79 research outputs found
Meta-analysis of neural systems underlying placebo analgesia from individual participant fMRI data
The brain systems underlying placebo analgesia are insufficiently understood. Here we performed a systematic, participant-level meta-analysis of experimental functional neuroimaging studies of evoked pain under stimulus-intensity-matched placebo and control conditions, encompassing 603 healthy participants from 20 (out of 28 eligible) studies. We find that placebo vs. control treatments induce small, widespread reductions in pain-related activity, particularly in regions belonging to ventral attention (including mid-insula) and somatomotor networks (including posterior insula). Behavioral placebo analgesia correlates with reduced pain-related activity in these networks and the thalamus, habenula, mid-cingulate, and supplementary motor area. Placebo-associated activity increases occur mainly in frontoparietal regions, with high between-study heterogeneity. We conclude that placebo treatments affect pain-related activity in multiple brain areas, which may reflect changes in nociception and/or other affective and decision-making processes surrounding pain. Between-study heterogeneity suggests that placebo analgesia is a multi-faceted phenomenon involving multiple cerebral mechanisms that differ across studies
Meta-analysis of neural systems underlying placebo analgesia from individual participant fMRI data
The brain systems underlying placebo analgesia are insufficiently understood. Here we performed a systematic, participant-level meta-analysis of experimental functional neuroimaging studies of evoked pain under stimulus-intensity-matched placebo and control conditions, encompassing 603 healthy participants from 20 (out of 28 eligible) studies. We find that placebo vs. control treatments induce small, widespread reductions in pain-related activity, particularly in regions belonging to ventral attention (including mid-insula) and somatomotor networks (including posterior insula). Behavioral placebo analgesia correlates with reduced pain-related activity in these networks and the thalamus, habenula, mid-cingulate, and supplementary motor area. Placebo-associated activity increases occur mainly in frontoparietal regions, with high between-study heterogeneity. We conclude that placebo treatments affect pain-related activity in multiple brain areas, which may reflect changes in nociception and/or other affective and decision-making processes surrounding pain. Between-study heterogeneity suggests that placebo analgesia is a multi-faceted phenomenon involving multiple cerebral mechanisms that differ across studies
Genetic aspects of dental disorders
The document attached has been archived with permission from the Australian Dental Association. An external link to the publisher’s copy is included.This paper reviews past and present applications of quantitative and molecular genetics to dental disorders. Examples are given relating to craniofacial development (including malocclusion), oral supporting tissues (including periodontal diseases) and dental hard tissues (including defects of enamel and dentine as well as dental caries). Future developments and applications to clinical dentistry are discussed. Early investigations confirmed genetic bases to dental caries, periodontal diseases and malocclusion, but research findings have had little impact on clinical practice. The complex multifactorial aetiologies of these conditions, together with methodological problems, have limited progress until recently. Present studies are clarifying previously unrecognized genetic and phenotypic heterogeneities and attempting to unravel the complex interactions between genes and environment by applying new statistical modelling approaches to twin and family data. linkage studies using highly polymorphic DNA markers are providing a means of locating candidate genes, including quantitative trait loci (QTL). In future, as knowledge increases: it should be possible to implement preventive strategies for those genetically-predisposed individuals who are identified-predisposed individuals who are identified to be at risk.Grant C. Townsend, Michael J. Aldred and P. Mark Bartol
Happiness around the world: A combined etic-emic approach across 63 countries
What does it mean to be happy? The vast majority of cross-cultural studies on happiness have employed a Western-origin, or "WEIRD" measure of happiness that conceptualizes it as a self-centered (or "independent"), high-arousal emotion. However, research from Eastern cultures, particularly Japan, conceptualizes happiness as including an interpersonal aspect emphasizing harmony and connectedness to others. Following a combined emicetic approach (Cheung, van de Vijver & Leong, 2011), we assessed the cross-cultural applicability of a measure of independent happiness developed in the US (Subjective Happiness Scale; Lyubomirsky & Lepper, 1999) and a measure of interdependent happiness developed in Japan (Interdependent Happiness Scale; Hitokoto & Uchida, 2015), with data from 63 countries representing 7 sociocultural regions. Results indicate that the schema of independent happiness was more coherent in more WEIRD countries. In contrast, the coherence of interdependent happiness was unrelated to a country's "WEIRD-ness." Reliabilities of both happiness measures were lowest in African and Middle Eastern countries, suggesting these two conceptualizations of happiness may not be globally comprehensive. Overall, while the two measures had many similar correlates and properties, the self-focused concept of independent happiness is "WEIRD-er" than interdependent happiness, suggesting cross-cultural researchers should attend to both conceptualizations
Microstructural Abnormalities in Subcortical Reward Circuitry of Subjects with Major Depressive Disorder
Previous studies of major depressive disorder (MDD) have focused on abnormalities in the prefrontal cortex and medial temporal regions. There has been little investigation in MDD of midbrain and subcortical regions central to reward/aversion function, such as the ventral tegmental area/substantia nigra (VTA/SN), and medial forebrain bundle (MFB).We investigated the microstructural integrity of this circuitry using diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) in 22 MDD subjects and compared them with 22 matched healthy control subjects. Fractional anisotropy (FA) values were increased in the right VT and reduced in dorsolateral prefrontal white matter in MDD subjects. Follow-up analysis suggested two distinct subgroups of MDD patients, which exhibited non-overlapping abnormalities in reward/aversion circuitry. The MDD subgroup with abnormal FA values in VT exhibited significantly greater trait anxiety than the subgroup with normal FA values in VT, but the subgroups did not differ in levels of anhedonia, sadness, or overall depression severity.These findings suggest that MDD may be associated with abnormal microstructure in brain reward/aversion regions, and that there may be at least two subtypes of microstructural abnormalities which each impact core symptoms of depression
EFEKTIVITAS PENGAWASAN UNIT KERJA ANTI FRAUD PADA BANK MUAMALAT INDONESIA
Perkembangan perbankan syari‟ah di Indonesia demikian pesat yang
ditandai dengan berdirinya Bank Muamalat Indonesia. Perkembangan ini
berimplikasi pada besarnya tantangan perbankan syari‟ah di Indonesia terutama
dalam mempertahankan identitasnya sebagai perusahaan yang bergerak
berlandaskan prinsip-prinsip syari‟ah. Sejak berdirinya perbankan
syariah,berbagai kontroversi muncul dari masyarakat, masalah yang paling
banyak disorot adalah pelekatan label syariah pada institusi keuangan Islam yang
masih dianggap belum layak. Keraguan masyarakat tersebut seolah terjawab
dengan munculnya kasus yang cukup menggemparkan yakni kasus fraud (tindak
kecurangan) yang terjadi di lembaga syariah.
