A5103145406- Memory Processes and Influences
- Memory and Neural Mechanisms
- Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Neural dynamics and brain function
- Identity, Memory, and Therapy
- Functional Brain Connectivity Studies
- Mental Health Research Topics
- Cognitive Abilities and Testing
- Cognitive Science and Mapping
- Psychological and Temporal Perspectives Research
- Complex Systems and Decision Making
- Social and Intergroup Psychology
- Cognitive Functions and Memory
- Creativity in Education and Neuroscience
- Simulation Techniques and Applications
- Psychotherapy Techniques and Applications
- Neuroscience and Neuropharmacology Research
- Behavioral Health and Interventions
- Decision-Making and Behavioral Economics
- Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence
- Cognitive Science and Education Research
- Team Dynamics and Performance
- Meta-analysis and systematic reviews
- Social Representations and Identity
- Scientific Computing and Data Management
University of Colorado Boulder
2023-2025
Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences
2015-2025
University of Colorado System
2023-2025
Max Planck Society
2009-2020
Maastricht University
2020
Harvard University
2013-2015
University of Cambridge
2014
MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit
2010-2014
Harvard University Press
2014
University College London
2008-2011
Humans can vividly imagine possible future events. This faculty, episodic prospection, allows the simulation of distant outcomes and desires. Here, we provide evidence for adaptive function this capacity elucidate its neuronal basis. Participants either imagined specific events spending money (e.g., £35 in 180 days at a pub), or merely estimated what could purchase scenario. Imagining biased subsequent monetary decisions toward choices associated with higher long-term pay-off. It thus...
Reminders of the past can trigger recollection events that one would rather forget. Here, using fMRI, we demonstrate two distinct neural mechanisms foster intentional forgetting such unwanted memories. Both impair long-term retention by limiting momentary awareness memories, yet they operate in opposite ways. One mechanism, direct suppression, disengages episodic retrieval through systemic inhibition hippocampal processing originates from right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (PFC). The...
Although the future often seems intangible, we can make it more concrete by imagining prospective events. Here, using functional MRI, demonstrate a mechanism which ventromedial prefrontal cortex supports such episodic simulations, and thereby contributes to affective foresight: This region processes that (i) integrate knowledge related elements constitute an episode (ii) represent episode's emergent quality. The achieves integration via interactions with distributed cortical regions process...
Abstract When reminded of unwanted memories, people often attempt to suppress these experiences from awareness. Prior work indicates that control processes mediated by the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) modulate hippocampal activity during such retrieval suppression. It remains unknown whether this modulation plays a role in purging an intrusive memory consciousness. Here, we combined fMRI and effective connectivity analyses with phenomenological reports scrutinize for adaptive...
Suppressing unwanted memories can impair their later recall.Recent work shows that this forgetting is achieved by at least two mechanisms supported distinct neural systems: thought substitution and direct suppression (Benoit & Anderson, 2012).Here, we examined whether suppression, to be down-regulation of hippocampal activity, disrupt memory aversive scenes, and, if so, disruption linked people's perception ability control intrusive thoughts.We presented participants with strong naturalistic...
Significance Humans possess the remarkable ability to recombine details of divergent memories into imaginings future events. Such are useful, for example, because they foster planning and motivate farsighted decisions. Importantly, recurrently imagining feared situations can also undermine our well-being may even contribute development anxiety. Here, we demonstrate that fearful about be inhibited by neural mechanisms help suppress past. suppression reduces later apprehensiveness events, a...
Summary Data analysis workflows in many scientific domains have become increasingly complex and flexible. To assess the impact of this flexibility on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) results, same dataset was independently analyzed by 70 teams, testing nine ex-ante hypotheses. The analytic approaches is exemplified fact that no two teams chose identical to analyze data. This resulted sizeable variation hypothesis test even for whose statistical maps were highly correlated at...
Abstract Humans have the adaptive capacity for imagining hypothetical episodes. Such episodic simulation is based on a neural network that includes ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). This draws existing knowledge (e.g., of familiar people and places) to construct imaginary events meeting with person at place). Here, we test hypothesis changes attitudes towards its constituent elements. In two experiments, demonstrate how liked versus disliked (unconditioned stimuli, UCS) initially...
Both the hippocampus and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) appear to be critical for episodic future simulation. Damage either structure affects one's ability remember past imagine future, both structures are commonly activated as part of a wider core network during However, precise role played by each these and, indeed, direction information flow between them simulation, is still not well understood. In this study, we scanned participants using functional magnetic resonance imaging...
Analogical reasoning is central to learning and abstract thinking. It involves using a more familiar situation (source) make inferences about less (target). According the predominant cognitive models, analogical includes 1) generation of structured mental representations 2) mapping based on structural similarities between them. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging specify role rostral prefrontal cortex (PFC) in these distinct processes. An experimental paradigm was designed...
Aversive events sometimes turn into intrusive memories. However, prior evidence indicates that such memories can be controlled via a mechanism of retrieval suppression. Here, we test the hypothesis suppression exerts sustained influence on by deteriorating their neural representations. This deterioration, in turn, would hinder subsequent reactivation and thus impoverish vividness with which they recalled. In an fMRI study, participants repeatedly suppressed aversive scenes. As predicted,...
Episodic future thinking (EFT) denotes our capacity to imagine prospective events. It has been suggested promote farsighted decisions that entail a trade-off between short-term versus long-term gains. Here, we meta-analyze the evidence for impact of EFT on such intertemporal choices have monetary or health-relevant consequences. Across 174 effect sizes from 48 articles, three-level model yielded medium-sized g = 0.44, 95% CI [0.33, 0.55]. Notably, this analysis included substantial number...
The pulvinar nucleus represents a key neural structure involved in signalling emotional content the domain of visual perception, whereas its role processing simulated events is less clear. fMRI research has hinted at for imagined scenarios, but evidence mixed and this proposal yet to be tested using lesion study method. In study, 3 patients with unilateral lesions pulvinar, 10 matched control participants, completed set well-established tasks that required them think about past future...
Abstract An integral part of episodic retrieval is the reinstatement neural activity that was present in medial temporal lobe during encoding. However, memory representations do not remain static. Consolidation promotes transformation are specific to individual episodes towards more generalized reflect commonalities across episodes. Moreover, reward has been shown augment by enhancing consolidation, and it may accelerate representations. We investigated this account with n=40 human...
Humans tend to discount the value of delayed rewards. As a consequence, they forego larger long-term benefits (e.g., €29 in 91 days) favor smaller short-term gains €20 now). Episodic future thinking (EFT) attenuates such delay discounting. That is, people are more likely choose but reward after imagining an episode at time point café visit days). We here elucidate underlying mechanism by examining temporal specificity this effect. Does EFT foster farsighted decisions general shifting mental...
Research links the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) with a number of social cognitive processes that involve reflecting on oneself and other people. Here, we investigated how mPFC might support ability to recollect information about others relating previous experiences. Participants judged whether they had previously related stimuli conceptually themselves or someone else, another agent performed actions. We uncovered functional distinction between dorsal ventral subregions based retrieved...