Conceptual challenges and directions for social neuroscience

A social cognition perspective on misophonia

Misophonia is commonly classified by intense emotional reactions to common everyday sounds. The condition has an impact both on the mental health of its sufferers and societally. As yet, formal models on the basis of misophonia are in their infancy. Based on developing behavioural and neuroscientific research we are gaining a growing understanding of the phenomenology and empirical findings in misophonia, such as the importance of context, types of coping strategies used and the activation of particular brain regions. In this article, we argue for a model of misophonia that includes not only the sound but also the context within which sound is perceived and the emotional reaction triggered. We review the current behavioural and neuroimaging literature, which lends support to this idea. Based on the current evidence, we propose that misophonia should be understood within the broader context of social perception and cognition, and not restricted within the narrow domain of being a disorder of auditory processing. We discuss the evidence in support of this hypothesis, as well as the implications for potential treatment approaches. This article is part of the theme issue 'Sensing and feeling: an integrative approach to sensory processing and emotional experience'.

Overlapping neural correlates underpin theory of mind and semantic cognition: Evidence from a meta-analysis of 344 functional neuroimaging studies

Key unanswered questions for cognitive neuroscience include whether social cognition is underpinned by specialised brain regions and to what extent it simultaneously depends on more domain-general systems. Until we glean a better understanding of the full set of contributions made by various systems, theories of social cognition will remain fundamentally limited. In the present study, we evaluate a recent proposal that semantic cognition plays a crucial role in supporting social cognition. While previous brain-based investigations have focused on dissociating these two systems, our primary aim was to assess the degree to which the neural correlates are overlapping, particularly within two key regions, the anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). We focus on activation associated with theory of mind (ToM) and adopt a meta-analytic activation likelihood approach to synthesise a large set of functional neuroimaging studies and compare their results with studies of semantic cognition. As a key consideration, we sought to account for methodological differences across the two sets of studies, including the fact that ToM studies tend to use nonverbal stimuli while the semantics literature is dominated by language-based tasks. Overall, we observed consistent overlap between the two sets of brain regions, especially in the ATL and TPJ. This supports the claim that tasks involving ToM draw upon more general semantic retrieval processes. We also identified activation specific to ToM in the right TPJ, bilateral anterior mPFC, and right precuneus. This is consistent with the view that, nested amongst more domain-general systems, there is specialised circuitry that is tuned to social processes.

Pilot study on the effectiveness of the socialmind program for the rehabilitation of social cognition following acquired brain injury

Background

People with acquired brain injury (ABI) often have Social Cognition (SC) deficits. Impairment of SC causes the individual to have difficulties in daily functioning and can lead to social isolation. Research aimed at rehabilitation of SC in individuals with ABI is scarce and almost always addresses only one component of this ability.

Objective

This pilot study aimed to assess the effectiveness of the new "SocialMind" program in improving all core components of SC in people with ABI.

Method

The study included 31 participants with ABI, divided into experimental and control groups. The study spanned 44 weeks, involving an initial meeting, evaluation, training, and final assessment phases. The SocialMind program, structured into four modules, each with a duration of 30 h, targeted each SC component through tailored exercises. The program addressed emotion recognition, social awareness, ToM, and empathy.

Results

The SocialMind group demonstrated significant improvements in emotion recognition (p = 0.017), social knowledge (p < 0.001), and empathy (p = 0.001) compared to the control group. ToM also showed a notable improvement that approached significance (p = 0.057).

Conclusion

This pilot study suggests that the SocialMind program effectively enhances three of the four core components of SC in individuals with ABI.

Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P)

Introduction

Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand and attribute mental states to oneself and others. A ToM measure is warranted for preschool children to assess their ToM development from a multidimensional perspective (i.e., cognitive and affective dimensions). This study aimed to develop the Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) and to evaluate its construct validity and applicability.

Methods

The ToMA-P was developed based on comprehensive literature review and revised with expert panel feedback. Its psychometric properties were evaluated in 205 typically developing preschoolers with Rasch analysis for its dimensionality, item difficulties, and convergent validity.

Results

The results indicated that all ToMA-P items, except for one, fit the hypothesized two-dimensional construct. The item difficulties in the cognitive and affective dimensions followed developmental sequences. The ToMA-P scores exhibited good convergent validity, as evidenced by its significant correlations with age, verbal comprehension, adaptive functions, and daily ToM performance (p < 0.05). Children's responses and behaviors also showed that the ToMA-P has good applicability.

Discussion

This study provides empirical evidence that the ToMA-P measures cognitive and affective ToM following developmental sequences, and that it has potential as a clinical tool for assessing ToM in preschool children.

Neuropsychological mechanisms of social difficulties in disruptive mood dysregulation disorder versus oppositional defiant disorder

Children with Disruptive Mood Dysregulation Disorder (DMDD) or Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) are characterized by irritability and social difficulties. However, the mechanisms underlying these disorders could be different. This study explores differences in social cognition and executive function (EF) across DMDD and ODD and the influence of these factors and their interaction on social problems in both groups. Children with DMDD (n = 53, Mage = 9.3) or ODD (n = 39, Mage = 9.6) completed neuropsychological tasks measuring social cognition (Theory of Mind and Face-Emotion Recognition) and EF (cognitive flexibility, inhibition, and working memory). Parents reported social problems. More than one-third of the children with DMDD and almost two-thirds of those with ODD showed clear difficulties with Theory of Mind. Most children with DMDD (51-64%) or ODD (67-83%) showed difficulties with EF. In children with DMDD, worse EF (β = -.36) was associated with more social problems, whereas in children with ODD, better EF (β = .44) was associated with more social problems. In those with ODD, but not in those with DMDD, the interaction between social cognition and EF contributed to the explained variance of social problems (β = -1.97). Based on the observed interaction pattern, enhanced EF may lead to increased social problems among children with ODD who also exhibit social cognition difficulties. This study suggests the existence of distinct neuropsychological mechanisms underlying the social issues observed in children with DMDD versus those with ODD.

A prefrontal-thalamic circuit encodes social information for social recognition

Social recognition encompasses encoding social information and distinguishing unfamiliar from familiar individuals to form social relationships. Although the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) is known to play a role in social behavior, how identity information is processed and by which route it is communicated in the brain remains unclear. Here we report that a ventral midline thalamic area, nucleus reuniens (Re) that has reciprocal connections with the mPFC, is critical for social recognition in male mice. In vivo single-unit recordings and decoding analysis reveal that neural populations in both mPFC and Re represent different social stimuli, however, mPFC coding capacity is stronger. We demonstrate that chemogenetic inhibitions of Re impair the mPFC-Re neural synchronization and the mPFC social coding. Projection pathway-specific inhibitions by optogenetics reveal that the reciprocal connectivity between the mPFC and the Re is necessary for social recognition. These results reveal an mPFC-thalamic circuit for social information processing.

