问:
NiftyReg reg_resample results in strange artifacts when registering MNI-ICBM-152 atlas
I'm using NiftyReg for image registration, and I have several artifacts when applying the warp from a non-linear registering of de facto standard MNI-ICBM-152 atlas.

Here are a few slices showing the artifacts:

I tested the registration to the the GG-366-0.7mm T1 atlas (after skull-stripping with BET from FSL)
Here are the commands I ran:

```<code>reg_f3d -ref GG-366-T1-0.7mm.brain.nii.gz -flo MNI-ICBM-152-T1.brain.nii.gz -res MNI-ICBM-152-T1.nlin-GG.nii.gz -cpp MNI-ICBM-152-T1.nlin-GG.cpp.nii.gz
reg_resample -ref GG-366-T1-0.7mm.brain.nii.gz -flo MNI-ICBM-152-WM.nii.gz -trans MNI-ICBM-152-WM.nlin-GG.cpp.nii.gz
</code>```

This is using the latest git version of Nifty-Reg. Using the latest stable version (1.3.9) the result is the same, but the reg_resample program takes the -cpp parameter instead of -trans.

Any ideas if this is a bug in Nifty-Reg or can be worked-around?


问:
Alternatives to Laban Movement Analysis
Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) is an approach for describing movements using four main descriptors:

Body: which body parts move

Space: how much space is being taken up by the movement

Effort: the dynamic qualities of the movement

Shape: where the body parts are moving

It's been used for human gesture understanding in various human-computer interaction systems. Are there other frameworks or approaches that have been shown to be as effective? I feel like Affect Control Theory should have some relation to this, but I'm not sure what it might be.

ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 3.0

Title: Alternatives to Laban Movement Analysis


问:
What is inter-rater agreement for Laban Movement Analysis?
Annotation of datasets, such as those used in action [1] and emotion recognition [2], using Laban Movement Analysis (LMA) is usually done by Certified Laban Movement Analyst (CLMA). How much consensus is there between separately working Laban Movement Analysts when it comes to labeling various datasets?

"Multitask learning for Laban movement analysis" (2015)

"Emotion Regulation through Movement: Unique Sets of Movement Characteristics are Associated with and Enhance Basic Emotions" (2016)


问:
Is it possible to use the Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior to understand consumer behavior in relation to financial products?
The Decomposed Theory of Planned Behavior, developed by Taylor and Todd,  is used to test consumer behavior regarding complex products. However, scholars use this theory only for technology related products. </p>

<p>Is it possible to use the DTPB for financial products as well?  </p>


问:
What makes someone an introvert or an extrovert?
While I can understand that this may not be all black and white - i.e. there are also definitive ambiverts - I'd just been wondering for a while now, what are the possible factors that help in defining and forming the introvert and extrovert personality features in an individual?

Specifically, to what extent does someone's childhood and upbringing contribute to their preferred mode of operation?


问:
Can someone please help me find this ancedote / experiment?
I have a faint memory regarding an ancedote/experiment conducted for a certain psychological behavioral recognition.

My memory recalls:

It has something to do with a University experiment which invites a certain amount of people and are expected to perform certain tasks and in the end it was something related to identifying a Sociopath or a psychopath from the group. All participants except on in the end comes to the professor / test conductor asking to retrieve some form of prize (collection of money) as the patient fakes all the questions or methods and identifies himself as a sociapath and/or pyschopath.

I realize this is a vague set of information, but if someone could recall this experiment or this particular piece of anecdote, it would be great.


问:
Evolutionary advantage of nostagia or attachment
I have come across people preserving some old articles with them, which although of little day to day use to them today, they would still like to retain. I myself would love to retain any old article Ex: My Grandpa's notebook, or a favorite pen of mine I used in my school days. It would also be very hard for me to simply put the pen in dustbin. Another example is the craving to go back to the place where you once spent your glorious years as a carefree child or to make a trip to a historic place of your ancestral association. Another example is the protests or hesitation to demolish ancestral house or historic public buildings which may be old and also in ruins today

I see that apart from being an idealized form of the past which in reality might never have been so ideal, there are other distortions like compromising on the facts of the past, in addition to sometimes even leading to some sort of a waste of time, and downright clutter in your room as far are such feelings are concerned. Still this phenomenon is so common, and seems to be almost a part of every individual's life, although differing in degrees and intensity.

So my question is, what is the use of this feeling, and what is the evolutionary advantage of having such a feeling?


问:
Theories of Human Motivation
I have heard the true saying that without motivation, there will be no action on anything which needs to be done. I can't remember where I heard it but I have wondered about what help there can be to remove motivational barriers.

I know of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs and then I came across Szondi's Drive Diagnostic Test which made me wonder. What other theories and methods are out there?

Title: Theories of Human Motivation


问:
Is there a name or explanation for the behaviour of writing the second letter first?
When I am writing (pen and paper) I  sometimes write the second letter of a word first. I write it like the first letter, so capitalized if that applies. I notice this problem the second I put it on paper, but that somehow doesn't change the fact that it is still happening. I tried to monitor this behaviour to see how and when it is happening, and found out these few things:

it always happens when I start to write  something after I stopped. So when I writing something continuously it doesn't happen, but when I stop my writing to take a sip of tea for example, it does happen  with the first word I write.

it is always the second letter. Never the third letter, or another, always the first.

a few other people I told about this problem said they also experienced it the same way.

it doesn't happen when I am copying something directly out of a book etc. Only when I have the word or sentence in my head and want to write it down. But, when I read a sentence in a book, memorize it and then write it down without looking at the book again, it does happen sometimes.

there doesnt seem to be a pattern as to when it happens. Everytime it happened I wrote some keywords, and there is no logical pattern. A few of them were tired/not tired, boring/fun, school/free time, dutch/english (dutch is my first language). They all seem to appear in every possible combination completely random.


问:
How to assess the rationality of real-life decisions?
I am looking for scales that measure the extent to which the process by which a person arrived at a real-life decision conformed to the principles of decision theory. I am specifically interested in questions that screen for established cognitive biases in decision-making such as temporal discounting, the availability bias, or the focussing illusion. Do you have any recommendations?</p>


问:
Is there a script to measure face width to height ratio?
I´d be interested whether you know a script or anything automated to measure the face width to height ratio of a set of pictures depicting faces. </p>

<p>Otherwise, your experience how to do that efficiently or a list of tools to do so easily is highly appreciated as well. </p>


问:
Good Resources for Learning Modeling of fMRI Data
As a neuroscience student who works with fMRI I'm competent at the standard univariate analyses and resting state analysis techniques in AFNI and MATLAB/SPM. However, I want to learn how to use models in fMRI data analyses from a start-to-finish perspective.

More specifically, I want to learn how to model prediction error like they did in this article for example. The problem is, I have no one to teach/help me.

What are recommended resources (online or textbooks), for learning modelling of fMRI data in detail?


问:
Factors affecting leniency of an evaluator (judge)
I am interested in psychology evidence on determinants of leniency of an evaluator. The evaluator will assess a service that is directly related to them (for example, customer satisfaction, or student's teaching evaluation).

There are some papers on Accounting and Business research (like Moers, 2005) suggesting determinants of biased subjective performance evaluations. But I would be more interested in psychological evidence.

Will older evaluators be more lenient? Will married evaluators be more lenient? I have some feelings that these may be true, but could not find any academic evidence.

Are there any other systematic differences in characteristics of the more lenient evaluators?


问:
Is it assumed that human beings "think" the same way? Is there good reason for this assumption?
In this video at 1:43 and at 5:07

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cj4y0EUlU-Y

Richard Feynman describes the possibility that all humans think very differently during simple processes like counting. And the seeming uniformity is only in external behaviors.

Is there any evidence with regards to this? For example, take a disorder like dyslexia... is it possible that a young child with dyslexia at a very young naturally develops a different way of thinking that achieves the same results so that externally he doesn't appear to have any disorder at all...

I'm curious about research in this regard, as it seems it would be very difficult to test for something like this.


问:
What explains habitual or even occasional incidences of self-talk?
What are the scientific reasons behind someone talking with him/herself? Is it a disorder of some kind? By "talking" I also mean writing to self.

By self-talk I mean a person (P) is talking with self in a Q&A format. For example-

```<code>PQ: Hey, what happened?

PA: I'm not liking it here.

PQ: Why, what is it that you are not liking it?

PA: I don't like the attitudes of people around here. Everyone thinks he's very smart ...

PQ: But why is it affecting you?
</code>```

and so on ..

The above kind of dialogue can either be spoken or written. Usually, one party asks another about their problems/feelings and suggests solutions / gives instructions to other party.


问:
Grit — is it distinct from correlates of success?
There's been quite a splash in the field of psychology around the  concept of grit introduced around 2007 (Wikipedia article). For example, the associated TED talk has been viewed more than 10 million times.

Intuitively, the ideas make a lot of sense based on my own experience. While, based on the 1500+ citations in Google Scholar, it's a new idea in the field of psychology too, not just a phenomenon in the realm of public understanding of science.

However, what I don't quite understand is which one of the following two things this development represents:

Either a new shorthand word ("grit") has been introduced for "correlates of success",

Or, grit is distinct from correlates of success, and represents a new, standalone, awareness.

Having a new word for an old thing can actually be quite important, as it gives a sort of a visual mnemonic to summarise the major components of the correlates of success. (If someone is "gritty", that says more to non-psychologists than saying that the person "demonstrates traits correlated with success".)

