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Dupont L, Santangelo V, Azevedo RT, Panasiti MS, Aglioti SM. Reputation risk during dishonest social decision-making modulates anterior insular and cingulate cortex activity and connectivity. Commun Biol 2023; 6:475. [PMID: 37120439 PMCID: PMC10148859 DOI: 10.1038/s42003-023-04827-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/06/2023] [Indexed: 05/01/2023] Open
Abstract
To explore the neural underpinnings of (dis)honest decision making under quasi-ecological conditions, we used an fMRI adapted version of a card game in which deceptive or truthful decisions are made to an opponent, with or without the risk of getting caught by them. Dishonest decisions were associated to increased activity in a cortico-subcortical circuit including the bilateral anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), anterior insula (AI), left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, supplementary motor area, and right caudate. Crucially, deceptive immoral decisions under reputation risk enhanced activity of - and functional connectivity between - the bilateral ACC and left AI, suggesting the need for heightened emotional processing and cognitive control when making immoral decisions under reputation risk. Tellingly, more manipulative individuals required less involvement of the ACC during risky self-gain lies but more involvement during other-gain truths, pointing to the need of cognitive control only when going against one's own moral code.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lennie Dupont
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy.
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
| | - Valerio Santangelo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
- Department of Philosophy, Social Sciences & Education, University of Perugia, Perugia, Italy
| | - Ruben T Azevedo
- Keynes College, School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent, UK
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome and CLN2S@Sapienza, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy.
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
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2
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Azevedo RT, Diaz-Siso JR, Alfonso AR, Ramly EP, Kantar RS, Berman ZP, Diep GK, Rifkin WJ, Rodriguez ED, Tsakiris M. Re-cognizing the new self: The neurocognitive plasticity of self-processing following facial transplantation. Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A 2023; 120:e2211966120. [PMID: 36972456 PMCID: PMC10083597 DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2211966120] [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] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2022] [Accepted: 12/21/2022] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
The face is a defining feature of our individuality, crucial for our social interactions. But what happens when the face connected to the self is radically altered or replaced? We address the plasticity of self-face recognition in the context of facial transplantation. While the acquisition of a new face following facial transplantation is a medical fact, the experience of a new identity is an unexplored psychological outcome. We traced the changes in self-face recognition before and after facial transplantation to understand if and how the transplanted face gradually comes to be perceived and recognized as the recipient's own new face. Neurobehavioral evidence documents a strong representation of the pre-injury appearance pre-operatively, while following the transplantation, the recipient incorporates the new face into his self-identity. The acquisition of this new facial identity is supported by neural activity in medial frontal regions that are considered to integrate psychological and perceptual aspects of the self.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben T. Azevedo
- Department of Psychology, University of Kent, CanterburyCT2 7NP, UK
| | - J. Rodrigo Diaz-Siso
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY10016
| | - Allyson R. Alfonso
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY10016
| | - Elie P. Ramly
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY10016
| | - Rami S. Kantar
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY10016
| | - Zoe P. Berman
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY10016
| | - Gustave K. Diep
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY10016
| | - William J. Rifkin
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY10016
| | - Eduardo D. Rodriguez
- Hansjörg Wyss Department of Plastic Surgery, NYU Langone Health, New York, NY10016
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, EghamTW20 0EX, UK
- The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Studies, University of London, LondonWC1H 0AB, UK
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3
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Azevedo RT, von Mohr M, Tsakiris M. From the Viscera to First Impressions: Phase-Dependent Cardio-Visual Signals Bias the Perceived Trustworthiness of Faces. Psychol Sci 2023; 34:120-131. [PMID: 36322944 DOI: 10.1177/09567976221131519] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
When we see new people, we rapidly form first impressions. Whereas past research has focused on the role of morphological or emotional cues, we asked whether transient visceral states bias the impressions we form. Across three studies (N = 94 university students), we investigated how fluctuations of bodily states, driven by the interoceptive impact of cardiac signals, influence the perceived trustworthiness of faces. Participants less often chose faces presented in synchrony with their own cardiac systole as more trustworthy than faces presented out of synchrony. Participants also explicitly judged faces presented in synchrony with their cardiac systole as less trustworthy. Finally, the presentation of faces in synchrony with participants' cardiac diastole did not modulate participants' perceptions of the faces' trustworthiness, suggesting that the systolic phase is necessary for such interoceptive effects. These findings highlight the role of phasic interoceptive information in the processing of social information and provide a mechanistic account of the role of visceroception for social perception.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Mariana von Mohr
