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Kilian HM, Schiller B, Meyer-Doll DM, Heinrichs M, Schläpfer TE. Normalized affective responsiveness following deep brain stimulation of the medial forebrain bundle in depression. Transl Psychiatry 2024; 14:6. [PMID: 38191528 PMCID: PMC10774255 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02712-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2023] [Revised: 12/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/12/2023] [Indexed: 01/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the supero-lateral medial forebrain bundle (slMFB) is associated with rapid and sustained antidepressant effects in treatment-resistant depression (TRD). Beyond that, improvements in social functioning have been reported. However, it is unclear whether social skills, the basis of successful social functioning, are systematically altered following slMFB DBS. Therefore, the current study investigated specific social skills (affective empathy, compassion, and theory of mind) in patients with TRD undergoing slMFB DBS in comparison to healthy subjects. 12 patients with TRD and 12 age- and gender-matched healthy subjects (5 females) performed the EmpaToM, a video-based naturalistic paradigm differentiating between affective empathy, compassion, and theory of mind. Patients were assessed before and three months after DBS onset and compared to an age- and gender-matched sample of healthy controls. All data were analyzed using non-parametric Mann-Whitney U tests. DBS treatment significantly affected patients' affective responsiveness towards emotional versus neutral situations (i.e. affective empathy): While their affective responsiveness was reduced compared to healthy subjects at baseline, they showed normalized affective responsiveness three months after slMFB DBS onset. No effects occurred in other domains with persisting deficits in compassion and intact socio-cognitive skills. Active slMFB DBS resulted in a normalized affective responsiveness in patients with TRD. This specific effect might represent one factor supporting the resumption of social activities after recovery from chronic depression. Considering the small size of this unique sample as well as the explorative nature of this study, future studies are needed to investigate the robustness of these effects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hannah Marlene Kilian
- Division of Interventional Biological Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, DE-79104, Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Bastian Schiller
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, DE-79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Dora Margarete Meyer-Doll
- Division of Interventional Biological Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, DE-79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, University of Freiburg, DE-79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Thomas Eduard Schläpfer
- Division of Interventional Biological Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy Medical Center - University of Freiburg, Faculty of Medicine, DE-79104, Freiburg, Germany
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2
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Ao L, Gao Y, Yang L, Du X, Wang H, Liu Y. Group environment modulates how third parties assess unfairly shared losses and unfairly shared gains: neural signatures from ERPs and EEG oscillations. J Clin Exp Neuropsychol 2023; 45:840-854. [PMID: 38341877 DOI: 10.1080/13803395.2024.2313258] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2023] [Indexed: 02/13/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Through its long-term evolution and development, human society has gradually formed stable and effective norms to maintain normal social production and social activities. Altruistic punishment is indispensable in maintaining social norms. Altruistic punishment includes second-party and third-party punishment, and third-party punishment refers to punishing violators by unbiased bystanders who have not suffered damage to their interests. Cooperation is an important form of human social interaction. Third parties play an essential role in maintaining social cooperation. Third parties' behaviors in maintaining cooperative norms may be related to their social environment. METHOD We used the prisoner's dilemma (PD) game and distinguished between the gain and loss contexts of the economy to explore how the group environment modulates the cognitive neural mechanisms and psychological processing of the third-party punishment decision. Twenty-six college students (Mage = 19.88 ± 1.58) participated in the experiment; data from four participants were excluded from analyses of the EEG data due to large artifacts. RESULTS The behavioral results show that the degree of punishment from the third party in a loss context was greater than in a gain context. ERP analysis results show that the third party applied a lower P300 in the loss context. The loss context induced a greater N100 than the gain context in the individual environment. At the same time, alpha-band power activated by the individual environment was greater than that activated by the group environment under the gain context. CONCLUSION These results suggest that a third party maintaining the norms of social cooperation in different contexts will adjust punishment decisions according to the environment, and this process is mainly dominated by the negative emotions caused by environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lihong Ao
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology. Pu`er University Tangshan, Tangshan, China
- Pu`er University, Pu`er, Yunnan, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology. Pu`er University Tangshan, Tangshan, China
| | - Lei Yang
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology. Pu`er University Tangshan, Tangshan, China
| | - XinYu Du
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology. Pu`er University Tangshan, Tangshan, China
| | - He Wang
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology. Pu`er University Tangshan, Tangshan, China
- School of Public Health, School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, China
| | - Yingjie Liu
- School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology. Pu`er University Tangshan, Tangshan, China
- School of Public Health, School of Psychology and Mental Health, North China University of Science and Technology, Tangshan, China
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3
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Schiller B, Brustkern J, von Dawans B, Habermann M, Pacurar M, Heinrichs M. Social high performers under stress behave more prosocially and detect happy emotions better in a male sample. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2023; 156:106338. [PMID: 37499422 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106338] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/06/2023] [Revised: 07/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/18/2023] [Indexed: 07/29/2023]
Abstract
Psychosocial stress is increasing in society, impacting our lives in all social domains. However, the conditions under which stress facilitates ("tend-and-befriend") or hinders ("fight-or-flight") social approach remain elusive. We tested whether previous heterogeneous findings might be resolved by accounting for individual differences in social performance under stress. For that purpose, we introduce the novel Trier Social Stress Test (TSST) social performance index that was aggregated across ratings from two independent observers. Moreover, we apply an innovative setup enabling electroencephalographic (EEG) data to be measured inside an electrically-shielded cabin during stress, namely the TSST-EEG. Relying on a sample of 59 healthy male participants, we collected behavioral (i.e., sharing resources with others) and cognitive (i.e., detecting facial emotional expressions) approach patterns while participants experienced either acute psychosocial stress (n = 31) or no stress (control condition; n = 28) and while EEG was being recorded. During stress exposure, high-performing participants behaved more prosocially, and differentiated better between happy and neutral emotions on both behavioral and neurophysiological levels (revealed by intensity differences in a N170-like response). Overall, our findings demonstrate the added value of both the novel TSST social performance index and the novel TSST-EEG setup. By showing that high social performance during the TSST is associated with behavioral, cognitive, and neurophysiological approach patterns, our study offers valuable insights into adaptive or maladaptive psychobiological mechanisms in coping with psychosocial stress. Future stress research should address the role of social performance differences during stress in social interaction to better understand the behavioral consequences of psychosocial stress in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Schiller
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Johanna Brustkern
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany
| | - Bernadette von Dawans
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, Johanniterufer 15, 54290 Trier, Germany
| | - Marie Habermann
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Department of Systems Neuroscience, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, 20246 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Marti Pacurar
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Asklepios Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Röntgenstr. 22, 63225 Langen, Germany
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Clinical Psychology, and Psychotherapy, Albert-Ludwigs-University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, 79104 Freiburg, Germany.
