Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America
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Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. · Dec 2009
Believers' estimates of God's beliefs are more egocentric than estimates of other people's beliefs.
People often reason egocentrically about others' beliefs, using their own beliefs as an inductive guide. Correlational, experimental, and neuroimaging evidence suggests that people may be even more egocentric when reasoning about a religious agent's beliefs (e.g., God). In both nationally representative and more local samples, people's own beliefs on important social and ethical issues were consistently correlated more strongly with estimates of God's beliefs than with estimates of other people's beliefs (Studies 1-4). ⋯ A final neuroimaging study demonstrated a clear convergence in neural activity when reasoning about one's own beliefs and God's beliefs, but clear divergences when reasoning about another person's beliefs (Study 7). In particular, reasoning about God's beliefs activated areas associated with self-referential thinking more so than did reasoning about another person's beliefs. Believers commonly use inferences about God's beliefs as a moral compass, but that compass appears especially dependent on one's own existing beliefs.
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Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. · Dec 2009
Clinical TrialCerebral and spinal modulation of pain by emotions.
Emotions have powerful effects on pain perception. However, the brain mechanisms underlying these effects remain largely unknown. In this study, we combined functional cerebral imaging with psychophysiological methods to explore the neural mechanisms involved in the emotional modulation of spinal nociceptive responses (RIII-reflex) and pain perception in healthy participants. ⋯ In contrast, activity in the thalamus, amygdala, and several prefrontal areas was associated with the modulation of spinal reflex responses. Last, connectivity analyses suggested an involvement of prefrontal, parahippocampal, and brainstem structures in the cerebral and cerebrospinal modulation of pain by emotions. This multiplicity of mechanisms underlying the emotional modulation of pain is reflective of the strong interrelations between pain and emotions, and emphasizes the powerful effects that emotions can have on pain.
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Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. · Dec 2009
Selective N-acylethanolamine-hydrolyzing acid amidase inhibition reveals a key role for endogenous palmitoylethanolamide in inflammation.
Identifying points of control in inflammation is essential to discovering safe and effective antiinflammatory medicines. Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA) is a naturally occurring lipid amide that, when administered as a drug, inhibits inflammatory responses by engaging peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-alpha (PPAR-alpha). PEA is preferentially hydrolyzed by the cysteine amidase N-acylethanolamine-hydrolyzing acid amidase (NAAA), which is highly expressed in macrophages. ⋯ These effects are stereoselective, mimicked by exogenous PEA, and abolished by PPAR-alpha deletion. (S)-OOPP also attenuates inflammation and tissue damage and improves recovery of motor function in mice subjected to spinal cord trauma. The results suggest that PEA activation of PPAR-alpha in leukocytes serves as an early stop signal that contrasts the progress of inflammation. The PEA-hydrolyzing amidase NAAA may provide a previously undescribed target for antiinflammatory medicines.