Social Neuroscience[JOURNAL]
Sun
200 papers
Recent neural advances in studies on theory of mind and autism.
Nijhof AD
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37706678 · Publisher ↗
Despite initial evidence in favor of the Theory of Mind (ToM) theory of autism, results have been mixed, presumably because the literature is highly heterogeneous. Researchers have increasingly turned to neuroimaging as...
Despite initial evidence in favor of the Theory of Mind (ToM) theory of autism, results have been mixed, presumably because the literature is highly heterogeneous. Researchers have increasingly turned to neuroimaging as a tool to provide additional insights regarding ToM differences in autism. For example, they have used neuroimaging to investigate spontaneous ToM, i.e., ToM in the absence of explicit instruction. Furthermore, recent advances in hyperscanning allow to study neural responses to actual, live, social interactions. Finally, the hypothesis that there may also be difficulties with 'Theory of Own Mind' is being investigated. In short, the awareness of past shortcomings of ToM research in autism inspires many new research lines that will expectedly further insights into the outstanding questions in this field in the upcoming years.
Prospective associations between maternal mind-mindedness, child theory of mind, and brain morphology in school-aged children.
Guo EY, Leblanc É, Dégeilh F … +2 more , Beauchamp MH, Bernier A
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37691563 · Publisher ↗
Mentalizing is defined as the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. In the context of parental behavior, parents' tendency to comment on their child's mental activities refers to the concept of mind-m...
Mentalizing is defined as the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others. In the context of parental behavior, parents' tendency to comment on their child's mental activities refers to the concept of mind-mindedness (MM). MM has been positively associated with various developmental outcomes in children, notably their own ability to mentalize, known as theory of mind (ToM). Although parental (MM) and child (ToM) mentalizing have important implications during childhood, their associations with children's neural structures are largely unknown. Among 62 mother-child dyads, maternal MM was rated from free-play sequences when children were aged 1 year, child ToM was assessed using a first-order false-belief task at 4 years of age, and structural MRI images were acquired at 10 years of age. Maternal MM was positively associated with gray matter volumes (GMV) in the dorsal prefrontal cortex and the superior temporal pole. Child ToM abilities were positively associated with GMV in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Though cortical regions associated with MM and ToM showed no anatomical overlap, many are functionally connected through a neural network highly involved in self-referential strategies for mentalizing. These findings suggest that MM and ToM may contribute to distinct sub-processes that collectively support social cognition development.
The role of outgroup homogeneity and the neurodynamics of the frontal cortex during beauty comparisons.
Zacharopoulos G, Ohmann K, Ihssen N … +3 more , Kedia G, Mussweiler T, Linden DEJ
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Dec · PMID 37639727 · Publisher ↗
The distance effect states that the closer two compared magnitudes (e.g., two numbers, physical attractiveness in two faces), the more difficult the comparison, and the greater the activity of the frontoparietal control...
The distance effect states that the closer two compared magnitudes (e.g., two numbers, physical attractiveness in two faces), the more difficult the comparison, and the greater the activity of the frontoparietal control network. However, it is unclear whether this network is also recruited to the same extent when we perform ingroup and outgroup beauty comparisons and whether the activation of these networks is tracked by interindividual variation in the perceptions we hold about an outgroup. We recorded brain activity with fMRI, where participants compared the beauty of two women ostensibly either from their ingroup or from an outgroup. Low-distance conditions produced longer response times than the high-distance conditions, and this was found in both the ingroup and outgroup conditions. However, our neuroimaging analyses revealed that the left IFG/anterior insula showed the classic distance effect only during ingroup processing but not during outgroup processing. Notably, interaction-specific activity within the left IFG/anterior insula was related to perceptions of outgroup homogeneity assessed via a questionnaire. This set of findings reveals the dynamic role of the prefrontal cortex and its interplay with perceptions of outgroup homogeneity in shaping ingroup and outgroup decision-making.
