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Rippon G. Differently different?: A commentary on the emerging social cognitive neuroscience of female autism. Biol Sex Differ 2024; 15:49. [PMID: 38872228 DOI: 10.1186/s13293-024-00621-3] [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: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 05/23/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Autism is a neurodevelopmental condition, behaviourally identified, which is generally characterised by social communication differences, and restrictive and repetitive patterns of behaviour and interests. It has long been claimed that it is more common in males. This observed preponderance of males in autistic populations has served as a focussing framework in all spheres of autism-related issues, from recognition and diagnosis through to theoretical models and research agendas. One related issue is the near total absence of females in key research areas. For example, this paper reports a review of over 120 brain-imaging studies of social brain processes in autism that reveals that nearly 70% only included male participants or minimal numbers (just one or two) of females. Authors of such studies very rarely report that their cohorts are virtually female-free and discuss their findings as though applicable to all autistic individuals. The absence of females can be linked to exclusionary consequences of autism diagnostic procedures, which have mainly been developed on male-only cohorts. There is clear evidence that disproportionately large numbers of females do not meet diagnostic criteria and are then excluded from ongoing autism research. Another issue is a long-standing assumption that the female autism phenotype is broadly equivalent to that of the male autism phenotype. Thus, models derived from male-based studies could be applicable to females. However, it is now emerging that certain patterns of social behaviour may be very different in females. This includes a specific type of social behaviour called camouflaging or masking, linked to attempts to disguise autistic characteristics. With respect to research in the field of sex/gender cognitive neuroscience, there is emerging evidence of female differences in patterns of connectivity and/or activation in the social brain that are at odds with those reported in previous, male-only studies. Decades of research have excluded or overlooked females on the autistic spectrum, resulting in the construction of inaccurate and misleading cognitive neuroscience models, and missed opportunities to explore the brain bases of this highly complex condition. A note of warning needs to be sounded about inferences drawn from past research, but if future research addresses this problem of male bias, then a deeper understanding of autism as a whole, as well as in previously overlooked females, will start to emerge.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gina Rippon
- Emeritus of Cognitive NeuroImaging, Institute of Health and Neurodevelopment, College of Health and Life Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, B4 7ET, UK.
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2
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Suthaharan P, Thompson SL, Rossi-Goldthorpe RA, Rudebeck PH, Walton ME, Chakraborty S, Noonan MP, Costa VD, Murray EA, Mathys CD, Groman SM, Mitchell AS, Taylor JR, Corlett PR, Chang SWC. Lesions to the mediodorsal thalamus, but not orbitofrontal cortex, enhance volatility beliefs linked to paranoia. Cell Rep 2024; 43:114355. [PMID: 38870010 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2024.114355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 04/13/2024] [Accepted: 05/29/2024] [Indexed: 06/15/2024] Open
Abstract
Beliefs-attitudes toward some state of the environment-guide action selection and should be robust to variability but sensitive to meaningful change. Beliefs about volatility (expectation of change) are associated with paranoia in humans, but the brain regions responsible for volatility beliefs remain unknown. The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is central to adaptive behavior, whereas the magnocellular mediodorsal thalamus (MDmc) is essential for arbitrating between perceptions and action policies. We assessed belief updating in a three-choice probabilistic reversal learning task following excitotoxic lesions of the MDmc (n = 3) or OFC (n = 3) and compared performance with that of unoperated monkeys (n = 14). Computational analyses indicated a double dissociation: MDmc, but not OFC, lesions were associated with erratic switching behavior and heightened volatility belief (as in paranoia in humans), whereas OFC, but not MDmc, lesions were associated with increased lose-stay behavior and reward learning rates. Given the consilience across species and models, these results have implications for understanding paranoia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Praveen Suthaharan
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Rosa A Rossi-Goldthorpe
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | | | - Mark E Walton
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK
| | - Subhojit Chakraborty
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK; NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, Moorfields Eye Hospital NHS Foundation Trust and UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, London EC1V 9EL, UK
| | - Maryann P Noonan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK; Department of Psychology, University of York, York, UK
| | - Vincent D Costa
- Division of Neuroscience, Oregon National Primate Research Center, Oregon Health and Science University, Beaverton, OR, USA
| | | | - Christoph D Mathys
- Interacting Minds Centre, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark; Translational Neuromodeling Unit (TNU), Institute for Biomedical Engineering, University of Zurich and ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Stephanie M Groman
- Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, University of Minnesota Medical School, Minneapolis, MN, USA; Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Anna S Mitchell
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, UK; School of Psychology, Speech, and Hearing, University of Canterbury, Christchurch, New Zealand
| | - Jane R Taylor
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA
| | - Philip R Corlett
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, USA; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
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3
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Saulin A, Ting CC, Engelmann JB, Hein G. Connected in Bad Times and in Good Times: Empathy Induces Stable Social Closeness. J Neurosci 2024; 44:e1108232024. [PMID: 38684367 PMCID: PMC11154854 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1108-23.2024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/15/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2024] [Accepted: 03/21/2024] [Indexed: 05/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans need social closeness to prosper. There is evidence that empathy can induce social closeness. However, it remains unclear how empathy-related social closeness is formed and how stable it is as time passes. We applied an acquisition-extinction paradigm combined with computational modeling and fMRI, to investigate the formation and stability of empathy-related social closeness. Female participants observed painful stimulation of another person with high probability (acquisition) and low probability (extinction) and rated their closeness to that person. The results of two independent studies showed increased social closeness in the acquisition block that resisted extinction in the extinction block. Providing insights into underlying mechanisms, reinforcement learning modeling revealed that the formation of social closeness is based on a learning signal (prediction error) generated from observing another's pain, whereas maintaining social closeness is based on a learning signal generated from observing another's pain relief. The results of a reciprocity control study indicate that this feedback recalibration is specific to learning of empathy-related social closeness. On the neural level, the recalibration of the feedback signal was associated with neural responses in anterior insula and adjacent inferior frontal gyrus and the bilateral superior temporal sulcus/temporoparietal junction. Together, these findings show that empathy-related social closeness generated in bad times, that is, empathy with the misfortune of another person, transfers to good times and thus may form one important basis for stable social relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Saulin
- Department of Psychiatry, Center of Mental Health, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg 97080, Germany
| | - Chih-Chung Ting
- Department of Psychology, Universität Hamburg, Hamburg 20246, Germany
| | - Jan B Engelmann
- Center for Research in Experimental Economics and Political Decision Making, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1001, The Netherlands
- Amsterdam Brain and Cognition, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam 1001, The Netherlands
- Behavioral and Experimental Economics, The Tinbergen Institute, Amsterdam 1082, The Netherlands
| | - Grit Hein
- Department of Psychiatry, Center of Mental Health, Psychosomatic and Psychotherapy, Translational Social Neuroscience Unit, University Hospital Würzburg, Würzburg 97080, Germany
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Rouse MA, Binney RJ, Patterson K, Rowe JB, Lambon Ralph MA. A neuroanatomical and cognitive model of impaired social behaviour in frontotemporal dementia. Brain 2024; 147:1953-1966. [PMID: 38334506 PMCID: PMC11146431 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awae040] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2023] [Revised: 12/21/2023] [Accepted: 01/21/2024] [Indexed: 02/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Impaired social cognition is a core deficit in frontotemporal dementia (FTD). It is most commonly associated with the behavioural-variant of FTD, with atrophy of the orbitofrontal and ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Social cognitive changes are also common in semantic dementia, with atrophy centred on the anterior temporal lobes. The impairment of social behaviour in FTD has typically been attributed to damage to the orbitofrontal cortex and/or temporal poles and/or the uncinate fasciculus that connects them. However, the relative contributions of each region are unresolved. In this review, we present a unified neurocognitive model of controlled social behaviour that not only explains the observed impairment of social behaviours in FTD, but also assimilates both consistent and potentially contradictory findings from other patient groups, comparative neurology and normative cognitive neuroscience. We propose that impaired social behaviour results from damage to two cognitively- and anatomically-distinct components. The first component is social-semantic knowledge, a part of the general semantic-conceptual system supported by the anterior temporal lobes bilaterally. The second component is social control, supported by the orbitofrontal cortex, medial frontal cortex and ventrolateral frontal cortex, which interacts with social-semantic knowledge to guide and shape social behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A Rouse
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
| | - Richard J Binney
- Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Department of Psychology, School of Human and Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor LL57 2AS, UK
| | - Karalyn Patterson
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - James B Rowe
- MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 7EF, UK
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
- Department of Neurology, Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
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Gabay AS, Pisauro A, O’Nell KC, Apps MAJ. Social environment-based opportunity costs dictate when people leave social interactions. COMMUNICATIONS PSYCHOLOGY 2024; 2:42. [PMID: 38737130 PMCID: PMC11081926 DOI: 10.1038/s44271-024-00094-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2023] [Accepted: 04/23/2024] [Indexed: 05/14/2024]
Abstract
There is an ever-increasing understanding of the cognitive mechanisms underlying how we process others' behaviours during social interactions. However, little is known about how people decide when to leave an interaction. Are these decisions shaped by alternatives in the environment - the opportunity-costs of connecting to other people? Here, participants chose when to leave partners who treated them with varying degrees of fairness, and connect to others, in social environments with different opportunity-costs. Across four studies we find people leave partners more quickly when opportunity-costs are high, both the average fairness of people in the environment and the effort required to connect to another partner. People's leaving times were accounted for by a fairness-adapted evidence accumulation model, and modulated by depression and loneliness scores. These findings demonstrate the computational processes underlying decisions to leave, and highlight atypical social time allocations as a marker of poor mental health.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony S. Gabay
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Andrea Pisauro
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - Kathryn C. O’Nell
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Matthew A. J. Apps
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Christ Church, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
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Gilbert P. Threat, safety, safeness and social safeness 30 years on: Fundamental dimensions and distinctions for mental health and well-being. BRITISH JOURNAL OF CLINICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2024. [PMID: 38698734 DOI: 10.1111/bjc.12466] [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: 10/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/18/2024] [Indexed: 05/05/2024]
Abstract
In 1993, the British Journal of Clinical Psychology published my paper titled 'Defence and safety: Their function in social behaviour and psychopathology'. The paper highlights that to understand people's sensitivity to threat, we also need to understand their ability to identify what is safe. This paper offers an update on these concepts, highlighting distinctions that were implicit but not clearly defined at the time. Hence, the paper seeks to clarify distinctions between: (i) threat detection and response, (ii) safety and safety seeking, (iii) safeness and (iv) their social and non-social functions and forms. Threat detection and response are to prevent or minimize harm (e.g., run from a predator or fire). Safety checking relates to monitoring for the absence and avoidance of threat, while safety seeking links to the destination of the defensive behaviour (e.g., running home). Safety seeking also relates to maintaining vigilance to the appearance of potential harms and doing things believed to avoid harm. Threat-defending and safety checking and seeking are regulated primarily through evolved threat processing systems that monitor the nature, presence, controllability and/or absence of threat (e.g., amygdala and sympathetic nervous system). Safeness uses different monitoring systems via different psychophysiological systems (e.g., prefrontal cortex, parasympathetic system) for the presence of internal and external resources that support threat-coping, risk-taking, resource exploration. Creating brain states that recruit safeness processing can impact how standard evidence-based therapies (e.g., exposure, distress tolerance and reappraisal) are experienced and produce long-term change.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul Gilbert
- Centre of Compassion Research and Training, College of Health and Social Care Research Centre, University of Derby, Derby, UK
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7
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Jansen M, Overgaauw S, de Bruijn ERA. L-DOPA and oxytocin influence the neural correlates of performance monitoring for self and others. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2024; 241:1079-1092. [PMID: 38286857 PMCID: PMC11031497 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-024-06541-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2023] [Accepted: 01/20/2024] [Indexed: 01/31/2024]
