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Salera C, Boccia M, Pecchinenda A. Segregation of Neural Circuits Involved in Social Gaze and Non-Social Arrow Cues: Evidence from an Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis. Neuropsychol Rev 2024; 34:496-510. [PMID: 37067764 PMCID: PMC11166804 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-023-09593-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2022] [Accepted: 03/21/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023]
Abstract
Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by non-social arrow cues, but it is unclear whether they rely on similar neural mechanisms. The present ALE-meta-analysis assessed the pattern of brain activation reported in 40 single experiments (18 with arrows, 22 with gaze), with a total number of 806 participants. Our findings show that the network for orienting attention by social gaze and by non-social arrow cues is in part functionally segregated. Orienting by both types of cues relies on the activity of brain regions involved in endogenous attention (the superior frontal gyrus). Importantly, only orienting by gaze cues was also associated with the activity of brain regions involved in exogenous attention (medial frontal gyrus), processing gaze, and mental state attribution (superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction).
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Affiliation(s)
- Claudia Salera
- Ph.D. Program in Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via Dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
| | - Maddalena Boccia
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy
| | - Anna Pecchinenda
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
- Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
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2
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Caruana N, Nalepka P, Perez GA, Inkley C, Munro C, Rapaport H, Brett S, Kaplan DM, Richardson MJ, Pellicano E. Autistic young people adaptively use gaze to facilitate joint attention during multi-gestural dyadic interactions. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2024; 28:1565-1581. [PMID: 38006222 PMCID: PMC11134991 DOI: 10.1177/13623613231211967] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/26/2023]
Abstract
LAY ABSTRACT Autistic people have been said to have 'problems' with joint attention, that is, looking where someone else is looking. Past studies of joint attention have used tasks that require autistic people to continuously look at and respond to eye-gaze cues. But joint attention can also be done using other social cues, like pointing. This study looked at whether autistic and non-autistic young people use another person's eye gaze during joint attention in a task that did not require them to look at their partner's face. In the task, each participant worked together with their partner to find a computer-generated object in virtual reality. Sometimes the participant had to help guide their partner to the object, and other times, they followed their partner's lead. Participants were told to point to guide one another but were not told to use eye gaze. Both autistic and non-autistic participants often looked at their partner's face during joint attention interactions and were faster to respond to their partner's hand-pointing when the partner also looked at the object before pointing. This shows that autistic people can and do use information from another person's eyes, even when they don't have to. It is possible that, by not forcing autistic young people to look at their partner's face and eyes, they were better able to gather information from their partner's face when needed, without being overwhelmed. This shows how important it is to design tasks that provide autistic people with opportunities to show what they can do.
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3
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Yang L, Xiao X, Yu L, Shen Z, Luo Y, Zhao G, Dou Z, Lin W, Yang J, Yang L, Yu S. Neural mechanisms of working memory dysfunction in patients with chronic insomnia disorder. Sleep Med 2023; 112:151-158. [PMID: 37865032 DOI: 10.1016/j.sleep.2023.10.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 10/11/2023] [Indexed: 10/23/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE This study aimed to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying working memory impairment in patients with chronic insomnia disorder (CID) using event-related potentials (ERP) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) approaches. METHODS Participants, including CID patients and healthy controls (HCs), completed clinical scales and underwent electroencephalography (EEG) and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). EEG analysis compared reaction times, P3 amplitudes, event-related spectral perturbations (ERSP), and inter-trial phase synchronisation (ITPS) between CID patients and HCs. Subsequently, frontal regions (i.e., the Superior Frontal Gyrus [SFG] and Middle Frontal Gyrus [MFG]) corresponding to the EEG were selected as seeds for rsFC analysis. Correlation analyses were conducted to further investigate the relationship between functional connectivity abnormalities in brain regions and clinical symptom severity and P3 amplitude in CID patients. RESULTS Compared to HCs, CID patients exhibited slower reaction times across all working memory conditions, with the deficits becoming more pronounced as memory load increased. ERP analysis revealed increased P3 amplitude, theta wave power, and reduced inter-trial synchrony in CID patients. rsFC analysis showed decreased connectivity of SFG-posterior cingulated cortex (PCC), SFG-MFG, and MFG-frontal pole (FP), and increased connectivity of MFG- Middle Temporal Gyrus (MTG)in CID patients. Importantly, a significant correlation was found between the rsFC of SFG-MTG and P3 amplitude during 1-back. CONCLUSION This study confirms deficits in working memory capacity in patients with CID, specifically in the neural mechanisms of cognitive processing that vary depending on the level of cognitive load. Alterations in connectivity patterns within and between the frontal and temporal regions may be the neural basis of the cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lu Yang
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Xiangwen Xiao
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Liyong Yu
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Zhifu Shen
- Center of Interventional Medicine, Affiliated Hospital of North Sichuan Medical College, North Sichuan Medical College, Nanchong, China
| | - Yucai Luo
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Guangli Zhao
- School of Rehabilitation and Health Preservation, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Zeyang Dou
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Wenting Lin
- School of Rehabilitation and Health Preservation, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Jie Yang
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China
| | - Lili Yang
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
| | - Siyi Yu
- School of Acupuncture and Tuina, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China; Acupuncture and Brain Science Research Center, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
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4
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Alhasan A, Caruana N. Evidence for the adaptive parsing of non-communicative eye movements during joint attention interactions. PeerJ 2023; 11:e16363. [PMID: 38025743 PMCID: PMC10668824 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.16363] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
During social interactions, the ability to detect and respond to gaze-based joint attention bids often involves the evaluation of non-communicative eye movements. However, very little is known about how much humans are able to track and parse spatial information from these non-communicative eye movements over time, and the extent to which this influences joint attention outcomes. This was investigated in the current study using an interactive computer-based joint attention game. Using a fully within-subjects design, we specifically examined whether participants were quicker to respond to communicative joint attention bids that followed predictive, as opposed to random or no, non-communicative gaze behaviour. Our results suggest that in complex, dynamic tasks, people adaptively use and dismiss non-communicative gaze information depending on whether it informs the locus of an upcoming joint attention bid. We also went further to examine the extent to which this ability to track dynamic spatial information was specific to processing gaze information. This was achieved by comparing performance to a closely matched non-social task where eye gaze cues were replaced with dynamic arrow stimuli. Whilst we found that people are also able to track and use dynamic non-social information from arrows, there was clear evidence for a relative advantage for tracking gaze cues during social interactions. The implications of these findings for social neuroscience and autism research are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayeh Alhasan
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Nathan Caruana
- School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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5
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Kim M, Lee D, Kim W, Eun Lee J, Lee J, Tae Kim Y, Lee SK, Soo Oh S, Soo Park K, Baek Koh S, Kim C, Jung YC. Associations between altered functional connectivity of attentional networks and sleep quality among firefighters. Neurosci Lett 2022; 791:136924. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neulet.2022.136924] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/13/2022] [Revised: 10/14/2022] [Accepted: 10/17/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
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6
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Falck-Ytter T, Kleberg JL, Portugal AM, Thorup E. Social Attention: Developmental Foundations and Relevance for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Biol Psychiatry 2022:S0006-3223(22)01695-X. [PMID: 36639295 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2022.09.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2021] [Revised: 08/27/2022] [Accepted: 09/27/2022] [Indexed: 01/15/2023]
Abstract
The use of the term "social attention" (SA) in the cognitive neuroscience and developmental psychopathology literature has increased exponentially in recent years, in part motivated by the aim to understand the early development of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Unfortunately, theoretical discussions around the term have lagged behind its various uses. Here, we evaluate SA through a review of key candidate SA phenotypes emerging early in life, from newborn gaze cueing and preference for face-like configurations to later emerging skills such as joint attention. We argue that most of the considered SA phenotypes are unlikely to represent unique socioattentional processes and instead have to be understood in the broader context of bottom-up and emerging top-down (domain-general) attention. Some types of SA behaviors (e.g., initiation of joint attention) are linked to the early development of ASD, but this may reflect differences in social motivation rather than attention per se. Several SA candidates are not linked to ASD early in life, including the ones that may represent uniquely socioattentional processes (e.g., orienting to faces, predicting others' manual action goals). Although SA may be a useful superordinate category under which one can organize certain research questions, the widespread use of the term without proper definition is problematic. Characterizing gaze patterns and visual attention in social contexts in infants at elevated likelihood of ASD may facilitate early detection, but conceptual clarity regarding the underlying processes at play is needed to sharpen research questions and identify potential targets for early intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Terje Falck-Ytter
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region, Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Swedish Collegium for Advanced Study, Uppsala, Sweden.
