Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1080/17470919.2019.1697745

Language：English  

DOI： doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2023.105163

Language：English  

DOI： doi.org/10.1163/22134468-bja10090

Language：English  

DOI： doi.org/10.1111/jpr.12477

Authorship：Last author   Language：English  

DOI： doi.org/10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106180

Authorship：Last author   Language：English  

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1186046

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.1130324

Language：English  

DOI： doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.1130324

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.907836

Authorship：Last author   Language：English  

DOI： doi.org/10.3389/fnins.2022.907836

Language：English  

DOI： doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2022.104800

Language：English  

DOI： doi.org/10.1265/ehpm.23-00019

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1016/j.archger.2022.104800

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1002/gps.5778

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph19116672

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.851888

Language：English  

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.746897

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Last author  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese  

DOI： doi.org/10.11517/jjsai.36.1_21

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.18999/nagjms.83.1.169

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author  

DOI： doi.org/10.20797/ems.5.1_1

Language：Japanese  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： doi.org/10.20797/ems.5.1_4

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-019-56204-5

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02432

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jmp.2019.03.007

Language：English  

DOI： 10.1145/3335595.3335643

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1186/s12199-019-0787-7

Authorship：Last author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00153

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Medicine (United States)  

Autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) is an autoimmune liver disease that is characterized by a progressive destruction of the liver parenchyma and the development of liver fibrosis. We aimed to examine the relationship between circulating cytokines/chemokines and the Mac-2 binding protein glycosylation isomer (M2BPGi) levels in Japanese patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH). We investigated the relationship between circulating cytokines/chemokines and M2BPGi levels in Japanese patients with AIH. Seventy-seven patients with well-documented AIH were enrolled in the National Hospital Organization (NHO)-AIH-liver-network database. We measured the serum levels of 20 cytokines in 31 selected AIH patients before and after steroid treatment using multisuspension cytokine array. Eleven cytokines and soluble adhesion molecules were increased in untreated AIH patients compared with treated AIH patients. Among these cytokines and soluble adhesion molecules, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1 (sICAM-1) and interferon-g-inducible protein 10 (IP-10) were most downregulated by steroid therapy in AIH patients. We measured serum sICAM-1 and IP-10 by ELISA and found the levels were significantly higher in AIH patients (n = 77) compared with chronic viral hepatitis C patients (n = 32). Furthermore, there was a positive correlation between sICAM-1 or IP-10 and alanine aminotransferase, total bilirubin, and circulating M2BPGi levels. M2BPGi levels were increased in AIH patients with high stages of liver fibrosis. Additionally, M2BPGi levels were correlated with the histological grade of inflammation in AIH. Circulating M2BPGi levels were significantly reduced by steroid treatment in AIH patients. sICAM-1 and IP-10 are useful markers to assess immune-mediated hepatitis activity in AIH and they correlate with circulating M2BPGi. Serum M2BPGi levels increased in untreated AIH patients with active hepatitis and were decreased by steroid therapy. M2BPGi reflects autoimmune-mediated hepatic inflammation as well as liver fibrosis.

DOI： 10.1097/MD.0000000000013450

Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.82.0_jpas-010

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.82.0_2pm-051

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ACM International Conference Proceeding Series  

To be a moral agent is to bear its own responsibility which others cannot take for it. We hold that such irreplaceability consists in its having an inner world to which others cannot have direct access. The purpose of this paper is to propose, as a means of gaining support for our thesis, an experiment - a psychological one in which to assess to what degree we can attribute moral responsibility to a robot. Furthermore, we explore the possibility of a society where humans and robots coexist.

DOI： 10.1145/3233824.3233832

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： https://doi.org/10.1093/cercor/bhy166

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1093/cercor/bhy166

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1038/s41598-018-28174-7

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Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Psihologijske Teme  

Lisa Feldman-Barrett, who has promoted a psychological constructivism theory of affect, recently proposed the Embodied Predictive InteroceptionCoding (EPIC) model of affect, based on the perspective of predictive coding. The theoretical framework of predictive coding argues that the brain creates inner models that can provide predictions for perception and motor movement, and that perception andbehaviors emerge from Bayesian computations rooted in these predictions. The EPIC model expands this framework to interoception, which is perception of the inner body, and tries to explain the phenomena of affect as integrative experiences based on interoception. This perspective provides important implications for understanding issues of the brain–gut axis and its impairments.

DOI： 10.31820/pt.27.1.1

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier Inc.  

Reconciliation is an integral part of our social lives. Nevertheless, if a victim perceives the risk of further exploitation by his/her transgressor as non-negligible, the victim may well have difficulty forgiving the transgressor. Therefore, a key ingredient of reconciliation is the transgressor's sincere apology. Theoretical and empirical studies have shown that transgressors can make their apologies credible by incurring a substantial cost. Therefore, we hypothesized that costly apologies, compared to non-costly apologies (i.e., simply saying “sorry”), would effectively communicate a transgressor's conciliatory intention. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, participants were asked to imagine a friend committing a mild interpersonal transgression (e.g., standing up the participant) and then apologizing in a costly fashion, apologizing in a non-costly fashion, or not apologizing at all. Compared to non-costly apologies and non-apologies, costly apologies (signals of conciliatory intention) more strongly activated the theory-of-mind network (i.e., bilateral temporoparietal junction, precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex). Moreover, we did not observe any significant differences in brain responses to non-costly apologies and non-apology controls. These results underscore the importance of costly signals in human communication and in human peace-making in particular.

DOI： 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.01.004

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Evolution and Human Behavior  

Reconciliation is an integral part of our social lives. Nevertheless, if a victim perceives the risk of further exploitation by his/her transgressor as non-negligible, the victim may well have difficulty forgiving the transgressor. Therefore, a key ingredient of reconciliation is the transgressor's sincere apology. Theoretical and empirical studies have shown that transgressors can make their apologies credible by incurring a substantial cost. Therefore, we hypothesized that costly apologies, compared to non-costly apologies (i.e., simply saying “sorry”), would effectively communicate a transgressor's conciliatory intention. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, participants were asked to imagine a friend committing a mild interpersonal transgression (e.g., standing up the participant) and then apologizing in a costly fashion, apologizing in a non-costly fashion, or not apologizing at all. Compared to non-costly apologies and non-apologies, costly apologies (signals of conciliatory intention) more strongly activated the theory-of-mind network (i.e., bilateral temporoparietal junction, precuneus, medial prefrontal cortex). Moreover, we did not observe any significant differences in brain responses to non-costly apologies and non-apology controls. These results underscore the importance of costly signals in human communication and in human peace-making in particular.

DOI： 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.01.004

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.evolhumbehav.2018.01.004

Web of Science

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPANESE PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW  

<p>Interoception means neural processing and subjective perception of signals from inner body, including organs and autonomic, endocrine, and immune systems. Interoception has been thought to play critical roles in emergence of emotions, decision-making, and mental and physical well-being. Though associations between interoception and dysfunctional mental and physical health such as anxiety and Alexithymia have been reported, the empirical findings are still mixed. This article proposes a computational model of interoception on the basis of the principle of predictive coding, to provide integrated accounts of the findings of interoception and health. Simulations using the model suggested that 1) hypersensitive and inaccurate bodily sensation in anxiety might be rooted in lower precision of bodily signals and exaggerated transmission of bodily signals to the brain, and 2) inaccurate interoception and chronic unpleasant feeling in Alexithymia might be caused by lower precision of bodily signals and dysfunctional communication between the brain and body. Suggestions for future studies on interoception are also discussed.</p>

DOI： 10.24602/sjpr.61.3_322

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Society for Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology  

<p>In critical situations, such as the exposure to acute stress, we often make irrational choices. Biological responses to critical events stimulate the autonomic nervous system, the endocrine system, and the immune system, which regulate decision-making via those regions of the brain concerned with updating information and processing emotions. Previous studies have revealed that such biological responses have temporal effects on cognition and behavior. The current review summarizes empirical findings that investigate how acute stress affects decision-making and cognitive functions. We focus on neural and biological mechanisms as temporal factors and discuss their adaptive roles as aspects of cognitive functions in response to critical events.</p>

DOI： 10.5674/jjppp.1805si

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Although previous studies have revealed the role of oxytocin (OT) in parental behavior, the role of OT has not been investigated through the direct assessment of prefrontal brain activation during parenting. By using functional near-infrared spectroscopy, we aimed to show the relationship between parental [maternal (N = 15) and paternal (N = 21)] OT levels and the activation of the prefrontal cortex (PFC), while holding their infants after separation. Baseline OT levels were measured in the subjects' saliva samples before the experiment. Prefrontal brain activation was assessed in participants sitting alone on a chair (i.e., separation from their infant for 120 s) and during the target period (i.e., holding their infant for 45 s), which was done in triplicate. The oxygen hemoglobin (oxy-Hb) dissociation curve significantly increased in 9 out of 22 channels on the PFC when maternal and paternal samples were combined. However, only the fathers showed a correlation between salivary OT and oxy-Hb signal. Furthermore, while holding their infants, high-OT fathers showed left hemispheric dominance compared to low-OT fathers, while high-OT mothers showed right hemispheric dominance compared to low-OT mothers. This study showed that fathers with high-OT levels showed neural activation with left hemispheric dominance, while holding their infants, suggesting that increase of OT level might activate paternal PFC related to parenting behavior, although the same is not true for mothers.

DOI： 10.3389/fped.2017.00271

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jns.2017.08.331

Web of Science

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.81.0_ss-058

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.81.0_1d-041

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.81.0_ss-034

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.81.0_2b-045

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.81.0_l-014

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.81.0_1d-004

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：FRONTIERS MEDIA SA  

Psychopathy is a group of personality traits that are associated with violations of social norms. Previous studies have suggested that people with psychopathic traits in subclinical populations do not necessarily display antisocial, self-defeating behaviors, and instead may strategically show adaptive behaviors in response to cues during reciprocal social interactions. Therefore, in the present study, we examined whether the association between psychopathic traits and unfair behavior can be moderated by a potential for punishment and social distance (anonymity), which are known to facilitate fair behavior. We focused on two psychopathic traits: primary and secondary psychopathy. Primary psychopathy is characterized by callousness, shallow affect, manipulation, and superficial charm. In contrast, secondary psychopathy is associated with impulsivity and lack of long-term goals, and is related to hostile behavior. A total of 348 undergraduate students determined the amounts of money that they would offer to strangers or friends at their university in hypothetical scenarios of the ultimatum game (UG) and the dictator game (DG). While gender affected decisions in the hypothetical scenarios of the DG, it did not interact with psychopathic traits. The score for primary psychopathy on the Levenson self-report psychopathy scale predicted unfair monetary offers to strangers in the DG, where participants could not be punished. However, compared with their offers in the DG, individuals with higher scores for primary psychopathy made larger offers in the UG, where low offers could trigger punishment from the recipient. Moreover, primary psychopathy did not decrease the amounts of offers in either game when the participant considered the recipient to be a friend. On the other hand, secondary psychopathy was not associated with differences in behavioral fairness depending on a potential for punishment or social distance. Based on these findings, we discuss strategic social skills as a function of primary psychopathy.

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01604

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Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：SPRINGER  

A broadly used computational framework posits that two learning systems operate in parallel during the learning of choice preferences-namely, the model-free and model-based reinforcement-learning systems. In this study, we examined another possibility, through which model-free learning is the basic system and model-based information is its modulator. Accordingly, we proposed several modified versions of a temporal-difference learning model to explain the choice-learning process. Using the two-stage decision task developed by Daw, Gershman, Seymour, Dayan, and Dolan (2011), we compared their original computational model, which assumes a parallel learning process, and our proposed models, which assume a sequential learning process. Choice data from 23 participants showed a better fit with the proposed models. More specifically, the proposed eligibility adjustment model, which assumes that the environmental model can weight the degree of the eligibility trace, can explain choices better under both model-free and model-based controls and has a simpler computational algorithm than the original model. In addition, the forgetting learning model and its variation, which assume changes in the values of unchosen actions, substantially improved the fits to the data. Overall, we show that a hybrid computational model best fits the data. The parameters used in this model succeed in capturing individual tendencies with respect to both model use in learning and exploration behavior. This computational model provides novel insights into learning with interacting model-free and model-based components.

DOI： 10.3758/s13415-017-0511-2

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.4236/psych.2017.810098

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Brain and Nerve  

It is well known that the insular cortex (Brodmann areas 13,14, 15, and 16) located deep inside the Sylvian fissure is associated with mental functions such as perception, language, cognition, affect, and movement. In particular, the insular cortex has been linked to interoception, which is the representation of bodily physiological states that is used to regulate bodily states and mental functions. Recently, a common principle to explain such functions of the insular cortex has been proposed. The principle posits that the anterior insula generates predictions of future bodily states, computes the error by comparing the prediction with the actual sensory signals, and integrates the body with the mind by minimizing the prediction error. This article describes the functions of the insular cortex, and discusses the possibility that an error-minimizing function can affect decision-making to regulate behaviors.

Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：株式会社医学書院  

DOI： 10.11477/mf.1416200755

PubMed

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.5057/jske.TJSKE-D-16-00092

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Frontiers Media S.A.  

Previous studies have reported that the concealed information test (CIT) is a reliable and powerful method for detecting information. However, the external validity of the CIT studies has not been fully proven. In particular, few studies have examined the effects of emotional arousal at memory encoding on physiological responses in the CIT. The present study investigated the influence on the CIT of the magnitude of emotional arousal at memory encoding of a mock crime, using the P300 component of the event-related brain potential (ERP). In accord with the assumptions of excitation-transfer theory, we presented emotionally arousing pictures before a mock crime. Participants were randomly assigned to either a high emotional arousal group (n = 10) or a low emotional arousal group (n = 11), viewing pictures expected to arouse emotion at a high or low level, respectively. Subsequently, all participants enacted the same mock crime, in which they were instructed to stab a pillow with a sharp-edged tool (e.g., a kitchen knife or ice pick) as if harassing a mannequin lying on a bed. After the antecedent emotional experience, the P300-based CIT was conducted. Participants in the high arousal group showed significantly greater P300 amplitudes in response to a probe stimulus compared with the low arousal group. No differences were found between the groups in response to irrelevant stimuli. These results support the notion that emotional arousal influences the P300 in the CIT paradigm.