Abstract
RATIONALE The ability to monitor the consequences of our actions for others is imperative for flexible and adaptive behavior, and allows us to act in a (pro)social manner. Yet, little is known about the neurochemical mechanisms underlying alterations in (pro)social performance monitoring. OBJECTIVE The aim of this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study was to improve our understanding of the role of dopamine and oxytocin and their potential overlap in the neural mechanisms underlying performance monitoring for own versus others' outcomes. METHOD Using a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design, 30 healthy male volunteers were administered oxytocin (24 international units), the dopamine precursor L-DOPA (100 mg + 25 mg carbidopa), or placebo in three sessions. Participants performed a computerized cannon shooting game in two recipient conditions where mistakes resulted in negative monetary consequences for (1) oneself or (2) an anonymous other participant. RESULTS Results indicated reduced error-correct differentiation in the ventral striatum after L-DOPA compared to placebo, independent of recipient. Hence, pharmacological manipulation of dopamine via L-DOPA modulated performance-monitoring activity in a brain region associated with reward prediction and processing in a domain-general manner. In contrast, oxytocin modulated the BOLD response in a recipient-specific manner, such that it specifically enhanced activity for errors that affected the other in the pregenual anterior cingulate cortex (pgACC), a region previously implicated in the processing of social rewards and prediction errors. Behaviorally, we also found reduced target sizes-indicative of better performance-after oxytocin, regardless of recipient. Moreover, after oxytocin lower target sizes specifically predicted higher pgACC activity when performing for others. CONCLUSIONS These different behavioral and neural patterns after oxytocin compared to L-DOPA administration highlight a divergent role of each neurochemical in modulating the neural mechanisms underlying social performance monitoring.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myrthe Jansen
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Sandy Overgaauw
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen R A de Bruijn
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, The Netherlands
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Sazhin D, Wyngaarden JB, Dennison JB, Zaff O, Fareri D, McCloskey MS, Alloy LB, Jarcho JM, Smith DV. Trait Reward Sensitivity Modulates Connectivity with the Temporoparietal Junction and Anterior Insula during Strategic Decision Making. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2023.10.19.563125. [PMID: 37904967 PMCID: PMC10614961 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.19.563125] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Many decisions happen in social contexts such as negotiations, yet little is understood about how people balance fairness versus selfishness. Past investigations found that activation in brain areas involved in executive function and reward processing was associated with people offering less with no threat of rejection from their partner, compared to offering more when there was a threat of rejection. However, it remains unclear how trait reward sensitivity may modulate activation and connectivity patterns in these situations. To address this gap, we used task-based fMRI to examine the relation between reward sensitivity and the neural correlates of bargaining choices. Participants (N = 54) completed the Sensitivity to Punishment (SP)/Sensitivity to Reward (SR) Questionnaire and the Behavioral Inhibition System/Behavioral Activation System scales. Participants performed the Ultimatum and Dictator Games as proposers and exhibited strategic decisions by being fair when there was a threat of rejection, but being selfish when there was not a threat of rejection. We found that strategic decisions evoked activation in the Inferior Frontal Gyrus (IFG) and the Anterior Insula (AI). Next, we found elevated IFG connectivity with the Temporoparietal junction (TPJ) during strategic decisions. Finally, we explored whether trait reward sensitivity modulated brain responses while making strategic decisions. We found that people who scored lower in reward sensitivity made less strategic choices when they exhibited higher AI-Angular Gyrus connectivity. Taken together, our results demonstrate how trait reward sensitivity modulates neural responses to strategic decisions, potentially underscoring the importance of this factor within social and decision neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniel Sazhin
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - James B. Wyngaarden
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jeff B. Dennison
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Ori Zaff
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Dominic Fareri
- Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA
| | - Michael S. McCloskey
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren B. Alloy
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Johanna M. Jarcho
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David V. Smith
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
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Jernigan CM, Freiwald WA, Sheehan MJ. Neural correlates of individual facial recognition in a social wasp. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.04.11.589095. [PMID: 38659842 PMCID: PMC11042187 DOI: 10.1101/2024.04.11.589095] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Individual recognition is critical for social behavior across species. Whether recognition is mediated by circuits specialized for social information processing has been a matter of debate. Here we examine the neurobiological underpinning of individual visual facial recognition in Polistes fuscatus paper wasps. Front-facing images of conspecific wasps broadly increase activity across many brain regions relative to other stimuli. Notably, we identify a localized subpopulation of neurons in the protocerebrum which show specialized selectivity for front-facing wasp images, which we term wasp cells. These wasp cells encode information regarding the facial patterns, with ensemble activity correlating with facial identity. Wasp cells are strikingly analogous to face cells in primates, indicating that specialized circuits are likely an adaptive feature of neural architecture to support visual recognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christopher M. Jernigan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University; Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
| | - Winrich A. Freiwald
- Laboratory of Neural Systems, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY 10065, USA
| | - Michael J. Sheehan
- Laboratory for Animal Social Evolution and Recognition, Department of Neurobiology and Behavior, Cornell University; Ithaca, NY, 14853, USA
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Philippe R, Janet R, Khalvati K, Rao RPN, Lee D, Dreher JC. Neurocomputational mechanisms involved in adaptation to fluctuating intentions of others. Nat Commun 2024; 15:3189. [PMID: 38609372 PMCID: PMC11014977 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47491-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2022] [Accepted: 03/12/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Humans frequently interact with agents whose intentions can fluctuate between competition and cooperation over time. It is unclear how the brain adapts to fluctuating intentions of others when the nature of the interactions (to cooperate or compete) is not explicitly and truthfully signaled. Here, we use model-based fMRI and a task in which participants thought they were playing with another player. In fact, they played with an algorithm that alternated without signaling between cooperative and competitive strategies. We show that a neurocomputational mechanism with arbitration between competitive and cooperative experts outperforms other learning models in predicting choice behavior. At the brain level, the fMRI results show that the ventral striatum and ventromedial prefrontal cortex track the difference of reliability between these experts. When attributing competitive intentions, we find increased coupling between these regions and a network that distinguishes prediction errors related to competition and cooperation. These findings provide a neurocomputational account of how the brain arbitrates dynamically between cooperative and competitive intentions when making adaptive social decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rémi Philippe
- CNRS-Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR5229, Neuroeconomics, reward, and decision making laboratory, Lyon, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Rémi Janet
- CNRS-Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR5229, Neuroeconomics, reward, and decision making laboratory, Lyon, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France
| | - Koosha Khalvati
- Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Rajesh P N Rao
- Paul G. Allen School of Computer Science and Engineering, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
- Center for Neurotechnology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA
| | - Daeyeol Lee
- Zanvyl Krieger Mind/Brain Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Kavli Discovery Neuroscience Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, USA
| | - Jean-Claude Dreher
- CNRS-Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, UMR5229, Neuroeconomics, reward, and decision making laboratory, Lyon, France.
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, Lyon, France.
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Luppi AI, Rosas FE, Noonan MP, Mediano PAM, Kringelbach ML, Carhart-Harris RL, Stamatakis EA, Vernon AC, Turkheimer FE. Oxygen and the Spark of Human Brain Evolution: Complex Interactions of Metabolism and Cortical Expansion across Development and Evolution. Neuroscientist 2024; 30:173-198. [PMID: 36476177 DOI: 10.1177/10738584221138032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/17/2024]
Abstract
Scientific theories on the functioning and dysfunction of the human brain require an understanding of its development-before and after birth and through maturation to adulthood-and its evolution. Here we bring together several accounts of human brain evolution by focusing on the central role of oxygen and brain metabolism. We argue that evolutionary expansion of human transmodal association cortices exceeded the capacity of oxygen delivery by the vascular system, which led these brain tissues to rely on nonoxidative glycolysis for additional energy supply. We draw a link between the resulting lower oxygen tension and its effect on cytoarchitecture, which we posit as a key driver of genetic developmental programs for the human brain-favoring lower intracortical myelination and the presence of biosynthetic materials for synapse turnover. Across biological and temporal scales, this protracted capacity for neural plasticity sets the conditions for cognitive flexibility and ongoing learning, supporting complex group dynamics and intergenerational learning that in turn enabled improved nutrition to fuel the metabolic costs of further cortical expansion. Our proposed model delineates explicit mechanistic links among metabolism, molecular and cellular brain heterogeneity, and behavior, which may lead toward a clearer understanding of brain development and its disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea I Luppi
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Leverhulme Centre for the Future of Intelligence, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- The Alan Turing Institute, London, UK
| | - Fernando E Rosas
- Department of Informatics, University of Sussex, Brighton, UK
- Centre for Psychedelic Research, Department of Brain Science, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Centre for Complexity Science, Imperial College London, London, UK
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - MaryAnn P Noonan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Pedro A M Mediano
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
- Department of Psychology, Queen Mary University of London, London, UK
- Department of Computing, Imperial College London, London, UK
| | - Morten L Kringelbach
- Centre for Eudaimonia and Human Flourishing, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Robin L Carhart-Harris
- Psychedelics Division-Neuroscape, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Emmanuel A Stamatakis
- Department of Clinical Neurosciences and Division of Anaesthesia, School of Clinical Medicine, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Anthony C Vernon
- MRC Centre for Neurodevelopmental Disorders, King's College London, London, UK
- Department of Basic and Clinical Neuroscience, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
| | - Federico E Turkheimer
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK
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12
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Santiago AF, Kosilo M, Cogoni C, Diogo V, Jerónimo R, Prata D. Oxytocin modulates neural activity during early perceptual salience attribution. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2024; 161:106950. [PMID: 38194846 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2023.106950] [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: 08/20/2023] [Revised: 12/18/2023] [Accepted: 12/24/2023] [Indexed: 01/11/2024]
Abstract
Leading hypotheses of oxytocin's (OT) role in human cognition posit that it enhances salience attribution. However, whether OT exerts its effects predominantly in social (vs non-social) contexts remains debatable, and the time-course of intranasal OT's effects' on salience attribution processing is still unknown. We used the social Salience Attribution Task modified (sSAT) in a double-blind, placebo-controlled intranasal OT (inOT) administration, between-subjects design, with 54 male participants, to test existing theories of OT's role in cognition. Namely, we aimed to test whether inOT would differently affect salience attribution processing of social stimuli (expressing fearfulness) and non-social stimuli (fruits) made relevant via monetary reinforcement, and its neural processing time-course. During electroencephalography (EEG) recording, participants made speeded responses to emotional social (fearful faces) and non-emotional non-social (fruits) stimuli - which were matched for task-relevant motivational salience through their (color-dependent) probability of monetary reinforcement. InOT affected early (rather than late, P3b and LPP) EEG components, increasing N170 amplitude (p = .041) and P2b latency (p .001; albeit not of P1), regardless of stimuli's (emotional) socialness or reinforcement probability. Fear-related socialness affected salience attribution processing EEG (p .05) across time (N170, P2b and P3b), being later modulated by reinforcement probability (LPP). Our data suggest that OT's effects on neural activity during early perception, may exist irrespective of fear-related social- or reward-contexts. This partially supports the tri-phasic model of OT (which posits OT enhances salience attribution in an early perception stage regardless of socialness), and not the social salience nor the general approach-withdrawal hypotheses of OT, for early salience processing event-related potentials.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andreia F Santiago
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; William James Center for Research, ISPA - Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Maciej Kosilo
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Carlotta Cogoni
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Vasco Diogo
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Iscte-IUL), CIS_Iscte, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Rita Jerónimo
- Instituto Universitário de Lisboa (Iscte-IUL), CIS_Iscte, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Diana Prata
- Instituto de Biofísica e Engenharia Biomédica, Faculdade de Ciências da Universidade de Lisboa, Lisbon, Portugal; Department of Old Age Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, UK.