Neural signatures to prosocial and antisocial interactions in young infants.
Licht V, Addabbo M, Nava E … +1 more , Turati C
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37610285 · Publisher ↗
Preverbal infants appear to be more attracted by prosocial characters and events, as typically assessed using preferential looking times and manual choice. However, infants' neural correlates of observed prosocial and an...
Preverbal infants appear to be more attracted by prosocial characters and events, as typically assessed using preferential looking times and manual choice. However, infants' neural correlates of observed prosocial and antisocial interactions are still scarce. Here, we familiarized 5-month-old ( = 24) infants with a prosocial and antisocial scene (i.e., a character either helping or hindering) and infants' Event-Related Potentials (ERP) were recorded in response to the presentation of short video clips of the prosocial and antisocial interaction. On a neural level, results revealed that infants could discriminate between helping and hindering events at an early stage of processing, as shown by a larger N290 response to the former compared to the latter. Further, while the Nc - typically indexing attentional processes - was larger for antisocial over prosocial events, the LPP, indexing cognitive evaluation of the stimuli, was larger for prosocial over antisocial actions. Finally, infants' higher scores on the effortful control temperamental subscale were related to infants' increased N290 neural sensitivity to antisocial scenes. Together, these findings provide new evidence of the time course of infants' ERP responses during the observation of helping and hindering interactions, which involves both attentional and socially relevant processes.
To bridge or not to bridge: Moral Judgement in Cocaine Use Disorders, a case-control study on human morality.
Mosca A, Miuli A, Mancusi G … +8 more , Chiappini S, Stigliano G, De Pasquale A, Di Petta G, Bubbico G, Pasino A, Pettorruso M, Martinotti G
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Dec · PMID 37594151 · Publisher ↗
BACKGROUND: In the "Dual-Process theory", morality is characterized by the interaction between an automatic-emotional process, mediated by the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and linked to personal-deontological decision...
BACKGROUND: In the "Dual-Process theory", morality is characterized by the interaction between an automatic-emotional process, mediated by the Anterior Cingulate Cortex (ACC) and linked to personal-deontological decisions, and a rational-conscious one, mediated by the Dorso-Lateral Prefrontal Cortex (DLPFC) and linked to impersonal-utilitarian decisions. These areas are altered by chronic use of cocaine, with a possible impact on moral decision-making. OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the difference between a group of Cocaine Use Disorder (CUD) patients and a control group in moral decision-making. METHODS: Subjects with CUD were compared to an equal-sized healthy group regarding their moral decision-making. Trolley and Footbridge Moral Dilemmas were administered to each group. The quality of the answer (yes or no) and the time needed to answer were recorded. RESULTS: The recruited group includes 72 subjects, 36 with CUD and 36 healthy subjects (average age of 39.51 ± 9.89). In the Trolley dilemma, almost all the subjects (97.3%) answered "yes", while in the Footbridge dilemma CUD subjects answered "yes" more often (52.7%) than the healthy group (19.4%). CONCLUSION: For strong emotional dilemmas (Footbridge), cocaine users answered "yes" with a higher frequency compared to healthy subjects, highlighting a wider utilitarian tendency in decision-making and a poor emotional participation.
Social cognition in hyperkinetic movement disorders: a systematic review.
Rizzo G, Martino D, Avanzino L … +2 more , Avenanti A, Vicario CM
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Dec · PMID 37580305 · Publisher ↗
Numerous lines of research indicate that our social brain involves a network of cortical and subcortical brain regions that are responsible for sensing and controlling body movements. However, it remains unclear whether...
