Neural correlates of maintaining one's political beliefs in the face of counterevidence

Aberrance in default mode and executive network activity underlie working memory deficits in addictive disorders: A preliminary, exploratory case-control study

BACKGROUND

Addiction can alter neural processes during rest and cognitive performance. Subjects with addictive disorders exhibit preoccupation and anticipation for the psychoactive substance when idle and cognitive deficits, during tasks.

METHODS

128 channel EEG was recorded in sixty subjects (30, with alcohol, opioid and internet addiction; 30 controls) during rest and while performing working memory task to ascertain underlying differences in cortical activity between the groups while at rest and during performance of the task. Artifactually clean data was then subjected to source analysis using sLORETA software in both the groups.

RESULTS

EEG cortical source analysis in subjects with addictive disorders showed significant activation of areas of Default Mode Network (DMN) and reduced activation in dorsolateral prefrontal cortices (DLPFC), an area known to be involved in executive function, during performance of task. However, control subjects demonstrated significantly reduced activation in areas of DMN; and increased activation of DLPFC during task performance.

CONCLUSION

Inability to suppress DMN inhibits reallocation of neural resources to areas of executive functioning leading to working memory deficits in subjects with addictive disorder.

The truth is in there: Belief processes in the human brain

Belief, defined by William James as the mental state or function of cognizing reality, is a core psychological function with strong influence on emotion and behavior. Furthermore, strong and aberrant beliefs about the world and oneself play important roles in mental disorders. The underlying processes of belief have been the matter of a long debate in philosophy and psychology, and modern neuroimaging techniques can provide insight into the underlying neural processes. Here, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with N = 30 healthy participants in which we presented statements about facts, politics, religion, conspiracy theories, and superstition. Participants judged whether they considered them as true (belief) or not (disbelief) and reported their certainty in the decision. We found belief-associated activations in bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, left superior parietal cortex, and left lateral frontopolar cortex. Disbelief-associated activations were found in an anterior temporal cluster extending into the amygdala. We found a larger deactivation for disbelief than belief in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex that was most pronounced during decisions, suggesting a role of the vmPFC in belief-related decision-making. As a category-specific effect, we found disbelief-associated activation in retrosplenial cortex and parahippocampal gyrus for conspiracy theory statements. Exploratory analyses identified networks centered at anterior cingulate cortex for certainty, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex for uncertainty. The uncertainty effect identifies a neural substrate for Alexander Bain's notion from 1859 of uncertainty as the real opposite of belief. Taken together, our results suggest a two-factor neural process model of belief with falsehood/veracity and uncertainty/certainty factors.

Neural Mechanisms of Resting-State Networks and the Amygdala Underlying the Cognitive and Emotional Effects of Psilocybin

BACKGROUND

Serotonergic psychedelics, such as psilocybin, alter perceptual and cognitive systems that are functionally integrated with the amygdala. These changes can alter cognition and emotions that are hypothesized to contribute to their therapeutic utility. However, the neural mechanisms of cognitive and subcortical systems altered by psychedelics are not well understood.

METHODS

We used resting-state functional magnetic resonance images collected during a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled clinical trial of 24 healthy adults under 0.2 mg/kg psilocybin to estimate the directed (i.e., effective) changes between the amygdala and 3 large-scale resting-state networks involved in cognition. These networks are the default mode network, the salience network, and the central executive network.

RESULTS

We found a pattern of decreased top-down effective connectivity from these resting-state networks to the amygdala. Effective connectivity decreased within the default mode network and salience network but increased within the central executive network. These changes in effective connectivity were statistically associated with behavioral measures of altered cognition and emotion under the influence of psilocybin.

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings suggest that temporary amygdala signal attenuation is associated with mechanistic changes to resting-state network connectivity. These changes are significant for altered cognition and perception and suggest targets for research investigating the efficacy of psychedelic therapy for internalizing psychiatric disorders. More broadly, our study suggests the value of quantifying the brain's hierarchical organization using effective connectivity to identify important mechanisms for basic cognitive function and how they are integrated to give rise to subjective experiences.

Overcoming resistance to belief revision and correction of misinformation beliefs: psychophysiological and behavioral effects of a counterfactual mindset

In a series of experiments involving beliefs and misinformation beliefs, we find that individuals who are prompted with a counterfactual mindset are significantly more likely to change their existing beliefs when presented with evidence that contradicts their beliefs. While research finds that beliefs that are considered part of one's identity are highly resistant to change in the face of evidence that challenges these beliefs, four experiments provide evidence that counterfactual generation causes individuals to adjust beliefs and correct misinformation beliefs in response to contradicting evidence. Indeed, we find that a counterfactual mindset was effective in promoting incorporation of accurate facts and causing individuals to revise misinformation beliefs about COVID vaccination safety for a large sample of individuals who have rejected COVID vaccinations. Finally, the results of the psychophysiological experiment reveal that counterfactual generation alters decision makers' search strategies, increases their cognitive arousal in response to evidence that challenges their beliefs, and increases their desire to seek out disconfirming evidence. Overall, the four experiments indicate that counterfactual generation can effectively activate mindsets that increase individuals' willingness to evaluate evidence that contradicts their beliefs and adjust their beliefs in response to evidence.

Thinking about Believing: Can Metacognitive Reflection Encourage Belief Updating?

People often cling to their beliefs even in the face of counterevidence. The current study explored metacognitive reflection as a potential driver for belief updating. In a randomized controlled experiment (n = 155), participants rated their degree of agreement with a statement regarding genetic modification in humans. Following this, participants were presented with a passage containing an argument counter to their indicated belief. Participants in the metacognition condition were asked to deeply reflect on the ways in which the passage was similar to or different from their current beliefs. Participants in the control condition were asked to engage in more shallow reflection on the composition of the passage. After reflecting on the counterevidence, participants were asked to again rate their agreement with the statement regarding human gene modification. Both groups updated their initial beliefs to be more consistent with the presented counterevidence. Although greater belief updating was observed in those who metacognitively reflected on the passage, this effect did not reach significance (p = .055). These findings suggest that reflecting on counterevidence has the potential to encourage belief updating, regardless of whether that reflection is metacognitive in nature, and provide promise for future work investigating the role of metacognition in belief updating.

A polymetric approach for measuring brain activity and behavior: Considerations for gait, gaze and fNIRS measurements in a 10-m walking of elderly and young adults

BACKGROUND

The actual changes in biological and physiological parameters during walking are little understood in multiple aspects.

OBJECTIVE

The objective of this paper was to examine and link the disparate measures of motor, vision, and brain activity for elderly and young adults.

