Silvia U. Maier
Research
Self-control is a key skill in human life. It enables individuals to reach their life goals by overcoming short-term temptations in order to reach benefits and rewards that can only be achieved by doing the right things in the long run. Yet when we study self-control using different behavioral experiments, or measure it with psychometric questionnaires, we observe a large intra- and inter-individual variance that makes it difficult to quantify and predict an individual’s self-control. Thus, our predictive toolset needs to be improved in order to develop better and more personalized interventions that foster self-control.
Various contextual factors may make self-control harder or easier to achieve. In my previous work, I have investigated how physiological factors influence an individual’s capacity for self-regulation. One example is acute stress, which leads to changes in hormone levels (for example cortisol) and in the perception of the emotional strain an individual feels. Another example is the organism’s readiness and flexibility to adapt to challenges in the environment that we can assess using markers such as heart rate variability. In my current work, I leverage pupillometry and computational methods in order to assess individual engagement in self-regulation and predict regulatory success.
To assess the neural underpinnings of these individual differences in self-regulation, I use a combination of functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), pupillometry, non-invasive brain stimulation, behavioral measures, computational modeling, and physiological indices such as hormone assays and heart rate variability.
Publications
Maier, SU *, Grueschow, M * (2021), Pupil dilation predicts individual self-regulation success across domains, Scientific Reports,
doi: 10.1038/s41598-021-93121-y
CODE and DATA
This paper won the inaugural UZH Postdoc Team Award
Maier, SU *, Raja Beharelle, A *, Polania, R, Ruff, CC & Hare, TA (2020), Dissociable mechanisms govern when and how strongly reward attributes affect decisions, Nature Human Behaviour,
free to read at publisher
available as a preprint on bioRxiv
CODE and DATA
Maier, SU, & Hare, TA (2020), BOLD activity during emotion reappraisal positively correlates with dietary self-control success, Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience,
doi: 10.1093/scan/nsaa097
CODE and DATA
MRI RESULTS
Maier, SU, & Hare, TA (2017), Higher heart rate variability is associated with vmPFC activity and increased resistance to temptation in dietary self-control challenges, The Journal of Neuroscience, 2815-16,
doi: 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2815-16.2017
PDF
MRI RESULTS
Gareth Leng, Roger A. H. Adan, Michele Belot, Jeffrey M. Brunstrom, Kees de Graaf, Suzanne L. Dickson,
Todd A. Hare, Silvia U. Maier, John Menzies, Hubert Preissl, Lucia A. Reisch, Peter J. Rogers, Paul A. M. Smeets (2016),
The determinants of food choice, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society, Dec 1:1-12;
doi: 10.1017/S002966511600286X
PDF
Maier, SU, Makwana, AB, & Hare, TA (2015), Acute Stress Impairs Self-Control in Goal-Directed Choice by Altering Multiple Functional Connections within the Brain’s Decision Circuits, Neuron, 87 (3), 621-631,
doi: 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.07.005
PDF
MRI RESULTS
VIDEO
This paper was featured as "Editor's Choice" in Science
Selected Press Coverage
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