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Kodama K, Shimizu D, Fujiwara K. Different effects of visual occlusion on interpersonal coordination of head and body movements during dyadic conversations. Front Psychol 2024; 15:1296521. [PMID: 39156815 PMCID: PMC11328520 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1296521] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2023] [Accepted: 07/08/2024] [Indexed: 08/20/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction In recent decades, interpersonal coordination and synchrony have been extensively examined in the field of psychology and cognitive science. Studies suggest that perceptual information enables interpersonal coordination and that perceptual noise may even enhance coordination. However, how these perceptual factors influence interpersonal coordination dynamics between head and body movements remains unclear. This study investigated the effect of visual information on the interpersonal coordination of head and body movements during dyadic conversations. Methods The availability of visual information was manipulated by positioning a partition halfway between a pair of participants, and the conversations were recorded using a video camera. A video-based human pose estimation software (OpenPose) was used to quantify each interlocutor's head and body movements, which were submitted for cross-recurrence quantification analysis (CRQA), to assess the degree of coordination between the interlocutors. Results The results showed different effects between head- and body-movement coordination (i.e., a CRQA measure, maximum line length). The occlusion of visual information increased head-movement coordination, whereas it decreased body-movement coordination. Discussion The results suggest that a distinct mechanism may be present at the head- and body-movement coordination level and this study observed differing appearances of compensatory behaviors. Further studies should be conducted to investigate the complex relationships between interpersonal coordination dynamics and various kinds of communication constraints, such as long-term or short-term, and lower-order (perceptual-motor) or higher-order (cognitive-social) level constraints.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kentaro Kodama
- University Education Center, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Daichi Shimizu
- Graduate School of Human Development and Environment, Kobe University, Kobe, Japan
| | - Ken Fujiwara
- Department of Psychology, National Chung Cheng University, Chiayi, Taiwan
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Abalde SF, Rigby A, Keller PE, Novembre G. A Framework for Joint Music Making: Behavioral Findings, Neural Processes, and Computational Models. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024:105816. [PMID: 39032841 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105816] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/20/2023] [Revised: 07/15/2024] [Accepted: 07/16/2024] [Indexed: 07/23/2024]
Abstract
Across different epochs and societies, humans occasionally gather to jointly make music. This universal form of collective behavior is as fascinating as it is fragmentedly understood. As the interest in joint music making (JMM) rapidly grows, we review the state-of-the-art of this emerging science, blending behavioral, neural, and computational contributions. We present a conceptual framework synthesizing research on JMM within four components. The framework is centered upon interpersonal coordination, a crucial requirement for JMM. The other components imply the influence of individuals' (past) experience, (current) social factors, and (future) goals on real-time coordination. Our aim is to promote the development of JMM research by organizing existing work, inspiring new questions, and fostering accessibility for researchers belonging to other research communities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara F Abalde
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy; The Open University Affiliated Research Centre at the Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Italy.
| | - Alison Rigby
- Neurosciences Graduate Program, University of California, San Diego, US
| | - Peter E Keller
- Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Denmark; Department of Clinical Medicine, Center for Music in the Brain, Department of Clinical Medicine, Aarhus University, Denmark; The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Australia
| | - Giacomo Novembre
- Neuroscience of Perception and Action Lab, Italian Institute of Technology, Rome, Italy
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Peng Y, Huang S, Yang X, Ma J. Efficacy and safety of mirror therapy for post-stroke aphasia: A systematic review and meta-analysis protocol. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0301468. [PMID: 38718090 PMCID: PMC11078370 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0301468] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2023] [Accepted: 03/13/2024] [Indexed: 05/12/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Aphasia is one of the most common complications of stroke. Mirror therapy (MT) is promising rehabilitation measure for the treatment of post-stroke aphasia. Although some studies suggested that MT is effective and safe for aphasia, the effects and safety remain uncertain due to lacking strong evidence, such as the relevant systematic review and meta- analysis. METHODS This study will search PubMed, Web of Science, Cochrane Library, EMBASE, Medline, China Knowledge Network (CNKI), WANFANG, China Biomedical Literature Database (CBM), from inception to 1th May 2023 to identify any eligible study. No language or date of publication shall be limited. We will only include randomised controlled trials of MT in the Treatment of poststroke aphasia. Two investigators will work separately on the study selection, data extraction, and study quality assessment. The western aphasia battery (WAB) and aphasia quotient (AQ) will be included as the main outcomes. Boston diagnostic aphasia examination method (BDAE), Chinese standard aphasia examination (CRRCAE) will be included as the secondary outcomes. The statistical analysis will be conducted by RevMan V.5.4 software. The risk of bias of included studies will be assessed by the Cochrane 'Risk of bias' tool. The quality of proof of the results will be evaluated by using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation guidelines. RESULTS The finding will be presented in a journal or related conferences. CONCLUSION This study will provide a basis for whether mirror therapy (MT) is effective and safe in the treatment of post-stroke aphasia. TRIAL REGISTRATION Systematic review registration INPLASY registration number: INPLASY 202340054.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yufeng Peng
- School of Medical Technology and Information Engineering, Zhejiang Chinese Medical University, Hangzhou, China
| | - Shouqiang Huang
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Taihe Hospital, Hubei, China
| | - Xiaotong Yang
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Taihe Hospital, Hubei, China
| | - Jiao Ma
- Department of Emergency Medicine, Taihe Hospital, Hubei, China
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Ziereis A, Schacht A. Validation of scrambling methods for vocal affect bursts. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:3089-3101. [PMID: 37673809 PMCID: PMC11133081 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02222-1] [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: 08/14/2023] [Indexed: 09/08/2023]
Abstract
Studies on perception and cognition require sound methods allowing us to disentangle the basic sensory processing of physical stimulus properties from the cognitive processing of stimulus meaning. Similar to the scrambling of images, the scrambling of auditory signals is aimed at creating stimulus instances that are unrecognizable but have comparable low-level features. In the present study, we generated scrambled stimuli of short vocalizations taken from the Montreal Affective Voices database (Belin et al., Behav Res Methods, 40(2):531-539, 2008) by applying four different scrambling methods (frequency-, phase-, and two time-scrambling transformations). The original stimuli and their scrambled versions were judged by 60 participants for the apparency of a human voice, gender, and valence of the expressions, or, if no human voice was detected, for the valence of the subjective response to the stimulus. The human-likeness ratings were reduced for all scrambled versions relative to the original stimuli, albeit to a lesser extent for phase-scrambled versions of neutral bursts. For phase-scrambled neutral bursts, valence ratings were equivalent to those of the original neutral burst. All other scrambled versions were rated as slightly unpleasant, indicating that they should be used with caution due to their potential aversiveness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Ziereis
- Department for Cognition, Emotion and Behavior, Affective Neuroscience and Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany.
| | - Anne Schacht
- Department for Cognition, Emotion and Behavior, Affective Neuroscience and Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany
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Errante A, Ferraro S, Demichelis G, Pinardi C, Stanziano M, Sattin D, Rossi Sebastiano D, Rozzi S, D’Incerti L, Catricalà E, Leonardi M, Bruzzone MG, Fogassi L, Nigri A. Brain activation during processing of mouth actions in patients with disorders of consciousness. Brain Commun 2024; 6:fcae045. [PMID: 38434219 PMCID: PMC10907975 DOI: 10.1093/braincomms/fcae045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/14/2023] [Revised: 01/12/2024] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024] Open
Abstract
In the past 2 decades, several attempts have been made to promote a correct diagnosis and possible restorative interventions in patients suffering from disorders of consciousness. Sensory stimulation has been proved to be useful in sustaining the level of arousal/awareness and to improve behavioural responsiveness with a significant effect on oro-motor functions. Recently, action observation has been proposed as a stimulation strategy in patients with disorders of consciousness, based on neurophysiological evidence that the motor cortex can be activated not only during action execution but also when actions are merely observed in the absence of motor output, or during listening to action sounds and speech. This mechanism is provided by the activity of mirror neurons. In the present study, a group of patients with disorders of consciousness (11 males, 4 females; median age: 55 years; age range: 19-74 years) underwent task-based functional MRI in which they had, in one condition, to observe and listen to the sound of mouth actions, and in another condition, to listen to verbs with motor or abstract content. In order to verify the presence of residual activation of the mirror neuron system, the brain activations of patients were compared with that of a group of healthy individuals (seven males, eight females; median age: 33.4 years; age range: 24-65 years) performing the same tasks. The results show that brain activations were lower in patients with disorders of consciousness compared with controls, except for primary auditory areas. During the audiovisual task, 5 out of 15 patients with disorders of consciousness showed only residual activation of low-level visual and auditory areas. Activation of high-level parieto-premotor areas was present in six patients. During the listening task, three patients showed only low-level activations, and six patients activated also high-level areas. Interestingly, in both tasks, one patient with a clinical diagnosis of vegetative state showed activations of high-level areas. Region of interest analysis on blood oxygen level dependent signal change in temporal, parietal and premotor cortex revealed a significant linear relation with the level of clinical functioning, assessed with coma recovery scale-revised. We propose a classification of the patient's response based on the presence of low-level and high-level activations, combined with the patient's functional level. These findings support the use of action observation and listening as possible stimulation strategies in patients with disorders of consciousness and highlight the relevance of combined methods based on functional assessment and brain imaging to provide more detailed neuroanatomical specificity about residual activated areas at both cortical and subcortical levels.
