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Zhao X, Wu S, Li X, Liu Z, Lu W, Lin K, Shao R. Common neural deficits across reward functions in major depression: a meta-analysis of fMRI studies. Psychol Med 2024:1-13. [PMID: 38777630 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291724001235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is characterized by deficient reward functions in the brain. However, existing findings on functional alterations during reward anticipation, reward processing, and learning among MDD patients are inconsistent, and it was unclear whether a common reward system implicated in multiple reward functions is altered in MDD. Here we meta-analyzed 18 past studies that compared brain reward functions between adult MDD patients (N = 477, mean age = 26.50 years, female = 59.40%) and healthy controls (N = 506, mean age = 28.11 years, females = 55.58%), and particularly examined group differences across multiple reward functions. Jack-knife sensitivity and subgroup meta-analyses were conducted to test robustness of findings across patient comorbidity, task paradigm, and reward nature. Meta-regression analyses assessed the moderating effect of patient symptom severity and anhedonia scores. We found during reward anticipation, MDD patients showed lower activities in the lateral prefrontal-thalamus circuitry. During reward processing, patients displayed reduced activities in the right striatum and prefrontal cortex, but increased activities in the left temporal cortex. During reward learning, patients showed reduced activity in the lateral prefrontal-thalamic-striatal circuitry and the right parahippocampal-occipital circuitry but higher activities in bilateral cerebellum and the left visual cortex. MDD patients showed decreased activity in the right thalamus during both reward anticipation and learning, and in the right caudate during both reward processing and learning. Larger functional changes in MDD were observed among patients with more severe symptoms and higher anhedonia levels. The thalamic-striatal circuitry functional alterations could be the key neural mechanism underlying MDD patients overarching reward function deficiencies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xuanhao Zhao
- Department of Affective Disorder, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Shiyun Wu
- Department of Affective Disorder, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Xian Li
- Department of Affective Disorder, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Zhongwan Liu
- Department of Affective Disorder, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Weicong Lu
- Department of Affective Disorder, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Kangguang Lin
- Department of Affective Disorder, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
| | - Robin Shao
- Department of Affective Disorder, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
- Key Laboratory of Neurogenetics and Channelopathies of Guangdong Province and the Ministry of Education of China, Guangzhou Medical University, Guangzhou, P.R. China
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2
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Zhao Q, Zhao W, Lu C, Du H, Chi P. Interpersonal neural synchronization during social interactions in close relationships: A systematic review and meta-analysis of fNIRS hyperscanning studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 158:105565. [PMID: 38295965 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105565] [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: 08/16/2023] [Revised: 01/21/2024] [Accepted: 01/25/2024] [Indexed: 02/09/2024]
Abstract
In recent years, researchers have used hyperscanning techniques to explore how brains interact during various human activities. These studies have revealed a phenomenon called interpersonal neural synchronization (INS), but little research has focused on the overall effect of INS in close relationships. To address this gap, this study aims to synthesize and analyze the existing literature on INS during social interactions in close relationships. We conducted a meta-analysis of 17 functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning studies involving 1149 dyads participants, including romantic couples and parent-child dyads. The results revealed robust and consistent INS in the frontal, temporal, and parietal regions of the brain and found similar INS patterns in couples and parent-child studies, providing solid empirical evidence for the attachment theory. Moreover, the age of children and brain areas were significant predictors of the effect size in parent-child research. The developmental stage of children and the mismatched development of brain structures might be the crucial factors for the difference in neural performance in social and cognitive behaviors in parent-child dyads.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qi Zhao
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, Macau Special Administrative Region of China; Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, Macau Special Administrative Region of China
| | - Wan Zhao
- School of Psychology, Nanjing Normal University, Nanjing 210097, Jiangsu, China
| | - Chunming Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Hongfei Du
- Department of Psychology, Beijing Normal University at Zhuhai, Zhuhai 519087, Guangdong, China; Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education (Beijing Normal University), Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, China.
| | - Peilian Chi
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, Macau Special Administrative Region of China; Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, University of Macau, Macau 999078, Macau Special Administrative Region of China.
