scholarly journals Political Uncertainty Moderates Neural Evaluation of Incongruent Policy Positions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid Johnsen Haas ◽  
Melissa Baker ◽  
Frank Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Political Evaluation ◽  
Neural Underpinnings

Uncertainty has been shown to impact political evaluation, yet the exact mechanisms by which uncertainty affects the minds of citizens remain unclear. This experiment examines the neural underpinnings of uncertainty in political evaluation using functional MRI (fMRI). During fMRI, participants completed an experimental task where they evaluated policy positions attributed to hypothetical political candidates. Policy positions were either congruent or incongruent with candidates’ political party affiliation and presented with varying levels of certainty. Neural activity was modeled as a function of uncertainty and incongruence. Analyses suggest that neural activity in brain regions previously implicated in affective and evaluative processing (anterior cingulate cortex, insular cortex) differed as a function of the interaction between uncertainty and incongruence, such that activation in these areas was greatest when information was both certain and incongruent and uncertainty influenced processing differently as a function of the valence of the attached information. These findings suggest that individuals are attuned to uncertainty in the stated issue positions of politicians, and that the neural processing of this uncertainty is dependent on congruence of these positions with expectations based on political party identification. Implications for the study of emotion and politics and political cognition are discussed.

scholarly journals Political uncertainty moderates neural evaluation of incongruent policy positions

2021 ◽  
Vol 376 (1822) ◽  
pp. 20200138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ingrid J. Haas ◽  
Melissa N. Baker ◽  
Frank J. Gonzalez
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Political Evaluation ◽  
Neural Underpinnings

Uncertainty has been shown to impact political evaluation, yet the exact mechanisms by which uncertainty affects the minds of citizens remain unclear. This experiment examines the neural underpinnings of uncertainty in political evaluation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). During fMRI, participants completed an experimental task where they evaluated policy positions attributed to hypothetical political candidates. Policy positions were either congruent or incongruent with candidates' political party affiliation and presented with varying levels of certainty. Neural activity was modelled as a function of uncertainty and incongruence. Analyses suggest that neural activity in brain regions previously implicated in affective and evaluative processing (anterior cingulate cortex, insular cortex) differed as a function of the interaction between uncertainty and incongruence, such that activation in these areas was greatest when information was both certain and incongruent, and uncertainty influenced processing differently as a function of the valence of the attached information. These findings suggest that individuals are attuned to uncertainty in the stated issue positions of politicians, and that the neural processing of this uncertainty is dependent on congruence of these positions with expectations based on political party identification. Implications for the study of emotion and politics and political cognition are discussed. This article is part of the theme issue ‘The political brain: neurocognitive and computational mechanisms’.

Abstract WMP117: Regional Homogeneity Changes In Patients With Transient Ischemic Attack: A Resting-state Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

Stroke ◽  
2013 ◽  
Vol 44 (suppl_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jian Guo ◽  
Ning Chen ◽  
Muke Zhou ◽  
Pian Wang ◽  
Li He
Keyword(s):  
Transient Ischemic Attack ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Resting State ◽  
Right Hemisphere ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Regional Homogeneity ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Ischemic Attack

Background: Transient ischemic attack (TIA) can increase the risk of some neurologic dysfunctions, of which the mechanism remains unclear. Resting-state functional MRI (rfMRI) is suggested to be a valuable tool to study the relation between spontaneous brain activity and behavioral performance. However, little is known about whether the local synchronization of spontaneous neural activity is altered in TIA patients. The purpose of this study is to detect differences in regional spontaneous activities throughout the whole brain between TIAs and normal controls. Methods: Twenty one TIA patients suffered an ischemic event in the right hemisphere and 21 healthy volunteers were enrolled in the study. All subjects were investigated using cognitive tests and rfMRI. The regional homogeneity (ReHo) was calculate and compared between two groups. Then a correlation analysis was performed to explore the relationship between ReHo values of brain regions showing abnormal resting-state properties and clinical variables in TIA group. Results: Compared with controls, TIA patients exhibited decreased ReHo in right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), right inferior prefrontal gyrus, right ventral anterior cingulate cortex and right dorsal posterior cingular cortex. Moreover, the mean ReHo in right DLPFC and right inferior prefrontal gyrus were significantly correlated with MoCA in TIA patients. Conclusions: Neural activity in the resting state is changed in patients with TIA. The positive correlation between regional homogeneity of rfMRI and cognition suggests that ReHo may be a promising tool to better our understanding of the neurobiological consequences of TIA.