| | - Johan Lundin Kleberg
- Rare Diseases Research Group, Department of Molecular Medicine and Surgery, Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Center for Psychiatry Research, Department of Clinical Neuroscience, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden; Department of Psychology, Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Ana Maria Portugal
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Center of Neurodevelopmental Disorders, Centre for Psychiatry Research, Department of Women's and Children's Health, Karolinska Institutet & Stockholm Health Care Services, Region, Stockholm, Stockholm, Sweden
| | - Emilia Thorup
- Development and Neurodiversity Lab, Department of Psychology, Uppsala University, Uppsala, Sweden; Department of Psychology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
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Tsoi L, Burns SM, Falk EB, Tamir DI. The promises and pitfalls of functional magnetic resonance imaging hyperscanning for social interaction research. SOCIAL AND PERSONALITY PSYCHOLOGY COMPASS 2022; 16:e12707. [PMID: 36407123 PMCID: PMC9667901 DOI: 10.1111/spc3.12707] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/03/2022] [Revised: 08/23/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Social neuroscience combines tools and perspectives from social psychology and neuroscience to understand how people interact with their social world. Here we discuss a relatively new method-hyperscanning-to study real-time, interactive social interactions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We highlight three contributions that fMRI hyperscanning makes to the study of the social mind: (1) Naturalism: it shifts the focus from tightly-controlled stimuli to more naturalistic social interactions; (2) Multi-person Dynamics: it shifts the focus from individuals as the unit of analysis to dyads and groups; and (3) Neural Resolution: fMRI hyperscanning captures high-resolution neural patterns and dynamics across the whole brain, unlike other neuroimaging hyperscanning methods (e.g., electroencephalogram, functional near-infrared spectroscopy). Finally, we describe the practical considerations and challenges that fMRI hyperscanning researchers must navigate. We hope researchers will harness this powerful new paradigm to address pressing questions in today's society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lily Tsoi
- School of Psychology and CounselingCaldwell UniversityCaldwellNew JerseyUSA
| | - Shannon M. Burns
- Department of Psychological SciencePomona CollegeClaremontCaliforniaUSA,Department of NeurosciencePomona CollegeClaremontCaliforniaUSA
| | - Emily B. Falk
- Annenberg School for CommunicationUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA,Department of PsychologyUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA,Wharton Marketing DepartmentUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA,Operations, Information, and Decisions DepartmentUniversity of PennsylvaniaPhiladelphiaPennsylvaniaUSA
| | - Diana I. Tamir
- Department of PsychologyPrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew JerseyUSA,Princeton Neuroscience InstitutePrinceton UniversityPrincetonNew JerseyUSA
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8
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Social signalling as a framework for second-person neuroscience. Psychon Bull Rev 2022; 29:2083-2095. [PMID: 35650463 DOI: 10.3758/s13423-022-02103-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 04/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Despite the recent increase in second-person neuroscience research, it is still hard to understand which neurocognitive mechanisms underlie real-time social behaviours. Here, we propose that social signalling can help us understand social interactions both at the single- and two-brain level in terms of social signal exchanges between senders and receivers. First, we show how subtle manipulations of being watched provide an important tool to dissect meaningful social signals. We then focus on how social signalling can help us build testable hypotheses for second-person neuroscience with the example of imitation and gaze behaviour. Finally, we suggest that linking neural activity to specific social signals will be key to fully understand the neurocognitive systems engaged during face-to-face interactions.
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9
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Mundy P, Bullen J. The Bidirectional Social-Cognitive Mechanisms of the Social-Attention Symptoms of Autism. Front Psychiatry 2022; 12:752274. [PMID: 35173636 PMCID: PMC8841840 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.752274] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2021] [Accepted: 12/20/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Differences in social attention development begin to be apparent in the 6th to 12th month of development in children with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and theoretically reflect important elements of its neurodevelopmental endophenotype. This paper examines alternative conceptual views of these early social attention symptoms and hypotheses about the mechanisms involved in their development. One model emphasizes mechanism involved in the spontaneous allocation of attention to faces, or social orienting. Alternatively, another model emphasizes mechanisms involved in the coordination of attention with other people, or joint attention, and the socially bi-directional nature of its development. This model raises the possibility that atypical responses of children to the attention or the gaze of a social partner directed toward themselves may be as important in the development of social attention symptoms as differences in the development of social orienting. Another model holds that symptoms of social attention may be important to early development, but may not impact older individuals with ASD. The alterative model is that the social attention symptoms in infancy (social orienting and joint attention), and social cognitive symptoms in childhood and adulthood share common neurodevelopmental substrates. Therefore, differences in early social attention and later social cognition constitute a developmentally continuous axis of symptom presentation in ASD. However, symptoms in older individuals may be best measured with in vivo measures of efficiency of social attention and social cognition in social interactions rather than the accuracy of response on analog tests used in measures with younger children. Finally, a third model suggests that the social attention symptoms may not truly be a symptom of ASD. Rather, they may be best conceptualized as stemming from differences domain general attention and motivation mechanisms. The alternative argued for here that infant social attention symptoms meet all the criteria of a unique dimension of the phenotype of ASD and the bi-directional phenomena involved in social attention cannot be fully explained in terms of domain general aspects of attention development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Mundy
- Department of Learning and Mind Sciences, School of Education, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science and The MIND Institute, UC Davis School of Medicine, Sacramento, CA, United States
| | - Jenifer Bullen
- Department of Human Development, School of Human Ecology, University of California, Davis, Davis, CA, United States
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10
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Aykan S, Puglia MH, Kalaycıoğlu C, Pelphrey KA, Tuncalı T, Nalçacı E. Right Anterior Theta Hypersynchrony as a Quantitative Measure Associated with Autistic Traits and K-Cl Cotransporter KCC2 Polymorphism. J Autism Dev Disord 2022; 52:61-72. [PMID: 33635423 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-021-04924-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/10/2021] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Our aim was to use theta coherence as a quantitative trait to investigate the relation of the polymorphisms in NKCC1 (rs3087889) and KCC2 (rs9074) channel protein genes to autistic traits (AQ) in neurotypicals. Coherence values for candidate connection regions were calculated from eyes-closed resting EEGs in two independent groups. Hypersynchrony within the right anterior region was related to AQ in both groups (p < 0.05), and variability in this hypersynchrony was related to the rs9074 polymorphism in the total group (p < 0.05). In conclusion, theta hypersynchrony within the right anterior region during eyes-closed rest can be considered a quantitative measure for autistic traits. Replicating our findings in two independent populations with different backgrounds strengthens the validity of the current study.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simge Aykan
- Department of Physiology, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey.
| | - Meghan H Puglia
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Canan Kalaycıoğlu
- Department of Physiology, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Kevin A Pelphrey
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, USA
| | - Timur Tuncalı
- Department of Medical Genetics, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
| | - Erhan Nalçacı
- Department of Physiology, Ankara University School of Medicine, Ankara, Turkey
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11
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Yoshioka A, Tanabe HC, Sumiya M, Nakagawa E, Okazaki S, Koike T, Sadato N. Neural substrates of shared visual experiences: a hyperscanning fMRI study. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:1264-1275. [PMID: 34180530 PMCID: PMC8717063 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 04/19/2021] [Accepted: 06/27/2021] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Sharing experience is a fundamental human social cognition. Since visual experience is a mental state directed toward the world, we hypothesized that sharing visual experience is mediated by joint attention (JA) for sharing directedness and mentalizing for mental state inferences. We conducted a hyperscanning functional magnetic resonance imaging with 44 healthy adult volunteers to test this hypothesis. We employed spoken-language-cued spatial and feature-based JA tasks. The initiator attracts the partner's attention by a verbal command to a spatial location or an object feature to which the responder directs their attention. Pair-specific inter-individual neural synchronization of task-specific activities was found in the right anterior insular cortex (AIC)-inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) complex, the core node of JA and salience network, and the right posterior superior temporal sulcus, which represents the shared categories of the target. The right AIC-IFG also showed inter-individual synchronization of the residual time-series data, along with the right temporoparietal junction and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex-the core components for mentalization and the default mode network (DMN). This background synchronization represents sharing the belief of sharing the situation. Thus, shared visual experiences are represented by coherent coordination between the DMN and salience network linked through the right AIC-IFG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ayumi Yoshioka
- Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan
| | - Hiroki C Tanabe
- Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Nagoya 464-8601, Japan
| | - Motofumi Sumiya
- Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo 102-0083, Japan
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Eri Nakagawa
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Shuntaro Okazaki
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Takahiko Koike
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), Okazaki 444-8585, Japan
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12
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Ding K, Li C, Li Y, Wang H, Yu D. The Effect of Socioeconomic Disparities on Prefrontal Activation in Initiating Joint Attention: A Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Evidence From Two Socioeconomic Status Groups. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:741872. [PMID: 34955785 PMCID: PMC8702952 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.741872] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Low socioeconomic status (SES) may generally have a long-lasting negative effect on cognitive development, and show deficits in the development of executive functions. However, it is unclear whether there is an SES-dependent disparity in the functional brain development of the prefrontal cortex. By collecting task-related functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data and behavioral data (e.g., intelligence, language, home reading environment (HRE), family income, and parental education level), the current study aimed to detect whether the SES of preschool children (N = 86) is associated with prefrontal activation during the joint attention task. Results verified that low-SES children show lower right prefrontal activation during joint attention than Relatively High-SES children. In addition, our findings confirmed the mediating effect of HRE on the association between SES and brain activation during joint attention, as well as that between SES and language ability. These results suggest that SES contributes to functional development of the prefrontal regions, and the improvement of HRE could be a potential strategy to intervene SES-related disparities on child development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keya Ding
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Chuanjiang Li
- Hangzhou College of Early Childhood Teacher's Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Yanwei Li
- College of Preschool Education, Nanjing Xiaozhuang University, Nanjing, China
| | - Hongan Wang
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
| | - Dongchuan Yu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China.,Department of Child Development and Behavior, The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, China
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13
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Yokoyama C, Autio JA, Ikeda T, Sallet J, Mars RB, Van Essen DC, Glasser MF, Sadato N, Hayashi T. Comparative connectomics of the primate social brain. Neuroimage 2021; 245:118693. [PMID: 34732327 PMCID: PMC9159291 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/13/2021] [Revised: 09/27/2021] [Accepted: 10/29/2021] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interaction is thought to provide a selection pressure for human intelligence, yet little is known about its neurobiological basis and evolution throughout the primate lineage. Recent advances in neuroimaging have enabled whole brain investigation of brain structure, function, and connectivity in humans and non-human primates (NHPs), leading to a nascent field of comparative connectomics. However, linking social behavior to brain organization across the primates remains challenging. Here, we review the current understanding of the macroscale neural mechanisms of social behaviors from the viewpoint of system neuroscience. We first demonstrate an association between the number of cortical neurons and the size of social groups across primates, suggesting a link between neural information-processing capacity and social capabilities. Moreover, by capitalizing on recent advances in species-harmonized functional MRI, we demonstrate that portions of the mirror neuron system and default-mode networks, which are thought to be important for representation of the other's actions and sense of self, respectively, exhibit similarities in functional organization in macaque monkeys and humans, suggesting possible homologies. With respect to these two networks, we describe recent developments in the neurobiology of social perception, joint attention, personality and social complexity. Together, the Human Connectome Project (HCP)-style comparative neuroimaging, hyperscanning, behavioral, and other multi-modal investigations are expected to yield important insights into the evolutionary foundations of human social behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chihiro Yokoyama
- Laboratory for Brain Connectomics Imaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan.
| | - Joonas A Autio
- Laboratory for Brain Connectomics Imaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
| | - Takuro Ikeda
- Laboratory for Brain Connectomics Imaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan
| | - Jérôme Sallet
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Department of Experimental Psychology, Oxford University, Oxford, United Kingdom; University of Lyon, Université Lyon 1, Inserm, Stem Cell and Brain Research Institute U1208, Bron, France
| | - Rogier B Mars
- Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, Nijmegen, the Netherlands
| | - David C Van Essen
- Departments of Neuroscience, Washington University Medical School, St Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Matthew F Glasser
- Departments of Neuroscience, Washington University Medical School, St Louis, MO, United States of America; Department of Radiology, Washington University Medical School, St Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Japan; The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Takuya Hayashi
- Laboratory for Brain Connectomics Imaging, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, 6-7-3 Minatojima-minamimachi, Chuo-ku, Kobe 650-0047, Japan; School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan.
