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Category: neuroscience – Page 377

Brain network model can predict when people will feel surprised

Surprise is a key human emotion that is typically felt when something that we are witnessing or experiencing differs from our expectations. This natural human response to the unexpected has been the focus of numerous psychology studies, which uncovered some of its underlying neural processes.

Researchers at the University of Chicago have developed a brain network model that can predict people’s surprise. In a paper published in Nature Human Behaviour, they showed that this model generalized well across various tasks, predicting the surprise of individuals who were performing a task or watching different videos containing unexpected elements.

The study carried out by these researchers builds on previous research focusing on surprise. Earlier work found that humans experience surprise when reality clashes with their expectations in many different situations. Some of these past works discovered patterns of brain activity associated with each specific experience of surprise.

Brain implant that could boost mood by using ultrasound to go under NHS trial

In future, doctors hope the technology could revolutionise the treatment of conditions such as depression, addiction, OCD and epilepsy by rebalancing disrupted patterns of brain activity.

Jacques Carolan, Aria’s programme director, said: “Neurotechnologies can help a much broader range of people than we thought. Helping with treatment resistant depression, epilepsy, addiction, eating disorders, that is the huge opportunity here. We are at a turning point in both the conditions we hope we can treat and the new types of technologies emerging to do that.”

The trial follows rapid advances in brain-computer-interface (BCI) technology, with Elon Musk’s company Neuralink launching a clinical trial in paralysis patients last year and another study restoring communication to stroke patients by translating their thoughts directly into speech.

Study gathers new insight into the neural underpinnings of human cooperation

Collaboration and cooperation are key elements of human social interactions, which can contribute to the efficient achievement of shared goals. While many psychology and neuroscience studies have investigated cooperative behaviors among humans, the complex interplay between these behaviors and their neural underpinnings remain poorly understood.

A research team at Beijing Normal University, supervised by Dr. Yina Ma set out to further explore the neural basis of human cooperation, using a combination of behavioral tasks and intracranial electroencephalography (iEEG). Their paper, published in Nature Neuroscience, delineates distinctive neurocognitive profiles for different states during cooperative tasks.

“Our lab has long been dedicated to understanding how human brains communicate and interact in , such as collective decision-making, intergroup conflict and social cooperation,” Jiaxin Wang, co-first author of the paper, told Medical Xpress.

New water purification technology helps turn seawater into drinking water without tons of chemicals

As humans age, their brain function can progressively decline and they become more vulnerable to developing neurodegenerative diseases, such as dementia. Dementia and other progressive neurological conditions can significantly impair their memory, thinking skills and daily functioning, significantly reducing their quality of life.

Many psychology and neurological studies have tried to identify biological markers and lifestyle factors that can contribute to the development of dementia. Yet the contribution of psychological characteristics (e.g., traits, emotional well-being and cognitive resilience) to a decline in mental functions remains poorly understood.

Researchers at University of Barcelona, University College London (UCL), Normandy University and other institutes across Europe recently set out to fill this gap in the literature, by trying to determine whether specific sets of psychological characteristics relate to brain health in middle and late adulthood. Their paper, published in Nature Mental Health, identified three key psychological profiles that were linked to different cognitive and trajectories after middle-age.

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