Synchronized LFP rhythmicity in the social brain reflects the context of social encounters

Mammalian social behavior is highly context-sensitive. Yet, little is known about the mechanisms that modulate social behavior according to its context. Recent studies have revealed a network of mostly limbic brain regions which regulates social behavior. We hypothesize that coherent theta and gamma rhythms reflect the organization of this network into functional sub-networks in a context-dependent manner. To test this concept, we simultaneously record local field potential (LFP) from multiple social brain regions in adult male mice performing three social discrimination tasks. While LFP rhythmicity across all tasks is dominated by a global internal state, the pattern of theta coherence between the various regions reflect the behavioral task more than other variables. Moreover, Granger causality analysis implicate the ventral dentate gyrus as a main player in coordinating the context-specific rhythmic activity. Thus, our results suggest that the pattern of coordinated rhythmic activity within the network reflects the subject's social context.

Multimodal investigations of emotional face processing and social trait judgment of faces

Faces are among the most important visual stimuli that humans perceive in everyday life. While extensive literature has examined emotional processing and social evaluations of faces, most studies have examined either topic using unimodal approaches. In this review, we promote the use of multimodal cognitive neuroscience approaches to study these processes, using two lines of research as examples: ambiguity in facial expressions of emotion and social trait judgment of faces. In the first set of studies, we identified an event-related potential that signals emotion ambiguity using electroencephalography and we found convergent neural responses to emotion ambiguity using functional neuroimaging and single-neuron recordings. In the second set of studies, we discuss how different neuroimaging and personality-dimensional approaches together provide new insights into social trait judgments of faces. In both sets of studies, we provide an in-depth comparison between neurotypicals and people with autism spectrum disorder. We offer a computational account for the behavioral and neural markers of the different facial processing between the two groups. Finally, we suggest new practices for studying the emotional processing and social evaluations of faces. All data discussed in the case studies of this review are publicly available.

Interventions for deficits in recognition of emotions in facial expressions in major depressive disorder: An updated systematic review of clinical trials

The recognition of emotions in facial expressions (REFE) is a core construct of social cognition. In the last decades, studies have showed that REFE is altered in major depressive disorder (MDD), but the evidence is conflicting. Thus, we conducted a systematic review of clinical trials involving therapeutic interventions in MDD and any evaluation of REFE to update (2018-2023) and systematically evaluate the evidence derived from controlled clinical trials on the effects of therapeutic strategies to MDD on the REFE. Eleven studies were included in the final review. Some interventions, including drugs (ketamine, bupropion, psylocibin) and non-pharmacological strategies (psychotherapy) seem to be able to reduce pre-existing REFE biases in MDD patients. However, there was a high heterogeneity in the evaluated studies, in terms of sample, interventions, tasks and results. Further studies and more consistent evaluation tools are highly needed to better understand nuanced deficits and specific actions of different treatment options.

Systematic Review of Gaming and Neuropsychological Assessment of Social Cognition

Playing video games is associated with cognitive changes and possibly psychosocial difficulties. Problematic gaming occurs upon the loss of control over videogame playing; gaming disorder is considered a behavioral addiction in the 11th version of the International Classification of Diseases. Models used to understand behavioral addictions include cognition as an essential factor in the development, maintenance, and relapse of addiction. Nevertheless, some aspects of cognition, such as social cognition, remain underexplored, despite evidence of alterations in cognitive and social function among patients with problematic gaming. This review aimed to describe the current understanding of social cognition in individuals exposed to videogames. We included all studies assessing social cognition in participants of any age with a wide range of exposure to video games (from simple use of video games (such as at least two exposures) to problematic gaming, defined according to the included study). This wide range of exposure allowed us to explore the whole process from repeated exposure to addiction. We included only studies that used neuropsychological tasks to assess social cognition. Patient-reported outcomes that could be biased by subjective self-report data were not included. The search was conducted from inception to January 2022 in three databases (PubMed, PsycINFO, and Web of Science). The systematic search identified 39 studies that assessed facial emotion processing, empathy, theory of mind, social decision-making, aggressive behavior, and moral competence. In general, results have been mixed, and a number of questions remain unanswered. Nevertheless, several studies showed cerebral changes when processing facial emotion that were linked with problematic gaming, while no link was obtained between nonproblematic gaming and empathy alterations. The influences of cooperation patterns, theory of mind, moral competence, and gaming frequency were highlighted. Finally, there was substantial heterogeneity in the population assessed and the methods used.

Social zebrafish: Danio rerio as an emerging model in social neuroendocrinology

The fitness benefits of social life depend on the ability of animals to affiliate with others and form groups, on dominance hierarchies within groups that determine resource distribution, and on cognitive capacities for recognition, learning and information transfer. The evolution of these phenotypes is coupled with that of neuroendocrine mechanisms, but the causal link between the two remains underexplored. Growing evidence from our research group and others demonstrates that the tools available in zebrafish, Danio rerio, can markedly facilitate progress in this field. Here, we review this evidence and provide a synthesis of the state-of-the-art in this model system. We discuss the involvement of generalized motivation and cognitive components, neuroplasticity and functional connectivity across social decision-making brain areas, and how these are modulated chiefly by the oxytocin-vasopressin neuroendocrine system, but also by reward-pathway monoamine signaling and the effects of sex-hormones and stress physiology.

How Many Alzheimer-Perusini's Atypical Forms Do We Still Have to Discover?

Alzheimer-Perusini's (AD) disease represents the most spread dementia around the world and constitutes a serious problem for public health. It was first described by the two physicians from whom it took its name. Nowadays, we have extensively expanded our knowledge about this disease. Starting from a merely clinical and histopathologic description, we have now reached better molecular comprehension. For instance, we passed from an old conceptualization of the disease based on plaques and tangles to a more modern vision of mixed proteinopathy in a one-to-one relationship with an alteration of specific glial and neuronal phenotypes. However, no disease-modifying therapies are yet available. It is likely that the only way to find a few "magic bullets" is to deepen this aspect more and more until we are able to draw up specific molecular profiles for single AD cases. This review reports the most recent classifications of AD atypical variants in order to summarize all the clinical evidence using several discrimina (for example, post mortem neurofibrillary tangle density, cerebral atrophy, or FDG-PET studies). The better defined four atypical forms are posterior cortical atrophy (PCA), logopenic variant of primary progressive aphasia (LvPPA), behavioral/dysexecutive variant and AD with corticobasal degeneration (CBS). Moreover, we discuss the usefulness of such classifications before outlining the molecular-genetic aspects focusing on microglial activity or, more generally, immune system control of neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration.

