1
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Chan YC, Zeitlen DC, Beaty RE. Amygdala-frontoparietal effective connectivity in creativity and humor processing. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:2585-2606. [PMID: 36773031 PMCID: PMC10028645 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26232] [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: 05/08/2022] [Revised: 01/12/2023] [Accepted: 01/30/2023] [Indexed: 02/12/2023] Open
Abstract
Although both creativity and humor elicit experiences of surprise followed by appreciation, it remains unknown whether shared or distinct patterns of effective connectivity are involved in their processing. The present fMRI study used dynamic causal modeling and parametrical empirical Bayes analysis to examine the effective connectivity between the amygdala and frontoparietal network during two-stage creativity and humor processing. We examined processing during the setup and punch line stages for creativity and humor, including typical forms (alternate uses for creativity and incongruity-resolution humor), atypical forms (aesthetic uses for creativity and nonsense humor), and baseline forms. Our focus was on the mesolimbic pathway during the punch line stage. We found that the amygdala plays a key role in expectation violation and appreciation. Broadly, amygdala-to-IFG connectivity was important for evaluating typical and atypical forms of both creativity and humor, while amygdala-to-precuneus connectivity was involved in evaluating typical forms. Amygdala-to-IFG connectivity was involved in the expectation violation to resolution stage of processing for typical and atypical forms of creativity and humor. Amygdala-to-precuneus connectivity was involved in processing the novelty and usefulness of typical forms of creativity (alternate uses) and understanding others' intentions in typical forms of humor (incongruity-resolution). Interestingly, VTA-to-amygdala connectivity was involved in processing the appreciation of both typical (incongruity-resolution humor) and atypical (nonsense humor) forms of humor while amygdala-to-VTA connectivity was involved in processing the appreciation of atypical (aesthetic uses) forms of creativity. Altogether, these findings suggest that the amygdala and frontoparietal circuitry are critical for creativity and humor processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chen Chan
- Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Daniel C Zeitlen
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
| | - Roger E Beaty
- Department of Psychology, Pennsylvania State University, University Park, Pennsylvania, USA
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2
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Sun C, Wang M, Zhou X, Liu G, Zhou Z. Dynamic cognitive processes of humor generation: activation and inhibition of information. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2022; 87:1607-1615. [PMID: 36301345 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-022-01752-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2022] [Accepted: 10/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Humor is a lubricant of interpersonal relationships and is regarded as an important quality of individual creativity. Previous studies have mainly focused on passive humor appreciation and comprehension but ignored active humor generation, especially the cognitive process of humor generation. Based on the hypothesis that humor generation is similar to creative cognition, this study used humorous two-part allegorical sayings to explore whether humor generation involves the cognitive processes of the activation and inhibition of information. The experiment manipulated the duration (5/10 s) of the presentation of the first part of humorous two-part allegorical sayings, which are called "yinyu," and the type of subthreshold probe words (humorous probe words/usual probe words). The results showed that the interaction between the duration of the presentation of yinyu and the type of subthreshold probe words was significant; the correct number of humorous probe words reported was significantly lower than that of usual probe words when the yinyu was presented for 5 s, which reflected the widespread activation of information. The correct number of humorous probe words reported was significantly higher than that of usual probe words when the yinyu was presented for 10 s, which suggested the inhibition of non-humorous information. This study revealed the dynamic cognitive processes of humor generation and verified possible cognitive similarities between humor generation and creative cognition.
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3
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Greenwood TA, Chow LJ, Gur RC, Kelsoe JR. Bipolar spectrum traits and the space between Madness and Genius: The Muse is in the Dose. J Psychiatr Res 2022; 153:149-158. [PMID: 35816974 DOI: 10.1016/j.jpsychires.2022.07.009] [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: 10/04/2021] [Revised: 06/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/01/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022]
Abstract
Creativity has long been associated with the bipolar spectrum, particularly among unaffected first-degree relatives and those with milder expressions of bipolar traits, suggesting that some aspects of the bipolar spectrum may confer advantages for creativity. Here we took a multifaceted approach to better define the shared vulnerability between creativity and bipolar disorder. We recruited 135 individuals with bipolar disorder, 102 creative controls, and 103 non-creative controls for a total of 340 participants. All participants completed a comprehensive assessment battery that included several self-report temperament and personality questionnaires, a computerized test of cognitive function across multiple domains, and an evaluation of creative performance and achievement. Significant group differences were observed for the hypothesized shared vulnerability traits of hypomanic personality, cyclothymic temperament, impulsivity, and positive schizotypy. While both the creative and bipolar groups demonstrated superior creative ability, the creative group alone revealed enhanced cognitive performance. Accounting for intercorrelations between traits, a combination of openness, hypomanic personality, divergent thinking, and reasoning ability emerged as the strongest predictors of creativity, collectively explaining 34% of the variance in creative achievement and correctly classifying 85% of individuals with high achievement irrespective of diagnosis. These results confirm and extend earlier observations of a shared vulnerability between creativity and bipolar disorder and suggest that mild to moderate expressions of bipolar spectrum traits are associated with enhanced cognitive functioning and creative expression. Further investigation of these traits is needed to clarify the nature of this shared vulnerability and suggest individualized treatment strategies to improve clinical outcomes in bipolar disorder.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiffany A Greenwood
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA.
| | - Lauren J Chow
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
| | - Ruben C Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, PA, USA
| | - John R Kelsoe
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA; Institute for Genomic Medicine, UC San Diego, La Jolla, CA, USA
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4
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Sun Y, Xu Y, Lv J, Liu Y. Self- and Situation-Focused Reappraisal are not homogeneous: Evidence from behavioral and brain networks. Neuropsychologia 2022; 173:108282. [PMID: 35660514 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108282] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 05/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Reappraisal is an effective emotion regulation strategy which can be divided into self- and situation-focused subtypes. Previous studies have produced inconsistent findings on the moderating effects and neural mechanisms of reappraisal; thus, further research is necessary to clarify these inconsistencies. In this study, a total of 44 participants were recruited and randomly assigned to two groups. 23 participants were assigned to the self-focused group, while 21 participants were assigned to the situation-focused group. The participants' resting EEG data were collected for 6 minutes before the experiment began, followed by an emotional regulation task. During this task, participants were asked to view emotion-provoking images under four emotion regulation conditions (View, Watch, Increase, and Decrease). Late positive potential (LPP) was obtained when these emotional images were observed. LPP is an effective physiological indicator of emotion regulation, enabling this study to explore emotion regulation under different reappraisal strategies, as well as the functional connectivity and node efficiency within the brain. It was found that, in terms of the effect on emotion regulation, situation-focused reappraisal was significantly better than self-focused reappraisal at enhancing the valence of negative emotion, while self-focused reappraisal was significantly better than situation-focused reappraisal at increasing the arousal of negative emotion. In terms of neural mechanisms, multiple brain regions such as the anterior cingulate cortex, the frontal lobe, the parahippocampal gyrus, parts of the temporal lobe, and parts of the parietal lobe were involved in both reappraisal processes. In addition, there were some differences in brain regions associated with different forms of cognitive reappraisal. Self-focused reappraisal was associated with the posterior cingulate gyrus, fusiform gyrus, and lingual gyrus, and situation-focused reappraisal was associated with the parietal lobule, anterior central gyrus, and angular gyrus. In conclusion, this research demonstrates that self- and situation-focused reappraisal are not homogenous in terms of their effects and neural mechanisms and clarifies the uncertainties over their regulatory effects. Different types of reappraisal activate different brain regions when used, and the functional connectivity or node efficiency of these brain regions seems to be a suitable indicator for assessing the effects of different types of reappraisal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yan Sun
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Yuanyuan Xu
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China
| | - Jiaojiao Lv
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China; Department of Psychology, Shanxi Datong University, Datong, 037009, China
| | - Yan Liu
- School of Psychology, Liaoning Normal University, Dalian, 116029, China.
