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Cai CQ, Lavan N, Chen SHY, Wang CZX, Ozturk OC, Chiu RMY, Gilbert SJ, White SJ, Scott SK. Mapping the differential impact of spontaneous and conversational laughter on brain and mind: an fMRI study in autism. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae199. [PMID: 38752979 PMCID: PMC11097909 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae199] [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: 02/24/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous and conversational laughter are important socio-emotional communicative signals. Neuroimaging findings suggest that non-autistic people engage in mentalizing to understand the meaning behind conversational laughter. Autistic people may thus face specific challenges in processing conversational laughter, due to their mentalizing difficulties. Using fMRI, we explored neural differences during implicit processing of these two types of laughter. Autistic and non-autistic adults passively listened to funny words, followed by spontaneous laughter, conversational laughter, or noise-vocoded vocalizations. Behaviourally, words plus spontaneous laughter were rated as funnier than words plus conversational laughter, and the groups did not differ. However, neuroimaging results showed that non-autistic adults exhibited greater medial prefrontal cortex activation while listening to words plus conversational laughter, than words plus genuine laughter, while autistic adults showed no difference in medial prefrontal cortex activity between these two laughter types. Our findings suggest a crucial role for the medial prefrontal cortex in understanding socio-emotionally ambiguous laughter via mentalizing. Our study also highlights the possibility that autistic people may face challenges in understanding the essence of the laughter we frequently encounter in everyday life, especially in processing conversational laughter that carries complex meaning and social ambiguity, potentially leading to social vulnerability. Therefore, we advocate for clearer communication with autistic people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ceci Qing Cai
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Nadine Lavan
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Sinead H Y Chen
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Claire Z X Wang
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Ozan Cem Ozturk
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Roni Man Ying Chiu
- Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Sam J Gilbert
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah J White
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Sophie K Scott
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
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Sadato N. [The neural basis of face-to-face communication: exploring transmission and sharing through neuroimaging]. Rinsho Shinkeigaku 2024; 64:247-251. [PMID: 38508731 DOI: 10.5692/clinicalneurol.cn-001944] [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] [Indexed: 03/22/2024]
Abstract
Effective human communication is a complex process that involves transmitting and sharing information, ideas, and attitudes between two or more individuals. Researchers need to explore both transmission and sharing concepts to understand the neural basis of communication. Face-to-face communication refers to changing someone's mental state by sharing information, ideas, or attitudes. This type of communication is characterized by "mutual predictability." Scientists are working to clarify the neural basis of communication by studying how inter-individual synchronization of behavior and neural activity occurs during face-to-face communication.
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Affiliation(s)
- Norihiro Sadato
- Research Organization of Science and Technology, Ritsumeikan University
- Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences
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Carlton CN, Antezana L, Richey JA. Associations between resting-state neural connectivity and positive affect in social anxiety disorder. Brain Behav 2023; 13:e3006. [PMID: 37062915 PMCID: PMC10275543 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.3006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 03/10/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/18/2023] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Social anxiety disorder (SAD) has been characterized by deficits in social motivation and lack of reactivity to pleasurable stimuli (i.e., positive affect; [PA]). Recent neuroimaging work has shifted toward examining positively valenced motivational systems in SAD focused on reward responses. However, little is known about the associations of reward connectivity and PA in individuals with SAD. As such, the purpose of the current study was to determine whether connectivity among key units of reward neurocircuitry meaningfully relate to PA and whether these key units are more heterogeneous in SAD as compared to controls. METHODS Thirty-one participants who met diagnostic criteria for SAD and 33 control participants were included (Mage = 24.8, SD = 6.9; 55% cisgender man). Seed-based timeseries correlations were conducted in NiTime to extract region of interest (ROI) coupling correlation strength values. ANOVAs were carried out to assess whether individuals with SAD differed in ROI-to-ROI connectivity