Neuroscientific Findings Research Articles

Applying Cognitive Neuroscience to Juvenile Justice: The Role of Brain Development in Decision-Making

The intersection of cognitive neuroscience and juvenile justice offers profound insights into understanding the role of brain development in decision-making among adolescents. This research explores the implications of neurodevelopmental processes, particularly in the prefrontal cortex and limbic system, which govern impulse control, risk assessment, and emotional regulation. Adolescents are at a stage of heightened neuroplasticity, which significantly influences their cognitive and emotional responses. This study examines how these developmental factors impact their decision-making and susceptibility to external influences, such as peer pressure. By integrating neuroscientific findings with legal frameworks, the research highlights the importance of adopting rehabilitative over punitive approaches in juvenile justice systems. The findings underscore the need for tailored interventions and policies that account for the neurobiological underpinnings of adolescent behavior, fostering a balance between accountability and the opportunity for growth and rehabilitation.

Voluntary musical imagery in music practice: contextual meaning, neuroscientific mechanisms and practical applications

Practice is acknowledged as a crucial facilitator for musicians to achieve performance excellence. Despite the rich literature on incorporating musical imagery intentionally to improve one’s practice efficacy, limitations remain in the understanding of voluntary musical imagery (VMI) in the context of musical practice. Therefore, our aims in this review are threefold. First, we enriched the interpretation of VMI in the context of music practice through the lens of embodied cognition. Second, we integrated neuroscientific findings to elucidate how the deliberate use of musical imagery parallels physical practice in effectiveness. Third, we synthesize work on the application of VMI in enhancing musical learning from both theoretical and practical perspectives. By providing an integrated overview of voluntary musical imagery, we highlight gaps in the literature and encourage further research on (1) the impact of embodied experiences on VMI formation, (2) optimal imagery content and ratio combination to establish a personalized intervention protocol for more effective musical pedagogy, and (3) on physiological measures to access VMI effectiveness. Additionally, we highlight the crucial implications of VMI for researchers, performers, and music educators.

혐오의 정치를 넘어선 연대를 위한 포스트휴머니즘

This study examines the politics of disgust facing contemporary democracy and the possibility of solidarity as its alternative from a posthumanist perspective. It demonstrates that the issues of disgust and solidarity extend beyond mere human emotions or political cooperation, encompassing complex sociopolitical implications, while critically examining the fundamental limitations of the autonomous subject concept presupposed by humanism. Recent neuroscientific findings reveal that brain plasticity operates in close conjunction with sociocultural practices, and the neurobiological mechanisms of affect are continuously reconstructed within sociopolitical contexts. This suggests that disgust is not an inevitable universal phenomenon but rather a component of brain plasticity, and the biological possibility of solidarity should also be understood in terms of the complexity of brain plasticity. The study concludes that within the posthumanist paradigm, genuine solidarity must be reconstructed at the point of actively affirming difference, discord, and the (im)possibility of disgust, and that this transition is an imperative task directly linked to the survival of contemporary democracy.

Gender Differences in Educational Leadership and Values: Adding Insights from a Neuro-Social Perspective

Issues of gender, leadership, and values have occupied the minds of researchers in educational administration and leadership for decades. Breakthroughs in neuroscience and neuroepigenetics have produced numerous insights into the complex operations and influences in the human brain between men and women. Taking into account some of these differences, in this chapter, I will revisit the literature on leadership, gender, and values with a two-fold purpose: one, to review understandings that have accumulated, and two, to add a new perspective for re-examining these understandings. At first, I review existing theories of gender, leadership, and values, paying attention to the different modes of operation between men and women to recapture the conclusions these lines of research have produced. Then, I turn my attention to recent findings from neuroscience and neuroepigenetics as a new lens through which these reported differences can be illuminated. My thesis in this conceptual paper is to raise awareness of this emerging line of research and its potential to shed more light into the neural dark of our conceptions about gender and women’s ways of leading in education with significant implications for educators and educational leaders.

