Publications
“The argument from authority tries to justify a conclusion by pointing out that some expert or authority endorses the conclusion. […] “My parents say that Santa Claus exists. Therefore Santa Claus exists” […] In the case of the JIF, a high impact factor of a journal would play the role of an authority for the quality of the papers within it.”
- Most recent
- Clinical
- Hormones/Neuromodulators
- Meta-Science (Implications)
- Meta-Science (Methods)
- Social Cognition
- Social Emotions
- Social Learning
- Social Reward
Effects of smoking cessation on presynaptic dopamine function of addicted male smokers
Abstract Background: There is evidence of abnormal cerebral dopamine transmission in nicotine-dependent smokers, but it is unclear whether dopaminergic abnormalities are due to acute nicotine abuse ...
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Mechanisms of hemispheric lateralization: Asymmetric interhemispheric recruitment in the face perception network
Abstract Perceiving human faces constitutes a fundamental ability of the human mind, integrating a wealth of information essential for social interactions in everyday life. Neuroimaging ...
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When your friends make you cringe: social closeness modulates vicarious embarrassment-related neural activity
Abstract Social closeness is a potent moderator of vicarious affect and specifically vicarious embarrassment. The neural pathways of how social closeness to another person affects ...
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Test-retest reliability of effective connectivity in the face perception network
Abstract Computational approaches have great potential for moving neuroscience toward mechanistic models of the functional integration among brain regions. Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) offers a ...
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Mentalizing and the role of the posterior superior temporal sulcus in sharing others’ embarrassment
Abstract The experience of embarrassment provides a highly salient cue for the human moral apparatus. Interestingly, people also experience embarrassment on behalf of others’ inappropriate ...
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Test-retest reliability of dynamic causal modeling for fMRI
Abstract Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) is a Bayesian framework for inferring effective connectivity among brain regions from neuroimaging data. While the validity of DCM has ...
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Evidence from pupillometry and fMRI indicates reduced neural response during vicarious social pain but not physical pain in autism
Abstract Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterized by substantial social deficits. The notion that dysfunctions in neural circuits involved in sharing another’s affect explain these ...
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Association of rs1006737 in CACNA1C with alterations in prefrontal activation and fronto-hippocampal connectivity
Abstract Background: Genome-wide association studies have identified the rs1006737 single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in the CACNA1C gene as a susceptibility locus for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. ...
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Differential patterns of nucleus accumbens activation during anticipation of monetary and social reward in young and older adults
Abstract Recent studies have reported inconsistent results regarding the loss of reward sensitivity in the aging brain. Although such an age effect might be due ...
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The uncanny return of the race concept
Abstract The aim of this Hypothesis and Theory is to question the recently increasing use of the “race” concept in contemporary genetic, psychiatric, neuroscience as ...
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Acute and sustained effects of methylphenidate on cognition and presynaptic dopamine metabolism: an [18F]FDOPA PET study
Abstract Methylphenidate (MPH) inhibits the reuptake of dopamine and noradrenaline. PET studies with MPH challenge show increased competition at postsynaptic D2/3-receptors, thus indirectly revealing presynaptic ...
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Affect-specific activation of shared networks for perception and execution of facial expressions
Abstract Previous studies have shown overlapping neural activations for observation and execution or imitation of emotional facial expressions. These shared representations have been assumed to ...
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On the role of critique for science: a reply to Bao and Pöppel
Abstract We are pleased that the concerns raised about cultural neuroscience (CN) have initiated a debate. This indicates that there are some issues worth being ...
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Demands in reflecting about another’s motives and intentions modulate vicarious embarrassment in autism spectrum disorders
Abstract The affective responses to another person’s condition depend on the ability to reflect about another’s thoughts and intentions. This is relevant also for high-functioning ...
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Potential bias in meta-analyses of effect sizes in imaging genetics
Abstract The penetrance of genetic variation has been assumed to be higher at the level of neural phenotypes than at the level of behavioral phenotypes. ...
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Partial support for ZNF804A genotype-dependent alterations in prefrontal connectivity
Abstract Genome-wide association studies identified the single nucleotide polymorphism rs1344706 in ZNF804A as a common risk-variant for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. Whereas the molecular function ...
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On the distinction of empathic and vicarious emotions
Abstract In the introduction to the special issue “The Neural Underpinnings of Vicarious Experience” the editors state that one “may feel embarrassed when witnessing another ...
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Essentializing the binary self: Individualism and collectivism in cultural neuroscience
Abstract Within the emerging field of cultural neuroscience (CN) one branch of research focuses on the neural underpinnings of “individualistic/Western” vs. “collectivistic/Eastern” self-views. These studies ...
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Comparing the neural correlates of affective and cognitive theory of mind using fMRI: Involvement of the basal ganglia in affective theory of mind
Abstract Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to infer other people’s mental states like intentions or desires. ToM can be differentiated into affective (i.e., ...
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Advancing the neuroscience of social emotions with social immersion
Abstract Second-person neuroscience offers a framework for the study of social emotions, such as embarrassment and pride. However, we propose that an enduring mental representation ...
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