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<td><span style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size:20px;font-weight:bold;">PsyPost – Psychology News Daily Digest (Unofficial)</span></td>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/gut-brain-axis-study-uncovers-microbiota-differences-in-impulsive-and-non-impulsive-female-convicts/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Gut-brain axis: Study uncovers microbiota differences in impulsive and non-impulsive female convicts</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 7th 2025, 08:00</div>
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<p><p>A study comparing impulsively violent female convicts with age-matched non-impulsive female convicts identified four groups of bacterial species with differing abundances between the two groups. Genera <em>Bacteroides</em>, <em>Barnesiella</em>, and the order <em>Rhodospirillales</em> were more abundant in impulsive women, while bacteria from the genus <em>Catenisphaera</em> were more abundant in non-impulsive women. The research was published in <a href="https://karger.com/nps/article/doi/10.1159/000542220/915443/Gut-Microbiome-in-Impulsively-Violent-Female"><em>Neuropsychobiology</em></a>.</p>
<p>Impulsivity refers to the tendency to act quickly without considering the consequences, often driven by immediate desires or emotions. Impulsive individuals struggle with self-control and are prone to behaviors such as interrupting others, making hasty decisions, or engaging in risky activities. While some degree of impulsivity is normal, excessive impulsivity is linked to various mental health conditions, including ADHD, substance use disorders, criminal behavior, and suicide.</p>
<p>The neurotransmitters dopamine and serotonin play critical roles in impulsive behavior. Neurons that use these neurotransmitters are prominent in brain regions associated with impulse control regulation. These regions include the prefrontal cortex, amygdala, ventral tegmental area, substantia nigra, nucleus accumbens, and hippocampus. Previous research has indicated that dysregulated serotonin and dopamine activity contributes to impulsivity.</p>
<p>Study authors Michaela Langmajerová and Janet Ježková sought to explore whether gut microbiome composition might be associated with individual differences in impulsivity. They investigated differences in gut microbiome composition between impulsive, violent female convicts and non-impulsive, non-violent female convicts.</p>
<p>Scientists have relatively recently discovered the existence of a bidirectional pathway linking the brain with bacteria living in the human gut. This pathway, known as the microbiota-gut-brain axis, suggests that gut microbes can influence critical processes in the body, including human behavior. The study authors hypothesized that the composition of the gut microbiome and its metabolites might also influence the cognitive regulation of behavior.</p>
<p>The study participants were female convicts recruited from the Opava Prison and Forensic Detention Facility in the Czech Republic. Thirty-three of the participants had impulse control issues (i.e., they were impulsive and violent), while 20 were non-impulsive and non-violent.</p>
<p>Participants provided blood and stool samples. Blood samples were analyzed to determine neurotransmitter levels, while stool samples were analyzed to identify the composition of the participants’ gut microbiota and the levels of short-chain fatty acids, which are important metabolites produced by gut microbes.</p>
<p>The results revealed no significant differences between the two groups (impulsive and non-impulsive) in the overall diversity of their gut microbiota. However, there were differences in the relative abundances of four bacterial groups. Genera <em>Bacteroides</em>, <em>Barnesiella</em>, and the order <em>Rhodospirillales</em> were more abundant in impulsive women, whereas bacteria from the genus <em>Catenisphaera</em> were more abundant in non-impulsive women.</p>
<p>“We determined four differentially abundant bacterial taxa in the stool samples of non-impulsive and impulsive women; the most interesting was the genus Bacteroides regarding its potential effect on serotonin and DA [dopamine] metabolic pathways. In addition to higher fecal tryptophan levels in impulsive women, associations between gut bacteria and their metabolites might suggest a contribution of the gut microbiome in maladaptive behaviors such as impulsive aggression,” the study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study provides preliminary insights into potential links between gut microbiota composition and impulsivity. However, it is important to note that the study’s design does not allow for causal inferences. Additionally, other factors beyond impulsivity might explain the observed differences in gut microbiota composition.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1159/000542220">Gut Microbiome in Impulsively Violent Female Convicts,</a>” was authored by Michaela Langmajerováa Janet Ježkováb, Jakub Kreisingerd, Jaroslav Semerád, Ivan Titov, Petra Procházková, Tomáš Cajthaml, Václav Jiřička, Jan Vevera, and Radka Roubalová.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/brain-structure-and-function-differ-in-cannabis-users-but-genetic-evidence-suggests-no-direct-causal-link/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Brain structure and function differ in cannabis users, but genetic evidence suggests no direct causal link</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 7th 2025, 06:00</div>