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13
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Vogel T, Lockwood PL. Normative Processing Needs Multiple Levels of Explanation: From Algorithm to Implementation. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2024; 19:53-56. [PMID: 37506338 PMCID: PMC10790501 DOI: 10.1177/17456916231187393] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/30/2023]
Abstract
Norms are the rules about what is allowed or forbidden by social groups. A key debate for norm psychology is whether these rules arise from mechanisms that are domain-specific and genetically inherited or domain-general and deployed for many other nonnorm processes. Here we argue for the importance of assessing and testing domain-specific and domain-general processes at multiple levels of explanation, from algorithmic (psychological) to implementational (neural). We also critically discuss findings from cognitive neuroscience supporting that social and nonsocial learning processes, essential for accounts of cultural evolution, can be dissociated at these two levels. This multilevel framework can generate new hypotheses and empirical tests of cultural evolution accounts of norm processing against purely domain-specific nativist alternatives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Todd Vogel
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham
| | - Patricia L. Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham
- Centre for Developmental Science, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham
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14
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Casartelli L, Maronati C, Cavallo A. From neural noise to co-adaptability: Rethinking the multifaceted architecture of motor variability. Phys Life Rev 2023; 47:245-263. [PMID: 37976727 DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2023.10.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023]
Abstract
In the last decade, the source and the functional meaning of motor variability have attracted considerable attention in behavioral and brain sciences. This construct classically combined different levels of description, variable internal robustness or coherence, and multifaceted operational meanings. We provide here a comprehensive review of the literature with the primary aim of building a precise lexicon that goes beyond the generic and monolithic use of motor variability. In the pars destruens of the work, we model three domains of motor variability related to peculiar computational elements that influence fluctuations in motor outputs. Each domain is in turn characterized by multiple sub-domains. We begin with the domains of noise and differentiation. However, the main contribution of our model concerns the domain of adaptability, which refers to variation within the same exact motor representation. In particular, we use the terms learning and (social)fitting to specify the portions of motor variability that depend on our propensity to learn and on our largely constitutive propensity to be influenced by external factors. A particular focus is on motor variability in the context of the sub-domain named co-adaptability. Further groundbreaking challenges arise in the modeling of motor variability. Therefore, in a separate pars construens, we attempt to characterize these challenges, addressing both theoretical and experimental aspects as well as potential clinical implications for neurorehabilitation. All in all, our work suggests that motor variability is neither simply detrimental nor beneficial, and that studying its fluctuations can provide meaningful insights for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luca Casartelli
- Theoretical and Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, Scientific Institute IRCCS E. MEDEA, Italy
| | - Camilla Maronati
- Move'n'Brains Lab, Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy
| | - Andrea Cavallo
- Move'n'Brains Lab, Department of Psychology, Università degli Studi di Torino, Italy; C'MoN Unit, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy.
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15
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Burke T, Holleran L, Mothersill D, Lyons J, O'Rourke N, Gleeson C, Cannon DM, McKernan DP, Morris DW, Kelly JP, Hallahan B, McDonald C, Donohoe G. Bilateral anterior corona radiata microstructure organisation relates to impaired social cognition in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2023; 262:87-94. [PMID: 37931564 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2023.10.035] [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: 02/20/2023] [Revised: 09/25/2023] [Accepted: 10/28/2023] [Indexed: 11/08/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The Corona Radiata (CR) is a large white matter tract in the brain comprising of the anterior CR (aCR), superior CR (sCR), and posterior CR (pCR), which have associations with cognition, self-regulation, and, in schizophrenia, positive symptom severity. This study tested the hypothesis that the microstructural organisation of the aCR, as measured by Fractional Anisotropy (FA) using Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), would relate to poorer social cognitive outcomes and higher positive symptom severity for people with schizophrenia, when compared to healthy participants. We further hypothesised that increased positive symptoms would relate to poorer social cognitive outcomes. METHODS Data were derived from n = 178 healthy participants (41 % females; 36.11 ± 12.36 years) and 58 people with schizophrenia (30 % females; 42.4 ± 11.1 years). The Positive and Negative Symptom Severity Scale measured clinical symptom severity. Social Cognition was measured using the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) Total Score, as well as the Positive, Neutral, and Negative stimuli valence. The ENIGMA-DTI protocol tract-based spatial statistics (TBSS) was used. RESULTS There was a significant difference in FA for the CR, in individuals with schizophrenia compared to healthy participants. On stratification, both the aCR and pCR were significantly different between groups, with patients showing reduced white matter tract microstructural organisation. Significant negative correlations were observed between positive symptomatology and reduced microstructural organisation of the aCR. Performance for RMET negative valence items was significantly correlated bilaterally with the aCR, but not the sCR or pCR, and no relationship to positive symptoms was observed. CONCLUSIONS These data highlight specific and significant microstructural white-matter differences for people with schizophrenia, which relates to positive clinical symptomology and poorer performance on social cognition stimuli. While reduced FA is associated with higher positive symptomatology in schizophrenia, this study shows the specific associated with anterior frontal white matter tracts and reduced social cognitive performance. The aCR may have a specific role to play in frontal-disconnection syndromes, psychosis, and social cognitive profile within schizophrenia, though further research requires more sensitive, specific, and detailed consideration of social cognition outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tom Burke
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Laurena Holleran
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - David Mothersill
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Psychology Department, School of Business, National College of, Ireland
| | - James Lyons
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Nathan O'Rourke
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Christina Gleeson
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Dara M Cannon
- Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Clinical Neuroimaging Laboratory, Galway Neuroscience Centre, College of Medicine Nursing and Health Sciences, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - Declan P McKernan
- Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Galway Neuroscience Centre, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 W5P7 Galway, Ireland
| | - Derek W Morris
- Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland
| | - John P Kelly
- Pharmacology & Therapeutics and Galway Neuroscience Centre, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 W5P7 Galway, Ireland
| | - Brian Hallahan
- Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Science Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland
| | - Colm McDonald
- Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Department of Psychiatry, Clinical Science Institute, National University of Ireland Galway, H91 TK33 Galway, Ireland
| | - Gary Donohoe
- School of Psychology, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland; Center for Neuroimaging Cognition and Genomics, University of Galway, Galway, Ireland.
