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Bortolini T, Laport MC, Latgé-Tovar S, Fischer R, Zahn R, de Oliveira-Souza R, Moll J. The extended neural architecture of human attachment: An fMRI coordinate-based meta-analysis of affiliative studies. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2024; 159:105584. [PMID: 38367888 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2024.105584] [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: 09/25/2023] [Revised: 01/30/2024] [Accepted: 02/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/19/2024]
Abstract
Functional imaging studies and clinical evidence indicate that cortical areas relevant to social cognition are closely integrated with evolutionarily conserved basal forebrain structures and neighboring regions, enabling human attachment and affiliative emotions. The neural circuitry of human affiliation is continually being unraveled as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) becomes increasingly prevalent, with studies examining human brain responses to various attachment figures. However, previous fMRI meta-analyses on affiliative stimuli have encountered challenges, such as low statistical power and the absence of robustness measures. To address these issues, we conducted an exhaustive coordinate-based meta-analysis of 79 fMRI studies, focusing on personalized affiliative stimuli, including one's infants, family, romantic partners, and friends. We employed complementary coordinate-based analyses (Activation Likelihood Estimation and Signed Differential Mapping) and conducted a robustness analysis of the results. Findings revealed cluster convergence in cortical and subcortical structures related to reward and motivation, salience detection, social bonding, and cognition. Our study thoroughly explores the neural correlates underpinning affiliative responses, effectively overcoming the limitations noted in previous meta-analyses. It provides an extensive view of the neural substrates associated with affiliative stimuli, illuminating the intricate interaction between cortical and subcortical regions. Our findings significantly contribute to understanding the neurobiology of human affiliation, expanding the known human attachment circuitry beyond the traditional basal forebrain regions observed in other mammals to include uniquely human isocortical structures.
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Affiliation(s)
- Tiago Bortolini
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil.
| | - Maria Clara Laport
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sofia Latgé-Tovar
- Institute of Psychiatry, Center for Alzheimer's Disease, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
| | - Ronald Fischer
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil; School of Psychology, PO Box 600, Victoria University of Wellington, Wellington 6021, New Zealand
| | - Roland Zahn
- Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, London SE5 8AF, UK
| | - Ricardo de Oliveira-Souza
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; The Federal University of the State of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; IDOR - Pioneer Science Initiative, São Paulo, Brazil
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2
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Engel A, Hoefle S, Monteiro MC, Moll J, Keller PE. Neural Correlates of Listening to Varying Synchrony Between Beats in Samba Percussion and Relations to Feeling the Groove. Front Neurosci 2022; 16:779964. [PMID: 35281511 PMCID: PMC8915847 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2022.779964] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2021] [Accepted: 01/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Listening to samba percussion often elicits feelings of pleasure and the desire to move with the beat-an experience sometimes referred to as "feeling the groove"- as well as social connectedness. Here we investigated the effects of performance timing in a Brazilian samba percussion ensemble on listeners' experienced pleasantness and the desire to move/dance in a behavioral experiment, as well as on neural processing as assessed via functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Participants listened to different excerpts of samba percussion produced by multiple instruments that either were "in sync", with no additional asynchrony between instrumental parts other than what is usual in naturalistic recordings, or were presented "out of sync" by delaying the snare drums (by 28, 55, or 83 ms). Results of the behavioral experiment showed increasing pleasantness and desire to move/dance with increasing synchrony between instruments. Analysis of hemodynamic responses revealed stronger bilateral brain activity in the supplementary motor area, the left premotor area, and the left middle frontal gyrus with increasing synchrony between instruments. Listening to "in sync" percussion thus strengthens audio-motor interactions by recruiting motor-related brain areas involved in rhythm processing and beat perception to a higher degree. Such motor related activity may form the basis for "feeling the groove" and the associated desire to move to music. Furthermore, in an exploratory analysis we found that participants who reported stronger emotional responses to samba percussion in everyday life showed higher activity in the subgenual cingulate cortex, an area involved in prosocial emotions, social group identification and social bonding.
