1
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Wang Y, Cao R, Chakravarthula PN, Yu H, Wang S. Atypical neural encoding of faces in individuals with autism spectrum disorder. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:172-186. [PMID: 38696606 PMCID: PMC11065108 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae060] [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: 12/11/2023] [Revised: 02/02/2024] [Accepted: 02/03/2024] [Indexed: 05/04/2024] Open
Abstract
Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) experience pervasive difficulties in processing social information from faces. However, the behavioral and neural mechanisms underlying social trait judgments of faces in ASD remain largely unclear. Here, we comprehensively addressed this question by employing functional neuroimaging and parametrically generated faces that vary in facial trustworthiness and dominance. Behaviorally, participants with ASD exhibited reduced specificity but increased inter-rater variability in social trait judgments. Neurally, participants with ASD showed hypo-activation across broad face-processing areas. Multivariate analysis based on trial-by-trial face responses could discriminate participant groups in the majority of the face-processing areas. Encoding social traits in ASD engaged vastly different face-processing areas compared to controls, and encoding different social traits engaged different brain areas. Interestingly, the idiosyncratic brain areas encoding social traits in ASD were still flexible and context-dependent, similar to neurotypicals. Additionally, participants with ASD also showed an altered encoding of facial saliency features in the eyes and mouth. Together, our results provide a comprehensive understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying social trait judgments in ASD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Wang
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 4525 Scott Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Runnan Cao
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 4525 Scott Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Puneeth N Chakravarthula
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 4525 Scott Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
| | - Hongbo Yu
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA 93106, United States
| | - Shuo Wang
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, 4525 Scott Ave, St. Louis, MO 63110, United States
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2
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Fang S, Luo Z, Wei Z, Qin Y, Zheng J, Zhang H, Jin J, Li J, Miao C, Yang S, Li Y, Liang Z, Yu XD, Zhang XM, Xiong W, Zhu H, Gan WB, Huang L, Li B. Sexually dimorphic control of affective state processing and empathic behaviors. Neuron 2024; 112:1498-1517.e8. [PMID: 38430912 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2024.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2022] [Revised: 12/08/2023] [Accepted: 02/01/2024] [Indexed: 03/05/2024]
Abstract
Recognizing the affective states of social counterparts and responding appropriately fosters successful social interactions. However, little is known about how the affective states are expressed and perceived and how they influence social decisions. Here, we show that male and female mice emit distinct olfactory cues after experiencing distress. These cues activate distinct neural circuits in the piriform cortex (PiC) and evoke sexually dimorphic empathic behaviors in observers. Specifically, the PiC → PrL pathway is activated in female observers, inducing a social preference for the distressed counterpart. Conversely, the PiC → MeA pathway is activated in male observers, evoking excessive self-grooming behaviors. These pathways originate from non-overlapping PiC neuron populations with distinct gene expression signatures regulated by transcription factors and sex hormones. Our study unveils how internal states of social counterparts are processed through sexually dimorphic mechanisms at the molecular, cellular, and circuit levels and offers insights into the neural mechanisms underpinning sex differences in higher brain functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shunchang Fang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zhengyi Luo
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zicheng Wei
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Yuxin Qin
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jieyan Zheng
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Hongyang Zhang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jianhua Jin
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Jiali Li
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Chenjian Miao
- Institute on Aging, Hefei, China and Brain Disorders, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Shana Yang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Yonglin Li
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Zirui Liang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Xiao-Dan Yu
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Xiao Min Zhang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China
| | - Wei Xiong
- Institute on Aging, Hefei, China and Brain Disorders, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | - Hongying Zhu
- Institute on Aging, Hefei, China and Brain Disorders, the First Affiliated Hospital of USTC, Division of Life Sciences and Medicine, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei 230026, China
| | | | - Lianyan Huang
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; Key Laboratory of Human Microbiome and Chronic Diseases (Sun Yat-Sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510655, China.
| | - Boxing Li
- Neuroscience Program, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease, Zhongshan School of Medicine and the Fifth Affiliated Hospital, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; Advanced Medical Technology Center, the First Affiliated Hospital, Zhongshan School of Medicine, Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou 510080, China; Key Laboratory of Human Microbiome and Chronic Diseases (Sun Yat-Sen University), Ministry of Education, Guangzhou 510655, China.
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3
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Molas S, Freels TG, Zhao-Shea R, Lee T, Gimenez-Gomez P, Barbini M, Martin GE, Tapper AR. Dopamine control of social novelty preference is constrained by an interpeduncular-tegmentum circuit. Nat Commun 2024; 15:2891. [PMID: 38570514 PMCID: PMC10991551 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-024-47255-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2023] [Accepted: 03/20/2024] [Indexed: 04/05/2024] Open
Abstract
Animals are inherently motivated to explore social novelty cues over familiar ones, resulting in a novelty preference (NP), although the behavioral and circuit bases underlying NP are unclear. Combining calcium and neurotransmitter sensors with fiber photometry and optogenetics in mice, we find that mesolimbic dopamine (DA) neurotransmission is strongly and predominantly activated by social novelty controlling bout length of interaction during NP, a response significantly reduced by familiarity. In contrast, interpeduncular nucleus (IPN) GABAergic neurons that project to the lateral dorsal tegmentum (LDTg) were inhibited by social novelty but activated during terminations with familiar social stimuli. Inhibition of this pathway during NP increased interaction and bout length with familiar social stimuli, while activation reduced interaction and bout length with novel social stimuli via decreasing DA neurotransmission. These data indicate interest towards novel social stimuli is encoded by mesolimbic DA which is dynamically regulated by an IPN→LDTg circuit to control NP.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanna Molas
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 364 Plantation St, LRB, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA.
- Institute for Behavioral Genetics, University of Colorado Boulder 1480 30th St, Boulder, 80303, CO, USA.
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder 1905 Colorado Ave, Boulder, 80309, CO, USA.
| | - Timothy G Freels
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 364 Plantation St, LRB, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA
| | - Rubing Zhao-Shea
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 364 Plantation St, LRB, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA
| | - Timothy Lee
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 364 Plantation St, LRB, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA
| | - Pablo Gimenez-Gomez
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 364 Plantation St, LRB, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA
| | - Melanie Barbini
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 364 Plantation St, LRB, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA
| | - Gilles E Martin
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 364 Plantation St, LRB, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA
| | - Andrew R Tapper
- Department of Neurobiology, Brudnick Neuropsychiatric Research Institute University of Massachusetts Chan Medical School 364 Plantation St, LRB, Worcester, 01605, MA, USA.
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4
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Le Merrer J, Detraux B, Gandía J, De Groote A, Fonteneau M, de Kerchove d'Exaerde A, Becker JAJ. Balance Between Projecting Neuronal Populations of the Nucleus Accumbens Controls Social Behavior in Mice. Biol Psychiatry 2024; 95:123-135. [PMID: 37207936 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.05.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2022] [Revised: 04/06/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 05/21/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deficient social interactions are a hallmark of major neuropsychiatric disorders, and accumulating evidence points to altered social reward and motivation as key underlying mechanisms of these pathologies. In the present study, we further explored the role of the balance of activity between D1 and D2 receptor-expressing striatal projection neurons (D1R- and D2R-SPNs) in the control of social behavior, challenging the hypothesis that excessive D2R-SPN activity, rather than deficient D1R-SPN activity, compromises social behavior. METHODS We selectively ablated D1R- and D2R-SPNs using an inducible diphtheria toxin receptor-mediated cell targeting strategy and assessed social behavior as well as repetitive/perseverative behavior, motor function, and anxiety levels. We tested the effects of optogenetic stimulation of D2R-SPNs in the nucleus accumbens (NAc) and pharmacological compounds repressing D2R-SPN. RESULTS Targeted deletion of D1R-SPNs in the NAc blunted social behavior in mice, facilitated motor skill learning, and increased anxiety levels. These behaviors were normalized by pharmacological inhibition of D2R-SPN, which also repressed transcription in the efferent nucleus, the ventral pallidum. Ablation of D1R-SPNs in the dorsal striatum had no impact on social behavior but impaired motor skill learning and decreased anxiety levels. Deletion of D2R-SPNs in the NAc produced motor stereotypies but facilitated social behavior and impaired motor skill learning. We mimicked excessive D2R-SPN activity by optically stimulating D2R-SPNs in the NAc and observed a severe deficit in social interaction that was prevented by D2R-SPN pharmacological inhibition. CONCLUSIONS Repressing D2R-SPN activity may represent a promising therapeutic strategy to relieve social deficits in neuropsychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Julie Le Merrer
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Unité Mixte de Recherche Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 7247, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement 0085, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France; iBrain, Unité Mixte de Recherche 1253 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université de Tours, Tours, France.
| | - Bérangère Detraux
- Neurophy Lab, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Jorge Gandía
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Unité Mixte de Recherche Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 7247, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement 0085, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France
| | - Aurélie De Groote
- Neurophy Lab, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium
| | - Mathieu Fonteneau
- iBrain, Unité Mixte de Recherche 1253 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université de Tours, Tours, France
| | - Alban de Kerchove d'Exaerde
- Neurophy Lab, ULB Neuroscience Institute, Université Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium; WELBIO, Wavre, Belgium.
| | - Jérôme A J Becker
- Physiologie de la Reproduction et des Comportements, Unité Mixte de Recherche Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 7247, Institut National de Recherche pour l'Agriculture, l'Alimentation et l'Environnement 0085, Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Université de Tours, Nouzilly, France; iBrain, Unité Mixte de Recherche 1253 Institut National de la Santé et de la Recherche Médicale, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Faculté des Sciences et Techniques, Université de Tours, Tours, France
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5
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Kent J, Pinkham A. Cerebral and cerebellar correlates of social cognitive impairment in schizophrenia. Prog Neuropsychopharmacol Biol Psychiatry 2024; 128:110850. [PMID: 37657639 DOI: 10.1016/j.pnpbp.2023.110850] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2023] [Revised: 07/26/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/03/2023]
Abstract
Social cognition is a broad construct encompassing the ways in which individuals perceive, process, and use information about other people. Social cognition involves both lower- and higher-level processes such as emotion recognition and theory of mind, respectively. Social cognitive impairments have been repeatedly demonstrated in schizophrenia spectrum illnesses and, crucially, are related to functional outcomes. In this review, we summarize the literature investigating the brain networks implicated in social cognitive impairments in schizophrenia spectrum illnesses. In addition to cortical and limbic loci and networks, we also discuss evidence for cerebellar contributions to social cognitive impairment in this population. We conclude by synthesizing these two literatures, with an emphasis on current knowledge gaps, particularly in regard to cerebellar influences, and future directions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jerillyn Kent
- Department of Psychology, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States
| | - Amy Pinkham
- Department of Psychology, School of Behavioral and Brain Sciences, The University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, United States.