METHOD

The participants were 15 elderly adults and 10 young adults. Accelerometry, eye tracking, and prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity in the functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) were used to evaluate the participants in a 10-m walking test.

RESULT

The results for the elderly adults were 1) low variabilities of velocity and acceleration along the front-back and up-down axes, 2) a wider gaze range on the right-left axis than the young adults, 3) a high mean PFC activity, and 4) a larger number of high-relation pairs than the young adults for the correlation coefficients of both gait vs. gaze and gait vs. PFC activity. The variabilities of velocity and acceleration, gaze and PFC activity changes for the young adults were selective.

CONCLUSION

Measuring 10-m walking in a polymetric approach may capture some indicators related to physical and cognitive difficulties such as frailty and dementia.

Neurocomputational mechanisms of biased impression formation in lonely individuals

Social impressions are fundamental in our daily interactions with other people but forming accurate impressions of our social partners can be biased to different extents. Loneliness has previously been suggested to induce biases that hinder the formation of accurate impressions of others for successful social bonding. Here, we demonstrated that despite counterfactual evidence, negative first impressions bias information weighting, leading to less favorable trustworthiness beliefs. Lonely individuals did not only have more negative expectations of others' social behavior, but they also manifested a stronger weighting bias. Reduced orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) activity was associated with a stronger weighting bias in lonelier individuals and mediated the relationship between loneliness and this weighting bias. Importantly, stronger coupling between OFC and temporoparietal junction compensated for such effects, promoting more positive trustworthiness beliefs especially in lonelier individuals. These findings bear potential for future basic and clinical investigations on social cognition and the development of clinical symptoms linked to loneliness.

Using lickometry to infer differential contributions of salience network regions during compulsion-like alcohol drinking

Alcohol use disorder extracts substantial personal, social and clinical costs, and continued intake despite negative consequences (compulsion-like consumption) can contribute strongly. Here we discuss lickometry, a simple method where lick times are determined across a session, while analysis across many aspects of licking can offer important insights into underlying psychological and action strategies, including their brain mechanisms. We first describe studies implicating anterior insula (AIC) and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dMPF) in compulsion-like responding for alcohol, then review work suggesting that AIC/ventral frontal cortex versus dMPF regulate different aspects of behavior (oral control and overall response strategy, versus moment-to-moment action organization). We then detail our lickometer work comparing alcohol-only drinking (AOD) and compulsion-like drinking under moderate- or higher-challenge (ModChD or HiChD, using quinine-alcohol). Many studies have suggested utilization of one of two main strategies, with higher motivation indicated by more bouts, and greater palatability suggested by longer, faster bouts. Instead, ModChD shows decreased variability in many lick measures, which is unexpected but consistent with the suggested importance of automaticity for addiction. Also surprising is that HiChD retains several behavior changes seen with ModChD, reduced tongue variability and earlier bout start, even though intake is otherwise disrupted. Since AIC-related measures are retained under both moderate- and higher-challenge, we propose a novel hypothesis that AIC sustains overall commitment regardless of challenge level, while disordered licking during HiChD mirrors the effects of dMPF inhibition. Thus, while AIC provides overall drive despite challenge, the ability to act is ultimately determined within the dMPF.

Moral reframing of messages about mask-wearing during the COVID-19 pandemic

When communicating about political issues, messages targeted to resonate with the core values of the receiver may be effective, an approach known as moral reframing. During the COVID-19 pandemic, we tested the relationships between moral values and mask-wearing in a sample (N = 540) of self-identified liberals, conservatives, and moderates in the United States. Anti-mask attitudes were stronger in conservatives, and were associated with increased concerns for in-group loyalty, national identity, and personal liberty. We then crafted messages about the benefits of mask-wearing framed to resonate with these moral concerns, and in a pre-registered study of N = 597 self-identified U.S. conservatives, tested the effect of moral reframing on anti-mask attitudes and behaviors. Messages framed in terms of loyalty, with appeals to the protection of the community and America, were effective in reducing anti-mask beliefs, compared with unrelated control messages and messages delivering purely scientific information, and these changes in belief persisted for at least 1 week. Exploratory analyses showed that participants who saw loyalty-framed messages reported wearing masks in public more frequently in the subsequent week. This study provides evidence that framing messages about health behaviors in terms of group loyalty may be one productive way of communicating with conservative audiences.

A neurophysiological approach to the distinction between motor and cognitive skills: a functional magnetic resonance imaging study

This study investigated the neurophysiological differences underpinning motor and cognitive skills by measuring the brain activity via functional magnetic resonance imaging. Twenty-five healthy adults (11 women, 25.8 ± 3.5 years of age) participated in the study. We developed three types of tasks, namely, simple motor task (SMT), complex motor task (CMT), and cognitive task (CT), using two-dimensional images of Gomoku, a traditional game known as five in a row. When shown the stimulus, participants were instructed to identify the best spot to win the game and to perform motor imagery of placing the stone for the SMT and CMT but not for the CT. Accordingly, we found significant activation from the CMT minus SMT contrast in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, posterior parietal cortex, precentral gyrus, and superior frontal cortex, which reflected increased visuospatial attention, working memory, and motor planning. From the CT minus SMT contrast, we observed significant activation in the left caudate nucleus, right medial prefrontal cortex, and right primary somatosensory cortex, responsible for visuospatial working memory, error detection, and cognitive imagery, respectively. The present findings indicate that adopting a conventional classification of cognitive and motor tasks focused on the extent of decision making and motor control involved in task performance might not be ideal.

Shared neural representations and temporal segmentation of political content predict ideological similarity

Despite receiving the same sensory input, opposing partisans often interpret political content in disparate ways. Jointly analyzing controlled and naturalistic functional magnetic resonance imaging data, we uncover the neurobiological mechanisms explaining how these divergent political viewpoints arise. Individuals who share an ideology have more similar neural representations of political words, experience greater neural synchrony during naturalistic political content, and temporally segment real-world information into the same meaningful units. In the striatum and amygdala, increasing intersubject similarity in neural representations of political concepts during a word reading task predicts enhanced synchronization of blood oxygen level-dependent time courses when viewing real-time, inflammatory political videos, revealing that polarization can arise from differences in the brain's affective valuations of political concepts. Together, this research shows that political ideology is shaped by semantic representations of political concepts processed in an environment free of any polarizing agenda and that these representations bias how real-world political information is construed into a polarized perspective.

Altered frontoparietal activity in acoustic startle priming tasks during reticulospinal tract facilitation: An fNIRS study

Background

Because it is one of the important pathways for promoting motor recovery after cortical injury, the function of the reticulospinal tract (RST) has received increasing attention in recent years. However, the central regulatory mechanism of RST facilitation and reduction of apparent response time is not well understood.

