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Norberg J, McMains S, Persson J, Mitchell JP. Frontotemporal contributions to social and non-social semantic judgements. J Neuropsychol 2024; 18:66-80. [PMID: 37255262 DOI: 10.1111/jnp.12328] [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: 10/26/2022] [Revised: 05/22/2023] [Accepted: 05/23/2023] [Indexed: 06/01/2023]
Abstract
Semantic judgements involve the use of general knowledge about the world in specific situations. Such judgements are typically associated with activity in a number of brain regions that include the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). However, previous studies showed activity in brain regions associated with mentalizing, including the right temporoparietal junction (TPJ), in semantic judgements that involved social knowledge. The aim of the present study was to investigate if social and non-social semantic judgements are dissociated using a combination of fMRI and repetitive TMS. To study this, we asked participants to estimate the percentage of exemplars in a given category that shared a specified attribute. Categories could be either social (i.e., stereotypes) or non-social (i.e., object categories). As expected, fMRI results (n = 26) showed enhanced activity in the left IFG that was specific to non-social semantic judgements. However, statistical evidence did not support that repetitive TMS stimulation (n = 19) to this brain region specifically disrupted non-social semantic judgements. Also as expected, the right TPJ showed enhanced activity to social semantic judgements. However, statistical evidence did not support that repetitive TMS stimulation to this brain region specifically disrupted social semantic judgements. It is possible that the causal networks involved in social and non-social semantic judgements may be more complex than expected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joakim Norberg
- Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA
- Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden
- Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
| | | | - Jonas Persson
- Örebro University, Örebro, Sweden
- Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden
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2
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Yokota S, Hashimoto T, Matsuzaki Y, Ikeda S, Kawashima R. Right amygdala and caudate activation patterns predict implicit attitudes toward people with autism spectrum disorders and physical disabilities, respectively. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2023; 23:1610-1619. [PMID: 37726589 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-023-01126-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/29/2023] [Indexed: 09/21/2023]
Abstract
Attitudes toward people with disabilities tend to be negative, regardless of the visibility of the disorder traits. Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience stigmatization that is rooted in negative attitudes or prejudice toward them because of their social awkwardness. The neural underpinnings of attitudes toward people with disabilities remain unclear. In this study, we focused on implicit attitudes toward people with ASD and physical disabilities, which are more visible than ASD, and investigated whether implicit attitudes were predicted by using neural activity with multivoxel pattern analysis (MVPA) in the prejudice network. Thirty-six, right-handed, Japanese, university students without disabilities participated. Two implicit association tests (IAT) toward people with ASD and physical disabilities revealed negative implicit attitudes. In the MRI scanner, participants performed a one-back task by using the same picture sets of IATs to examine their neural responses toward people with ASD and physical disabilities. According to the MVPA results, activation patterns of the right amygdala and right caudate significantly predicted implicit attitudes toward people with ASD and physical disabilities, respectively. These results suggest that implicit attitudes toward ASD and physical disabilities can be predicted by using neural signals from different regions within the prejudice network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susumu Yokota
- Faculty of Arts and Science, Kyushu University, 744 Motooka, Nishiku, Fukuoka, 819-0395, Japan.
| | - Teruo Hashimoto
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryocho, Aobaku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan
| | - Yutaka Matsuzaki
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryocho, Aobaku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan
| | - Shigeyuki Ikeda
- RIKEN Center for Advanced Intelligence Project, 1-4-1 Nihonbashi, Chuo-ku, Tokyo, 103-0027, Japan
| | - Ryuta Kawashima
- Division of Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, IDAC, Tohoku University, 4-1 Seiryocho, Aobaku, Sendai, 980-8575, Japan
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3
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Neoh MJY, Bizzego A, Teng JH, Gabrieli G, Esposito G. Neural Processing of Sexist Comments: Associations between Perceptions of Sexism and Prefrontal Activity. Brain Sci 2023; 13:brainsci13040529. [PMID: 37190494 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13040529] [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: 02/14/2023] [Revised: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 03/22/2023] [Indexed: 05/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Sexism is a widespread form of gender discrimination which includes remarks based on gender stereotypes. However, little is known about the neural basis underlying the experience of sexist-related comments and how perceptions of sexism are related to these neural processes. The present study investigated whether perceptions of sexism influence neural processing of receiving sexist-related comments. Participants (N = 67) read experimental vignettes describing scenarios of comments involving gender stereotypes while near-infrared spectroscopy recordings were made to measure the hemodynamic changes in the prefrontal cortex. Results found a significant correlation between participants' perceptions of sexism and brain activation in a brain cluster including the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and inferior frontal gyrus. There was a significant gender difference where female participants showed a stronger negative correlation compared to male participants. Future research can expand on these initial findings by looking at subcortical structures involved in emotional processing and gender stereotype application as well as examining cultural differences in perceptions of gender stereotypes and sexism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michelle Jin Yee Neoh
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639818, Singapore
| | - Andrea Bizzego
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
| | - Jia Hui Teng
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639818, Singapore
| | - Giulio Gabrieli
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore 639818, Singapore
- Neuroscience and Behaviour Laboratory, Italian Institute of Technology, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, 38068 Rovereto, Italy
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4
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Zhang M, Siegle GJ. Linking Affective and Hearing Sciences-Affective Audiology. Trends Hear 2023; 27:23312165231208377. [PMID: 37904515 PMCID: PMC10619363 DOI: 10.1177/23312165231208377] [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: 04/23/2023] [Revised: 09/22/2023] [Accepted: 10/01/2023] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
A growing number of health-related sciences, including audiology, have increasingly recognized the importance of affective phenomena. However, in audiology, affective phenomena are mostly studied as a consequence of hearing status. This review first addresses anatomical and functional bidirectional connections between auditory and affective systems that support a reciprocal affect-hearing relationship. We then postulate, by focusing on four practical examples (hearing public campaigns, hearing intervention uptake, thorough hearing evaluation, and tinnitus), that some important challenges in audiology are likely affect-related and that potential solutions could be developed by inspiration from affective science advances. We continue by introducing useful resources from affective science that could help audiology professionals learn about the wide range of affective constructs and integrate them into hearing research and clinical practice in structured and applicable ways. Six important considerations for good quality affective audiology research are summarized. We conclude that it is worthwhile and feasible to explore the explanatory power of emotions, feelings, motivations, attitudes, moods, and other affective processes in depth when trying to understand and predict how people with hearing difficulties perceive, react, and adapt to their environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Min Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Clinical Geriatric Medicine, Huadong Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Greg J. Siegle
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pittsburgh Medical Center, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA
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5
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Jia L, Sung B, Wang J. The role of right insula and its functional connectivity in the regulation of negative implicit stereotypes against rural migrant workers. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2022; 22:803-817. [PMID: 35165825 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-022-00988-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/31/2022] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Previous studies have revealed that stereotyping processes involving negative affective content (e.g., antipathy) can lead to a significant increase in insula activity. However, whether the insula is sensitive to stereotype inconsistency or plays a crucial role in stereotype regulation remains unclear. To help fill this gap, 21 young adults were presented with a modified single-category implicit association test (SC-IAT) that assessed their stereotypes about rural migrant workers. In a within-subjects design, participants completed separate blocks of compatible and incompatible trials, each of which consisted of stereotype-consistent or stereotype-inconsistent trait labels that had a positive or a negative valence. Functional MRI was used to identify specific brain regions associated with negative and positive stereotyping. The behavioral results revealed a typical stereotype regulation effect in which participants responded slower to stereotype-inconsistent condition than stereotype-consistent condition, although such effect was significantly modulated by IAT compatibility, rather than by emotional valence. MRI results revealed that activity in the right insula was significantly sensitive to stereotype regulation processes in negative incompatible tasks, whereas such effect was marginally significant in positive incompatible tasks. Moreover, psychophysiological interaction analyses indicated complex functional connectivity among the right insula and cognitive control regions [e.g., ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC)], social mentalizing regions [medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC)], and motivation regions (putamen) in the condition where negative stereotypes were violated. Taken together, these findings demonstrate that the right insula serves as a crucial node in regulating implicit stereotyping, particularly in negative stereotyping tasks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lei Jia
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, 688 Yingbin Rd, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, 321004, People's Republic of China
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, People's Republic of China
| | - Billy Sung
- Consumer Research Lab, School of Management and Marketing, Curtin University, 208 Kent Street, Bentley, WA6102, Australia
| | - Jun Wang
- Department of Psychology, Zhejiang Normal University, 688 Yingbin Rd, Jinhua, Zhejiang Province, 321004, People's Republic of China.