However, it would be even more important if this wasn't just a linguistic advance, but a conceptual one. But for that, it would be necessary to show that grit is a concept distinct to correlates of success. Well, at least it should be possible in principle to conduct a falsifiable experiment to study the distinction. For example, if under certain circumstances grit could in principle be shown to be significantly negatively correlated with success, consistently, whenever such circumstances arise, that would establish it as a distinct concept.

So, what would be a scenario, under which, hypothetically, grit would be anticorrelated with success? (I can't think of any: in my understanding, whatever is not correlated with success cannot be called "grit". Is this the accepted understanding of grit?)


问:
Denial against truth
I do not wish to be controversial but this is the only place I feel I can ask the question. This question was asked on the history site but I am now trying to understand the psychological cause and effects of the following:

I was recently shocked to hear about a certain group of people denying the Holocaust, especially on Holocaust day a few weeks ago.

As I was listening to the arguments put forward, it seemed very clear to me that the people arguing totally believed it was a "hoax".

I also understand a film has been made about this after a very controversial court case who went all the way to the high court.

Can anyone explain why someone can be in total denial of a fact that can be proven.

Do they live in an alternate consciousness? Is it an illness? Can these people be turned back to see the facts... or dare I say the truth?

Title: Denial against truth


问:
Human trials for stentrode neural recordings
Neural recording via a stentrode seems to be next big thing in neuroscience. It can be used to treat disabilities, brain disorders and enable brain to brain communications. Are human trials being done at large scale at various universities?</p>


问:
What might explain a rush of euphoria before enduring physical pain?
What neurological or physiological response would work fast enough to anesthetize or provide a euphoric sensation during or in advance of a body trauma event such as being involved in a car or bike accident, a non-lethal shark attack, falling off a ladder, etc.?</p>


问:
International Physical Activity Questionnaire and cognitive function
I'm looking for research that has examined the link between physical activity (as measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire [1] specifically) and cognitive function (any domain is fine - attention, memory etc)

Most research that has examined the link between activity and cognition have been experimental/manipulation studies, but I can't seem to find much correlational work using the IPAQ

I've found a couple of pieces, for example here and here, but the samples are quite specific (elderly and obese)

Can anyone point me to any correlational work that has studied cognitive function of younger populations using this particular questionnaire?

References

Craig, C. L., Marshall, A. L., Sandstrom, M., Bauman, A. E., Booth, M. L., Ainsworth, B. E., … Oja, P. (2003). International Physical Activity Questionnaire: 12-Country Reliability and Validity. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 35(8), 1381–1395. https://doi.org/10.1249/01.MSS.0000078924.61453.FB


问:
Resources/studies on physically describing emotion?
I am wondering if there is an effort to described certain basic and perhaps more complicated emotions through the processes that occur in the brain. For example, when people get angry, certain stimulation occurs in brain... this might be really hard to measure.

I imagine there can be common observations between subjects but they won't be exact?


问:
Quantification of tendency for people to believe what is convenient
As a generalization, people have a bias towards believing what is convenient to them and/or doesn't challenge their worldview. I believe (though correct me if I'm wrong) this is linked to status quo bias, confirmation bias and cognitive dissonance.

Has there been any attempt to quantify this numerically? e.g. in a specific experimental situation, with existing bias and a certain level of new information, how likely are people to pick the convenient/status quo interpretation of phenomena over the correct one?

If so, has there been any attempt to generalize this to other environments e.g. numerically predict the level of bias based on other quantifiable facts about the situation?

Not a duplicate as I am asking for a numerical model of the bias not just a name for it.


问:
Is there a game-theoretic explanation for why people do (or don't) participate in community policing/moderation?
My question is closely related to this Meta post about what drives individual participation in "community policing" on Stack Exchange sites (e.g. downvoting, voting to close, participating in review queues, etc.). This is also related to this question.

A few ideas I came up with why people might participate (and this list is not exhaustive by any means):

People are naturally biased towards being helpful to others

Gamification

If you have a lot of posts (questions, answers, etc.) you're essentially invested in the community, which gives you an incentive to "protect your investment" (so to speak)

Are there any more I'm missing?

What, then, tends to drive people not to participate? There are certainly a lot more people who have certain moderation abilities (the ability to downvote or vote to close, for example) than who actually exercise those privileges.

My other point of confusion is that it seems like a lot of the reasons I listed for people participating would seem to apply equally to people who are not participating. If you have a relatively high reputation (e.g. the requisite 3000 reputation required to be able to vote to close), presumably you're invested in the community too (and would therefore have the same incentive to participate as other people). So, if these actually explain the behavior, why don't they seem to "work" on most people?

Is there a game-theoretic (or other) explanation for what drives people to participate (or not participate)?

ContentLicense: CC BY-SA 4.0


问:
What happens when I speak in these certain situations and how to reprogram my brain?
I want to start off by saying that I have been a stutterer for the most of my life (I am 18) and now it is significantly bad. I noticed that the whole last year was totally stutter-free but this year, it has turned bad once again.
The stuttering does not differ when talking to strangers, family, doing presentations at Uni or talking in general - I stutter equally in each situation. However, I do not stutter at all when I am alone or talking to my pets. In fact, I have a youtube channel where I upload videos containing several analysis of different scientific topics(devised by me), in which I do not read directly from any paper  but I have all the information stored in my head. I do not stutter in any of these videos and I am talking A LOT so it is really weird to my that I can talk to myself and talk to my pet, and record videos where I theoretically know that it will be heard by others, all without stuttering. But when I am surrounded by people (it does not matter who it is), I stutter. So why does my brain reject to let the words come out/let me exhale fully with the given combination of vibration and position of my tongue etc.. Note: I do BLOCKS as my type of stuttering and not repetitions etc. like some people. I have noticed that when I am alone, my brain focuses at what I am looking at or the actual content of what I am currently saying but when I am surrounded by someone, my brain, in some way, focuses on every single word that I am saying. Sometimes, I even see the words as letters before saying them(if I actually manage to get the word out after a potential block). Anyway, I could explain a lot of my further observations but I do not think that would be beneficial.

So my questions are:

Why can I speak loudly to myself without any problems and why can I record yt videos containing long analysis of different scientific topics, where I even know that somebody will listen and "judge" it?

Why does my brain act very different when I am together with any human being?

How can I reprogram my brain to do the same thing that it does when I am alone or talking to my pet, when I am together with one or more human beings?
I do not have a lack of confidence when talking to other people. Of course, I am scared of stuttering whenever I start talking to somebody, no matter how much I try to convince myself about that if I can speak when being alone, and that I actually have taught some people about different topics on my youtube channel, I can do just perfect now.

Thank you so much! It would really mean more than just a lot if you would answer or at least share your thoughts!


问:
Does Lego intervention improve children's completion score compared to normal SALT interventions?
I'm working with a child who refuses to perform any SLT activities without the aid of Lego. I was wondering if anyone knew any interesting interventions involving Lego compared to standard SALT techniques. </p>


问:
How close an electrode should be to the target neural tissue?
Intracortical electrodes are used to record neural signals. How close an electrode should be to the target neural tissue to obtain sufficiently clean / usable or hi-fidelity signal?</p>


问:
Non-computational models of cognition
There is a question on this site that asks a somewhat related question, whether there are non-physical models for cognition.  However, that question still assumes a computational paradigm for the non-physical cognition.

Another question asks whether computational learning theory has been applied to cognitive science, which would then allow us to say what non-computational learning would look like.  However, there is only one answer that provides a non-computational alternative.

Are there any accepted models that do away with computationalism altogether?  Such a model would depend on cognition performing incomputable feats, such as being a Turing oracle, violating the No Free Lunch Theorem, or reducing NP to P.

Title: Non-computational models of cognition


问:
Do humans have inborn instincts to spread plant seeds?
I have been noticing for quite a while that I have this instinct to tear off and throw seeds from trees and plants.

This happens quite literally without any thought and I rarely even notice the act.

Is it possible that humans evolved with an instinct to spread wildlife similar to pollinating or is it just a weird habit?


问:
Differences between baseline trust of stranger across cultures
When encountering a new person, does the baseline level of trust (thinking the new person is "good") and it's change as result of new evidence, vary across cultures?

I can imagine controlling for appearance and the act goodness, it would be possible to measure.


问:
What factors are used in studies quantifying and studying mood?
I'm a data scientist by trade, and am gearing up to study the impacts of behaviors on mood. It's a domain specific study. I'm well versed in the statistics, but I need to record data that can be entered by people on a daily basis that quantifies things like mood, mental and emotional state, and cognitive focus.

I'll be tracking actions such as, for example, "did the person drink coffee today", and correlating that with mood, mental, and emotional state, cognitive focus.

I'm trying to keep the set of survey questions as simple as possible (to hedge against missing data), but also capture the most expressive set of variables I can within the most simple framework possible.

I'm looking for a recommendation from people who study psychology on how to go about balancing simplicity against expressiveness of the survey to track mood, mental and emotional state, and cognitive focus.

Are there standard approaches to quantifying this kind of information that I should be aware of?


问:
Organisation as a factor for safe behavior on the work-place
Many tools exists that allow the investigation of incidents and safe behavior on the workplace, such as the Human Factors Analysis and Classification System (HFACS) or the System Hardware Environment Lifeware Lifeware (SHELL) model. Both describe the importance of the influence of the (culture within an) organisation on (un)safe behavior.

These tools are used to proof whether the organisation plays a role in an incident or, in general, in unsafe behavior. However, where did these models base the assumptions on that the organisation plays a role? Was there scientific evidence that shows that the organisation can promote (un)safe behavior?