Mobile cognition: imaging the human brain in the 'real world'

Cognitive neuroscience studies in humans have enabled decades of impactful discoveries but have primarily been limited to recording the brain activity of immobile participants in a laboratory setting. In recent years, advances in neuroimaging technologies have enabled recordings of human brain activity to be obtained during freely moving behaviours in the real world. Here, we propose that these mobile neuroimaging methods can provide unique insights into the neural mechanisms of human cognition and contribute to the development of novel treatments for neurological and psychiatric disorders. We further discuss the challenges associated with studying naturalistic human behaviours in complex real-world settings as well as strategies for overcoming them. We conclude that mobile neuroimaging methods have the potential to bring about a new era of cognitive neuroscience in which neural mechanisms can be studied with increased ecological validity and with the ability to address questions about natural behaviour and cognitive processes in humans engaged in dynamic real-world experiences.

Social cognitive neuroscience in the digital age

Human interactions are increasingly taking place from a distance through methods of remote interpersonal communication like video chatting and social media. While remote interpersonal communication has existed for millennia-with the first postal system arising in ∼2400 B.C.-accelerated advances in technology and the recent global COVID-19 pandemic have led to a dramatic increase in remote interpersonal communication use in daily life. Remote interpersonal communication presents a challenge to the field of social-cognitive neuroscience, as researchers seek to understand the implications of various types of remote interpersonal communication for the "social brain." The present paper reviews our current understanding of the social-cognitive neural network and summarizes critical differences between the neural correlates of social cognition in remote vs. face-to-face interactions. In particular, empirical and theoretical work is reviewed that highlight disparities in the neural mechanisms of social perception, evaluation of social stimuli, human motivation, evaluation of social reward, and theory of mind. Potential impacts of remote interpersonal communication on the development of the brain's social-cognitive network are also discussed. Finally, this review closes with future directions for research on social-cognitive neuroscience in our digital technology-connected world and outlines a neural model for social cognition in the context of remote interpersonal communication. For the field of social-cognitive neuroscience to advance alongside of the ever-evolving society, it is crucial for researchers to acknowledge the implications and concepts suggested for future research in this review.

The role of oxytocin in modulating self-other distinction in human brain: a pharmacological fMRI study

Self-other distinction is crucial for human interaction. Although with conflicting results, studies have found that oxytocin (OT) sharpens the self-other perceptual boundary. However, little is known about the effect of OT on self-other perception, especially its neural basis. Moreover, it is unclear whether OT influences self-other discrimination when the other is a child or an adult. This double-blind, placebo-controlled study investigated the effect of OT on self-face perception at the behavioral and neural levels. For the stimuli, we morphed participants' faces and child or adult strangers' faces, resulting in 4 conditions. After treatment with either OT or placebo, participants reported whether a stimulus resembled themselves while being scanned using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Behavioral results showed that people judged adult-morphed faces better than child-morphed faces. Moreover, fMRI results showed that the OT group exhibited increased activity in visual areas and the inferior frontal gyrus for self-faces. This difference was more pronounced in the adult-face condition. In multivariate fMRI and region of interest analyses, better performance in the OT group indicated that OT increased self-other distinction, especially for adult faces and in the left hemisphere. Our study shows a significant effect of OT on self-referential processes, proving the potential effect of OT on a left hemisphere self-network.

Attention to faces in images is associated with personality and psychopathology

Humans show a robust tendency to look at faces in images, but also differ consistently in the strength of this attentional preference. Previous research remained inconclusive as to how a stronger face preference may be indicative of an individual's personality or clinical characteristics. Here we investigated face preferences in 120 participants (primarily drawn from a student population) who freely viewed photos in an internet browser showing a person in the context of a visually rich environment while attention was assessed using a cursor-based technique. Participants differed consistently in the strength of their face preference across images. A stronger preference for faces was correlated positively with openness to experience, extraversion, agreeableness and empathizing and was correlated negatively with social anxiety, depression levels and alexithymia. Trait measures were linked through a strong common factor which was additionally correlated with face preference. We conclude that face preferences may be linked to personality traits and to psychopathology but that an attribution to a specific facet of psychopathology may not be warranted. Future research should investigate links between face preferences and personality features in more diverse samples and across differing social situations.

Social semantics: the organization and grounding of abstract concepts

concepts, like justice and friendship, are central features of our daily lives. Traditionally, abstract concepts are distinguished from other concepts in that they cannot be directly experienced through the senses. As such, they pose a challenge for strongly embodied models of semantic representation that assume a central role for sensorimotor information. There is growing recognition, however, that it is possible for meaning to be 'grounded' via cognitive systems, including those involved in processing language and emotion. In this article, we focus on the specific proposal that social significance is a key feature in the representation of some concepts. We begin by reviewing recent evidence in favour of this proposal from the fields of psycholinguistics and neuroimaging. We then discuss the limited extent to which there is consensus about the definition of 'socialness' and propose essential next steps for research in this domain. Taking one such step, we describe preliminary data from an unprecedented large-scale rating study that can help determine how socialness is distinct from other facets of word meaning. We provide a backdrop of contemporary theories regarding semantic representation and social cognition and highlight important predictions for both brain and behaviour. This article is part of the theme issue 'Concepts in interaction: social engagement and inner experiences'.

Modulation of social investigation by anterior hypothalamic nucleus rhythmic neural activity

Social interactions involve both approach and avoidance toward specific individuals. Currently, the brain regions subserving these behaviors are not fully recognized. The anterior hypothalamic nucleus (AHN) is a poorly defined brain area, and recent studies have yielded contradicting conclusions regarding its behavioral role. Here we explored the role of AHN neuronal activity in regulating approach and avoidance actions during social interactions. Using electrophysiological recordings from behaving mice, we revealed that theta rhythmicity in the AHN is enhanced during affiliative interactions, but decreases during aversive ones. Moreover, the spiking activity of AHN neurons increased during the investigation of social stimuli, as compared to objects, and was modulated by theta rhythmicity. Finally, AHN optogenetic stimulation during social interactions augmented the approach toward stimuli associated with the stimulation. These results suggest the role for AHN neural activity in regulating approach behavior during social interactions, and for theta rhythmicity in mediating the valence of social stimuli.

