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Cai CQ, Lavan N, Chen SHY, Wang CZX, Ozturk OC, Chiu RMY, Gilbert SJ, White SJ, Scott SK. Mapping the differential impact of spontaneous and conversational laughter on brain and mind: an fMRI study in autism. Cereb Cortex 2024; 34:bhae199. [PMID: 38752979 PMCID: PMC11097909 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhae199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/24/2024] [Revised: 04/23/2024] [Accepted: 04/26/2024] [Indexed: 05/18/2024] Open
Abstract
Spontaneous and conversational laughter are important socio-emotional communicative signals. Neuroimaging findings suggest that non-autistic people engage in mentalizing to understand the meaning behind conversational laughter. Autistic people may thus face specific challenges in processing conversational laughter, due to their mentalizing difficulties. Using fMRI, we explored neural differences during implicit processing of these two types of laughter. Autistic and non-autistic adults passively listened to funny words, followed by spontaneous laughter, conversational laughter, or noise-vocoded vocalizations. Behaviourally, words plus spontaneous laughter were rated as funnier than words plus conversational laughter, and the groups did not differ. However, neuroimaging results showed that non-autistic adults exhibited greater medial prefrontal cortex activation while listening to words plus conversational laughter, than words plus genuine laughter, while autistic adults showed no difference in medial prefrontal cortex activity between these two laughter types. Our findings suggest a crucial role for the medial prefrontal cortex in understanding socio-emotionally ambiguous laughter via mentalizing. Our study also highlights the possibility that autistic people may face challenges in understanding the essence of the laughter we frequently encounter in everyday life, especially in processing conversational laughter that carries complex meaning and social ambiguity, potentially leading to social vulnerability. Therefore, we advocate for clearer communication with autistic people.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ceci Qing Cai
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Nadine Lavan
- Department of Biological and Experimental Psychology, School of Biological and Behavioural Sciences, Queen Mary University of London, London E1 4NS, United Kingdom
| | - Sinead H Y Chen
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Claire Z X Wang
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Ozan Cem Ozturk
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Roni Man Ying Chiu
- Department of Social and Behavioural Sciences, City University of Hong Kong, Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR
| | - Sam J Gilbert
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Sarah J White
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
| | - Sophie K Scott
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London WC1N 3AZ, United Kingdom
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Huang CL, Alimu Y, Yang SC, Kang S. What you think is a joke is actually cyberbullying: The effects of ethical dissonance, event judgment and humor style on cyberbullying behavior. COMPUTERS IN HUMAN BEHAVIOR 2023. [DOI: 10.1016/j.chb.2023.107670] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023]
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Chen Y, Liu Y, Gao Y, Wu X, Mo L. The relationship between self-esteem and self-concept clarity is modulated by spontaneous activities of the dACC. Front Psychol 2022; 13:926181. [PMID: 36275295 PMCID: PMC9581283 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.926181] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Accepted: 09/09/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Although it has been found that self-esteem and self-concept clarity are positively correlated, self-determination theory shows that the positive relationship might be lowered for individuals whose basic psychological needs are chronically thwarted. The exact neural mechanisms underlying the relationship between self-esteem and self-concept clarity are still not fully understood. The dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) plays an important role in monitoring basic psychological needs, considering that it is more active when some basic psychological needs are actually or potentially thwarted. To better understand the neural mechanisms underlying the relationship between self-esteem and self-concept clarity, we investigated the differences in the relationship between self-esteem and self-concept clarity among healthy adults with different levels of spontaneous activities of the dACC using rs-fMRI combined with amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF). As expected, the results showed that the positive relationship between self-esteem and self-concept clarity was modulated by the ALFF value of the right dACC, which indicated that the positive relationship was significant when the ALLF value of the right dACC was lower, but the positive relationship was not significant when the ALFF value of the right dACC was higher. The modulating roles of right dACC might also reflect that the individuals with higher ALFF value of dACC might experience chronically thwarted relatedness of basic psychological needs, which means the more disturbed by thwarting relatedness information in individuals, the lower positive relationship emerged.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yujie Chen
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Centre for Studies of Psychological Applications, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Educational Science, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yanchi Liu
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Centre for Studies of Psychological Applications, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Educational Science, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Yuan Gao
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Centre for Studies of Psychological Applications, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Educational Science, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Xin Wu