strength as compared to controls. Correlations and variance analyses were also conducted to examine the relationship between ROI-to-ROI connectivity strength and PA, as well as heterogeneity in connectivity strength and PA expression. RESULTS Weaker connectivity between the left and right orbital frontal cortex was observed when comparing the SAD to the control group. Within the SAD group, PA was associated with several reward-related ROI couplings; however, these links were not observed among controls. Results further demonstrated that individuals with SAD had significantly more variability in reward connectivity strength as compared to controls. CONCLUSION Overall, these results provide emergent evidence for the association between reward regions and PA in individuals with SAD. Additionally, these findings show that individuals with SAD demonstrate greater heterogeneity in reward connectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - John A. Richey
- Department of PsychologyVirginia TechBlacksburgVirginia
- Department of PsychiatryUniversity of Pittsburgh School of MedicinePittsburghPennsylvania
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Anderson Z, Damme KSF, Carroll AL, Ka-Yi Chat I, Young KS, Craske MG, Bookheimer S, Zinbarg R, Nusslock R. Association between reward-related functional connectivity and tri-level mood and anxiety symptoms. Neuroimage Clin 2023; 37:103335. [PMID: 36736199 PMCID: PMC9926301 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2023.103335] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2022] [Revised: 01/18/2023] [Accepted: 01/19/2023] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Depression and anxiety are associated with abnormalities in brain regions that process rewards including the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC), the ventral striatum (VS), and the amygdala. However, there are inconsistencies in these findings. This may be due to past reliance on categorical diagnoses that, while valuable, provide less precision than may be required to understand subtle neural changes associated with symptoms of depression and anxiety. In contrast, the tri-level model defines symptom dimensions that are common (General Distress) or relatively specific (Anhedonia-Apprehension, Fears) to depression and anxiety related disorders, which provide increased precision. In the current study, eligibility was assessed by quasi-orthogonal screening questionnaires measuring reward and threat sensitivity (Behavioral Activation Scale; Eysenck Personality Questionnaire-Neuroticism). These participants were assessed on tri-level symptom severity and completed the Monetary Incentive Delay task during fMRI scanning. VS-mOFC and VS-amygdala connectivity were estimated during reward anticipation and reward outcome. Heightened General Distress was associated with lower VS-mOFC connectivity during reward anticipation (b = -0.064, p = 0.021) and reward outcome (b = -0.102, p = 0.014). Heightened Anhedonia-Apprehension was associated with greater VS-amygdala connectivity during reward anticipation (b = 0.065, p = 0.004). The present work has important implications for understanding the coupling between the mOFC and vS and the amygdala and the vS during reward processing in the pathophysiology of mood and anxiety symptoms and for developing targeted behavioral, pharmacological, and neuromodulatory interventions to help manage these symptoms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zachary Anderson
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA.
| | - Katherine S F Damme
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Institute for Innovation in Developmental Sciences, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Ann L Carroll
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Iris Ka-Yi Chat
- Department of Psychology, Temple University, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - Katherine S Young
- Social, Genetic and Development Psychiatry Centre, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience, King's College, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Michelle G Craske
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Susan Bookheimer
- Department of Psychology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA; Ahmanson-Lovelace Brain Mapping Center, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, David Geffen School of Medicine, Los Angeles, USA
| | - Richard Zinbarg
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; The Family Institute at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
| | - Robin Nusslock
- Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA; Institute for Policy Research, Northwestern University, Evanston, IL, USA