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3
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Fenske SJ, Liu J, Chen H, Diniz MA, Stephens RL, Cornea E, Gilmore JH, Gao W. Sex differences in brain-behavior relationships in the first two years of life. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2024:2024.01.31.578147. [PMID: 38352542 PMCID: PMC10862872 DOI: 10.1101/2024.01.31.578147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
Background Evidence for sex differences in cognition in childhood is established, but less is known about the underlying neural mechanisms for these differences. Recent findings suggest the existence of brain-behavior relationship heterogeneities during infancy; however, it remains unclear whether sex underlies these heterogeneities during this critical period when sex-related behavioral differences arise. Methods A sample of 316 infants was included with resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging scans at neonate (3 weeks), 1, and 2 years of age. We used multiple linear regression to test interactions between sex and resting-state functional connectivity on behavioral scores of working memory, inhibitory self-control, intelligence, and anxiety collected at 4 years of age. Results We found six age-specific, intra-hemispheric connections showing significant and robust sex differences in functional connectivity-behavior relationships. All connections are either with the prefrontal cortex or the temporal pole, which has direct anatomical pathways to the prefrontal cortex. Sex differences in functional connectivity only emerge when associated with behavior, and not in functional connectivity alone. Furthermore, at neonate and 2 years of age, these age-specific connections displayed greater connectivity in males and lower connectivity in females in association with better behavioral scores. Conclusions Taken together, we critically capture robust and conserved brain mechanisms that are distinct to sex and are defined by their relationship to behavioral outcomes. Our results establish brain-behavior mechanisms as an important feature in the search for sex differences during development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonja J Fenske
- Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
| | - Janelle Liu
- Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
| | - Haitao Chen
- Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90025
| | - Marcio A Diniz
- The Biostatistics and Bioinformatics Research Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
| | - Rebecca L Stephens
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, 27599
| | - Emil Cornea
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, 27599
| | - John H Gilmore
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, 27599
| | - Wei Gao
- Biomedical Imaging Research Institute, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
- Department of Biomedical Sciences and Imaging, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA 90048
- David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90025
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4
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Chuang TM, Peng PC, Su YK, Lin SH, Tseng YL. Exploring Inter-Brain Electroencephalogram Patterns for Social Cognitive Assessment During Jigsaw Puzzle Solving. IEEE Trans Neural Syst Rehabil Eng 2024; 32:422-430. [PMID: 38198273 DOI: 10.1109/tnsre.2024.3352036] [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: 01/12/2024]
Abstract
Social interaction enables the smooth progression of our daily lives. Mounting evidence from recent hyperscanning neuroimaging studies indicates that key components of social behavior can be evaluated using inter-brain oscillations and connectivity. However, mapping out inter-brain networks and developing neurocognitive theories that explain how humans co-create and share information during social interaction remains challenging. In this study, we developed a jigsaw puzzle-solving game with hyperscanning electroencephalography (EEG) signals recorded to investigate inter-brain activities during social interactions involving cooperation and competition. Participants were recruited and paired into dyads to participate in the multiplayer jigsaw puzzle game with 32-channel EEG signals recorded. The corresponding event-related potentials (ERPs), brain oscillations, and inter-brain functional connectivity were analyzed. The results showed different ERP morphologies of P3 patterns in competitive and cooperative contexts, and brain oscillations in the low-frequency band may be an indicator of social cognitive activities. Furthermore, increased inter-brain functional connectivity in the delta, theta, alpha, and beta frequency bands was observed in the competition mode compared to the cooperation mode. By presenting comparable and valid hyperscanning EEG results alongside those of previous studies using traditional paradigms, this study demonstrates the potential of utilizing hyperscanning techniques in real-life game-playing scenarios to quantitatively assess social cognitive interactions involving cooperation and competition. Our approach offers a promising platform with potential applications in the flexible assessment of psychiatric disorders related to social functioning.