- Key Laboratory of Intelligent Education Technology and Application of Zhejiang Province, Zhejiang Normal University, 321004, Jinhua, People's Republic of China.
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6
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Neural representations of others' traits predict social decisions. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2022; 119:e2116944119. [PMID: 35605117 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2116944119] [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: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
SignificancePeople's decisions about how to treat others are known to be influenced by societally shared expectations about the typical traits of people from particular social groups (stereotypes). We combined a social psychological framework, an economic game, and multivariate functional MRI analysis to investigate whether and how trait inferences are instantiated neurally in the service of behavior toward members of different social groups. Multidimensional representations of trait content were found in brain regions associated with social cognition and in a region associated with inference-based decision-making: the lateral orbitofrontal cortex (OFC). Only OFC representations predicted individual participants' behavior, suggesting that although stereotypes are also represented in social cognition regions, they exert influence on behavior via decision-making mechanisms centered in the OFC.
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7
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Hevia-Orozco J, Reyes-Aguilar A, Pasaye EH, Barrios FA. Participation of visual association areas in social processing emerges when rTPJ is inhibited. eNeurologicalSci 2022; 27:100407. [PMID: 35669231 PMCID: PMC9162944 DOI: 10.1016/j.ensci.2022.100407] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2021] [Revised: 05/03/2022] [Accepted: 05/21/2022] [Indexed: 10/29/2022] Open
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8
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Lan M, Peng M, Zhao X, Chen H, Liu Y, Yang J. Facial attractiveness is more associated with individual warmth than with competence: behavioral and neural evidence. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:225-235. [PMID: 35443146 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2069152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Abstract
Individuals appear to infer others' psychological characteristics according to facial attractiveness and these psychological characteristics can be classified into two categories in social cognition, that is, warmth and competence. However, which category of psychological characteristic is more associated with face attractiveness and its neural mechanisms have not been explored. To address this, participants were asked to judge others' warmth and competence traits based on face attractiveness, while their brains were scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). They also assessed the attractiveness of faces after scanning. Behavioral results showed that the correlation between face attractiveness and warmth ratings was significantly higher than that with competence ratings. fMRI results demonstrated that the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ), lateral prefrontal cortex, and lateral temporal lobe were more involved in the warmth task. Moreover, attractiveness ratings were negatively correlated with activation of the dmPFC and TPJ only in the warmth task. Furthermore, the attractiveness ratings were negatively correlated with the defined dmPFC, region related to attractiveness judgement, only in the warmth task. In conclusion, people are more inclined to infer others' warmth than competence characteristics from face attractiveness, that is, face attractiveness is more associated with warmth than with competence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengxue Lan
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Maoying Peng
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Haopeng Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yadong Liu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Juan Yang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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9
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Brusa A, Pesič A, Proverbio AM. Learning positive social information reduces racial bias as indexed by N400 response. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0260540. [PMID: 34818377 PMCID: PMC8612538 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0260540] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study used EEG/ERPs to detect the activation of implicit stereotypical representations associated to other-race (OR) people and the modulation of such activation through the previous presentation of positive vs. neutral social information. Electrophysiological signals were recorded in 40 Italian Caucasian participants, unaware of the overall study's purpose. They were presented with 285 sentences that could either violate, non-violate (e.g., "the Roma girl was involved in a robbery) or be neutral with regard to stereotypical concepts concerning other-race people (e.g. Asians, Africans, Arabic). ERPs were time-locked to the terminal words. Prior to the sentence reading task, participants were exposed to a 10 minutes colourful video documentary. While the experimental group was presented a video containing images picturing other-race characters involved in "prestigious" activities that violated stereotypical negative assumptions (e.g. a black neurosurgeon leading a surgery team), the control group viewed a neutral documentary about flora and fauna. EEG signals were then recorded during the sentence reading task to explore whether the previous exposure to the experimental video could modulate the detection of incongruence in the sentences violating stereotypes, as marked by the N400 response. A fictitious task was adopted, consisted in detecting rare animal names. Indeed, only the control group showed a greater N400 response (350-550 ms) to words incongruent with ethnic stereotypes compared to congruent and neutral ones, thus suggesting the presence of a racial bias. No N400 response was found for the experimental group, suggesting a lack of negative expectation for OR individuals. The swLORETA inverse solution, performed on the prejudice-related N400 showed that the Inferior Temporal and the Superior and Middle Frontal Gyri were the strongest N400 intra-cortical sources. Regardless of the experimental manipulation, Congruent terminal words evoked a greater P300 response (500-600 ms) compared to incongruent and neutral ones and a late frontal positivity (650-800 ms) was found to be larger to sentences involving OR than own-race characters (either congruent or incongruent with the prejudice) thus possibly indicating bias-free perceptual in-group/out-group categorization processes. The data showed how it is possible to modulate a pre-existing racial prejudice (as reflected by N400 effect) through exposure to positive media-driven information about OR people. Further follow-up studies should determine the duration in time, and across contexts, of this modulatory effect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Brusa
- Department of Psychology, Neuro-Mi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Antonia Pesič
- Department of Psychology, Neuro-Mi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Alice Mado Proverbio
- Department of Psychology, Neuro-Mi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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10
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Sun H, Verbeke WJMI, Belschak F, van Strien J, Wang L. Investigating Managers' Fine-Grained Evaluation Processes in Organizations: Exploring Two Dual-Process Perspectives. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:649941. [PMID: 34539325 PMCID: PMC8445034 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.649941] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2021] [Accepted: 08/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The dual-process theory is a significant theory in both organizational theory and social psychology and two conjectures about this theory are considered in this manuscript; the default-interventionist vs. parallel-competitive account. Our research goal is to empirically investigate these two views. In concrete terms, by using event-related potentials (ERPs), we seek to study the fine-grained brain processes and self-reported feelings involved in managers' evaluations of target employees within an economic context (firing employees) vs. a social network context (excluding employees). Using the stereotype content model categories, each target employee has high (or low) warmth and high (or low) levels of competence. In the fine-grained ERP analysis of the brain process, we focus on three time windows of interest: novelty detection (N2) and goal violation detection (N400) at the unconscious level, and we then evaluate conscious emotional arousal (late positive potential, LPP). Finally, we focus on the self-reported feelings when having to fire or exclude target employees. As goal pursuit theory predicts, the brain dynamics and self-reported measures differ widely across the two organizational contexts; in concrete terms, processes at a later stage overrule early stages depending on the context. This implies that the data bespeaks more for the parallel-competitive account than the default-interventionist account. We discuss the implications of these findings for research in management and management practice.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoye Sun
- School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | | | - Frank Belschak
- Faculty of Economics and Business, University of Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Jan van Strien
- School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus University Rotterdam, Rotterdam, Netherlands
| | - Lei Wang
- School of Management, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Neuromanagement Lab, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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11
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Lan M, Peng M, Zhao X, Li H, Yang J. Neural processing of the physical attractiveness stereotype: Ugliness is bad vs. beauty is good. Neuropsychologia 2021; 155:107824. [PMID: 33713669 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107824] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/18/2020] [Revised: 02/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/07/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The physical attractiveness stereotype (PAS) is characterized by the belief that beauty is good and ugliness is bad. Although the belief is not encouraged, people still express "beauty is good" explicitly. However, expressing that ugliness is bad is considered impolite in public. In this study, the neural underpinnings of PAS were investigated, particularly the comparison of the neural processing of ugliness is bad and beauty is good. During functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, participants were asked to create trait-conformity judgments based on the facial attractiveness of the images. Our results showed that brain areas, including the fusiform, thalamus, anterior insula (AI), precuneus, inferior temporal gyrus, dorsal lateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC), and dorsal medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) were involved in the processing of PAS. The left AI, left dlPFC, and right dmPFC showed stronger activation for ugliness is bad than for the converse. Moreover, we found a stronger connectivity between the left dlPFC and AI in terms of ugliness is bad than in the converse. Our study suggests that participants were unwilling to express the stereotype of ugliness is bad, and more mental resources were needed to control its expression than the expression of beauty is good.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mengxue Lan
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Maoying Peng
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Xiaolin Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Huixiang Li
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Juan Yang
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China; Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.