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16
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Ciranka S, Hertwig R. Environmental statistics and experience shape risk-taking across adolescence. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:1123-1134. [PMID: 37739921 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2023.08.020] [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: 04/30/2023] [Revised: 08/29/2023] [Accepted: 08/30/2023] [Indexed: 09/24/2023]
Abstract
Adolescents are often portrayed as reckless risk-takers because of their immature brains. Recent research has cast doubt on this portrayal, identifying the environment as a moderator of risk-taking. However, the key features of environments that drive risk-taking behaviors are often underspecified. We call for greater attention to the environment by drawing on research showing that its statistical structure impacts future risk-taking as people learn from outcomes they experience after taking a risk. This opinion shows that adolescents are unlikely to experience harm from many risks because environmental statistics are skewed and favor safe experiences. Environmental statistics and experience suggest entry points for policy interventions by carefully timing risk warnings and leveraging peers' potential to shape the statistics of rewarding experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Ciranka
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Ralph Hertwig
- Center for Adaptive Rationality, Max Planck Institute for Human Development, Lentzeallee 94, 14195 Berlin, Germany
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17
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Sweijen SW, van de Groep S, Te Brinke LW, Fuligni AJ, Crone EA. Neural Mechanisms Underlying Trust to Friends, Community Members, and Unknown Peers in Adolescence. J Cogn Neurosci 2023; 35:1936-1959. [PMID: 37713673 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_02055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 09/17/2023]
Abstract
Trust plays an important role during adolescence for developing social relations. Although prior developmental studies give us insight into adolescents' development of differentiation between close (e.g., friends) and unknown (e.g., unknown peers) targets in trust choices, less is known about the development of trust to societal targets (e.g., members of a community organization) and its underlying neural mechanisms. Using a modified version of the Trust Game, our preregistered fMRI study examined the underlying neural mechanisms of trust to close (friend), societal (community member), and unknown others (unknown peer) during adolescence in 106 participants (aged 12-23 years). Adolescents showed most trust to friends, less trust to community members, and the least trust to unknown peers. Neural results show that target differentiation in adolescents' trust behavior is associated with activity in social brain regions implicated during mentalizing, reward processing, and cognitive control. Recruitment of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and OFC was higher for closer targets (i.e., friend and community member). For the mPFC, this effect was most pronounced during no trust choices. Trust to friends was additionally associated with increased activity in the precuneus and bilateral temporal parietal junction. In contrast, bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex were most active for trust to unknown peers. The mPFC showed increased activity with age and consistent relations with individual differences in feeling needed/useful.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie W Sweijen
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands
| | - Suzanne van de Groep
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Lysanne W Te Brinke
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
| | | | - Eveline A Crone
- Erasmus School of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, The Netherlands
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, Institute of Psychology, Leiden University, The Netherlands
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18
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Zaff O, Wyngaarden JB, Dennison JB, Sazhin D, Chein J, McCloskey M, Alloy LB, Jarcho JM, Smith DV, Fareri DS. Social Context and Reward Sensitivity Enhance Corticostriatal Function during Experiences of Shared Rewards. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.10.19.562908. [PMID: 37905048 PMCID: PMC10614966 DOI: 10.1101/2023.10.19.562908] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/02/2023]
Abstract
Although prior research has demonstrated enhanced striatal response when sharing rewards with close social connections, less is known about how individual differences affect ventral striatal (VS) activation and connectivity when experiencing rewards within social contexts. Given that self-reported reward sensitivity and level of substance use have been associated with differences in VS activation, we set out to investigate whether these factors would be independently associated with enhancements to neural reward responses within social contexts. In this pre-registered study, participants (N=45) underwent fMRI while playing a card guessing game in which correct or incorrect guesses resulted in monetary gains and losses that were shared evenly with either a close friend, stranger (confederate), or non-human partner. Consistent with our prior work, we found increased VS activation when sharing rewards with a socially close peer as opposed to an out-of-network stranger. As self-reported reward sensitivity increased, the difference in VS response to rewards shared with friends and strangers decreased. We also found enhanced connectivity between the VS and temporoparietal junction when sharing rewards with close friends as opposed to strangers. Finally, exploratory analyses revealed that as reward sensitivity and sub-clinical substance use increase, the difference in VS connectivity with the right fusiform face area increases as a function of social context. These findings demonstrate that responsivity to the context of close friends may be tied to individual reward sensitivity or sub-clinical substance use habits; together these factors may inform predictions of risk for future mental health disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ori Zaff
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - James B. Wyngaarden
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jeffrey B. Dennison
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Daniel Sazhin
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Jason Chein
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Michael McCloskey
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Lauren B. Alloy
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Johanna M. Jarcho
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - David V. Smith
- Department of Psychology & Neuroscience, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Dominic S. Fareri
- Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY, USA
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19
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Shi W, Meisner OC, Blackmore S, Jadi MP, Nandy AS, Chang SWC. The orbitofrontal cortex: A goal-directed cognitive map framework for social and non-social behaviors. Neurobiol Learn Mem 2023; 203:107793. [PMID: 37353191 PMCID: PMC10527225 DOI: 10.1016/j.nlm.2023.107793] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2023] [Revised: 05/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/25/2023]
Abstract
The orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) is regarded as one of the core brain areas in a variety of value-based behaviors. Over the past two decades, tremendous knowledge about the OFC function was gained from studying the behaviors of single subjects. As a result, our previous understanding of the OFC's function of encoding decision variables, such as the value and identity of choices, has evolved to the idea that the OFC encodes a more complex representation of the task space as a cognitive map. Accumulating evidence also indicates that the OFC importantly contributes to behaviors in social contexts, especially those involved in cooperative interactions. However, it remains elusive how exactly OFC neurons contribute to social functions and how non-social and social behaviors are related to one another in the computations performed by OFC neurons. In this review, we aim to provide an integrated view of the OFC function across both social and non-social behavioral contexts. We propose that seemingly complex functions of the OFC may be explained by its role in providing a goal-directed cognitive map to guide a wide array of adaptive reward-based behaviors in both social and non-social domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Weikang Shi
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Olivia C Meisner
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Sylvia Blackmore
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Monika P Jadi
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Anirvan S Nandy
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA.
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20
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Kareklas K, Teles MC, Nunes AR, Oliveira RF. Social zebrafish: Danio rerio as an emerging model in social neuroendocrinology. J Neuroendocrinol 2023; 35:e13280. [PMID: 37165563 DOI: 10.1111/jne.13280] [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: 12/29/2022] [Revised: 04/14/2023] [Accepted: 04/17/2023] [Indexed: 05/12/2023]
Abstract
The fitness benefits of social life depend on the ability of animals to affiliate with others and form groups, on dominance hierarchies within groups that determine resource distribution, and on cognitive capacities for recognition, learning and information transfer. The evolution of these phenotypes is coupled with that of neuroendocrine mechanisms, but the causal link between the two remains underexplored. Growing evidence from our research group and others demonstrates that the tools available in zebrafish, Danio rerio, can markedly facilitate progress in this field. Here, we review this evidence and provide a synthesis of the state-of-the-art in this model system. We discuss the involvement of generalized motivation and cognitive components, neuroplasticity and functional connectivity across social decision-making brain areas, and how these are modulated chiefly by the oxytocin-vasopressin neuroendocrine system, but also by reward-pathway monoamine signaling and the effects of sex-hormones and stress physiology.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Magda C Teles
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
- ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
| | | | - Rui F Oliveira
- Instituto Gulbenkian de Ciência, Oeiras, Portugal
- ISPA-Instituto Universitário, Lisbon, Portugal
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21
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Wise T, Charpentier CJ, Dayan P, Mobbs D. Interactive cognitive maps support flexible behavior under threat. Cell Rep 2023; 42:113008. [PMID: 37610871 PMCID: PMC10658881 DOI: 10.1016/j.celrep.2023.113008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 07/11/2023] [Accepted: 08/03/2023] [Indexed: 08/25/2023] Open
Abstract
In social environments, survival can depend upon inferring and adapting to other agents' goal-directed behavior. However, it remains unclear how humans achieve this, despite the fact that many decisions must account for complex, dynamic agents acting according to their own goals. Here, we use a predator-prey task (total n = 510) to demonstrate that humans exploit an interactive cognitive map of the social environment to infer other agents' preferences and simulate their future behavior, providing for flexible, generalizable responses. A model-based inverse reinforcement learning model explained participants' inferences about threatening agents' preferences, with participants using this inferred knowledge to enact generalizable, model-based behavioral responses. Using tree-search planning models, we then found that behavior was best explained by a planning algorithm that incorporated simulations of the threat's goal-directed behavior. Our results indicate that humans use a cognitive map to determine other agents' preferences, facilitating generalized predictions of their behavior and effective responses.
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Affiliation(s)
- Toby Wise
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London, UK; Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA.
| | - Caroline J Charpentier
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA; Brain and Behavior Institute, University of Maryland, College Park, MD, USA
| | - Peter Dayan
- Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany; University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Dean Mobbs
- Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA; Computation and Neural Systems Program, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, CA, USA
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22
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Fan X, Xu Q, Liu J, Xing H, Ning L, Chen Q, Yang Y. The early negative bias of social semantics: evidence from behavioral and ERP studies. BMC Psychol 2023; 11:249. [PMID: 37633981 PMCID: PMC10464141 DOI: 10.1186/s40359-023-01286-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 08/28/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Compared to nonsocial information, the human brain is more highly sensitive to social information. As a kind of typical social semantic information, the words describing person traits differ from the nonsocial semantic information describing inanimate objects in many ways. It remains to be seen whether the processing of trait words has a valence asymmetric and whether it differs from the processing of nonsocial semantic information in terms of behavioral responses and neural temporal processes. METHOD Taking person and object names as priming stimuli and adjective words only used for describing humans or objects as target stimuli, the present study aimed to investigate the processing characteristics of social and nonsocial semantic information by recording both behavioral and ERP data. RESULTS Behavioral results showed that the response times for negative words were significantly slower than those for positive words whether for social or nonsocial semantic information. The accuracy rates of negative words were significantly lower than those of positive words when the targets were social words which is contrary to the nonsocial words. The ERP results indicated that there was a negative bias effect on the processing of both types of information during the whole time course of brain neural activity; that is, the P2, N400, and LPP amplitudes elicited by negative words were larger than those elicited by positive words; However, the negative bias effect of social semantic information started at the early perceptual stage which was significantly earlier than the onset of negative bias of nonsocial semantic information, and was significantly affected by the prime type. In addition, there was a significant semantic conflict N400 effect only for nonsocial semantic information. CONCLUSIONS Overall, the present study revealed the existence of an early negative bias of social information and provided evidence for the specificity of social information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinfang Fan
- Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Qiang Xu
- Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Juan Liu
- Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Hongwei Xing
- Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Liangyu Ning
- Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
| | - Qingwei Chen
- National Center for International Research on Green Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
- Lab of Light and Physio-Psychological Health, School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510631, China
- Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Optical Information Materials and Technology, Institute of Electronic Paper Displays, South China Academy of Advanced Optoelectronics, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
| | - Yaping Yang
- Department of Psychology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China.