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5
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Bartolo A, Ballotta D, Nocetti L, Baraldi P, Nichelli PF, Benuzzi F. Uncover the Offensive Side of Disparagement Humor: An fMRI Study. Front Psychol 2021; 12:750597. [PMID: 34880811 PMCID: PMC8645564 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.750597] [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: 07/30/2021] [Accepted: 10/21/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Disparagement humor is a kind of humor that denigrates, belittles an individual or a social group. In the aim to unveil the offensive side of these kinds of jokes, we have run an event-related fMRI study asking 30 healthy volunteers to judge the level of fun of a series of verbal stimuli that ended with a sentence that was socially inappropriate but funny (disparagement joke -DJ), socially inappropriate but not funny (SI) or neutral (N). Behavioral results showed disparagement jokes are perceived as funny and at the same time offensive. However, the level of offense in DJ is lower than that registered in SI stimuli. Functional data showed that DJ activated the insula, the SMA, the precuneus, the ACC, the dorsal striatum (the caudate nucleus), and the thalamus. These activations suggest that in DJ a feeling of mirth (and/or a desire to laugh) derived from the joke (e.g., SMA and precuneus) and the perception of the jokes’ social inappropriateness (e.g., ACC and insula) coexist. Furthermore, DJ and SI share a common network related to mentalizing and to the processing of negative feelings, namely the medial prefrontal cortex, the putamen and the right thalamus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Angela Bartolo
- Univ. Lille, CNRS, UMR 9193 - SCALab - Sciences Cognitives et Sciences Affectives, Lille, France.,Institut Universitaire de France (IUF), Paris, France
| | - Daniela Ballotta
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Metaboliche e Neuroscienze, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Luca Nocetti
- Fisica Medica, Azienda Ospedaliera Universitaria di Modena, Modena, Italy
| | - Patrizia Baraldi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Metaboliche e Neuroscienze, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Paolo Frigio Nichelli
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Metaboliche e Neuroscienze, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
| | - Francesca Benuzzi
- Dipartimento di Scienze Biomediche, Metaboliche e Neuroscienze, Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy
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6
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Mayseless N, Reiss AL. The neurodevelopmental basis of humor appreciation: A fNIRS study of young children. PLoS One 2021; 16:e0259422. [PMID: 34879055 PMCID: PMC8654164 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0259422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/23/2020] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Humor is crucial for social development. Despite this, very few studies have examined the neurodevelopment of humor in very young children, and none to date have used functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to study this important cognitive construct. The main aim of the current study was to characterize the neural basis of humor processing in young children between the ages of 6–8 years. Thirty-five healthy children (6–8 years old) watched funny and neutral video clips while undergoing fNIRS imaging. We observed activation increases in left temporo-occipito-parietal junction (TOPJ), inferior-parietal lobe (IPL), dorsolateral-prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and right inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) and superior parietal lobe (SPL) regions. Activation in left TOPJ was positively correlated with age. In addition, we found that coherence increased in humor viewing compared to neutral content, mainly between remote regions. This effect was different for boys and girls, as boys showed a more pronounced increase in coherence for funny compared to neutral videos, more so in frontoparietal networks. These results expand our understanding of the neurodevelopment of humor by highlighting the effect of age on the neural basis of humor appreciation as well as emphasizing different developmental trajectories of boys and girls.
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Affiliation(s)
- Naama Mayseless
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States of America
- * E-mail:
| | - Allan L. Reiss
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States of America
- Departments of Radiology and Pediatrics, Stanford University School of Medicine, Stanford, CA, United States of America
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7
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Berthold-Losleben M, Papalini S, Habel U, Losleben K, Schneider F, Amunts K, Kohn N. A short-term musical training affects implicit emotion regulation only in behaviour but not in brain activity. BMC Neurosci 2021; 22:30. [PMID: 33902437 PMCID: PMC8074429 DOI: 10.1186/s12868-021-00636-1] [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: 12/01/2020] [Accepted: 04/12/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Background In everyday life, negative emotions can be implicitly regulated by positive stimuli, without any conscious cognitive engagement; however, the effects of such implicit regulation on mood and related neuro-mechanisms, remain poorly investigated in literature. Yet, improving implicit emotional regulation could reduce psychological burden and therefore be clinically relevant for treating psychiatric disorders with strong affective symptomatology. Results Music training reduced the negative emotional state elicited by negative odours. However, such change was not reflected at the brain level. Conclusions In a context of affective rivalry a musical training enhances implicit regulatory processes. Our findings offer a first base for future studies on implicit emotion regulation in clinical populations.
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Affiliation(s)
- M Berthold-Losleben
- Department of Mental Health, Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway.,Division of Mental Healthcare, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway
| | - S Papalini
- Laboratory for Biological Psychology, Brain and Cognition Unit, KU Leuven, Leuven, Belgium
| | - U Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany
| | - K Losleben
- Centre for Women's and Gender Studies, The Arctic University of Norway (UiT), Tromsø, Norway
| | - F Schneider
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, University Hospital RWTH, Aachen, Germany.,University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - K Amunts
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany.,Cécile and Oskar Vogt Institute of Brain Research, Heinrich Heine University, University Hospital Düsseldorf, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - N Kohn
- Department for Cognitiv Neuroscience, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Postbus 9101, 6500 HB, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
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8
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Gender differences in humor-related traits, humor appreciation, production, comprehension, (neural) responses, use, and correlates: A systematic review. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2020. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-020-00724-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
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9
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Perchtold-Stefan CM, Papousek I, Rominger C, Schertler M, Weiss EM, Fink A. Humor comprehension and creative cognition: Shared and distinct neurocognitive mechanisms as indicated by EEG alpha activity. Neuroimage 2020; 213:116695. [PMID: 32142882 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.116695] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Revised: 01/20/2020] [Accepted: 02/27/2020] [Indexed: 02/08/2023] Open
Abstract
Humor comprehension is increasingly recognized as showing parallels to more conventional creative cognition; yet our understanding of brain mechanisms underlying creative cognition in a humorous context is still limited. The present study addressed this issue by investigating functional patterns of EEG alpha activity while 93 participants viewed nonverbal humorous cartoons until they indicated having recognized the punch line, and subsequently vocalized their idea as to what constituted it. In a similar fashion, EEG was also assessed during performance of the Alternate Uses Task (AUT), in order to identify similarities and differences in EEG alpha activity implicated in conventional creative cognition vs. humor comprehension. Analyses revealed a pattern of robust task-related alpha power increases in both tasks, which were markedly more right-lateralized at ventral fronto-temporal sites in the humor task as compared to the AUT. Findings are interpreted in line with recent literature on the functional role of alpha activity in the creativity domain. Altogether, this study adds further evidence to the particular role of EEG alpha oscillations in creative cognition and supports the idea that conventional creative ideation and the comprehension of humor share neural mechanisms affiliated to creative cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Ilona Papousek
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | | | | | | | - Andreas Fink
- Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria.
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10
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Manfredi M, Proverbio AM, Marques LM, Ribeiro B, Yumi Nakao Morello L, Boggio PS. Anodal transcranial direct current stimulation of MPFC enhances humor processing. Soc Neurosci 2019; 15:199-213. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1674687] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Mirella Manfredi
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
- Department of Psychology, University of Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | | | - Lucas Murrins Marques
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Beatriz Ribeiro
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Letícia Yumi Nakao Morello
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Paulo Sergio Boggio
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Sao Paulo, Brazil
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11
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Canal P, Bischetti L, Di Paola S, Bertini C, Ricci I, Bambini V. ‘Honey, shall I change the baby? – Well done, choose another one’: ERP and time-frequency correlates of humor processing. Brain Cogn 2019; 132:41-55. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2019.02.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/17/2018] [Revised: 02/06/2019] [Accepted: 02/07/2019] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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12
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13
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Juvodden HT, Alnæs D, Lund MJ, Dietrichs E, Thorsby PM, Westlye LT, Knudsen S. Hypocretin-deficient narcolepsy patients have abnormal brain activation during humor processing. Sleep 2019; 42:5421840. [DOI: 10.1093/sleep/zsz082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2018] [Revised: 02/19/2019] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Abstract
Study Objectives
To assess brain activation patterns in response to fun-rated and neutral-rated movies we performed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a humor-paradigm in narcolepsy type 1 (NT1) patients with cataplexy (muscle atonia triggered by emotions) and controls.
Methods
The fMRI-humor-paradigm consisted of short movies (25/30 with a humorous punchline; 5/30 without a humorous punchline [but with similar build-up/anticipation]) rated by participants based on their humor experience. We included 41 NT1 patients and 44 controls. Group-level inferences were made using permutation testing.
Results
Permutation testing revealed no group differences in average movie ratings. fMRI analysis found no group differences in brain activations to fun-rated movies. Patients showed significantly higher activations compared to controls during neutral-rated movies; including bilaterally in the thalamus, pallidum, putamen, amygdala, hippocampus, middle temporal gyrus, cerebellum, brainstem and in the left precuneus, supramarginal gyrus, and caudate. We found no brain overactivation for patients during movies without a humorous punchline (89.0% neutral-rated). Group analyses revealed significantly stronger differentiation between fun-rated and neutral-rated movies in controls compared with patients (patients showed no significant differentiation), including bilaterally in the inferior frontal gyrus, thalamus, putamen, precentral gyrus, lingual gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, occipital areas, temporal areas, cerebellum and in the right hippocampus, postcentral gyrus, pallidum, and insula.