Objectives

To explore the potential role of RST facilitation in the acoustic startle priming (ASP) paradigm and observe the cortical changes induced by ASP reaching tasks.

Methods

Twenty healthy participants were included in this study. The reaching tasks were performed with their left and right hands. Participants were instructed to get ready after the warning cue and complete the reach as soon as they heard the Go cue. Half of the testing trials were set as control trials with an 80-dB Go cue. The other half of the trials had the Go cue replaced with 114-dB white noise to evoke the StartleReact effect, inducing reticulospinal tract facilitation. The response of the bilateral sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCM) and the anterior deltoid was recorded via surface electromyography. Startle trials were labeled as exhibiting a positive or negative StartleReact effect, according to whether the SCM was activated early (30-130 ms after the Go cue) or late, respectively. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to synchronously record the oxyhemoglobin and deoxyhemoglobin fluctuations in bilateral motor-related cortical regions. The β values representing cortical responses were estimated via the statistical parametric mapping technique and included in the final analyses.

Results

Separate analyses of data from movements of the left or right side revealed significant activation of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during RST facilitation. Moreover, left frontopolar cortex activation was greater in positive startle trials than in control or negative startle trials during left-side movements. Furthermore, decreased activity of the ipsilateral primary motor cortex in positive startle trials during ASP reaching tasks was observed.

Conclusion

The right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the frontoparietal network to which it belongs may be the regulatory center for the StartleReact effect and RST facilitation. In addition, the ascending reticular activating system may be involved. The decreased activity of the ipsilateral primary motor cortex suggests enhanced inhibition of the non-moving side during the ASP reaching task. These findings provide further insight into the SE and into RST facilitation.

Spatiotemporal and sensory modality attention processing with domain-specific representations in frontoparietal areas

The frontoparietal network (FPN), including bilateral frontal eye field, inferior parietal sulcus, and supplementary motor area, has been linked to attention processing, including spatiotemporal and sensory modality domains. However, it is unclear whether FPN encodes representations of these domains that are generalizable across subdomains. We decomposed multivariate patterns of functional magnetic resonance imaging activity from 20 participants into domain-specific components and identified latent multivariate representations that generalized across subdomains. The 30 experimental conditions were organized into unimodal-bimodal and spatial-temporal models. We found that brain areas in the FPN, form the primary network that modulated during attention across domains. However, the activation patterns of areas within the FPN were reorganized according to the specific attentional demand, especially when pay attention to different sensory, suggesting distinct regional neural representations associated with specific attentional processes within FPN. In addition, there were also other domain-specific areas outside the FPN, such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Our conclusion is that, according to the results of the analysis of representation similarity, 2 types of activated brain regions, related to attention domain detailed information processing and general information processing, can be revealed.

Emergency Braking Evoked Brain Activities during Distracted Driving

Electroencephalogram (EEG) was used to analyze the mechanisms and differences in brain neural activity of drivers in visual, auditory, and cognitive distracted vs. normal driving emergency braking conditions. A pedestrian intrusion emergency braking stimulus module and three distraction subtasks were designed in a simulated experiment, and 30 subjects participated in the study. The common activated brain regions during emergency braking in different distracted driving states included the inferior temporal gyrus, associated with visual information processing and attention; the left dorsolateral superior frontal gyrus, related to cognitive decision-making; and the postcentral gyrus, supplementary motor area, and paracentral lobule associated with motor control and coordination. When performing emergency braking under different driving distraction states, the brain regions were activated in accordance with the need to process the specific distraction task. Furthermore, the extent and degree of activation of cognitive function-related prefrontal regions increased accordingly with the increasing task complexity. All distractions caused a lag in emergency braking reaction time, with 107.22, 67.15, and 126.38 ms for visual, auditory, and cognitive distractions, respectively. Auditory distraction had the least effect and cognitive distraction the greatest effect on the lag.

Unified epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic taxonomy of Alzheimer's disease progression and heterogeneity

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is a heterogeneous disorder with abnormalities in multiple biological domains. In an advanced machine learning analysis of postmortem brain and in vivo blood multi-omics molecular data (N = 1863), we integrated epigenomic, transcriptomic, proteomic, and metabolomic profiles into a multilevel biological AD taxonomy. We obtained a personalized multilevel molecular index of AD dementia progression that predicts severity of neuropathologies, and identified three robust molecular-based subtypes that explain much of the pathologic and clinical heterogeneity of AD. These subtypes present distinct patterns of alteration in DNA methylation, RNA, proteins, and metabolites, identifiable in the brain and subsequently in blood. In addition, the genetic variations that predispose to the various AD subtypes in brain predict distinct spatial patterns of alteration in cell types, suggesting a unique influence of each putative AD variant on neuropathological mechanisms. These observations support that an individually tailored multi-omics molecular taxonomy of AD may represent distinct targets for preventive or treatment interventions.

Neural Mechanisms and Psychology of Psychedelic Ego Dissolution

Neuroimaging studies of psychedelics have advanced our understanding of hierarchical brain organization and the mechanisms underlying their subjective and therapeutic effects. The primary mechanism of action of classic psychedelics is binding to serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors. Agonist activity at these receptors leads to neuromodulatory changes in synaptic efficacy that can have a profound effect on hierarchical message-passing in the brain. Here, we review the cognitive and neuroimaging evidence for the effects of psychedelics: in particular, their influence on selfhood and subject-object boundaries-known as ego dissolution-surmised to underwrite their subjective and therapeutic effects. Agonism of 5-HT2A receptors, located at the apex of the cortical hierarchy, may have a particularly powerful effect on sentience and consciousness. These effects can endure well after the pharmacological half-life, suggesting that psychedelics may have effects on neural plasticity that may play a role in their therapeutic efficacy. Psychologically, this may be accompanied by a disarming of ego resistance that increases the repertoire of perceptual hypotheses and affords alternate pathways for thought and behavior, including those that undergird selfhood. We consider the interaction between serotonergic neuromodulation and sentience through the lens of hierarchical predictive coding, which speaks to the value of psychedelics in understanding how we make sense of the world and specific predictions about effective connectivity in cortical hierarchies that can be tested using functional neuroimaging. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Classic psychedelics bind to serotonergic 5-HT2A receptors. Their agonist activity at these receptors leads to neuromodulatory changes in synaptic efficacy, resulting in a profound effect on information processing in the brain. Here, we synthesize an abundance of brain imaging research with pharmacological and psychological interpretations informed by the framework of predictive coding. Moreover, predictive coding is suggested to offer more sophisticated interpretations of neuroimaging findings by bridging the role between the 5-HT2A receptors and large-scale brain networks.