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4
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Balagtas JPM, Tolomeo S, Ragunath BL, Rigo P, Bornstein MH, Esposito G. Neuroanatomical correlates of system-justifying ideologies: a pre-registered voxel-based morphometry study on right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230196. [PMID: 36968234 PMCID: PMC10031404 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.230196] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/14/2023]
Abstract
System-justifying ideologies are a cluster of ideals that perpetuate a hierarchical social system despite being fraught with inequalities. Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) are two ideologies that have received much attention in the literature separately and together. Given that these ideologies are considered to be stable individual differences that are likely to have an evolutionary basis, there has yet to be any examination for volumetric brain structures associated with these variables. Here, we proposed an investigation of overlapping and non-overlapping brain regions associated with RWA and SDO in a sample recruited in Singapore. Indeed, it will be interesting to determine how RWA and SDO correlate in a country that proactively promotes institutionalized multi-culturalism such as Singapore. RWA and SDO scores were collected via self-report measures from healthy individuals (39 males and 43 females; age 25.89 ± 5.68 years). Consequently, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) whole brain and region of interest (ROI) analyses were employed to identify neuroanatomical correlates of these system-justifying ideologies. RWA and SDO scores were strongly correlated despite the low ideological contrast in Singapore's sociopolitical context. The whole brain analysis did not reveal any significant clusters associated with either RWA or SDO. The ROI analyses revealed clusters in the bilateral amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) that were associated with both RWA and SDO scores, whereas two clusters in the left anterior insula were negatively associated with only SDO scores. The study corroborates the claim of RWA and SDO as stable individual differences with identifiable neuroanatomical correlates, but our exploratory analysis suggests evidence that precludes any definitive conclusion based on the present evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Paolo M. Balagtas
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | | | - Bindiya L. Ragunath
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Paola Rigo
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Marc H. Bornstein
- Child and Family Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, USA
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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5
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Balagtas JPM, Tolomeo S, Ragunath BL, Rigo P, Bornstein MH, Esposito G. Neuroanatomical correlates of system-justifying ideologies: a pre-registered voxel-based morphometry study on right-wing authoritarianism and social dominance orientation. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2023; 10:230196. [PMID: 36968234 DOI: 10.6084/m9.figshare.c.6461060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/22/2023] [Accepted: 02/24/2023] [Indexed: 05/27/2023]
Abstract
System-justifying ideologies are a cluster of ideals that perpetuate a hierarchical social system despite being fraught with inequalities. Right-wing authoritarianism (RWA) and social dominance orientation (SDO) are two ideologies that have received much attention in the literature separately and together. Given that these ideologies are considered to be stable individual differences that are likely to have an evolutionary basis, there has yet to be any examination for volumetric brain structures associated with these variables. Here, we proposed an investigation of overlapping and non-overlapping brain regions associated with RWA and SDO in a sample recruited in Singapore. Indeed, it will be interesting to determine how RWA and SDO correlate in a country that proactively promotes institutionalized multi-culturalism such as Singapore. RWA and SDO scores were collected via self-report measures from healthy individuals (39 males and 43 females; age 25.89 ± 5.68 years). Consequently, voxel-based morphometry (VBM) whole brain and region of interest (ROI) analyses were employed to identify neuroanatomical correlates of these system-justifying ideologies. RWA and SDO scores were strongly correlated despite the low ideological contrast in Singapore's sociopolitical context. The whole brain analysis did not reveal any significant clusters associated with either RWA or SDO. The ROI analyses revealed clusters in the bilateral amygdala and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) that were associated with both RWA and SDO scores, whereas two clusters in the left anterior insula were negatively associated with only SDO scores. The study corroborates the claim of RWA and SDO as stable individual differences with identifiable neuroanatomical correlates, but our exploratory analysis suggests evidence that precludes any definitive conclusion based on the present evidence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Paolo M Balagtas
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | | | - Bindiya L Ragunath
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Paola Rigo
- Department of Developmental and Social Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Marc H Bornstein
- Child and Family Research, Eunice Kennedy Shriver National Institute of Child Health and Human Development, Bethesda, USA
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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6
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Guizar Rosales E, Baumgartner T, Knoch D. Interindividual differences in intergenerational sustainable behavior are associated with cortical thickness of the dorsomedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Neuroimage 2022; 264:119664. [PMID: 36202158 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119664] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 08/25/2022] [Accepted: 10/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/05/2022] Open
Abstract
Intergenerational sustainability requires people of the present generation to make sacrifices today to benefit others of future generations (e.g. mitigating climate change, reducing public debt). Individuals vary greatly in their intergenerational sustainability, and the cognitive and neural sources of these interindividual differences are not yet well understood. We here combined neuroscientific and behavioral methods by assessing interindividual differences in cortical thickness and by using a common-pool resource paradigm with intergenerational contingencies. This enabled us to look for objective, stable, and trait-like neural markers of interindividual differences in consequential intergenerational behavior. We found that individuals behaving sustainably (vs. unsustainably) were marked by greater cortical thickness of the dorsomedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Given that these brain areas are involved in perspective-taking and self-control and supported by mediation analyses, we speculate that greater cortical thickness of these brain areas better enable individuals to take the perspective of future generations and to resist temptations to maximize personal benefits that incur costs for future generations. By meeting recent calls for the contribution of neuroscience to sustainability research, it is our hope that the present study advances the transdisciplinary understanding of interindividual differences in intergenerational sustainability.