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.02334

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：FRONTIERS MEDIA SA  

Happiness is regarded as one of the most fundamental human goals. Given recent reports that positive feelings are contagious (e.g., the presence of a happy person enhances others' happiness) because of the human ability to empathize (i.e., sharing emotions), empathic ability may be a key factor in increasing one's own subjective level of happiness. Based on previous studies indicating that a single nucleotide polymorphism in the serotonin 2A receptor gene [HTR2A rs6311 guanine (G) vs. adenine (A)] is associated with sensitivity to emotional stimuli and several mental disorders such as depression, we predicted that the polymorphism might be associated with the effect of sharing happiness. To elucidate the neural and genetic correlates of the effect of sharing happiness, we first performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a "happy feelings" evocation task (emotional event imagination task), during which we manipulated the valence of the imagined event (positive, neutral, or negative), as well as the presence of a friend experiencing a positive-valence event (presence or absence). We recruited young adult women for this fMRI study because empathic ability may be higher in women than in men. Participants felt happier (p &lt; 0.01) and the mentalizing/ theory-of-mind network, which spans the medial prefrontal cortex, temporoparietal junction, temporal poles, and precuneus, was significantly more active (p &lt; 0.05) in the presence condition than in the absence condition regardless of event valence. Moreover, participants with the GG (p &lt; 0.01) and AG (p &lt; 0.05) genotypes of HTR2A experienced happier feelings as well as greater activation of a part of the mentalizing/ theory-of-mind network (p &lt; 0.05) during empathy for happiness (neutral/presence condition) than those with the AA genotype. In a follow-up study with a vignette-based questionnaire conducted in a relatively large sample, male and female participants were presented with the same imagined events wherein their valence and the presence of a friend were manipulated. Results showed genetic differences in happiness-related empathy regardless of sex (p &lt; 0.05). Findings suggest that HTR2A polymorphisms are associated with the effect of sharing happiness by modulating the activity of the mentalizing/ theory-of-mind network.

DOI： 10.3389/fnins.2017.00718

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PubMed

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本感情心理学会  

DOI： 10.20797/ems.3.1_38

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society of Kansei Engineering  

When infants are in their crawling stage, both mothers and infants experience difficulties while changing diapers. We evaluated the effects of pull-up type diaper on physical and psychological burden in comparison to the nappy-type diaper. Twenty-four mother-infant dyads participated in this study. According to the behavioral observation analysis, negative behaviors of mothers and infants while changing pull-up type diapers were significantly lesser than while changing the nappy-type. Pull-up type diapers took mothers 30% lesser time to change, while allowing infants more physical movements than the nappy-type. A spectral analysis of infants' heart rate variability showed that low-high frequency ratio and the change in normalized unit percentage (Nu%) were significantly lower when pull-up type diapers were changed. Negative emotion-related behaviors of both mothers and infants significantly correlated with change in Nu% of infants. Lower physical and psychological burden while changing diapers was associated with pull-up type diapers.

DOI： 10.5057/jjske.tjske-d-16-00092

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Research on Emotions  

<p>Lisa Feldman-Barrett, who has promoted a psychological constructivism theory of affect, recently proposed the Embodied Predictive Interoception Coding (EPIC) model of affect, on the basis of the perspective of predictive coding. The theoretical framework of predictive coding argues that the brain creates inner models which can provide predictions for perception and motor movement, and that perception and behaviors are emerged from Bayesian computations rooted on the predictions. The EPIC model expands this perspective into interoception, which is perception of inner body states, and tries to explain phenomena of affect as integrative experiences based on interoception. This article introduces concepts of the EPIC model and examines the model by referencing to empirical findings.</p>

DOI： 10.20797/ems.3.1_2

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本社会心理学会  

DOI： 10.14966/jssp.b012

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：cognitivesciencesociety.org  

Other Link： http://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/conf/cogsci/cogsci2017.html#conf/cogsci/NagatakiSKHKOMK17

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Elsevier {BV}  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2016.09.017

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP  

Although empathy is important for social interactions, individuals with alexithymia have low empathic ability, particularly where advanced empathy is concerned (empathic concern, perspective taking). It has been argued that awareness of the self-other distinction enhances advanced empathy, and alexithymics are thought to inadequately distinguish the self from others. We therefore tested whether the self-other distinction increases advanced empathy in alexithymics. To this end, we presented painful hand images over participants' own hands, and required participants to estimate felt pain intensity and their affective states. Half of the participants got specific instructions to distinct themselves from the other in the images. Felt pain intensity (perspective taking) and other-oriented affective responses (empathic concern) were increased by the instructions only when participants had high alexithymia scores as measured by questionnaire, although self-oriented affective responses (personal distress) were not affected by the instructions. These findings indicate that enhancing the self-other distinction enhances alexithymics' ability to use advanced empathy, but not the primitive empathy.

DOI： 10.1038/srep35059

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Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00444

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Frontiers in Human Neuroscience  

This study investigates the prolonged effects of physiological responses induced by acute stress on risk-taking in decision-making. Participants were divided into a Stress group (N = 14) and a Control group (N = 12). The Trier Social Stress Test was administered as an acute stressor, and reading was administered as a control task; thereafter, participants performed a decision-making task in which they needed to choose a sure option or a gamble option in Gain and Loss frame trials 2 h after (non-) exposure to the stressor. Increased cortisol, adrenaline, heart rate (HR), and subjective stress levels validated acute stress manipulation. Stressed participants made fewer risky choices only in the Gain domain, whereas no effect of stress was shown in the Loss domain. Deceleration of HR reflecting attention was greater for Gains compared with Losses only in the Stress group. Risk avoidance was determined by increased levels of cortisol caused by acute stress. These results suggest that processes regarding glucocorticoid might be involved in the prolonged effects of acute stress on the evaluation of risks and the monitoring of outcomes in decision-making.

DOI： 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00444

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：FRONTIERS MEDIA SA  

This study investigates the prolonged effects of physiological responses induced by acute stress on risk-taking in decision-making. Participants were divided into a Stress group (N = 14) and a Control group (N = 12). The Trier Social Stress Test was administered as an acute stressor, and reading was administered as a control task; thereafter, participants performed a decision-making task in which they needed to choose a sure option or a gamble option in Gain and Loss frame trials 2 h after (non-) exposure to the stressor. Increased cortisol, adrenaline, heart rate (HR), and subjective stress levels validated acute stress manipulation. Stressed participants made fewer risky choices only in the Gain domain, whereas no effect of stress was shown in the Loss domain. Deceleration of HR reflecting attention was greater for Gains compared with Losses only in the Stress group. Risk avoidance was determined by increased levels of cortisol caused by acute stress. These results suggest that processes regarding glucocorticoid might be involved in the prolonged effects of acute stress on the evaluation of risks and the monitoring of outcomes in decision-making.

DOI： 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00444

Web of Science

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Society for Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology  

DOI： 10.5674/jjppp.1606ci

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：International Journal of Cardiology  

Background Three-year clinical follow-up of patients with diabetes mellitus (DM) in the Japan-Drug Eluting Stents Evaluation; a Randomized Trial (J-DESsERT) using 2 different drug eluting stents (DES). A recent study demonstrated that efficacy of sirolimus eluting stents (SES) attenuated over time in diabetic patients. Methods In the largest trial of its kind, 1724 DM patients out of 3533 enrolled patients were randomized to either SES or paclitaxel eluting stents (PES). Results There were no significant differences in baseline clinical characteristics aside from hypertension. Incidence of major adverse cardiac cerebrovascular events (MACCE) mainly due to higher target vessel failure (TVF) initially indicated a benefit in SES (MACCE rate at 1 year: SES 9.4%, PES 12.2%, p = 0.08); however this had attenuated by the time of the 3-year follow-up (MACCE rate from 1 to 3 years: SES 8.4%, PES 6.1%, p = 0.10). A similar pattern was observed in insulin-treated patients: MACCE rate from 1 to 3 years was 10.5% in SES and 6.4% in PES (p = 0.25). Angiographic follow-up also resulted in higher major adverse cardiac event (MACE) rates at 1 year (presence 11.5%, absence 8.3%, p = 0.04); however by 3 years rates were similar regardless of the presence of angiographic follow-up (MACE rate at 3 years: presence 16.0%, absence 14.5%, p = 0.35). Conclusions The superiority of SES over PES in MACCE at 1 year had attenuated by 3-year follow-up. Eventually, the 3-year safety and efficacy profiles were similar regardless of insulin treatment.

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijcard.2016.01.023

Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Aroma Environment Association of Japan  

This study evaluated the effects of short-duration aromatherapy massage (AM) on state anxiety and state self-esteem. Six healthy graduate students completed a 5-min pre-rest and either an AM or rest intervention followed by a 15-min post-rest before going to a desk. They filled out self-report measures of state anxiety and state self-esteem at three points: after the pre-rest, after the intervention, and after moving to the desk. Each received six interventions: 20-min, 10-min, and 5-min AM and 20-min, 10-min, and 5-min rest. Sweet orange essential oil was used in all AM interventions. Both state anxiety (<i>p</i>=.007) and state self-esteem (<i>p</i>=.047) after moving to the desk differed significantly between AM and rest conditions. In the AM condition, state anxiety decreased significantly (<i>p</i>=.024) and state self-esteem increased significantly (<i>p</i>=.038). State anxiety, but not state self-esteem, differed significantly between AM and rest conditions in all three durations. In a correlation analysis, state self-esteem noticeably differed between AM and rest conditions only in the 20-min condition. Results suggest that state anxiety may be reduced by a 5-min AM but state self-esteem may require a lengthier intervention.

DOI： 10.15035/aeaj.160203

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：FRONTIERS MEDIA SA  

A bad reputation can persistently affect judgments of an individual even when it turns out to be invalid and ought to be disregarded. Such indelible distrust may reflect that the negative evaluation elicited by a bad reputation transfers to a person. Consequently, the person him/herself may come to activate this negative evaluation irrespective of the accuracy of the reputation. If this theoretical model is correct, an evaluation-related brain region will be activated when witnessing a person whose bad reputation one has learned about, regardless of whether the reputation is deemed valid or not. Here, we tested this neural hypothesis with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants memorized faces paired with either a good or a bad reputation. Next, they viewed the faces alone and inferred whether each person was likely to cooperate, first while retrieving the reputations, and then while trying to disregard them as false. A region of the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vIPFC), which may be involved in negative evaluation, was activated by faces previously paired with bad reputations, irrespective of whether participants attempted to retrieve or disregard these reputations. Furthermore, participants showing greater activity of the left ventrolateral prefrontal region in response to the faces with bad reputations were more likely to infer that these individuals would not cooperate. Thus, once associated with a bad reputation, a person may elicit evaluation related brain responses on their own, thereby evoking distrust independently of their reputation.

DOI： 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00028

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10:3389/fnhum.2016.00444

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPANESE PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW  

<p>Studies using hyperscanning have reported coordination of behaviors among 2 persons who ­performed interactive tasks. Synchronization of brain activity is an underlying mechanism of behavioral coordination. This article proposes a mathematical model (the “Kuramoto model”) which describes a phenome­non called entrainment of oscillator to explain how synchronization of brain activity emerges and which factors affect brain synchronization. A model, including 4 oscillators (inferior frontal gyri and middle temporal gyri in 2 persons) suggested that 1) similarity of oscillation frequencies in brain regions is critical for synchronization of brain activity, 2) patients on the autism spectrum might have different oscillation frequencies in their brain regions resulting in impairment of fluent communication, and 3) learning of important pathways from one person to another person can facilitate synchronization of brain activity, and thus probably can improve communication and behavioral coordination.</p>

DOI： 10.24602/sjpr.59.3_283

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (other academic)   Publisher：(株)ニュー・サイエンス社  

本研究では、幸福感を高めるような心理学的介入の心身の健康状態に対する効果を検証した。実験の結果、毎日起きた出来事について、その時感じた自分の感情を素直に記述して一日を振り返るという、感情体験の自己開示を1週間行うことにより、幸福感の上昇、うつ症状の減少、身体的活性化(交感神経活動の上昇)を促すことが示された。また、幸福感の変化と唾液中CRP濃度(炎症マーカー)・sIgA濃度(免疫機能マーカー)との間に相関が認められた。本研究により、筆記による感情体験の自己開示は心身の健康状態を増進させることが示された。(著者抄録)

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Society for Human Environmental Studies  

A social dilemma has been defined as a situation in which (a) each group member receives a higher payoff for defecting than for cooperative behaviors, and (b) all group members receive a lower payoff if they all defect than if they all cooperate (Dawes, 1980). The free-rider problem is associated with this social dilemma. The public goods game (PGG) is a decision-making task simulating the above social dilemma, and a number of previous studies have indicated that introducing punishment increases cooperation in the PGG. Although many studies have indicated that physiological responses affected by participants' behaviors when performing punishment-related tasks, this association has not been investigated to date in relation to PGG. Therefore, we investigated physiological responses in the PGG to elucidate the association between physiological responses and choices in the PGG. Participants performed both an ordinary PGG and a PGG that included probabilistic punishment. Heart rate (HR) responses were compared when participants contributed and did not contribute in the two types of PGGs. Results indicated that when others' choices were presented in the ordinary PGG, peak HR acceleration was higher after participants choose a non-cooperative behavior than a cooperative behavior, whereas when others' choices were presented in PGG with punishment, HR decelerated after participants choose a non-cooperative behavior than a cooperative behavior. These results suggest that cooperative behaviors in PGG with punishment are associated with punishment given to others, whereas cooperative behaviors in the PGG without punishment are associated with larger rewards without costs. These findings extend our understanding of the relationship between cooperative behaviors and physiological responses associated with social dilemmas.