The impact of childhood trauma on thalamic functional connectivity in patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder

BACKGROUND

Childhood trauma is a vulnerability factor for the development of obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD). Empirical findings suggest that trauma-related alterations in brain networks, especially in thalamus-related regions, have been observed in OCD patients. However, the relationship between childhood trauma and thalamic connectivity in patients with OCD remains unclear. The present study aimed to examine the impact of childhood trauma on thalamic functional connectivity in OCD patients.

METHODS

Magnetic resonance imaging resting-state scans were acquired in 79 patients with OCD, including 22 patients with a high level of childhood trauma (OCD_HCT), 57 patients with a low level of childhood trauma (OCD_LCT) and 47 healthy controls. Seven thalamic subdivisions were chosen as regions of interest (ROIs) to examine the group difference in thalamic ROIs and whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC).

RESULTS

We found significantly decreased caudate-thalamic rsFC in OCD patients as a whole group and also in OCD_LCT patients, compared with healthy controls. However, OCD_HCT patients exhibited increased thalamic rsFC with the prefrontal cortex when compared with both OCD_LCT patients and healthy controls.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, OCD patients with high and low levels of childhood trauma exhibit different pathological alterations in thalamic rsFC, suggesting that childhood trauma may be a predisposing factor for some OCD patients.

Debiasing System 1: Training favours logical over stereotypical intuiting

Whereas people’s reasoning is often biased by intuitive stereotypical associations, recent debiasing studies suggest that performance can be boosted by short training interventions that stress the underlying problem logic. The nature of this training effect remains unclear. Does training help participants correct erroneous stereotypical intuitions through deliberation? Or does it help them develop correct intuitions? We addressed this issue in four studies with base-rate neglect and conjunction fallacy problems. We used a two-response paradigm in which participants first gave an initial intuitive response, under time pressure and cognitive load, and then gave a final response after deliberation. Studies 1A and 2A showed that training boosted performance and did so as early as the intuitive stage. After training, most participants solved the problems correctly from the outset and no longer needed to correct an initial incorrect answer through deliberation. Studies 1B and 2B indicated that this sound intuiting persisted over at least two months. The findings confirm that a short training can debias reasoning at an intuitive “System 1” stage and get reasoners to favour logical over stereotypical intuitions.

Cultural differences in neurocognitive mechanisms underlying believing

Believing as a fundamental mental process influences other cognitive/affective processes and behavior. However, it is unclear whether believing engages distinct neurocognitive mechanisms in people with different cultural experiences. We addressed this issue by scanning Chinese and Danish adults using functional MRI during believing judgments on personality traits of oneself and a celebrity. Drift diffusion model analyses of behavioral performances revealed that speed/quality of information acquisition varied between believing judgments on positive and negative personality traits in Chinese but not in Danes. Chinese adopted a more conservative strategy of decision-making during celebrity- than self-believing judgments whereas an opposite pattern was observed in Danes. Non-decisional processes were longer for celebrity- than for self-believing in Danes but not in Chinese. Believing judgments activated the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) in both cultural groups but elicited stronger left anterior insular and ventral frontal activations in Chinese. Greater mPFC activity in Chinese was associated with longer duration of non-decision processes during believing-judgments, which predicted slower retrieval of self-related information in a memory test. Greater mPFC activity in Danes, however, was associated with a less degree of adopting a conservative strategy during believing judgments, which predicted faster retrieval of self-related information. Our findings highlight different neurocognitive processes engaged in believing between individuals from East Asian and Western cultures.

Structural Connectivity of Subthalamic Nucleus Stimulation for Improving Freezing of Gait

BACKGROUND

Freezing of gait (FOG) is among the most common and disabling symptoms of Parkinson's disease (PD). Studies show that deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the subthalamic nucleus (STN) can reduce FOG severity. However, there is uncertainty about pathways that need to be modulated to improve FOG.

OBJECTIVE

To investigate whether STN-DBS effectively reduces FOG postoperatively and whether structural connectivity of the stimulated tissue explains variance of outcomes.

METHODS

We investigated 47 patients with PD and preoperative FOG. Freezing prevalence and severity was primarily assessed using the Freezing of Gait Questionnaire (FOG-Q). In a subset of 18 patients, provoked FOG during a standardized walking course was assessed. Using a publicly available model of basal-ganglia pathways we determined stimulation-dependent connectivity associated with postoperative changes in FOG. A region-of-interest analysis to a priori defined mesencephalic regions was performed using a disease-specific normative connectome.

RESULTS

Freezing of gait significantly improved six months postoperatively, marked by reduced frequency and duration of freezing episodes. Optimal stimulation volumes for improving FOG structurally connected to motor areas, the prefrontal cortex and to the globus pallidus. Stimulation of the lenticular fasciculus was associated with worsening of FOG. This connectivity profile was robust in a leave-one-out cross-validation. Subcortically, stimulation of fibers crossing the pedunculopontine nucleus and the substantia nigra correlated with postoperative improvement.

CONCLUSION

STN-DBS can alleviate FOG severity by modulating specific pathways structurally connected to prefrontal and motor cortices. More differentiated FOG assessments may allow to differentiate pathways for specific FOG subtypes in the future.

Mindfulness-based cognitive therapy combined with repetitive transracial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) on information processing and working memory of patients with multiple sclerosis

Background

MS is a demyelinating disease that can result in significant disability. Along with physical complications, this disease is associated with significant psychological complications, including cognitive decline. Therefore, this study aimed to determine the efficacy of mindfulness-based cognitive therapy in combination with rTMS on information processing and working memory in patients with MS.

Methods

The current study used a single-case experimental design and included a follow-up (A-B-A). The statistical population of the present study was all MS patients in Tehran who referred to Imam Khomeini Hospital in Tehran in 2020. The present study sample consisted of 5 MS patients selected by the sampling methods available. Subjects were assessed three times before, during, and after the intervention using the Zahlen-Verbindongs and n-back tests in the two-back position. Subjects received cognitive therapy based on mindfulness and rTMS at a frequency of 10 Hz. Visual and graphical recovery percentage and effect size methods were used to analyze the data.

Results

The current study's findings indicate that combining mindfulness with rTMS has a beneficial effect on the information processing and working memory of MS patients. Overall, 67.24% recovered following the intervention stage, 53.64% recovered following the follow-up for information processing, 104.04% recovered following the intervention stage, and 76.98% recovered following the follow-up for working memory.

