical cognitive model of psychopathology, the neural mechanisms underlying future thinking in cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) remain elusive. Recent neuroimaging studies have shown that the function of the frontopolar cortex (Brodmann area 10 [BA10]) is associated with future thinking. We hypothesized that, compared with unstructured psychotherapy (talking control: TC), CBT may involve different neural responses in BA10 associated with future thinking.

METHODS

This randomized clinical trial included 38 adult patients with moderate-to-severe major depressive disorder who underwent up to 16 weeks of CBT or TC with a 6-month follow-up period. We evaluated changes in BA10 activation during distant future thinking using functional magnetic resonance imaging with a future-thinking task. We assessed frontal neurocognitive function and clinical symptoms at baseline and post-treatment. Depression severity and automatic thoughts were assessed at the 6-month follow-up.

RESULTS

We found decreased activation in the frontopolar cortex during distant future thinking after CBT (t = 3.00, df=15, p = 0.009) and no changes after TC. Further, the reduction in BA10 activity significantly correlated with changes in frontal cognitive function after the treatment (r = 0.48, p = 0.007), and in positive automatic thought after 6 months of treatments (r = 0.39; p = 0.03).

LIMITATIONS

Relatively small sample size and homogenous clinical profile could limit the generalizability. Patients received pharmacotherapy including antidepressant.

CONCLUSIONS

CBT appears to improve frontopolar cortex function during future thinking in a manner distinct from TC. Larger clinical trials are necessary to provide firm evidence whether BA10 activity may serve as a neuro-marker for monitoring successful depression treatment with CBT.

A Meta-analysis of Mental Time Travel in Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorders

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are associated with cognitive dysfunctions, including mental time travel (MTT). However, findings on diminished MTT ability may be confounded by a number of factors, including the individuals' language ability, factors related to the MTT task and the demographic factors of participants. The present study provided a meta-analysis of MTT ability in people with ASD. The results showed significant overall reductions in MTT ability in people with ASD. Moderator analyses revealed that the variables examined did not explain the reduction in MTT ability. These findings suggest that MTT ability is diminished in people with ASD and that the degree of this diminishment may not depend on the characteristics of measures or demographic variables of people with ASD.

Navigating through the ebbs and flows of language

Is progress in understanding the neural basis for spatial navigation relevant to the human language faculty? Not so much at the shortest scale, where movement is continuous, a recent study in the space of vowels suggests. At a much larger scale, however, that of the verbalization of run-away thoughts, a rich phenomenology appears to involve critical contributions by some of the brain structures also involved in spatial cognition. Their interactions may have to be approached with models operating at an integrated cortical level and allowing for the compositionality of multiple local attractor states. A useful window on the latching dynamics enabled by cortico-cortical interactions may be offered by altered states of consciousness. As an example, psychedelic states have been reported to alter the graph properties of functional connectivity in the cortex so as to facilitate wide-ranging trips.

The bright side and dark side of daydreaming predict creativity together through brain functional connectivity

Daydreaming and creativity have similar cognitive processes and neural basis. However, few empirical studies have examined the relationship between daydreaming and creativity using cognitive neuroscience methods. The present study explored the relationship between different types of daydreaming and creativity and their common neural basis. The behavioral results revealed that positive constructive daydreaming is positively related to creativity, while poor attentional control is negatively related to it. Machine learning framework was adopted to examine the predictive effect of daydreaming-related brain functional connectivity (FC) on creativity. The results demonstrated that task FCs related to positive constructive daydreaming and task FCs related to poor attentional control both predicted an individual's creativity score successfully. In addition, task FCs combining the positive constructive daydreaming and poor attentional control also had significant predictive effect on creativity score. Furthermore, predictive analysis based on resting-state FCs showed similar patterns. Both of the subscale-related FCs and combined FCs had significant predictive effect on creativity score. Further analysis showed the task and the resting-state FCs both mainly located in the default mode network, central executive network, salience network, and attention network. These results showed that daydreaming was closely related to creativity, as they shared common FC basis.

Memory, Future Thinking, and the Self. In Honour of Martial Van Der Linden

Over the past 20 years, much progress has been made in understanding the relations between memory and future thinking, and their role in shaping our sense of self and identity. My own interest in these research questions owes much to Martial Van der Linden, with whom I had the chance to interact closely for several years. The purpose of this article is to pay tribute to him by reviewing the work we initiated together on autobiographical memory and future-oriented thinking. I first review our early work on the relationship between memory and future thinking and discuss their role in self-representation. Then, I provide an overview of the underlying neural bases and describe the alterations of autobiographical thinking that characterize certain psychological disorders. Finally, I outline an integrative framework that I recently proposed to account for the cognitive structure of past and future autobiographical thinking.