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Affiliation(s)
- Emmanuel Guizar Rosales
- Department of Social Neuroscience and Social Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland; Translational Imaging Center (TIC), Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Baumgartner
- Department of Social Neuroscience and Social Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland; Translational Imaging Center (TIC), Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine, Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Daria Knoch
- Department of Social Neuroscience and Social Psychology, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland; Translational Imaging Center (TIC), Swiss Institute for Translational and Entrepreneurial Medicine, Bern, Switzerland.
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7
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Qian C, Tei S, Itahashi T, Aoki YY, Ohta H, Hashimoto RI, Nakamura M, Takahashi H, Kato N, Fujino J. Intergroup bias in punishing behaviors of adults with autism spectrum disorder. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:884529. [PMID: 36061271 PMCID: PMC9437315 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.884529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2022] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Groups are essential elements of society, and humans, by nature, commonly manifest intergroup bias (i.e., behave more positively toward an ingroup member than toward an outgroup member). Despite the growing evidence of various types of altered decision-making in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), their behavior under the situation involving group membership remains largely unexplored. By modifying a third-party punishment paradigm, we investigated intergroup bias in individuals with ASD and typical development (TD). In our experiment, participants who were considered as the third party observed a dictator game wherein proposers could decide how to distribute a provided amount of money while receivers could only accept unconditionally. Participants were confronted with two different group situations: the proposer was an ingroup member and the recipient was an outgroup member (IN/OUT condition) or the proposer was an outgroup member and the recipient was an ingroup member (OUT/IN condition). Participants with TD punished proposers more severely when violating social norms in the OUT/IN condition than in IN/OUT condition, indicating that their decisions were influenced by the intergroup context. This intergroup bias was attenuated in individuals with ASD. Our findings deepen the understanding of altered decision-making and socioeconomic behaviors in individuals with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chenyu Qian
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shisei Tei
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.,Institute of Applied Brain Sciences, Waseda University, Saitama, Japan.,School of Human and Social Sciences, Tokyo International University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Takashi Itahashi
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuta Y Aoki
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruhisa Ohta
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Ryu-Ichiro Hashimoto
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Motoaki Nakamura
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.,Kanagawa Psychiatric Center, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Takahashi
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.,Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Nobumasa Kato
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Junya Fujino
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Tokyo, Japan.,Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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8
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Intrinsic functional connectivity of the frontoparietal network predicts inter-individual differences in the propensity for costly third-party punishment. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 21:1222-1232. [PMID: 34331267 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-021-00927-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 06/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Humans are motivated to give norm violators their just deserts through costly punishment even as unaffected third parties (i.e., third-party punishment, TPP). A great deal of individual variability exists in costly punishment; however, how this variability particularly in TPP is represented by the brain's intrinsic network architecture remains elusive. Here, we examined whether inter-individual differences in the propensity for TPP can be predicted based on resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) combining an economic TPP game with task-free functional neuroimaging and a multivariate prediction framework. Our behavioral results revealed that TPP punishment increased with the severity of unfairness for offers. People with higher TPP propensity punished more harshly across norm-violating scenarios. Our neuroimaging findings showed RSFC within the frontoparietal network predicted individual differences in TPP propensity. Our findings contribute to understanding the neural fingerprint for an individual's propensity to costly punish strangers, and shed some light on how social norm enforcement behaviors are represented by the brain's intrinsic network architecture.
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9
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The neurobiology of human aggressive behavior: Neuroimaging, genetic, and neurochemical aspects. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2021; 106:110059. [PMID: 32822763 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2020.110059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2019] [Revised: 06/12/2020] [Accepted: 08/03/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
In modern societies, there is a strive to improve the quality of life related to risk of crimes which inevitably requires a better understanding of brain determinants and mediators of aggression. Neurobiology provides powerful tools to achieve this end. Pre-clinical and clinical studies show that changes in regional volumes, metabolism-function and connectivity within specific neural networks are related to aggression. Subregions of prefrontal cortex, insula, amygdala, basal ganglia and hippocampus play a major role within these circuits and have been consistently implicated in biology of aggression. Genetic variations in proteins regulating the synthesis, degradation, and transport of serotonin and dopamine as well as their signal transduction have been found to mediate behavioral variability observed in aggression. Gene-gene and gene-environment interactions represent additional important risk factors for aggressiveness. Considering the social burden of pathological forms of aggression, more basic and translational studies should be conducted to accelerate applications to clinical practice, justice courts, and policy making.
