Oxytocin promotes altruistic punishment

The role of neuromodulators in the enforcement of cooperation is still not well understood. Here, we provide evidence that intranasal applied oxytocin, an important hormone formodulating social behavior, enhances the inclination to sanction freeriders in a social dilemma situation. Contrary to the notion of oxytocin being a pro-social hormone, we found that participants treated with oxytocin exhibited an amplification of self-reported negative social emotions such as anger towards free-riders, ultimately resulting in highermagnitude and frequency of punishment of free-riders compared to placebo. Furthermore, we found initial evidence that oxytocin contributes to the positive effects of a punishment institution by rendering cooperation preferable in the oxytocin condition for even themost selfish players when punishment was available. Together, these findings imply that the neural circuits underlying altruistic punishment are partly targeted by the oxytonergic systemand highlight the importance of neuromodulators in group cohesion and normenforcement within social groups

Somatostatin analogues in treatment-refractory meningioma: a systematic review with meta-analysis of individual patient data.

Treatment-refractory meningiomas have a dismal prognosis and limited treatment options. Meningiomas express high-densities of somatostatin receptors (SSTR), thus potentially susceptible to antitumorigenic effects of somatostatin analogues (SSA). Evidence for SSA in meningiomas is scarce, and it is unclear if published literature would either (1) support wider use of SSA, if (2) more evidence is desirable, or if (3) available evidence is sufficient to discard SSA. We addressed the need for more evidence with a systematic review and meta-analysis. We performed an individual patient data (IPD) meta-analysis. Main outcomes were toxicity, best radiological response, progression-free survival, and overall survival. We applied multivariable logistic regression models to estimate the effect of SSA on the probability of obtaining radiological disease control. The predictive performance was evaluated using area under the curve and Brier scores. We included 16 studies and compiled IPD from 8/9 of all previous cohorts. Quality of evidence was overall ranked "very low." Stable disease was reported in 58% of patients as best radiological response. Per 100 mg increase in total SSA dosage, the odds ratios for obtaining radiological disease control was 1.42 (1.11 to 1.81, P = 0.005) and 1.44 (1.00 to 2.08, P = 0.05) for patients treated with SSA as monodrug therapy vs SSA in combination with everolimus, respectively. Low quality of evidence impeded exact quantification of treatment efficacy, and the association between response and treatment may represent reverse causality. Yet, the SSA treatment was well tolerated, and beneficial effect cannot be disqualified. A prospective trial without bias from inconsistent study designs is warranted to assess SSA therapy for well-defined meningioma subgroups

Oxytocin promotes altruistic punishment

The role of neuromodulators in the enforcement of cooperation is still not well understood. Here, we provide evidence that intranasal applied oxytocin, an important hormone formodulating social behavior, enhances the inclination to sanction freeriders in a social dilemma situation. Contrary to the notion of oxytocin being a pro-social hormone, we found that participants treated with oxytocin exhibited an amplification of self-reported negative social emotions such as anger towards free-riders, ultimately resulting in highermagnitude and frequency of punishment of free-riders compared to placebo. Furthermore, we found initial evidence that oxytocin contributes to the positive effects of a punishment institution by rendering cooperation preferable in the oxytocin condition for even themost selfish players when punishment was available. Together, these findings imply that the neural circuits underlying altruistic punishment are partly targeted by the oxytonergic systemand highlight the importance of neuromodulators in group cohesion and normenforcement within social groups

Towards Precision Medicine in Psychosis: Benefits and Challenges of Multimodal Multicenter Studies-PSYSCAN: Translating Neuroimaging Findings From Research into Clinical Practice

In the last 2 decades, several neuroimaging studies investigated brain abnormalities associated with the early stages of psychosis in the hope that these could aid the prediction of onset and clinical outcome. Despite advancements in the field, neuroimaging has yet to deliver. This is in part explained by the use of univariate analytical techniques, small samples and lack of statistical power, lack of external validation of potential biomarkers, and lack of integration of nonimaging measures (eg, genetic, clinical, cognitive data). PSYSCAN is an international, longitudinal, multicenter study on the early stages of psychosis which uses machine learning techniques to analyze imaging, clinical, cognitive, and biological data with the aim of facilitating the prediction of psychosis onset and outcome. In this article, we provide an overview of the PSYSCAN protocol and we discuss benefits and methodological challenges of large multicenter studies that employ neuroimaging measures