Multimodal imaging investigation of structural rich club alterations in Alzheimer's disease and mild cognitive impairment: Amyloid deposition, structural atrophy, and functional activation differences.

Alzheimer's disease (AD) is characterized by significant cerebral dysfunction, including increased amyloid deposition, gray matter atrophy, and changes in brain function. The involvement of highly connected network hubs, known as the "rich club," in the pathology of the disease remains inconclusive despite previous research efforts. In this study, we aimed to systematically assess the link between the rich club and AD using a multimodal neuroimaging approach.

Robots facilitate human language production.

Despite recent developments in integrating autonomous and human-like robots into many aspects of everyday life, social interactions with robots are still a challenge. Here, we focus on a central tool for social interaction: verbal communication. We assess the extent to which humans co-represent (simulate and predict) a robot's verbal actions.

Error-Related Brain Activity in Patients With Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder and Unaffected First-Degree Relatives: Evidence for Protective Patterns.

Background: Indicators of increased error monitoring are associated with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD), as shown in electroencephalography and functional magnetic resonance imaging studies. As most studies used strictly controlled samples (excluding comorbidity and medication), it remains open whether these findings extend to naturalistic settings. Thus, we assessed error-related brain activity in a large, naturalistic OCD sample.

Bringing Together Robotics, Neuroscience, and Psychology: Lessons Learned From an Interdisciplinary Project.

The diversified methodology and expertise of interdisciplinary research teams provide the opportunity to overcome the limited perspectives of individual disciplines. This is particularly true at the interface of Robotics, Neuroscience, and Psychology as the three fields have quite different perspectives and approaches to offer. Nonetheless, aligning backgrounds and interdisciplinary expectations can present challenges due to varied research cultures and practices.

Effect of odor pleasantness on heat-induced pain: An fMRI study.

Odor modulates the experience of pain, but the neural basis of how the two sensory modalities, olfaction and pain, are linked in the central nervous system is far from clear. In this study, we investigated the mechanisms by which the brain modulates the pain experience under concurrent odorant stimulation. We conducted an fMRI study using a 2 × 3 factorial design, in which one of two temperatures (warm, hot) and one of three types of odors (pleasant, unpleasant, no odor) were presented simultaneously.

Meta-analytic evidence for a joint neural mechanism underlying response inhibition and state anger.

Although anger may weaken response inhibition (RI) by allowing outbursts to bypass deliberate processing, it is equally likely that RI deficits precipitate a state of anger (SA). In adolescents, for instance, anger occurs more frequently and often leads to escalating aggressive behaviors. Even though RI is considered a key component in explaining individual differences in SA expression, the neural overlap between SA and RI remains elusive.

Neural correlates of depression in women across the reproductive lifespan - An fMRI review.

Introduction: Depressive disorders in women emerge largely during transitions in their reproductive aging cycle, which can be attributed to internal endocrine possesses that affect emotion-associated brain circuits. A review was performed to outline the neural basis in depression during female puberty, premenstrual dysphoric disorder (PMDD), postpartum depression disorder (PPD) and perimenopausal depression disorder.

Methods: For this review, Web of science, Pubmed and PsychInfo databases were searched for functional brain imaging studies addressing reproductive cycle-related mood disorder.

Impulsive aggression and response inhibition in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and disruptive behavioral disorders: Findings from a systematic review.

Background: Although impulsive aggression (IA) and dysfunctional response inhibition (RI) are hallmarks of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and disrupted behavioral disorders (DBDs), little is known about their shared and distinct deviant neural mechanisms.

Aims And Methods: Here, we selectively reviewed s/fMRI ADHD and DBD studies to identify disorder-specific and shared IA and RI aberrant neural mechanisms.

Results: In ADHD, deviant prefrontal and cingulate functional activity was associated with increased IA.

Peripheral Oxytocin Predicts Higher-Level Social Cognition in Men Regardless of Empathy Quotient.

Introduction: Pharmaceutical oxytocin (OT) administration is being tested as a novel treatment for social deficits in various psychiatric populations. However, little is known about how naturally occurring variation in peripheral OT relates to differences in social cognition. This study investigates whether healthy individuals with very high or very low levels of empathy differ in endogenous OT and whether OT plasma levels can predict performance in a mentalizing task.

Addicted to love: What is love addiction and when should it be treated?

Recent research suggests that romantic love can be literally addictive. Although the exact nature of the relationship between love and addiction has been described in inconsistent terms throughout the literature, we offer a framework that distinguishes between a and a of love addiction. The narrow view counts only the most extreme, harmful forms of love or love-related behaviors as being potentially addictive in nature.

Follow your nose: Implicit spatial processing within the chemosensory systems.

Although most studies agree that humans cannot smell in stereo, it was recently suggested that olfactory localization is possible when assessed implicitly. In a spatial cueing paradigm, lateralized olfactory cues impaired the detection of congruently presented visual targets, an effect contrary to the typical facilitation observed in other sensory domains. Here, we examined the specificity and the robustness of this finding by studying implicit localization abilities in another chemosensory system and by accounting for possible confounds in a modified paradigm.

Chemosensory anxiety cues enhance the perception of fearful faces - An fMRI study.

Recent evidence suggests that humans can communicate emotion via chemosensory signals. Olfactory cues signaling anxiety can bias the perception of ambiguous stimuli, but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms of this effect are currently unknown. Here, we investigated the brain responses to subtle changes in facial expressions in response to anxiety chemosensory cues.

Chemosensory anxiety cues moderate the experience of social exclusion - an fMRI investigation with Cyberball.

Recent evidence suggests that the experience of stress can be communicated between individuals via chemosensory cues. Little is known, however, about the impact of these cues on neurophysiological responses during a socially threatening situation. In the current investigation we implemented a widely used paradigm to study social exclusion-Cyberball-to examine whether chemosensory cues signaling anxiety modulate the neuronal effects of ostracism.

If I could just stop loving you: anti-love biotechnology and the ethics of a chemical breakup.

"Love hurts"-as the saying goes-and a certain amount of pain and difficulty in intimate relationships is unavoidable. Sometimes it may even be beneficial, since adversity can lead to personal growth, self-discovery, and a range of other components of a life well-lived. But other times, love can be downright dangerous.

Enhanced dimension-specific visual working memory in grapheme-color synesthesia.

There is emerging evidence that the encoding of visual information and the maintenance of this information in a temporarily accessible state in working memory rely on the same neural mechanisms. A consequence of this overlap is that atypical forms of perception should influence working memory. We examined this by investigating whether having grapheme-color synesthesia, a condition characterized by the involuntary experience of color photisms when reading or representing graphemes, would confer benefits on working memory.

Could intranasal oxytocin be used to enhance relationships? Research imperatives, clinical policy, and ethical considerations.

Purpose Of Review: Well-functioning romantic relationships are important for long-term health and well being, but they are often difficult to sustain. This difficulty arises (in part) because of an underlying tension between our psychobiological natures, culture/environment, and modern love and relationship goals. One possible solution to this predicament is to intervene at the level of psychobiology, enhancing partners' interpersonal connection through neurochemical modulation.