Research Priorities in Neuroeducation: Exploring the Views of Early Career Neuroscientists and Educators

The field of neuroeducation, which integrates neuroscience findings into educational practice, has gained significant attention in recent years. Establishing research priorities in neuroeducation is crucial for guiding future studies and ensuring that the field benefits both neuroscience and education. This study aimed to address the need for collaboration between neuroscientists and educators by conducting a priority-setting exercise with early career professionals from both fields. Using the nominal group technique (NGT) with interquartile range (IQR) analysis, we identified seven key priorities in neuroeducation and assessed the level of consensus on these priorities. The top-ranked priorities were “Emotional and Mental Well-being”, “Neurodiversity and Special Education Needs”, and “Active and Inclusive Teaching Methods”, though IQR analysis revealed varying levels of consensus. Lower-ranked priorities, such as “Role of Technology on Learning and the Brain”, showed a higher consensus. This discrepancy between ranking and consensus highlights the complex nature of neuroeducation, reflecting differing perspectives between neuroscientists and educators. These findings suggest the need for interdisciplinary collaboration to bridge these gaps and foster evidence-based practices. We recommend that future research focuses on the specific neural mechanisms underlying emotional well-being, strategies for supporting neurodivergent learners, and practical approaches to integrating inclusive teaching methods in diverse educational contexts.

Let's fail better: Using philosophical tools to improve neuroscientific research in psychiatry.

Despite predictions that neuroscientific discoveries would revolutionize psychiatry, decades of research have not yet led to clinically significant advances in psychiatric care. For this reason, an increasing number of researchers are recognizing the limitations of a purely biomedical approach in psychiatric research. These researchers call for reevaluating the conceptualization of mental disorders and argue for a non-reductionist approach to mental health. The aim of this paper is to discuss philosophical assumptions that underly neuroscientific research in psychiatry and offer practical tools to researchers for overcoming potential conceptual problems that are derived from those assumptions. Specifically, we will discuss: the analogy problem, questioning whether mental health problems are equivalent to brain disorders, the normativity problem, addressing the value-laden nature of psychiatric categories and the priority problem, which describes the level of analysis (e.g., biological, psychological, social, etc.) that should be prioritized when studying psychiatric conditions. In addition, we will explore potential strategies to mitigate practical problems that might arise due to these implicit assumptions. Overall, the aim of this paper is to suggest philosophical tools of practical use for neuroscientists, demonstrating the benefits of a closer collaboration between neuroscience and philosophy.

Cultivating the capacity for active balancing during adolescence: pathways to a coherent self

IntroductionIn this paper we propose that one of the core developmental aims of adolescence is to cultivate a capacity for active balancing as the primary process for creating a coherent, agentic self capable of contributing to the functioning and purposes of the communities which adolescents inhabit, including society as a broader community. While there many valuable initiatives and programs to promote positive development, learning, and wellbeing, these efforts typically take a siloed approach focusing on one dimension of development (e.g., social-emotional learning), leaving adolescents to create coherence from these disconnected approaches. As adolescence face an increasingly uncertain future (e.g., career instability), serious threats to human survival (e.g., environmental degradation), social divides (e.g., political and ideological polarization), etc., a siloed approach to adolescent development is not simply outmoded but it reinforces a fragmented self.Conceptual model and backgroundIn this paper we argue that a siloed approach to adolescent development and learning may contribute to a fragmented sense of self and agency, which can be associated with increased vulnerability to mental health challenges. We first link the proposed developmental aim of adolescence to neuroscience findings that identify three brain changes during adolescence that lay the groundwork for cultivating active balancing and provide an ontogenetic neurological push for adolescents to learn and manage how to engage their worlds. Leveraging this ontogenetic push, we propose adolescents can cultivate their capacity for active balancing within the cultural communities of practice they inhabit. These communities provide a ready and powerful fusion of action, affect, and thought into coherent and relevant understandings of the why, how, and utility of practices in a community, or what we label orientations. Active balancing is the process of actively seeking to establish or reestablish one's intended balance among these orientations.Conclusions and implicationsBuilding the capacity for active balancing, we suggest, engenders greater resilience and adaptability to a range of situations, a tolerance for and ability to resolve tensions, and an ability to transcend vast differences, including cultural and ideological. Implications for both the adolescent and society are discussed.