Conclusion

The study shows the effect of mindfulness combined with rTMS on cognitive problems in MS patients. Significant improvements in MS patients' information processing, working memory, and therapeutic outcomes were observed throughout the follow-up period.

It Doesn’t Apply to Me, So It Isn’t Real: People Are Likely to Deny Science if It Contradicts Their Personality

When science contradicts people’s experiences, they often deny the science. Psychological science may be particularly prone to denialism because of its relatively high relevance to people’s lives. In two sets of studies ( N = 637 from university students and Mechanical Turk workers), we tested whether perceived and actual incongruence between one’s personality and scientific findings predict psychological discomfort and science denialism. Participants rated the incongruence (subjective incongruence) between their own personality responses and science, as well as their comfort and denial of the science. Those who experienced more subjective incongruence experienced greater discomfort and reported more science denialism. Those whose personality characteristics were objectively incongruent with the science also experienced greater subjective incongruence (all studies), discomfort (Studies 1A, 1B, and 1C), and science denialism (Studies 1A, 1C, and 2B) compared with those with congruent characteristics. Implications regarding denialism of psychological science, and science more broadly, are discussed.

Modeling the emergence of affective polarization in the social media society

Rising political polarization in recent decades has hampered and gridlocked policymaking, as well as weakened trust in democratic institutions. These developments have been linked to the idea that new media technology fosters extreme views and political conflict by facilitating self-segregation into "echo chambers" where opinions are isolated and reinforced. This opinion-centered picture has recently been challenged by an emerging political science literature on "affective polarization", which suggests that current polarization is better understood as driven by partisanship emerging as a strong social identity. Through this lens, politics has become a question of competing social groups rather than differences in policy position. Contrary to the opinion-centered view, this identity-centered perspective has not been subject to dynamical formal modeling, which generally permits hypotheses about micro-level explanations for macro-level phenomena to be systematically tested and explored. We here propose a formal model that links new information technology to affective polarization via social psychological mechanisms of social identity. Our results suggest that new information technology catalyzes affective polarization by lowering search and interaction costs, which shifts the balance between centrifugal and centripetal forces of social identity. We find that the macro-dynamics of social identity is characterized by two stable regimes on the societal level: one fluid regime, in which identities are weak and social connections heterogeneous, and one solid regime in which identities are strong and groups homogeneous. We also find evidence of hysteresis, meaning that a transition into a fragmented state is not readily reversed by again increasing those costs. This suggests that, due to systemic feedback effects, if polarization passes certain tipping points, we may experience run-away political polarization that is highly difficult to reverse.

Motivated Reasoning in an Explore-Exploit Task

The current research investigates how prior preferences affect causal learning. Participants were tasked with repeatedly choosing policies (e.g., increase vs. decrease border security funding) in order to maximize the economic output of an imaginary country and inferred the influence of the policies on the economy. The task was challenging and ambiguous, allowing participants to interpret the relations between the policies and the economy in multiple ways. In three studies, we found evidence of motivated reasoning despite financial incentives for accuracy. For example, participants who believed that border security funding should be increased were more likely to conclude that increasing border security funding actually caused a better economy in the task. In Study 2, we hypothesized that having neutral preferences (e.g., preferring neither increased nor decreased spending on border security) would lead to more accurate assessments overall, compared to having a strong initial preference; however, we did not find evidence for such an effect. In Study 3, we tested whether providing participants with possible functional forms of the policies (e.g., the policy takes some time to work or initially has a negative influence but eventually a positive influence) would lead to a smaller influence of motivated reasoning but found little evidence for this effect. This research advances the field of causal learning by studying the role of prior preferences, and in doing so, integrates the fields of causal learning and motivated reasoning using a novel explore-exploit task.

Still striding toward social justice? Redirecting physical activity research in a post-COVID-19 world

The COVID-19 crisis and parallel Black Lives Matter movement have amplified longstanding systemic injustices among people of color (POC). POC have been differentially affected by COVID-19, reflecting the disproportionate burden of ongoing chronic health challenges associated with socioeconomic inequalities and unhealthy behaviors, including a lack of physical activity. Clear and well-established benefits link daily physical activity to health and well-being—physical, mental, and existential. Despite these benefits, POC face additional barriers to participation. Thus, increasing physical activity among POC requires additional considerations so that POC can receive the same opportunities to safely participate in physical activity as Americans who are White. Framed within the Ecologic Model of Physical Activity, this commentary briefly describes health disparities in COVID-19, physical activity, and chronic disease experienced by POC; outlines underlying putative mechanisms that connect these disparities; and offers potential solutions to reduce these disparities. As behavioral medicine leaders, we advocate that solutions must redirect the focus of behavioral research toward community-informed and systems solutions.

The functional connectivity between the prefrontal cortex and supplementary motor area moderates the relationship between internet gaming disorder and loneliness

BACKGROUND

Individuals with internet gaming disorder (IGD) usually report a higher sense of loneliness. Although studies have suggested a key role of the prefrontal cortex-based resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) in both IGD and loneliness, the potential mechanism between IGD and loneliness remains unclear.

METHODS

Fifty-seven IGD and 81 matched recreational internet gamer users (RGU) underwent resting-state fMRI scans. The UCLA loneliness scale was used to measure loneliness. We first explored the brain areas that are both associated with loneliness and IGD severity. Then, the neuroimaging findings were extracted to test whether the rsFC of these brain regions moderates the relationship between IGD and loneliness.

RESULTS

We observed reduced rsFC between the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the left precentral and the postcentral gyri and the supplementary motor area (SMA), which also correlated with increased IAT (Young''s internet addiction test) scores. More importantly, the rsFC of the DLPFC-precentral gyrus and the DLPFC-postcentral gyrus moderated the relationship between IGD severity and loneliness scores. Additionally, we also found that the rsFC of the left DLPFC-precentral gyrus, the DLPFC-postcentral gyrus and the right DLPFC-SMA moderated the relationship between self-reported gaming craving and the UCLA scores.

CONCLUSIONS

The current study confirmed the role of the DLPFC in reward control (game craving) and emotion regulation (loneliness). Additionally, the rsFC of the prefrontal cortex-supplementary motor area moderates IGD and loneliness. These findings provide valuable understanding of the two-way relationship between IGD and loneliness.