Conclusion
Patients showed significantly higher activations in several cortical and subcortical regions during neutral-rated movies, with no differentiation from activations during fun-rated movies. This lower threshold for activating the humor response (even during neutral-rated movies), might represent insight into the mechanisms associated with cataplexy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hilde T Juvodden
- Norwegian Centre of Expertise for Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Hypersomnias (NevSom), Department of Rare Disorders, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Norway
- Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Dag Alnæs
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Norway
| | - Martina J Lund
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Norway
- NORMENT, KG Jebsen Centre for Psychosis Research, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Espen Dietrichs
- Department of Neurology, Oslo University Hospital & University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Per M Thorsby
- Hormone Laboratory, Department of Medical Biochemistry, Oslo University Hospital, Aker, Norway
| | - Lars T Westlye
- NORMENT, Division of Mental Health and Addiction, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Norway
- Department of Psychology, University of Oslo, Oslo, Norway
| | - Stine Knudsen
- Norwegian Centre of Expertise for Neurodevelopmental Disorders and Hypersomnias (NevSom), Department of Rare Disorders, Oslo University Hospital, Ullevål, Norway
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14
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Berthold-Losleben M, Habel U, Brehl AK, Freiherr J, Losleben K, Schneider F, Amunts K, Kohn N. Implicit Affective Rivalry: A Behavioral and fMRI Study Combining Olfactory and Auditory Stimulation. Front Behav Neurosci 2018; 12:313. [PMID: 30618666 PMCID: PMC6305346 DOI: 10.3389/fnbeh.2018.00313] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2018] [Accepted: 11/30/2018] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Aversive odors are highly salient stimuli that serve a protective function. Thus, emotional reactions elicited by negative odors may be hardly influenceable. We aim to elucidate if negative mood induced by negative odors can be modulated automatically by positively valenced stimuli. We included 32 healthy participants (16 men) in an fMRI design combining aversive and neutral olfactory stimuli with positive and neutral auditory stimuli to test the influence of aversive olfactory stimuli on subjective emotional state and brain activation when combined with positive and neutral auditory stimuli. The behavioral results show an interaction of negative olfactory stimuli on ratings of disgust, perceived valence of music, and subjective affective state, while positive auditory stimulation did not show this interaction. On a neuronal level, we observed main effects for auditory and olfactory stimulation, which are largely congruent with previous literature. However, the pairing of both stimuli was associated with attenuated brain activity in a set of brain areas (supplementary motor area, temporal pole, superior frontal gyrus) which overlaps with multisensory processing areas and pave the way for automatic emotion regulation. Our behavioral results and the integrated neural patterns provide evidence of predominance of olfaction in processing of affective rivalry from multiple sensory modalities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mark Berthold-Losleben
- Division of Mental Healthcare, St. Olavs University Hospital, Trondheim, Norway.,Norwegian University of Science and Technology (NTNU), Trondheim, Norway
| | - Ute Habel
- Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany
| | - Anne-Kathrin Brehl
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Jessica Freiherr
- Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.,Fraunhofer Institute for Process Engineering and Packaging (IVV), Freising, Germany
| | | | - Frank Schneider
- Uniklinik RWTH Aachen, Aachen, Germany.,Düsseldorf University Hospital, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - Katrin Amunts
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Jülich Research Centre, Jülich, Germany
| | - Nils Kohn
- Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University, Nijmegen, Netherlands
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15
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Berger P, Bitsch F, Nagels A, Straube B, Falkenberg I. Frontal hypoactivation and alterations in the reward-system during humor processing in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders. Schizophr Res 2018; 202:149-157. [PMID: 30539766 DOI: 10.1016/j.schres.2018.06.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2018] [Revised: 06/18/2018] [Accepted: 06/19/2018] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Humor is a ubiquitous human ability with important implications for both social and emotional functioning. Patients with neuropsychiatric disorders, such as schizophrenia, experience difficulties in the comprehension and appreciation of humor. However, the specific neural mechanisms underlying these deficits are unknown. In the current study, we sought to elucidate the neural correlates of humor processing in patients with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) was used in thirty-one patients with SSD and a control group, performing a humor processing paradigm. Both regional brain activation and parametric modulation of brain responses via subjective funniness ratings were collected during the scanning procedure. On a neural level, large overlaps in fronto-temporal brain activation was found in both groups. However, patients compared to healthy control subjects showed attenuated responses in frontal brain regions, including the anterior cingulate cortex, medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), superior frontal gyrus and middle frontal gyrus, as well as in the striatum (i.e. caudate nucleus, putamen). Furthermore, parametric modulation of subjective funniness ratings resulted in attenuated responses in the mPFC, bilateral insula, and left hippocampus. Analysis of functional connectivity revealed alterations in mPFC-caudate nucleus coupling in patients with SSD, which might reflect impairments in reward-related processing. Notably, alterations in mPFC-caudate nucleus coupling in patients were significantly associated to subjective funniness ratings. Our results extend previous findings demonstrating the relevance of frontal hypoactivation for humor processing impairments in patients with SSD and first point towards alterations in humor appreciation processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Berger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Rudolf-Bultmann-Straße 8, 35039 Marburg, Germany.
| | - Florian Bitsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Rudolf-Bultmann-Straße 8, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Arne Nagels
- Department of English and Linguistics, Johannes Gutenberg-University Mainz, Jakob-Welder-Weg 18, 55128 Mainz, Germany
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Rudolf-Bultmann-Straße 8, 35039 Marburg, Germany
| | - Irina Falkenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Rudolf-Bultmann-Straße 8, 35039 Marburg, Germany
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16
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Sex differences in the neural correlates of aggression. Brain Struct Funct 2018; 223:4115-4124. [PMID: 30167865 DOI: 10.1007/s00429-018-1739-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/18/2017] [Accepted: 08/03/2018] [Indexed: 01/29/2023]
Abstract
Although sex differences in aggression have been investigated for decades, little is known about the underlying neurobiology of this phenomenon. To address this gap, the present study implemented a social reactive aggression paradigm in 20 women and 22 men, employing a modified Taylor Aggression Task (mTAT) to provoke aggressive behavior in an fMRI setting. Subjects were provoked by money subtraction from a fake opponent and given the opportunity to retaliate likewise. In the absence of behavioral differences, male and female subjects showed differential brain activation patterns in response to provocation. Men had higher left amygdala activation during high provocation. This amygdala activation correlated with trait anger scores in men, but not in women. Also, men showed a positive association between orbitofrontal cortex, rectal gyrus and anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) activity in the provocation contrast and their tendency to respond aggressively, whereas women displayed a negative association. As the rectal gyrus and OFC have been attributed a crucial role in automatic emotion regulation, this finding points toward the assumption that highly aggressive men use automatic emotion regulation to a greater extent in response to provocation compared to highly aggressive women.
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17
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Iidaka T. Humor Appreciation Involves Parametric and Synchronized Activity in the Medial Prefrontal Cortex and Hippocampus. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:5579-5591. [PMID: 27756763 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhw325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/19/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Humor perception is a ubiquitous phenomenon in human societies. In theories of humor perception, three factors, non-seriousness, social context, and incongruity, have been implicated in humor. In another theory, however, elaboration and reinterpretation of contexts are considered to play a role in eliciting humor. Although the neural correlates of humor appreciation have been investigated using neuroimaging methods, only a few studies have conducted such experiments under natural conditions. In the present study, two functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments, using a comedy movie as a stimulus, were conducted to investigate the neural correlates of humor under natural conditions. The subjects' brain activity was measured while watching and enjoying a movie. In experiment 1, a parametric analysis showed that the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and hippocampus/amygdala had a positive relationship with the subjective rating of funniness. In experiment 2, intersubject correlation was analyzed to investigate synchronized activity across all participants. Signal synchronization that paralleled increased funniness ratings was observed in the MPFC and hippocampus. Thus, it appears that both parametric and synchronized activity in the MPFC and hippocampus are important during humor appreciation. The present study has revealed the brain regions that are predominantly involved in humor sensation under natural condition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tetsuya Iidaka
- Nagoya University, Graduate School of Medicine, Department of Physical and Occupational Therapy, Brain & Mind Research Center, Nagoya, Japan
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18
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Li B, Li X, Pan Y, Qiu J, Zhang D. The relationship between self-enhancing humor and precuneus volume in young healthy individuals with high and low cognitive empathy. Sci Rep 2018; 8:3467. [PMID: 29472593 PMCID: PMC5823885 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-018-21890-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Accepted: 02/13/2018] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
A self-enhancing humor style (SEHS) plays an important role in the regulation of negative emotion through humorous perspective-taking. Following the mind-reading theories of humor, we investigated the relationship between gray-matter volume (GMV) of brain areas related to theory of mind and SEHS in young college students, using voxel-based morphometry analysis. We then performed a voxel-wise analysis of covariance to assess any moderation effect of cognitive empathy on the relationship. Results demonstrated that higher SEHS scores were associated with larger GMV of the precuneus in the group with high cognitive empathy, but there was no association in the group with low cognitive empathy. These results suggest that high cognitive empathy and increased precuneus volume can predict greater use of self-enhancing humor in young healthy individuals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bingbing Li
- School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.,Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China
| | - Xu Li
- Department of Psychology, Shanghai Normal University, Shanghai, 200234, China
| | - Yangu Pan
- Research Institute of Social Development, Southwest University of Finance and Economics, Chengdu, 610074, China
| | - Jiang Qiu
- School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China. .,Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, 400715, China.
| | - Dajun Zhang
- School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China. .,Center for Mental Health Education, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China.