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6
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Delgado MR, Fareri DS, Chang LJ. Characterizing the mechanisms of social connection. Neuron 2023; 111:3911-3925. [PMID: 37804834 PMCID: PMC10842352 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2023.09.012] [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: 03/26/2023] [Revised: 08/07/2023] [Accepted: 09/08/2023] [Indexed: 10/09/2023]
Abstract
Understanding how individuals form and maintain strong social networks has emerged as a significant public health priority as a result of the increased focus on the epidemic of loneliness and the myriad protective benefits conferred by social connection. In this review, we highlight the psychological and neural mechanisms that enable us to connect with others, which in turn help buffer against the consequences of stress and isolation. Central to this process is the experience of rewards derived from positive social interactions, which encourage the sharing of perspectives and preferences that unite individuals. Sharing affective states with others helps us to align our understanding of the world with another's, thereby continuing to reinforce bonds and strengthen relationships. These psychological processes depend on neural systems supporting reward and social cognitive function. Lastly, we also consider limitations associated with pursuing healthy social connections and outline potential avenues of future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mauricio R Delgado
- Department of Psychology, Rutgers University-Newark, Newark, NJ 07102, USA.
| | - Dominic S Fareri
- Gordon F. Derner School of Psychology, Adelphi University, Garden City, NY 11530, USA
| | - Luke J Chang
- Consortium for Interacting Minds, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH 03755, USA
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7
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Zhang H, Chen K, Bao J, Wu H. Oxytocin enhances the triangular association among behavior, resting-state, and task-state functional connectivity. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:6074-6089. [PMID: 37771300 PMCID: PMC10619367 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26498] [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: 02/15/2023] [Revised: 09/12/2023] [Accepted: 09/15/2023] [Indexed: 09/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Considerable advances in the role of oxytocin (OT) effect on behavior and the brain network have been made, but the effect of OT on the association between inter-individual differences in functional connectivity (FC) and behavior is elusive. Here, by using a face-perception task and multiple connectome-based predictive models, we aimed to (1) determine whether OT could enhance the association among behavioral performance, resting-state FC (rsFC), and task-state FC (tsFC) and (2) if so, explore the role of OT in enhancing this triangular association. We found that in the OT group, the prediction performance of using rsFC or tsFC to predict task behavior was higher than that of the PL group. Additionally, the correlation coefficient between rsFC and tsFC was substantially higher in the OT group than in the PL group. The strength of these associations could be partly explained by OT altering the brain's FCs related to social cognition and face perception in both the resting and task states, mainly in brain regions such as the limbic system, prefrontal cortex, temporal poles, and temporoparietal junction. Taken together, these results provide novel evidence and a corresponding mechanism for how neuropeptides cause increased associations among inter-individual differences across different levels (e.g., behavior and large-scale brain networks in both resting and task-state), and may inspire future research on the role of neuropeptides in the cross levels association of both clinical and nonclinical use.
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Affiliation(s)
- Haoming Zhang
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of PsychologyUniversity of MacauMacauChina
| | - Kun Chen
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of PsychologyUniversity of MacauMacauChina
| | - Jin Bao
- Shenzhen Neher Neural Plasticity Laboratory, Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute, Shenzhen Institute of Advanced TechnologyChinese Academy of Sciences (CAS)ShenzhenChina
- Shenzhen‐Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science‐Shenzhen Fundamental Research InstitutionsShenzhenChina
| | - Haiyan Wu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of PsychologyUniversity of MacauMacauChina
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8
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Tan SHJ, Wong JN, Teo WP. Is neuroimaging ready for the classroom? A systematic review of hyperscanning studies in learning. Neuroimage 2023; 281:120367. [PMID: 37689175 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.120367] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 08/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/06/2023] [Indexed: 09/11/2023] Open
Abstract
Whether education research can be informed by findings from neuroscience studies has been hotly debated since Bruer's (1997) famous claim that neuroscience and education are "a bridge too far". However, this claim came before recent advancements in portable electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) technologies, and second-person neuroscience techniques that brought about significant headway in understanding instructor-learner interactions in the classroom. To explore whether neuroscience and education are still two very separate fields, we systematically review 15 hyperscanning studies that were conducted in real-world classrooms or that implemented a teaching-learning task to investigate instructor-learner dynamics. Findings from this investigation illustrate that inter-brain synchrony between instructor and learner is an additional and valuable dimension to understand the complex web of instructor- and learner-related variables that influence learning. Importantly, these findings demonstrate the possibility of conducting real-world classroom studies with portable neuroimaging techniques and highlight the potential of such studies in providing translatable real-world implications. Once thought of as incompatible, a successful coupling between neuroscience and education is now within sight.
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Affiliation(s)
- S H Jessica Tan
- Science of Learning in Education Centre, Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
| | - Jin Nen Wong
- Science of Learning in Education Centre, Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
| | - Wei-Peng Teo
- Science of Learning in Education Centre, Office of Education Research, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore; Physical Education and Sport Science Academic Group, National Institute of Education, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore
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9
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Sun S, Yu H, Yu R, Wang S. Functional connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex underlies processing of emotion ambiguity. Transl Psychiatry 2023; 13:334. [PMID: 37898626 PMCID: PMC10613296 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-023-02625-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2023] [Revised: 09/27/2023] [Accepted: 10/06/2023] [Indexed: 10/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Processing facial expressions of emotion draws on a distributed brain network. In particular, judging ambiguous facial emotions involves coordination between multiple brain areas. Here, we applied multimodal functional connectivity analysis to achieve network-level understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying perceptual ambiguity in facial expressions. We found directional effective connectivity between the amygdala, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), and ventromedial PFC, supporting both bottom-up affective processes for ambiguity representation/perception and top-down cognitive processes for ambiguity resolution/decision. Direct recordings from the human neurosurgical patients showed that the responses of amygdala and dmPFC neurons were modulated by the level of emotion ambiguity, and amygdala neurons responded earlier than dmPFC neurons, reflecting the bottom-up process for ambiguity processing. We further found parietal-frontal coherence and delta-alpha cross-frequency coupling involved in encoding emotion ambiguity. We replicated the EEG coherence result using independent experiments and further showed modulation of the coherence. EEG source connectivity revealed that the dmPFC top-down regulated the activities in other brain regions. Lastly, we showed altered behavioral responses in neuropsychiatric patients who may have dysfunctions in amygdala-PFC functional connectivity. Together, using multimodal experimental and analytical approaches, we have delineated a neural network that underlies processing of emotion ambiguity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sai Sun
- Frontier Research Institute for Interdisciplinary Sciences, Tohoku University 6-3 Aramaki aza Aoba, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan.
- Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai, 980-8577, Japan.
| | - Hongbo Yu
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA, 93106, USA
| | - Rongjun Yu
- Department of Management, Marketing, and Information Systems, Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong, China
| | - Shuo Wang
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO, 63110, USA.
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10
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Baumgartner NE, Biraud MC, Lucas EK. Sex differences in socioemotional behavior and changes in ventral hippocampal transcription across aging in C57Bl/6J mice. Neurobiol Aging 2023; 130:141-153. [PMID: 37524006 PMCID: PMC10629502 DOI: 10.1016/j.neurobiolaging.2023.05.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/12/2023] [Revised: 05/01/2023] [Accepted: 05/02/2023] [Indexed: 08/02/2023]
Abstract
Socioemotional health is positively correlated with improved cognitive and physical aging. Despite known sex differences in socioemotional behaviors and the trajectory of aging, the interactive effects between sex and aging on socioemotional outcomes are poorly understood. We performed the most comprehensive assessment of sex differences in socioemotional behaviors in C57Bl/6J mice across aging to date. Compared to males, females exhibited decreased anxiety-like behavior and social preference but increased social recognition. With age, anxiety-like behavior, cued threat memory generalization, and social preference increased in both sexes. To investigate potential neural mechanisms underlying these behavioral changes, we analyzed transcriptional neuropathology markers in the ventral hippocampus and found age-related changes in genes related to activated microglia, angiogenesis, and cytokines. Sex differences emerged in the timing, direction, and magnitude of these changes, independent of reproductive senescence in aged females. Interestingly, female-specific upregulation of autophagy-related genes correlated with age-related behavioral changes selectively in females. These novel findings reveal critical sex differences in trajectories of ventral hippocampal aging that may contribute to sex- and age-related differences in socioemotional outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nina E Baumgartner
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Mandy C Biraud
- Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - Elizabeth K Lucas
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Neurobiology, Heersink School of Medicine, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL, USA; Department of Molecular Biomedical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
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11
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Guo M, Sun L. From rodents to humans: Rodent behavioral paradigms for social behavioral disorders. Brain Circ 2023; 9:154-161. [PMID: 38020957 PMCID: PMC10679632 DOI: 10.4103/bc.bc_48_23] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/11/2023] [Revised: 08/06/2023] [Accepted: 08/09/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Social cognition guides social behavior. Subjects with proper social cognition should be able to: (1) have reasonable social motivation, (2) recognize other people and infer their intentions, and (3) weigh social hierarchies and other values. The choice of appropriate behavioral paradigms enables the use of rodents to study social behavior disorders in humans, thus enabling research to go deeper into neural mechanisms. This paper reviews commonly used rodent behavioral paradigms in studies of social behavior disorders. We focused specifically on sorting out ways to transfer the study of human social behavior to rodents through behavioral paradigms.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mingyue Guo
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Ministry of Science and Technology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
| | - Le Sun
- Collaborative Innovation Center for Brain Disorders, Beijing Institute of Brain Disorders, Laboratory of Brain Disorders, Ministry of Science and Technology, Capital Medical University, Beijing, China
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12