Numerous lines of research indicate that our social brain involves a network of cortical and subcortical brain regions that are responsible for sensing and controlling body movements. However, it remains unclear whether movement disorders have a systematic impact on social cognition. To address this question, we conducted a systematic review examining the influence of hyperkinetic movement disorders (including Huntington disease, Tourette syndrome, dystonia, and essential tremor) on social cognition. Following the PRISMA guidelines and registering the protocol in the PROSPERO database (CRD42022327459), we analyzed 50 published studies focusing on theory of mind (ToM), social perception, and empathy. The results from these studies provide evidence of impairments in ToM and social perception in all hyperkinetic movement disorders, particularly during the recognition of negative emotions. Additionally, individuals with Huntington's Disease and Tourette syndrome exhibit empathy disorders. These findings support the functional role of subcortical structures (such as the basal ganglia and cerebellum), which are primarily responsible for movement disorders, in deficits related to social cognition.
Does Tactile Stimulation of the Face Affect the Processing of Other Faces? Neural and Behavioural Effects of Facial Touch.
Gülbetekin E, Bayraktar S, Kantar D … +4 more , Varlık Özsoy E, Er MN, Altun E, Fidanci A
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Dec · PMID 37559568 · Publisher ↗
The integration of vision and touch is proposed as a critical factor for processing one's own body and the bodies of others in the brain. We hypothesize that tactile stimulation on an individual's face may change the abi...
The integration of vision and touch is proposed as a critical factor for processing one's own body and the bodies of others in the brain. We hypothesize that tactile stimulation on an individual's face may change the ability to process the faces of other, but not the processing of other visual images. We aimed to determine if facial touch increased the activity of the mirror system and face recognition memory of the observer. Therefore, mu suppression was measured to compare the effect of facial touch in performing two visual tasks. The participants observed faces and non-face visual images under two sets of conditions. In the first condition, a robotic finger touched the participant's cheek while in the second condition, no touch occurred. Upon each observational task, the participants were given in a recognition test. Behavioral results indicated that facial touch improved recognition performance for faces, but not for non-face visual images. Tactile stimulation increased mu suppression in both occipital and central electrodes during face processing; however, the suppression did not significantly change during non-face visual processing. Our findings support the concept that the brain uses a self-body representation, as a reference to understand the mental states or behaviors of others.
Loss of free will in the Iranian criminal justice system: Interdisciplinary analysis of law and neuroscience.
Petoft A, Abbasi M, Zali A
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Dec · PMID 37534859 · Publisher ↗
Today, with the development of neuroscience and the discovery of new secrets of the brain, the social sciences, including law, have made significant progress with the help of new findings in this science. One of the sign...
Today, with the development of neuroscience and the discovery of new secrets of the brain, the social sciences, including law, have made significant progress with the help of new findings in this science. One of the significant applications of neuroscience in modern criminal law is the explanation of the neurological dimensions of human free will, which in addition to creating a profound and scientific approach to the definition of this important element of criminal responsibility, can help ascertain the loss of free will causes. To this end, the present study is an attempt to answer this question in the context of the Iranian criminal justice system: What are the core causes of the loss of free will from the perspective of neurolaw? The paper strives to take an appropriate step toward the development of criminal justice. In this study, we found that mental disorders, coercion, drunkenness, somnambulism, and error are the core causes that can be assessed in particular ways using EEG and fMRI techniques, however, each with limitations.
Sorry, not sorry: Unpopular individuals report but don't display empathy and prosocial behaviors.
Massey-Abernathy AR, Swearingen-Stanbrough CL, Wall R
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37534838 · Publisher ↗
The resource control theory postulates that the combination of prosocial strategies and coercive strategies are useful in gaining and maintaining resources that allow one to be perceived popular within society. Often pro...
The resource control theory postulates that the combination of prosocial strategies and coercive strategies are useful in gaining and maintaining resources that allow one to be perceived popular within society. Often prosocial behaviors appear in conjunction with empathy. The social-reconnection hypothesis suggest that prosocial behaviors might be executed when an individual fears they are or might be socially excluded. However, some research shows that mixed feelings arise and increased attendance to acceptance might take place but not actual helping behaviors. The current study examined eighty-six individuals and the impact of perceived popularity on empathy and prosocial behaviors. Specifically, self-reported popular and unpopular individuals were examined based on resource control strategy usage, empathy quotient (EQ) scores, helping behavior, and galvanic skin response to an emotion inducing video about rejection and bullying. Unpopular individuals self-reported higher levels of empathy but did not display greater galvanic skin responses or more helping behavior than popular self-reported individuals.
