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Di Plinio S, Arnò S, Ebisch SJH. The state-trait sense of self inventory: A psychometric study of self-experience and its relation to psychosis-like manifestations. Conscious Cogn 2024; 118:103634. [PMID: 38215634 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2024.103634] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/01/2024] [Indexed: 01/14/2024]
Abstract
The sense of self is a fundamental construct in the study of the mind, yet its psychological nature remains elusive. We introduce a novel 25-item inventory to investigate selfhood both as an enduring trait and a temporary state. We hypothesized two foundational aspects of the self: identity (related to self-referencing and continuity over time) and agency (the perception of controlling own's actions and thoughts). Results from two population studies highlight a singular self-trait factor combining agency and identity. In contrast, self-state measures revealed a bifactorial structure with a high-order factor and three lower-order subfactors: state-identity, state-agency, and state-technology. These factors were predictive of psychosis-like experiences, schizotypal traits, and hopelessness. Mediation analysis demonstrated that the negative association between the sense of self and hopelessness is mediated by depressive manifestations. Our research provides a tool to shed new light on the complexity of the sense of self and its mental health implications.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- University G D'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Science, Italy.
| | - Simone Arnò
- University G D'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Science, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- University G D'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Science, Italy
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2
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Di Plinio S, Aquino A, Haddock G, Alparone FR, Ebisch SJH. Brain and behavioral contributions to individual choices in response to affective-cognitive persuasion. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:2361-2374. [PMID: 35661202 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac213] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/24/2022] [Revised: 05/06/2022] [Accepted: 05/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Affective and cognitive information conveyed by persuasive stimuli is evaluated and integrated by individuals according to their behavioral predispositions. However, the neurocognitive structure that supports persuasion based on either affective or cognitive content is poorly understood. Here, we examine the neural and behavioral processes supporting choices based on affective and cognitive persuasion by integrating 4 information processing features: intrinsic brain connectivity, stimulus-evoked brain activity, intrinsic affective-cognitive orientation, and explicit target evaluations. We found that the intrinsic cross-network connections of a multimodal fronto-parietal network are associated with individual affective-cognitive orientation. Moreover, using a cross-validated classifier, we found that individuals' intrinsic brain-behavioral dimensions, such as affective-cognitive orientation and intrinsic brain connectivity, can predict individual choices between affective and cognitive targets. Our findings show that affective- and cognitive-based choices rely on multiple sources, including behavioral orientation, stimulus evaluation, and intrinsic functional brain architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti 66100, Italy
| | - Antonio Aquino
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti 66100, Italy
| | - Geoffrey Haddock
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Tower Building, 70 Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 3AT, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca R Alparone
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti 66100, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti 66100, Italy.,Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), University G. d'Annunzio of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, Chieti 66100, Italy
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3
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Di Plinio S, Pettorruso M, Ebisch SJH. Appropriately Tuning Stochastic-Psychometric Properties of the Balloon Analog Risk Task. Front Psychol 2022; 13:881179. [PMID: 35619789 PMCID: PMC9127525 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.881179] [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: 02/22/2022] [Accepted: 04/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The Balloon Analog Risk Task (BART) allows to experimentally assess individuals’ risk-taking profiles in an ecologically sound setting. Many psychological and neuroscientific studies implemented the BART for its simplicity and intuitive nature. However, some issues in the design of the BART are systematically unconsidered in experimental paradigms, which may bias the estimation of individual risk-taking profiles. Since there are no methodological guidelines for implementing the BART, many variables (e.g., the maximum explosion probabilities, the rationale underlying stochastic events) vary inconstantly across experiments, possibly producing contrasting results. Moreover, the standard version of the BART is affected by the interaction of an individual-dependent, unavoidable source of stochasticity with a trial-dependent, more ambiguous source of stochasticity (i.e., the probability of the balloon to explode). This paper shows the most appropriate experimental choices for having the lowest error in the approximation of risk-taking profiles. Performance tests of a series of simulated data suggest that a more controlled, eventually non-stochastic version of the BART, better approximates original risk-taking profiles. Selecting optimal BART parameters is particularly important in neuroscience experiments to optimize the number of trials in a time window appropriate for acquiring neuroimaging data. We also provide helpful suggestions to researchers in many fields to allow the implementation of optimized risk-taking experiments using the BART.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Mauro Pettorruso
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.,Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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4
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Di Plinio S, Ebisch SJH. Probabilistically Weighted Multilayer Networks disclose the link between default mode network instability and psychosis-like experiences in healthy adults. Neuroimage 2022; 257:119291. [PMID: 35577023 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119291] [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] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2021] [Revised: 05/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The brain is a complex system in which the functional interactions among its subunits vary over time. The trajectories of this dynamic variation contribute to inter-individual behavioral differences and psychopathologic phenotypes. Despite many methodological advancements, the study of dynamic brain networks still relies on biased assumptions in the temporal domain. The current paper has two goals. First, we present a novel method to study multilayer networks: by modelling intra-nodal connections in a probabilistic, biologically driven way, we introduce a temporal resolution of the multilayer network based on signal similarity across time series. This new method is tested on synthetic networks by varying the number of modules and the sources of noise in the simulation. Secondly, we implement these probabilistically weighted (PW) multilayer networks to study the association between network dynamics and subclinical, psychosis-relevant personality traits in healthy adults. We show that the PW method for multilayer networks outperforms the standard procedure in modular detection and is less affected by increasing noise levels. Additionally, the PW method highlighted associations between the temporal instability of default mode network connections and psychosis-like experiences in healthy adults. PW multilayer networks allow an unbiased study of dynamic brain functioning and its behavioral correlates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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5
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Ebisch SJH, Scalabrini A, Northoff G, Mucci C, Sergi MR, Saggino A, Aquino A, Alparone FR, Perrucci MG, Gallese V, Di Plinio S. Intrinsic Shapes of Empathy: Functional Brain Network Topology Encodes Intersubjective Experience and Awareness Traits. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12040477. [PMID: 35448008 PMCID: PMC9024660 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12040477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [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: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Trait empathy is an essential personality feature in the intricacy of typical social inclinations of individuals. Empathy is likely supported by multilevel neuronal network functioning, whereas local topological properties determine network integrity. In the present functional MRI study (N = 116), we aimed to trace empathic traits to the intrinsic brain network architecture. Empathy was conceived as composed of two dimensions within the concept of pre-reflective, intersubjective understanding. Vicarious experience consists of the tendency to resonate with the feelings of other individuals, whereas intuitive understanding refers to a natural awareness of others’ emotional states. Analyses of graph theoretical measures of centrality showed a relationship between the fronto-parietal network and psychometric measures of vicarious experience, whereas intuitive understanding was associated with sensorimotor and subcortical networks. Salience network regions could constitute hubs for information processing underlying both dimensions. The network properties related to empathy dimensions mainly concern inter-network information flow. Moreover, interaction effects implied several sex differences in the relationship between functional network organization and trait empathy. These results reveal that distinct intrinsic topological network features explain individual differences in separate dimensions of intersubjective understanding. The findings could help understand the impact of brain damage or stimulation through alterations of empathy-related network integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J. H. Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via Luigi Polacchi 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Andrea Scalabrini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences (DiSPuTer), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy;
| | - Georg Northoff
- The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada;
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
- Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310030, China
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310030, China
- TMU Research Centre for Brain and Consciousness, Shuang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
| | - Clara Mucci
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy;
| | - Maria Rita Sergi
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (M.R.S.); (A.S.)