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Gavazzi G, Noferini C, Benedetti V, Cotugno M, Giovannelli F, Caldara R, Mascalchi M, Viggiano MP. Cultural Differences in Inhibitory Control: An ALE Meta-Analysis. Brain Sci 2023; 13:907. [PMID: 37371385 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13060907] [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: 04/25/2023] [Revised: 05/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/02/2023] [Indexed: 06/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Culture greatly influences our attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors, affecting how we communicate and make decisions. There is an ongoing debate regarding the belief that people from Eastern cultures possess greater self-control abilities when compared to people from Western cultures. In this study, we conducted a meta-analysis using the Activation Likelihood Estimation (ALE) algorithm to compare 30 studies (719 subjects, 373 foci) that used fMRI to investigate the performance in Go-Nogo and Stop Signal Tasks of participants from Western and/or Eastern countries. Our meta-analysis found differences between the networks activated in Eastern and Western culture participants. The right prefrontal cortex showed distinct patterns, with the Inferior Frontal gyrus more active in the Eastern group and the middle and superior frontal gyri more active in the Western group. Our findings suggest that Eastern culture subjects have a higher tendency to activate brain regions involved in proactive inhibitory control, while Western culture subjects rely more on reactive inhibitory brain regions during cognitive control tasks. This implies that proactive inhibition may play a crucial role in promoting the collective and interdependent behavior typical of Eastern cultures, while reactive inhibition may be more important for efficient cognitive control in subjects of Western cultures that prioritize individualism and independence.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gioele Gavazzi
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - Chiara Noferini
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
- European Laboratory for Non-Linear Spectroscopy, University of Florence, Sesto Fiorentino, 50019 Florence, Italy
| | - Viola Benedetti
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - Maria Cotugno
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - Fabio Giovannelli
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - Roberto Caldara
- Eye and Brain Mapping Laboratory (iBMLab), Department of Psychology, University of Fribourg, 1700 Fribourg, Switzerland
| | - Mario Mascalchi
- "Mario Serio" Department of Experimental and Clinical Biomedical Sciences, University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
| | - Maria Pia Viggiano
- Department of Neuroscience, Psychology, Drug Research and Child's Health (NEUROFARBA), University of Florence, 50135 Florence, Italy
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13
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Chen Y, Cao H, Liu S, Zhang B, Zhao G, Zhang Z, Li S, Li H, Yu X, Deng H. Brain Structure Measurements Predict Individualized Treatment Outcome of 12-Week Antipsychotic Monotherapies in First-episode Schizophrenia. Schizophr Bull 2023; 49:697-705. [PMID: 37010371 PMCID: PMC10154710 DOI: 10.1093/schbul/sbad043] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND AND HYPOTHESIS Early prediction of treatment response to antipsychotics in schizophrenia remains a challenge in clinical practice. This study aimed to investigate if brain morphometries including gray matter volume and cortical thickness could serve as potential predictive biomarkers in first-episode schizophrenia. STUDY DESIGN Sixty-eight drug-naïve first-episode patients underwent baseline structural MRI scans and were subsequently randomized to receive a single antipsychotic throughout the first 12 weeks. Assessments for symptoms and social functioning were conducted by eight "core symptoms" selected from the Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS-8) and the Personal and Social performance scale (PSP) multiple times during follow-ups. Treatment outcome was evaluated as subject-specific slope coefficients for PANSS-8 and PSP scores using linear mixed model. LASSO regression model were conducted to examine the performance of baseline gray matter volume and cortical thickness in prediction of individualized treatment outcome. STUDY RESULTS The study showed that individual brain morphometries at baseline, especially the orbitofrontal, temporal and parietal cortex, pallidum and amygdala, significantly predicted 12-week treatment outcome of PANSS-8 (r[predicted vs observed] = 0.49, P = .001) and PSP (r[predicted vs observed] = 0.40, P = .003) in first-episode schizophrenia. Moreover, the gray matter volume performed better than cortical thickness in the prediction the symptom changes (P = .034), while cortical thickness outperformed gray matter volume in the prediction of outcome of social functioning (P = .029). CONCLUSIONS These findings provide initial evidence that brain morphometry have potential to be used as prognostic predictors for antipsychotic response in patients, encouraging the future investigation of the translational value of these measures in precision psychiatry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ying Chen
- Huaxi MR Research Center (HMRRC), Department of Radiology, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Hope Recovery and Rehabilitation Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Hengyi Cao
- Center for Psychiatric Neuroscience, Feinstein Institutes for Medical Research, Manhasset, NY, USA
- Division of Psychiatry Research, Zucker Hillside Hospital, Glen Oaks, NY, USA
| | - Shanming Liu
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Bo Zhang
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | | | - Zhuoqiu Zhang
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Shuiying Li
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Haiming Li
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
| | - Xin Yu
- Peking University Sixth Hospital, Peking University Institute of Mental Health, NHC Key Laboratory of Mental Health (Peking University), National Clinical Research Center for Mental Disorders (Peking University Sixth Hospital), Beijing, China
| | - Hong Deng
- Hope Recovery and Rehabilitation Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
- Mental Health Center, West China Hospital of Sichuan University, Chengdu, China
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14
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Wang S, Li X. A revisit of the amygdala theory of autism: Twenty years after. Neuropsychologia 2023; 183:108519. [PMID: 36803966 PMCID: PMC10824605 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108519] [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: 07/09/2022] [Revised: 01/23/2023] [Accepted: 02/16/2023] [Indexed: 02/19/2023]
Abstract
The human amygdala has long been implicated to play a key role in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Yet it remains unclear to what extent the amygdala accounts for the social dysfunctions in ASD. Here, we review studies that investigate the relationship between amygdala function and ASD. We focus on studies that employ the same task and stimuli to directly compare people with ASD and patients with focal amygdala lesions, and we also discuss functional data associated with these studies. We show that the amygdala can only account for a limited number of deficits in ASD (primarily face perception tasks but not social attention tasks), a network view is, therefore, more appropriate. We next discuss atypical brain connectivity in ASD, factors that can explain such atypical brain connectivity, and novel tools to analyze brain connectivity. Lastly, we discuss new opportunities from multimodal neuroimaging with data fusion and human single-neuron recordings that can enable us to better understand the neural underpinnings of social dysfunctions in ASD. Together, the influential amygdala theory of autism should be extended with emerging data-driven scientific discoveries such as machine learning-based surrogate models to a broader framework that considers brain connectivity at the global scale.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shuo Wang
- Department of Radiology, Washington University in St. Louis, St. Louis, MO 63110, USA; Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
| | - Xin Li
- Lane Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering, West Virginia University, Morgantown, WV 26506, USA.
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15
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Home alone: A population neuroscience investigation of brain morphology substrates. Neuroimage 2023; 269:119936. [PMID: 36781113 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119936] [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: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 02/07/2023] [Accepted: 02/08/2023] [Indexed: 02/13/2023] Open
Abstract
As a social species, ready exchange with peers is a pivotal asset - our "social capital". Yet, single-person households have come to pervade metropolitan cities worldwide, with unknown consequences in the long run. Here, we systematically explore the morphological manifestations associated with singular living in ∼40,000 UK Biobank participants. The uncovered population-level signature spotlights the highly associative default mode network, in addition to findings such as in the amygdala central, cortical and corticoamygdaloid nuclei groups, as well as the hippocampal fimbria and dentate gyrus. Both positive effects, equating to greater gray matter volume associated with living alone, and negative effects, which can be interpreted as greater gray matter associations with not living alone, were found across the cortex and subcortical structures Sex-stratified analyses revealed male-specific neural substrates, including somatomotor, saliency and visual systems, while female-specific neural substrates centered on the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex. In line with our demographic profiling results, the discovered neural pattern of living alone is potentially linked to alcohol and tobacco consumption, anxiety, sleep quality as well as daily TV watching. The persistent trend for solitary living will require new answers from public-health decision makers. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Living alone has profound consequences for mental and physical health. Despite this, there has been a rapid increase in single-person households worldwide, with the long-term consequences yet unknown. In the largest study of its kind, we investigate how the objective lack of everyday social interaction, through living alone, manifests in the brain. Our population neuroscience approach uncovered a gray matter signature that converged on the 'default network', alongside targeted subcortical, sex and demographic profiling analyses. The human urge for social relationships is highlighted by the evolving COVID-19 pandemic. Better understanding of how social isolation relates to the brain will influence health and social policy decision-making of pandemic planning, as well as social interventions in light of global shifts in houseful structures.
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16
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McCommon SA, Turk B, Roach A, Jelsone-Swain L. Acetaminophen changes Mu rhythm power related to pain empathy. Neuropsychologia 2023; 184:108544. [PMID: 36948452 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108544] [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: 05/12/2022] [Revised: 01/30/2023] [Accepted: 03/14/2023] [Indexed: 03/24/2023]
Abstract
Empathy is an intricate ability that entails the subjective feeling and understanding of emotions someone else may be experiencing. Acetaminophen, the active ingredient found in Tylenol, is among the most common pain medications consumed. There is new evidence, however, that suggests this common analgesic may also dampen empathic processes. However, no previous study has investigated the effect acetaminophen may have on pain empathy or mu power during a pain empathy task. Therefore, participants were randomly assigned to either an experimental (acetaminophen) or control (sugar) group in a double-blinded experimental research design aimed to measure mu power (using EEG) and behavioral responses to painful and non-painful images. Participants in the experimental group were administered 1000 mg of acetaminophen, and it was verified that participants were unaware which group they were assigned. We found that mu suppression was greater in the acetaminophen group, which was strongest at electrode C3. Additionally, mu power differences between painful and non-painful images were related to trait empathy, and mu power during the painful images were positively correlated with empathy scores. Results from this study suggest that in addition to reducing physical pain, acetaminophen may also change the brain response when perceiving others in pain. The implications of these findings could possibly lead to changes in how we prescribe and administer this common drug.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sara Anne McCommon
- Department of Psychology University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Brooke Turk
- Department of Psychology University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Alexandra Roach
- Department of Psychology University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA
| | - Laura Jelsone-Swain
- Department of Psychology University of South Carolina Aiken, 471 University Parkway, Aiken, SC, 29801, USA.