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23
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Bogdan PC, Dolcos F, Moore M, Kuznietsov I, Culpepper SA, Dolcos S. Social Expectations are Primarily Rooted in Reciprocity: An Investigation of Fairness, Cooperation, and Trustworthiness. Cogn Sci 2023; 47:e13326. [PMID: 37548443 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.13326] [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: 03/10/2023] [Revised: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 07/16/2023] [Indexed: 08/08/2023]
Abstract
Social expectations guide people's evaluations of others' behaviors, but the origins of these expectations remain unclear. It is traditionally thought that people's expectations depend on their past observations of others' behavior, and people harshly judge atypical behavior. Here, we considered that social expectations are also influenced by a drive for reciprocity, and people evaluate others' actions by reflecting on their own decisions. To compare these views, we performed four studies. Study 1 used an Ultimatum Game task where participants alternated Responder and Proposer roles. Modeling participants' expectations suggested they evaluated the fairness of received offers via comparisons to their own offers. Study 2 replicated these findings and showed that observing selfish behavior (lowball offers) only promoted acceptance of selfishness if observers started acting selfishly themselves. Study 3 generalized the findings, demonstrating that they also arise in the Public Goods Game, emerge cross-culturally, and apply to antisocial punishment whereby selfish players punish generosity. Finally, Study 4 introduced the Trust Game and showed that participants trusted players who reciprocated their behavior, even if it was selfish, as much as they trusted generous players. Overall, this research shows that social expectations and evaluations are rooted in drives for reciprocity. This carries theoretical implications, speaking to a parallel in the mechanisms driving both decision-making and social evaluations, along with practical importance for understanding and promoting cooperation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul C Bogdan
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | - Florin Dolcos
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
- Neuroscience Program, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | - Matthew Moore
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
| | - Illia Kuznietsov
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Department of Human and Animal Physiology, Lesya Ukrainka Volyn National University
| | - Steven A Culpepper
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Department of Statistics, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
| | - Sanda Dolcos
- Beckman Institute for Advanced Science and Technology, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
- Department of Psychology, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign
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Telga M, Alcalá JA, Heyes C, Urcelay GP. Social overshadowing: Revisiting cue-competition in social interactions. Psychon Bull Rev 2023; 30:1575-1585. [PMID: 36604374 PMCID: PMC10482779 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02229-3] [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] [Accepted: 11/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
In a large variety of contexts, it is essential to use the available information to extract patterns and behave accordingly. When it comes to social interactions for instance, the information gathered about interaction partners across multiple encounters (e.g., trustworthiness) is crucial in guiding one's own behavior (e.g., approach the trustworthy and avoid the untrustworthy), a process akin to trial-by-trial learning. Building on associative learning and social cognition literatures, the present research adopts a domain-general approach to learning and explores whether the principles underlying associative learning also govern learning in social contexts. In particular, we examined whether overshadowing, a well-established cue-competition phenomenon, impacts learning of the cooperative behaviors of unfamiliar interaction partners. Across three experiments using an adaptation of the iterated Trust Game, we consistently observed a 'social overshadowing' effect, that is, a better learning about the cooperative tendencies of partners presented alone compared to those presented in a pair. This robust effect was not modulated by gender stereotypes or beliefs about the internal communication dynamics within a pair of partners. Drawing on these results, we argue that examining domain-general learning processes in social contexts is a useful approach to understanding human social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maïka Telga
- School of Management, University of St Andrews, Gateway Building, North Haugh, St Andrews, KY16 9AJ, UK.
- University of Granada, Granada, Spain.
- University of Leicester, Leicester, UK.
| | - José A Alcalá
- Complutense University of Madrid, Madrid, Spain
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK
| | | | - Gonzalo P Urcelay
- School of Psychology, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK.
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25
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Deen B, Schwiedrzik CM, Sliwa J, Freiwald WA. Specialized Networks for Social Cognition in the Primate Brain. Annu Rev Neurosci 2023; 46:381-401. [PMID: 37428602 PMCID: PMC11115357 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-neuro-102522-121410] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/12/2023]
Abstract
Primates have evolved diverse cognitive capabilities to navigate their complex social world. To understand how the brain implements critical social cognitive abilities, we describe functional specialization in the domains of face processing, social interaction understanding, and mental state attribution. Systems for face processing are specialized from the level of single cells to populations of neurons within brain regions to hierarchically organized networks that extract and represent abstract social information. Such functional specialization is not confined to the sensorimotor periphery but appears to be a pervasive theme of primate brain organization all the way to the apex regions of cortical hierarchies. Circuits processing social information are juxtaposed with parallel systems involved in processing nonsocial information, suggesting common computations applied to different domains. The emerging picture of the neural basis of social cognition is a set of distinct but interacting subnetworks involved in component processes such as face perception and social reasoning, traversing large parts of the primate brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ben Deen
- Psychology Department & Tulane Brain Institute, Tulane University, New Orleans, Louisiana, USA
| | - Caspar M Schwiedrzik
- Neural Circuits and Cognition Lab, European Neuroscience Institute Göttingen, A Joint Initiative of the University Medical Center Göttingen and the Max Planck Society; Perception and Plasticity Group, German Primate Center, Leibniz Institute for Primate Research; and Leibniz-Science Campus Primate Cognition, Göttingen, Germany
| | - Julia Sliwa
- Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau, ICM, Inserm, CNRS, APHP, Hôpital de la Pitié Salpêtrière, Paris, France
| | - Winrich A Freiwald
- Laboratory of Neural Systems and The Price Family Center for the Social Brain, The Rockefeller University, New York, NY, USA;
- The Center for Brains, Minds and Machines, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
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26
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Faraji J, Metz GAS. Toward reframing brain-social dynamics: current assumptions and future challenges. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1211442. [PMID: 37484686 PMCID: PMC10359502 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1211442] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 07/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary analyses suggest that the human social brain and sociality appeared together. The two fundamental tools that accelerated the concurrent emergence of the social brain and sociality include learning and plasticity. The prevailing core idea is that the primate brain and the cortex in particular became reorganised over the course of evolution to facilitate dynamic adaptation to ongoing changes in physical and social environments. Encouraged by computational or survival demands or even by instinctual drives for living in social groups, the brain eventually learned how to learn from social experience via its massive plastic capacity. A fundamental framework for modeling these orchestrated dynamic responses is that social plasticity relies upon neuroplasticity. In the present article, we first provide a glimpse into the concepts of plasticity, experience, with emphasis on social experience. We then acknowledge and integrate the current theoretical concepts to highlight five key intertwined assumptions within social neuroscience that underlie empirical approaches for explaining the brain-social dynamics. We suggest that this epistemological view provides key insights into the ontology of current conceptual frameworks driving future research to successfully deal with new challenges and possible caveats in favour of the formulation of novel assumptions. In the light of contemporary societal challenges, such as global pandemics, natural disasters, violent conflict, and other human tragedies, discovering the mechanisms of social brain plasticity will provide new approaches to support adaptive brain plasticity and social resilience.
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27
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Vélez N, Chen AM, Burke T, Cushman FA, Gershman SJ. Teachers recruit mentalizing regions to represent learners' beliefs. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2215015120. [PMID: 37216526 PMCID: PMC10235937 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2215015120] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/04/2022] [Accepted: 04/20/2023] [Indexed: 05/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Teaching enables humans to impart vast stores of culturally specific knowledge and skills. However, little is known about the neural computations that guide teachers' decisions about what information to communicate. Participants (N = 28) played the role of teachers while being scanned using fMRI; their task was to select examples that would teach learners how to answer abstract multiple-choice questions. Participants' examples were best described by a model that selects evidence that maximizes the learner's belief in the correct answer. Consistent with this idea, participants' predictions about how well learners would do closely tracked the performance of an independent sample of learners (N = 140) who were tested on the examples they had provided. In addition, regions that play specialized roles in processing social information, namely the bilateral temporoparietal junction and middle and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex, tracked learners' posterior belief in the correct answer. Our results shed light on the computational and neural architectures that support our extraordinary abilities as teachers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Natalia Vélez
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA20138
| | - Alicia M. Chen
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA02139
| | - Taylor Burke
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA20138
| | - Fiery A. Cushman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA20138
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28
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Topel S, Ma I, Sleutels J, van Steenbergen H, de Bruijn ERA, van Duijvenvoorde ACK. Expecting the unexpected: a review of learning under uncertainty across development. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023:10.3758/s13415-023-01098-0. [PMID: 37237092 PMCID: PMC10390612 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-023-01098-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 03/28/2023] [Indexed: 05/28/2023]
Abstract
Many of our decisions take place under uncertainty. To successfully navigate the environment, individuals need to estimate the degree of uncertainty and adapt their behaviors accordingly by learning from experiences. However, uncertainty is a broad construct and distinct types of uncertainty may differentially influence our learning. We provide a semi-systematic review to illustrate cognitive and neurobiological processes involved in learning under two types of uncertainty: learning in environments with stochastic outcomes, and with volatile outcomes. We specifically reviewed studies (N = 26 studies) that included an adolescent population, because adolescence is a period in life characterized by heightened exploration and learning, as well as heightened uncertainty due to experiencing many new, often social, environments. Until now, reviews have not comprehensively compared learning under distinct types of uncertainties in this age range. Our main findings show that although the overall developmental patterns were mixed, most studies indicate that learning from stochastic outcomes, as indicated by increased accuracy in performance, improved with age. We also found that adolescents tended to have an advantage compared with adults and children when learning from volatile outcomes. We discuss potential mechanisms explaining these age-related differences and conclude by outlining future research directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Selin Topel
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands.
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands.
| | - Ili Ma
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Jan Sleutels
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden University, Institute for Philosophy, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Henk van Steenbergen
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Ellen R A de Bruijn
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Anna C K van Duijvenvoorde
- Leiden University, Institute of Psychology, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333, AK, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition, Leiden, The Netherlands
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29
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Jansen M, Lockwood PL, Cutler J, de Bruijn ERA. l-DOPA and oxytocin influence the neurocomputational mechanisms of self-benefitting and prosocial reinforcement learning. Neuroimage 2023; 270:119983. [PMID: 36848972 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119983] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2022] [Revised: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/23/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans learn through reinforcement, particularly when outcomes are unexpected. Recent research suggests similar mechanisms drive how we learn to benefit other people, that is, how we learn to be prosocial. Yet the neurochemical mechanisms underlying such prosocial computations remain poorly understood. Here, we investigated whether pharmacological manipulation of oxytocin and dopamine influence the neurocomputational mechanisms underlying self-benefitting and prosocial reinforcement learning. Using a double-blind placebo-controlled cross-over design, we administered intranasal oxytocin (24 IU), dopamine precursor l-DOPA (100 mg + 25 mg carbidopa), or placebo over three sessions. Participants performed a probabilistic reinforcement learning task with potential rewards for themselves, another participant, or no one, during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Computational models of reinforcement learning were used to calculate prediction errors (PEs) and learning rates. Participants behavior was best explained by a model with different learning rates for each recipient, but these were unaffected by either drug. On the neural level, however, both drugs blunted PE signaling in the ventral striatum and led to negative signaling of PEs in the anterior mid-cingulate cortex, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior parietal gyrus, and precentral gyrus, compared to placebo, and regardless of recipient. Oxytocin (versus placebo) administration was additionally associated with opposing tracking of self-benefitting versus prosocial PEs in dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, insula and superior temporal gyrus. These findings suggest that both l-DOPA and oxytocin induce a context-independent shift from positive towards negative tracking of PEs during learning. Moreover, oxytocin may have opposing effects on PE signaling when learning to benefit oneself versus another.