问:
How to connect two networks in NEURON software?
So my goal is to connect STN and SNc neurons by giving synaptic weights and then see the response. I have already modelled STN and SNc separately and observed their response.
 I need help with the coding part. I have already done this in MATLAB, but am supposed to do everything in NEURON simulator, by creating mod and hoc files. I went through some of the codes in modeldb website, but those seem way too complicated. </p>


问:
Why do people are seeming more charistmatic or sympathic, if they are fans of old things?
I see this very often. Whenever you buy a new car, listen to new music or reading new books you will nerver get the same attention or admiration if you drive an older car, don't listen to trendy music or reading books which are older than myself. And I always wanted to know why? Is it, that you seem more cultural/intellectual if you are a fan of something, which is not that up to date? Is it that it that you seem more "harmless" because you are not interested, that other will admire you, but you do it kind of for yourself and swimming in nostalgia? And I talk about goods or activities which are who are not less qualitative or cost more money.</p>


问:
Oblique EPI in afni
It is my very first time with afni and I am having problems with the creation of the afni dataset from dicom images.

I runned:

```<code>Dimon -infile_prefix IM -gert_create_dataset
</code>```

and I got this error:

```<code>Dimon version 4.18 (November 9, 2016) running, use <ctrl-c> to quit...

-- scanning for first volume
++ Data detected to be oblique
** cannot find a volume in 4400 image files
   (max allowable = 3000, see -max_images)
</code>```

