Johanna Alexopoulos

Manipulation of feedback expectancy and valence induces negative and positive reward prediction error signals manifest in event-related brain potentials

The feedback-related negativity (FRN) has been hypothesized to be most sensitive to unexpected negative feedback. The present study investigated feedback expectancy and valence using a probabilistic gambling paradigm where subjects encountered expected or unexpected positive and negative feedback outcomes. In line with previous studies, FRN amplitude reflected a negative reward prediction error, but to a minor extent also a positive reward prediction error. Moreover, the P300 amplitude was largest after unexpected feedback, irrespective of valence. We propose to interpret the FRN in terms of a reinforcement learning signal which is detecting mismatch between internal and external representations indexed by the ACC to extract motivationally salient outcomes.

THE STRUCTURE AND CORRELATES OF SELF- REPORTED DSM- 5 MALADAPTIVE PERSONALITY TRAITS: FINDINGS FROM TWO GERMAN- SPEAKING SAMPLES

The authors investigated the structure and correlates of DSM-5 maladaptive personality traits in two samples of 577 students and 212 inpatients using the German self-report form of the Personality Inventory for DSM-5. They found that (a) the factor structure of DSM-5 trait facets is largely in line with the proposed trait domains of Negative Affectivity, Detachment, Antagonism, Disinhibition, and Psychoticism; (b) all DSM-5 trait domains except Psychoticism are highly related to the respective domains of the Five-Factor Model of personality; (c) the trait facets are positively associated with a self-report measure of general personality dysfunction; and (d) the DSM-5 trait facets show differential associations with a range of self-reported DSM-IV Axis I disorders. These findings give further support to the new DSM-5 trait model and suggest that it may generalize to other languages and cultures.

All about the Money – External Performance Monitoring is Affected by Monetary, but Not by Socially Conveyed Feedback Cues in More Antisocial Individuals

This study investigated the relationship between feedback processing and antisocial personality traits measured by the PSSI questionnaire (Kuhl and Kazén, 1997) in a healthy undergraduate sample. While event-related potentials [feedback related negativity (FRN), P300] were recorded, participants encountered expected and unexpected feedback during a gambling task. As recent findings suggest learning problems and deficiencies during feedback processing in clinical populations of antisocial individuals, we performed two experiments with different healthy participants in which feedback about monetary gains or losses consisted either of social–emotional (facial emotion displays) or non-social cues (numerical stimuli). Since the FRN and P300 are both sensitive to different aspects of feedback processing we hypothesized that they might help to differentiate between individuals scoring high and low on an antisocial trait measure. In line with previous evidence FRN amplitudes were enhanced after negative and after unexpected feedback stimuli. Crucially, participants scoring high on antisocial traits displayed larger FRN amplitudes than those scoring low only in response to expected and unexpected negative numerical feedback, but not in response to social–emotional feedback – irrespective of expectancy. P300 amplitudes were not modulated by antisocial traits at all, but by subjective reward probabilities. The present findings indicate that individuals scoring high on antisociality attribute higher motivational salience to monetary compared to emotional–social feedback which is reflected in FRN amplitude enhancement. Contrary to recent findings, however, no processing deficiencies concerning social–emotional feedback stimuli were apparent in those individuals. This indicates that stimulus salience is an important aspect in learning and feedback processes in individuals with antisocial traits which has potential implications for therapeutic interventions in clinical populations.

Agency matters! Social preferences in the three-person ultimatum game.

In the present study EEG was recorded simultaneously while two participants were playing the three-person ultimatum game (UG). Both participants received different offers from changing proposers about how to split up a certain amount of money between the three players. One of the participants had no say, whereas the other, the responder, was able to harm the payoff of all other players. The aim of the study was to investigate how the outcomes of the respective other are evaluated by participants who were treated fairly or unfairly themselves and to what extent agency influences concerns for fairness. Analyses were focused on the medial frontal negativity (MFN) as an early index for subjective value assignment. Recipients with veto-power exhibited enhanced, more negative-going, MFN amplitudes following proposals that comprised a low share for both recipients, suggesting that responders favored offers with a fair amount to at least one of the two players. Though, the powerless players cared about the amount assigned to the responder, MFN amplitudes were larger following fair compared to unfair offers assigned to the responder. Similarly, concerns for fairness which determined the amplitude of the MFN, suggested that the powerless players exhibited negative and conversely the responders, positive social preferences.

Changes in Attachment Representation in Psychotherapy: Is Reflective Functioning the Crucial Factor?