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17
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Mundy P. Research on social attention in autism and the challenges of the research domain criteria (RDoC) framework. Autism Res 2023; 16:697-712. [PMID: 36932883 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2910] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 02/22/2023] [Indexed: 03/19/2023]
Abstract
The fuzzy nature of categories of psychopathology, such as autism, leads to significant research challenges. Alternatively, focusing research on the study of a common set of important and well-defined psychological constructs across psychiatric conditions may make the fundamental etiological processes of psychopathology easier to discern and treat (Cuthbert, 2022). The development of the research domain criteria (RDoC) framework is designed to guide this new research approach (Insel et al., 2010). However, progress in research may be expected to continually refine and reorganize the understanding of the specifics of these mental processes (Cuthbert & Insel, 2013). Moreover, knowledge gleaned from the study of both normative and atypical development can be mutually informative in the evolution of our understanding of these fundamental processes. A case in point is the study of social attention. This Autism 101 commentary provides an educational summary of research over the last few decades indicates that social attention is major construct in the study of human social-cognitive development, autism and other forms of psychopathology. The commentary also describes how this research can inform the Social Process dimension of the RDoC framework.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Mundy
- School of Education, Department of Psychiatry and the MIND Institute, University of California at Davis, Davis, California, USA
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18
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Wang Y, Wang R, Wu H. The role of oxytocin in modulating self-other distinction in human brain: a pharmacological fMRI study. Cereb Cortex 2023; 33:1708-1725. [PMID: 35483708 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac167] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/01/2022] [Revised: 04/03/2022] [Accepted: 04/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
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.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuanchen Wang
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, N21 Research Building, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078 , China.,Department of Psychology, E21B Humanities and Social Sciences Building, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China.,Department of Biomedical Informatics, Harvard Medical School, 10 Shattuck Street, Boston, MA 02115, USA
| | - Ruien Wang
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, N21 Research Building, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078 , China.,Department of Psychology, E21B Humanities and Social Sciences Building, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
| | - Haiyan Wu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, N21 Research Building, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078 , China.,Department of Psychology, E21B Humanities and Social Sciences Building, University of Macau, Avenida da Universidade, Taipa, Macau SAR 999078, China
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19
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Caria A. A Hypothalamic Perspective of Human Socioemotional Behavior. Neuroscientist 2023:10738584221149647. [PMID: 36703298 DOI: 10.1177/10738584221149647] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/28/2023]
Abstract
Historical evidence from stimulation and lesion studies in animals and humans demonstrated a close association between the hypothalamus and typical and atypical socioemotional behavior. A central hypothalamic contribution to regulation of socioemotional responses was also provided indirectly by studies on oxytocin and arginine vasopressin. However, a limited number of studies have so far directly investigated the contribution of the hypothalamus in human socioemotional behavior. To reconsider the functional role of the evolutionarily conserved hypothalamic region in regulating human social behavior, here I provide a synthesis of neuroimaging investigations showing that the hypothalamus is involved in multiple and diverse facets of human socioemotional behavior through widespread functional interactions with other cortical and subcortical regions. These neuroimaging findings are then integrated with recent optogenetics studies in animals demonstrating that the hypothalamus plays a more active role in eliciting socioemotional responses and is not simply a downstream effector of higher-level brain systems. Building on the aforementioned evidence, the hypothalamus is argued to substantially contribute to a continuum of human socioemotional behaviors promoting survival and preservation of the species that extends from exploratory and approaching responses facilitating social bonding to aggressive and avoidance responses aimed to protect and defend formed relationships.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Caria
- Department of Psychology and Cognitive Sciences, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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20
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Sun S, Yu H, Yu R, Wang S. Functional connectivity between the amygdala and prefrontal cortex underlies processing of emotion ambiguity. BIORXIV : THE PREPRINT SERVER FOR BIOLOGY 2023:2023.01.24.525116. [PMID: 36747862 PMCID: PMC9900805 DOI: 10.1101/2023.01.24.525116] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Processing facial expressions of emotion draws on a distributed brain network. In particular, judging ambiguous facial emotions involves coordination between multiple brain areas. Here, we applied multimodal functional connectivity analysis to achieve network-level understanding of the neural mechanisms underlying perceptual ambiguity in facial expressions. We found directional effective connectivity between the amygdala, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), and ventromedial PFC, supporting both bottom-up affective processes for ambiguity representation/perception and top-down cognitive processes for ambiguity resolution/decision. Direct recordings from the human neurosurgical patients showed that the responses of amygdala and dmPFC neurons were modulated by the level of emotion ambiguity, and amygdala neurons responded earlier than dmPFC neurons, reflecting the bottom-up process for ambiguity processing. We further found parietal-frontal coherence and delta-alpha cross-frequency coupling involved in encoding emotion ambiguity. We replicated the EEG coherence result using independent experiments and further showed modulation of the coherence. EEG source connectivity revealed that the dmPFC top-down regulated the activities in other brain regions. Lastly, we showed altered behavioral responses in neuropsychiatric patients who may have dysfunctions in amygdala-PFC functional connectivity. Together, using multimodal experimental and analytical approaches, we have delineated a neural network that underlies processing of emotion ambiguity. Significance Statement A large number of different brain regions participate in emotion processing. However, it remains elusive how these brain regions interact and coordinate with each other and collectively encode emotions, especially when the task requires orchestration between different brain areas. In this study, we employed multimodal approaches that well complemented each other to comprehensively study the neural mechanisms of emotion ambiguity. Our results provided a systematic understanding of the amygdala-PFC network underlying emotion ambiguity with fMRI-based connectivity, EEG coordination of cortical regions, synchronization of brain rhythms, directed information flow of the source signals, and latency of single-neuron responses. Our results further shed light on neuropsychiatric patients who have abnormal amygdala-PFC connectivity.
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21
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Levy J, Jääskeläinen IP, Taylor MJ. Editorial: Magnetoencephalography for social science. Front Syst Neurosci 2023; 16:1105923. [PMID: 36685288 PMCID: PMC9846595 DOI: 10.3389/fnsys.2022.1105923] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/23/2022] [Accepted: 12/06/2022] [Indexed: 01/06/2023] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Levy
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland,Ivcher School of Psychology, Reichman University, Herzliya, Israel,*Correspondence: Jonathan Levy ✉
| | - Iiro P. Jääskeläinen
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, Espoo, Finland
| | - Margot J. Taylor
- Departments of Medical Imaging and Psychology, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada,Diagnostic Imaging, Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, ON, Canada
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22
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Thakur K, T K S, Singh SK, V R, Rawale DG, Adusumalli SR, Kalra N, Shukla S, Mishra RK, Rai V. Human Behavior-Inspired Linchpin-Directed Catalysis for Traceless Precision Labeling of Lysine in Native Proteins. Bioconjug Chem 2022; 33:2370-2380. [PMID: 36383773 DOI: 10.1021/acs.bioconjchem.2c00454] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
The complex social ecosystem regulates the spectrum of human behavior. However, it becomes relatively easier to understand if we disintegrate the contributing factors, such as locality and interacting partners. Interestingly, it draws remarkable similarity with the behavior of a residue placed in a social setup of functional groups in a protein. Can it inspire principles for creating a unique environment for the precision engineering of proteins? We demonstrate that localization-regulated interacting partner(s) could render precise and traceless single-site modification of structurally diverse native proteins. The method targets a combination of high-frequency Lys residues through an array of reversible and irreversible reactions. However, excellent simultaneous control over chemoselectivity, site selectivity, and modularity ensures that the user-friendly protocol renders acyl group installation, including post-translational modifications (PTMs), on a single Lys. Besides, it offers a chemically orthogonal handle for the installation of probes. Also, a purification protocol integration delivers analytically pure single-site tagged protein bioconjugates. The precise labeling of a surface Lys residue ensures that the structure and enzymatic activities remain conserved post-bioconjugation. For example, the precise modification of insulin does not affect its uptake and downstream signaling pathway. Further, the method enables the synthesis of homogeneous antibody-fluorophore and antibody-drug conjugates (AFC and ADC; K183 and K249 labeling). The trastuzumab-rhodamine B conjugate displays excellent serum stability along with antigen-specific cellular imaging. Further, the trastuzumab-emtansine conjugate offers highly specific antiproliferative activity toward HER-2 positive SKBR-3 breast cancer cells. This work validates that disintegrate theory can create a comprehensive platform to enrich the chemical toolbox to meet the technological demands at the chemistry, biology, and medicine interface.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Neetu Kalra
- School of Bioengineering, VIT Bhopal, Bhopal 466114, Madhya Pradesh, India
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23
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Psychopathic and autistic traits differentially influence the neural mechanisms of social cognition from communication signals. Transl Psychiatry 2022; 12:494. [PMID: 36446775 PMCID: PMC9709037 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-022-02260-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Revised: 11/15/2022] [Accepted: 11/17/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychopathy is associated with severe deviations in social behavior and cognition. While previous research described such cognitive and neural alterations in the processing of rather specific social information from human expressions, some open questions remain concerning central and differential neurocognitive deficits underlying psychopathic behavior. Here we investigated three rather unexplored factors to explain these deficits, first, by assessing psychopathy subtypes in social cognition, second, by investigating the discrimination of social communication sounds (speech, non-speech) from other non-social sounds, and third, by determining the neural overlap in social cognition impairments with autistic traits, given potential common deficits in the processing of communicative voice signals. The study was exploratory with a focus on how psychopathic and autistic traits differentially influence the function of social cognitive and affective brain networks in response to social voice stimuli. We used a parametric data analysis approach from a sample of 113 participants (47 male, 66 female) with ages ranging between 18 and 40 years (mean 25.59, SD 4.79). Our data revealed four important findings. First, we found a phenotypical overlap between secondary but not primary psychopathy with autistic traits. Second, primary psychopathy showed various neural deficits in neural voice processing nodes (speech, non-speech voices) and in brain systems for social cognition (mirroring, mentalizing, empathy, emotional contagion). Primary psychopathy also showed deficits in the basal ganglia (BG) system that seems specific to the social decoding of communicative voice signals. Third, neural deviations in secondary psychopathy were restricted to social mirroring and mentalizing impairments, but with additional and so far undescribed deficits at the level of auditory sensory processing, potentially concerning deficits in ventral auditory stream mechanisms (auditory object identification). Fourth, high autistic traits also revealed neural deviations in sensory cortices, but rather in the dorsal auditory processing streams (communicative context encoding). Taken together, social cognition of voice signals shows considerable deviations in psychopathy, with differential and newly described deficits in the BG system in primary psychopathy and at the neural level of sensory processing in secondary psychopathy. These deficits seem especially triggered during the social cognition from vocal communication signals.
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24
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Beadle JN, Heller A, Rosenbaum RS, Davidson PSR, Tranel D, Duff M. Amygdala but not hippocampal damage associated with smaller social network size. Neuropsychologia 2022; 174:108311. [PMID: 35810880 PMCID: PMC9887793 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108311] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
Social network size has been associated with complex socio-cognitive processes (e.g., memory, perspective taking). Supporting this idea, recent neuroimaging studies in healthy adults have reported a relationship between social network size and brain volumes in regions related to memory and social cognition (e.g., hippocampus, amygdala). Lesion-deficit studies in neurological patients are rare and have been inconclusive due to differences in participant sampling and measurement. The present study uses a multiple case study approach. We investigated patients with focal damage to the hippocampus and/or amygdala (two neural structures thought to be critical for social networks), and examined the patients' social network size, loneliness, and life satisfaction relative to a non-injured comparison group. Patients with amygdalar damage had smaller social networks and reported higher levels of loneliness and lower life satisfaction, on average, than comparison participants. Patients with damage to the hippocampus reported more friends than the comparison participants, but did not differ in their ratings of loneliness or life satisfaction. This lesion study offers new evidence that the amygdala is critical for social networks, life satisfaction, and reduced loneliness.
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Affiliation(s)
- Janelle N Beadle
- Department of Gerontology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA.
| | - Abi Heller
- Department of Gerontology, University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA
| | - R Shayna Rosenbaum
- Department of Psychology and Vision: Science to Applications (VISTA) Program, York University, Canada
| | | | - Daniel Tranel
- Departments of Neurology and Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, USA
| | - Melissa Duff
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University, USA
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25
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Wei D, Tsheringla S, McPartland JC, Allsop AZASA. Combinatorial approaches for treating neuropsychiatric social impairment. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2022; 377:20210051. [PMID: 35858103 PMCID: PMC9274330 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2021.0051] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2021] [Accepted: 05/13/2022] [Indexed: 01/30/2023] Open
Abstract
Social behaviour is an essential component of human life and deficits in social function are seen across multiple psychiatric conditions with high morbidity. However, there are currently no FDA-approved treatments for social dysfunction. Since social cognition and behaviour rely on multiple signalling processes acting in concert across various neural networks, treatments aimed at social function may inherently require a combinatorial approach. Here, we describe the social neurobiology of the oxytocin and endocannabinoid signalling systems as well as translational evidence for their use in treating symptoms in the social domain. We leverage this systems neurobiology to propose a network-based framework that involves pharmacology, psychotherapy, non-invasive brain stimulation and social skills training to combinatorially target trans-diagnostic social impairment. Lastly, we discuss the combined use of oxytocin and endocannabinoids within our proposed framework as an illustrative strategy to treat specific aspects of social function. Using this framework provides a roadmap for actionable treatment strategies for neuropsychiatric social impairment. This article is part of the theme issue 'Interplays between oxytocin and other neuromodulators in shaping complex social behaviours'.
