News

Does your dog have social skills?

A study suggests that viewing the owner’s face works as a positive social reinforcement for dogs. Learn more about this and other surprising results about “man’s best friend”.

Researchers supported by the BIAL Foundation published in the journal “Neuropsychologia”

In the scope of the research project 298/16 - Empowering feedback connections in temporo-occipital network to boost visual perception of emotions supported by the BIAL Foundation, the research team led by Sara Borgomaneri published the paper Visual, sensorimotor and cognitive routes to understanding others' enjoyment: an individual differences rTMS approach to empathic accuracy in the journal Neuropsychologia.

"Neurobiology of Aging" publishes findings of a research project supported by the BIAL Foundation

The research team led by João Marques-Teixeira has published, in the scope of the research project The Aging Social Brain – Neural and behavioral age-related changes in social cognition and decision-making supported by the Bial Foundation, the paper Age differences in neural correlates of feedback processing after economic decisions under risk in the journal Neurobiology of Aging.

Research project supported by the BIAL Foundation was published in the Frontiers in Psychology

In the scope of the research project 169/16 - The potential effect of behavioral stimulation on social competence in dogs (via endogenous oxytocin release) supported by the BIAL Foundation, the research team has published the paper Gaze-following and reaction to an aversive social interaction have corresponding associations with variation in the OXTR gene in dogs but not in human infants in the journal Frontiers in Psychology.

Research project supported by the BIAL Foundation was published in the journal Psychological Research

The article The effect of height and shoulder-to-hip ratio on interpersonal space in virtual environment has been published in the journal Psychological Research in the scope of the research project 143/14 - From audio-visual perception to action: the processing of spatio-temporal components, supported by the BIAL Foundation.

“Enhancing the Mind” is the theme of the 12th Symposium of the BIAL Foundation

From 4th-7th April 2018, in Casa do Médico, Porto – Online registration already open! The online registration for the 12th “Behind and Beyond the Brain” Symposium is already open! It will take place from 4th-7th April 2018, in Porto, under the theme “Enhancing the Mind”.

Consciousness and Cognition publishes findings of a research project supported by the BIAL Foundation

The research team led by Mark Blagrove has published, in the scope of the research project 83/14 - Electrophysiological correlates of the incorporation of recent memory sources into REM and non-REM dreams and of levels of insight following REM and non-REM dream interpretation supported by the Bial Foundation, the paper Daydreams incorporate recent waking life concerns but do not show delayed (‘dream-lag’) incorporations in the journal Consciousness and Cognition.

Researchers supported by the BIAL Foundation published in the journal Current Biology

In the scope of the research project 185/12 - Circuit mechanisms of spatial attention in the zebrafish midbrain supported by the BIAL Foundation, Michael Orger and collaborators published the paper Structure of the zebrafish locomotor repertoire revealed with unsupervised behavioral clustering in the journal Current Biology.

Research Project supported by the BIAL Foundation was published in the Journal Scientific Reports

In the scope of the research project 206/14 - Examination of brain coordination dynamics underlying hypnosis and volitional acts using intracranial electroencephalography supported by the BIAL Foundation, the research team has published the paper Exploring the alpha desynchronization hypothesis in resting state networks with intracranial electroencephalography and wiring cost estimates in the journal Scientific Reports.

BIAL Foundation reformulates the BIAL Award

BIAL AWARD IN BIOMEDICINE AND BIAL IN CLINICAL MEDICINE The BIAL Foundation will launch a new award in the field of biomedicine, the BIAL Award in Biomedicine. The first edition of this new award will take place in 2019, and will recognize a work on biomedicine published from 1 January 2010 to present, with results of high quality and scientific relevance.

Research project supported by the BIAL Foundation published in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience

In the scope of the research project 118/14 - Recursive consciousness training: Using neurofeedback to induce altered states supported by the BIAL Foundation, Amir Raz and collaborators published the paper Source Localization of Brain States Associated with Canonical Neuroimaging Postures in Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience.

