Antoine Bechara

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Antoine Bechara
Antoine Bechara 1.jpg
NationalityAmerican
Alma mater University of Toronto
Occupation(s) Neuroscientist, academic and researcher
Known forDeveloper of the Iowa Gambling Task
Awards Centennial Award, Medical Research Council of Canada (MRC)
Doctor Honoris Causa, University of Cordoba
Scientific career
Institutions University of Southern California

Antoine Bechara is an American neuroscientist, academic and researcher. He is currently a professor of Psychology and Neuroscience at the University of Southern California.

Contents

Education

Bechara studied at the University of Toronto, and earned his Doctoral degree in 1991. He then completed his Fellowship in Behavioral Neurology from the University of Iowa in 1996. [1]

Career

Following his Postdoctoral fellowship, Bechara held appointment as an assistant professor of neurology at the University of Iowa College of Medicine in 1997, and was promoted to associate professor of Neurology in 2004. In 2005, he joined the University of Southern California as an associate professor of Psychology and Neuroscience, and became Professor in 2008. [2]

Bechara is the Editor of Frontiers in Psychology: Psychopathology Section, [3] and also served on the editorial board of several scientific journals, including Neuropsychology, Journal of Neuroscience, Psychology, and Economics, and Journal of Behavioral Decision Making.

Research

Bechara has published over 400 papers, has been cited over 79,000 times, and has a Google Scholar H-index of 113. [4] His work is focused on understanding the neural processes underlying how we make decisions and choices. He has co-edited a book entitled, Obesity Prevention: The Role of Brain and Society on Individual Behavior. [5]

Iowa Gambling Task

Bechara introduced a neuropsychological task thought to simulate real-life decision making, which became known as the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT). [6] [7] He also proposed approaches to understand the neural processes underlying how we make decisions, using functional neuroimaging, and work with brain damaged patients. [8] [9]

Along with Antonio R Damasio and Hanna Damasio, Bechara conducted a series of studies to characterize the decision-making capabilities of patients who have suffered injury to their frontal lobe (the prefrontal cortex). At the time, the abnormal decision-making seen in these patients was puzzling because of the lack of a laboratory probe to detect and evaluate this decision-making abnormality in the clinic. The development of the IGT enabled investigators to detect these patients' elusive impairment in the laboratory, measure it, and investigate its possible causes. [10]

Brain mechanisms

Bechara studied brain mechanisms behind addiction and substance use disorders, while conducting his research on brain lesion patients. [11] He discussed neuro-anatomical systems underlying emotion, highlighted the disturbances in emotional experience after focal brain lesions, and also defined the role of emotions in the context of influencing and modulating our cognitions. [12] He was among the early researchers who showed that addiction is also a disorder of abnormal decision-making. In his studies, he also evaluated various neuroscientific theories about drug-use behavior, and demonstrated the role of the brain pathways involved in pain, pleasure, decision-making, craving and addiction. [13]

Bechara also discovered in his lab that damage to a small brain region, named the insula, wipes out smoking addiction. [14] This finding brought to light the potential role of a new neural region, which was completely ignored in the past, in the psychopathology of addiction. [15]

Decision-making in several behaviors

Bechara studied decision making in terms of several behaviors, including economic behavior, gambling behavior, [16] food addiction, Internet and social media addiction [17] He explored the role of biology in economic decision making by combining insights from cognitive neuroscience, psychology and economics. [18] Using somatic marker hypothesis, [19] he further discussed the contribution of orbitofrontal cortex in decision making and emotional processing, and the relationship between emotion, decision making and other cognitive functions of the frontal lobe, namely working memory. [20]

Awards and honors

Selected bibliography

Books

Selected articles

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Amygdala</span> Each of two small structures deep within the temporal lobe of complex vertebrates

The amygdala is one of two almond-shaped clusters of nuclei located deep and medially within the temporal lobes of the brain's cerebrum in complex vertebrates, including humans. Shown to perform a primary role in the processing of memory, decision making, and emotional responses, the amygdalae are considered part of the limbic system. The term "amygdala" was first introduced by Karl Friedrich Burdach in 1822.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Neuroeconomics</span> Interdisciplinary field

Neuroeconomics is an interdisciplinary field that seeks to explain human decision-making, the ability to process multiple alternatives and to follow through on a plan of action. It studies how economic behavior can shape our understanding of the brain, and how neuroscientific discoveries can guide models of economics.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Antonio Damasio</span> Portuguese-American neuroscientist