“Voodoo” Science in Neuroimaging: How a Controversy Transformed into a Crisis

Since the 1990s, functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) techniques have continued to advance, which has led researchers and non specialists alike to regard this technique as infallible. However, at the end of 2008, a scientific controversy and the related media coverage called functional neuroimaging practices into question and cast doubt on the capacity of fMRI studies to produce reliable results. The purpose of this article is to retrace the history of this contemporary controversy and its treatment in the media. Then, the study stands at the intersection of the history of science, the epistemology of statistics, and the epistemology of science. Arguments involving actors (researchers, the media) and the chronology of events are presented. Finally, the article reveals that three groups fought through different arguments (false positives, statistical power, sample size, etc.), reaffirming the current scientific norms that separate the true from the false. Replication, forming this boundary, takes the place of the most persuasive argument. This is how the voodoo controversy joined the replication crisis.

Seeing Through Each Other's Hearts: Inferring Others' Heart Rate as a Function of Own Heart Rate Perception and Perceived Social Intelligence

Successful social interactions require a good understanding of the emotional states of other people. This information is often not directly communicated but must be inferred. As all emotional experiences are also imbedded in the visceral or interoceptive state of the body (i.e., accelerating heart rate during arousal), successfully inferring the interoceptive states of others may open a window into their emotional state. But how well can people do that? Here, we replicate recent results showing that people can discriminate between the cardiac states (i.e., the resting heartrate) of other people by simply looking at them. We further tested whether the ability to infer the interoceptive states of others depends on one's own interoceptive abilities. We measured people's performance in a cardioception task and their self-reported interoceptive accuracy. Whilst neither was directly associated to their ability to infer the heartrate of another person, we found a significant interaction. Specifically, overestimating one's own interoceptive capacities was associated with a worse performance at inferring the heartrate of others. In contrast, underestimating one's own interoceptive capacities did not have such influence. This pattern suggests that deficient beliefs about own interoceptive capacities can have detrimental effects on inferring the interoceptive states of other people.

Supplementary Information

The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1007/s42761-022-00151-4.

Beyond the three-chamber test: toward a multimodal and objective assessment of social behavior in rodents

MAIN: In recent years, substantial advances in social neuroscience have been realized, including the generation of numerous rodent models of autism spectrum disorder. Still, it can be argued that those methods currently being used to analyze animal social behavior create a bottleneck that significantly slows down progress in this field. Indeed, the bulk of research still relies on a small number of simple behavioral paradigms, the results of which are assessed without considering behavioral dynamics. Moreover, only few variables are examined in each paradigm, thus overlooking a significant portion of the complexity that characterizes social interaction between two conspecifics, subsequently hindering our understanding of the neural mechanisms governing different aspects of social behavior. We further demonstrate these constraints by discussing the most commonly used paradigm for assessing rodent social behavior, the three-chamber test. We also point to the fact that although emotions greatly influence human social behavior, we lack reliable means for assessing the emotional state of animals during social tasks. As such, we also discuss current evidence supporting the existence of pro-social emotions and emotional cognition in animal models. We further suggest that adequate social behavior analysis requires a novel multimodal approach that employs automated and simultaneous measurements of multiple behavioral and physiological variables at high temporal resolution in socially interacting animals. We accordingly describe several computerized systems and computational tools for acquiring and analyzing such measurements. Finally, we address several behavioral and physiological variables that can be used to assess socio-emotional states in animal models and thus elucidate intricacies of social behavior so as to attain deeper insight into the brain mechanisms that mediate such behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: In summary, we suggest that combining automated multimodal measurements with machine-learning algorithms will help define socio-emotional states and determine their dynamics during various types of social tasks, thus enabling a more thorough understanding of the complexity of social behavior.

The promises and pitfalls of functional magnetic resonance imaging hyperscanning for social interaction research

Social neuroscience combines tools and perspectives from social psychology and neuroscience to understand how people interact with their social world. Here we discuss a relatively new method-hyperscanning-to study real-time, interactive social interactions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We highlight three contributions that fMRI hyperscanning makes to the study of the social mind: (1) Naturalism: it shifts the focus from tightly-controlled stimuli to more naturalistic social interactions; (2) Multi-person Dynamics: it shifts the focus from individuals as the unit of analysis to dyads and groups; and (3) Neural Resolution: fMRI hyperscanning captures high-resolution neural patterns and dynamics across the whole brain, unlike other neuroimaging hyperscanning methods (e.g., electroencephalogram, functional near-infrared spectroscopy). Finally, we describe the practical considerations and challenges that fMRI hyperscanning researchers must navigate. We hope researchers will harness this powerful new paradigm to address pressing questions in today's society.

Under or Absent Reporting of Light Stimuli in Testing of Anxiety-Like Behaviors in Rodents: The Need for Standardization

Behavioral neuroscience tests such as the Light/Dark Test, the Open Field Test, the Elevated Plus Maze Test, and the Three Chamber Social Interaction Test have become both essential and widely used behavioral tests for transgenic and pre-clinical models for drug screening and testing. However, as fast as the field has evolved and the contemporaneous involvement of technology, little assessment of the literature has been done to ensure that these behavioral neuroscience tests that are crucial to pre-clinical testing have well-controlled ethological motivation by the use of lighting (i.e., Lux). In the present review paper, N = 420 manuscripts were examined from 2015 to 2019 as a sample set (i.e., n = ~20–22 publications per year) and it was found that only a meager n = 50 publications (i.e., 11.9% of the publications sampled) met the criteria for proper anxiogenic and anxiolytic Lux reported. These findings illustrate a serious concern that behavioral neuroscience papers are not being vetted properly at the journal review level and are being released into the literature and public domain making it difficult to assess the quality of the science being reported. This creates a real need for standardizing the use of Lux in all publications on behavioral neuroscience techniques within the field to ensure that contributions are meaningful, avoid unnecessary duplication, and ultimately would serve to create a more efficient process within the pre-clinical screening/testing for drugs that serve as anxiolytic compounds that would prove more useful than what prior decades of work have produced. It is suggested that improving the standardization of the use and reporting of Lux in behavioral neuroscience tests and the standardization of peer-review processes overseeing the proper documentation of these methodological approaches in manuscripts could serve to advance pre-clinical testing for effective anxiolytic drugs. This report serves to highlight this concern and proposes strategies to proactively remedy them as the field moves forward for decades to come.