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14
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Caruana N, Inkley C, Nalepka P, Kaplan DM, Richardson MJ. Gaze facilitates responsivity during hand coordinated joint attention. Sci Rep 2021; 11:21037. [PMID: 34702900 PMCID: PMC8548595 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-00476-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 10/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
The coordination of attention between individuals is a fundamental part of everyday human social interaction. Previous work has focused on the role of gaze information for guiding responses during joint attention episodes. However, in many contexts, hand gestures such as pointing provide another valuable source of information about the locus of attention. The current study developed a novel virtual reality paradigm to investigate the extent to which initiator gaze information is used by responders to guide joint attention responses in the presence of more visually salient and spatially precise pointing gestures. Dyads were instructed to use pointing gestures to complete a cooperative joint attention task in a virtual environment. Eye and hand tracking enabled real-time interaction and provided objective measures of gaze and pointing behaviours. Initiators displayed gaze behaviours that were spatially congruent with the subsequent pointing gestures. Responders overtly attended to the initiator’s gaze during the joint attention episode. However, both these initiator and responder behaviours were highly variable across individuals. Critically, when responders did overtly attend to their partner’s face, their saccadic reaction times were faster when the initiator’s gaze was also congruent with the pointing gesture, and thus predictive of the joint attention location. These results indicate that humans attend to and process gaze information to facilitate joint attention responsivity, even in contexts where gaze information is implicit to the task and joint attention is explicitly cued by more spatially precise and visually salient pointing gestures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Caruana
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia. .,Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Christine Inkley
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia
| | - Patrick Nalepka
- Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Centre for Elite Performance, Expertise and Training, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - David M Kaplan
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, Sydney, NSW, 2109, Australia.,Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Centre for Elite Performance, Expertise and Training, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Michael J Richardson
- Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.,Centre for Elite Performance, Expertise and Training, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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15
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Ding K, Li C, Jia H, Zhang M, Yu D. Is left-behind a real reason for children's social cognition deficit? An fNIRS study on the effect of social interaction on left-behind preschooler's prefrontal activation. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0254010. [PMID: 34534229 PMCID: PMC8448372 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/23/2020] [Accepted: 06/17/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
The left-behind phenomenon, caused by parent out-migration, has become a common social issue and might lead to long-term and potential risks for children in rural areas of China. It is important to investigate the effect of social interaction on prefrontal activation of left-behind children in China because of possible effects of parent out-migration on children’s social cognition. We recruited 81 rural Chinese preschoolers aged 52–76 months (mean = 64.98 ± 6.321 months) preschoolers with three different statuses of parental out-migration (including non-, partially, and completely left-behind children). Using functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS), we compared behavior and brain activation and in three groups (non-, partially-, completely-left-behind children) under two different social interaction conditions (child-teacher and child-stranger situation). Results revealed that initiating joint attention (IJA) may evoke higher brain activation than responding to joint attention (RJA) in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), especially in the case of initiating joint attention with the stranger. In addition, the activation of joint attention was positively correlated with children’s language score, cognitive flexibility, and facial expression recognition. More importantly, partially-left-behind children evoked higher brain activation in the IJA condition and presented a higher language level than completely/non-left-behind children. The current study provides insight into the neural basis of left-behind children’s development and revealed for the first time that family economic level and left-behind status may contribute to the lower social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Keya Ding
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, United States of America
| | - Chuanjiang Li
- Hangzhou College of Early Childhood Teacher’s Education, Zhejiang Normal University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Huibin Jia
- School of Psychology, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Mingming Zhang
- School of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, China
| | - Dongchuan Yu
- Key Laboratory of Child Development and Learning Science of Ministry of Education, School of Biological Science and Medical Engineering, Southeast University, Nanjing, China
- The Third Affiliated Hospital of Zhengzhou University, Zhengzhou, Henan, China
- * E-mail:
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16
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Imagery of negative interpersonal experiences influence the neural mechanisms of social interaction. Neuropsychologia 2021; 160:107923. [PMID: 34175371 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2021] [Revised: 05/31/2021] [Accepted: 06/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Negative interpersonal experiences are a key contributor to psychiatric disorders. While previous research has shown that negative interpersonal experiences influence social cognition, less is known about the effects on participation in social interactions and the underlying neurobiology. To address this, we developed a new naturalistic version of a gaze-contingent paradigm using real video sequences of gaze behaviour that respond to the participants' gaze in real-time in order to create a believable and continuous interactive social situation. Additionally, participants listened to two autobiographical audio-scripts that guided them to imagine a recent stressful and a relaxing situation and performed the gaze-based social interaction task before and after the presentation of either the stressful or the relaxing audio-script. Our results demonstrate that the social interaction task robustly recruits brain areas with known involvement in social cognition, namely the medial prefrontal cortex, bilateral temporoparietal junction, superior temporal sulcus as well as the precuneus. Imagery of negative interpersonal experiences compared to relaxing imagery led to a prolonged change in affective state and to increased brain responses during the subsequent social interaction paradigm in the temporoparietal junction, medial prefrontal cortex, anterior cingulate cortex, precuneus and inferior frontal gyrus. Taken together this study presents a new naturalistic social interaction paradigm suitable to study the neural mechanisms of social interaction and the results demonstrate that the imagery of negative interpersonal experiences affects social interaction on neural levels.
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17
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Nair A, Jalal R, Liu J, Tsang T, McDonald NM, Jackson L, Ponting C, Jeste SS, Bookheimer SY, Dapretto M. Altered Thalamocortical Connectivity in 6-Week-Old Infants at High Familial Risk for Autism Spectrum Disorder. Cereb Cortex 2021; 31:4191-4205. [PMID: 33866373 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2020] [Revised: 03/11/2021] [Accepted: 03/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Converging evidence from neuroimaging studies has revealed altered connectivity in cortical-subcortical networks in youth and adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Comparatively little is known about the development of cortical-subcortical connectivity in infancy, before the emergence of overt ASD symptomatology. Here, we examined early functional and structural connectivity of thalamocortical networks in infants at high familial risk for ASD (HR) and low-risk controls (LR). Resting-state functional connectivity and diffusion tensor imaging data were acquired in 52 6-week-old infants. Functional connectivity was examined between 6 cortical seeds-prefrontal, motor, somatosensory, temporal, parietal, and occipital regions-and bilateral thalamus. We found significant thalamic-prefrontal underconnectivity, as well as thalamic-occipital and thalamic-motor overconnectivity in HR infants, relative to LR infants. Subsequent structural connectivity analyses also revealed atypical white matter integrity in thalamic-occipital tracts in HR infants, compared with LR infants. Notably, aberrant connectivity indices at 6 weeks predicted atypical social development between 9 and 36 months of age, as assessed with eye-tracking and diagnostic measures. These findings indicate that thalamocortical connectivity is disrupted at both the functional and structural level in HR infants as early as 6 weeks of age, providing a possible early marker of risk for ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Aarti Nair
- Department of Psychology, School of Behavioral Health, Loma Linda University, Loma Linda, CA 92354, USA
| | - Rhideeta Jalal
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Janelle Liu
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Tawny Tsang
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Nicole M McDonald
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Lisa Jackson
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Carolyn Ponting
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Shafali S Jeste
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Susan Y Bookheimer
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Mirella Dapretto
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
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18
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Cerullo S, Fulceri F, Muratori F, Contaldo A. Acting with shared intentions: A systematic review on joint action coordination in Autism Spectrum Disorder. Brain Cogn 2021; 149:105693. [PMID: 33556847 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105693] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2020] [Revised: 12/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Joint actions, described as a form of social interaction in which individuals coordinate their actions in space and time to bring about a change in the environment, rely on sensory-motor processes that play a role in the development of social skills. Two brain networks, associated with "mirroring" and "mentalizing", are engaged during these actions: the mirror neuron and the theory of mind systems. People with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) showed impairment in interpersonal coordination during joint actions. Studying joint action coordination in ASD will contribute to clarify the interplay between sensory-motor and social processes throughout development and the interactions between the brain and the behavior. METHOD This review focused on empirical studies that reported behavioral and kinematic findings related to joint action coordination in people with ASD. RESULTS Literature on mechanisms involved in the joint action coordination impairment in ASD is still limited. Data are controversial. Different key-components of joint action coordination may be impaired, such as cooperative behavior, temporal coordination, and motor planning. CONCLUSIONS Interpersonal coordination during joint actions relies on early sensory-motor processes that have a key role in guiding social development. Early intervention targeting the sensory-motor processes involved in the development of joint action coordination could positively support social skills.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Cerullo
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 331 Viale del Tirreno, 56018 Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesca Fulceri
- Research Coordination and Support Service, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Viale Regina Elena 299, 00161 Rome, Italy
| | - Filippo Muratori
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 331 Viale del Tirreno, 56018 Pisa, Italy; Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
| | - Annarita Contaldo
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, 331 Viale del Tirreno, 56018 Pisa, Italy.