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Nakagawa E, Sumiya M, Koike T, Sadato N. The neural network underpinning social feedback contingent upon one's action: An fMRI study. Neuroimage 2020; 225:117476. [PMID: 33099011 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117476] [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: 07/20/2020] [Revised: 09/29/2020] [Accepted: 10/16/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Praise enhances motor performance; however, the underlying feedback pathway is unknown. Here, we hypothesized that the social evaluation feedback to the motor system is modified by the top-down effect of the social contingency valuation system, such as the anterior rostral medial prefrontal cortex (arMPFC). We developed a pseudo-interactive task that simplified a conversational student-teacher interaction and conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with 33 participants (13 men, 20 women; mean age = 21.7 years; standard deviation = 2.0 years). The participant inside the scanner uttered the pseudo-English word to the English teacher outside the scanner. The teacher provided feedback of acceptance or rejection by either gestures or words, through video. As a control condition, the pseudo-word was read aloud by a computer. Approval from the teacher enhanced the participants' pleasure rate. Feedback to the participants' utterance, either rejection or acceptance, activated the arMPFC. Irrespective of the preceding utterance by self or computer, acceptance compared with rejection activated the right primary visual cortex (V1), and the reverse activated the left V1. This valence-dependent laterality of V1 activation indicates that the effect is not the domain-general modulation of visual processing. Instead, the early visual cortices are part of the valence-specific representation of the social signal. Physio-physiological interaction analysis with the seed regions in the right and left V1 and the modulator region in the arMPFC showed enhanced connectivity with the bilateral primary motor cortex. These findings indicate that the socially contingent, self-relevant signals from others act as feedback to the motor control system, and this process is mediated by the early visual cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eri Nakagawa
- Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 38 Nishigonaka Myodaiji, Okazaki city, Aichi 444-8585, Japan
| | - Motofumi Sumiya
- Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 38 Nishigonaka Myodaiji, Okazaki city, Aichi 444-8585, Japan; Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Furo-cho, Chikusa-ward, Nagoya city, Aichi 464-8601, Japan; Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Takahiko Koike
- Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 38 Nishigonaka Myodaiji, Okazaki city, Aichi 444-8585, Japan
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- Department of System Neuroscience, National Institute for Physiological Sciences (NIPS), 38 Nishigonaka Myodaiji, Okazaki city, Aichi 444-8585, Japan; Biomedical Imaging Research Center (BIRC), University of Fukui, 23-3 Matsuokashimoaizuki, Eiheiji-cho, Yoshida-gun, Fukui 910-1193, Japan.
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Orben A, Tomova L, Blakemore SJ. The effects of social deprivation on adolescent development and mental health. THE LANCET. CHILD & ADOLESCENT HEALTH 2020; 4:634-640. [PMID: 32540024 PMCID: PMC7292584 DOI: 10.1016/s2352-4642(20)30186-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 486] [Impact Index Per Article: 121.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/20/2020] [Revised: 05/25/2020] [Accepted: 05/26/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Adolescence (the stage between 10 and 24 years) is a period of life characterised by heightened sensitivity to social stimuli and the increased need for peer interaction. The physical distancing measures mandated globally to contain the spread of COVID-19 are radically reducing adolescents' opportunities to engage in face-to-face social contact outside their household. In this interdisciplinary Viewpoint, we describe literature from a variety of domains that highlight how social deprivation in adolescence might have far-reaching consequences. Human studies have shown the importance of peer acceptance and peer influence in adolescence. Animal research has shown that social deprivation and isolation have unique effects on brain and behaviour in adolescence compared with other stages of life. However, the decrease in adolescent face-to-face contact might be less detrimental due to widespread access to digital forms of social interaction through technologies such as social media. The findings reviewed highlight how physical distancing might have a disproportionate effect on an age group for whom peer interaction is a vital aspect of development.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy Orben
- Medical Research Council Cognition and Brain Sciences Unit and Emmanuel College, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
| | - Livia Tomova
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Sarah-Jayne Blakemore
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK; UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK.
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Sumiya M, Okamoto Y, Koike T, Tanigawa T, Okazawa H, Kosaka H, Sadato N. Attenuated activation of the anterior rostral medial prefrontal cortex on self-relevant social reward processing in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2020; 26:102249. [PMID: 32325424 PMCID: PMC7176988 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2020.102249] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/16/2020] [Revised: 03/16/2020] [Accepted: 03/17/2020] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Social reward characteristics for people with ASD are unknown. Social contingency motivates social interaction and consequent rewards. Social contingency tasks are known to activate the arMPFC. The arMPFC response in ASD patients during a social contingency task was attenuated. Weak responses to social contingency in ASD reduce social interaction rewards.