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19
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Chang YT, Ku LC, Chen HC. Sex differences in humor processing: An event-related potential study. Brain Cogn 2018; 120:34-42. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2017.11.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2017] [Revised: 11/10/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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20
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Berger P, Bitsch F, Nagels A, Straube B, Falkenberg I. Personality modulates amygdala and insula connectivity during humor appreciation: An event-related fMRI study. Soc Neurosci 2017; 13:756-768. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2017.1403375] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Philipp Berger
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Florian Bitsch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Arne Nagels
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Benjamin Straube
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
| | - Irina Falkenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany
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21
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Tian F, Hou Y, Zhu W, Dietrich A, Zhang Q, Yang W, Chen Q, Sun J, Jiang Q, Cao G. Getting the Joke: Insight during Humor Comprehension - Evidence from an fMRI Study. Front Psychol 2017; 8:1835. [PMID: 29093693 PMCID: PMC5651280 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2017.01835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2017] [Accepted: 10/02/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
As a high-level cognitive activity, humor comprehension requires incongruity detection and incongruity resolution, which then elicits an insight moment. The purpose of the study was to explore the neural basis of humor comprehension, particularly the moment of insight, by using both characters and language-free cartoons in a functional magnetic resonance imaging study. The results showed that insight involving jokes elicited greater activation in language and semantic-related brain regions as well as a variety of additional regions, such as the superior frontal gyrus (SFG), the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), the middle temporal gyrus (MTG), the superior temporal gyrus (STG), the temporoparietal junctions (TPJ), the hippocampus and visual areas. These findings indicate that the MTG might play a role in incongruity detection, while the SFG, IFG and the TPJ might be involved in incongruity detection. The passive insight event elicited by jokes appears to be mediated by a limited number of brain areas. Our study showed that the brain regions associated with humor comprehension were not affected by the type of stimuli and that humor and insight shared common brain areas. These results indicate that one experiences a feeling of insight during humor comprehension, which contributes to the understanding of humor comprehension.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fang Tian
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Yuling Hou
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Wenfeng Zhu
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Arne Dietrich
- Department of Psychology, American University of Beirut, Beirut, Lebanon
| | - Qinglin Zhang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Wenjing Yang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qunlin Chen
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Jiangzhou Sun
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Qiu Jiang
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Guikang Cao
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality (SWU), Ministry of Education, Chongqing, China
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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22
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Adamczyk P, Wyczesany M, Domagalik A, Daren A, Cepuch K, Błądziński P, Cechnicki A, Marek T. Neural circuit of verbal humor comprehension in schizophrenia - an fMRI study. Neuroimage Clin 2017; 15:525-540. [PMID: 28652967 PMCID: PMC5473647 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2017.06.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/27/2017] [Revised: 05/03/2017] [Accepted: 06/01/2017] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Individuals with schizophrenia exhibit problems with understanding the figurative meaning of language. This study evaluates neural correlates of diminished humor comprehension observed in schizophrenia. The study included chronic schizophrenia (SCH) outpatients (n = 20), and sex, age and education level matched healthy controls (n = 20). The fMRI punchline based humor comprehension task consisted of 60 stories of which 20 had funny, 20 nonsensical and 20 neutral (not funny) punchlines. After the punchlines were presented, the participants were asked to indicate whether the story was comprehensible and how funny it was. Three contrasts were analyzed in both groups reflecting stages of humor processing: abstract vs neutral stories - incongruity detection; funny vs abstract - incongruity resolution and elaboration; and funny vs neutral - complete humor processing. Additionally, parametric modulation analysis was performed using both subjective ratings separately. Between-group comparisons revealed that the SCH subjects had attenuated activation in the right posterior superior temporal gyrus (BA 41) in case of irresolvable incongruity processing of nonsensical puns; in the left dorsomedial middle and superior frontal gyri (BA 8/9) in case of incongruity resolution and elaboration processing of funny puns; and in the interhemispheric dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (BA 24) in case of complete processing of funny puns. Additionally, during comprehensibility ratings the SCH group showed a suppressed activity in the left dorsomedial middle and superior frontal gyri (BA 8/9) and revealed weaker activation during funniness ratings in the left dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (BA 24). Interestingly, these differences in the SCH group were accompanied behaviorally by a protraction of time in both types of rating responses and by indicating funny punchlines less comprehensible. Summarizing, our results indicate neural substrates of humor comprehension processing impairments in schizophrenia, which is accompanied by fronto-temporal hypoactivation.
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Key Words
- ABS, absurd/nonsensical punchline
- ACC, anterior cingulate cortex
- BA, Brodmann's area
- CON, healthy controls/control group
- Communication skills
- EEG, electroencephalography
- ERPs, EEG event-related potentials
- FDR, False Discovery Rate
- FUN, funny punchline
- FWHM, full-width-at-half-maximum
- Figurative meaning
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging
- GLM, general linear model
- Humor
- IFG, inferior frontal gyrus
- IPL, Inferior Parietal Lobule
- ISI, interstimulus-interval
- L, left hemisphere
- MFG, medial frontal gyrus
- MNI, Montreal Neurological Institute coordinates
- MOG, middle occipital gyrus
- MRI, magnetic resonance imaging
- MTG, middle temporal gyrus
- MoCA, Montreal Cognitive Assessment
- NEU, neutral/unfunny punchline
- PANSS, Positive and Negative Syndrome Scale
- PFC, prefrontal cortex
- R, right hemisphere
- RHLB, Right Hemisphere Language Battery
- RT, reaction time
- SCH, schizophrenia outpatients/clinical group
- SD, standard deviations
- SEM, standard error of the mean
- SFG, Superior Frontal Gyrus
- SOA, stimulus onset asynchrony
- STG, superior temporal gyrus
- Schizophrenia
- TP, temporal pole
- TPJ, temporoparietal junction
- ToM, theory of mind.
- dACC, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex
- dlPFC, dorsolateral prefrontal cortex
- dmMFG, dorsomedial Middle Frontal Gyrus
- fMRI, functional magnetic resonance imaging
- fNIRS, functional near-infrared spectroscopy
- k, number of voxels in analyzed cluster size
- ns, non-significant group difference
- pSTG, posterior Superior Temporal Gyrus
- sLORETA, standardized low resolution brain electromagnetic tomography analysis
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Affiliation(s)
- Przemysław Adamczyk
- Department of Community Psychiatry, Medical College, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Psychosis Research and Psychotherapy Unit, Association for the Development of Psychiatry and Community Care, Krakow, Poland.
| | - Miroslaw Wyczesany
- Psychophysiology Laboratory, Institute of Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Aleksandra Domagalik
- Neurobiology Department, The Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Artur Daren
- Department of Community Psychiatry, Medical College, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Psychosis Research and Psychotherapy Unit, Association for the Development of Psychiatry and Community Care, Krakow, Poland
| | - Kamil Cepuch
- Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Piotr Błądziński
- Department of Community Psychiatry, Medical College, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
| | - Andrzej Cechnicki
- Department of Community Psychiatry, Medical College, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Psychosis Research and Psychotherapy Unit, Association for the Development of Psychiatry and Community Care, Krakow, Poland
| | - Tadeusz Marek
- Neurobiology Department, The Malopolska Centre of Biotechnology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland; Department of Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroergonomics, Institute of Applied Psychology, Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland
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23
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Manfredi M, Proverbio AM, Gonçalves Donate AP, Macarini Gonçalves Vieira S, Comfort WE, De Araújo Andreoli M, Boggio PS. tDCS application over the STG improves the ability to recognize and appreciate elements involved in humor processing. Exp Brain Res 2017; 235:1843-1852. [PMID: 28299412 DOI: 10.1007/s00221-017-4932-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2016] [Accepted: 02/22/2017] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The superior temporal gyrus (STG) has been found to play a crucial role in the recognition of actions and facial expressions and may, therefore, be critical for the processing of humorous information. Here we investigated whether tDCS application to the STG would modulate the ability to recognize and appreciate the comic element in serious and comedic situations of misfortune. To this aim, the effects of different types of tDCS stimulation on the STG were analyzed during a task in which the participants were instructed to categorize various misfortunate situations as "comic" or "not comic". Participants underwent three different tDCS conditions: Anodal-right/Cathodal-left; Cathodal-right/Anodal-left; Sham. Images depicting people involved in accidents were grouped into three categories based on the facial expression of the victim: angry or painful (Affective); bewildered and funny (Comic); and images that did not contain the victim's face (No Face). An improvement in mean reaction times in response to both the Comic and No Face stimuli was observed following Anodal-left/Cathodal-right stimulation when compared to sham stimulation. This suggests that this stimulation type reduced the reaction times to socio-emotional complex scenes, regardless of facial expression. The Anodal-right/Cathodal-left stimulation reduced the mean reaction times for Comic stimuli only, suggesting that specifically the right STG may be involved in facial expression recognition and in the appreciation of the comic element in misfortunate situations. These results suggest a functional hemispheric asymmetry in STG response to social stimuli: the left STG might have a role in a general comprehension of social complex situations, while the right STG may be involved in the ability to recognize and integrate specific emotional aspects in a complex scene.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mirella Manfredi
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua Piaui, 181, São Paulo, 01241-001, Brazil.