Researcher supported by the BIAL Foundation publishes in the journal “Glia”

In the scope of the research project 207/14 - The role of astrocytes in complex cognitive processing supported by the BIAL Foundation, João Filipe Oliveira and collaborators published the paper Astrocytic signaling supports hippocampal–prefrontal theta synchronization and cognitive function in the journal GLIA.

Research project supported by the BIAL Foundation published in the journal “Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging”

In the scope of the research project 50/10 - Trance: Cortical Representations supported by the BIAL Foundation, Alessandra Mainieri and collaborators have recently published the paper Neural correlates of psychotic-like experiences during spiritual-trance state in the journal Psychiatry Research: Neuroimaging.

The quest of physiological markers for the experience of pain

Researcher: Elia Valentini - Department of Psychology & Centre for Brain Science, University of Essex Summary: The aim of this project is to improve measurement of the human experience of pain by investigating a combination of psychophysical and physiological responses during mild noxious stimulation. More specifically, we want to investigate how sensitive and specific to pain the brain oscillatory responses are. We use EEG as the main technique, but we are keen to collaborate with neuroscientists using fMRI, autonomic measures and brain stimulation as well as with computational neuroscientists. A clinical collaborator would also be very much welcome.

EEG investigation of hypnosis and decision-making

Researcher: Rinaldo Livio Perri - University Niccolò Cusano Rome, Italy Summary: I work in the field of hypnosis and cognitive neuroscience. In particular, I adopt the event-related potentials (ERPs) to investigate the effect of the hypnotic suggestions on sensory processing and cognitive performance. I am an expert in decision-making and proactive brain processes before the stimulus administration (e.g., the perceptual, prefrontal and premotor readiness during the expectancy stage). I could help colleagues to properly analyze the ERP signal in the pre-stimulus stage of processing. Also, I would be happy to share my EEG data for re-analyzing them in the frequency domain (e.g., wavelet or coherence analysis in the hypnosis research). Feel free to contact me for any question! More information on my papers: https://scholar.google.it/citations?user=-8e_V64AAAAJ&hl=it Possible collaborations: neuroscientist with experience in the EEG frequency analysis Email: perri.rinaldo@gmail.com

Transparent Psi Project - looking for collaborators

Summary: We are running a fully transparent, expert consensus-base multilab replication of Bem’s (2011) experiment 1. The project features state of the art methods to maximize transparency and study integrity. The study involves a computerized experiment taking about 20 minutes per session. Group testing is possible in a computer lab, no specialized equipment needed. Labs are expected to recruit at least 100 participants. Participants will be exposed to images with explicit erotic/sexual content in the experiment. No financial compensation is required for the participants. Data collection is expected to take place in the 2020 fall semester. Every material is provided for ethics/IRB submissions and data collection in English (translation of materials might be necessary by the collaborators). The study is pre-registered and the manuscript is accepted in principle for publication in the journal Royal Society Open Science. All collaborators who meet the minimum sample size criterion will get authorship on this paper reporting the results of the replication study. More information in the preprint: https://psyarxiv.com/uwk7y/ Indicate interest in the collaboration via the following form: https://tinyurl.com/tpp-labs With any question contact the lead investigator: Dr. Zoltan Kekecs, kekecs.zoltan@gmail.com

Cognitive control and learning

Researcher: Ignacio Obeso, Ph.D. / CINAC - HM Puerta del Sur Summary: The aim of our projects is to understand the behavioral and neural mechanisms used to learn how humans establish adaptive behaviour in changing contexts. More specifically, we want to decipher how stopping abilities are initially learned and later executed under automatic control. We use task-related fMRI, brain stimulation and clinical models to test our predictions in laboratory settings as well as online home-based paradigms. Possible collaborations: computational scientist Email contact: i.obesomartin@gmail.com https://iobesomartin.wixsite.com/cognitivecontrol