An examination of mindfulness on Mu suppression and pain empathy and its relation to trait empathy.
Jelsone-Swain L, Settepani M, McMullen K … +2 more , Stafford J, Cho B
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37519186 · Publisher ↗
There have been multiple benefits reported from the practice of mindfulness meditation. Recently social functioning, including empathy, has emerged as one such possible benefit. However, the literature is mixed and it is...
There have been multiple benefits reported from the practice of mindfulness meditation. Recently social functioning, including empathy, has emerged as one such possible benefit. However, the literature is mixed and it is unknown if mindfulness has an effect on the neural mechanism involved in empathy. Therefore, we conducted a large-scale experimental study involving over 100 participants that were either enrolled in a behavioral or EEG experiment to examine pain empathy and mu suppression, respectively. We also measured state and trait mindfulness and trait empathy. Results did not show a change in pain empathy or mu suppression in response to an acute mindfulness manipulation. However, pain empathy responses were able to be predicted significantly better when the component of state mindfulness involving decentering was incorporated into a regression model compared to trait empathy alone. Also, trait empathy was related to trait mindfulness. Collectively, state decentering may be involved in increased pain empathy, while trait mindfulness appears more related to general trait empathy. Further research is warranted to better understand the potential benefit a brief mindfulness meditation may produce in the realm of brain activity and social functioning.
Predicting narcissistic personality traits from brain and psychological features: A supervised machine learning approach.
Jornkokgoud K, Baggio T, Faysal M … +4 more , Bakiaj R, Wongupparaj P, Job R, Grecucci A
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Dec · PMID 37497589 · Publisher ↗
Narcissism is a multifaceted construct often linked to pathological conditions whose neural correlates are still poorly understood. Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings related to the neural underpinnings...
Narcissism is a multifaceted construct often linked to pathological conditions whose neural correlates are still poorly understood. Previous studies have reported inconsistent findings related to the neural underpinnings of narcissism, probably due to methodological limitations such as the low number of participants or the use of mass univariate methods. The present study aimed to overcome the previous methodological limitations and to build a predictive model of narcissistic traits based on neural and psychological features. In this respect, two machine learning-based methods (Kernel Ridge Regression and Support Vector Regression) were used to predict narcissistic traits from brain structural organization and from other relevant normal and abnormal personality features. Results showed that a circuit including the lateral and middle frontal gyri, the angular gyrus, Rolandic operculum, and Heschl's gyrus successfully predicted narcissistic personality traits ( < 0.003). Moreover, narcissistic traits were predicted by normal (openness, agreeableness, conscientiousness) and abnormal (borderline, antisocial, insecure, addicted, negativistic, machiavellianism) personality traits. This study is the first to predict narcissistic personality traits via a supervised machine learning approach. As such, these results may expand the possibility of deriving personality traits from neural and psychological features.
Mother-child inter-brain synchrony during a mutual visual search task: A study of feedback valence and role.
Atilla F, Alimardani M, Kawamoto T … +1 more , Hiraki K
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37395457 · Publisher ↗
Parent and child have been shown to synchronize their behaviors and physiology during social interactions. This synchrony is an important marker of their relationship quality and subsequently the child's social and emoti...