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<p><p>New research published in <em><a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjment-2024-301065" target="_blank" rel="noopener">BMJ Mental Health</a></em> sheds light on the relationship between lifetime cannabis use and brain health in mid- to late-life adults. The study found that individuals with a history of cannabis use exhibited differences in brain structure and function compared to non-users, particularly in measures of white matter integrity and brain network connectivity. However, advanced genetic analyses indicated these differences are unlikely to result from a direct causal effect of cannabis use, suggesting that other factors may be at play.</p>
<p>The past decade has seen a sharp increase in cannabis use among older adults, driven in part by the drug’s legalization for medical and recreational purposes in many regions. Despite its growing popularity, research on cannabis’s long-term effects on brain health in aging populations is limited.</p>
<p>Existing studies primarily focus on younger individuals and heavy users, leaving unanswered questions about its impact on older, more casual users. Additionally, previous research has struggled to determine whether observed brain changes are directly caused by cannabis use or are influenced by other factors. The new study aimed to address these gaps by combining traditional observational methods with genetic analyses to explore the potential causal role of cannabis in brain health.</p>
<p>“With cannabis use rising globally due to its legalization for medical and recreational purposes, there is a growing need to understand its potential effects on the brain, particularly in older adults,” said study author <a href="https://www.psych.ox.ac.uk/team/saba-ishrat">Saba Ishrat</a>, a PhD student in psychiatry at the University of Oxford. “Despite the critical importance of brain health in later life, older adults have often been underrepresented in cannabis research. Our study is the largest observational investigation to date examining the relationship between cannabis use and brain structure and function, and it is the first to incorporate genetic data to explore potential causal links.”</p>
<p>The researchers analyzed data from 15,896 participants in the UK Biobank, a large-scale health database. Participants, aged 40 to 69 at the start of the study, provided self-reported information about their lifetime cannabis use. Cannabis users were categorized based on frequency, with subgroups for low-frequency (1–10 uses) and high-frequency (11 or more uses) users. Brain imaging data were collected using advanced MRI techniques, measuring over 3,900 brain characteristics related to structure and function.</p>
<p>The study focused on white matter integrity, assessed through fractional anisotropy and mean diffusivity, as well as functional connectivity in brain networks such as the default mode and central executive networks. These measures were compared between cannabis users and non-users, controlling for potential confounding factors such as age, sex, education, and mental health.</p>
<p>Cannabis users showed significant differences in brain measures compared to non-users. These differences were most pronounced in white matter integrity, particularly in the genu of the corpus callosum, a structure that connects the brain’s two hemispheres. Cannabis users exhibited lower fractional anisotropy and higher mean diffusivity in this region, indicating reduced white matter integrity. Similar patterns were observed in other white matter tracts, including the cingulum bundle and anterior corona radiata.</p>
<p>Functional connectivity analyses revealed weaker or stronger connections between various brain networks, particularly in regions associated with the default mode and central executive networks. These networks are critical for tasks such as decision-making, memory, and attention. While some brain regions showed increased connectivity, others displayed reduced connectivity, suggesting a complex and varied impact of cannabis use on brain function.</p>
<p>To further investigate causality, the researchers used Mendelian randomization, a method that leverages genetic data to infer causal relationships. Despite the observed associations, the genetic analyses found no evidence of a causal relationship between cannabis use and brain structure or function. This indicates that the observed differences may result from confounding factors, such as lifestyle, socioeconomic status, or other health-related variables, rather than being a direct consequence of cannabis use.</p>
<p>“In our study, we found that lifetime cannabis use is associated with several measures of brain structure and function in later life, including reduced white matter integrity and weaker resting-state functional connectivity in specific brain regions,” Ishrat told PsyPost. “However, our genetic analyses did not support a causal link, suggesting that these observed associations may not directly result from cannabis use itself.”</p>