As I want to keep my EPI dataset oblique I added the -use_obl_origin option running:

```<code>Dimon -infile_prefix IM -gert_create_dataset -use_obl_origin
</code>```

but I still get the same error. How can I deal with this issue?

Title: Oblique EPI in afni


问:
Applications of project management techniques to managing recovery while in residential addiction treatment programs
As some background, the Scrum process is a project management process used primarily in software engineering (it's what's sometimes called a type of Agile methodology). Its focus is on developing software iteratively. In general, a particular team will work in one to three week increments called sprints; at the beginning of the sprint, the team will select which outstanding tasks and features they are working on for the next sprint.

One major part of this is the daily stand-up meeting, which includes three questions:

What did you do yesterday?

What are you working on today?

Do you have any "blockers"?

These are limited to 15 minutes at most - if there are other, non-checkin-related issues, they're discussed later.

Often, there will be a physical board containing sticky notes with everyone's tasks. Each column contains a particular status type (not started, in development, in QA, complete). People will physically move the sticky note with their particular task across the board as it becomes closer to completion (e.g. halfway across the development column = halfway done with development) and changes status (e.g. when you're done with development, you physically move the sticky note to the "In QA" column).

I'm curious about the applications of this to a partial hospitalization program or residential treatment program. It seems like virtually all of them will have some kind of process group, but that they follow a different format than this.

It seems like regular accountability for specific goals and results as well as the idea of iterative progress towards some kind of final outcome could be useful. It seems like this could be particularly beneficial for complicated compulsive behaviors like eating disorders and compulsive hoarding.

Has anyone tried to apply something analogous to this in one of those kinds of programs? Could this be effective?


问:
Why does this video make me feel nostalgic?
I stumbled upon this video in a website:
https://9gag.com/gag/aM8ELMP#comment

Just as the video post title says, it makes me feels really nostalgic. Is the title deceiving viewers to feel nostalgic? or is it the video that actually causes nostalgia?

Are there visual (and other sensory) methods, like these, to create a nostalgic feeling in humans?


问:
How to convert fmri brain volumes to brain graph
I am working with fMRI data of Alzheimer's Disease (AD) patients. I want to convert brain volumes to brain graph and then using different graph metrics, I want to classify the brain volumes in AD and non-AD class.
The paper I want to implement is "Automatic classification of Alzheimer's disease with resting-state fMRI and graph theory".</p>


问:
Memories triggered by everything
I have this property of mind where memories of every event which is slightly more important than everyday routine gets linked with apparently anything that's existing or happening at that time and place.

For example talking about something important with someone while watching television would link that memory with whatever show was on tv and get recalled involuntarily every time the same show is watched.

Doing an action with a particular feeling in mind like fear , happiness , hate or hopelessness would tie that action with that feeling and the action would always trigger that feeling again.

The inverse is true as well like begin extremely happy suddenly reminds you of a particular person or event

Similar connections with feelings and  memories can be formed with a lot of things like smell , weather, temperature and even colour.

Is this quite common ? and is this recognised in cognitive sciences ? because I'm yet to meet someone with similar experiences.

Title: Memories triggered by everything


问:
What is the name for the experiment where you experience a feeling of weightlessness while sitting on a chair?
I've heard about an experiment with a very simple setup where you experience a feeling of weightlessness while sitting on a chair. I heard this on a podcast but I can't remember the details or the name of the phenomenon. I only remember that you do something or that something is done to you while you sit on a chair that gives you a surprisingly real feeling of weightlessness and that this something is a pretty simple procedure.


问:
Effects of quantity and quality of breaks on learning
Are there papers which discuss the effects of quantity and quality of breaks during learning? Do state of the art papers have a common ground?

So far I have found these papers:

The Fourth R: Recess and Its Link to Learning

The effects of different recess timing regimens on preschoolers' classroom attention

Unfortunately, both focus on kids and learning in school. The second article even on preschoolers. So I'm not sure, if the hypotheses also apply to adults. Also they're from 2007 and 2008, resp.


问:
Cognitive impairment in fibromyalgia
People suffering from Fibromyalgia (FM) and Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (CFS) often have memory and cognitive complaints. (Glass, 2006)

In FM as in CFS, some abnormalities of cerebral blood flow have been reported. In contrast, one study found normal cerebral glucose metabolism. Functional imaging during painful stimulation shows augmented activation in FM patients in pain-processing areas of the brain. This finding may be informative for cognitive function, because painful stimulation activates some areas of the brain that are also involved in attention-demanding cognitive tasks...Preliminary evidence suggests patients activate more cortical areas during a working memory task, much like the pattern reported for CFS patients.

Glass also states

Taken together, the neuroimaging studies suggest some abnormality in cerebral function among FM and CFS patients. A common finding is increased neural activation during cognitive processing as compared to healthy controls. These findings are in keeping with patients’ reports of increased difficulty and effort in completing cognitive tasks. Further research with fMRI is warranted, as it may help us understand the mechanisms underlying cognitive dysfunction in FM and CFS.

FM patients appear to be quite sensitive to disruptive effects of distraction, but most neuropsychological testing takes place in a distraction-free environment quite different from the hectic world.  I am trying to find out, but does anyone know if any further fMRI testing has been done, particularly with distractions involved whilst experiencing difficulty trying to complete cognitive tasks?  If so, does it appear that there any specific neurocognitive systems involved in FM?

References

Glass J. M. (2006). Cognitive dysfunction in fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue syndrome: new trends and future directions. Current rheumatology reports, 8(6), 425–429. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11926-006-0036-0 PMID: 17092441

Title: Cognitive impairment in fibromyalgia


问:
Drawbacks to the method of loci for memorization
The method of loci is a famous way of memorizing information by associating each memorized item in a spatial way.  There's plenty of content out there describing how to do it.  I'm wondering what the drawbacks might be.

Has anyone done any studies into issues that arise for people who memorize details using the method of loci?  For example, perhaps there are sets which one cannot memorize because one already memorized a related set and committed it to memory?  Or perhaps one might create hazardous paths which contain harmful memories which one would like to unlearn but cannot, causing trauma?

As a non-scientific reasoning, it strikes me as there must be some drawbacks, or society would have figured this out long ago and would have taught us all to memorize everything this way.


问:
What are external factors which can influence the clarity or early-prevailance of a person's earliest memory/memories
Are there any external factors (i.e. with less focus on the genetic make-up of the individual persons) which can, in let's say, an average human, generate earlier and perhaps more clear earliest memories?

I would be very interested in any non-retrospective research in this area. That is: intervention studies, which I would guess probably need parents' approval.

So, I would be interested in both what types of events (I would naturally assume trauma is one, as well as perhaps general high emotional association in general, but I might be very wrong and would be equally interested in other ones), as well as perhaps if pedagogy or any other factor influence the ability to generate early childhood memories.

In particular, I am interested in whether or not this has anything to do with an early onset of self-conscience, or any other amenability between the individual and its environment.

To wrap up, and state my question briefly: can an early onset of childhood-memories be fostered?


问:
Can the stress response from neonatal circumcision cause cognitive impairment?
Numerous studies have shown that severe early life stress can cause long term cognitive and learning impairments (ex. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3050094/)

But I have not found any studies that look into circumcision and cognitive outcome. The only study I've found is this recent German study: http://www.nature.com/tp/journal/v7/n3/full/tp201723a.html

Some tell me there are methodological flaws (such as small sample size and ineffective means to measure stress-related disorders). I personally can't spot any problems, but I'm not a neuroscientist.

What do you guys think in regards to this? Can an acute but severe bout of stress to a neonate cause any permanent neurological changes and cognitive impairments?


问:
Is there any research which compares the bond between biological siblings vs. non-biological siblings or half-siblings?
A research like: “of 100 families that we studied we found: biological siblings had stronger/weaker bond vs. half-siblings vs non-biological and 40 years later their relationship was found stronger/weaker”

Or kids 40 years after moving out of their parents house children had stronger/weaker bonds with their biological aunt/uncle/grandparent/cousins.


问:
Why do some people cycle musical tastes, and some people continually listen to the same type of music?
This is solely based on a personal observation of mine, but I've noticed people like me who constantly cycle music taste, and others who always listen to the same type of music.

I, for example, change musical tastes every 2-3 months, because I get sick of the same thing, but will eventually come back to it within a couple of years.

But I notice people who only listen to EDM, or only listen to rap, or only listen to alternative, etc.

Has any studies been done on this subject?

I noticed some studies about music changing with age, but that isn't exactly the same thing.


问:
In which way emotional "interference" affect the brain / the behaviour?
Think of two different scenarios. In both scenarios the subject is looking at emotional images, but in the first one emotional stimuli "interfere" with the behaviour, while in the second one emotionali stimuli are related to his/her goal.

In the scenario A the subject looks at emotional images but is not focused on the emotional content (for example, his/her task is to pay attention to the size of the image).

In the scenario B the subject looks at emotional images and is focused on the emotional content (for example, his/her task is to rate the image).

Which psychological processes would you think are most different between the two scenarios? In which way the brain is differentially affected by this "emotional interference", in your opinion?


问:
Does Cognitive Tunneling apply to daydreaming as well?
I've been reading a paper by Jarmasz J. (2005) on cognitive tunneling and am wondering if it applies to daydreaming?

For instance, if for some reason I'm already thinking about something that has no relation to any information coming in from any of my senses, just some random thought, will this cause any new information coming in from these senses to potentially not be processed?

This is kind of related to my understanding of HIP (human information processing). I've recently seen a diagram of HIP where what is in working memory is either information from our senses that we are attending to and information from long term memory.

But where does random thoughts that we have through out the day come in? This has to be accounted for as well, I would think.

Jarmasz, J., Herdman, C. M., & Johannsdottir, K. R. (2005). Object-based attention and cognitive tunneling. *Journal of Experimental Psychology: Applied, 11*(1), 3. https://doi.org/10.1037/1076-898X.11.1.3


问:
Is our memory accumulative or replacive?
While cramming, many times we tend to remember present experiences and to forget the past ones. It seems that our present experiences replace the past ones.

However, in physical activities like sports the more we practice the more our skills develop. So it seems our experiences (i.e. memory) tend to accumulate.

So, how do these conflicting facts coexists?


问:
What is the basic memory-making algorithm?
What are the fundamental criteria that determine the hierarchy of saved information in the brain?

I've discovered that our languages reflect some of those factors. One of them can be sex identification - I've noticed this when I was reading The story of your life, I couldn't really imagine the character of the main hero without the knowledge of her sex.

Another criterium could be time. In many languages, an event cannot be expressed without the knowledge of the time it had taken place.

Do we know what is the fundamental hierarchy of creating memories (I accept a very broad answer :)?


问:
Interaction between caffeine intake and biorhythm on alertness
Throughout the day, people's wakefulness and attentiveness varies, as modulated by one's circadian biorhythm. Whereas in the morning people are less awake, just before noon and around 15:00 people appear to experience peak performance.

As nicely discussed in an older question, taking caffeine also seems to generally improve cognitive performance and alertness (Does caffeine improve performance for habituated consumers?).

I was wondering if these two factors may interact. For example, if you are in a "dip" in the circadian cycle, will coffee be most effective on attentiveness (because there is more room for improvement so to say)? Or will coffee be more effective when your are at a peak in the cycle, where the caffeine and the cycle amplify each other's effect?

Is there any scientific literature that investigated the interaction between caffeine intake and the circadian cycle?


问:
What neural mechanism is responsible for our identification with a group?
Why do we need to identify ourselves with a group? Is there naturally a hormone/neurotransmiter reward? Or is it based on more complex mechanisms like finding the "deeper" meanings of our actions?</p>


问:
Is working memory somewhat task specific?
Working memory (WM) is often associated with intelligence and can supposedly be measured and trained by games like dual n-back. My question is if WM is task specific or has at least a task specific component. Or rather, my intuition is that it is: Me training dual-n back 20 minutes are day will improve my ability to play dual n-back far more than it will improve my ability to juggle different ways of asking this question in my head while writing it.

I think this is testable, so did anyone test if WM is task dependent and what did they find?

Edit to add:

This question with answers on the cross-discipline benefits was marked as a possible duplicate. My question is not addressed: The accepted answer to the question explores different ways cognitive abilities might 'transfer' from one discipline to another. One important aspect here is specific sub skills - psychologists may have a strong math background that may be useful when they learn. Another important aspect is the use of metaphors.