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Rhoads SA, O'Connell K, Berluti K, Ploe ML, Elizabeth HS, Amormino P, Li JL, Dutton MA, VanMeter AS, Marsh AA. Neural responses underlying extraordinary altruists' generosity for socially distant others. PNAS NEXUS 2023; 2:pgad199. [PMID: 37416875 PMCID: PMC10321390 DOI: 10.1093/pnasnexus/pgad199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2022] [Revised: 04/22/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 07/08/2023]
Abstract
Most people are much less generous toward strangers than close others, a bias termed social discounting. But people who engage in extraordinary real-world altruism, like altruistic kidney donors, show dramatically reduced social discounting. Why they do so is unclear. Some prior research suggests reduced social discounting requires effortfully overcoming selfishness via recruitment of the temporoparietal junction. Alternatively, reduced social discounting may reflect genuinely valuing strangers' welfare more due to how the subjective value of their outcomes is encoded in regions such as rostral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and amygdala. We tested both hypotheses in this pre-registered study. We also tested the hypothesis that a loving-kindness meditation (LKM) training intervention would cause typical adults' neural and behavioral patterns to resemble altruists. Altruists and matched controls (N = 77) completed a social discounting task during functional magnetic resonance imaging; 25 controls were randomized to complete LKM training. Neither behavioral nor imaging analyses supported the hypothesis that altruists' reduced social discounting reflects effortfully overcoming selfishness. Instead, group differences emerged in social value encoding regions, including rostral ACC and amygdala. Activation in these regions corresponded to the subjective valuation of others' welfare predicted by the social discounting model. LKM training did not result in more generous behavioral or neural patterns, but only greater perceived difficulty during social discounting. Our results indicate extraordinary altruists' generosity results from the way regions involved in social decision-making encode the subjective value of others' welfare. Interventions aimed at promoting generosity may thus succeed to the degree they can increase the subjective valuation of others' welfare.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn A Rhoads
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Katherine O'Connell
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Kathryn Berluti
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Montana L Ploe
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Hannah S Elizabeth
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Paige Amormino
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Joanna L Li
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Mary Ann Dutton
- Department of Psychiatry, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Ashley Skye VanMeter
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Department of Neurology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
| | - Abigail A Marsh
- Department of Psychology, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
- Interdisciplinary Program in Neuroscience, Georgetown University, 3700 O St NW, Washington, DC 20057, USA
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6
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Tang Z, Qu C, Hu Y, Benistant J, Moisan F, Derrington E, Dreher JC. Strengths of social ties modulate brain computations for third-party punishment. Sci Rep 2023; 13:10510. [PMID: 37380656 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-37286-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/13/2023] [Accepted: 06/19/2023] [Indexed: 06/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Costly punishment of social norm transgressors by third-parties has been considered as a decisive stage in the evolution of human cooperation. An important facet of social relationship knowledge concerns the strength of the social ties between individuals, as measured by social distance. Yet, it is unclear how the enforcement of social norms is influenced by the social distance between a third-party and a norm violator at the behavioral and the brain system levels. Here, we investigated how social distance between punishers and norm-violators influences third-party punishment. Participants as third-party punished norm violators more severely as social distance between them increased. Using model-based fMRI, we disentangled key computations contributing to third-party punishment: inequity aversion, social distance between participant and norm violator and integration of the cost to punish with these signals. Inequity aversion increased activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and bilateral insula, and processing social distance engaged a bilateral fronto-parietal cortex brain network. These two brain signals and the cost to punish were integrated in a subjective value signal of sanctions that modulated activity in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. Together, our results reveal the neurocomputational underpinnings of third-party punishment and how social distance modulates enforcement of social norms in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zixuan Tang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China
- Laboratory of Neuroeconomics, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 69675, Lyon, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100, Lyon, France
| | - Chen Qu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China.
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, 510006, China.
| | - Yang Hu
- Laboratory of Neuroeconomics, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 69675, Lyon, France
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai, 201613, China
| | - Julien Benistant
- Laboratory of Neuroeconomics, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 69675, Lyon, France
| | - Frédéric Moisan
- GATE UMR 5824, EM Lyon Business School, 69130, Ecully, France
| | - Edmund Derrington
- Laboratory of Neuroeconomics, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 69675, Lyon, France
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100, Lyon, France
| | - Jean-Claude Dreher
- Laboratory of Neuroeconomics, Institut des Sciences Cognitives Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, 69675, Lyon, France.
- Université Claude Bernard Lyon 1, 69100, Lyon, France.
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7
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Yu H, Contreras-Huerta LS, Prosser AMB, Apps MAJ, Hofmann W, Sinnott-Armstrong W, Crockett MJ. Neural and Cognitive Signatures of Guilt Predict Hypocritical Blame. Psychol Sci 2022; 33:1909-1927. [PMID: 36201792 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221122765] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
A common form of moral hypocrisy occurs when people blame others for moral violations that they themselves commit. It is assumed that hypocritical blamers act in this manner to falsely signal that they hold moral standards that they do not really accept. We tested this assumption by investigating the neurocognitive processes of hypocritical blamers during moral decision-making. Participants (62 adult UK residents; 27 males) underwent functional MRI scanning while deciding whether to profit by inflicting pain on others and then judged the blameworthiness of others' identical decisions. Observers (188 adult U.S. residents; 125 males) judged participants who blamed others for making the same harmful choice to be hypocritical, immoral, and untrustworthy. However, analyzing hypocritical blamers' behaviors and neural responses shows that hypocritical blame was positively correlated with conflicted feelings, neural responses to moral standards, and guilt-related neural responses. These findings demonstrate that hypocritical blamers may hold the moral standards that they apply to others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hongbo Yu
