Burnout is a condition that results from chronic work-related stress, and it is associated with impairments in cognitive and emotion-related functions, such as impaired executive functions and emotion regulation. This thesis aimed to conduct a systematic review of the neural correlates of burnout. The thesis investigates the following research question: do the neural correlates of burnout involve the same brain regions and/or functions as those implicated in the cognitive functions affected by burnout? The systematic literature search resulted in seven studies which studied either the functional, structural, or electrophysiological correlates of burnout. The results showed that burnout involves functional and structural alterations in regions involved in various higher-order cognitive functions. Structural findings indicate alterations in brain regions involved with emotion processing, memory and attention (i.e., medial prefrontal cortex, caudate, amygdala). Electrophysiological findings indicate differences in alpha power in burnout individuals compared to controls, suggesting that alpha power is reduced when burnout's specific symptoms (i.e., exhaustion) increase. Evident are also findings on functional differences in working memory (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex) and reduced functional connectivity between emotion processing areas (the amygdala and anterior cingulate cortex) and areas such as the motor cortex. The presented findings answer the research question. It can be concluded that the brain regions implicated in the cognitive functions affected by burnout resemble many of the regions affected in the neural correlates of burnout. Future studies should take into account the methodological issues of the existing studies.

Deception has long been of interest to humans, but only recently has the neuroscience of deception started. Similarly, lie-detection, as an applied aspect of the study of deception, has long been studied but only with the advent of imaging techniques and the development of the neuroscience of deception has it become possible to develop techniques based on scanningour brains. Currently, both areas suffer from methodological and philosophical problems. As an applied science fMRI lie-detection has greater issues to deal with, specifically legal and ethical issues. Despite interesting results, implicating frontal regions as the neural correlates of deception, the neuroscience of deception need better designs and more study to be able to draw any general inferences. By its nature fMRI lie-detection suffers greatly from this, and additional problems concerning privacy and legality make it seem too early to implement it incourt or anywhere, as stated by many scientists. On the other hand the technology already exists and is likely to be used.

This thesis reviews both psychological and neural research in the fields of self-evaluation, self-views and self-enhancement bias. The research has made associations to grandiosity and need for admiration, which are two of the defining characteristics of narcissistic personality disorder. Neural correlates associated with this research are the medial prefrontal cortex, orbitofrontal cortex, posteromedial cortex and anterior insula. Narcissists have been seen to have a decreased form of emotional empathy even though they rate themselves to have higher emotional empathy than they actually have, which is linked to self-enhancement bias and grandiosity. Alexithymia has not gained much attention in relation to narcissism, but research presented suggests that this might need to change. Neural correlates that are associated with lack of emotional empathy and alexithymia are the anterior insula, frontoparalimbic areas and the medial prefrontal cortex. Narcissistic personality disorder is in the DSM-5 specified to be defined by a grandiose sense of self, a need for admiration, and a lack of empathy in either fantasy or behavior. However according to researchers in the field this only covers a part of the spectrum of narcissism. Deficits in the DSM-5 will he highlighted, as well as suggestions on what to do in order to help clarify the definition in DSM-5 and the concept in general.

Studies exploring the neural correlates of the emotion regulation strategy called cognitive change (reappraisal) have been thoroughly discussed and synthesized. This is not the case for another emotion regulation strategy called response modulation. The aim of this thesis was to conduct a systematic review on the neural correlates of one specific emotion regulation technique in response modulation, called expressive suppression. Expressive suppression is the inhibition of emotion expressive behavior. Using a systematic search, screening, and selection process, out of the initial 557 articles eight studies were included for data extraction and discussion. The studies exposed participants to negative emotion-inducing stimuli and instructed participants to either suppress their emotional behavior or to watch the stimuli without regulating the emotion. All studies used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Expressive suppression yielded increased activation in frontal and parietal regions, especially in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and bilateral inferior parietal cortex, compared to a non-regulation condition. Results of amygdala activation were inconsistent with different studies showing an increase, decrease, or no difference in activation during expressive suppression versus the non-regulation contrast condition. The thesis ends with a discussion of methodological issues and future directions.