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12
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Barnett BO, Brooks JA, Freeman JB. Stereotypes bias face perception via orbitofrontal-fusiform cortical interaction. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:302-314. [PMID: 33270131 PMCID: PMC7943359 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa165] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2020] [Revised: 11/11/2020] [Accepted: 12/02/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research has shown that social-conceptual associations, such as stereotypes, can influence the visual representation of faces and neural pattern responses in ventral temporal cortex (VTC) regions, such as the fusiform gyrus (FG). Current models suggest that this social-conceptual impact requires medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) feedback signals during perception. Backward masking can disrupt such signals, as it is a technique known to reduce functional connectivity between VTC regions and regions outside VTC. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), subjects passively viewed masked and unmasked faces, and following the scan, perceptual biases and stereotypical associations were assessed. Multi-voxel representations of faces across the VTC, and in the FG and mOFC, reflected stereotypically biased perceptions when faces were unmasked, but this effect was abolished when faces were masked. However, the VTC still retained the ability to process masked faces and was sensitive to their categorical distinctions. Functional connectivity analyses confirmed that masking disrupted mOFC-FG connectivity, which predicted a reduced impact of stereotypical associations in the FG. Taken together, our findings suggest that the biasing of face representations in line with stereotypical associations does not arise from intrinsic processing within the VTC and FG alone, but instead it depends in part on top-down feedback from the mOFC during perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin O Barnett
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London WC1E 6BT, UK
| | - Jeffrey A Brooks
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
| | - Jonathan B Freeman
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA
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13
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Brusa A, Bordone G, Proverbio AM. Measuring implicit mental representations related to ethnic stereotypes with ERPs: An exploratory study. Neuropsychologia 2021; 155:107808. [PMID: 33636156 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107808] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/29/2020] [Revised: 01/27/2021] [Accepted: 02/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
The present investigation used ERPs to detect the activation of implicit stereotypical representations associated to different ethnic groups, by means of an implicit paradigm. 285 sentences were presented to 20 Italian Caucasian participants while EEG signals were recorded from 128 scalp sites. Sentences could either violate (Incongruent condition), non-violate (Congruent condition) or be neutral (Neutral condition) with regard to stereotypical concepts concerning non-Caucasian ethnic groups (e.g. Asians, Africans, Arabs). No awareness or judgment about stereotypes was required. Participants were engaged in a fictitious task, ignoring the overall study's purpose. The results showed that Incongruent terminal words elicited a greater anterior N400 response (300-500 ms) compared to Congruent and Neutral words, reflecting a difficulty in integrating the information incongruent with pre-existing stereotypical knowledge. The participant's individual amplitude values of the N400-Difference Wave (Incongruent - Congruent), showed a direct correlation with the individual racism scores obtained at the Subtle and Blatant Prejudice Scale, administered at the end of the experimental session. Intra-cortical sources explaining the N400 involved areas of the social cognition network such as the medial frontal cortex (BA10) and the inferior temporal gyrus (BA20) which are known to support processing of information about other people and impression formation. Moreover, Congruent terminal words evoked a greater P300 response (500-600 ms) compared to the other conditions, possibly reflecting the merging of incoming inputs with anticipated semantic information. A late post-N400 frontal positivity (650-800 ms) was found to be larger to sentences concerning other-race characters (ether congruent or incongruent) compared to sentences involving own-race characters (neutral). The study corroborated the effectiveness of neurophysiological measures to assess implicit complex semantic representations and circumventing social desirability-related problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Brusa
- Neuro-Mi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy.
| | - Giorgia Bordone
- Neuro-Mi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy.
| | - Alice Mado Proverbio
- Neuro-Mi, Milan Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Piazza Dell'Ateneo Nuovo, 1, 20126, Milan, Italy.
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14
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Abstract
The social neuroscience approach to prejudice investigates the psychology of intergroup bias by integrating models and methods of neuroscience with the social psychology of prejudice, stereotyping, and discrimination. Here, we review major contemporary lines of inquiry, including current accounts of group-based categorization; formation and updating of prejudice and stereotypes; effects of prejudice on perception, emotion, and decision making; and the self-regulation of prejudice. In each section, we discuss key social neuroscience findings, consider interpretational challenges and connections with the behavioral literature, and highlight how they advance psychological theories of prejudice. We conclude by discussing the next-generation questions that will continue to guide the social neuroscience approach toward addressing major societal issues of prejudice and discrimination.
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Affiliation(s)
- David M Amodio
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY 10003, USA; .,Department of Psychology, University of Amsterdam, 1001 NK Amsterdam, The Netherlands
| | - Mina Cikara
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
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15
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Proverbio AM, Parietti N, De Benedetto F. No other race effect (ORE) for infant face recognition: A memory task. Neuropsychologia 2020; 141:107439. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2020.107439] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/20/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2020] [Accepted: 03/11/2020] [Indexed: 02/07/2023]
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16
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Wang S, Wang J, Guo W, Ye H, Lu X, Luo J, Zheng H. Gender Difference in Gender Bias: Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Reduces Male's Gender Stereotypes. Front Hum Neurosci 2019; 13:403. [PMID: 31849626 PMCID: PMC6889476 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2019.00403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/29/2018] [Accepted: 10/29/2019] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Stereotypes exist in the interactions between different social groups, and gender stereotypes are particularly prevalent. Previous studies have suggested that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is involved in the social cognition that plays an important role in gender stereotypes, but the specific causal effect of the mPFC remains controversial. In this study, we aimed to use transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to identify a direct link between the mPFC and gender bias. Implicit stereotypes were measured by the gender implicit association test (IAT), and explicit prejudice was measured by the Ambivalent Sexism Inventory (ASI). We found that male and female participants had different behavioral and neural correlates of gender stereotypes. Anodal tDCS significantly reduced male participants’ gender D-IAT scores compared with cathodal and sham stimulation, while the stimulation had an insignificant effect in female participants. The reduction in male participants’ gender bias mainly resulted from a decrease in the difference in reaction time (RT) between congruent and incongruent blocks. Regarding the explicit bias measurement, male and female participants had distinct attitudes, but tDCS had no effect on ASI. Our results revealed that the mPFC played a causal role in controlling implicit gender stereotypes, which is consistent with previous observations and complements past lesion, neuroimaging, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) studies and suggests that males and females have different neural bases for gender stereotypes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Siqi Wang
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jinjin Wang
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Wenmin Guo
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Hang Ye
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Economic Behavior and Decision-making (CEBD), Neuro & Behavior EconLab (NBEL), Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Xinbo Lu
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Economic Behavior and Decision-making (CEBD), Neuro & Behavior EconLab (NBEL), Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China
| | - Jun Luo
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Economic Behavior and Decision-making (CEBD), Neuro & Behavior EconLab (NBEL), Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Haoli Zheng
- School of Economics, Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China.,Center for Economic Behavior and Decision-making (CEBD), Neuro & Behavior EconLab (NBEL), Zhejiang University of Finance and Economics, Hangzhou, China.,Interdisciplinary Center for Social Sciences (ICSS), Zhejiang University, Hangzhou, China
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17
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Endendijk JJ, Smit AK, van Baar AL, Bos PA. Boys' toys, girls' toys: An fMRI study of mothers' neural responses to children violating gender expectations. Biol Psychol 2019; 148:107776. [PMID: 31568818 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.107776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2019] [Revised: 07/15/2019] [Accepted: 09/24/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
This study examined 1) mothers' neural responses to pictures of boys and girls who confirmed or violated social expectations regarding toy preferences, and 2) whether neural sensitivity to targets that violated gendered expectations interacted with mothers' gender stereotypes. In an event-related fMRI experiment, 23 mothers of a 2-6 year-old child viewed and evaluated pictures of boys or girls with their favorite toy. Next, mothers gender stereotypes about children's toys and behavior, and internal motivation to behave without prejudice were assessed. Several neural processes were underlying parents' responses to children's behavior that violates gender-role expectations. Brain regions involved in mentalizing or storage of social knowledge, understanding goal-directed behavior, behavioral control, and conflict monitoring were activated when viewing child targets that violated gender expectations. In these brain areas, increased neural responses to targets that violated traditional gender expectations were associated with more stereotyped expectations about boys' and girls' toys and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joyce J Endendijk
- Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3548 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands.