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Affiliation(s)
- Myrthe Jansen
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, the Netherlands.
| | - Patricia L Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Centre for Developmental Science, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK
| | - Jo Cutler
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK; Centre for Developmental Science, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK
| | - Ellen R A de Bruijn
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University, the Netherlands; Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden, the Netherlands
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Contreras-Huerta LS, Coll MP, Bird G, Yu H, Prosser A, Lockwood PL, Murphy J, Crockett MJ, Apps MAJ. Neural representations of vicarious rewards are linked to interoception and prosocial behaviour. Neuroimage 2023; 269:119881. [PMID: 36702212 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119881] [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: 08/31/2022] [Revised: 12/12/2022] [Accepted: 01/14/2023] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
Every day we constantly observe other people receiving rewards. Theoretical accounts posit that vicarious reward processing might be linked to people's sensitivity to internal body states (interoception) and facilitates a tendency to act prosocially. However, the neural processes underlying the links between vicarious reward processing, interoception, and prosocial behaviour are poorly understood. Previous research has linked vicarious reward processing to the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACCg) and the anterior insula (AI). Can we predict someone's propensity to be prosocial or to be aware of interoceptive signals from variability in how the ACCg and AI process rewards? Here, participants monitored rewards being delivered to themselves or a stranger during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Later, they performed a task measuring their willingness to exert effort to obtain rewards for others, and a task measuring their propensity to be aware and use interoceptive respiratory signals. Using multivariate similarity analysis, we show that people's willingness to be prosocial is predicted by greater similarity between self and other representations in the ACCg. Moreover, greater dissimilarity in self-other representations in the AI is linked to interoceptive propensity. These findings highlight that vicarious reward is linked to bodily signals in AI, and foster prosocial tendencies through the ACCg.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Viña del Mar, Chile.
| | - Michel-Pierre Coll
- School of Psychology and CIRRIS research center, Laval University, Quebec City QC G1V 0A6, Canada
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK; School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK
| | - Hongbo Yu
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, USA
| | - Annayah Prosser
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, BA2 7AY, United Kingdom
| | - Patricia L Lockwood
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Christ Church, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 1DP, UK
| | - Jennifer Murphy
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London TW20 0EY, UK
| | - M J Crockett
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK; Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06511, USA; Department of Psychology and University Center for Human Values, Princeton University, Princeton, USA
| | - Matthew A J Apps
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 3PH, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Christ Church, University of Oxford, Oxford OX1 1DP, UK.
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31
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Heyes C. The cognitive reality of causal understanding. Trends Cogn Sci 2023; 27:337-338. [PMID: 36709098 DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2022.11.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/15/2022] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Cecilia Heyes
- Department of Experimental Psychology & All Souls College, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
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32
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Li M, Pu M, Baetens K, Baeken C, Deroost N, Heleven E, Van Overwalle F. Mind your step: social cerebellum in interactive navigation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:6648373. [PMID: 35866545 PMCID: PMC9949501 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2022] [Revised: 05/23/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
The posterior cerebellum contributes to dynamic social cognition by building representations and predictions about sequences in which social interactions typically take place. However, the extent to which violations of prior social expectations during human interaction activate the cerebellum remains largely unknown. The present study examined inconsistent actions, which violate the expectations of desired goal outcomes, by using a social navigation paradigm in which a protagonist presented a gift to another agent that was liked or not. As an analogous non-social control condition, a pen was transported via an assembly line and filled with ink that matched the pen's cap or not. Participants (n = 25) were required to memorize and subsequently reproduce the sequence of the protagonist's or pen's trajectory. As hypothesized, expectation violations in social (vs non-social) sequencing were associated with activation in the posterior cerebellum (Crus 1/2) and other cortical mentalizing regions. In contrast, non-social (vs social) sequencing recruited cerebellar lobules IV-V, the action observation network and the navigation-related parahippocampal gyrus. There was little effect in comparison with a social non-sequencing control condition, where participants only had to observe the trajectory. The findings provide further evidence of cerebellar involvement in signaling inconsistencies in social outcomes of goal-directed navigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meijia Li
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1050 , Belgium
| | - Min Pu
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1050 , Belgium
| | - Kris Baetens
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1050 , Belgium.,Brussels University Consultation Center, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1050, Belgium
| | - Chris Baeken
- Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Department of Head and Skin, Ghent Experimental Psychiatry (GHEP) Lab, Ghent Experimental, Ghent University, Ghent 9000, Belgium.,Department of Psychiatry, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1090, Belgium.,Department of Electrical Engineering, Eindhoven University of Technology, Eindhoven 5600, The Netherlands
| | - Natacha Deroost
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1050 , Belgium
| | - Elien Heleven
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1050 , Belgium
| | - Frank Van Overwalle
- Faculty of Psychology and Center for Neuroscience, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels 1050 , Belgium
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Trudel N, Lockwood PL, Rushworth MFS, Wittmann MK. Neural activity tracking identity and confidence in social information. eLife 2023; 12:71315. [PMID: 36763582 PMCID: PMC9917428 DOI: 10.7554/elife.71315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2022] [Indexed: 02/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans learn about the environment either directly by interacting with it or indirectly by seeking information about it from social sources such as conspecifics. The degree of confidence in the information obtained through either route should determine the impact that it has on adapting and changing behaviour. We examined whether and how behavioural and neural computations differ during non-social learning as opposed to learning from social sources. Trial-wise confidence judgements about non-social and social information sources offered a window into this learning process. Despite matching exactly the statistical features of social and non-social conditions, confidence judgements were more accurate and less changeable when they were made about social as opposed to non-social information sources. In addition to subjective reports of confidence, differences were also apparent in the Bayesian estimates of participants' subjective beliefs. Univariate activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and posterior temporoparietal junction more closely tracked confidence about social as opposed to non-social information sources. In addition, the multivariate patterns of activity in the same areas encoded identities of social information sources compared to non-social information sources.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nadescha Trudel
- Wellcome Centre of Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
| | - Patricia L Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
- Centre for Developmental Science, School of Psychology, University of BirminghamBirminghamUnited Kingdom
| | - Matthew FS Rushworth
- Wellcome Centre of Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
- Wellcome Centre of Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain, Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
| | - Marco K Wittmann
- Wellcome Centre of Integrative Neuroimaging (WIN), Department of Experimental Psychology, University of OxfordOxfordUnited Kingdom
- Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University College LondonLondonUnited Kingdom
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34
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The computational psychiatry of antisocial behaviour and psychopathy. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 145:104995. [PMID: 36535376 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104995] [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: 07/23/2022] [Revised: 11/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Antisocial behaviours such as disobedience, lying, stealing, destruction of property, and aggression towards others are common to multiple disorders of childhood and adulthood, including conduct disorder, oppositional defiant disorder, psychopathy, and antisocial personality disorder. These disorders have a significant negative impact for individuals and for society, but whether they represent clinically different phenomena, or simply different approaches to diagnosing the same underlying psychopathology is highly debated. Computational psychiatry, with its dual focus on identifying different classes of disorder and health (data-driven) and latent cognitive and neurobiological mechanisms (theory-driven), is well placed to address these questions. The elucidation of mechanisms that might characterise latent processes across different disorders of antisocial behaviour can also provide important advances. In this review, we critically discuss the contribution of computational research to our understanding of various antisocial behaviour disorders, and highlight suggestions for how computational psychiatry can address important clinical and scientific questions about these disorders in the future.
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35
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Entorhinal grid-like codes and time-locked network dynamics track others navigating through space. Nat Commun 2023; 14:231. [PMID: 36720865 PMCID: PMC9889810 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-35819-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 01/03/2023] [Indexed: 02/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Navigating through crowded, dynamically changing environments requires the ability to keep track of other individuals. Grid cells in the entorhinal cortex are a central component of self-related navigation but whether they also track others' movement is unclear. Here, we propose that entorhinal grid-like codes make an essential contribution to socio-spatial navigation. Sixty human participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while observing and re-tracing different paths of a demonstrator that navigated a virtual reality environment. Results revealed that grid-like codes in the entorhinal cortex tracked the other individual navigating through space. The activity of grid-like codes was time-locked to increases in co-activation and entorhinal-cortical connectivity that included the striatum, the hippocampus, parahippocampal and right posterior parietal cortices. Surprisingly, the grid-related effects during observation were stronger the worse participants performed when subsequently re-tracing the demonstrator's paths. Our findings suggests that network dynamics time-locked to entorhinal grid-cell-related activity might serve to distribute information about the location of others throughout the brain.
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36
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Wild MG, Cutler RA, Bachorowski JA. Quantifying social performance: A review with implications for further work. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1124385. [PMID: 37179870 PMCID: PMC10172596 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1124385] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/15/2022] [Accepted: 03/31/2023] [Indexed: 05/15/2023] Open
Abstract
Human social performance has been a focus of theory and investigation for more than a century. Attempts to quantify social performance have focused on self-report and non-social performance measures grounded in intelligence-based theories. An expertise framework, when applied to individual differences in social interaction performance, offers novel insights and methods of quantification that could address limitations of prior approaches. The purposes of this review are 3-fold. First, to define the central concepts related to individual differences in social performance, with a particular focus on the intelligence-based framework that has dominated the field. Second, to make an argument for a revised conceptualization of individual differences in social-emotional performance as a social expertise. In support of this second aim, the putative components of a social-emotional expertise and the potential means for their assessment will be outlined. To end, the implications of an expertise-based conceptual framework for the application of computational modeling approaches in this area will be discussed. Taken together, expertise theory and computational modeling methods have the potential to advance quantitative assessment of social interaction performance.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marcus G. Wild
- VISN 17 Center of Excellence for Research on Returning War Veterans, Waco, TX, United States
- *Correspondence: Marcus G. Wild,
| | - Rebecca A. Cutler
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Texas, Austin, TX, United States
| | - Jo-Anne Bachorowski
- Department of Psychology, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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Moreau Q, Tieri G, Era V, Aglioti SM, Candidi M. The performance monitoring system is attuned to others' actions during dyadic motor interactions. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:222-234. [PMID: 35203090 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac063] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/28/2021] [Revised: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 02/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Interpersonal motor interactions require the simultaneous monitoring of one's own and one's partner's actions. To characterize how the action monitoring system tracks self and other behavior during synchronous interactions, we combined electroencephalography recordings and immersive virtual reality in two tasks where participants were asked to synchronize their actions with those of a virtual partner (VP). The two tasks differed in the features to be monitored: the Goal task required participants to predict and monitor the VP's reaching goal; the Spatial task required participants to predict and monitor the VP's reaching trajectory. In both tasks, the VP performed unexpected movement changes to which the participant needed to adapt. By extracting the neural activity locked to the detection of unexpected changes in the VP's action (other-monitoring) or to the participants' action-replanning (self-monitoring), we show that the monitoring system is more attuned to others' than to one's own actions. Additionally, distinctive neural responses to VP's unexpected goals and trajectory corrections were found: goal changes were reflected both in early fronto-central and later posterior neural responses while trajectory deviations were reflected only in later posterior responses. Altogether, our results indicate that the monitoring system adopts an inherent social mode to handle interpersonal motor interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Quentin Moreau
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Gaetano Tieri
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.,Virtual Reality Lab, Unitelma Sapienza University, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Vanessa Era
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy.,Center for Life Nano- & Neuro-Science, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia and Sapienza University, 00161, Rome, Italy
| | - Matteo Candidi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University, 00185, Rome, Italy.,IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179, Rome, Italy
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38
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Neurocomputational mechanisms of confidence in self and others. Nat Commun 2022; 13:4238. [PMID: 35869044 PMCID: PMC9307648 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-31674-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
AbstractComputing confidence in one’s own and others’ decisions is critical for social success. While there has been substantial progress in our understanding of confidence estimates about oneself, little is known about how people form confidence estimates about others. Here, we address this question by asking participants undergoing fMRI to place bets on perceptual decisions made by themselves or one of three other players of varying ability. We show that participants compute confidence in another player’s decisions by combining distinct estimates of player ability and decision difficulty – allowing them to predict that a good player may get a difficult decision wrong and that a bad player may get an easy decision right. We find that this computation is associated with an interaction between brain systems implicated in decision-making (LIP) and theory of mind (TPJ and dmPFC). These results reveal an interplay between self- and other-related processes during a social confidence computation.
