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Romagnano V, Kubon J, Sokolov AN, Fallgatter AJ, Braun C, Pavlova MA. Dynamic brain communication underwriting face pareidolia. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2024; 121:e2401196121. [PMID: 38588422 PMCID: PMC11032489 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2401196121] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2024] [Accepted: 03/04/2024] [Indexed: 04/10/2024] Open
Abstract
Face pareidolia is a tendency to seeing faces in nonface images that reflects high tuning to a face scheme. Yet, studies of the brain networks underwriting face pareidolia are scarce. Here, we examined the time course and dynamic topography of gamma oscillatory neuromagnetic activity while administering a task with nonface images resembling a face. Images were presented either with canonical orientation or with display inversion that heavily impedes face pareidolia. At early processing stages, the peaks in gamma activity (40 to 45 Hz) to images either triggering or not face pareidolia originate mainly from the right medioventral and lateral occipital cortices, rostral and caudal cuneus gyri, and medial superior occipital gyrus. Yet, the difference occurred at later processing stages in the high-frequency range of 80 to 85 Hz over a set of the areas constituting the social brain. The findings speak rather for a relatively late neural network playing a key role in face pareidolia. Strikingly, a cutting-edge analysis of brain connectivity unfolding over time reveals mutual feedforward and feedback intra- and interhemispheric communication not only within the social brain but also within the extended large-scale network of down- and upstream regions. In particular, the superior temporal sulcus and insula strongly engage in communication with other brain regions either as signal transmitters or recipients throughout the whole processing of face-pareidolia images.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Romagnano
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Julian Kubon
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Andreas J. Fallgatter
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Christoph Braun
- Magnetoencephalography Center, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
- Hertie Institute for Clinical Brain Research, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
| | - Marina A. Pavlova
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen72076, Germany
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Pavlova MA, Moosavi J, Carbon CC, Fallgatter AJ, Sokolov AN. Emotions behind a mask: the value of disgust. Schizophrenia (Heidelb) 2023; 9:58. [PMID: 37709796 PMCID: PMC10502067 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-023-00388-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/13/2023] [Accepted: 08/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/16/2023]
Abstract
The impact of face masks on social cognition and interaction became a popular topic due to the long-lasting COVID-19 pandemic. This theme persists in the focus of attention beyond the pandemic, since face covering not only reduces the overall amount of face information available but also introduces biases and prejudices affecting social perception at large. Many questions are still open. One of them is whether gender of beholders affects inferring of emotions covered by face masks. Reading covered faces may be particularly challenging for individuals with mental disorders, most of which are gender-specific. Previous findings are not only sparse, but inconclusive because most research had been conducted online with resulting samples heavily dominated by females. Here in a face-to-face study, females and males were presented with a randomized set of faces covered by masks. In a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, participants had to indicate facial emotions displayed by posers. In general, the outcome dovetails with earlier findings that face masks affect emotion recognition in a dissimilar way: Inferring some emotions suffers more severely than others, with the most pronounced influence of mask wearing on disgust and close to ceiling recognition of fear and neutral expressions. Contrary to our expectations, however, males were on overall more proficient in emotion recognition. In particular, males substantially excelled in inferring disgust. The findings help to understand gender differences in recognition of disgust, the forgotten emotion of psychiatry, that is of substantial value for a wide range of mental disorders including schizophrenia. Watch Prof. Marina Pavlova discussing this her work and this article: https://vimeo.com/860126397/5966610f49?share=copy .
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Jonas Moosavi
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Claus-Christian Carbon
- Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Romagnano V, Sokolov AN, Fallgatter AJ, Pavlova MA. Do subtle cultural differences sculpt face pareidolia? Schizophrenia (Heidelb) 2023; 9:28. [PMID: 37142598 PMCID: PMC10160123 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-023-00355-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2023] [Accepted: 04/10/2023] [Indexed: 05/06/2023]
Abstract
Face tuning to non-face images such as shadows or grilled toasts is termed face pareidolia. Face-pareidolia images represent a valuable tool for investigation of social cognition in mental disorders. Here we examined (i) whether, and, if so, how face pareidolia is affected by subtle cultural differences; and (ii) whether this impact is modulated by gender. With this purpose in mind, females and males from Northern Italy were administered a set of Face-n-Thing images, photographs of objects such as houses or waves to a varying degree resembling a face. Participants were presented with pareidolia images with canonical upright orientation and display inversion that heavily affects face pareidolia. In a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, beholders had to indicate whether each image resembled a face. The outcome was compared with the findings obtained in the Southwest of Germany. With upright orientation, neither cultural background nor gender affected face pareidolia. As expected, display inversion generally mired face pareidolia. Yet, while display inversion led to a drastic reduction of face impression in German males as compared to females, in Italians, no gender differences were found. In a nutshell, subtle cultural differences do not sculpt face pareidolia, but instead affect face impression in a gender-specific way under unusual viewing conditions. Clarification of the origins of these effects requires tailored brain imaging work. Implications for transcultural psychiatry, in particular, for schizophrenia research, are highlighted and discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Romagnano
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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Pavlova MA, Carbon CC, Coello Y, Sokolov AA, Proverbio AM. Editorial: Impact of face covering on social cognition and interaction. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1150604. [PMID: 36895421 PMCID: PMC9989270 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1150604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2023] [Accepted: 01/26/2023] [Indexed: 02/23/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Tübingen Center for Mental Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Claus-Christian Carbon
- Department of General Psychology and Methodology, University of Bamberg, Bamberg, Bavaria, Germany
| | - Yann Coello
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Lille, France
| | - Arseny A Sokolov
- Service de Neuropsychologie et de Neuroréhabilitation, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Alice M Proverbio
- Cognitive Electrophysiology Lab, Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
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Romagnano V, Sokolov AN, Steinwand P, Fallgatter AJ, Pavlova MA. Face pareidolia in male schizophrenia. Schizophrenia (Heidelb) 2022; 8:112. [PMID: 36517504 PMCID: PMC9751144 DOI: 10.1038/s41537-022-00315-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/24/2022] [Accepted: 11/09/2022] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Faces are valuable signals for efficient social interaction. Yet, social cognition including the sensitivity to a coarse face scheme may be deviant in schizophrenia (SZ). Tuning to faces in non-face images such as shadows, grilled toasts, or ink blots is termed face pareidolia. This phenomenon is poorly investigated in SZ. Here face tuning was assessed in 44 male participants with SZ and person-by-person matched controls by using recently created Face-n-Thing images (photographs of non-face objects to a varying degree resembling a face). The advantage of these images is that single components do not automatically trigger face processing. Participants were administered a set of images with upright and inverted (180° in the image plane) orientation. In a two-alternative forced-choice paradigm, they had to indicate whether an image resembled a face. The findings showed that: (i) With upright orientation, SZ patients exhibited deficits in face tuning: they provided much fewer face responses than controls. (ii) Inversion generally hindered face pareidolia. However, while in neurotypical males, inversion led to a drastic drop in face impression, in SZ, the impact of orientation was reduced. (iii) Finally, in accord with the signal detection theory analysis, the sensitivity index (d-prime) was lower in SZ, whereas no difference occurred in decision criterion. The outcome suggests altered face pareidolia in SZ is caused by lower face sensitivity rather than by alterations in cognitive bias. Comparison of these findings with earlier evidence confirms that tuning to social signals is lower in SZ, and warrants tailored brain imaging research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valentina Romagnano
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Patrick Steinwand
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany.