| | - Anne K Smit
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, University Medical Centre Groningen, Hanzeplein 1, 9713 GZ, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Anneloes L van Baar
- Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3548 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands
| | - Peter A Bos
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Utrecht University, Heidelberglaan 1, 3548 CS, Utrecht, the Netherlands; Institute of Education and Child studies, Leiden University, Wassenaarseweg 52, 2333 AK Leiden, the Netherlands
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18
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Delplanque J, Heleven E, Van Overwalle F. Neural representations of Groups and Stereotypes using fMRI repetition suppression. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3190. [PMID: 30816252 PMCID: PMC6395704 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39859-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Categorizing people in groups and associating them with stereotypical behavior is an integral part of human social understanding and interaction. This study investigates where knowledge on social groups and their stereotypes is represented in the brain. We presented participants with two sentences describing a group member (e.g. the police officer) performing a behavior believed to be stereotypical of the group (e.g. makes an arrest, i.e. authoritative), and asked them to rate the degree to which the behavior was typical of the group. Our critical manipulation was the repetition of this information across the two sentences: Either both the group and the stereotype implied by the behavior was repeated, only the group was repeated, only the stereotype implied by the behavior, or neither. Results showed robust suppression of hemodynamic activation from the first to second sentence in the medial prefrontal cortex in response to the repetition of the stereotype implied in the behavior, but only when groups were different. This finding suggests that the neural representation of stereotypes is located in this area, and this is in line with similar repetition suppression research showing trait representation in this area. A suppression effect for the repetition of groups was observed in the posterior cingulate cortex, regardless of whether stereotypes were repeated or not. This finding suggests that the neural representation of groups is located in this area. Because this location is unexpected, we discuss several suggestions for future research to confirm this finding.
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19
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Hornung J, Smith E, Junger J, Pauly K, Habel U, Derntl B. Exploring Sex Differences in the Neural Correlates of Self-and Other-Referential Gender Stereotyping. Front Behav Neurosci 2019; 13:31. [PMID: 30833893 PMCID: PMC6387933 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2019.00031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2018] [Accepted: 02/04/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
While general self-referential processes and their neural underpinnings have been extensively investigated with neuroimaging tools, limited data is available on sex differences regarding self- and other-referential processing. To fill this gap, we measured 17 healthy women and men who performed a self- vs. other-appraisal task during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) using gender-stereotypical adjectives. During the self-appraisal task, typical male (e.g., "dominant," "competitive") and female adjectives (e.g., "communicative," "sensitive") were presented and participants were asked whether these adjectives applied to themselves. During the other-appraisal task, a prototypical male (Brad Pitt) and female actor (Julia Roberts) was presented and participants were asked again to judge whether typical male and female adjectives applied to these actors. Regarding self-referential processes, women ascribed significantly more female compared to male traits to themselves. At the same time both women and men indicated a stronger desire to exhibit male over female traits. While fMRI did not detect general sex differences in the self- and other-conditions, some subtle differences were revealed between the sexes: both in right putamen and bilateral amygdala stronger gender-congruent activation was found which was however not associated with behavioral measures like the number of self-ascribed female or male attributes. Furthermore, sex hormone levels showed some associations with brain activation pointing to a different pattern in women and men. Finally, the self- vs. other-condition in general led to stronger activation of the anterior cingulate cortex while the other- vs. self-condition activated the right precuneus more strongly which is in line with previous findings. To conclude, our data lend support for subtle sex differences during processing of stereotypical gender attributes. However, it remains unclear whether such differences have a behavioral relevance. We also point to several limitations of this study including the small sample size and the lack of control for potentially different hormonal states in women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas Hornung
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elke Smith
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Jessica Junger
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Katharina Pauly
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
- JARA-BRAIN Institute Brain Structure-Function Relationships, Forschungszentrum Jülich GmbH and RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Birgit Derntl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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20
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Proverbio AM, Alberio A, De Benedetto F. Neural correlates of automatic beliefs about gender stereotypes: Males are more prejudicial. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2018; 186:8-16. [PMID: 30179752 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2018.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2018] [Revised: 08/22/2018] [Accepted: 08/28/2018] [Indexed: 06/08/2023]
Abstract
Aim of this study was to investigate the neural bases of stereotype representation, including the presence of gender bias. EEG was recorded from 128 sites in 38 Italian participants. While looking for rare animal words, participants read 240 sentences, half of which expressed notions congruent with gender stereotypes, and the other half did not (e.g., "Prepared the tomato sauce and then SHAVED", "The engineer stained HER SKIRT"). Event-related potentials (ERPs) were time-locked to critical words. Findings showed enhanced anterior N400 and occipito-parietal P600 responses to items that violated gender stereotypes, mostly in men. The swLORETA analysis applied to N400 potentials in response to incongruent phrases showed that the most activated areas during stereotype processing were the right medial temporal and medial frontal gyri, as well as the TPJ. The data hint at a gender difference in stereotyping, with men being more prejudicial especially when the depicted character is a male.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alice Mado Proverbio
- Neuro-MI Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy.
| | - Alice Alberio
- Neuro-MI Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
| | - Francesco De Benedetto
- Neuro-MI Center for Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Italy
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21
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Endendijk JJ, Groeneveld MG, Mesman J. The Gendered Family Process Model: An Integrative Framework of Gender in the Family. ARCHIVES OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR 2018; 47:877-904. [PMID: 29549542 PMCID: PMC5891573 DOI: 10.1007/s10508-018-1185-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2015] [Revised: 02/27/2018] [Accepted: 03/01/2018] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
This article reviews and integrates research on gender-related biological, cognitive, and social processes that take place in or between family members, resulting in a newly developed gendered family process (GFP) model. The GFP model serves as a guiding framework for research on gender in the family context, calling for the integration of biological, social, and cognitive factors. Biological factors in the model are prenatal, postnatal, and pubertal androgen levels of children and parents, and genetic effects on parent and child gendered behavior. Social factors are family sex composition (i.e., parent sex, sexual orientation, marriage status, sibling sex composition) and parental gender socialization, such as modeling, gender-differentiated parenting, and gender talk. Cognitive factors are implicit and explicit gender-role cognitions of parents and children. Our review and the GFP model confirm that gender is an important organizer of family processes, but also highlight that much is still unclear about the mechanisms underlying gender-related processes within the family context. Therefore, we stress the need for (1) longitudinal studies that take into account the complex bidirectional relationship between parent and child gendered behavior and cognitions, in which within-family comparisons (comparing behavior of parents toward a boy and a girl in the same family) are made instead of between-family comparisons (comparing parenting between all-boy families and all-girl families, or between mixed-gender families and same-gender families), (2) experimental studies on the influence of testosterone on human gender development, (3) studies examining the interplay between biology with gender socialization and gender-role cognitions in humans.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joyce J Endendijk
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9555, 2300 RB, Leiden, The Netherlands
- Child and Adolescent Studies, Utrecht University, P.O. Box 80140, 3508 TC, Utrecht, The Netherlands
| | - Marleen G Groeneveld
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9555, 2300 RB, Leiden, The Netherlands
| | - Judi Mesman
- Centre for Child and Family Studies, Leiden University, P.O. Box 9555, 2300 RB, Leiden, The Netherlands.
