It's costly punishment,not altruistic: Low midfrontal theta and state anger predict punishment

Punishment in economic games has been interpreted as “altruistic.” However, it was shown that punishment is related to trait anger instead of trait altruism in a third-party dictator game if compensation is also available. Here, we investigated the influence of state anger on punishment and compensation in the third-party dictator game. Therefore, we used movie sequences for emotional priming, including the target states anger, happy, and neutral. We measured the Feedback-Related Negativity (FRN) and midfrontal theta band activation, to investigate an electro-cortical correlate of the processing of fair and unfair offers. Also, we assessed single-trial FRN and midfrontal theta band activation as a predictor for punishment and compensation. We found that punishment was linked to state anger. Midfrontal theta band activation, which has previously been linked to altruistic acts and cognitive control, predicted less punishment. Additionally, trait anger led to enhanced FRN for unfair offers. This led to the interpretation that the FRN depicts the evaluation of fairness, while midfrontal theta band activation captures an aspect of cognitive control and altruistic motivation. We conclude that we need to redefine “altruistic punishment” into “costly punishment,” as no direct link of altruism and punishment is given. Additionally, midfrontal theta band activation complements the FRN and offers additional insights into complex responses and decision processes, especially as a single trial predictor.      

Physiological and Brain Activity After a Combined Cognitive Behavioral Treatment Plus Video Game Therapy for Emotional Regulation in Bulimia Nervosa: A Case Report

Background

PlayMancer is a video game designed to increase emotional regulation and reduce general impulsive behaviors, by training to decrease arousal and improve decision-making and planning. We have previously demonstrated the usefulness of PlayMancer in reducing impulsivity and improving emotional regulation in bulimia nervosa (BN) patients. However, whether these improvements are actually translated into brain changes remains unclear.

Objective

The aim of this case study was to report on a 28-year-old Spanish woman with BN, and to examine changes in physiological variables and brain activity after a combined treatment of video game therapy (VGT) and cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT).

Methods

Ten VGT sessions were carried out on a weekly basis. Anxiety, physiological, and impulsivity measurements were recorded. The patient was scanned in a 1.5-T magnetic resonance scanner, prior to and after the 10-week VGT/CBT combined treatment, using two paradigms: (1) an emotional face-matching task, and (2) a multi-source interference task (MSIT).

Results

Upon completing the treatment, a decrease in average heart rate was observed. The functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results indicated a post-treatment reduction in reaction time along with high accuracy. The patient engaged areas typically active in healthy controls, although the cluster extension of the active areas decreased after the combined treatment.

Conclusions

These results suggest a global improvement in emotional regulation and impulsivity control after the VGT therapy in BN, demonstrated by both physiological and neural changes. These promising results suggest that a combined treatment of CBT and VGT might lead to functional cerebral changes that ultimately translate into better cognitive and emotional performances.     

Usability Testing of a Sensor-Controlled Digital Game to Engage Older Adults with Heart Failure in Physical Activity and Weight Monitoring

Background  Poor self-management of heart failure (HF) has contributed to poor health outcomes. Sensor-controlled digital games (SCDGs) integrates data from behavior-tracking sensors to trigger progress, rewards, content, and positive feedback in a digital game to motivate real-time behaviors. Objectives  To assess the usability of an SCDG prototype over a week of game-playing among 10 older adults with HF in their homes. Methods  During initial play, participants'' SCDG experiences were observed in their homes using a checklist based on the seven-item Serious Game User Evaluator (SeGUE) instrument. After a week of game-playing, participants completed a survey guided by the Intrinsic Motivation Inventory, to provide their perceptions of the SCDG''s usability. Qualitative analysis via semistructured interview-derived themes on experiences playing the SCDG, perceptions regarding engaging with the SCDG, and any usability issues encountered. Results  Ten HF participants (50% women and 50% White) played the SCDG for an average of 6 out of 7 days. Nine found the SCDG to be interesting, satisfying, and easy to play. The average step count over a week was 4,117 steps (range: 967–9,892). Average adherence with weight monitoring was 5.9 days in a week. Qualitative analysis yielded outcomes regarding attitudes toward SCDG, and barriers and facilitators that influenced participants'' engagement with the SCDG. Conclusion  To the best of the authors'' knowledge, this usability and feasibility study is the first to report an SCDG designed to improve HF self-management behaviors of older adults in their homes. Future research should consider several issues, such as user profiles, prior game-playing experiences, and network conditions most suitable for connected health interventions for older adults living in the community.     

A novel fMRI paradigm to dissociate the behavioral and neural components of mixed‐strategy decision making from non‐strategic decisions in humans

During competitive interactions, such as predator–prey or team sports, the outcome of one's actions is dependent on both their own choices and those of their opponents. Success in these rivalries requires that individuals choose dynamically and unpredictably, often adopting a mixed strategy. Understanding the neural basis of strategic decision making is complicated by the fact that it recruits various cognitive processes that are often shared with non‐strategic forms of decision making, such as value estimation, working memory, response inhibition, response selection, and reward processes. Although researchers have explored neural activity within key brain regions during mixed‐strategy games, how brain activity differs in the context of strategic interactions versus non‐strategic choices is not well understood. We developed a novel behavioral paradigm to dissociate choice behavior during mixed‐strategy interactions from non‐strategic choices, and we used task‐based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to contrast brain activation. In a block design, participants competed in the classic mixed‐strategy game, “matching pennies,” against a dynamic computer opponent designed to exploit predictability in players’ response patterns. Results were contrasted with a non‐strategic task that had comparable sensory input, motor output, and reward rate; thus, differences in behavior and brain activation reflect strategic processes. The mixed‐strategy game was associated with activation of a distributed cortico‐striatal network compared to the non‐strategic task. We propose that choosing in mixed‐strategy contexts requires additional cognitive demands present to a lesser degree during the control task, illustrating the strength of this design in probing function of cognitive systems beyond core sensory, motor, and reward processes.     