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Affiliation(s)
- Annerose Engel
- Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, D’Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sebastian Hoefle
- Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, D’Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Marina Carneiro Monteiro
- Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, D’Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive and Behavioral Neuroscience Unit, D’Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Peter E. Keller
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- The MARCS Institute for Brain, Behaviour and Development, Western Sydney University, Penrith, NSW, Australia
- Department of Clinical Medicine, Center for Music in the Brain, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark
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3
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Eslinger PJ, Anders S, Ballarini T, Boutros S, Krach S, Mayer AV, Moll J, Newton TL, Schroeter ML, de Oliveira-Souza R, Raber J, Sullivan GB, Swain JE, Lowe L, Zahn R. The neuroscience of social feelings: mechanisms of adaptive social functioning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 128:592-620. [PMID: 34089764 PMCID: PMC8388127 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Social feelings have conceptual and empirical connections with affect and emotion. In this review, we discuss how they relate to cognition, emotion, behavior and well-being. We examine the functional neuroanatomy and neurobiology of social feelings and their role in adaptive social functioning. Existing neuroscience literature is reviewed to identify concepts, methods and challenges that might be addressed by social feelings research. Specific topic areas highlight the influence and modulation of social feelings on interpersonal affiliation, parent-child attachments, moral sentiments, interpersonal stressors, and emotional communication. Brain regions involved in social feelings were confirmed by meta-analysis using the Neurosynth platform for large-scale, automated synthesis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Words that relate specifically to social feelings were identfied as potential research variables. Topical inquiries into social media behaviors, loneliness, trauma, and social sensitivity, especially with recent physical distancing for guarding public and personal health, underscored the increasing importance of social feelings for affective and second person neuroscience research with implications for brain development, physical and mental health, and lifelong adaptive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Eslinger
- Departments of Neurology, Neural & Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics, and Radiology, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA.
| | - Silke Anders
- Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Tommaso Ballarini
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sydney Boutros
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Sören Krach
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Annalina V Mayer
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tamara L Newton
- University of Louisville, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Matthias L Schroeter
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ricardo de Oliveira-Souza
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), BR Hospital Universitario, Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jacob Raber
- Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, and Radiation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Gavin B Sullivan
- International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin, Germany, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University, UK
| | - James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Psychology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | | | - Roland Zahn
- Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
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Clemens AM, Wang H, Brecht M. The lateral septum mediates kinship behavior in the rat. Nat Commun 2020; 11:3161. [PMID: 32572024 PMCID: PMC7308382 DOI: 10.1038/s41467-020-16489-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2019] [Accepted: 05/06/2020] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Evolutionary theory and behavioral biology suggest that kinship is an organizing principle of social behavior. The neural mechanisms that mediate kinship behavior are, however, not known. Experiments confirm a sibling-approach preference in young rat pups and a sibling-avoidance-preference in older pups. Lesions of the lateral septum eliminate such kin preferences. In vivo juxta-cellular and whole-cell patch-clamp recordings in the lateral septum show multisensory neuronal responses to kin and non-kin stimuli. Non-kin odor-responsive neurons are located dorsally and kin-odor responsive neurons are located ventrally in the lateral septum. With development, the fraction of kin-responsive lateral septal neurons decrease and ongoing firing rates increase. Lesion effects, developmental changes and the ordered representation of response preferences according to kinship—an organization we refer to as nepotopy—point to a key role of the lateral septum in organizing mammalian kinship behavior. Kinship behavior in rodents has been documented in the laboratory setting but the neural mechanisms that mediate kinship behavior are not known. Here, the authors show that the lateral septum has a key role in organizing mammalian kinship behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ann M Clemens
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
| | - Hong Wang
- CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Connectome and Manipulation, The Brain Cognition and Brain Disease Institute (BCBDI), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shenzhen-Hong Kong Institute of Brain Science-Shenzhen Fundamental Research Institutions, Shenzhen Institutes of Advanced Technology, Xueyuan Boulevard, Shenzhen, 518055, China
| | - Michael Brecht
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, Haus 6, 10115, Berlin, Germany.