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19
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Caruana N, Alhasan A, Wagner K, Kaplan DM, Woolgar A, McArthur G. The effect of non-communicative eye movements on joint attention. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2020; 73:2389-2402. [PMID: 32686988 PMCID: PMC7672778 DOI: 10.1177/1747021820945604] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
Eye movements provide important signals for joint attention. However, those eye movements that indicate bids for joint attention often occur among non-communicative eye movements. This study investigated the influence of these non-communicative eye movements on subsequent joint attention responsivity. Participants played an interactive game with an avatar which required both players to search for a visual target on a screen. The player who discovered the target used their eyes to initiate joint attention. We compared participants' saccadic reaction times (SRTs) to the avatar's joint attention bids when they were preceded by non-communicative eye movements that predicted the location of the target (Predictive Search), did not predict the location of the target (Random Search), and when there were no non-communicative eye gaze movements prior to joint attention (No Search). We also included a control condition in which participants completed the same task, but responded to a dynamic arrow stimulus instead of the avatar's eye movements. For both eye and arrow conditions, participants had slower SRTs in Random Search trials than No Search and Predictive Search trials. However, these effects were smaller for eyes than for arrows. These data suggest that joint attention responsivity for eyes is relatively stable to the presence and predictability of spatial information conveyed by non-communicative gaze. Contrastingly, random sequences of dynamic arrows had a much more disruptive impact on subsequent responsivity compared with predictive arrow sequences. This may reflect specialised social mechanisms and expertise for selectively responding to communicative eye gaze cues during dynamic interactions, which is likely facilitated by the integration of ostensive eye contact cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Caruana
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Ayeh Alhasan
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Kirilee Wagner
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - David M Kaplan
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Alexandra Woolgar
- Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,MRC Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Genevieve McArthur
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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20
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Does Context Matter? Effects of Robot Appearance and Reliability on Social Attention Differs Based on Lifelikeness of Gaze Task. Int J Soc Robot 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12369-020-00675-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
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21
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Dravida S, Noah JA, Zhang X, Hirsch J. Joint Attention During Live Person-to-Person Contact Activates rTPJ, Including a Sub-Component Associated With Spontaneous Eye-to-Eye Contact. Front Hum Neurosci 2020; 14:201. [PMID: 32581746 PMCID: PMC7283505 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2020.00201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2019] [Accepted: 05/05/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Eye-to-eye contact is a spontaneous behavior between interacting partners that occurs naturally during social interactions. However, individuals differ with respect to eye gaze behaviors such as frequency of eye-to-eye contacts, and these variations may reflect underlying differences in social behavior in the population. While the use of eye signaling to indicate a shared object of attention in joint attention tasks has been well-studied, the effects of the natural variation in establishing eye contact during joint attention have not been isolated. Here, we investigate this question using a novel two-person joint attention task. Participants were not instructed regarding the use of eye contacts; thus all mutual eye contact events between interacting partners that occurred during the joint attention task were spontaneous and varied with respect to frequency. We predicted that joint attention systems would be modulated by differences in the social behavior across participant pairs, which could be measured by the frequency of eye contact behavior. We used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning and eye-tracking to measure the neural signals associated with joint attention in interacting dyads and to record the number of eye contact events between them. Participants engaged in a social joint attention task in which real partners used eye gaze to direct each other's attention to specific targets. Findings were compared to a non-social joint attention task in which an LED cue directed both partners' attention to the same target. The social joint attention condition showed greater activity in right temporoparietal junction than the non-social condition, replicating prior joint attention results. Eye-contact frequency modulated the joint attention activity, revealing bilateral activity in social and high level visual areas associated with partners who made more eye contact. Additionally, when the number of mutual eye contact events was used to classify each pair as either "high eye contact" or "low eye contact" dyads, cross-brain coherence analysis revealed greater coherence between high eye contact dyads than low eye contact dyads in these same areas. Together, findings suggest that variation in social behavior as measured by eye contact modulates activity in a subunit of the network associated with joint attention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Swethasri Dravida
- Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - J. Adam Noah
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Xian Zhang
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Joy Hirsch
- Brain Function Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Neuroscience, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Comparative Medicine, Yale School of Medicine, New Haven, CT, United States
- Department of Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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22
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Koike T, Tanabe HC, Adachi-Abe S, Okazaki S, Nakagawa E, Sasaki AT, Shimada K, Sugawara SK, Takahashi HK, Yoshihara K, Sadato N. Role of the right anterior insular cortex in joint attention-related identification with a partner. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 14:1131-1145. [PMID: 31919530 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsz087] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/14/2019] [Revised: 09/04/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Understanding others as intentional agents is critical in social interactions. We perceive others' intentions through identification, a categorical judgment that others should work like oneself. The most primitive form of understanding others' intentions is joint attention (JA). During JA, an initiator selects a shared object through gaze (initiative joint attention, IJA), and the responder follows the direction of the initiator's gaze (reactive joint attention, RJA). Therefore, both participants share the intention of object selection. However, the neural underpinning of shared intention through JA remains unknown. In this study, we hypothesized that JA is represented by inter-individual neural synchronization of the intention-related activity. Additionally, JA requires eye contact that activates the limbic mirror system; therefore, we hypothesized that this system is involved in shared attention through JA. To test these hypotheses, participants underwent hyperscanning fMRI while performing JA tasks. We found that IJA-related activation of the right anterior insular cortex of participants was positively correlated with RJA-related activation of homologous regions in their partners. This area was activated by volitional selection of the target during IJA. Therefore, identification with others by JA is likely accomplished by the shared intentionality of target selection represented by inter-individual synchronization of the right anterior insular cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Takahiko Koike
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan
| | - Hiroki C Tanabe
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan.,Division of Psychology, Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, 464-8601, Nagoya, Japan
| | - Saori Adachi-Abe
- Department of Medicine, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, 113-8510, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Shuntaro Okazaki
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan.,Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, 910-1193, Fukui, Japan
| | - Eri Nakagawa
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan.,Graduate School of Intercultural Studies School of Languages and Communication, Kobe University, 657-8501, Kobe, Japan
| | - Akihiro T Sasaki
- Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, 650-0047, Kobe, Japan.,Department of Physiology, Osaka City University Graduate School of Medicine, 558-8585, Osaka, Japan
| | - Koji Shimada
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan.,Graduate School of Intercultural Studies School of Languages and Communication, Kobe University, 657-8501, Kobe, Japan
| | - Sho K Sugawara
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan.,Japan Society for the Promotion of Science
| | - Haruka K Takahashi
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan.,Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, 240-0193, Kanagawa, Japan
| | - Kazufumi Yoshihara
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan.,Department of Psychosomatic Medicine, Graduate School of Medical Sciences, Kyushu University, 819-0395, Fukuoka, Japan
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 444-8585, Okazaki, Japan.,Biomedical Imaging Research Center (BIRC), University of Fukui, 910-1193, Fukui, Japan.,Department of Physiological Sciences, School of Life Sciences, The Graduate University for Advanced Studies, 240-0193, Kanagawa, Japan
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23
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Abstract
Although a large proportion of our lives are spent participating in social interactions, the investigation of the neural mechanisms supporting these interactions has largely been restricted to situations of social observation - that is, situations in which an individual observes a social stimulus without opportunity for interaction. In recent years, efforts have been made to develop a truly social, or 'second-person', neuroscientific approach to these investigations in which neural processes are examined within the context of a real-time reciprocal social interaction. These developments have helped to elucidate the behavioural and neural mechanisms of social interactions; however, further theoretical and methodological innovations are still needed. Findings to date suggest that the neural mechanisms supporting social interaction differ from those involved in social observation and highlight a role of the so-called 'mentalizing network' as important in this distinction. Taking social interaction seriously may also be particularly important for the advancement of the neuroscientific study of different psychiatric conditions.
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24
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The mind minds minds: The effect of intentional stance on the neural encoding of joint attention. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2019; 19:1479-1491. [DOI: 10.3758/s13415-019-00734-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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25
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Rayson H, Bonaiuto JJ, Ferrari PF, Chakrabarti B, Murray L. Building blocks of joint attention: Early sensitivity to having one's own gaze followed. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2019; 37:100631. [PMID: 30970289 PMCID: PMC6556871 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2019.100631] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Revised: 12/24/2018] [Accepted: 03/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Detecting when one's own gaze has been followed is a critical component of joint attention, but little is known about its development. To address this issue, we used electroencephalography (EEG) to record infant neural responses at 6.5 and 9.5 months during observation of an adult either turning to look at the same object as the infant (congruent actor), or turning to look at a different object (incongruent actor). We also used a preferential looking paradigm to investigate whether infants would demonstrate a preference for the congruent versus incongruent actor. Greater suppression of alpha band activity in the congruent compared to incongruent condition was revealed at both ages in central and parietal regions. However, the effect of congruency on alpha suppression was stronger at 9.5 months, and only at this age did infants demonstrate a preference towards looking at the congruent actor. Together, these results suggest that although infants are sensitive to others' gaze following from early on, important neural and behavioural developments occur between 6.5 and 9.5 months.