Parent and child have been shown to synchronize their behaviors and physiology during social interactions. This synchrony is an important marker of their relationship quality and subsequently the child's social and emotional development. Therefore, understanding the factors that influence parent-child synchrony is an important undertaking. Using EEG hyperscanning, this study investigated brain-to-brain synchrony in mother-child dyads when they took turns performing a visual search task and received positive or negative feedback. In addition to the effect of feedback valence, we studied how their assigned role, i.e., observing or performing the task, influenced synchrony. Results revealed that mother-child synchrony was higher during positive feedback relative to negative feedback in delta and gamma frequency bands. Furthermore, a main effect was found for role in the alpha band with higher synchrony when a child observed their mother performing the task compared to when the mother observed their child. These findings reveal that a positive social context could lead a mother and child to synchronize more on a neural level, which could subsequently improve the quality of their relationship. This study provides insight into mechanisms that underlie mother-child brain-to-brain synchrony, and establishes a framework by which the impact of emotion and task demand on a dyad's synchrony can be investigated.
Hypocortisolemic reactivity to acute social stress among lonely young women.
Stout ME, Keirns BH, Hawkins MAW
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37381132 · Publisher ↗
We examined biopsychosocial stress of acute social pain in relation to chronic loneliness. Hypotheses: 1) Cyberball exclusion (vs. inclusion) would be associated with lower cortisol reactivity to a speech task, and 2) lo...
We examined biopsychosocial stress of acute social pain in relation to chronic loneliness. Hypotheses: 1) Cyberball exclusion (vs. inclusion) would be associated with lower cortisol reactivity to a speech task, and 2) loneliness would moderate the relationship between social exclusion and cortisol reactivity to a speech task, such that higher loneliness would be linked to lower cortisol. Participants ( = 31, women, aged 18-25, 51.6% non-Hispanic white) were randomized to be excluded or included in a game of Cyberball, then completed a speech task. Salivary cortisol was measured at baseline, pre-speech, post-speech, and 15 minutes post-speech. Cortisol reactivity was calculated using area under the curve-increase (AUCi). ANOVA revealed a non-significant, meaningful effect of Cyberball exclusion on cortisol AUCi (=.103, =.10), accounting for contraceptive use. Moderation analysis revealed among women with high loneliness, women in the exclusion condition had significantly lower cortisol reactivity than women in the inclusion condition (=.001). For women with low and medium loneliness, there were no significant differences by Cyberball condition. In sum, lonely young women who are excluded may have hypocortisolemic responses to social stress. Results are consistent with literature suggesting that chronic stress is linked to lower cortisol responses, which is linked to negative physical health outcomes.
Does emotion regulation network mediate the effect of social network on psychological distress among older adults?
Sharma R, Dillon K, Williams SEE … +1 more , McIntosh R
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37267049 · Publisher ↗
Socio-emotional interactions are integral for regulating emotions and buffering psychological distress. Social neuroscience perspectives on aging suggest that empathetic interpersonal interactions are supported by the ac...
Socio-emotional interactions are integral for regulating emotions and buffering psychological distress. Social neuroscience perspectives on aging suggest that empathetic interpersonal interactions are supported by the activation of brain regions involved in regulating negative affect. The current study tested whether resting state functional connectivity of a network of brain regions activated during cognitive emotion regulation, i.e., emotion regulation network (ERN), statistically mediates the frequency of social contact with friends or family on psychological distress. Here, a 10-min resting-state functional MRI scan was collected along with self-reported anxiety/depressive, somatic, and thought problems and social networking from 90 community-dwelling older adults (aged 65-85 years). The frequency of social interactions with family, but not friends and neighbors, was associated with lower psychological distress. The magnitude of this effect was reduced by 33.34% to non-significant upon adding resting state ERN connectivity as a mediator. Follow-up whole-brain graph network analyses revealed that efficiency and centrality of the left inferior frontal gyrus and the right middle temporal gyrus relate to greater family interactions and lower distress. These hubs may help to buffer psychological problems in older adults through interactions involving empathetic and cognitive emotion regulation with close family.
How unexpected events are processed in theory of mind regions: A conceptual replication.
McManus RM, Dungan JA, Jiang K … +1 more , Young L
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37248725 · Publisher ↗
Recent research in social neuroscience has postulated that Theory of Mind (ToM) regions play a role in processing social prediction error (PE: the difference between what was expected and what was observed). Here, we tes...
