News

Evening people show enhanced fear acquisition, which may increase the risk to develop anxiety

Researchers resorted to the classic Pavlovian paradigm of fear conditioning to study the association between chronotype and fear responses in healthy humans.

Newborn hearing analysis can predict neurophysiological development at 12 months

Study shows an association between auditory processing and developmental outcomes in infants, crucial for the early detection of neurodevelopmental disorders.

Do expectant fathers and mothers experience pregnancy differently?

A study has shown that there are neural and psychological differences between men and women during pregnancy.

Can we self-regulate our brain through training?

A study of neurofeedback reveals that the behavioural effects seem to be the same whether real or sham feedback is given.

Can highly superior autobiographic memory enhance creativity?

Constructive episodic processes relevant to creative thinking are not enhanced in individuals with highly superior autobiographical memory performance.

Do women show greater engagement for multitasking?

A study involving 167 UK participants showed that women believed to be consistently stronger on multitasking than men.

Does age change the dream recall?

Study reveals that there are no relevant differences between dream recall in young adults and in the elderly.

Academic studies on claimed past-life memories

Did you know that most studies on claimed past-life memories were carried out mainly in Asian countries?

Empathy in couples

Understanding the adaptative functioning of couples is something crucial considering the harmful consequences of situations of domestic violence.

Choosing the usual or taking a chance?

We always choose the same route back home, but one day, alerted about traffic restrictions, we decide to risk an alternative route. What drives us to make this decision?

Dream and daydream: differences and similarities

Did you know that daydreams reflect events from the previous two days and “night” dreams resemble a fictional plot?

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”.

Research project supported by the BIAL Foundation published in the journal PLOS ONE

The research project 256/12 - Contemplative Development Mapping Project, supported by the BIAL Foundation, was highlighted by the magazine “Visão Mais” in the article “Os inesperados (e negativos) efeitos secundários da meditação” [The unexpected (and negative) secondary effects of meditation] following the study recently published in the journal PLOS ONE “The varieties of contemplative experience: A mixed-methods study of meditation-related challenges in Western Buddhists”

BIAL Award 2016 Ceremony

THE VIDEO-SUMMARY OF THE CEREMONY IS ALREADY AVAILABLE The ceremony was held at Reitoria da Universidade Nova de Lisboa on the 21st of April 2017. Four different works on rheumatic diseases, diabetic foot, cancer and osteoporosis were distinguished.

The Proceedings of the 11th Symposium of the BIAL Foundation are already available

“PLACEBO EFFECTS, HEALING AND MEDITATION” SYMPOSIUM WAS IN 2016 From March 30 to April 2, 2016, the 11th Symposium of the BIAL Foundation was held at Casa do Médico, Porto, under the central theme "Placebo effects, healing and meditation".

BIAL Award 2016 winners

320.000 euros to 4 different works on rheumatic diseases, diabetic foot, cancer and osteoporosis in the 17th edition of the BIAL Award.

Research Project supported by the BIAL Foundation was published in the Journal Brain Structure & Function

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, Sara Borgomaneri and collaborators published the paper Behavioral inhibition system sensitivity enhances motor cortex suppression when watching fearful body expressions in the journal Brain Structure & Function.

Researchers supported by the BIAL foundation published in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences

In the scope of the research project Characterization of “Near-Death Experiences” through the comparison of experiencers and non-experiencers’ particularities: inter-individual differences in cognitive characteristics and susceptibility to false memories supported by the BIAL Foundation, Steven Laureys and colleagues published the paper Near-Death Experience as a Probe to Explore (Disconnected) Consciousness in the journal Trends in Cognitive Sciences.

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