Exploring the Contradiction of Extractive Populism Between Domestic and International Politics in Ecuador

2019 ◽  
pp. 179-211
Author(s):  
Todd A. Eisenstadt ◽  
Karleen Jones West
Keyword(s):  
Ethnic Identity ◽  
Political Party ◽  
Environmental Attitudes ◽  
Domestic Policy ◽  
The Political ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Oil Drilling ◽  
Policy Positions ◽  
Environmental Force ◽  
Political Party Affiliation

Chapter 6 focuses on polycentric pluralism, mostly at the international and national levels, sidelining vulnerability as a principal cause of environmental attitudes. After briefly introducing rationales behind the interaction between international and domestic policy positions, we show that while there is consensus among Ecuadorians that foreign extractive interests are threats to the Amazon, Ecuadorians are divided along party lines regarding the government’s pursuit of extraction, illustrating the political—rather than cultural—nature of the extractive debate in Ecuador. The upshot is that the Correa administration tried but failed to maintain both its international and domestic images as an environmental force, funding discretionary programs (including “green” ones) through oil drilling. Furthermore, consistent with our argument that polycentric pluralism has been the form that interest articulation takes, variations in approval of policies are more readily explained by cleavages defined by vulnerability and political party affiliation rather than by ethnic identity.

scholarly journals Combined Parietal-Insular-Striatal Cortex Stroke with New-Onset Hallucinations: Supporting the Salience Network Model of Schizophrenia

2020 ◽  
Vol 2020 ◽  
pp. 1-6
Author(s):  
Saheba Nanda ◽  
Krishna Priya ◽  
Tasmia Khan ◽  
Puja Patel ◽  
Heela Azizi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Functional Integration ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Psychotic Symptoms ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Schizophrenic Patients ◽  
Cortical Circuit ◽  
The Brain ◽  
New Onset

Brain imaging studies have identified multiple neuronal networks and circuits in the brain with altered functioning in patients with schizophrenia. These include the hippocampo-cerebello-cortical circuit, the prefrontal-thalamic-cerebellar circuit, functional integration in the bilateral caudate nucleus, and the salience network consisting of the insular cortex, parietal anterior cingulate cortex, and striatum, as well as limbic structures. Attributing psychotic symptoms to any of these networks in schizophrenia is confounded by the disruption of these networks in schizophrenic patients. Such attribution can be done with isolated dysfunction in any of these networks with concurrent psychotic symptoms. We present the case of a patient who presents with new-onset hallucinations and a stroke in brain regions similar to the salience network (insular cortex, parietal cortex, and striatum). The implication of these findings in isolating psychotic symptoms of the salience network is discussed.

scholarly journals Brain mechanisms associated with depressive relapse and associated cognitive impairment following acute tryptophan depletion

1999 ◽  
Vol 174 (6) ◽  
pp. 525-529 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharine A. Smith ◽  
John S. Morris ◽  
Karl J. Fristdn ◽  
Philip J. Cowen ◽  
Raymond J. Dolan
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Impairment ◽  
Neural Activity ◽  
Cognitive Task ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Acute Tryptophan Depletion ◽  
Control Procedure ◽  
Tryptophan Depletion ◽  
Clinical Relapse ◽  
Verbal Fluency Task

BackgroundAcute tryptophan depletion lowers brain serotonin synthesis and results in a transient, but striking, clinical relapse in recovered depressed patients.AimsTo identify brain regions which change their activity as an acute depressive relapse evolves and to determine how pathological mood might modulate neural activity during a cognitive task.MethodWe used H215O positron-emission tomography (PET) to study eight recovered depressed men after tryptophan depletion and after a control procedure. During both PET scan sessions, subjects performed a paced verbal fluency task which alternated with a control verbal repetition task.ResultsIncreasing levels of depression after tryptophan depletion were associated with diminished neural activity in the ventral anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal cortex and caudate nucleus regions. In addition, depressive relapse attenuated cognitive task-related activation in the anterior cingulate cortex.ConclusionsOur data indicate that changes in neural activity in distinct brain regions mediate the clinical phenomena of depression and depression-related cognitive impairment following acute tryptophan depletion. These changes could be associated with the widespread distribution of serotonin neurons in brain pathways associated with the expression of affect and cognitive performance.

scholarly journals An insula-driven network computes decision uncertainty and promotes abstinence in chronic cocaine users

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ju-Chi Yu ◽  
Vincenzo G. Fiore ◽  
Richard W. Briggs ◽  
Jacquelyn Braud ◽  
Katya Rubia ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Ventral Striatum ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Decision Task ◽  
Dorsal Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Excitatory Connection ◽  
Chronic Cocaine