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Affiliation(s)
- Don Wei
- Department of Psychiatry, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Wu Q, Huang Q, Liu C, Wu H. Oxytocin modulates social brain network correlations in resting and task state. Cereb Cortex 2022; 33:3607-3620. [PMID: 36005833 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhac295] [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: 05/16/2022] [Revised: 07/01/2022] [Accepted: 07/02/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The effects of oxytocin (OT) on the social brain can be tracked upon assessing the neural activity in resting and task states, and developing a system-level framework for characterizing the state-based functional relationships of its distinct effect. Here, we contribute to this framework by examining how OT modulates social brain network correlations during resting and task states, using fMRI. First, we investigated network activation, followed by an analysis of the relationships between networks and individual differences. Subsequently, we evaluated the functional connectivity in both states. Finally, the relationship between networks across states was represented by the predictive power of networks in the resting state for task-evoked activities. The differences in the predicted accuracy between the subjects displayed individual variations in this relationship. Our results showed that the activity of the dorsal default mode network in the resting state had the largest predictive power for task-evoked activation of the precuneus network (PN) only in the OT group. The results also demonstrated that OT reduced the individual variation in PN in the prediction process. These findings suggest a distributed but modulatory effect of OT on the association between resting and task-dependent brain networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingyuan Wu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China.,State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Qi Huang
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Chao Liu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Haiyan Wu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Macau 999078, China
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A neuronal social trait space for first impressions in the human amygdala and hippocampus. Mol Psychiatry 2022; 27:3501-3509. [PMID: 35672377 DOI: 10.1038/s41380-022-01583-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/28/2021] [Accepted: 04/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
Abstract
People instantaneously evaluate faces with significant agreement on evaluations of social traits. However, the neural basis for such rapid spontaneous face evaluation remains largely unknown. Here, we recorded from 490 neurons in the human amygdala and hippocampus and found that the neuronal activity was associated with the geometry of a social trait space. We further investigated the temporal evolution and modulation on the social trait representation, and we employed encoding and decoding models to reveal the critical social traits for the trait space. We also recorded from another 938 neurons and replicated our findings using different social traits. Together, our results suggest that there exists a neuronal population code for a comprehensive social trait space in the human amygdala and hippocampus that underlies spontaneous first impressions. Changes in such neuronal social trait space may have implications for the abnormal processing of social information observed in some neurological and psychiatric disorders.
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Jiang CC, Lin LS, Long S, Ke XY, Fukunaga K, Lu YM, Han F. Signalling pathways in autism spectrum disorder: mechanisms and therapeutic implications. Signal Transduct Target Ther 2022; 7:229. [PMID: 35817793 PMCID: PMC9273593 DOI: 10.1038/s41392-022-01081-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 20.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/01/2022] [Revised: 06/19/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is a prevalent and complex neurodevelopmental disorder which has strong genetic basis. Despite the rapidly rising incidence of autism, little is known about its aetiology, risk factors, and disease progression. There are currently neither validated biomarkers for diagnostic screening nor specific medication for autism. Over the last two decades, there have been remarkable advances in genetics, with hundreds of genes identified and validated as being associated with a high risk for autism. The convergence of neuroscience methods is becoming more widely recognized for its significance in elucidating the pathological mechanisms of autism. Efforts have been devoted to exploring the behavioural functions, key pathological mechanisms and potential treatments of autism. Here, as we highlight in this review, emerging evidence shows that signal transduction molecular events are involved in pathological processes such as transcription, translation, synaptic transmission, epigenetics and immunoinflammatory responses. This involvement has important implications for the discovery of precise molecular targets for autism. Moreover, we review recent insights into the mechanisms and clinical implications of signal transduction in autism from molecular, cellular, neural circuit, and neurobehavioural aspects. Finally, the challenges and future perspectives are discussed with regard to novel strategies predicated on the biological features of autism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chen-Chen Jiang
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Li-Shan Lin
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China
| | - Sen Long
- Department of Pharmacy, Hangzhou Seventh People's Hospital, Mental Health Center Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou, 310013, China
| | - Xiao-Yan Ke
- Child Mental Health Research Center, Nanjing Brain Hospital, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China
| | - Kohji Fukunaga
- Department of CNS Drug Innovation, Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Tohoku University, Sendai, 980-8578, Japan
| | - Ying-Mei Lu
- Department of Physiology, School of Basic Medical Sciences, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China.
| | - Feng Han
- International Joint Laboratory for Drug Target of Critical Illnesses; Key Laboratory of Cardiovascular & Cerebrovascular Medicine, School of Pharmacy, Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 211166, China. .,Institute of Brain Science, The Affiliated Brain Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Nanjing, 210029, China. .,Gusu School, Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou Municipal Hospital, The Affiliated Suzhou Hospital of Nanjing Medical University, Suzhou, 215002, China.
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Raucher-Chéné D, Lavigne KM, Makowski C, Lepage M. Altered Surface Area Covariance in the Mentalizing Network in Schizophrenia: Insight Into Theory of Mind Processing. BIOLOGICAL PSYCHIATRY. COGNITIVE NEUROSCIENCE AND NEUROIMAGING 2022; 7:706-715. [PMID: 32919946 DOI: 10.1016/j.bpsc.2020.06.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/27/2020] [Revised: 06/29/2020] [Accepted: 06/30/2020] [Indexed: 06/11/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Theory of mind (ToM), the cognitive capacity to attribute mental states to self and others, is robustly affected in schizophrenia. The neural substrates of ToM impairment have been largely studied with functional imaging, but little is known about structural abnormalities. We compared structural covariance (between-subjects correlations of brain regional measures) of magnetic resonance imaging-based cortical surface area between patients with schizophrenia and healthy control subjects and between schizophrenia subgroups based on the patients' ToM ability to examine ToM-specific effects on structural covariance in schizophrenia. METHODS T1-weighted structural images were acquired on a 3T magnetic resonance imaging scanner, and ToM was assessed with the Hinting Task for 104 patients with schizophrenia and 69 healthy control subjects. The sum of surface area was computed for 12 regions of interest selected and compared between groups to examine structural covariance within the often reported mentalizing network: rostral and caudal middle frontal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule, precuneus, and middle and superior temporal gyrus. High and low ToM groups were defined using a median split on the Hinting Task. RESULTS Cortical surface contraction was observed in the schizophrenia group, predominantly in temporoparietal regions. Patients with schizophrenia also exhibited significantly stronger covariance between the right rostral middle frontal gyrus and the right superior temporal gyrus than control subjects (r = 4.015; p < .001). Direct comparisons between high and low ToM subgroups revealed stronger contralateral frontotemporal covariances in the low ToM group. CONCLUSIONS Our results provide evidence for structural changes underlying ToM impairments in schizophrenia that need to be confirmed to develop new therapeutic perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Delphine Raucher-Chéné
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Cognition, Health, and Society Laboratory EA 6291, University of Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France; Academic Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital of Reims, Etablissement Public de Santé Mentale de la Marne, Reims, France
| | - Katie M Lavigne
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; McGill Centre for Integrative Neuroscience, Montreal Neurological Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada
| | - Carolina Makowski
- Center for Multimodal Imaging and Genetics, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California; Department of Radiology, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, La Jolla, California
| | - Martin Lepage
- Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada; Department of Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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Grannis C, Hung A, French RC, Mattson WI, Fu X, Hoskinson KR, Gerry Taylor H, Nelson EE. Multimodal classification of extremely preterm and term adolescents using the fusiform gyrus: A machine learning approach. Neuroimage Clin 2022; 35:103078. [PMID: 35687994 PMCID: PMC9189188 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2022.103078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2021] [Revised: 06/02/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 10/31/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Extremely preterm birth has been associated with atypical visual and neural processing of faces, as well as differences in gray matter structure in visual processing areas relative to full-term peers. In particular, the right fusiform gyrus, a core visual area involved in face processing, has been shown to have structural and functional differences between preterm and full-term individuals from childhood through early adulthood. The current study used multiple neuroimaging modalities to build a machine learning model based on the right fusiform gyrus to classify extremely preterm birth status. METHOD Extremely preterm adolescents (n = 20) and full-term peers (n = 24) underwent structural and functional magnetic resonance imaging. Group differences in gray matter density, measured via voxel-based morphometry (VBM), and blood-oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response to face stimuli were explored within the right fusiform. Using group difference clusters as seed regions, analyses investigating outgoing white matter streamlines, regional homogeneity, and functional connectivity during a face processing task and at rest were conducted. A data driven approach was utilized to determine the most discriminative combination of these features within a linear support vector machine classifier. RESULTS Group differences in two partially overlapping clusters emerged: one from the VBM analysis showing less density in the extremely preterm cohort and one from BOLD response to faces showing greater activation in the extremely preterm relative to full-term youth. A classifier fit to the data from the cluster identified in the BOLD analysis achieved an accuracy score of 88.64% when BOLD, gray matter density, regional homogeneity, and functional connectivity during the task and at rest were included. A classifier fit to the data from the cluster identified in the VBM analysis achieved an accuracy score of 95.45% when only BOLD, gray matter density, and regional homogeneity were included. CONCLUSION Consistent with previous findings, we observed neural differences in extremely preterm youth in an area that plays an important role in face processing. Multimodal analyses revealed differences in structure, function, and connectivity that, when taken together, accurately distinguish extremely preterm from full-term born youth. Our findings suggest a compensatory role of the fusiform where less dense gray matter is countered by increased local BOLD signal. Importantly, sub-threshold differences in many modalities within the same region were informative when distinguishing between extremely preterm and full-term youth.
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Affiliation(s)
- Connor Grannis
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States.