Toward a neuropsychology of political orientation: exploring ideology in patients with frontal and midbrain lesions

How do people form their political beliefs? In an effort to address this question, we adopt a neuropsychological approach. In a natural experiment, we explored links between neuroanatomy and ideological preferences in two samples of brain lesion patients in New York City. Specifically, we compared the political orientations of patients with frontal lobe lesions, patients with amygdala lesions and healthy control subjects. Lesion type classification analyses revealed that people with frontal lesions held more conservative (or less liberal) beliefs than those with anterior temporal lobe lesions or no lesions. Additional analyses predicting ideology by extent of damage provided convergent evidence that greater damage in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex-but not the amygdala-was associated with greater conservatism. These findings were robust to model specifications that adjusted for demographic, mood, and affect-related variables. Although measures of executive function failed to mediate the relationship between frontal lesions and ideology, our findings suggest that the prefrontal cortex may play a role in promoting the development of liberal ideology. Our approach suggests useful directions for future work to address the issue of whether biological developments precede political attitudes or vice versa-or both. This article is part of the theme issue 'The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms'.

Confirmation bias is adaptive when coupled with efficient metacognition

Biases in the consideration of evidence can reduce the chances of consensus between people with different viewpoints. While such altered information processing typically leads to detrimental performance in laboratory tasks, the ubiquitous nature of confirmation bias makes it unlikely that selective information processing is universally harmful. Here, we suggest that confirmation bias is adaptive to the extent that agents have good metacognition, allowing them to downweight contradictory information when correct but still able to seek new information when they realize they are wrong. Using simulation-based modelling, we explore how the adaptiveness of holding a confirmation bias depends on such metacognitive insight. We find that the behavioural consequences of selective information processing are systematically affected by agents' introspective abilities. Strikingly, we find that selective information processing can even improve decision-making when compared with unbiased evidence accumulation, as long as it is accompanied by good metacognition. These results further suggest that interventions which boost people's metacognition might be efficient in alleviating the negative effects of selective information processing on issues such as political polarization.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.

Trust in information, political identity and the brain: an interdisciplinary fMRI study

Misinformation has triggered government inquiries and threatens the perceived legitimacy of campaign processes and electoral outcomes. A new identity polarization has arisen between Remain and Leave sympathizers in the UK Brexit debate, with associated accusations of misinformation use. Competing psychological accounts of how people come to accept and defend misinformation pit self-reinforcing motivated cognition against lack of systematic reasoning as possible explanations. We harness insights from political science, cognitive neuroscience and psychology to examine the impact of trust and identity on information processing regarding Brexit in a group of Remain identifiers. Behaviourally, participants' affective responses to Brexit-related information are affected by whether the emotional valence of the message is compatible with their beliefs on Brexit (positive/negative) but not by their trust in the source of information. However, belief in the information is significantly affected by both (dis)trust in information source and by belief compatibility with the valence of the information. Neuroimaging results confirm this pattern, identifying areas involved in judgements of the self, others and automatic processing of affectively threatening stimuli, ultimately supporting motivated cognition accounts of misinformation endorsement.

This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.

Let’s do better: public representations of COVID-19 science

COVID science is being both done and circulated at a furious pace. While it is inspiring to see the research community responding so vigorously to the pandemic crisis, all this activity has also created a churning sea of bad data, conflicting results, and exaggerated headlines. With representations of science becoming increasingly polarized, twisted, and hyped, there is growing concern that the relevant science is being represented to the public in a manner that may cause confusion, inappropriate expectations, and the erosion of public trust. Here we explore some of the key issues associated with the representations of science in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. Many of these issues are not new. But the COVID-19 pandemic has placed a spotlight on the biomedical research process and amplified the adverse ramifications of poor public communication. We need to do better. As such, we conclude with 10 recommendations aimed at key actors involved in the communication of COVID-19 science, including government, funders, universities, publishers, media, and the research communities.

Parcellation of the thalamus by using a dual-segment method based on resting-state functional connectivity: An application on autism spectrum disorder

BACKGROUND

Evidence suggests thalamus is a key "information relay" center and all cortical areas receive inputs from the thalamus and each of the main nuclei of thalamus connects a single one or a few cortical areas. The traditional "winner-takes-all" thalamus parcellation method was then proposed based on this assumption. However, this method is based on the structural segments of the cortex which is not suitable for the functional parcellation of the thalamus.

METHOD

Here we proposed a dual-segment method for thalamus functional parcellation based on the resting-state fMRI data. The traditional "winner-takes-all" and the proposed dual-segment methods were both applied to the dataset of 76 healthy controls (HCs) and 34 subjects with autism spectrum disorder.

RESULTS

The results showed that the thalamus was subdivided into two sub-regions by using the dual-segment method: one is located in the dorsomedial part of thalamus which connects the high-level cognitive cortical regions; the other is located in the ventrolateral part of thalamus which connects the low-level sensory cortical areas. The functional connectivity strength between thalamus sub-regions and the corresponding cortical regions based on the dual-segment method was higher than that of results from the traditional "winner-takes-all" method. The thalamo-cortical functional connectivity based on our proposed method also showed higher classification ability to distinguish subjects with autism spectrum disorder from HCs.

CONCLUSION

Our study will provide a new method for functional thalamus parcellation which might help understand the sub-regions functions of thalamus in neuroscience studies.

Brain structural and functional differences between pure menstrual migraine and menstrually-related migraine

The pathophysiological differences between menstrually-related migraine (MRM) and pure menstrual migraine (PMM) are largely unclear. The aim of this study was to investigate the potential differences in brain structure and function between PMM and MRM. Forty-eight menstrual migraine patients (32 MRM; 16 PMM) were recruited for this study. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) was applied on structural magnetic resonance imaging (sMRI), and the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) in resting state functional MRI (rsfMRI) were calculated. No significant between-group difference was observed in the grey matter volume (GMV). MRM patients exhibited lower ALFF values at the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) than PMM patients. Moreover, the MRM group showed significantly higher ReHo values in the DLPFC. Higher values in the mPFC were related to higher expression of calcitonin gene-associated peptide (CGRP) in the PMM group (r = 0.5, P = 0.048). Combined ALFF and ReHo analyses revealed significantly different spontaneous neural activity in the DLPFC and mPFC, between MRM and PMM patients, and ALFF values in the mPFC were positively correlated with CGRP expression, in the PMM group. This study enhances our understanding of the relationship between neural abnormalities and CGRP expression in individuals with PMM.

The passing of western civilization

Modern western civilization reached a pinnacle in the last half of the 20^th century, spending over 200 years evolving and spreading throughout the world. A robust social contract, technological advancement and pervasive economic success in the context of democracy and capitalism propelled the project. Unfortunately, two underlying pillars of past success developed intensifying negative consequences, hastening socioeconomic decline: insatiable collective wants and global population growth. The rise and decline of civilizations in history is well documented, yet oddly ignored in today's dialogue. Contemporary civilization is assumed to be immune from forces that shaped cycles of past civilizations-that our age is somehow an exception. For the first time in human history planetary systems that seemed invisible until recently are sending us the message that our civilization is not exceptional, that there are finite limits to the thrust of humanity's present trajectory. Viable solutions curbing the effects of habitat destruction, diminishing biodiversity and climate change along with rising inequality, debt, conflict and refugee flows are known but unimplementable. The current essay examines underlying causes of socioeconomic deterioration and entrapment, suggesting a comprehensive collective intelligence enterprise be launched to prepare for the global transition facing humanity.