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Pavlova MA, Panchenko PA, Alekhina EA, Ignatova AA, Plyutinskaya AD, Pankratov AA, Pritmov DA, Grin MA, Feofanov AV, Fedorova OA. A New Glutathione-Cleavable Theranostic for Photodynamic Therapy Based on Bacteriochlorin e and Styrylnaphthalimide Derivatives. Biosensors (Basel) 2022; 12:1149. [PMID: 36551116 PMCID: PMC9775103 DOI: 10.3390/bios12121149] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2022] [Revised: 12/02/2022] [Accepted: 12/05/2022] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Herein, we report a new conjugate BChl-S-S-NI based on the second-generation photosensitizer bacteriochlorin e6 (BChl) and a 4-styrylnaphthalimide fluorophore (NI), which is cleaved into individual functional fragments in the intracellular medium. The chromophores in the conjugate were cross-linked by click chemistry via a bis(azidoethyl)disulfide bridge which is reductively cleaved by the intracellular enzyme glutathione (GSH). A photophysical investigation of the conjugate in solution by using optical spectroscopy revealed that the energy transfer process is realized with high efficiency in the conjugated system, leading to the quenching of the emission of the fluorophore fragment. It was shown that the conjugate is cleaved by GSH in solution, which eliminates the possibility of energy transfer and restores the fluorescence of 4-styrylnaphthalimide. The photoinduced activity of the conjugate and its imaging properties were investigated on the mouse soft tissue sarcoma cell line S37. Phototoxicity studies in vitro show that the BChl-S-S-NI conjugate has insignificant dark cytotoxicity in the concentration range from 15 to 20,000 nM. At the same time, upon photoexcitation, it exhibits high photoinduced activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Pavlova
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
| | - Pavel A. Panchenko
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Faculty of Petroleum Chemistry and Polymeric Materials, D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, 125047 Moscow, Russia
| | - Ekaterina A. Alekhina
- Faculty of Petroleum Chemistry and Polymeric Materials, D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, 125047 Moscow, Russia
| | - Anastasia A. Ignatova
- M.M. Shemyakin and Yu.A. Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Anna D. Plyutinskaya
- P. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute—Branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 125284 Moscow, Russia
| | - Andrey A. Pankratov
- P. Hertsen Moscow Oncology Research Institute—Branch of the National Medical Research Radiological Center of the Ministry of Health of the Russian Federation, 125284 Moscow, Russia
| | - Dmitriy A. Pritmov
- Institute of Fine Chemical Technology, MIREA—Russian Technological University, 119571 Moscow, Russia
| | - Mikhail A. Grin
- Institute of Fine Chemical Technology, MIREA—Russian Technological University, 119571 Moscow, Russia
| | - Alexey V. Feofanov
- M.M. Shemyakin and Yu.A. Ovchinnikov Institute of Bioorganic Chemistry of Russian Academy of Sciences, 117997 Moscow, Russia
| | - Olga A. Fedorova
- A.N. Nesmeyanov Institute of Organoelement Compounds of Russian Academy of Sciences, 119991 Moscow, Russia
- Faculty of Petroleum Chemistry and Polymeric Materials, D. Mendeleev University of Chemical Technology of Russia, 125047 Moscow, Russia
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Pavlova MA, Romagnano V, Kubon J, Isernia S, Fallgatter AJ, Sokolov AN. Ties between reading faces, bodies, eyes, and autistic traits. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:997263. [PMID: 36248653 PMCID: PMC9554539 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.997263] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 08/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
While reading covered with masks faces during the COVID-19 pandemic, for efficient social interaction, we need to combine information from different sources such as the eyes (without faces hidden by masks) and bodies. This may be challenging for individuals with neuropsychiatric conditions, in particular, autism spectrum disorders. Here we examined whether reading of dynamic faces, bodies, and eyes are tied in a gender-specific way, and how these capabilities are related to autistic traits expression. Females and males accomplished a task with point-light faces along with a task with point-light body locomotion portraying different emotional expressions. They had to infer emotional content of displays. In addition, participants were administered the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, modified and Autism Spectrum Quotient questionnaire. The findings show that only in females, inferring emotions from dynamic bodies and faces are firmly linked, whereas in males, reading in the eyes is knotted with face reading. Strikingly, in neurotypical males only, accuracy of face, body, and eyes reading was negatively tied with autistic traits. The outcome points to gender-specific modes in social cognition: females rely upon merely dynamic cues while reading faces and bodies, whereas males most likely trust configural information. The findings are of value for examination of face and body language reading in neuropsychiatric conditions, in particular, autism, most of which are gender/sex-specific. This work suggests that if male individuals with autistic traits experience difficulties in reading covered with masks faces, these deficits may be unlikely compensated by reading (even dynamic) bodies and faces. By contrast, in females, reading covered faces as well as reading language of dynamic bodies and faces are not compulsorily connected to autistic traits preventing them from paying high costs for maladaptive social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- *Correspondence: Marina A. Pavlova,
| | - Valentina Romagnano
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Julian Kubon
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sara Isernia
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
| | - Andreas J. Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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Kubon J, Romagnano V, Sokolov AN, Fallgatter AJ, Braun C, Pavlova MA. Neural circuits underpinning face tuning in male depression. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:3827-3839. [PMID: 35989312 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2022] [Revised: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 07/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Reading bodies and faces is essential for efficient social interactions, though it may be thought-provoking for individuals with depression. Yet aberrations in the face sensitivity and underwriting neural circuits are not well understood, in particular, in male depression. Here, we use cutting-edge analyses of time course and dynamic topography of gamma oscillatory neuromagnetic cortical activity during administration of a task with Arcimboldo-like images. No difference in face tuning was found between individuals with depression and their neurotypical peers. Furthermore, this behavioral outcome nicely dovetails with magnetoencephalographic data: at early processing stages, the gamma oscillatory response to images resembling a face was rather similar in patients and controls. These bursts originated primarily from the right medioventral occipital cortex and lateral occipital cortex. At later processing stages, however, its topography altered remarkably in depression with profound engagement of the frontal circuits. Yet the primary difference in depressive individuals as compared with their neurotypical peers occurred over the left middle temporal cortices, a part of the social brain, engaged in feature integration and meaning retrieval. The outcome suggests compensatory recruitment of neural resources in male depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Kubon
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Valentina Romagnano
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christoph Braun
- MEG Center, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Otfried Müller Str. 47, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Calwerstr. 14, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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Abstract
The need for assessment of social skills in clinical and neurotypical populations has led to the widespread, and still increasing use of the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test' (RMET) developed more than two decades ago by Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues for evaluation of social cognition in autism. By analyzing most recent clinical and brain imaging data, we illuminate a set of factors decisive for using the RMET. Converging evidence indicates: (i) In neurotypical individuals, RMET scores are tightly correlated with other social skills (empathy, emotional intelligence, and body language reading); (ii) The RMET assesses recognition of facial affect, but also heavily relies on receptive language skills, semantic knowledge, and memory; (iii) RMET performance is underwritten by the large-scale ensembles of neural networks well-outside the social brain; (iv) The RMET is limited in its capacity to differentiate between neuropsychiatric conditions as well as between stages and severity of a single disorder, though it reliably distinguishes individuals with altered social cognition or elevated pathological traits from neurotypical persons; (v) Merely gender (as a social construct) rather than neurobiological sex influences performance on the RMET; (vi) RMET scores do not substantially decline in healthy aging, and they are higher with higher education level, cognitive abilities, literacy, and mental well-being; (vii) Accuracy on the RMET, and engagement of the social brain, are greater when emotions are expressed and recognized by individuals with similar cultural/ethnic background. Further research is required to better inform usage of the RMET as a tool for swift and reliable examination of social cognition. In light of comparable visual input from the RMET images and faces covered by masks due to COVID-19 regulations, the analysis is of value for keeping efficient social interaction during the current pandemic, in particular, in professional settings related to social communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Menthal Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Arseny A Sokolov
- Service de neuropsychologie et de neuroréhabilitation, Département des neurosciences cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