| | - Aristide Saggino
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (M.R.S.); (A.S.)
| | - Antonio Aquino
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
| | - Francesca R. Alparone
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via Luigi Polacchi 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- Unit of Neuroscience, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy;
| | - Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
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6
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Sergi MR, Picconi L, Tommasi M, Saggino A, Ebisch SJH, Spoto A. The Role of Gender in the Association Among the Emotional Intelligence, Anxiety and Depression. Front Psychol 2021; 12:747702. [PMID: 34671302 PMCID: PMC8521077 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.747702] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 07/26/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent epidemiological data show an increase of depression and anxiety that cause a loss of about 3-4% of the gross domestic product in Europe, as a consequence of a reduced productivity and a premature death of people. Gender differences in both psychopathologies were found from mid-to-late adolescence until 55 years, and data indicate an increase of depression in women. Considering these data, new interventions focused on promoting psychological well-being were designed. A predictive factor of psychological disorders is Emotional Intelligence (EI), the ability to understand and regulate our own emotions, as well as those of others. EI is associated with psychological well-being, as well as with the treatment of mental illness, but gender differences in the association among EI, anxiety and depression remains unclear. The present study aims at analyzing the nomological associations among EI, anxiety and depression. Furthermore, the possible moderating role of gender in the relation between EI, depression and anxiety is investigated in a sample of 1725 healthy participants. Our results show that the ability to recognize and to control emotions in the social context helps us to reduce the risk to be affected by depression and anxiety. Moreover, our study shows that the association of EI with anxiety and depression wasn't gender moderated. In conclusion, the findings highlight that EI can help people to manage emotions linked to negative events and to successfully understand emotions in others. In addition, we found no moderation role of gender in the association between EI, anxiety and depression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Rita Sergi
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, University of G.’ d’Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | - Laura Picconi
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, University of G.’ d’Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | - Marco Tommasi
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, University of G.’ d’Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | - Aristide Saggino
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, University of G.’ d’Annunzio, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Andrea Spoto
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
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7
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Ebisch SJH. The Self and Its Nature: A Psychopathological Perspective on the Risk-Reducing Effects of Environmental Green Space for Psychosis. Front Psychol 2020; 11:531840. [PMID: 33262717 PMCID: PMC7686509 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.531840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [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: 02/01/2020] [Accepted: 10/21/2020] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Epidemiological studies have shown that environmental green space contributes to the reduction of psychosis incidence in the population. Clarifying the psychological and neuro-functional mechanisms underlying the risk-decreasing effects of green surroundings could help optimize preventive environmental interventions. This perspective article specifically aims to open a new window on the link between environmental green space and psychosis by considering its core psychopathological features. Psychotic disorders, such as schizophrenia, are essentially characterized by self-disturbances. The psychological structure of the self has been described as a multidimensional phenomenon that emerges from the reciprocal interaction with the environment through intrinsic and extrinsic self-processes. The intrinsic self refers to the experience of mental activity and environmental information as inherently related to one’s own person, which involves self-referential processing, self-reflection, memory, interoception, and emotional evaluation. The extrinsic self refers to sensorimotor interactions with the environment and the sense of agency, that is, the experience of being the source of one’s own actions and the multisensory consequences thereof. In psychosis, anomalous self-processing has been related to a functional fragmentation of intrinsic and extrinsic self-processes and related brain networks. Moreover, evidence from cognitive neuroscience suggests that green space could have beneficial effects on self-related processing. Based on the literature, it could be hypothesized that self-processing is involved in mediating the beneficial effects of green space for psychosis. Considering the multidimensionality of the self, it is proposed that urban green space design aimed at improving mental health ideally impacts the complexity of self-facets and thus restores the individual’s self.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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8
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Di Plinio S, Ebisch SJH. Combining local and global evolutionary trajectories of brain-behaviour relationships through game theory. Eur J Neurosci 2020; 52:4198-4213. [PMID: 32594640 DOI: 10.1111/ejn.14883] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [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: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 06/15/2020] [Accepted: 06/20/2020] [Indexed: 01/05/2023]
Abstract
The study of the evolution of brain-behaviour relationships concerns understanding the causes and repercussions of cross- and within-species variability. Understanding such variability is a main objective of evolutionary and cognitive neuroscience, and it may help explaining the appearance of psychopathological phenotypes. Although brain evolution is related to the progressive action of selection and adaptation through multiple paths (e.g. mosaic vs. concerted evolution, metabolic vs. structural and functional constraints), a coherent, integrative framework is needed to combine evolutionary paths and neuroscientific evidence. Here, we review the literature on evolutionary pressures focusing on structural-functional changes and developmental constraints. Taking advantage of recent progress in neuroimaging and cognitive neuroscience, we propose a twofold hypothetical model of brain evolution. Within this model, global and local trajectories imply rearrangements of neural subunits and subsystems and of behavioural repertoires of a species, respectively. We incorporate these two processes in a game in which the global trajectory shapes the structural-functional neural substrates (i.e. players), while the local trajectory shapes the behavioural repertoires (i.e. stochastic payoffs).
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging, and Clinical Sciences, G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.,Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G D'Annunzio University of Chieti Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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9
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Di Plinio S, Perrucci MG, Ebisch SJH. The Prospective Sense of Agency is Rooted in Local and Global Properties of Intrinsic Functional Brain Networks. J Cogn Neurosci 2020; 32:1764-1779. [PMID: 32530380 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_01590] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/12/2023]
Abstract
The sense of agency (SoA) refers to a constitutional aspect of the self describing the extent to which individuals feel in control over their actions and consequences thereof. Although the SoA has been associated with mental health and well-being, it is still unknown how interindividual variability in the SoA is embedded in the intrinsic brain organization. We hypothesized that the prospective component of an implicit SoA is associated with brain networks related to SoA and sensorimotor predictions on multiple spatial scales. We replicated previous findings by showing a significant prospective SoA as indicated by intentional binding effects. Then, using task-free fMRI and graph analysis, we analyzed associations between intentional binding effects and the intrinsic brain organization at regional, modular, and whole-brain scales. The results showed that intermodular connections of a frontoparietal module including the premotor cortex, supramarginal gyrus, and dorsal precuneus are associated with individual differences in prospective intentional binding. Notably, prospective intentional binding effects were also related to global brain modularity within a specific structural resolution range. These findings suggest that an implicit SoA generated through sensorimotor predictions relies on the intrinsic organization of the brain connectome on both local and global scales.