<p>“One surprising aspect was the lack of replication of previously reported associations between cannabis use and grey matter volume in the hippocampus, a part of the brain important for memory. This could be due to differences in the age range of subjects as earlier studies focused on adolescents and young adults, whereas our sample comprised middle- to late-life adults. Furthermore, it’s possible that white matter changes may be more sensitive to cannabis effects than the grey matter measures.”</p>
<p>The study, like all research, includes some limitations. The UK Biobank sample is healthier and more educated than the general population, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. Additionally, the study’s Mendelian randomization analyses may have been underpowered to detect small causal effects. Lastly, the relatively low prevalence of heavy cannabis use in the sample limited the researchers’ ability to explore dose-dependent effects in detail.</p>
<p>“It’s important to interpret our findings with caution,” Ishrat said. “Unaccounted variables in the observational analysis might explain the discrepancies between our observational and genetic analyses. Additional research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms underlying these associations and to examine the effects of heavy cannabis use, including considerations of potency, in older populations.”</p>
<p>Future research should aim to address these limitations by including more diverse populations and longitudinal designs to track brain changes over time. Studies focusing on heavy cannabis users and examining the effects of different cannabis strains and potencies could provide a more nuanced understanding of its impact. Further exploration of sex-specific differences, which this study suggested may exist, could also yield valuable insights.</p>
<p>“The long-term goal is to explore the impact of cannabis use in older populations, expanding our understanding beyond the previously established associations observed in younger groups,” Ishrat said. “By shedding light on the role of cannabis in brain health, this research aims to provide valuable insights that can guide public health initiatives and inform evidence-based policies.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjment-2024-301065" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Association between cannabis use and brain structure and function: an observational and Mendelian randomisation study</a>,” was authored by Saba Ishrat, Daniel F. Levey, Joel Gelernter, Klaus Ebmeier, and <a href="https://www.ndph.ox.ac.uk/team/anya-topiwala" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Anya Topiwala</a>.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/neuroscience-study-reveals-shared-processing-of-human-and-dog-facial-expressions/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Neuroscience study reveals shared processing of human and dog facial expressions</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 6th 2025, 14:00</div>
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<p><p>Researchers recently examined how human brains respond to emotional facial expressions from both humans and dogs, uncovering similarities in how these expressions are processed. Published in <a href="https://academic.oup.com/scan/article/19/1/nsae082/7884269"><em>Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience</em></a>, the study found that the brain’s response patterns to emotional human and canine faces follow comparable temporal dynamics in specific brain regions. Interestingly, participants with higher levels of empathy demonstrated improved accuracy in distinguishing between aggressive and happy dog faces, as well as happy and neutral human faces, suggesting that empathy influences how these expressions are perceived and processed.</p>
<p>Humans and dogs have shared a close social bond for thousands of years, with dogs often integrated into human households and social activities. Given this relationship, researchers have long been curious about whether the mechanisms humans use to interpret emotional expressions extend to dogs.</p>
<p>Previous research has shown that human and dog faces activate overlapping brain regions, but much of this work has focused on slow, hemodynamic processes rather than the fast, millisecond-scale dynamics of neural activity. The current study aimed to bridge this gap by using advanced brain-imaging techniques to examine the rapid neural responses to emotional faces of both humans and dogs.</p>
<p>“We had comparative, social cognitive, and methodological motivations for this study,” said study author Miiamaaria Kujala, an adjunct professor in comparative cognitive neuroscience at the <a href="https://www.jyu.fi/en/research-groups/interaction-of-dogs-and-humans">University of Jyväskylä</a>. “Humans have sophisticated neural processing machinery for perceiving faces, and we wanted to explore how the human brain’s processing of human and dog facial expressions proceeds in time, during the first half a second of perception. Furthermore, as empathy affects the subjective experience of others’ emotional expressions, we asked if this may influence how well we are able to predict the individual brain responses with machine-learning procedures.”</p>