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10
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Feng C, Zhu Z, Cui Z, Ushakov V, Dreher JC, Luo W, Gu R, Wu X, Krueger F. Prediction of trust propensity from intrinsic brain morphology and functional connectome. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 42:175-191. [PMID: 33001541 PMCID: PMC7721234 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/01/2020] [Revised: 08/31/2020] [Accepted: 09/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Trust forms the basis of virtually all interpersonal relationships. Although significant individual differences characterize trust, the driving neuropsychological signatures behind its heterogeneity remain obscure. Here, we applied a prediction framework in two independent samples of healthy participants to examine the relationship between trust propensity and multimodal brain measures. Our multivariate prediction analyses revealed that trust propensity was predicted by gray matter volume and node strength across multiple regions. The gray matter volume of identified regions further enabled the classification of individuals from an independent sample with the propensity to trust or distrust. Our modular and functional decoding analyses showed that the contributing regions were part of three large‐scale networks implicated in calculus‐based trust strategy, cost–benefit calculation, and trustworthiness inference. These findings do not only deepen our neuropsychological understanding of individual differences in trust propensity, but also provide potential biomarkers in predicting trust impairment in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunliang Feng
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.,School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zhiyuan Zhu
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Technology and Educational Application of Ministry of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Zaixu Cui
- Department of Psychiatry, Perelman School of Medicine, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Vadim Ushakov
- National Research Center, Kurchatov Institute, Moscow, Russia.,National Research Nuclear University MEPhI, Moscow Engineering Physics Institute, Moscow, Russia
| | - Jean-Claude Dreher
- Neuroeconomics, Reward and Decision Making Laboratory, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, Bron, France
| | - Wenbo Luo
- Research Center of Brain and Cognitive Neuroscience, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.,Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Xia Wu
- School of Artificial Intelligence, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Engineering Research Center of Intelligent Technology and Educational Application of Ministry of Education, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Frank Krueger
- School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.,Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, USA
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11
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Schiller B, Kleinert T, Teige-Mocigemba S, Klauer KC, Heinrichs M. Temporal dynamics of resting EEG networks are associated with prosociality. Sci Rep 2020; 10:13066. [PMID: 32747655 PMCID: PMC7400630 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-69999-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2020] [Accepted: 06/15/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
As prosociality is key to facing many of our societies' global challenges (such as fighting a global pandemic), we need to better understand why some individuals are more prosocial than others. The present study takes a neural trait approach, examining whether the temporal dynamics of resting EEG networks are associated with inter-individual differences in prosociality. In two experimental sessions, we collected 55 healthy males' resting EEG, their self-reported prosocial concern and values, and their incentivized prosocial behavior across different reward domains (money, time) and social contexts (collective, individual). By means of EEG microstate analysis we identified the temporal coverage of four canonical resting networks (microstates A, B, C, and D) and their mutual communication in order to examine their association with an aggregated index of prosociality. Participants with a higher coverage of microstate A and more transitions from microstate C to A were more prosocial. Our study demonstrates that temporal dynamics of intrinsic brain networks can be linked to complex social behavior. On the basis of previous findings on links of microstate A with sensory processing, our findings suggest that participants with a tendency to engage in bottom-up processing during rest behave more prosocially than others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Schiller
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, 79104, Germany.
| | - Tobias Kleinert
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Sarah Teige-Mocigemba
- Department of Psychological Diagnostics, Philipps-University of Marburg, Marburg, 35032, Germany
| | - Karl Christoph Klauer
- Department of Psychology, Social Psychology and Methodology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, 79085, Germany
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Stefan-Meier-Straße 8, 79104, Freiburg, Germany.
- Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, 79104, Germany.
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12
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Schiller B, Domes G, Heinrichs M. Oxytocin changes behavior and spatio-temporal brain dynamics underlying inter-group conflict in humans. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2020; 31:119-130. [PMID: 31883637 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2019.12.109] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/19/2019] [Revised: 11/15/2019] [Accepted: 12/08/2019] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Inter-group conflicts drive human discrimination, mass migration, and violence, but their psychobiological mechanisms remain largely unknown. Here, we investigated whether the neuropeptide oxytocin modulates behavior and spatio-temporal brain dynamics in naturalistic inter-group conflict. Eighty-six male members of natural rival social groups received either oxytocin or placebo intranasally. In a decision-making paradigm involving real monetary stakes, participants could sacrifice their own resources to modulate the monetary gains and losses of in- and out-group members. Oxytocin eliminated the reduction in out-group gains - particularly in individuals with low emotional empathy, whereas those given placebo exhibited this negative social behavior. Our spatio-temporal analysis of event-related potentials elicited by outcome valuation revealed that oxytocin replaced a neurophysiological process associated with the negative valuation of out-group gains via a process associated with positive valuation between 200-500ms after outcome presentation. Oxytocin thus seems to modulate inter-group behavior in humans via a specific alteration of valuation-related brain dynamics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Schiller
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany.
| | - Gregor Domes
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany; Department of Biological and Clinical Psychology, University of Trier, D-54290 Trier, Germany
| | - Markus Heinrichs
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, D-79104 Freiburg, Germany; Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, D-79106 Freiburg, Germany.