Structural injustice, marginality, and neurolaw: a normative comparative and theoretical approach.

In this paper, we introduce a perspective based on a comparative viewpoint on the Colombian Penal Code and a theoretical approach to neurolaw and criminal responsibility in contexts of marginality and extreme poverty. We present a further response to the debate on how structural injustice impacts criminal responsibility. By offering a comparative and theoretical insight, this paper enriches the debate and provides an understanding of how legal systems might address these issues. The paper then suggests that other legislations can follow the rule of Article 56 of the Colombian Penal Code, which reduces punishment in circumstances of marginality, ignorance, or extreme poverty. Utilizing neuroscience findings, we briefly highlight the interplay between structural injustice and neurobiological vulnerabilities, emphasizing the complexity of the role of incarceration and criminal law in marginalized populations. We invite scholars to consider debates on alternatives to criminal law, the reduction of prison use and mass incarceration, as well as further remarks on the problem of free will. In this paper, we seek to bridge the gap between neuroscientific insights and socio-legal ethics to foster a more equitable and humane system of justice.

Distractor effects in decision making are related to the individual's style of integrating choice attributes.

Humans make irrational decisions in the presence of irrelevant distractor options. There is little consensus on whether decision making is facilitated or impaired by the presence of a highly rewarding distractor, or whether the distractor effect operates at the level of options' component attributes rather than at the level of their overall value. To reconcile different claims, we argue that it is important to consider the diversity of people's styles of decision making and whether choice attributes are combined in an additive or multiplicative way. Employing a multi-laboratory dataset investigating the same experimental paradigm, we demonstrated that people used a mix of both approaches and the extent to which approach was used varied across individuals. Critically, we identified that this variability was correlated with the distractor effect during decision making. Individuals who tended to use a multiplicative approach to compute value, showed a positive distractor effect. In contrast, a negative distractor effect (divisive normalisation) was prominent in individuals tending towards an additive approach. Findings suggest that the distractor effect is related to how value is constructed, which in turn may be influenced by task and subject specificities. This concurs with recent behavioural and neuroscience findings that multiple distractor effects co-exist.

Distractor effects in decision making are related to the individual’s style of integrating choice attributes

Humans make irrational decisions in the presence of irrelevant distractor options. There is little consensus on whether decision making is facilitated or impaired by the presence of a highly rewarding distractor, or whether the distractor effect operates at the level of options’ component attributes rather than at the level of their overall value. To reconcile different claims, we argue that it is important to consider the diversity of people’s styles of decision making and whether choice attributes are combined in an additive or multiplicative way. Employing a multi-laboratory dataset investigating the same experimental paradigm, we demonstrated that people used a mix of both approaches and the extent to which approach was used varied across individuals. Critically, we identified that this variability was correlated with the distractor effect during decision making. Individuals who tended to use a multiplicative approach to compute value, showed a positive distractor effect. In contrast, a negative distractor effect (divisive normalisation) was prominent in individuals tending towards an additive approach. Findings suggest that the distractor effect is related to how value is constructed, which in turn may be influenced by task and subject specificities. This concurs with recent behavioural and neuroscience findings that multiple distractor effects co-exist.

Dynamics of Neurogenic Signals as Biological Switchers of Brain Plasticity.