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10
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Di Plinio S, Arnò S, Perrucci MG, Ebisch SJH. The evolving sense of agency: Context recency and quality modulate the interaction between prospective and retrospective processes. Conscious Cogn 2020; 80:102903. [PMID: 32145388 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2020.102903] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 01/05/2020] [Revised: 02/18/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2020] [Indexed: 10/24/2022]
Abstract
Humans acquire a sense of agency through their interactions with the world and their sensory consequences. Previous studies have highlighted stable agency-related phenomena like intentional binding, which depend on both prospective, context-dependent and retrospective, outcome-dependent processes. In the current study, we investigated the interaction between prospective and retrospective processes underlying the adaptation of an ongoing sense of agency. The results showed that prospective intentional binding developed during a temporal window of up to 20 prior events was independent of the nature of the ongoing event. By contrast, the characteristics of the ongoing event retrospectively influenced prospective intentional binding developed during a temporal window narrower than 6 prior events. These findings characterize the interaction between prospective and retrospective mechanisms as a fundamental process to continuously update the sense of agency through sensorimotor learning. High psychosis-like experience traits weakened this interaction, suggesting that reduced adaption to the context contributes to altered self-experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti 66100, Italy.
| | - Simone Arnò
- Department of Psychological Sciences, G d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti 66100, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti 66100, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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11
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Di Plinio S, Perrucci MG, Aleman A, Ebisch SJH. I am Me: Brain systems integrate and segregate to establish a multidimensional sense of self. Neuroimage 2019; 205:116284. [PMID: 31629830 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116284] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/01/2019] [Revised: 10/07/2019] [Accepted: 10/14/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans experience a sense of self, which is proposed to emerge from the integration of intrinsic and extrinsic self-processing through the propagation of information across brain systems. Using a novel functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) paradigm, we tested this hypothesis in a non-clinical sample by modulating the intrinsic and extrinsic self-relatedness of auditory action consequences in terms of identity and agency, respectively. In addition, the relevance of individual traits associated with altered self-experiences (e.g., psychosis-like experiences) was examined. The task-evoked fMRI results showed distinctive associations between the neural coding of identity and negative affect traits, and between agency and psychosis-like experiences. Most importantly, regarding the functional connectivity analysis, graph theoretical measures demonstrated that the simultaneous processing of identity and agency relies on the functional integration and segregation of default mode, sensorimotor, language, and executive brain networks. Finally, cross-network interactions mediated by executive and sensorimotor regions were negatively associated with psychosis-like experiences when the intrinsic and extrinsic self-relatedness of action consequences conflicted. These findings provide evidence that the self is a multidimensional phenomenon rooted in the functional interactions between large-scale neuronal networks. Such interactions may have particular relevance for self-experience alterations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - André Aleman
- University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Department of Biomedical Sciences of Cells and Systems, Groningen, the Netherlands
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), "G. d'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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12
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Di Plinio S, Arnò S, Perrucci MG, Ebisch SJH. Environmental control and psychosis-relevant traits modulate the prospective sense of agency in non-clinical individuals. Conscious Cogn 2019; 73:102776. [PMID: 31272013 DOI: 10.1016/j.concog.2019.102776] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [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: 03/13/2019] [Revised: 06/18/2019] [Accepted: 06/22/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The sense of agency concerns the experience of being the source of one's own actions and their consequences. An altered sense of agency can occur due to task automation and in psychosis. We tested in a non-clinical sample the hypothesis that reducing voluntary task control diminishes intentional binding as an implicit indicator of the sense of agency, possibly interacting with psychosis-relevant personality traits. Agent-device interactions were manipulated obtaining positive-control (voluntary interaction), no-control (automation), and negative-control (device-commanded interaction) groups. The main results showed reduced prospective intentional binding (predictive coding of action consequences) in the no-control and negative-control groups, compared to the positive-control group. Psychosis-like experiences covaried positively with intentional binding in the no-control group, but negatively in the negative-control group. Moreover, positive-social traits were associated with increased intentional binding in the positive-control group. These findings demonstrate the interplay between environmental and individual differences variables in establishing the implicit sense of agency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti 66100, Italy.
| | - Simone Arnò
- Department of Psychological Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti 66100, Italy
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti 66100, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience Imaging and Clinical Sciences, "G. D'Annunzio" University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti 66100, Italy; Institute for Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G D'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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13
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Abstract
Empathy is a key notion in the study of sociality. A phenomenological perspective on empathy as intersubjective understanding offers a common ground for multiple dimensions. Corresponding to the dichotomy between perceptual and cognitive levels, two constructs can be distinguished: vicariously experiencing and intuitively understanding others’ emotions. We developed and validated a new questionnaire for the assessment of individual differences in empathy. In a first study (N = 921), we created a questionnaire measuring empathy consisting of a pool of 75 items. Exploratory factor analysis suggested to retain two factors (“Intuitive Understanding” and “Vicarious Experience”), whereas a 30-item version of the questionnaire had satisfactory psychometric properties. In a second study (N = 504), we administered the 30-items questionnaire and several concurrent/divergent measures. Confirmatory factor analysis indicated that a two-factor structure best represented its latent factor structure. The results show that our questionnaire could be considered a reliable and valid measure of empathy with internal consistencies of 0.93 and 0.95 for Vicarious Experience and Intuitive Intuitive Understanding, respectively. Whereas our questionnaire mostly showed the expected convergence with existing scales of empathy, the correlations also suggest that it adds valuable new information to the assessment of empathy. The two-factor structure suggests that the perceptual (vicarious) experience and the basic (non-effortful) cognitive awareness of others’ emotions can be assessed as distinct constructs. This bidimensional structure that distinguishes between the perceptual experience and the basic cognitive awareness of others’ emotional states connects theoretical, empirical, and clinical data from psychology and neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marco Innamorati
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- Department of Human Sciences, Università Europea di Roma, Rome, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J. H. Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- * E-mail:
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Unit of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Parma, Italy
- Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Aristide Saggino
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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14