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Flechsenhar A, Kanske P, Krach S, Korn C, Bertsch K. The (un)learning of social functions and its significance for mental health. Clin Psychol Rev 2022; 98:102204. [PMID: 36216722 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2022.102204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/09/2021] [Revised: 08/11/2022] [Accepted: 09/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/27/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions are dynamic, context-dependent, and reciprocal events that influence prospective strategies and require constant practice and adaptation. This complexity of social interactions creates several research challenges. We propose a new framework encouraging future research to investigate not only individual differences in capacities relevant for social functioning and their underlying mechanisms, but also the flexibility to adapt or update one's social abilities. We suggest three key capacities relevant for social functioning: (1) social perception, (2) sharing emotions or empathizing, and (3) mentalizing. We elaborate on how adaptations in these capacities may be investigated on behavioral and neural levels. Research on these flexible adaptations of one's social behavior is needed to specify how humans actually "learn to be social". Learning to adapt implies plasticity of the relevant brain networks involved in the underlying social processes, indicating that social abilities are malleable for different contexts. To quantify such measures, researchers need to find ways to investigate learning through dynamic changes in adaptable social paradigms and examine several factors influencing social functioning within the three aformentioned social key capacities. This framework furthers insight concerning individual differences, provides a holistic approach to social functioning, and may improve interventions for ameliorating social abilities in patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleya Flechsenhar
- Department Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany.
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Technische Universität Dresden, Germany
| | - Sören Krach
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Lübeck, Germany
| | - Christoph Korn
- Section Social Neuroscience, Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katja Bertsch
- Department Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Ludwig-Maximilians-University Munich, Germany; NeuroImaging Core Unit Munich (NICUM), University Hospital LMU, Munich, Germany; Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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40
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Arabadzhiyska DH, Garrod OGB, Fouragnan E, De Luca E, Schyns PG, Philiastides MG. A Common Neural Account for Social and Nonsocial Decisions. J Neurosci 2022; 42:9030-9044. [PMID: 36280264 PMCID: PMC9732824 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0375-22.2022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/21/2022] [Revised: 08/20/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
To date, social and nonsocial decisions have been studied largely in isolation. Consequently, the extent to which social and nonsocial forms of decision uncertainty are integrated using shared neurocomputational resources remains elusive. Here, we address this question using simultaneous electroencephalography (EEG)-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in healthy human participants (young adults of both sexes) and a task in which decision evidence in social and nonsocial contexts varies along comparable scales. First, we identify time-resolved build-up of activity in the EEG, akin to a process of evidence accumulation (EA), across both contexts. We then use the endogenous trial-by-trial variability in the slopes of these accumulating signals to construct parametric fMRI predictors. We show that a region of the posterior-medial frontal cortex (pMFC) uniquely explains trial-wise variability in the process of evidence accumulation in both social and nonsocial contexts. We further demonstrate a task-dependent coupling between the pMFC and regions of the human valuation system in dorso-medial and ventro-medial prefrontal cortex across both contexts. Finally, we report domain-specific representations in regions known to encode the early decision evidence for each context. These results are suggestive of a domain-general decision-making architecture, whereupon domain-specific information is likely converted into a "common currency" in medial prefrontal cortex and accumulated for the decision in the pMFC.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Little work has directly compared social-versus-nonsocial decisions to investigate whether they share common neurocomputational origins. Here, using combined electroencephalography (EEG)-functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and computational modeling, we offer a detailed spatiotemporal account of the neural underpinnings of social and nonsocial decisions. Specifically, we identify a comparable mechanism of temporal evidence integration driving both decisions and localize this integration process in posterior-medial frontal cortex (pMFC). We further demonstrate task-dependent coupling between the pMFC and regions of the human valuation system across both contexts. Finally, we report domain-specific representations in regions encoding the early, domain-specific, decision evidence. These results suggest a domain-general decision-making architecture, whereupon domain-specific information is converted into a common representation in the valuation system and integrated for the decision in the pMFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Desislava H Arabadzhiyska
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
| | - Oliver G B Garrod
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
| | - Elsa Fouragnan
- School of Psychology, University of Plymouth, Plymouth PL4 8AA, United Kingdom
| | - Emanuele De Luca
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
- Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, United Kingdom
| | - Philippe G Schyns
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
| | - Marios G Philiastides
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, University of Glasgow, Glasgow G12 8QB, United Kingdom
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41
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Pisauro MA, Fouragnan EF, Arabadzhiyska DH, Apps MAJ, Philiastides MG. Neural implementation of computational mechanisms underlying the continuous trade-off between cooperation and competition. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6873. [PMID: 36369180 PMCID: PMC9652314 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-34509-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions evolve continuously. Sometimes we cooperate, sometimes we compete, while at other times we strategically position ourselves somewhere in between to account for the ever-changing social contexts around us. Research on social interactions often focuses on a binary dichotomy between competition and cooperation, ignoring people's evolving shifts along a continuum. Here, we develop an economic game - the Space Dilemma - where two players change their degree of cooperativeness over time in cooperative and competitive contexts. Using computational modelling we show how social contexts bias choices and characterise how inferences about others' intentions modulate cooperativeness. Consistent with the modelling predictions, brain regions previously linked to social cognition, including the temporo-parietal junction, dorso-medial prefrontal cortex and the anterior cingulate gyrus, encode social prediction errors and context-dependent signals, correlating with shifts along a cooperation-competition continuum. These results provide a comprehensive account of the computational and neural mechanisms underlying the continuous trade-off between cooperation and competition.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Pisauro
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK.
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK.
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK.
| | - E F Fouragnan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
- Brain Research Imaging Center and School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, UK
| | - D H Arabadzhiyska
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
| | - M A J Apps
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - M G Philiastides
- School of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Glasgow, Glasgow, UK
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42
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Hogenhuis A, Hortensius R. Domain-specific and domain-general neural network engagement during human-robot interactions. Eur J Neurosci 2022; 56:5902-5916. [PMID: 36111622 PMCID: PMC9828180 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.15823] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2021] [Accepted: 08/03/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
To what extent do domain-general and domain-specific neural network engagement generalize across interactions with human and artificial agents? In this exploratory study, we analysed a publicly available functional MRI (fMRI) data set (n = 22) to probe the similarities and dissimilarities in neural architecture while participants conversed with another person or a robot. Incorporating trial-by-trial dynamics of the interactions, listening and speaking, we used whole-brain, region-of-interest and functional connectivity analyses to test response profiles within and across social or non-social, domain-specific and domain-general networks, that is, the person perception, theory-of-mind, object-specific, language and multiple-demand networks. Listening to a robot compared to a human resulted in higher activation in the language network, especially in areas associated with listening comprehension, and in the person perception network. No differences in activity of the theory-of-mind network were found. Results from the functional connectivity analysis showed no difference between interactions with a human or robot in within- and between-network connectivity. Together, these results suggest that although largely similar regions are activated when speaking to a human and to a robot, activity profiles during listening point to a dissociation at a lower level or perceptual level, but not higher order cognitive level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann Hogenhuis
- Liberal Arts and SciencesUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
| | - Ruud Hortensius
- Department of PsychologyUtrecht UniversityUtrechtThe Netherlands
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43
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Scott-Phillips T. Biological adaptations for cultural transmission? Biol Lett 2022; 18:20220439. [PMID: 36448292 PMCID: PMC9709567 DOI: 10.1098/rsbl.2022.0439] [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: 12/05/2022] Open
Abstract
According to several interlinked and influential lines of argument, human minds have been shaped by natural selection so as to include biological adaptations with the evolved, naturally selected function to facilitate the transmission of cultural knowledge. This 'cultural minds' hypothesis has proved highly influential, and if it is correct it is a major step forward in understanding how and why humans have survived and prospered in a hugely diverse range of ecologies. It can be contrasted with a 'social minds' hypothesis, according to which cultural transmission occurs as an outcome, but not the biologically evolved function, of social cognition the domain of which is relatively small-group interaction. Here, I critique the cultural minds hypothesis and I argue that the data favour the social minds perspective. Cultural phenomena can clearly emerge and persist over time without cognitive adaptations for cultural transmission. Overtly intentional communication plays an especially pivotal role.
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Affiliation(s)
- Thom Scott-Phillips
- Institute of Language, Cognition Logic and Information, Ikerbasque, San Sebastian, Spain
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44
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Incorporating social knowledge structures into computational models. Nat Commun 2022; 13:6205. [PMID: 36266284 PMCID: PMC9584930 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-022-33418-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/16/2022] [Indexed: 12/24/2022] Open
Abstract
To navigate social interactions successfully, humans need to continuously learn about the personality traits of other people (e.g., how helpful or aggressive is the other person?). However, formal models that capture the complexities of social learning processes are currently lacking. In this study, we specify and test potential strategies that humans can employ for learning about others. Standard Rescorla-Wagner (RW) learning models only capture parts of the learning process because they neglect inherent knowledge structures and omit previously acquired knowledge. We therefore formalize two social knowledge structures and implement them in hybrid RW models to test their usefulness across multiple social learning tasks. We name these concepts granularity (knowledge structures about personality traits that can be utilized at different levels of detail during learning) and reference points (previous knowledge formalized into representations of average people within a social group). In five behavioural experiments, results from model comparisons and statistical analyses indicate that participants efficiently combine the concepts of granularity and reference points-with the specific combinations in models depending on the people and traits that participants learned about. Overall, our experiments demonstrate that variants of RW algorithms, which incorporate social knowledge structures, describe crucial aspects of the dynamics at play when people interact with each other.