DOI： 10.4189/shes.14.17

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Research on Emotions  

<p>Though brain regions which are related to social behaviors and social affects have been widely elucidated, the mechanisms how those regions determine social mind are not understood. Here I suggest that a theoretical framework inspired by research on decision-making and reinforcement learning might be useful to consider the mechanisms underlying human’s social mind. Specifically, it has been argued that three systems of decision-making, the Pavlovian system, goal-directed system, and habit system interact, based on evaluation of values, to determine wide ranges of behaviors of humans and animals. The present article proposes that such framework can be expanded to social behaviors and social affect, to shed new lights on interpretations of significance of the social phenomena and to draw new hypotheses for future empirical studies.</p>

DOI： 10.20797/ems.2.1_46

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00444

PubMed

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_ss-041

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_3am-057

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_3ev-031

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_is-008

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_2am-059

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_3ev-005

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_3ev-025

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_2ev-103

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.79.0_ss-063

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：NATURE PUBLISHING GROUP  

Cytokines are important mediators of various stress-related modulations of immune function. A major genetic factor determining inter-individual differences in stress reactivity is polymorphisms of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine, 5HT) transporter (5HTT) gene. A short (S) variant, compared with a long (L) variant, of the promoter region of the 5HTT gene-linked polymorphic region (5HTTLPR) has been related to emotional and stress hyper-reactivity. The present study examined whether the 5HTTLPR can modulate responses of inflammatory cytokines under acute stress. Nine Japanese male participants carrying two copies of the S alleles and nine Japanese males carrying S and L alleles underwent the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). Inflammatory cytokines, endocrine parameters, heart rate and subjective stress were measured before, during and after the task. The participants carrying the SS alleles, but not those carrying the SL alleles, showed a significant increase of IL-1 beta immediately after TSST. This hyper-reactivity to acute stress in individuals with the SS alleles was also observed in their heart rate and cortisol levels. These results suggest that the S allele of the 5HTTLPR is consistently associated with stress reactivity in multi-level stress-related biological systems.

DOI： 10.1038/srep13852

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1073/pnas.1418014112

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America  

Patients suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders such as substance-related and addictive disorders exhibit altered decision-making patterns, which may be associated with their behavioral abnormalities. However, the neuronal mechanisms underlying such impairments are largely unknown. Using a gambling test, we demonstrated that methamphetamine (METH)-treated rats chose a high-risk/high-reward option more frequently and assigned higher value to high returns than control rats, suggestive of changes in decision-making choice strategy. Immunohistochemical analysis following the gambling test revealed aberrant activation of the insular cortex (INS) and nucleus accumbens in METH-treated animals. Pharmacological studies, together with in vivo microdialysis, showed that the insular neural system played a crucial role in decision-making. Moreover, manipulation of INS activation using designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drug technology resulted in alterations to decision-making. Our findings suggest that the INS is a critical region involved in decision-making and that insular neural dysfunction results in risk-taking behaviors associated with altered decision-making.

DOI： 10.1073/pnas.1418014112

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1073/pnas.1418014112

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： www,pnas.org/cgi/doi/10.1073/pnas.1418014112

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：NATL ACAD SCIENCES  

Patients suffering from neuropsychiatric disorders such as substance-related and addictive disorders exhibit altered decision-making patterns, which may be associated with their behavioral abnormalities. However, the neuronal mechanisms underlying such impairments are largely unknown. Using a gambling test, we demonstrated that methamphetamine (METH)-treated rats chose a high-risk/high-reward option more frequently and assigned higher value to high returns than control rats, suggestive of changes in decision-making choice strategy. Immunohistochemical analysis following the gambling test revealed aberrant activation of the insular cortex (INS) and nucleus accumbens in METH-treated animals. Pharmacological studies, together with in vivo microdialysis, showed that the insular neural system played a crucial role in decision-making. Moreover, manipulation of INS activation using designer receptor exclusively activated by designer drug technology resulted in alterations to decision-making. Our findings suggest that the INS is a critical region involved in decision-making and that insular neural dysfunction results in risk-taking behaviors associated with altered decision-making.

DOI： 10.1073/pnas.1418014112

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Epidemiological Association  

<b>Background: </b>The association between diabetes mellitus (DM) and low secretory immunoglobulin A (s-IgA) secretion rates is one mechanism suspected of influencing susceptibility to infections among DM patients. However, several studies have shown contradictory results. We examined these two factors to seek evidence of an association among older people.<BR><b>Methods: </b>We analyzed a prospective cohort of 2306 subjects (1209 men and 1097 women) around 64 years old from the New Integrated Suburban Seniority Investigation (NISSIN) Project in Nisshin, Japan. DM statuses were ascertained from levels of fasting plasma glucose and HbA_1c, and s-IgA secretion rates were obtained from 5-min saliva samples. We used an analysis of covariance adjusted for possible confounders to compare s-IgA secretion rates according to DM status.<BR><b>Results: </b>s-IgA secretion rates in DM participants were lower than in those classified as normal (18.6 µg/min vs 15.0 µg/min, <i>P</i> = 0.03), even after elimination of the effects of possible confounders.<BR><b>Conclusions: </b>DM was associated with lower s-IgA secretion rates. This suggests that lower s-IgA levels may be a mechanism of susceptibility to infection in individuals with DM.

DOI： 10.2188/jea.JE20140088

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CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：東海学園大学  

近年、主観的に社会経済地位(subjective Social Economics Status:sSES)を低く評価している人は精神的健康のトラブルを引き起こしやすいということが報告されている。その背景には社会心理的ストレスが関係しているとし、ストレスマーカーによる知見が蓄積されているが、未だ不明な点が多い。本研究ではストレスマーカーとして炎症性サイトカインを用い、主観的社会経済地位と精神的健康の関連性について検討を行った。この結果、低い社会経済的地位の評価が高い炎症性サイトカイン値を示すことが明らかとなった。さらに、男性においてのみ社会経済地位と炎症性サイトカインとの間に負の相関が認められた。本研究によって、男性における社会経済地位の健康問題に炎症性サイトカインが寄与する可能性が示唆された。(著者抄録)

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Asia-Pacific Psychiatry  

Introduction: The letters F, A and S, originally used in the English letter fluency stimuli test, have been frequently adopted to assess executive function in many languages. However, few studies reported the significance of FAS testing employed in different languages. The current study explored whether FAS could be widely applied to the Indonesian language. Methods: A total of 211 undergraduate students from state and private universities who participated in this study were randomly assigned into four groups. Each group was exposed to six different letter fluency stimuli. The total number of words the participants produced for each letter stimulus were averaged and ranked to determine the degree of difficulty in generating words. Furthermore, the normal distribution and equal ratio comparison were examined to verify the representative letter fluency stimuli. In addition, the effect of sex and university affiliation on letter fluency performance was also analyzed. Results: The letters A and S were among the easiest letters used to generate words; however, the letter F was regarded as a difficult stimulus. Furthermore, only the number of words beginning the letter S was distributed according to a normal curve. The number of words starting with the letters F and A were not normally distributed. Although sex difference was not associated with letter fluency performance, difference in university affiliation showed a significant effect on performance. Discussion: Our findings suggest that consideration of several stimuli factors is required to accurately measure performance in the letter fluency task in a specific language.

DOI： 10.1111/appy.12082

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000318

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000318

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00103

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Journal of Neuropsychopharmacology  

We sometimes make decisions relying not necessarily on deliberative thoughts but on intuitive and emotional processes in uncertain situations. The somatic marker hypothesis proposed by Damasio argued that interoception, which means bodily responses such as sympathetic activity, can be represented in the insula and anterior cingulate cortex and can play critical roles in decision-making. Though this hypothesis has been criticized in its theoretical and empirical aspects, recent studies are expanding the hypothesis to elucidate multiple bodily responses including autonomic, endocrine, and immune activities that affect decision-making. In addition, cumulative findings suggest that the anterior insula where the inner model of interoception is represented can act as an interface between the brain and body in decision-making. This article aims to survey recent findings on the brain-body interplays underlying decision-making, and to propose hypotheses on the significance of the body in decision-making.

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：LIPPINCOTT WILLIAMS & WILKINS  

Feedback-related negativity (FRN) is an event-related brain potential (ERP) component elicited by errors and negative outcomes. Previous studies proposed that FRN reflects the activity of a general error-processing system that incorporates reward prediction error (RPE). However, other studies reported inconsistent results on this issue - namely, that FRN only reflects the valence of feedback and that the magnitude of RPE is reflected by the other ERP component called P300. The present study focused on the relationship between the FRN amplitude and RPE. ERPs were recorded during a reversal learning task performed by the participants, and a computational model was used to estimate trial-by-trial RPEs, which we correlated with the ERPs. The results indicated that FRN and P300 reflected the magnitude of RPE in negative outcomes and positive outcomes, respectively. In addition, the correlation between RPE and the P300 amplitude was stronger than the correlation between RPE and the FRN amplitude. These differences in the correlation between ERP and RPE components may explain the inconsistent results reported by previous studies; the asymmetry in the correlations might make it difficult to detect the effect of the RPE magnitude on the FRN and makes it appear that the FRN only reflects the valence of feedback. Copyright (c) 2015 Wolters Kluwer Health, Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000318

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：FRONTIERS RESEARCH FOUNDATION  

We analyzed skin conductance response (SCR) as a psychophysiological index to evaluate affective aspects of consumer preferences for cosmetic products. To examine the test-retest reliability of association between preferences and SCR, we asked 33 female volunteers to complete two experimental sessions approximately 1 year apart. The participants indicated their preferences in a typical paired comparison task by choosing the better option from a combination of two products among four products. We measured anticipatory SCR prior to expressions of the preferences. We found that the mean amplitude of the SCR elicited by the preferred products was significantly larger than that elicited by the non-preferred products. The participants' preferences and corresponding SCR patterns were well preserved at the second session 1 year later. Our results supported cumulating findings that SCR is a useful index of consumer preferences that has future potential, both in laboratory and marketing settings.

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00103

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PLoS ONE  

Click beetles (Coleoptera: Elateridae) represent one of the largest groups of beetle insects. Some click beetles in larval form, known as wireworms, are destructive agricultural pests. Morphological identification of click beetles is generally difficult and requires taxonomic expertise. This study reports on the DNA barcoding of Japanese click beetles to enable their rapid and accurate identification. We collected and assembled 762 cytochrome oxidase subunit I barcode sequences from 275 species, which cover approximately 75% of the common species found on the Japanese main island, Honshu. This barcode library also contains 20 out of the 21 potential pest species recorded in Japan. Our analysis shows that most morphologically identified species form distinct phylogenetic clusters separated from each other by large molecular distances. This supports the general usefulness of the DNA barcoding approach for quick and reliable identification of Japanese elaterid species for environmental impact assessment, agricultural pest control, and biodiversity analysis. On the other hand, the taxonomic boundary in dozens of species did not agree with the boundary of barcode index numbers (a criterion for sequence-based species delimitation). These findings urge taxonomic reinvestigation of these mismatched taxa.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0116612

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Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/5psyg.2015.00103

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPAN SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON EMOTIONS  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.22.135

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japan Society for Research on Emotions  

<p>As basic principles to explain emergence of empathy in humans, this article proposes a theoretical framework of “bottom-up empathy” and “top-down empathy.” The former is driven by external stimuli and emerged on the basis of physical and autonomic properties of neural systems. The latter means processes to infer others’ intentions, thoughts, and emotions based on mental models which are maintained in cognitive systems. The bottom-up empathy can be realized by synchronization of spontaneous fluctuation of neural activity in brain regions including the inferior lateral prefrontal cortex and insula, among two or plural persons. The top-down empathy can be rooted in neural systems for the mentalizing or “theory of mind”, including the medial prefrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus, temporal–parietal junction, and insula. Probably the insula which is an interface of the brain and body might be a key brain region which can connect the bottom-up empathy and top-down empathy. This theoretical framework might be useful to explore characteristics of human empathy and to apply the basic findings into real world phenomena.</p>

DOI： 10.20797/ems.1.1_56

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：NeuroReport  

Feedback-related negativity (FRN) is an event-related brain potential (ERP) component elicited by errors and negative outcomes. Previous studies proposed that FRN reflects the activity of a general error-processing system that incorporates reward prediction error (RPE). However, other studies reported inconsistent results on this issue - namely, that FRN only reflects the valence of feedback and that the magnitude of RPE is reflected by the other ERP component called P300. The present study focused on the relationship between the FRN amplitude and RPE. ERPs were recorded during a reversal learning task performed by the participants, and a computational model was used to estimate trial-by-trial RPEs, which we correlated with the ERPs. The results indicated that FRN and P300 reflected the magnitude of RPE in negative outcomes and positive outcomes, respectively. In addition, the correlation between RPE and the P300 amplitude was stronger than the correlation between RPE and the FRN amplitude. These differences in the correlation between ERP and RPE components may explain the inconsistent results reported by previous studies; the asymmetry in the correlations might make it difficult to detect the effect of the RPE magnitude on the FRN and makes it appear that the FRN only reflects the valence of feedback.

DOI： 10.1097/WNR.0000000000000318

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Frontiers in Psychology  

We analyzed skin conductance response (SCR) as a psychophysiological index to evaluate affective aspects of consumer preferences for cosmetic products. To examine the test-retest reliability of association between preferences and SCR, we asked 33 female volunteers to complete two experimental sessions approximately 1 year apart. The participants indicated their preferences in a typical paired comparison task by choosing the better option from a combination of two products among four products. We measured anticipatory SCR prior to expressions of the preferences. We found that the mean amplitude of the SCR elicited by the preferred products was significantly larger than that elicited by the non-preferred products. The participants' preferences and corresponding SCR patterns were well preserved at the second session 1 year later. Our results supported cumulating findings that SCR is a useful index of consumer preferences that has future potential, both in laboratory and marketing settings.