The discovery of adult neurogenesis in the middle of the past century is considered one of the most important breakthroughs in neuroscience. Despite its controversial nature, this discovery shaped our concept of neural plasticity, revolutionizing the way we look at our brains. In fact, after the discovery of adult neurogenesis, we started to consider the brain as something even more dynamic and highly adaptable. In neurogenic niches, adult neurogenesis is supported by neural stem cells (NSCs). These cells possess a unique set of characteristics such as being quiescent for long periods while actively sensing and reacting to their surroundings to influence a multitude of processes, including the generation of new neurons and glial cells. Therefore, NSCs can be viewed as sentinels to our brain's homeostasis, being able to replace damaged cells and simultaneously secrete numerous factors that restore regular brain function. In addition, it is becoming increasingly evident that NSCs play a central role in memory formation and consolidation. In this review, we will dissect how NSCs influence their surroundings through paracrine and autocrine types of action. We will also depict the mechanism of action of each factor. Finally, we will describe how NSCs integrate different and often opposing signals to guide their fate.

Tools to Assess Neurocognitive Development: Reciprocal Insights from Theory and Neuroscience

Neurocognitive assessments are fundamental for modeling human development. The proposition of this article is that insights from both theory and neuroscience can mutually advance each other, and both can serve as reciprocal tools for constructing improved assessments. Children begin with an abundance of neurons at birth and evolve into sophisticated problem solvers. Grounded in historical perspectives shaped by classic figures such as Ramon y Cajal, Binet, and Piaget, this article delves into the developmental theory of constructive operators. It integrates ideas from psychological theory and neuroscience findings. Four guiding principles emerge that can help steer the course of developmental cognitive neuroscience (i.e., age groupings, child-friendly and culture-appropriate assessments, and meta-subjective task analysis). These principles underscore the benefits of employing theoretically based measures that highlight cognitive potential in complement to learning outcomes and have applications both behaviorally and in neuroimaging. This strategic approach holds considerable promise for driving progress in science, education, clinical practice, and policymaking.

AVN: A Deep Learning Approach for the Analysis of Birdsong.

Deep learning tools for behavior analysis have enabled important new insights and discoveries in neuroscience. Yet, they often compromise interpretability and generalizability for performance, making it difficult to quantitively compare phenotypes across datasets and research groups. We developed a novel deep learning-based behavior analysis pipeline, Avian Vocalization Network (AVN), for the learned vocalizations of the most extensively studied vocal learning model species - the zebra finch. AVN annotates songs with high accuracy across multiple animal colonies without the need for any additional training data and generates a comprehensive set of interpretable features to describe the syntax, timing, and acoustic properties of song. We use this feature set to compare song phenotypes across multiple research groups and experiments, and to predict a bird's stage in song development. Additionally, we have developed a novel method to measure song imitation that requires no additional training data for new comparisons or recording environments, and outperforms existing similarity scoring methods in its sensitivity and agreement with expert human judgements of song similarity. These tools are available through the open-source AVN python package and graphical application, which makes them accessible to researchers without any prior coding experience. Altogether, this behavior analysis toolkit stands to facilitate and accelerate the study of vocal behavior by enabling a standardized mapping of phenotypes and learning outcomes, thus helping scientists better link behavior to the underlying neural processes.

Metadata-conditioned generative models to synthesize anatomically-plausible 3D brain MRIs

Recent advances in generative models have paved the way for enhanced generation of natural and medical images, including synthetic brain MRIs. However, the mainstay of current AI research focuses on optimizing synthetic MRIs with respect to visual quality (such as signal-to-noise ratio) while lacking insights into their relevance to neuroscience. To generate high-quality T1-weighted MRIs relevant for neuroscience discovery, we present a two-stage Diffusion Probabilistic Model (called BrainSynth) to synthesize high-resolution MRIs conditionally-dependent on metadata (such as age and sex). We then propose a novel procedure to assess the quality of BrainSynth according to how well its synthetic MRIs capture macrostructural properties of brain regions and how accurately they encode the effects of age and sex. Results indicate that more than half of the brain regions in our synthetic MRIs are anatomically plausible, i.e., the effect size between real and synthetic MRIs is small relative to biological factors such as age and sex. Moreover, the anatomical plausibility varies across cortical regions according to their geometric complexity. As is, the MRIs generated by BrainSynth significantly improve the training of a predictive model to identify accelerated aging effects in an independent study. These results indicate that our model accurately capture the brain’s anatomical information and thus could enrich the data of underrepresented samples in a study. The code of BrainSynth will be released as part of the MONAI project at https://github.com/Project-MONAI/GenerativeModels.

