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Introduction: Previous research on cognitive functions in Compulsive Sexual Behavior Disorder (CSBD) and problematic pornography use (PPU) reported inconsistent findings and mostly included sexual pictures in the used tasks. The role of general executive functions and cognitive competences (without the presence of appetitive stimuli) in the context of PPU is largely unexplored., Methods: This study investigated differences between individuals with high versus low problem severity of PPU regarding decision making and executive functions. The sample of the laboratory study consisted of N = 102 male adults. Besides measures of trait impulsivity, we used standard neuropsychological tests (Trail Making Test and three-back working memory task) and an intertemporal risky choice paradigm, the Cards & Lottery Task (CLT)., Results: The results show heightened impulsivity (urgency and deficits in perseverance) in individuals with high PPU, but no differences regarding performance in the CLT and executive function tasks., Discussion: The findings indicate that PPU might be associated with impulsive behavior when experiencing strong emotions (urgency) and deficient cognitive performance especially in the presence of sexual stimuli but not in general., Competing Interests: The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher., (Copyright © 2023 Müller and Antons.)

Social media including social-networking sites (SNS) encourage people to disclose personal information via profiles and posts. It is assumed that positive short-term effects and immediate feedback (e.g., getting Likes) have a rewarding nature and may complicate the rational weighing of possible negative long-term consequences related to self-disclosure. Dual-process theories assume risky behaviors to result from more impulsive/short-term oriented compared to reflective/long-term oriented decision making. The current laboratory study investigates whether the extent of online self-disclosure is explained by the general tendency to choose short-term rewards by neglecting long-term risks as well as by tendencies toward a problematic social-networks-use. Participants ( N = 88) were asked to log into their Facebook account to answer questions about their actual self-disclosing behavior. Furthermore, they performed an experimental decision-making task and answered a questionnaire assessing problematic social-networks-use. The quantity of self-disclosure via posts was negatively associated with advantageous decision making and positively with tendencies toward a problematic social-networks-use. The findings indicate that high self-disclosure via posts is associated with a general tendency to neglect long-term risks. Moreover, a problematic social-networks-use can additionally increase individual's self-disclosure via posts., (Copyright © 2020 Ostendorf, Müller and Brand.)

Background and Aims: In addition to craving responses to salient food cues, the anticipation of short-term rewarding consumption of palatable food may overrun the anticipation of long-term negative consequences of obesity. The present investigation addressed the potential interplay of food cravings and decision-making abilities in individuals with obesity., Method: Study 1 included 107 bariatric surgery candidates with class 2/3 obesity (OB-group) and study 2 included 54 individuals with normal weight/pre-obesity (nonOB-group). In both studies, standardized questionnaires concerning food cravings, food addiction, and psychopathology were administered. A cue-reactivity paradigm was used to measure craving responses toward semi-individualized images of highly palatable, processed food/fruit (appetitive food cues) compared to images of raw vegetables (non-appetitive food cues). Decision-making was measured with a modified computerized version of the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) with food pictures. Both groups were divided into two subgroups that were randomized to different IGT conditions. In one IGT condition the advantageous IGT card decks were covered by pictures of palatable, processed food or fruit and the disadvantageous decks by images of raw vegetables (= congruent condition), and in the other IGT condition vice versa ., Results: Participants in the OB-group admitted on average higher craving responses toward palatable, processed food or fruit cues compared to pictures of raw vegetables. This was not the case in the nonOB-group. Contrary to our hypothesis, decision-making performance in both groups was worse when pictures of palatable, processed food or fruit were associated with advantageous IGT card decks compared to performance when those pictures were linked to the disadvantageous decks. The interference effect of food pictures processing on advantageous decision-making has been observed particularly in those individuals of the OB-group who exhibited high craving responses toward palatable, processed food cues or high levels of food addiction., Discussion: The results indicate that food pictures processing interferes with decision-making, regardless of weight status. Opposed to the hypothesis, stronger tendencies to avoid than to approach pictures presenting processed, tasty food were observed. Further research should examine how cognitive avoidance tendencies toward processed, high energy food and approach tendencies toward healthy food can be transferred to real life situations., (Copyright © 2020 Lescher, Wegmann, Müller, Laskowski, Wunder, Jiménez-Murcia, Szycik, de Zwaan and Müller.)

