Two is better than one : the effects of strategic cooperation on intra- and inter-brain connectivity by fNIRS

Inter-brain synchronization during joint actions is a core question in social neuroscience, and the differential contribution of intra- and inter-brain functional connectivity has yet to be clarified along with the role of psychological variables such as perceived self-efficacy. The cognitive performance and the neural activation underlying the execution of joint actions were recorded by functional Near-Infrared imaging during a synchronicity game. An 8-channel array of optodes was positioned over the frontal and prefrontal regions. During the task, the dyads received reinforcing feedback that was experimentally manipulated to induce adoption of common strategies. Intra- and inter-brain connectivity indices were computed along with an inter-brain/intra-brain connectivity index (ConIndex). Finally, correlation analyses were run to assess the relationship between behavioral and physiological levels. The results showed that the external feedback could modulate participant responses in both behavioral and neural components. After the reinforcing manipulation, there were faster response times and increased inter-brain connectivity, and ConIndex emerged primarily over the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Additionally, the presence of significant correlations between response times and inter-brain connectivity revealed that only the \u201ctwo-players connection\u201d may guarantee an efficient performance. The present study provides a significant contribution to the identification of intra- and inter-brain functional connectivity when social reinforcement is provided

Maintenance of parasympathetic inhibition following emotional induction in patients with restrictive type anorexia nervosa

This study aimed to explore changes in heart rate variability (HRV), a proxy for parasympathetic activity characterizing emotion regulation processes before, during and after negative emotional induction in patients suffering from restrictive type anorexia nervosa (AN-RT). We compared two methods of HRV analysis, the Fast Fourier Transform high frequency (FFT-HF) and a specific HRV high frequency analysis technique, namely, the wavelet transform HRV (WT-HRV). A sample of 16 inpatients with AN-RT was compared to 24 control participants. Heart rate (HR) was continuously recorded for 5 min before the beginning of the video until 5 min after the video. The participants answered questionnaires concerning their eating behaviors, mood disorders and difficulties in emotion regulation. During the entire procedure, the FFT-HF in patients was lower than that in controls. Using the WT-HRV, the patients did not differ from the controls at baseline, and only the controls showed a decrease during emotional induction. After the video, the WT-HRV in patients began to decrease during the first 2 min of emotional recovery although the WT-HRV in controls was already increased. These results highlighted the disturbances in the physiological dynamics of emotion regulation processes in patients with AN-RT

Emotional process through autobiographical memory

Self Defining Memories are higly significant autobiographical memories that contribute to the construct of identity. SDM are vivid, emotional and carry the values of the individuals. However, to the best of our knowledge, no study has evaluated psychophysiological changes that may be related to emotional processes in SDM. The aim of this study is to examine the emotional process involved during the evocation of SDM using neurovegetative indicators. We recorded both a marker of emotional activation of the sympathetic system (electrodermal activity) and an indicator of the parasympathetic system (Hight frequency of the Heart-rate variability) to charaterize the emotional processes. Results showed that, relatively to the control task, SDM retrieval resulted in an activation of sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system

Temperament and Character Inventory in Homicidal, Nonaddicted Paranoid Schizophrenic Patients: A Preliminary Study

International audienceThis study assessed the personalities of 13 murderer schizophrenics using Cloninger's Temperament and Character Inventory, controlling different factors such as institution, treatment, detention or loss of liberty, and can discriminate between schizophrenic patients involved in homicide, schizophrenics with no past violent behavior, paranoiac murderers, and imprisoned murderers with no psychiatric history. Results show significantly that murderer schizophrenics had significantly higher scores on the subscale, Self-transcendence, than other groups, which suggests that Self-transcendence as measured may be an aggravating factor for schizophrenia and may be found in the personality of schizophrenic subjects who performed homicidal acts. This dimension constitutes a way and an additional element for diagnosis not available with the DSM–IV criteria. It may help understanding and predicting violent behavior among schizophrenic patients

The boundaries of cooperation : sharing and coupling from ethology to neuroscience

Cooperation is usually described as a human tendency to act jointly that involves helping, sharing, and acting prosocially. Nonetheless clues of cooperative actions can be found also in non-humans animals, as described in the first section of the present work. Even if such behaviors have been conventionally attributed to the research of immediate benefits within the animal world, some recent experimental evidence highlighted that, in highly social species, the effects of cooperative actions on others' wellbeing may constitute a reward per se, thus suggesting that a strictly economic perspective can't exhaust the meaning of cooperative decisions in animals. Here we propose, in the second section, that a deeper explanation concerning cognitive and emotional abilities in both humans and animals should be taken into account. Finally, the last part of the paper will be devoted to the description of synchronization patterns in humans within complex neuroscientific experimental paradigms, such as hyperscanning

Tell about yourself to improve your autobiographical memory: A study of Korsakoff's syndrome

Korsakoff's syndrome (KS) has been associated with a difficulty to retrieve specific autobiographical memories. We investigated whether this difficulty can be alleviated after the retrieval of statements describing self-images. KS patients and control participants were recruited and asked to retrieve autobiographical memories after providing statements to the question ?Who am I?? and after a control condition consisting of verbal fluency. Analysis showed higher autobiographical specificity in the ?Who am I?? than in verbal fluency condition in both patients with KS and control participants. At a theoretical level, our findings demonstrate how retrieval of information related to conceptual self may influence autobiographical memory in KS. At a clinical level, our procedures are important as they demonstrate how a simple task (i.e., ?Who am I?? statements) may serve as a tool to cue specific autobiographical memories in patients with KS

Régulations endogène et exogène des émotions : des processus complémentaires et indissociables.

