1
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Wang W, Li H, Wang Y, Liu L, Qian Q. Changes in effective connectivity during the visual-motor integration tasks: a preliminary f-NIRS study. BEHAVIORAL AND BRAIN FUNCTIONS : BBF 2024; 20:4. [PMID: 38468270 DOI: 10.1186/s12993-024-00232-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2023] [Accepted: 03/05/2024] [Indexed: 03/13/2024]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Visual-motor integration (VMI) is an essential skill in daily life. The present study aimed to use functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technology to explore the effective connectivity (EC) changes among brain regions during VMI activities of varying difficulty levels. METHODS A total of 17 healthy participants were recruited for the study. Continuous Performance Test (CPT), Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function-Adult Version (BRIEF-A), and Beery VMI test were used to evaluate attention performance, executive function, and VMI performance. Granger causality analysis was performed for the VMI task data to obtain the EC matrix for all participants. One-way ANOVA analysis was used to identify VMI load-dependent EC values among different task difficulty levels from brain network and channel perspectives, and partial correlation analysis was used to explore the relationship between VMI load-dependent EC values and behavioral performance. RESULTS We found that the EC values of dorsal attention network (DAN) → default mode network (DMN), DAN → ventral attention network (VAN), DAN → frontoparietal network (FPN), and DAN → somatomotor network (SMN) in the complex condition were higher than those in the simple and moderate conditions. Further channel analyses indicated that the EC values of the right superior parietal lobule (SPL) → right superior frontal gyrus (SFG), right middle occipital gyrus (MOG) → left SFG, and right MOG → right postcentral gyrus (PCG) in the complex condition were higher than those in the simple and moderate conditions. Subsequent partial correlation analysis revealed that the EC values from DAN to DMN, VAN, and SMN were positively correlated with executive function and VMI performance. Furthermore, the EC values of right MOG → left SFG and right MOG → right PCG were positively correlated with attention performance. CONCLUSIONS The DAN is actively involved during the VMI task and thus may play a critical role in VMI processes, in which two key brain regions (right SPL, right MOG) may contribute to the EC changes in response to increasing VMI load. Meanwhile, bilateral SFG and right PCG may also be closely related to the VMI performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wenchen Wang
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, 100191, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Haimei Li
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, 100191, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Yufeng Wang
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, 100191, China
- NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, 100191, China
| | - Lu Liu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, 100191, China.
- NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, 100191, China.
| | - Qiujin Qian
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Institute of Mental Health, Beijing, 100191, China.
- NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, 100191, China.
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2
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Rizzo G, Martino D, Avanzino L, Avenanti A, Vicario CM. Social cognition in hyperkinetic movement disorders: a systematic review. Soc Neurosci 2023; 18:331-354. [PMID: 37580305 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2023.2248687] [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: 07/30/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 08/16/2023]
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gaetano Rizzo
- Dipartimento di Scienze Cognitive, Psicologiche, Pedagogiche e degli studi culturali, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - Davide Martino
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, Hotchkiss Brain Institute, Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada
| | - Laura Avanzino
- Department of Experimental Medicine, Section of Human Physiology, University of Genoa, Genoa, Italy
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro studi e ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia "Renzo Canestrari", Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum Università di Bologna, Cesena, Italy
- Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurociencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica del Maule, Talca, Chile
| | - Carmelo Mario Vicario
- Dipartimento di Scienze Cognitive, Psicologiche, Pedagogiche e degli studi culturali, Università di Messina, Messina, Italy
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3
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Wang A, Sliwinska MW, Watson DM, Smith S, Andrews TJ. Distinct patterns of neural response to faces from different races in humans and deep networks. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad059. [PMID: 37837305 PMCID: PMC10634630 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad059] [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: 02/08/2023] [Revised: 07/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Social categories such as the race or ethnicity of an individual are typically conveyed by the visual appearance of the face. The aim of this study was to explore how these differences in facial appearance are represented in human and artificial neural networks. First, we compared the similarity of faces from different races using a neural network trained to discriminate identity. We found that the differences between races were most evident in the fully connected layers of the network. Although these layers were also able to predict behavioural judgements of face identity from human participants, performance was biased toward White faces. Next, we measured the neural response in face-selective regions of the human brain to faces from different races in Asian and White participants. We found distinct patterns of response to faces from different races in face-selective regions. We also found that the spatial pattern of response was more consistent across participants for own-race compared to other-race faces. Together, these findings show that faces from different races elicit different patterns of response in human and artificial neural networks. These differences may underlie the ability to make categorical judgements and explain the behavioural advantage for the recognition of own-race faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ao Wang
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
- Department of Psychology, University of Southampton, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK
| | - Magdalena W Sliwinska
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