Optimism refers to peoples’ general tendency to anticipate good outcomes in areas that are important to them. Numerous studies have shown that optimism is significantly correlated with improved physical and mental health. Optimism can come to an overly optimistic degree, called optimism bias. People generally expect better outcomes and fewer negative events to happen for themselves in the future compared to the average person. There are two sides to this: being optimistically biased might lead to risky behavior, but it might also ease people's worries about the future. To have a consistently negative view is suggested to correlate with depressive symptoms and worsened health. The aim of this thesis is to investigate the neural correlates and functional markers of optimism and optimism bias. Optimism is suggested to correlate with gray-matter volume in the thalamus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and bilateral putamen. The inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) have a crucial role in dismissing undesirable information and self referential processing. Research regarding this issue might be beneficial for further understanding of the connection between optimism and well-being.

The essay aims to provide an overview of existing research on moral cognition and its neural correlates, as well as to highlight aspects in which the findings from the field of cognitive neuroscience can add to the understanding of the challenges that arise from having artificial systems as moral decision-makers. Morality is an important characteristic of the human way of life and a central mechanism in the modern society. Research suggests that morality has evolved as a function to promote cooperation and prosocial behaviour. Morality has been a topic of investigation in several interdisciplinary fields and often includes the exploration of reason and emotion and their respective roles. Contemporary technological advances include the increased presence of artificial intelligence (AI) that aims to simulate the human mind. Empirical evidence suggests that deontological responses are more closely related to emotional components of moral cognition and linked to increased activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. In contrast, utilitarian responses appear to be more reliant on reason and a more complex neural network that is linked to increased activity in primarily dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. AI has successfully accomplished certain elements of simulating human cognition. However, key findings suggest that the integration of reason and emotion is essential which is possibly challenging for AI to fully replicate.

Traditional ways to examine and investigate the neural correlates of consciousness usually require the participants to actively report their perceptions and conscious contents. Having the participants actively report can confound the neural correlates with co-occurring processes. Instead, no-report paradigms try to remove the active process of reporting by either objectively trying to measure conscious content by tracking eye movements and pupil dilation, or retroactively inquire about the conscious states. The results of an fMRI experiment utilising tracking of optokinetic nystagmus and pupil dilation as an objective measure of conscious content highlight a difference in frontal areas while activation in posterior areas are similar to active report experiments. EEG experiments utilising the sustained inattentional blindness paradigm did not see the late positivity commonly seen when the participants were aware of the stimuli but it was not task relevant. Utilising no-report paradigms can provide unique insights into the discussion of theories of consciousness and further develop our understanding of consciousness.

Mindfulness meditation is known to improve attention, and neuroscience appears to be a field that can elucidate how mindfulness meditation achieves such an outcome. However, studies on mindfulness meditation have been criticized for a low methodological quality. Thus the current paper aimed to provide a literature review on the neural basis of the effects of mindfulness meditation on attention. Additionally, there was a critical examination of this research to evaluate factors that might compromise the validity of the research. The scope of the thesis was limited to studies on healthy adults using fMRI and on studies that incorporate the generally accepted elements of mindfulness meditation. A total of 17 cross-sectional and two longitudinal studies were reviewed with 510 participants in all. The main result of this literature review were that changes were observed in the mPFC. Furthermore, activation was seen in the insula, prefrontal areas and the ACC. Some of the interpretations of the selected studies were in conflict with each other. This can perhaps be explained by differences in neural activation depending on how experienced the subjects are in mindfulness meditation practices. Some prevalent methodological issues with the studies were small sample sizes, cross-sectional design, and poor or unclear instructions (e.g., not describing the instructions or the mantra employed). There were also more general problems regarding functional neuroimaging. These included movement artefacts and cardiovascular effects. However, based on the 19 studies reviewed in this paper there is tentative evidence for the beneficial effects of mindfulness meditation on attention.