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Affiliation(s)
- Antonino Errante
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
| | - Stefania Ferraro
- MOE Key Laboratory for Neuroinformation, School of Life Science and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, 611731 Chengdu, China
- Neuroradiology Unit, Diagnostic and Technology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Greta Demichelis
- Neuroradiology Unit, Diagnostic and Technology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Pinardi
- Health Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Mario Stanziano
- Neuroradiology Unit, Diagnostic and Technology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
- Neurosciences Department ‘Rita Levi Montalcini’, University of Turin, 10126 Turin, Italy
| | - Davide Sattin
- Istituti Clinici Scientifici Maugeri IRCCS, 20138 Milan, Italy
| | - Davide Rossi Sebastiano
- Neurophysiology Unit, Diagnostic and Technology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Stefano Rozzi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
| | - Ludovico D’Incerti
- Neuroradiology Unit, Children’s Hospital A. Meyer—University of Florence, 50139 Florence, Italy
| | - Eleonora Catricalà
- ICoN Cognitive Neuroscience Center, IUSS, Institute for Advances Studies, 27100 Pavia, Italy
| | - Matilde Leonardi
- Disability Unit and Coma Research Centre, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Maria Grazia Bruzzone
- Neuroradiology Unit, Diagnostic and Technology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
| | - Leonardo Fogassi
- Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43125 Parma, Italy
| | - Anna Nigri
- Neuroradiology Unit, Diagnostic and Technology Department, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, 20133 Milan, Italy
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Bellard A, Trotter PD, McGlone FL, Cazzato V. Role of medial prefrontal cortex and primary somatosensory cortex in self and other-directed vicarious social touch: a TMS study. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad060. [PMID: 37837378 PMCID: PMC10640852 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad060] [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: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Conflicting evidence points to the contribution of several key nodes of the 'social brain' to the processing of both discriminatory and affective qualities of interpersonal touch. Whether the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), two brain areas vital for tactile mirroring and affective mentalizing, play a functional role in shared representations of C-tactile (CT) targeted affective touch is still a matter of debate. Here, we used offline continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to mPFC, S1 and vertex (control) prior to participants providing ratings of vicarious touch pleasantness for self and others delivered across several body sites at CT-targeted velocities. We found that S1-cTBS led to a significant increase in touch ratings to the self, with this effect being positively associated to levels of interoceptive awareness. Conversely, mPFC-cTBS reduced pleasantness ratings for touch to another person. These effects were not specific for CT-optimal (slow) stroking velocities, but rather they applied to all types of social touch. Overall, our findings challenge the causal role of the S1 and mPFC in vicarious affective touch and suggest that self- vs other-directed vicarious touch responses might crucially depend on the specific involvement of key social networks in gentle tactile interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh Bellard
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Paula D Trotter
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Francis L McGlone
- Institute of Psychology, Health & Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Valentina Cazzato
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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Vuong V, Hewan P, Perron M, Thaut MH, Alain C. The neural bases of familiar music listening in healthy individuals: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2023; 154:105423. [PMID: 37839672 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2023.105423] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/09/2023] [Revised: 10/06/2023] [Accepted: 10/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/17/2023]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence suggests that the neural activations during music listening differs as a function of familiarity with the excerpts. However, the implicated brain areas are unclear. After an extensive literature search, we conducted an Activation Likelihood Estimation analysis on 23 neuroimaging studies (232 foci, 364 participants) to identify consistently activated brain regions when healthy adults listen to familiar music, compared to unfamiliar music or an equivalent condition. The results revealed a left cortical-subcortical co-activation pattern comprising three significant clusters localized to the supplementary motor areas (BA 6), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, BA 44), and the claustrum/insula. Our results are discussed in a predictive coding framework, whereby temporal expectancies and familiarity may drive motor activations, despite any overt movement. Though conventionally associated with syntactic violation, our observed activation in the IFG may support a recent proposal of its involvement in a network that subserves both violation and prediction. Finally, the claustrum/insula plays an integral role in auditory processing, functioning as a hub that integrates sensory and limbic information to (sub)cortical structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Veronica Vuong
- Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada; Music and Health Research Collaboratory, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2C5, Canada.
| | - Patrick Hewan
- Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON M3J 1P3, Canada
| | - Maxime Perron
- Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada
| | - Michael H Thaut
- Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Music and Health Research Collaboratory, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2C5, Canada; Rehabilitation Sciences Institute, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada
| | - Claude Alain
- Institute of Medical Science, Temerty Faculty of Medicine, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 1A8, Canada; Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest Health Sciences, Toronto, ON M6A 2E1, Canada; Music and Health Research Collaboratory, Faculty of Music, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 2C5, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON M5S 3G3, Canada
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Smit S, Moerel D, Zopf R, Rich AN. Vicarious touch: Overlapping neural patterns between seeing and feeling touch. Neuroimage 2023; 278:120269. [PMID: 37423272 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/15/2023] [Revised: 07/04/2023] [Accepted: 07/06/2023] [Indexed: 07/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Simulation theories propose that vicarious touch arises when seeing someone else being touched triggers corresponding representations of being touched. Prior electroencephalography (EEG) findings show that seeing touch modulates both early and late somatosensory responses (measured with or without direct tactile stimulation). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) studies have shown that seeing touch increases somatosensory cortical activation. These findings have been taken to suggest that when we see someone being touched, we simulate that touch in our sensory systems. The somatosensory overlap when seeing and feeling touch differs between individuals, potentially underpinning variation in vicarious touch experiences. Increases in amplitude (EEG) or cerebral blood flow response (fMRI), however, are limited in that they cannot test for the information contained in the neural signal: seeing touch may not activate the same information as feeling touch. Here, we use time-resolved multivariate pattern analysis on whole-brain EEG data from people with and without vicarious touch experiences to test whether seen touch evokes overlapping neural representations with the first-hand experience of touch. Participants felt touch to the fingers (tactile trials) or watched carefully matched videos of touch to another person's fingers (visual trials). In both groups, EEG was sufficiently sensitive to allow decoding of touch location (little finger vs. thumb) on tactile trials. However, only in individuals who reported feeling touch when watching videos of touch could a classifier trained on tactile trials distinguish touch location on visual trials. This demonstrates that, for people who experience vicarious touch, there is overlap in the information about touch location held in the neural patterns when seeing and feeling touch. The timecourse of this overlap implies that seeing touch evokes similar representations to later stages of tactile processing. Therefore, while simulation may underlie vicarious tactile sensations, our findings suggest this involves an abstracted representation of directly felt touch.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sophie Smit
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia.
| | - Denise Moerel
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia; School of Psychology, The University of Sydney, Griffith Taylor Building A19, Camperdown, NSW 2050, Australia
| | - Regine Zopf
- Department of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Jena University Hospital, Philosophenweg 3, Jena 07743, Federal Republic of Germany
| | - Anina N Rich
- Perception in Action Research Centre & School of Psychological Sciences, Macquarie University, 16 University Ave, NSW 2109, Australia
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Abstract
BACKGROUND Dementia is a syndrome of acquired cognitive impairment which is severe enough to interfere with independent living. Over the course of the illness, people with dementia also experience changes in emotions, behaviour and social relationships. According to Alzheimer's Disease International, dementia affects approximately 55 million people worldwide. The latest NICE guideline for dementia highlights the value of diverse treatment options for the different stages and symptoms of dementia, including non-pharmacological treatments. Relevant literature also argues for the value of interventions that acknowledge the complexity of the condition and address the person as a whole, including their physical, emotional, social and cognitive processes. A growing literature highlights the capacity of the arts and has embodied practices to address this complexity. Dance movement therapy (DMT) is an embodied psychological intervention that can address complexity and thus may be useful for people with dementia, but its effectiveness remains unclear. OBJECTIVES To assess the effects of dance movement therapy on behavioural, social, cognitive and emotional symptoms of people with dementia in comparison to no treatment, standard care or any other treatment. Also, to compare different forms of dance movement therapy (e.g. Laban-based dance movement therapy, Chacian dance movement therapy or Authentic Movement) SEARCH METHODS: We searched the Cochrane Dementia and Cognitive Improvement Group's register, MEDLINE (Ovid SP), Embase (Ovid SP), PsycINFO (Ovid SP), CINAHL (EBSCOhost), Web of Science Core Collection (Clarivate), LILACS (BIREME), ClinicalTrials.gov and the World Health Organization's meta-register of the International Clinical Trials Registry Portal until 8 December 2022. SELECTION CRITERIA We included randomised controlled trials (RCTs) that included people with dementia, of any age and in any setting. The DMT intervention had to be delivered by a dance movement therapy practitioner who (i) had received formal training (ii) was a dance movement therapist in training or (iii) was otherwise recognised as a dance movement therapist in the country in which the study was conducted. DATA COLLECTION AND ANALYSIS Two review authors independently assessed studies for inclusion, extracted data and evaluated methodological quality. We expressed effect estimates using the mean difference (MD) between intervention groups and presented associated confidence intervals (CIs). We used GRADE methods to rate our certainty in the results. MAIN RESULTS We found only one study eligible for inclusion in this review. This was a 3-arm parallel-group RCT conducted in Hong Kong involving 204 adults with mild neurocognitive disorder or dementia. The study examined the effects of short-term (12 weeks) group DMT in comparison with exercise and a waiting-list control group immediately post-intervention and three and nine months later. We found that, at the end of the intervention, DMT may result in little to no difference in neuropsychiatric symptoms assessed with the 12-item Neuropsychiatric Inventory when compared with waiting list (MD 0.3, 95% CI -0.96 to 1.56; low-certainty evidence) or exercise (MD -0.30, 95% CI -1.83 to 1.23; low-certainty evidence). Nor was there any evidence of effects at later time points. Cognitive functioning was assessed with a variety of instruments and there were no statistically significant between-group differences (low-certainty evidence). When compared to exercise or waiting list, DMT may result in little to no difference in cognitive function immediately after the intervention or at follow-up. In comparison to waiting list, DMT may result in a slight reduction in depression assessed with the 4-item Geriatric Depression Scale at the end of therapy (MD -0.60, 95% CI -0.96 to -0.24; low-certainty evidence). This slight positive effect of DMT on depression scores was sustained at three and nine months after the completion of the intervention. DMT may also reduce depression slightly in comparison with exercise at the end of therapy (MD -0.40, 95% CI -0.76 to -0.04, low-certainty evidence), an effect also sustained at three and nine months. Our fourth primary outcome, quality of life, was not assessed in the included study. There were data for two of our secondary outcomes, social and occupational functioning and dropouts (which we used as a proxy for acceptability), but in both cases the evidence was of very low certainty and hence our confidence in the results was very low. For all outcomes, we considered the certainty of the evidence in relation to our review objectives to be low or very low in GRADE terms due to indirectness (because not all participants in the included study had a diagnosis of dementia) and imprecision. AUTHORS' CONCLUSIONS This review included one RCT with a low risk of bias. Due to the low certainty of the evidence, the true effects of DMT as an intervention for dementia may be substantially different from those found. More RCTs are needed to determine with any confidence whether DMT has beneficial effects on dementia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Vicky Karkou
- Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, Health, Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
| | - Supritha Aithal
- Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine , Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
| | - Michael Richards
- Research Centre for Arts and Wellbeing, Health Research Institute, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine , Edge Hill University , Ormskirk, UK
| | - Ellean Hiley
- Department of Nursing, Faculty of Health, Social Care and Medicine , Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, UK
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Sato W, Nakazawa A, Yoshikawa S, Kochiyama T, Honda M, Gineste Y. Behavioral and neural underpinnings of empathic characteristics in a Humanitude-care expert. Front Med (Lausanne) 2023; 10:1059203. [PMID: 37305136 PMCID: PMC10248535 DOI: 10.3389/fmed.2023.1059203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2022] [Accepted: 05/04/2023] [Indexed: 06/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Background Humanitude approaches have shown positive effects in elderly care. However, the behavioral and neural underpinnings of empathic characteristics in Humanitude-care experts remain unknown. Methods We investigated the empathic characteristics of a Humanitude-care expert (YG) and those of age-, sex-, and race-matched controls (n = 13). In a behavioral study, we measured subjective valence and arousal ratings and facial electromyography (EMG) of the corrugator supercilii and zygomatic major muscles while participants passively observed dynamic facial expressions associated with anger and happiness and their randomized mosaic patterns. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) study, we measured brain activity while participants passively observed the same dynamic facial expressions and mosaics. In a structural MRI study, we acquired structural MRI data and analyzed gray matter volume. Results Our behavioral data showed that YG experienced higher subjective arousal and showed stronger facial EMG activity congruent with stimulus facial expressions compared with controls. The functional MRI data demonstrated that YG showed stronger activity in the ventral premotor cortex (PMv; covering the precentral gyrus and inferior frontal gyrus) and posterior middle temporal gyrus in the right hemisphere in response to dynamic facial expressions versus dynamic mosaics compared with controls. The structural MRI data revealed higher regional gray matter volume in the right PMv in YG than in controls. Conclusion These results suggest that Humanitude-care experts have behavioral and neural characteristics associated with empathic social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wataru Sato
