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"Social interactions require fast and efficient person perception, which is best achieved through the process of categorization. However, this process can produce pernicious outcomes, particularly in the case of stigma. This study used fMRI to investigate the neural correlates involved in forming both explicit ("Do you like or dislike this person?") and implicit ("Is this a male or female?") judgments of people possessing well-established stigmatized conditions (obesity, facial piercings, transsexuality, and unattractiveness), as well as normal controls. Participants also made post-scan disgust ratings on all the faces that they viewed during imaging. These ratings were subsequently examined (modeled linearly) in a parametric analysis. Regions of interest that emerged include areas previously demonstrated to respond to aversive and disgust-inducing material (amygdala and insula), as well as regions strongly associated with inhibition and control (anterior cingulate and lateral prefrontal cortex). Further, greater differences in activation were observed in the implicit condition for both the amygdala and prefrontal cortical regions in response to the most negatively perceived faces. Specifically, as subcortical responses (e.g., amygdala) increased, cortical responses (e.g., lateral PFC and anterior cingulate) also increased, indicating the possibility of inhibitory processing. These findings help elucidate the neural underpinnings of stigma"

"Eine eindeutige Erklärung für diese Unterschiede in den Persönlichkeitstypen zwischen Stadt- und Landamseln haben die Wissenschaftler bis jetzt noch nicht. „Möglicherweise müssen Amseln in der schnelllebigen Stadtwelt permanent mit neuen Situationen zurechtkommen, wohingegen das Landleben mit seinen gleichförmigeren Abläufen verlässlichere Lebensbedingungen bietet", vermutet Catarina Miranda vom Max-Planck-Institut für Ornithologie in Radolfzell das Ergebnis. „Die Evolution scheint im Laufe der Besiedlung von Städten daher bestimmte Persönlichkeitstypen begünstigt zu haben", so Miranda. Diese Erklärung wird durch eine jüngst veröffentlichte Studie gestützt: Gene, die wahrscheinlich an der Ausprägung der hier untersuchten Verhaltensweisen beteiligt sind, zeigen in Stadtamseln eine andere Struktur als in den Waldamseln. Die Amselpersönlichkeit scheint also genetisch festgelegt und kann demnach durch Evolution während des Verstädterungprozesses verändert worden sein. ***** Ana Catarina Miranda, Holger Schielzeth, Tanja Sonntag & Jesko Partecke Urbanization and its effects on personality traits: a result of microevolution or phenotypic plasticity?, Global Change Biology, 19 June 2013 Max-Planck-Gesellschaft zur Förderung der Wissenschaften e.V. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23681984"

Tamir DI, Mitchell JP. Disclosing information about the self is intrinsically rewarding. Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA. dtamir@fas.harvard.edu Abstract Humans devote 30-40% of speech output solely to informing others of their own subjective experiences. What drives this propensity for disclosure? Here, we test recent theories that individuals place high subjective value on opportunities to communicate their thoughts and feelings to others and that doing so engages neural and cognitive mechanisms associated with reward. Five studies provided support for this hypothesis. Self-disclosure was strongly associated with increased activation in brain regions that form the mesolimbic dopamine system, including the nucleus accumbens and ventral tegmental area. Moreover, individuals were willing to forgo money to disclose about the self.