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13
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Schiller B, Gianotti LRR, Baumgartner T, Knoch D. Theta resting EEG in the right TPJ is associated with individual differences in implicit intergroup bias. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 14:281-289. [PMID: 30690590 PMCID: PMC6399604 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsz007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2018] [Revised: 01/15/2019] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Why are some people more biased than others in their implicit evaluations during social interaction? The dispositional determinants of individual differences in implicit intergroup bias are poorly understood. Here, we explored whether such variability might be explained by stable neural traits. For that purpose, we used the source-localized resting electroencephalograms of 83 members of naturalistic social groups to explain their bias in an in-/outgroup implicit association test. Lower levels of resting theta current density in the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) were associated with stronger implicit intergroup bias and explained unique variability in bias beyond relevant personality questionnaires. These findings demonstrate the added value of the neural trait approach in predicting inter-individual differences in implicit social cognition. Given that low levels of resting theta current density during wakefulness likely reflect increased cortical activation, our results suggest that individuals with an efficiently working right TPJ possess capacities to mediate specific cognitive processes that predispose them towards stronger implicit intergroup bias. As the human species has evolved living in distinct social groups, the capacity to quickly differentiate friend from foe became highly adaptive and might thus constitute an essential part of human nature.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bastian Schiller
- Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Biological and Personality Psychology, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Social and Affective Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland.,Freiburg Brain Imaging Center, University Medical Center, University of Freiburg, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Lorena R R Gianotti
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, Social and Affective Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Thomas Baumgartner
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, Social and Affective Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
| | - Daria Knoch
- Institute of Psychology, Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.,Department of Psychology, Social and Affective Neuroscience, University of Basel, Basel, Switzerland
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14
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Fujino J, Tei S, Itahashi T, Aoki YY, Ohta H, Kubota M, Hashimoto RI, Takahashi H, Kato N, Nakamura M. Role of the right temporoparietal junction in intergroup bias in trust decisions. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 41:1677-1688. [PMID: 31854496 PMCID: PMC7268017 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/12/2019] [Revised: 11/23/2019] [Accepted: 12/11/2019] [Indexed: 01/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Intergroup bias, which is the tendency to behave more positively toward an in-group member than toward an out-group member, is pervasive in real life. In particular, intergroup bias in trust decisions substantially influences multiple areas of life and thus better understanding of this tendency can provide significant insights into human social behavior. Although previous functional magnetic resonance imaging studies showed the involvement of the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ) in intergroup trust bias, a causal relationship between the two has rarely been explored. By combining repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation and a newly developed trust game task, we investigated the causal role of the right TPJ in intergroup bias in trust decisions. In the trust game task, the counterpart's group membership (in-group or out-group) and reciprocity were manipulated. We applied either neuronavigated inhibitory continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) or sham stimulation over the right TPJ before performing the trust game task in healthy volunteers. After the sham stimulation, the participants' degrees of investments with in-group members were significantly higher than those with out-group members. However, after cTBS to the right TPJ, this difference was not observed. The current results extend previous findings by showing that the causal roles of the right TPJ can be observed in intergroup bias in trust decisions. Our findings add to our understanding of the mechanisms of human social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junya Fujino
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Shisei Tei
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.,Institute of Applied Brain Sciences, Waseda University, Tokorozawa, Saitama, Japan.,School of Human and Social Sciences, Tokyo International University, Kawagoe, Saitama, Japan
| | - Takashi Itahashi
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuta Y Aoki
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Haruhisa Ohta
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, School of Medicine, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Manabu Kubota
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.,Department of Functional Brain Imaging, National Institute of Radiological Sciences, National Institutes for Quantum and Radiological Science and Technology, Inage-ku, Chiba, Japan
| | - Ryu-Ichiro Hashimoto
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Language Sciences, Graduate School of Humanities, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Hachioji-shi, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Takahashi
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto, Japan.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Graduate School of Medical and Dental Sciences, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Nobumasa Kato
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Motoaki Nakamura
- Medical Institute of Developmental Disabilities Research, Showa University, Setagaya-ku, Tokyo, Japan.,Kanagawa Psychiatric Center, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan
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15
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Do KT, Telzer EH. Corticostriatal connectivity is associated with the reduction of intergroup bias and greater impartial giving in youth. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 37:100628. [PMID: 30981164 PMCID: PMC6582978 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100628] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2018] [Revised: 02/13/2019] [Accepted: 02/26/2019] [Indexed: 11/07/2022] Open
Abstract
Youth were more prosocial to in-group than out-group peers (i.e., intergroup bias). Prosocial behavior increases with higher reward inequity favoring others’ outcomes. VS-pSTS connectivity increased with more inequitable rewards favoring the out-group. VS-pSTS connectivity to more inequitable out-group rewards attenuated biased giving.
Although prosocial behavior is preferentially directed toward the in-group across many species, prioritizing the outcomes of both the in- and out-group earlier in development can reduce intergroup biases. The current study examined the role of corticostriatal recruitment and connectivity in buffering the effect of intergroup bias on costly giving behavior during childhood and adolescence, a period when other-oriented preferences and associated brain functions undergo significant change. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, youth (n = 51; 8–16 years) made decisions that could potentially benefit in-group and out-group peers at a cost to themselves. Youth were more prosocial toward in-group relative to out-group peers, but were relatively more prosocial to out-group peers when there was a greater discrepancy between potential rewards for others over oneself (i.e., higher reward inequity). Although they showed no differences in corticostriatal activation, youth evinced greater connectivity between the ventral striatum (VS) and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) when considering more inequitable prosocial decisions that favored the outcomes of out-group peers, which attenuated intergroup biases in prosocial behavior. We found no age-related differences at the behavioral or neural level, suggesting that in-group preferences already bias prosocial behavior and its neurocognitive processes by late childhood and do not change across adolescence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kathy T Do
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 235, E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3270, United States
| | - Eva H Telzer
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill 235, E. Cameron Avenue, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-3270, United States.