AbstractThe anterior insular cortex (AIC) and its interconnected brain regions have been associated with both addiction and decision-making under uncertainty. However, the causal interactions in this uncertainty-encoding neurocircuitry and how these neural dynamics impact relapse remain elusive. Here, we used model-based fMRI to measure choice uncertainty in a motor decision task in 61 individuals with cocaine use disorder (CUD) and 25 healthy controls. CUD participants were assessed before discharge from a residential treatment program and followed for up to 24 weeks. We found that choice uncertainty was tracked by the AIC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), and ventral striatum (VS), across participants. Stronger activations in these regions measured pre-discharge predicted longer abstinence after discharge in individuals with CUD. Dynamic causal modelling revealed an AIC-to-dACC directed connectivity modulated by uncertainty in controls, but a dACC-to-AIC connectivity in CUD participants. This reversal was mostly driven by early-relapsers (<30 days). Furthermore, CUD individuals who displayed a stronger AIC-to-dACC excitatory connection during uncertainty encoding remained abstinent for longer periods. These findings reveal a critical role of an AIC-driven, uncertainty-encoding neurocircuitry in protecting against relapse and promoting abstinence.

scholarly journals Age, gender, and health status affect Coronavirus concern, prevention behaviors, and willingness to return to behaviors when safe, but so does political party: Results of a large longitudinal cross-sectional survey (Preprint)

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arash Naeim ◽  
Ryan Baxter-King ◽  
Neil Wenger ◽  
Annette L. Stanton ◽  
Karen Sepucha ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Political Party ◽  
Party Identification ◽  
Party Affiliation ◽  
Cross Sectional Survey ◽  
Cross Sectional ◽  
Conflicting Information ◽  
Political Partisanship ◽  
Precautionary Behavior ◽  
Gender And Health ◽  
Return To Activity

BACKGROUND With conflicting information about COVID-19, the general public may be uncertain about how to proceed in terms of precautionary behavior and decisions about whether to return to activity. OBJECTIVE To determine the factors associated with COVID-19 concern, precautionary behaviors, and willingness to return to activity. METHODS National survey data come from The Democracy Fund + UCLA Nationscape Project, an ongoing cross-sectional weekly survey. The sample was provided by Lucid, a market research online platform. Three outcomes were considered: (1) COVID-19 concern [C], (2) precautionary behaviors [P], and (3) willingness to return to activity [R]. Key independent variables included: age, gender, race/ethnicity, education, household income, political party identification, religion, news consumption, nu RESULTS The data include 125,508 online surveys conducted over 20 consecutive weeks (roughly 6,250 adults per week) between March 19 and August 5, 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic, approved by the UCLA IRB for analysis. A substantial number of people would not be willing to return to activity. Weighted multivariate logistic regressions indicated the following groups had different outcomes (all P < .0001): aged 65+ (OR 2.05[C], CI [1.93, 2.18] , OR 2.38[P] CI [2.02, 2.80] I, OR 0.41[R] CI [0.37-0.46], vs. 18-40); men (OR 0.73[C] CI [0.70, 0.75], OR 0.74[P] CI [0.67, 0.81], OR 2.00[R] CI [1.88-2.12] , vs. women); taking 4 or more medications (OR 1.47[C] CI [1.40, 1.54], OR 1.36[P] CI [1.20, 1.555], OR 0.75[R] CI [0.69-0.81], vs. < 3 medications); Republicans (OR 0.40[C] CI [0.38, 0.42], OR 0.45[P] CI [0.40, 0.50], OR 2.22[R] CI [2.09-2.36], vs. Democrats); and adults who reported having COVID-19 (OR. 1.24[C] CI [1.12, 1.39] OR 0.65[P], CI [0.52, 0.81]; OR 3.99[R] CI [3.48-4.58], vs. those that did not). CONCLUSIONS Participants’ age, party affiliation, and perceived COVID-19 status were highly associated with COVID-related concern, precautionary behaviors, and return to activity. Future studies need to develop and test targeted messaging approaches, taking account of political partisanship, to encourage preventative and return to activities behaviors. CLINICALTRIAL

scholarly journals Pre-operative limbic system functional connectivity distinguishes responders from non-responders to surgical treatment for trigeminal neuralgia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hayden Danyluk ◽  
Stefan Lang ◽  
Oury Monchi ◽  
Tejas Sankar
Keyword(s):  
Surgical Treatment ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Trigeminal Neuralgia ◽  
Statistical Significance ◽  
A Priori ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Posterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Anterior Cingulate