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Simoes E, Sokolov AN, Hahn M, Fallgatter AJ, Brucker SY, Wallwiener D, Pavlova MA. How Negative Is Negative Information. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:742576. [PMID: 34557072 PMCID: PMC8452949 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.742576] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/16/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Daily, we face a plenty of negative information that can profoundly affect our perception and behavior. During devastating events such as the current COVID-19 pandemic, negative messages may hinder reasoning at individual level and social decisions in the society at large. These effects vary across genders in neurotypical populations (being more evident in women) and may be even more pronounced in individuals with neuropsychiatric disorders such as depression. Here, we examine how negative information impacts reasoning on a social perception task in females with breast cancer, a life-threatening disease. Two groups of patients and two groups of matched controls (NTOTAL = 80; median age, 50 years) accomplished a psychometrically standardized social cognition and reasoning task receiving either the standard instruction solely or additional negative information. Performance substantially dropped in patients and matched controls who received negative information compared to those who did not. Moreover, patients with negative information scored much lower not only compared with controls but also with patients without negative information. We suggest the effects of negative information are mediated by the distributed brain networks involved in affective processing and emotional memory. The findings offer novel insights on the impact of negative information on social perception and decision making during life-threatening events, fostering better understanding of its neurobiological underpinnings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth Simoes
- Department of Women's Health, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Executive Department for Social Medicine, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Women's Health, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Markus Hahn
- Department of Women's Health, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Sara Y Brucker
- Department of Women's Health, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Diethelm Wallwiener
- Department of Women's Health, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen, Germany
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11
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Abstract
Covering faces with masks, due to mandatory pandemic safety regulations, we can no longer rely on the habitual daily-life information. This may be thought-provoking for healthy people, but particularly challenging for individuals with neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental conditions. Au fait research on reading covered faces reveals that: 1) wearing masks hampers facial affect recognition, though it leaves reliable inferring basic emotional expressions; 2) by buffering facial affect, masks lead to narrowing of emotional spectrum and dampen veridical evaluation of counterparts; 3) masks may affect perceived face attractiveness; 4) covered (either by masks or other veils) faces have a certain signal function introducing perceptual biases and prejudices; 5) reading covered faces is gender- and age-specific, being more challenging for males and more variable even in healthy aging; 6) the hampering effects of masks on social cognition occur over the globe; and 7) reading covered faces is likely to be supported by the large-scale assemblies of the neural circuits far beyond the social brain. Challenges and limitations of ongoing research and parallels to the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test are assessed. Clarification of how masks affect face reading in the real world, where we deal with dynamic faces and have entrée to additional valuable social signals such as body language, as well as the specificity of neural networks underlying reading covered faces calls for further tailored research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, and Tübingen Center for Mental Health (TüCMH), Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Arseny A Sokolov
- Service de neuropsychologie et de neuroréhabilitation, Département des neurosciences cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne 1011, Switzerland
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12
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Arriaga P, Esteves F, Pavlova MA, Piçarra N. Editorial: Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19): The Impact and Role of Mass Media During the Pandemic. Front Psychol 2021; 12:729238. [PMID: 34497569 PMCID: PMC8419265 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.729238] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2021] [Accepted: 07/30/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Patrícia Arriaga
- Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Iscte-University Institute of Lisbon, CIS-IUL, Lisbon, Portugal
| | - Francisco Esteves
- Department of Psychology and Social Work, Mid Sweden University, Östersund, Sweden
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Nuno Piçarra
- Department of Social and Organizational Psychology, Iscte-University Institute of Lisbon, CIS-IUL, Lisbon, Portugal
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13
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Kubon J, Sokolov AN, Popp R, Fallgatter AJ, Pavlova MA. Face Tuning in Depression. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:2574-2585. [PMID: 33350440 PMCID: PMC7799219 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/25/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 11/13/2020] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The latest COVID-19 pandemic reveals that unexpected changes elevate depression bringing people apart, but also calling for social sharing. Yet the impact of depression on social cognition and functioning is not well understood. Assessment of social cognition is crucial not only for a better understanding of major depressive disorder (MDD), but also for screening, intervention, and remediation. Here by applying a novel experimental tool, a Face-n-Food task comprising a set of images bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style, we assessed the face tuning in patients with MDD and person-by-person matched controls. The key benefit of these images is that single components do not trigger face processing. Contrary to common beliefs, the outcome indicates that individuals with depression express intact face responsiveness. Yet, while in depression face sensitivity is tied with perceptual organization, in typical development, it is knotted with social cognition capabilities. Face tuning in depression, therefore, may rely upon altered behavioral strategies and underwriting brain mechanisms. To exclude a possible camouflaging effect of female social skills, we examined gender impact. Neither in depression nor in typical individuals had females excelled in face tuning. The outcome sheds light on the origins of the face sensitivity and alterations in social functioning in depression and mental well-being at large. Aberrant social functioning in depression is likely to be the result of deeply-rooted maladaptive strategies rather than of poor sensitivity to social signals. This has implications for mental well-being under the current pandemic conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julian Kubon
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Rebecca Popp
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.,German Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders (DZNE), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen, Germany
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14
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Abstract
Research on face sensitivity is of particular relevance during the rapidly evolving Covid-19 pandemic leading to social isolation, but also calling for intact interaction and sharing. Humans possess high sensitivity even to a coarse face scheme, seeing faces in non-face images where real faces do not exist. The advantage of non-face images is that single components do not trigger face processing. Here by implementing a novel set of Face-n-Thing images, we examined (i) how face tuning alters with changing display orientation, and (ii) whether it is affected by observers’ gender. Young females and males were presented with a set of Face-n-Thing images either with canonical upright orientation or inverted 180° in the image plane. Face impression was substantially impeded by display inversion. Furthermore, whereas with upright display orientation, no gender differences were found, with inversion, Face-n-Thing images elicited face impression in females significantly more often. The outcome sheds light on the origins of the face inversion effect in general. Moreover, the findings open a way for examination of face sensitivity and underwriting brain networks in neuropsychiatric conditions related to the current pandemic (such as depression and anxiety), most of which are gender/sex-specific.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Valentina Romagnano
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J. Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- LEAD Graduate School & Research Network, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- German Center for Neurodegenerative Disorders (DZNE), Medical School and University Hospital, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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15
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Sokolov AA, Zeidman P, Razi A, Erb M, Ryvlin P, Pavlova MA, Friston KJ. Asymmetric high-order anatomical brain connectivity sculpts effective connectivity. Netw Neurosci 2020; 4:871-890. [PMID: 33615094 PMCID: PMC7888488 DOI: 10.1162/netn_a_00150] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/07/2020] [Accepted: 05/18/2020] [Indexed: 12/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Bridging the gap between symmetric, direct white matter brain connectivity and neural dynamics that are often asymmetric and polysynaptic may offer insights into brain architecture, but this remains an unresolved challenge in neuroscience. Here, we used the graph Laplacian matrix to simulate symmetric and asymmetric high-order diffusion processes akin to particles spreading through white matter pathways. The simulated indirect structural connectivity outperformed direct as well as absent anatomical information in sculpting effective connectivity, a measure of causal and directed brain dynamics. Crucially, an asymmetric diffusion process determined by the sensitivity of the network nodes to their afferents best predicted effective connectivity. The outcome is consistent with brain regions adapting to maintain their sensitivity to inputs within a dynamic range. Asymmetric network communication models offer a promising perspective for understanding the relationship between structural and functional brain connectomes, both in normalcy and neuropsychiatric conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arseny A. Sokolov
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Department of Neurology, University Neurorehabilitation, University Hospital Inselspital, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
- Service de Neurologie and Neuroscape@NeuroTech Platform, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Neuroscape Center, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, University of California San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, USA
| | - Peter Zeidman
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Adeel Razi
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
- Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences & Monash Biomedical Imaging, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
