| 1. |
- Aue, Tatjana, et al.
(author)
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Enhanced Sensitivity to Optimistic Cues is Manifested in Brain Structure : A Voxel-Based Morphometry Study
- 2021
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In: Social Cognitive & Affective Neuroscience. - : Oxford University Press. - 1749-5016 .- 1749-5024. ; 16:11, s. 1170-1181
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Recent research shows that congruent outcomes are more rapidly (and incongruent less rapidly) detected when individuals receive optimistic rather than pessimistic cues, an effect that was termed optimism robustness. In the current voxel-based morphometry study, we examined whether optimism robustness has a counterpart in brain structure. The participants' task was to detect two different letters (symbolizing monetary gain or loss) in a visual search matrix. Prior to each onset of the search matrix, two different verbal cues informed our participants about a high probability to gain (optimistic expectancy) or lose (pessimistic expectancy) money. The target presented was either congruent or incongruent with these induced expectancies. Optimism robustness revealed in the participants' reaction times correlated positively with gray matter volume (GMV) in brain regions involved in selective attention (medial visual association area, intraparietal sulcus), emphasizing the strong intertwinement of optimistic expectancies and attention deployment. In addition, GMV in the primary visual cortex diminished with increasing optimism robustness, in line with the interpretation of optimism robustness arising from a global, context-oriented perception. Future studies should address the malleability of these structural correlates of optimism robustness. Our results may assist in the identification of treatment targets in depression.
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| 2. |
- Clough, Yann, et al.
(author)
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Land-use choices follow profitability at the expense of ecological functions in Indonesian smallholder landscapes
- 2016
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In: Nature Communications. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2041-1723. ; 7
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Smallholder-dominated agricultural mosaic landscapes are highlighted as model production systems that deliver both economic and ecological goods in tropical agricultural landscapes, but trade-offs underlying current land-use dynamics are poorly known. Here, using the most comprehensive quantification of land-use change and associated bundles of ecosystem functions, services and economic benefits to date, we show that Indonesian smallholders predominantly choose farm portfolios with high economic productivity but low ecological value. The more profitable oil palm and rubber monocultures replace forests and agroforests critical for maintaining above- and below-ground ecological functions and the diversity of most taxa. Between the monocultures, the higher economic performance of oil palm over rubber comes with the reliance on fertilizer inputs and with increased nutrient leaching losses. Strategies to achieve an ecological-economic balance and a sustainable management of tropical smallholder landscapes must be prioritized to avoid further environmental degradation.
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| 3. |
- Haller, Sven, et al.
(author)
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Caffeine impact on working memory-related network activation patterns in early stages of cognitive decline
- 2017
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In: Neuroradiology. - : Springer. - 0028-3940 .- 1432-1920. ; 59:4, s. 387-395
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Purpose Recent evidence indicates that caffeine may have a beneficial effect on cognitive decline and dementia. The current investigation assessed the effect of acute caffeine administration on working memory during the earliest stage of cognitive decline in elderly participants. Methods The study includes consecutive 45 elderly controls and 18 individuals with mild cognitive impairment (MCI, 71.6 +/- 4.7 years, 7 females). During neuropsychological follow-up at 18 months, 24 controls remained stable (sCON, 70.0 +/- 4.3 years, 11 women), while the remaining 21 showed subtle cognitive deterioration (dCON, 73.4 +/- 5.9 years, 14 women). All participants underwent an established 2-back working task in a crossover design of 200 mg caffeine versus placebo. Data analysis included task-related general linear model and functional connectivity tensorial independent component analysis. Results Working memory behavioral performances did not differ between sCON and dCON, while MCI was slower and less accurate than both control groups (p < 0.05). The dCON group had a less pronounced effect of acute caffeine administration essentially restricted to the right hemisphere (p < 0.05 corrected) and reduced default mode network (DMN) deactivation compared to sCON (p < 0.01 corrected). Conclusion dCON cases are characterized by decreased sensitivity to caffeine effects on brain activation and DMN deactivation. These complex fMRI patterns possibly reflect the instable status of these cases with intact behavioral performances despite already existing functional alterations in neocortical circuits.
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| 4. |
- Singh, Laura, et al.
(author)
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The effect of optimistic expectancies on attention bias : Neural and behavioral correlates
- 2020
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In: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Nature. - 2045-2322. ; 10:1
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Journal article (peer-reviewed)abstract
- Optimism bias and positive attention bias are important features of healthy information processing. Recent findings suggest dynamic bidirectional optimism-attention interactions, but the underlying neural mechanisms remain to be identified. The current functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, therefore, investigated the neural mechanisms underlying causal effects of optimistic expectancies on attention. We hypothesized that expectancies guide attention to confirmatory evidence in the environment, with enhanced salience and executive control network (SN/ECN) activity for unexpected information. Moreover, based on previous findings, we anticipated optimistic expectancies to more strongly impact attention and SN/ECN activity than pessimistic expectancies. Expectancies were induced with visual cues in 50 participants; subsequent attention to reward and punishment was assessed in a visual search task. As hypothesized, cues shortened reaction times to expected information, and unexpected information enhanced SN/ECN activity. Notably, these effects were stronger for optimistic than pessimistic expectancy cues. Our findings suggest that optimistic expectancies involve particularly strong predictions of reward, causing automatic guidance of attention to reward and great surprise about unexpected punishment. Such great surprise may be counteracted by visual avoidance of the punishing evidence, as revealed by prior evidence, thereby reducing the need to update (over)optimistic reward expectancies.
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