| | - Andy Hung
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Roberto C French
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Whitney I Mattson
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Xiaoxue Fu
- College of Education, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC, United States
| | - Kristen R Hoskinson
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University Wexner College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - H Gerry Taylor
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University Wexner College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, United States
| | - Eric E Nelson
- Center for Biobehavioral Health, Abigail Wexner Research Institute, Nationwide Children's Hospital, Columbus, OH, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Ohio State University Wexner College of Medicine, Columbus, OH, United States
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Dhand A, Podury A, Choudhry N, Narayanan S, Shin M, Mehl MR. Leveraging Social Networks for the Assessment and Management of Neurological Patients. Semin Neurol 2022; 42:136-148. [PMID: 35675821 PMCID: PMC9256089 DOI: 10.1055/s-0042-1744532] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/02/2022]
Abstract
Social networks are the persons surrounding a patient who provide support, circulate information, and influence health behaviors. For patients seen by neurologists, social networks are one of the most proximate social determinants of health that are actually accessible to clinicians, compared with wider social forces such as structural inequalities. We can measure social networks and related phenomena of social connection using a growing set of scalable and quantitative tools increasing familiarity with social network effects and mechanisms. This scientific approach is built on decades of neurobiological and psychological research highlighting the impact of the social environment on physical and mental well-being, nervous system structure, and neuro-recovery. Here, we review the biology and psychology of social networks, assessment methods including novel social sensors, and the design of network interventions and social therapeutics.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amar Dhand
- Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School, Network Science Institute, Northeastern University, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Archana Podury
- Harvard-MIT Health Sciences and Technology Program, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Niteesh Choudhry
- Harvard Medical School, Health Policy and Management, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, Massachusetts
| | - Shrikanth Narayanan
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California
| | - Min Shin
- Department of Computer Science, University of North Carolina at Charlotte, Charlotte, North Carolina
| | - Matthias R Mehl
- Department of Psychology, University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona
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Ramon-Duaso C, Conde-Moro AR, Busquets-Garcia A. Astroglial cannabinoid signaling and behavior. Glia 2022; 71:60-70. [PMID: 35293647 DOI: 10.1002/glia.24171] [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: 01/13/2022] [Revised: 03/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
In neuroscience, the explosion of innovative and advanced technical accomplishments is fundamental to understanding brain functioning. For example, the possibility to distinguish glial and neuronal activities at the synaptic level and/or the appearance of new genetic tools to specifically monitor and manipulate astroglial functions revealed that astrocytes are involved in several facets of behavioral control. In this sense, the discovery of functional presence of type-1 cannabinoid receptors in astrocytes has led to identify important behavioral responses mediated by this specific pool of cannabinoid receptors. Thus, astroglial type-1 cannabinoid receptors are in the perfect place to play a role in a complex scenario in which astrocytes sense neuronal activity, release gliotransmitters and modulate the activity of other neurons, ultimately controlling behavioral responses. In this review, we will describe the known behavioral implications of astroglial cannabinoid signaling and highlight exciting unexplored research avenues on how astroglial cannabinoid signaling could affect behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Carla Ramon-Duaso
- Cell-Type Mechanisms in Normal and Pathological Behavior Research Group, Neuroscience Programme, IMIM Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Ana Rocio Conde-Moro
- Cell-Type Mechanisms in Normal and Pathological Behavior Research Group, Neuroscience Programme, IMIM Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Arnau Busquets-Garcia
- Cell-Type Mechanisms in Normal and Pathological Behavior Research Group, Neuroscience Programme, IMIM Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain
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Choe KY, Bethlehem RAI, Safrin M, Dong H, Salman E, Li Y, Grinevich V, Golshani P, DeNardo LA, Peñagarikano O, Harris NG, Geschwind DH. Oxytocin normalizes altered circuit connectivity for social rescue of the Cntnap2 knockout mouse. Neuron 2022; 110:795-808.e6. [PMID: 34932941 PMCID: PMC8944915 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2021.11.031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2021] [Accepted: 11/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The neural basis of abnormal social behavior in autism spectrum disorders (ASDs) remains incompletely understood. Here we used two complementary but independent brain-wide mapping approaches, mouse resting-state fMRI and c-Fos-iDISCO+ imaging, to construct brain-wide activity and connectivity maps of the Cntnap2 knockout (KO) mouse model of ASD. At the macroscale level, we detected reduced functional coupling across social brain regions despite general patterns of hyperconnectivity across major brain structures. Oxytocin administration, which rescues social deficits in KO mice, strongly stimulated many brain areas and normalized connectivity patterns. Notably, chemogenetically triggered release of endogenous oxytocin strongly stimulated the nucleus accumbens (NAc), a forebrain nucleus implicated in social reward. Furthermore, NAc-targeted approaches to activate local oxytocin receptors sufficiently rescued their social deficits. Our findings establish circuit- and systems-level mechanisms of social deficits in Cntnap2 KO mice and reveal the NAc as a region that can be modulated by oxytocin to promote social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katrina Y Choe
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON L8S 4K1, Canada.
| | - Richard A I Bethlehem
- Autism Research Centre, Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB2 0SZ, UK
| | - Martin Safrin
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Hongmei Dong
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Elena Salman
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Ying Li
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Valery Grinevich
- Department of Neuropeptide Research for Psychiatry, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg, Mannheim 68159, Germany
| | - Peyman Golshani
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Laura A DeNardo
- Department of Physiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Olga Peñagarikano
- Department of Pharmacology, School of Medicine, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Vizcaya 48940, Spain
| | - Neil G Harris
- Department of Neurosurgery, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA
| | - Daniel H Geschwind
- Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Center for Autism Research and Treatment, Semel Institute, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Neurology, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA; Department of Human Genetics, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Los Angeles, CA 90095, USA.
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Decroix J, Rossetti Y, Quesque F. Les neurones miroirs, hommes à tout faire des neurosciences : analyse critique des limites méthodologiques et théoriques. ANNEE PSYCHOLOGIQUE 2022. [DOI: 10.3917/anpsy1.221.0085] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022]
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Kopachev N, Netser S, Wagner S. Sex-dependent features of social behavior differ between distinct laboratory mouse strains and their mixed offspring. iScience 2022; 25:103735. [PMID: 35098101 PMCID: PMC8783130 DOI: 10.1016/j.isci.2022.103735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/13/2021] [Revised: 11/25/2021] [Accepted: 12/31/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The survival of individuals of gregarious species depends on their social interactions. In humans, atypical social behavior is a hallmark of several psychopathological conditions, many of which have sex-specific manifestations. Various laboratory mouse strains are used to reveal the mechanisms mediating typical and atypical social behavior in mammals. Here, we used three social discrimination tests to characterize social behavior in males and females of three widely used laboratory mouse strains (C57BL/6J, BALB/c, and ICR). We found marked sex- and strain-specific differences in the behavior exhibited by subjects, in a test-dependent manner. Interestingly, some characteristics were strain-dependent, while others were sex-dependent. We then crossbred C57BL/6J and BALB/c mice and found that offspring of such crossbreeding exhibit social behavior which differs from both parental strains and depends on the specific combination of parental strains. Thus, social behavior of laboratory mice is sex- and strain-specific and depends on both genetic and environmental factors. Social investigation behavior of laboratory mice is highly strain- and sex-specific Some behavioral aspects are either strain- or sex-specific, but not both Mixed offspring of distinct strains behave differently from both parental strains The behavior of mixed offspring depends on the specific combination of parents
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Dykens EM, Roof E, Hunt-Hawkins H, McDonald C. The Feasibility and Effectiveness of a Novel, On-Line Social Skills Intervention for Individuals With Prader-Willi Syndrome. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:863999. [PMID: 35693970 PMCID: PMC9175568 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.863999] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION People with neurodevelopmental disabilities, including Prader-Willi syndrome (PWS), are at heightened risk for the negative sequalae of loneliness, including depression and anxiety. While societal factors such as stigma or limited social opportunities contribute to loneliness, so too do deficits in social cognition and social skills. People with PWS have specific difficulties recognizing affect in others, accurately interpreting social interactions, and taking the perspectives of others. These features, combined with hyperphagia, rigidity, and insistence on sameness conspire to impede the abilities of people with PWS to make and sustain friendships and reduce feelings of loneliness. METHODS We developed and administered an intervention, Building Our Social Skills (BOSS), that aimed to improve social skill deficits in PWS. The 10-week intervention was administered on-line via Zoom to 51 young people with PWS in the U.S. (M age = 20.8, SD = 6.42). Two clinicians co-led groups of 6-8 participants in 30-min sessions, 3 times per week, and also trained 4 graduate students to co-lead groups with high fidelity. We used a pre-post intervention and 3-month follow-up design, with no control group, and mitigated this design limitation by triangulating across informants and methodologies. Specifically, parents completed the widely used Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS) and Child Behavior Checklist (CBCL), and participants were individually interviewed about their friendships and loneliness. Interview responses were reliably coded by independent raters. RESULTS Repeated measure multivariate analyses, with baseline values entered as covariates, revealed significant pre-to post-test improvements in the SRS's social cognition, motivation and communication subscales (p's < 0.001), with large effect sizes ( n p 2 = 0.920, 0.270, and 0.204, respectively). Participant and parental reports of loneliness were correlated with the CBCL's Internalizing domain, specifically the Anxiety/Depressed subdomain. Over time, parents reported getting along better with peers, increased contact with friends, more friends and less loneliness. Participants also reported significantly less loneliness and more friends. CONCLUSIONS This mixed method, proof-of-concept study demonstrated the feasibility of delivering an on-line social skills intervention to young people with PWS. As no differences were found between clinician vs. graduate student outcomes, the BOSS curriculum holds considerable promise for wider dissemination and implementation in the PWS community.
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Affiliation(s)
- Elisabeth M Dykens
- Department of Psychology and Human Development and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Elizabeth Roof
- Department of Psychology and Human Development and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Hailee Hunt-Hawkins
- Department of Psychology and Human Development and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States.,Psychiatric Nursing Program, Vanderbilt University School of Nursing, Nashville, TN, United States
| | - Charles McDonald
- Department of Psychology and Human Development and Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, United States
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Nosjean A, Granon S. Brain Adaptation to Acute Stress: Effect of Time, Social Buffering, and Nicotinic Cholinergic System. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:3990-4011. [PMID: 34905774 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/28/2021] [Revised: 11/09/2021] [Accepted: 11/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Both social behavior and stress responses rely on the activity of the prefrontal cortex (PFC) and basolateral nucleus of the amygdala (BLA) and on cholinergic transmission. We previously showed in adult C57BL/6J (B6) mice that social interaction has a buffering effect on stress-related prefrontal activity, depending on the β2-/- cholinergic nicotinic receptors (nAChRs, β2-/- mice). The latency for this buffer to emerge being short, we question here whether the associated brain plasticity, as reflected by regional c-fos protein quantification and PFC-BLA functional connectivity, is modulated by time. Overall, we show that time normalized the stress-induced PFC hyperactivation in B6 mice and PFC hypo-activation in β2-/- mice, with no effect on BLA. It also triggered a multitude of functional links between PFC subareas, and between PFC and BLA in B6 mice but not β2-/- mice, showing a central role of nAChRs in this plasticity. Coupled with social interaction and time, stress led to novel and drastic diminution of functional connectivity within the PFC in both genotypes. Thus, time, emotional state, and social behavior induced dissociated effects on PFC and BLA activity and important cortico-cortical reorganizations. Both activity and plasticity were under the control of the β2-nAChRs.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anne Nosjean
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (NeuroPSI), 91400 Saclay, France
| | - Sylvie Granon
- Université Paris-Saclay, CNRS, Institut des Neurosciences Paris-Saclay (NeuroPSI), 91400 Saclay, France
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Posterodorsal Medial Amygdala Regulation of Female Social Behavior: GABA versus Glutamate Projections. J Neurosci 2021; 41:8790-8800. [PMID: 34470806 PMCID: PMC8528505 DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.1103-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/27/2021] [Revised: 08/04/2021] [Accepted: 08/06/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Social behaviors, including reproductive behaviors, often display sexual dimorphism. Lordosis, the measure of female sexual receptivity, is one of the most apparent sexually dimorphic reproductive behaviors. Lordosis is regulated by estrogen and progesterone (P4) acting within a hypothalamic-limbic circuit, consisting of the arcuate, medial preoptic, and ventromedial nuclei of the hypothalamus. Social cues are integrated into the circuit through the amygdala. The posterodorsal part of the medial amygdala (MeApd) is involved in sexually dimorphic social and reproductive behaviors, and sends projections to hypothalamic neuroendocrine regions. GABA from the MeApd appears to facilitate social behaviors, while glutamate may play the opposite role. To test these hypotheses, adult female vesicular GABA transporter (VGAT)-Cre and vesicular glutamate transporter 2 (VGluT2)-Cre mice were transfected with halorhodopsin (eNpHR)-expressing or channelrhodopsin-expressing adeno-associated viruses (AAVs), respectively, in the MeApd. The lordosis quotient (LQ) was measured following either photoinhibition of VGAT or photoexcitation of VGluT2 neurons, and brains were assessed for c-Fos immunohistochemistry (IHC). Photoinhibition of VGAT neurons in the MeApd decreased LQ, and decreased c-Fos expression within VGAT neurons, within the MeApd as a whole, and within the ventrolateral part of the ventromedial nucleus (VMHvl). Photoexcitation of VGluT2 neurons did not affect LQ, but did increase time spent self-grooming, and increased c-Fos expression within VGluT2 neurons in the MeApd. Neither condition altered c-Fos expression in the medial preoptic nucleus (MPN) or the arcuate nucleus (ARH). These data support a role for MeApd GABA in the facilitation of lordosis. Glutamate from the MeApd does not appear to be directly involved in the lordosis circuit, but appears to direct behavior away from social interactions. SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Lordosis, the measure of female sexual receptivity, is a sexually dimorphic behavior regulated within a hypothalamic-limbic circuit. Social cues are integrated through the amygdala, and the posterodorsal part of the medial amygdala (MeApd) is involved in sexually dimorphic social and reproductive behaviors. Photoinhibition of GABAergic neurons in the MeApd inhibited lordosis, while photoactivation of glutamate neurons had no effect on lordosis, but increased self-grooming. These data support a role for MeApd GABA in the facilitation of social behaviors and MeApd glutamate projections in anti-social interactions.