| | | | - Ana Paula Gonçalves Donate
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua Piaui, 181, São Paulo, 01241-001, Brazil
| | - Sofia Macarini Gonçalves Vieira
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua Piaui, 181, São Paulo, 01241-001, Brazil
| | - William Edgar Comfort
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua Piaui, 181, São Paulo, 01241-001, Brazil
| | - Mariana De Araújo Andreoli
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua Piaui, 181, São Paulo, 01241-001, Brazil
| | - Paulo Sérgio Boggio
- Social and Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory and Developmental Disorders Program, Center for Health and Biological Sciences, Mackenzie Presbyterian University, Rua Piaui, 181, São Paulo, 01241-001, Brazil
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24
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Clemens B, Wagels L, Bauchmüller M, Bergs R, Habel U, Kohn N. Alerted default mode: functional connectivity changes in the aftermath of social stress. Sci Rep 2017; 7:40180. [PMID: 28054651 PMCID: PMC5215522 DOI: 10.1038/srep40180] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/28/2016] [Accepted: 12/02/2016] [Indexed: 01/25/2023] Open
Abstract
Stress affects the brain at a network level: the salience network is supposedly upregulated, while at the same time the executive control network is downregulated. While theoretically described, the effects in the aftermath of stress have thus far not been tested empirically. Here, we compared for the first time resting-state functional connectivity in a large sample of healthy volunteers before and after a mild social stressor. Following the theoretical prediction, we focused on connectivity of the salience network (SN), the executive control network (ECN) and the default mode network (DMN). The DMN exhibited increased resting-state functional connectivity following the cyberball task to the key nodes of the SN, namely the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and the anterior insula, as well as sensorimotor regions and higher-order visual areas. We conclude that this increased connectivity of the DMN with key nodes of the SN and regions responsible for preparatory motor activity and visual motion processing indicates a shift towards an ‘alerted default mode’ in the aftermath of stress. This brain response may be triggered or aggravated by (social) stress induced by the cyberball task, enabling individuals to better reorient attention, detect salient external stimuli, and deal with the emotional and affective consequences of stress.
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Affiliation(s)
- Benjamin Clemens
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Lisa Wagels
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Magdalena Bauchmüller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Rene Bergs
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Jülich Aachen Research Alliance (JARA) - Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen, Germany.,Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine, Computational and Systems Neuroscience (INM-6), Wilhelm-Johnen-Straße, 52425 Jülich, Germany
| | - Nils Kohn
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Pauwelsstrasse 30, 52074 Aachen, Germany.,Radboudumc, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Department for Cognitive Neuroscience, Kapittelweg 29, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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25
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Wudarczyk OA, Kohn N, Bergs R, Goerlich KS, Gur RE, Turetsky B, Schneider F, Habel U. Chemosensory anxiety cues enhance the perception of fearful faces – An fMRI study. Neuroimage 2016; 143:214-222. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.09.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/05/2016] [Revised: 08/12/2016] [Accepted: 09/01/2016] [Indexed: 12/17/2022] Open
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26
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Chan YC. Neural Correlates of Deficits in Humor Appreciation in Gelotophobics. Sci Rep 2016; 6:34580. [PMID: 27694969 PMCID: PMC5046107 DOI: 10.1038/srep34580] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 09/15/2016] [Indexed: 12/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Gelotophobics have social deficits in the form of relative humorlessness and heightened sensitivity to aggressive humor; however, little is known about the neural reward mechanisms for this group. The present study attempted to identify the neural substrates of responses to hostile and non-hostile jokes in gelotophobics and non-gelotophobics. Gelotophobics showed greater activation than did non-gelotophobics in the dorsal corticostriatal system, which comprises the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and dorsal striatum, suggesting a higher degree of voluntary top-down cognitive control of emotion. As expected, gelotophobics showed less activation in the ventral mesocorticolimbic system (MCL) in response to both hostile and non-hostile jokes, suggesting a relative deficit in the reward system. Conversely, non-gelotophobics displayed greater activation than gelotophobics did in the MCL system, particularly for non-hostile jokes, which suggests a more robust bottom-up emotional response. In response to non-hostile jokes, non-gelotophobics showed greater activation in the ventral MCL reward system, which comprises the midbrain, amygdalae, nucleus accumbens, ventral anterior cingulate cortex, and insula. Psychophysiological interaction analyses further showed that gelotophobics exhibited diminished MCL activation in response to hostile jokes. These group differences may have important implications for our understanding of the neural correlates of social motivation and humor appreciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chen Chan
- Institute of Learning Sciences, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
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27
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Kann S, Zhang S, Manza P, Leung HC, Li CSR. Hemispheric Lateralization of Resting-State Functional Connectivity of the Anterior Insula: Association with Age, Gender, and a Novelty-Seeking Trait. Brain Connect 2016; 6:724-734. [PMID: 27604154 PMCID: PMC5105339 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2016.0443] [Citation(s) in RCA: 47] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) is widely used to examine cerebral functional organization. The imaging literature has described lateralization of insula activations during cognitive and affective processing. Evidence appears to support a role of the right-hemispheric insula in attentional orientation to salient stimulus, interoception, and physiological arousal, and a role of the left-hemispheric insula in cognitive and affective control, as well as perspective taking. In this study, in a large data set of healthy adults, we examined lateralization of the rsFC of the anterior insula (AI) by computing a laterality index (LI) of connectivity with 54 regions from the Automated Anatomic Labeling atlas. At a corrected threshold (p < 0.001), the AI is left lateralized in connectivity with the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, superior frontal gyrus, inferior frontal cortex, and posterior orbital gyrus and right lateralized in connectivity with the postcentral gyrus, supramarginal gyrus, and superior parietal lobule. In gender differences, women, but not men, showed right-lateralized connectivity to the thalamus. Furthermore, in a subgroup of participants assessed by the tridimensional personality questionnaire, novelty seeking is correlated with the extent of left lateralization of AI connectivity to the pallidum and putamen in men and with the extent of right lateralization of AI connectivity to the parahippocampal gyrus in women. These findings support hemispheric functional differentiation of the AI.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah Kann
- 1 Department of Psychology, State University of New York , Stony Brook, New York
| | - Sheng Zhang
- 2 Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, Connecticut
| | - Peter Manza
- 1 Department of Psychology, State University of New York , Stony Brook, New York
| | - Hoi-Chung Leung
- 1 Department of Psychology, State University of New York , Stony Brook, New York
| | - Chiang-Shan R Li
- 2 Department of Psychiatry, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, Connecticut.,3 Department of Neuroscience, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, Connecticut.,4 Interdepartmental Neuroscience Program, Yale University School of Medicine , New Haven, Connecticut
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28
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Chan YC. Neural Correlates of Sex/Gender Differences in Humor Processing for Different Joke Types. Front Psychol 2016; 7:536. [PMID: 27199791 PMCID: PMC4844976 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2016.00536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/10/2015] [Accepted: 03/31/2016] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Humor operates through a variety of techniques, which first generate surprise and then amusement and laughter once the unexpected incongruity is resolved. As different types of jokes use different techniques, the corresponding humor processes also differ. The present study builds on the framework of the 'tri-component theory of humor,' which details the mechanisms involved in cognition (comprehension), affect (appreciation), and laughter (expression). This study seeks to identify differences among joke types and between sexes/genders in the neural mechanisms underlying humor processing. Three types of verbal jokes, bridging-inference jokes (BJs), exaggeration jokes (EJs), and ambiguity jokes (AJs), were used as stimuli. The findings revealed differences in brain activity for an interaction between sex/gender and joke type. For BJs, women displayed greater activation in the temporoparietal-mesocortical-motor network than men, demonstrating the importance of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) presumably for 'theory of mind' processing, the orbitofrontal cortex for motivational functions and reward coding, and the supplementary motor area for laughter. Women also showed greater activation than men in the frontal-mesolimbic network associated with EJs, including the anterior (frontopolar) prefrontal cortex (aPFC, BA 10) for executive control processes, and the amygdala and midbrain for reward anticipation and salience processes. Conversely, AJs elicited greater activation in men than women in the frontal-paralimbic network, including the dorsal prefrontal cortex (dPFC) and parahippocampal gyrus. All joke types elicited greater activation in the aPFC of women than of men, whereas men showed greater activation than women in the dPFC. To confirm the findings related to sex/gender differences, random group analysis and within group variance analysis were also performed. These findings help further establish the mechanisms underlying the processing of different joke types for the sexes/genders and provide a neural foundation for a theory of sex/gender differences in humor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chen Chan
- Institute of Learning Sciences, National Tsing Hua UniversityHsinchu, Taiwan
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Konova AB, Moeller SJ, Parvaz MA, Froböse MI, Alia-Klein N, Goldstein RZ. Converging effects of cocaine addiction and sex on neural responses to monetary rewards. Psychiatry Res 2016; 248:110-118. [PMID: 26809268 PMCID: PMC4752897 DOI: 10.1016/j.pscychresns.2016.01.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2014] [Revised: 10/09/2015] [Accepted: 01/03/2016] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
There is some evidence that cocaine addiction manifests as more severe in women than men. Here, we examined whether these sex-specific differences in the clinical setting parallel differential neurobehavioral sensitivity to rewards in the laboratory setting. Twenty-eight (14 females/14 males) cocaine-dependent and 25 (11 females/14 males) healthy individuals completed a monetary reward task during fMRI. Results showed that the effects of cocaine dependence and sex overlapped in regions traditionally considered part of the mesocorticolimbic brain circuits including the hippocampus and posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), as well as those outside of this circuit (e.g., the middle temporal gyrus). The nature of this 'overlap' was such that both illness and female sex were associated with lower activations in these regions in response to money. Diagnosis-by-sex interactions instead emerged in the frontal cortex, such that cocaine-dependent females exhibited lower precentral gyrus and greater inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) activations relative to cocaine-dependent males and healthy females. Within these regions modulated both by diagnosis and sex, lower activation in the hippocampus and PCC, and higher IFG activations, correlated with increased subjective craving during the task. Results suggest sex-specific differences in addiction extend to monetary rewards and may contribute to core symptoms linked to relapse.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna B Konova
- Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003, United States
| | - Scott J Moeller
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Muhammad A Parvaz
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Monja I Froböse
- Centre for Cognitive Neuroimaging, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, Netherlands
| | - Nelly Alia-Klein
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States
| | - Rita Z Goldstein
- Departments of Psychiatry & Neuroscience, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY 10029, United States.