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16
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Resting-State Functional Connectivity Underlying Costly Punishment: A Machine-Learning Approach. Neuroscience 2018; 385:25-37. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2018.05.052] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2018] [Revised: 05/28/2018] [Accepted: 05/31/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
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17
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Feng C, Yuan J, Geng H, Gu R, Zhou H, Wu X, Luo Y. Individualized prediction of trait narcissism from whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:3701-3712. [PMID: 29749072 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24205] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/07/2018] [Revised: 04/05/2018] [Accepted: 04/23/2018] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Narcissism is one of the most fundamental personality traits in which individuals in general population exhibit a large heterogeneity. Despite a surge of interest in examining behavioral characteristics of narcissism in the past decades, the neurobiological substrates underlying narcissism remain poorly understood. Here, we addressed this issue by applying a machine learning approach to decode trait narcissism from whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC). Resting-state functional MRI (fMRI) data were acquired for a large sample comprising 155 healthy adults, each of whom was assessed for trait narcissism. Using a linear prediction model, we examined the relationship between whole-brain RSFC and trait narcissism. We demonstrated that the machine-learning model was able to decode individual trait narcissism from RSFC across multiple neural systems, including functional connectivity between and within limbic and prefrontal systems as well as their connectivity with other networks. Key nodes that contributed to the prediction model included the amygdala, prefrontal and anterior cingulate regions that have been linked to trait narcissism. These findings remained robust using different validation procedures. Our findings thus demonstrate that RSFC among multiple neural systems predicts trait narcissism at the individual level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunliang Feng
- College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Jie Yuan
- State Key Laboratory of Brain and Cognitive Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Haiyang Geng
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Hui Zhou
- Department of Psychology, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xia Wu
- College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuejia Luo
- Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
- Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China
- Depatment of Psychology, Southern Medical University, Guangzhou, China
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18
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Baumgartner T, Saulin A, Hein G, Knoch D. Structural Differences in Insular Cortex Reflect Vicarious Injustice Sensitivity. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0167538. [PMID: 27930678 PMCID: PMC5145156 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0167538] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/26/2016] [Accepted: 11/15/2016] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Sensitivity to injustice inflicted on others is a strong motivator of human social behavior. There are, however, enormous individual differences in vicarious injustice sensitivity. Some people are strongly affected when witnessing injustice, while others barely notice it, but the factors behind this heterogeneity are poorly understood. Here we examine the neuroanatomical basis of these differences using voxel-based morphometry and Freesurfer image analysis suite. Whole brain corrected analyses show that a person's propensity to be vicariously affected by injustice to others is reflected by the gray matter volume and thickness of the bilateral mid insular cortex. The larger a person's gray matter volume and thickness of the mid insula, the higher that person's sensitivity to injustice experienced by others. These findings show that the individual neuroanatomy of the mid insular cortex captures a person's predisposition to be vicariously affected by injustice, and thus adds a novel aspect to previous functional work that has linked this region to the processing of transient vicarious states.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Baumgartner
- Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (TB); (DK)
| | - Anne Saulin
- Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Grit Hein
- Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - Daria Knoch
- Department of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Institute of Psychology, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- * E-mail: (TB); (DK)
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19
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Feng C, Azarian B, Ma Y, Feng X, Wang L, Luo YJ, Krueger F. Mortality salience reduces the discrimination between in-group and out-group interactions: A functional MRI investigation using multi-voxel pattern analysis. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 38:1281-1298. [PMID: 27859936 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2016] [Revised: 10/21/2016] [Accepted: 10/23/2016] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
As a fundamental concern of human beings, mortality salience impacts various human social behaviors including intergroup interactions; however, the underlying neural signature remains obscure. Here, we examined the neural signatures underlying the impact of mortality reminders on in-group bias in costly punishment combining a second-party punishment task with multivariate pattern analysis of fMRI data. After mortality salience (MS) priming or general negative affect priming, participants received offers from racial in-group and out-group proposers and decided how to punish proposers by reducing their payoffs. We revealed that MS priming attenuated in-group bias and dampened the discriminated activation patterns pertaining to group identities in regions previously implicated in costly punishment, including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporo-parietal junction, anterior cingulate cortex, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. The group identity represented in multivariate patterns of activity of these regions predicted in-group bias for the control condition, i.e., the stronger discriminative representations of group identities in these regions; the larger was the in-group bias. Furthermore, the in-group bias was reliably decoded by distributed activation patterns in the punishment-related networks but only in the control condition and not in the MS condition. These findings elucidate the neural underpinnings of the effects of mortality reminders on intergroup interaction. Hum Brain Mapp 38:1281-1298, 2017. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunliang Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China.,College of Information Science and Technology, Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Bobby Azarian
- The Krasnow Institute for Advanced Study George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
| | - Yina Ma
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Xue Feng
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, China
| | - Lili Wang
- School of Educational Science, Huaiyin Normal University, Huaian, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience Shenzhen University, China.,Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, China
| | - Frank Krueger
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
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20
