Ingroup categorization and response conflict: Interactive effects of target race,flanker compatibility,and infrequency on N2 amplitude

Three largely independent lines of research have investigated experimental manipulations that influence the amplitude of the N2 component of the event‐related brain potential (ERP), one linking heightened N2 amplitude to response conflict, another showing that N2 is sensitive to stimulus infrequency, and the third showing larger N2 amplitude during categorization of racial ingroup relative to racial outgroup targets. The purpose of this research was to investigate potential interactions between these three features on the amplitude of the N2. ERPs were recorded while participants completed a modified flanker task using pictures of ingroup and outgroup faces. Results showed a 3‐way interaction, indicating that the N2 was largest for ingroup targets on high‐conflict trials but only when such trials were relatively infrequent. Implications of these findings for theories of both conflict monitoring and person perception are discussed.     

The effects of response sharing and stimulus presentation frequency on event‐related potentials in an auditory oddball paradigm

An experimental model for investigating the processes involved in reacting to unpredictable events is the oddball paradigm. We investigated how the commonality or independence of response options (i.e., many‐to‐one vs. one‐to‐one stimulus‐response mappings) influences processing in an auditory oddball paradigm. Participants performed a discrimination task with two one‐to‐one and one two‐to‐one mappings. The pattern of conflict‐ and oddball‐related N2 event‐related potentials suggest that information that would allow correct responding is represented at the latency of the N2. Integration of this information takes place only by the latency of P3b, and longer reaction times to rare stimuli are probably due to processes preventing the utilization of this information. We also suggest that, in the given task context, conflict‐related N2 may reflect the number of alternative stimuli leading to alternative response options.     

Industry Funding Is Correlated With Publication Productivity of US Academic Radiation Oncologists

Purpose

Industry payments to physicians are financial conflicts of interest and may influence research findings and medical decisions. We aim to (1) characterize industry payments within radiation oncology; and (2) explore the potential correlation between receiving disclosed industry payments and academic productivity.

Negotiation strategies of adolescents with high-functioning autism spectrum disorder during social conflicts

This study investigated the differences between negotiation strategies of adolescents with high functioning autism spectrum disorder (HFASD) and typically developing adolescents. Twenty-one adolescents with HFASD and 27 typically developing adolescents, matched on age, school year and gender distribution, completed negotiation strategy and conflict resolution questionnaires designed to measure the negotiation factors and the conflict resolution styles used during conflict situations. The participants with HFASD reported fewer negotiation skills as reflected by lower self-confidence, lower cooperation, less communication and fewer compromise skills. The decreased use of negotiation strategies by adolescents with HFASD may be related to their difficulty in attributing mental states to others, and may impact their ability to deal with social conflicts and create positive interactions and rewarding relationships.     

A reverse translational approach to quantify approach-avoidance conflict in humans

Animal approach-avoidance conflict paradigms have been used extensively to characterize effects of anxiolytic agents and probe neural circuitry related to anxiety. However, there are few behavioral approaches to measure conflict in human populations, limiting the translation of findings from animal conflict tasks to human clinical research. We developed a novel approach-avoidance conflict (AAC) paradigm involving situations in which the same decision is associated with “reward” (points) and “punishment” (negative affective stimuli). The AAC task was completed by 95 young adults (56 female) with varying levels of self-reported trait anxiety. As expected, conflict-related approach behavior correlated with self-reported motivation to approach reward and avoid punishment and greater reward level increased approach behavior. Additionally, females exhibited less approach behavior than males. Anxiety Sensitivity Index (Physical subscale) scores related negatively to approach behavior for males, while Behavioral Activation Scale (BAS, Fun Seeking subscale) scores related positively to approach behavior for females. Results support the utility of the AAC task as a behavioral test that has strong reverse translational features. Findings indicate that approach drives and anxiety sensitivity may be important in determining conflict behavior for females and males respectively. The approach-avoidance conflict task offers a novel, translational measure to probe neural systems underlying conflict behavior, motivational processes, and anxiety disorders.     

Rejection sensitivity and adolescents' perceptions of romantic interactions

Rejection sensitivity – the tendency to expect, perceive, and overreact to rejection by others – is linked with individuals' expectations that their romantic partners' behaviors have negative intent, even if, perhaps, such behaviors could be considered neutral when observed by another. The aim of the present study was to test this proposition, derived from rejection sensitivity theory, using a Video-Recall Procedure with adolescent couples in the US (N = 386 adolescents, 50% girls). We examined whether adolescents who were more sensitive to rejection perceived their romantic partners' behaviors as more conflictual than when viewed by trained, third-party observers. Findings suggest that, at the micro-analytic level, higher rejection sensitivity is associated with adolescents' heightened perception of their romantic partners as conflictual when compared to observers, who more often coded the same behaviors as neutral rather than conflictual. Implications for adolescent mental health and well-being are discussed.     

The ‘Public Accountability Approach’: Suggestions for a Framework to Characterise,Compare, Inform and Evaluate Gambling Regulation

It is argued that the analytical comparison of gambling regulatory frameworks across jurisdictions requires the identification of salient dimensions to provide the basis for such. It is further suggested that governmental ‘conflict of interest’ might provide a useful dimension for such comparison, as operationalised by concomitant EGM harm and government dependence criteria. The same ‘conflict of interest’ criteria are then suggested as a guide for gambling regulation within single jurisdictions, this being named the ‘Public Accountability Approach.’ These points are discussed within broader reference to lines and webs of harm production within a public health analysis. Broader reference is also made to the proper role of government within contemporary democracy.

Neural correlates of cognitive control in gambling disorder: a systematic review of fMRI studies

Decreased cognitive control over the urge to be involved in gambling activities is a core feature of Gambling Disorder (GD). Cognitive control can be differentiated into several cognitive sub-processes pivotal in GD clinical phenomenology, such as response inhibition, conflict monitoring, decision-making, and cognitive flexibility. This article aims to systematically review fMRI studies, which investigated the neural mechanisms underlying diminished cognitive control in GD. We conducted a comprehensive literature search and collected neuropsychological and neuroimaging data investigating cognitive control in GD. We included a total of 14 studies comprising 499 individuals. Our results indicate that impaired activity in prefrontal cortex may account for decreased cognitive control in GD, contributing to the progressive loss of control over gambling urges. Among prefrontal regions, orbital and ventromedial areas seem to be a possible nexus for sensory integration, value-based decision-making and emotional processing, thus contributing to both motivational and affective aspects of cognitive control. Finally, we discussed possible therapeutic approaches aimed at the restoration of cognitive control in GD, including pharmacological and brain stimulation treatments.