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Ferstl EC, Israel L, Putzar L. Humor Facilitates Text Comprehension: Evidence from Eye Movements. DISCOURSE PROCESSES 2016. [DOI: 10.1080/0163853x.2015.1131583] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Evelyn C. Ferstl
- Centre for Cognitive Science, Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Laura Israel
- Centre for Cognitive Science, Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany
| | - Lisa Putzar
- Centre for Cognitive Science, Albert-Ludwigs University, Freiburg, Germany
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Campbell DW, Wallace MG, Modirrousta M, Polimeni JO, McKeen NA, Reiss JP. The neural basis of humour comprehension and humour appreciation: The roles of the temporoparietal junction and superior frontal gyrus. Neuropsychologia 2015; 79:10-20. [PMID: 26474740 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.10.013] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/17/2015] [Revised: 09/17/2015] [Accepted: 10/08/2015] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Psychological well-being and social acumen benefit from the recognition of humourous intent and its enjoyment. The enjoyment of humour requires recognition, but humour recognition is not necessarily accompanied by humour enjoyment. Humour recognition is crucial during social interactions, while the associated enjoyment is less critical. Few neuroimaging studies have explicitly differentiated between the neural foundations of humour comprehension and humour appreciation. Among such studies, design limitations have obscured the specification of neural correlates to humour comprehension or appreciation. We implemented a trichotomous response option to address these design limitations. Twenty-four participants rated 120 comics (90 unaltered with humourous intent and 30 caption-altered without humourous intent) as either funny jokes (FJ), not funny jokes but intended to be funny (NFJ), or not intended to be funny or non-jokes (NJ). We defined humour comprehension by NFJ minus NJ and humour appreciation by FJ minus NFJ. We measured localized blood oxygen level dependent (BOLD) neural responses with a 3T MRI scanner. We tested for BOLD responses in humour comprehension brain regions of interest (ROIs), humour appreciation ROIs, and across the whole-brain. We found significant NFJ-NJ BOLD responses in our humour comprehension ROIs and significant FJ-NFJ BOLD responses in select humour appreciation ROIs. One key finding is that comprehension accuracy levels correlated with humour-comprehension responses in the left temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). This finding represents a novel and precise neural linkage to humour comprehension. A second key finding is that the superior frontal gyrus (SFG) was uniquely associated with humour-appreciation. The SFG response suggests that complex cognitive processing underlies humour appreciation and that current models of humour appreciation be revised. Finally, our research design provides an operational distinction between humour comprehension and appreciation and a sensitive measure of individual differences in humour comprehension accuracy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Darren W Campbell
- Department of Psychology, Nipissing University, Canada; Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Canada.
| | - Marc G Wallace
- Department of Psychology, University of Manitoba, Canada
| | | | | | | | - Jeffrey P Reiss
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Western Ontario, Canada
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Chan YC, Lavallee JP. Temporo-parietal and fronto-parietal lobe contributions to theory of mind and executive control: an fMRI study of verbal jokes. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1285. [PMID: 26388803 PMCID: PMC4556987 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/07/2015] [Accepted: 08/11/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
'Getting a joke' always requires resolving an apparent incongruity, but the particular cognitive operations called upon vary depending on the nature of the joke itself. Previous research has identified the primary neural correlates of the cognitive and affective processes called upon to respond to humor generally, but little work has been done on the substrates underlying the distinct cognitive operations required to comprehend particular joke types. This study explored the neural correlates of the cognitive processes required to successfully comprehend three joke types: bridging-inference jokes (BJs), exaggeration jokes (EJs), and ambiguity jokes (AJs). For all joke types, the left dlPFC appeared to support common cognitive mechanisms, such as script-shifting, while the vACC was associated with affective appreciation. The temporo-parietal lobe (TPJ and MTG) was associated with BJs, suggesting involvement of these regions with 'theory of mind' processing. The fronto-parietal lobe (IPL and IFG) was associated with both EJs and AJs, suggesting that it supports executive control processes such as retrieval from episodic memory, self-awareness, and language-based decoding. The social-affective appreciation of verbal jokes was associated with activity in the orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, and parahippocampal gyrus. These results allow a more precise account of the neural processes required to support the particular cognitive operations required for the understanding of different types of humor.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yu-Chen Chan
- Institute of Learning Sciences, National Tsing Hua UniversityHsinchu, Taiwan
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Clark CN, Nicholas JM, Henley SMD, Downey LE, Woollacott IO, Golden HL, Fletcher PD, Mummery CJ, Schott JM, Rohrer JD, Crutch SJ, Warren JD. Humour processing in frontotemporal lobar degeneration: A behavioural and neuroanatomical analysis. Cortex 2015; 69:47-59. [PMID: 25973788 PMCID: PMC4534772 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.03.024] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/24/2014] [Revised: 03/04/2015] [Accepted: 03/29/2015] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Humour is a complex cognitive and emotional construct that is vulnerable in neurodegenerative diseases, notably the frontotemporal lobar degenerations. However, humour processing in these diseases has been little studied. Here we assessed humour processing in patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (n = 22, mean age 67 years, four female) and semantic dementia (n = 11, mean age 67 years, five female) relative to healthy individuals (n = 21, mean age 66 years, 11 female), using a joint cognitive and neuroanatomical approach. We created a novel neuropsychological test requiring a decision about the humorous intent of nonverbal cartoons, in which we manipulated orthogonally humour content and familiarity of depicted scenarios. Structural neuroanatomical correlates of humour detection were assessed using voxel-based morphometry. Assessing performance in a signal detection framework and after adjusting for standard measures of cognitive function, both patient groups showed impaired accuracy of humour detection in familiar and novel scenarios relative to healthy older controls (p < .001). Patient groups showed similar overall performance profiles; however the behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia group alone showed a significant advantage for detection of humour in familiar relative to novel scenarios (p = .045), suggesting that the behavioural variant syndrome may lead to particular difficulty decoding novel situations for humour, while semantic dementia produces a more general deficit of humour detection that extends to stock comedic situations. Humour detection accuracy was associated with grey matter volume in a distributed network including temporo-parietal junctional and anterior superior temporal cortices, with predominantly left-sided correlates of processing humour in familiar scenarios and right-sided correlates of processing novel humour. The findings quantify deficits of core cognitive operations underpinning humour processing in frontotemporal lobar degenerations and suggest a candidate brain substrate in cortical hub regions processing incongruity and semantic associations. Humour is a promising candidate tool with which to assess complex social signal processing in neurodegenerative disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Camilla N Clark
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jennifer M Nicholas
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom; London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, University of London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Susie M D Henley
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Laura E Downey
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Ione O Woollacott
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Hannah L Golden
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Phillip D Fletcher
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Catherine J Mummery
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan M Schott
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Sebastian J Crutch
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Jason D Warren
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Institute of Neurology, University College London, London, United Kingdom.
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Functional organization of human subgenual cortical areas: Relationship between architectonical segregation and connectional heterogeneity. Neuroimage 2015; 115:177-90. [PMID: 25937490 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.04.053] [Citation(s) in RCA: 83] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/25/2014] [Revised: 04/24/2015] [Accepted: 04/27/2015] [Indexed: 01/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Human subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (sACC) is involved in affective experiences and fear processing. Functional neuroimaging studies view it as a homogeneous cortical entity. However, sACC comprises several distinct cyto- and receptorarchitectonical areas: 25, s24, s32, and the ventral portion of area 33. Thus, we hypothesized that the areas may also be connectionally and functionally distinct. We performed structural post mortem and functional in vivo analyses. We computed probabilistic maps of each area based on cytoarchitectonical analysis of ten post mortem brains. Maps, publicly available via the JuBrain atlas and the Anatomy Toolbox, were used to define seed regions of task-dependent functional connectivity profiles and quantitative functional decoding. sACC areas presented distinct co-activation patterns within widespread networks encompassing cortical and subcortical regions. They shared common functional domains related to emotion, perception and cognition. A more specific analysis of these domains revealed an association of s24 with sadness, and of s32 with fear processing. Both areas were activated during taste evaluation, and co-activated with the amygdala, a key node of the affective network. s32 co-activated with areas of the executive control network, and was associated with tasks probing cognition in which stimuli did not have an emotional component. Area 33 was activated by painful stimuli, and co-activated with areas of the sensorimotor network. These results support the concept of a connectional and functional specificity of the cyto- and receptorarchitectonically defined areas within the sACC, which can no longer be seen as a structurally and functionally homogeneous brain region.