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Affiliation(s)
- Holly Rayson
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom; Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, Bron, France.
| | - James J Bonaiuto
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, Bron, France; Sobell Department for Motor Neuroscience and Movement Disorders, University College London, United Kingdom
| | - Pier F Ferrari
- Institut des Sciences Cognitives - Marc Jeannerod, CNRS, Bron, France
| | - Bhismadev Chakrabarti
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom
| | - Lynne Murray
- School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, United Kingdom; Department of Psychology, Stellenbosch University, South Africa; Department of Psychology, University of Cape Town, South Africa
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26
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Goelman G, Dan R, Stößel G, Tost H, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Bilek E. Bidirectional signal exchanges and their mechanisms during joint attention interaction - A hyperscanning fMRI study. Neuroimage 2019; 198:242-254. [PMID: 31112784 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/29/2019] [Revised: 05/01/2019] [Accepted: 05/10/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interactions are essential to our daily life. We tested the hypothesis that social interactions during joint attention (JA) require bidirectional communication, each with a different mechanism. We used a novel multivariate functional connectivity analysis, which enables obtaining directed pathways between four regions at each time-frequency point, with hyper-scanning MRI data of real-time JA interaction. Constructing multiple "4-regional directed pathways" and counting the number of times, regions engaged in feedforward or feedback processes in the 'sender' or the 'receiver brains, we obtained the following. (1) There were more regions in feedforward than in feedback processes (125 versus 99). (2) The right hemisphere was more involved in feedforward (74 versus 33), while the left hemisphere in feedback (66 versus 51). (3) The dmPFC was more engaged in feedforward (73 versus 44) while the TPJ in both (49 versus 45). (4) The dmPFC was more involved in the sending processes (i.e. initiation of feedforward and feedback) while the TPJ in the receiving processes. (5) JA interaction was involved with high MRI frequencies (0.04-0.1 Hz), while continues interactions by low MRI frequencies (0.01-0.04 Hz). (6) Initiation and responding to JA (i.e. IJA and RJA) evolved with composite neural systems: similar systems for pathways that included the dmPFC, vmPFC and the STS, and different systems for pathways that included the TPJ, vmPFC, PCC and the STS. These findings have important consequences in the basic understanding of social interaction and could help in diagnose and follow-up of social impairments.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gadi Goelman
- Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel.
| | - Rotem Dan
- Department of Neurology, Hadassah Medical Center, The Hebrew University Medical School, Jerusalem, Israel; Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Sciences, The Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem, Israel
| | | | - Heike Tost
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Edda Bilek
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
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27
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Song P, Lin H, Liu C, Jiang Y, Lin Y, Xue Q, Xu P, Wang Y. Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation to the Middle Frontal Gyrus During Attention Modes Induced Dynamic Module Reconfiguration in Brain Networks. Front Neuroinform 2019; 13:22. [PMID: 31001103 PMCID: PMC6456710 DOI: 10.3389/fninf.2019.00022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Accepted: 03/14/2019] [Indexed: 01/11/2023] Open
Abstract
The interaction between dorsal and ventral attention networks (VANs) is mediated by the middle frontal gyrus (MFG), which is functionally connected to both networks. However, the direct role of the MFG in selective and sustained attention remains controversial. In the current study, we used transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and electroencephalography (EEG) to probe the connectivity dynamic changes of MFG-associated regions during different attention modes. The participants underwent visual, selective, and sustained attention tasks to observe TMS-induced network changes. Twenty healthy participants received single-pulse TMS over the left or right MFG during tasks, while synchronous EEG data was acquired. Behavioral results were recorded and time-varying brain network analyses were performed. We found that the MFG is involved in attention processing and that sustained attention was preferentially controlled by the right MFG. Moreover, compared with the right hemisphere, the left hemisphere was associated with selective attention tasks. Visual and selective attention tasks induced MFG-related changes in network nodes were within the left hemisphere; however, sustained attention induced changes in network nodes were in the bilateral posterior MFG. Our findings indicated that the MFG plays a crucial role in regulating attention networks. In particular, TMS-induced MFG alterations influenced key nodes of the time-varying brain network, leading to the reorganization of brain network modules.
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Affiliation(s)
- Penghui Song
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Hua Lin
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Chunyan Liu
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Yuanling Jiang
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Yicong Lin
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Qing Xue
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Xu
- Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation of Ministry of Education, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Yuping Wang
- Department of Neurology, Xuanwu Hospital, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Center of Epilepsy, Beijing Institute for Brain Disorders, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Neuromodulation, Beijing, China
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28
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Cañigueral R, Hamilton AFDC. The Role of Eye Gaze During Natural Social Interactions in Typical and Autistic People. Front Psychol 2019; 10:560. [PMID: 30930822 PMCID: PMC6428744 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2019.00560] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2018] [Accepted: 02/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Social interactions involve complex exchanges of a variety of social signals, such as gaze, facial expressions, speech and gestures. Focusing on the dual function of eye gaze, this review explores how the presence of an audience, communicative purpose and temporal dynamics of gaze allow interacting partners to achieve successful communication. First, we focus on how being watched modulates social cognition and behavior. We then show that the study of interpersonal gaze processing, particularly gaze temporal dynamics, can provide valuable understanding of social behavior in real interactions. We propose that the Interpersonal Gaze Processing model, which combines both sensing and signaling functions of eye gaze, provides a framework to make sense of gaze patterns in live interactions. Finally, we discuss how autistic individuals process the belief in being watched and interpersonal dynamics of gaze, and suggest that systematic manipulation of factors modulating gaze signaling can reveal which aspects of social eye gaze are challenging in autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Roser Cañigueral
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, London, United Kingdom
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29
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Responding to joint attention bids in schizophrenia: An interactive eye-tracking study. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2019; 72:2068-2083. [DOI: 10.1177/1747021819829718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
This study investigated social cognition in schizophrenia using a virtual reality paradigm to capture the dynamic processes of evaluating and responding to eye gaze as an intentional communicative cue. A total of 21 patients with schizophrenia and 21 age-, gender-, and IQ-matched healthy controls completed an interactive computer game with an on-screen avatar that participants believed was controlled by an off-screen partner. On social trials, participants were required to achieve joint attention by correctly interpreting and responding to gaze cues. Participants also completed non-social trials in which they responded to an arrow cue within the same task context. While patients and controls took equivalent time to process communicative intent from gaze shifts, patients made significantly more errors than controls when responding to the directional information conveyed by gaze, but not arrow, cues. Despite no differences in response times to gaze cues between groups, patients were significantly slower than controls when responding to arrow cues. This is the opposite pattern of results previously observed in autistic adults using the same task and suggests that, despite general impairments in attention orienting or oculomotor control, patients with schizophrenia demonstrate a facilitation effect when responding to communicative gaze cues. Findings indicate a hyper-responsivity to gaze cues of communicative intent in schizophrenia. The possible effects of self-referential biases when evaluating gaze direction are discussed, as are clinical implications.
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30
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Thompson SJ, Foulsham T, Leekam SR, Jones CR. Attention to the face is characterised by a difficult to inhibit first fixation to the eyes. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2019; 193:229-238. [PMID: 30690268 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2019.01.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2018] [Revised: 12/21/2018] [Accepted: 01/07/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The eyes are preferentially attended over other facial features and recent evidence suggests this bias is difficult to suppress. To further examine the automatic and volitional nature of this bias for eye information, we used a novel prompting face recognition paradigm in 41 adults and measured the location of their first fixations, overall dwell time and behavioural responses. First, patterns of eye gaze were measured during a free-viewing forced choice face recognition paradigm. Second, the task was repeated but with prompts to look to either the eyes or the mouth. Participants showed significantly more first fixations to the eyes than mouth, both when prompted to look at the eyes and when prompted to look at the mouth. The pattern of looking to the eyes when prompted was indistinguishable from the unprompted condition in which participants were free to look where they chose. Notably, the dwell time data demonstrated that the eye bias did not persist over the entire presentation period. Our results suggest a difficult-to-inhibit bias to initially orient to the eyes, which is superseded by volitional, top-down control of eye gaze. Further, the amount of looking to the eyes is at a maximum level spontaneously and cannot be enhanced by explicit instructions.
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31
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Soto-Icaza P, Vargas L, Aboitiz F, Billeke P. Beta oscillations precede joint attention and correlate with mentalization in typical development and autism. Cortex 2019; 113:210-228. [PMID: 30677619 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.12.018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/08/2018] [Revised: 10/30/2018] [Accepted: 12/17/2018] [Indexed: 01/08/2023]
Abstract
A precursor of adult social functioning is joint attention (JA), which is the capacity to share attention on an object with another person. JA precedes the development of the capacity to attribute mental states to others (i.e., mentalization or theory of mind). The neural mechanisms involved in the development of mentalization are not fully understood. Electroencephalographic recordings were made of children while they watched stimuli on a screen and their interaction with the experimenter was assessed. We tested whether neuronal activity preceding JA correlates with mentalization in typically developing (TD) children and whether this activity is impaired in children with autistic spectrum disorder (ASD) who evidence deficits in JA and mentalization skills. Both groups exhibited JA behavior with comparable frequency. TD children displayed a higher amplitude of negative central (Nc) event-related potential preceding JA behavior (∼500 msec after stimuli presentation), than did the ASD group. Previous to JA behavior, TD children demonstrated beta oscillatory activity in the temporoparietal region, while ASD children did not show an increase in beta activity. In both groups, the beta power correlated with mentalization, suggesting that this specific neuronal mechanism is involved in mentalization, which used during social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Soto-Icaza
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Departamento de Psiquiatría, Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile.
| | | | - Francisco Aboitiz
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Departamento de Psiquiatría, Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencias, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Pablo Billeke
- División de Neurociencias, Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social (neuroCICS), Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile.