<p>The researchers conducted the study using 15 healthy adult participants, averaging 28 years old, with normal or corrected-to-normal vision. These individuals were right-handed and had varying levels of familiarity with dogs, although most had limited experience interpreting canine behavior.</p>
<p>The participants were exposed to a set of images depicting human and dog faces with aggressive, happy, and neutral expressions. In addition, images of objects and scrambled visuals were included as controls. The visual stimuli were carefully prepared to ensure that differences in low-level visual properties, such as brightness and contrast, did not influence the results. Both color and grayscale versions of the images were used to further validate the findings.</p>
<p>Participants’ brain activity was recorded using electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG). These techniques capture rapid, millisecond-scale changes in neural activity, allowing the researchers to map brain responses over time. Each image was displayed for 500 milliseconds, with short breaks between blocks of images to avoid fatigue. The EEG and MEG recordings were supplemented with structural brain imaging to enhance the precision of the neural data.</p>
<p>To assess how individual traits influenced neural responses, participants completed questionnaires measuring empathy levels and rated the emotional valence (positive or negative) and arousal of the facial expressions they viewed. The researchers also used machine-learning algorithms to analyze the recorded brain activity, focusing on the accuracy of classifying different facial expressions and species based on neural patterns.</p>
<p>The results indicated that human brains process emotional expressions from humans and dogs in surprisingly similar ways. Neural activity recorded during the first 500 milliseconds after a face was presented showed consistent patterns across both species. The earliest responses were observed in the occipital cortex, which processes visual information, followed by activity in the temporal and parietal cortices. These brain regions are associated with interpreting emotional and social cues. Notably, responses to dog faces were particularly pronounced in the temporal cortex, a region linked to attentional engagement with emotionally salient stimuli.</p>
<p>The machine-learning analysis demonstrated that neural responses could reliably differentiate between human and dog faces and between emotional expressions within each species. Classification accuracy was highest for aggressive expressions, which elicited stronger and more distinct neural responses compared to happy or neutral faces. This suggests that threatening or negative expressions capture more attention and provoke more robust brain activity, regardless of the species.</p>
<p>Empathy emerged as a key factor influencing these neural patterns. Participants with higher levels of emotional empathy showed better classification accuracy for certain expressions, such as distinguishing between aggressive and happy dog faces and happy and neutral human faces. This finding suggests that empathic individuals are more attuned to emotional cues, enabling their brains to allocate greater attention to emotionally significant stimuli. These results also indicate that empathy may play a role in how humans interpret and respond to emotions across species, highlighting its broader relevance in social cognition.</p>
<p>“We do differ in the way we experience our surroundings,” Kujala told PsyPost. “Empathic people have heightened attention for emotional information, which likely showed in our results—their brain responses were likewise clearer for the algorithm to detect differences between categories. This may have pros and cons—if you are constantly alert, you may react quicker to changing situations, but you may also tire and burn out quicker.”</p>
<p>While the study provides new insights, it is not without limitations. The sample size was relatively small, consisting of only 15 participants, which may limit the generalizability of the findings. Future research could include larger, more diverse samples and explore whether individuals with extensive experience with dogs, such as professional trainers or veterinarians, show different patterns of brain activity.</p>
<p>“We had quite a small sample size by today’s standards, but our subjects were experienced and knew how to ‘subject’ in neurophysiological studies—meaning, how to relax while having a head full of electrodes, understanding what happens, and how to concentrate on the task,” Kujala said. “But the results may be difficult to repeat within a sample that is novice, doesn’t understand how their motion affects the data, and may be intimidated by the research procedures, as the unrelated noise may also affect the success of decoding brain responses, masking this kind of effect. Adding more data to predictions does not always help if the data is noisy.”</p>