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00103

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.00103

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.08.933

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.08.946

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：International Journal of Psychophysiology  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2014.09.001

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Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_3am-2-004

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Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_ss-093

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_ss-002

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_1pm-1-070

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_is-006

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_2pm-2-013

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.78.0_2ev-1-004

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging  

Purpose: The right ventricle (RV) has a high capacity to adapt to pressure or volume overload before failing. However, the mechanisms of RV adaptation, in particular RV energetics, in patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) are still not well understood. We aimed to evaluate RV energetics including RV oxidative metabolism, power and efficiency to adapt to increasing pressure overload in patients with PH using 11C-acetate PET. Methods: In this prospective study, 27 patients with WHO functional class II/III PH (mean pulmonary arterial pressure 39.8±13.5 mmHg) and 9 healthy individuals underwent 11C-acetate PET. 11C-acetate PET was used to simultaneously measure oxidative metabolism (k mono) for the left ventricle (LV) and RV. LV and RV efficiency were also calculated. Results: The RV ejection fraction in PH patients was lower than in controls (p=0.0054). There was no statistically significant difference in LV k mono (p=0.09). In contrast, PH patients showed higher RV k mono than did controls (0.050±0.009 min-1 vs. 0.030±0.006 min-1, p<0.0001). PH patients exhibited significantly increased RV power (p<0.001) and hence increased RV efficiency compared to controls (0.40±0.14 vs. 0.017±0.12 mmHg·mL·min/g, p=0.001). Conclusion: The RV oxidative metabolic rate was increased in patients with PH. Patients with WHO functional class II/III PH also had increased RV power and efficiency. These findings may indicate a myocardial energetics adaptation response to increasing pulmonary arterial pressure. © 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg.

DOI： 10.1007/s00259-014-2736-4

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Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：FRONTIERS RESEARCH FOUNDATION  

Humans are capable of correcting their actions based on actions performed in the past, and this ability enables them to adapt to a changing environment. The computational field of reinforcement learning (RL) has provided a powerful explanation for understanding such processes. Recently, the dual learning system, modeled as a hybrid model that incorporates value update based on reward-prediction error and learning rate modulation based on the surprise signal, has gained attention as a model for explaining various neural signals. However, the functional significance of the hybrid model has not been established. In the present study, we used computer simulation in a reversal learning task to address functional significance in a probabilistic reversal learning task. The hybrid model was found to perform better than the standard RL model in a large parameter setting. These results suggest that the hybrid model is more robust against the mistuning of parameters compared with the standard RL model when decision-makers continue to learn stimulus-reward contingencies, which can create abrupt changes. The parameter fitting results also indicated that the hybrid model fit better than the standard RL model for more than 50% of the participants, which suggests that the hybrid model has more explanatory power for the behavioral data than the standard RL model.

DOI： 10.3389/fpsyg.2014.00871

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：FRONTIERS MEDIA SA  

We previously reported that sympathetic activity was associated with exploration in decision-making indexed by entropy, which is a concept in information theory and indexes randomness of choices or the degree of deviation from sticking to recent experiences of gains and losses, and that activation of the anterior insula mediated this association. The current study aims to replicate and to expand these findings in a situation where contingency between options and outcomes is manipulated. Sixteen participants performed a stochastic decision-making task in which we manipulated a condition with low uncertainty of gain/loss (contingent-reward condition) and a condition with high uncertainty of gain/loss (random-reward condition). Regional cerebral blood flow was measured by 150-water positron emission tomography (PET), and cardiovascular parameters and catecholamine in the peripheral blood were measured, during the task. In the contingent-reward condition, norepinephrine as an index of sympathetic activity was positively correlated with entropy indicating exploration in decision-making. Norepinephrine was negatively correlated with neural activity in the right posterior insula, rostral anterior cingulate cortex, and dorsal pons, suggesting neural bases for detecting changes of bodily states. Furthermore, right anterior insular activity was negatively correlated with entropy, suggesting influences on exploration in decision-making. By contrast, in the random-reward condition, entropy correlated with activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal and parietal cortices but not with sympathetic activity. These findings suggest that influences of sympathetic activity on exploration in decision-making and its underlying neural mechanisms might be dependent on the degree of uncertainty of situations.

DOI： 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00381

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE  

Happiness has been viewed as a temporary emotional state (e. g., pleasure) and a relatively stable state of being happy (subjective happiness level). As previous studies demonstrated that individuals with high subjective happiness level rated their current affective states more positively when they experience positive events, these two aspects of happiness are interrelated. According to a recent neuroimaging study, the cytosine to thymine single-nucleotide polymorphism of the human cannabinoid receptor 1 gene is associated with sensitivity to positive emotional stimuli. Thus, we hypothesized that our genetic traits, such as the human cannabinoid receptor 1 genotypes, are closely related to the two aspects of happiness. In Experiment 1, 198 healthy volunteers were used to compare the subjective happiness level between cytosine allele carriers and thymine-thymine carriers of the human cannabinoid receptor 1 gene. In Experiment 2, we used positron emission tomography with 20 healthy participants to compare the brain responses to positive emotional stimuli of cytosine allele carriers to that of thymine-thymine carriers. Compared to thymine-thymine carriers, cytosine allele carriers have a higher subjective happiness level. Regression analysis indicated that the cytosine allele is significantly associated with subjective happiness level. The positive mood after watching a positive film was significantly higher for the cytosine allele carriers compared to the thymine-thymine carriers. Positive emotion-related brain region such as the medial prefrontal cortex was significantly activated when the cytosine allele carriers watched the positive film compared to the thyminethymine carriers. Thus, the human cannabinoid receptor 1 genotypes are closely related to two aspects of happiness. Compared to thymine-thymine carriers, the cytosine allele carriers of the human cannabinoid receptor 1 gene, who are sensitive to positive emotional stimuli, exhibited greater magnitude positive emotions when they experienced positive events and had a higher subjective happiness level.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0093771

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PubMed

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本感情心理学会  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.21.91

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本感情心理学会  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.22.24

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本基礎心理学会  

DOI： 10.14947/psychono.KJ00009351537

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPANESE PSYCHOLOGICAL REVIEW  

DOI： 10.24602/sjpr.57.1_98

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Journal of Vision  

When distinguishing whether a face displays a certain emotion, some regions of the face may contain more useful information than others. Here we ask whether people differentially attend to distinct regions of a face when judging different emotions. Experiment 1 measured eye movements while participants discriminated between emotional (joy, anger, fear, sadness, shame, and disgust) and neutral facial expressions. Participant eye movements primarily fell in five distinct regions (eyes, upper nose, lower nose, upper lip, nasion). Distinct fixation patterns emerged for each emotion, such as a focus on the lips for joyful faces and a focus on the eyes for sad faces. These patterns were strongest for emotional faces but were still present when viewers sought evidence of emotion within neutral faces, indicating a goal-driven influence on eye-gaze patterns. Experiment 2 verified that these fixation patterns tended to reflect attention to the most diagnostic regions of the face for each emotion. Eye movements appear to follow both stimulus-driven and goal-driven perceptual strategies when decoding emotional information from a face.

DOI： 10.1167/14.13.14

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：cognitivesciencesociety.org  

Other Link： http://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/conf/cogsci/cogsci2014.html#conf/cogsci/KonnoNSHO14

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Psihologijske Teme  

While emotions themselves are beneficial for our survival, they are also the targets to be regulated appropriately to adapt to social environments. Previous studies have demonstrated that cognitive strategies such as cognitive reappraisal and expressive suppression can effectively enhance and attenuate emotions. Such cognitive strategies of emotion regulation are based on cortical modulation of sub-cortical emotion-related brain regions. Though in the prior studies emotion regulation was conducted in parallel with or after the emotion elicitation, a series of our studies showed that prior cognitive activities can automatically and unintentionally attenuate subsequent emotional responses. In this article, after reviewing the previous findings about emotion regulation, we introduce our empirical findings showing that cognitive activities where the neural system of emotion regulation would be recruited can unintentionally and automatically dampen psychological and physiological emotional responses. Finally, we propose possible neural mechanisms underlying modulation of emotion by cognitive activity.

Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本ストレス学会  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本ストレス学会  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.77.0_3pm-115

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.77.0_1ev-073

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.77.0_ss-053

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.77.0_1ev-092

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.77.0_ss-045

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.77.0_1am-090

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.77.0_3ev-008

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

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DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.04.050

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Neuroscience  

The somatic marker hypothesis asserts that decision-making can be guided by feedback of bodily states to the brain. In line with this hypothesis, the present study tested whether sympathetic activity shows an association with a tonic dimension of decision-making, exploratory tendency represented by entropy in information theory, and further examined the neural mechanisms of the association. Twenty participants performed a stochastic reversal learning task that required decision-making in an unstable and uncertain situation. Regional cerebral blood flow was evaluated using 15O-water positron emission tomography (PET), and cardiovascular indices and concentrations of catecholamine in peripheral blood were also measured, during the task. In reversal learning, increased epinephrine during the task positively correlated with larger entropy, indicating a greater tendency for exploration in decision-making. The increase of epinephrine also correlated with brain activity revealed by PET in the somatosensory cortices, anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and the dorsal pons. This result is consistent with previously reported brain matrixes of representation of bodily states and interoception. In addition, activity of the anterior insula specifically correlated with entropy, suggesting possible mediation of this brain region between peripheral sympathetic arousal and exploration in decision-making. These findings shed a new light about a role of bodily states in decision-making and underlying neural mechanisms. © 2013 IBRO.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.04.050

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.04.050

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

The somatic marker hypothesis asserts that decision-making can be guided by feedback of bodily states to the brain. In line with this hypothesis, the present study tested whether sympathetic activity shows an association with a tonic dimension of decision-making, exploratory tendency represented by entropy in information theory, and further examined the neural mechanisms of the association. Twenty participants performed a stochastic reversal learning task that required decision-making in an unstable and uncertain situation. Regional cerebral blood flow was evaluated using 15O-water positron emission tomography (PET), and cardiovascular indices and concentrations of catecholamine in peripheral blood were also measured, during the task. In reversal learning, increased epinephrine during the task positively correlated with larger entropy, indicating a greater tendency for exploration in decision-making. The increase of epinephrine also correlated with brain activity revealed by PET in the somatosensory cortices, anterior insula, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and the dorsal pons. This result is consistent with previously reported brain matrixes of representation of bodily states and interoception. In addition, activity of the anterior insula specifically correlated with entropy, suggesting possible mediation of this brain region between peripheral sympathetic arousal and exploration in decision-making. These findings shed a new light about a role of bodily states in decision-making and underlying neural mechanisms. © 2013 IBRO.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2013.04.050

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0072523

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PLoS ONE  

The phenomenon in which a certain smell evokes a specific memory is known as the Proust phenomenon. Odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli. The results of our previous study indicated that odor-evoked autobiographic memory accompanied by positive emotions has remarkable effects on various psychological and physiological activities, including the secretion of cytokines, which are immune-signaling molecules that modulate systemic inflammation. In this study, we aimed to clarify the neural substrates associated with the interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memory and peripheral circulating cytokines. We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated the association between brain responses and the concentration of several cytokines in the plasma by using positron emission tomography (PET) recordings when an autographic memory was evoked in participants by asking them to smell an odor that was nostalgic to them. Participants experienced positive emotions and autobiographic memories when nostalgic odors were presented to them. The levels of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines, such as the tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) and interferon-γ (IFN-γ), were significantly reduced after experiencing odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Subtraction analysis of PET images indicated that the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were significantly activated during experiences of odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Furthermore, a correlation analysis indicated that activities of the mOFC and precuneus/PCC were negatively correlated with IFN-γ concentration. These results indicate that the neural networks including the precuneus/PCC and mOFC might regulate the secretion of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines during the experience of odor-evoked autobiographic memories accompanied with positive emotions. © 2013 Matsunaga et al.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0072523

Scopus

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE  

The phenomenon in which a certain smell evokes a specific memory is known as the Proust phenomenon. Odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli. The results of our previous study indicated that odor-evoked autobiographic memory accompanied by positive emotions has remarkable effects on various psychological and physiological activities, including the secretion of cytokines, which are immune-signaling molecules that modulate systemic inflammation. In this study, we aimed to clarify the neural substrates associated with the interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memory and peripheral circulating cytokines. We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated the association between brain responses and the concentration of several cytokines in the plasma by using positron emission tomography (PET) recordings when an autographic memory was evoked in participants by asking them to smell an odor that was nostalgic to them. Participants experienced positive emotions and autobiographic memories when nostalgic odors were presented to them. The levels of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines, such as the tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), were significantly reduced after experiencing odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Subtraction analysis of PET images indicated that the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) and precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) were significantly activated during experiences of odor-evoked autobiographic memory. Furthermore, a correlation analysis indicated that activities of the mOFC and precuneus/PCC were negatively correlated with IFN-gamma concentration. These results indicate that the neural networks including the precuneus/PCC and mOFC might regulate the secretion of peripheral proinflammatory cytokines during the experience of odor-evoked autobiographic memories accompanied with positive emotions.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0072523

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2013.04.011

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2013.04.011

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Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

We investigated whether vagal tone, as assessed by heart rate variability (HRV), moderates the neural correlates of immune and physiological responses to acute stress. Participants with low and high baseline HRV underwent a reversal learning task as an acute stressor. Natural killer cells, norepinephrine, and adrenocorticotropic hormone in peripheral blood changed with acute stress in the high HRV group only. Activity in the prefrontal cortex and striatum correlated with the immune and physiological indices in the high HRV group. High vagal tone may reflect more flexible top-down brain regulation of immune and physiological activity. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2013.04.011

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Hepatology Research  

Aim: The number of patients with autoimmune hepatitis (AIH) showing acute presentation has increased. This study aimed to assess their prognosis. Methods: A survey of AIH patients by sending questionnaires was performed, and 96 patients showing acute presentation were investigated. Results: The median age was 58 years and 78 patients (81%) were female. Eighty-four patients (88%) were positive for antinuclear antibody and/or anti-smooth muscle antibody. The median serum immunoglobulin G level was 2252mg/dL. Twenty-five patients (26%) showed histological acute hepatitis. As initial treatment, 88 patients (92%) were treated with corticosteroid, and 28 of them received pulse steroid treatment. Overall, 11 patients (11%) reached fatal outcomes (nine death and two liver transplantation). Patients with histological acute hepatitis showed higher serum bilirubin levels, lower prothrombin activities and higher prothrombin time-international normalized ratios (PT-INR) and reached fatal outcomes more frequently. With a multivariate logistic regression analysis, prothrombin activity and PT-INR at presentation was associated with fatal outcomes. Nine of 13 patients (69%) showing prothrombin activity of 40% or lower at presentation and nine of 19 patients (47%) showing PT-INR of 1.5 or higher reached fatal outcomes. Furthermore, of 13 patients showing prothrombin activity of 40% or lower and/or PT-INR of 1.5 or higher at presentation who were treated with pulse steroid treatment, four (31%) died from infectious disease. Conclusion: Prothrombin activity and PT-INR are prognostic factors for AIH showing acute presentation. Physicians should pay attention to the development of infectious disease when pulse steroid treatment is performed. © 2012 The Japan Society of Hepatology.