Antonio Damasio is a Portuguese-American neuroscientist. He is currently the David Dornsife Chair in Neuroscience, as well as Professor of Psychology, Philosophy, and Neurology, at the University of Southern California, and, additionally, an adjunct professor at the Salk Institute. He was previously the chair of neurology at the University of Iowa for 20 years. Damasio heads the Brain and Creativity Institute, and has authored several books: his work, Self Comes to Mind: Constructing the Conscious Brain (2010), explores the relationship between the brain and consciousness. Damasio's research in neuroscience has shown that emotions play a central role in social cognition and decision-making.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frontotemporal dementia</span> Types of dementia involving the frontal or temporal lobes

Frontotemporal dementia (FTD), or frontotemporal degeneration disease, or frontotemporal neurocognitive disorder, encompasses several types of dementia involving the progressive degeneration of frontal and temporal lobes. FTDs broadly present as behavioral or language disorders with gradual onsets. Common signs and symptoms include significant changes in social and personal behavior, apathy, blunting of emotions, and deficits in both expressive and receptive language. Currently, there is no cure for FTD, but there are treatments that help alleviate symptoms.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Insular cortex</span> Portion of the mammalian cerebral cortex

The insular cortex is a portion of the cerebral cortex folded deep within the lateral sulcus within each hemisphere of the mammalian brain.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Prefrontal cortex</span> Part of the brain responsible for personality, decision-making, and social behavior

In mammalian brain anatomy, the prefrontal cortex (PFC) covers the front part of the frontal lobe of the cerebral cortex. The PFC contains the Brodmann areas BA8, BA9, BA10, BA11, BA12, BA13, BA14, BA24, BA25, BA32, BA44, BA45, BA46, and BA47.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Somatic marker hypothesis</span> Hypothesis that emotional processes guide or bias decision-making

The somatic marker hypothesis, formulated by Antonio Damasio and associated researchers, proposes that emotional processes guide behavior, particularly decision-making.

Edmund T. Rolls is a neuroscientist and Professor at the University of Warwick.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Affective neuroscience</span> Study of the neural mechanisms of emotion

Affective neuroscience is the study of how the brain processes emotions. This field combines neuroscience with the psychological study of personality, emotion, and mood. The basis of emotions and what emotions are remains an issue of debate within the field of affective neuroscience.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Executive functions</span> Cognitive processes necessary for control of behavior

In cognitive science and neuropsychology, executive functions are a set of cognitive processes that are necessary for the cognitive control of behavior: selecting and successfully monitoring behaviors that facilitate the attainment of chosen goals. Executive functions include basic cognitive processes such as attentional control, cognitive inhibition, inhibitory control, working memory, and cognitive flexibility. Higher-order executive functions require the simultaneous use of multiple basic executive functions and include planning and fluid intelligence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orbitofrontal cortex</span> Region of the prefrontal cortex of the brain

The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is a prefrontal cortex region in the frontal lobes of the brain which is involved in the cognitive process of decision-making. In non-human primates it consists of the association cortex areas Brodmann area 11, 12 and 13; in humans it consists of Brodmann area 10, 11 and 47.

The Iowa gambling task (IGT) is a psychological task thought to simulate real-life decision making. It was introduced by Antoine Bechara, Antonio Damasio, Hanna Damasio and Steven Anderson, then researchers at the University of Iowa. It has been brought to popular attention by Antonio Damasio in his best-selling book Descartes' Error.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Reward system</span> Group of neural structures responsible for motivation and desire

The reward system is a group of neural structures responsible for incentive salience, associative learning, and positively-valenced emotions, particularly ones involving pleasure as a core component. Reward is the attractive and motivational property of a stimulus that induces appetitive behavior, also known as approach behavior, and consummatory behavior. A rewarding stimulus has been described as "any stimulus, object, event, activity, or situation that has the potential to make us approach and consume it is by definition a reward". In operant conditioning, rewarding stimuli function as positive reinforcers; however, the converse statement also holds true: positive reinforcers are rewarding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ventromedial prefrontal cortex</span> Body part

The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) is a part of the prefrontal cortex in the mammalian brain. The ventral medial prefrontal is located in the frontal lobe at the bottom of the cerebral hemispheres and is implicated in the processing of risk and fear, as it is critical in the regulation of amygdala activity in humans. It also plays a role in the inhibition of emotional responses, and in the process of decision-making and self-control. It is also involved in the cognitive evaluation of morality.