- School of Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L2 2QP, UK
| | - David M Watson
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
| | - Sam Smith
- Department of Psychology, University of York, York YO10 5DD, UK
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4
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Celeghin A, Palermo S, Giampaolo R, Di Fini G, Gandino G, Civilotti C. Brain Correlates of Eating Disorders in Response to Food Visual Stimuli: A Systematic Narrative Review of FMRI Studies. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13030465. [PMID: 36979275 PMCID: PMC10046850 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13030465] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2023] [Revised: 02/28/2023] [Accepted: 03/07/2023] [Indexed: 03/12/2023] Open
Abstract
This article summarizes the results of studies in which functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was performed to investigate the neurofunctional activations involved in processing visual stimuli from food in individuals with anorexia nervosa (AN), bulimia nervosa (BN) and binge eating disorder (BED). A systematic review approach based on the PRISMA guidelines was used. Three databases—Scopus, PubMed and Web of Science (WoS)—were searched for brain correlates of each eating disorder. From an original pool of 688 articles, 30 articles were included and discussed. The selected studies did not always overlap in terms of research design and observed outcomes, but it was possible to identify some regularities that characterized each eating disorder. As if there were two complementary regulatory strategies, AN seems to be associated with general hyperactivity in brain regions involved in top-down control and emotional areas, such as the amygdala, insula and hypothalamus. The insula and striatum are hyperactive in BN patients and likely involved in abnormalities of impulsivity and emotion regulation. Finally, the temporal cortex and striatum appear to be involved in the neural correlates of BED, linking this condition to use of dissociative strategies and addictive aspects. Although further studies are needed, this review shows that there are specific activation pathways. Therefore, it is necessary to pay special attention to triggers, targets and maintenance processes in order to plan effective therapeutic interventions. Clinical implications are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessia Celeghin
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | - Sara Palermo
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
- Neuroradiology Unit, Department of Diagnostic and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | | | - Giulia Di Fini
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
| | | | - Cristina Civilotti
- Department of Psychology, University of Turin, 10124 Turin, Italy
- Faculty of Educational Science, Salesian University Institute (IUSTO), 10155 Turin, Italy
- Correspondence:
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5
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Schaller P, Caldara R, Richoz AR. Prosopagnosia does not abolish other-race effects. Neuropsychologia 2023; 180:108479. [PMID: 36623806 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2022] [Revised: 12/28/2022] [Accepted: 01/05/2023] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Healthy observers recognize more accurately same-than other-race faces (i.e., the Same-Race Recognition Advantage - SRRA) but categorize them by race more slowly than other-race faces (i.e., the Other-Race Categorization Advantage - ORCA). Several fMRI studies reported discrepant bilateral activations in the Fusiform Face Area (FFA) and Occipital Face Area (OFA) correlating with both effects. However, due to the very nature and limits of fMRI results, whether these face-sensitive regions play an unequivocal causal role in those other-race effects remains to be clarified. To this aim, we tested PS, a well-studied pure case of acquired prosopagnosia with lesions encompassing the left FFA and the right OFA. PS, healthy age-matched and young adults performed two recognition and three categorization by race tasks, respectively using Western Caucasian and East Asian faces normalized for their low-level properties with and without-external features, as well as in naturalistic settings. As expected, PS was slower and less accurate than the controls. Crucially, however, the magnitudes of her SRRA and ORCA were comparable to the controls in all the tasks. Our data show that prosopagnosia does not abolish other-race effects, as an intact face system, the left FFA and/or right OFA are not critical for eliciting the SRRA and ORCA. Race is a strong visual and social signal that is encoded in a large neural face-sensitive network, robustly tuned for processing same-race faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pauline Schaller
- Eye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab), Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Roberto Caldara
- Eye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab), Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Anne-Raphaëlle Richoz
- Eye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab), Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
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6
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Granjon M, Doignon-Camus N, Popa-Roch M, Rohmer O. Neural empathic response to disability: An ERP study of prejudice. Biol Psychol 2023; 177:108507. [PMID: 36706863 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2023.108507] [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: 03/31/2022] [Revised: 01/03/2023] [Accepted: 01/23/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Abstract
While social neuroscience has already provided evidence for a deficit of affective empathy in racial prejudice, little is known about other less visible social categories when considered as an outgroup. We studied the process of empathy through event-related brain potentials (ERPs). We focused on the group "people with disabilities" as they are the target of a large amount of prejudice. Twenty-six participants performed a pain decision task. The mean amplitudes of N1, P2, N2-N3 and P3 components were recorded. Our results are consistent with previous work on prejudice, showing that the pain detection is modulated by group membership (with disabilities vs. without disabilities) on N2-N3, suggesting a better neural decoding of pain vs. non-pain in the without-disability condition. Critically, no effect of early sensory components (N1, P2) was found, and P3 was not moderated by disability. These findings indicate a different time course of empathic responses depending on the condition, suggesting that people with disabilities trigger specific empathic responses. Our results contribute to disentangling perceptual processes from affective empathy reactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Granjon
- University of Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Cognitions, France.