- Department of Electronic Engineering, NED University of Engineering and Technology, Karachi, Pakistan
| | - Michael Erb
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, University of Tübingen Medical School, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Philippe Ryvlin
- Service de Neurologie and Neuroscape@NeuroTech Platform, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen Medical School, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Karl J. Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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16
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Duchesne A, Pletzer B, Pavlova MA, Lai MC, Einstein G. Editorial: Bridging Gaps Between Sex and Gender in Neurosciences. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:561. [PMID: 32595445 PMCID: PMC7301887 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Annie Duchesne
- Department of Psychology, University of Northern British Columbia, Prince George, BC, Canada
| | - Belinda Pletzer
- Department of Psychology, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria.,Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience, University of Salzburg, Salzburg, Austria
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Meng-Chuan Lai
- Margaret and Wallace McCain Centre for Child, Youth & Family Mental Health, Azrieli Adult Neurodevelopmental Centre, and Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry and Autism Research Unit, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychiatry, National Taiwan University Hospital and College of Medicine, Taipei, Taiwan.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada
| | - Gillian Einstein
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Department of Gender Studies, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden.,Canadian Consortium on Neurodegeneration and Aging, Toronto, ON, Canada.,Wilfred and Joyce Posluns Chair in Women's Brain Health and Aging, Toronto, ON, Canada
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17
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Faces convey valuable daily life social signals. As in most psychiatric conditions, non-verbal social cognition or its components including face processing may be aberrant in schizophrenia (SZ). Social participation of individuals with SZ is vital for their quality of life, and remediation of social abilities in this population is of high relevance both for society and clinical care. METHOD Tuning to faces in non-face images such as shadows, grilled toasts, or ink blots is called face pareidolia. Humans possess high sensitivity to facial signals: even fetuses and infants are well tuned to coarse face cues. Here we assessed face tuning in individuals with SZ and person-by-person matched controls by using a new experimental tool, a set of food-plate images bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style. The key benefit of these images is that single components do not trigger face processing. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS The outcome indicates that individuals with SZ exhibit aberrant face tuning in face-like non-face images (χ2(1) = 17.44, p = 0.0001) that can hamper adaptive interaction with peers and social participation hindering, in turn, clinical remediation. Face response rate in SZ patients was related to the scores on the event arrangement task tapping social cognition (Pearson product-moment correlation, r = 0.602, p = 0.01) and on picture completion task assessing visual perceptual organization (Spearman's rho = 0.614, p = 0.009). Therefore, poor performance on the face tuning task is unlikely to be accounted for by deviant general cognitive abilities, but rather by impairments in perceptual integration and social cognition. Comparison of these findings with data in autism and other neuropsychiatric conditions provides novel insights on the origins of face tuning in SZ and triggers brain imaging research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rebecca Rolf
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Tim W Rattay
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; Department of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Hertie-Institute for Clinical Brain Research, and Center for Neurology, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany; German Center of Neurodegenerative Diseases (DZNE), Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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18
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Isernia S, Sokolov AN, Fallgatter AJ, Pavlova MA. Untangling the Ties Between Social Cognition and Body Motion: Gender Impact. Front Psychol 2020; 11:128. [PMID: 32116932 PMCID: PMC7016199 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00128] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/16/2020] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
We proved the viability of the general hypothesis that biological motion (BM) processing serves as a hallmark of social cognition. We assumed that BM processing and inferring emotions through BM (body language reading) are firmly linked and examined whether this tie is gender-specific. Healthy females and males completed two tasks with the same set of point-light BM displays portraying angry and neutral locomotion of female and male actors. For one task, perceivers had to indicate actor gender, while for the other, they had to infer the emotional content of locomotion. Thus, with identical visual input, we directed task demands either to BM processing or inferring of emotion. This design allows straight comparison between sensitivity to BM and recognition of emotions conveyed by the same BM. In addition, perceivers were administered a set of photographs from the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), with which they identified either emotional state or actor gender. Although there were no gender differences in performance on BM tasks, a tight link occurred between recognition accuracy of emotions and gender through BM in males. In females only, body language reading (both accuracy and response time) was associated with performance on the RMET. The outcome underscores gender-specific modes in visual social cognition and triggers investigation of body language reading in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Isernia
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
- CADITeR, IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J. Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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19
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Pavlova MA, Galli J, Pagani F, Micheletti S, Guerreschi M, Sokolov AN, Fallgatter AJ, Fazzi EM. Social Cognition in Down Syndrome: Face Tuning in Face-Like Non-Face Images. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2583. [PMID: 30618997 PMCID: PMC6305370 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/24/2018] [Accepted: 12/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Individuals with Down syndrome (DS) are widely believed to possess considerable socialization strengths. However, the findings on social cognition capabilities are controversial. In the present study, we investigated whether individuals with DS exhibit shortage in face tuning, one of the indispensable components of social cognition. For this purpose, we implemented a recently developed Face-n-Food paradigm with food-plate images composed of food ingredients such as fruits and vegetables. The key benefit of such face-like non-face images is that single elements do not facilitate face processing. In a spontaneous recognition task, 25 children with DS aged 9 to 18 years were presented with a set of Face-n-Food images bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style. The set of images was administered in a predetermined order from the least to most resembling a face. In DS individuals, thresholds for recognition of the Face-n-Food images as a face were drastically higher as compared not only with typically developing controls, but also with individuals with autistic spectrum disorders and Williams-Beuren syndrome. This outcome represents a significant step toward better conceptualization of the visual social world in DS and neurodevelopmental disorders in general.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Jessica Galli
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.,Unit of Child and Adolescent Neurology and Psychiatry, ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Federica Pagani
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Serena Micheletti
- Unit of Child and Adolescent Neurology and Psychiatry, ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Michele Guerreschi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Women's Health Research Institute, Department of Women's Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.,LEAD Graduate School and Research Network, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elisa M Fazzi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.,Unit of Child and Adolescent Neurology and Psychiatry, ASST Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy
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20
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Sokolov AA, Zeidman P, Erb M, Ryvlin P, Pavlova MA, Friston KJ. Linking structural and effective brain connectivity: structurally informed Parametric Empirical Bayes (si-PEB). Brain Struct Funct 2018; 224:205-217. [PMID: 30302538 PMCID: PMC6373362 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1760-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/13/2018] [Accepted: 09/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Despite the potential for better understanding functional neuroanatomy, the complex relationship between neuroimaging measures of brain structure and function has confounded integrative, multimodal analyses of brain connectivity. This is particularly true for task-related effective connectivity, which describes the causal influences between neuronal populations. Here, we assess whether measures of structural connectivity may usefully inform estimates of effective connectivity in larger scale brain networks. To this end, we introduce an integrative approach, capitalising on two recent statistical advances: Parametric Empirical Bayes, which provides group-level estimates of effective connectivity, and Bayesian model reduction, which enables rapid comparison of competing models. Crucially, we show that structural priors derived from high angular resolution diffusion imaging on a dynamic causal model of a 12-region network-based on functional MRI data from the same subjects-substantially improve model evidence (posterior probability 1.00). This provides definitive evidence that structural and effective connectivity depend upon each other in mediating distributed, large-scale interactions in the brain. Furthermore, this work offers novel perspectives for understanding normal brain architecture and its disintegration in clinical conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arseny A Sokolov
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London (UCL), London, WC1N 3BG, UK. .,Service de Neurologie, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland.