One way of thinking holds that the mental process of decision-making is rational: a formal process based on optimizing utility. Rational thinking and decision-making does not leave much room for emotions. In fact, emotions are often considered irrational occurrences that may distort reasoning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Impulsivity</span> Tendency to act on a whim without considering consequences

In psychology, impulsivity is a tendency to act on a whim, displaying behavior characterized by little or no forethought, reflection, or consideration of the consequences. Impulsive actions are typically "poorly conceived, prematurely expressed, unduly risky, or inappropriate to the situation that often result in undesirable consequences," which imperil long-term goals and strategies for success. Impulsivity can be classified as a multifactorial construct. A functional variety of impulsivity has also been suggested, which involves action without much forethought in appropriate situations that can and does result in desirable consequences. "When such actions have positive outcomes, they tend not to be seen as signs of impulsivity, but as indicators of boldness, quickness, spontaneity, courageousness, or unconventionality." Thus, the construct of impulsivity includes at least two independent components: first, acting without an appropriate amount of deliberation, which may or may not be functional; and second, choosing short-term gains over long-term ones.

Consumer neuroscience is the combination of consumer research with modern neuroscience. The goal of the field is to find neural explanations for consumer behaviors in individuals both with or without disease.

Risk aversion is a preference for a sure outcome over a gamble with higher or equal expected value. Conversely, the rejection of a sure thing in favor of a gamble of lower or equal expected value is known as risk-seeking behavior.

Daniel T. Tranel is an American professor of neurology at the University of Iowa. He has been recognized as a fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. While a graduate student at the University of Iowa, he helped establish the Iowa Neurological Patient Registry, which he currently directs. The Iowa Neurological Patient Registry includes cases of unique brain injuries, such as Patient S.M. and Patient E.V.R. Tranel also directs the Interdisciplinary Graduate Program in Neuroscience at the University of Iowa. He serves as editor-in-chief of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology and is a contributing author to the 5th edition of Neuropsychological Assessment, a classic textbook in neuropsychology used by most neuropsychologists.

Neuromorality is an emerging field of neuroscience that studies the connection between morality and neuronal function. Scientists use fMRI and psychological assessment together to investigate the neural basis of moral cognition and behavior. Evidence shows that the central hub of morality is the prefrontal cortex guiding activity to other nodes of the neuromoral network. A spectrum of functional characteristics within this network to give rise to both altruistic and psychopathological behavior. Evidence from the investigation of neuromorality has applications in both clinical neuropsychiatry and forensic neuropsychiatry.

References

  1. "A History of the University of Iowa Department of Neurology".
  2. "Faculty".
  3. "Editorial Board".
  4. "Antoine Bechara - Google Scholar".
  5. "Obesity prevention : the role of brain and society on individual behavior".
  6. "IGT™2".
  7. Bechara, A.; Damasio, H.; Tranel, D.; Damasio, A.R. (2005). "The Iowa Gambling Task and the somatic marker hypothesis: some questions and answers". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 9 (4): 159–162. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2005.02.002. PMID   15808493. S2CID   2787434.
  8. Adolphs, R.; Tranel, D.; Bechara, A.; Damasio, H.; Damasio, A. R. (1996). "Neuropsychological Approaches to Reasoning and Decision-Making". Neurobiology of Decision-Making. Research and Perspectives in Neurosciences. pp. 157–179. doi:10.1007/978-3-642-79928-0_10. ISBN   978-3-642-79930-3.
  9. Senior, Carl; Russell, Tamara; Gazzaniga, Michael S.; Raessens, Joost (23 June 2006). Methods in Mind. ISBN   9780262195416.
  10. "Iowa Gambling Task".
  11. Litfin, Karen T.; Berntson, Gary G. (2006). Social Neuroscience: People Thinking about Thinking People. ISBN   9780262033350.
  12. Bradley, Ronald J.; Harris, Adron R.; Jenner, Peter (18 December 2004). International Review of Neurobiology. ISBN   9780080495521.
  13. "New addiction treatments hold promise for stemming the opioid crisis".
  14. "Damage to Specific Part of the Brain May Make Smokers 'Forget' to Smoke". 21 September 2015.
  15. Carey, Benedict (25 January 2007). "Scientists Tie Part of Brain to Urge to Smoke". The New York Times.
  16. Brevers, Damien; Bechara, Antoine; Cleeremans, Axel; Noël, Xavier (2013). "Iowa Gambling Task (IGT): twenty years after – gambling disorder and IGT". Frontiers in Psychology. 4: 665. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00665 . PMC   3786255 . PMID   24137138.
  17. "Is Facebook "Addiction" Neurally Similar to Substance and Gambling Addictions".
  18. "Lessons From The Brain-Damaged Investor". Wall Street Journal. 21 July 2005.
  19. Bechara, Antoine; Damasio, Antonio R. (2005). "The somatic marker hypothesis: A neural theory of economic decision". Games and Economic Behavior. 52 (2): 336–372. doi:10.1016/j.geb.2004.06.010.
  20. "Emotion, Decision Making and the Orbitofrontal Cortex".