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London.,Centre for the Politics of Feelings, School of Advanced Study, University of London
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London.,Centre for the Politics of Feelings, School of Advanced Study, University of London
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4
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Villani V, Finotti G, Di Lernia D, Tsakiris M, Azevedo RT. Event-related transcutaneous vagus nerve stimulation modulates behaviour and pupillary responses during an auditory oddball task. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2022; 140:105719. [PMID: 35334389 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2022.105719] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/25/2021] [Revised: 03/03/2022] [Accepted: 03/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Transcutaneous auricular vagus nerve stimulation (taVNS) is a neuromodulatory technique that is thought to activate the Locus Coeruleus-Noradrenaline (LC-NA) system. Standard taVNS protocols consist of the administration of intermittent or continuous stimulation over long periods. However, there is currently a limited understanding of the temporal dynamics of taVNS modulation of cognitive processes, as well as its mechanisms of action. We argue that novel stimulation approaches, informed by established theories of the LC-NA system, are needed to further our understanding of the neurocognitive underpinnings of taVNS. In this pre-registered study, we tested whether an "event-related" taVNS protocol can modulate the LC-NA system. In a within-subject design (single session) we delivered brief trains of taVNS (3 s) during an auditory oddball paradigm. The taVNS was time-locked to the target stimuli presentation and randomly interleaved with sham stimulation. Response times (RT) and stimuli-driven pupillary diameter (PD) were used as indices of LC-NA activity. Results revealed that active taVNS increased RT to targets, as compared to sham trials. Notably, in line with current theories of LC-NA functioning, taVNS modulation of target-related pupil dilation depended on pre-stimulation PD, an index of baseline LC-NA activity. In particular, active (vs. sham) taVNS was associated with smaller pupil dilation in trials where the baseline PD was small. These results demonstrate, for the first time, the effectiveness of brief event-related taVNS in the modulation of cognitive processes and highlight the importance of using pupil size as an index of tonic and phasic LC-NA activity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Valerio Villani
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Hill, Egham TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
| | - Gianluca Finotti
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Hill, Egham TW20 0EX, United Kingdom
| | - Daniele Di Lernia
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Hill, Egham TW20 0EX, United Kingdom; Humane Technology Lab, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milano 20100, Italy
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Hill, Egham TW20 0EX, United Kingdom; Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
| | - Ruben T Azevedo
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, Egham Hill, Egham TW20 0EX, United Kingdom; School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, Kent CT2 7NP, United Kingdom.
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Christensen JF, Azevedo RT, Tsakiris M. Emotion matters: Different psychophysiological responses to expressive and non-expressive full-body movements. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2021; 212:103215. [PMID: 33316458 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/26/2019] [Revised: 09/11/2020] [Accepted: 11/02/2020] [Indexed: 12/01/2022] Open
Abstract
We explore dance video clip stimuli as a means to test human observers' accuracy in detecting genuine emotional expressivity in full-body movements. Stimuli of every-day-type full-body expressions of emotions usually use culturally very recognizable actions (e.g. fist shaking for anger, etc). However, expressive dance movement stimuli can be created to contain fully abstract movements. The expressivity results from subtle variations in the body movements of the expressor, and emotions cannot be recognised by observers via particular actions (e.g. fist shaking, etc). Forty-one participants watched and rated 24 pairs of short dance videos -from a published normalised dance stimuli library- in randomised order (N = 48). Of each carefully matched pair, one version of the full-body movement sequence had been danced to be emotionally genuinely expressive (clip a), while the other version of the same sequence (clip b) had been danced -while technically correct- without any emotional expressivity. Participants rated (i) expressivity (to test their accuracy; block 1), and (ii) how much they liked each movement (an implicit measure to test their emotional response ("liking"); block 2). Participants rated clips that were intended to be expressive as more expressive (part 1: expressivity ratings), and liked those expressive clips more than the non-expressive clips (part 2: liking ratings). Besides, their galvanic skin response differed, depending on the category of clips they were watching (expressive vs. non-expressive), and this relationship was modulated by interceptive accuracy and arts experience. Results are discussed in relation to the Body Precision Hypothesis and the Hypothesis of Constructed Emotion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julia F Christensen
- Department of Language and Literature, Max Planck Institute for Empirical Aesthetics, Frankfurt, Germany.
