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Cardenas SI, Stoycos SA, Sellery P, Marshall N, Khoddam H, Kaplan J, Goldenberg D, Saxbe DE. Theory of mind processing in expectant fathers: Associations with prenatal oxytocin and parental attunement. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:1549-1567. [PMID: 33748973 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Social cognition may facilitate fathers' sensitive caregiving behavior. We administered the Why-How Task, an fMRI task that elicits theory of mind processing, to expectant fathers (n = 39) who also visited the laboratory during their partner's pregnancy and provided a plasma sample for oxytocin assay. Three months postpartum, fathers reported their beliefs about parenting. When rating "Why" an action was being performed versus "How" the action was being performed (Why > How contrast), participants showed activation in regions theorized to support theory of mind, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and superior temporal sulcus. Fathers' prenatal oxytocin levels predicted greater signal change during the Why > How contrast in the inferior parietal lobule. Both prenatal oxytocin and attunement parenting beliefs were associated with Why > How activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a theory of mind region implicated in emotion regulation. Posterior parahippocampal gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation during the Why > How contrast predicted fathers' attunement parenting beliefs. In conclusion, fathers' neural activation when engaging in a theory of mind task was associated with their prenatal oxytocin levels and their postpartum attunement parenting beliefs. Results suggest biological and cognitive components of fathering may track with the theory of mind processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia I Cardenas
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sarah A Stoycos
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pia Sellery
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Narcis Marshall
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Hannah Khoddam
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonas Kaplan
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Diane Goldenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Darby E Saxbe
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Greene RK, Spanos M, Alderman C, Walsh E, Bizzell J, Mosner MG, Kinard JL, Stuber GD, Chandrasekhar T, Politte LC, Sikich L, Dichter GS. The effects of intranasal oxytocin on reward circuitry responses in children with autism spectrum disorder. J Neurodev Disord 2018; 10:12. [PMID: 29587625 PMCID: PMC5870086 DOI: 10.1186/s11689-018-9228-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [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: 11/03/2017] [Accepted: 03/08/2018] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Intranasal oxytocin (OT) has been shown to improve social communication functioning of individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and, thus, has received considerable interest as a potential ASD therapeutic agent. Although preclinical research indicates that OT modulates the functional output of the mesocorticolimbic dopamine system that processes rewards, no clinical brain imaging study to date has examined the effects of OT on this system using a reward processing paradigm. To address this, we used an incentive delay task to examine the effects of a single dose of intranasal OT, versus placebo (PLC), on neural responses to social and nonsocial rewards in children with ASD. METHODS In this placebo-controlled double-blind study, 28 children and adolescents with ASD (age: M = 13.43 years, SD = 2.36) completed two fMRI scans, one after intranasal OT administration and one after PLC administration. During both scanning sessions, participants completed social and nonsocial incentive delay tasks. Task-based neural activation and connectivity were examined to assess the impact of OT relative to PLC on mesocorticolimbic brain responses to social and nonsocial reward anticipation and outcomes. RESULTS Central analyses compared the OT and PLC conditions. During nonsocial reward anticipation, there was greater activation in the right nucleus accumbens (NAcc), left anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), bilateral orbital frontal cortex (OFC), left superior frontal cortex, and right frontal pole (FP) during the OT condition relative to PLC. Alternatively, during social reward anticipation and outcomes, there were no significant increases in brain activation during the OT condition relative to PLC. A Treatment Group × Reward Condition interaction revealed relatively greater activation in the right NAcc, right caudate nucleus, left ACC, and right OFC during nonsocial relative to social reward anticipation during the OT condition relative to PLC. Additionally, these analyses revealed greater activation during nonsocial reward outcomes during the OT condition relative to PLC in the right OFC and left FP. Finally, functional connectivity analyses generally revealed changes in frontostriatal connections during the OT condition relative to PLC in response to nonsocial, but not social, rewards. CONCLUSIONS The effects of intranasal OT administration on mesocorticolimbic brain systems that process rewards in ASD were observable primarily during the processing of nonsocial incentive salience stimuli. These findings have implications for understanding the effects of OT on neural systems that process rewards, as well as for experimental trials of novel ASD treatments developed to ameliorate social communication impairments in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- R K Greene
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - M Spanos
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.,Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.,Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - C Alderman
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.,Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - E Walsh
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - J Bizzell
- Duke-UNC Brain Imaging and Analysis Center, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.,Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - M G Mosner
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - J L Kinard
- Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - G D Stuber
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.,Department of Cell Biology and Physiology, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.,Neuroscience Center, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - T Chandrasekhar
- Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - L C Politte
- Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.,Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA
| | - L Sikich
- Duke Clinical Research Institute, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.,Duke Center for Autism and Brain Development, Duke University, Durham, NC, 27705, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Duke University Medical Center, Durham, NC, 27705, USA
| | - G S Dichter
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA. .,Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA. .,Carolina Institute for Developmental Disabilities, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, Chapel Hill, NC, 27514, USA. .,Department of Psychiatry, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine, CB 7155, Chapel Hill, NC, 27599-7155, USA.
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Wu H, Tang H, Ge Y, Yang S, Mai X, Luo YJ, Liu C. Object words modulate the activity of the mirror neuron system during action imitation. Brain Behav 2017; 7:e00840. [PMID: 29201543 PMCID: PMC5698860 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.840] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/23/2017] [Revised: 08/02/2017] [Accepted: 08/28/2017] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although research has demonstrated that the mirror neuron system (MNS) plays a crucial role in both action imitation and action-related semantic processing, whether action-related words can inversely modulate the MNS activity remains unclear. METHODS Here, three types of task-irrelevant words (body parts, verbs, and manufactured objects) were presented to examine the modulation effect of these words on the MNS activity during action observation and imitation. Twenty-two participants were recruited for the fMRI scanning and remaining data from 19 subjects were reported here. RESULTS Brain activity results showed that word types elicited different modulation effects over nodes of the MNS (i.e., the right inferior frontal gyrus, premotor cortex, inferior parietal lobule, and STS), especially during the imitation stage. Compared with other word conditions, action imitation following manufactured objects words induced stronger activation in these brain regions during the imitation stage. These results were consistent in both task-dependent and -independent ROI analysis. CONCLUSION Our findings thus provide evidence for the unique effect of object words on the MNS during imitation of action, which may also confirm the key role of goal inference in action imitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haiyan Wu
- CAS Key Laboratory of Behavioral Science Beijing China.,Department of Psychology University of Chinese Academy of Sciences Beijing China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Honghong Tang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research Beijing Normal University Beijing China.,School of Economics and Business Administration Beijing Normal University Beijing China
| | - Yue Ge
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research Beijing Normal University Beijing China.,Beijing Institution of Biomedicine Beijing China
| | - Suyong Yang
- Key Laboratory of Exercise and Health Sciences of Ministry of Education Shanghai University of Sport Shanghai China
| | - Xiaoqin Mai
- Department of Psychology Renmin University of China Beijing China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience Shenzhen University Shenzhen Guangdong China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research Beijing Normal University Beijing China.,Center for Collaboration and Innovation in Brain and Learning Sciences Beijing Normal University Beijing China.,Beijing Key Laboratory of Brain Imaging and Connectomics Beijing Normal University Beijing China
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