The social motivation hypothesis posits that people with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) find social stimuli less rewarding and are therefore less motivated towards social interaction than people with neuro-typical development (TD). However, the less rewarding social stimuli characteristics during social interaction for people with ASD are largely unknown. The contingent positive responsiveness of others relevant to self-action motivates the early development of social interaction, thus representing a social reward. As individuals with ASD often exhibit atypical responses to self-relevant stimuli in their early life, we hypothesized that the self-relevant responses of others are less rewarding for individuals with ASD. To test this hypothesis, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study using a social contingency task. During the task, the participants attempted to make the audience laugh by telling funny jokes and thus activating the anterior rostral medial prefrontal cortex (arMPFC) of TD individuals (Sumiya et al., 2017). We explicitly predicted that the atypical activation of the arMPFC is related to the reduced reward value of self-relevant responses to others in individuals with ASD. Thirty-one adults with ASD and 24 age- and intelligence quotient-matched TD adults participated in the study. Participants with ASD reported significantly lower pleasure after the audience's responses to their own actions than those in the TD group. Correspondingly, the self-related activation of the arMPFC, defined by the results of our previous study, was attenuated in the ASD group compared to the TD group. The present findings indicate that weak self-relevant outcome processing mediated by the arMPFC of individuals with ASD dampens the rewarding nature of social interaction.
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Affiliation(s)
- Motofumi Sumiya
- Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Aichi, Japan; Research Fellow of the Japan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, Japan; Graduate School of Informatics, Nagoya University, Aichi, Japan
| | - Yuko Okamoto
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan; ATR-Promotions, Brain Activity Imaging Center, Kyoto, Japan; Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Kyoto, Japan
| | - Takahiko Koike
- Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Aichi, Japan
| | - Tsubasa Tanigawa
- Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Aichi, Japan
| | - Hidehiko Okazawa
- Biomedical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Hirotaka Kosaka
- Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan; Department of Neuropsychiatry, University of Fukui, Fukui, Japan
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- Division of Cerebral Integration, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Aichi, Japan.
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Abstract
John Cacioppo has compared loneliness to hunger or thirst in that it signals that one needs to act and repair what is lacking. This paper reviews Cacioppo's and others' contributions to our understanding of neural mechanisms underlying social motivation in humans and in other social species. We focus particularly on the dopaminergic reward system and try to integrate evidence from animal models and human research. In rodents, objective social isolation leads to increased social motivation, mediated by the brains' mesolimbic dopamine system. In humans, social rejection can lead to either increased or decreased social motivation, and is associated with activity in the insular cortex; while chronic loneliness is typically associated with decreased social motivation but has been associated with altered dopaminergic responses in the striatum. This mixed pattern of cross-species similarities and differences may arise from the substantially different methods used to study unmet social needs across species, and suggests the need for more direct and deliberate cross-species comparative research in this critically important domain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Livia Tomova
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
| | - Kay Tye
- Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Rebecca Saxe
- Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA
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Kitada R, Doizaki R, Kwon J, Tanigawa T, Nakagawa E, Kochiyama T, Kajimoto H, Sakamoto M, Sadato N. Brain networks underlying tactile softness perception: A functional magnetic resonance imaging study. Neuroimage 2019; 197:156-166. [PMID: 31029866 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.04.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/25/2019] [Revised: 03/18/2019] [Accepted: 04/16/2019] [Indexed: 10/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Humans are adept at perceiving physical properties of an object through touch. Tangible object properties can be categorized into two types: macro-spatial properties, including shape and orientation; and material properties, such as roughness, softness, and temperature. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that roughness and temperature are extracted at nodes of a network, such as that involving the parietal operculum and insula, which is different from the network engaged in processing macro-spatial properties. However, it is unclear whether other perceptual dimensions pertaining to material properties engage the same regions. Here, we conducted a functional magnetic resonance imaging study to test whether the parietal operculum and insula were involved in extracting tactually-perceived softness magnitude. Fifty-six healthy right-handed participants estimated perceived softness magnitude using their right middle finger. We presented three stimuli that had the same shape but different compliances. The force applied to the finger was manipulated at two levels. Classical mass-univariate analysis showed that activity in the parietal operculum, insula, and medial prefrontal cortex was positively associated with perceived softness magnitude, regardless of the applied force. Softness-related activity was stronger in the ventral striatum in the high-force condition than in the low-force condition. The multivariate voxel pattern analysis showed higher accuracy than chance levels and control regions in the parietal operculum/insula, postcentral gyrus, posterior parietal lobule, and middle occipital gyrus. These results indicate that a distributed set of the brain regions, including the parietal operculum and insula, is involved in representing perceived softness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryo Kitada
- Division of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, 48 Nanyang Avenue, 639818, Singapore.