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Zahn R, de Oliveira-Souza R, Moll J. Moral Motivation and the Basal Forebrain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:207-217. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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Dziura SL, Thompson JC. The Neural Representational Space of Social Memory. Open Mind (Camb) 2019; 3:1-12. [PMID: 34485787 PMCID: PMC8412184 DOI: 10.1162/opmi_a_00021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2018] [Accepted: 11/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Social functioning involves learning about the social networks in which we live and interact; knowing not just our friends, but also who is friends with our friends. This study utilized an incidental learning paradigm and representational similarity analysis (RSA), a functional MRI multivariate pattern analysis technique, to examine the relationship between learning social networks and the brain's response to the faces within the networks. We found that accuracy of learning face pair relationships through observation is correlated with neural similarity patterns to those pairs in the left temporoparietal junction (TPJ), the left fusiform gyrus, and the subcallosal ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), all areas previously implicated in social cognition. This model was also significant in portions of the cerebellum and thalamus. These results show that the similarity of neural patterns represent how accurately we understand the closeness of any two faces within a network. Our findings indicate that these areas of the brain not only process knowledge and understanding of others, but also support learning relations between individuals in groups.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L. Dziura
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030 USA
| | - James C. Thompson
- Department of Psychology, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, 22030 USA
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Morriss J, Bell T, Johnstone T, van Reekum CM, Hill J. Social domain based modulation of neural responses to threat: The different roles of romantic partners versus friends. Soc Neurosci 2018; 14:398-408. [PMID: 29882728 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2018.1486735] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/14/2022]
Abstract
The neural circuitry associated with threat regulation in the absence of other people is well established. An examination of threat regulatory processes with people from different domains of an individual's social world is key to understanding social emotion regulation and personality functioning conceptualised as social domain organisation. In this study, 42 healthy female participants completed functional magnetic imaging sessions in which they underwent a scan in the presence of a romantic partner or friend, whilst completing a threat of shock task. In the presence of a romantic partner vs. friend, we found a reduction in amygdala activation to threat vs. safe trials over time. Furthermore, in the presence of a romantic partner vs. friend we observed greater subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and ventromedial prefrontal cortex activation to threat vs. safe trials overall. The results support the hypothesis that recruitment of threat regulation circuitry is modulated by romantic partner relative to another person well-known to the individual. Future work needs to examine neural responses to a wider range of stimuli across more social domains, and implications of failures of this neural organisation for psychopathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jayne Morriss
- a Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences , University of Reading , Reading , UK
| | - Tiffany Bell
- a Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences , University of Reading , Reading , UK
| | - Tom Johnstone
- a Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences , University of Reading , Reading , UK
| | - Carien M van Reekum
- a Centre for Integrative Neuroscience and Neurodynamics, School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences , University of Reading , Reading , UK
| | - Jonathan Hill
- b School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences , University of Reading , Reading , UK
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8
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van den Berg LJM, Tollenaar MS, Pittner K, Compier-de Block LHCG, Buisman RSM, van IJzendoorn MH, Elzinga BM. Pass it on? The neural responses to rejection in the context of a family study on maltreatment. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:616-627. [PMID: 29897537 PMCID: PMC6022637 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/30/2017] [Revised: 04/12/2018] [Accepted: 05/21/2018] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Rejection by parents is an important aspect of child maltreatment. Altered neural responses to social rejection have been observed in maltreated individuals. The current study is the first to examine the impact of experienced and perpetrated abuse and neglect on neural responses to social exclusion by strangers versus family using a multigenerational family design, including 144 participants. The role of neural reactivity to social exclusion in the intergenerational transmission of maltreatment was also examined. Exclusion by strangers was especially associated with increased activation in the left insula, while exclusion by a family member was mainly associated with increased activation in the ACC. Neural reactivity to social exclusion by strangers in the insula, ACC and dmPFC, was associated with experienced maltreatment but not with perpetrated maltreatment. In abusive parents, altered neural reactivity during exclusion was found in other brain areas, indicating different neural correlates of experienced and perpetrated maltreatment. Hence, no mechanisms could be identified that are involved in the transmission of maltreatment. Hypersensitivity to social rejection by strangers in neglected individuals underscores the importance to distinguish between effects of abuse and neglect and suggests that the impact of experiencing rejection and maltreatment by your own parents extends beyond the family context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lisa J M van den Berg
