A neural predictor of cultural popularity

We use neuroimaging to predict cultural popularity — something that is popular in the broadest sense and appeals to a large number of individuals. Neuroeconomic research suggests that activity in reward-related regions of the brain, notably the orbitofrontal cortex and ventral striatum, is predictive of future purchasing decisions, but it is unknown whether the neural signals of a small group of individuals are predictive of the purchasing decisions of the population at large. For neuroimaging to be useful as a measure of widespread popularity, these neural responses would have to generalize to a much larger population that is not the direct subject of the brain imaging itself. Here, we test the possibility of using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to predict the relative popularity of a common good: music. We used fMRI to measure the brain responses of a relatively small group of adolescents while listening to songs of largely unknown artists. As a measure of popularity, the sales of these songs were totaled for the three years following scanning, and brain responses were then correlated with these “future” earnings. Although subjective likability of the songs was not predictive of sales, activity within the ventral striatum was significantly correlated with the number of units sold. These results suggest that the neural responses to goods are not only predictive of purchase decisions for those individuals actually scanned, but such responses generalize to the population at large and may be used to predict cultural popularity.     

Spezifische psychoanalytische Interventionen

It is held that specific ingredients are responsible for the effectiveness of various psychotherapies and it is supposed that for this reason particular therapeutic approaches are more efficient than others. First, this article presents Bruce E. Wampold’s research on psychotherapeutic efficacy, which gives evidence that psychotherapies efficiency is due to general, not to specific factors. It is shown that in the end the common factors like alliance, compliance, empathy and the fact, that therapists generally make best use of their personality, are interpersonal factors. The impact of these empirical results on psychotherapy, on theory and practice is described in the light of two metatheories, the “medical modell”and the “contextual model”. The author delineates some consequences, for instance that in psychotherapeutic practice the diagnosis-based indication for therapy has to be replaced by fitting-indication. Regarding outcome research, the randomized goldstandard research design has to be replaced by a fitting indication concerning therapist /patient and patient/paticular treatment. Further it is shown that although specific ingredients in a strict sense are not active, therapists have to realize that they are nessessary even if active only as a component of the healing context. How specific ingredients might be realized within a healing context is shown with regard to the adaptive approach to psychoanalysis.     

Intertemporal choice--toward an integrative framework

Intertemporal choices are decisions with consequences that play out over time. These choices range from the prosaic--how much food to eat at a meal--to life-changing decisions about education, marriage, fertility, health behaviors and savings. Intertemporal preferences also affect policy debates about long-run challenges, such as global warming. Historically, it was assumed that delayed rewards were discounted at a constant rate over time. Recent theoretical and empirical advances from economic, psychological and neuroscience perspectives, however, have revealed a more complex account of how individuals make intertemporal decisions. We review and integrate these advances. We emphasize three different, occasionally competing, mechanisms that are implemented in the brain: representation, anticipation and self-control.     

Neurobehavioral evidence for individual differences in canine cognitive control: an awake fMRI study

Based on behavioral evidence, the domestic dog has emerged as a promising comparative model of human self-control. However, while research on human inhibition has probed heterogeneity and neuropathology through an integration of neural and behavioral evidence, there are no parallel data exploring the brain mechanisms involved in canine inhibition. Here, using a combination of cognitive testing and awake neuroimaging in domestic dogs, we provide evidence precisely localizing frontal brain regions underpinning response inhibition in this species and demonstrate the dynamic relationship between these regions and behavioral measures of control. Thirteen dogs took part in an in-scanner go/no-go task and an out-of-scanner A-not-B test. A frontal brain region was identified showing elevated neural activity for all subjects during successful inhibition in the scanner, and dogs showing greater mean brain activation in this region produced fewer false alarms. Better performance in the go/no-go task was also correlated with fewer errors in the out-of-scanner A-not-B test, suggesting that dogs show consistent neurobehavioral individual differences in cognitive control, as is seen in humans. These findings help establish parity between human and canine mechanisms of self-control and pave the way for future comparative studies examining their function and dysfunction.     

2D or not 2D? An fMRI study of how dogs visually process objects

Animal Cognition - Given humans’ habitual use of screens, they rarely consider potential differences when viewing two-dimensional (2D) stimuli and real-world versions of dimensional stimuli....     

Psychotherapieausbildung im Licht empirischer Psychotherapieforschung

Research in psychotherapy has by now provided ample proof that the variety of treatments are of uniform efficacy. Also, it is well proven that psychotherapy essentially depends on the therapist and the therapeutic relationship, but not on specific technical procedures applied by the therapist. It is shown that these empirical findings do not support a metatheoretical medical model, but a contextual model. Implications of these findings for teaching psychotherapy are presented, concerning its three main areas: self-experience, treatment with supervision and theoretical training.     

Something funny happened to reward

The human reward system has been shown to be activated by a wide range of reinforcers, including food, money, sex, drugs, and beauty. Now, a recent fMRI study has found mesolimbic reward activation associated with humorous cartoons, providing a neurobiological link between theories of humour and hedonic processes in the brain.