Social influence in adolescence: Behavioral and neural responses to peer and expert opinion.

Social influence plays a crucial role during the teen years, with adolescents supposedly exhibiting heightened sensitivity to their peers. In this study, we examine how social influence from different sources, particularly those with varying normative and informational significance, affect adolescents' opinion change. Furthermore, we investigated the underlying neural dynamics to determine whether these two behaviorally similar influences share their neural mechanisms. Twenty-three participants (14-17 years old) gave their opinions about facial stimuli and received feedback from either a peer group or an expert group, while brain responses were recorded using concurrent magnetoencephalography. In a second rating session, we found that participants' opinions changed in line with conflicting feedback, but only when the feedback was lower than their initial evaluation. On the neural level, conflict with peers evoked stronger neural responses than conflict with experts in the 230-400 ms time window and the right frontotemporal magnetometer channels. Nevertheless, there was no greater conformity toward peers. Moreover, conflict compared to no conflict decreased neural oscillations in the beta frequency range (20-26 Hz) at the right frontal and parietal channels. Taken together, our findings do not support the general assumption that adolescent behavior is excessively vulnerable to peer norms, although we found heightened neural sensitivity to peer feedback.

Brain dynamics of recommendation-based social influence on preference change: A magnetoencephalography study.

People change their preferences when exposed to others' opinions. We examine the neural basis of how peer feedback influences an individual's recommendation behavior. In addition, we investigate if the personality trait of 'agreeableness' modulates behavioral change and neural responses. In our experiment, participants with low and high agreeableness indicated their degree of recommendation of commercial brands, while subjected to peer group feedback. The associated neural responses were recorded with concurrent magnetoencephalography. After a delay, the participants were asked to reevaluate the brands. Recommendations changed consistently with conflicting feedback only when peer recommendation was lower than the initial recommendation. On the neural level, feedback evoked neural responses in the medial frontal and lateral parietal cortices, which were stronger for conflicting peer opinions. Conflict also increased neural oscillations in 4-10 Hz and decreased oscillations in 13-30 Hz in medial frontal and parietal cortices§. The change in recommendation behavior was not different between the low and high agreeableness groups. However, the groups differed in neural oscillations in the alpha and beta bands, when recommendation matched with feedback. In addition to corroborating earlier findings on the role of conflict monitoring in feedback processing, our results suggest that agreeableness modulates neural processing of peer feedback.

A study on sexual functioning in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder.

PURPOSE: Sexual dysfunction has been ignored in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (A-ADHD). This study examined sexual function in adults with ADHD compared to a healthy control group. DESIGN AND METHODS: The experimental group (N = 63, mean age = 31.11 ± 4.29, females = 31) were recruited among referrals with ADHD to an outpatient A-ADHD clinic. The DIVA-2 (Diagnostic Interview for ADHD in adults) and the schedule for affective disorders and schizophrenia (SADS) were used to assess for A-ADHD and comorbid psychiatric disorders, respectively. The healthy groups (N = 66, mean age = 31.37 ± 4.30, females = 31) were demographically matched and had no psychiatric disorders based on the Conners' Adult ADHD Rating Scales-Self Report, Short Version and SADS. Sexual functions were evaluated using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) for females and International Index of Erectile Function (IIEF) for males. FINDINGS: Females with ADHD compared to the control group showed significantly (P < .001) poorer scores in all FSFI domains (desire, arousal, orgasm, satisfaction, pain, and lubrication). The IIEF mean scores in the males with A-ADHD were lower (P = .00) than their counterparts for all the subscales including orgasm, erectile function, intercourse satisfaction, and overall satisfaction, except for the desire (P = .75). The orgasmic function had a significant negative correlation with Conners Adult ADHD Rating Scale-Self Report: Short total scores in males (r = -.48) and females (r = -.40). PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: This study provides preliminary information on greater difficulties with sexual function in adults with ADHD. Assessment of sexual function in referrals with A-ADHD is suggested.

The efficacy of Ritalin in ADHD children under neurofeedback training.

Current research has shown that neurofeedback (NF) is a viable treatment for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), however having pharmacological approach alongside such stimulants is still inevitable. Therefore, the purpose of this study is the comparison of neurofeedback with Ritalin and without Ritalin in treating children with ADHD. This study was causal-comparative in design. Participants were children aged 5-10 years with ADHD; seven participants were in neurofeedback group with Ritalin and seven in neurofeedback without Ritalin group according to random split and parent's conformation. Clinical Q, Conner's continuous performance test (CPT), and WISC-R were used before and after treatment. For analyzing data, we used descriptive statistical and Mann Whitney U tests. Results showed that even if the two groups were modified in all components, modifications of commission and reaction time of the CPT and F4 theta/alpha of the clinical Q were more accurate in NF with Ritalin treatment rather than the other group. These findings suggest that neurofeedback is efficient in improving some of the behavioral concomitants of ADHD in children whose parents favored non-pharmacological treatment, but Ritalin and neurofeedback combination is more efficient. So, multimodal approach is strongly recommended for ADHD treatment.