- School of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
- *Correspondence: Lei Mo
| | - Lei Mo
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Centre for Studies of Psychological Applications, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Key Laboratory of Brain Cognition and Educational Science, Ministry of Education, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
- Xin Wu
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Wu X, Zhao Y. Degree Centrality of a Brain Network Is Altered by Stereotype Threat: Evidences From a Resting-State Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study. Front Psychol 2021; 12:705363. [PMID: 34531795 PMCID: PMC8439390 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.705363] [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: 05/05/2021] [Accepted: 07/26/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous studies have found the effects of stereotype threat (ST) on cognitive processes, emotions, and motivations which could account for the underperformance in domain tasks. Efficient brain function does not require the function of different brain regions during specific tasks, but it does require the brain networks on which information is transported. Based on these, the effects of ST on the degree centrality under the resting state of brain regions related to these processes were investigated under math-related ST. The results showed that RSDC was decreased in the left hippocampus and left middle occipital gyrus (MOC), while RSDC was increased in the left precuneus, the right angular gyrus (AG), and the right superior parietal gyrus (SPG) under ST. Interestingly, we also found that the right-left anterior temporal lobe (ATL) and the right hippocampus were negatively correlated with manipulation check (MC) score in the ST group, while the right-left ATL and the right hippocampus were positively correlated with MC score in the control group. These results might reflect those individuals who attempted to inhibit the negative emotions induced by the negative stereotypes under ST conditions while increasing the self-relevant processes by retrieving episodic memory or autobiographical memory.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xin Wu
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,School of Psychology, Xinxiang Medical University, Xinxiang, China
| | - Yufang Zhao
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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Yao G, Li J, Wang J, Liu S, Li X, Cao X, Chen H, Xu Y. Improved Resting-State Functional Dynamics in Post-stroke Depressive Patients After Shugan Jieyu Capsule Treatment. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:297. [PMID: 32372901 PMCID: PMC7177051 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.00297] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/20/2019] [Accepted: 03/16/2020] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
Shugan Jieyu Capsule (SG), a Chinese herbal medicine mainly composed of Acanthopanax and Hypericum perforatum, has been used to ameliorate cognitive impairments and emotional problems induced by post-stroke depression (PSD), while the altered brain dynamics underlying the ameliorative effects of SG have remained unclear. Our study focused on investigating the potential neurobiological mechanisms of SG in improving the cognitive function of PSD patients via resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Fifteen PSD patients (mean ages: 64.13 ± 6.01 years) were instructed to take 0.72 g of SG twice a day for 8 weeks. PSD patients underwent fMRIs, the 24-item Hamilton Depression Scale (HAMD-24) and the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (MoCA) at baseline and the end of intervention, and these assessments were also performed on twenty-one healthy controls (HC) (mean ages: 60.67 ± 6.95 years). Additionally, the dynamic amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations (dALFF) and functional connectivity (dFC) were determined to reveal changes in dynamic functional patterns. We found that taking SG significantly reduced the depressive symptoms assessed by HAMD-24 and improved cognitive functions assessed by MoCA in PSD patients. Furthermore, at baseline, PSD patients showed decreased dALFF in the right precuneus and increased dFC between the right precuneus and left angular gyrus, compared with HC. After intervention, the dALFF and dFC variances of the abnormal patterns were reversed. Additionally, the dALFF variance in the right precuneus was positively correlated with MoCA scores in PSD patients after SG treatment. Collectively, our results indicate that SG may improve the cognitive function of PSD patients through alteration of brain dynamics. Our findings lay a foundation for the exploration of the neurobiological mechanisms of SG in ameliorating symptoms of PSD patients.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanqun Yao
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Jing Li
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Assisted Diagnosis and Treatment for Mental Disorder, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Jiaojian Wang
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Sha Liu
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Assisted Diagnosis and Treatment for Mental Disorder, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Xinrong Li
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Xiaohua Cao
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
| | - Huafu Chen
- The Clinical Hospital of Chengdu Brain Science Institute, MOE Key Lab for Neuroinformation, School of Life Sciences and Technology, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Chengdu, China
| | - Yong Xu
- Department of Psychiatry, First Hospital/First Clinical Medical College of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.,Shanxi Key Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence Assisted Diagnosis and Treatment for Mental Disorder, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China.,MDT Center for Cognitive Impairment and Sleep Disorders, First Hospital of Shanxi Medical University, Taiyuan, China
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