The Interprocessual-Self Theory in Support of Human Neuroscience Studies

Rather than occurring abstractly (autonomously), ethical growth occurs in interpersonal relationships (IRs). It requires optimally functioning cognitive processes [attention, working memory (WM), episodic/autobiographical memory (AM), inhibition, flexibility, among others], emotional processes (physical contact, motivation, and empathy), processes surrounding ethical, intimacy, and identity issues, and other psychological processes (self-knowledge, integration, and the capacity for agency). Without intending to be reductionist, we believe that these aspects are essential for optimally engaging in IRs and for the personal constitution. While they are all integrated into our daily life, in research and academic work, it is hard to see how they are integrated. Thus, we need better theoretical frameworks for studying them. That study and integration thereof are undertaken differently depending on different views of what it means to live as a human being. We rely on neuroscientific data to support the chosen theory to offer knowledge to understand human beings and interpersonal relational growth. We should of course note that to describe what makes up the uniqueness of being, acting, and growing as a human person involves something much more profound which requires too, a methodology that opens the way for a theory of the person that responds to the concerns of philosophy and philosophical anthropology from many disciplines and methods (Orón Semper, 2015; Polo, 2015), but this is outside the scope of this study. With these in mind, this article aims to introduce a new explanatory framework, called the Interprocessual-self (IPS), for the neuroscientific findings that allow for a holistic consideration of the previously mentioned processes. Contributing to the knowledge of personal growth and avoiding a reductionist view, we first offer a general description of the research that supports the interrelation between personal virtue in IRs and relevant cognitive, emotional, and ethic-moral processes. This reveals how relationships allow people to relate ethically and grow as persons. We include conceptualizations and descriptions of their neural bases. Secondly, with the IPS model, we explore neuroscientific findings regarding self-knowledge, integration, and agency, all psychological processes that stimulate inner exploration of the self concerning the other. We find that these fundamental conditions can be understood from IPS theory. Finally, we explore situations that involve the integration of two levels, namely the interpersonal one and the social contexts of relationships.

Research Criteria for the Behavioral Variant of Alzheimer Disease: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis

Importance

The behavioral variant of Alzheimer disease (bvAD) is characterized by early and predominant behavioral deficits caused by AD pathology. This AD phenotype is insufficiently understood and lacks standardized clinical criteria, limiting reliability and reproducibility of diagnosis and scientific reporting.

Objective

To perform a systematic review and meta-analysis of the bvAD literature and use the outcomes to propose research criteria for this syndrome.

Data Sources

A systematic literature search in PubMed/MEDLINE and Web of Science databases (from inception through April 7, 2021) was performed in duplicate.

Study Selection

Studies reporting on behavioral, neuropsychological, or neuroimaging features in bvAD and, when available, providing comparisons with typical amnestic-predominant AD (tAD) or behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD).

Data Extraction and Synthesis

This analysis involved random-effects meta-analyses on group-level study results of clinical data and systematic review of the neuroimaging literature. The study was performed following Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-analyses (PRISMA) guidelines.

Main Outcomes and Measures

Behavioral symptoms (neuropsychiatric symptoms and bvFTD core clinical criteria), cognitive function (global cognition, episodic memory, and executive functioning), and neuroimaging features (structural magnetic resonance imaging, [18F]fluorodeoxyglucose-positron emission tomography, perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography, amyloid positron emission tomography, and tau positron emission tomography).

Results

The search led to the assessment of 83 studies, including 13 suitable for meta-analysis. Data were collected for 591 patients with bvAD. There was moderate to substantial heterogeneity and moderate risk of bias across studies. Cases with bvAD showed more severe behavioral symptoms than tAD (standardized mean difference [SMD], 1.16 [95% CI, 0.74-1.59]; P < .001) and a trend toward less severe behavioral symptoms compared with bvFTD (SMD, -0.22 [95% CI, -0.47 to 0.04]; P = .10). Meta-analyses of cognitive data indicated worse executive performance in bvAD vs tAD (SMD, -1.03 [95% CI, -1.74 to -0.32]; P = .008) but not compared with bvFTD (SMD, -0.61 [95% CI, -1.75 to 0.53]; P = .29). Cases with bvAD showed a nonsignificant difference of worse memory performance compared with bvFTD (SMD, -1.31 [95% CI, -2.75 to 0.14]; P = .08) but did not differ from tAD (SMD, 0.43 [95% CI, -0.46 to 1.33]; P = .34). The neuroimaging literature revealed 2 distinct bvAD neuroimaging phenotypes: an AD-like pattern with relative frontal sparing and a relatively more bvFTD-like pattern characterized by additional anterior involvement, with the AD-like pattern being more prevalent.

Conclusions and Relevance

These data indicate that bvAD is clinically most similar to bvFTD, while it shares most pathophysiological features with tAD. Based on these insights, we propose research criteria for bvAD aimed at improving the consistency and reliability of future research and aiding the clinical assessment of this AD phenotype.

Establishing a role of the semantic control network in social cognitive processing: A meta-analysis of functional neuroimaging studies

The contribution and neural basis of cognitive control is under-specified in many prominent models of socio-cognitive processing. Important outstanding questions include whether there are multiple, distinguishable systems underpinning control and whether control is ubiquitously or selectively engaged across different social behaviours and task demands. Recently, it has been proposed that the regulation of social behaviours could rely on brain regions specialised in the controlled retrieval of semantic information, namely the anterior inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and posterior middle temporal gyrus. Accordingly, we investigated for the first time whether the neural activation commonly found in social functional neuroimaging studies extends to these 'semantic control' regions. We conducted five coordinate-based meta-analyses to combine results of 499 fMRI/PET experiments and identified the brain regions consistently involved in semantic control, as well as four social abilities: theory of mind, trait inference, empathy and moral reasoning. This allowed an unprecedented parallel review of the neural networks associated with each of these cognitive domains. The results confirmed that the anterior left IFG region involved in semantic control is reliably engaged in all four social domains. This supports the hypothesis that social cognition is partly regulated by the neurocognitive system underpinning semantic control.