Recent research in social neuroscience has postulated that Theory of Mind (ToM) regions play a role in processing social prediction error (PE: the difference between what was expected and what was observed). Here, we tested whether PE signal depends on the type of prior information people use to make predictions - an agent's prior mental states (e.g., beliefs, desires, preferences) or an agent's prior behavior - as well as the type of information that confirms or violates such predictions. That is, does prior information about mental states (versus behavior) afford stronger predictions about an agent's subsequent mental states or behaviors? Additionally, when information about an agent's prior mental states or behavior is available, is PE signal strongest when information about an agent's subsequent mental state (vs behavior) is revealed? In line with prior research, results suggest that DMPFC, LTPJ, and RTPJ are recruited more for unexpected than expected outcomes. However, PE signal does not seem to discriminate on the basis of prior or outcome information type. These findings suggest that ToM regions may flexibly incorporate any available information to make predictions about, monitor, and perhaps explain, inconsistencies in social agents.
Hippocampus links perceived social support with self-esteem.
Lu H, Li X, Wang Y … +2 more , Song Y, Liu J
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37200111 · Publisher ↗
Self-esteem is an important psychological resource with adaptive values, and numerous investigations have revealed that self-esteem is influenced by perceived social support. However, the potential neural basis linking p...
Self-esteem is an important psychological resource with adaptive values, and numerous investigations have revealed that self-esteem is influenced by perceived social support. However, the potential neural basis linking perceived social support with self-esteem remains unclear. Therefore, we used voxel-based morphometry to explore whether the hippocampus and amygdala function as the neuroanatomical basis linking perceived social support with self-esteem in a cohort of 243 young healthy adults (128 women; mean age 22.64 years, standard deviation 1.01 years). The Social Provisions Scale and Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale were used for the survey. Magnetic resonance imaging was used to measure the gray matter volume of the hippocampus and amygdala. Correlation analysis revealed that those who perceived more social support had higher self-esteem. Notably, mediation analysis showed that hippocampal gray matter volume linked perceived social support with self-esteem. Our study suggests that the hippocampus plays a primary, but not exclusive, role in linking perceived social support with self-esteem, which provides a novel explanation for how perceived social support affects self-esteem from the perspective of cognitive neuroscience.
Communicative intentions automatically hold attention - evidence from event-related potentials.
Okruszek Ł, Rutkowska N, Jakubowska N … +1 more , Mąka S
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Aug · PMID 37171850 · Publisher ↗
Numerous studies show that social cues are processed preferentially by the human visual system and that perception of communicative intentions, particularly those self-directed, attracts and biases attention. However, it...
Numerous studies show that social cues are processed preferentially by the human visual system and that perception of communicative intentions, particularly those self-directed, attracts and biases attention. However, it is still unclear when in the temporal hierarchy of visual processing communicative cues exert impact on perception and whether their effects are automatic or volitional. Therefore, in the present study, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to investigate the pattern of neural activity associated with processing communicative and individual gestures. Participants ( = 24) were shown animations depicting either biological (BM) or scrambled motion (SM) and were asked to categorize them accordingly. Additionally, BM depicted either communicative or individual actions. The results showed that while early components (N1, N2) are sensitive to differences between BM and SM, the differentiation of neural activity related to the type of action performed by point-light agent (individuals vs. communicative) is observed only for late components such as posterior late positive potential (>500 ms). The findings of the current study show that even in the absence of any top-down effects, social intentions produce long-lasting attentional effects at the later stages of stimuli processing.
Impact of social knowledge about the speaker on irony understanding: Evidence from neural oscillations.
Champagne-Lavau M, Bolger D, Klein M
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Feb · PMID 37161361 · Publisher ↗
The aim of the present study was to explore neuronal oscillatory activity during a task of irony understanding. In this task, we manipulated implicit information about the speaker such as occupation stereotypes (i.e., sa...