The supposed duplicate is relevant when discussing skill transfer between tasks. WM training is often hyped as general intelligence training. There are more straightforward ways of addressing this hype, my (maybe a bit roundabout) way is questioning wether WM trained on one task is as useful for another task.


问:
Is there any animal, which knows it will die?
In light of the Cambridge Declaration of Consciousness, are there any animals, which are aware that they will die?</p>


问:
Is there research on effectiveness of teaching with high extraneous cognitive load?

Background

While researching a particular author's mathematical exposition, I found out (directly from a primary source) that the author was probably intentionally using overly complex syntax. Purportedly, the idea was that
 by producing a high extraneous cognitive load the student would be subject to more "mental exercise," deepening understanding and cementing concepts. This led me to the following line of inquiry.

Question

We all probably agree that cognitive load is the very nature of education, at least, intrinsic cognitive load is unavoidable. But does additional extrinsic cognitive load improve the learning outcomes for students? Doesn't it seem preferable to minimize extraneous cognitive load at all times, while ramping up the level of required intrinsic cognitive load?

However plausible the idea of "more mental work means more mental muscles" might be, I have to question its effectiveness. The success of students under these conditions might easily be explained by other traits such as grit.

Is there research that says high extraneous cognitive load (e.g. intentionally complex exposition) either improves or degrades learning outcomes (such as recall and retention) in some situations?

Examples

I have two minor expository examples, but I hope they don't limit what you, the reader, may also have encountered like this elsewhere.

For example, something might be defined with a "double negative" pattern where there was already a (seemingly) simpler positive pattern:

A set $X$ is called closed if there is no limit point of $X$ which is not in $X$

(Compare to: A set $X$ is called closed if every limit point of $X$ is in $X$.)

if there exists a number $x$ which is not less than any element of $X$, then there is a least number which is not less than any element of $X$.

(Compare to: if there is a number $x$ which is greater or equal to every element of $X$, there is a least number which is greater or equal to every element of $X$.)

Another example is that some things are stated two or three layers deep: having a list of hypotheses, of which one bullet point is another list of hypotheses.  An example of that is a pattern of the form "element of the set $X$ such that for all elements $y$ of the set $Y$, $y$ has the property that for every element of the set $Z$..." (I still owe a better written example of this from what I was reading.) (I think something like that is usually simplified by modularizing definitions in a different way to bundle the layers separately before stacking.)

PS

I've just discovered the wiki on desirable difficulty which may also be helpful for me and for anyone offering a solution.


问:
Are there empirical studies that falsify propositions rooted in evolutionary psychology?
Conway III and Schaller (2002, p. 153) argue that "There is a long history of lodging charges of non-falsifiability against evolutionary thinking in the biological  sciences". One of the critics they refer to, is Karl Popper.

Can anyone cite examples of empirical studies that falsify propositions (hypotheses, explanations etc.) rooted in evolutionary psychology, in order to argue against Conway III and Schaller (2002)?

References:

Conway III, L. G., & Schaller, M. (2002). On the verifiability of evolutionary psychological theories: An analysis of the psychology of scientific persuasion. Personality and social psychology review, 6(2), 152-166. Link to the article: http://neuron4.psych.ubc.ca/~schaller/528Readings/ConwaySchaller2002.pdf, retrieved 2017, Apr. 11


问:
Are there any variants of pathological lying?
Are there any variants of pathological lying? As far as I understand it, that means either lying for no discernable reason, or to your advantage but a lot.

Are any other verbal behaviours themselves pathologised: pathological false confession, or pathological irony?


问:
Shape versus numbers
Do adults recognise numbers or shapes quicker? Have there been any studies on this?

If an adult was asked to press a corresponding button when presented with a shape or number, which would they respond to quicker?

Title: Shape versus numbers


问:
What is Reaction time method?
I'm having some trouble with understanding Reaction Time (RT) method.

I have a hypothesis that M occurs at B where M is a mental activity and B is a location in the brain.  To verify it, I want to use either method subtraction method or mental chronometric (here I say RT). Using fMRI and subtraction method, I think it can be done. For example, suppose that sequence of metal activities A-N-M occurs. Then, by using fMRI, where M occurs and subtract places which are activated when A and N occur.

But designing experiment using the RT, How can I do that where M occurs in brain?

Title: What is Reaction time method?


问:
What are the reliable and valid test to measure working memory?

Possible Duplicate:

  How to reliably measure working memory capacity?

I am currently doing my thesis on how different types of music affect the cognitive performance more specifically working memory in an individual.

Can anyone suggest reliable and valid test to measure working memory?


问:
What Makes a Concept Good in Cognitive Science?
Are there any frameworks to evaluate the quality of a theoretic concept in cognitive science (ideally with references)?

For social sciences I found the following:

Gerring, J. (1999). What makes a concept good? A criterial framework for understanding concept formation in the social sciences. Polity, 31(3), 357-393.


问:
What is the effect of Gibbs artifact on multi voxel pattern analysis?
I have collected a EPI BOLD sequence data using Siemens skyra 3T. The voxel size is 3x3x3 mm^3. TR = 2s. I am seeing Gibbs artifact similar to the image:

People have suggested to smooth the data to get rid of it. But I will be doing MVPA (multi Variate Pattern Analysis). Since MVPA relies on spatial pattern, smoothing it is a bad idea. So can you please let me know if my results will be influenced by Gibbs artifact?
Also, from whatever I read, Fourier reconstruction at lower spatial resolution could lead to this artifact. Can any MRI scanner hardware issue cause this artifact, like heating up of RF coil, etc.


问:
How does formality in a therapy relationship effect treatment outcomes?
Languages like German and French have two different you. German has "du and sie" while French has "tu and vous".
It's common in therapy contexts to use the more formal version "sie"/"vous". Is there research that indicates that using the more formal pronoun increases the likelihood of treatment success?</p>


问:
Daily Life of Clinical Psycologist
What is the daily routine of a clinical psycologist? Granted, schedules fluctuate and people have different personal lives. I am writing a story that has a character with the same occupation. </p>

Title: Daily Life of Clinical Psycologist


问:
What timing of visual emphasis paired with a spoken word provides the best cognition?
I am working on an animation in which there are three somewhat small font words (Environmental, Social, and Economic) together with three colored horizontal histogram bars on each side of the labels on the upper center of the screen. These three words are spoken in sequence by the narrator.  To aid cognition and bring attention to the area being referenced by the narrator so the viewer more easily understands what the narration is referring to, I am going to have each word in turn get a visual flourish to catch attention and bring the eye to that part of the screen.  Each word will be bolded and turned to match the associated bar's color in succession as they are spoken.  Here is a shot showing upper portion of screen with the middle of the three words (Social) being emphasized in the orange color:

Here is shot showing whole screen with bars in context:

My question is about timing, in order to maximize viewer comprehension that the three bars are what is being spoken about in the narration, should the flourish exactly match the timing of the spoken word, or should it slightly precede it by say 1/10th of a second, or slightly follow it.  I'm thinking preceding slightly makes the most sense, but was unable to construct a google search to find any research on this question.  Similarly, should the flourish last the duration of the spoken word, or extend slightly past it, say by another 1/10th of a second?


问:
Polylinguistic Competition
I'm unsure if there's another exchange that would be more appropriate for this, but I'm curious about my own experiences and wanted to see what this community had to say.

Context being that I really enjoy languages and etymology, I have studied French, Japanese, Spanish and the relationships between English, Romantic languages, and by intuitive delta see German influences in modern English.

However, after studying French, Spanish and Japanese I've found that I have more difficulty arriving at the proper phrasing or terminology when speaking English and have occasionally found myself using grammar structures or sentence orders from Japanese, or making similar mistakes I've observed of ESL speakers that natively speak Spanish. Another observation here is that this happens when speaking more frequently than while typing.

My question here is primarily concerned with whether studying the other languages caused this result and if so, why?

Title: Polylinguistic Competition


问:
Are there any studies that test for preference between balls and blocks in infants?
I was getting in the old round corners vs square corners conversation and the majority of arguments for rounded corners revolve around our subconscious desire for natural round things over artificial angles. Then they give the terrible analogy of a fork vs a ball.

As I was considering this I thought if there is an innate bias toward circular objects, it should be apparent in young children as well. So I thought the easiest way to test this was to put a block and a ball of the same size in the same room and observe with which object a baby chooses to interact. Assuming the hypothesis about subconscious choice is right, these babies should display a preference for the ball over the block.

Has anyone heard of any studies that investigate this sort of thing?

http://uxmovement.com/thinking/why-rounded-corners-are-easier-on-the-eyes/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16913943

https://ux.stackexchange.com/questions/11150/how-do-rounded-corners-affect-usability


问:
What can I study as a layman to develop practical knowledge of human psychology
What can I study as a layman to learn enough facets of psychology to develop better understanding of human behaviour? Unfortunately as I know nothing of the field I'm not really certain about what I should even look for. Any suggestions such as subjects, books, documentaries and even advice would be appreciated.

I am interested in topics such as personal fears, prejudices, motivations, mental health illnesses, hostilities, etc. On a larger scale I want a better understanding of social issues such as resistance to change, radicalisation, extremism, value systems, group dynamics, etc.

Thank you.


问:
does speakers exhibit change of behavior when switching from one language to another?
I have a strong belief that being a bilingual or multilingual when we switch from one language to another our behavior change accordingly. For example, my native language is Urdu, I feel comfortable, relax and calm when i am talking to someone in Urdu but when i am talking to someone in English i feel different. I am not comfortable. I'm continuously in my mind checking my grammar, sentence structure and stuff etc. I'm sure such things happen to others as well. Has any research that has been done on this topic?</p>


问:
Is there a psychological term for enduring hardship to achieve a promised state?
I'm new to CogSci and to Psychology in general, so forgive me if this question has been answered before...

I see a pattern in many sociological environments that goes like this:

Someone promises a better (possibly imaginary) state of living to someone else

But this better state will only be achieved if the someone else endures a hardship period or similar

A lot of "Someone elses" go through the hardship, and many of them endure a lot of time and justify what they are doing, even though nothing has really changed.

What I am most interested in is this aspect of point 3: that, even if there isn't a real difference, people will think there is, just because they endured the hardship.

Some examples:

a) A promise that some phone/shoe/whatever is much better than the alternative, but it is overpriced. People who bought it (endured the hardship) will find a justification for it at any cost (even if there isn't one).

b) A promise to achieve a peaceful state of mind through daily meditation for a long period of time. People who are committed to meditating will find any small improvement in life as if it was related to that.

Is there a psychological term for this "phenomenon"/behavior? Has it been studied (I'm sure it might have been)?

This may be related to consistency theory, but I'm not sure about that. Any indications of articles about it would be welcome.


问:
Why do you hear music inside your head when wearing headphones, even when you hold the phones some distance from your head?
When you wear headphones for listening to music you hear the music inside your head. Even when you hold the two speakers at the same distance from your ears the music is still heard inside your head. If you hold one speaker further or lower from your head though, it seems the music is still playing inside your head (except when one instrument is heard only on one speaker of the headphones; then that particular sound is heard outside your head, at the place where the speaker is where that particular sound comes from), but in a different part of it, i.e. not in the center. So when are sounds heard inside your head and others outside (for example a knock on the door) yourself (your head)?

It's nice playing with this! Take two loudspeakers (with equal volume), and move them around your head. The sound will travel around, in mysterious ways, in your head, dependent on how you move the speakers. It leaves your head when both spekers are on one side of your head. Try it!


问:
Reading / Math task for evoking affective states
I plan to measure affective states with bio-sensors. For the affective states I will use engagement, confusion, boredom and frustration. For the bio-sensors I will use ECG and skin conductance.

I will do a study with a couple of participants. I'm thinking about either a reading or math task (on a tablet) which the participants should perform. Of course the task should evoke these affective states. Each participant should work for 30-60min.

Are there some standard ways of designing such tasks (i.e. how to evoke the above affective states with reading or math tasks)? Or is there already a reading / math task available in the literature which was used for evoking these affective states?


问:
List of nonverbal expressions of primary and secondary emotions
I'm currently looking for reliable scientific sources that might help me with rating emotions in video-material. Ideally a comprehensive list of facial-/postural expressions of primary and secondary emotions.</p>


问:
How accurate is a person's estimate of their social networks knowledge?
A lot of studies have been performed on the nature of fake news and it's spread on social media sites:

"Perceived social presence reduces fact-checking"

"Echo chamber and trench warfare dynamics in online debates"