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Zappasodi F, Perrucci MG, Saggino A, Croce P, Mercuri P, Romanelli R, Colom R, Ebisch SJH. EEG microstates distinguish between cognitive components of fluid reasoning. Neuroimage 2019; 189:560-573. [PMID: 30710677 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.01.067] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [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: 03/16/2018] [Revised: 01/14/2019] [Accepted: 01/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Fluid reasoning is considered central to general intelligence. How its psychometric structure relates to brain function remains poorly understood. For instance, what is the dynamic composition of ability-specific processes underlying fluid reasoning? We investigated whether distinct fluid reasoning abilities could be differentiated by electroencephalography (EEG) microstate profiles. EEG microstates specifically capture rapidly altering activity of distributed cortical networks with a high temporal resolution as scalp potential topographies that dynamically vary over time in an organized manner. EEG was recorded simultaneously with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in twenty healthy adult participants during cognitively distinct fluid reasoning tasks: induction, spatial relationships and visualization. Microstate parameters successfully discriminated between fluid reasoning and visuomotor control tasks as well as between the fluid reasoning tasks. Mainly, microstate B coverage was significantly higher during spatial relationships and visualization, compared to induction, while microstate C coverage was significantly decreased during spatial relationships and visualization, compared to induction. Additionally, microstate D coverage was highest during spatial relationships and microstate A coverage was most strongly reduced during the same condition. Consistently, multivariate analysis with a leave-one-out cross-validation procedure accurately classified the fluid reasoning tasks based on the coverage parameter. These EEG data and their correlation with fMRI data suggest that especially the tasks most strongly relying on visuospatial processing modulated visual and default mode network activity. We propose that EEG microstates can provide valuable information about neural activity patterns with a dynamic and complex temporal structure during fluid reasoning, suggesting cognitive ability-specific interplays between multiple brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Filippo Zappasodi
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Aristide Saggino
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Croce
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Pasqua Mercuri
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Roberta Romanelli
- School of Medicine and Health Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
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15
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Scalabrini A, Ebisch SJH, Huang Z, Di Plinio S, Perrucci MG, Romani GL, Mucci C, Northoff G. Spontaneous Brain Activity Predicts Task-Evoked Activity During Animate Versus Inanimate Touch. Cereb Cortex 2019; 29:4628-4645. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy340] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2018] [Revised: 11/20/2018] [Accepted: 12/19/2018] [Indexed: 12/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract
The spontaneous activity of the brain is characterized by an elaborate temporal structure with scale-free properties as indexed by the power law exponent (PLE). We test the hypothesis that spontaneous brain activity modulates task-evoked activity during interactions with animate versus inanimate stimuli. For this purpose, we developed a paradigm requiring participants to actively touch either animate (real hand) or inanimate (mannequin hand) stimuli. Behaviorally, participants perceived the animate target as closer in space, temporally more synchronous with their own self, and more personally relevant, compared with the inanimate. Neuronally, we observed a modulation of task-evoked activity by animate versus inanimate interactions in posterior insula, in medial prefrontal cortex, comprising anterior cingulate cortex, and in medial superior frontal gyrus. Among these regions, an increased functional connectivity was shown between posterior insula and perigenual anterior cingulate cortex (PACC) during animate compared with inanimate interactions and during resting state. Importantly, PLE during spontaneous brain activity in PACC correlated positively with PACC task-evoked activity during animate versus inanimate stimuli. In conclusion, we demonstrate that brain spontaneous activity in PACC can be related to the distinction between animate and inanimate stimuli and thus might be specifically tuned to align our brain with its animate environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Scalabrini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences (DiSPuTer), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d’Annunzio Foundation, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
| | - Zirui Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School CPFRC@Domino Farms, Lby M Ste 3100, Ann Arbor, MI, USA
| | - Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d’Annunzio Foundation, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d’Annunzio Foundation, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
| | - Gian Luca Romani
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d’Annunzio Foundation, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
| | - Clara Mucci
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences (DiSPuTer), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, Chieti (CH), Italy
| | - Georg Northoff
- The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, 145 Carling Avenue, Rm. 6435, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada
- Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Tianmu Road 305, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Tianmu Road 305, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
- TMU Research Centre for Brain and Consciousness, Shuang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, No. 250 Wu-Xing Street, Taipei, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine, Taipei Medical University, No. 250 Wu-Xing Street, Taipei, Taiwan
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16
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Di Plinio S, Ebisch SJH. Brain network profiling defines functionally specialized cortical networks. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:4689-4706. [PMID: 30076763 PMCID: PMC6866440 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24315] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [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: 11/11/2017] [Revised: 07/03/2018] [Accepted: 07/03/2018] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging research made rapid advances in the study of the functional architecture of the brain during the past decade. Many proposals endorsed the relevance of large-scale brain networks, defined as ensembles of brain regions that exhibit highly correlated signal fluctuations. However, analysis methods need further elaboration to define the functional and anatomical extent of specialized subsystems within classical networks with a high reliability. We present a novel approach to characterize and examine the functional proprieties of brain networks. This approach, labeled as brain network profiling (BNP), considers similarities in task-evoked activity and resting-state functional connectivity across biologically relevant brain subregions. To combine task-driven activity and functional connectivity features, principal components were extracted separately for task-related beta values and resting-state functional connectivity z-values (data available from the Human Connectome Project), from 360 brain parcels. Multiple clustering procedures were employed to assess if different clustering methods (Gaussian mixtures; k-means) and/or data structures (task and rest data; only rest data) led to improvements in the replication of the brain architecture. The results indicated that combining information from resting-state functional connectivity and task-evoked activity and using Gaussian mixtures models for clustering produces more reliable results (99% replication across data sets). Moreover, the findings revealed a high-resolution partition of the cerebral cortex in 16 networks with unique functional connectivity and/or task-evoked activity profiles. BNP potentially offers new approaches to advance the investigation of the brain functional architecture.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical ScienceG. d'Annunzio University of Chieti‐PescaraChietiItaly
| | - Sjoerd J. H. Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical ScienceG. d'Annunzio University of Chieti‐PescaraChietiItaly
- Institute for Advanced Biomedical TechnologiesG. d'Annunzio University of Chieti‐PescaraChietiItaly
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17
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Ebisch SJH, Gallese V, Salone A, Martinotti G, di Iorio G, Mantini D, Perrucci MG, Romani GL, Di Giannantonio M, Northoff G. Disrupted relationship between "resting state" connectivity and task-evoked activity during social perception in schizophrenia. Schizophr Res 2018; 193:370-376. [PMID: 28735643 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2017.07.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2016] [Revised: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 07/07/2017] [Indexed: 01/23/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia has been described as a self-disorder, whereas social deficits are key features of the illness. Changes in "resting state" activity of brain networks involved in self-related processing have been consistently reported in schizophrenia, but their meaning for social perception deficits remains poorly understood. Here, we applied a novel approach investigating the relationship between task-evoked neural activity during social perception and functional organization of self-related brain networks during a "resting state". "Resting state" functional MRI was combined with task-related functional MRI using a social perception experiment. Twenty-one healthy control participants (HC) and 21 out-patients with a diagnosis of schizophrenia (SCH) were included. There were no significant differences concerning age, IQ, education and gender between the groups. Results showed reduced "resting state" functional connectivity between ventromedial prefrontal cortex and dorsal posterior cingulate cortex in SCH, compared to HC. During social perception, neural activity in dorsal posterior cingulate cortex and behavioral data indicated impaired congruence coding of social stimuli in SCH. Task-evoked activity during social perception in dorsal posterior cingulate cortex co-varied with dorsal posterior cingulate cortex-ventromedial prefrontal cortex functional connectivity during a "resting state" in HC, but not in SCH. Task-evoked activity also correlated with negative symptoms in SCH. These preliminary findings, showing disrupted prediction of social perception measures by "resting state" functioning of self-related brain networks in schizophrenia, provide important insight in the hypothesized link between self and social deficits. They also shed light on the meaning of "resting state" changes for tasks such as social perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy.