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32
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Alkire D, Levitas D, Warnell KR, Redcay E. Social interaction recruits mentalizing and reward systems in middle childhood. Hum Brain Mapp 2018; 39:3928-3942. [PMID: 29885085 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24221] [Citation(s) in RCA: 35] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/30/2018] [Revised: 05/08/2018] [Accepted: 05/09/2018] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Social cognition develops in the context of reciprocal social interaction. However, most neuroimaging studies of mentalizing have used noninteractive tasks that may fail to capture important aspects of real-world mentalizing. In adults, social-interactive context modulates activity in regions linked to social cognition and reward, but few interactive studies have been done with children. The current fMRI study examines children aged 8-12 using a novel paradigm in which children believed they were interacting online with a peer. We compared mental and non-mental state reasoning about a live partner (Peer) versus a story character (Character), testing the effects of mentalizing and social interaction in a 2 × 2 design. Mental versus Non-Mental reasoning engaged regions identified in prior mentalizing studies, including the temporoparietal junction, superior temporal sulcus, and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. Moreover, peer interaction, even in conditions without explicit mentalizing demands, activated many of the same mentalizing regions. Peer interaction also activated areas outside the traditional mentalizing network, including the reward system. Our results demonstrate that social interaction engages multiple neural systems during middle childhood and contribute further evidence that social-interactive paradigms are needed to fully capture how the brain supports social processing in the real world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diana Alkire
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742.,Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
| | - Daniel Levitas
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, 47405
| | | | - Elizabeth Redcay
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742.,Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, Maryland, 20742
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33
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Warnell KR, Sadikova E, Redcay E. Let's chat: developmental neural bases of social motivation during real-time peer interaction. Dev Sci 2018; 21:e12581. [PMID: 28748572 PMCID: PMC7060940 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12581] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/05/2016] [Accepted: 04/24/2017] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Humans are motivated to interact with each other, but the neural bases of social motivation have been predominantly examined in non-interactive contexts. Understanding real-world social motivation is of special importance during middle childhood (ages 8-12), a period when social skills improve, social networks grow, and social brain networks specialize. To assess interactive social motivation, the current study used a novel fMRI paradigm in which children believed they were chatting with a peer. The design targeted two phases of interaction: (1) Initiation, in which children engaged in a social bid via sharing a like or hobby, and (2) Reply, in which children received either an engaged ("Me too") or non-engaged ("I'm away") reply from the peer. On control trials, children were told that their answers were not shared and that they would receive either engaged ("Matched") or non-engaged ("Disconnected") replies from the computer. Results indicated that during Initiation and Reply, key components of reward circuitry (e.g., ventral striatum) were more active for the peer than the computer trials. In addition, during Reply, social cognitive regions were more activated by the peer, and this social cognitive specialization increased with age. Finally, the effect of engagement type on reward circuitry activation was larger for social than non-social trials, indicating developmental sensitivity to social contingency. These findings demonstrate that both reward and social cognitive brain systems support real-time social interaction in middle childhood. An interactive approach to understanding social reward has implications for clinical disorders, where social motivation is more affected in real-world contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Eleonora Sadikova
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
| | - Elizabeth Redcay
- Department of Psychology, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
- Neuroscience and Cognitive Science Program, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742
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34
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Hartwigsen G, Neef NE, Camilleri JA, Margulies DS, Eickhoff SB. Functional Segregation of the Right Inferior Frontal Gyrus: Evidence From Coactivation-Based Parcellation. Cereb Cortex 2018; 29:1532-1546. [DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhy049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 61] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/29/2017] [Revised: 02/13/2018] [Accepted: 02/14/2018] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Gesa Hartwigsen
- Research Group Modulation of Language Networks, Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Nicole E Neef
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Julia A Camilleri
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
| | - Daniel S Margulies
- Frontlab, Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière (ICM), UPMC UMRS 1127, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Paris, France
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Institute of Systems Neuroscience, Medical Faculty, Heinrich Heine University Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Brain & Behavior (INM-7), Research Centre Jülich, Jülich, Germany
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35
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Xu S, Zhang S, Geng H. The Effect of Eye Contact Is Contingent on Visual Awareness. Front Psychol 2018; 9:93. [PMID: 29467703 PMCID: PMC5808343 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.00093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2017] [Accepted: 01/22/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The present study explored how eye contact at different levels of visual awareness influences gaze-induced joint attention. We adopted a spatial-cueing paradigm, in which an averted gaze was used as an uninformative central cue for a joint-attention task. Prior to the onset of the averted-gaze cue, either supraliminal (Experiment 1) or subliminal (Experiment 2) eye contact was presented. The results revealed a larger subsequent gaze-cueing effect following supraliminal eye contact compared to a no-contact condition. In contrast, the gaze-cueing effect was smaller in the subliminal eye-contact condition than in the no-contact condition. These findings suggest that the facilitation effect of eye contact on coordinating social attention depends on visual awareness. Furthermore, subliminal eye contact might have an impact on subsequent social attention processes that differ from supraliminal eye contact. This study highlights the need to further investigate the role of eye contact in implicit social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shan Xu
- Faculty of Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Shen Zhang
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin–Whitewater, Whitewater, WI, United States
| | - Haiyan Geng
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Behavior and Mental Health, School of Psychological and Cognitive Sciences, Peking University, Beijing, China
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36
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Redcay E, Warnell KR. A Social-Interactive Neuroscience Approach to Understanding the Developing Brain. ADVANCES IN CHILD DEVELOPMENT AND BEHAVIOR 2017; 54:1-44. [PMID: 29455860 DOI: 10.1016/bs.acdb.2017.10.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
From birth onward, social interaction is central to our everyday lives. Our ability to seek out social partners, flexibly navigate and learn from social interactions, and develop social relationships is critically important for our social and cognitive development and for our mental and physical health. Despite the importance of our social interactions, the neurodevelopmental bases of such interactions are underexplored, as most research examines social processing in noninteractive contexts. We begin this chapter with evidence from behavioral work and adult neuroimaging studies demonstrating how social-interactive context fundamentally alters cognitive and neural processing. We then highlight four brain networks that play key roles in social interaction and, drawing on existing developmental neuroscience literature, posit the functional roles these networks may play in social-interactive development. We conclude by discussing how a social-interactive neuroscience approach holds great promise for advancing our understanding of both typical and atypical social development.
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37
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Mundy P, Novotny S, Swain-Lerro L, McIntyre N, Zajic M, Oswald T. Joint-Attention and the Social Phenotype of School-Aged Children with ASD. J Autism Dev Disord 2017; 47:1423-1435. [PMID: 28229349 DOI: 10.1007/s10803-017-3061-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The validity of joint attention assessment in school-aged children with ASD is unclear (Lord, Jones, Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry 53(5):490-509, 2012). This study examined the feasibility and validity of a parent-report measure of joint attention related behaviors in verbal children and adolescents with ASD. Fifty-two children with ASD and 34 controls were assessed with the Childhood Joint Attention Rating Scale (C-JARS). The C-JARS exhibited internally consistency, α = 0.88, and one factor explained 49% of the scale variance. Factor scores correctly identified between 88 and 94% of the children with ASD and 62-82% of controls. These scores were correlated with the ADOS-2, but not other parent-report symptom measures. The C-JARS appears to assess a unique dimension of the social-phenotype of children with ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Mundy
- UC Davis School of Education, University of California (UC) Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA.
- MIND Institute, UC Davis, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA.
| | - Stephanie Novotny
- Institute of Living, Olin Neuropsychiatry Research Center, Hartford, CT, USA
| | - Lindsey Swain-Lerro
- UC Davis School of Education, University of California (UC) Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Nancy McIntyre
- UC Davis School of Education, University of California (UC) Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Matt Zajic
- UC Davis School of Education, University of California (UC) Davis, One Shields Ave., Davis, CA, 95616, USA
| | - Tasha Oswald
- MIND Institute, UC Davis, 2825 50th Street, Sacramento, CA, 95817, USA
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38
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Mundy P. A review of joint attention and social-cognitive brain systems in typical development and autism spectrum disorder. Eur J Neurosci 2017; 47:497-514. [DOI: 10.1111/ejn.13720] [Citation(s) in RCA: 135] [Impact Index Per Article: 19.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/21/2016] [Revised: 09/12/2017] [Accepted: 09/13/2017] [Indexed: 12/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Peter Mundy
- Lisa Capps Professor of Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Education; School of Education & MIND Institute; University of California at Davis; One Shields Ave. Davis CA 95616 USA
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39
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Billeci L, Narzisi A, Tonacci A, Sbriscia-Fioretti B, Serasini L, Fulceri F, Apicella F, Sicca F, Calderoni S, Muratori F. An integrated EEG and eye-tracking approach for the study of responding and initiating joint attention in Autism Spectrum Disorders. Sci Rep 2017; 7:13560. [PMID: 29051506 PMCID: PMC5648821 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-13053-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2017] [Accepted: 09/20/2017] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) are characterised by impairment in joint attention (JA), which has two components: the response to JA and the initiation of JA. Literature suggests a correlation between JA and neural circuitries, although this link is still largely unexplored in ASD. In this pilot study, we aimed at investigating the neural correlates of responding and initiating JA in high-functioning children with ASD and evaluating the changes in brain function and visual pattern after six months of rehabilitative treatment using an integrated EEG/eye-tracking system. Our results showed that initiating and responding JA subtend both overlapping (i.e. frontal and temporal) and specialized (i.e. parietal for responding JA and occipital for initiating JA) neural circuitries. In addition, in a subgroup of subjects, we observed trends of changes in both brain activity and connectivity after rehabilitative treatment in both the two tasks, which were correlated with modifications in gaze measures. These preliminary results, if confirmed in a larger sample, suggest the feasibility of using the proposed multimodal approach to characterise JA-related brain circuitries and visual pattern in ASD individuals and to monitor longitudinal changes in response to rehabilitative intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lucia Billeci
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy.
