The ventromedial hypothalamus and aggressive behaviour in rats

Male rats were given bilateral lesions in either the anterior or posterior ventromedial hypothalamus (VMH). The intermale aggressive behaviour of these animals within their own territory was observed before and after the surgical procedure and compared with the behaviour of sham-operated animals. The effects of anterior VMH lesions include an increased tendency to respond with frontal threatening upon approach of a conspecific male. This behaviour closely resembles the aggressive responses described in “shock-induced aggression” tests. Posterior VMH lesions facilitate territorial aggressive behaviour characterized by approaching the opponent followed by lateral threatening and fighting. It is suggested that 2 distinct neural substrates exist, which serve to inhibit defensive (anterior-VMH) and offensive (posterior-VMH) intermale aggression, respectively.     

Emotional reactivity following surgery to the prefrontal cortex

We aimed to elicit emotion in patients with surgically circumscribed lesions of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) in order to elucidate the precise functional roles in emotion processing of the discrete subregions comprising the ventromedial PFC, including the medial PFC and orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Three components of emotional reactivity were measured: subjective experience, behaviour, and physiological response. These included measures of self‐reported emotion, observer‐rated facial expression of emotion and measurements of heart rate and heart rate variability (HRV) during film viewing, and a measure of subjective emotional change since surgery. Patients with lesions to the ventromedial PFC demonstrated significant differences compared with controls in HRV during the film clips, suggesting a shift to greater dominance of sympathetic input. In contrast, patients with lesions restricted to the OFC showed significant differences in HRV suggesting reduced sympathetic input. They also showed less facial expression of emotion during positive film clips, and reported more subjective emotional change since surgery compared with controls. This human lesion study is important for refining theoretical models of emotion processing by the ventromedial PFC, which until now have primarily been based on anatomical connectivity, animal lesion, and human functional neuroimaging research. Such theories have implications for the treatment of a wide variety of emotional disorders.     

Neural correlates of intertemporal choice in aggressive behavior

People often have to make decisions between immediate rewards and more long-term goals. Such intertemporal judgments are often investigated in the context of monetary choice or drug use, yet not in regard to aggressive behavior. We combined a novel intertemporal aggression paradigm with functional neuroimaging to examine the role of temporal delay in aggressive behavior and the neural correlates thereof. Sixty-one participants (aged 18–22 years; 37 females) exhibited substantial variability in the extent to which they selected immediate acts of lesser aggression versus delayed acts of greater aggression against a same-sex opponent. Choosing delayed-yet-more-severe aggression was increased by provocation and associated with greater self-control. Preferences for delayed aggression were associated with greater activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) during such choices, and reduced functional connectivity between the VMPFC and brain regions implicated in motor impulsivity. Preferences for immediate aggression were associated with reduced functional connectivity between the VMPFC and the frontoparietal control network. Dispositionally aggressive participants exhibited reduced VMPFC activity, which partially explained and suppressed their preferences for delayed aggression. Blunted VMPFC activity may thus be a neural mechanism that promotes reactive aggression towards provocateurs among dispositionally aggressive individuals. These findings demonstrate the utility of an intertemporal framework for investigating aggression and provide further evidence for the similar underlying neurobiology between aggression and other rewarding behaviors.     

Relationships between executive function,working memory,and decision-making on the Iowa Gambling Task: Evidence from ventromedial patients,dorsolateral patients,and normal subjects

The results of previous studies are inconsistent in regard to the relationship between the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), working-memory (WM), and executive tasks, and whether these cognitive processes could be considered as mechanisms underlying a decision-making deficit. Moreover, the relationship between the IGT and executive measures is examined based on a limited number of executive tasks, within different populations showing diffuse damage. In addition, there are fewer studies carried out within control participants, with those studies also being inconclusive. It is also suggested that the association of the IGT performance with executive tasks depends on whether the IGT was running under ambiguity or under risk. In this work, all of these issues are studied. Results showed that both patients with ventromedial (VMPFC, N = 10) and dorsolateral (DLPFC, N = 10) prefrontal cortex lesions are significantly impaired on almost all executive tasks, WM tasks, and the IGT. Furthermore, when the IGT is run under risk, there are significant correlations between executive measures and the IGT for the DLPFC patients and the control participants (N = 34) but not the VMPFC patients. No correlation was found between WM tasks and the IGT for both frontal subgroups and control participants. These findings suggested that the mechanisms underlying the IGT deficit differ according to the lesion locations.     

Can Constructive Thinking Predict Decision Making?

We assume that executive function constitutes an integrated set of cognitive processes that mediate working memory, planning, inhibition, flexibility, and decision making. Despite the acknowledged theoretical connection between executive function processes and emotional intelligence, such relationships have rarely been investigated. The purpose of this study was to examine the potential relationship between constructive thinking, conceived as a component of emotional intelligence, and executive function, as indexed by various existing neuropsychological and experimental instruments. We used the Constructive Thinking Inventory as a measure of emotional intelligence. We found that some constructive thinking subscales were able to predict distinct executive function variables. Emotional Coping, Categorical Thinking, and Esoteric Thinking subscales explained performance on various measures of executive function. Thus, we conclude that intervention programs designed to train a specific component of emotional intelligence, namely constructive thinking, could also facilitate performance in executive function processes, and vice versa. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

习得性无助是习得的吗？——对习得性无助理论及其反思的评述

Seligman和Maier（1967）在动物实验的基础上提出了著名的习得性无助理论,但在2016年,Maier和Seligman二人却联合发文对该理论进行了反思：从最新的神经生物学证据来看,习得性无助的经典理论概括存在基本错误,习得性无助并非习得而来！所谓“习得性”无助,实质上是动物对厌恶刺激长期作用的先天适应性反应,而非认知学习的结果。本文简要梳理习得性无助理论的起源与发展,深入分析这一反思的核心内容、依据及意义,对其中否定习得性无助理论概括的观点,从证据的充分性、研究范式的效度、规范概念等角度作了进行进一步的探讨,并结合新的实验范式对未来研究提出建议。     

腹内侧前额叶在内隐认知重评中的因果作用

情绪调节对维持个体心理健康、适应社会生活十分重要, 然而以往研究主要关注外显情绪调节, 目前我们对内隐情绪调节的认知神经机制的了解还非常有限。为揭示内隐情绪调节的核心脑区, 本研究使用句子整理任务启动内隐认知重评, 并采用经颅直流电刺激(transcranial direct current stimulation, tDCS)激活内侧前额叶特别是腹内侧前额叶(ventromedial prefrontal cortex, vmPFC), 考察该脑区在内隐情绪调节中的因果作用。结果表明, vmPFC被激活的被试组(实验组, n = 40)在内隐认知重评启动条件下比tDCS伪刺激组(对照组, n = 40), 在观看负性图片时报告了更少的负性情绪, 同时负性图片诱发的晚正成分(late positive potential, LPP)波幅更低(LPP是情绪体验强度的客观指标)。同时, 实验组比对照组在观看负性图片时表现出更低的枕区P1波幅(P1为早期视觉注意程度的客观指标)。以上结果说明, 激活以vmPFC为代表的内侧前额叶不但能增强内隐情绪调节的效果, 还能减少被试对负性刺激的早期注意分配。本研究是采用tDCS技术考察启动引起的内隐情绪调节的首次尝试, 研究结果不但表明了以vmPFC为代表的内侧前额叶在内隐认知重评中的关键作用, 还为临床应用研究指出了增强内隐情绪调节能力的神经调控潜在靶点。