| | - Ruben T Azevedo
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK; Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
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6
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Herman AM, Palmer C, Azevedo RT, Tsakiris M. Neural divergence and convergence for attention to and detection of interoceptive and somatosensory stimuli. Cortex 2020; 135:186-206. [PMID: 33385747 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.11.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2020] [Revised: 09/30/2020] [Accepted: 11/17/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Body awareness is constructed by signals originating from within and outside the body. How do these apparently divergent signals converge? We developed a signal detection task to study the neural convergence and divergence of interoceptive and somatosensory signals. Participants focused on either cardiac or tactile events and reported their presence or absence. Beyond some evidence of divergence, we observed a robust overlap in the pattern of activation evoked across both conditions in frontal areas including the insular cortex, as well as parietal and occipital areas, and for both attention and detection of these signals. Psycho-physiological interaction analysis revealed that right insular cortex connectivity was modulated by the conscious detection of cardiac compared to somatosensory sensations, with greater connectivity to occipito-parietal regions when attending to cardiac signals. Our findings speak in favour of the inherent convergence of bodily-related signals and move beyond the apparent antagonism between exteroception and interoception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aleksandra M Herman
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK.
| | - Clare Palmer
- ABCD Coordinating Center, Center for Human Development (CHD), University of California, San Diego, USA
| | | | - Manos Tsakiris
- Lab of Action and Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, UK; The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, UK; Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
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7
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Bekrater-Bodmann R, Azevedo RT, Ainley V, Tsakiris M. Interoceptive Awareness Is Negatively Related to the Exteroceptive Manipulation of Bodily Self-Location. Front Psychol 2020; 11:562016. [PMID: 33343444 PMCID: PMC7746809 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.562016] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Affiliation(s)] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2020] [Accepted: 11/06/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
The perception of being located within one's body (i.e., bodily self-location) is an essential feature of everyday self-experience. However, by manipulating exteroceptive input, healthy participants can easily be induced to perceive themselves as being spatially dislocated from their physical bodies. It has previously been suggested that interoception, i.e., the processing of inner physiological signals, contributes to the stability of body representations; however, this relationship has not previously been tested for different dimensions of interoception and bodily self-location. In the present study, using an advanced automatized setup, we systematically manipulated participants' perspective of their own body (first- vs third-person perspective) as well as the synchrony of visuotactile stimulation (synchronous vs asynchronous). The malleability of bodily self-location was assessed using a questionnaire targeting in-body and out-of-body experiences. Participants also performed a heartbeat discrimination task to assess their interoceptive accuracy (behavioral performance), interoceptive sensibility (confidence in their interoceptive abilities), and interoceptive awareness (meta-cognitive representation of interoceptive signals). Bodily self-location was significantly influenced by perspective, with third-person perspective being associated with stronger out-of-body experiences compared to first-person perspective. Furthermore, there was a significant perspective × stimulation interaction, with subsequent analyses showing that participants reported out-of-body experiences particularly under third-person perspective combined with synchronous visuotactile stimulation. Correlation and regression analyses revealed that meta-cognitive interoceptive awareness was specifically and negatively related to the exteroceptively mediated malleability of body experiences. These results indicate that the perception of the self being located within one's body relies on the interaction of exteroceptive input and higher-order interoceptive abilities. This has implications for theoretical considerations about the bodily self in health as well as for the understanding of disturbed bodily self-processing in clinical contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robin Bekrater-Bodmann
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, United Kingdom
| | - Ruben T Azevedo
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, United Kingdom.,Department of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom
| | - Vivien Ainley
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, United Kingdom