- Psychological Process Research Team, Guardian Robot Project, RIKEN, Soraku-gun, Japan
| | - Atsushi Nakazawa
- Graduate School of Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering in Health Systems, Okayama University, Okayama, Japan
| | | | | | - Miwako Honda
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yves Gineste
- Department of Geriatric Medicine, National Hospital Organization Tokyo Medical Center, Tokyo, Japan
- IGM-France, Saint-Laurent-de-la-Salanque, France
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Cheng B, Xu H, Zhou H, Guo Y, Roberts N, Li N, Hu X, Chen X, Xu K, Lan Y, Ma X, Cai X, Guo Y. Connectomic disturbances in Duchenne muscular dystrophy with mild cognitive impairment. Cereb Cortex 2023:6982730. [PMID: 36627244 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac542] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2022] [Revised: 12/21/2022] [Accepted: 12/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD) is frequently associated with mild cognitive deficits. However, the underlying disrupted brain connectome and the neural basis remain unclear. In our current study, 38 first-episode, treatment-naive patients with DMD and 22 matched healthy controls (HC) were enrolled and received resting-sate functional magnetic resonance imaging scans. Voxel-based degree centrality (DC), seed-based functional connectivity (FC), and clinical correlation were performed. Relative to HC, DMD patients had lower height, full Intellectual Quotients (IQ), and IQ-verbal comprehension. Significant increment of DC of DMD patients were found in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC.L) and right dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC.R), while decreased DC were found in right cerebellum posterior lobe (CPL.R), right precentral/postcentral gyrus (Pre/Postcentral G.R). DMD patients had stronger FC in CPL.R-bilateral lingual gyrus, Pre/Postcentral G.R-Insular, and DMPFC.R-Precuneus.R, had attenuated FC in DLPFC.L-Insular. These abnormally functional couplings were closely associated with the extent of cognitive impairment, suggested an over-activation of default mode network and executive control network, and a suppression of primary sensorimotor cortex and cerebellum-visual circuit. The findings collectively suggest the distributed brain connectome disturbances maybe a neuroimaging biomarker in DMD patients with mild cognitive impairment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bochao Cheng
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China.,Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Guoxue Street, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Huayan Xu
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Hui Zhou
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Yi Guo
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China.,Department of Radiology, Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Guoxue Street, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Neil Roberts
- Edinburgh Imaging Facility, School of Clinical Sciences, The Queen's Medical Research Institute (QMRI), University of Edinburgh, 47 Little France Crescent, Edinburgh, EH16 4TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Na Li
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Xiao Hu
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Xijian Chen
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Ke Xu
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Yu Lan
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Xuejing Ma
- Department of Radiology, The First People's Hospital of Zunyi, Zunyi Medical University, Fenghuang Road, Huichuan District, Zunyi, 563099, China
| | - Xiaotang Cai
- Department of Rehabilitation Medicine, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
| | - Yingkun Guo
- Department of Radiology, West China Second University Hospital, Sichuan University, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China.,Key Laboratory of Birth Defects and Related Diseases of Women and Children (Sichuan University), Ministry of Education, South Renmin Road, Wuhou District, Chengdu, 610041, China
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12
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Kaufmann LV, Brecht M, Ishiyama S. Tickle contagion in the rat somatosensory cortex. iScience 2022; 25:105718. [PMID: 36578320 PMCID: PMC9791364 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.105718] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/22/2022] [Revised: 10/31/2022] [Accepted: 11/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2022] Open
Abstract
The cellular mechanisms of emotional contagion are unknown. We investigated tickle contagion and the underlying neuronal representations in playful rats. We recorded trunk somatosensory cortex activity of observer rats while they received tickling and audiovisual playback of tickling footage and while they witnessed tickling of demonstrator rats. Observers vocalized and showed "Freudensprünge" ("joy jumps") during witnessing live tickling, while they showed little behavioral responses to playbacks. Deep layers in the trunk somatosensory neurons showed a larger correlation between direct and witnessed tickling responses compared to superficial layers. Trunk somatosensory neurons discharged upon emission of own and demonstrator's vocalizations and might drive contagious "laughter". We conclude that trunk somatosensory cortex might represent ticklishness contagion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lena V. Kaufmann
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany,Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Michael Brecht
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany,NeuroCure Cluster of Excellence, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Charitéplatz 1, 10117 Berlin, Germany
| | - Shimpei Ishiyama
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Institut für Biologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstraße 13, Haus 6, 10115 Berlin, Germany,Institut für Pathophysiologie, Universitätsmedizin der Johannes Gutenberg-Universität Mainz, Duesbergweg 6, 55128 Mainz, Germany,Corresponding author
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13
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Sympathy-Empathy and the Radicalization of Young People. CHILDREN (BASEL, SWITZERLAND) 2022; 9:children9121889. [PMID: 36553332 PMCID: PMC9777530 DOI: 10.3390/children9121889] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2022] [Revised: 11/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/25/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND The sympathy-empathy (SE) system is commonly considered a key faculty implied in prosocial behaviors, and SE deficits (also called callous-unemotional traits, CUTs) are associated with nonprosocial and even violent behaviors. Thus, the first intuitive considerations considered a lack of SE among young people who undergo radicalization. Yet, their identification with a cause, their underlying feelings of injustice and grievance, and the other ways in which they may help communities, suggest that they may actually have a lot of empathy, even an excess of it. As a consequence, the links between SE and radicalization remain to be specified. This critical review aims to discuss whether and how SE is associated with developmental trajectories that lead young people to radicalization. METHOD We first recall the most recent findings about SE development, based on an interdisciplinary perspective informed by social neuroscience. Then, we review sociological and psychological studies that address radicalization. We will critically examine the intersections between SE and radicalization, including neuroscientific bases and anthropologic modulation of SE by social factors involved in radicalization. RESULTS This critical review indicates that the SE model should clearly distinguish between sympathy and empathy within the SE system. Using this model, we identified three possible trajectories in young radicalized individuals. In individuals with SE deficit, the legitimization of violence is enough to engage in radicalization. Concerning individuals with normal SE, we hypothesize two trajectories. First, based on SE inhibition/desensitization, individuals can temporarily join youths who lack empathy. Second, based on an SE dissociation, combining emotional sympathy increases for the in-group and cognitive empathy decreases toward the out-group. CONCLUSIONS While confirming that a lack of empathy can favor radicalization, the counterintuitive hypothesis of a favorable SE development trajectory also needs to be considered to better specify the cognitive and affective aspects of this complex phenomenon.
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14
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Sipes BS, Jakary A, Li Y, Max JE, Yang TT, Tymofiyeva O. Resting state brain subnetwork relates to prosociality and compassion in adolescents. Front Psychol 2022; 13:1012745. [PMID: 36337478 PMCID: PMC9632179 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1012745] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2022] [Accepted: 10/04/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Adolescence is a crucial time for social development, especially for helping (prosocial) and compassionate behaviors; yet brain networks involved in adolescent prosociality and compassion currently remain underexplored. Here, we sought to evaluate a recently proposed domain-general developmental (Do-GooD) network model of prosocial cognition by relating adolescent functional and structural brain networks with prosocial and compassionate disposition. We acquired resting state fMRI and diffusion MRI from 95 adolescents (ages 14–19 years; 46 males; 49 females) along with self-report questionnaires assessing prosociality and compassion. We then applied the Network-Based Statistic (NBS) to inductively investigate whether there is a significant subnetwork related to prosociality and compassion while controlling for age and sex. Based on the Do-GooD model, we expected that this subnetwork would involve connectivity to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) from three domain-general networks, the default mode network (DMN), the salience network, and the control network, as well as from the DMN to the mirror neuron systems. NBS revealed a significant functional (but not structural) subnetwork related to prosociality and compassion connecting 31 regions (p = 0.02), showing DMN and DLPFC connectivity to the VMPFC; DMN connectivity to mirror neuron systems; and connectivity between the DMN and cerebellum. These findings largely support and extend the Do-GooD model of prosocial cognition in adolescents by further illuminating network-based relationships that have the potential to advance our understanding of brain mechanisms of prosociality.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin S. Sipes
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Angela Jakary
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Yi Li
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Jeffrey E. Max
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
- Rady Children’s Hospital San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States
| | - Tony T. Yang
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, The Langley Porter Psychiatric Institute, Division of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Weill Institute for Neurosciences, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
| | - Olga Tymofiyeva
- Department of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, CA, United States
- *Correspondence: Olga Tymofiyeva,
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15
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Bailey KM, Giordano BL, Kaas AL, Smith FW. Decoding sounds depicting hand-object interactions in primary somatosensory cortex. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:3621-3635. [PMID: 36045002 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/10/2022] [Revised: 05/24/2022] [Accepted: 07/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Neurons, even in the earliest sensory regions of cortex, are subject to a great deal of contextual influences from both within and across modality connections. Recent work has shown that primary sensory areas can respond to and, in some cases, discriminate stimuli that are not of their target modality: for example, primary somatosensory cortex (SI) discriminates visual images of graspable objects. In the present work, we investigated whether SI would discriminate sounds depicting hand-object interactions (e.g. bouncing a ball). In a rapid event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging experiment, participants listened attentively to sounds from 3 categories: hand-object interactions, and control categories of pure tones and animal vocalizations, while performing a one-back repetition detection task. Multivoxel pattern analysis revealed significant decoding of hand-object interaction sounds within SI, but not for either control category. Crucially, in the hand-sensitive voxels defined from an independent tactile localizer, decoding accuracies were significantly higher for hand-object interactions compared to pure tones in left SI. Our findings indicate that simply hearing sounds depicting familiar hand-object interactions elicit different patterns of activity in SI, despite the complete absence of tactile stimulation. These results highlight the rich contextual information that can be transmitted across sensory modalities even to primary sensory areas.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kerri M Bailey
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
| | - Bruno L Giordano
- Institut des Neurosciences de La Timone, CNRS UMR 7289, Université Aix-Marseille, Marseille CNRS UMR 7289, France
| | - Amanda L Kaas
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience, Maastricht University, Maastricht 6229 EV, The Netherlands
| | - Fraser W Smith
- School of Psychology, University of East Anglia, Norwich NR4 7TJ, United Kingdom
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16
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Alduais A, Almaghlouth S, Alfadda H, Qasem F. Biolinguistics: A Scientometric Analysis of Research on (Children’s) Molecular Genetics of Speech and Language (Disorders). CHILDREN 2022; 9:children9091300. [PMID: 36138610 PMCID: PMC9497240 DOI: 10.3390/children9091300] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2022] [Revised: 08/13/2022] [Accepted: 08/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/21/2022]
Abstract
There are numerous children and adolescents throughout the world who are either diagnosed with speech and language disorders or manifest any of them as a result of another disorder. Meanwhile, since the emergence of language as an innate capability, the question of whether it constitutes a behaviour or an innate ability has been debated for decades. There have been several theories developed that support and demonstrate the biological foundations of human language. Molecular evidence of the biological basis of language came from the FOXP2 gene, also known as the language gene. Taking a closer look at both human language and biology, biolinguistics is at the core of these inquiries—attempting to understand the aetiologies of the genetics of speech and language disorders in children and adolescents. This paper presents empirical evidence based on both scientometrics and bibliometrics. We collected data between 1935 and 2022 from Scopus, WOS, and Lens. A total of 1570 documents were analysed from Scopus, 1440 from the WOS, and 5275 from Lens. Bibliometric analysis was performed using Excel based on generated reports from these three databases. CiteSpace 5.8.R3 and VOSviewer 1.6.18 were used to conduct the scientometric analysis. Eight bibliometric and eight scientometric indicators were used to measure the development of the field of biolinguistics, including but not limited to the production size of knowledge, the most examined topics, and the most frequent concepts and variables. A major finding of our study is identifying the most examined topics in the genetics of speech and language disorders. These included: gestural communication, structural design, cultural evolution, neural network, language tools, human language faculty, evolutionary biology, molecular biology, and theoretical perspective on language evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmed Alduais
- Department of Human Sciences, University of Verona, 37129 Verona, Italy
- Correspondence: or (A.A.); (H.A.)