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, Section of Neuroscience, University of Parma, Via Volturno 39E, 43125 Parma, Italy; Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK
| | - Anatolia Salone
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy
| | - Giovanni Martinotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy; University of Hertfordshire, Department of Pharmacy, Pharmacology, Clinical Sciences, Herts, UK
| | - Giuseppe di Iorio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy
| | - Dante Mantini
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK; Research Center for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU Leuven, Tervuursevest 101, 3001 Leuven, Belgium
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy
| | - Gian Luca Romani
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy
| | - Massimo Di Giannantonio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 31, 66013 Chieti, Italy
| | - Georg Northoff
- The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, 145 Carling Avenue, Rm. 6435, Ottawa, ON K1Z 7K4, Canada; Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, China
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18
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Vellante F, Sarchione F, Ebisch SJH, Salone A, Orsolini L, Marini S, Valchera A, Fornaro M, Carano A, Iasevoli F, Martinotti G, De Berardis D, Di Giannantonio M. Creativity and psychiatric illness: A functional perspective beyond chaos. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2018; 80:91-100. [PMID: 28689007 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2017.06.038] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2017] [Revised: 06/14/2017] [Accepted: 06/29/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Federica Vellante
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; NHS, Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment, Hospital "G. Mazzini", Asl 4, Teramo, Italy
| | - Fabiola Sarchione
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Anatolia Salone
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Laura Orsolini
- Polyedra Research Group, 64100 Teramo, Italy.; Villa S. Giuseppe Hospital, Hermanas Hospitalarias, Ascoli Piceno, Italy; School of Life and Medical Sciences, University of Hertfordshire, Hatfield, UK
| | - Stefano Marini
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Michele Fornaro
- New York State Psychiatric Institute (NYPSI), Columbia University, NYC, NY, USA
| | - Alessandro Carano
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy; NHS, Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment, Hospital "Maria SS del Soccorso", San Benedetto del Tronto, Italy
| | - Felice Iasevoli
- Polyedra Research Group, 64100 Teramo, Italy.; Laboratory of Molecular and Translational Psychiatry, Department of Neuroscience, Reproductive and Odontostomatogical Sciences, University of Naples "Federico II", Napoli, Italy
| | - Giovanni Martinotti
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | - Domenico De Berardis
- NHS, Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment, Hospital "G. Mazzini", Asl 4, Teramo, Italy; Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
| | - Massimo Di Giannantonio
- Department of Neurosciences Clinical Imaging, Chair of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
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19
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Scalabrini A, Huang Z, Mucci C, Perrucci MG, Ferretti A, Fossati A, Romani GL, Northoff G, Ebisch SJH. How spontaneous brain activity and narcissistic features shape social interaction. Sci Rep 2017; 7:9986. [PMID: 28855682 PMCID: PMC5577167 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-10389-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.6] [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: 03/15/2017] [Accepted: 08/09/2017] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
There is an increasing interest in how ongoing spontaneous brain activity and personality provide a predisposition for the processing of environmental demands. It further has been suggested that the brain has an inherent sensitivity to the social environment. Here we tested in healthy volunteers if spontaneous brain activity contributes to a predisposition for social behavior and how this is modulated by narcissistic personality features associated with poor interpersonal functioning. Functional magnetic resonance imaging included a resting state and an experimental paradigm focusing on the anticipation of actively touching an animate (human hand) versus an inanimate target (mannequin hand). The experimental task induced a significant modulation of neural activity in left postcentral gyrus (PostCG), right culmen and, co-varying with narcissistic features, in right anterior insula (AI). Neural activity in anticipation of the animate target significantly correlated with spontaneous activity during the resting state indexed by the Power Law Exponent (PLE) in PostCG and AI. Finally, the correlation between spontaneous and task-induced activity in AI was mediated by narcissistic features. These findings provide novel evidence for a relationship between intrinsic brain activity and social behavior and show how personality could contribute to individual differences in our predisposition to approach the animate world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Scalabrini
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy. .,Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences (DiSPuTer), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy.
| | - Zirui Huang
- Department of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan Medical School CPFRC@Domino Farms Lby M Ste 3100, Ann Arbor, MI, 48105-5737, USA
| | - Clara Mucci
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences (DiSPuTer), G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy.,Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy
| | - Antonio Ferretti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy.,Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy
| | - Andrea Fossati
- Faculty of Psychology, Vita-Salute San Raffaele University, Via Stamira D'Ancona, 20, 20127, Milano, (MI), Italy
| | - Gian Luca Romani
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy.,Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy
| | - Georg Northoff
- The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, 145 Carling Avenue, Rm. 6435, Ottawa, ON, K1Z 7K4, Canada
| | - Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy.,Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013, Chieti, (CH), Italy
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20
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Ebisch SJH, Aleman A. The fragmented self: imbalance between intrinsic and extrinsic self-networks in psychotic disorders. Lancet Psychiatry 2016; 3:784-790. [PMID: 27374147 DOI: 10.1016/s2215-0366(16)00045-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2015] [Revised: 01/22/2016] [Accepted: 01/22/2016] [Indexed: 12/22/2022]
Abstract
Self-disturbances are among the core features of schizophrenia and related psychotic disorders. The basic structure of the self could depend on the balance between intrinsic and extrinsic self-processing. We discuss studies on self-related processing in psychotic disorders that provide converging evidence for disrupted communication between neural networks subserving the so-called intrinsic self and extrinsic self. This disruption might be mainly caused by impaired integrity of key brain hubs. The intrinsic self has been associated with cortical midline structures involved in self-referential processing, autobiographical memory, and emotional evaluation. Additionally, we highlight central aspects of the extrinsic self in its interaction with the environment using sensorimotor networks, including self-experience in sensation and actions. A deficient relationship between these self-aspects because of disrupted between-network interactions offers a framework to explain core clinical features of psychotic disorders. In particular, we show how relative isolation and reduced modularity of networks subserving intrinsic and extrinsic self-processing might trigger the emergence of hallucinations and delusions, and why patients with psychosis typically have difficulties with self-other relationships and do not recognise mental problems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging & Clinical Sciences, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy.
