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Vestibular stimulation attenuates unrealistic optimism.

Ryan McKay¹, Corinne Tamagni, Antonella Palla

¹ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, and Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, United Kingdom. ryantmckay@mac.com

Cortex; a Journal Devoted to the Study of the Nervous System and Behavior

|June 4, 2013

Summary

This summary is machine-generated.

Cold caloric vestibular stimulation of the left ear reduced unrealistic optimism in healthy adults. This finding suggests a shared mechanism between unrealistic optimism and anosognosia, a neurological disorder.

Keywords:

Anosognosia Caloric irrigation Positive illusions Unrealistic optimism Vestibular stimulation

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Area of Science:

Neuroscience
Cognitive Psychology

Background:

Unrealistic optimism involves underestimating personal risk of future illness.
This tendency resembles anosognosia, a deficit in recognizing one's own illness.
Both phenomena are linked to the right inferior frontal gyrus pars opercularis.

Purpose of the Study:

To investigate if caloric vestibular stimulation can reduce unrealistic optimism in healthy individuals.
To explore a potential unitary mechanism for anosognosia and unrealistic optimism.

Main Methods:

Thirty-one healthy adults received cold-water caloric vestibular stimulation to each ear sequentially.
Participants estimated their future illness risk at baseline and during stimulation.

Main Results:

Left-ear stimulation significantly increased risk estimates compared to baseline.
Right-ear stimulation did not alter risk estimates.
Unrealistic optimism was selectively reduced by left-ear stimulation.

Conclusions:

Caloric vestibular stimulation, specifically of the left ear, can attenuate unrealistic optimism.
Results support a shared neural mechanism for anosognosia and unrealistic optimism.
Unrealistic optimism may represent a subclinical form of anosognosia for future symptoms.