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, United Kingdom.,Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, Bloomsbury, United Kingdom.,Department of Behavioural and Cognitive Sciences, Faculty of Humanities, Education and Social Sciences, University of Luxembourg, Luxembourg
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8
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Ambrosini E, Finotti G, Azevedo RT, Tsakiris M, Ferri F. Seeing myself through my heart: Cortical processing of a single heartbeat speeds up self-face recognition. Biol Psychol 2019; 144:64-73. [PMID: 30890454 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2019.03.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [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] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 12/17/2018] [Accepted: 03/06/2019] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Recent research has highlighted the contribution of interoceptive signals to different aspects of bodily self-consciousness (BSC) by means of the cardio-visual stimulation - i.e. perceiving a pulsing stimulus in synchrony with one's own heart. Here, for the first time, we investigate the effects of individual heartbeats on a critical feature of BSC, namely the recognition of one's own face. Across two studies, we explored the cardiac-timing effects on a classic self-face recognition task. In Study 1, participants saw morphed faces that contained different percentages of the self-face and that of another unfamiliar individual. Study 2 used a similar design, albeit participants saw morphed faces of the self-face and that of a familiar other to provide a better control of self-familiarity. Results from both studies consistently revealed that the cortical processing of cardiac afferent signals conveyed by the firing of arterial baroreceptors affects the speed, but not the accuracy, of self-face recognition, when a single picture is presented during cardiac systole, as compared to diastole. This effect is stronger and more stable for stimuli with more self-cues than other-cues and for 'ambiguous' stimuli - i.e. at the individual point of subjective equality. Results from Study 2 also revealed that cardiac effects on the speed of self-face recognition cannot be explained simply on the basis of the imbalanced familiarity between the self's and other's faces used. The present findings highlight the interoceptive contributions to self-recognition and may be expand our understanding of pathological disturbances of self-experience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ettore Ambrosini
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Padua, Padua, Italy; Department of General Psychology, University of Padua, Padua, Italy
| | - Gianluca Finotti
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ruben T Azevedo
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom; Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, London, United Kingdom; Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Francesca Ferri
- Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, United Kingdom; Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Science, University G. d'Annunzio, Chieti, Italy.
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Apps MAJ, McKay R, Azevedo RT, Whitehouse H, Tsakiris M. Not on my team: Medial prefrontal cortex responses to ingroup fusion and unfair monetary divisions. Brain Behav 2018; 8:e01030. [PMID: 29931824 PMCID: PMC6085923 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1030] [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] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/07/2017] [Revised: 04/09/2018] [Accepted: 05/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE People are highly attuned to fairness, with people willingly suffering personal costs to prevent others benefitting from unfair acts. Are fairness judgments influenced by group alignments? A new theory posits that we favor ingroups and denigrate members of rival outgroups when our personal identity is fused to a group. Although the mPFC has been separately implicated in group membership and fairness processing, it is unclear whether group alignments affect medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) activity in response to fairness. Here, we examine the contribution of different regions of the mPFC to processing from ingroup and outgroup members and test whether its response differs depending on how fused we are to an ingroup. METHODS Subjects performed rounds of the Ultimatum Game, being offered fair or unfair divisions of money from supporters of the same soccer team (ingroup), the fiercest rival (outgroup) or neutral individuals whilst undergoing functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI). RESULTS Strikingly, people willingly suffered personal costs to prevent outgroup members benefitting from both unfair and fair offers. Activity across dorsal and ventral (VMPFC) portions of the mPFC reflected an interaction between fairness and group membership. VMPFC activity in particular was consistent with it coding one's fusion to a group, with the fairness by group membership interaction correlating with the extent that the responder's identity was fused to the ingroup. CONCLUSIONS The influence of fusion on social behavior therefore seems to be linked to processing in the VMPFC.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew A J Apps