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Oron Semper JV, Murillo JI, Bernacer J. Adolescent Emotional Maturation through Divergent Models of Brain Organization. Front Psychol 2016; 7:1263. [PMID: 27602012 PMCID: PMC4993867 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.01263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2016] [Accepted: 08/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In this article we introduce the hypothesis that neuropsychological adolescent maturation, and in particular emotional management, may have opposing explanations depending on the interpretation of the assumed brain architecture, that is, whether a componential computational account (CCA) or a dynamic systems perspective (DSP) is used. According to CCA, cognitive functions are associated with the action of restricted brain regions, and this association is temporally stable; by contrast, DSP argues that cognitive functions are better explained by interactions between several brain areas, whose engagement in specific functions is temporal and context-dependent and based on neural reuse. We outline the main neurobiological facts about adolescent maturation, focusing on the neuroanatomical and neurofunctional processes associated with adolescence. We then explain the importance of emotional management in adolescent maturation. We explain the interplay between emotion and cognition under the scope of CCA and DSP, both at neural and behavioral levels. Finally, we justify why, according to CCA, emotional management is understood as regulation, specifically because the cognitive aspects of the brain are in charge of regulating emotion-related modules. However, the key word in DSP is integration, since neural information from different brain areas is integrated from the beginning of the process. Consequently, although the terms should not be conceptually confused, there is no cognition without emotion, and vice versa. Thus, emotional integration is not an independent process that just happens to the subject, but a crucial part of personal growth. Considering the importance of neuropsychological research in the development of educational and legal policies concerning adolescents, we intend to expose that the holistic view of adolescents is dependent on whether one holds the implicit or explicit interpretation of brain functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jose V Oron Semper
- Mind-Brain Group, Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra Pamplona, Spain
| | - Jose I Murillo
- Mind-Brain Group, Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra Pamplona, Spain
| | - Javier Bernacer
- Mind-Brain Group, Institute for Culture and Society, University of Navarra Pamplona, Spain
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21
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Clocking the social mind by identifying mental processes in the IAT with electrical neuroimaging. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2016; 113:2786-91. [PMID: 26903643 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.1515828113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Why do people take longer to associate the word "love" with outgroup words (incongruent condition) than with ingroup words (congruent condition)? Despite the widespread use of the implicit association test (IAT), it has remained unclear whether this IAT effect is due to additional mental processes in the incongruent condition, or due to longer duration of the same processes. Here, we addressed this previously insoluble issue by assessing the spatiotemporal evolution of brain electrical activity in 83 participants. From stimulus presentation until response production, we identified seven processes. Crucially, all seven processes occurred in the same temporal sequence in both conditions, but participants needed more time to perform one early occurring process (perceptual processing) and one late occurring process (implementing cognitive control to select the motor response) in the incongruent compared with the congruent condition. We also found that the latter process contributed to individual differences in implicit bias. These results advance understanding of the neural mechanics of response time differences in the IAT: They speak against theories that explain the IAT effect as due to additional processes in the incongruent condition and speak in favor of theories that assume a longer duration of specific processes in the incongruent condition. More broadly, our data analysis approach illustrates the potential of electrical neuroimaging to illuminate the temporal organization of mental processes involved in social cognition.
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22
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Feng C, Deshpande G, Liu C, Gu R, Luo YJ, Krueger F. Diffusion of responsibility attenuates altruistic punishment: A functional magnetic resonance imaging effective connectivity study. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 37:663-77. [PMID: 26608776 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2015] [Revised: 10/16/2015] [Accepted: 11/06/2015] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans altruistically punish violators of social norms to enforce cooperation and pro-social behaviors. However, such altruistic behaviors diminish when others are present, due to a diffusion of responsibility. We investigated the neural signatures underlying the modulations of diffusion of responsibility on altruistic punishment, conjoining a third-party punishment task with event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging and multivariate Granger causality mapping. In our study, participants acted as impartial third-party decision-makers and decided how to punish norm violations under two different social contexts: alone (i.e., full responsibility) or in the presence of putative other third-party decision makers (i.e., diffused responsibility). Our behavioral results demonstrated that the diffusion of responsibility served as a mediator of context-dependent punishment. In the presence of putative others, participants who felt less responsible also punished less severely in response to norm violations. Our neural results revealed that underlying this behavioral effect was a network of interconnected brain regions. For unfair relative to fair splits, the presence of others led to attenuated responses in brain regions implicated in signaling norm violations (e.g., AI) and to increased responses in brain regions implicated in calculating values of norm violations (e.g., vmPFC, precuneus) and mentalizing about others (dmPFC). The dmPFC acted as the driver of the punishment network, modulating target regions, such as AI, vmPFC, and precuneus, to adjust altruistic punishment behavior. Our results uncovered the neural basis of the influence of diffusion of responsibility on altruistic punishment and highlighted the role of the mentalizing network in this important phenomenon. Hum Brain Mapp 37:663-677, 2016. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunliang Feng
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience, School of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Gopikrishna Deshpande
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, Auburn University MRI Research Center, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.,Department of Psychology, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama.,labama Advanced Imaging Consortium, Auburn University and University of Alabama Birmingham, Alabama
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.,Collaborative Innovation Center of Sichuan for Elder Care and Health, Chengdu Medical College, Chengdu, China
| | - Frank Krueger
- Molecular Neuroscience Department, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia.,Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
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23
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Glass L, Moody L, Grafman J, Krueger F. Neural signatures of third-party punishment: evidence from penetrating traumatic brain injury. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 11:253-62. [PMID: 26276809 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2015] [Accepted: 08/08/2015] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to survive within a cooperative society depends on impartial third-party punishment (TPP) of social norm violations. Two cognitive mechanisms have been postulated as necessary for the successful completion of TPP: evaluation of legal responsibility and selection of a suitable punishment given the magnitude of the crime. Converging neuroimaging research suggests two supporting domain-general networks; a mentalizing network for evaluation of legal responsibility and a central-executive network for determination of punishment. A whole-brain voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping approach was used in conjunction with a rank-order TPP task to identify brain regions necessary for TPP in a large sample of patients with penetrating traumatic brain injury. Patients who demonstrated atypical TPP had specific lesions in core regions of the mentalizing (dorsomedial prefrontal cortex [PFC], ventromedial PFC) and central-executive (bilateral dorsolateral PFC, right intraparietal sulcus) networks. Altruism and executive functioning (concept formation skills) were significant predictors of TPP: altruism was uniquely associated with TPP in patients with lesions in right dorsolateral PFC and executive functioning was uniquely associated with TPP in individuals with lesions in left PFC. Our findings contribute to the extant literature to support underlying neural networks associated with TPP, with specific brain-behavior causal relationships confirming recent functional neuroimaging research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leila Glass