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22
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Ferrari C, Nadal M, Schiavi S, Vecchi T, Cela-Conde CJ, Cattaneo Z. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex mediates the interaction between moral and aesthetic valuation: a TMS study on the beauty-is-good stereotype. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 12:707-717. [PMID: 28158864 PMCID: PMC5460046 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsx002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Attractive individuals are perceived as possessing more positive personal traits than unattractive individuals. This reliance on aesthetic features to infer moral character suggests a close link between aesthetic and moral valuation. Here we aimed to investigate the neural underpinnings of the interaction between aesthetic and moral valuation by combining transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with a priming paradigm designed to assess the Beauty-is-Good stereotype. Participants evaluated the trustworthiness of a series of faces (targets), each of which was preceded by an adjective describing desirable, undesirable, or neutral aesthetic qualities (primes). TMS was applied between prime and target to interfere with activity in two regions known to be involved in aesthetic and moral valuation: the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC, a core region in social cognition) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC, critical in decision making). Our results showed that when TMS was applied over vertex (control) and over the dlPFC, participants judged faces as more trustworthy when preceded by positive than by negative aesthetic primes (as also shown in two behavioral experiments). However, when TMS was applied over the dmPFC, primes had no effect on trustworthiness judgments. A second Experiment corroborated this finding. Our results suggest that mPFC plays a causal role linking moral and aesthetic valuation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Ferrari
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Marcos Nadal
- Human Evolution and Cognition Group (EvoCog), University of the Balearic Islands and IFISC, Associated Unit to CSIC, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Susanna Schiavi
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
| | - Camilo J Cela-Conde
- Human Evolution and Cognition Group (EvoCog), University of the Balearic Islands and IFISC, Associated Unit to CSIC, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
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23
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Proverbio AM, Orlandi A, Bianchi E. Electrophysiological markers of prejudice related to sexual gender. Neuroscience 2017; 358:1-12. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroscience.2017.06.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/23/2017] [Revised: 06/01/2017] [Accepted: 06/19/2017] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
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24
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Gamond L, Ferrari C, La Rocca S, Cattaneo Z. Dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and cerebellar contribution to in-group attitudes: a transcranial magnetic stimulation study. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 45:932-939. [PMID: 28132412 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13529] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2016] [Revised: 12/22/2016] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
We tend to express more positive judgments and behaviors toward individuals belonging to our own group compared to other (out-) groups. In this study, we assessed the role of the cerebellum and of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) - two regions critically implicated in social cognition processes - in mediating implicit valenced attitudes toward in-group and out-group individuals. To this aim, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) in combination with a standard attitude priming task, in which Caucasian participants had to categorize the valence of a series of adjectives primed by either an in-group or an out-group face. In two behavioral experiments, we found an in-group bias (i.e. faster categorization of positive adjectives when preceded by in-group faces) but no evidence of an out-group bias. Interestingly, TMS over both the dmPFC and over the (right) cerebellum significantly interfered with the modulation exerted by group membership on adjective valence classification, abolishing the in-group bias observed at baseline. Overall, our data suggest that both the dmPFC and the cerebellum play a causal role in mediating implicit social attitudes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucile Gamond
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy
| | - Chiara Ferrari
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy
| | - Stefania La Rocca
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, 20126, Italy.,Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
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25
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Spiers HJ, Love BC, Le Pelley ME, Gibb CE, Murphy RA. Anterior Temporal Lobe Tracks the Formation of Prejudice. J Cogn Neurosci 2016; 29:530-544. [PMID: 27800703 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Despite advances in understanding the brain structures involved in the expression of stereotypes and prejudice, little is known about the brain structures involved in their acquisition. Here, we combined fMRI, a task involving learning the valence of different social groups, and modeling of the learning process involved in the development of biases in thinking about social groups that support prejudice. Participants read descriptions of valenced behaviors performed by members of novel social groups, with majority groups being more frequently encountered during learning than minority groups. A model-based fMRI analysis revealed that the anterior temporal lobe tracked the trial-by-trial changes in the valence associated with each group encountered in the task. Descriptions of behavior by group members that deviated from the group average (i.e., prediction errors) were associated with activity in the left lateral PFC, dorsomedial PFC, and lateral anterior temporal cortex. Minority social groups were associated with slower acquisition rates and more activity in the ventral striatum and ACC/dorsomedial PFC compared with majority groups. These findings provide new insights into the brain regions that (a) support the acquisition of prejudice and (b) detect situations in which an individual's behavior deviates from the prejudicial attitude held toward their group.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Bradley C Love
- University College London.,Allan Turing Institute, London
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26
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Abstract
UNLABELLED Increased aggression is common after traumatic brain injuries and may persist after cognitive recovery. Maladaptive aggression and violence are associated with dysfunction in the prefrontal and temporal cortex, but such dysfunctional behaviors are typically measured by explicit scales and history. However, it is well known that answers on explicit scales on sensitive topics--such as aggressive thoughts and behaviors--may not reveal true tendencies. Here, we investigated the neural basis of implicit attitudes toward aggression in humans using a modified version of the Implicit Association Task (IAT) with a unique sample of 112 Vietnam War veterans who suffered penetrating brain injury and 33 healthy controls who also served in combat in Vietnam but had no history of brain injury. We hypothesized that dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) lesions, due to the crucial role of the dlPFC in response inhibition, could influence performance on the IAT. In addition, we investigated the causal contribution of specific brain areas to implicit attitudes toward violence. We found a more positive implicit attitude toward aggression among individuals with lesions to the dlPFC and inferior posterior temporal cortex (ipTC). Furthermore, executive functions were critically involved in regulating implicit attitudes toward violence and aggression. Our findings complement existing evidence on the neural basis of explicit aggression centered on the ventromedial prefrontal cortex. These findings highlight that dlPFC and ipTC play a causal role in modulating implicit attitudes about violence and are crucially involved in the pathogenesis of aggressive behavior. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Maladaptive aggression and violence can lead to interpersonal conflict and criminal behavior. Surprisingly little is known about implicit attitudes toward violence and aggression. Here, we used a range of techniques, including voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping, to examine the causal role of brain structures underpinning implicit attitudes toward aggression in a unique sample of combat veterans with traumatic brain injury. We found that damage to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) led to a more positive implicit attitude toward violence that under most normal situations would be considered inappropriate. These results suggest that treatments aimed at increasing cognitive control using cognitive behavioral therapies dependent on the intact dlPFC could treat aggressive and violent behavior.