| | - Peter Zeidman
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London (UCL), London, WC1N 3BG, UK
| | - Michael Erb
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Department of Radiology, University of Tübingen Medical School, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Philippe Ryvlin
- Service de Neurologie, Département des Neurosciences Cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), 1011, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Tübingen Medical School, 72076, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Karl J Friston
- Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, Institute of Neurology, University College London (UCL), London, WC1N 3BG, UK
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21
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Pavlova MA, Erb M, Hagberg GE, Loureiro J, Sokolov AN, Scheffler K. "Wrong Way Up": Temporal and Spatial Dynamics of the Networks for Body Motion Processing at 9.4 T. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:5318-5330. [PMID: 28981613 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhx151] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2017] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Body motion delivers a wealth of socially relevant information. Yet display inversion severely impedes biological motion (BM) processing. It is largely unknown how the brain circuits for BM are affected by display inversion. As upright and upside-down point-light BM displays are similar, we addressed this issue by using ultrahigh field functional MRI at 9.4 T providing for high sensitivity and spatial resolution. Whole-brain analysis along with exploration of the temporal dynamics of the blood-oxygen-level-dependent response reveals that in the left hemisphere, inverted BM activates anterior networks likely engaged in decision making and cognitive control, whereas readily recognizable upright BM activates posterior areas solely. In the right hemisphere, multiple networks are activated in response to upright BM as compared with scarce activation to inversion. With identical visual input with display inversion, a large-scale network in the right hemisphere is detected in perceivers who do not constantly interpret displays as shown the "wrong way up." For the first time, we uncover (1) (multi)functional involvement of each region in the networks underpinning BM processing and (2) large-scale ensembles of regions playing in unison with distinct temporal dynamics. The outcome sheds light on the neural circuits underlying BM processing as an essential part of the social brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
| | - Michael Erb
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.,High-Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
| | - Gisela E Hagberg
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.,High-Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
| | - Joana Loureiro
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.,High-Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Women's Health Research Institute, Department of Women's Health, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen 72076, Germany
| | - Klaus Scheffler
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen.,High-Field Magnetic Resonance Center, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics
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22
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Pavlova MA. Emotion Science in the Twenty-First Century. Time, Sex, and Behavior in Emotion Science: Over and Above. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1211. [PMID: 28785231 PMCID: PMC5519779 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01211] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2017] [Accepted: 07/03/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy and Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of TübingenTübingen, Germany
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23
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Pavlova MA, Guerreschi M, Tagliavento L, Gitti F, Sokolov AN, Fallgatter AJ, Fazzi E. Social cognition in autism: Face tuning. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2734. [PMID: 28578379 PMCID: PMC5457440 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02790-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2017] [Accepted: 04/25/2017] [Indexed: 12/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Faces convey valuable information for social cognition, effective interpersonal interaction, and non-verbal communication. Face perception is believed to be atypical in autism, but the origin of this deficit is controversial. Dominant featural face encoding is suggested to be responsible for face tuning scarcity. Here we used a recently developed Face-n-Food paradigm for studying face tuning in individuals with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD). The key benefit of these images is that single components do not explicitly trigger face processing. In a spontaneous recognition task, adolescents with autism and typically developing matched controls were presented with a set of Face-n-Food images in different degree resembling a face (slightly bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style). The set of images was shown in a predetermined order from the least to most resembling a face. Thresholds for recognition of the Face-n-Food images as a face in ASD individuals were substantially higher than in typically developing controls: they did not report seeing a face on the images, which controls easily recognized as a face, and gave overall fewer face responses. This outcome not only lends support to atypical face tuning, but provides novel insights into the origin of face encoding deficits in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany. .,Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Michele Guerreschi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Lucia Tagliavento
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Filippo Gitti
- Unit of Child and Adolescent Neurology and Psychiatry, Asst Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Women's Health Research Institute, Department of Women's Health, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Andreas J Fallgatter
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Elisa Fazzi
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Sciences, University of Brescia, Brescia, Italy.,Unit of Child and Adolescent Neurology and Psychiatry, Asst Spedali Civili di Brescia, Brescia, Italy
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24
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Abstract
Two competing hypotheses address neuroplasticity during early brain development: the "Kennard principle" describes the compensatory capacities of the immature developing CNS as superior to those of the adult brain, whereas the "Hebb principle" argues that the young brain is especially sensitive to insults. We provide evidence that these principles are not mutually exclusive. Following early brain lesions that are unilateral, the brain can refer to homotopic areas of the healthy hemisphere. This potential for reorganization is unique to the young brain but available only when, during ontogenesis of brain development, these areas have been used for the functions addressed. With respect to motor function, ipsilateral motor tracts can be recruited, which are only available during early brain development. Language can be reorganized to the right after early left hemispheric lesions, as the representation of the language network is initially bilateral. However, even in these situations, compensatory capacities of the developing brain are found to have limitations, probably defined by early determinants. Thus, plasticity and adaptivity are seen only within ontogenetic potential; that is, axonal or cortical structures cannot be recruited beyond early developmental possibilities. The young brain is probably more sensitive and vulnerable to lesions when these are bilateral. This is shown here for bilateral periventricular white matter lesions that clearly have an impact on cortical architecture and function, thus probably interfering with early network building.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingeborg Krägeloh-Mann
- Department of Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Karen Lidzba
- Department of Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A Pavlova
- Cognitive and Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Eberhard Karls University of Tuebingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marko Wilke
- Department of Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Martin Staudt
- Department of Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, University Children's Hospital Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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25
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Pavlova MA, Makarevich PR, Shirokolobova TI. Communities of bacteria and viruses in waters of the Gulf of Ob and Taz Estuary. Dokl Biol Sci 2017; 471:284-287. [PMID: 28058603 DOI: 10.1134/s0012496616060089] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
The study of the most abundant components in freshwater plankton in the Gulf of Ob and Taz Estuary in the summer-autumn season has demonstrated that the abundance and biomass of bacteria are stable and typical for mesotrophic waters during active microalgae vegetation. The abundance of viral particles varies in the range which is reported for unproductive or medium-productive water bodies. The environmental factors affecting affect the development and patterns of bacterio- and virioplankton distribution are considered.
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Affiliation(s)
- M A Pavlova
- Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Kola Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Murmansk, Russia
| | - P R Makarevich
- Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Kola Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Murmansk, Russia
| | - T I Shirokolobova
- Murmansk Marine Biological Institute, Kola Research Center, Russian Academy of Sciences, Murmansk, Russia.