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Ryan McKay
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia.,Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Ruben T Azevedo
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK.,The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK
| | - Harvey Whitehouse
- Institute of Cognitive and Evolutionary Anthropology, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, UK.,The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Study, University of London, London, UK
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Sel A, Azevedo RT, Tsakiris M. Heartfelt Self: Cardio-Visual Integration Affects Self-Face Recognition and Interoceptive Cortical Processing. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:5144-5155. [PMID: 28334126 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [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: 02/17/2016] [Accepted: 09/06/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023] Open
Abstract
The sense of body-ownership relies on the representation of both interoceptive and exteroceptive signals coming from one's body. However, it remains unknown how the integration of bodily signals coming from "outside" and "inside" the body is instantiated in the brain. Here, we used a modified version of the Enfacement Illusion to investigate whether the integration of visual and cardiac information can alter self-face recognition (Experiment 1) and neural responses to heartbeats (Experiment 2). We projected a pulsing shade, that was synchronous or asynchronous with the participant's heartbeat, onto a picture depicting the participant's face morphed with the face of an unfamiliar other. Results revealed that synchronous (vs. asynchronous) cardio-visual stimulation led to increased self-identification with the other's face (Experiment 1), while during stimulation, synchronicity modulated the amplitude of the Heartbeat Evoked Potential, an electrophysiological index of cortical interoceptive processing (Experiment 2). Importantly, the magnitude of the illusion-related effects was dependent on, and increased linearly, with the participants' Interoceptive Accuracy. These results provide the first direct neural evidence for the integration of interoceptive and exteroceptive signals in bodily self-awareness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alejandra Sel
- Lab of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, London, UK.,Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX1 3UD, Oxford, UK
| | - Ruben T Azevedo
- Lab of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University London, Egham, SurreyTW20 0EX, London, UK
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Lab of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, London, UK.,The Warburg Institute, School of Advanced Studies, University of London, Woburn Square, London WC1H 0AB, UK
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11
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T Azevedo R, Bennett N, Bilicki A, Hooper J, Markopoulou F, Tsakiris M. The calming effect of a new wearable device during the anticipation of public speech. Sci Rep 2017; 7:2285. [PMID: 28536417 PMCID: PMC5442094 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-02274-2] [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: 12/15/2016] [Accepted: 04/18/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
We assessed the calming effect of doppel, a wearable device that delivers heartbeat-like tactile stimulation on the wrist. We tested whether the use of doppel would have a calming effect on physiological arousal and subjective reports of state anxiety during the anticipation of public speech, a validated experimental task that is known to induce anxiety. Two groups of participants were tested in a single-blind design. Both groups wore the device on their wrist during the anticipation of public speech, and were given the cover story that the device was measuring blood pressure. For only one group, the device was turned on and delivered a slow heartbeat-like vibration. Participants in the doppel active condition displayed lower increases in skin conductance responses relative to baseline and reported lower anxiety levels compared to the control group. Therefore, the presence, as opposed to its absence, of a slow rhythm, which in the present study was instantiated as an auxiliary slow heartbeat delivered through doppel, had a significant calming effect on physiological arousal and subjective experience during a socially stressful situation. This finding is discussed in relation to past research on responses and entrainment to rhythms, and their effects on arousal and mood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben T Azevedo
- Lab of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK
| | - Nell Bennett
- Team Turquoise Ltd, 1 Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 3UN, UK
| | - Andreas Bilicki
- Team Turquoise Ltd, 1 Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 3UN, UK
| | - Jack Hooper
- Team Turquoise Ltd, 1 Bermondsey Square, London, SE1 3UN, UK
| | | | - Manos Tsakiris
- Lab of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, TW20 0EX, UK.