Neurophysiological indicators of internal attention: An fMRI-eye-tracking coregistration study

Many goal-directed, as well as spontaneous everyday activities (e.g., planning, mind-wandering), rely on an internal focus of attention. This fMRI-eye-tracking coregistration study investigated brain mechanisms and eye behavior related to internally versus externally directed cognition. Building on an established paradigm, we manipulated internal attention demands within tasks utilizing conditional stimulus masking. Internally directed cognition involved bilateral activation of the lingual gyrus and inferior parietal lobe areas as well as wide-spread deactivation of visual networks. Moreover, internally directed cognition was related to greater pupil diameter, pupil diameter variance, blink duration, fixation disparity variance, and smaller amounts of microsaccades. FMRI-eye-tracking covariation analyses further revealed that larger pupil diameter was related to increased activation of basal ganglia and lingual gyrus. It can be concluded that internally and externally directed cognition are characterized by distinct neurophysiological signatures. The observed neurophysiological differences indicate that internally directed cognition is associated with reduced processing of task-irrelevant information and increased mental load. These findings shed further light on the interplay between neural and perceptual mechanisms contributing to an internal focus of attention.

Delay discounting, time perspective, and self-schemas in adolescent alcohol drinking and disordered eating behaviors

Delay discounting, time perspective, and self-schemas are well-known predictors of health risk behaviors among adolescents. However, the associations between these constructs and their influence on such behaviors are yet to be examined. This study aimed to determine the relationships among three cognitive constructs, namely, delay discounting, time perspective, and self-schemas, and determine the associations of these constructs with alcohol drinking (alcohol use and alcohol problems) and disordered eating behaviors in adolescents. Participants were 436 eighth-graders from three public junior high schools in southern Taiwan, who answered an anonymous questionnaire assessing self-schema, delay discounting, time perspective, and health risk behaviors. Generalized linear models with robust estimation were performed to estimate the effects; gender was the covariate. Delay discounting was associated with alcohol use (OR = 1.15), but not alcohol problems and disordered eating behaviors. Present-Hedonistic time perspective was associated with alcohol use (OR = 2.01), alcohol problems (IRR = 2.23), and disordered eating behaviors (Exp(b) = 1.38); while Future time perspective was associated with alcohol problems (IRR = 2.18). Drinker self-schema was associated with alcohol use (OR = 1.62) and alcohol problems (IRR = 1.71). Fat/overweight self-schema was associated with overall disordered eating (Exp(b) = 1.03). Thus, the findings suggest that each of the three constructs is independently associated with drinking and disordered eating behaviors, and these associations vary according to the specific type of behavior. Future research identifying the underlying mechanisms linking these constructs to the abovementioned behaviors can be useful for developing targeted intervention strategies.

Unveiling the neural underpinnings of optimism: a systematic review

Optimism is a personality trait strongly associated with physical and psychological well-being, with correlates in nonhuman species. Optimistic individuals hold positive expectancies for their future, have better physical and psychological health, recover faster after heart disease and other ailments, and cope more effectively with stress and anxiety. We performed a systematic review of neuroimaging studies focusing on neural correlates of optimism. A search identified 14 papers eligible for inclusion. Two key brain areas were linked to optimism: the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), involved in imagining the future and processing of self-referential information; and the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), involved in response inhibition and processing relevant cues. ACC activity was positively correlated with trait optimism and with the probability estimations of future positive events. Behavioral measures of optimistic tendencies investigated through the belief update task correlated positively with IFG activity. Elucidating the neural underpinnings of optimism may inform both the development of prevention and treatment strategies for several mental disorders negatively associated with optimism, such as depression, as well as help to foster new resilience promotion interventions targeting healthy, vulnerable, and mentally ill individuals.

Trait self-control mediates the association between resting-state neural correlates and emotional well-being in late adolescence

Trait self-control (TSC), defined as the capacity to alter predominant response to promote desirable long-term goals, has been found to facilitate emotional well-being (EWB). However, the neural correlates underlying this association remain unclear. The present study estimated resting-state brain activity and connectivity with amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFFs) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) among late adolescents. Whole-brain correlation analysis showed that higher TSC was associated with increased ALFFs in regions within the executive control network (inferior frontal gyrus, IFG) and the salience network (anterior insula, AI) and decreased ALFF in regions (e.g. medial frontal gyrus, MFG; posterior cingulate, PC) within the default-mode network (DMN). TSC was also linked with the integration (e.g. increased IFG-PC connectivity) and segregation (e.g. decreased AI-MFG connectivity) among brain networks. Mediation analysis indicated that TSC totally mediated the links from the IFG and the precuneus, FC of the AI and regions of the DMN (e.g. bilateral PC and MFG), to EWB. Additionally, ALFF in the IFG and the MFG could predict negative affect in the pandemic through TSC. These findings suggest that TSC is involved in several regions and functional organizations within and between brain networks and mediated the association between neural correlates and emotional wellness in adolescence.