| | - Shrouq Almaghlouth
- Department of English, King Faisal University, Al-Ahsa 31982, Saudi Arabia
| | - Hind Alfadda
- Department of Curriculum and Instruction, King Saud University, Riyadh 11362, Saudi Arabia
- Correspondence: or (A.A.); (H.A.)
| | - Fawaz Qasem
- Department of English, University of Bisha, Al-Namas 67714, Saudi Arabia
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17
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Compton SAH, Ritchie M, Oliver L, Finger E, Mitchell DGV. Dissociable effects of acute versus cumulative violent video game exposure on the action simulation circuit in university students. Soc Neurosci 2022; 17:368-381. [PMID: 35786163 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2022.2095018] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
There is an ongoing debate as to whether violent video game exposure (VGE) has a negative impact on social functioning. This debate continues in part because of methodological concerns and the paucity of identifiable neurocognitive mechanisms. Also, little attention has been given to how specific personality characteristics may influence susceptibility to the purported effects. Using a combined experimental and cross-sectional approach, we examined the impact of VGE on action simulation as a function of trait coldheartedness in a sample of university students. Healthy adults played a violent or nonviolent version of Grand Theft Auto V before completing an fMRI measure of action simulation circuit (ASC) activity. Simulation-related activity was not significantly different between groups; however, greater overall activation was observed in left inferior frontal gyrus for those in the violent condition. Contrary to predictions, no evidence was observed that trait coldheartedness significantly interacts with violent gaming to influence ASC activation. However, prior cumulative VGE was negatively correlated with simulation-related activity in a subsection of the ASC. This study highlights a potential dissociation between the effects of acute versus cumulative violent gaming and may challenge assumptions that the directionality of effects for cross-sectional associations always mirror those of acute exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shannon A H Compton
- Graduate Program in Neuroscience, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Mary Ritchie
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Graduate Program in Clinical Science and Psychopathology, Department of Psychology, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Lindsay Oliver
- Campbell Family Mental Health Research Institute, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Finger
- Robarts Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Clinical Neurological Sciences, The University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada.,Parkwood Institute, St. Joseph's Health Care, London, Ontario, Canada
| | - Derek G V Mitchell
- Brain and Mind Institute, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychiatry, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Social Science, University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada
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18
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Raghunath BL, Sng KHL, Chen SHA, Vijayaragavan V, Gulyás B, Setoh P, Esposito G. Stronger brain activation for own baby but similar activation toward babies of own and different ethnicities in parents living in a multicultural environment. Sci Rep 2022; 12:10988. [PMID: 35768627 PMCID: PMC9243063 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-15289-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Accepted: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Specific facial features in infants automatically elicit attention, affection, and nurturing behaviour of adults, known as the baby schema effect. There is also an innate tendency to categorize people into in-group and out-group members based on salient features such as ethnicity. Societies are becoming increasingly multi-cultural and multi-ethnic, and there are limited investigations into the underlying neural mechanism of the baby schema effect in a multi-ethnic context. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to examine parents' (N = 27) neural responses to (a) non-own ethnic in-group and out-group infants, (b) non-own in-group and own infants, and (c) non-own out-group and own infants. Parents showed similar brain activations, regardless of ethnicity and kinship, in regions associated with attention, reward processing, empathy, memory, goal-directed action planning, and social cognition. The same regions were activated to a higher degree when viewing the parents' own infant. These findings contribute further understanding to the dynamics of baby schema effect in an increasingly interconnected social world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bindiya Lakshmi Raghunath
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kelly Hwee Leng Sng
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - S H Annabel Chen
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Centre for Research and Development in Learning (CRADLE), Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore.,Office of Educational Research, National Institute of Education, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Vimalan Vijayaragavan
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Balázs Gulyás
- Lee Kong Chian School of Medicine, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Peipei Setoh
- Psychology Program, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Gianluca Esposito
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Science, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy.
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19
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Schaefer M, Kühnel A, Rumpel F, Gärtner M. Altruistic acting caused by a touching hand: neural underpinnings of the Midas touch effect. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:437-446. [PMID: 34746947 PMCID: PMC9071415 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab119] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/30/2020] [Revised: 08/30/2021] [Accepted: 11/04/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Giving and receiving touch are some of the most important social stimuli we exchange in daily life. By touching someone, we can communicate various types of information. Previous studies have also demonstrated that interpersonal touch may affect our altruistic behavior. A classic study showed that customers give bigger tips when they are lightly touched by a waitress, which has been called the Midas touch effect. Numerous studies reported similar effects of touch on different kinds of helping or prosocial behaviors. Here, we aim to examine the neural underpinnings of this effect by employing a functional magnetic resonance imaging approach. While lying in the scanner, participants played different rounds of the dictator game, a measure of prosocial behavior. Before each round, participants were touched (or not touched in the control condition) by an experimenter. We found that touching the hand increased the likeliness to behave prosocial (but not the general liking of control stimuli), thereby confirming the Midas touch effect. The effect was predicted by activity in the primary somatosensory cortex, indicating that the somatosensory cortex here plays a causal role in prosocial behavior. We conclude that the tactile modality in social life may be much more important than previously thought.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anja Kühnel
- Medical School Berlin, Berlin 14197, Germany
| | - Franziska Rumpel
- Otto-von-Guericke Business School Magdeburg, Magdeburg 39106, Germany
| | - Matti Gärtner
- Medical School Berlin, Berlin 14197, Germany
- Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Berlin 12200, Germany
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20
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Wang Y, Lu L, Zhou Z, Zhu J. Empathic Narrative of Online Political Communication. Front Psychol 2022; 13:869496. [PMID: 35450341 PMCID: PMC9017648 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.869496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 03/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
With the rapid development of the Internet, political culture plays an increasingly prominent role in ethical guidance and value orientation, and the intergenerational inheritance of political culture in various countries needs to be carried out in a sophisticated way. From the perspective of empathic narrative, this study applies the network text analysis method to detect the cultural communication regularities to the contemporary young adults in online political communication and explores contemporary young adults' perception of online political culture through empirical analysis. Moreover, it proposes the empathic narrative logic of online political communication by comparing the existing communication elements and the urgently needed communication elements. Our findings suggest that we need to deepen the cognitive empathy, stabilize the emotional empathy, and adjust the emotional bias in online political communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuqi Wang
- School of Humanities, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China
| | - Lihong Lu
- College of Modern Economics and Management, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China
| | - Zhibo Zhou
- School of Humanities, Jiangxi University of Finance and Economics, Nanchang, China
| | - Jing Zhu
- School of Business Administration, Guangdong University of Finance and Economics, Guangzhou, China
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21
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Genzer S, Ong DC, Zaki J, Perry A. Mu Rhythm Suppression Over Sensorimotor Regions is Associated with Greater Empathic Accuracy. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2022; 17:788-801. [PMID: 35137224 PMCID: PMC9433844 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsac011] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/27/2021] [Revised: 12/15/2021] [Accepted: 02/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
When people encounter others’ emotions, they engage multiple brain systems, including parts of the sensorimotor cortex associated with motor simulation. Simulation-related brain activity is commonly described as a ‘low-level’ component of empathy and social cognition. It remains unclear whether and how sensorimotor simulation contributes to complex empathic judgments. Here, we combine a naturalistic social paradigm with a reliable index of sensorimotor cortex-based simulation: electroencephalography suppression of oscillatory activity in the mu frequency band. We recruited participants to watch naturalistic video clips of people (‘targets’) describing emotional life events. In two experiments, participants viewed these clips (i) with video and sound, (ii) with only video or (iii) with only sound and provided continuous ratings of how they believed the target felt. We operationalized ‘empathic accuracy’ as the correlation between participants’ inferences and targets’ self-report. In Experiment 1 (US sample), across all conditions, right-lateralized mu suppression tracked empathic accuracy. In Experiment 2 (Israeli sample), this replicated only when using individualized frequency-bands and only for the visual stimuli. Our results provide novel evidence that sensorimotor representations—as measured through mu suppression—play a role not only in low-level motor simulation, but also in higher-level inferences about others’ emotions, especially when visual cues are crucial for accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shir Genzer
- Department of Psychology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel
| | - Desmond C Ong
- Department of Information Systems and Analytics, National University of Singapore, Singapore 117418, Singapore
- Institute of High Performance Computing, Agency for Science, Technology and Research, Singapore 138632, Singapore
| | - Jamil Zaki
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA
| | - Anat Perry
- Correspondence should be addressed to Anat Perry, Department of Psychology, Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Jerusalem 9190501, Israel. E-mail:
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22
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Balconi M, Fronda G. Autonomic system tuning during gesture observation and reproduction. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2022; 222:103477. [PMID: 34971949 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2021.103477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2020] [Revised: 10/06/2021] [Accepted: 12/15/2021] [Indexed: 11/01/2022] Open
Abstract
Gestural communication allows providing information about thoughts and feelings, characterizing face-to-face interactions, also during non-verbal exchanges. In the present study, the autonomic responses and peripheral synchronization mechanisms of two individuals (encoder and decoder) were recorded simultaneously, through the use of biofeedback in hyperscanning, during two different experimental phases consisting in the observation (watching videos of gestures) and reproduction of positive and negative different types of gestures (affective, social and informative) supported by linguistic contexts. Therefore, the main aim of this study was focused on the analysis of simultaneous individuals' peripheral mechanisms during the performing of complex joint action, consisting of the observation (watching videos) and the reproduction of positive and negative social, affective, and informative gestures each supported by a linguistic script. Single-subject and inter-subject correlation analyses were conducted to observe individuals' autonomic responses and physiological synchronization. Single-subject results revealed an increase in emotional arousal, indicated by an increase in electrodermal activity (skin conductance level - SCL and response - SCR), during both the observation (watching videos) and reproduction of negative social and affective gestures contextualized by a linguistic context. Moreover, an increase of emotional engagement, expressed by an increase in heart rate (HR) activity, emerged in the encoder compare to the decoder during gestures reproduction (simulation of gestures). Inter-subject correlation results showed the presence of mirroring mechanisms, indicated by an increase in SCL, SCR, and HR synchronization, during the linguistic contexts and gesture observation (watching videos). Furthermore, an increase in SCL and SCR synchronization emerged during the observation (watching videos) and reproduction of negative social and affective gestures. Therefore, the present study allowed to obtain information on the mirroring mechanisms and physiological synchronization underlying the linguistic and gesture system during non-verbal interaction.