| | - Nadège Doignon-Camus
- University of Strasbourg, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l'Education et de la Communication, France
| | - Maria Popa-Roch
- University of Strasbourg, Laboratoire Interuniversitaire des Sciences de l'Education et de la Communication, France
| | - Odile Rohmer
- University of Strasbourg, Laboratoire de Psychologie des Cognitions, France
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7
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Grignolio A, Morelli M, Tamietto M. Why is fake news so fascinating to the brain? Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:5967-5971. [PMID: 36256496 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15844] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 10/06/2022] [Indexed: 12/29/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Grignolio
- Faculty of Medicine and Surgery, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Milan, Italy.,Interdepartmental Center for Research Ethics and Integrity, National Research Council (CNR), Italy
| | - Micaela Morelli
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Cagliari, Cittadella Universitaria Monserrato, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Marco Tamietto
- Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Turin, Italy.,Department of Medical and Clinical Psychology, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands
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8
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Leder J, Koßmann L, Carbon CC. Perceptions of persons who wear face coverings are modulated by the perceivers' attitude. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:988546. [PMID: 36408397 PMCID: PMC9672466 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.988546] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 09/16/2023] Open
Abstract
We examined if the effect of facial coverings on person perception is influenced by the perceiver's attitudes. We used two online experiments in which participants saw the same human target persons repeatedly appearing with and without a specific piece of clothing and had to judge the target persons' character. In Experiment 1 (N = 101), we investigated how the wearing of a facial mask influences a person's perception depending on the perceiver's attitude toward measures against the COVID-19 pandemic. In Experiment 2 (N = 114), we examined the effect of wearing a head cover associated with Arabic culture on a person's perception depending on the perceiver's attitude toward Islam. Both studies were preregistered; both found evidence that a person's perception is a process shaped by the personal attitudes of the perceiver as well as merely the target person's outward appearance. Integrating previous findings, we demonstrate that facial covers, as well as head covers, operate as cues which are used by the perceivers to infer the target persons' underlying attitudes. The judgment of the target person is shaped by the perceived attitude toward what the facial covering stereotypically symbolizes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Johannes Leder
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
- Bamberg Graduate School of Affective and Cognitive Sciences (BaGrACS), Bamberg, Germany
| | - Lisa Koßmann
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
| | - Claus-Christian Carbon
- Institute of Psychology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
- Bamberg Graduate School of Affective and Cognitive Sciences (BaGrACS), Bamberg, Germany
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9
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Ficco L, Müller VI, Kaufmann JM, Schweinberger SR. Socio‐cognitive, expertise‐based and appearance‐based accounts of the other‐‘race’ effect in face perception: A label‐based systematic review of neuroimaging results. Br J Psychol 2022; 114 Suppl 1:45-69. [DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12595] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Linda Ficco
- Department of General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Friedrich Schiller University Jena Germany
- Department of Linguistics and Cultural Evolution International Max Planck Research School for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
| | - Veronika I. Müller
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf Düsseldorf Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience und Medicine (INM‐7) Research Centre Jülich Jülich Germany
| | - Jürgen M. Kaufmann
- Department of General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Friedrich Schiller University Jena Germany
| | - Stefan R. Schweinberger
- Department of General Psychology and Cognitive Neuroscience Friedrich Schiller University Jena Germany
- Department of Linguistics and Cultural Evolution International Max Planck Research School for the Science of Human History Jena Germany
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10
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Raghunath BL, Sng KHL, Chen SHA, Vijayaragavan V, Gulyás B, Setoh P, Esposito G. Stronger brain activation for own baby but similar activation toward babies of own and different ethnicities in parents living in a multicultural environment. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10988. [PMID: 35768627 PMCID: PMC9243063 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15289-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Specific facial features in infants automatically elicit attention, affection, and nurturing behaviour of adults, known as the baby schema effect. There is also an innate tendency to categorize people into in-group and out-group members based on salient features such as ethnicity. Societies are becoming increasingly multi-cultural and multi-ethnic, and there are limited investigations into the underlying neural mechanism of the baby schema effect in a multi-ethnic context. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine parents' (N = 27) neural responses to (a) non-own ethnic in-group and out-group infants, (b) non-own in-group and own infants, and (c) non-own out-group and own infants. Parents showed similar brain activations, regardless of ethnicity and kinship, in regions associated with attention, reward processing, empathy, memory, goal-directed action planning, and social cognition. The same regions were activated to a higher degree when viewing the parents' own infant. These findings contribute further understanding to the dynamics of baby schema effect in an increasingly interconnected social world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bindiya Lakshmi Raghunath