Brain state-based detection of attentional fluctuations and their modulation

In the search for brain markers of optimal attentional focus, the mainstream approach has been to first define attentional states based on behavioral performance, and to subsequently investigate "neural correlates" associated with these performance variations. However, this approach constrains the range of contexts in which attentional states can be operationalized by relying on overt behavior, and assumes a one-to-one correspondence between behavior and brain state. Here, we reversed the logic of these previous studies and sought to identify behaviorally-relevant brain states based solely on brain activity, agnostic to behavioral performance. In four independent datasets, we found that the same two brain states were dominant during a sustained attention task. One state was behaviorally optimal, with higher accuracy and stability, but a greater tendency to mind wander (State1). The second state was behaviorally suboptimal, with lower accuracy and instability (State2). We further demonstrate how these brain states were impacted by motivation and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Individuals with ADHD spent more time in suboptimal State2 and less time in optimal State1 than healthy controls. Motivation overcame the suboptimal behavior associated with State2. Our study provides compelling evidence for the existence of two attentional states from the sole viewpoint of brain activity.

Outcome Value and Task Aversiveness Impact Task Procrastination through Separate Neural Pathways

The temporal decision model of procrastination has proposed that outcome value and task aversiveness are two separate aspects accounting for procrastination. If true, the human brain is likely to implicate separate neural pathways to mediate the effect of outcome value and task aversiveness on procrastination. Outcome value is plausibly constructed via a hippocampus-based pathway because of the hippocampus's unique role in episodic prospection. In contrast, task aversiveness might be represented through an amygdala-involved pathway. In the current study, participants underwent fMRI scanning when viewing both tasks and future outcomes, without any experimental instruction imposed. The results revealed that outcome value increased activations in the caudate, and suppressed procrastination through a hippocampus-caudate pathway. In contrast, task aversiveness increased activations in the anterior insula, and increased procrastination via an amygdala-insula pathway. In sum, this study demonstrates that people can incorporate both outcome value and task aversiveness into task valuation to decide whether to procrastinate or not; and it elucidates the separate neural pathways via which this occurs.

Ventral-Dorsal Subregions in the Posterior Cingulate Cortex Represent Pay and Interest, Two Key Attributes of Job Value

Career choices affect not only our financial status but also our future well-being. When making these choices, individuals evaluate their willingness to obtain a job (i.e., job values), primarily driven by simulation of future pay and interest. Despite the importance of these decisions, their underlying neural mechanisms remain unclear. In this study, we examined the neural representation of pay and interest. Forty students were presented with 80 job names and asked to evaluate their job values while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Following fMRI, participants rated the jobs in terms of pay and interest. The fMRI data revealed that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) was associated with job value representation, and the ventral and dorsal regions of the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were associated with pay and interest representations, respectively. These findings suggest that the neural computations underlying job valuation conform to a multi-attribute decision-making framework, with overall value signals represented in the vmPFC and the attribute values (i.e., pay and interest) represented in specific regions outside the vmPFC, in the PCC. Furthermore, anatomically distinct representations of pay and interest in the PCC may reflect the differing roles of the two subregions in future simulations.

The role of self-reference and personal goals in the formation of memories of the future

Recent evidence suggests that some simulations of future events are encoded in memory and later recalled as "memories of the future," but the factors that determine the memorability of future simulations remain poorly understood. The current research aimed to test the hypothesis that imagined future events are better memorized when they are integrated in autobiographical knowledge structures. Across two experiments, we found that future events that involved the self were better recalled than future events that involved an acquaintance (Experiment 1), and that future events that were related to personal goals were better recalled than future events that were unrelated to goals (Experiment 2). Although self-reference and personal goals influenced the phenomenological characteristics of future simulations (e.g., their vividness and the clarity of event components), the enhanced recall of self-relevant and goal-relevant simulations was not simply due to these differences in the characteristics of simulations. Taken together, these findings suggest that the integration of simulated events with preexisting autobiographical knowledge is an important determinant of memories of the future.

Lesion network mapping demonstrates that mind-wandering is associated with the default mode network

Functional neuroimaging research has consistently associated brain structures within the default mode network (DMN) and frontoparietal network (FPN) with mind-wandering. Targeted lesion research has documented impairments in mind-wandering after damage to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and hippocampal regions associated with the DMN. However, no lesion studies to date have applied lesion network mapping to identify common networks associated with deficits in mind-wandering. In lesion network mapping, resting-state functional connectivity data from healthy participants are used to infer which brain regions are functionally connected to each lesion location from a sample with brain injury. In the current study, we conducted a lesion network mapping analysis to test the hypothesis that lesions affecting the DMN and FPN would be associated with diminished mind-wandering. We assessed mind-wandering frequency on the Imaginal Processes Inventory (IPI) in participants with brain injury (n = 29) and healthy comparison participants without brain injury (n = 19). Lesion network mapping analyses showed the strongest association of reduced mind-wandering with the left inferior parietal lobule within the DMN. In addition, traditional lesion symptom mapping results revealed that reduced mind-wandering was associated with lesions of the dorsal, ventral, and anterior sectors of mPFC, parietal lobule, and inferior frontal gyrus in the DMN (p < 0.05 uncorrected). These findings provide novel lesion support for the role of the DMN in mind-wandering and contribute to a burgeoning literature on the neural correlates of spontaneous cognition.