| | - Antonio Narzisi
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno 331, 56018, Calambrone, (PI), Italy
| | - Alessandro Tonacci
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Luca Serasini
- Institute of Clinical Physiology, National Research Council of Italy, Via Moruzzi 1, 56124, Pisa, Italy
| | - Francesca Fulceri
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno 331, 56018, Calambrone, (PI), Italy
| | - Fabio Apicella
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno 331, 56018, Calambrone, (PI), Italy
| | - Federico Sicca
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno 331, 56018, Calambrone, (PI), Italy
| | - Sara Calderoni
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno 331, 56018, Calambrone, (PI), Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, via Savi 10, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Filippo Muratori
- IRCCS Stella Maris Foundation, Viale del Tirreno 331, 56018, Calambrone, (PI), Italy
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, University of Pisa, via Savi 10, 56126, Pisa, Italy
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40
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Caruana N, Spirou D, Brock J. Human agency beliefs influence behaviour during virtual social interactions. PeerJ 2017; 5:e3819. [PMID: 28948104 PMCID: PMC5610555 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3819] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2017] [Accepted: 08/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
In recent years, with the emergence of relatively inexpensive and accessible virtual reality technologies, it is now possible to deliver compelling and realistic simulations of human-to-human interaction. Neuroimaging studies have shown that, when participants believe they are interacting via a virtual interface with another human agent, they show different patterns of brain activity compared to when they know that their virtual partner is computer-controlled. The suggestion is that users adopt an “intentional stance” by attributing mental states to their virtual partner. However, it remains unclear how beliefs in the agency of a virtual partner influence participants’ behaviour and subjective experience of the interaction. We investigated this issue in the context of a cooperative “joint attention” game in which participants interacted via an eye tracker with a virtual onscreen partner, directing each other’s eye gaze to different screen locations. Half of the participants were correctly informed that their partner was controlled by a computer algorithm (“Computer” condition). The other half were misled into believing that the virtual character was controlled by a second participant in another room (“Human” condition). Those in the “Human” condition were slower to make eye contact with their partner and more likely to try and guide their partner before they had established mutual eye contact than participants in the “Computer” condition. They also responded more rapidly when their partner was guiding them, although the same effect was also found for a control condition in which they responded to an arrow cue. Results confirm the influence of human agency beliefs on behaviour in this virtual social interaction context. They further suggest that researchers and developers attempting to simulate social interactions should consider the impact of agency beliefs on user experience in other social contexts, and their effect on the achievement of the application’s goals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Caruana
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Perception in Action Research Centre, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Syndey, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Dean Spirou
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Jon Brock
- Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Syndey, New South Wales, Australia.,Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
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Chhaya R, Weiss J, Seffren V, Sikorskii A, Winke PM, Ojuka JC, Boivin MJ. The feasibility of an automated eye-tracking-modified Fagan test of memory for human faces in younger Ugandan HIV-exposed children. Child Neuropsychol 2017; 24:686-701. [PMID: 28532283 DOI: 10.1080/09297049.2017.1329412] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE The Fagan Test of Infant Intelligence (FTII) uses longer gaze length for unfamiliar versus familiar human faces to gauge visual-spatial encoding, attention, and working memory in infants. Our objective was to establish the feasibility of automated eye tracking with the FTII in HIV-exposed Ugandan infants. METHOD The FTII was administered to 31 perinatally HIV-exposed noninfected (HEU) Ugandan children 6-12 months of age (11 boys; M = 0.69 years, SD = 0.14; 19 girls; M = 0.79, SD = 0.15). A series of 10 different faces were presented (familiar face exposure for 25 s followed by a gaze preference trial of 15 s with both the familiar and unfamiliar faces). Tobii X2-30 infrared camera for pupil detection provided automated eye-tracking measures of gaze location and length during presentation of Ugandan faces selected to correspond to the gender, age (adult, child), face expression, and orientation of the original FTII. Eye-tracking gaze length for unfamiliar faces was correlated with performance on the Mullen Scales of Early Learning (MSEL). RESULTS Infants gazed longer at the novel picture compared to familiar across 10 novelty preference trials. Better MSEL cognitive development was correlated with proportionately longer time spent looking at the novel faces (r(30) = 0.52, p = .004); especially for the Fine Motor Cognitive Sub-scale (r(30) = 0.54, p = .002). CONCLUSION Automated eye tracking in a human face recognition test proved feasible and corresponded to the MSEL composite cognitive development in HEU infants in a resource-constrained clinical setting. Eye tracking may be a viable means of enhancing the validity and accuracy of other neurodevelopmental measures in at-risk children in sub-Saharan Africa.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ronak Chhaya
- a College of Human Medicine , Michigan State University , East Lansing , MI , USA
| | - Jonathan Weiss
- a College of Human Medicine , Michigan State University , East Lansing , MI , USA
| | - Victoria Seffren
- b School of Public Health , University of Michigan , Ann Arbor , MI , USA
| | - Alla Sikorskii
- c Department of Statistics & Probability , Michigan State University , East Lansing , MI , USA
| | - Paula M Winke
- d Department of Linguistics, Germanic, Slavic, Asian, & African Languages , Michigan State University , East Lansing , MI , USA
| | | | - Michael J Boivin
- f Department of Psychiatry and Neurology & Ophthalmology , Michigan State University , East Lansing , MI , USA
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Eggebrecht AT, Elison JT, Feczko E, Todorov A, Wolff JJ, Kandala S, Adams CM, Snyder AZ, Lewis JD, Estes AM, Zwaigenbaum L, Botteron KN, McKinstry RC, Constantino JN, Evans A, Hazlett HC, Dager S, Paterson SJ, Schultz RT, Styner MA, Gerig G, Das S, Kostopoulos P, Schlaggar BL, Petersen SE, Piven J, Pruett JR. Joint Attention and Brain Functional Connectivity in Infants and Toddlers. Cereb Cortex 2017; 27:1709-1720. [PMID: 28062515 PMCID: PMC5452276 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw403] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/08/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Initiating joint attention (IJA), the behavioral instigation of coordinated focus of 2 people on an object, emerges over the first 2 years of life and supports social-communicative functioning related to the healthy development of aspects of language, empathy, and theory of mind. Deficits in IJA provide strong early indicators for autism spectrum disorder, and therapies targeting joint attention have shown tremendous promise. However, the brain systems underlying IJA in early childhood are poorly understood, due in part to significant methodological challenges in imaging localized brain function that supports social behaviors during the first 2 years of life. Herein, we show that the functional organization of the brain is intimately related to the emergence of IJA using functional connectivity magnetic resonance imaging and dimensional behavioral assessments in a large semilongitudinal cohort of infants and toddlers. In particular, though functional connections spanning the brain are involved in IJA, the strongest brain-behavior associations cluster within connections between a small subset of functional brain networks; namely between the visual network and dorsal attention network and between the visual network and posterior cingulate aspects of the default mode network. These observations mark the earliest known description of how functional brain systems underlie a burgeoning fundamental social behavior, may help improve the design of targeted therapies for neurodevelopmental disorders, and, more generally, elucidate physiological mechanisms essential to healthy social behavior development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam T Eggebrecht
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Jed T Elison
- Institute of Child Development, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Eric Feczko
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Sciences, Portland, OR 97239, USA
| | - Alexandre Todorov
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Jason J Wolff
- Department of Educational Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN 55455, USA
| | - Sridhar Kandala
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Chloe M Adams
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Abraham Z Snyder
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - John D Lewis
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Annette M Estes
- Department of Speech and Hearing Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Lonnie Zwaigenbaum
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Alberta, 1E1 Walter Mackenzie Health Sciences Centre (WMC), Edmonton, AB T6G 2B7, Canada
| | - Kelly N Botteron
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Robert C McKinstry
- Mallinckrodt Institute of Radiology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - John N Constantino
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
| | - Alan Evans
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Heather C Hazlett
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | - Stephen Dager
- Department of Radiology, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195, USA
| | - Sarah J Paterson
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA.,Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA 19122, USA
| | - Robert T Schultz
- The Children's Hospital of Philadelphia, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA
| | - Martin A Styner
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | - Guido Gerig
- Tandon School of Engineering, New York University, Brooklyn, NY 11201, USA
| | - Samir Das
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | - Penelope Kostopoulos
- McConnell Brain Imaging Center, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, QC H3A 2B4, Canada
| | | | - Bradley L Schlaggar
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110,USA
| | - Steven E Petersen
- Department of Neurology, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110,USA
| | - Joseph Piven
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC 27514, USA
| | - John R Pruett
- Department of Psychiatry, Washington University School of Medicine, St Louis, MO 63110, USA
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Caruana N, Stieglitz Ham H, Brock J, Woolgar A, Kloth N, Palermo R, McArthur G. Joint attention difficulties in autistic adults: An interactive eye-tracking study. AUTISM : THE INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF RESEARCH AND PRACTICE 2017; 22:502-512. [PMID: 28423919 DOI: 10.1177/1362361316676204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022]
Abstract
Joint attention - the ability to coordinate attention with a social partner - is critical for social communication, learning and the regulation of interpersonal relationships. Infants and young children with autism demonstrate impairments in both initiating and responding to joint attention bids in naturalistic settings. However, little is known about joint attention abilities in adults with autism. Here, we tested 17 autistic adults and 17 age- and nonverbal intelligence quotient-matched controls using an interactive eye-tracking paradigm in which participants initiated and responded to joint attention bids with an on-screen avatar. Compared to control participants, autistic adults completed fewer trials successfully. They were also slower to respond to joint attention bids in the first block of testing but performed as well as controls in the second block. There were no group differences in responding to spatial cues on a non-social task with similar attention and oculomotor demands. These experimental results were mirrored in the subjective reports given by participants, with some commenting that they initially found it challenging to communicate using eye gaze, but were able to develop strategies that allowed them to achieve joint attention. Our study indicates that for many autistic individuals, subtle difficulties using eye-gaze information persist well into adulthood.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Caruana
- 1 Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Australia.,2 ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Australia.,3 Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Australia
| | - Heidi Stieglitz Ham
- 4 School of Occupational Therapy and Social Work, Curtin University, Australia
| | - Jon Brock
- 1 Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Australia.,2 ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Australia.,5 Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Australia.,6 Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment, Macquarie University, Australia
| | - Alexandra Woolgar
- 1 Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Australia.,2 ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Australia.,3 Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Australia
| | - Nadine Kloth
- 2 ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Australia.,7 School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | - Romina Palermo
- 2 ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Australia.,7 School of Psychology, University of Western Australia, Australia
| | - Genevieve McArthur
- 1 Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Australia.,2 ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Australia.,6 Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment, Macquarie University, Australia
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44
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Virtual Reality for Research in Social Neuroscience. Brain Sci 2017; 7:brainsci7040042. [PMID: 28420150 PMCID: PMC5406699 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci7040042] [Citation(s) in RCA: 70] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2017] [Revised: 03/28/2017] [Accepted: 04/12/2017] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
The emergence of social neuroscience has significantly advanced our understanding of the relationship that exists between social processes and their neurobiological underpinnings. Social neuroscience research often involves the use of simple and static stimuli lacking many of the potentially important aspects of real world activities and social interactions. Whilst this research has merit, there is a growing interest in the presentation of dynamic stimuli in a manner that allows researchers to assess the integrative processes carried out by perceivers over time. Herein, we discuss the potential of virtual reality for enhancing ecological validity while maintaining experimental control in social neuroscience research. Virtual reality is a technology that allows for the creation of fully interactive, three-dimensional computerized models of social situations that can be fully controlled by the experimenter. Furthermore, the introduction of interactive virtual characters—either driven by a human or by a computer—allows the researcher to test, in a systematic and independent manner, the effects of various social cues. We first introduce key technical features and concepts related to virtual reality. Next, we discuss the potential of this technology for enhancing social neuroscience protocols, drawing on illustrative experiments from the literature.