| | - Ryuichi Doizaki
- Department of Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan
| | - Jinhwan Kwon
- Kyoto University of Education, Fukakusa-Fujimori-cho 1, Fushimi-ku, Kyoto, 612-8522, Japan
| | - Tsubasa Tanigawa
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Nishigonaka 38, Myodaiji-cho, Okazaki, 444-8585, Japan; The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa, 240-0193, Japan
| | - Eri Nakagawa
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Nishigonaka 38, Myodaiji-cho, Okazaki, 444-8585, Japan
| | - Takanori Kochiyama
- ATR-Promotions, Brain Activity Imaging Center, 2-2-2 Hikaridai Seika-cho, Sorakugun, Kyoto, 619-0288, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Kajimoto
- Department of Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan
| | - Maki Sakamoto
- Department of Informatics, Graduate School of Informatics and Engineering, The University of Electro-Communications, 1-5-1 Chofugaoka, Chofu, Tokyo, 182-8585, Japan
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Nishigonaka 38, Myodaiji-cho, Okazaki, 444-8585, Japan; The Graduate University for Advanced Studies (SOKENDAI), Shonan Village, Hayama, Kanagawa, 240-0193, Japan
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Sasaki AT, Okamoto Y, Kochiyama T, Kitada R, Sadato N. Distinct sensitivities of the lateral prefrontal cortex and extrastriate body area to contingency between executed and observed actions. Cortex 2018; 108:234-251. [PMID: 30261368 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2018.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/11/2018] [Revised: 04/23/2018] [Accepted: 08/02/2018] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Detecting relationships between our own actions and the subsequent actions of others is critical for our social behavior. Self-actions differ from those of others in terms of action kinematics, body identity, and feedback timing. Thus, the detection of social contingency between self-actions and those of others requires comparison and integration of these three dimensions. Neuroimaging studies have highlighted the role of the frontotemporal network in action representation, but the role of each node and their relationships are still controversial. Here, we conducted a functional MRI experiment to test the hypothesis that the lateral prefrontal cortex and lateral occipito-temporal cortex are critical for the integration processes for social contingency. Twenty-four adults performed right finger gestures and then observed them as feedback. We manipulated three parameters of visual feedback: action kinematics (same or different gestures), body identity (self or other), and feedback timing (simultaneous or delayed). Three-way interactions of these factors were observed in the left inferior and middle frontal gyrus (IFG/MFG). These areas were active when self-actions were directly fed back in real-time (i.e., the condition causing a sense of agency), and when participants observed gestures performed by others after a short delay (i.e., the condition causing social contingency). In contrast, the left extrastriate body area (EBA) was sensitive to the concordance of action kinematics regardless of body identity or feedback timing. Body identity × feedback timing interactions were observed in regions including the superior parietal lobule (SPL). An effective connectivity analysis supported the model wherein experimental parameters modulated connections from the occipital cortex to the IFG/MFG via the EBA and SPL. These results suggest that both social contingency and the sense of agency are achieved by hierarchical processing that begins with simple concordance coding in the left EBA, leading to the complex coding of social relevance in the left IFG/MFG.
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Affiliation(s)
- Akihiro T Sasaki
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Pathophysiological and Health Science Team, RIKEN Center for Life Science Technologies, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan; Laboratory for Pathophysiological and Health Science, RIKEN Center for Biosystems Dynamics Research, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan; Health Evaluation Team, RIKEN Compass to Healthy Life Research Complex Program, Kobe, Hyogo, Japan
| | - Yuko Okamoto
- ATR-Promotions, Brain Activity Imaging Center, Kyoto, Japan; Research Center for Child Mental Development, University of Fukui, Yoshida, Fukui, Japan; Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International, Sorakugun, Kyoto, Japan
| | | | - Ryo Kitada
- School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
| | - Norihiro Sadato
- National Institute for Physiological Sciences, Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Division of Physiology, Department of Life Science, The Graduate University of Advanced Study (SOKENDAI), Okazaki, Aichi, Japan; Biomedical Imaging Research Center, University of Fukui, Yoshida, Fukui, Japan
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