Abstract Background Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) is a severe facial pain condition often requiring surgical treatment. Unfortunately, even technically successful surgery fails to achieve durable pain relief in many patients. The purpose of this study was to use resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to: 1) compare functional connectivity between limbic and accessory sensory networks in TN patients versus healthy controls; and 2) determine if pre-operative variability in these networks can distinguish responders and non-responders to surgery for TN. Methods We prospectively recruited 22 medically refractory classic or idiopathic TN patients undergoing surgical treatment over a 3-year period, and 19 age- and sex-matched healthy control subjects. fMRI was acquired within the month prior to surgery for all TN patients and at any time during the study period for controls. Functional connectivity analysis was restricted to six pain-relevant brain regions selected a priori: anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), posterior cingulate cortex, hippocampus, amygdala, thalamus, and insula. Two comparisons were performed: 1) TN versus controls; and 2) responders versus non-responders to surgical treatment for TN. Functional connectivity was assessed with a two-sample t-test, using a statistical significance threshold of p < 0.050 with false discovery rate (FDR) correction for multiple comparisons. Results Functional connectivity was increased in TN patients compared to controls between the right insular cortex and both the left thalamus (t(39) = 3.67, p = 0.0007) and right thalamus (t(39) = 3.22, p = 0.0026). TN patients who were non-responders to surgery displayed increased functional connectivity between limbic structures, including between the left and right hippocampus (t(18) = 2.85, p = 0.0106), and decreased functional connectivity between the ACC and both the left amygdala (t(18) = 2.94, p = 0.0087) and right hippocampus (t(18) = 3.20, p = 0.0049). Across all TN patients, duration of illness was negatively correlated with connectivity between the ACC and left amygdala (r2 = 0.34, p = 0.00437) as well as the ACC and right hippocampus (r2 = 0.21, p = 0.0318). Conclusions TN patients show significant functional connectivity abnormalities in sensory-salience regions. However, variations in the strength of functional connectivity in limbic networks may explain why some TN patients fail to respond adequately to surgery.

scholarly journals Risk-related decision making evokes distinct brain activation patterns in reward evaluation regions in substance use naïve versus non-naïve adolescents

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Goldie A. McQuaid ◽  
Valerie L. Darcey ◽  
Amanda E. Patterson ◽  
Emma J. Rose ◽  
John W. VanMeter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Substance Use ◽  
Risk Taking ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Reward Sensitivity ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Behavioral Approach ◽  
Behavioral Inhibition System

ABSTRACTIdentifying brain and behavioral precursors to substance use (SU) may guide interventions that delay initiation in youth at risk for SU disorders (SUD). Heightened reward-sensitivity and risk-taking may confer risk for SUD. In a longitudinal, prospective study, we characterized behavioral and neural profiles associated with reward-sensitivity and risk-taking in substance-naïve adolescents, examining whether they differed as a function of SU initiation at 18- and 36-months follow-up.Adolescents (N=70; 11.1-14.0 years) completed a reward-related decision-making task (Wheel of Fortune (WOF)) while undergoing functional MRI. Measures of reward sensitivity (Behavioral Inhibition System-Behavioral Approach System; BIS-BAS), impulsive decision-making (delay discounting task), and SUD risk (Drug Use Screening Inventory, Revised (DUSI-R)) were collected at baseline. Baseline metrics were compared for youth who did (SI; n=27) and did not (SN; n=43) initiate SU at follow-up.While groups displayed similar discounting and risk taking behavior, SI youth showed more variable patterns of activation in left insular cortex during high-risk selections, and left anterior cingulate cortex in response to rewarded outcomes. SI participants scored higher on the DUSI-R and BAS subscales. Results suggest differences in brain regions critical in the development and experience of SUDs may precede SU and serve as a biomarker for SUD risk.

scholarly journals Individual Differences in Interoceptive Accuracy Are Correlated With Salience Network Connectivity in Older Adults

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daisuke Ueno ◽  
Teruyuki Matsuoka ◽  
Yuka Kato ◽  
Nobutaka Ayani ◽  
Saaya Maeda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Older Adults ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Region Of Interest ◽  
Insular Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Salience Network ◽  
Rostral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Interoceptive Accuracy

Interoceptive accuracy refers to the ability to consciously perceive the physical condition of the inner body, including one’s heartbeat. In younger adults, interoceptive accuracy is correlated with insular and orbitofrontal cortical connectivity within the salience network (SN). As interoceptive accuracy and insular cortex volume are known to decrease with aging, we aimed to evaluate the correlation between SN connectivity and interoceptive accuracy in older adults. 27 older adults (mean age, 77.29 years, SD = 6.24; 19 female) underwent resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging, followed by a heartbeat counting task and neuropsychological test. We evaluated the correlation between interoceptive accuracy and SN connectivity with age, sex, cognitive function, and total gray matter volume as covariates. Region of interest-to-region of interest analyses showed that interoceptive accuracy was positively correlated with the functional connectivity (FC) of the left rostral prefrontal cortex with the right insular, right orbitofrontal, and anterior cingulate cortices [F(6,16) = 4.52, false discovery rate (FDR)-corrected p &lt; 0.05]. Moreover, interoceptive accuracy was negatively correlated to the FC of the left anterior insular cortex with right intra-calcarine and visual medial cortices (F(6,16) = 2.04, FDR-corrected p &lt; 0.10). These findings suggest that coordination between systems, with a positive correlation between left rostral prefrontal cortex and the SN and a negative correlation between left insular cortex and vision-related exteroceptive brain regions, is important for maintaining interoceptive accuracy in older adults.

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