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Caruana N, McArthur G, Woolgar A, Brock J. Detecting communicative intent in a computerised test of joint attention. PeerJ 2017; 5:e2899. [PMID: 28123912 PMCID: PMC5244879 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.2899] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2016] [Accepted: 12/12/2016] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
The successful navigation of social interactions depends on a range of cognitive faculties-including the ability to achieve joint attention with others to share information and experiences. We investigated the influence that intention monitoring processes have on gaze-following response times during joint attention. We employed a virtual reality task in which 16 healthy adults engaged in a collaborative game with a virtual partner to locate a target in a visual array. In the Search task, the virtual partner was programmed to engage in non-communicative gaze shifts in search of the target, establish eye contact, and then display a communicative gaze shift to guide the participant to the target. In the NoSearch task, the virtual partner simply established eye contact and then made a single communicative gaze shift towards the target (i.e., there were no non-communicative gaze shifts in search of the target). Thus, only the Search task required participants to monitor their partner's communicative intent before responding to joint attention bids. We found that gaze following was significantly slower in the Search task than the NoSearch task. However, the same effect on response times was not observed when participants completed non-social control versions of the Search and NoSearch tasks, in which the avatar's gaze was replaced by arrow cues. These data demonstrate that the intention monitoring processes involved in differentiating communicative and non-communicative gaze shifts during the Search task had a measurable influence on subsequent joint attention behaviour. The empirical and methodological implications of these findings for the fields of autism and social neuroscience will be discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Caruana
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Perception in Action Research Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Genevieve McArthur
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Alexandra Woolgar
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Perception in Action Research Centre, Sydney, NSW, Australia
| | - Jon Brock
- ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment, Sydney, NSW, Australia
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Caruana N, McArthur G, Woolgar A, Brock J. Simulating social interactions for the experimental investigation of joint attention. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2016; 74:115-125. [PMID: 28027954 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2016.12.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/15/2016] [Revised: 12/13/2016] [Accepted: 12/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions are, by their nature, dynamic and reciprocal - your behaviour affects my behaviour, which affects your behaviour in return. However, until recently, the field of social cognitive neuroscience has been dominated by paradigms in which participants passively observe social stimuli from a detached "third person" perspective. Here we consider the unique conceptual and methodological challenges involved in adopting a "second person" approach whereby social cognitive mechanisms and their neural correlates are investigated within social interactions (Schilbach et al., 2013). The key question for researchers is how to distil a complex, intentional interaction between two individuals into a tightly controlled and replicable experimental paradigm. We explore these issues within the context of recent investigations of joint attention - the ability to coordinate a common focus of attention with another person. We review pioneering neurophysiology and eye-tracking studies that have begun to address these issues; offer recommendations for the optimal design and implementation of interactive tasks, and discuss the broader implications of interactive approaches for social cognitive neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Caruana
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia.
| | - Genevieve McArthur
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Alexandra Woolgar
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Perception in Action Research Centre, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Jon Brock
- Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Centre for Atypical Neurodevelopment, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia; Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
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47
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Redcay E, Velnoskey KR, Rowe ML. Perceived communicative intent in gesture and language modulates the superior temporal sulcus. Hum Brain Mapp 2016; 37:3444-61. [PMID: 27238550 PMCID: PMC6867447 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2015] [Revised: 03/25/2016] [Accepted: 04/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/08/2022] Open
Abstract
Behavioral evidence and theory suggest gesture and language processing may be part of a shared cognitive system for communication. While much research demonstrates both gesture and language recruit regions along perisylvian cortex, relatively less work has tested functional segregation within these regions on an individual level. Additionally, while most work has focused on a shared semantic network, less has examined shared regions for processing communicative intent. To address these questions, functional and structural MRI data were collected from 24 adult participants while viewing videos of an experimenter producing communicative, Participant-Directed Gestures (PDG) (e.g., "Hello, come here"), noncommunicative Self-adaptor Gestures (SG) (e.g., smoothing hair), and three written text conditions: (1) Participant-Directed Sentences (PDS), matched in content to PDG, (2) Third-person Sentences (3PS), describing a character's actions from a third-person perspective, and (3) meaningless sentences, Jabberwocky (JW). Surface-based conjunction and individual functional region of interest analyses identified shared neural activation between gesture (PDGvsSG) and language processing using two different language contrasts. Conjunction analyses of gesture (PDGvsSG) and Third-person Sentences versus Jabberwocky revealed overlap within left anterior and posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS). Conjunction analyses of gesture and Participant-Directed Sentences to Third-person Sentences revealed regions sensitive to communicative intent, including the left middle and posterior STS and left inferior frontal gyrus. Further, parametric modulation using participants' ratings of stimuli revealed sensitivity of left posterior STS to individual perceptions of communicative intent in gesture. These data highlight an important role of the STS in processing participant-directed communicative intent through gesture and language. Hum Brain Mapp 37:3444-3461, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elizabeth Redcay
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MarylandCollege ParkMaryland
| | | | - Meredith L. Rowe
- Graduate School of EducationHarvard UniversityCambridgeMassachusetts
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de C Hamilton AF. Gazing at me: the importance of social meaning in understanding direct-gaze cues. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:20150080. [PMID: 26644598 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0080] [Citation(s) in RCA: 81] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Direct gaze is an engaging and important social cue, but the meaning of direct gaze depends heavily on the surrounding context. This paper reviews some recent studies of direct gaze, to understand more about what neural and cognitive systems are engaged by this social cue and why. The data show that gaze can act as an arousal cue and can modulate actions, and can activate brain regions linked to theory of mind and self-related processing. However, all these results are strongly modulated by the social meaning of a gaze cue and by whether participants believe that another person is really watching them. The implications of these contextual effects and audience effects for our theories of gaze are considered.
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Caruana N, de Lissa P, McArthur G. Beliefs about human agency influence the neural processing of gaze during joint attention. Soc Neurosci 2016; 12:194-206. [PMID: 26942996 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1160953] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
The current study measured adults' P350 and N170 ERPs while they interacted with a character in a virtual reality paradigm. Some participants believed the character was controlled by a human ("avatar" condition, n = 19); others believed it was controlled by a computer program ("agent" condition, n = 19). In each trial, participants initiated joint attention in order to direct the character's gaze toward a target. In 50% of trials, the character gazed toward the target (congruent responses), and in 50% of trials the character gazed to a different location (incongruent response). In the avatar condition, the character's incongruent gaze responses generated significantly larger P350 peaks at centro-parietal sites than congruent gaze responses. In the agent condition, the P350 effect was strikingly absent. Left occipitotemporal N170 responses were significantly smaller in the agent condition compared to the avatar condition for both congruent and incongruent gaze shifts. These data suggest that beliefs about human agency may recruit mechanisms that discriminate the social outcome of a gaze shift after approximately 350 ms, and that these mechanisms may modulate the early perceptual processing of gaze. These findings also suggest that the ecologically valid measurement of social cognition may depend upon paradigms that simulate genuine social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nathan Caruana
- a Department of Cognitive Science , Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia.,b ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders , Sydney , Australia.,c Perception in Action Research Centre , Sydney , Australia
| | - Peter de Lissa
- a Department of Cognitive Science , Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia.,b ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders , Sydney , Australia.,d Department of Psychology , Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia
| | - Genevieve McArthur
- a Department of Cognitive Science , Macquarie University , Sydney , Australia.,b ARC Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders , Sydney , Australia
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50
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Soto-Icaza P, Aboitiz F, Billeke P. Development of social skills in children: neural and behavioral evidence for the elaboration of cognitive models. Front Neurosci 2015; 9:333. [PMID: 26483621 PMCID: PMC4586412 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2015.00333] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2015] [Accepted: 09/04/2015] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Social skills refer to a wide group of abilities that allow us to interact and communicate with others. Children learn how to solve social situations by predicting and understanding other's behaviors. The way in which humans learn to interact successfully with others encompasses a complex interaction between neural, behavioral, and environmental elements. These have a role in the accomplishment of positive developmental outcomes, including peer acceptance, academic achievement, and mental health. All these social abilities depend on widespread brain networks that are recently being studied by neuroscience. In this paper, we will first review the studies on this topic, aiming to clarify the behavioral and neural mechanisms related to the acquisition of social skills during infancy and their appearance in time. Second, we will briefly describe how developmental diseases like Autism Spectrum Disorders (ASD) can inform about the neurobiological mechanisms of social skills. We finally sketch a general framework for the elaboration of cognitive models in order to facilitate the comprehension of human social development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Patricia Soto-Icaza
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Departamento de Psiquiatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiago, Chile
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiago, Chile
| | - Francisco Aboitiz
- Laboratorio de Neurociencias Cognitivas, Departamento de Psiquiatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiago, Chile
- Centro Interdisciplinario de Neurociencia, Pontificia Universidad Católica de ChileSantiago, Chile
| | - Pablo Billeke
- División de Neurociencia, Centro de Investigación en Complejidad Social, Facultad de Gobierno, Universidad del DesarrolloSantiago, Chile
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