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kelly Hwee Leng Sng
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - S H Annabel Chen
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Centre for Research and Development in Learning (CRADLE), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Office of Educational Research, National Institute of Education, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vimalan Vijayaragavan
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Balázs Gulyás
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Peipei Setoh
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
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11
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Neural basis of in-group bias and prejudices: A systematic meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:1214-1227. [PMID: 34715150 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.10.027] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Revised: 10/14/2021] [Accepted: 10/24/2021] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
In-group favoritism and prejudices relate to discriminatory behaviors but, despite decades of research, understanding of their neural correlates has been limited. A systematic coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies (altogether 87 original datasets, n = 2328) was conducted to investigate neural inter-group biases, i.e., responses toward in-group vs. out-group in different contexts. We found inter-group biases in some previously identified brain regions (e.g., the medial prefrontal cortex, insula) but also in many previously non-identified brain regions (e.g., the cerebellum, precentral gyrus). Sub-group analyses indicated that neural correlates of inter-group biases may be mostly context-specific. Regarding different types of group memberships, inter-group bias toward trivial groups was evident only in the cingulate cortex, while inter-group biases toward "real" groups (ethnic, national, or political groups) involved broader sets of brain regions. Additionally, there were heightened neural threat responses toward out-groups' faces and stronger neural empathic responses toward in-groups' suffering. We did not obtain significant publication bias. Overall, the findings provide novel implications for theory and prejudice-reduction interventions.
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12
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Zhu H, Wang A, Collins HR, Yue Y, Xu S, Zhu X. The encoding of race during face processing, an event-related potential study. Perception 2021; 50:842-860. [PMID: 34623190 DOI: 10.1177/03010066211048573] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
It is well known that adults spontaneously classify people into social categories and this categorization in turn guides their cognition and behavior. A wealth of research has examined how people perceive race and investigated the effect of race on social behavior. But what about race encoding? Although considerable behavioral research has investigated the encoding of race, that is, the social categorization by race, the neural underpinning of it is largely underexplored. To investigate the time course of race encoding, the current study employed a modified category verification task and a multivariate analyzing approach. We found that racial information became decodable from event-related potential topographies as early as about 200 ms after stimulus onset. At this stage, the brain can differentiate different races in a task-relevant manner. Nonetheless, it is not until 100 ms later that racial information is encoded in a socially relevant manner (own- versus other-race). Importantly, perceptual differentiation not only occurs before the encoding of the race but actually influences it: the faces that are more easily perceptually categorized are actually encoded more readily. Together, we posit that the detection and the encoding of race are decoupled although they are not completely independent. Our results provide powerful constraints toward the theory-building of race.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haidong Zhu
- Department of Psychology, 70586Shihezi University, Xinjiang, China
| | - Anqi Wang
- Department of Psychology, 70586Shihezi University, Xinjiang, China
| | - Heather R Collins
- Department of Radiology, 158155Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, USA
| | - Yaqi Yue
- Department of Psychology, 70586Shihezi University, Xinjiang, China
| | - Shuhui Xu
- Department of Psychology, 26495Wenzhou University, Zhejiang, China
| | - Xun Zhu
- Department of Psychology, 70586Shihezi University, Xinjiang, China; Department of Psychology, 26495Wenzhou University, Zhejiang, China
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13
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Lantos D, Molenberghs P. The neuroscience of intergroup threat and violence. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:77-87. [PMID: 34534553 PMCID: PMC9620594 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2020] [Revised: 08/25/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
The COVID-19 pandemic led to a global increase in hate crimes and xenophobia. In these uncertain times, real or imaginary threats can easily lead to intergroup conflict. Here, we integrate social neuroscience findings with classic social psychology theories into a framework to better understand how intergroup threat can lead to violence. The role of moral disengagement, dehumanization, and intergroup schadenfreude in this process are discussed, together with their underlying neural mechanisms. We outline how this framework can inform social scientists and policy makers to help reduce the escalation of intergroup conflict and promote intergroup cooperation. The critical role of the media and public figures in these unprecedented times is highlighted as an important factor to achieve these goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dorottya Lantos
- Centre for Longitudinal Studies, Social Research Institute, University College London, United Kingdom.