DOI： 10.1111/j.1872-034X.2012.01109.x

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0066018

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PLoS ONE  

The present study was performed to investigate the associations between eye-blink behaviors and various other factors in primates. We video-recorded 141 individuals across 71 primate species and analyzed the blink rate, blink duration, and "isolated" blink ratio (i.e., blinks without eye or head movement) in relation to activity rhythms, habitat types, group size, and body size factors. The results showed close relationships between three types of eye-blink measures and body size factors. All of these measures increased as a function of body weight. In addition, diurnal primates showed more blinks than nocturnal species even after controlling for body size factors. The most important findings were the relationships between eye-blink behaviors and social factors, e.g., group size. Among diurnal primates, only the blink rate was significantly correlated even after controlling for body size factors. The blink rate increased as the group size increased. Enlargement of the neocortex is strongly correlated with group size in primate species and considered strong evidence for the social brain hypothesis. Our results suggest that spontaneous eye-blinks have acquired a role in social communication, similar to grooming, to adapt to complex social living during primate evolution. © 2013 Tada et al.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0066018

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Journal of Neuroimmunology  

We investigated whether vagal tone, as assessed by heart rate variability (HRV), moderates the neural correlates of immune and physiological responses to acute stress. Participants with low and high baseline HRV underwent a reversal learning task as an acute stressor. Natural killer cells, norepinephrine, and adrenocorticotropic hormone in peripheral blood changed with acute stress in the high HRV group only. Activity in the prefrontal cortex and striatum correlated with the immune and physiological indices in the high HRV group. High vagal tone may reflect more flexible top-down brain regulation of immune and physiological activity. © 2013 Elsevier B.V.

DOI： 10.1016/j.jneuroim.2013.04.011

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE  

The present study was performed to investigate the associations between eye-blink behaviors and various other factors in primates. We video-recorded 141 individuals across 71 primate species and analyzed the blink rate, blink duration, and "isolated'' blink ratio (i.e., blinks without eye or head movement) in relation to activity rhythms, habitat types, group size, and body size factors. The results showed close relationships between three types of eye-blink measures and body size factors. All of these measures increased as a function of body weight. In addition, diurnal primates showed more blinks than nocturnal species even after controlling for body size factors. The most important findings were the relationships between eye-blink behaviors and social factors, e.g., group size. Among diurnal primates, only the blink rate was significantly correlated even after controlling for body size factors. The blink rate increased as the group size increased. Enlargement of the neocortex is strongly correlated with group size in primate species and considered strong evidence for the social brain hypothesis. Our results suggest that spontaneous eye-blinks have acquired a role in social communication, similar to grooming, to adapt to complex social living during primate evolution.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0066018

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Neuroendocrinology Letters  

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine one of biological correlates, proinflammatory cytokine, in rejection of unfair financial offers in the Ultimatum Game (UG), where the division of a sum of money is proposed and the player can accept or reject this offer. METHODS: Nineteen participants played 20 trials of the UG as responders, and they were proposed unfair offers in a half of the trials. Baseline levels of several pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, subjective happiness, and depression of them were measured. RESULTS: Participants with higher levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin (IL)-6 rejected fewer unfair offers. This effect of IL-6 levels on decision-making was independent from other pro-inflammatory cytokines, anti-inflammatory cytokines, subjective happiness, and depression. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that chronic higher levels of IL-6 might affect functions of neural regions related to decision making, and thus can modulate rejection of unfair offers. © 2013 Neuroendocrinology Letters.

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Society for Human Environmental Studies  

Many people regularly listen to music for stress reduction and for healing. A number of studies have investigated the effects of music on psychological and physiological states. However, there have been few studies to examine the effects of music on recovery from stress states. Therefore, the present study investigated how psychophysiological stress states can be recovered through listening to music. Sixteen participants (3 men and 13 women) were assigned both to a music-condition and to a no music-condition, and performed the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST). The psychological parameters, stress hormones (salivary cortisol and salivary chromogranin A) and autonomic indices (heart rate and heart rate variability; HRV) were measured. All parameters, except autonomic indices, significantly increased after the TSST. Psychological parameters and salivary cortisol showed more significant reduction in participants listening to music than in participants who did not listen to music. When participants listened to music, the heart rate increased and the high frequency of HRV decreased. There was no change in salivary chromogranin A and low frequency/high frequency ratio (LF/HF ratio) of HRV. These results suggest that listening to music led to sympathetic nervous activation rather than parasympathetic nervous activation. Within physiological parameters, salivary cortisol corresponded to psychological stress state most. It could be interpreted that uplifting music made sympathetic nervous activation and led to exultation or excitement rather than to relaxation. Therefore, the autonomic indices would also be corresponding to psychological stress states.

DOI： 10.4189/shes.11.19

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPAN SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON EMOTIONS  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.21.34

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Public Health Research Foundation  

Chronic stress affects decision-making, especially shifts dominant modes of decision-making from goal-directed action to habit action. Animal studies have revealed that atrophy of the prelimbic and inflalimbic prefrontal cortex and dorsomedial striatum as well as hypertrophy of the dorsolateral striatum by chronic stress mediates the alteration of decision-making. We expanded this finding to humans by a neuroimaging study and further suggested that chronic stress causes dysfunctional regulation of physiological responses by the brain. Another study using functional and structural neuroimaging replicated these findings and further showed that stress-caused alterations of decision-making and the structure and function of the brain can be reversible once individuals are released from stress. Stress-induced habit action might mediate the association between chronic stress and diseases by leading to unhealthy behaviors such as over-consumption of tobacco and alcohol, less physical activity, and addition to drugs. Further studies are needed to clarify detailed mechanisms by which chronic stress causes alterations of the brain and decision-making, and possibility of effective preventions for maladaptive influences on health.<br>

DOI： 10.5058/stresskagakukenkyu.28.8

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本基礎心理学会  

DOI： 10.14947/psychono.KJ00008685331

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Society for Human Environmental Studies  

One of the features in psychopathy is a deficit of empathy. Without empathy, psychopathy can not inhibit to harm others. However, previous studies revealed that offenders had more empathic traits than non-offenders. Empathy is defined as multidimensional components (e.g.; cognitive empathy and emotional empathy), but not as a unitary. Generally, psychopathy is consisted of two subcomponents: Primary Psychopathy (PP; features of callousness and lack of empathy) and Secondary Psychopathy (SP; features of impulsiveness and uncontrollability to own behaviours). Here, we hypothesized that psychopaths, particularly who are dominant in PP, have less empathic traits both in cognitive and emotional domains, on the other hand, SP is more linked with emotional empathic trait, but less linked with cognitive one. Furthermore, we investigated not only to relate psychopathic traits and multidimensional empathy, but also to validate a Japanese version of the Primary and Secondary Psychopathy Scales (PSPS), using both Machiavellianism (MACH) scale and Buss-Perry Aggression Questionnaire (BAQ). Results indicated that correlations between PP and MACH and between PP and BAQ subscales of physical aggression and verbal aggression were higher than correlations between SP and MACH and BAQ, while correlations between SP and BAQ subscales of anger and hostility were higher than correlations between PP and the BAQ subscales. About empathy, consistent with our hypothesis, PP was linked with less empathy both in cognitive and emotional domains, whereas SP was linked with more emotional empathy, but was linked with less cognitive empathy. This reveals that PSPS dissociated PP and SP well. Although there remain some problems, PSPS is a useful scale for measurement of psychopathic traits.

DOI： 10.4189/shes.11.13

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Society for Human Environmental Studies  

Recent studies indicated that salivary alpha-amylase (sAA) is useful not only as a surrogate biological marker for sympathetic nervous activity, but also as a non-invasive index of psychological stress. Some psychophysiological studies have revealed significant increases of aAA during acute stress induces by experimental stressors such as the Trier Social Stress Test (TSST), which were comparable to other endocrinological indices such as salivary cortisol. However, association between change of sAA and performance of public speech within the TSST remain unclear. Thus, in the present study, we recruited 10 participants (mean age = 20.60, SD = 0.80 yrs) to investigate the associations between transition of sAA and performance of speech. SAA and pulsatile heart rate were measured three times before, and three times after the social stress challenge. SAA was measured with a portable sAA biosensor (Salivary amylase monitor; NIPRO, Japan). The Profile of Mood State (POMS) test and Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) were administered to participants after the TSST protocol. An ANOVA revealed a significant increase of sAA after the task. However, no significant change of pulsatile heart rate was observed. Neither a correlation between sAA and VAS nor a correlation between POMS and VAS was observed. These results suggest that sAA induced by the TSST would be a reliable biomarker of acute stress. However, associations between sAA response and performance of public speech during the TSST still remain under question to be further explored.

DOI： 10.4189/shes.11.7

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：cognitivesciencesociety.org  

Other Link： http://dblp.uni-trier.de/db/conf/cogsci/cogsci2013.html#conf/cogsci/NagatakiSKHO13

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：MAGHIRA & MAAS PUBLICATIONS  

OBJECTIVES: This study aimed to examine one of biological correlates, pro-inflammatory cytokine, in rejection of unfair financial offers in the Ultimatum Game (UG), where the division of a sum of money is proposed and the player can accept or reject this offer.
METHODS: Nineteen participants played 20 trials of the UG as responders, and they were proposed unfair offers in a half of the trials. Baseline levels of several pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines, subjective happiness, and depression of them were measured.
RESULTS: Participants with higher levels of the pro-inflammatory cytokine, interleukin (IL)-6 rejected fewer unfair offers. This effect of IL-6 levels on decision-making was independent from other pro-inflammatory cytokines, anti-inflammatory cytokines, subjective happiness, and depression.
CONCLUSIONS: These results suggested that chronic higher levels of IL-6 might affect functions of neural regions related to decision making, and thus can modulate rejection of unfair offers.

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.jad.2012.05.012

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Scopus

PubMed

Other Link： http://orcid.org/0000-0001-5624-8257

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0046377

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PLoS ONE  

Mindfulness is currently attracting a great deal of attention as a psychotherapy technique. It is defined as bringing one's complete attention to the experiences occurring in the present moment in a nonjudgmental or accepting way. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) was developed to assess individual differences in mindfulness states. The FFMQ is composed of five facets representing elements of mindfulness: non-reactivity to inner experience, non-judging, acting with awareness, describing, and observing. In the present study, we applied voxel-based morphometry to investigate the relationship between the brain structure and each facet as measured by the FFMQ. The results showed a positive association between the describing facet of mindfulness on the FFMQ and gray matter volume in the right anterior insula and the right amygdala. In conclusion, mindfulness was related with development in parts of the somatic marker circuit of the brain. © 2012 Murakami et al.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0046377

Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_2pma02

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_2pma17

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_ws035

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_2evd07

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_3pmb10

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_l035

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_2pma07

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_ws059

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.76.0_3pma64

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PUBLIC LIBRARY SCIENCE  

Mindfulness is currently attracting a great deal of attention as a psychotherapy technique. It is defined as bringing one's complete attention to the experiences occurring in the present moment in a nonjudgmental or accepting way. The Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire (FFMQ) was developed to assess individual differences in mindfulness states. The FFMQ is composed of five facets representing elements of mindfulness: non-reactivity to inner experience, non-judging, acting with awareness, describing, and observing. In the present study, we applied voxel-based morphometry to investigate the relationship between the brain structure and each facet as measured by the FFMQ. The results showed a positive association between the describing facet of mindfulness on the FFMQ and gray matter volume in the right anterior insula and the right amygdala. In conclusion, mindfulness was related with development in parts of the somatic marker circuit of the brain.

DOI： 10.1371/journal.pone.0046377

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：(公社)日本心理学会  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Cerebral Cortex  

The ability to extract sequential regularities embedded in the temporal context or temporal structure of sensory events and to predict upcoming events based on the extracted sequential regularities plays a central role in human cognition. In the present study, we demonstrate that, without any intention, upcoming emotional faces can be predicted based on sequential regularities, by showing that prediction error responses as reflected by visual mismatch negativity (MMN), an event-related brain potential (ERP) component, were evoked in response to emotional faces that violated a regular alternation pattern of 2 emotional faces (fearful and happy faces) under a situation where the emotional faces themselves were unrelated to the participant's task. Face-inversion and negative-bias effects in the visual MMN further indicated the involvement of holistic face representations. In addition, through successive source analyses of the visual MMN, it was revealed that the prediction error responses were composed of activations mainly in the face-responsible visual extrastriate areas and the prefrontal areas. The present results provide primary evidence for the existence of the unintentional temporal context-based prediction of biologically relevant visual stimuli as well as empirical support for the major engagement of the visual and prefrontal areas in unintentional temporal context-based prediction in vision. © 2011 The Author.

