The new field of neuroeconomics integrates knowledge from economics, psychology, and neurosciences, with the explicit goal of providing better models for individual choice and decision-making. Humans face a daily variety of decision-making challenges in distinct aspects of life, including financial, social, health-related, and political. Most of these decisions are made under uncertainty, a concept employed to describe an imperfect knowledge about the expected outcomes for distinct choices. Although the conceptual distinction between uncertainty and risk was formulated in the early 1920s, the distinction is not always clearly stated in the neuroscientific study of decision-making, leading to an often-interchangeable misuse of the concepts of risk and uncertainty. Even though research in neuroscience has provided some evidence for the dissociation of the neuronal underpinnings of decision-making in situations of risk and uncertainty, the distinction between risk and uncertainty is often neglected, with most studies exclusively exploring the neuronal correlates for decisions under risk with the implicit assumption that these would lead to a general understanding of decision-making. In order to overcome the existing limitations in the literature and shed light on the brain correlates of uncertainty processing while controlling for methodological confounds, we propose a research plan that aims to: (a) experimentally dissociate the brain imaging correlates of risk and uncertainty processing in decision-making, while controlling for expected value and utility; and to (b) provide a multilevel assessment of risk and uncertainty processing, complementing behavioural data with brain imaging data.
There is a growing consensus on the thesis that two distinct etiological processes underlie different manifestations of psychopathy: Low-Fear (LF) and Externalizing (EXT). EXT includes a set of characteristics (e.g., impulsivity, sensation-seeking, irresponsibility, and reactive aggression) and brain alterations (e.g., frontal dysfunction) that have a well-established role in antisocial behavior. However, EXT tendencies are not specific to psychopathy. EXT co-occurs with other disorders (e.g., substance abuse), and for this reason, EXT profiles of psychopathy are commonly conceptualized as secondary psychopathy. In turn, LF is considered to be a nuclear feature of psychopathy, being operationalized under the concept of primary psychopathy. Despite that, it still remains unclear how this distinctive feature of psychopathy relates to antisocial behavior and how fear-related deficits operate in this relationship. An assumption is that deficits in fear acquisition may be one of the driving forces behind cold-blood, callous-antisocial behaviors in the LF, primary expression of psychopathy. However, this set of premises requires basic research on fear processing mechanisms before translating this into practice. The main goal of P-FEAR is to firstly explore specific dysfunctions in fear mechanisms in LF (basic level) and then evaluate whether such dysfunctions relate to patterns of premeditated aggression (translational level). For this purpose, we will decompose fear into both conscious and automatic responses, two components that were recently described as implicated in psychopathy. By decomposing fear components in a more ecological setting (Virtual Reality task), we expect to obtain a more nuanced perspective on LF deficits in real-life contexts, risk factors for antisocial behavior and clinical implications for targeting hyper- or hypoactive fear responses.
Humans face a daily variety of decision-making challenges in distinct aspects of life. Most of these decisions are made under uncertainty, a concept employed to describe an imperfect knowledge about the expected outcomes for distinct choices. Although the conceptual distinction between uncertainty and risk was formulated in the early 1920s by Frank Knight, the distinction is not always clearly stated in the neuroscientific study of decision-making, leading to an often-interchangeable misuse of the concepts of risk and uncertainty. Nonetheless, research in neuroscience has provided evidence for the dissociation of the neuronal underpinnings of decision-making in situations of risk and uncertainty, pointing towards the recruitment of distinct mechanisms in processing risk and uncertainty: risk has been mainly associated with increased activation in brain regions typically associated with cognitive and attentional processes, and uncertainty has been associated with brain regions usually related to emotional reactivity. In order to overcome the existing limitations in the literature and shed light on the temporal brain dynamics of risk and uncertainty processing while controlling for methodological confounds, we propose a research plan that aims to: (a) experimentally dissociate the neuronal correlates of risk and uncertainty processing in decision-making, while controlling for expected value and utility; and to (b) provide a multilevel assessment of risk and uncertainty processing, complementing behavioural data with neurophysiological correlates of the autonomic and central nervous systems.
Benzodiazepines are the most widely used psychotropic drugs and are often prescribed on a long-term basis for complaints such as anxiety, depression, insomnia and ordinary life stresses. However, long-term use has been linked to deficits in cognitive domains, as well as increased medical costs and social burden. Despite these impacts, the effects of long-term use of benzodiazepines on social cognition and decision-making is still unknown. The main goal of the present project is to explore the changes associated with long-term use of benzodiazepines in social cognition and decision-making, using behavioral and neurophysiological measures. We expect to elucidate the effects of benzodiazepines long-term use on decision-making and social cognition, how these effects are related to the effects of benzodiazepines on general cognitive capacities and on neurobiological systems. Advances in this field are essential for guiding strategies to promote the general welfare of population, given the widely use of benzodiazepines on a long-term basis, and to improve the infrastructure and economy of society as a whole.
The present project aims to advance our knowledge of healthy aging and economic decision-making. We intend to identify age differences in behavioral and neural correlates of the processes proposed by the Affect-Integration-Motivation framework (AIM), by comparing young, middle-aged, and older adults on both individual and social economic task. Specifically, we aim to identify neural correlates of (1) affective (gain/loss anticipation), (2) integration (reward-based learning), (3) and motivational processes (motor choices and processing of positive and negative rewards). We also intend to assess how different contexts of decision (social or individual) modulate such processes and their neural (ERP) correlates.