Background: A growing body of research demonstrated impaired executive functions in individuals with severe obesity, including increased sensitivity to reward and impulsive decision making under risk conditions. For the assessment of decision making in patients with severe obesity, studies widely used the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT) or the Delay Discounting Task (DDT), which cover short-term or long-term consequences of decisions only. A further development originating from the field of addiction research is the Cards and Lottery Task (CLT), in which each decision made has conflicting immediate and long-term consequences at the same time. The present study aimed to validate the CLT in individuals with severe obesity., Methods: Patients with severe obesity (N = 78, 67% women, 42.9 ± 10.4 years old, body mass index of 48.1 ± 8.3 kg/m 2 ) were included. Convergent validity was evaluated using the computerized Delay Discounting Task and well-established self-report questionnaires assessing different aspects of impulsivity. For discriminant validity, CLT performance was compared between symptom groups characterized by high versus low impulsivity. The task's clinical validity was evaluated based on associations with general and eating disorder psychopathology, and body mass index. Test-retest reliability was determined by administering the CLT in n = 31 participants without weight-loss treatment one year later. The task's sensitivity to change due to weight loss was evaluated by retesting n = 32 patients one year after receiving obesity surgery., Results: The number of advantageous decisions in the CLT was significantly positively associated with delay discounting and effortful control, and significantly negatively correlated with behavioral impulsivity. CLT performance differed significantly between individuals with and without symptoms of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder and between samples with severe obesity and healthy controls. Clinically, CLT performance was significantly associated with general, but not eating disorder psychopathology. The CLT showed moderate test-retest reliability after one year in weight-stable individuals and was sensitive to change in those undergoing obesity surgery., Conclusions: This study identified the CLT to be a highly promising, new complex measure of short- and long-term decision making with good reliability and validity in individuals with severe obesity. Future studies should assess its association with the IGT and predictive value for real-life health behavior., (Copyright © 2020 Schäfer, Schmidt, Müller, Dietrich and Hilbert.)

Whether males and females differ in decision-making remains highly debatable. However, a male advantage in decision making is observed in animal as well as human models of the iowa gambling task (IGT), and, in case of the latter, the difference is observed across a wide range of age groups. It is unclear if these sex differences on the IGT are malleable to environmental influences such as sociocultural factors. We tested sex differences during the uncertainty and risk phases of the IGT in data pooled from three countries that reflected high, moderate, to low gender-equity (Germany, United States, and India: N = 531, female = 269). Comparing the net scores in uncertainty vs. risk blocks (first two vs. last two blocks) confirmed the male-advantage on the IGT across the three countries, specifically in the risk blocks, with the highest male-advantage observed for Germany. Results are discussed in terms of sex differences in reaction to uncertainty vs. risk, and the counter-intuitive effect of gender-equitable environment suggesting that national/environmental factors might influence advantageous decision making, but in ways that accentuate rather than abate sex differences., (Copyright © 2020 Singh, Schiebener, Müller, Liebherr, Brand and Buelow.)

Förster resonance energy transfer (FRET) describes excitation energy exchange between two adjacent molecules typically in distances ranging from 2 to 10 nm. The process depends on dipole-dipole coupling of the molecules and its probability of occurrence cannot be proven directly. Mostly, fluorescence is employed for quantification as it represents a concurring process of relaxation of the excited singlet state S1 so that the probability of fluorescence decreases as the probability of FRET increases. This reflects closer proximity of the molecules or an orientation of donor and acceptor transition dipoles that facilitates FRET. Monitoring sensitized emission by 3-Filter-FRET allows for fast image acquisition and is suitable for quantifying FRET in dynamic systems such as living cells. In recent years, several calibration protocols were established to overcome to previous difficulties in measuring FRET-efficiencies. Thus, we can now obtain by 3-filter FRET FRET-efficiencies that are comparable to results from sophisticated fluorescence lifetime measurements. With the discovery of fluorescent proteins and their improvement toward spectral variants and usability in plant cells, the tool box for in vivo FRET-analyses in plant cells was provided and FRET became applicable for the in vivo detection of protein-protein interactions and for monitoring conformational dynamics. The latter opened the door toward a multitude of FRET-sensors such as the widely applied Ca(2+)-sensor Cameleon. Recently, FRET-couples of two fluorescent proteins were supplemented by additional fluorescent proteins toward FRET-cascades in order to monitor more complex arrangements. Novel FRET-couples involving switchable fluorescent proteins promise to increase the utility of FRET through combination with photoactivation-based super-resolution microscopy.