DOI： 10.1093/cercor/bhr244

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Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：SPRINGER  

It has been reported that engagement in several kinds of cognitive activity can successfully inhibit unpleasant emotions. In this study, we tried to replicate the previous finding that cognitive activity can modulate subsequent psychological and physiological emotional processes and to investigate whether prior cognitive activity can attenuate implicit emotional processes triggered by subliminal emotional stimuli. Sixty students were randomly divided into three groups (cognitive task group, noncognitive task group, control group). The cognitive task group was asked to engage in an n-back task, while the control group was asked to stay calm. The noncognitive task group was asked to do a handgrip-squeezing task. All participants then engaged in a version of a subliminal affective priming task where they were unconsciously exposed to affectively negative pictures. The cognitive task group showed lower negative experiences after the subliminal affective priming task and a substantial reduction in their heart rate responses, as compared with the other groups. These results provide evidence that engagement in cognitive activity can attenuate emotional processes in an automatic and unconscious manner.

DOI： 10.3758/s13415-012-0084-z

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Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

Individual differences in baseline executive functioning (EF) capacities have been shown to predict state anxiety during acute stressor exposure. However, no previous studies have clearly demonstrated the relationship between EF and physiological measures of stress. The present study investigated the efficacy of several well-known EF tests (letter fluency, Stroop test, and Wisconsin Card Sorting Test) in predicting both subjective and physiological stress reactivity during acute psychosocial stress exposure. Our results show that letter fluency served as the best predictor for both types of reactivity. Specifically, the higher the letter fluency score, the lower the acute stress reactivity after controlling for the baseline stress response, as indicated by lower levels of state anxiety, negative mood, salivary cortisol, and skin conductance. Moreover, the predictive power of the letter fluency test remained significant for state anxiety and cortisol indices even after further adjustments for covariates by adding the body mass index (BMI) as a covariate. Thus, good EF performance, as reflected by high letter fluency scores, may dampen acute stress responses, which suggests that EF processes are directly associated with aspects of stress regulation. (C) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2012.03.006

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Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE  

Multisensory integration involves bottom-up as well as top-down processes. We investigated the influences of top-down control on the neural responses to multisensory stimulation using EEG recording and time-frequency analyses. Participants were stimulated at the index or thumb of the left hand, using tactile vibrators mounted on a foam cube. Simultaneously they received a visual distractor from a light emitting diode adjacent to the active vibrator (spatially congruent trial) or adjacent to the inactive vibrator (spatially incongruent trial). The task was to respond to the elevation of the tactile stimulus (upper or lower), while ignoring the simultaneous visual distractor. To manipulate top-down control on this multisensory stimulation, the proportion of spatially congruent (vs. incongruent) trials was changed across blocks. Our results reveal that the behavioral cost of responding to incongruent than congruent trials (i.e., the crossmodal congruency effect) was modulated by the proportion of congruent trials. Most importantly, the EEG gamma band response and the gamma-theta coupling were also affected by this modulation of top-down control, whereas the late theta band response related to the congruency effect was not. These findings suggest that gamma band response is more than a marker of multisensory binding, being also sensitive to the correspondence between expected and actual multisensory stimulation. By contrast, theta band response was affected by congruency but appears to be largely immune to stimulation expectancy. (C) 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.11.076

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Scopus

PubMed

Other Link： http://orcid.org/0000-0002-5576-4791

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本基礎心理学会  

DOI： 10.14947/psychono.kj00008045648

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPAN SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON EMOTIONS  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.20.1_33

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本基礎心理学会  

DOI： 10.14947/psychono.kj00008045649

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：FRONTIERS MEDIA SA  

Most experimental studies of decision-making have specifically examined situations in which a single less-predictable correct answer exists (externally guided decision-making under uncertainty). Along with such externally guided decision-making, there are instances of decision-making in which no correct answer based on external circumstances is available for the subject (internally guided decision-making). Such decisions are usually made in the context of moral decision-making as well as in preference judgment, where the answer depends on the subject's own, i.e., internal, preferences rather than on external, i.e., circumstantial, criteria. The neuronal and psychological mechanisms that allow guidance of decisions based on more internally oriented criteria in the absence of external ones remain unclear. This study was undertaken to compare decision-making of these two kinds empirically and theoretically. First, we reviewed studies of decision-making to clarify experimental operational differences between externally guided and internally guided decision-making. Second, using multi-level kernel density analysis, a whole-brain-based quantitative meta-analysis of neuroimaging studies was performed. Our meta-analysis revealed that the neural network used predominantly for internally guided decision-making differs from that for externally guided decision-making under uncertainty. This result suggests that studying only externally guided decision-making under uncertainty is insufficient to account for decision-making processes in the brain. Finally, based on the review and results of the meta-analysis, we discuss the differences and relations between decision-making of these two types in terms of their operational, neuronal, and theoretical characteristics.

DOI： 10.3389/fnins.2012.00031

Web of Science

Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：一般社団法人 日本心身医学会  

DOI： 10.15064/jjpm.52.2_156_2

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Activitas Nervosa Superior Rediviva  

The "Proust phenomenon" occurs when a certain smell evokes a specific memory. Recent studies have demonstrated that odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli because of the direct neural communication between the olfactory system and the amygdala. The amygdala is known to regulate various physiological activities including the endocrine and immune systems; therefore, odor-evoked autobiographic memory may trigger various psychological and physiological responses; however, the responses elicited by this memory remains obscure. In this study, we aimed to investigate the psychological and physiological responses accompanying odor-evoked autobiographic memory. We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated changes in their mood states and autonomic nervous, endocrine, and immune activities when autobiographic memory was evoked in the participants by asking them to smell an odor(s) that was nostalgic to them. The autobiographic memories associated with positive emotion resulted in increased positive mood states, such as comfort and happiness, and decreased negative mood states, such as anxiety. Furthermore, heart rate was decreased, skin-conductance level was increased, and peripheral interleukin-2 level was decreased after smelling the nostalgic odor. These psychological and physiological responses were significantly correlated. The present study suggests that odor-evoked autobiographic memory along with a positive feeling induce various physiological responses, including the autonomic nervous and immune activities. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to observe an interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memories and immune function. © 2011 Activitas Nervosa Superior Rediviva.

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Neuroendocrinology Letters  

OBJECTIVE: The "Proust phenomenon" occurs when a certain smell evokes a specific memory. Recent studies have demonstrated that odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli because of the direct neural communication between the olfactory system and the amygdala. The amygdala is known to regulate various physiological activities including the endocrine and immune systems; therefore, odor-evoked autobiographic memory may trigger various psychological and physiological responses; however, the responses elicited by this memory remains obscure. In this study, we aimed to investigate the psychological and physiological responses accompanying odor-evoked autobiographic memory. METHODS: We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated changes in their mood states and autonomic nervous, endocrine, and immune activities when autobiographic memory was evoked in the participants by asking them to smell an odor(s) that was nostalgic to them. RESULTS: The autobiographic memories associated with positive emotion resulted in increased positive mood states, such as comfort and happiness, and decreased negative mood states, such as anxiety. Furthermore, heart rate was decreased, skin-conductance level was increased, and peripheral interleukin-2 level was decreased after smelling the nostalgic odor. These psychological and physiological responses were significantly correlated. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that odor-evoked autobiographic memory along with a positive feeling induce various physiological responses, including the autonomic nervous and immune activities. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to observe an interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memories and immune function. © 2011 Neuroendocrinology Letters.

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience  

The successful regulation of emotion relies heavily on executive function. Until very recently, however, the specific effects of executive function activity on other processes havereceived relatively little empirical attention. The link between executive function and emotional responses suggests that the activation of executive function may play an important role in the attenuation of emotional responses. We conducted twoexperiments to test the hypothesis that decrements in emotional responses following cognitive task performance might be caused, at least in part, by the activation of executive function. First, we sought to test whetherthe activation of executive function reducedemotional responsesimplicitly, without any volitional effort. Next, we sought to examine the link between prior activation of executivefunction and the attenuation of subsequent emotional responses, by comparing the effects of an executive-function-demanding task with the effects of a task that is equally effortful but does not engage executive function. We discuss our results in the context of the role of executive function in the attenuation of emotion. © Psychonomic Society, Inc. 2011.

DOI： 10.3758/s13415-011-0045-y

Web of Science

Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Psihologijske Teme  

Though traditional microeconomics has supposed that human decisions are based on logical and exact computation of cost-benefit balances or efficacies, studies in behavioral economics have shown that humans sometimes make seemingly irrational decisions driven by emotions. In our everyday situations, factors related to decisions are complex and which alternative will be the most beneficial is uncertain. In such cases, emotions have been thought adaptive because they can quickly reduce negative alternatives and facilitate fast and effective decision making. Some theorists argued that one of important sources of such emotional drives affecting decision making is bodily responses that are represented in brain regions (Craig, 2009; Damasio, 1994). In this article, empirical evidence for the functional associations of the brain and body accompanying decision making will be shown as follows. (1) Heart rate responses and concentration of inflammatory cytokine (IL-6) can predict acceptance or rejection of an unfair offer in an economical negotiation game, the Ultimatum Game. Activation of the anterior insula mediates relationship between bodily states and decision making. (2) Sympathetic responses reflected by secretion of adrenaline are represented in brain regions such as the midbrain, anterior cingulate cortex, and anterior insula, and furthermore can determine exploration of decision making in a situation where an action-outcome contingency is stochastic and unstable. These findings suggest beneficial roles of emotion and bodily responses in decision making.

Scopus

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.07.014

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.07.014

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Neuroscience  

Animal studies have revealed that chronic stress shifts cognitive strategies from the flexible goal-directed action to the simple and rigid habit action. In addition, stress-induced atrophy in the prefrontal cortex and dorsomedial striatum which are involved in the goal-directed action and hypertrophy of the dorsolateral striatum which is critical for the habit action were parallel with the effects of chronic stress on behaviors. The present study tested whether these previous findings in animal studies are compatible in humans by analyzing effects of chronic stress on neural and cardiovascular responses, which are likely important for performing appropriate actions. Twenty healthy men exposed to low or high chronic job stress performed a stochastic reversal learning task, which required cognitive flexibility and the goal-directed action. Regional cerebral blood flow was evaluated during the task using 15O-water positron emission tomography, and cardiovascular parameters such as blood pressure and heart rate were also measured. During the reversal learning task, whereas participants with low chronic job stress exhibited activity in the anterior caudate, as well as orbitofrontal cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, insula, and midbrain, which might be related to the goal-directed action, participants with high chronic job stress exhibited no activity in such brain regions. Furthermore, participants with high chronic job stress exhibited less reactivity in diastolic blood pressure, which might be mediated by anterior cingulate cortical activity. These findings, in line with previous studies, suggested that chronic job stress correlates with less activity in brain regions related to the goal-directed action, and insensitive physiological responses in humans. © 2011 IBRO.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.07.014

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Neuroendocrinology Letters  

OBJECTIVES: The idea that perceived happiness may be associated with health and well-being is a recent topic of focus. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the positive effects of happiness on psychological and physiological wellness remain obscure. In this study, we attempted to clarify the association between systemic inflammation and happiness. METHODS: We recruited 160 healthy volunteers for experiment 1 and compared peripheral inflammatory markers, namely the concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum, between perceived high-happiness and low-happiness groups. Subsequently, we recruited 7 romantic couples for experiment 2 and investigated changes in peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokine levels after the evocation of happiness, which was induced by warm physical contact with the partner. RESULTS: We found that circulating levels of interferon-γ (IFN-γ), which can affect brain functions and induce depressive symptoms, were lower in the high-happiness group than in the low-happiness group. A negative correlation between the levels of perceived happiness and IFN-γ concentrations was also observed. Furthermore, we also found that experimentally induced happiness could reduce peripheral IFN-γ levels. CONCLUSIONS: These results revealed an association between the perception of happiness and systemic inflammation. Increased happiness may suppress the peripheral circulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines. © 2011 Neuroendocrinology Letters.

Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本ストレス学会  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD  

Animal studies have revealed that chronic stress shifts cognitive strategies from the flexible goal-directed action to the simple and rigid habit action. In addition, stress-induced atrophy in the prefrontal cortex and dorsomedial striatum which are involved in the goal-directed action and hypertrophy of the dorsolateral striatum which is critical for the habit action were parallel with the effects of chronic stress on behaviors. The present study tested whether these previous findings in animal studies are compatible in humans by analyzing effects of chronic stress on neural and cardiovascular responses, which are likely important for performing appropriate actions. Twenty healthy men exposed to low or high chronic job stress performed a stochastic reversal learning task, which required cognitive flexibility and the goal-directed action. Regional cerebral blood flow was evaluated during the task using (15)O-water positron emission tomography, and cardiovascular parameters such as blood pressure and heart rate were also measured. During the reversal learning task, whereas participants with low chronic job stress exhibited activity in the anterior caudate, as well as orbitofrontal cortex, ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, insula, and midbrain, which might be related to the goal-directed action, participants with high chronic job stress exhibited no activity in such brain regions. Furthermore, participants with high chronic job stress exhibited less reactivity in diastolic blood pressure, which might be mediated by anterior cingulate cortical activity. These findings, in line with previous studies, suggested that chronic job stress correlates with less activity in brain regions related to the goal-directed action, and insensitive physiological responses in humans. (C) 2011 IBRO. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2011.07.014

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1093

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.75.0_ws102

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：(一社)日本心身医学会  

Other Link： https://search.jamas.or.jp/index.php?module=Default&action=Link&pub_year=2011&ichushi_jid=J00677&link_issn=&doc_id=20110901160013&doc_link_id=%2Fcv6jpsym%2F2011%2F005109%2F016%2F0844-0844%26dl%3D2&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.medicalonline.jp%2Fjamas.php%3FGoodsID%3D%2Fcv6jpsym%2F2011%2F005109%2F016%2F0844-0844%26dl%3D2&type=MedicalOnline&icon=https%3A%2F%2Fjk04.jamas.or.jp%2Ficon%2F00004_5.gif

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Cognitive, Affective and Behavioral Neuroscience  

This study examined neural features of emotional responses to errors. We specifically examined whether directed emotion regulation of negative emotion associated with error modulates action-monitoring functions of anterior cingulate cortex, including conflict monitoring, error processing, and error prevention. Seventeen healthy adults performed a continuous performance task during assessment by fMRI. In each block, participants were asked either to increase or decrease their negative emotional responses or to react naturally after error commission. Emotion regulation instructions were associated with modulation of rostral and dorsal anterior activity and of their effective connectivity following errors and conflict. Cingulate activity and connectivity predicted subsequent errors. These data may suggest that responses to errors are affected by emotion and that aspects of emotion and cognition are inextricably linked, even during a nominally cognitive task. © 2011 Psychonomic Society, Inc.