<p>Looking ahead, Kujala said she would “like to understand the interplay between empathy, anthropomorphism, theory of mind, and accurate interpretation of non-human minds. Machine learning is also an interesting tool, and I find it educational to explore the kinds of questions we can try to answer with it.”</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsae082" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Empathy enhances decoding accuracy of human neurophysiological responses to emotional facial expressions of humans and dogs</a>,” was authored by Miiamaaria V. Kujala, Lauri Parkkonen, and Jan Kujala.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/study-explores-how-culture-shapes-the-stories-we-tell-about-adversity/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">Study explores how culture shapes the stories we tell about adversity</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 6th 2025, 12:00</div>
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<p><p>Narratives of adversity differ significantly across cultures in their themes and relationship to well-being, according to a study published in the <a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000523"><em>Journal of Personality & Social Psychology</em></a>.</p>
<p>Ariana F. Turner and colleagues investigated how cultural contexts influence the way adults narrate difficult life events. Narrative identity, an evolving story integrating past experiences with future aspirations, is a key psychological construct providing meaning and coherence to life. While extensively studied in Western settings, cross-cultural research remains limited, prompting this study to explore narratives from Japan, Denmark, Israel, and the United States.</p>
<p>This study was motivated by the idea that cultural norms shape how people interpret and articulate adversity. For example, redemption arcs which are common in American narratives may not hold the same prominence in other cultures.</p>
<p>The study involved 438 adults from the United States (n = 102), Japan (n = 122), Israel (n = 103), and Denmark (n = 111), recruited through Prolific and MTurk. Participants provided narratives describing two difficult life events—a “low point” and a “life challenge”—and completed self-report measures assessing well-being, life satisfaction, and depression. Each narrative included details about the event, associated thoughts and feelings, and its significance for the participant’s life story. Responses were encouraged to be 9-15 sentences per event.</p>
<p>The narratives were analyzed using five indices: redemption, contamination, agency, communion, and meaning-making. Redemption and contamination captured positive or negative emotional trajectories, while agency and communion reflected autonomy and interpersonal connections. Meaning-making assessed the extent of personal insight derived from the events. Two trained coders evaluated the narratives, achieving reliability through practice and weekly discussions. All narratives were translated into English, with translations cross-checked by native speakers for accuracy.</p>
<p>The results revealed notable cultural differences in narrative themes and their relationships with psychological well-being. American participants frequently framed their challenges through redemption arcs, where negative experiences transitioned to positive outcomes. This emphasis on redemption aligned with cultural narratives of personal growth and upward mobility. Similarly, Israeli participants often included redemption themes but highlighted collective responsibility, underscoring their communal cultural orientation.</p>
<p>In contrast, Danish narratives focused on balanced affect and communal growth, reflecting egalitarian values. Japanese participants commonly framed their narratives with themes of acceptance and attribution of blame, emphasizing cultural values of accommodation and interpersonal dynamics.</p>
<p>Quantitative findings further supported these cultural distinctions. Redemption was positively associated with well-being in American and Israeli participants but had weaker or no such associations in Japanese and Danish participants. Contaminative narratives, marked by a negative progression of events, were associated with lower well-being in Western countries but showed no significant impact on Japanese participants.</p>
<p>Agency and communion demonstrated varying cultural relevance; agency was most strongly associated with well-being in the United States and Israel, while communion played a more significant role in Japan and Israel.</p>
<p>The findings highlight that while certain narrative indices have universal psychological significance, their expression and impact are profoundly shaped by cultural norms.</p>
<p>One limitation is the study’s reliance on nationality as a proxy for culture, which may overlook intra-country cultural variations and the experiences of minority groups.</p>
<p>The study, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1037/pspp0000523">Narrative Identity in Context: How Adults in Japan, Denmark, Israel, and the United States Narrate Difficult Life Events</a>,” was authored by Ariana F. Turner, Dorthe K. Thomsen, Rivka Tuval-Mashiach, Anton Sevilla-Liu, Henry R. Cowan, Stuart Sumner, and Dan P. McAdams.</p></p>