OBJECTIVES The study analyzed the interdependence of change in attachment representation and reflective functioning (RF) in psychotherapy. METHODS RF data from 63 female borderline personality disorder (BPD) patients were analyzed with respect to change of attachment representation (from insecure to secure and from unresolved to resolved) fromthree angles: (1) RF as a moderator variable, (2) RF as an outcome variable, and (3) RF changes over one year of treatment. RESULTS Patients who changed to a resolved attachment classification showed higher RF before treatment and at follow-up than patients who remained unresolved (RF = 3.0 vs. RF = 2.14, p = 0.039; and RF = 3.4 vs. RF = 2.36, p = 0.002). Similar results were found for changes from insecure to secure. CONCLUSION A higher RF level before psychotherapy proved to be a moderator for change in attachment representation. Patients with unresolved attachment and low-level RF at the outset had the least chance for representational change during the first year of psychotherapy.

Sexual and Psychosocial Functioning in Women with MRKHS after Neovaginoplasty According to Wharton-Sheares-George: A Case Control Study

Background Mayer-Rokitansky-Küster-Hauser syndrome (MRKHS) has a major impact on a woman’s psychological and sexual well-being. In most of the studies that addressed treatment techniques, postoperative sexual function was reported to be satisfactory; however, comparatively few studies have additionally provided an accurate analysis of psychosocial functions in MRKHS patients following different kinds of neovaginal treatment. This study is to evaluate sexual and psychosocial functioning after creation of a neovagina according to Wharton-Sheares-George in women with MRKHS. Methods We performed a case-control-study using multiple measures to assess sexual and psychosocial functioning. Ten MRKHS patients and 20 controls of a University hospital and tertiary center for pediatric and adolescent gynecology were assessed. The follow-up assessment comprised 6 standardized questionnaires (Female Sexuality Function Index, FSFI; Patient Health Questionnaire, PHQ; Brief Symptom Inventory, BSI; World Health Organization Quality of Life Assessment, WHOQoL-BREF; Parental Bonding Instrument, PBI; and a German questionnaire on body image). The main outcome measures were sexual function, psychological status, quality of life, body image, and parental bonding styles. Findings Sexual function, psychological status (including depressive and somatic symptoms), quality of life, and own-body experience were at least as good in operated MRKHS patients as in controls. In some measures (FSFI, PHQ-15, psychological domain of the WHOQoL-BREF, and BSI Positive Symptom Total), patients scored significantly better than controls. The results of the PBI indicated a close and sustainable mother-daughter-relationship in MRKHS patients. Conclusions We found no evidence for an impairment of sexual or psychosocial functioning in patients after neovaginoplasty according to Wharton-Sheares-George. MRKHS may not necessarily compromise sexual and psychological well-being, provided that the syndrome is properly managed by a multidisciplinary team of health professionals.

Weaker semantic language lateralization associated with better semantic language performance in healthy right-handed children

Abstract Introduction The relationship between language abilities and language lateralization in the developing brain is important for our understanding of the neural architecture of language development. Methods We investigated 35 right‐handed children and adolescents aged 7–16 years with a functional magnetic resonance imaging language paradigm and a comprehensive language and verbal memory examination. Results We found that less lateralized language was significantly correlated with better language performance across areas of the brain and across different language tasks. Less lateralized language in the overall brain was associated with better in‐scanner task accuracy on a semantic language decision task and out‐of‐scanner vocabulary and verbal fluency. Specifically, less lateralized frontal lobe language dominance was associated with better in‐scanner task accuracy and out‐of‐scanner verbal fluency. Furthermore, less lateralized parietal language was associated with better out‐of‐scanner verbal memory across learning, short‐ and long‐delay trials. In contrast, we did not find any relationship between temporal lobe language laterality and verbal performance. Conclusions This study suggests that semantic language performance is better with some involvement of the nondominant hemisphere.

When two are better than one: Bilateral mesial temporal lobe contributions associated with better vocabulary skills in children and adolescents

HighlightsHealthy children and adolescents exhibit mesial temporal lobe activations during semantic language processing.Bilateral mesial temporal lobe involvement is advantageous for vocabulary skills in healthy, right‐handed children and adolescents.Thus, the mesial temporal lobes of both hemispheres play an important role in language functioning in right‐handed children and adolescents. Abstract This study considered the involvement of the mesial temporal lobe (MTL) in language and verbal memory functions in healthy children and adolescents. We investigated 30 healthy, right‐handed children and adolescents, aged 7–16, with a fMRI language paradigm and a comprehensive cognitive test battery. We found significant MTL activations during language fMRI in all participants; 63% of them had left lateralized MTL activations, 20% exhibited right MTL lateralization, and 17% showed bilateral MTL involvement during the fMRI language paradigm. Group analyses demonstrated a strong negative correlation between the lateralization of MTL activations and language functions. Specifically, children with less lateralized MTL activation showed significantly better vocabulary skills. These findings suggest that the mesial temporal lobes of both hemispheres play an important role in language functioning, even in right‐handers. Our results furthermore show that bilateral mesial temporal lobe involvement is advantageous for vocabulary skills in healthy, right‐handed children and adolescents.