News

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”.

Paper published in high impact journal Molecular Psychiatry

In the scope of the research project 427/14 - Gliogenesis control of brain neuroplasticity, neurophysiology and cognitive function, supported by the BIAL Foundation, and carried out by the principal investigador Luísa Pinto, from the School of Medicine, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal, it was published the paper Hippocampal cytogenesis abrogation impairs inter-regional communication between the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex and promotes the time-dependent manifestation of emotional and cognitive deficits in the high impact journal Molecular Psychiatry.

Analysis of individual variability in eye movements

Maurizio Corbetta and Andrea Zangrossi, team members of the research project 361/18 - When style matters: do oculomotor fingerprint and brain dynamics explain visual exploration and memory strategies?, analyze individual variability in eye movements when healthy participants view images of natural scenes.

Is brain activity different when reading direct vs. indirect speech quotes?

Bo Yao, researcher at the University of Manchester, published in the journal NeuroImage the latest findings of project 284/18 - Testing a neurophysiological model of inner speech processing, supported by the BIAL Foundation, in the paper Reading direct speech quotes increases theta phase-locking: Evidence for cortical tracking of inner speech? “Growing evidence shows that theta-band (4–7 Hz) activity in the auditory cortex phase-locks to rhythms of overt speech. Does theta activity also encode the rhythmic dynamics of inner speech? Previous research established that silent reading of direct speech quotes (e.g., Mary said: “This dress is lovely!”) elicits more vivid inner speech than indirect speech quotes (e.g., Mary said that the dress was lovely).

Paper published in high impact journal

In the scope of the research project 44/16 - Inducing and measuring plasticity in response control mechanisms in the human brain, supported by the BIAL Foundation and carried out by the principal investigator Alejandra Sel, from the University of Oxford, it was published the paper Increasing and decreasing interregional brain coupling increases and decreases oscillatory activity in the human brain in the high impact journal PNAS - Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America.

The impact of neuromodulators on exploitative and exploratory actions

Dichotomous dopaminergic and noradrenergic neural states mediate distinct aspects of exploitative behavioral states is the more recent paper stemming from the research project 413/14 - The role of dopamine in behavioral exploration and action selection led by the principal investigator Aaron Koralek and supported by the BIAL Foundation.

University of Lisbon awards Doctor Honoris Causa degree to Luís Portela

The Chairman of the BIAL Foundation, Luís Portela, was distinguished with the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa, awarded by the University of Lisbon, under a proposal from the Faculty of Medicine. The ceremony took place on September 9, in the Salão Nobre of the Rectory of the University of Lisbon, and can be watched on the University’s Youtube.

The reward value of the owner’s face for dogs

In the scope of project 169/16 - The potential effect of behavioral stimulation on social competence in dogs (via endogenous oxytocin release), supported by the BIAL Foundation, Anna Kis published the paper The implicit reward value of the owner’s face for dogs in the journal iScience.

A new method for transection and retraction of the superior sagittal sinus in rats

Luísa Lopes and Miguel Remondes, team leaders of project 135/18 - The physiological role of circadian rhythms in memory, supported by the BIAL Foundation, published in the journal eNeuro the paper Transection of the superior sagittal sinus enables bilateral access to the rodent midline brain structures.

Transcendent experiences among pilgrims to Lourdes

The research team led by Paul Dieppe published the paper Transcendent Experiences Among Pilgrims to Lourdes: A Qualitative Investigation in the Journal of Religion and Health featuring some of the results of project 118/16 - The experiences of participants in religious healing rituals in Lourdes: The role of noetic meaning and identity shift, supported by the BIAL Foundation. “Millions of pilgrims visit Lourdes each year, often seeking revitalisation rather than miraculous cures. We sought to understand the phenomenon of transcendent experiences. We spoke with 67 pilgrims including assisted pilgrims, young volunteers and medical staff. About two in five reported a transcendent experience: some felt they had communicated or had close contact with a divine presence, while others reported a powerful experience of something intangible and otherworldly. Transcendent experiences are an important feature of pilgrimage to Lourdes and the place offers the faithful a means of connecting with the divine, with nature and with the self.”

Luís Portela awarded with the Scientific Merit Medal

Luís Portela, Chairman of the BIAL Foundation, was awarded today with the Scientific Merit Medal, by the Ministry of Science, Technology and Higher Education. The Medal was presented during the event “What if? Science and Scientific Culture in the future of Europe”, which took place at the Biodiversity Gallery – Centro Ciência Viva, in Porto. In addition to Luís Portela, Artur Santos Silva and Manuel Sobrinho Simões were also awarded today the Scientific Merit Medal. The Scientific Merit Medal is intended to reward national or foreign individuals who, due to their high professional qualities, have been distinguished for their valuable and exceptional contribution to the development of science or scientific culture in Portugal.

Maria de Sousa Award increases total amount to 125 thousand euros and has now five winners

The Portuguese Medical Association and the BIAL Foundation decided to increase the number of awarded researchers and the global amount of the Maria de Sousa Award, which will take effect in the present and future editions. The Award, launched in honour of the immunologist Maria de Sousa, will have a global amount of up to 125 thousand euros and will distinguish five winners. This amendment is effective immediately, which means that the first edition, closed on May 30, will award five instead of just one researcher, as initially planned. The global amount of the Award thus rises from up to 25 thousand euros to up to 125 thousand euros, to be distributed among the five winners. Luís Portela, president of the BIAL Foundation, explains that “this amendment follows on from the successful launch of the first edition of the Award, which is evident in the high number of applications received (84). We will continue to honour, now in an enhanced way, the memory of Maria de Sousa, the only purpose that led us, the Portuguese Medical Association and the BIAL Foundation, to establish this Award”. Miguel Guimarães, president of the Portuguese Medical Association, points out that “the Maria de Sousa Award is being a huge success, either because of the interest it aroused in researchers, or due to the quality of the applications presented, information that we received from the Jury. This is the best way we have to enhance Maria de Sousa's scientific legacy and give it continuity”. The Award will reward and support five young Portuguese scientific researchers, up to the age of 35, with research projects in ​​Health Sciences, including an internship in an international centre of excellence.

FREE online paranormal education day

The Society for Scientific Exploration (SSE) and the Parapsychological Association (PA) have joined together to sponsor an online convention that will emphasize the connections between all of us – seen and unseen. Spread out over 10 days, from July 23 through July 31, this conference will include presentations on many topics related to the fields of parapsychology, consciousness studies, and edge science. On July 17th, the conference coordinators will present a FREE Education Day and provide an overview of a number of topics including: ESP, Mediumship, Healing, PK, among others.

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