The aim of the present study was to explore neuronal oscillatory activity during a task of irony understanding. In this task, we manipulated implicit information about the speaker such as occupation stereotypes (i.e., sarcastic versus non-sarcastic). These stereotypes are social knowledge that influence the extent to which the speaker's ironic intent is understood. Time-frequency analyses revealed an early effect of speaker occupation stereotypes, as evidenced by greater synchronization in the upper gamma band (in the 150-250 ms time window) when the speaker had a sarcastic occupation, by a greater desynchronization for ironic context compared to literal context in the alpha1 band and by a greater synchronization in the theta band when the speaker had a non-sarcastic occupation. When the speaker occupation did not constrain the ironic interpretation, the interpretation of the sentence as ironic was revealed as resource-demanding and requiring pragmatic reanalysis, as shown mainly by the synchronization in the theta band and the desynchronization in the alpha1 band (in the 500-800 ms time window). These results support predictions of the constraint satisfaction model suggesting that during irony understanding, extra-linguistic information such as information on the speaker is used as soon as it is available, in the early stage of processing.
Dissociating neural sensitivity to target identity and mental state content type during inferences about other minds.
Defendini A, Jenkins AC
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Apr · PMID 37140093 · Publisher ↗
Predicting and inferring what other people think and feel (mentalizing) is central to social interaction. Since the discovery of the brain's "mentalizing network," fMRI studies have probed the lines along which the activ...
Predicting and inferring what other people think and feel (mentalizing) is central to social interaction. Since the discovery of the brain's "mentalizing network," fMRI studies have probed the lines along which the activity of different regions in this network converges and dissociates. Here, we use fMRI meta-analysis to aggregate across stimuli, paradigms, and contrasts from past studies in order to definitively test two sources of possible sensitivity among brain regions of this network with particular theoretical relevance. First, it has been proposed that mentalizing processes depend on aspects of target identity (whose mind is considered), with self-projection or simulation strategies engaging disproportionately for psychologically close targets. Second, it has been proposed that mentalizing processes depend on content type (what the inference is), with inferences about epistemic mental states (e.g., beliefs and knowledge) engaging different processes than mentalizing about other types of content (e.g., emotions or preferences). Overall, evidence supports the conclusion that different mentalizing regions are sensitive to target identity and content type, respectively, but with some points of divergence from previous claims. The results point to fruitful directions for future studies, with implications for theories of mentalizing.
Predicting change in neural activity during social exclusion in late childhood: The role of past peer experiences.
Hollarek M, van Buuren M, Asscheman JS … +4 more , Cillessen AHN, Koot S, van Lier PAC, Krabbendam L
Soc Neurosci · 2023 Apr · PMID 37132253 · Publisher ↗
A painful experience affecting many children is social exclusion. The current study is a follow-up study, investigating change in neural activity during social exclusion as a function of peer preference. Peer preference...
A painful experience affecting many children is social exclusion. The current study is a follow-up study, investigating change in neural activity during social exclusion as a function of peer preference. Peer preference was defined as the degree to which children are preferred by their peers and measured using peer nominations in class during four consecutive years for 34 boys. Neural activity was assessed twice with a one-year interval, using functional MRI during Cyberball (MageT1 = 10.3 years, MageT2 = 11.4 years). Results showed that change in neural activity during social exclusion differed as a function of peer preference for the a-priori defined region-of-interest of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (subACC), such that relatively lower history of peer preference was associated with an increase in activity from Time1 to Time2. Exploratory whole brain results showed a positive association between peer preference and neural activity at Time2 in the left and right orbitofrontal gyrus (OFG). These results may suggest that boys with lower peer preference become increasingly sensitive to social exclusion over time, associated with increased activity in the subACC. Moreover, lower peer preference and associated lower activity within the OFG may suggest decreased emotion regulation as a response to social exclusion.
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