Relationship Between the Self-Concept of Children and Their Ability to Recognize Emotions in Others

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship between the self-concept of children and their ability to recognize emotions in others from facial expressions. It is hypothesized that children use their self-representations to interpret depictions of emotion in others and that higher self-concepts might be associated with earlier development of emotion recognition skills. A total of 54 children aged between 5 and 11 years participated in this study. Self-concept was assessed in all children using the Piers-Harris Self-Concept Scale for Children (Piers-Harris 2). To assess emotion recognition, a computerized instrument, the Penn Emotion Recognition Task (PERT), was applied. Despite the small sample of children, results show clear statistical effects. It is shown that emotion recognition ability is directly correlated with self-concept for intellectual/school status. The ability to correctly identify emotions from facial expressions is affected by general self-concept, intellectual/school status, and stimulus features of gender, intensity, and emotion. Further analysis shows that the general self-concept of children particularly affects the ability to identify happy faces. Children with a higher intellectual status score recognize happiness and neutral faces more easily. We concluded that the self-concept in children relates to the ability to recognize emotions in others, particularly positive emotions. These findings provide some support to the simulation theory of social cognition, where children use their own self-representations to interpret mental states in others. The effect of the self-concept for intellectual status on emotion recognition might also indicate that intellectual abilities act as a mediator between self-concept and emotion recognition, but further studies are needed.

Modulating the Activity of the VMPFC With tDCS Alters the Social Framing Effect

Numerous experimental studies have replicated the social framing effect-the observation that people’s decisions related to economic benefits and feelings depend on the method of presentation. Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) plays a part in the influence of framing and how individuals think about the feelings of others. Based on this, we used transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) to modulate neuronal activity in the VMPFC to determine the likelihood of a direct association between VMPFC activity and the social framing effect. Subsequently, in three stimulation treatments, we assessed the presence of the social framing effect, as demonstrated by a disparity between harm degree and help degree. The findings revealed a social framing effect in the participants in the control group and the sham treatment but no social framing effect in the participants in the anodal or cathodal treatments. Furthermore, sex differences were observed in the sham treatment’s social framing effect, whereas no sex differences were observed in the anodal or cathodal treatments. The participants tended to harm the victim after receiving anodal or cathodal tDCS over the VMPFC and did not change their helping behaviour in any stimulations. Consequently, a clear causal link between the behaviour of the VMPFC and the social framing effect was found in the present research.

Neurocomputational models of altruistic decision-making and social motives: Advances, pitfalls, and future directions

This article discusses insights from computational models and social neuroscience into motivations, precursors, and mechanisms of altruistic decision-making and other-regard. We introduce theoretical and methodological tools for researchers who wish to adopt a multilevel, computational approach to study behaviors that promote others' welfare. Using examples from recent studies, we outline multiple mental and neural processes relevant to altruism. To this end, we integrate evidence from neuroimaging, psychology, economics, and formalized mathematical models. We introduce basic mechanisms-pertinent to a broad range of value-based decisions-and social emotions and cognitions commonly recruited when our decisions involve other people. Regarding the latter, we discuss how decomposing distinct facets of social processes can advance altruistic models and the development of novel, targeted interventions. We propose that an accelerated synthesis of computational approaches and social neuroscience represents a critical step towards a more comprehensive understanding of altruistic decision-making. We discuss the utility of this approach to study lifespan differences in social preference in late adulthood, a crucial future direction in aging global populations. Finally, we review potential pitfalls and recommendations for researchers interested in applying a computational approach to their research. This article is categorized under: Economics > Interactive Decision-Making Psychology > Emotion and Motivation Neuroscience > Cognition Economics > Individual Decision-Making.

Pelvic Pain Alters Functional Connectivity Between Anterior Cingulate Cortex and Hippocampus in Both Humans and a Rat Model

The anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and hippocampus (HIPP) are two key brain regions associated with pain and pain-related affective processing. However, whether and how pelvic pain alters the neural activity and connectivity of the ACC and HIPP under baseline and during social pain, and the underlying cellular and molecular mechanisms, remain unclear. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) combined with electrophysiology and biochemistry, we show that pelvic pain, particularly, primary dysmenorrhea (PDM), causes an increase in the functional connectivity between ACC and HIPP in resting-state fMRI, and a smaller reduction in connectivity during social exclusion in PDM females with periovulatory phase. Similarly, model rats demonstrate significantly increased ACC-HIPP synchronization in the gamma band, associating with reduced modulation by ACC-theta on HIPP-gamma and increased levels of receptor proteins and excitation. This study brings together human fMRI and animal research and enables improved therapeutic strategies for ameliorating pain and pain-related affective processing.

Social brain network correlates with real-life social network in individuals with schizophrenia and social anhedonia

Social behaviour requires the brain to efficiently integrate multiple social processes, but it is not clear what neural substrates underlie general social behaviour. While psychosis patients and individuals with subclinical symptoms are characterized by social dysfunction, the neural mechanisms underlying social dysfunctions in schizophrenia spectrum disorders remains unclear. We first constructed a general social brain network (SBN) using resting-state functional connectivity (FC) with regions of interest based on the automatic meta-analysis results from NeuroSynth. We then examined the general SBN and its relationship with social network (SN) characteristics in 30 individuals with schizophrenia (SCZ) and 33 individuals with social anhedonia (SA). We found that patients with SCZ exhibited deficits in their SN, while SA individuals did not. SCZ patients showed decreased segregation and functional connectivity in their SBN, while SA individuals showed a reversed pattern with increased segregation and functional connectivity of their SBN. Sparse canonical correlation analysis showed that both SCZ patients and SA individuals exhibited reduced correlation between SBN and SN characteristics compared with their corresponding healthy control groups. These preliminary findings suggest that both SCZ and SA participants exhibit abnormality in segregation and functional connectivity within the general SBN and reduced correlation with SN characteristics. These findings could guide the development of non-pharmacological interventions for social dysfunction in SCZ spectrum disorders.

Decision-making in a social world: Integrating cognitive ecology and social neuroscience

Understanding animal decision-making involves simultaneously dissecting and reconstructing processes across levels of biological organization, such as behavior, physiology, and brain function, as well as considering the environment in which decisions are made. Over the past few decades, foundational breakthroughs originating from a variety of model systems and disciplines have painted an increasingly comprehensive picture of how individuals sense information, process it, and subsequently modify behavior or states. Still, our understanding of decision-making in social contexts is far from complete and requires integrating novel approaches and perspectives. The fields of social neuroscience and cognitive ecology have approached social decision-making from orthogonal perspectives. The integration of these perspectives (and fields) is critical in developing comprehensive and testable theories of the brain.

Common brain networks underlying human social interactions: Evidence from large-scale neuroimaging meta-analysis

Recent overarching frameworks propose that various human social interactions are commonly supported by a set of fundamental neuropsychological processes, including social cognition, motivation, and cognitive control. However, it remains unclear whether brain networks implicated in these functional constructs are consistently engaged in diverse social interactions. Based on ample evidence from human brain imaging studies (342 contrasts, 7234 participants, 3328 foci), we quantitatively synthesized brain areas involved in broad domains of social interactions, including social interactions versus non-social contexts, positive/negative aspects of social interactions, social learning, and social norms. We then conducted brain network analysis on the ensuing brain regions and characterized the psychological function profiles of identified brain networks. Our findings revealed that brain regions consistently involved in diverse social interactions mapped onto default mode network, salience network, subcortical network and central executive network, which were respectively implicated in social cognition, motivation and cognitive control. These findings implicate a heuristic integrative framework to understand human social life from the perspective of component process and network integration.