DOI： 10.3758/s13415-011-0028-z

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Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本生理心理学会  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Psychological Research  

The polymorphism of the serotonin transporter gene in the promoter region (5HTTLPR) has been considered to link with vulnerability to depression and anxiety. This paper introduces a series of our studies showing that this genetic polymorphism can explain portions of individual differences in stress reactivity at multiple levels: brain functions, peripheral physiological responses, and behaviors. Specifically: (a) carriers of double short (S) alleles, compared with carriers of at least one long (L) allele, show greater activation in the hypothalamus and larger reactivity in blood catecholamine, cortisol, and an inflammatory cytokine to acute stress; (b) carriers of double S alleles are more sensitive to punishment, and thus show poorer performance in a decision-making situation where they have to stick to a long-term correct option regardless of short-term punishment; and (c) carriers of double S alleles show greater activation of the amygdala and a correlation between amygdalar activity and an increase of natural killer cell proportion in blood when positive emotions are elicited. A possible model to explain the biological mechanisms underlying those phenomena is proposed and the ecological adaptive values of the 5HTTLPR genotypes are discussed. © Japanese Psychological Association 2011.

DOI： 10.1111/j.1468-5884.2011.00465.x

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Scopus

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Cognitive Science Society  

Intact face perception is an important function for individual identification in highly socialized human community. Recent studies revealed that there are hereditary individual differences on the cognitive skills related to face identification, named congenital&frasl;hereditary prosopagnosia. The investigation on the congenital&frasl;hereditary prosopagnosia would advance our understanding of the face identification mechanism, however, has not been conducted with Japanese samples. The development of the Japanese version of the congenital&frasl;hereditary prosopagnosia screening scale is the first step of the congenital&frasl;hereditary prosopagnosia study in Japan. In this study, we attempted the translation of the original screening scale into Japanese, and also investigated the relationship between the score of scale and behavioral&frasl;physiological responses on face stimuli. As a result, we found highly internal consistency and test-retest reliability for the Japanese version of the congenital&frasl;hereditary prosopagnosia screening scale. Also we have revealed the score was related to some behavioral performances and ERP responses related to the self-face perception.

DOI： 10.11225/jcss.18.50

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Cognitive Science Society  

To maintain our well-ordered social life, we should detect whether a behavior is immoral. In this study, we tried to reveal the plural cognitive processes involved in the moral judgment, using EEG with high temporal resolution. As stimuli, one sentence consisted of three phrases (in Japanese) was used per trial. The predicate was modified to create behavior variations for four conditions: Moral⁄Violation (e.g., He pockets a coin picked up.), Moral⁄Match (He hands over a coin picked up.), Semantic⁄Violation (He empathizes a coin picked up.), Semantic⁄Match (He looks a coin picked up.). We compared ERP responses between violation and match sentences, and demonstrated that N400 component in Semantic⁄Violation was larger than in Semantic⁄Match. For moral sentences, N400 was not significantly different between violation and match, while LPC in Moral⁄Violation was larger than in Moral⁄Match. This suggested that the cognition of moral violation is more complex cognitive process compared with semantic violation.

DOI： 10.11225/jcss.18.314

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本感情心理学会  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.18.203

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPAN SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON EMOTIONS  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.18.120

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

OBJECTIVE: The "Proust phenomenon" occurs when a certain smell evokes a specific memory. Recent studies have demonstrated that odor-evoked autobiographic memories are more emotional than those elicited by other sensory stimuli because of the direct neural communication between the olfactory system and the amygdala. The amygdala is known to regulate various physiological activities including the endocrine and immune systems; therefore, odor-evoked autobiographic memory may trigger various psychological and physiological responses; however, the responses elicited by this memory remains obscure. In this study, we aimed to investigate the psychological and physiological responses accompanying odor-evoked autobiographic memory. METHODS: We recruited healthy male and female volunteers and investigated changes in their mood states and autonomic nervous, endocrine, and immune activities when autobiographic memory was evoked in the participants by asking them to smell an odor(s) that was nostalgic to them. RESULTS: The autobiographic memories associated with positive emotion resulted in increased positive mood states, such as comfort and happiness, and decreased negative mood states, such as anxiety. Furthermore, heart rate was decreased, skin-conductance level was increased, and peripheral interleukin-2 level was decreased after smelling the nostalgic odor. These psychological and physiological responses were significantly correlated. CONCLUSIONS: The present study suggests that odor-evoked autobiographic memory along with a positive feeling induce various physiological responses, including the autonomic nervous and immune activities. To the best of our knowledge, the present study is the first to observe an interaction between odor-evoked autobiographic memories and immune function.

PubMed

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本パーソナリティ心理学会  

DOI： 10.24534/amjspp.20.0_88

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本パーソナリティ心理学会  

DOI： 10.24534/amjspp.20.0_141

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1007/978-4-431-53892-9_18

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neures.2011.07.1690

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：MAGHIRA & MAAS PUBLICATIONS  

OBJECTIVES: The idea that perceived happiness may be associated with health and well-being is a recent topic of focus. However, the neurobiological mechanisms underlying the positive effects of happiness on psychological and physiological wellness remain obscure. In this study, we attempted to clarify the association between systemic inflammation and happiness.
METHODS: We recruited 160 healthy volunteers for experiment 1 and compared peripheral inflammatory markers, namely the concentrations of pro-inflammatory cytokines in the serum, between perceived high-happiness and low-happiness groups. Subsequently, we recruited 7 romantic couples for experiment 2 and investigated changes in peripheral pro-inflammatory cytokine levels after the evocation of happiness, which was induced by warm physical contact with the partner.
RESULTS: We found that circulating levels of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma), which can affect brain functions and induce depressive symptoms, were lower in the high-happiness group than in the low-happiness group. A negative correlation between the levels of perceived happiness and IFN-gamma concentrations was also observed. Furthermore, we also found that experimentally induced happiness could reduce peripheral IFN-gamma levels.
CONCLUSIONS: These results revealed an association between the perception of happiness and systemic inflammation. Increased happiness may suppress the peripheral circulation of pro-inflammatory cytolcines.

Web of Science

PubMed

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：一般社団法人 日本心身医学会  

DOI： 10.15064/jjpm.51.9_844_1

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

In this study, we examined whether the feedback-related negativity (FRN) is associated with both subjective and objective (model-estimated) reward prediction errors (RPE) per trial in a reinforcement learning task in healthy adults (n = 25). The level of RPE was assessed by 1) subjective ratings per trial and by 2) a computational model of reinforcement learning. As results, model-estimated RPE was highly correlated with subjective RPE (r = .82), and the grand-averaged ERP waves based on the trials with high and low model-estimated RPE showed the significant difference only in the time period of the FRN component (p&lt;.05). Regardless of the time course of learning, FRN was associated with both subjective and model-estimated RPEs within subject ( r = .47, p&lt;.001; r = .40, p&lt;.05) and between subjects (r = .33, p&lt;.05; r = .41, p&lt;.005) only in the Learnable condition where the internal reward prediction varied enough with a behavior-reward contingency. (C) 2010 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.09.001

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Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD  

Pre-attentive deviance detection in the visual environment has been known to be reflected by an event-related brain potential (ERP) component, deviant-related negativity. Recently, however, we demonstrated that deviant-related negativity comprises two, temporally and spatially overlapping ERP components, by using an experimental protocol consisting of oddball and equiprobable sequences [M. Kimura, J. Katayama, H. Ohira, E. Schroger, Visual mismatch negativity: new evidence from the equiprobable paradigm, Psychophysiology 46 (2009) 402-409]: (1) visual N1 that reflects a sensory, refractoriness-based deviance detection system and (2) visual mismatch negativity (MMN) that reflects a cognitive, memory-comparison-based deviance detection system. In the present paper, we further elucidated the neural generators of the visual N1 and visual MMN with standardized low-resolution brain electromagnetic tomography (sLORETA). Results showed that the visual N1 was involved in neural activations of the primary and nonprimary visual areas, while the visual MMN was involved in neural activations of the nonprimary visual areas and the prefrontal areas. These results suggest that the sensory and cognitive deviance detection systems subserved by distinct neural structures underlie our efficient pre-attentive visual deviance detection. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.09.011

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Scopus

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本パーソナリティ心理学会  

DOI： 10.24534/amjspp.19.0_113

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.07.041

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：PERGAMON-ELSEVIER SCIENCE LTD  

An emotional deficit in individuals with psychopathy has been regarded as a potential factor in the disinhibition of selfish behaviors, which can be an impediment to a successful life in human society. However, recent studies in the field of economics have made clear that emotional function is associated with irrational decision-making. In the present study, to test whether psychopathy may have a positive aspect in a social setting, we examined the decision-making of college students with high and low tendencies for psychopathy in the ultimatum game, which illustrates conflict between fairness and economic utility. We also investigated electrodermal responses to fair and unfair offers for each group. Compared to low psychopathic controls, individuals with a high tendency toward psychopathy more often choose economic utility by accepting unfair offers. Whereas controls more often exhibited an electrodermal response to unfair offers compared to fair offers, high psychopathic individuals did not show a similar difference between the types of offer. The results suggest that the affective deficit of psychopathy might be associated with insensitivity to unfairness and may contribute to a rational decision to accept unfair offers. Hence, psychopathy can be rational in some social situations. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.paid.2010.04.016

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Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Neuroscience Letters  

Life choices (e.g., occupational choice) often include situations with two or more possible correct answers, thereby putting us in a situation of conflict. Recent reports have described that the evaluation of conflict might be crucially mediated by neural activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), although the reduction of conflict might rather be associated with neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). What remains unclear is whether these regions mutually interact, thereby raising the question of their functional connectivity during conflict situations. Using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, this study shows that the dACC co-varied significantly higher with the MPFC during an occupational choice task with two possible correct answers when compared to the control task: a word-length task with one possible correct answer. These results suggest that the MPFC has a functional relation with dACC, especially in conflict situations where there is no objective correct answer. Taken together, this lends support to the assumption that the MPFC might be crucial in biasing the decision, thereby reducing conflict. © 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.07.041

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD  

Life choices (e.g., occupational choice) often include situations with two or more possible correct answers, thereby putting us in a situation of conflict. Recent reports have described that the evaluation of conflict might be crucially mediated by neural activity in the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC), although the reduction of conflict might rather be associated with neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). What remains unclear is whether these regions mutually interact, thereby raising the question of their functional connectivity during conflict situations. Using psychophysiological interaction (PPI) analyses of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, this study shows that the dACC co-varied significantly higher with the MPFC during an occupational choice task with two possible correct answers when compared to the control task: a word-length task with one possible correct answer. These results suggest that the MPFC has a functional relation with dACC, especially in conflict situations where there is no objective correct answer. Taken together, this lends support to the assumption that the MPFC might be crucial in biasing the decision, thereby reducing conflict. (C) 2010 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neulet.2010.07.041

Web of Science

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.74.0_1pm062

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.74.0_1pm122

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：公益社団法人 日本心理学会  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.74.0_s001

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.74.0_1pm123

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：The Japanese Psychological Association  

DOI： 10.4992/pacjpa.74.0_1am099

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.06.147

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.06.246

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.06.220

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.06.268

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.06.140

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER SCIENCE BV  

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.06.247

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Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本神経化学会  

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：(公社)日本心理学会  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC  

One important function of emotions is to guide decision making and behaviors for survival in complex environments. In the context of such reasoning, the somatic marker hypothesis (Damasio, 1994) has argued that bodily states are represented in specific brain regions, such as the insula, and would play critical roles in decision making. However, it still remains unclear what causal roles bodily states would play in decision making, and how the bodily states would change accompanying decision making. Thus, the aim of this article is to reconsider aspects of the brain and bodily states in decision making based on recent findings. Questions for future research are proposed based on such findings.

DOI： 10.1177/1754073910362599

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Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

The effects of anticipated threat situations and the valence of the stimuli on the deceleration of the phasic heart rate (HR) were investigated in a single experiment using an S1-S2 paradigm. There were certain S1 cues that were always expected to be followed by neutral pictures (S2 stimuli), and uncertain S1 cues that had a 50% probability of being followed by neutral or unpleasant pictures (S2 stimuli). Greater phasic HR deceleration was observed for S2 stimuli following uncertain S1 cues than for S2 stimuli following certain S1 cues, regardless of the valence of the S2 stimuli. This result suggests that an anticipated threat situation in which participants anticipate facing potentially unpleasant stimuli leads to the allocation of more attentional resources. Additionally, correlation analyses revealed that highly anxious individuals tended to show greater HR deceleration in response to unpleasant stimuli, possibly reflecting maladaptive attentional bias for threat stimuli.