Leadership Coaching in the Fourth Industrial Revolution

Today’s world of extraordinary change follows a long history of technology-driven industrial revolutions. Author Alvin Toffler eloquently identified, categorized, and named the first three of them: Agricultural, Industrial, and Informational. Likening these revolutions to major waves of change, Toffler also described their impact on the social, political, economic and environmental ethos of the times in which they occurred. Recently, a number of knowledgeable commentators have suggested that we are now on the cusp of a fourth industrial wave. This large-scale transformational groundswell is being propelled by a dramatic acceleration in the rate of change itself. It is characterized by major discoveries in Artificial Intelligence, biology, materials science, and neuroscience. In order to remain effective and viable, Leadership Coaching will need to successfully adapt to this virtual thunderstorm of change. This paper will provide background on the preceding waves of industrial change and provide some preliminary glimpses into the just dawning fourth industrial wave. This work will also delve into the potential impact of the newest wave on the leadership coaching profession, describe a few of the latest techniques being introduced, consider the wave’s possible impact on the important work of coaches, and suggest a set of options for the future.

Rethinking plasticity: Analysing the concept of "destructive plasticity" in the light of neuroscience definitions.

As a multilevel and multidisciplinary field, neuroscience is designed to interact with various branches of natural and applied sciences as well as with humanities and philosophy. The continental tradition in philosophy, particularly over the past 20 years, tended to establish strong connections with biology and neuroscience findings. This cross fertilization can however be impeded by conceptual intricacies, such as those surrounding the concept of plasticity. The use of this concept has broadened as scientists applied it to explore an ever-growing range of biological phenomena. Here, we examine the consequences of this ambiguity in an interdisciplinary context through the analysis of the concept of "destructive plasticity" in the philosophical writings of Catherine Malabou. The term "destructive plasticity" was coined by Malabou in 2009 to refer to all processes leading to psycho-cognitive and emotional alterations following traumatic or nontraumatic brain injuries or resulting from neurodevelopmental disorders. By comparing it with the neuroscientific definitions of plasticity, we discuss the epistemological obstacles and possibilities related to the integration of this concept into neuroscience. Improving interdisciplinary exchanges requires an advanced and sophisticated manipulation of neurobiological concepts. These concepts are not only intended to guide research programmes within neuroscience but also to organize and frame the dialogue between different theoretical backgrounds.

“Business-to-Business-to-Brain?” Reviewing Neuroscience Research in B2B-Marketing Using TCCM Analysis

ABSTRACT Purpose Neuroscientific findings seem to call into question several psychological fundaments of research in B2B-Marketing. Neuroscience was also recently proposed as an important area for interdisciplinary research, potentially leading to the development of original, courageous ideas in B2B research. Neuroscience applications, guidelines, and future research directions have been discussed in various fields. In B2B marketing, there are calls for further research adopting neuroscience and an introduction to what B2B marketing could learn from it. Methodology We conducted a structured literature review on Scopus with 2,336 search results, identified 67 relevant publications, and analyzed them using the theory-context-characteristics-methodology (TCCM) framework. Originality An overview of the status quo of research that bridges both disciplines (neuroscience and B2B marketing) and directions for future research applying neuroscience in B2B is missing. With this article, we close this gap Findings Neuroscience in B2B is nascent, and most publications are conceptual. Some findings rooted in B2C could be transferred to B2B. Reflecting on B2B marketing research priorities, we outline five major future research directions for applying neuroscience in B2B: 1. decision-making, 2. marketing stimuli and responses, 3. digitalization, 4. research methods and measurements, 5. advancing existing knowledge. With this, we hope to help further improve the principal psychological underpinnings of B2B-Marketing.