"Epistemic Factors in Selective Exposure and Political Misperceptions on the Right and Left"

"Politically Motivated Reinforcement Seeking: Reframing the Selective Exposure Debate"

"Helping populism win? Social media use, filter bubbles, and support for populist presidential candidates in the 2016 US election campaign"

A problem I have with a lot of these studies is how they seem to ignore the structure of a person's personal network. For example, I'm going to trust a post on psychology from someone who frequently makes accurate posts on the topic more than I'm going to trust one from my crazy meme-posting uncle.

I would trust ignoring this factor if most people didn't have accurate estimations of the knowledge level of the people in their social networks?
Has there been any studies examining how accurately people keep track of who they trust on what topics? Does this accuracy affect how accurately they detect false information spread in their social network?


问:
What stops this (one weird) hypnotic trick having the reverse effect to intended?
In one of his endless Blogs about Trump and hypnotism, Scott Adams, creator of the comic Dilbert, claims that by showing an image of Trump's book and his own book side-by-side he can hypnotise you into thinking his book is important.

Trump is a business tycoon/president/mysogynistic-dinosaur/fork-and-spoon-operator. Whether you love him or hate him the view is widespread that Trump is an important guy. When I see Adam's book next to Trump's my hindbrain says, 'Oh, this Scott Adams guy must be as important as Trump to have their books side-by-side'

I believe that is true to some nonzero extent. It might be huge; it might be tiny. I am not interested in debating the exact size. My question is why does this trick not have the opposite effect?

Scott Adams is best known for drawing cartoons for cripe's sake? Unlike Trump, Scott Adams is not a household name. Why doesn't the hindbrain see both books and say, 'Trump's book next to Adam's? That nobody!? Gosh I guess Trump was not as important s I thought.'

If the association goes one way, what's to stop it going the other?


问:
What's the relation between PES and LSA?
In "Learning by stimulation avoidance: A principle to control spiking neural networks dynamics" by Sinpayen et al. a learning rule called Learning by Stimulation Avoidance (LSA) is presented. According to the abstract, this learning rule:

Scale to at least a hundred neurons

Explains synaptic pruning

Replicates results from "Development, learning and memory in large random networks of cortical neurons: lessons beyond anatomy" by Marom and Shadoff

How does the mechanism compare to the Prescribed Sensitivity Error (PES) learning rule used by the NEF? Is LSA compatible with the NEF?


问:
Is there an Illusion of Completeness of Understanding
I very often find situations where someone is certain she understands something (an explanation, a thought, a set of isntructions), when, actually, there are many gaps in this understanding. I have looked among the cognitive biases, but have not found something in this line.

Is there such a Bias, or is it embeded in other biases?


问:
Why are we attracted to screens?
I'm doing a study about large led billboards and I wanted to understand why we are so attracted to screens and movement in general.</p>

Title: Why are we attracted to screens?


问:
Is robustness to interruption related to the ability to multi-task?
Is the ability to resume a task effectively after an interruption related to a person's ability to multi-task? The only theory of multi-tasking I'm aware of is PRIMs which models multi-tasking as being limited by over-lapping neural resources. I'm also assuming that a person's ability to resume a task is an attribute that varies across populations, but would appreciate references providing evidence for or against this.</p>


问:
How does processing of T1 images affect tractography after registering the DWI to T1?
At the moment I believe that registering (aligning) Diffusion Weighted Images (DWI) to T1 images only allows for the DWI to have a parcellation basis, and otherwise it does not give much information.
As far as I know the construction of fiber tracts only uses information derived from the DWI images, so any manipulation made to the T1 images during its processing (e.g. through the basic freesurfer pipeline) should not affect the final tracts that you obtain, nor their measures of FA -fractional anisotropy- or MD -medial diffusivity- for example. </p>

<p>Is such assumption right? I think that I might be wrong since there must be a point to the DWI to T1 registration other than allowing for parcellation of the brain, but I just cannot figure out what it is. </p>


问:
Is psychology equivalent to physics of the 1900s?
I read that psychological inquiry can be analogized to the work done by physicists long ago before modern sophisticated theories, such as electromagnetism.  According to the argument, psychologists could be thought of as researchers living in the 1800s trying to understand how a present-day laptop works with ideas of electricity, but no electric theory, no computer science, etc.  Only able to see how it reacts to certain things.

I have heard this argument in other places as well and am attempting to discover if this is a fair comparison and if psychology really needs a complete neurobiology for one to gain a deep and comprehensive understanding of the human condition.

Does anyone know of any good articles or books in philosophy of psychology/science, that discuss the varying perspectives on this question?


问:
How will brain-computer interfacing work?
I have just been reading about Elon Musks new company Neuralink. He claims that it is possible to increase the communication speed between humans and computers by using direct brain interfaces which could help in exchanging large volumes of information in a short period of time. The speed with which humans generate written information is just a few bytes per second. But computers communicate with each other at a very fast rate.

So my doubts are,

Is such a thing even possible? I have this question because I believe that our brain does not understand binary.

It took me a few whole minutes for typing this question. It was not because of my inability to type fast. It was because I had to plan with precision, each sentence I type to avoid grammatical errors and to communicate my question well (and to ensure that my question does not get hit with a series of downvotes). So how does increasing the communication speed between my brain and the computer actually guaranty that I will type this question faster than I'm typing now?

If such a thing is actually possible, can you explain (in brief) how will such a method work?


问:
Window and noverlap values in pwelch function of Matlab
Could anyone please suggest what values to be used for Window and noverlap inputs of pwelch function in Matlab. I am using a 200 ms EEG signal with sampling frequency 1000 (so total samples 200) to evaluate spectral power. By default pwelch uses hamming window and divides the data into 8 segments with 50% overlap. Are these default values okay for my small signal?

Thanks for the help!


问:
Which long-term effects can hypocortisolism have on behavior?
Chronic stress can have a serious impact on our physical as well as psychological health due to sustained high levels of the chemicals released in the ‘fight or flight’ response.

In abused children has been noticed a dysregulation of the "Hypothalamic - Pituitary - Adrenal" axis and particularly anomalous levels of Cortisol (Hart, et al., 1995).

Cicchetti and Rogosch hypothesize that the reduced activity of the HPA axis may have an adaptive role cause it protects against the consequences of a chronic hypercortisolism (Cicchetti, et al., 2010).

They also suggest this alteration to have effects on social skills?

Are there any research about it?

References

Cicchetti, D., Rogosch, F. A., Howe, M. L., & Toth, S. L. (2010). The Effects of Maltreatment and Neuroendocrine Regulation on Memory Performance. Child Development, 81(5), 1504–1519.
DOI: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01488.x PMCID: PMC2941227

Hart, J., Gunnar, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1995). Salivary cortisol in maltreated children: Evidence of relations between neuroendocrine activity and social competence. Development and Psychopathology, 7(1), 11-26.
DOI: 10.1017/S0954579400006313


问:
How to deal with childhood trauma effectively?
What can we do as adults to rectify childhood damages?
For instance, When as an adult one feels lonely, anxious,etc ... at many occasions, I believe there is a good chance that those feelings are rooted in the person's childhood. Once it is diagnosed what the feelings come from originally, how can it be dealt with?  </p>


问:
Examples of behavioural breakdowns in game theory?
I am cross-posting this question with Economics StackExchange because I originally posted it on the Mathematics StackExchange but didn't receive much helpful answers there.

I'm trying to compile multiple scenarios of the breakdown of game theory. Specifically, I'm looking for scenarios where game theory predicts certain behaviours, but in real-world scenarios or experiments, people tend to behave quite differently.

Here's an example of the kind of thing I'm looking for, based on the ultimatum game:

Two players, A and B, are offered a certain amount of money, for example, 100€, to share between them.

Player A first decides the split (e.g. 50-50, 60-40, 90-10, or whatever player A decides).

Player B chooses to either to accept Player A's split, in which case each player receives the amount dictated by Player A; or Player B refuses Player A's split, in which case both players receive 0€.

The game is played only once; there is no repitition.

Classic game theory predicts that as long as Player A offers any split in which Player B receives more than 0€, Player B would accept the offer. For example, if Player A offers 99-1, then Player B would accept the offer since 1€ is better than nothing. However, from what I understand, experiments have shown that for many offers below 50-50, Player B refuses the offer. The explanation is that when Player B perceives that Player A is being unfair, Player B often prefers that both players receive nothing rather than undergoing what they perceive to be unfair treatment. Apparently, the refusal depends on how much Player B would eventually receive. (For example, Player B might refuse a 90-10 split if 100€ is at stake, but might grudgingly accept it if 1000€ is at stake.)

Could anyone please offer any examples where game theory predictions are known to differ from actual human behaviour?

Strictly speaking, in the example I gave, the problem isn't with the "theory" part of game theory; the problem is with correctly specifying the utilities. The players' real utility is a function of both the money they would receive and their perception of fairness. Because the game classically only specifies their utility in terms of money, the prediction fails because the perception of fairness is also important, yet neglected. It is neglected because it is much harder to quantify and to accurately specify on the same scale as money. In fact, I strongly suspect that all cases that I'm asking for would involve a similar element: the game theoretic prediction fails because players have some very important behavioural aspects of their utilities which are not specified in the game model because they are hard to quantify.


问:
Consciousness as sufficient complexity
First of all, let me state that I am a newcomer to cognitive science in general and this community in particular, so feel free to chew me out if this question is inappropriate in some way.

I have always thought that the definition of consciousness was a question of complexity. In particular, a network would be considered conscious if and only if it had at least as many nodes and connections as the human brain.

I have two sub-questions regarding this definition:

Is there anyone in the literature who espouses this point of view? Is this point of view generally respected among cognitive scientists?

What are the potential problems with this definition as it relates to other definitions in cognitive science?

Title: Consciousness as sufficient complexity


问:
PTSD recovery / prefrontal cortex blood flow
I am studying a case of PTSD where the patient has lost "crispness of consciousness" and is in a zombie-like state often found among soldiers where only programmed behavior is possible.

The patient is recovering and is noticing that the prefrontal cortex is coming online (I assume he is feeling bloodflow to the area) and that the process is noticeably accelerated through exercise. Are there other proven methods besides exercise that accelerate this kind of recovery / blood flow?


问:
Inter-subject signal sensitivity estimation?

Factor loading background

I am using paired comparison methods to estimate estimate respondents’ sensitivity to distinctions in words used to characterize the construct of agreeableness. (e.g, Undemanding = .34 versus Peaceful = .72). The contrast between the words' factor loadings is the signal to be detected.  The stronger loading was alternated between being on the first and second word. I did find that the contrast predicted probability of correct detection (r = .20*).

Experiment background

The stimulus is paired comparison words with each word having a different factor loading (from prior research) based on it's measurement of agreeableness. So each word taps the construct more or less deeply than the other.
The contrast between the words in terms of their factor loading is the signal.
A set of 122 such paired comparison tasks was developed and the task before the respondent is to select the more agreeable word.

The respondents are students recruited for the research having varying degrees of sensitivity. Each word in the pair only has a factor loading as the estimate of signal and the contrast should be the salient feature in the task.

How to get sensitivity estimate?

I have been using the number of correct “larger” loading detections as the respondent’s score. How might I estimate respondents' sensitivity to the presented signals?


问:
Schizophrenia : Need a professional opinion
In April 2017, My younger left the house without informing anyone. It was very hot summer here in India. Whole afternoon, he walked alone. When he left he took no money, no phone and anything. Somehow, When we got him back he told us that "I left home searching the god".

After few days, we told him to write about his feelings, why he left and how is he feeling now. I will attach the image of his writing. He is 16 years old.

Our psychologist told he is suffering from Schizo thought disorder. I want professional opinion based on his writing. MRI REPORT : NO SIGNIFICANT ABNORMALITIES.

Some Special Points:

He has lost almost all interest in sports,games,video games,movies and music. He used to do singing but now stopped it completely.

He listen to God songs only.

He would go to our in-home temple many times a day and join hands. Though it has not been noticed since several months.

He always complains that he has no time for friends, society. He says it affects his study but we don't think it does.

Here are the images of his writing :


问:
Bipolar and paintings
A year ago or so I discovered a study where the power spectrum of paintings were compared among various painters from the past and present day. Among the present day painters there were bipolar, etc. people. These present day painter's paintings were then compared with painters such as Van Gogh.

These finding were used to suggest a method to "prove" that painters, like Van Gogh, were bipolar or had some other mental illness.

I thought this was interesting but have long since been unable to find this again for further review. Does anyone know of this particular study,? If so could you please reference it.

Title: Bipolar and paintings


问:
Who do we count as "intelligent" and why?