International audienceThis article appeared in a journal published by Elsevier. The attached copy is furnished to the author for internal non-commercial research and education use, including for instruction at the authors institution and sharing with colleagues. Other uses, including reproduction and distribution, or selling or licensing copies, or posting to personal, institutional or third party websites are prohibited. In most cases authors are permitted to post their version of the article (e.g. in Word or Tex form) to their personal website or institutional repository. Authors requiring further information regarding Elsevier's archiving and manuscript policies are encouraged to visit: http://www.elsevier.com/authorsrightsLes recherches actuelles concernant la régulation des émotions sontle plus souvent basées sur des modèles théoriques centrés sur lesprocessus cognitifs et comportementaux endogènes et prennentrarement en compte les processus de régulation exogène émispar l’entourage social. L’objectif de cet article est de montrer queces deux types de processus (endogènes et exogènes) sont pourtantcomplémentaires et indissociables. Nous avanc¸ ons d’aborddes arguments indiquant que la régulation endogène des émotionsrelève non seulement de processus intra-individuels, de processus interpersonnels trop rarement pris en compte.Nous présentons ensuite des travaux permettant d’affirmer queles états émotionnels du sujet font l’objet de différents processusde régulation exogène émis par les partenaires des interactionssociales. Il apparaît ainsi que les processus endogènes et exogènesmais égalementinteragissent et se complètent mutuellement pour favoriser à la foisl’adaptation aux situations émotionnelles et l’intégration au réseausocial

Heart rate variability analysis as an index of emotion regulation processes: Interest of the Analgesia Nociception Index (ANI).

Autonomic Nervous System (ANS) variations are strongly influence by emotion regulation processes. Indeed, emotional stimuli are at the origin of an activation of the ANS and the way an individual pass from a state of alert in the case of emotional situation to a state of calm is closely coupled with the ANS flexibility. We have previously described and developed an Analgesia Nociception Index (ANI) for real time pain measurement during surgical procedure under general anesthesia. This index, based on heart rate variability analysis, constitutes a measure of parasympathetic tone and can be used in several other environments. In this paper, we hypothesized that such an index could be used as a tool to investigate the processes of emotional regulation of a human subject. To test this hypothesis, we analyzed ANI's response to a negative emotional stimulus. This analysis showed that the index decreases during the emotion induction phase and returns to its baseline after 2 minutes. This result confirms that ANI could be a good indicator of parasympathetic changes in emotional situation

Profil psychologique et comportemental de vulnérabilité à la dépendance à l’exercice et au risque de pratiques dopantes chez les sportifs amateurs: l’exemple des semi-marathoniens

National audienceMost research on doping behaviors in sportsmen is relative to professionals. However, high-risk behaviors can also be observed in amateur sportsmen. Exercise dependence corresponds to an unsuitable practice of physical exercise which leads to complications characterized by a need to increase the amount of exercise significantly, the presence of tiredness or anxiety when discontinuing the exercise, the loss of control, the increase in the time spent in exercises, the restriction of other fields of activity and the maintenance of the exercise even with a recurring physical or mental problem (Veale, 1995). It appears that exercise dependent subjects have specific representations of physical activity (Davis et al. 1993, 1995). Our objective is to study the relationship between doping practices and behavioral dependence to physical exercise in amateur sportsmen. We hypothesize that high-risk doping amateur sportsmen have the following specific profile: A threshold of consumption of physical exercises, a particular representation of the sport, a restriction of the fields of activities apart from the sport.L’objectif de l’étude consistait à vérifier si le risque de pratiques dopantes est associé à un risque de dépendance à l’exercice chez le sportif amateur. Pour étudier les caractéristiques comportementales de sujets enclins à l’utilisation de produits dopants, nous avons observé les représentations et les comportements de 317 semi-marathoniens compétiteurs amateurs. Les résultats montrent que 11,7 % des individus se disent prêts à prendre des produits dopants sous contrôle médical. Ces individus présentent des caractéristiques spécifiques par rapport au reste du groupe : une représentation du sport fondée sur le dépassement de soi, une organisation de leur vie quotidienne centrée sur le sport et une difficulté à vivre l’abstinence marquée par un sentiment de dépression ou une irritabilité.En revanche, ces sportifs prêts à prendre des produits dopants ne sont pas ceux qui s’entraînent le plus, puisque 59,5 % ont une pratique modérée inférieure à cinq heures hebdomadaires. La quantité de sport pratiquée ne détermine pas directement le risque d’une pratique dopante chez le sportif adulte amateur. Les caractéristiques de ce groupe d’individus vulnérables correspondent à certaines spécificités des comportements de dépendance à l’exercice. Ainsi, un lien direct entre le profil d’une dépendance à l’exercice et un risque de pratique dopante semble exister