A5086383533- Mental Health Research Topics
- Action Observation and Synchronization
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Media Influence and Health
- Cultural Differences and Values
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Psychology of Moral and Emotional Judgment
- Anesthesia and Pain Management
- Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Face Recognition and Perception
- Misinformation and Its Impacts
- Mind wandering and attention
- Death Anxiety and Social Exclusion
- Pain Management and Opioid Use
- Language and cultural evolution
- Opioid Use Disorder Treatment
- Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence
- Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
- Personality Traits and Psychology
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Impact of Technology on Adolescents
- Evolutionary Game Theory and Cooperation
- Anxiety, Depression, Psychometrics, Treatment, Cognitive Processes
Princeton University
2016-2025
University of Toronto
2015-2025
Toronto General Hospital
2015-2025
University Health Network
2015-2024
Dartmouth College
2021
Neuroscience Institute
2018-2020
Harvard University
2009-2012
Harvard University Press
2011
University of California, Davis
2008
Humans devote 30–40% of speech output solely to informing others their own subjective experiences. What drives this propensity for disclosure? Here, we test recent theories that individuals place high value on opportunities communicate thoughts and feelings doing so engages neural cognitive mechanisms associated with reward. Five studies provided support hypothesis. Self-disclosure was strongly increased activation in brain regions form the mesolimbic dopamine system, including nucleus...
Chronic postsurgical pain (CPSP), an often unanticipated result of necessary and even life-saving procedures, develops in 5-10% patients one-year after major surgery. Substantial advances have been made identifying at elevated risk developing CPSP based on perioperative pain, opioid use, negative affect, including depression, anxiety, catastrophizing, posttraumatic stress disorder-like symptoms. The Transitional Pain Service (TPS) Toronto General Hospital (TGH) is the first to...
Research in psychology has suggested that reading fiction can improve individuals' social-cognitive abilities. Findings from neuroscience show and social cognition both recruit the default network, a network which is known to support our capacity simulate hypothetical scenes, spaces mental states. The current research tests hypothesis enhances because it serves exercise subnetwork involved theory of mind. While undergoing functional neuroimaging, participants read literary passages differed...
Recent studies have suggested that the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) contributes both to understanding mental states of others and introspecting about one's own mind. This finding has perceivers might use their thoughts feelings as a starting point for making inferences others, consistent with “simulation” or “self-projection” views social cognition. However, cannot simply assume think feel exactly they do; cognition also must include processes adjust perceived differences between self...
How do people understand the minds of others? Existing psychological theories have suggested a number dimensions that perceivers could use to make sense others' internal mental states. However, it remains unclear which these dimensions, if any, brain spontaneously uses when we think about others. The present study used multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) neuroimaging data identify primary organizing principles social cognition. We derived four unique state representation from existing and...
Mental simulation, the process of self-projection into alternate temporal, spatial, social, or hypothetical realities is a distinctively human capacity. Numerous lines research also suggest that tendency for mental simulation associated with enhanced meaning. The present tests this association specifically examining relationship between two forms (temporal and spatial) meaning in life. Study 1 uses neuroimaging to demonstrate connectivity medial temporal lobe network, subnetwork brain's...
Simulation theories of social cognition suggest that people use their own mental states to understand those others-particularly similar others. However, perceivers cannot rely solely on self-knowledge another person; they must also correct for differences between the self and Here we investigated serial adjustment as a mechanism correction from anchors during inferences. In 3 studies, participants judged attitudes or dissimilar person reported attitudes. For each item, calculated discrepancy...
Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) can cause seizures in healthy individuals and patients. However, the rate at which this occurs is unknown. We estimated risk of seizure other adverse events with TMS.We surveyed laboratories clinics about observed between 2012 2016 (inclusive). Respondents (N = 174) reported an 318,560 TMS sessions.Twenty-four were (.08/1000 sessions). delivered within published guidelines to subjects without recognized factors caused 4 (<.02/1000 High-frequency (>1...
Significance People naturally understand that emotions predict actions: angry people aggress, tired rest, and so forth. Emotions also future emotions: for example, become frustrated guilty ashamed. Here we examined whether these regularities in emotion transitions. Comparing participants’ ratings of transition likelihood to others’ experienced transitions, found raters’ have accurate mental models These could allow perceivers up two transitions into the with above-chance accuracy. We...
Humans enjoy a singular capacity to imagine events that differ from the "here-and-now." Recent cognitive neuroscience research has linked such simulation processes brain's "default network." However, extant theories suggest perceivers reliably simulate only relatively proximal experiences-those seem nearby, soon, likely happen, or relevant close other. Here, we test these claims by examining spontaneous engagement of default network while consider experiencing and distal perspectives. Across...
ABSTRACT Background The perioperative period provides a critical window to address opioid use, particularly in patients with history of chronic pain and presurgical use. Toronto General Hospital Transitional Pain Service (TPS) was developed the issues use after surgery. Aims To provide program evaluation results from TPS at highlighting weaning rates management opioid-naïve opioid-experienced surgical patients. Methods Two hundred fifty-one high-risk were dichotomized preoperatively as naïve...
Social life requires people to predict the future: must anticipate others' thoughts, feelings, and actions interact with them successfully. The theory of predictive coding suggests that social brain may meet this need by automatically predicting futures. If so, when representing current mental state, should already start their future states. To test hypothesis, we used fMRI measure female male human participants' neural representations Representational similarity analysis revealed patterns...
Faces are one of the key ways that we obtain social information about others. They allow people to identify individuals, understand conversational cues, and make judgements others' mental states. When COVID-19 pandemic hit United States, widespread mask-wearing practices were implemented, causing a shift in way Americans typically interact. This introduction masks into exchanges posed potential challenge-how would these important inferences others when large source was no longer available?...
Abstract One can never know the internal workings of another person—one only infer others' mental states based on external cues. In contrast, each person has direct access to contents their own mind. Here, we test hypothesis that this privileged shapes way people represent experiences, such they more distinctly than others. Across four studies, participants considered and states; analyses measured distinctiveness state representations. Two fMRI studies used representational similarity...
Human imagination is bounded. As situations become more distant in time, place, perspective, and likelihood, they also difficult to simulate. What underlies the ability successfully engage distal simulations? Here we examine psychological neural mechanisms underlying simulation by studying individuals known for transcending these limits: creative experts. First, 2 behavioral studies establish that experts indeed succeed at engaging vivid simulations, compared less individuals. Performance on...
People have a unique ability to represent other people's internal thoughts and feelings-their mental states. Mental state knowledge has rich conceptual structure, organized along key dimensions, such as valence. use this structure guide social interactions. How do people acquire their understanding of structure? Here we investigate an underexplored contributor process: observation dynamics. states-including both emotions cognitive states-are not static. Rather, the transitions from one...