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Azevedo RT, Panasiti MS, Maglio R, Aglioti SM. Perceived warmth and competence of others shape voluntary deceptive behaviour in a morally relevant setting. Br J Psychol 2017; 109:25-44. [PMID: 28276063 DOI: 10.1111/bjop.12245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [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: 01/07/2016] [Revised: 01/24/2017] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
The temptation to deceive others compares to a moral dilemma: it involves a conflict between the temptation to obtain some benefit and the desire to conform to personal and social moral norms or avoid aversive social consequences. Thus, people might feel different levels of emotional and moral conflict depending on the target of the deception. Here we explored, in a morally relevant setting, how social judgements based on two fundamental dimensions of human social cognition - 'warmth' and 'competence' - impact on the decision to deceive others. Results revealed independent effects for warmth and competence. Specifically, while people are less inclined to deceive for self-gain those individuals they perceive as warm, they also tend to lie more to highly competent others. Furthermore, the perceived warmth and competence modulated the general tendency to reduce deceptive behaviour when there was a risk of disclosure compared to when the lying was anonymous, highlighting the importance of these judgements in social evaluation processes. Together, our results demonstrate that the emotional costs and personal moral standards that inhibit engagement in deceptive behaviour are not stable but rather malleable according to the target and the consequences of the deception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben T Azevedo
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | - Maria Serena Panasiti
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
| | | | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome 'La Sapienza', Italy.,IRCCS Santa Lucia Foundation, Rome, Italy
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Azevedo RT, Aglioti SM, Lenggenhager B. Participants' above-chance recognition of own-heart sound combined with poor metacognitive awareness suggests implicit knowledge of own heart cardiodynamics. Sci Rep 2016; 6:26545. [PMID: 27211283 PMCID: PMC4876374 DOI: 10.1038/srep26545] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [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: 11/13/2015] [Accepted: 04/25/2016] [Indexed: 01/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Mounting evidence suggests that interoceptive signals are fundamentally important for the experience of the self. Thus far, studies on interoception have mainly focused on the ability to monitor the timing of ongoing heartbeats and on how these influence emotional and self-related processes. However, cardiac afferent signalling is not confined to heartbeat timing and several other cardiac parameters characterize cardiodynamic functioning. Building on the fact that each heart has its own self-specific cardio-dynamics, which cannot be expressed uniquely by heart rate, we devised a novel task to test whether people could recognize the sound of their own heart even when perceived offline and thus not in synchrony with ongoing heartbeats. In a forced-choice paradigm, participants discriminated between sounds of their own heartbeat (previously recorded with a Doppler device) versus another person’s heart. Participants identified the sound of their own heart above chance, whereas their metacognition of performance – as calculated by contrasting performance against ratings of confidence - was considerably poorer. These results suggest an implicit access to fine-grained neural representations of elementary cardio-dynamic parameters beyond heartbeat timing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben T Azevedo
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00100 Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
| | - Salvatore Maria Aglioti
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Via Ardeatina 306, 00100 Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Via dei Marsi 78, 00185 Rome, Italy
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14
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Azevedo RT, Ainley V, Tsakiris M. Cardio-visual integration modulates the subjective perception of affectively neutral stimuli. Int J Psychophysiol 2015; 99:10-7. [PMID: 26620928 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2015.11.011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.9] [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: 09/14/2015] [Revised: 11/17/2015] [Accepted: 11/21/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Interoception, which refers to the perception of internal body signals, has been consistently associated with emotional processing and with the sense of self. However, its influence on the subjective appraisal of affectively neutral and body-unrelated stimuli is still largely unknown. Across two experiments we sought to investigate this issue by asking participants to detect changes in the flashing rhythm of a simple stimulus (a circle) that could either be pulsing synchronously with their own heartbeats or following the pattern of another person's heart. While overall task performance did not vary as a function of cardio-visual synchrony, participants were better at identifying trials in which no change occurred when the flashes were synchronous with their own heartbeats. This study adds to the growing body of research indicating that we use our body as a reference point when perceiving the world; and extends this view by focusing on the role that signals coming from inside the body, such as heartbeats, may play in this referencing process. Specifically we show that private interoceptive sensations can be combined with affectively neutral information unrelated to the self to influence the processing of a multisensory percept. Results are discussed in terms of both standard multisensory integration processes and predictive coding theories.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben T Azevedo
- Lab of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, UK.