Game theoretical mapping of white matter contributions to visuospatial attention in stroke patients with hemineglect

White matter bundles linking gray matter nodes are key anatomical players to fully characterize associations between brain systems and cognitive functions. Here we used a multivariate lesion inference approach grounded in coalitional game theory (multiperturbation Shapley value analysis, MSA) to infer causal contributions of white matter bundles to visuospatial orienting of attention. Our work is based on the characterization of the lesion patterns of 25 right hemisphere stroke patients and the causal analysis of their impact on three neuropsychological tasks: line bisection, letter cancellation, and bells cancellation. We report that, out of the 11 white matter bundles included in our MSA coalitions, the optic radiations, the inferior fronto‐occipital fasciculus and the anterior cingulum were the only tracts to display task‐invariant contributions (positive, positive, and negative, respectively) to the tasks. We also report task‐dependent influences for the branches of the superior longitudinal fasciculus and the posterior cingulum. By extending prior findings to white matter tracts linking key gray matter nodes, we further characterize from a network perspective the anatomical basis of visual and attentional orienting processes. The knowledge about interactions patterns mediated by white matter tracts linking cortical nodes of attention orienting networks, consolidated by further studies, may help develop and customize brain stimulation approaches for the rehabilitation of visuospatial neglect.     

酒精依赖与网络游戏成瘾男性的冲动性行为特征比较

目的:冲动性在成瘾行为形成发展不同阶段起重要作用,本研究通过比较网络游戏成瘾者与酒精依赖者的冲动特征及其冲动性差异,探索在物质成瘾和行为成瘾过程中冲动行为的共性和差异性特征,为成瘾行为的早期识别和诊断提供一定的依据.方法:本研究采用UPPS-P冲动量表和感觉寻求量表测量冲动特质,延迟折扣任务测量冲动决策,停止-信号任务...     

Neural signatures of fairness‐related normative decision making in the ultimatum game: A coordinate‐based meta‐analysis

The willingness to incur personal costs to enforce prosocial norms represents a hallmark of human civilization. Although recent neuroscience studies have used the ultimatum game to understand the neuropsychological mechanisms that underlie the enforcement of fairness norms; however, a precise characterization of the neural systems underlying fairness‐related norm enforcement remains elusive. In this study, we used a coordinate‐based meta‐analysis on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using the ultimatum game with the goal to provide an additional level of evidence for the refinement of the underlying neural architecture of this human puzzling behavior. Our results demonstrated a convergence of reported activation foci in brain networks associated with psychological components of fairness‐related normative decision making, presumably reflecting a reflexive and intuitive system (System 1) and a reflective and deliberate system (System 2). System 1 (anterior insula, ventromedial prefrontal cortex [PFC]) may be associated with the reflexive and intuitive responses to norm violations, representing a motivation to punish norm violators. Those intuitive responses conflict with economic self‐interest, encoded in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), which may engage cognitive control from a reflective and deliberate System 2 to resolve the conflict by either suppressing (ventrolateral PFC, dorsomedial PFC, left dorsolateral PFC, and rostral ACC) the intuitive responses or over‐riding self‐interest (right dorsolateral PFC). Taken together, we suggest that fairness‐related norm enforcement recruits an intuitive system for rapid evaluation of norm violations and a deliberate system for integrating both social norms and self‐interest to regulate the intuitive system in favor of more flexible decision making. Hum Brain Mapp 36:591–602, 2015. © 2014 Wiley Periodicals, Inc .     

自尊与网络游戏成瘾—自我控制的中介作用

目的:探讨自我控制在网络游戏成瘾与自尊之间的中介作用。方法:采用大学生网络成瘾类型问卷(TOIAS)、大学生自我控制量表(SCS)和自尊量表(SES)对453名男大学生网络游戏玩家进行测量。结果:①网络游戏成瘾与自尊呈显著负相关。②回归方程纳入自我控制后,自尊对网络游戏成瘾的预测在统计意义上不显著。结论:网络游戏成瘾、自我控制与自尊之间有着紧密相关,自我控制在网络游戏成瘾和自尊之间起着完全中介作用。     

大学生电脑游戏成瘾问卷的编制

目的编制大学生电脑游戏成瘾问卷。方法通过对546名大学生调查数据的探索性因素分析和242名大学生数据的验证性因素分析,检验大学生电脑游戏成瘾问卷的信度和效度。结果大学生电脑游戏成瘾问卷包含24个项目,可聚合为时间管理、情绪体验、生活冲突、牺牲社交和戒断困难五个因子。24个项目的载荷范围是0.513-0.838,五个因子解释了总方差的59.62%。量表各维度的内部一致性系数为0.78-0.84,分半信度为0.68-0.91,重测信度为0.79-0.88。验证性因素分析结果显示问卷的RMSEA小于0.08,CFI、RFE、IFI、NFI、NNFI都在0.90以上。结论该问卷的因素结构清晰,信度和效度较好。