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Cristofori I, Cohen-Zimerman S, Krueger F, Jabbarinejad R, Delikishkina E, Gordon B, Beuriat PA, Grafman J. Studying the social mind: An updated summary of findings from the Vietnam Head Injury Study. Cortex 2024; 174:164-188. [PMID: 38552358 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.03.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/31/2023] [Revised: 01/26/2024] [Accepted: 03/01/2024] [Indexed: 04/21/2024]
Abstract
Lesion mapping studies allow us to evaluate the potential causal contribution of specific brain areas to human cognition and complement other cognitive neuroscience methods, as several authors have recently pointed out. Here, we present an updated summary of the findings from the Vietnam Head Injury Study (VHIS) focusing on the studies conducted over the last decade, that examined the social mind and its intricate neural and cognitive underpinnings. The VHIS is a prospective, long-term follow-up study of Vietnam veterans with penetrating traumatic brain injury (pTBI) and healthy controls (HC). The scope of the work is to present the studies from the latest phases (3 and 4) of the VHIS, 70 studies since 2011, when the Raymont et al. paper was published (Raymont et al., 2011). These studies have contributed to our understanding of human social cognition, including political and religious beliefs, theory of mind, but also executive functions, intelligence, and personality. This work finally discusses the usefulness of lesion mapping as an approach to understanding the functions of the human brain from basic science and clinical perspectives.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Cristofori
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod CNRS, UMR 5229, Bron, France; University of Lyon, Villeurbanne, France.
| | - Shira Cohen-Zimerman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Frank Krueger
- School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Manassas, VA, USA; Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA.
| | - Roxana Jabbarinejad
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Ekaterina Delikishkina
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
| | - Barry Gordon
- Cognitive Neurology/Neuropsychology Division, Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD USA.
| | - Pierre-Aurélien Beuriat
- Institute of Cognitive Sciences Marc Jeannerod CNRS, UMR 5229, Bron, France; University of Lyon, Villeurbanne, France; Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Hôpital Femme Mère Enfant, Bron, France.
| | - Jordan Grafman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA; Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Cognitive Neurology & Alzheimer's Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA; Department of Psychology, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA.
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Delikishkina E, Cohen-Zimerman S, Kachian ZR, Krueger F, Gordon B, Grafman J. Understanding altruistic behavior: The joint role of prefrontal damage and OXTR genotype. Neuropsychologia 2023; 190:108686. [PMID: 37741549 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108686] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/26/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 09/25/2023]
Abstract
Altruism is a type of prosocial behavior that is carried out in the absence of personal benefit or even at an expense to self. Trait altruism varies greatly across individuals, and the reasons for this variability are still not fully understood. Growing evidence suggests that altruism may be partly determined by the oxytocin receptor (OXTR) gene, which regulates the emotions underlying altruistic attitudes, such as empathy and trust. Neuroimaging and lesion studies have also implied several higher-order brain regions, including the prefrontal cortex, in altruistic behaviors. Yet the existing reports are contradictory and suggest that the top-down control exercised by the prefrontal cortex may promote both altruistic and self-interested behaviors and, thus, could obscure one's natural proclivity towards altruism encoded by OXTR. Here, we hypothesized that extensive prefrontal damage would result in an increased influence of the OXTR genotype on one's altruistic attitudes and actions. To test this hypothesis, we recruited 115 male combat veterans with penetrating traumatic brain injury to the prefrontal cortex and other brain regions, as well as 35 demographically matched control subjects without brain injury. Participants completed a self-report altruism questionnaire and were genotyped for four OXTR single nucleotide polymorphisms implicated in prosocial behavior, including rs53576, rs1042778, rs2254298 and rs7632287. Consistent with the previous studies, we found that individuals homozygotic for the G allele of rs53576 and rs7632287 were significantly more altruistic than carriers of at least one "vulnerable" A allele. Remarkably, in patients with prefrontal cortex damage, greater lesion extent was associated with significantly lower altruism scores in carriers of the A allele of rs7632287, but not in G-homozygotes, suggesting that significant disruption of the prefrontal cortex increased the influence of genetic polymorphisms on prosocial behavior. This study presents the first account of an interaction effect between the OXTR genotype and the location and extent of brain damage.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ekaterina Delikishkina
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA.