- Department of Psychology, SDSU/UCSD Joint Doctoral Program in Clinical Psychology, San Diego, CA, USA
| | - Lara Moody
- Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, Roanoke, VA, USA, Department of Psychology, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA, USA
| | - Jordan Grafman
- Brain Injury Research Program, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Frank Krueger
- Molecular Neuroscience Department and Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA
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24
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Baumgartner T, Nash K, Hill C, Knoch D. Neuroanatomy of intergroup bias: A white matter microstructure study of individual differences. Neuroimage 2015; 122:345-54. [PMID: 26275384 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.08.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/12/2015] [Revised: 07/17/2015] [Accepted: 08/06/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Intergroup bias-the tendency to behave more positively toward an ingroup member than an outgroup member-is a powerful social force, for good and ill. Although it is widely demonstrated, intergroup bias is not universal, as it is characterized by significant individual differences. Recently, attention has begun to turn to whether neuroanatomy might explain these individual differences in intergroup bias. However, no research to date has examined whether white matter microstructure could help determine differences in behavior toward ingroup and outgroup members. In the current research, we examine intergroup bias with the third-party punishment paradigm and white matter integrity and connectivity strength as determined by diffusion tensor imaging (DTI). We found that both increased white matter integrity at the right temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) and connectivity strength between the right TPJ and the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC) were associated with increased impartiality in the third-party punishment paradigm, i.e., reduced intergroup bias. Further, consistent with the role that these brain regions play in the mentalizing network, we found that these effects were mediated by mentalizing processes. Participants with greater white matter integrity at the right TPJ and connectivity strength between the right TPJ and the DMPFC employed mentalizing processes more equally for ingroup and outgroup members, and this non-biased use of mentalizing was associated with increased impartiality. The current results help shed light on the mechanisms of bias and, potentially, on interventions that promote impartiality over intergroup bias.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thomas Baumgartner
- Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland; Center for Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Switzerland.
| | - Kyle Nash
- Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland; Center for Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Switzerland; Department of Psychology, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand.
| | - Christopher Hill
- Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland; Center for Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Switzerland
| | - Daria Knoch
- Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bern, Switzerland; Center for Cognition, Learning and Memory, University of Bern, Switzerland.
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25
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Cikara M, Van Bavel JJ. The Neuroscience of Intergroup Relations: An Integrative Review. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 9:245-74. [PMID: 26173262 DOI: 10.1177/1745691614527464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 159] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
We review emerging research on the psychological and biological factors that underlie social group formation, cooperation, and conflict in humans. Our aim is to integrate the intergroup neuroscience literature with classic theories of group processes and intergroup relations in an effort to move beyond merely describing the effects of specific social out-groups on the brain and behavior. Instead, we emphasize the underlying psychological processes that govern intergroup interactions more generally: forming and updating our representations of "us" and "them" via social identification and functional relations between groups. This approach highlights the dynamic nature of social identity and the context-dependent nature of intergroup relations. We argue that this theoretical integration can help reconcile seemingly discrepant findings in the literature, provide organizational principles for understanding the core elements of intergroup dynamics, and highlight several exciting directions for future research at the interface of intergroup relations and neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mina Cikara
- Department of Social and Decision Sciences, Carnegie Mellon University, Pittsburgh, PA
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26
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Nash K, Gianotti LRR, Knoch D. A neural trait approach to exploring individual differences in social preferences. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 8:458. [PMID: 25642176 PMCID: PMC4295523 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2014.00458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2014] [Accepted: 12/22/2014] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Research demonstrates that social preferences are characterized by significant individual differences. An important question, often overlooked, is from where do these individual differences originate? And what are the processes that underlie such differences? In this paper, we outline the neural trait approach to uncovering sources of individual differences in social preferences, particularly as evidenced in economic games. We focus on two primary methods—resting-state electroencephalography and structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)—used by researchers to quantify task-independent, brain-based characteristics that are stable over time. We review research that has employed these methods to investigate social preferences with an emphasis on a key psychological process in social decision-making; namely, self-control. We then highlight future opportunities for the neural trait approach in cutting-edge decision-making research. Finally, we explore the debate about self-control in social decision-making and the potential role neural trait research could play in this issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kyle Nash
- Division of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland
| | - Lorena R R Gianotti
- Division of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland
| | - Daria Knoch
- Division of Social Psychology and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Bern Bern, Switzerland
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27
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The neural bases for valuing social equality. Neurosci Res 2014; 90:33-40. [PMID: 25452125 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2014.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2014] [Revised: 10/15/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
The neural basis of how humans value and pursue social equality has become a major topic in social neuroscience research. Although recent studies have identified a set of brain regions and possible mechanisms that are involved in the neural processing of equality of outcome between individuals, how the human brain processes equality of opportunity remains unknown. In this review article, first we describe the importance of the distinction between equality of outcome and equality of opportunity, which has been emphasized in philosophy and economics. Next, we discuss possible approaches for empirical characterization of human valuation of equality of opportunity vs. equality of outcome. Understanding how these two concepts are distinct and interact with each other may provide a better explanation of complex human behaviors concerning fairness and social equality.
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