Gambling disorder is today a common disorder causing lives to shatter. As this disorder activates the reward system and increases the need of dopamine, recovering from gamling disorder can be hard. Research has shown that gambling addiction appears to have similarities to substance abuse, but no substance has been named. Therefore, this systematic review discusses similarities and differences between gambling and opioid addiction. The aim is to compare behavior and neurological correlates of gambling and opioid addiction tocreate a better understanding of the relationship between these addictions and hopefully help improve treatments. My expectation was that I would find behavioral and neurological similarities between opioid and gambling addicts. To investigate this, I conducted a systematic search across databases. I compared six studies which all used a task to investigate decision-making ability and brain-scanning to investigate neural correlates. Both gambling and opioid addicts show decreased activation in the orbitofrontal cortex, which plays a central role in decision-making. Regarding task performance, some studies showed addicts to perform worse than controls, suggesting that addicts show an impaired decision-making ability compared to controls. This systematic review contributes to the literature within addiction, but to draw a conclusion that gambling and opioid addicts suffer from similar decision-making impairment further research is needed.

Thesis (PhD (Psychiatry))--University of Stellenbosch, 2011. / ENGLISH ABSTRACT: Pregnancy is often accompanied by distressing psychological symptoms such as anxiety. These symptoms may result from changes in cognitive-affective processing, which in turn reflect hormonal changes during this time. However, findings on associations between psychological distress, cognitive-affective changes and hormones have been inconsistent. Furthermore, few studies have investigated the neural circuitry underlying distress and cognitive-affective processing in pregnancy. The prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a specific role in regulating emotion. Determining the relationship between these changes in cognitive-affective processing and in prefrontal circuitry is important, given the high prevalence of depressive and anxiety disorders in pregnancy. The overall objective of this study was to investigate distressing psychological symptoms and their association with cognitive-affective processes and neurobiological changes over the course of pregnancy. Pregnant women with low risk singleton pregnancies were recruited from Midwife Obstetric Units in the Western Cape. Non-pregnant healthy controls were also recruited from the same demographic area. Distress levels were assessed using the K-10, Spielberger State -Trait Inventory, and Perceived Stress Scale. Subjectively experienced cognitive ability was asked about. Objective cognitive ability was assessed using standardized neuropsychological tests. Selective attention to threat such as fear and anger was assessed using a Facial Stroop Task. Neural circuitry was assessed using Near-Infrared Spectroscopy while viewing dynamic emotional facial expressions of threat (Emotion Recognition Task). Glucocorticoid (cortisol) and gonadal hormonal levels (estrogen, progesterone, and testosterone) were also determined at each trimester of pregnancy. Associations between distressing psychological symptoms, cognitive-affective processes and neurobiology were assessed using standard statistical methods. The main findings to emerge from this research were that, 1. pregnant women had significantly higher trait anxiety at trimester 2, compared to trimester 1 of pregnancy; 2. compared to non-pregnant women, pregnant women paid significantly more attention to fearful faces across trimesters, suggesting altered cognitive-affective processing in pregnancy compared to non-pregnancy; 3. pregnant women demonstrated significantly increased PFC activation in response to fearful and angry faces (all trimesters) that was particularly evident at trimester 2; 4. the PFC activation was, across trimesters, significantly correlated with distress and selective attention to threat; and 5. the PFC activation was, across trimesters, also significantly associated with increased glucocorticoid and gonadal hormone levels. The main findings of this study are consistent with previous literature insofar as distress has previously been associated with altered cognitive-affective processing and prefrontal cortex activation, but