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Kyranides MN, Petridou M, Gokani HA, Hill S, Fanti KA. Reading and reacting to faces, the effect of facial mimicry in improving facial emotion recognition in individuals with antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-02749-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
AbstractIndividuals with antisocial behavior and psychopathic traits are characterized by deficits in processing facial expressions, which results in poor social adaptation and dysfunctional interpersonal relationships. However, it is not clear how individuals with varying levels of these traits differ in this emotional impairment and if these deficits are due to correctly identifying or reacting appropriately to facial expressions. The aim of the study was to examine how individuals with these traits recognized and responded to affective facial expressions by using FaceReader software (which analyses footage of faces) across different experimental conditions (imitation, suppression, and control). Imitating facial expressions was introduced to examine whether it could direct participants’ attention to the facial cues and improve participants’ performance on the facial task. A total of 643 individuals from the community were pre-screened and a sample (N = 107; M age = 21.08, SD = 1.55), differentiated on levels of antisocial personality disorder (APD) symptoms and psychopathic (PSY) traits, who were selected based on extreme scores (high/low), were invited to participate in the study. Individuals with higher levels of APD symptoms and PSY traits (APD + PSY) expressed more anger than other groups, while those in the APD-only group expressed more sadness, compared to other groups. Overall, participants were compliant in following the instructions to imitate facial expressions. However, only the group with predominantly APD symptoms and the group with combined symptoms (APD + PSY) showed improvement in their accuracy ratings specifically when instructed to imitate facial expressions, compared to when no instructions were provided. The study offers a promising direction for targeting deficits in facial emotion recognition, suggesting that the deficits found in individuals with behavioral problems (with and without psychopathic traits) can be improved by asking them to imitate facial expressions.
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Schaerlaeken S, Glowinski D, Grandjean D. Linking musical metaphors and emotions evoked by the sound of classical music. PSYCHOLOGY OF MUSIC 2022; 50:245-264. [PMID: 35035029 PMCID: PMC8750148 DOI: 10.1177/0305735621991235] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Musical meaning is often described in terms of emotions and metaphors. While many theories encapsulate one or the other, very little empirical data is available to test a possible link between the two. In this article, we examined the metaphorical and emotional contents of Western classical music using the answers of 162 participants. We calculated generalized linear mixed-effects models, correlations, and multidimensional scaling to connect emotions and metaphors. It resulted in each metaphor being associated with different specific emotions, subjective levels of entrainment, and acoustic and perceptual characteristics. How these constructs relate to one another could be based on the embodied knowledge and the perception of movement in space. For instance, metaphors that rely on movement are related to emotions associated with movement. In addition, measures in this study could also be represented by underlying dimensions such as valence and arousal. Musical writing and music education could benefit greatly from these results. Finally, we suggest that music researchers consider musical metaphors in their work as we provide an empirical method for it.
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Affiliation(s)
- Simon Schaerlaeken
- Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective
Dynamics Lab, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of
Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences,
University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Donald Glowinski
- Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective
Dynamics Lab, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of
Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences,
University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Didier Grandjean
- Neuroscience of Emotion and Affective
Dynamics Lab, Department of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of
Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences,
University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
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25
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Paz LV, Viola TW, Milanesi BB, Sulzbach JH, Mestriner RG, Wieck A, Xavier LL. Contagious Depression: Automatic Mimicry and the Mirror Neuron System - A Review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 134:104509. [PMID: 34968526 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.12.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 06/19/2021] [Accepted: 12/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
Contagious depression is a theory proposing that depression can be induced or triggered by our social environment. This theory is based on emotional contagion, the idea that affective states can be transferred during social interaction, since humans can use emotional contagion to communicate feelings and emotions in conscious and unconscious ways. This review presents behavioral, physiological, and neuroanatomical aspects of two essential contagious depression mechanisms, automatic mimicry and the mirror neuron system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisiê Valéria Paz
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Thiago Wendt Viola
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Psicologia, Avenida Ipiranga 6681, prédio 11, sala 926, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Bruna Bueno Milanesi
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Juliana Henz Sulzbach
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Régis Gemerasca Mestriner
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Andrea Wieck
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
| | - Léder Leal Xavier
- Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS, Escola de Ciências da Saúde e da Vida, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Biologia Celular e Molecular, Laboratório de Biologia Celular e Tecidual, Av. Ipiranga 6681, Prédio 12C, Sala 104, Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul CEP 90619-900, Brazil.
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Akimoto M, Tanaka T, Ito J, Kubota Y, Seiyama A. Inter-Brain Synchronization During Sandplay Therapy: Individual Analyses. Front Psychol 2021; 12:723211. [PMID: 34887797 PMCID: PMC8650609 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.723211] [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: 06/15/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Interactions between the client (Cl) and therapist (Th) evolve therapeutic relationships in psychotherapy. An interpersonal link or therapeutic space is implicitly developed, wherein certain important elements are expressed and shared. However, neural basis of psychotherapy, especially of non-verbal modalities, have scarcely been explored. Therefore, we examined the neural backgrounds of such therapeutic alliances during sandplay, a powerful art/play therapy technique. Real-time and simultaneous measurement of hemodynamics was conducted in the prefrontal cortex (PFC) of Cl-Th pairs participating in sandplay and subsequent interview sessions through multichannel near-infrared spectroscopy. As sandplay is highly individualized, and no two sessions and products (sandtrays) are the same, we expected variation in interactive patterns in the Cl–Th pairs. Nevertheless, we observed a statistically significant correlation between the spatio-temporal patterns in signals produced by the homologous regions of the brains. During the sandplay condition, significant correlations were obtained in the lateral PFC and frontopolar (FP) regions in the real Cl-Th pairs. Furthermore, a significant correlation was observed in the FP region for the interview condition. The correlations found in our study were explained as a “remote” synchronization (i.e., unconnected peripheral oscillators synchronizing through a hub maintaining free desynchronized dynamics) between two subjects in a pair, possibly representing the neural foundation of empathy, which arises commonly in sandplay therapy (ST).
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Affiliation(s)
- Michiko Akimoto
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Toyo Eiwa University, Yokohama, Japan
| | - Takuma Tanaka
- Faculty of Data Science, Shiga University, Hikone, Japan
| | - Junko Ito
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Kyorin University, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yasutaka Kubota
- Health and Medical Services Center, Shiga University, Hikone, Japan
| | - Akitoshi Seiyama
- Human Health Sciences, Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University, Kyoto, Japan
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27
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Decroix J, Ott L, Morgado N, Kalénine S. Can the early visual processing of others' actions be related to social power and dominance? PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2021; 86:1858-1870. [PMID: 34802076 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-021-01617-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2021] [Accepted: 10/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Although goals often drive action understanding, this ability is also prone to important variability among individuals, which may have its origin in individual social characteristics. The present study aimed at evaluating the relationship between the tendency to prioritize goal information over grip information during early visual processing of action and several social dimensions. Visual processing of grip and goal information during action recognition was evaluated in 64 participants using the priming protocol developed by Decroix and Kalénine (Exp Brain Res 236(8):2411-2426, 2018). Object-directed action photographs were primed by photographs sharing the same goal and/or the same grip. The effects of goal and grip priming on action recognition were evaluated for different prime durations. The same participants further fulfilled questionnaires characterizing the way individuals deal with their social environment, namely their sense of social power, dominance, perspective taking, and construal level. At the group level, results confirmed greater goal than grip priming effects on action recognition for the shortest prime duration. Regression analyses between the pattern of response times in the action priming protocol and scores at the questionnaires further showed that the advantage of goal over grip priming was associated with higher sense of social power, and possibly to lower dominance. Overall, data confirm that observers tend to prioritize goal-related information when processing visual actions but further indicate that this tendency is sensitive to individual social characteristics. Results suggest that goal information may not always drive action understanding and point out the connection between low-level processing of observed actions and more general individual characteristics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jérémy Decroix
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193, SCALab-Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Laurent Ott
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193, SCALab-Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, 59000, Lille, France
| | - Nicolas Morgado
- Univ. Paris Nanterre, LICAÉ-Laboratoire Sur Les Interactions Cognition-Action-Émotion, Nanterre, France
| | - Solène Kalénine
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193, SCALab-Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, 59000, Lille, France.