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26
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Hagberg GE, Bause J, Ethofer T, Ehses P, Dresler T, Herbert C, Pohmann R, Shajan G, Fallgatter A, Pavlova MA, Scheffler K. Whole brain MP2RAGE-based mapping of the longitudinal relaxation time at 9.4T. Neuroimage 2017; 144:203-216. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.047] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2016] [Revised: 09/16/2016] [Accepted: 09/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
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27
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Pavlova MA. Sex and gender affect the social brain: Beyond simplicity. J Neurosci Res 2016; 95:235-250. [PMID: 27688155 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.23871] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/25/2016] [Revised: 07/06/2016] [Accepted: 07/14/2016] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School; Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen; Tübingen Germany
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28
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Abstract
Many neurological, neurodevelopmental, neuropsychiatric, and psychosomatic disorders are characterized by impairments in visual social cognition, body language reading, and facial assessment of a social counterpart. Yet a wealth of research indicates that individuals with Williams syndrome exhibit remarkable concern for social stimuli and face fascination. Here individuals with Williams syndrome were presented with a set of Face-n-Food images composed of food ingredients and in different degree resembling a face (slightly bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style). The primary advantage of these images is that single components do not explicitly trigger face-specific processing, whereas in face images commonly used for investigating face perception (such as photographs or depictions), the mere occurrence of typical cues already implicates face presence. In a spontaneous recognition task, participants were shown a set of images in a predetermined order from the least to most resembling a face. Strikingly, individuals with Williams syndrome exhibited profound deficits in recognition of the Face-n-Food images as a face: they did not report seeing a face on the images, which typically developing controls effortlessly recognized as a face, and gave overall fewer face responses. This suggests atypical face tuning in Williams syndrome. The outcome is discussed in the light of a general pattern of social cognition in Williams syndrome and brain mechanisms underpinning face processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Cognitive and Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen Germany
| | - Julie Heiz
- Child Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva Switzerland
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Department of Women's Health, Women's Health Research Institute, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen Germany
| | - Koviljka Barisnikov
- Child Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva Switzerland
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29
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Abstract
Faces are a valuable source of non-verbal information for daily life social interaction. Mounting evidence points to gender specificity in face perception. Here we search for the factors that can potentially trigger gender differences in tuning to faces. By using a set of Face-n-Food images slightly bordering on the Giuseppe Arcimboldo style, we examine: (i) whether face resemblance is linked to gender specific face impression, and, if so, whether this association is perceiver gender specific; and (ii) whether images most resembling a face are also most likable for female and male perceivers. First, in a spontaneous recognition task, participants were shown a set of Face-n-Food images in a predetermined order from the least to most resembling a face. Then in a two-alternative forced-choice (2AFC) task, participants judged whether each face appeared for them (i) either female or male (Exp. 1); or (ii) either likable or unlikable (Exp. 2). Remarkably, face resemblance is closely connected to gender specific impressions: images more resembling a face elicit also more female-face responses. This link is not perceiver gender specific as it occurs for both females and males. Moreover, face resemblance is positively linked to face likability, but this holds true only for female perceivers. The findings shed light on gender specificity in tuning to faces, and help to clarify abnormalities of the social brain in neurodevelopmental, psychiatric and psychosomatic disorders.
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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:
| | - Annika Mayer
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Franziska Hösl
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Department of Women’s Health, Women’s Health Research Institute, University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
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30
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Simoes E, Sokolov AN, Graf J, Pavlova MA, Brucker SY, Wallwiener D, Schmahl FW, Bamberg M. [Why Strive after Clinical Social Medicine? From Epidemiological Association to Personalized Social Medicine: a Case of Breast Cancer Care]. Gesundheitswesen 2016; 78:97-102. [PMID: 26906534 DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-100822] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Advances in biomedicine, especially molecular biology and genetics, gave rise to the concept of personalized medicine targeting the patient's individual characteristics and needs to ensure the best possible therapy and healthcare. This concept, however, can be successfully implemented only if due consideration is given to (psycho-)social factors, as is shown for instance by considerably reduced post-therapy survival rates among cancer patients in regions with lower socioeconomic status, How breast cancer patients, for instance, find their way back to daily life and work after initial treatment at a breast center is substantially determined by multiple factors going beyond pure medical care. These factors critically affect health status and therapy outcomes, but are missing in current research agenda. A profound expertise in social medicine is required to respond in ways tailored to the individual's healthcare needs that go beyond just medical therapy. This expertise comprises, in particular, knowledge of inequality of access to healthcare due to varying health competence that in turn, results in inequality of health outcome and care. Competence in social medicine both in the clinic and outpatient care can help to individually target negative factors that originate from the social environment as well as from deficits in communication and coordination in the healthcare system and have an effect on the health status of patients..This, however, requires institutionalization of (clinical) social medicine and in particular, better opportunities for advanced training in social medicine in clinical departments and outpatient units.
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Affiliation(s)
- E Simoes
- Department für Frauengesundheit (Leitender Ärztlicher Direktor: Prof. Dr. med. Diethelm Wallwiener), Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen
| | - A N Sokolov
- Department für Frauengesundheit (Leitender Ärztlicher Direktor: Prof. Dr. med. Diethelm Wallwiener), Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen
| | - J Graf
- Department für Frauengesundheit (Leitender Ärztlicher Direktor: Prof. Dr. med. Diethelm Wallwiener), Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen
| | - M A Pavlova
- Abteilung für Biomedizinische Magnetresonanz (Leitung: Prof. Dr. phil. Klaus Scheffler), Department für Radiologie, Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen
| | - S Y Brucker
- Department für Frauengesundheit (Leitender Ärztlicher Direktor: Prof. Dr. med. Diethelm Wallwiener), Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen
| | - D Wallwiener
- Department für Frauengesundheit (Leitender Ärztlicher Direktor: Prof. Dr. med. Diethelm Wallwiener), Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen
| | - F W Schmahl
- Institut für Arbeitsmedizin, Sozialmedizin und Versorgungsforschung (Ärztliche Direktorin: Prof. Dr. med. Monika A. Rieger), Universitätsklinikum Tübingen, Tübingen
| | - M Bamberg
- Universitätsklinikum Tübingen (Leitender Ärztlicher Direktor: Prof. Dr. med. Michael Bamberg), Tübingen
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31
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Baumann O, Borra RJ, Bower JM, Cullen KE, Habas C, Ivry RB, Leggio M, Mattingley JB, Molinari M, Moulton EA, Paulin MG, Pavlova MA, Schmahmann JD, Sokolov AA. Consensus paper: the role of the cerebellum in perceptual processes. Cerebellum 2015; 14:197-220. [PMID: 25479821 PMCID: PMC4346664 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-014-0627-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 278] [Impact Index Per Article: 30.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023]
Abstract
Various lines of evidence accumulated over the past 30 years indicate that the cerebellum, long recognized as essential for motor control, also has considerable influence on perceptual processes. In this paper, we bring together experts from psychology and neuroscience, with the aim of providing a succinct but comprehensive overview of key findings related to the involvement of the cerebellum in sensory perception. The contributions cover such topics as anatomical and functional connectivity, evolutionary and comparative perspectives, visual and auditory processing, biological motion perception, nociception, self-motion, timing, predictive processing, and perceptual sequencing. While no single explanation has yet emerged concerning the role of the cerebellum in perceptual processes, this consensus paper summarizes the impressive empirical evidence on this problem and highlights diversities as well as commonalities between existing hypotheses. In addition to work with healthy individuals and patients with cerebellar disorders, it is also apparent that several neurological conditions in which perceptual disturbances occur, including autism and schizophrenia, are associated with cerebellar pathology. A better understanding of the involvement of the cerebellum in perceptual processes will thus likely be important for identifying and treating perceptual deficits that may at present go unnoticed and untreated. This paper provides a useful framework for further debate and empirical investigations into the influence of the cerebellum on sensory perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Baumann