extend it by showing that emotional regulation is altered in pregnancy compared to the non-pregnant state. These data provide an important insight into distressing psychological symptoms and their associations with cognitive-affective processes, and changes in neural circuitry and in hormone levels in pregnancy. These findings are also the first to show that structures involved in emotional processing (e.g. the PFC) also play a role in the regulation of affect in pregnancy. Future research should explore the causal mechanisms underlying altered emotional regulation in pregnancy, and include pregnant women that are clinically depressed or anxious as comparison subjects. / AFRIKAANSE OPSOMMING: Swangerskap word dikwels geassosieër met stres-veroorsakende sielkundige simptome soos angstigheid. Hierdie simptome mag die gevolg wees van veranderinge in kognitief-affektiewe prosessering, wat op sy beurt mag dui op hormonale veranderinge. Bevindinge oor assosiasies tussen sielkundige stres, kognitief-affektiewe prosessering en hormone is tot dusver onbeslis. Voorts was min studies gerig op die neurologiese meganika onderliggend aan stres en kognitief-affektiewe prosessering tydens swangerskap. Die prefrontale korteks (PFK) het 'n spesifieke rol in die regulering van emosie. Die bepaling van spesifieke assosiasies tussen veranderinge in kognitief-affektiewe prosessering en in prefrontale regulering is belangrik, gegewe die hoë voorkoms van toestande soos depressie en angssteurings tydens swangerskap. Die doel met hierdie studie was 'n ondersoek na assosiasies tussen stres-veroorsakende sielkundige simptome, kognitief-affektiewe prosesse en neurobiologie tydens swangerskap. Swanger vroue met lae risiko enkel-swangerskappe is gewerf by klinieke in Wes-Kaapland. Gesonde nie-swanger vroue is uit dieselfde omgewing gewerf as kontroles. Angs-vlakke is geevalueer met behulp van die K-10; die Spielberger State-Trait Inventory en die Perceived Stress Scale. Vrae is tydens ondersoeke gevra oor subjektief-ervaarde kognitiewe vermoë. Voorts is kognitiewe vermoë geëvalueer met behulp van gestandardiseerde neurosielkundige toetse. Hierbenewens is selektiewe aandag aan bedreigende gesigte wat vrees en woede toon, geëvalueer met behulp van 'n Facial Stroop Task. Neurologiese funksie is geëvalueer met gebruik van Na-Infrarooi Spektroskopie terwyl dinamiese bedreigende emosionele gesigsuitdrukkings vertoon is (Emotion Recognition Task). Gluko-kortikoïed (kortisol) en geslagshormoonvlakke (estrogeen, progesteroon, en testosteroon) is gemeet tydens elke trimester. Verwantskappe tussen stresvolle simptome, kognitief-affektiewe prosessering en neurobiologie is geëvalueer met standaard statistiese metodes. Die hoofbevindinge het op die volgende gedui: 1. swanger vroue het betekenisvolle hoër trait angs-vlakke getoon in trimester 2, vergeleke met trimester 1; 2. vergeleke met nie-swanger vroue, het swanger vroue beduidend meer aandag geskenk aan angstige gesigsuitdrukkings tydens elke trimester wat mag dui op veranderde kognitief-affektiewe prosessering tydens swangerskap vergeleke met nie-swangerskap; 3. swanger vroue het beduidend hoër PFK aktivering getoon teenoor angstige en kwaai gesigte in alle trimesters, maar veral in trimester 2; 4. swanger vroue se PFK aktivering het, in alle trimesters, beduidend gekorreleer het met stres-vlakke en selektiewe aandag teenoor bedreigende stimuli; en 5. swanger vroue se PFK aktivering het, in alle trimesters, ook 'n beduidende verwantskap getoon met verhoogde gluko-kortikoïed en geslagshormoonvlakke. Die hoofbevindinge in hierdie studie stem ooreen met vorige literatuur wat aangedui het dat daar 'n verband is tussen stres en veranderinge in kognitief-affektiewe prosessering en in prefrontale korteks aktivering, maar dui verder op veranderinge in emosionele regulering tydens swangerskap vergeleke met nie-swangerskap. Die data bied 'n belangrike insig in stres-veroorsakende sielkundige simptome; hul verwantskap met kognitief-affektiewe prosesse; veranderinge in neurologiese netwerke; en veranderinge in hormoonvlakke tydens swangerskap. Sover bekend is dit ook die eerste keer bevind dat strukture wat betrokke is by emosionele prosessering (bv. die PFK), ook betrokke is in die regulering van emosie tydens swangerskap. Dit is belangrik dat toekomstige navorsing die onderliggende meganismes wat veranderinge in emosionele regulering teweeg bring, ondersoek. Verdere ondersoek om hierdie veranderinge in swanger depressie-lyers of diegene met angssteurings te vergelyk is ook van belang.