The Human Affectome

Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and operationalizations. An assumption on the purpose of affective phenomena can be used as a teleological principle to guide the construction of a common set of metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions—a framework for human affective research. In this capstone paper for the special issue “Towards an Integrated Understanding of the Human Affectome”, we gather the tiered purpose of human affective phenomena to synthesize assumptions that account for human affective phenomena collectively. This teleologically-grounded framework offers a principled agenda and launchpad for both organizing existing perspectives and generating new ones. Ultimately, we hope Human Affectome brings us a step closer to not only an integrated understanding of human affective phenomena, but an integrated field for affective research

Cognitive Control in Adolescence: Neural Underpinnings and Relation to Self-Report Behaviors

Adolescence is commonly characterized by impulsivity, poor decision-making, and lack of foresight. However, the developmental neural underpinnings of these characteristics are not well established.To test the hypothesis that these adolescent behaviors are linked to under-developed proactive control mechanisms, the present study employed a hybrid block/event-related functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) Stroop paradigm combined with self-report questionnaires in a large sample of adolescents and adults, ranging in age from 14 to 25. Compared to adults, adolescents under-activated a set of brain regions implicated in proactive top-down control across task blocks comprised of difficult and easy trials. Moreover, the magnitude of lateral prefrontal activity in adolescents predicted self-report measures of impulse control, foresight, and resistance to peer pressure. Consistent with reactive compensatory mechanisms to reduced proactive control, older adolescents exhibited elevated transient activity in regions implicated in response-related interference resolution.Collectively, these results suggest that maturation of cognitive control may be partly mediated by earlier development of neural systems supporting reactive control and delayed development of systems supporting proactive control. Importantly, the development of these mechanisms is associated with cognitive control in real-life behaviors

The Impact of EU Law on a National Competition Authority's Leniency Programme the Case of Poland

This paper is devoted to the impact of EU law on national leniency programmes, especially the Polish one. It analyses the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice in Pfleiderer, Donau Chemie and Schenker and identifies three specific areas of potential EU influence on national leniency programmes. The impact of EU law on the rules of access to leniency documents is analysed in detail on the basis of both EU and Polish law and taking into account the Draft Directive on Antitrust Damages Actions. The paper covers also the extent to which the principle of effectiveness of EU law limits the procedural autonomy of Member States in regard to their leniency programmes. This analysis covers both “negative conditions”, that is, elements of national leniency programmes which are incompatible with EU law, and “positive conditions”, in order words, those elements of domestic leniency programmes which are seen as necessary for securing their effectiveness.L'article concerne l'influence du droit de l‘Union européenne sur les programmes de clémence nationaux, en particulier le programme polonais. La jurisprudence de la Cour de justice de l’Union européenne est analysée, surtout les arrêts en Pfleiderer, Donau Chemie et Schenker. Les trois avenues de l'influence du droit européen sur le programme de clémence sont identifiés – les règles d'accès aux confessions des entreprises bénéficiaires de la clémence, qui sont analysées en détaille, les limitations des programmes nationaux de clémence à cause du principe d'effectivité et les obligations des autorités nationales de concurrence d’assurer l'effectivité des programmes de clémenc