Background When challenged with information about the future, healthy participants show an optimistically biased updating pattern, taking desirable more into account than undesirable information. However, it is unknown how patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD), who express pervasive pessimistic beliefs, update their beliefs when receiving future. Here we tested whether processing pattern found in individuals absent MDD patients. Method ( n = 18; 13 medicated; eight...

Significance Humans desire to know what the future holds. Yet, at times they decide remain ignorant (e.g., reject medical screenings). These decisions have important societal implications in domains ranging from health finance. We show how opportunity gain information is valued and explain why knowledge not always preferred. Specifically, mesolimbic reward circuitry selectively treats about favorable, but unfavorable, outcomes as a be approached. This coding predicts biased seeking:...

Humans tend to modify their attitudes align with past action. For example, after choosing between similarly valued alternatives, people rate the selected option as better than they originally did, and rejected worse. However, it is unknown whether these modifications in evaluation reflect an underlying change physiological representation of a stimulus' expected hedonic value our emotional response it. Here, we addressed this question by combining participants' estimations pleasure will...

Human memory is strikingly susceptible to social influences, yet we know little about the underlying mechanisms. We examined how socially induced errors are generated in brain by studying of individuals exposed recollections others. Participants exhibited a strong tendency conform erroneous group, producing both long-lasting and temporary errors, even when their initial was accurate. Functional imaging revealed that influence modified neuronal representation memory. Specifically, particular...

A growing body of evidence suggests emotion boosts memory accuracy to an extent but affects the subjective sense recollection even more. The result is vivid memories for emotional events that are held with confidence may be surprisingly inaccurate in their details. We examine neural circuitry underlying emotion's impact on and provide insight into this puzzling phenomenon. This research stimuli quality strength a few details mediate judgments recollection, whereas neutral quantity contextual...

When predicting financial profits [1Calderon T.G. Predictive properties of analysts' forecasts corporate earnings.Mid-Atlantic J. Bus. 1993; 29: 41-58Google Scholar], relationship outcomes [2Baker L.A. Emery R.E. every is above average: perceptions and expectations divorce at the time marriage.Law Hum. Behav. 17: 439-450Crossref Scopus (149) Google longevity [3Puri M. Robinson D.T. Optimism economic choice.J. Financ. Econ. 2007; 86: 71-99Crossref (359) or professional success [4Lovallo D....

Humans form beliefs asymmetrically; we tend to discount bad news but embrace good news. This reduced impact of unfavorable information on belief updating may have important societal implications, including the generation financial market bubbles, ill preparedness in face natural disasters, and overly aggressive medical decisions. Here, selectively improved people’s tendency incorporate into their by disrupting function left (but not right) inferior frontal gyrus using transcranial magnetic...

Psychologists have long asserted that making a choice changes person’s preferences. Recently, critics of this view argued choosing simply reveals preexisting preferences, and all studies claiming shapes preferences suffer from fundamental methodological flaw. Here we address question directly by dissociating decision making. We studied participants who rated different vacation destinations both before after blind could not be guided As an additional control, elicited ratings in condition...

Brown and Kulik [Brown R, J (1977) Cognition 5:73–99] introduced the term “flashbulb memory” to describe recall of shocking, consequential events such as hearing news a presidential assassination. They proposed that vivid detail memories results from action unique neural mechanism. In present study personal recollections terrorist attacks September 11, 2001 (9/11) in New York City, we combine behavioral brain imaging techniques, with two goals: ( i ) explore basis ii clarify characteristics...

Recent evidence suggests that a state of good mental health is associated with biased processing information supports positively skewed view the future. Depression, on other hand, unbiased such information. Here, we use brain imaging in conjunction belief update task administered to clinically depressed patients and healthy controls characterize activity updating individuals. Our results reveal depression mediated by strong neural coding estimation errors response both news (in left inferior...

Humans show a natural tendency to discount bad news while incorporating good into beliefs (the "good news-bad effect"), an effect that may help explain seemingly irrational risk taking. Understanding how this bias develops with age is important because adolescents are prone engage in risky behavior; thus, educating them about danger crucial. We reveal striking valence-dependent asymmetry belief updating age. In the ages tested (9-26 y), younger was associated inaccurate of response...

Dopamine is widely observed to signal anticipation of future rewards and thus thought be a key contributor affectively charged decision making. However, the experiments supporting this view have not dissociated from actions that lead to, or are occasioned by, them. Here, we manipulated dopamine pharmacologically examined effect on task explicitly dissociates action reward value. We show enhanced neural representation rewarding actions, without significantly affecting value as such. Thus,...

A diverse body of research has demonstrated that people update their beliefs to a greater extent when receiving good news compared bad news. Recently, paper by Shah et al. claimed this asymmetry does not exist. Here we carefully examine the experiments and simulations described in follow analytic approach on our data sets. After correcting for confounds identify al., an optimistic bias positive life events is revealed. Contrary claims made observe participants more Bayesian manner after than...