Empathy, defending, and functional connectivity while witnessing social exclusion.

Peers are present for most bullying episodes. Peers who witness bullying can play an important role in either stopping or perpetuating the behavior. Defending can greatly benefit victimized peers.

Functional connectivity across social inclusion and exclusion is related to peer victimization and depressive symptoms in young adults.

Background: Peer victimization is associated with increased risk for depression, as well as increased neural response to social exclusion in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and the amygdala. Altered functional connectivity (FxC) of fronto-limbic circuitry is associated with risk for various affective disorders. The present study examined the relationship between fronto-limbic FxC during social exclusion, prior peer victimization experience and depressive symptoms.

Unique brain regions involved in positive versus negative emotional modulation of pain.

Background and aims Research has shown that negative emotions increase perceived pain whereas positive emotions reduce pain. Here we aim to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying this phenomenon. Methods While undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging of the brain, 20 healthy adult females were presented with negative, neutral, and positive emotion-evoking visual stimuli in combination with the presentation of a noxious thermal stimulus to the hand.

Generating facial expressions of disgust activates neurons in the thoracic spinal cord: a spinal fMRI study.

Facial expressions of disgust, which involve movement of the levator labii muscles on the nose, allow an organism to restrict the intake of potentially aversive stimuli by constricting the air cavities in the nostrils and reducing the speed of air intake. In the current research, we used fMRI of the thoracic spinal cord to measure neural activity related to (1) the contraction of the intercostal muscles that modulate the velocity of air intake and (2) the sensory feedback associated with this contraction. Thirteen participants completed two spinal fMRI runs in which the thoracic segments of the spinal cord were measured.

A neural correlate of visceral emotional responses: evidence from fMRI of the thoracic spinal cord.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) of thoracic spinal cord neurons was used to examine the neural correlates of visceral emotional responses. Participants completed four spinal fMRI runs involving passive viewing (i.e.

Limb-specific emotional modulation of cervical spinal cord neurons.

Emotional stimuli receive prioritized attentional and motoric processing in the brain. Recent data have indicated that emotional stimuli enhance activity in the cervical spinal cord as well. In the present study, we used fMRI to investigate the specificity of this emotion-dependent spinal cord activity.

Functional MRI of the thoracic spinal cord during vibration sensation.

Purpose: To demonstrate that it is possible to acquire accurate functional magnetic resonance images from thoracic spinal cord neurons.

Materials And Methods: The lower thoracic spinal dermatomes (T7-T11) on the right side of the body were mechanically stimulated by vibration for 15 participants. Neuronal responses to vibration sensation were measured in the thoracic spinal cord using a HASTE sequence on a 3 Tesla MRI system.

The effects of valence and arousal on the emotional modulation of time perception: evidence for multiple stages of processing.

Previous research has demonstrated that both emotional valence and arousal can influence the subjective experience of time. The current research extends this work by (1) identifying how quickly this emotional modulation of time perception can occur and (2) examining whether valence and arousal have different effects at different stages of perception. These questions were addressed using a temporal bisection task.