The Association Between Amygdala Subfield-Related Functional Connectivity and Stigma Reduction 12 Months After Social Contacts: A Functional Neuroimaging Study in a Subgroup of a Randomized Controlled Trial

Social contact is one of the best methods for reducing stigma, and the effect may be associated with emotional response and social cognition. The amygdala is a key region of these functions and can be divided into three subregions, each of which has a different function and connectivity. We investigated whether the amygdala subregion-related functional connectivity is associated with the effect of anti-stigma interventions on reducing mental health-related stigma in a randomized controlled trial (RCT) over 12 months. Healthy young adults [n = 77, age, mean (SD) = 21.23 (0.94) years; male, n = 48], who were subsampled from an RCT (n = 259) investigating the effect of anti-stigma interventions, using filmed social contacts (FSC) or internet self-learning (INS), on reducing stigma, underwent 10 min resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging between the trial registration and 12 months follow-up. The extent of stigma was assessed at the baseline, post-intervention and 12 month follow-up surveys, using the Japanese-language version of the Social Distance Scale (SDSJ), to assess negative emotional attitude toward people with schizophrenia. We compared associations between amygdala subregion-related functional connectivity and changes in the SDSJ scores for 12 months across the control, INS, and FSC groups. Associations between the change in stigma for 12 months and the superficial (SF) subregion of the amygdala-related connectivity in the intracalcarine cortex [(x, y, z) = (−8, −66, 12), z = 4.21, P_{FWE–corrected} = 0.0003, cluster size = 192] differed across groups. The post hoc analysis showed that the SF–intracalcarine cortex connectivity was negatively correlated with the change in stigma only in the FSC group. The current results indicate that greater SF–intracalcarine cortex connectivity is associated with a better response to the FSC interventions, suggesting that biological variability could underlie the long-term effect of anti-stigma interventions on stigma in the real world.

MicroRNAs Modulate the Pathogenesis of Alzheimer's Disease: An In Silico Analysis in the Human Brain

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small RNAs involved in the post-transcriptional regulation of their target genes, causing a decrease in protein translation from the mRNA. Different miRNAs are found in the nervous system, where they are involved in its physiological functions, but altered miRNAs expression was also reported in neurodegenerative disorders, including Alzheimer's disease (AD). AD is characterized by memory loss, cognitive function abnormalities, and various neuropsychiatric disturbances. AD hallmarks are amyloid β (Aβ) aggregates, called senile plaques, and neurofibrillary tangles (NFTs) formed by hyperphosphorylated Tau protein. In this study, we performed an in silico analysis to evaluate altered patterns of miRNAs expression in the brains of AD patients compared to healthy subjects. We found 12 miRNAs that were differentially expressed in AD compared to healthy individuals. These miRNAs have target genes involved in AD pathogenesis. In particular, some miRNAs influence Aβ production, having as target secretase and amyloid precursor protein (APP). Some miRNAs were reported to be involved in nervous system functions, and their alteration can cause neuronal dysfunction.

The social function of rationalization: An identity perspective

In this commentary, we offer an additional function of rationalization. Namely, in certain social contexts, the proximal and ultimate function of beliefs and desires is social inclusion. In such contexts, rationalization often facilitates distortion of rather than approximation to truth. Understanding the role of social identity is not only timely and important, but also critical to fully understand the function(s) of rationalization.

Abnormal functional connectivity of habenula in untreated patients with first-episode major depressive disorder

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with abnormalities in emotional/cognitive processing and low reward sensitivity. The habenula has a pivotal role in these processes that may contribute to depression. However, there has been little research on the abnormal connectivity between the habenula and whole brain of first-onset MDD. We aimed to explore the differences of functional connectivity between patients and healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging. We used seed-based resting-state fMRI to examine functional connectivity between the habenula and whole-brain in 49 first-episode depressive patients and 25 healthy controls. Compared to controls, patients with MDD demonstrated significant increases in functional connectivity between the habenula and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC). Furthermore, the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve proved that connectivity between the habenula and dlPFC was highly predictive. Additionally, there was a positive correlation between Hamilton Rating Scale for Depression (HAMD) score and functional connectivity between the habenula and right dlPFC. We found that the aberrant functional connectivity to the habenula and dlPFC can distinguish MDD patients from the normal.

Neural representations of honesty predict future trust behavior

Theoretical accounts propose honesty as a central determinant of trustworthiness impressions and trusting behavior. However, behavioral and neural evidence on the relationships between honesty and trust is missing. Here, combining a novel paradigm that successfully induces trustworthiness impressions with functional MRI and multivariate analyses, we demonstrate that honesty-based trustworthiness is represented in the posterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and intraparietal sulcus. Crucially, brain signals in these regions predict individual trust in a subsequent social interaction with the same partner. Honesty recruited the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC), and stronger functional connectivity between the VMPFC and temporoparietal junction during honesty encoding was associated with higher trust in the subsequent interaction. These results suggest that honesty signals in the VMPFC are integrated into trustworthiness beliefs to inform present and future social behaviors. These findings improve our understanding of the neural representations of an individual’s social character that guide behaviors during interpersonal interactions.

We tend to be more trusting of people who we know to be honest. Here, the authors show using fMRI that honesty-based trustworthiness is represented in the posterior cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and intraparietal sulcus, and predicts subsequent trust decisions.

Metacognitive Failure as a Feature of Those Holding Radical Beliefs

Widening polarization about political, religious, and scientific issues threatens open societies, leading to entrenchment of beliefs, reduced mutual understanding, and a pervasive negativity surrounding the very idea of consensus [1, 2]. Such radicalization has been linked to systematic differences in the certainty with which people adhere to particular beliefs [3, 4, 5, 6]. However, the drivers of unjustified certainty in radicals are rarely considered from the perspective of models of metacognition, and it remains unknown whether radicals show alterations in confidence bias (a tendency to publicly espouse higher confidence), metacognitive sensitivity (insight into the correctness of one’s beliefs), or both [7]. Within two independent general population samples (n = 381 and n = 417), here we show that individuals holding radical beliefs (as measured by questionnaires about political attitudes) display a specific impairment in metacognitive sensitivity about low-level perceptual discrimination judgments. Specifically, more radical participants displayed less insight into the correctness of their choices and reduced updating of their confidence when presented with post-decision evidence. Our use of a simple perceptual decision task enables us to rule out effects of previous knowledge, task performance, and motivational factors underpinning differences in metacognition. Instead, our findings highlight a generic resistance to recognizing and revising incorrect beliefs as a potential driver of radicalization.