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Team Flow Is a Unique Brain State Associated with Enhanced Information Integration and Interbrain Synchrony. eNeuro 2021; 8:ENEURO.0133-21.2021. [PMID: 34607804 PMCID: PMC8513532 DOI: 10.1523/eneuro.0133-21.2021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2021] [Revised: 08/19/2021] [Accepted: 09/07/2021] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Team flow occurs when a group functions in a high task engagement to achieve a goal, commonly seen in performance and sports. Team flow can enable enhanced positive experiences, as compared with individual flow or regular socializing. However, the neural basis for this enhanced behavioral state remains unclear. Here, we identified neural correlates (NCs) of team flow in human participants using a music rhythm task with electroencephalogram hyperscanning. Experimental manipulations held the motor task constant while disrupting the corresponding hedonic music to interfere with the flow state or occluding the partner's positive feedback to impede team interaction. We validated these manipulations by using psychometric ratings and an objective measure for the depth of flow experience, which uses the auditory-evoked potential (AEP) of a task-irrelevant stimulus. Spectral power analysis at both the scalp sensors and anatomic source levels revealed higher β-γ power specific to team flow in the left middle temporal cortex (L-MTC). Causal interaction analysis revealed that the L-MTC is downstream in information processing and receives information from areas encoding the flow or social states. The L-MTC significantly contributes to integrating information. Moreover, we found that team flow enhances global interbrain integrated information (II) and neural synchrony. We conclude that the NCs of team flow induce a distinct brain state. Our results suggest a neurocognitive mechanism to create this unique experience.
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40
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Lübbert A, Göschl F, Krause H, Schneider TR, Maye A, Engel AK. Socializing Sensorimotor Contingencies. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:624610. [PMID: 34602990 PMCID: PMC8480310 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.624610] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2020] [Accepted: 08/24/2021] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
The aim of this review is to highlight the idea of grounding social cognition in sensorimotor interactions shared across agents. We discuss an action-oriented account that emerges from a broader interpretation of the concept of sensorimotor contingencies. We suggest that dynamic informational and sensorimotor coupling across agents can mediate the deployment of action-effect contingencies in social contexts. We propose this concept of socializing sensorimotor contingencies (socSMCs) as a shared framework of analysis for processes within and across brains and bodies, and their physical and social environments. In doing so, we integrate insights from different fields, including neuroscience, psychology, and research on human-robot interaction. We review studies on dynamic embodied interaction and highlight empirical findings that suggest an important role of sensorimotor and informational entrainment in social contexts. Furthermore, we discuss links to closely related concepts, such as enactivism, models of coordination dynamics and others, and clarify differences to approaches that focus on mentalizing and high-level cognitive representations. Moreover, we consider conceptual implications of rethinking cognition as social sensorimotor coupling. The insight that social cognitive phenomena like joint attention, mutual trust or empathy rely heavily on the informational and sensorimotor coupling between agents may provide novel remedies for people with disturbed social cognition and for situations of disturbed social interaction. Furthermore, our proposal has potential applications in the field of human-robot interaction where socSMCs principles might lead to more natural and intuitive interfaces for human users.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annika Lübbert
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Florian Göschl
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Hanna Krause
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Till R. Schneider
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Alexander Maye
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Andreas K. Engel
- Department of Neurophysiology and Pathophysiology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
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Babo-Rebelo M, Puce A, Bullock D, Hugueville L, Pestilli F, Adam C, Lehongre K, Lambrecq V, Dinkelacker V, George N. Visual Information Routes in the Posterior Dorsal and Ventral Face Network Studied with Intracranial Neurophysiology and White Matter Tract Endpoints. Cereb Cortex 2021; 32:342-366. [PMID: 34339495 PMCID: PMC8754371 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhab212] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2020] [Revised: 05/03/2021] [Accepted: 06/02/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Occipitotemporal regions within the face network process perceptual and socioemotional information, but the dynamics and information flow between different nodes of this network are still debated. Here, we analyzed intracerebral EEG from 11 epileptic patients viewing a stimulus sequence beginning with a neutral face with direct gaze. The gaze could avert or remain direct, while the emotion changed to fearful or happy. N200 field potential peak latencies indicated that face processing begins in inferior occipital cortex and proceeds anteroventrally to fusiform and inferior temporal cortices, in parallel. The superior temporal sulcus responded preferentially to gaze changes with augmented field potential amplitudes for averted versus direct gaze, and large effect sizes relative to other network regions. An overlap analysis of posterior white matter tractography endpoints (from 1066 healthy brains) relative to active intracerebral electrodes in the 11 patients showed likely involvement of both dorsal and ventral posterior white matter pathways. Overall, our data provide new insight into the timing of face and social cue processing in the occipitotemporal brain and anchor the superior temporal cortex in dynamic gaze processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Babo-Rebelo
- Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, Centre de Neuroimagerie de Recherche, CENIR, Centre MEG-EEG and STIM Platform, Paris F-75013, France.,Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Experimental Neurosurgery Team, Paris F-75013, France.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, WC1N 3AZ, London, UK
| | - A Puce
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Programs in Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47401, USA
| | - D Bullock
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Programs in Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47401, USA
| | - L Hugueville
- Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, Centre de Neuroimagerie de Recherche, CENIR, Centre MEG-EEG and STIM Platform, Paris F-75013, France
| | - F Pestilli
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Programs in Neuroscience, Cognitive Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47401, USA
| | - C Adam
- Neurophysiology Department, AP-HP, GH Pitié-Salpêtrière-Charles Foix, Paris F-75013, France
| | - K Lehongre
- Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, Centre de Neuroimagerie de Recherche, CENIR, Centre MEG-EEG and STIM Platform, Paris F-75013, France
| | - V Lambrecq
- Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, Centre de Neuroimagerie de Recherche, CENIR, Centre MEG-EEG and STIM Platform, Paris F-75013, France.,Neurophysiology Department, AP-HP, GH Pitié-Salpêtrière-Charles Foix, Paris F-75013, France
| | - V Dinkelacker
- Department of Neurology, Rothschild Foundation, Paris F-75019, France
| | - N George
- Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Sorbonne Université, Centre de Neuroimagerie de Recherche, CENIR, Centre MEG-EEG and STIM Platform, Paris F-75013, France.,Sorbonne Université, Institut du Cerveau-Paris Brain Institute, ICM, Inserm U 1127, CNRS UMR 7225, Experimental Neurosurgery Team, Paris F-75013, France
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42
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Liu H, Zhao C, Wang F, Zhang D. Inter-brain amplitude correlation differentiates cooperation from competition in a motion-sensing sports game. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:552-564. [PMID: 33693825 PMCID: PMC8138086 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab031] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/22/2020] [Revised: 02/07/2021] [Accepted: 03/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Cooperation and competition are two basic modes of human interaction. Their underlying neural mechanisms, especially from an interpersonal perspective, have not been fully explored. Using the electroencephalograph-based hyperscanning technique, the present study investigated the neural correlates of both cooperation and competition within the same ecological paradigm using a classic motion-sensing tennis game. Both the inter-brain coupling (the inter-brain amplitude correlation and inter-brain phase-locking) and the intra-brain spectral power were analyzed. Only the inter-brain amplitude correlation showed a significant difference between cooperation and competition, with different spatial patterns at theta, alpha and beta frequency bands. Further inspection revealed distinct inter-brain coupling patterns for cooperation and competition; cooperation elicited positive inter-brain amplitude correlation at the delta and theta bands in extensive brain regions, while competition was associated with negative occipital inter-brain amplitude correlation at the alpha and beta bands. These findings add to our knowledge of the neural mechanisms of cooperation and competition and suggest the significance of adopting an inter-brain perspective in exploring the neural underpinnings of social interaction in ecological contexts.
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Affiliation(s)
- Huashuo Liu
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Chenying Zhao
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, School of Medicine, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.,Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
| | - Dan Zhang
- Department of Psychology, School of Social Sciences, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China.,Tsinghua Laboratory of Brain and Intelligence, Tsinghua University, Beijing 100084, China
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Handley G, Kubota J, Cloutier J. Interracial Contact Differentially Shapes Brain Networks Involved in Social and Non-Social Judgments From Faces: A Combination of Univariate and Multivariate Approaches. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:218-230. [PMID: 34273899 PMCID: PMC8847903 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab090] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/14/2021] [Revised: 06/01/2021] [Accepted: 07/17/2021] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
The present work explores the relationship between interracial contact and the neural substrates of explicit social and non-social judgments about both racial ingroup and outgroup targets. Convergent evidence from univariate and multivariate partial least squares (PLS) analyses reveals that contact shapes the recruitment of brain regions involved in social cognition similarly for both ingroup and outgroup targets. Results support the hypothesis that increased contact is associated with generalized changes in social cognition toward both ingroup and outgroup faces. Specifically, regardless of target race, low- and average-contact perceivers showed the typically observed increased recruitment of temporoparietal junction and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex during social compared to perceptual judgments. However, high-contact perceivers did not show selective recruitment of these brain regions for social judgments. Complimenting univariate results, multivariate PLS analyses reveal that greater perceiver contact leads to reduced co-activation in networks of brain regions associated with face processing (e.g. fusiform gyrus) and salience detection (e.g. anterior cingulate cortex and insula). Across univariate and multivariate analyses, we found no evidence that contact differentially impacted cross-race face perception. Instead, when performing either a social or a novel perceptual task, interracial contact appears to broadly shape how perceivers engage with all faces.