| | - André Aleman
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Groningen, University Medical Center Groningen, Groningen, Netherlands
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21
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Ebisch SJH, Salone A, Martinotti G, Carlucci L, Mantini D, Perrucci MG, Saggino A, Romani GL, Di Giannantonio M, Northoff G, Gallese V. Integrative Processing of Touch and Affect in Social Perception: An fMRI Study. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:209. [PMID: 27242474 PMCID: PMC4861868 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00209] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [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: 01/28/2016] [Accepted: 04/25/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social perception commonly employs multiple sources of information. The present study aimed at investigating the integrative processing of affective social signals. Task-related and task-free functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 26 healthy adult participants during a social perception task concerning dynamic visual stimuli simultaneously depicting facial expressions of emotion and tactile sensations that could be either congruent or incongruent. Confounding effects due to affective valence, inhibitory top-down influences, cross-modal integration, and conflict processing were minimized. The results showed that the perception of congruent, compared to incongruent stimuli, elicited enhanced neural activity in a set of brain regions including left amygdala, bilateral posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and left superior parietal cortex. These congruency effects did not differ as a function of emotion or sensation. A complementary task-related functional interaction analysis preliminarily suggested that amygdala activity depended on previous processing stages in fusiform gyrus and PCC. The findings provide support for the integrative processing of social information about others' feelings from manifold bodily sources (sensory-affective information) in amygdala and PCC. Given that the congruent stimuli were also judged as being more self-related and more familiar in terms of personal experience in an independent sample of participants, we speculate that such integrative processing might be mediated by the linking of external stimuli with self-experience. Finally, the prediction of task-related responses in amygdala by intrinsic functional connectivity between amygdala and PCC during a task-free state implies a neuro-functional basis for an individual predisposition for the integrative processing of social stimulus content.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences and Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Anatolia Salone
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences and Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Giovanni Martinotti
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences and Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Leonardo Carlucci
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Dante Mantini
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH ZurichZurich, Switzerland; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OxfordUK; Research Center for Motor Control and Neuroplasticity, KU LeuvenLeuven, Belgium
| | - Mauro G Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences and Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Aristide Saggino
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences, School of Medicine and Health Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Gian Luca Romani
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences and Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Massimo Di Giannantonio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences and Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Georg Northoff
- The Royal's Institute of Mental Health Research & University of Ottawa Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa Ottawa, ON, Canada
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- Section of Physiology, Department of Neuroscience, University of ParmaParma, Italy; Institute of Philosophy, School of Advanced Study, University of LondonLondon, UK
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Ebisch SJH, Bello A, Spitoni GF, Perrucci MG, Gallese V, Committeri G, Pastorelli C, Pizzamiglio L. Emotional susceptibility trait modulates insula responses and functional connectivity in flavor processing. Front Behav Neurosci 2015; 9:297. [PMID: 26594159 PMCID: PMC4633483 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2015.00297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [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: 06/30/2015] [Accepted: 10/23/2015] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study aimed at investigating the relationship between Emotional Susceptibility (ES), an aspect of the personality trait Neuroticism, and individual differences in the neural responses in anterior insula to primary sensory stimuli colored by affective valence, i.e., distasting or pleasantly tasting oral stimuli. In addition, it was studied whether intrinsic functional connectivity patterns of brain regions characterized by such differential responses could be related to ES. To this purpose 25 female participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning, while being involved in a flavor experiment. During the experiment, flavor stimuli were administered consisting of small amounts of liquid with a different affective valence: neutral, pleasant, unpleasant. The results showed that individual differences in ES trait predicted distinct neural activity patterns to the different stimulus conditions in a region of left anterior insula that a previous meta-analysis revealed to be linked with olfacto-gustatory processing. Specifically, low ES was associated with enhanced neural responses to both pleasant and unpleasant stimuli, compared to neutral stimuli. By contrast, high ES participants showed equally strong neural responses to all types of stimuli without differentiating between the neutral and affective stimuli. Finally, during a task-free state, high ES trait appeared also to be related to decreased intrinsic functional connectivity between left anterior insula and left cerebellum. Our findings show that individual differences in ES are associated with differential anterior insula responses to primary sensory (flavor) stimuli as well as to intrinsic functional cortico-cerebellar connectivity, the latter suggesting a basis in the brain intrinsic functional architecture of the regulation of emotional experiences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy ; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Annalisa Bello
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University Rome, Italy ; Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Foundation Santa Lucia Rome, Italy
| | - Grazia F Spitoni
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University Rome, Italy ; Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Foundation Santa Lucia Rome, Italy
| | - Mauro G Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy ; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- Section of Physiology, Department of Neuroscience, Parma University Parma, Italy
| | - Giorgia Committeri
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy ; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Luigi Pizzamiglio
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University Rome, Italy ; Laboratory of Neuropsychology, IRCCS Foundation Santa Lucia Rome, Italy
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Ebisch SJH, Mantini D, Northoff G, Salone A, De Berardis D, Ferri F, Ferro FM, Di Giannantonio M, Romani GL, Gallese V. Altered brain long-range functional interactions underlying the link between aberrant self-experience and self-other relationship in first-episode schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2014; 40:1072-82. [PMID: 24191160 PMCID: PMC4133668 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbt153] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Self-experience anomalies are elementary features of schizophrenic pathology. Such deficits can have a profound impact on self-other relationship, but how they are related through aberrant brain function remains poorly understood. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study, we provide new evidence for a cortical link between aberrant self-experience and social cognition in first-episode schizophrenia (FES). As identified in previous studies, ventral premotor cortex (vPMC) and posterior insula (pIC) are candidate brain regions underlying disturbances in both self-experience and self-other relationship due to their processing of predominantly externally guided (vPMC; goal-oriented behavior) and internally guided (pIC; interoception) stimuli. Results from functional interaction analysis in a sample of 24 FES patients and 22 healthy controls show aberrant functional interactions (background/intrinsic connectivity) of right vPMC and bilateral pIC with posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), a midline region that has been shown central in mediating self-experience. More specifically, our results show increased functional coupling between vPMC and PCC, which positively correlated with basic symptoms (subjective self-experience disturbances). pIC showed reduced functional coupling with PCC and postcentral gyrus and increased functional interactions with anterior insula. Taken together, our results suggest an imbalance in the processing between internally and externally guided information and its abnormal integration with self-referential processing as mediated by PCC. Due to our correlation findings, we suggest this imbalance to be closely related to basic symptoms in FES and thus anomalous self-experience. The findings further disentangle the cortical basis of how self-experience anomalies may pervade the social domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio Foundation, Chieti, Italy;
| | - Dante Mantini
- Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland; Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Georg Northoff
- Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Anatolia Salone
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Domenico De Berardis
- National Health Service, Department of Mental Health, Psychiatric Service of Diagnosis and Treatment and Hospital "G. Mazzini," ASL 4, Teramo, Italy
| | - Francesca Ferri
- Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Canada
| | - Filippo M Ferro
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Massimo Di Giannantonio
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Psychiatry, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy
| | - Gian L Romani
- Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy; Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio Foundation, Chieti, Italy
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- Department of Neuroscience, Section of Physiology, Parma University, Parma, Italy; Italian Institute of Technology, Brain Center for Social and Motor Cognition, Parma, Italy
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Ebisch SJH, Ferri F, Romani GL, Gallese V. Reach out and touch someone: anticipatory sensorimotor processes of active interpersonal touch. J Cogn Neurosci 2014; 26:2171-85. [PMID: 24666131 DOI: 10.1162/jocn_a_00610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Anticipating the sensorimotor consequences of an action for both self and other is fundamental for action coordination when individuals socially interact. Somatosensation constitutes an elementary component of social cognition and sensorimotor prediction, but its functions in active social behavior remain unclear. We hypothesized that the somatosensory system contributes to social haptic behavior as evidenced by specific anticipatory activation patterns when touching an animate target (human hand) compared with an inanimate target (fake hand). fMRI scanning was performed during a paradigm that allowed us to isolate the anticipatory representations of active interpersonal touch while controlling for nonsocial sensorimotor processes and possible confounds because of interpersonal relationships or socioemotional valence. Active interpersonal touch was studied both as skin-to-skin contact and as object-mediated touch. The results showed weaker deactivation in primary somatosensory cortex and medial pFC and stronger activation in cerebellum for the animate target, compared with the inanimate target, when intending to touch it with one's own hand. Differently, in anticipation of touching the human hand with an object, anterior inferior parietal lobule and lateral occipital-temporal cortex showed stronger activity. When actually touching a human hand with one's own hand, activation was stronger in medial pFC but weaker in primary somatosensory cortex. The findings provide new insight on the contribution of simulation and sensory prediction mechanisms to active social behavior. They also suggest that literally getting in touch with someone and touching someone by using an object might be approached by an agent as functionally distinct conditions.