Neural coding of space by time.

The intertwining of space and time poses a significant scientific challenge, transcending disciplines from philosophy and physics to neuroscience. Deciphering neural coding, marked by its inherent spatial and temporal dimensions, has proven to be a complex task. In this paper, we present insights into temporal and spatial modes of neural coding and their intricate interplay, drawn from neuroscientific findings. We illustrate the conversion of a purely spatial input into the temporal form of a singular spike train, demonstrating storage, transmission to remote locations, and recall through spike bursts corresponding to Sharp Wave Ripples. Moreover, the converted temporal representation can be transformed back into a spatiotemporal pattern. The principles of the transformation process are illustrated using a simple feed-forward spiking neural network. The frequencies and phases of Subthreshold Membrane potential Oscillations play a pivotal role in this framework. The model offers insights into information multiplexing and phenomena such as stretching or compressing time of spike patterns.

Insights from the Active Use of Neuroscience Findings in Teaching and Learning.

The aim of this paper is to show how teachers apply teaching and learning strategies related to the principles of the nervous system's functions. In our view, understanding what constitutes good teaching is about identifying how it engages the underlying cognitive and neurosystemic processes within the human brain in relation to learning. Using a student self-assessment questionnaire, we have investigated several key processes involved in neurodidactics (excitation, perception, memory, and the use, transfer, and adaptation of information and/or actions). The sample consisted of 884 7-10th grade students. The results showed that students' excitation, understanding, and consolidation of educational material are directly related to the work of the teacher and the teaching strategies they apply to attract and stimulate the student's attention and to help the student to understand and remember information. The learning strategies used by the students reflect the learner's learning activity, i.e., the use and application of strategies that allow internal knowledge to emerge. The consolidation of the learning material and the learning strategies used by the students was statistically significantly higher among the female participants. There are significant differences between low- and high-achieving students in terms of the effectiveness of teaching strategies for consolidation and the learning strategies applied by learners. The paper provides practical recommendations for teachers.

Emergence of Confidence with Principles of Curiosity and Information Processing

Researchers in cognitive neuroscience, developmental cognitive neuroscience, educational psychology, educational technology, education theory, and other related fields collaborate in the emerging field of educational neuroscience, also known as neuroeducation. This interdisciplinary approach aims to explore the connections between psychological processes and education. By integrating basic discoveries in cognitive neuroscience with educational technology, researchers in neuroeducation strive to enhance curricula to foster curiosity and boost confidence levels in learners. The ultimate objective of neuroeducation is to generate both theoretical insights and practical applications that offer a fresh perspective on learning across various disciplines. The development of confidence is closely related to the principles of curiosity and information processing. When people are interested in a topic, they are more likely to seek out information and engage in learning experiences that can lead to deeper understanding. This information process allows people to analyze and understand the information they encounter, which in turn can increase their confidence in their knowledge and abilities. By embracing curiosity and honing their information-processing skills, people can develop a strong self-confidence that empowers them to take new challenges and pursue their goals with determination. This review study on curiosity have uncovered a fascinating insight into its mechanisms. Researchers found that curiosity aligns with a confidence function resembling an inverted U-shape, peaking when individuals have moderate confidence in their knowledge. Moreover, heightened curiosity drives individuals to actively seek out new information, showcasing the profound impact of curiosity on knowledge acquisition. This revelation holds immense promise for understanding human behavior and learning processes. This study focuses on boosting confidence in individuals through the application of curiosity and information knowledge processing techniques to elevate the standards of education and training across both traditional and modern methodologies. The integration of these principles is poised to revolutionize the learning experience, fostering a more dynamic and effective approach to knowledge acquisition and skill development. This innovative strategy holds immense potential to empower learners, educators, and trainers alike, paving the way for a more enriched and impactful educational landscape.