The quality of economic decision-making is affected by pathological and healthy aging, with potentially wide-range consequences for the decision-makers’ well-being. However, the psychological and neurobiological mechanisms underlying such difficulties are still understudied. In Experiment 1 of our research proposal, using fMRI, we will extend the knowledge about the mechanisms defined by the Affect–Integration–Motivation framework (AIM), recently proposed to understand the effects of aging on decision-making. We will explore, for the first time, how different contexts of decision alter these mechanisms in pathological aging, as in Mild Cognitive Impairment (Study 1), and during a healthy lifespan (Study 2). In Experiment 2 we intend to identify the neurophysiological correlates (event-related potentials) of the processes proposed by the AIM, and examine their differences in older adults and patients with MCI, on both individual and social economic decision-making tasks.
Psychopathy is a personality structure comprising affective-interpersonal and behavioral attributes, such as disregard for others, tendency to lie and manipulate, impulsivity, low empathy, among others. Psychopathy has been operationalized as a taxonomic entity and a central concept for the explanation of criminal behavior. However, its traits are continuously distributed in the general population and, if present in high levels, may predispose to engage in antisocial behaviors. Recent models on etiological factors underlying psychopathic traits suggest that they depend on 2 core dimensions: (a) Trait Fearlessness (TF), characterized by low emotional reactivity; and (b) Externalizing Vulnerability (EV), consisting of deficient impulse control. Research examining the specific influence of these etiological factors is limited. By considering TF and EV as independent dimensions that are present in various levels across individuals, we can conceive of a two-dimensional space that provides criteria to differentiate individuals on core psychopathic features (Fig.1): (a) high on TF and EV (classical psychopathy); (b) low on both dimensions (anxious/internalizing persons); (c) low TF/high EV (anxious/impulsive individuals); or (d) high TF/low EV (bold, but not impulsive individuals, i.e. the so-called successful psychopaths).
The 4 groups can then be compared on the basis of the Research Domain Criteria framework (RDoC), which was designed to provide a process-based approach to the study of mental dysfunction, identifying basic neurocognitive systems to be studied at multiple levels. In a recent review, the response to other individuals’ emotional displays and reinforcement-based decision making were identified as 2 RDoC systems relevant to the emergence of psychopathic traits. By using experimental methods to study these systems, this project will provide empirical data to the understanding of psychopathy from a RDoC perspective. Significant work has been done by our group on the laboratorial study of psychopathy. We previously examined social decision making at a behavioral and neural level (EEG and fMRI) showing that community-drawn individuals scoring high on psychopathy display different brain activation patterns to unfair offers in the Ultimatum Game, despite performing similarly to low scorers. Thus, the RDoC multi-level framework is relevant to a comprehensive modeling of the mechanisms underlying psychopathy, and to the understanding of how psychopathic features affect social behavior. We now propose 2 new studies: Study 1 will provide a specific account of processes underlying the TF and EV dimensions of psychopathy, by adopting a RDoC framework, i.e. multiple units of analysis; Study 2 will examine the effects of the said dimensions on common measures of social functioning. These studies will allow a refined understanding of the core psychopathy features in the general population, and their impact on social cognition.
2018-2021: Comportamento de exploração visual de garrafas e rótulos e sua influência na decisão de compra e perceção da qualidade do vinho [Eye4Wine] (PP-IJUP2017-SOGRAPE-37)
2018-2021: Digital migrations and curricular innovation: Giving new meaning to experience and rekindle teaching profession after 50 (FCT PTDC/CED-EDG/28017/2017) -- [Collaboration]
2015-2020: The role of affective dimensions in the perception of facial expressions of emotion: Neuropsychophysiological, developmental, and neuroimaging examination of an affective predictive coding framework (BIAL Foundation 242/14)
2014-2017: The Aging Social Brain: Neural and behavioral age-related changes in social cognition and decision-making (BIAL Foundation)
2011-2014: Social information processing in psychopathy: Patterns of interaction and neurophysiological correlates in the Ultimatum Game (FCT PTDC/PSI-PCO/114953/2009)
2011-2014: Nonlinear processing of emotional information: Behavioral evidence and neurophysiological correlates (BIAL Foundation 144/10)
2010-2013: The neural bases of the abnormal P2 component of the event-related potential in patients with schizophrenia (FCT PTDC/PSI-PCO/099528/2008)
2009-2011: Manipulation of emotion in immersive virtual reality environments: Methodological validation (BIAL Foundation 94/08)
2006-2009: Establishing P200 Event Related Potential disturbances as a new schizophrenia endophenotype: A portuguese study with schizophrenic patients and first degree relatives (FCT POCI/PSI/58881/2004)
2005-2008: Detection of emotional information and its interference in neurocognitive processing: a study with recidive criminals (BIAL Foundation 82/04)
In collaboration:
2011-2014: Judgments of moral wrongdoings and emotions: A neuropsychophysiological study [Collaboration] (BIAL Foundation 166/10)
2010-2011: Development of a new type of dry electrode for electroencephalographic signals acquisition (Reitoria da Universidade do Porto)
2007-2010: Phrasing in speech prosody and in music: Behavioral and electrophysiological studies [Collaboration] (FCT PTDC/PSI/64920/2006)
2007-2009: Advancements in the development of titanium nitride based sensors for EEG active electrodes [Collaboration] (BMWT – Federal German Ministry of Economics and Technology)