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Manini B, Cardone D, Ebisch SJH, Bafunno D, Aureli T, Merla A. Mom feels what her child feels: thermal signatures of vicarious autonomic response while watching children in a stressful situation. Front Hum Neurosci 2013; 7:299. [PMID: 23805091 PMCID: PMC3691510 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2013.00299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 49] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [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: 03/07/2013] [Accepted: 06/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Maternal attunement with an infant's emotional states is thought to represent a distinctive feature of the human primary bond. It implies the mother's ability of empathizing with her child in order to fulfil the child's needs in an immediate and appropriate manner. Thus, it is particularly involved in stressful situations. By assuming that maternal attunement embodies a direct sharing of physiological responses with the child, we compared the autonomic response of mothers observing their own distressed child with those of other women observing an unknown child involved in an ecological distressful condition (mishap paradigm). The hypothesis was that the adult's response was more attuned with the child's response in the former group than in the latter group. The autonomic response was non-invasively evaluated through the recording of the thermal facial imprints by means of thermal infrared (IR) imaging. Nine mother-child dyads and 9 woman-unknown child dyads were studied. We found marked similarities between the facial temperature dynamics of women and children along the experimental procedure, thus providing evidence for a direct emotional sharing within the adult-child dyad. The evidence for common dynamics in the time course of the temperatures was assessed through correlation analysis and, nevertheless, resulted stronger in the mother-child dyads than in the other women-child dyads. In addition, temporal analysis showed a faster response in mothers than in other women, thus confirming our study hypothesis. Besides confirming the extraordinary capability of IR imaging to preserve ecological context in the study of social or non-verbal interactions, these results suggest that maternity appears to potentiate the emotional attunement with the child. Although based on preliminary results, this study opens new perspectives in the study of the factors modulating vicarious socio-emotional processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Manini
- Infrared Imaging Lab, Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, G. d'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Italy ; Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G. d'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Italy
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26
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Ebisch SJH, Salone A, Ferri F, De Berardis D, Romani GL, Ferro FM, Gallese V. Out of touch with reality? Social perception in first-episode schizophrenia. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2012; 8:394-403. [PMID: 22275166 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nss012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 46] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Social dysfunction has been recognized as an elementary feature of schizophrenia, but it remains a crucial issue whether social deficits in schizophrenia concern the inter-subjective domain or primarily have their roots in disturbances of self-experience. Social perception comprises vicarious processes grounding an experiential inter-relationship with others as well as self-regulation processes allowing to maintain a coherent sense of self. The present study investigated whether the functional neural basis underlying these processes is altered in first-episode schizophrenia (FES). Twenty-four FES patients and 22 healthy control participants underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging during a social perception task requiring them to watch videos depicting other individuals' inanimate and animate/social tactile stimulations, and a tactile localizer condition. Activation in ventral premotor cortex for observed bodily tactile stimulations was reduced in the FES group and negatively correlated with self-experience disturbances. Moreover, FES patients showed aberrant differential activation in posterior insula for first-person tactile experiences and observed affective tactile stimulations. These findings suggest that social perception in FES at a pre-reflective level is characterized by disturbances of self-experience, including impaired multisensory representations and self-other distinction. However, the results also show that social perception in FES involves more complex alterations of neural activation at multiple processing levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies, Department of Neuroscience and Imaging, G d'Annunzio University, Via dei Vestini 33, 66013 Chieti, CH, Italy.
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Ebisch SJH, Ferri F, Salone A, Perrucci MG, D'Amico L, Ferro FM, Romani GL, Gallese V. Differential Involvement of Somatosensory and Interoceptive Cortices during the Observation of Affective Touch. J Cogn Neurosci 2011; 23:1808-22. [PMID: 20666597 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2010.21551] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Abstract
Previous studies suggested that the observation of other individuals' somatosensory experiences also activates brain circuits processing one's own somatosensory experiences. However, it is unclear whether cortical regions involved with the elementary stages of touch processing are also involved in the automatic coding of the affective consequences of observed touch and to which extent they show overlapping activation for somatosensory experiences of self and others. In order to investigate these issues, in the present fMRI study, healthy participants either experienced touch or watched videos depicting other individuals' inanimate and animate/social touch experiences. Essentially, a distinction can be made between exteroceptive and interoceptive components of touch processing, involved with physical stimulus characteristics and internal feeling states, respectively. Consistent with this distinction, a specific negative modulation was found in the posterior insula by the mere visual perception of other individuals' social or affective cutaneous experiences, compared to neutral inanimate touch. On the other hand, activation in secondary somatosensory and posterior superior temporal regions, strongest for the most intense stimuli, seemed more dependent on the observed physical stimulus characteristics. In contrast to the detected vicarious activation in somatosensory regions, opposite activation patterns for the experience (positive modulation) and observation (negative modulation) of touch suggest that the posterior insula does not reflect a shared representation of self and others' experiences. Embedded in a distributed network of brain regions underpinning a sense of the bodily self, the posterior insula rather appears to differentiate between self and other conditions when affective experiences are implicated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J. H. Ebisch
- 1G. d'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- 3G. d'Annunzio Foundation, Chieti, Italy
| | | | | | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- 1G. d'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- 3G. d'Annunzio Foundation, Chieti, Italy
| | - Luigi D'Amico
- 1G. d'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
| | | | - Gian Luca Romani
- 1G. d'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy
- 3G. d'Annunzio Foundation, Chieti, Italy
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- 2Parma University, Parma, Italy
- 4Brain Center for Social and Motor Cognition, Parma, Italy
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Ebisch SJH, Gallese V, Willems RM, Mantini D, Groen WB, Romani GL, Buitelaar JK, Bekkering H. Altered intrinsic functional connectivity of anterior and posterior insula regions in high-functioning participants with autism spectrum disorder. Hum Brain Mapp 2011; 32:1013-28. [PMID: 20645311 PMCID: PMC6870194 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.21085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 199] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2009] [Revised: 03/13/2010] [Accepted: 04/01/2010] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Impaired understanding of others' sensations and emotions as well as abnormal experience of their own emotions and sensations is frequently reported in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). It is hypothesized that these abnormalities are based on altered connectivity within "shared" neural networks involved in emotional awareness of self and others. The insula is considered a central brain region in a network underlying these functions, being located at the transition of information about bodily arousal and the physiological state of the body to subjective feelings. The present study investigated the intrinsic functional connectivity properties of the insula in 14 high-functioning participants with ASD (HF-ASD) and 15 typically developing (TD) participants in the age range between 12 and 20 years by means of "resting state" or "nontask" functional magnetic resonance imaging. Essentially, a distinction was made between anterior and posterior regions of the insular cortex. The results show a reduced functional connectivity in the HF-ASD group, compared with the TD group, between anterior as well as posterior insula and specific brain regions involved in emotional and sensory processing. It is suggested that functional abnormalities in a network involved in emotional and interoceptive awareness might be at the basis of altered emotional experiences and impaired social abilities in ASD, and that these abnormalities are partly based on the intrinsic functional connectivity properties of such a network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Bioimaging, G. d'Annunzio University Chieti-Pescara, Chieti, Italy.
