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Just et al. develop a highly accurate biological classification method for identifying suicidal ideators by applying machine learning to neural representations of death- and life-related concepts.
Direct-to-consumer advertising of pharmaceutical drugs requires mention of severe side effects, along with the most frequent. Sivanathan and Kakkar show that this practice dilutes consumers’ judgements of the overall severity of side effects
Women often behave more prosocially than men. Soutschek et al. use pharmacology and neuroimaging to show that the neural reward system appears to be more sensitive to prosocial rewards in women than men, providing a neurobiological account for this gender difference.
Haruno et al. combine functional magnetic resonance imaging, an economic game and depression self-reports to show that brain activity in the amygdala and hippocampus induced by inequity can predict present and future depression indices.
Pedroni et al. show that risk preferences vary across behavioural elicitation methods, challenging the view that risk preferences can be consistently captured by a single method.
Using behavioural experiments and computational modelling, Navajas and colleagues provide a systematic characterization of individual differences in human confidence.
A mega-analysis of whole-genome data from seven populations demonstrates substantial hidden heritability for educational attainment and reproductive behaviour, highlighting the importance of sample-specific gene–environment interaction in complex traits.
Brummitt et al. show how supply-chain disruptions can spread contagiously throughout an economy. Adaptations to frequent disruptions can lead to the emergence of a poverty trap. Implications for ‘big push’ economic development policies are discussed.
The study by Gómez et al. of frontline fighters and non-combatants shows that a willingness to fight and die in intergroup conflict is associated with the sacrifice of material concerns for sacred values, and the perceived spiritual strength of in-groups and adversaries.
Momennejad et al. formulate and provide evidence for the successor representation, a computational learning mechanism intermediate between the two dominant models (a fast but inflexible ‘model-free’ system and a flexible but slow ‘model-based’ one).
How do prior expectations affect perception? The authors show that arousal has a key role: it facilitates biases from prior expectations in predictable environments, but reduces these biases in unpredictable environments.
Speer and Delgado demonstrate that recalling positive memories dampens stress responses and correlates with activation of reward-processing corticostriatal circuits. Positive reminiscence may promote resilience to stress.
Kleckner et al. use monkey and human data to identify an intrinsic brain system that supports interoception (that is, sensations from within the body) and allostasis (that is, the process by which the brain maintains energy regulation in the body).
TROVE2, a gene implicated in inflammatory response and autoimmunity, is also associated with enhanced memory for emotionally charged events in post-traumatic stress disorder.
Lefebvre et al. present behavioural and neural evidence showing that the ‘optimism bias’ is a manifestation of a general cognitive tendency for preferential learning from positive, compared with negative, outcomes.
A Bayesian theory of mind model is shown to infer and quantify the mental state and judgements of humans in decision-making scenarios. The model is a key step towards enabling machines to ‘intuit’ human thoughts and desires.
Chen et al. construct a model of the neural bases of semantic representation that unifies domain-specific (distinct systems represent different kinds of things) and domain-general (knowledge for all kinds is encoded in a single network) accounts.
Data obtained over twelve months from a large cohort of stroke patients shows that most recovery occurs within three months and is predicted by the severity of the initial deficit and patients’ education level.
Perceptual sensitivity in humans is shown to improve after training on a perceptual learning task owing to faster post-perceptual (late) decision-processing rather than faster sensory (early) processing.