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<td><a href="https://www.psypost.org/fmri-neurofeedback-shows-promise-for-depression-treatment/" style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; letter-spacing:-1px;margin:0;padding:0 0 2px;font-weight: bold;font-size: 19px;line-height: 20px;color:#222;">fMRI neurofeedback shows promise for depression treatment</a>
<div style="font-family:Helvetica, sans-serif; text-align:left;color:#999;font-size:11px;font-weight:bold;line-height:15px;">Jan 6th 2025, 10:00</div>
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<p><p>A systematic review of fMRI neurofeedback interventions in depression shows that this type of training can modulate neural activity related to depression in a single session. A learning effect is also evident over multiple sessions. The paper was published in <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2024.10.003"><em>Clinical Neurophysiology</em></a>.</p>
<p>fMRI neurofeedback is a technique that uses real-time functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to train individuals to consciously regulate their brain activity. Participants observe visual representations of their brain activity, typically displayed as a graph or thermometer, while engaging in specific mental strategies to modulate that activity. This method targets specific brain regions or networks associated with functions such as emotion regulation, pain perception, or cognitive control.</p>
<p>Neurofeedback aims to improve self-regulation of brain activity, potentially offering therapeutic benefits for conditions like anxiety, depression, PTSD, and chronic pain. The process involves repeated training sessions, during which individuals practice and refine their ability to influence brain activity patterns. fMRI neurofeedback is non-invasive, but it requires specialized equipment and expertise, making it less accessible than other neurofeedback methods, such as EEG.</p>
<p>Study author Ana Rita Barreiros and her colleagues sought to integrate the scientific findings on the effects of fMRI neurofeedback interventions in depression. They searched five databases of scientific research publications (PubMed, ScienceDirect, Web of Science, Scopus, and PsycINFO) using keywords such as “fMRI,” “functional magnetic resonance imaging,” “functional MRI,” combined with “depression,” “major depression,” or “major depressive disorder,” and “neurofeedback.”</p>
<p>The researchers looked for peer-reviewed publications written in English that explored the effects of fMRI neurofeedback interventions and included at least one group of participants with major depressive disorder. Ultimately, their search yielded 16 studies that met these criteria. Ten of these studies focused on individuals with major depressive disorder (310 participants), three on recurrent major depressive disorder (67 participants), and three included individuals with mild depression (23 participants). The number of participants per study ranged from 6 to 43, and 77% of the participants were female.</p>
<p>The authors focused on the effects of fMRI neurofeedback training on functional connectivity and BOLD activation patterns reported by these studies. The BOLD signal measures changes in blood oxygenation and flow in specific brain areas. It serves as an indirect indicator of neural activity, as active regions consume more oxygen, prompting an increase in oxygen-rich blood flow to that area. This alters the ratio of oxygenated to deoxygenated hemoglobin in that region. fMRI can detect these changes, allowing researchers to infer neural activity.</p>
<p>Overall, most studies indicated that fMRI neurofeedback training can modulate BOLD activity even within a single session. However, a significant learning effect was observed over multiple sessions. Neurofeedback training targeting specific brain regions led to changes in functional connectivity across broad neural networks, including the default-mode network (active when at rest) and the executive control network (primarily involving the prefrontal cortex and parietal regions, responsible for high-level cognitive functions like decision-making, problem-solving, and regulating attention and behavior).</p>
<p>“fMRI neurofeedback shows promise as a modulatory technique for depression, with the potential to induce significant changes in neural activity and connectivity of networks implicated in depression.”, study authors concluded.</p>
<p>The study integrates the findings of existing studies on the effects of fMRI neurofeedback training in individuals with depression. However, the studies included in this analysis were methodologically diverse and did not follow standardized protocols, limiting how generalizable the results are.</p>
<p>The paper, “<a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.clinph.2024.10.003">fMRI neurofeedback for the modulation of the neural networks associated with depression,</a>” was authored by Ana Rita Barreiros, Isabella B. Breukelaar, Anthony W.F. Harris, and Mayuresh S. Korgaonkar.</p></p>
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<p><strong>Forwarded by:<br />
Michael Reeder LCPC<br />
Baltimore, MD</strong></p>
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