- Queensland Brain Institute, The University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Queensland, Australia,
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32
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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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33
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Abstract
Body motion is a rich source of information for social interaction, and visual biological motion processing may be considered as a hallmark of social cognition. It is unclear, however, whether the social brain is sex specific. Here we assess sex impact on the magnetoencephalographic (MEG) cortical response to point-light human locomotion. Sex differences in the cortical MEG response to biological motion occur mostly over the right brain hemisphere. At early latencies, females exhibit a greater activation than males over the right parietal, left temporal, and right temporal cortex, a core of the social brain. At later latencies, the boosts of activation are greater in males over the right frontal and occipital cortices. The findings deliver the first evidence for gender-dependent modes in the time course and topography of the neural circuitry underpinning visual processing of biological motion. The outcome represents a framework for studying sex differences in the social brain in psychiatric and neurodevelopmental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Biomedical Magnetic Resonance, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N Sokolov
- Center for Pediatric Clinical Studies (CPCS), Children's Hospital, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany Centre for Women's Health, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Christel Bidet-Ildei
- Center de Recherches sur la Cognition et l'Apprentissage (CeRCA), CNRS-UMR 7295, University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France Department of Sport Sciences, University of Poitiers, Poitiers, France
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34
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Abstract
Body language reading is of significance for daily life social cognition and successful social interaction, and constitutes a core component of social competence. Yet it is unclear whether our ability for body language reading is gender specific. In the present work, female and male observers had to visually recognize emotions through point-light human locomotion performed by female and male actors with different emotional expressions. For subtle emotional expressions only, males surpass females in recognition accuracy and readiness to respond to happy walking portrayed by female actors, whereas females exhibit a tendency to be better in recognition of hostile angry locomotion expressed by male actors. In contrast to widespread beliefs about female superiority in social cognition, the findings suggest that gender effects in recognition of emotions from human locomotion are modulated by emotional content of actions and opposite actor gender. In a nutshell, the study makes a further step in elucidation of gender impact on body language reading and on neurodevelopmental and psychiatric deficits in visual social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Krüger
- Department of Pediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Children's Hospital, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Alexander N. Sokolov
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Center for Pediatric Clinical Studies, Children's Hospital, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Paul Enck
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Ingeborg Krägeloh-Mann
- Department of Pediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Children's Hospital, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Werner Reichardt Center for Integrative Neuroscience, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
| | - Marina A. Pavlova
- Department of Pediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Children's Hospital, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- Institute for Women's Health Baden-Württemberg, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany
- * E-mail:
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35
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Pavlova MA, Krägeloh-Mann I. Limitations on the developing preterm brain: impact of periventricular white matter lesions on brain connectivity and cognition. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 136:998-1011. [PMID: 23550112 DOI: 10.1093/brain/aws334] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Brain lesions to the white matter in peritrigonal regions, periventricular leukomalacia, in children who were born prematurely represent an important model for studying limitations on brain development. The lesional pattern is of early origin and bilateral, that constrains the compensatory potential of the brain. We suggest that (i) topography and severity of periventricular lesions may have a long-term predictive value for cognitive and social capabilities in preterm birth survivors; and (ii) periventricular lesions may impact cognitive and social functions by affecting brain connectivity, and thereby, the dissociable neural networks underpinning these functions. A further pathway to explore is the relationship between cerebral palsy and cognitive outcome. Restrictions caused by motor disability may affect active exploration of surrounding and social participation that may in turn differentially impinge on cognitive development and social cognition. As an outline for future research, we underscore sex differences, as the sex of a preterm newborn may shape the mechanisms by which the developing brain is affected.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Paediatric Neurology and Developmental Medicine, Children's Hospital, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Strasse 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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36
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Sokolov AA, Erb M, Gharabaghi A, Grodd W, Tatagiba MS, Pavlova MA. Biological motion processing: the left cerebellum communicates with the right superior temporal sulcus. Neuroimage 2011; 59:2824-30. [PMID: 22019860 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.08.039] [Citation(s) in RCA: 91] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2011] [Revised: 07/21/2011] [Accepted: 08/15/2011] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
The cerebellum is thought to be engaged not only in motor control, but also in the neural network dedicated to visual processing of body motion. However, the pattern of connectivity within this network, in particular, between the cortical circuitry for observation of others' actions and the cerebellum remains largely unknown. By combining functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with functional connectivity analysis and dynamic causal modelling (DCM), we assessed cerebro-cerebellar connectivity during a visual perceptual task with point-light displays depicting human locomotion. In the left lateral cerebellum, regions in the lobules Crus I and VIIB exhibited increased fMRI response to biological motion. The outcome of the connectivity analyses delivered the first evidence for reciprocal communication between the left lateral cerebellum and the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS). Through communication with the right posterior STS that is a key node not only for biological motion perception but also for social interaction and visual tasks on theory of mind, the left cerebellum might be involved in a wide range of social cognitive functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arseny A Sokolov
- Department of Neurosurgery, University of Tübingen Medical School, and Developmental Cognitive and Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Pediatric Neurology and Child Development, Children's Hospital, Tübingen, Germany.
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37
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Abstract
Visual processing of biological motion (BM) produced by living organisms is of immense value for successful daily-life activities and, in particular, for adaptive social behavior and nonverbal communication. Investigation of BM perception in neurodevelopmental disorders related to autism, preterm birth, and genetic conditions substantially contributes to our understanding of the neural mechanisms underpinning the extraordinary tuning to BM. The most prominent research outcome is that patients with daily-life deficits in social cognition are also compromised on visual body motion processing. This raises the question of whether performance on body motion perception tasks may serve a hallmark of social cognition. Overall, the findings highlight the role of structural and functional brain connectivity for proper functioning of the neural circuitry involved in BM processing and visual social cognition that share topographically and dynamically overlapping neural networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Developmental Cognitive and Social Neuroscience Unit, Department of Paediatric Neurology and Child Development, Children's Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Hoppe-Seyler-Strasse 1, 72076 Tübingen, Germany.