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27
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Van Overwalle F, D'aes T, Mariën P. Social cognition and the cerebellum: A meta-analytic connectivity analysis. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:5137-54. [PMID: 26419890 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2015] [Revised: 08/06/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) study explores the functional connectivity of the cerebellum with the cerebrum in social cognitive processes. In a recent meta-analysis, Van Overwalle, Baetens, Mariën, and Vandekerckhove (2014) documented that the cerebellum is implicated in social processes of "body" reading (mirroring; e.g., understanding other persons' intentions from observing their movements) and "mind" reading (mentalizing, e.g., inferring other persons' beliefs, intentions or personality traits, reconstructing persons' past, future, or hypothetical events). In a recent functional connectivity study, Buckner et al. (2011) offered a novel parcellation of cerebellar topography that substantially overlaps with the cerebellar meta-analytic findings of Van Overwalle et al. (2014). This overlap suggests that the involvement of the cerebellum in social reasoning depends on its functional connectivity with the cerebrum. To test this hypothesis, we explored the meta-analytic co-activations as indices of functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the cerebrum during social cognition. The MACM results confirm substantial and distinct connectivity with respect to the functions of (a) action understanding ("body" reading) and (b) mentalizing ("mind" reading). The consistent and strong connectivity findings of this analysis suggest that cerebellar activity during social judgments reflects distinct mirroring and mentalizing functionality, and that these cerebellar functions are connected with corresponding functional networks in the cerebrum.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Van Overwalle
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
| | - Tine D'aes
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
| | - Peter Mariën
- Faculty of Arts, Department of Clinical and Experimental Neurolinguistics, CLIN, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Neurology and Memory Clinic, ZNA Middelheim Hospital, Lindendreef 1, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
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28
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Zaki J. Cue Integration: A Common Framework for Social Cognition and Physical Perception. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2015; 8:296-312. [PMID: 26172972 DOI: 10.1177/1745691613475454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 59] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Scientists examining how people understand other minds have long thought that this task must be something like how people perceive the physical world. This comparison has proven to be deeply generative, as models of physical perception and social cognition have evolved in parallel. In this article, I propose extending this classic analogy in a new direction by proposing cue integration as a common feature of social cognition and physical perception. When encountering complex social cues-which happens often-perceivers use multiple processes for understanding others' minds. Like physical senses (e.g., vision or audition), social cognitive processes have often been studied as though they operate in relative isolation. In the domain of physical perception, this assumption has broken down, following evidence that perception is instead characterized by pervasive integration of multisensory information. Such integration is, in turn, elegantly described by Bayesian inferential models. By adopting a similar cue integration framework, researchers can similarly understand and formally model the ways that we perceive others' minds based on complex social information.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jamil Zaki
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University
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29
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Stolk A, D’Imperio D, di Pellegrino G, Toni I. Altered Communicative Decisions following Ventromedial Prefrontal Lesions. Curr Biol 2015; 25:1469-74. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cub.2015.03.057] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2015] [Revised: 03/20/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
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30
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Bowman CR, Dennis NA. The neural correlates of correctly rejecting lures during memory retrieval: the role of item relatedness. Exp Brain Res 2015; 233:1963-75. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-015-4268-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/02/2015] [Accepted: 03/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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31
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Abstract
Research evidences stronger reactions toward those whose behaviors seem consistent with appearance. To better understand the processes underlying appearance-behavior congruity effects, we assessed regions responding as a function of the congruity between visual (appearance) and abstract (behavior) cues. Using fMRI, trustworthy- and untrustworthy-looking faces were paired with positive, negative, or neutral behaviors. Approach judgments were stronger for congruent over incongruent targets, replicating prior work. Incongruent targets (e.g., untrustworthy face/positive behavior) elicited medial prefrontal (mPFC) and dorsolateral prefrontal (dlPFC) cortex activity more than congruent (e.g., untrustworthy face/negative behavior), suggesting processing incongruent targets requires additional mentalizing and controlled processing. Individual differences in enjoying interpersonal interactions negatively correlated with mPFC activity toward incongruent over congruent targets, suggesting more effortful processing of incongruent targets for individuals with lower levels of social motivation. These findings indicate mPFC contributions to processing incongruent appearance-behavior cues, but suggest that individual differences may temper the extent of this effect.
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32
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Pavlova MA, Weber S, Simoes E, Sokolov AN. Gender stereotype susceptibility. PLoS One 2014; 9:e114802. [PMID: 25517903 PMCID: PMC4269388 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0114802] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2014] [Accepted: 11/13/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Gender affects performance on a variety of cognitive tasks, and this impact may stem from socio-cultural factors such as gender stereotyping. Here we systematically manipulated gender stereotype messages on a social cognition task on which no initial gender gap has been documented. The outcome reveals: (i) Stereotyping affects both females and males, with a more pronounced impact on females. Yet an explicit negative message for males elicits a striking paradoxical deterioration in performance of females. (ii) Irrespective of gender and directness of message, valence of stereotype message affects performance: negative messages have stronger influence than positive ones. (iii) Directness of stereotype message differentially impacts performance of females and males: females tend to be stronger affected by implicit than explicit negative messages, whereas in males this relationship is opposite. The data are discussed in the light of neural networks underlying gender stereotyping. The findings provide novel insights into the sources of gender related fluctuations in cognition and behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Susanna Weber
- Social and Neural System Research, Department of Economics, University of Zürich, Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Elisabeth Simoes
- Center for Women's Health, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Center for Women's Health, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Van der Cruyssen L, Heleven E, Ma N, Vandekerckhove M, Van Overwalle F. Distinct neural correlates of social categories and personality traits. Neuroimage 2014; 104:336-46. [PMID: 25241083 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.09.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2014] [Revised: 08/14/2014] [Accepted: 09/08/2014] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Does the processing of social category-related versus trait-related information generate a different pattern of brain activation? In this fMRI study, we compared the processing of behaviors performed by a member of a social category versus an individual, both possessing similar personality traits. Based on previous behavioral studies we predicted that the processing of social category-related information would recruit more activation in brain areas related to mentalizing than individual trait-related information. Participants read sentences describing behaviors performed by a member of a social category (of which the stereotype involves a given trait) or by an individual possessing the same trait. These behavioral sentences varied on both valence (positive versus negative) and consistency (consistent versus inconsistent) with regard to the social category or trait. The results revealed that social category-related behavioral information showed more activation in mentalizing areas (medial prefrontal cortex, anterior temporal lobe, bilateral temporo-parietal junction, posterior cingulate cortex) than trait-related information. This increased activation is interpreted in terms of the impact of autobiographical memories, greater variance among members of social categories than individual traits, a higher construal level (i.e., abstractness), and larger perceived group size. Additionally, inconsistent as opposed to consistent information showed more activation in the right temporo-parietal junction and left lingual gyrus.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Ning Ma
- Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
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34
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Abstract
Despite global increases in diversity, social prejudices continue to fuel intergroup conflict, disparities and discrimination. Moreover, as norms have become more egalitarian, prejudices seem to have 'gone underground', operating covertly and often unconsciously, such that they are difficult to detect and control. Neuroscientists have recently begun to probe the neural basis of prejudice and stereotyping in an effort to identify the processes through which these biases form, influence behaviour and are regulated. This research aims to elucidate basic mechanisms of the social brain while advancing our understanding of intergroup bias in social behaviour.
