The “Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience” Section of Brain Sciences (ISSN: 2076-3425) aims to publish articles on social perception, cognition, emotion, and their practical applications at the behavioral, system, neural circuit, single cell, cellular, and genetic levels.

As all of the articles published in our journal are of an open access format, you have free and unlimited access to the full text. We welcome you to read our most highly cited papers published in 2021 and 2022.

1. “Early Right Motor Cortex Response to Happy and Fearful Facial Expressions: A TMS Motor-Evoked Potential Study”
by Sara Borgomaneri, Francesca Vitale, Simone Battaglia and Alessio Avenanti
Brain Sci. 2021, 11(9), 1203; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11091203
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/9/1203

2. “Stay at Home” in Italy during the COVID-19 Outbreak: A Longitudinal Study on Individual Well-Being among Different Age Groups”
by Alessandro Quaglieri, Giulia Lausi, Angelo Fraschetti, Jessica Burrai, Benedetta Barchielli, Alessandra Pizzo, Pierluigi Cordellieri, Luigi De Gennaro, Maurizio Gorgoni, Fabio Ferlazzo et al.
Brain Sci. 2021, 11(8), 993; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11080993
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/8/993

3. “Endogenous Oxytocin Levels in Autism—A Meta-Analysis”
by Matthijs Moerkerke, Mathieu Peeters, Lyssa de Vries, Nicky Daniels, Jean Steyaert, Kaat Alaerts and Bart Boets
Brain Sci. 2021, 11(11), 1545; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11111545
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/11/1545

4. “Self-Positivity or Self-Negativity as a Function of the Medial Prefrontal Cortex”
by Alla Yankouskaya and Jie Sui
Brain Sci. 2021, 11(2), 264; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11020264
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/2/264

5. “A Scientometric Approach to Review the Role of the Medial Preoptic Area (MPOA) in Parental Behavior”
by Alessandro Carollo, Jan Paolo Macapinlac Balagtas, Michelle Jin-Yee Neoh and Gianluca Esposito
Brain Sci. 2021, 11(3), 393; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11030393
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/3/393

6. “Self-Boundary Dissolution in Meditation: A Phenomenological Investigation”
by Ohad Nave, Fynn-Mathis Trautwein, Yochai Ataria, Yair Dor-Ziderman, Yoav Schweitzer, Stephen Fulder and Aviva Berkovich-Ohana
Brain Sci. 2021, 11(6), 819; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11060819
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/6/819

7. “Oxidative and Nitrosative Stress in Major Depressive Disorder: A Case Control Study”
by Aditya Somani, Abhishek Kumar Singh, Bandna Gupta, Sheela Nagarkoti, Pronob Kumar Dalal and Madhu Dikshit
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(2), 144; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020144
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/2/144

8. “Personal and Environmental Predictors of Aggression in Adolescence”
by Claudia A. Robles-Haydar, Marina B. Martínez-González, Yuliana A. Flórez-Niño, Luz M. Ibáñez-Navarro and José J. Amar-Amar
Brain Sci. 2021, 11(7), 933; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11070933
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/7/933

9. “Gender, Anxiety, and Legitimation of Violence in Adolescents Facing Simulated Physical Aggression at School”
by Marina B. Martínez-González, Yamile Turizo-Palencia, Claudia Arenas-Rivera, Mónica Acuña-Rodríguez, Yeferson Gómez-López and Vicente J. Clemente-Suárez
Brain Sci. 2021, 11(4), 458; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci11040458
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/11/4/458

10. “Evidence for the Concreteness of Abstract Language: A Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies”
by Nicola Del Maschio, Davide Fedeli, Gioacchino Garofalo and Giovanni Buccino
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(1), 32; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12010032
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/1/32

11. “Inflammatory Stress Induced by Intraperitoneal Injection of LPS Increases Phoenixin Expression and Activity in Distinct Rat Brain Nuclei”
by Tiemo Friedrich, Martha Anna Schalla, Miriam Goebel-Stengel, Peter Kobelt, Matthias Rose and Andreas Stenge
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(2), 135; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020135
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/2/135

12. “A Pilot Feasibility Study of Reconnecting to Internal Sensations and Experiences (RISE), a Mindfulness-Informed Intervention to Reduce Interoceptive Dysfunction and Suicidal Ideation, among University Students in India”
by April R. Smith, Shruti Kinkel-Ram, William Grunwald, Tony Sam George and Vaishali Raval
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(2), 237; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020237
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/2/237

13. “Interoceptive Attentiveness Induces Significantly More PFC Activation during a Synchronized Linguistic Task Compared to a Motor Task as Revealed by Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy”
by Michela Balconi and Laura Angioletti
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(3), 301; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12030301
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/3/301

14. “The Neurobiological Basis of Love: A Meta-Analysis of Human Functional Neuroimaging Studies of Maternal and Passionate Love”
by Hsuan-Chu Shih, Mu-En Kuo, Changwei W. Wu, Yi-Ping Chao, Hsu-Wen Huang and Chih-Mao Huang
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(7), 830; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12070830
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/7/830

15. “COVID-19 Long-Term Effects: Is There an Impact on the Simple Reaction Time and Alternative-Forced Choice on Recovered Patients?”
by Mauro Santoyo-Mora, Carlos Villaseñor-Mora, Luz M. Cardona-Torres, Juan J. Martínez-Nolasco, Alejandro I. Barranco-Gutiérrez, José A. Padilla-Medina and Micael Gerardo Bravo-Sánchez
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(9), 1258; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12091258
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/9/1258

16. “Correlations between Persistent Olfactory and Semantic Memory Disorders after SARS-CoV-2 Infection”
by Julie Fiorentino, Magali Payne, Elisa Cancian, Alexandra Plonka, Louise-Émilie Dumas, David Chirio, Élisa Demonchy, Karine Risso, Florence Askenazy-Gittard, Nicolas Guevara et al.
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(6), 714; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12060714
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/6/714

17. “Interhemispheric Facilitatory Effect of High-Frequency rTMS: Perspective from Intracortical Facilitation and Inhibition”
by Dongting Tian and Shin-Ichi Izumi
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(8), 970; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12080970
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/8/970

18. “Mindfulness-Based Interventions for the Treatment of Aberrant Interoceptive Processing in Substance Use Disorders”
by April C. May, Chrysantha Davis, Namik Kirlic and Jennifer L. Stewart
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(2), 279; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020279
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/2/279

19. “Mindfulness-Based Interventions and Body Awareness”
by Marbella Pérez-Peña, Jessica Notermans, Olivier Desmedt, Katleen Van der Gucht and Pierre Philippot
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(2), 285; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12020285
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/2/285

20. “Neurofeedback-Augmented Mindfulness Training Elicits Distinct Responses in the Subregions of the Insular Cortex in Healthy Adolescents”
by Xiaoqian Yu, Zsofia P. Cohen, Aki Tsuchiyagaito, Gabriella Cochran, Robin L. Aupperle, Jennifer L. Stewart, Manpreet K. Singh, Masaya Misaki, Jerzy Bodurka, Martin P. Paulus et al.
Brain Sci. 2022, 12(3), 363; https://doi.org/10.3390/brainsci12030363
Available online: https://www.mdpi.com/2076-3425/12/3/363