| | - Shira Cohen-Zimerman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Zachary R Kachian
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
| | - Frank Krueger
- School of Systems Biology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030, USA; Department of Psychology, University of Mannheim, Mannheim, 68161, Germany
| | - Barry Gordon
- Department of Neurology, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, 21205, USA; Department of Cognitive Science, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, MD, 21218, USA
| | - Jordan Grafman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA; Departments of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Cognitive Neurology & Alzheimer's Disease Center, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, 60611, USA
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Ebisch SJH, Scalabrini A, Northoff G, Mucci C, Sergi MR, Saggino A, Aquino A, Alparone FR, Perrucci MG, Gallese V, Di Plinio S. Intrinsic Shapes of Empathy: Functional Brain Network Topology Encodes Intersubjective Experience and Awareness Traits. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12040477. [PMID: 35448008 PMCID: PMC9024660 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12040477] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2022] [Revised: 03/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/02/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
Trait empathy is an essential personality feature in the intricacy of typical social inclinations of individuals. Empathy is likely supported by multilevel neuronal network functioning, whereas local topological properties determine network integrity. In the present functional MRI study (N = 116), we aimed to trace empathic traits to the intrinsic brain network architecture. Empathy was conceived as composed of two dimensions within the concept of pre-reflective, intersubjective understanding. Vicarious experience consists of the tendency to resonate with the feelings of other individuals, whereas intuitive understanding refers to a natural awareness of others’ emotional states. Analyses of graph theoretical measures of centrality showed a relationship between the fronto-parietal network and psychometric measures of vicarious experience, whereas intuitive understanding was associated with sensorimotor and subcortical networks. Salience network regions could constitute hubs for information processing underlying both dimensions. The network properties related to empathy dimensions mainly concern inter-network information flow. Moreover, interaction effects implied several sex differences in the relationship between functional network organization and trait empathy. These results reveal that distinct intrinsic topological network features explain individual differences in separate dimensions of intersubjective understanding. The findings could help understand the impact of brain damage or stimulation through alterations of empathy-related network integrity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sjoerd J. H. Ebisch
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via Luigi Polacchi 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
- Correspondence:
| | - Andrea Scalabrini
- Department of Psychological, Health and Territorial Sciences (DiSPuTer), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy;
| | - Georg Northoff
- The Royal’s Institute of Mental Health Research, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada;
- Brain and Mind Research Institute, Centre for Neural Dynamics, Faculty of Medicine, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, ON K1N 6N5, Canada
- Mental Health Centre, Zhejiang University School of Medicine, Hangzhou 310030, China
- Centre for Cognition and Brain Disorders, Hangzhou Normal University, Hangzhou 310030, China
- TMU Research Centre for Brain and Consciousness, Shuang Hospital, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
- Graduate Institute of Humanities in Medicine, Taipei Medical University, Taipei 110, Taiwan
| | - Clara Mucci
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129 Bergamo, Italy;
| | - Maria Rita Sergi
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (M.R.S.); (A.S.)
| | - Aristide Saggino
- Department of Medicine and Aging Sciences, G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (M.R.S.); (A.S.)
| | - Antonio Aquino
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
| | - Francesca R. Alparone
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
| | - Mauro Gianni Perrucci
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
- Institute of Advanced Biomedical Technologies (ITAB), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, Via Luigi Polacchi 11, 66100 Chieti, Italy
| | - Vittorio Gallese
- Unit of Neuroscience, Department of Medicine and Surgery, University of Parma, 43121 Parma, Italy;
| | - Simone Di Plinio
- Department of Neuroscience, Imaging and Clinical Sciences (DNISC), G. d’Annunzio University of Chieti-Pescara, 66100 Chieti, Italy; (A.A.); (F.R.A.); (M.G.P.); (S.D.P.)
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The relationship between alexithymia and theory of mind: A systematic review. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 131:497-524. [PMID: 34599917 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.09.036] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/10/2021] [Revised: 09/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to represent the mental states of oneself and others, is an essential social skill disrupted across many psychiatric conditions. The transdiagnostic nature of ToM impairment means it is plausible that ToM impairment is related to alexithymia (difficulties identifying and describing one's own emotions), as alexithymia is seen across psychiatric conditions. Whilst many studies have examined links between alexithymia and ToM, results are mixed. Therefore, the purpose of this systematic review is to provide a taxonomy of ToM tests and assess their relationship with alexithymia. Tests are grouped according to whether they assess propensity to engage spontaneously in ToM or accuracy of ToM inferences, with tests further subdivided into those that do, and do not, require emotion recognition. A review of 63 suitable studies suggests that alexithymia is often associated with reduced ToM, and inaccurate ToM when tasks require emotion recognition. This latter finding appears due to impaired emotion recognition, rather than ToM impairment per se. Further directions and considerations for future research are discussed.
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Abstract
Humans are highly adept at differentiating, regulating, and responding to their emotions. At the core of all these functions is emotional awareness: the conscious feeling states that are central to human mental life. Disrupted emotional awareness-a subclinical construct commonly referred to as alexithymia-is present in a range of psychiatric and neurological disorders and can have a deleterious impact on functional outcomes and treatment response. This chapter is a selective review of the current state of the science on alexithymia. We focus on two separate but related issues: (i) the functional deficits associated with alexithymia and what they reveal about the importance of emotional awareness for shaping normative human functioning, and (ii) the neural correlates of alexithymia and what they can inform us about the biological bases of emotional awareness. Lastly, we outline challenges and opportunities for alexithymia research, focusing on measurement issues and the potential utility of formal computational models of emotional awareness for advancing the fields of clinical and affective science.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Hogeveen
- Department of Psychology and Psychology Clinical Neuroscience Center, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, United States.
| | - Jordan Grafman
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Brain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLab, Chicago, IL, United States; Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Neurology, and Psychiatry, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, United States
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