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Metacognition refers to the ability to reflect on our cognitive processes

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We investigated metacognitive features of radicalism in a low-level perceptual task

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Radical participants showed less insight into the accuracy of their decisions

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Radicals showed smaller confidence shifts in response to disconfirmatory evidence

The mad leading the blind: Perceptions of the vaccine-refusal movement among Australians who support vaccination

BACKGROUND

Vaccine refusal is shaped by the social ecology in which it occurs. How people who refuse vaccines are communicated to and treated may affect the nature and strength of their negative vaccine beliefs, and their responsiveness to health promotion messages. Yet little is known about how people who refuse vaccines are perceived by the public. Our research examined perceptions among pro-vaccine Australians of the vaccine-refusal movement.

METHODS

Descriptions of the vaccine-refusal movement by 2666 pro-vaccine Australians were analysed using thematic discourse analysis. Descriptive themes were identified via inductive, iterative coding. Discourse analysis techniques were then used to interpret latent beliefs about the vaccine-refusal movement.

RESULTS

Participants had negative and stigmatising perceptions of the vaccine-refusal movement. They believed the movement is dangerous, misinformed, and comprised of charlatans and fools who are unintelligent, selfish, overly emotional, conspiratorial and scientifically illiterate. Discursive analysis showed that these perceptions were underpinned by beliefs that people would have to be defective in some way to believe anti-vaccine rhetoric. Furthermore, perceptions were underpinned by beliefs that the movement spreads not only disease, but also dangerous ideas that were seen to attack the social order, institutions, values and reason. Participants' intensely-negative views related to their inability to imagine why someone would refuse vaccines.

CONCLUSIONS

This research provides a focused, qualitative account of public perceptions of the vaccine-refusal movement. The findings are concerning: stigma towards vaccine-refusing people may adversely affect their wellbeing and entrench their negative vaccine beliefs. The research suggests that more compassionate, nuanced discussion of vaccine refusal in the public sphere is needed. It also supports the need to systematically examine public attitudes towards vaccine refusal as a determinant of vaccine confidence.

Patients with Lesions to Left Prefrontal Cortex (BA 9 and BA 10) Have Less Entrenched Beliefs and Are More Skeptical Reasoners

The effect of prior beliefs on reasoning and decision-making is a robust, poorly understood phenomenon, exhibiting considerable individual variation. Neuroimaging studies widely show the involvement of the left pFC in reasoning involving beliefs. However, little patient data exist to speak to the necessity and role of the left pFC in belief-based inference. To address this shortcoming, we tested 102 patients with unilateral focal penetrating traumatic brain injuries and 49 matched controls. Participants provided plausibility ratings (plausible/implausible) to simple inductive arguments and (separately) strength of believability ratings of the conclusion to those same arguments. A voxel-based lesion symptom mapping analysis identified 10 patients, all with lesions to the left pFC (BA 9 and BA 10) as rating significantly fewer arguments with highly believable conclusions as "plausible," compared with all other patients. Subsequent analyses, incorporating the right hemisphere homologue of these patients (n = 12) and normal controls (n = 24), revealed patients with lesions to left pFC found fewer arguments plausible in the high believable than either of these groups, and there was no difference in the behavioral scores of the right pFC patients and normal controls. Further analysis, utilizing the belief ratings as the dependent measure, revealed a Group × Belief Rating interaction, with left pFC patients having less intense beliefs about the conclusions of moderately believable and highly believable arguments. We interpreted these results to indicate that lesions to left pFC (BA 9, BA 10) increase incredulity and make these patients more skeptical reasoners. The former can partially, but not fully, explain the latter. The other relevant factor may be that unilateral left pFC lesions disrupt hemispheric equilibrium and allow for an increased inhibitory role of the right pFC. We speculate that individual differences in belief bias in reasoning in the normal population may be a function of individual differences in the left and right pFC interactional dynamics.

Dual-process theory, conflict processing, and delusional belief

Many reasoning biases that may contribute to delusion formation and/or maintenance are common in healthy individuals. Research indicating that reasoning in the general population proceeds via analytic processes (which depend upon working memory and support hypothetical thought) and intuitive processes (which are autonomous and independent of working memory) may therefore help uncover the source of these biases. Consistent with this possibility, recent studies imply that impaired conflict processing might reduce engagement in analytic reasoning, thereby producing reasoning biases and promoting delusions in individuals with schizophrenia. Progress toward understanding this potential pathway to delusions is currently impeded by ambiguity about whether any of these deficits or biases is necessary or sufficient for the formation and maintenance of delusions. Resolving this ambiguity requires consideration of whether particular cognitive deficits or biases in this putative pathway have causal primacy over other processes that may also participate in the causation of delusions. Accordingly, the present manuscript critically evaluates whether impaired conflict processing is the primary initiating deficit in the generation of reasoning biases that may promote the development and/or maintenance of delusions. Suggestions for future research that may elucidate mechanistic pathways by which reasoning deficits might engender and maintain delusions are subsequently offered.

Looking up to virtue: averting gaze facilitates moral construals via posteromedial activations

Witnessing exemplary actions triggers admiration, a positive emotion that can pertain to concrete skills, or move the onlooker beyond physical characteristics to appreciate the abstract, moral implications. Participants reacted to narratives depicting skilled or virtuous protagonists first during a videotaped interview then during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We analyzed participants’ gaze aversion (an indicator of disengaging from the immediate environment) and cognitive construals (mentions of concrete characteristics vs abstract beliefs and values) during the interview, and relations to individuals’ subsequent neural activations. When participants averted their gaze, they were more likely to mention abstract construals, and both behaviors were more likely when reacting to virtue. Gaze aversion to virtue narratives predicted greater subsequent activation for those narratives in dorsal posterior cingulate cortex (dPCC), involved in visual attention control. The inferior-posterior posteromedial cortices (ipPMC), a default mode network hub involved in abstract thought, activated only to virtue, and activity level reflected individuals’ tendency to abstract construals. Critically, dPCC and ipPMC activity sequentially mediated the relationship between individuals’ gaze and abstract construal tendencies. No such relationships existed for reactions to skill, despite participants reporting equivalently strong positive emotion. In appreciating virtue, dPCC may support individuals in transcending the viewable context, facilitating ipPMC activity and moral construals.