| | - Vivien Ainley
- Lab of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, UK
| | - Manos Tsakiris
- Lab of Action & Body, Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway University of London, UK
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15
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Lenggenhager B, Azevedo RT, Mancini A, Aglioti SM. Listening to your heart and feeling yourself: effects of exposure to interoceptive signals during the ultimatum game. Exp Brain Res 2013; 230:233-41. [DOI: 10.1007/s00221-013-3647-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [What about the content of this article? (0)] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2013] [Accepted: 07/05/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
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16
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Azevedo RT, Macaluso E, Avenanti A, Santangelo V, Cazzato V, Aglioti SM. Their pain is not our pain: brain and autonomic correlates of empathic resonance with the pain of same and different race individuals. Hum Brain Mapp 2012; 34:3168-81. [PMID: 22807311 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.22133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 134] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.2] [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: 10/26/2011] [Revised: 04/21/2012] [Accepted: 04/27/2012] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Recent advances in social neuroscience research have unveiled the neurophysiological correlates of race and intergroup processing. However, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying intergroup empathy. Combining event-related fMRI with measurements of pupil dilation as an index of autonomic reactivity, we explored how race and group membership affect empathy-related responses. White and Black subjects were presented with video clips depicting white, black, and unfamiliar violet-skinned hands being either painfully penetrated by a syringe or being touched by a Q-tip. Both hemodynamic activity within areas known to be involved in the processing of first and third-person emotional experiences of pain, i.e., bilateral anterior insula, and autonomic reactivity were greater for the pain experienced by own-race compared to that of other-race and violet models. Interestingly, greater implicit racial bias predicted increased activity within the left anterior insula during the observation of own-race pain relative to other-race pain. Our findings highlight the close link between group-based segregation and empathic processing. Moreover, they demonstrate the relative influence of culturally acquired implicit attitudes and perceived similarity/familiarity with the target in shaping emotional responses to others' physical pain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruben T Azevedo
- Department of Psychology, University of Rome "La Sapienza", Rome, Italy; IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
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Naudts KH, Azevedo RT, David AS, van Heeringen C, Gibbs AA. Influence of COMT val158met and ADRA2B deletion polymorphisms on recollection and familiarity components of human emotional memory. J Psychopharmacol 2012; 26:819-29. [PMID: 21965191 DOI: 10.1177/0269881111416688] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [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] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Emotional enhancement of memory is a widely accepted phenomenon that, in addition to its adaptive role, may play a role in the evolution of psychiatric disorders. Hence a comprehensive understanding of its neurobiological basis is imperative. Whilst the pharmacological and neural mechanisms are well known, the contribution of genetic variation is not. Research suggests that two qualitatively different processes (recollection and familiarity) contribute to recognition memory. In this study, we examined the relative contribution of two common genetic polymorphisms, the deletion variant of the ADRA2B gene that codes the α2b adrenergic receptor and the val158met polymorphism of the COMT gene that codes the catechol-O-methyltransferase enzyme, to emotional enhancement of these two memory processes in 97 healthy male volunteers. There was a significant interaction between COMT genotype and emotional arousal in relation to recollection, but not familiarity, with the former being significantly elevated for emotionally arousing versus neutral pictures in carriers of the val158 allele compared with met158 carriers. There were no main effects or interactions in relation to ADRA2B genotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- K H Naudts
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London, UK
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Gibbs AA, Naudts KH, Azevedo RT, David AS. Deletion variant of alpha2b-adrenergic receptor gene moderates the effect of COMT val(158)met polymorphism on episodic memory performance. Eur Neuropsychopharmacol 2010; 20:272-5. [PMID: 20110158 DOI: 10.1016/j.euroneuro.2009.12.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [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: 07/21/2009] [Revised: 12/11/2009] [Accepted: 12/24/2009] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
The COMT val(158) variant has been associated with impaired cognitive function compared to the met(158) variant yet gene-gene interactions are not well described. In this study we demonstrate an interaction between this COMT polymorphism and a deletion variant of ADRA2B, the gene encoding the alpha2b-adrenergic receptor on episodic memory performance. Specifically, carriage of the ADRA2B deletion abolished the relative memory impairment in homozygous COMT val(158) carriers compared to met(158) carriers.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayana A Gibbs
- Section of Cognitive Neuropsychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom.
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