Finding objective and effective thresholds for voxelwise statistics derived from neuroimaging data has been a long-standing problem. With at least one test performed for every voxel in an image, some correction of the thresholds is needed to control the error rates, but standard procedures

Recent advances in imaging have enabled the study of social rank, which refers generally to an individual’s social standing as either dominant or subordinate in a group, in relation to brain structure and function. From an evolutionary perspective, the mind is a modular structure from which various psychological traits and processes evolved in order to promote the success of the individual and the species. Gilbert (2000) argues that social rank theory explains responses reflecting such a system, which appears to have functional underpinnings linking limbic, prefrontal, and striatal structures (Levitan et al., 2000). Researchers argue that

this paper we introduce the idea of explaining responses, in one cortical area, in terms of an interaction between the influence of another area and some experimental (sensory or task-related) parameter. We refer to these effects as psychophysiological interactions and relate them to interactions based solely on experimental factors (i.e., psychological interactions), in factorial designs, and interactions among neurophysiological measurements (i.e., physiological interactions) . We have framed psychophysiological interactions in terms of functional integration by noting that the degree to which the activity in one area can be predicted, on the basis of activity in another, corresponds to the contribution of the second to the first, where this contribution can be related to effective connectivity. A psychophysiological interaction means that the contribution of one area to another changes significantly with the experimental or psychological context.Alternatively these interactions can be thought of as a contribution-dependent change in regional responses to an experimental or psychological factor. In other words the contribution can be thought of as modulating the responses elicited by a particular stimulus or psychological process. The potential importance of this approach lies in (i) conferring a degree of functional specificity on this aspect of effective connectivity and (ii) providing a model of modulation, where the contribution from a distal area can be considered to modulate responses to the psychological or stimulusspecific factor defining the interaction. Although distinct in neurobiological terms, these are equivalent perspectives on the same underlying interaction. We illustrate these points using a functional magnetic resonance imaging study of attention t...

This individual differences study examined the separability of three often postu-lated executive functions—mental set shifting (‘‘Shifting’’), information updating and monitoring (‘‘Updating’’), and inhibition of prepotent responses (‘‘Inhibi-tion’’)—and their roles in complex ‘‘frontal lobe’ ’ or ‘‘executive’ ’ tasks. One hun-dred thirty-seven college students performed a set of relatively simple experimental tasks that are considered to predominantly tap each target executive function as well as a set of frequently used executive tasks: the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), Tower of Hanoi (TOH), random number generation (RNG), operation span, and dual tasking. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that the three target executive functions are moderately correlated with one another, but are clearly sepa-rable. Moreover, structural equation modeling suggested that the three functions

Abstract: We have developed a toolbox and graphic user interface, EEGLAB, running under the cross-platform MATLAB environment (The Mathworks, Inc.) for processing collections of single-trial and/or averaged EEG data of any number of channels. Available functions include EEG data, channel and event information importing, data visualization (scrolling, scalp map and dipole model plotting, plus multi-trial ERP-image plots), preprocessing (including artifact rejection, filtering, epoch selection, and averaging), Independent Component Analysis (ICA) and time/frequency decompositions including channel and component cross-coherence supported by bootstrap statistical methods based on data resampling. EEGLAB functions are organized into three layers. Top-layer functions allow users to interact with the data through the graphic interface without needing to use MATLAB syntax. Menu options allow users to tune the behavior of EEGLAB to available memory. Middle-layer functions allow users to customize data processing using command history and interactive ‘pop ’ functions. Experienced MATLAB users can use EEGLAB data structures and stand-alone signal processing functions to write custom and/or batch analysis scripts. Extensive function help and tutorial information are included. A ‘plug-in ’ facility allows easy incorporation of new EEG modules into the main menu. EEGLAB is freely available

People approach pleasure and avoid pain. To discover the true nature of approach-avoidance motivation, psychologists need to move beyond this hedonic principle to the principles that underlie the different ways that it operates. One such principle is regulatory focus, which distinguishes self-regulation with a promotion focus (accomplishments and aspirations)from self-regulation with a prevention focus (safety and responsibilities). This principle is used to reconsider the fundamental nature of approach-avoidance, expectancy-value relations, and emotional and evaluative sensitivities. Both types of regulatory focus are applied to phenonomena that have been treated in terms of either promotion (e.g., well-being) or prevention (e.g., cognitive dissonance). Then, regulatory focus is distinguished from regulatory anticipation and regulatory reference, 2 other principles underlying the different ways that people approach pleasure and avoid pain. It seems that our entire psychical activity is bent upon procuring pleasure and avoiding pain, that it is automatically regulated by the PLEASURE-PRINCIPLE. (Freud, 1920/1952, p. 365) People are motivated to approach pleasure and avoid pain. From the ancient Greeks, through 17th- and 18thcentury British philosophers, to 20th-century psychologists, this hedonic or pleasure principle has dominated scholars ' understanding of people's motivation. It is the basic motivational assumption of theories across all areas of psychology, including theories of emotion in psychobiology (e.g., Gray, 1982), conditioning in animal learning

... This paper provides an up-to-date critical survey of still- and video-based face recognition research. There are two underlying motivations for us to write this survey paper: the first is to provide an up-to-date review of the existing literature, and the second is to offer some insights into the studies of machine recognition of faces. To provide a comprehensive survey, we not only categorize existing recognition techniques but also present detailed descriptions of representative methods within each category. In addition,

We investigated effector-independent aspects of voluntary motor timing, using behavioural measurements and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Two types of temporal pattern were investigated; one isochronous, the other a metric, rhythmic sequence of six temporal intervals. Each pattern was performed using tapping movements with the left or right index fingers, or rhythmic speech on one syllable. Deviations from the ideal temporal pattern in the rhythmic sequence tasks were consistent between the three different effectors, within subjects. This suggests that the same representation of the rhythm was used to time the movements with all effectors. To reveal brain regions involved in such effector-independent timing, we localized the overlap in brain activity when the rhythmic sequence was performed with the different effectors. Activity was found in the mesial and lateral premotor cortices, posterior and anterior regions of the superior temporal gyrus and the inferior frontal cortex. Subcortical activations were in the left globus pallidus, the vermis and bilaterally in the cerebellar hemispheres (lobule VI) and the thalamus. The overlap in activity between the isochronous tasks included the same set of brain regions, except for the basal ganglia and the thalamus. Rhythmic sequences had significantly higher activity in mesial premotor cortex, the left superior temporal gyrus and the cerebellum, than had isochronous movements. These findings reveal a set of brain regions likely to be involved in effector-independent representations of temporal patterns in voluntary motor timing. A subset of these regions plays important roles for the organization of rhythmic sequences of several intervals.

Subjects show sensitivity to high-level information when making lower-level decisions in language tasks. For instance, subjects performing a phonetic categorization task for stimuli varying along an acoustic-phonetic continuum exhibit lexically-biased shifts in the phonetic boundary, a phenomenon known as the lexical effect (Ganong, 1980).

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