Bank Muamalat Indonesia merupakan bank syari‟ah pertama yang muncul
dengan gagasan bank murni syari‟ah. Akan tetapi, bank Muamalat Indonesia juga
tak luput dari kasus fraud yang dilakukan oleh karyawan bank tersebut.
Berdasarkan Laporan Tahunan BMI menyebutkan bahwa telah terjadi
peningkatan kasus fraud dari tahun sebelumnya yang berjumlah 18 kasus menjadi
82 kasus pada tahun 2016. Padahal perusahaan yang menggunakan identitas
syariah seharusnya dapat lebih meminimalisir bahkan meniadakan resiko
terjadinya kasus fraud dengan adanya internal control perusahaan. Dari latar
belakang tersebut, peneliti berusaha mendalami peran pengawasan Unit Kerja
Anti Fraud dalam fraud preventive pada Bank Muamalat Indonesia. Penelitian ini
merupakan penelitin pustaka yang bersifat deskriptif analisis dengan pendekatan
kualitatif. Adapun sumber bahan hukum primer yang dipakai yaitu berdasarkan
Laporan Tahunan Bank Muamalat Indonesia Tahun 2016. Sedangkan sumber
bahan hukum sekunder berupa buku-buku, jurnal,karya ilmiah, artikel, terkait
dengan strategi anti fraud perbankan syariah.
Dari hasil penelitian dikemukakan bahwa peningkatan kasus fraud yang
terjadi pada Bank Muamalat Indonesia disebabkan kurang efektifnya pengawasan
Unit Kerja Anti Fraud. Hal ini dikarenakan kegiatan yang dilakukan selama tahun
2016 belum menujukkan adanya usaha preventif terhadap kasus fraud. Sedangkan
pencegahan merupakan pilar penting dalam keefektivan sebuah pengawasan.
Tujuan perusahaan dalam mencegah fraud dapat tercapai, jika fungsi pengawasan
dilakukan sebelum terjadinya penyimpangan-penyimpangan sehingga lebih
bersifat mencegah (prefentive control). Oleh karena itu, keefektivan pengawasan
Unit Kerja Anti Fraud diharapkan dapat meminimalisir tindak kecurangan demi
mewujudkan perusahaan yang patuh terhadap ketentuan syariah sesuai dengan
identitas perusahaan.
vii
Usaha pencegahan terjadinya kasus pada Bank Muamalat Indonesia
diharapkan dapat menjadi bukti terlaksananya tatakelola perusahaan (Good
Corporate Governance) pada Bank Syari‟ah dengan baik. Hal ini berdasarkan
dalam dalam perbankan syariah dikenal adanya prinsip-prinsip syariah yang
mendukung bagi terlaksananya prinsip GCG yakni keharusan bagi subjek hukum
termasuk bank untuk menerapkan prinsip kejujuran (shiddiq), edukasi kepada
masyarakat (tabligh), kepercayaan (amanah), dan pengelolaan secara profesional
(fathanah)
The economic well-being of nations is associated with positive daily situational experiences
People in economically advantaged nations tend to evaluate their life as more positive overall and report greater well-being than people in less advantaged nations. But how does positivity manifest in the daily life experiences of individuals around the world? The present study asked 15,244 college students from 62 nations, in 42 languages, to describe a situation they experienced the previous day using the Riverside Situational Q-sort (RSQ). Using expert ratings, the overall positivity of each situation was calculated for both nations and individuals. The positivity of the average situation in each nation was strongly related to the economic development of the nation as measured by the Human Development Index (HDI). For individuals’ daily experiences, the economic status of their nation also predicted the positivity of their experience, even more than their family socioeconomic status. Further analyses revealed the specific characteristics of the average situations for higher HDI nations that make their experiences more positive. Higher HDI was associated with situational experiences involving humor, socializing with others, and the potential to express emotions and fantasies. Lower HDI was associated with an increase in the presence of threats, blame, and hostility, as well as situational experiences consisting of family, religion, and money. Despite the increase in a few negative situational characteristics in lower HDI countries, the overall average experience still ranged from neutral to slightly positive, rather than negative, suggesting that greater HDI may not necessarily increase positive experiences but rather decrease negative experiences. The results illustrate how national economic status influences the lives of individuals even within a single instance of daily life, with large and powerful consequences when accumulated across individuals within each nation
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