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14
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Handley G, Kubota JT, Li T, Cloutier J. Impact of interracial contact on inferring mental states from facial expressions. ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE 2021; 8:202137. [PMID: 34295514 PMCID: PMC8292755 DOI: 10.1098/rsos.202137] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Although decades of research have shown that intergroup contact critically impacts person perception and evaluation, little is known about how contact shapes the ability to infer others' mental states from facial cues (commonly referred to as mentalizing). In a pair of studies, we demonstrated that interracial contact and motivation to attend to faces jointly influence White perceivers' ability to infer mental states based on facial expressions displaying secondary emotions from both White targets alone (study 1) and White and Black targets (study 2; pre-registered). Consistent with previous work on the effect of motivation and interracial contact on other-race face memory, we found that motivation and interracial contact interacted to shape perceivers' accuracy at inferring mental states from secondary emotions. When motivated to attend to the task, high-contact White perceivers were more accurate at inferring both Black and White targets' mental states; unexpectedly, the opposite was true for low-contact perceivers. Importantly, the target race did not interact with interracial contact, suggesting that contact is associated with general changes in mentalizing irrespective of target race. These findings expand the theoretical understanding and implications of contact for fundamental social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Handley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, DE, USA
| | - Jennifer T. Kubota
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, DE, USA
- Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware, DE, USA
| | - Tianyi Li
- College of Business Administration, University of Illinois Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Jasmin Cloutier
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, DE, USA
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Workman CI, Humphries S, Hartung F, Aguirre GK, Kable JW, Chatterjee A. Morality is in the eye of the beholder: the neurocognitive basis of the "anomalous-is-bad" stereotype. Ann N Y Acad Sci 2021; 1494:3-17. [PMID: 33565114 PMCID: PMC8247878 DOI: 10.1111/nyas.14575] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/26/2020] [Revised: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 01/23/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Are people with flawed faces regarded as having flawed moral characters? An "anomalous-is-bad" stereotype is hypothesized to facilitate negative biases against people with facial anomalies (e.g., scars), but whether and how these biases affect behavior and brain functioning remain open questions. We examined responses to anomalous faces in the brain (using a visual oddball paradigm), behavior (in economic games), and attitudes. At the level of the brain, the amygdala demonstrated a specific neural response to anomalous faces-sensitive to disgust and a lack of beauty but independent of responses to salience or arousal. At the level of behavior, people with anomalous faces were subjected to less prosociality from participants highest in socioeconomic status. At the level of attitudes, we replicated previously reported negative character evaluations made about individuals with facial anomalies, and further identified explicit biases directed against them as a group. Across these levels of organization, the specific amygdala response to facial anomalies correlated with stronger just-world beliefs (i.e., people get what they deserve), less dispositional empathic concern, and less prosociality toward people with facial anomalies. Characterizing the "anomalous-is-bad" stereotype at multiple levels of organization can reveal underappreciated psychological burdens shouldered by people who look different.