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28
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Zarka D, Cebolla AM, Cheron G. [Mirror neurons, neural substrate of action understanding?]. Encephale 2021; 48:83-91. [PMID: 34625217 DOI: 10.1016/j.encep.2021.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2021] [Accepted: 06/12/2021] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
In 1992, the Laboratory of Human Physiology at the University of Parma (Italy) publish a study describing "mirror" neurons in the macaque that activate both when the monkey performs an action and when it observes an experimenter performing the same action. The research team behind this discovery postulates that the mirror neurons system is the neural basis of our ability to understand the actions of others, through the motor mapping of the observed action on the observer's motor repertory (direct-matching hypothesis). Nevertheless, this conception met serious criticism. These critics attempt to relativize their function by placing them within a network of neurocognitive and sensory interdependencies. In short, the essential characteristic of these neurons is to combine the processing of sensory information, especially visual, with that of motor information. Their elementary function would be to provide a motor simulation of the observed action, based on visual information from it. They can contribute, with other non-mirror areas, to the identification/prediction of the action goal and to the interpretation of the intention of the actor performing it. Studying the connectivity and high frequency synchronizations of the different brain areas involved in action observation would likely provide important information about the dynamic contribution of mirror neurons to "action understanding". The aim of this review is to provide an up-to-date analysis of the scientific evidence related to mirror neurons and their elementary functions, as well as to shed light on the contribution of these neurons to our ability to interpret and understand others' actions.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Zarka
- Faculté des Sciences de la Motricité, laboratoire de neurophysiologie et de biomécanique du mouvement, université Libre de Bruxelles, CP640, 808, route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgique; Unité de Recherche en Sciences de l'Ostéopathie, faculté des Sciences de la Motricité, université Libre de Bruxelles, CP640, 808, route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgique.
| | - A M Cebolla
- Faculté des Sciences de la Motricité, laboratoire de neurophysiologie et de biomécanique du mouvement, université Libre de Bruxelles, CP640, 808, route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgique
| | - G Cheron
- Faculté des Sciences de la Motricité, laboratoire de neurophysiologie et de biomécanique du mouvement, université Libre de Bruxelles, CP640, 808, route de Lennik, 1070 Brussels, Belgique; Laboratoire d'électrophysiologie, université de Mons, 7000 Mons, Belgique
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29
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Therapeutic factors mediating positive Mirror effects in group counseling education. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2021. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-021-02322-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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30
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Borgomaneri S, Vitale F, Battaglia S, Avenanti A. Early Right Motor Cortex Response to Happy and Fearful Facial Expressions: A TMS Motor-Evoked Potential Study. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11091203. [PMID: 34573224 PMCID: PMC8471632 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11091203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/30/2021] [Revised: 09/08/2021] [Accepted: 09/09/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to rapidly process others' emotional signals is crucial for adaptive social interactions. However, to date it is still unclear how observing emotional facial expressions affects the reactivity of the human motor cortex. To provide insights on this issue, we employed single-pulse transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to investigate corticospinal motor excitability. Healthy participants observed happy, fearful and neutral pictures of facial expressions while receiving TMS over the left or right motor cortex at 150 and 300 ms after picture onset. In the early phase (150 ms), we observed an enhancement of corticospinal excitability for the observation of happy and fearful emotional faces compared to neutral expressions specifically in the right hemisphere. Interindividual differences in the disposition to experience aversive feelings (personal distress) in interpersonal emotional contexts predicted the early increase in corticospinal excitability for emotional faces. No differences in corticospinal excitability were observed at the later time (300 ms) or in the left M1. These findings support the notion that emotion perception primes the body for action and highlights the role of the right hemisphere in implementing a rapid and transient facilitatory response to emotional arousing stimuli, such as emotional facial expressions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Borgomaneri
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy;
- IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, 00179 Rome, Italy
- Correspondence: (S.B.); (A.A.)
| | - Francesca Vitale
- Instituto Universitario de Neurociencia (IUNE), Universidad de La Laguna, 38200 Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Spain;
| | - Simone Battaglia
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy;
| | - Alessio Avenanti
- Centro Studi e Ricerche in Neuroscienze Cognitive, Dipartimento di Psicologia, Campus di Cesena, Alma Mater Studiorum-Università di Bologna, 47521 Cesena, Italy;
- Centro de Investigación en Neuropsicología y Neurosciencias Cognitivas, Universidad Católica Del Maule, Talca 3460000, Chile
- Correspondence: (S.B.); (A.A.)
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31
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Wang J, Liu J, Lai K, Zhang Q, Zheng Y, Wang S, Liang M. Mirror Mechanism Behind Visual-Auditory Interaction: Evidence From Event-Related Potentials in Children With Cochlear Implants. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:692520. [PMID: 34504413 PMCID: PMC8421565 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.692520] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2021] [Accepted: 07/16/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The mechanism underlying visual-induced auditory interaction is still under discussion. Here, we provide evidence that the mirror mechanism underlies visual–auditory interactions. In this study, visual stimuli were divided into two major groups—mirror stimuli that were able to activate mirror neurons and non-mirror stimuli that were not able to activate mirror neurons. The two groups were further divided into six subgroups as follows: visual speech-related mirror stimuli, visual speech-irrelevant mirror stimuli, and non-mirror stimuli with four different luminance levels. Participants were 25 children with cochlear implants (CIs) who underwent an event-related potential (ERP) and speech recognition task. The main results were as follows: (1) there were significant differences in P1, N1, and P2 ERPs between mirror stimuli and non-mirror stimuli; (2) these ERP differences between mirror and non-mirror stimuli were partly driven by Brodmann areas 41 and 42 in the superior temporal gyrus; (3) ERP component differences between visual speech-related mirror and non-mirror stimuli were partly driven by Brodmann area 39 (visual speech area), which was not observed when comparing the visual speech-irrelevant stimulus and non-mirror groups; and (4) ERPs evoked by visual speech-related mirror stimuli had more components correlated with speech recognition than ERPs evoked by non-mirror stimuli, while ERPs evoked by speech-irrelevant mirror stimuli were not significantly different to those induced by the non-mirror stimuli. These results indicate the following: (1) mirror and non-mirror stimuli differ in their associated neural activation; (2) the visual–auditory interaction possibly led to ERP differences, as Brodmann areas 41 and 42 constitute the primary auditory cortex; (3) mirror neurons could be responsible for the ERP differences, considering that Brodmann area 39 is associated with processing information about speech-related mirror stimuli; and (4) ERPs evoked by visual speech-related mirror stimuli could better reflect speech recognition ability. These results support the hypothesis that a mirror mechanism underlies visual–auditory interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junbo Wang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Jiahao Liu
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | - Kaiyin Lai
- South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Qi Zhang
- School of Foreign Languages, Shenzhen University, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yiqing Zheng
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China
| | | | - Maojin Liang
- Department of Otolaryngology, Sun Yat-sen Memorial Hospital, Guangzhou, China
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32
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Di Cesare G, Cuccio V, Marchi M, Sciutti A, Rizzolatti G. Communicative And Affective Components in Processing Auditory Vitality Forms: An fMRI Study. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:909-918. [PMID: 34428292 PMCID: PMC8889944 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab255] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 07/07/2021] [Accepted: 07/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
In previous studies on auditory vitality forms, we found that listening to action verbs pronounced gently or rudely, produced, relative to a neutral robotic voice, activation of the dorso-central insula. One might wonder whether this insular activation depends on the conjunction of action verbs and auditory vitality forms, or whether auditory vitality forms are sufficient per se to activate the insula. To solve this issue, we presented words not related to actions such as concrete nouns (e.g.,“ball”), pronounced gently or rudely. No activation of the dorso-central insula was found. As a further step, we examined whether interjections, i.e., speech stimuli conveying communicative intention (e.g., “hello”), pronounced with different vitality forms, would be able to activate, relative to control, the insula. The results showed that stimuli conveying a communicative intention, pronounced with different auditory vitality forms activate the dorsal-central insula. These data deepen our understanding of the vitality forms processing, showing that insular activation is not specific to action verbs, but can be also activated by speech acts conveying communicative intention such as interjections. These findings also show the intrinsic social nature of vitality forms because activation of the insula was not observed in the absence of a communicative intention.
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Affiliation(s)
- G Di Cesare
- Italian Institute of Technology, Cognitive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies Unit, Genova, Italy
| | - V Cuccio
- Department of Cognitive Science, Psychology, Education and Cultural Studies, University of Messina, Messina, Italy
| | - M Marchi
- Department of Computer Science, University of Milan, Milan, Italy
| | - A Sciutti
- Italian Institute of Technology, Cognitive Architecture for Collaborative Technologies Unit, Genova, Italy
| | - G Rizzolatti
- Istituto di Neuroscienze, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche, Parma, Italy
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Pre-SMA activation and the perception of contagiousness and authenticity in laughter sounds. Cortex 2021; 143:57-68. [PMID: 34388558 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.06.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/27/2020] [Revised: 05/12/2021] [Accepted: 06/18/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022]
Abstract
Functional near-infrared spectroscopy and behavioural methods were used to examine the neural basis of the behavioural contagion and authenticity of laughter. We demonstrate that the processing of laughter sounds recruits networks previously shown to be related to empathy and auditory-motor mirror networks. Additionally, we found that the differences in the levels of activation in response to volitional and spontaneous laughter could predict an individual's perception of how contagious they found the laughter to be.
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Effects of auditory feedback on gait behavior, gaze patterns and outcome performance in long jumping. Hum Mov Sci 2021; 78:102827. [PMID: 34118597 DOI: 10.1016/j.humov.2021.102827] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2020] [Revised: 03/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
In the current study, we conducted two experiments to investigate the impact of concurrent, action-induced auditory feedback on gait patterns, gaze behavior and outcome performance in long jumping. In Experiment 1, we examined the effects of present vs. absent auditory feedback on gait, gaze and performance outcome measures. Results revealed a significant interaction effect between condition (present vs. absent auditory feedback) and phase (acceleration vs. zeroing-in phase) on participants' step lengths indicating that the absence (rather than the presence) of auditory feedback led to facilitatory effects in terms of a more prototypical gait pattern (i.e., shorter steps in the acceleration phase and longer steps in the zeroing-in phase). Similarly, the absent auditory feedback led to a higher gaze stability in terms of less switches between areas of interest (AOIs). However, there was no effect on jumped distance. In Experiment 2, we scrutinized the influence of concurrent vs. delayed auditory feedback on all three performance parameters. In contrast to concurrent feedback, delayed auditory feedback negatively affected all three measures: participants showed (i) dysfunctional deviations from their prototypical gait pattern (i.e., shorter steps across both phases of the run-up), (ii) less stable, maladaptive gaze patterns (i.e., more switches between AOIs) and (iii) poorer jumping performance (i.e., shorter jumped distances). Together, the two experiments provide clear evidence for the impact of concurrent, action-induced auditory feedback on the coordination of complex, rhythmical motor tasks such as the long jump.
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35
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Dispositional empathy predicts primary somatosensory cortex activity while receiving touch by a hand. Sci Rep 2021; 11:11294. [PMID: 34050215 PMCID: PMC8163792 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-021-90344-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 05/06/2021] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous research revealed an active network of brain areas such as insula and anterior cingulate cortex when witnessing somebody else in pain and feeling empathy. But numerous studies also suggested a role of the somatosensory cortices for state and trait empathy. While recent studies highlight the role of the observer’s primary somatosensory cortex when seeing painful or nonpainful touch, the interaction of somatosensory cortex activity with empathy when receiving touch on the own body is unknown. The current study examines the relationship of touch related somatosensory cortex activity with dispositional empathy by employing an fMRI approach. Participants were touched on the palm of the hand either by the hand of an experimenter or by a rubber hand. We found that the BOLD responses in the primary somatosensory cortex were associated with empathy personality traits personal distress and perspective taking. This relationship was observed when participants were touched both with the experimenter’s real hand or a rubber hand. What is the reason for this link between touch perception and trait empathy? We argue that more empathic individuals may express stronger attention both to other’s human perceptions as well as to the own sensations. In this way, higher dispositional empathy levels might enhance tactile processing by top-down processes. We discuss possible implications of these findings.