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Abstract
Humor has not been taken as seriously as it should be. Humor has many positive effects in the daily lives of patients and clinicians need to take advantage of these. Many indices of stress are attenuated and this serves to improve the therapeutic alliance. Freudian, rational emotive therapy, and kleinian views are presented, as well as examples of how to use playful therapy. In addition, advice on how to develop humor is given.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michel A Woodbury-Fariña
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, PO Box 365067, San Juan, PR 00936-5067, USA.
| | - Joalex L Antongiorgi
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Puerto Rico School of Medicine, PO Box 365067, San Juan, PR 00936-5067, USA
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36
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Integration of cognitive and affective networks in humor comprehension. Neuropsychologia 2014; 65:137-45. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2014.10.025] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2014] [Revised: 09/22/2014] [Accepted: 10/17/2014] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
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Abstract
Gender differences in creativity have been widely studied in behavioral investigations, but this topic has rarely been the focus of neuroscientific research. The current paper presents follow-up analyses of a previous fMRI study (Abraham et al., Neuropsychologia 50(8):1906-1917, 2012b), in which behavioral and brain function during creative conceptual expansion as well as general divergent thinking were explored. Here, we focus on gender differences within the same sample. Conceptual expansion was assessed with the alternate uses task relative to the object location task, whereas divergent thinking was assessed in terms of responses across both the alternate uses and object location tasks relative to n-back working memory tasks. While men and women were indistinguishable in terms of behavioral performance across all tasks, the pattern of brain activity while engaged in the tasks in question was indicative of strategy differences between the genders. Brain areas related to semantic cognition, rule learning and decision making were preferentially engaged in men during conceptual expansion, whereas women displayed higher activity in regions related to speech processing and social perception. During divergent thinking, declarative memory related regions were strongly activated in men, while regions involved in theory of mind and self-referential processing were more engaged in women. The implications of gender differences in adopted strategies or cognitive style when faced with generative tasks are discussed.
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38
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Amir O, Biederman I, Wang Z, Xu X. Ha ha! versus aha! a direct comparison of humor to nonhumorous insight for determining the neural correlates of mirth. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2013; 25:1405-13. [PMID: 24323497 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bht343] [Citation(s) in RCA: 45] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
While humor typically involves a surprising discovery, not all discoveries are perceived as humorous or lead to a feeling of mirth. Is there a difference in the neural signature of humorous versus nonhumorous discovery? Subjects viewed drawings that were uninterpretable until a caption was presented that provided either: 1) a nonhumorous interpretation (or insight) of an object from an unusual or partial view (UV) or 2) a humorous interpretation (HU) of the image achieved by linking remote and unexpected concepts. fMRI activation elicited by the UV captions was a subset of that elicited by the humorous HU captions, with only the latter showing activity in the temporal poles and temporo-occipital junction (linking remote concepts), and medial prefrontal cortex (unexpected reward). Mirth may be a consequence of the linking of remote ideas producing high-and unexpected-activation in association and classical reward areas. We suggest that this process is mediated by opioid activity as part of a system rewarding attention to novel information.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Irving Biederman
- Department of Psychology Neuroscience Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061, USA
| | - Zhuangjun Wang
- Neuroscience Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089-1061, USA
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Kohn N, Eickhoff SB, Scheller M, Laird AR, Fox PT, Habel U. Neural network of cognitive emotion regulation--an ALE meta-analysis and MACM analysis. Neuroimage 2013; 87:345-55. [PMID: 24220041 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.11.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 621] [Impact Index Per Article: 56.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/22/2013] [Revised: 10/31/2013] [Accepted: 11/01/2013] [Indexed: 01/17/2023] Open
Abstract
Cognitive regulation of emotions is a fundamental prerequisite for intact social functioning which impacts on both well being and psychopathology. The neural underpinnings of this process have been studied intensively in recent years, without, however, a general consensus. We here quantitatively summarize the published literature on cognitive emotion regulation using activation likelihood estimation in fMRI and PET (23 studies/479 subjects). In addition, we assessed the particular functional contribution of identified regions and their interactions using quantitative functional inference and meta-analytic connectivity modeling, respectively. In doing so, we developed a model for the core brain network involved in emotion regulation of emotional reactivity. According to this, the superior temporal gyrus, angular gyrus and (pre) supplementary motor area should be involved in execution of regulation initiated by frontal areas. The dorsolateral prefrontal cortex may be related to regulation of cognitive processes such as attention, while the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex may not necessarily reflect the regulatory process per se, but signals salience and therefore the need to regulate. We also identified a cluster in the anterior middle cingulate cortex as a region, which is anatomically and functionally in an ideal position to influence behavior and subcortical structures related to affect generation. Hence this area may play a central, integrative role in emotion regulation. By focusing on regions commonly active across multiple studies, this proposed model should provide important a priori information for the assessment of dysregulated emotion regulation in psychiatric disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- N Kohn
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain, Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich, Aachen, Germany.
| | - S B Eickhoff
- Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center, Jülich, Germany; Institute for Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University, Düsseldorf, Germany
| | - M Scheller
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain, Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich, Aachen, Germany
| | - A R Laird
- Department of Physics, Florida International University, Miami, FL, USA
| | - P T Fox
- Research Imaging Institute, University of Texas Health Science Center, San Antonio, TX, USA; Audie L. Murphy South Texas Veterans Administration Medical Center, San Antonio, TX, USA
| | - U Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany; JARA Brain, Translational Brain Medicine, Jülich, Aachen, Germany
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Abstract
Humour is a vital component of human socio-affective and cognitive functioning. Recent advances in neuroscience have enabled researchers to explore this human attribute in children and adults. Humour seems to engage a core network of cortical and subcortical structures, including temporo-occipito-parietal areas involved in detecting and resolving incongruity (mismatch between expected and presented stimuli); and the mesocorticolimbic dopaminergic system and the amygdala, key structures for reward and salience processing. Examining personality effects and sex differences in the neural correlates of humour may aid in understanding typical human behaviour and the neural mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders, which can have dramatic effects on the capacity to experience social reward.
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Vrticka P, Black JM, Neely M, Walter Shelly E, Reiss AL. Humor processing in children: influence of temperament, age and IQ. Neuropsychologia 2013; 51:2799-811. [PMID: 24060844 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2013.09.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2013] [Revised: 08/24/2013] [Accepted: 09/16/2013] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
Emerging evidence from fMRI studies suggests that humor processing is a specific social cognitive-affective human function that comprises two stages. The first stage (cognitive humor component) involves the detection and resolution of incongruity, and is associated with activity in temporo-occipito-parietal brain areas. The second stage (emotional humor component) comprises positive feelings related to mirth/reward, and is linked with reward-related activity in mesocorticolimbic circuits. In healthy adults, humor processing was shown to be moderated by temperament traits like intro-/extraversion, neuroticism, or social anxiety, representing risk factors for psychopathology. However, comparable data from early developmental stages is crucially lacking. Here, we report for the first time data from 22 children (ages 6 to 13) revealing an influence of temperament on humor processing. Specifically, we assessed the effects of Emotionality, Shyness, and Sociability, which are analogous to neuroticism, behavioral inhibition/fear and extraversion in adults. We found Emotionality to be positively, but Shyness negatively associated with brain activity linked with both cognitive and emotional humor components. In addition, Shyness and Sociability were positively related to activity in the periaqueductal gray region during humor processing. These findings are of potential clinical relevance regarding the early detection of childhood psychopathology. Previous data on humor processing in both adults and children furthermore suggest that intelligence (IQ) supports incongruity detection and resolution, whereas mirth and associated brain activity diminishes with increasing age. Here, we found that increasing age and IQ were linked with stronger activity to humor in brain areas implicated in the cognitive component of humor. Such data suggest that humor processing undergoes developmental changes and is moderated by higher IQ scores, both factors likely improving incongruity detection and resolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Vrticka
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA.