DOI： 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2010.03.012

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PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience  

For our adaptive behavior in a dynamically changing environment, an essential task of the brain is to automatically encode sequential regularities inherent in the environment into a memory representation. Recent studies in neuroscience have suggested that sequential regularities embedded in discrete sensory events are automatically encoded into a memory representation at the level of the sensory system. This notion is largely supported by evidence from investigations using auditory mismatch negativity (auditory MMN), an event-related brain potential (ERP) correlate of an automatic memory-mismatch process in the auditory sensory system. However, it is still largely unclear whether or not this notion can be generalized to other sensory modalities. The purpose of the present study was to investigate the contribution of the visual sensory system to the automatic encoding of sequential regularities using visual mismatch negativity (visual MMN), an ERP correlate of an automatic memory-mismatch process in the visual sensory system. To this end, we conducted a sequential analysis of visual MMN in an oddball sequence consisting of infrequent deviant and frequent standard stimuli, and tested whether the underlying memory representation of visual MMN generation contains only a sensory memory trace of standard stimuli (trace-mismatch hypothesis) or whether it also contains sequential regularities extracted from the repetitive standard sequence (regularity-violation hypothesis). The results showed that visual MMN was elicited by first deviant (deviant stimuli following at least one standard stimulus), second deviant (deviant stimuli immediately following first deviant), and first standard (standard stimuli immediately following first deviant), but not by second standard (standard stimuli immediately following first standard). These results are consistent with the regularity-violation hypothesis, suggesting that the visual sensory system automatically encodes sequential regularities. In combination with a wide range of auditory MMN studies, the present study highlights the critical role of sensory systems in automatically encoding sequential regularities when modeling the world. © 2009 Massachusetts Institute of Technology.

DOI： 10.1162/jocn.2009.21299

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Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE  

Cognitive science has regarded an individual's face as a form of representative stimuli to engage self-representation. The domain-generality of self-representation has been assumed in several reports, but was recently refuted in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study (Sugiura et al., 2008). The general validity of this study's criticism should be tested by other measures to compensate for the limitation of the time resolution of the blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) signal. In this article, we report an EEG study on the domain-generality of visual self-representation. Domain-general self-representation was operationally defined as the self-relevance common to one's own Face and Cup; three levels of familiarity, Self. Familiar, and Unfamiliar, were prepared for each. There was another condition, Visual Field, that manipulated visual hemifield during stimulus presentation, but it was collapsed because it produced no interaction with stimulus familiarity. Our results confirmed comparable phase resetting in both domains in response to familiarity manipulation, which occurred within the medial frontal area during 270-390 ms poststimulus and in the theta band. However, self-specific dissociation was observed only for Face. The results here support the conclusion that visual self-representation is domain-specific and that the oscillatory responses observed suggest evidence of face-specific visual self-representation. Results also revealed an inter-trial phase coherency decrease specifically for Self-Face within the right fusiform area during 170-290 ms poststimulus and in the alpha and theta band, suggesting reduced functional demand for Self-Face represented by sharpened networks. (C) 2010 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.01.030

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Scopus

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1177/0146167210363403

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC  

The authors investigated whether self-knowledge has a function to reduce conflict by biasing one of two choices during occupational choice (e.g., Which occupation do you think you could do better-dancer or chemist). In the three experiments, event-related brain potentials were recorded. Experiment I revealed that the amplitude of the conflict-related negativity (CRN) reflects strength of conflict during occupational choice. Results of Experiment 2 demonstrated that the CRN amplitude during occupational choice was smaller when self-knowledge was activated than when other-knowledge was activated. Experiment 3 showed that the CRN amplitude during occupational choice was decreased more when self-knowledge that biases one choice of occupation was activated than when self-knowledge that does not bias was activated. These results suggest that self-knowledge reduces conflict by biasing one of multiple choices in situations where two or more possible correct answers can be given.

DOI： 10.1177/0146167210363403

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Personality and Social Psychology Bulletin  

The authors investigated whether self-knowledge has a function to reduce conflict by biasing one of two choices during occupational choice (e.g., Which occupation do you think you could do better?-dancer or chemist). In the three experiments, event-related brain potentials were recorded. Experiment 1 revealed that the amplitude of the conflict-related negativity (CRN) reflects strength of conflict during occupational choice. Results of Experiment 2 demonstrated that the CRN amplitude during occupational choice was smaller when self-knowledge was activated than when other-knowledge was activated. Experiment 3 showed that the CRN amplitude during occupational choice was decreased more when self-knowledge that biases one choice of occupation was activated than when self-knowledge that does not bias was activated. These results suggest that self-knowledge reduces conflict by biasing one of multiple choices in situations where two or more possible correct answers can be given © 2010 by the Society for Personality and Social Psychology, Inc.

DOI： 10.1177/0146167210363403

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.10.093

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Neuroscience Letters  

Limbic system activation that occurs when a person experiences several emotions is primarily represented by the amygdala output that influences autonomic brainstem nuclei that control autonomic nervous function, thus modulating the endocrine and immune systems. Amygdala activity is modulated by the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5HTTLPR); however, whether variations in 5HTTLPR influence central nervous and immune activities in response to positive stimuli remains unclear. Here, we found that seeing a favorite person induced significantly higher amygdala activity in individuals with the 5HTTLPR SS genotype than in others. This activity was positively correlated with changes in the NK cell proportion among peripheral lymphocytes. Thus, 5HTTLPR influences attraction and the associated interactions between the central nervous and immune systems in affectively positive situations. © 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.10.093

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.07.060

PubMed

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：NeuroImage  

To examine the functional association between brain and autonomic activities accompanying decision-making, we simultaneously recorded regional cerebral blood flow using 15O-water positron emission tomography and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) time-locked to feedback of reward and punishment, as well as cardiovascular parameters, during a stochastic decision-making task. We manipulated the uncertainty of outcomes in the task; specifically, we compared a condition with high predictability of reward/punishment (contingent-reward condition) and a condition with low predictability of reward/punishment (random-reward condition). The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was commonly activated in both conditions. Compared with the contingent-reward condition, the orbitofrontal and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and dorsal striatum were activated in the random-reward condition, where subjects had to continue to seek contingency between stimuli and reward/punishment. Activation of these brain regions correlated with a positive component of ERPs locked to feedback signals (feedback-related positivity), which showed an association with behavioral decision-making in the contingent-reward condition. Furthermore, cardiovascular responses were attenuated in the random-reward condition, where continuous attention and contingency monitoring were needed, and such attenuation of cardiovascular responses was mediated by vagal activity that was governed by the rostral ACC. These findings suggest that the prefrontal-striatal network provides a neural basis for decision-making and modulation over the peripheral autonomic activity accompanying decision-making. © 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.07.060

Scopus

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.07.060

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD  

Limbic system activation that occurs when a person experiences several emotions is primarily represented by the amygdala output that influences autonomic brainstem nuclei that control autonomic nervous function, thus modulating the endocrine and immune systems. Amygdala activity is modulated by the serotonin transporter gene-linked polymorphic region (5HTTLPR); however, whether variations in 5HTTLPR influence central nervous and immune activities in response to positive stimuli remains unclear. Here, we found that seeing a favorite person induced significantly higher amygdala activity in individuals with the 5HTTLPR SS genotype than in others. This activity was positively correlated with changes in the NK cell proportion among peripheral lymphocytes. Thus, 5HTTLPR influences attraction and the associated interactions between the central nervous and immune systems in affectively positive situations. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neulet.2009.10.093

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ACADEMIC PRESS INC ELSEVIER SCIENCE  

To examine the functional association between brain and autonomic activities accompanying decision-making, we simultaneously recorded regional cerebral blood flow using (15)O-water positron emission tomography and event-related brain potentials (ERPs) time-locked to feedback of reward and punishment, as well as cardiovascular parameters, during a stochastic decision-making task. We manipulated the uncertainty Of Outcomes in the task; specifically, we compared a condition with high predictability of reward/punishment (contingent-reward condition) and a condition with low predictability of reward/punishment (random-reward condition). The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was commonly activated in both conditions. Compared with the contingent-reward condition, the orbitofrontal and right dorsolateral prefrontal cortices and dorsal striatum were activated in the random-reward condition, where subjects had to continue to seek contingency between stimuli and reward/punishment. Activation of these brain regions correlated with a positive component of ERPs locked to feedback signals (feedback-related positivity), which showed an association with behavioral decision-making in the contingent-reward condition. Furthermore, cardiovascular responses were attenuated in the random-reward condition, where continuous attention and contingency monitoring were needed, and such attenuation of cardiovascular responses was mediated by vagal activity that was governed by the rostral ACC. These findings suggest that the prefrontal-striatal network provides a neural basis for decision-making and modulation over the peripheral autonomic activity accompanying decision-making. (C) 2009 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

DOI： 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2009.07.060

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本感情心理学会  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.17.221

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Society for Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology  

DOI： 10.5674/jjppp.28.1

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Society for Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology  

Neural basis of adaptation to social environment Remarkable upgrading of neuroscience has provided useful methods and knowledge in order to understand neurophysiological grounds of theories in social science. Previous studies focusing on the social exchange theory have revealed that social preference for altruistic behavior or norm compliance stems from brain regions related with reward prediction or risk evaluation, which suggests that a basic biological mechanism of adaptive behaviors applies to the case of social behaviors. According to this background, the current review summarizes empirical findings that have shown neural basis of social behaviors in humans and discuss its adaptive roles from a perspective of evolutional theory. Especially, we focus on reciprocal exchanges with others as a source of social behaviors acquired by the adaptive mechanism of brain.

DOI： 10.5674/jjppp.28.57

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Japanese Society for Physiological Psychology and Psychophysiology  

Most experimental studies of decision making have specifically examined situations in which one correct answer exists, which is either high- or low-predictable. Low predictability of the outcome, as for instance manipulated by probability or social context, has been described psychologically by the concept of uncertainty. Nevertheless, unlike the cases described above, there are instances of decision making for which there is no correct answer at all. In this manuscript, we present a review and comparison of decision making studies with and without a correct answer with regard to their recruitment of various regions within the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Our findings demonstrate neural overlap between decision making with a low-predictable correct answer and decision making without a correct answer, especially in the dorsomedial part of the MPFC. The results raise several questions about the concept of uncertainty and the function of the MPFC.

DOI： 10.5674/jjppp.28.45

CiNii Books

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPAN SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON EMOTIONS  

This review summarizes empirical findings that have shown affective deficits of psychopathy. Previous studies have accounted for a failure of moral socialization in individuals with psychopathy in terms of low levels of fearfulness and empathy that may lead to an attenuated ability to inhibit deviant behaviors in response to punishments and distress cues from others. Both low-fear and low-empathy hypotheses have implied that a neural basis of psychopathy is a dysfunction of amygdala, a brain region of the center in affective processing. However, the affective dysfunction of psychopathy can also be associated with adaptive behaviors to maximize gains and minimize losses in some situations. Hence, we propose that psychopathy is one side of humans to shape a selfish strategy if necessary.

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.18.2

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPAN SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON EMOTIONS  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.17.189

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：日本基礎心理学会  

DOI： 10.14947/psychono.kj00006393916

CiNii Research

Language：Japanese   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：JAPAN SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON EMOTIONS  

DOI： 10.4092/jsre.17.218

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Authorship：Lead author   Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Society for Human Environmental Studies  

This study examined effects of physical and mental countermeasures on the P300-based guilty knowledge test (GKT). Twenty participants were required to choose on out of five cards, to record it number, and put the card in an envelope to be handed to an experimenter. The number on the all cards was 6 for the all participant. In the GKT, participants were presented one target, one probe, and four irrelevant stimuli in the random order. A probe stimulus is the chosen card that only the participants would know, while irrelevant and target stimuli are not the chosen cards. Participants were required to push a right button as quickly and accuracy as possible when the target stimulus was presented on the computer display, and to push a left button as quickly and accuracy as possible when probe and irrelevant stimulus were presented on the computer display. In addition, all participants were instructed to conduct one of 2 types of countermeasures. In a physical countermeasure condition, participants were instructed to up the ankle when stimuli are presented. In a mental countermeasure, participants were instructed to count backward in silent by sevens from 200 during the experiment. The order of the two types of countermeasures was counterbalanced for each participant. In both the conditions, amplitudes of P300 were larger for the target stimuli than the probe and irrelevant stimuli but were not different between the probe and irrelevant stimuli. Peak amplitudes of P300 for the target stimuli did not differ between in the physical countermeasure condition and in the mental countermeasure condition. The physical and the mental countermeasures reduced the accuracy of the P300-based GKT. Thus both the countermeasures were equally effective. These results clearly demonstrated that the P300-based GKT has no special immunity to the countermeasures.

DOI： 10.4189/shes.8.33

CiNii Research

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：ELSEVIER IRELAND LTD  

DOI： 10.1016/j.neures.2010.07.1751

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)  

Web of Science

Language：English   Publishing type：Research paper (scientific journal)   Publisher：Perceptual and Motor Skills  

The present study aimed to investigate the dissociable effects of two forms of self-focus on emotional and autonomic responses. One form is suppression, which includes the suppression of heart rate and self-evaluation of performance. The other is observation, which includes attention to one's own heart rate with no suppression and no evaluation. 26 undergraduate and graduate students from the Nagoya University campus (13 men, 13 women), ages 18 to 24 years (M = 20.7, SD=1.6) were recruited. Participants were provided with their own heart rate as feedback for 5 min., during which participants conducted a self-focus manipulation. Several days after the experimental session for one condition, the same participants conducted another experimental session for the other condition. Instruction to suppress enhanced physiological arousal and subsequent negative emotions; however, instruction to observe did not increase physiological arousal or negative emotions. © Perceptual and Motor Skills 2009.

DOI： 10.2466/PMS.108.2.531-539

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