Social cognition in first episode adolescent depression and its correlation with clinical features and quality of life

Research has suggested that patients with depression have deficits in social cognition, however they provide limited data regarding adolescent depression. Moreover, the relationship of social cognition with clinical features and quality of life is less studied. This study investigated social cognition in depressive adolescents and the correlations of social cognition with clinical features and quality of life. Thirty-five depressed adolescents and 37 healthy controls were assessed. Emotion perception and decoding ToM, quality of life and clinical variables were evaluated. No significant differences were found between depression and control groups regarding social cognitive tests. The results indicated that examined clinical features were not correlated significantly with social cognitive tests. Results suggest that social cognitive abilities are not disturbed in adolescents with first depressive episode.

Psychotherapy in pain management: New viewpoints and treatment targets based on a brain theory

The current paper provides an explanation of neurophysiological pain processing based the Dimensional Systems Model (DSM), a theory of higher cortical functions in which the cortical column is considered the binary digit for all cortical functions. Within the discussion, novel views on the roles of the basal ganglia, cerebellum, and cingulate cortex are presented. Additionally, an applied Clinical Biopsychological Model (CBM) based on the DSM will be discussed as related to psychological treatment with chronic pain patients. Three specific areas that have not been adequately addressed in the psychological treatment of chronic pain patients will be discussed based on the CBM. The treatment approaches have been effectively used in a clinical setting. Conclusions focus on a call for researchers and clinicians to fully evaluate the value of both the DSM and CBM.

Default mode network modulation by mentalizing in young adults with autism spectrum disorder or schizophrenia

Schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are nosologically distinct neurodevelopmental disorders with similar deficits in social cognition, including the ability to form mental representations of others (i.e., mentalizing). However, the extent of patient deficit overlap in underlying neural mechanisms is unclear. Our goal was to examine deficits in mentalizing task-related (MTR) activity modulation in schizophrenia and ASD and the relationship of such deficits with social functioning and psychotic symptoms in patients. Adults, ages 18-34, diagnosed with either ASD or schizophrenia, and typically developed controls (n = 30/group), performed an interactive functional MRI Domino task. Using independent component analysis, we analyzed game intervals known to stimulate mentalizing in the default mode network (DMN), i.e., medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), precuneus, and temporoparietal junction (TPJ), for group differences in MTR activity and associations between MTR activity and social and psychosis measures. Compared to controls, both schizophrenia and ASD groups showed MTR activity deficits in PCC and TPJ. In TPJ and MPFC, MTR activity modulation was associated with social communication impairments only in ASD. In precuneus, MTR activity was associated with increased self-reported fantasizing only in schizophrenia. In schizophrenia, we found no indication of over-mentalizing activity or an association between MTR activity and psychotic symptoms. Results suggest shared neural deficits between ASD and schizophrenia in mentalizing-associated DMN regions; however, neural organization might correspond to different dimensional social deficits. Our results therefore indicate the importance of examining both categorical-clinical diagnosis and social functioning dimensional constructs when examining neural deficits in schizophrenia and ASD.

Putting the Nonsocial Into Social Neuroscience: A Role for Domain-General Priority Maps During Social Interactions

Whether on a first date or during a team briefing at work, people’s daily lives are inundated with social information, and in recent years, researchers have begun studying the neural mechanisms that support social-information processing. We argue that the focus of social neuroscience research to date has been skewed toward specialized processes at the expense of general processing mechanisms with a consequence that unrealistic expectations have been set for what specialized processes alone can achieve. We propose that for social neuroscience to develop into a more mature research program, it needs to embrace hybrid models that integrate specialized person representations with domain-general solutions, such as prioritization and selection, which operate across all classes of information (both social and nonsocial). To illustrate our central arguments, we first describe and then evaluate a hybrid model of information processing during social interactions that (a) generates novel and falsifiable predictions compared with existing models; (b) is predicated on a wealth of neurobiological evidence spanning many decades, methods, and species; (c) requires a superior standard of evidence to substantiate domain-specific mechanisms of social behavior; and (d) transforms expectations of what types of neural mechanisms may contribute to social-information processing in both typical and atypical populations.

A sensorimotor control framework for understanding emotional communication and regulation

Our research team was asked to consider the relationship of the neuroscience of sensorimotor control to the language of emotions and feelings. Actions are the principal means for the communication of emotions and feelings in both humans and other animals, and the allostatic mechanisms controlling action also apply to the regulation of emotional states by the self and others. We consider how motor control of hierarchically organised, feedback-based, goal-directed action has evolved in humans, within a context of consciousness, appraisal and cultural learning, to serve emotions and feelings. In our linguistic analysis, we found that many emotion and feelings words could be assigned to stages in the sensorimotor learning process, but the assignment was often arbitrary. The embodied nature of emotional communication means that action words are frequently used, but that the meanings or senses of the word depend on its contextual use, just as the relationship of an action to an emotion is also contextually dependent.

The development of the social brain in baby siblings of children with autism

PURPOSE OF REVIEW

Impairments in social interaction/communication become apparent after 12 months of age in children who develop Autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Studies of baby siblings of children with ASD provide the means to detect changes in the brain that are present before behavioral symptoms appear. In this review, advances from brain imaging studies of infant siblings over the past 18 months are highlighted.

RECENT FINDINGS

During the first 2 months of life, functional differences in social brain regions and microstructural differences in dorsal language tracks are found in some high-risk baby siblings. At 4-6 months of age, differences in subcortical and cerebellum volumes and atypical cortical responses to social stimuli are evident. At 6 months, extra-axial cerebrospinal fluid is increased, and at 8 months there is evidence of cortical hyper-reactivity. Patterns of functional connectivity are distinct in infant siblings and suggest dysfunctional activation and integration of information across the cortex and neural networks underlying social behaviors.

SUMMARY

Further replication in very large independent samples is needed to verify the majority of the findings discussed and understand how they are related within individual infants. Much more research is needed before translation to clinical practice.