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Duerden EG, Arsalidou M, Lee M, Taylor MJ. Lateralization of affective processing in the insula. Neuroimage 2013; 78:159-75. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.04.014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 145] [Impact Index Per Article: 13.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/14/2012] [Revised: 03/14/2013] [Accepted: 04/05/2013] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
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Saito Y, Suga M, Tochigi M, Abe O, Yahata N, Kawakubo Y, Liu X, Kawamura Y, Sasaki T, Kasai K, Yamasue H. Neural correlate of autistic-like traits and a common allele in the oxytocin receptor gene. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2013; 9:1443-50. [PMID: 23946005 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nst136] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Sub-clinical autistic-like traits (ALTs) are continuously distributed in the general population and genetically linked to autism. Although identifying the neurogenetic backgrounds of ALTs might enhance our ability to identify those of autism, they are largely unstudied. Here, we have examined the neuroanatomical basis of ALTs and their association with the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) rs2254298A, a known risk allele for autism in Asian populations which has also been implicated in limbic-paralimbic brain structures. First, we extracted a four-factor structure of ALTs, as measured using the Autism-Spectrum Quotient, including 'prosociality', 'communication', 'details/patterns' and 'imagination' in 135 neurotypical adults (79 men, 56 women) to reduce the genetic heterogeneity of ALTs. Then, in the same population, voxel-based morphometry revealed that lower 'prosociality', which indicates strong ALTs, was significantly correlated to smaller regional grey matter volume in the right insula in males. Males with lower 'prosociality' also had less interregional structural coupling between the right insula and the ventral anterior cingulate cortex. Furthermore, males with OXTR rs2254298A had significantly smaller grey matter volume in the right insula. These results show that decreased volume of the insula is a neuroanatomical correlate of ALTs and a potential intermediate phenotype linking ALTs with OXTR in male subjects.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yuki Saito
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Motomu Suga
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Mamoru Tochigi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Osamu Abe
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Noriaki Yahata
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Yuki Kawakubo
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Xiaoxi Liu
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Yoshiya Kawamura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Tsukasa Sasaki
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Kiyoto Kasai
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
| | - Hidenori Yamasue
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan Department of Neuropsychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Radiology, Nihon University School of Medicine, 30-1 Oyaguchi kami-cho, Itabashi-ku, Tokyo 173-8610, Japan, Global Center of Excellence (COE) Program, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Child Psychiatry, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Department of Human Genetics, Graduate School of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, Health Service Center, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-8655, Japan, and Japan Science and Technology Agency, CREST, 5 Sanbancho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 102-0075, Japan
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Schneider K, Regenbogen C, Pauly KD, Gossen A, Schneider DA, Mevissen L, Michel TM, Gur RC, Habel U, Schneider F. Evidence for gender-specific endophenotypes in high-functioning autism spectrum disorder during empathy. Autism Res 2013; 6:506-21. [PMID: 23868876 DOI: 10.1002/aur.1310] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Despite remarkable behavioral gender differences in patients with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and growing evidence for a diminished male : female ratio for the putative "male disorder" ASD, aspects of gender are not addressed accordingly in ASD research. Our study aims at filling this gap by exploring empathy abilities in a group of 28 patients with high-functioning ASD and 28 gender-, age- and education-matched non-autistic subjects, for the first time by means of functional neuroimaging (fMRI). In an event-related fMRI paradigm, emotional ("E") and neutral ("N") video clips presented actors telling self-related short stories. After each clip, participants were asked to indicate their own emotion and its intensity as well as the emotion and intensity perceived for the actor. Behaviorally, we found significantly less empathic responses in the overall ASD group compared with non-autistic subjects, and inadequate emotion recognition for the neutral clips in the female ASD group compared with healthy women. Neurally, increased activation of the bilateral medial frontal gyrus was found in male patients compared with female patients, a pattern which was not present in the non-autistic group. Additionally, autistic women exhibited decreased activation of midbrain and limbic regions compared with non-autistic women, whereas there was no significant difference within the male group. While we did not find a fundamental empathic deficit in autistic patients, our data propose different ways of processing empathy in autistic men and women, suggesting stronger impairments in cognitive aspects of empathy/theory of mind for men, and alterations of social reciprocity for women.
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Affiliation(s)
- Karla Schneider
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen; JARA-Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen-Jülich
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Vrticka P, Neely M, Walter Shelly E, Black JM, Reiss AL. Sex differences during humor appreciation in child-sibling pairs. Soc Neurosci 2013; 8:291-304. [PMID: 23672302 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2013.794751] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
The developmental origin of sex differences in adult brain function is poorly understood. Elucidating neural mechanisms underlying comparable cognitive functionality in both children and adults is required to address this gap. Humor appreciation represents a particularly relevant target for such developmental research because explanatory theories apply across the life span, and underlying neurocircuitry shows sex differences in adults. As a positive mood state, humor is also of interest due to sex differences in rates of depression, a disorder afflicting twice as many women as men. In this study, we employed functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to investigate brain responses to funny versus positive (and neutral) video clips in 22 children, ages 6-13 years, including eight sibling-pairs. Our data revealed increased activity to funny clips in bilateral temporo-occipital cortex, midbrain, and amygdala in girls. Conversely, we found heightened activation to positive clips in bilateral inferior parietal lobule, fusiform gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, amygdala, and ventromedial prefrontal cortex in boys. Many of these effects persisted when looking at sibling-pairs only. We interpret such findings as reflecting the presence of early sex divergence in reward saliency or expectation and stimulus relevance attribution. These findings are discussed in the context of evolutionary and developmental theories of humor function.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pascal Vrticka
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305-5795, USA
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46
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Junger J, Pauly K, Bröhr S, Birkholz P, Neuschaefer-Rube C, Kohler C, Schneider F, Derntl B, Habel U. Sex matters: Neural correlates of voice gender perception. Neuroimage 2013; 79:275-87. [PMID: 23660030 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2013.04.105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 28] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/27/2012] [Revised: 04/12/2013] [Accepted: 04/24/2013] [Indexed: 10/26/2022] Open
Abstract
The basis for different neural activations in response to male and female voices as well as the question, whether men and women perceive male and female voices differently, has not been thoroughly investigated. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the behavioral and neural correlates of gender-related voice perception in healthy male and female volunteers. fMRI data were collected while 39 participants (19 female) were asked to indicate the gender of 240 voice stimuli. These stimuli included recordings of 3-syllable nouns as well as the same recordings pitch-shifted in 2, 4 and 6 semitone steps in the direction of the other gender. Data analysis revealed a) equal voice discrimination sensitivity in men and women but better performance in the categorization of opposite-sex stimuli at least in men, b) increased responses to increasing gender ambiguity in the mid cingulate cortex and bilateral inferior frontal gyri, and c) stronger activation in a fronto-temporal neural network in response to voices of the opposite sex. Our results indicate a gender specific processing for male and female voices on a behavioral and neuronal level. We suggest that our results reflect higher sensitivity probably due to the evolutionary relevance of voice perception in mate selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jessica Junger
- Department of Psychiatry, Medical School, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
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47
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Kohn N, Falkenberg I, Kellermann T, Eickhoff SB, Gur RC, Habel U. Neural correlates of effective and ineffective mood induction. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2013; 9:864-72. [PMID: 23576810 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nst055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotional reactivity and the ability to modulate an emotional state, which are important factors for psychological well-being, are often dysregulated in psychiatric disorders. Neural correlates of emotional states have mostly been studied at the group level, thereby neglecting individual differences in the intensity of emotional experience. This study investigates the relationship between brain activity and interindividual variation in subjective affect ratings. A standardized mood induction (MI) procedure, using positive facial expression and autobiographical memories, was applied to 54 healthy participants (28 female), who rated their subjective affective state before and after the MI. We performed a regression analysis with brain activation during MI and changes in subjective affect ratings. An increase in positive affective ratings correlated with activity in the amygdala, hippocampus and the fusiform gyrus (FFG), whereas reduced positive affect correlated with activity of the subgenual anterior cingulate cortex. Activations in the amygdala, hippocampus and FFG are possibly linked to strategies adopted by the participants to achieve mood changes. Subgenual cingulate cortex activation has been previously shown to relate to rumination. This finding is in line with previous observations of the subgenual cingulate's role in emotion regulation and its clinical relevance to therapy and prognosis of mood disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nils Kohn
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Irina Falkenberg
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Thilo Kellermann
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Simon B Eickhoff
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Ruben C Gur
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
| | - Ute Habel
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USADepartment of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatic Medicine, RWTH Aachen University, 52070 Aachen, Germany, JARA Brain - Translational Brain Medicine, 52070 Aachen - 52428 Jülich, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Marburg, 35039 Marburg, Germany, Section of Neuroimaging, Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, London SE58AF, UK, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-1), Research Center Jülich, 52428 Jülich, Germany, and Institute of Clinical Neuroscience and Medical Psychology, Heinrich-Heine University Düsseldorf, 40225 Düsseldorf, Germany, and Department of Psychiatry, University of Pennsylvania, PA 19104-4283 and the Philadelphia Veterans Administration Medical Center, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, USA
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Papousek I, Schulter G, Weiss EM, Samson AC, Freudenthaler HH, Lackner HK. Frontal brain asymmetry and transient cardiovascular responses to the perception of humor. Biol Psychol 2012; 93:114-21. [PMID: 23274171 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2012.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/03/2012] [Revised: 11/11/2012] [Accepted: 12/09/2012] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Abstract
The study examined the relationship of individual differences in prefrontal brain asymmetry, measured by the EEG in resting conditions, to the individual's responsivity in the context of humor (n=42). Several weeks after the EEG recording, immediate cardiovascular responses to the perception of humor and behavioral indicators of humor processing were obtained in an experimental paradigm involving non-verbal cartoons. Relatively greater resting activity in the left than right prefrontal cortex, particularly at the ventrolateral positions, was associated with faster detection of humor, a more pronounced cardiac response to the perception of humor (heart rate and cardiac output), and more accessible internal positive affective states (indicated by faster reports of amusement levels). The study confirms and extends findings of the relevance of prefrontal brain asymmetry to affective responsivity, contributing evidence in the domain of positive affect and humor, and demonstrating relationships to the immediate cardiovascular response pattern to an emotional event.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilona Papousek
- Department of Psychology, Biological Psychology Unit, Karl-Franzens University, Graz, Austria.
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49
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50
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State-dependent changes of prefrontal–posterior coupling in the context of affective processing: Susceptibility to humor. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2012. [DOI: 10.3758/s13415-012-0135-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
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