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University Medical Center
| | - Marieke S Tollenaar
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University Medical Center
| | - Katharina Pittner
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University Medical Center
- Department of Child and Family Studies, Leiden University
| | | | | | | | - Bernet M Elzinga
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Leiden University
- Leiden Institute for Brain and Cognition (LIBC), Leiden University Medical Center
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9
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Neural bases of ingroup altruistic motivation in soccer fans. Sci Rep 2017; 7:16122. [PMID: 29170383 PMCID: PMC5700961 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-017-15385-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/03/2017] [Accepted: 10/19/2017] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Humans have a strong need to belong to social groups and a natural inclination to benefit ingroup members. Although the psychological mechanisms behind human prosociality have extensively been studied, the specific neural systems bridging group belongingness and altruistic motivation remain to be identified. Here, we used soccer fandom as an ecological framing of group membership to investigate the neural mechanisms underlying ingroup altruistic behaviour in male fans using event-related functional magnetic resonance. We designed an effort measure based on handgrip strength to assess the motivation to earn money (i) for oneself, (ii) for anonymous ingroup fans, or (iii) for a neutral group of anonymous non-fans. While overlapping valuation signals in the medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC) were observed for the three conditions, the subgenual cingulate cortex (SCC) exhibited increased functional connectivity with the mOFC as well as stronger hemodynamic responses for ingroup versus outgroup decisions. These findings indicate a key role for the SCC, a region previously implicated in altruistic decisions and group affiliation, in dovetailing altruistic motivations with neural valuation systems in real-life ingroup behaviour.
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Zacharopoulos G, Hanel PHP, Lancaster TM, Ihssen N, Drakesmith M, Foley S, Maio GR, Linden DEJ. Nonlinear associations between human values and neuroanatomy. Soc Neurosci 2016; 12:673-684. [PMID: 27635795 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1229215] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/21/2022]
Abstract
Human values guide behavior and the smooth functioning of societies. Schwartz's circumplex model of values predicts a sinusoidal waveform in relations between ratings of the importance of diverse human value types (e.g., achievement, benevolence) and any variables psychologically relevant to them. In this neuroimaging study, we examined these nonlinear associations between values types and brain structure. In 85 participants, we found the predicted sinusoidal relationship between ratings of values types and two measures of white matter (WM), volume and myelin volume fraction, as well as for grey matter (GM) parameters in several frontal regions. These effects reveal new functional associations for structural brain parameters and provide a novel cross-validation of Schwartz's model. Moreover, the sinusoidal waveform test can be applied to other circumplex models in social, affective and cognitive neuroscience.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Paul H P Hanel
- a CUBRIC, School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , Wales
| | - Thomas M Lancaster
- a CUBRIC, School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , Wales.,b Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute , Cardiff , UK.,c MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics , Cardiff , UK
| | - Niklas Ihssen
- a CUBRIC, School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , Wales.,d Department of Psychology , Durham University , Durham , England
| | - Mark Drakesmith
- a CUBRIC, School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , Wales.,b Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute , Cardiff , UK
| | - Sonya Foley
- a CUBRIC, School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , Wales.,b Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute , Cardiff , UK
| | - Gregory R Maio
- a CUBRIC, School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , Wales
| | - David E J Linden
- a CUBRIC, School of Psychology , Cardiff University , Cardiff , Wales.,b Neuroscience and Mental Health Research Institute , Cardiff , UK.,c MRC Centre for Neuropsychiatric Genetics and Genomics , Cardiff , UK
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