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Ebisch SJH, Perrucci MG, Ferretti A, Del Gratta C, Romani GL, Gallese V. The sense of touch: embodied simulation in a visuotactile mirroring mechanism for observed animate or inanimate touch. J Cogn Neurosci 2008; 20:1611-23. [PMID: 18345991 DOI: 10.1162/jocn.2008.20111] [Citation(s) in RCA: 166] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
Previous studies have shown a shared neural circuitry in the somatosensory cortices for the experience of one's own body being touched and the sight of intentional touch. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), the present study aimed to elucidate whether the activation of a visuotactile mirroring mechanism during touch observation applies to the sight of any touch, that is, whether it is independent of the intentionality of observed touching agent. During fMRI scanning, healthy participants viewed video clips depicting a touch that was intentional or accidental, and occurring between animate or inanimate objects. Analyses showed equal overlapping activation for all the touch observation conditions and the experience of one's own body being touched in the bilateral secondary somatosensory cortex (SII), left inferior parietal lobule (IPL)/supramarginal gyrus, bilateral temporal-occipital junction, and left precentral gyrus. A significant difference between the sight of an intentional touch, compared to an accidental touch, was found in the left primary somatosensory cortex (SI/Brodmann's area [BA] 2). Interestingly, activation in SI/BA 2 significantly correlated with the degree of intentionality of the observed touch stimuli as rated by participants. Our findings show that activation of a visuotactile mirroring mechanism for touch observation might underpin an abstract notion of touch, whereas activation in SI might reflect a human tendency to "resonate" more with a present or assumed intentional touching agent.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Bioimaging, G. d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy.
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Ebisch SJH, Babiloni C, Del Gratta C, Ferretti A, Perrucci MG, Caulo M, Sitskoorn MM, Romani GL. Human Neural Systems for Conceptual Knowledge of Proper Object Use: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Cereb Cortex 2007; 17:2744-51. [PMID: 17283202 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhm001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Ideational apraxia is characterized by impaired knowledge of action concepts and proper object usage. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging study aimed at investigating the neural system underlying conceptual knowledge for proper object use in healthy subjects, when the effects of visuospatial properties and perceptual modality were taken into account. Subjects performed semantic decision tasks requiring retrieval of knowledge about either object functional purposes (functional task) or visuospatial object properties (visuospatial task) and perceptual control tasks. The semantic tasks were performed with pairs of either written object names or object drawings. Activation for the functional task in common for words and pictures, compared with the visuospatial and control tasks, was found in left parietal-temporal-occipital (PTO) junction, inferior frontal, anterior dorsal premotor, and presupplementary motor areas. Ventral inferior frontal cortex activation correlated negatively with reaction time in the functional condition. No specific activation characterized the visuospatial task compared with the functional task. The conceptual tasks, compared with the control tasks, demonstrated overlapping activation in left PTO junction, prefrontal, dorsal premotor, cuneus, and inferior temporal areas. These results outline the neural processes underlying conceptual knowledge for proper object use. The left ventral inferior frontal gyrus might facilitate behavioral decisions regarding functional/pragmatical object properties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J H Ebisch
- Department of Clinical Sciences and Bioimaging, G d'Annunzio University, Chieti, Italy.
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Sitskoorn MM, Aleman A, Ebisch SJH, Appels MCM, Kahn RS. Cognitive deficits in relatives of patients with schizophrenia: a meta-analysis. Schizophr Res 2004; 71:285-95. [PMID: 15474899 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2004.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 286] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2004] [Revised: 03/19/2004] [Accepted: 03/20/2004] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Schizophrenia is characterized by a generalized cognitive impairment with pronounced deficits in the domains of verbal memory, executive functioning and attention. AIM To investigate whether cognitive deficits found in patients with schizophrenia are also found in non-affected relatives. METHOD A meta-analytic review of the published literature on cognitive performance between relatives of schizophrenic patients and healthy controls. RESULTS The meta-analyses yielded nine weighted effect sizes from 37 studies comprising 1639 relatives of schizophrenia patients and 1380 control subjects. The largest differences were found on verbal memory recall (d=0.54, 95% CI=0.43-0.66) and executive functioning (d=0.51, 0.36-0.67). Attentional functioning showed smaller effect sizes (d=0.28, 0.06-0.50). These effect sizes are in the moderate range. CONCLUSION Cognitive deficits found in patients with schizophrenia are also found in non-affected relatives. This finding is consistent with the idea that certain cognitive deficiencies in relatives are caused by familial predisposition to schizophrenia and that these deficiencies might be putative endophenotypes for schizophrenia. However, our results do not address genetic causes directly. Further work is needed to determine whether certain cognitive traits are familial and whether there is co-inheritance of these traits with schizophrenia within families.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margriet M Sitskoorn
- Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, Department of Psychiatry (B01.206), University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, Utrecht 3508 GA, The Netherlands.
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Sitskoorn MM, Ebisch SJH, Appels M, Nuyen J, Kahn RS. Memory profiles in parents of patients with schizophrenia. Psychiatry Res 2004; 128:27-37. [PMID: 15450912 DOI: 10.1016/j.psychres.2004.05.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2003] [Revised: 04/09/2004] [Accepted: 05/22/2004] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Recent research shows that categorizing patients with schizophrenia based on frontal-striatal and frontal-temporal memory profiles may yield neurobiologically meaningful disease subtypes. We hypothesize that parents of patients exhibit similar memory profiles. Both parents of 36 patients with schizophrenia (N = 72) and 26 healthy married control couples (N = 52) participated in this study. All subjects were physically healthy and had no history of neurological illness or alcohol/drug abuse. The presence of a psychiatric and/or personality disorder was assessed with the Comprehensive Assessment of Symptoms and History (CASH) interview, the Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-lifetime (SADS-L) interview and the Structured Interview for DSM-IV Personality Disorders (SIDP-IV), respectively. Cluster analysis of selected measures from the Dutch version of the California Verbal Learning Test (CVLT) delineated parents into two subgroups with distinct memory deficits and a third subgroup without impairments. Specific frontal-striatal and frontal-temporal subgroups, however, were not found. In addition, our results indicated that mothers seem to be more protected against the negative effects of genetic liability to schizophrenia than fathers. Furthermore, relatives with a higher level of intelligence may have more cognitive reserve to compensate for the negative impact of implied brain dysfunction on verbal memory than relatives with a low level of intelligence. Although the parents of patients with schizophrenia could be delineated into subgroups with primary memory deficits, frontal-striatal and frontal-temporal subgroups could not be unambiguously identified. The association that emerged between level of intelligence, gender and severity of memory impairment deserves further exploration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Margriet M Sitskoorn
- Rudolf Magnus Institute of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Utrecht, PO Box 85500, 3508 GA, The Netherlands.
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