Most of my friends, for instance, say they want an "intelligent" girlfriend. Now, I know this is a philosophical question and a matter of opinion, and there is a similar question on intelligence looking for a scientific or some other formulaic way to label someone as intelligent, what I'm interested in is the social psychology aspect of it: what do they mean? What do people in this day and age think "intelligent" means? Don't they just call that to whoever is counted as intelligent by what they see as social standards? Then what are the universal standards and why?</p>


问:
How do we know how to cry?
When a baby is born they already know how to cry. If you inflict pain, their reaction is to cry.

My question is NOT why do they cry because that is obvious: they are uncomfortable, they are cold, they have been squeezed or as my Mom would say: They are crying because this world is evil and they don't want to be here.

To further remove any confusion: I do not care why they cry.

I had no luck finding anything online except this Q&A with this answer:

So your first natural response is to cry, or as you like to think of it, to produce noises from your vocal throat. This is an inbuilt response. As you grow up you notice every time you emit this noise you are given food, attention, and your basic needs are accounted for. This is a learned response.

The interesting bit from the above quote is:

produce noises from your vocal throat.

Question

Why do humans know crying?

If it is not crying and you call it noises from vocal throat then why do babies produce those noises instead of noises such as laughter noises? Clearly they know that the crying type noise will get us to provide them comfort but the laughing type will not.

Perhaps when they are in the womb they can feel when the mother cries, it causes discomfort; so maybe they learn it that way through association. But that begs the question: Why don't they learn laughing in the womb as well?

I will downvote answers that try to state why babies cry since I made it clear that is not my question.

Title: How do we know how to cry?


问:
A framework for modeling tasks, behaviors and characteristics
I'm doing my master's thesis on evaluating startup team dynamics from an investors's perspective. To construct and argue the methods that I'm suggesting, I'd like to build a simple model of most important startup tasks, behaviors and characteristics where a certain characteristic of the team, say "mutual trust" would be connected to a desired behavior, like "suggesting ideas" that would be connected to success in a certain important task, like "pivoting the business idea". Any characteristic could be connected to multiple behaviors, and behaviors could be connected to multiple tasks. So the model could look something like this:

Are there any similar models/frameworks being used in scientific context? To me, this seems like an intuitive way to build suggested connections between team/individual characteristics and business success, but I fail to find anything like this. Note that while I'm interested in team characteristics, similar logic on individual level will do fine as well.

Please note that I don't intend to build a comprehensive map of all tasks, or do hypothesis-testing on each individual connection, but rather use this map as a basis for suggesting practical methods that will be tested.


问:
What is the definition of a healthy mind?
My question is motivated by two factors.

First, this citation from Wikipedia:

In the scientific and academic literature on the definition or categorization of mental disorders, one extreme argues that it is entirely a matter of value judgments (including of what is normal) while another proposes that it is or could be entirely objective and scientific (including by reference to statistical norms); other views argue that the concept refers to a "fuzzy prototype" that can never be precisely defined, or that the definition will always involve a mixture of scientific facts (e.g. that a natural or evolved function isn't working properly) and value judgments (e.g. that it is harmful or undesired).

The excerpt emphasizes the intrinsic fuzziness of the workings of the mind. And I can understand that there are many concepts that cannot be reliably studied using the scientific method and that there are also many concepts that are "opinion-based", i.e. tend to be judged as "normal" or "not normal" by the society. Thus, the consensus varies considerably across different regions and societies.

Second, reading this question, I find it disturbing that an established mental disorder can be simply voted off. Imagine a patient coming for therapy one day and hearing that they are cured (or, perhaps worse, that they are not suffering any more), not because the therapy and/or medication yielded results, but because an authority got together and the members came to an agreement that the patient's ailment simply isn't an ailment any longer.

So, while we have great difficulties defining and drawing lines about mental disorders, I'm asking is there any way to define a healthy mind. Think of it as a list of criteria, that would convince the patient from above, not that they don't suffer any more, but that they are healthy.


问:
What is the fastest sorting algorithm for humans?
Empirically, I feel like sorting things in real life is not the same as sorting things for a computer.  Algorithms like and merge sort and quicksort are the fastest things to sort for computers in the long run, but if I were to sit down and sort a thousand books alphabetically I don't see myself using either of them.

I can think of a couple of reasons off the top of my head why the sorting speed of an algorithm doesn't map to real life.

Swapping items is not constant time in real life.  The more items you have in a row, the further you have to run to find something.

Indexing is not constant time.  Unless you're sorting items in numbered slots, you're not going to be able to find the 110th item easily.

Most real life array operations are faster.  For example, you can take an item from the end of a row of objects and move it to the other end.

I'm going to narrow the question a little further and say that we aren't sorting things by any obvious, intuitive traits like size.  Say we're sorting a thousand equal sized books alphabetically by title listed on the spine.

What other factors of human intuition can influence the way a human sorts objects and what would be the fastest way to sort these books?


问:
Can subliminal affirmations really use the subconscious mind to naturally reshape your nose?
My reflexive response to this is no, however, I have noticed two different phenomenon which begs to re-assess.

(Please see and read video description and some comments: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=anMDt7Ofda8)

Firstly, in my work, I have met some adults with severe debilitating mental special needs. The ones that peaked my re-assessment on this subject, were ones who as young children, were only considered slightly "slow" but physically did not look different than their peers. Then around a certain age (one at 7 for example), went through a terrible reaction like massive seizures or food poisoning, making them loose all mental facilities, permanently. Now, at a much older age, their facial features are completely altered to what we associate some severely mentally debilitated people with. I prefer not to describe if possible, the point is the actual bone structure and other features seem to have shaped very differently now. However, they were not born that way and the only thing that changed was mind and brain function.

Secondly, there seems to be a staggering number of people online and especially on YouTube, bewildered and claiming that subliminal programing videos have allowed them to change their facial features. With this large sample population (even if half were fake), I think it merits some sort of assessment.

Can one use their subconscious in some fashion to change the shape of something on their body?


问:
Proven research about how to minimise Continuous Partial Attention?
Continuous Partial Attention seem to be a natural reaction to the Age of Information. However, as some authors have argued:

it leads to a higher level of stress in the brain, prohibiting reflection, contemplation and thoughtful decisions. It also dilutes efforts to focus and concentrate on the present (effectively paying attention to what you are doing in the moment instead of shifting from one activity to another). This constant connectedness also affects real-time relationships and lowers productivity levels, leading to over-stimulation and lack of fulfillment.

These consequences are surely dreadful for individuals and society in general. Since the Age of Information is very likely here to stay, from an individual perspective, but also from educators and policy makers perspective, measures should be taken to avoid or ameliorate such effects.

Is there some research showing how this can be achieved? I have not found anything, but I imagine this is a very early research area.


问:
Which filter should be applied to the EEG signal for the stress stimulus?
I am a student in electrical and electronics engineering. I just started working with EEG. I perform a stress test on subjects and record EEG activities with a 5-sensor headset. I use Matlab for analysis. I'm wondering if anyone can tell me the best method for data analysis. Do we expect the signal to be localized at a certain frequency range in the EEG data under stress stimulus? If so, what is the frequency range? Which filter should be applied to the EEG signal for the stress stimulus?


问:
Development of logical thinking/problem solving/learning capacity associated with math/physics
I was wondering how logical thinking/problem solving ability/learning capacity evolves and develops in individuals that study math/physics.(that need a lot of logical thinking)

So my question is basically : Does studying math/physics helps you solving problems or learning other things that are not directly linked with any of this subjects ? (problems from other subjects like biology or problems concerning our daily life)

I don't know if there's any research in that field (concerning some kind of facility of learning/solving other things when you've studied subjects that need a lot of logical thinking).


问:
Is the effect of music on stress just due to beat entrainment?
Different music genres have different beat and rhythm patterns. The lower beat and rhythm frequencies are similar to the frequency of heartbeat and this relax us.
However in my opinion, it's relevant to consider also the emotional significance which the song has for a person.

How does the brain form a link between the emotional of a song and the stress system?


问:
How does alcohol increase firing rate in Golgi cells?
I understood that ethanol increases Golgi cell firing by inhibiting the Na+/K+ ATPase channels, which makes granule cells receive more GABAergic input from the GABA that Golgi cells relase.
Some paragraph in this paper are not clear to me. It says that

ethanol increased spontaneous firing frequency and depolarized the membrane potential in the perforated-patch configuration, but also that ethanol does not significantly affect firing frequency or membrane potential response to current injection.

How does it work?


问:
Is the order of stimulus pairings in second order conditioning relevant?
In second order conditioning next to a CS1 + US also a CS2 + CS1 association is learned so that also CS2 will cause a CR. Is the order in which the stimuli associations are learned (CS1 + US and CS2 + CS1) relevant for the strength of the CS2 -> CR association?

To make an example: A student gets a bad grade in an exam (CS1) and due to a extremely negative response of his / her parents (screaming, punishment = US) the student develops a fear response to exams in general (single trial fear conditioning; the response "exam -> fear" was learned). Does the student already responds with fear to any stimuli (CS2) which signals a upcoming exam although this association was learned earlier before the fear conditioning? Is it necessary that the association CS2 + CS1 is learned after the CS1 + US association or doesn't it matter?

Explanation of the abbrevations: In classical conditioning a association between an unconditioned stimuli (US) and a conditioned stimuli (CS) is learned so that the person also responds with the response to the conditioned stimuli which he / she has previously shown to the unconditioned stimulus. The classical example is Pavlov's experiment with a dog. A bell was ringing (CS) whenever food was presented to the dog (US). After a while the dog salivates (CR) whenever the bell rings (without presenting the food). Thus the response "bell -> salivation" was learned.

In second order conditioning next to an association of an unconditioned stimulus (US) and a first conditioned stimulus (CS1) also an association of a second conditioned stimulus (CS2) with the first conditioned stimulus (CS1) is learned. Thus the person / the animal also responses with a conditioned response (CR) similar or equal to the unconditioned response (UR) to the second stimulus even though that the association CS2+US was directly presented before.


问:
How is compassion "derailed" into self-pity
Following up on my previous question on the possible benefit of self-pity, I would like to understand the process which is responsible to create self-pity.

As @AliceD pointed out self-pity could very well be the collateral result of empathy. However, it seems to me there are a lot more people feeling empathy than people experiencing self-pity.

There is famous quote attributed Viktor E. Frankl:

Between stimulus and response there is a space. In that space is our power to choose our response. In our response lies our growth and our freedom.

Can the idea behind this quote be used to answer my question? In other words self-pity originates in the capability of empathy and the inability to choose the response?


问:
Noise free EEG signal data base
I am working on a research paper regarding EEG signal preprocessing. The first stage includes denoising the signal. However, since I need to evaluate the performance of the method I am using, I thought of

Using a noise free signal

Add white Gaussian noise to it

Denoise it

Compare the denoised signal with the original one.

Is there a data base that contains real recordings of EEG signal ( not simulated ) and without any additive Gaussian noise. If not, is there any other way that I can use to evaluate my denoising method?

Title: Noise free EEG signal data base


问:
Which is more true about learning?
I think / guess using multiple sources for education / learning is much better than using one source; I mean by source, visual, auditory, etc...
So at best I could learn from a person face-to-face, then watching some video, then reading a tutorial with graphs, etc...

but what about keeping reading and accumulating knowledge by forcing info by the act of just reading here and there, until the piece of info "clicks".. is that a good thing? What is bad about this method? what is good? It seems like to be clutter compared to the way of learning mentioned above this paragraph...

Title: Which is more true about learning?


问:
What are common parameters for the Eriksen flanker task?
I'm looking to create a flanker task for an upcoming experiment. I'm wondering if there are any papers/websites that outline what the "standard" flanker task contains?

Specifically, I'm trying to find some information on the most commonly used number of trials/blocks, what the experimental manipulations are (besides congruency), or timings of the stimuli

Of course there's some variability to this, and it would likely change depending on the research question, but even just a range of values that I should work within would be useful


问:
EEGlab: power spectral density from a single EEG lead
I was trying to get power spectral density of a time-series data. The sleep recording software we use, doesn't allow to export EDF format of an interval, only of the whole record, but it allows to extract an ASCII file with uV value of a single lead. We are selecting the visually "cleaner" part of a longer dot test task.

The way I'm proceeding now, is to

import them in eeglab,

use FIR automatic filter with 0.5 - 28 low hi pass

run this script