For a Society Beyond Justice

The first part of the paper suggests a minimalist framework for integrating the discipline of psychology. Such a framework must rest on the principle of parsimony, build on fewest and simplest possible axiomatic assumptions and yet be able to contain, sustain and benefit from the enormous diversity of its interests and approaches, its ever-widening research enterprise and its unique relationship to neuroscience that situates it felicitously between natural and human sciences. I take the Kantian questions about the human condition as the starting point to link the concepts of reason, work and autonomy to the idea of self as transformative agency that straddles the domains of nature and society the way psychology does. The second part of the paper takes Rawls’ idea of society beyond justice, with reference Marx, to show why justice must act as the placeholder for equality in formal procedural democracies and to chart the direction that psychology should follow to meet the challenge of becoming more relevant for human welfare in this neoliberal age of deepening inequalities and mounting social, political and personality crises.

Individual variation in the attribution of incentive salience to social cues

Research on the attribution of incentive salience to drug cues has furthered our understanding of drug self-administration in animals and addiction in humans. The influence of social cues on drug-seeking behavior has garnered attention recently, but few studies have investigated how social cues gain incentive-motivational value. In the present study, a Pavlovian conditioned approach (PCA) procedure was used to identify rats that are more (sign-trackers; STs) or less (goal-trackers; GTs) prone to attribute incentive salience to food reward cues. In Experiment 1, a novel procedure employed social ‘peers’ to compare the tendency of STs and GTs to attribute incentive salience to social reward cues as well as form a social-conditioned place preference. In Experiment 2, social behavior of STs and GTs was compared using social interaction and choice tests. Finally, in Experiment 3, levels of plasma oxytocin were measured in STs and GTs seven days after the last PCA training session, because oxytocin is known to modulate the mesolimbic reward system and social behavior. Compared to GTs, STs attributed more incentive salience to social-related cues and exhibited prosocial behaviors (e.g., social-conditioned place preference, increased social interaction, and social novelty-seeking). No group differences were observed in plasma oxytocin levels. Taken together, these experiments demonstrate individual variation in the attribution of incentive salience to both food- and social-related cues, which has important implications for the pathophysiology of addiction.

Reconocimiento de Expresiones Faciales Emocionales. Diferencias en el Desarrollo

RESUMEN El trabajo se propuso caracterizar el reconocimiento facial de emociones en población infanto-juvenil. Se administró una adaptación digital del Test Pictures of Facial Affects a 147 participantes de entre 9 y 18 años. Los resultados evidenciaron una asociación negativa entre la edad y la tasa de aciertos para alegría y positiva para asco y miedo. Además, se evidenció un efecto significativo de la edad en los tiempos de respuesta de todas las emociones a excepción del miedo. Los resultados sugieren que a medida que aumenta la edad el reconocimiento emocional es más veloz, sin embargo, esto se refleja en una mejoría en el reconocimiento emocional sólo en asco y miedo. Se discuten la importancia de estas emociones para la adolescencia.

Social cognition

Social cognition refers to a complex set of mental abilities underlying social stimulus perception, processing, interpretation, and response. Together, these abilities support the development of adequate social competence and adaptation. Social cognition has a protracted development through infancy to adulthood. Given the preponderance of social dysfunctions across neurologic conditions, social cognition is now recognized as a core domain of functioning that warrants clinical attention. This chapter provides an overview of the construct of social cognition, defines some of the most clinically significant sociocognitive abilities (face processing, facial expression processing, joint attention, theory of mind, empathy, and moral processing), and introduces the neural networks and frameworks associated with these abilities. Broad principles for understanding the development of social cognition are presented, and a summary of normative developmental milestones of clinically relevant sociocognitive abilities is proposed. General guidelines for sound social cognition assessment in children and adolescents are summarized.

Correlated Neural Activity and Encoding of Behavior across Brains of Socially Interacting Animals

Social interactions involve complex decision-making tasks that are shaped by dynamic, mutual feedback between participants. An open question is whether and how emergent properties may arise across brains of socially interacting individuals to influence social decisions. By simultaneously performing microendoscopic calcium imaging in pairs of socially interacting mice, we find that animals exhibit interbrain correlations of neural activity in the prefrontal cortex that are dependent on ongoing social interaction. Activity synchrony arises from two neuronal populations that separately encode one's own behaviors and those of the social partner. Strikingly, interbrain correlations predict future social interactions as well as dominance relationships in a competitive context. Together, our study provides conclusive evidence for interbrain synchrony in rodents, uncovers how synchronization arises from activity at the single-cell level, and presents a role for interbrain neural activity coupling as a property of multi-animal systems in coordinating and sustaining social interactions between individuals.

Social cognition in schizophrenia: Validation of an ecological fMRI task

Neuroimaging studies have revealed brain regions involved in social cognition, which reportedly show functional alterations in schizophrenia. However, the social neural network has not been investigated with regards to language perception and social interactions in daily life. Here we developed and validated an integrative fMRI task to explore the neural basis of social cognition with regards to language perception in schizophrenia. The task comprised listening to film extracts and inferring mental states to characters. We first identified the functional network activated during the task in 28 healthy controls (HC). Next, we evaluated the reproducibility of Blood-Oxygen-Level Dependent (BOLD) variations in 14 HC participants. Finally, we investigated network impairment in 20 patients with schizophrenia (SZ) compared to HC. The HC group exhibited bilateral activation in the superior and middle temporal gyri (including the poles and the temporo-parietal junction). Overall, our novel integrative task induced activation of a functional network with good reproducibility and involved in language conveying social information. Compared to the HC group, the SZ group showed decreased recruitment of the right temporo-parietal junction. These findings may be useful for testing the impact of remediation on the brain, particularly on the network of language conveying social information.

Sexually Dimorphic Control of Parenting Behavior by the Medial Amygdala

Social behaviors, including behaviors directed toward young offspring, exhibit striking sex differences. Understanding how these sexually dimorphic behaviors are regulated at the level of circuits and transcriptomes will provide insights into neural mechanisms of sex-specific behaviors. Here, we uncover a sexually dimorphic role of the medial amygdala (MeA) in governing parental and infanticidal behaviors. Contrary to traditional views, activation of GABAergic neurons in the MeA promotes parental behavior in females, while activation of this population in males differentially promotes parental versus infanticidal behavior in an activity-level-dependent manner. Through single-cell transcriptomic analysis, we found that molecular sex differences in the MeA are specifically represented in GABAergic neurons. Collectively, these results establish crucial roles for the MeA as a key node in the neural circuitry underlying pup-directed behaviors and provide important insight into the connection between sex differences across transcriptomes, cells, and circuits in regulating sexually dimorphic behavior.