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Camperio Ciani A, Battaglia U. Implicit Measurements of Sexual Preference in Self‐Declared Heterosexual Men: A Pilot Study on the Rate of Androphilia in Italy. J Sex Med 2014; 11:2207-17. [DOI: 10.1111/jsm.12565] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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36
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Bowman CR, Dennis NA. Age differences in the neural correlates of novelty processing: The effects of item-relatedness. Brain Res 2014; 1612:2-15. [PMID: 25149192 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2014.08.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/02/2014] [Revised: 08/01/2014] [Accepted: 08/05/2014] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Past research finds that age-related increases in false recognitions are a key contributor to age-related memory decline, suggesting that older adults have difficulty in correctly distinguishing between new and old information, particularly when new items at retrieval are semantically or perceptually related to items from encoding. However, little work has examined the neural mechanisms older adults engage to avoid false recognitions and successfully identify information as novel. In the present study, young and older adults were scanned during a retrieval task in which new items were exemplars from studied categories (related lures) or unstudied categories (unrelated lures) in order to detect age-related differences in the neural correlates of related and unrelated novelty processing. Results showed that, unlike young adults, older adults did not differentially recruit regions such as the anterior cingulate and bilateral middle/inferior temporal gyrus to capitalize on the salient categorical differences in unrelated items. Likewise, older adults did not differentially recruit regions of early visual cortex or anterior hippocampus, suggesting that older adults have difficulty using item-specific details to make successful related novelty decisions. Instead, older adults recruited bilateral ventrolateral prefrontal cortex differentially for successful novelty processing and particularly for related novelty processing. Overall, results suggest that age deficits in novelty processing may arise because older adults process related and unrelated lures similarly and do not capitalize on categorical or item-specific properties of novel items. Similar to aging patterns in memory retrieval, results also showed that older adults have the strongest novelty success activity in lateral PFC regions associated with control and monitoring processes. This article is part of a Special Issue entitled SI: Memory & Aging.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin R Bowman
- The Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
| | - Nancy A Dennis
- The Department of Psychology, The Pennsylvania State University, University Park, PA 16802, USA.
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Hehman E, Ingbretsen ZA, Freeman JB. The neural basis of stereotypic impact on multiple social categorization. Neuroimage 2014; 101:704-11. [PMID: 25094016 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2014.07.056] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2014] [Revised: 07/17/2014] [Accepted: 07/25/2014] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Perceivers extract multiple social dimensions from another's face (e.g., race, emotion), and these dimensions can become linked due to stereotypes (e.g., Black individuals → angry). The current research examined the neural basis of detecting and resolving conflicts between top-down stereotypes and bottom-up visual information in person perception. Participants viewed faces congruent and incongruent with stereotypes, via variations in race and emotion, while neural activity was measured using fMRI. Hand movements en route to race/emotion responses were recorded using mouse-tracking to behaviorally index individual differences in stereotypical associations during categorization. The medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) showed stronger activation to faces that violated stereotypical expectancies at the intersection of multiple social categories (i.e., race and emotion). These regions were highly sensitive to the degree of incongruency, exhibiting linearly increasing responses as race and emotion became stereotypically more incongruent. Further, the ACC exhibited greater functional connectivity with the lateral fusiform cortex, a region implicated in face processing, when viewing stereotypically incongruent (relative to congruent) targets. Finally, participants with stronger behavioral tendencies to link race and emotion stereotypically during categorization showed greater dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation to stereotypically incongruent targets. Together, the findings provide insight into how conflicting stereotypes at the nexus of multiple social dimensions are resolved at the neural level to accurately perceive other people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eric Hehman
- New York University, USA; Dartmouth College, USA.
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38
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Foster R, Macleod Clark J. Moderating the stereotypical views of health and social care students: the role of interprofessional education. J Interprof Care 2014; 29:34-40. [PMID: 25006869 DOI: 10.3109/13561820.2014.936059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022]
Abstract
The potential of interprofessional education (IPE) to influence the perceptions and attitudes of health and social care professionals towards their colleagues in other disciplines is well recognized. However, empirical evidence for the positive impact of IPE on stereotypical beliefs has been limited. We report the findings of a pioneering, large scale study designed to assess the influence of IPE on these beliefs. A pre-test, post-test, quasi experimental design compared students' stereotypical views at the beginning and end of undergraduate studies. 580 students from 10 health and social care professional groups undertook assessed IPE modules over 3 years (the intervention group). Baseline and post-course stereotype ratings were compared with those of 672 students in a comparison group, not exposed to IPE modules. Baseline stereotype profiles showed clear variations in the way different professions were perceived, indicating stereotypical beliefs about the characteristics of each profession. Rating patterns were similar for intervention and comparison groups. At graduation, only minor changes were observed in the overall rating patterns for both groups. However, more ratings had decreased in the intervention group than the comparison group, suggesting that IPE may play a role in moderating more extreme stereotyping of colleagues in other professions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Foster
- Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Southampton , Southampton , UK
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39
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Dennis NA, Johnson CE, Peterson KM. Neural correlates underlying true and false associative memories. Brain Cogn 2014; 88:65-72. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2014.04.009] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2013] [Revised: 03/17/2014] [Accepted: 04/22/2014] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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40
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Hartwright CE, Apperly IA, Hansen PC. Representation, control, or reasoning? Distinct functions for theory of mind within the medial prefrontal cortex. J Cogn Neurosci 2013; 26:683-98. [PMID: 24236763 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
The medial pFC (mPFC) is frequently reported to play a central role in Theory of Mind (ToM). However, the contribution of this large cortical region in ToM is not well understood. Combining a novel behavioral task with fMRI, we sought to demonstrate functional divisions between dorsal and rostral mPFC. All conditions of the task required the representation of mental states (beliefs and desires). The level of demands on cognitive control (high vs. low) and the nature of the demands on reasoning (deductive vs. abductive) were varied orthogonally between conditions. Activation in dorsal mPFC was modulated by the need for control, whereas rostral mPFC was modulated by reasoning demands. These findings fit with previously suggested domain-general functions for different parts of mPFC and suggest that these functions are recruited selectively in the service of ToM.
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Van Overwalle F, Baetens K, Mariën P, Vandekerckhove M. Social cognition and the cerebellum: a meta-analysis of over 350 fMRI studies. Neuroimage 2013; 86:554-72. [PMID: 24076206 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.09.033] [Citation(s) in RCA: 296] [Impact Index Per Article: 26.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2013] [Revised: 09/02/2013] [Accepted: 09/12/2013] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
This meta-analysis explores the role of the cerebellum in social cognition. Recent meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies since 2008 demonstrate that the cerebellum is only marginally involved in social cognition and emotionality, with a few meta-analyses pointing to an involvement of at most 54% of the individual studies. In this study, novel meta-analyses of over 350 fMRI studies, dividing up the domain of social cognition in homogeneous subdomains, confirmed this low involvement of the cerebellum in conditions that trigger the mirror network (e.g., when familiar movements of body parts are observed) and the mentalizing network (when no moving body parts or unfamiliar movements are present). There is, however, one set of mentalizing conditions that strongly involve the cerebellum in 50-100% of the individual studies. In particular, when the level of abstraction is high, such as when behaviors are described in terms of traits or permanent characteristics, in terms of groups rather than individuals, in terms of the past (episodic autobiographic memory) or the future rather than the present, or in terms of hypothetical events that may happen. An activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analysis conducted in this study reveals that the cerebellum is critically implicated in social cognition and that the areas of the cerebellum which are consistently involved in social cognitive processes show extensive overlap with the areas involved in sensorimotor (during mirror and self-judgments tasks) as well as in executive functioning (across all tasks). We discuss the role of the cerebellum in social cognition in general and in higher abstraction mentalizing in particular. We also point out a number of methodological limitations of some available studies on the social brain that hamper the detection of cerebellar activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Frank Van Overwalle
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Kris Baetens
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Peter Mariën
- Faculty of Arts, Department of Clinical and Experimental Neurolinguistics, CLIN, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; Department of Neurology and Memory Clinic, ZNA Middelheim Hospital, Lindendreef 1, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| | - Marie Vandekerckhove
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
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42
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Colton G, Leshikar ED, Gutchess AH. Age differences in neural response to stereotype threat and resiliency for self-referenced information. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:537. [PMID: 24046739 PMCID: PMC3764398 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00537] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2013] [Accepted: 08/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