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Affiliation(s)
- Grace Handley
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Jennifer Kubota
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.,Department of Political Science and International Relations, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
| | - Jasmin Cloutier
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA
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Schaefer M, Kühnel A, Rumpel F, Gärtner M. Do Empathic Individuals Behave More Prosocially? Neural Correlates for Altruistic Behavior in the Dictator Game and the Dark Side of Empathy. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11070863. [PMID: 34209757 PMCID: PMC8301890 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11070863] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2021] [Accepted: 06/22/2021] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Do empathic individuals behave more prosocially? When we think of highly empathic individuals, we tend to assume that it is likely that those people will also help others. Most theories on empathy reflect this common understanding and claim that the personality trait empathy includes the willingness to help others, but it remains a matter of debate whether empathic individuals really help more. In economics, a prominent demonstration that our behavior is not always based on pure self-interest is the Dictator Game, which measures prosocial decisions in an allocation task. This economic game shows that we are willing to give money to strangers we do not know anything about. The present study aimed to test the relationship between dispositional empathy and prosocial acting by examining the neural underpinnings of prosocial behavior in the Dictator Game. Forty-one participants played different rounds of the Dictator Game while being scanned with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Brain activation in the right temporoparietal junction area was associated with prosocial acting (number of prosocial decisions) and associated with empathic concern. Behavioral results demonstrated that empathic concern and personal distress predicted the number of prosocial decisions, but in a negative way. Correlations with the amount of money spent did not show any significant relationships. We discuss the results in terms of group-specific effects of affective empathy. Our results shed further light on the complex behavioral and neural mechanisms driving altruistic choices.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michael Schaefer
- Medical School Berlin, 12247 Berlin, Germany; (A.K.); (M.G.)
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +49-(0)-30-6117542; Fax: +49(0)-30-6715233
| | - Anja Kühnel
- Medical School Berlin, 12247 Berlin, Germany; (A.K.); (M.G.)
| | - Franziska Rumpel
- Otto-von-Guericke Business School Magdeburg, 39106 Magdeburg, Germany;
| | - Matti Gärtner
- Medical School Berlin, 12247 Berlin, Germany; (A.K.); (M.G.)
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45
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Hu RK, Zuo Y, Ly T, Wang J, Meera P, Wu YE, Hong W. An amygdala-to-hypothalamus circuit for social reward. Nat Neurosci 2021; 24:831-842. [PMID: 33820999 PMCID: PMC8236486 DOI: 10.1038/s41593-021-00828-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 74] [Impact Index Per Article: 24.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Accepted: 02/26/2021] [Indexed: 02/01/2023]
Abstract
Social interactions and relationships are often rewarding, but the neural mechanisms through which social interaction drives positive experience remain poorly understood. In this study, we developed an automated operant conditioning system to measure social reward in mice and found that adult mice of both sexes display robust reinforcement of social interaction. Through cell-type-specific manipulations, we identified a crucial role for GABAergic neurons in the medial amygdala (MeA) in promoting the positive reinforcement of social interaction. Moreover, MeA GABAergic neurons mediate social reinforcement behavior through their projections to the medial preoptic area (MPOA) and promote dopamine release in the nucleus accumbens. Finally, activation of this MeA-to-MPOA circuit can robustly overcome avoidance behavior. Together, these findings establish the MeA as a key node for regulating social reward in both sexes, providing new insights into the regulation of social reward beyond the classic mesolimbic reward system.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rongfeng K. Hu
- Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Yanning Zuo
- Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Truong Ly
- Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jun Wang
- Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pratap Meera
- Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Ye Emily Wu
- Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Weizhe Hong
- Department of Biological Chemistry, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Neurobiology, David Geffen School of Medicine, University of California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,
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46
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Stephenson LJ, Edwards SG, Bayliss AP. From Gaze Perception to Social Cognition: The Shared-Attention System. PERSPECTIVES ON PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2021; 16:553-576. [PMID: 33567223 PMCID: PMC8114330 DOI: 10.1177/1745691620953773] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
When two people look at the same object in the environment and are aware of each other's attentional state, they find themselves in a shared-attention episode. This can occur through intentional or incidental signaling and, in either case, causes an exchange of information between the two parties about the environment and each other's mental states. In this article, we give an overview of what is known about the building blocks of shared attention (gaze perception and joint attention) and focus on bringing to bear new findings on the initiation of shared attention that complement knowledge about gaze following and incorporate new insights from research into the sense of agency. We also present a neurocognitive model, incorporating first-, second-, and third-order social cognitive processes (the shared-attention system, or SAS), building on previous models and approaches. The SAS model aims to encompass perceptual, cognitive, and affective processes that contribute to and follow on from the establishment of shared attention. These processes include fundamental components of social cognition such as reward, affective evaluation, agency, empathy, and theory of mind.
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47
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Zhang R, Zhou X, Feng D, Yuan D, Li S, Lu C, Li X. Effects of acute psychosocial stress on interpersonal cooperation and competition in young women. Brain Cogn 2021; 151:105738. [PMID: 33915401 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2021.105738] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2020] [Revised: 04/11/2021] [Accepted: 04/16/2021] [Indexed: 01/07/2023]
Abstract
Although tend-and-befriend is believed to be the dominant stress response in women, little is known regarding the effects of acute psychosocial stress on different dynamic social interactions. To measure these effects, 80 female participants were recruited, paired into the dyads, and instructed to complete cooperative and competitive key-pressing tasks after experiencing acute stress or a control condition. Each dyad of participants should press the key synchronously when the signal was presented in the cooperative task and as fast as possible in the competitive task. During the tasks, brain activities of prefrontal and right temporo-parietal areas were recorded from each dyad using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). The results showed that acute psychosocial stress evidently promoted competitive behavior, accompanied by increased interpersonal neural synchronization (INS) in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Despite the lack of a significant difference in the overall cooperation rate, the response time difference between two stressed participants markedly declined over time with more widespread INS in the prefrontal cortex, suggesting that there ensued cooperative improvement among stressed women. These findings behaviorally and neurologically revealed context-dependent response patterns to psychosocial stress in women during dynamic social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ruqian Zhang
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Xiaoyu Zhou
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Danyang Feng
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Di Yuan
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China
| | - Shijia Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China.
| | - Chunming Lu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Xianchun Li
- Shanghai Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Psychological Crisis Intervention, Affiliated Mental Health Center (ECNU), School of Psychology and Cognitive Science, East China Normal University, Shanghai 200062, China; State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
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48
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Konovalov A, Ruff CC. Enhancing models of social and strategic decision making with process tracing and neural data. WILEY INTERDISCIPLINARY REVIEWS. COGNITIVE SCIENCE 2021; 13:e1559. [PMID: 33880846 DOI: 10.1002/wcs.1559] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/06/2020] [Revised: 02/26/2021] [Accepted: 03/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Every decision we take is accompanied by a characteristic pattern of response delay, gaze position, pupil dilation, and neural activity. Nevertheless, many models of social decision making neglect the corresponding process tracing data and focus exclusively on the final choice outcome. Here, we argue that this is a mistake, as the use of process data can help to build better models of human behavior, create better experiments, and improve policy interventions. Specifically, such data allow us to unlock the "black box" of the decision process and evaluate the mechanisms underlying our social choices. Using these data, we can directly validate latent model variables, arbitrate between competing personal motives, and capture information processing strategies. These benefits are especially valuable in social science, where models must predict multi-faceted decisions that are taken in varying contexts and are based on many different types of information. This article is categorized under: Economics > Interactive Decision-Making Neuroscience > Cognition Psychology > Reasoning and Decision Making.
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Affiliation(s)
- Arkady Konovalov
- Department of Economics, Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics (ZNE), University of Zurich
| | - Christian C Ruff
- Department of Economics, Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics (ZNE), University of Zurich
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Reinero DA, Dikker S, Van Bavel JJ. Inter-brain synchrony in teams predicts collective performance. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:43-57. [PMID: 32991728 PMCID: PMC7812618 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa135] [Citation(s) in RCA: 52] [Impact Index Per Article: 17.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2020] [Revised: 09/17/2020] [Accepted: 09/28/2020] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Despite decades of research in economics and psychology attempting to identify ingredients that make up successful teams, neuroscientists have only just begun to study how multiple brains interact. Recent research has shown that people's brain activity becomes synchronized with others' (inter-brain synchrony) during social engagement. However, little is known as to whether inter-brain synchrony relates to collective behavior within teams. Here, we merge the nascent field of group neuroscience with the extant literature of team dynamics and collective performance. We recruited 174 participants in groups of 4 and randomly assigned them to complete a series of problem-solving tasks either independently or as a team, while simultaneously recording each person's brain activity using an electroencephalography hyperscanning setup. This design allowed us to examine the relationship between group identification and inter-brain synchrony in explaining collective performance. As expected, teammates identified more strongly with one another, cooperated more on an economic game, and outperformed the average individual on most problem-solving tasks. Crucially, inter-brain synchrony, but not self-reported group identification, predicted collective performance among teams. These results suggest that inter-brain synchrony can be informative in understanding collective performance among teams where self-report measures may fail to capture behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Diego A Reinero
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Suzanne Dikker
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
| | - Jay J Van Bavel
- Department of Psychology, New York University, New York, NY, USA
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Levy J, Lankinen K, Hakonen M, Feldman R. The integration of social and neural synchrony: a case for ecologically valid research using MEG neuroimaging. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 16:143-152. [PMID: 32382751 PMCID: PMC7812634 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa061] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/02/2020] [Revised: 04/06/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The recent decade has seen a shift from artificial and environmentally deprived experiments in neuroscience to real-life studies on multiple brains in interaction, coordination and synchrony. In these new interpersonal synchrony experiments, there has been a growing trend to employ naturalistic social interactions to evaluate mechanisms underlying synchronous neuronal communication. Here, we emphasize the importance of integrating the assessment of neural synchrony with measurement of nonverbal behavioral synchrony as expressed in various social contexts: relaxed social interactions, planning a joint pleasurable activity, conflict discussion, invocation of trauma, or support giving and assess the integration of neural and behavioral synchrony across developmental stages and psychopathological conditions. We also showcase the advantages of magnetoencephalography neuroimaging as a promising tool for studying interactive neural synchrony and consider the challenge of ecological validity at the expense of experimental rigor. We review recent evidence of rhythmic information flow between brains in interaction and conclude with addressing state-of-the-art developments that may contribute to advance research on brain-to-brain coordination to the next level.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonathan Levy
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
- Interdisciplinary Center, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Herzliya 46150, Israel
| | - Kaisu Lankinen
- Department of Radiology, Athinoula A. Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Charlestown, MA, USA
- Department of Radiology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maria Hakonen
- Department of Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering, Aalto University, 02150 Espoo, Finland
- Faculty of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Jyväskylä, Jyväskylä, Finland
| | - Ruth Feldman
- Interdisciplinary Center, Baruch Ivcher School of Psychology, Herzliya 46150, Israel
- Yale University, Child Study Center, New Haven, CT 06520, USA
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