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Chen X, Xu Y, Li B, Wu X, Li T, Wang L, Zhang Y, Lin W, Qu C, Feng C. Intranasal vasopressin modulates resting state brain activity across multiple neural systems: Evidence from a brain imaging machine learning study. Neuropharmacology 2021; 190:108561. [PMID: 33852823 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropharm.2021.108561] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2021] [Revised: 03/09/2021] [Accepted: 04/05/2021] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Arginine vasopressin (AVP), a neuropeptide with widespread receptors in brain regions important for socioemotional processing, is critical in regulating various mammalian social behavior and emotion. Although a growing body of task-based brain imaging studies have revealed the effects of AVP on brain activity associated with emotion processing, social cognition and behaviors, the potential modulations of AVP on resting-state brain activity remain largely unknown. Here, the current study addressed this issue by adopting a machine learning approach to distinguish administration of AVP and placebo, employing the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) as a measure of resting-state brain activity. The brain regions contributing to the classification were then subjected to functional connectivity and decoding analyses, allowing for a data-driven quantitative inference on psychophysiological functions. Our results indicated that ALFF across multiple neural systems were sufficient to distinguish between AVP and placebo at individual level, with the contributing regions distributed across the social cognition network, sensorimotor regions and emotional processing network. These findings suggest that the role of AVP in socioemotional functioning recruits multiple brain networks distributed across the whole brain rather than specific localized neural pathways. Beyond these findings, the current data-driven approach also opens a novel avenue to delineate neural underpinnings of various neuropeptides or hormones.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xinling Chen
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Yongbo Xu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Bingjie Li
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
| | - Xiaoyan Wu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | - Ting Li
- Institute of Brain Research and Rehabilitation (IBRR) South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Li Wang
- Collaborative Innovation Center of Assessment for Basic Education Quality, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China.
| | - Yijie Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Wanghuan Lin
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Chen Qu
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| | - Chunliang Feng
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences (South China Normal University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou, China; School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Center for Studies of Psychological Application, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China; Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
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Colombo B, Anctil R, Balzarotti S, Biassoni F, Antonietti A. The Role of the Mirror System in Influencing Musicians' Evaluation of Musical Creativity: A tDCS Study. Front Neurosci 2021; 15:624653. [PMID: 33897346 PMCID: PMC8061779 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2021.624653] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 03/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Evidence reported in the literature suggests that the mirror system not only plays a role in recognizing motor action but also fosters a better understanding of other people because it helps an individual assume another's perspective. This led to the idea, supported by research findings, that people with higher empathy scores should show higher activation of the mirror system. Recently, it has been hypothesized that a purely auditory mirror system exists. In this study, we aimed to explore the possibility that this system might play a particular role for musicians. Specifically, this system would impact their response to a new piece of music by using non-invasive brain stimulation to modulate the activation of the mirror system. A sample of 40 young musicians was involved in this study. Half of the participants were randomly assigned to a cathodal stimulation condition, while the other half was used as a control. After listening to a new piece of music, participants were asked to rate the creativity of the piece (by focusing on how interesting, innovative, and exciting the piece was) as well as their general emotional response to it. Their empathy levels were also assessed using the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI). Results showed that the cathodal stimulation of the mirror system negatively affected both the perception of creativity (level of innovation) and the emotional response to the music. There was no significant difference in the ratings of how interesting the piece was perceived. The effect was mediated by the individuals' level of empathy. Specifically, empathic concern and fantasy dimensions increased the evaluation of creativity. Results also showed that participants reported less emotion with a negative valence in the cathodal stimulation condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Barbara Colombo
- Neuroscience Research Lab, Champlain College, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Reid Anctil
- Neuroscience Research Lab, Champlain College, Burlington, VT, United States
| | - Stefania Balzarotti
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milano, Italy
| | - Federica Biassoni
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milano, Italy
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Wang F, Wang P, Liu Y, Zhou T, Meng X, Jiang J. Study of rapid reorganization of visual neurofunctions with the resting-state functional MRI in pituitary adenoma patients with vision improvement after transsphenoidal surgery. Brain Behav 2021; 11:e01917. [PMID: 33503315 PMCID: PMC7994690 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.1917] [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] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/02/2020] [Revised: 08/01/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION To investigate changes of vision-related resting-state activity in pituitary adenoma (PA) patients with visual improvement after transsphenoidal surgery. METHODS 14 PA patients with visual improvement after surgery were enrolled. The resting-state functional MRI and neuro-ophthalmologic evaluation were performed before and after the operation. The functional connectivity (FC) of 8 seeds (the primary visual cortex (V1), the secondary visual cortex (V2), the middle temporal visual cortex (MT+), and fusiform gyrus(FG)) was evaluated. A paired t test was conducted to identify the differences between the two groups. RESULTS Compared with the preoperation counterparts, the PA patients with improved vision exhibited decreased FC with the V1, V2, MT+, FG in the left paracentral lobule, bilateral lingual gyrus, precentral gyrus(BA 4), right superior temporal gyrus(BA 22), left fusiform gyrus, bilateral middle occipital gyrus (BA 19), left cuneus, right inferior occipital gyrus, left superior frontal gyrus, right cuneus, left superior parietal lobule(BA 7),the medulla, right postcentral gyrus, and increased FC in the right middle frontal gyrus, left inferior parietal lobule (BA 40), left declive, right lentiform nucleus, inferior frontal gyrus, right superior frontal gyrus(BA 11), cingulate gyrus(BA 32), right putamen, right thalamus, left medial frontal gyrus, left claustrum, left superior frontal Medial, right rectal gyrus(BA 25) and right parahippocampal gyrus. CONCLUSIONS The results show most subareas within the visual cortex exhibit decreased functional connectivity. The functional changes in subareas within default mode network (DMN), action observation network (AON) and the multisensory system in PAs propose that vision improvement may lead to function remodeling in higher-order cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fuyu Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Peng Wang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Yuyang Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Tao Zhou
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Xianghui Meng
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
| | - Jinli Jiang
- Department of Neurosurgery, Chinese PLA General Hospital, Beijing, China
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Betti S, Castiello U, Begliomini C. Reach-to-Grasp: A Multisensory Experience. Front Psychol 2021; 12:614471. [PMID: 33633644 PMCID: PMC7900505 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.614471] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The reach-to-grasp movement is ordinarily performed in everyday living activities and it represents a key behavior that allows humans to interact with their environment. Remarkably, it serves as an experimental test case for probing the multisensory architecture of goal-oriented actions. This review focuses on experimental evidence that enhances or modifies how we might conceptualize the "multisensory" substrates of prehension. We will review evidence suggesting that how reach-to-grasp movements are planned and executed is influenced by information coming from different sensory modalities such as vision, proprioception, audition, taste, and olfaction. The review closes with some considerations about the predominant role of the multisensory constituents in shaping prehensile behavior and how this might be important for future research developments, especially in the rehabilitative domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sonia Betti
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Umberto Castiello
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
| | - Chiara Begliomini
- Department of General Psychology, University of Padova, Padova, Italy
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Valencia GN, Khoo S, Wong T, Ta J, Hou B, Barsalou LW, Hazen K, Lin HH, Wang S, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Frum CA, Lewis JW. Chinese-English bilinguals show linguistic-perceptual links in the brain associating short spoken phrases with corresponding real-world natural action sounds by semantic category. LANGUAGE, COGNITION AND NEUROSCIENCE 2021; 36:773-790. [PMID: 34568509 PMCID: PMC8462789 DOI: 10.1080/23273798.2021.1883073] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2020] [Accepted: 01/26/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Higher cognitive functions such as linguistic comprehension must ultimately relate to perceptual systems in the brain, though how and why this forms remains unclear. Different brain networks that mediate perception when hearing real-world natural sounds has recently been proposed to respect a taxonomic model of acoustic-semantic categories. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) with Chinese/English bilingual listeners, the present study explored whether reception of short spoken phrases, in both Chinese (Mandarin) and English, describing corresponding sound-producing events would engage overlapping brain regions at a semantic category level. The results revealed a double-dissociation of cortical regions that were preferential for representing knowledge of human versus environmental action events, whether conveyed through natural sounds or the corresponding spoken phrases depicted by either language. These findings of cortical hubs exhibiting linguistic-perceptual knowledge links at a semantic category level should help to advance neurocomputational models of the neurodevelopment of language systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabriela N. Valencia
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University (WVU), Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Stephanie Khoo
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University (WVU), Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Ting Wong
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University (WVU), Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Joseph Ta
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University (WVU), Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Bob Hou
- Department of Radiology, Center for Advanced Imaging
| | | | - Kirk Hazen
- Department of English, West Virginia University
| | | | - Shuo Wang
- Department of Chemical and Biomedical Engineering
| | - Julie A. Brefczynski-Lewis
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University (WVU), Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Chris A. Frum
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University (WVU), Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - James W. Lewis
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University (WVU), Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
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Schaefer M, Joch M, Rother N. Feeling Touched: Empathy Is Associated With Performance in a Tactile Acuity Task. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:593425. [PMID: 33633552 PMCID: PMC7900490 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.593425] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/10/2020] [Accepted: 01/12/2021] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
The concept of empathy describes our capacity to understand the emotions and intentions of others and to relate to our conspecifics. Numerous studies investigated empathy as a state as well as a stable personality trait. For example, recent studies in neuroscience suggest, among other brain areas such as the insula or the ACC, a role of the somatosensory cortices for empathy (e.g., when observing someone else being touched). Since the classic understanding of the primary somatosensory cortex is to represent touch on the body surface, we here aimed to test whether tactile performance is linked to the personality trait empathy. To test this, we examined the tactile acuity of 95 healthy participants (mean age 31 years) by using a two-point discrimination threshold task at the index fingers. Trait empathy was assessed by employing the interpersonal reactivity index (IRI), which measures self-reported empathy with four scales (empathic concern, perspective taking, fantasy, and personal distress). Results of regression analyses suggested the subscale empathic concern to be positively associated with performance in the tactile acuity task. We discuss this finding in the light of recent studies on empathy and consider possible implications of tactile training to enhance empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Schaefer
- Department Naturwissenschaften, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Marcel Joch
- Department Naturwissenschaften, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Nikolas Rother
- Department Naturwissenschaften, Medical School Berlin, Berlin, Germany