To investigate the contribution of cortical midline regions to stereotype threat and resiliency, we compared age groups in an event-related functional MRI study. During scanning, 17 younger and 16 older adults judged whether words stereotypical of aging and control words described them. Judging stereotype words versus control words revealed higher activations in posterior midline regions associated with self-referencing, including the precuneus, for older adults compared to younger adults. While heightening salience of stereotypes can evoke a threat response, detrimentally affecting performance, invoking stereotypes can also lead to a phenomenon called resilience, where older adults use those stereotypes to create downward social-comparisons to “other” older adults and elevate their own self-perception. In an exploration of brain regions underlying stereotype threat responses as well as resilience responses, we found significant activation in older adults for threat over resilient responses in posterior midline regions including the precuneus, associated with self-reflective thought, and parahippocampal gyrus, implicated in autobiographical memory. These findings have implications for understanding how aging stereotypes may affect the engagement of regions associated with contextual and social processing of self-relevant information, indicating ways in which stereotype threat can affect the engagement of neural resources with age.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriel Colton
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University , Waltham, MA , USA
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43
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Contreras JM, Schirmer J, Banaji MR, Mitchell JP. Common brain regions with distinct patterns of neural responses during mentalizing about groups and individuals. J Cogn Neurosci 2013; 25:1406-17. [PMID: 23574585 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
An individual has a mind; a group does not. Yet humans routinely endow groups with mental states irreducible to any of their members (e.g., "scientists hope to understand every aspect of nature"). But are these mental states categorically similar to those we attribute to individuals? In two fMRI experiments, we tested this question against a set of brain regions that are consistently associated with social cognition--medial pFC, anterior temporal lobe, TPJ, and medial parietal cortex. Participants alternately answered questions about the mental states and physical attributes of individual people and groups. Regions previously associated with mentalizing about individuals were also robustly responsive to judgments of groups, suggesting that perceivers deploy the same social-cognitive processes when thinking about the mind of an individual and the "mind" of a group. However, multivariate searchlight analysis revealed that several of these regions showed distinct multivoxel patterns of response to groups and individual people, suggesting that perceivers maintain distinct representations of groups and individuals during mental state inferences. These findings suggest that perceivers mentalize about groups in a manner qualitatively similar to mentalizing about individual people, but that the brain nevertheless maintains important distinctions between the representations of such entities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Manuel Contreras
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Northwest Science Building, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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44
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Bos AER, Pryor JB, Reeder GD, Stutterheim SE. Stigma: Advances in Theory and Research. BASIC AND APPLIED SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2013. [DOI: 10.1080/01973533.2012.746147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 184] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
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45
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Gilbert SJ, Swencionis JK, Amodio DM. Evaluative vs. trait representation in intergroup social judgments: distinct roles of anterior temporal lobe and prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychologia 2012; 50:3600-11. [PMID: 22975194 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2012.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2012] [Revised: 08/20/2012] [Accepted: 09/03/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
When interacting with someone from another social group, one's responses may be influenced by both stereotypes and evaluations. Given behavioral results suggesting that stereotypes and evaluative associations operate independently, we used fMRI to test whether these biases are mediated by distinct brain systems. White participants viewed pairs of Black or White faces and judged them based on an evaluation (who would you befriend?) or a stereotype-relevant trait (who is more likely to enjoy athletic activities?). Multi-voxel pattern analysis revealed that a predominantly occipital network represented race in a context-invariant manner. However, lateral orbitofrontal cortex preferentially represented race during friendship judgments, whereas anterior medial prefrontal cortex preferentially represented race during trait judgments. Furthermore, representation of race in left temporal pole correlated with a behavioral measure of evaluative bias during friendship judgments and, independently, a measure of stereotyping during trait judgments. Whereas early sensory regions represent race in an apparently invariant manner, representations in higher-level regions are multi-componential and context-dependent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sam J Gilbert
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London WC1N 3AR, UK
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46
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Ciaramelli E, Sperotto RG, Mattioli F, di Pellegrino G. Damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex reduces interpersonal disgust. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2012; 8:171-80. [PMID: 22842816 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nss087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Disgust for contaminating objects (core disgust), immoral behaviors (moral disgust) and unsavory others (interpersonal disgust), have been assumed to be closely related. It is not clear, however, whether different forms of disgust are mediated by overlapping or specific neural substrates. We report that 10 patients with damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) avoided behaviors that normally elicit interpersonal disgust (e.g. using the scarf of a busker) less frequently than healthy and brain-damaged controls, whereas they avoided core and moral disgust elicitors at normal rates. These results indicate that different forms of disgust are dissociated neurally. We propose that the vmPFC is causally (and selectively) involved in mediating interpersonal disgust, shaping patterns of social avoidance and approach.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisa Ciaramelli
- Dipartimento di Psicologia, Università di Bologna, Viale Berti Pichat 5, 40127 Bologna, Italy
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47
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The function of the anterior temporal lobe: a review of the empirical evidence. Brain Res 2012; 1449:94-116. [PMID: 22421014 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2012.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 137] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2011] [Revised: 02/06/2012] [Accepted: 02/08/2012] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Recent work on the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) has lead to substantively different theoretical branches, of its putative functions, that have in some part developed independently of one another. The ATL has dense connectivity with a number of sensory modalities. This has resulted in empirical evidence that supports different functionality dependent upon the variables under investigation. The main bodies of evidence have implicated the ATL as a domain-general semantic hub, whilst other evidence points to a domain-specific role in social or 'person-related' processing. A third body of evidence suggests that the ATLs underlie processing of unique entities. Primarily, research of the ATL has been based on lesion studies and from clinical populations such as semantic dementia or temporal lobe epilepsy patients. Although important, this neuropsychological evidence has a number of confounds, therefore techniques such as functional neuroimaging on healthy participants and the relatively novel use of non-invasive brain stimulation may be more useful to isolate specific variables that can discriminate between these different theories concerning 'normal' function. This review focuses on these latter types of studies and considers the empirical evidence for each perspective. The overall literature is integrated in an attempt to formulate a unifying theory and the functional sub-regions within the ATL are explored. It is concluded that a holistic integration of the theories is feasible in that the ATLs could process domain-general semantic knowledge but with a bias towards social information or stimuli that is personally relevant. Thus, it may be the importance of social/emotional information that gives it priority of processing in the ATL not an inherent property of the structure itself.
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48
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Affiliation(s)
- Chris D. Frith
- Wellcome Trust Center for Neuroimaging and
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; ,
| | - Uta Frith
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, WCIN 3AR United Kingdom, and
- Center of Functionally Integrative Neuroscience, Aarhus University, 8000 Aarhus, Denmark; ,
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49
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Quadflieg S, Macrae CN. Stereotypes and stereotyping: What's the brain got to do with it? EUROPEAN REVIEW OF SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2011. [DOI: 10.1080/10463283.2011.627998] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
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50
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Contreras JM, Banaji MR, Mitchell JP. Dissociable neural correlates of stereotypes and other forms of semantic knowledge. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2011; 7:764-70. [PMID: 21908447 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsr053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Semantic knowledge refers to the information that people have about categories of objects and living things. Social psychologists have long debated whether the information that perceivers have about categories of people--i.e. stereotypes--may be a unique form of semantics. Here, we examine this question against well-established findings regarding the neural basis of semantics, which suggest that two brain regions--left inferior frontal gyrus and inferotemporal cortex--are critical for general semantic knowledge. During functional magnetic resonance imaging, participants answered questions about their knowledge of both non-social and social categories. We reasoned that if stereotypes are a typical form of semantic knowledge, then these same regions should subserve the activation and retrieval of stereotypes. Inconsistent with this possibility, left inferior frontal gyrus and inferotemporal cortex were activated only during non-social category judgments. Instead, judgments of social categories were associated with regions frequently linked to social cognition, including medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate, bilateral temporoparietal junction and anterior temporal cortex. Together, these results suggest that social stereotypes should be considered distinct from other forms of semantic knowledge, and may have more in common with representing mental states than retrieving semantic knowledge about objects and non-human living things.
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Affiliation(s)
- Juan Manuel Contreras
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Northwest Science Building, 52 Oxford Street, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA.
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