```<code>[power, freq] = spectopo(EEG.data(chanNr, :), 0, sampRate, 'winsize', 512, 'freqfac', 2,'freqrange',[0 28]);
(chanNr = 1 and sampRate =512)
</code>```

I am not familiar with signal analysis, am I proceeding in the proper way? The output I get from spectopo in the power variable, is uV squared, right?


问:
Is there a name for sudden addiction relieving clarity?
I struggled for years to quit smoking, then after many failed attempts I stopped without any difficulty. I've also experienced this on other things, like when I'll want to do something but I lack the discipline to do it, then eventually I'll have a surge of energy and willpower that will make it easy for me to get anything done.

What is the psychology behind this yo-yo surge of willpower?

How can I encourage my mind and body to bring on that heightened willpower?


问:
Fear Conditioning and Hippocampal Remapping
Have there been any studies that explore how much generalization across contexts occurs with fear conditioning?

The "context" that the animal thinks it is in can be observed through the "map" that the hippocampal place cell network is using at a point in time.  Different "contexts" have different "maps".  This is known as global remapping.  I might think that the conditioned fear response would only occur in situations for which there is no hippocampal remapping as compared to the original conditioned environment (i.e. the hippocampus is using the same "map" as the original conditioned environment).

Is there evidence supporting that assumption?


问:
How much evidence is needed to support a claim?
Let's say that I hypothesised that if I behave in a certain way (X) then the people I interact with will respond with behaviour (Y). How much evidence do I need to make such claim ? </p>


问:
Which Meditation Techniques Correlate Best with Certain Brain-Waves?
Which meditation techniques are better at "entraining(?)" specifically desired brainwaves?

For each brainwave range, (Alpha, Theta, etc) - are certain meditative technique more effective?

For example, I was recently told that "Kundalini" was most effective towards Theta Waves, and Mindfulness more effective towards Alpha-Waves...

I had found this, but does the research indicate that some meditative techniques are actually more effective at generating "high amplitude oscillations" for each brainwave range? ...

EEG Derived Neuronal Dynamics during Meditation: Progress and Challenges

2.1.1. Zen Meditation -
    Zen meditation, a type of Buddhist meditation, is characterized by increase in slow alpha power, reflecting more internalized attention, and fast theta power, reflecting enhanced mindfulness in frontal area [9, 13]. Long-term practitioners show alpha1 rise in frontal region and beta rise over occipital regions [14].

2.1.2. CHAN Meditation - Researchers correlated occipital alpha wave rise during eye closed relaxation and frontal alpha wave (representing mindfulness) during CHAN meditation

2.2. Transcending Meditation (TM) - Various physiological and neural effects in long-term Jacobson's Progressive Relaxation (PR) meditators (a classical method of relaxation), TM meditators, and group of beginners in PR were recorded [28]. Rare theta activity (5–7 Hz) was observed in all the three. ... Higher alpha1 and beta1 reflect automatic self-transcending and open monitoring, respectively.

References

[9] Takahashi T., Murata T., Hamada T., et al. Changes in EEG and autonomic nervous activity during meditation and their association with personality traits. International Journal of Psychophysiology. 2005;55(2):199–207. doi: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2004.07.004.

[13] Chang K.-M., Lo P.-C. F-VEP and alpha-suppressed EEG-physiological evidence of inner-light perception during Zen meditation. Biomedical Engineering: Applications, Basis and Communications. 2006;18(1):1–7. doi: 10.4015/s1016237206000026.

[14] Huang H.-Y., Lo P.-C. EEG dynamics of experienced Zen meditation practitioners probed by complexity index and spectral measure. Journal of Medical Engineering and Technology. 2009;33(4):314–321. doi: 10.1080/03091900802602677.

[28] Warrenburg S., Pagano R. R., Woods M., Hlastala M. A comparison of somatic relaxation and EEG activity in classical progressive relaxation and transcendental meditation. Journal of Behavioral Medicine. 1980;3(1):73–93. doi: 10.1007/bf00844915.

Are there any other studies like this that speak to this question?


问:
Immediate effect of extensive exercise on cognitive performance
What is the immediate effect of physical exercise on one's cognitive performance?

Most studies I have found a study regarding the long term effect of a lifestyle which includes exercise and the outcome has been found to be positive and counteracted degeneration.

I have also found studies which examine the effect of short exercises (10-15 minutes, medium intensity) which has also found to have "improved affective experience and enhanced cognitive processing"

What is the effect of a long workout (over 1h) on the mental capabilites?


问:
What percentage of the U.S. (Adult?) population has at some point considered suicide?
As long as the study focused on people at least 18, that's all I need. Also, the researcher's minimum requirement for 'considered suicide' must be that the person at least considered it as an option. However, his minimum requirement must not reach as high as 'attempted.'

What percentage of adults (It can be an average, or it can be specifically elderly, 30s, ... etc.) have at some point in their lives considered suicide?


问:
What are current trends in autistic treatment regarding hyper sensitivity?
What are current trends in autistic treatment regarding hyper sensitivity?</p>


问:
What causes passion, psychologically and chemically, and how does it last?
I recently finished reading "Habits of a happy brain", which discusses the role of oxytocin, serotonin, endorphin, dopamine, and cortisol in seeking behavior.

The book argues that we evolved to direct ourselves towards things that would promote our survival, and each of these hormones has a role to play in either strengthening certain behaviors, or encouraging us to move on from certain behaviors - one of the ways this is done is "Dopamine/Serotonin disappointment" (I don't recall if it was also relevant for oxytocin), which lessens the reward - and seems to have evolved because it encouraged us to move on and try to do even better.

But the book makes no mention of passion*, or how it fits in into all these discoveries.

Specifically, I wonder, how is passion possible in light of these "disappointments"? I'd imagine passion involves a significant feeling of reward. Is there another hormone involved, one that's less... disappointing?

And how does passion develop into what it is? I am a big believer in the claim (which also appears in the book) that we evolved to seek ways to survive, and that what makes us happy (or sad, or stressed) is perceived by us as helpful (or detrimental) to our survival. How does one connect something to the need for survival in such a way that gives him so much energy and continuously rewards him for doing it?

And, being practical as always,
How can I get me some of them passion?
(Don't worry, it's for a good cause)

*Please note that I am specifically talking about passion towards a thing/hobby, as opposed to towards a partner. I don't know how much overlap there is, but I wouldn't go there before I delve into the (surely extensive) body of research into love.