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Affiliation(s)
- Clifford I. Workman
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Brain Science CenterUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Center for NeuroaestheticsUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
| | - Stacey Humphries
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Brain Science CenterUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Center for NeuroaestheticsUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
| | - Franziska Hartung
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Brain Science CenterUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Center for NeuroaestheticsUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
| | | | - Joseph W. Kable
- Penn Brain Science CenterUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Center for NeuroaestheticsUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
| | - Anjan Chatterjee
- Department of NeurologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Brain Science CenterUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
- Penn Center for NeuroaestheticsUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvania
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Ho SS, Nakamura Y, Swain JE. Compassion As an Intervention to Attune to Universal Suffering of Self and Others in Conflicts: A Translational Framework. Front Psychol 2021; 11:603385. [PMID: 33505336 PMCID: PMC7829669 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.603385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2020] [Accepted: 12/09/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
As interpersonal, racial, social, and international conflicts intensify in the world, it is important to safeguard the mental health of individuals affected by them. According to a Buddhist notion "if you want others to be happy, practice compassion; if you want to be happy, practice compassion," compassion practice is an intervention to cultivate conflict-proof well-being. Here, compassion practice refers to a form of concentrated meditation wherein a practitioner attunes to friend, enemy, and someone in between, thinking, "I'm going to help them (equally)." The compassion meditation is based on Buddhist philosophy that mental suffering is rooted in conceptual thoughts that give rise to generic mental images of self and others and subsequent biases to preserve one's egoism, blocking the ultimate nature of mind. To contextualize compassion meditation scientifically, we adopted a Bayesian active inference framework to incorporate relevant Buddhist concepts, including mind (buddhi), compassion (karuna), aggregates (skandhas), suffering (duhkha), reification (samaropa), conceptual thoughts (vikalpa), and superimposition (prapañca). In this framework, a person is considered a Bayesian Engine that actively constructs phenomena based on the aggregates of forms, sensations, discriminations, actions, and consciousness. When the person embodies rigid beliefs about self and others' identities (identity-grasping beliefs) and the resulting ego-preserving bias, the person's Bayesian Engine malfunctions, failing to use prediction errors to update prior beliefs. To counter this problem, after recognizing the causes of sufferings, a practitioner of the compassion meditation aims to attune to all others equally, friends and enemies alike, suspend identity-based conceptual thoughts, and eventually let go of any identity-grasping belief and ego-preserving bias that obscure reality. We present a brain model for the Bayesian Engine of three components: (a) Relation-Modeling, (b) Reality-Checking, and (c) Conflict-Alarming, which are subserved by (a) the Default-Mode Network (DMN), (b) Frontoparietal Network (FPN) and Ventral Attention Network (VAN), and (c) Salience Network (SN), respectively. Upon perceiving conflicts, the strengthening or weakening of ego-preserving bias will critically depend on whether the SN up-regulates the DMN or FPN/VAN, respectively. We propose that compassion meditation can strengthen brain regions that are conducive for suspending prior beliefs and enhancing the attunements to the counterparts in conflicts.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. Shaun Ho
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
| | - Yoshio Nakamura
- Department of Anesthesiology, Division of Pain Medicine, Pain Research Center, University of Utah School of Medicine, Salt Lake City, UT, United States
| | - James E. Swain
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, United States
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Bagnis A, Caffo E, Cipolli C, De Palma A, Farina G, Mattarozzi K. Judging health care priority in emergency situations: Patient facial appearance matters. Soc Sci Med 2020; 260:113180. [PMID: 32682206 DOI: 10.1016/j.socscimed.2020.113180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Revised: 05/20/2020] [Accepted: 06/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE Extensive research has shown that implicit trait inferences from facial appearance can bias everyday life in a pervasive way, influencing our decisions in different social contexts such as mate choice, political vote and criminal sentence. In situations characterized by time pressure and scant information, decisions based on inferences from facial appearance may have particularly critical and serious consequences, such as in emergency healthcare. No studies today have investigated this aspect in an actual emergency. OBJECTIVE The aim of the present study was to go beyond this gap and to determine whether implicit inferences from patients' facial appearance could be predictive of disparities in clinical evaluations and priority of treatment. METHODS In total, 183 cases of patients were evaluated by independent judges at zero acquaintance on the basis of different implicit facial appearance-based inferences, including trustworthiness and distress. Color-based priority code (White, Green, or Yellow) attributed by the triage nurse at the end of the registration process were recorded. RESULTS Our results showed that more trustworthy- and distressed- looking patients' faces have been associated with a higher priority code. CONCLUSIONS The present study shows that specific facial appearance-based inferences influence the attribution of priority code in healthcare that require quick decisions based on scarce clinical information such as in emergency. These results suggest the importance to bring to the attention of the healthcare professionals' the possibility of being victims of implicit inferences, and prompt to design educational interventions capable to increase their awareness of this bias in clinical evaluation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arianna Bagnis
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialistic Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Italy.
| | - Ernesto Caffo
- Department of Biomedical, Metabolic and Neural Sciences, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Italy
| | - Carlo Cipolli
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialistic Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Italy
| | | | - Gabriele Farina
- Department of Emergency, Medicina d'Urgenza e Pronto Soccorso, Policlinico S. Orsola-Malpighi, Bologna, Italy
| | - Katia Mattarozzi
- Department of Experimental, Diagnostic and Specialistic Medicine, Alma Mater Studiorum University of Bologna, Italy
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