Research Interests:
Research Interests: Cognitive Science, Biology, Delusions, Dopamine, Functional Connectivity, and 15 moreHumans, Cerebral Cortex, Insula, Default Mode Network, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Female, Male, Framework, Connectivity, Clinical Sciences, Activation, Adult, Functional Neuroimaging, Dysfunction, and Medical and Health Sciences
Depression is a disabling disorder that significantly impacts on the interpersonal functioning of individuals. However, little is known about the neural substrates of such difficulties. In the last few years neuroeconomics, which combines... more
Depression is a disabling disorder that significantly impacts on the interpersonal functioning of individuals. However, little is known about the neural substrates of such difficulties. In the last few years neuroeconomics, which combines imaging with multiplayer behavioural economic paradigms, has been used to study the neural substrates of normal and abnormal interpersonal interactions. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging to investigate neural activity in unmedicated depressed participants (n = 25) and matched healthy controls (n = 25). During scanning, participants played a behavioural economic game, the Prisoner's Dilemma. In this game, the participant and a co-player independently choose either to cooperate or not cooperate with each other. Depressed participants reported higher levels of negative feelings (betrayal, guilt) during the game than did controls. Neural activation was compared between 'imbalanced' events [when one of the players coopera...
Research Interests: Neuroeconomics, Depression, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Medicine, FMRI, and 15 moreEmotions, Neural correlates of consciousness, Humans, Insula, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Female, Male, DICTATOR GAME, Feeling, Adult, Neural pathways, Cooperative Behavior, Neurosciences, Case Control Studies, and Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex
Research Interests:
Depression is a prevalent disorder that significantly affects the social functioning and interpersonal relationships of individuals. This highlights the need for investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying these social difficulties.... more
Depression is a prevalent disorder that significantly affects the social functioning and interpersonal relationships of individuals. This highlights the need for investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying these social difficulties. Investigation of social exchanges has traditionally been challenging as such interactions are difficult to quantify. Recently, however, neuroeconomic approaches that combine multiplayer behavioural economic paradigms and neuroimaging have provided a framework to operationalize and quantify the study of social interactions and the associated neural substrates. We investigated brain activation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in unmedicated depressed participants (n = 25) and matched healthy controls (n = 25). During scanning, participants played a behavioural economic paradigm, the Ultimatum Game (UG). In this task, participants accept or reject monetary offers from other players. In comparison to controls, depressed participants r...
Research Interests: Psychology, Neuroeconomics, Experimental games, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Behavioral Economics, and 15 moreNucleus Accumbens, Psychological Medicine, Reward, Humans, Caudate Nucleus, Female, Male, Young Adult, ULTIMATUM GAME, Depressive Disorder, Interpersonal Relations, Anhedonia, Adult, Morals, and Neurosciences
Cooperation upholds life in organized societies, but its neurobiological mechanisms remain unresolved. Recent theoretical analyses have contrasted cooperation by its fast versus slower modes of decision making. This raises the question of... more
Cooperation upholds life in organized societies, but its neurobiological mechanisms remain unresolved. Recent theoretical analyses have contrasted cooperation by its fast versus slower modes of decision making. This raises the question of the neural timescales involved in the integration of decision-related information, and of the participating neural circuits. Using time-resolved electroencephalography (EEG) methods, we characterized relevant neural signatures of feedback processing at the iterated prisoner's dilemma (iPD), an economic task that addresses cooperation-based exchange between social agents. We then probed the ability of relevant EEG signals to indicate subsequent decision-making, and inspected game and behavioral conditions under which they do so - including timing. Participants played against an assumed co-player, and the neural activation at the game feedback stage was analyzed via event-related potential (ERP) and spectrotemporal analysis methods. As expected f...
Research Interests:
Background. Depression is a prevalent disorder that significantly affects the social functioning and interpersonal relationships of individuals. This highlights the need for investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying these social... more
Background. Depression is a prevalent disorder that significantly affects the social functioning and interpersonal relationships
of individuals. This highlights the need for investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying these social difficulties.
Investigation of social exchanges has traditionally been challenging as such interactions are difficult to quantify.
Recently, however, neuroeconomic approaches that combine multiplayer behavioural economic paradigms and neuroimaging
have provided a framework to operationalize and quantify the study of social interactions and the associated
neural substrates.
Method. We investigated brain activation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in unmedicated depressed
participants (n = 25) and matched healthy controls (n = 25). During scanning, participants played a behavioural
economic paradigm, the Ultimatum Game (UG). In this task, participants accept or reject monetary offers from other
players.
Results. In comparison to controls, depressed participants reported decreased levels of happiness in response to ‘fair’
offers. With increasing fairness of offers, controls activated the nucleus accumbens and the dorsal caudate, regions
that have been reported to process social information and responses to rewards. By contrast, participants with depression
failed to activate these regions with increasing fairness, with the lack of nucleus accumbens activation correlating with
increased anhedonia symptoms. Depressed participants also showed a diminished response to increasing unfairness of
offers in the medial occipital lobe.
Conclusions. Our findings suggest that depressed individuals differ from healthy controls in the neural substrates
involved with processing social information. In depression, the nucleus accumbens and dorsal caudate may underlie abnormalities
in processing information linked to the fairness and rewarding aspects of other people’s decisions.
of individuals. This highlights the need for investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying these social difficulties.
Investigation of social exchanges has traditionally been challenging as such interactions are difficult to quantify.
Recently, however, neuroeconomic approaches that combine multiplayer behavioural economic paradigms and neuroimaging
have provided a framework to operationalize and quantify the study of social interactions and the associated
neural substrates.
Method. We investigated brain activation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in unmedicated depressed
participants (n = 25) and matched healthy controls (n = 25). During scanning, participants played a behavioural
economic paradigm, the Ultimatum Game (UG). In this task, participants accept or reject monetary offers from other
players.
Results. In comparison to controls, depressed participants reported decreased levels of happiness in response to ‘fair’
offers. With increasing fairness of offers, controls activated the nucleus accumbens and the dorsal caudate, regions
that have been reported to process social information and responses to rewards. By contrast, participants with depression
failed to activate these regions with increasing fairness, with the lack of nucleus accumbens activation correlating with
increased anhedonia symptoms. Depressed participants also showed a diminished response to increasing unfairness of
offers in the medial occipital lobe.
Conclusions. Our findings suggest that depressed individuals differ from healthy controls in the neural substrates
involved with processing social information. In depression, the nucleus accumbens and dorsal caudate may underlie abnormalities
in processing information linked to the fairness and rewarding aspects of other people’s decisions.