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38
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Abstract
Body motion is a rich source of information for social cognition. However, gender effects in body language reading are largely unknown. Here we investigated whether, and, if so, how recognition of emotional expressions revealed by body motion is gender dependent. To this end, females and males were presented with point-light displays portraying knocking at a door performed with different emotional expressions. The findings show that gender affects accuracy rather than speed of body language reading. This effect, however, is modulated by emotional content of actions: males surpass in recognition accuracy of happy actions, whereas females tend to excel in recognition of hostile angry knocking. Advantage of women in recognition accuracy of neutral actions suggests that females are better tuned to the lack of emotional content in body actions. The study provides novel insights into understanding of gender effects in body language reading, and helps to shed light on gender vulnerability to neuropsychiatric and neurodevelopmental impairments in visual social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arseny A Sokolov
- Department of Pediatric Neurology and Child Development, Children's Hospital, Medical School, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen Tübingen, Germany
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39
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Pavlova MA, Wecker M, Krombholz K, Sokolov AA. Perception of intentions and actions: gender stereotype susceptibility. Brain Res 2009; 1311:81-5. [PMID: 19948153 DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2009.11.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2009] [Revised: 10/27/2009] [Accepted: 11/19/2009] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Gender differences are evident in the comprehension of social signals, but the underlying basis for these differences is unclear. There is some indication that gender effects have neurobiological sources. Here we manipulated stereotype messages about gender differences in a social cognition task, on which no gender gap has previously been documented. The outcome indicates that manipulation of stereotype messages elicits gender effects. A positive message enhances performance, whereas a negative message diminishes it. Furthermore, this effect is more pronounced in females, with a greater force of a negative stereotype message. The study provides novel insights into the possible sources of gender related fluctuations in social cognition. The findings are discussed in terms of behavioral components and brain mechanisms underpinning gender effects in social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Pediatric Neurology and Child Development, Children's Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
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40
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Mozzhukhina LI, Chernaia NL, Shubina EV, Ivanova IV, Shirokova TI, Pavlova MA. [Health status evaluation in children]. Probl Sotsialnoi Gig Zdravookhranenniiai Istor Med 2003:3-7. [PMID: 14513490] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/27/2023]
Abstract
A dependence of a health status on a condition of adaptation and of functional reserves of child's organism was studied. It was shown that the health status of contemporary schoolchildren is characterized, alongside with a higher prevalence of poly-organs' and morphological-and-functional deviations and chronic pathologies, by impaired rates and a lack of harmonic physical development as well as by a low level of reserve organism abilities. A variety of measures is suggested to promote the existing system of physical education.
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41
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Abstract
A study of the effect of the size of a moving target and the extent of its visible motion on motion extrapolation is reported. Targets (a horizontal pair of dots separated by either 0.2 or 0.8 deg) moved across a 10 deg rectilinear path and were then occluded. Observers pressed a key when they thought the leading dot of a hidden target had reached a randomly specified position (0-12 deg from the point of occlusion). In experiment 1, in agreement with velocity-transposition predictions, at moderate (5 deg s-1) and rapid (10 deg s-1) velocities extrapolation times were longer for large targets than for small ones. At slow velocity (2.5 deg s-1) this effect was reversed. In experiment 2 the effect of target size at moderate velocity was found for a short (2.5 deg) visible path. However, the extrapolation time increased with shorter (2.5 deg versus 10 deg) paths. A proposed account of these effects suggests that the visual system performs a spatiotemporal scaling, according to the velocity-transposition principle, not only of visible motion but also of extrapolated motion.
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Affiliation(s)
- A N Sokolov
- Institut für Arbeitsphysiologie, Dortmund, Germany
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42
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Sokolov AN, Ehrenstein WH, Pavlova MA. Rating Visual Velocities: Presentation Order versus Frequency of Occurrence. Perception 1997. [DOI: 10.1068/v970115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Given equal frequencies of occurrence of stimuli, identical velocities receive higher or lower ratings depending on whether slow or fast velocities happen to occur on the early trials of a run (Ehrenstein and Sokolov, 1996 Perception25 Supplement, 34 – 35). When stimuli vary in their frequency of occurrence, this presentation-order effect might enhance or substitute the well-known frequency effect (Parducci's range - frequency theory) on category ratings. The aim of the present study was to contrast these two effects for ratings of visual velocities. Two groups of observers had to rate five stimulus velocities (3, 4.5, 6, 7.5, and 9 deg s−1) of a single luminous dot using three categories (slow, medium, fast). Respective frequencies of occurrence for these velocities were either 4 - 4 - 8 - 14 - 20 (group 1, negative skewing for frequency) or 20 - 14 - 8 - 4 - 4 (group 2, positive skewing). The quasi-random presentation order of each set, on the contrary, corresponded to either positively skewed (group 1) or negatively skewed (group 2) frequency distributions. No significant differences in the ratings of two groups (other than a slight preference for the presentation-order effect beyond 6 deg s−1) were found, as if the presentation order and frequency effects had cancelled each other. This suggests that the presentation order of velocities is at least as powerful as their frequency of occurrence. Lack of agreement between our results and predictions of computer-simulated Haubensak's consistency model as well as of Parducci's range - frequency theory requires a model which accounts for an interaction of the two effects.
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Pavlova MA, Sokolov AN. Detection of a Point-Light Walker within a Mask: Effect of Display Orientation. Perception 1997. [DOI: 10.1068/v970185] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
How, if at all, does display orientation affect the extraction of a known structure in biological motion? A computer-generated 11-point-light walker was simultaneously masked by 66 dots that corresponded to scrambled triads of points on his limbs. At each of 5 randomly presented orientations between upright and inverted (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°), observers saw a sequence of 210 displays, half of which comprised a walker within a mask, while the rest presented only a 77-dot mask. In a confidence-rating procedure, they had to judge whether a walker was present. A sample of the target was demonstrated before each experimental sequence. ROC analyses showed that detectability decreased with changing orientation: performance began to deteriorate already at 45°. For orientations of 90°, 135°, and 180°, the ROC curves were situated close to one another. Nevertheless, given the complexity of the mask and the brief viewing period (1 s), with inversion (180°) detectability was still surprisingly high (cf Bertenthal and Pinto, 1994 Psychological Science5 221 – 225). Comparison with data on spontaneous recognition of biological motion (Pavlova, 1996 Perception25 Supplement, 6) suggests that display orientation affects bottom - up visual event processing more strongly than top - down. We consider the relative power and interrelation of processing constraints (such as axis of symmetry, dynamical constraints) in the perception of invariant structure from biological motion.
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Pavlova MA. Biological Motion Perception: From Inversion to Upright Display Orientation. Perception 1996. [DOI: 10.1068/v96l0203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
How does biological motion perception change with display orientation? As previously shown, display inversion (180°) completely prevents veridical perception of biological motion. However, with upright orientation (0°), observers are able to recover the invariant structure through biological motion despite reverse transformation (showing the film backwards) or changing the presentation rate (Pavlova, 1995 Perception24 Supplement, 112). In the present experiments, observers saw the biological motion pattern at various display deviations, from inverted to upright orientation (180°, 150°, 120°, 90°, 60°, 30°, 0°), in the right or left hemifield, on a circular screen monitor. The display consisted of an array of 11 dots on the main joints of an invisible walker moving as if on a treadmill. While viewing (60 s), observers pressed a key each time their perception changed from one stable percept to another (eg when the direction of apparent rotation of the pattern reversed). The perceived multistability (the number of key-presses) increased as orientation was varied from inverted to 90°, and then decreased between 90° and upright. The recognition of walking figure improved abruptly with changing orientation: at deviations of 60° and 30° most observer reported seeing the walking figure spontaneously, yet the pattern was seen as multistable. The findings imply the relative power of constraints (such as orientation) in perception of biological motion that is discussed in relation to the KSD principle in event perception [Runeson, 1994, in Perceiving Events and Objects Eds Jansson, Epstein, Bergström (Hillsdale, NJ: Erlbaum) pp 383 – 405].
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Mikhailova TL, Pavlova MA. [Diet in chronic colitis]. Med Sestra 1981; 40:17-21. [PMID: 6912355] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
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Sobko AI, Nesterova IF, Pavlova MA, Maslova NS. [Preparation and control of variant sera for type O foot-and-mouth disease virus]. Veterinariia 1968; 45:101-3. [PMID: 4314301] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
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Sobko AI, Koropov VN, Onufriev VP, Prokhorov VN, Pavlova MA. [Identification of epizootic strains of the Ai variant of foot-and-mouth disease virus]. Veterinariia 1967; 44:29-31. [PMID: 4300577] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [MESH Headings] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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