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Tanaka S. Mirror Neuron Activity During Audiovisual Appreciation of Opera Performance. Front Psychol 2021; 11:563031. [PMID: 33584402 PMCID: PMC7873040 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.563031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2020] [Accepted: 12/14/2020] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Opera is a performing art in which music plays the leading role, and the acting of singers has a synergistic effect with the music. The mirror neuron system represents the neurophysiological mechanism underlying the coupling of perception and action. Mirror neuron activity is modulated by the appropriateness of actions and clarity of intentions, as well as emotional expression and aesthetic values. Therefore, it would be reasonable to assume that an opera performance induces mirror neuron activity in the audience so that the performer effectively shares an embodied performance with the audience. However, it is uncertain which aspect of opera performance induces mirror neuron activity. It is hypothesized that although auditory stimuli could induce mirror neuron activity, audiovisual perception of stage performance is the primary inducer of mirror neuron activity. To test this hypothesis, this study sought to correlate opera performance with brain activity as measured by electroencephalography (EEG) in singers while watching an opera performance with sounds or while listening to an aria without visual stimulus. We detected mirror neuron activity by observing that the EEG power in the alpha frequency band (8-13 Hz) was selectively decreased in the frontal-central-parietal area when watching an opera performance. In the auditory condition, however, the alpha-band power did not change relative to the resting condition. This study illustrates that the audiovisual perception of an opera performance engages the mirror neuron system in its audience.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shoji Tanaka
- Department of Information and Communication Sciences, Sophia University, Tokyo, Japan
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Cordoni G, Favilli E, Palagi E. Earlier than previously thought: Yawn contagion in preschool children. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:931-944. [PMID: 33506489 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22094] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2020] [Revised: 12/22/2020] [Accepted: 12/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Yawning is a primitive and stereotyped motor action involving orofacial, laryngeal, pharyngeal, thoracic and abdominal muscles. Contagious yawning, an involuntarily action induced by viewing or listening to others' yawns, has been demonstrated in human and several non-human species. Previous studies with humans showed that infants and preschool children, socially separated during video experiments, were not infected by others' yawns. Here, we tested the occurrence of yawn contagion in 129 preschool children (ranging from 2.5 to 5.5 years) belonging to five different classes by video recording them in their classrooms during the ordinary school activities. As it occurs in adult humans, children of all ages were infected by others' yawns within the 2 min after the perception of the stimulus. The yawn contagion occurred earlier than previously thought. For children, it appears that the natural social setting is more conducive to yawn contagion than the inherently artificial experimental approach. Moreover, children's gender did not affect the level of contagious yawning. The neural, emotional and behavioural traits of preschool children are probably not sufficiently mature to express variability between boys and girls; nevertheless, children appeared to be already well equipped with the 'neural toolkit' necessary for expressing yawn contagion.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giada Cordoni
- Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, Calci Pisa, Italy
| | | | - Elisabetta Palagi
- Natural History Museum, University of Pisa, Calci Pisa, Italy.,Unit of Ethology, Department of Biology, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy
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Csonka M, Mardmomen N, Webster PJ, Brefczynski-Lewis JA, Frum C, Lewis JW. Meta-Analyses Support a Taxonomic Model for Representations of Different Categories of Audio-Visual Interaction Events in the Human Brain. Cereb Cortex Commun 2021; 2:tgab002. [PMID: 33718874 PMCID: PMC7941256 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgab002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2020] [Revised: 12/31/2020] [Accepted: 01/06/2021] [Indexed: 01/23/2023] Open
Abstract
Our ability to perceive meaningful action events involving objects, people, and other animate agents is characterized in part by an interplay of visual and auditory sensory processing and their cross-modal interactions. However, this multisensory ability can be altered or dysfunctional in some hearing and sighted individuals, and in some clinical populations. The present meta-analysis sought to test current hypotheses regarding neurobiological architectures that may mediate audio-visual multisensory processing. Reported coordinates from 82 neuroimaging studies (137 experiments) that revealed some form of audio-visual interaction in discrete brain regions were compiled, converted to a common coordinate space, and then organized along specific categorical dimensions to generate activation likelihood estimate (ALE) brain maps and various contrasts of those derived maps. The results revealed brain regions (cortical "hubs") preferentially involved in multisensory processing along different stimulus category dimensions, including 1) living versus nonliving audio-visual events, 2) audio-visual events involving vocalizations versus actions by living sources, 3) emotionally valent events, and 4) dynamic-visual versus static-visual audio-visual stimuli. These meta-analysis results are discussed in the context of neurocomputational theories of semantic knowledge representations and perception, and the brain volumes of interest are available for download to facilitate data interpretation for future neuroimaging studies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matt Csonka
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Nadia Mardmomen
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Paula J Webster
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Julie A Brefczynski-Lewis
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - Chris Frum
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
| | - James W Lewis
- Department of Neuroscience, Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA
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Implicit visual sensitivity towards slim versus overweight bodies modulates motor resonance in the primary motor cortex: A tDCS study. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 21:93-104. [PMID: 33263151 PMCID: PMC7994241 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00850-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 11/09/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Motor resonance (MR) can be influenced by individual differences and similarity in the physical appearance between the actor and observer. Recently, we reported that action simulation is modulated by an implicit visual sensitivity towards normal-weight compared with overweight bodies. Furthermore, recent research has suggested the existence of an action observation network responsible for MR, with limited evidence whether the primary motor cortex (M1) is part of this. We expanded our previous findings with regards to the role of an implicit normal-weight-body preference in the MR mechanism. At the same time, we tested the functional relevance of M1 to MR, by using a transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) protocol. Seventeen normal-weight and 17 overweight participants were asked to observe normal-weight or overweight actors reaching and grasping a light or heavy cube, and then, at the end of each video-clip to indicate the correct cube weight. Before the task, all participants received 15 min of sham or cathodal tDCS over the left M1. Measures of anti-fat attitudes were also collected. During sham tDCS, all participants were better in simulating the actions performed by normal-weight compared with overweight models. Surprisingly, cathodal tDCS selectively improved the ability in the overweight group to simulate actions performed by the overweight models. This effect was not associated with scores of fat phobic attitudes or implicit anti-fat bias. Our findings are discussed in the context of relevance of M1 to MR and its social modulation by anti-fat attitudes.
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Leonard SRK, Willig C. The experience of living with very high empathy: A critical realist, pragmatic approach to exploring objective and subjective layers of the phenomenon. COUNSELLING & PSYCHOTHERAPY RESEARCH 2020. [DOI: 10.1002/capr.12364] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/06/2022]
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Nonverbal auditory communication - Evidence for integrated neural systems for voice signal production and perception. Prog Neurobiol 2020; 199:101948. [PMID: 33189782 DOI: 10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101948] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/09/2020] [Revised: 10/12/2020] [Accepted: 11/04/2020] [Indexed: 12/24/2022]
Abstract
While humans have developed a sophisticated and unique system of verbal auditory communication, they also share a more common and evolutionarily important nonverbal channel of voice signaling with many other mammalian and vertebrate species. This nonverbal communication is mediated and modulated by the acoustic properties of a voice signal, and is a powerful - yet often neglected - means of sending and perceiving socially relevant information. From the viewpoint of dyadic (involving a sender and a signal receiver) voice signal communication, we discuss the integrated neural dynamics in primate nonverbal voice signal production and perception. Most previous neurobiological models of voice communication modelled these neural dynamics from the limited perspective of either voice production or perception, largely disregarding the neural and cognitive commonalities of both functions. Taking a dyadic perspective on nonverbal communication, however, it turns out that the neural systems for voice production and perception are surprisingly similar. Based on the interdependence of both production and perception functions in communication, we first propose a re-grouping of the neural mechanisms of communication into auditory, limbic, and paramotor systems, with special consideration for a subsidiary basal-ganglia-centered system. Second, we propose that the similarity in the neural systems involved in voice signal production and perception is the result of the co-evolution of nonverbal voice production and perception systems promoted by their strong interdependence in dyadic interactions.
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Berntsen MB, Cooper NR, Romei V. Emotional Valence Modulates Low Beta Suppression and Recognition of Social Interactions. J PSYCHOPHYSIOL 2020. [DOI: 10.1027/0269-8803/a000251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Abstract. Emotional valence may have evolutionary adaptive purposes as negative stimuli can be related to survival against threat and positive stimuli to facilitating relationships. This can be seen in the different impact positive and negative stimuli have on human health and well-being, and in the valence-specific cortical activity and neurophysiological patterns reported; for example, negative stimuli are processed more rapidly than positive. Valence-specific patterns are affected by individual differences and personality traits such as empathy, where levels of empathy relate to different reactivity patterns to valence. Here we investigated the effect of valence on neurophysiological responses and interpretation of social interactions depicted by point-light biological motion (PLBM) displays. The meaning of each PLBM display is revealed as the sequence unfolds and is therefore not readily available for snap assessments such as fight or flight responses. We compared electroencephalogram (EEG) reactivity during observation of the displays between individuals with low, moderate, or high levels of empathy. Results indicated that positive displays induced significantly larger suppression in lower beta (13–20 Hz) compared to control displays, while negative displays revealed no difference in suppression compared to scrambled versions. However, no difference between positive and negative displays was observed, suggesting that the rapid processing of negative displays may have been minimized by revealing meaning more slowly. Positive displays were interpreted more accurately, while levels of empathy did not modulate either neurophysiological responses or interpretation, suggesting that empathy under these conditions did not influence the way in which valence was processed or interpreted.
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Affiliation(s)
- Monica B. Berntsen
- Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - Nicholas R. Cooper
- Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
| | - Vincenzo Romei
- Centre for Brain Science, Department of Psychology, University of Essex, Colchester, UK
- Department of Psychology and Centre for Studies and Researches in Cognitive Neuroscience, Cesena Campus, University of Bologna, Cesena, Italy
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Cross-network interactions in social cognition: A review of findings on task related brain activation and connectivity. Cortex 2020; 130:142-157. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.05.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2019] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 05/13/2020] [Indexed: 01/17/2023]
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Emotional contagion in children with autism spectrum disorder varies with stimulus familiarity and task instructions. Dev Psychopathol 2020; 32:383-393. [PMID: 30924430 DOI: 10.1017/s0954579419000154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Although deficits in cognitive empathy are well established in individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), the literature on emotional empathy, or emotional contagion, in individuals with ASD is sparse and contradictory. The authors tested susceptibility to contagious yawning and laughter in children with ASD (n = 60) and typically developing (TD) children (n = 60), ages 5-17 years, under various conditions, to elucidate factors that may affect emotional contagion in these populations. Although TD children showed equal amounts of emotional contagion across conditions, children with ASD were highly influenced by the familiarity of the target stimulus, as well as task instructions that encourage eye gaze to target. More specifically, children with ASD exhibited less contagious yawning and laughter than their TD peers except when their attention was explicitly directed to the eyes or (and even more so) when their parents served as the stimulus targets. The authors explore the implications of these findings for theories about the mechanisms underlying empathic deficits in ASD as well as the clinical implications of having parents involved in treatment.
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