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45
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Lockwood PL, Wittmann MK, Nili H, Matsumoto-Ryan M, Abdurahman A, Cutler J, Husain M, Apps MAJ. Distinct neural representations for prosocial and self-benefiting effort. Curr Biol 2022; 32:4172-4185.e7. [PMID: 36029773 PMCID: PMC9616728 DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2022.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 07/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/07/2022] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Prosocial behaviors-actions that benefit others-are central to individual and societal well-being. Although the mechanisms underlying the financial and moral costs of prosocial behaviors are increasingly understood, this work has often ignored a key influence on behavior: effort. Many prosocial acts are effortful, and people are averse to the costs of exerting them. However, how the brain encodes effort costs when actions benefit others is unknown. During fMRI, participants completed a decision-making task where they chose in each trial whether to "work" and exert force (30%-70% of maximum grip strength) or "rest" (no effort) for rewards (2-10 credits). Crucially, on separate trials, they made these decisions either to benefit another person or themselves. We used a combination of multivariate representational similarity analysis and model-based univariate analysis to reveal how the costs of prosocial and self-benefiting efforts are processed. Strikingly, we identified a unique neural signature of effort in the anterior cingulate gyrus (ACCg) for prosocial acts, both when choosing to help others and when exerting force to benefit them. This pattern was absent for self-benefiting behaviors. Moreover, stronger, specific representations of prosocial effort in the ACCg were linked to higher levels of empathy and higher subsequent exerted force to benefit others. In contrast, the ventral tegmental area and ventral insula represented value preferentially when choosing for oneself and not for prosocial acts. These findings advance our understanding of the neural mechanisms of prosocial behavior, highlighting the critical role that effort has in the brain circuits that guide helping others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia L Lockwood
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, FMRIB Building, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Christ Church, University of Oxford, St Aldate's, Oxford OX1 1DP, UK.
| | - Marco K Wittmann
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, FMRIB Building, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, University College London, 26 Bedford Way, London WC1H 0AP, UK; Max Planck UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing Research, University College London, Russell Square House 10-12 Russell Square, London WC1B 5EH, UK
| | - Hamed Nili
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, FMRIB Building, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Department of Excellence for Neural Information Processing, Center for Molecular Neurobiology (ZMNH), University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf (UKE), Martinistraße 52, 20251 Hamburg, Germany
| | - Mona Matsumoto-Ryan
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK
| | - Ayat Abdurahman
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, John Radcliffe Hospital, FMRIB Building, Headington, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK; Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Jo Cutler
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK
| | - Masud Husain
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Oxford, Oxford OX3 9DU, UK
| | - Matthew A J Apps
- Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Institute for Mental Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham B15 2TT, UK; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Anna Watts Building, Woodstock Road, Oxford OX2 6GG, UK; Christ Church, University of Oxford, St Aldate's, Oxford OX1 1DP, UK
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O’Connell K, Walsh M, Padgett B, Connell S, Marsh AA. Modeling Variation in Empathic Sensitivity Using Go/No-Go Social Reinforcement Learning. AFFECTIVE SCIENCE 2022; 3:603-615. [PMID: 36385908 PMCID: PMC9537390 DOI: 10.1007/s42761-022-00119-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/10/2022] [Indexed: 06/16/2023]
Abstract
Recent advances in computational behavioral modeling can help rigorously quantify differences in how individuals learn behaviors that affect both themselves and others. But social learning remains understudied in the context of understanding individual variation in social phenomena like aggression, which is defined by persistent engagement in behaviors that harm others. We adapted a go/no-go reinforcement learning task across social and non-social contexts such that monetary gains and losses explicitly impacted the subject, a study partner, or no one. We then quantified participants' (n = 61) sensitivity to others' rewards, sensitivity to others' losses, and the Pavlovian influence of expected outcomes on approach and avoidance behavior. Results showed that subjects learned in response to punishments and rewards that affected their partner in a way that was computationally similar to how they learned for themselves, consistent with the possibility that social learning engages empathic processes. Further supporting this interpretation, an individualized model parameter that indexed sensitivity to others' punishments was inversely associated with trait antisociality. Modeled sensitivity to others' losses also mapped onto post-task motivation ratings, but was not associated with self-reported trait empathy. This work is the first to apply a social reinforcement learning task that spans affect and action requirement (go/no-go) to measure multiple facets of empathic sensitivity. Supplementary Information The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00119-4.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katherine O’Connell
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington, DC USA
| | - Marissa Walsh
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC USA
| | - Brandon Padgett
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC USA
| | - Sarah Connell
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC USA
| | - Abigail A. Marsh
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, Washington, DC USA
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, Washington, DC USA
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47
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Putnam PT, Chang SWC. Interplay between the oxytocin and opioid systems in regulating social behaviour. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210050. [PMID: 35858101 PMCID: PMC9272147 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0050] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2021] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 07/30/2023] Open
Abstract
The influence of neuromodulators on brain activity and behaviour is undeniably profound, yet our knowledge of the underlying mechanisms, or ability to reliably reproduce effects across varying conditions, is still lacking. Oxytocin, a hormone that acts as a neuromodulator in the brain, is an example of this quandary; it powerfully shapes behaviours across nearly all mammalian species, yet when manipulated exogenously can produce unreliable or sometimes unexpected behavioural results across varying contexts. While current research is rapidly expanding our understanding of oxytocin, interactions between oxytocin and other neuromodulatory systems remain underappreciated in the current literature. This review highlights interactions between oxytocin and the opioid system that serve to influence social behaviour and proposes a parallel-mechanism hypothesis to explain the supralinear effects of combinatorial neuropharmacological approaches. This article is part of the theme issue 'Interplays between oxytocin and other neuromodulators in shaping complex social behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philip T. Putnam
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Steve W. C. Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
- Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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48
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Vázquez D, Schneider KN, Roesch MR. Neural signals implicated in the processing of appetitive and aversive events in social and non-social contexts. Front Syst Neurosci 2022; 16:926388. [PMID: 35993086 PMCID: PMC9381696 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.926388] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/30/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
In 2014, we participated in a special issue of Frontiers examining the neural processing of appetitive and aversive events. Specifically, we reviewed brain areas that contribute to the encoding of prediction errors and value versus salience, attention and motivation. Further, we described how we disambiguated these cognitive processes and their neural substrates by using paradigms that incorporate both appetitive and aversive stimuli. We described a circuit in which the orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) signals expected value and the basolateral amygdala (BLA) encodes the salience and valence of both appetitive and aversive events. This information is integrated by the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and dopaminergic (DA) signaling in order to generate prediction and prediction error signals, which guide decision-making and learning via the dorsal striatum (DS). Lastly, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) is monitoring actions and outcomes, and signals the need to engage attentional control in order to optimize behavioral output. Here, we expand upon this framework, and review our recent work in which within-task manipulations of both appetitive and aversive stimuli allow us to uncover the neural processes that contribute to the detection of outcomes delivered to a conspecific and behaviors in social contexts. Specifically, we discuss the involvement of single-unit firing in the ACC and DA signals in the NAc during the processing of appetitive and aversive events in both social and non-social contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Vázquez
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Kevin N. Schneider
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
| | - Matthew R. Roesch
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, College Park, MD, United States
- *Correspondence: Matthew R. Roesch,
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Fortier AV, Meisner OC, Nair AR, Chang SWC. Prefrontal Circuits guiding Social Preference: Implications in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 141:104803. [PMID: 35908593 PMCID: PMC10122914 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104803] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2022] [Revised: 07/10/2022] [Accepted: 07/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Although Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) is increasing in diagnostic prevalence, treatment options are inadequate largely due to limited understanding of ASD's underlying neural mechanisms. Contributing to difficulties in treatment development is the vast heterogeneity of ASD, from physiological causes to clinical presentations. Recent studies suggest that distinct genetic and neurological alterations may converge onto similar underlying neural circuits. Therefore, an improved understanding of neural circuit-level dysfunction in ASD may be a more productive path to developing broader treatments that are effective across a greater spectrum of ASD. Given the social preference behavioral deficits commonly seen in ASD, dysfunction in circuits mediating social preference may contribute to the atypical development of social cognition. We discuss some of the animal models used to study ASD and examine the function and effects of dysregulation of the social preference circuits, notably the medial prefrontal cortex-amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex-nucleus accumbens circuits, in these animal models. Using the common circuits underlying similar behavioral disruptions of social preference behaviors as an example, we highlight the importance of identifying disruption in convergent circuits to improve the translational success of animal model research for ASD treatment development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Abigail V Fortier
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Molecular, Cellular, Developmental Biology, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Olivia C Meisner
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
| | - Amrita R Nair
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
| | - Steve W C Chang
- Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA; Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Kavli Institute for Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, CT 06510, USA; Wu Tsai Institute, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06510, USA
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50
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Barnby JM, Mehta MA, Moutoussis M. The computational relationship between reinforcement learning, social inference, and paranoia. PLoS Comput Biol 2022; 18:e1010326. [PMID: 35877675 PMCID: PMC9352206 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pcbi.1010326] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/23/2022] [Revised: 08/04/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Theoretical accounts suggest heightened uncertainty about the state of the world underpin aberrant belief updates, which in turn increase the risk of developing a persecutory delusion. However, this raises the question as to how an agent’s uncertainty may relate to the precise phenomenology of paranoia, as opposed to other qualitatively different forms of belief. We tested whether the same population (n = 693) responded similarly to non-social and social contingency changes in a probabilistic reversal learning task and a modified repeated reversal Dictator game, and the impact of paranoia on both. We fitted computational models that included closely related parameters that quantified the rigidity across contingency reversals and the uncertainty about the environment/partner. Consistent with prior work we show that paranoia was associated with uncertainty around a partner’s behavioural policy and rigidity in harmful intent attributions in the social task. In the non-social task we found that pre-existing paranoia was associated with larger decision temperatures and commitment to suboptimal cards. We show relationships between decision temperature in the non-social task and priors over harmful intent attributions and uncertainty over beliefs about partners in the social task. Our results converge across both classes of model, suggesting paranoia is associated with a general uncertainty over the state of the world (and agents within it) that takes longer to resolve, although we demonstrate that this uncertainty is expressed asymmetrically in social contexts. Our model and data allow the representation of sociocognitive mechanisms that explain persecutory delusions and provide testable, phenomenologically relevant predictions for causal experiments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph M. Barnby
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Cultural and Social Neuroscience Group, Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Neuropharmacology Group, Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Mitul A. Mehta
- Cultural and Social Neuroscience Group, Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, University of London, London, United Kingdom
- Neuropharmacology Group, Department of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King’s College London, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Michael Moutoussis
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Max-Planck–UCL Centre for Computational Psychiatry and Ageing, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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