- Department of Psychology, Yale University.,Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara
| | - Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford.,Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford.,Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham
| | - Annayah M B Prosser
- Department of Psychology, Yale University.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford.,Department of Psychology, University of Bath
| | - Matthew A J Apps
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford.,Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham
| | | | - Walter Sinnott-Armstrong
- Center for Cognitive Neuroscience, Duke University.,Department of Philosophy, Duke University.,Kenan Institute for Ethics, Duke University.,Duke Institute for Brain Sciences, Duke University
| | - Molly J Crockett
- Department of Psychology, Yale University.,Department of Psychology, Princeton University
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8
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Wu YE, Hong W. Neural basis of prosocial behavior. Trends Neurosci 2022; 45:749-762. [PMID: 35853793 PMCID: PMC10039809 DOI: 10.1016/j.tins.2022.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Revised: 06/22/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
The ability to behave in ways that benefit other individuals' well-being is among the most celebrated human characteristics crucial for social cohesiveness. Across mammalian species, animals display various forms of prosocial behaviors - comforting, helping, and resource sharing - to support others' emotions, goals, and/or material needs. In this review, we provide a cross-species view of the behavioral manifestations, proximate and ultimate drives, and neural mechanisms of prosocial behaviors. We summarize key findings from recent studies in humans and rodents that have shed light on the neural mechanisms underlying different processes essential for prosocial interactions, from perception and empathic sharing of others' states to prosocial decisions and actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ye Emily Wu
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Weizhe Hong
- Department of Neurobiology and Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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9
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Jiang Y, Wu H, Mi Q, Zhu L. Neurocomputations of strategic behavior: From iterated to novel interactions. WIRES COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2022; 13:e1598. [PMID: 35441465 PMCID: PMC9542218 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1598] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2021] [Revised: 03/27/2022] [Accepted: 03/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Strategic interactions, where an individual's payoff depends on the decisions of multiple intelligent agents, are ubiquitous among social animals. They span a variety of important social behaviors such as competition, cooperation, coordination, and communication, and often involve complex, intertwining cognitive operations ranging from basic reward processing to higher‐order mentalization. Here, we review the progress and challenges in probing the neural and cognitive mechanisms of strategic behavior of interacting individuals, drawing an analogy to recent developments in studies of reward‐seeking behavior, in particular, how research focuses in the field of strategic behavior have been expanded from adaptive behavior based on trial‐and‐error to flexible decisions based on limited prior experience. We highlight two important research questions in the field of strategic behavior: (i) How does the brain exploit past experience for learning to behave strategically? and (ii) How does the brain decide what to do in novel strategic situations in the absence of direct experience? For the former, we discuss the utility of learning models that have effectively connected various types of neural data with strategic learning behavior and helped elucidate the interplay among multiple learning processes. For the latter, we review the recent evidence and propose a neural generative mechanism by which the brain makes novel strategic choices through simulating others' goal‐directed actions according to rational or bounded‐rational principles obtained through indirect social knowledge. This article is categorized under:Economics > Interactive Decision‐Making Psychology > Reasoning and Decision Making Neuroscience > Cognition
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Affiliation(s)
- Yaomin Jiang
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking‐Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences Peking University Beijing China
| | - Hai‐Tao Wu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking‐Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences Peking University Beijing China
| | - Qingtian Mi
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking‐Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences Peking University Beijing China
| | - Lusha Zhu
- School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Peking‐Tsinghua Center for Life Sciences Peking University Beijing China
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10
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Gan T, Zhang Y, Zhang L, Gu R. Neural sensitivity to helping outcome predicts helping decision in real life. Neuropsychologia 2022; 173:108291. [PMID: 35690115 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108291] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 05/10/2022] [Accepted: 06/07/2022] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Prosocial helping behavior is a highly valued social practice across societies, but the willingness to help others varies among persons. In our opinion, that willingness should be associated with the sensitivity to helping outcome at the individual level - that is, increasing as a function of positive outcome sensitivity but decreasing as a function of negative outcome sensitivity. To examine this possibility, we asked participants to make helping decisions in a series of hypothetical scenarios, which provided outcome feedback (positive/negative) of those decisions. Event-related potential (ERP) response to helping outcome was recorded, such that the feedback-related negativity (FRN) and P300 were supposed to reflect the sensitivity to negative outcome and positive outcome, respectively. After the formal task, participants were asked if they would like to donate money to a charity. Consistent with our hypothesis, we found that compared to those who were not willing to donate, the participants who donated money (22 of 41 individuals) showed a smaller FRN but a larger P300. Among these participants, the amount of donation was negatively correlated with FRN response to negative outcome, but positively correlated with P300 response to positive outcome. These findings support the importance of helping outcome sensitivity to prosocial behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tian Gan
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China; Research Institute on Aging, School of Science, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China.
| | - Ying Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Lisha Zhang
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Sci-Tech University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Ruolei Gu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China; Department of Psychology, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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