Dedicated to the acceptance, medical treatment, & legal protection of individuals in the process of correcting the misalignment of their anatomical sex, & supporting their transition into society.
Bristol, UK. When we are confronted by threatening siruations, the speed at which we react could have life or death implications. In our distant and more primitive past, the application of speed and wit c...
Bloomington, IN, USA. An international team of researchers has created the first complete high-resolution map of how millions of neural fibers in the human cerebral cortex — the outer layer of the brain respon...
Edinburgh, UK. New research into the brain puts us one step closer to understanding it's evolutionary origins and basic design principles. The findings suggest that size alone does not dictate brain power. The...
Stockholm, Sweden. Research into the origins and activation of sexual orientation have become more rigorous with the advent of neuro-based tools and quantitative measurements. Such efforts surpass social ...
Vancouver, BC, CAN. Entering the world, we reach out to our environment, with a brain map of essential pathways for exploration. But what really goes on between our brains, eyes and appendages? And h...
Pittsburgh, PA, USA. Sharing our experiences depends on our ability to visualize and describe the contents of our memories. Prediction of future actions by ourselves and others is founded on our here-and-now p...
Amsterdam, The Netherlands. The option to choose among several courses of action is often associated with the feeling of being in control. Yet, in certain situations, one may prefer to decline such agency and instead leave the choice to someone else – out of politeness, or when too tired to choose, or when the consequences of the choice options appear complex or are unknown. And what goes on inside us? Is there a corresponding change in our brain when we are faced with options?
Forstmann and the research team used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to examine what happens in the brain when people are presented with the option either to determine their own course of action or to let someone else make the decision.
In a study published in PLoS ONE, the scientists found that two areas in the medial frontal cortex contribute specifically to these decision-making processes.
A posterior region, the so-called rostral cingulate zone (RCZ), is engaged when conditions present most choice options.
An anterior region, the so called Brodmann area 10, is engaged when the choice is completely ours, as well as when it is completely up to others to choose for us.
Ultimately, they demonstrated that who is doing the deciding matters just as much as whether we have any options from which to choose.
Birte Forstmann is interested in individual differences in decision-making and interference control, using model-based functional and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). The procedure capitalizes on individual differences in parameters that quantify the efficiency of decision-making and interference control. She combines mathematical and descriptive models with fMRI, diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) and event-related potentials (ERP).
{xtypo_info}When the Choice Is Ours: Context and Agency Modulate the Neural Bases of Decision-Making. Forstmann BU, Wolfensteller U, Derrfuss J, Neumann J, Brass M, et al. PLoS ONE 3(4): e1899. doi: 10.1371 / journal.pone.0001899{xtypo_info}
Abstract. The option to choose between several courses of action is often associated with the feeling of being in control. Yet, in certain situations, one may prefer to decline such agency and instead leave the choice to others. In the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we provide evidence that the neural processes involved in decision-making are modulated not only by who controls our choice options (agency), but also by whether we have a say in who is in control (context). The fMRI results are noteworthy in that they reveal specific contributions of the anterior frontomedian cortex (viz. BA 10) and the rostral cingulate zone (RCZ) in decision-making processes. The RCZ is engaged when conditions clearly present us with the most choice options. BA 10 is engaged in particular when the choice is completely ours, as well as when it is completely up to others to choose for us which in turn gives rise to an attribution of control to oneself or someone else, respectively. After all, it does not only matter whether we have any options to choose from, but also who decides on that.
Introduction (excerpt). We employ the term agency to refer to the capacity of human beings to make choices and to enact those choices in the world. By the term context, in contrast, we refer to the circumstances under which agency is assigned in a decision process. That is, in some situations we might be inclined to give up agency and leave the choice to others (e.g., out of politeness, or when we are too tired to choose, or when the consequences of the choice options are complex or unknown). In other situations, we might be told by someone else whether or not to take up agency in a decision process (e.g., when our partner asks us to choose a pattern for the new bathroom tiles, or when the manager tells us that we will not have a say in the decision about the new office location). Hence, the context under which decisions are made can be differentiated into a free context, where we can choose to take up or decline agency in the decision process, and a determined context, where it is up to others to assign agency. Agency in a decision process can in turn be differentiated into self-agency, where we choose from different alternatives ourselves, and external agency, where someone else chooses for us.
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When I had problems at work shortly after my operation I sought out legal help to stop the harrassment and the attorney said I was a transsexual, I said I was not...he looked up in surprise,
I then said I am not in transition anymore and was simply a woman with a transsexual history.
Robot Violinist. A robot plays Pomp and Circumstance on the violin. The robot used its mechanical fingers to push the strings and bowed with its other arm.
The 152 cm (five foot) performer can perform a variety of tasks with its hands and arms, each of which has 17 joints.
Using precise control and coordination to achieve human-like agility, the robot could also be used to assist with domestic duties or nursing and medical care.
Scientists from the 
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