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Villanueva J, Ilari B, Habibi A. Long-term music instruction is partially associated with the development of socioemotional skills. PLoS One 2024; 19:e0307373. [PMID: 39024268 PMCID: PMC11257369 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0307373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/31/2023] [Accepted: 07/03/2024] [Indexed: 07/20/2024] Open
Abstract
This study aims to investigate the development of pitch-matching, rhythmic entrainment, and socioemotional skills in children who received formal music instruction and other non-music based after school programs. Eighty-three children, averaging 6.81 years old at baseline, were enrolled in either a music, sports, or no after-school program and followed over four years. The music program involved formal and systematic instruction in music theory, instrumental technique, and performance. Most control participants had no music education; however, in some instances, participants received minimal music education at school or at church. Musical development was measured using a pitch-matching and drumming-based rhythmic entrainment task. Sharing behavior was measured using a variation of the dictator game, and empathy was assessed using three different assessments: the Index of Empathy for Children and Adolescence (trait empathy), the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (theory of mind), and a Fiction Emotion-Matching task (state empathy). Results revealed no time-related associations in pitch-matching ability; however, formal music instruction improved pitch-matching relative to controls. On the contrary, improvements in rhythmic entrainment were best explained by age-related changes rather than music instruction. This study also found limited support for a positive association between formal music instruction and socioemotional skills. That is, individuals with formal music instruction exhibited improved emotion-matching relative to those with sports training. In terms of general socioemotional development, children's trait-level affective empathy did not improve over time, while sharing, theory of mind, and state empathy did. Additionally, pitch-matching and rhythmic entrainment did not reliably predict any socioemotional measures, with associations being trivial to small. While formal music instruction benefitted pitch-matching ability and emotion-matching to an audiovisual stimulus, it was not a significant predictor of rhythmic entrainment or broader socioemotional development. These findings suggest that the transfer of music training may be most evident in near or similar domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jed Villanueva
- Brain and Creativity Institute, Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Beatriz Ilari
- Department of Music Teaching & Learning, Thornton School of Music, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
| | - Assal Habibi
- Brain and Creativity Institute, Dornsife College of Letters Arts and Sciences, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States of America
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2
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Peña-Casanova J, Sánchez-Benavides G, Sigg-Alonso J. Updating functional brain units: Insights far beyond Luria. Cortex 2024; 174:19-69. [PMID: 38492440 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2024.02.004] [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: 09/28/2023] [Revised: 01/15/2024] [Accepted: 02/15/2024] [Indexed: 03/18/2024]
Abstract
This paper reviews Luria's model of the three functional units of the brain. To meet this objective, several issues were reviewed: the theory of functional systems and the contributions of phylogenesis and embryogenesis to the brain's functional organization. This review revealed several facts. In the first place, the relationship/integration of basic homeostatic needs with complex forms of behavior. Secondly, the multi-scale hierarchical and distributed organization of the brain and interactions between cells and systems. Thirdly, the phylogenetic role of exaptation, especially in basal ganglia and cerebellum expansion. Finally, the tripartite embryogenetic organization of the brain: rhinic, limbic/paralimbic, and supralimbic zones. Obviously, these principles of brain organization are in contradiction with attempts to establish separate functional brain units. The proposed new model is made up of two large integrated complexes: a primordial-limbic complex (Luria's Unit I) and a telencephalic-cortical complex (Luria's Units II and III). As a result, five functional units were delineated: Unit I. Primordial or preferential (brainstem), for life-support, behavioral modulation, and waking regulation; Unit II. Limbic and paralimbic systems, for emotions and hedonic evaluation (danger and relevance detection and contribution to reward/motivational processing) and the creation of cognitive maps (contextual memory, navigation, and generativity [imagination]); Unit III. Telencephalic-cortical, for sensorimotor and cognitive processing (gnosis, praxis, language, calculation, etc.), semantic and episodic (contextual) memory processing, and multimodal conscious agency; Unit IV. Basal ganglia systems, for behavior selection and reinforcement (reward-oriented behavior); Unit V. Cerebellar systems, for the prediction/anticipation (orthometric supervision) of the outcome of an action. The proposed brain units are nothing more than abstractions within the brain's simultaneous and distributed physiological processes. As function transcends anatomy, the model necessarily involves transition and overlap between structures. Beyond the classic approaches, this review includes information on recent systemic perspectives on functional brain organization. The limitations of this review are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jordi Peña-Casanova
- Integrative Pharmacology and Systems Neuroscience Research Group, Neuroscience Program, Hospital del Mar Medical Research Institute, Barcelona, Spain; Department of Psychiatry and Legal Medicine, Autonomous University of Barcelona, Bellaterra, Barcelona, Spain; Test Barcelona Services, Teià, Barcelona, Spain.
| | | | - Jorge Sigg-Alonso
- Department of Behavioral and Cognitive Neurobiology, Institute of Neurobiology, National Autonomous University of México (UNAM), Queretaro, Mexico
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3
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Ouerchefani R, Ouerchefani N, Ben Rejeb MR, Le Gall D. Pragmatic language comprehension: Role of theory of mind, executive functions, and the prefrontal cortex. Neuropsychologia 2024; 194:108756. [PMID: 38103682 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2023.108756] [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: 01/16/2023] [Revised: 09/23/2023] [Accepted: 12/10/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The specific contribution of focal damage of the prefrontal cortex and the cognitive mechanisms accounting for communicative-pragmatic disorders remains unclear. The objective of the current study was to investigate the impact of focal prefrontal cortex damage on the ability to understand indirect speech or hints and to identify the prefrontal neural mechanisms involved. We also examined the underlying cognitive mechanisms of disorders of indirect speech understanding particularly theory of mind and executive functions. Thirty patients with focal prefrontal cortex damage and 30 control subjects were compared on their performances on the Hinting task assessing pragmatic language skills, the "Faux-Pas" task and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task assessing Theory of Mind and a battery of executive tasks. Patients were significantly impaired compared with control subjects on all these abilities. Both deficits of executive functions and theory of mind were able to predict impaired ability of patients in understanding non-literal meanings on the Hinting task. Finally, using voxel-based lesion analysis we identified a partially shared neural prefrontal network involved in all these abilities centered on the dorsomedial and ventral regions of the prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riadh Ouerchefani
- University of Tunis El Manar, High Institute of Human Sciences, Department of Psychology, 26 Boulevard Darghouth Pacha, Tunis, Tunisia; Univ Angers, Université de Nantes, LPPL, SFR Confluences, F-49000 Angers, France.
| | - Naoufel Ouerchefani
- Department of Neurosurgery, Foch Hospital, 40 Rue Worth, 92151 Suresnes, Paris, France.
| | - Mohamed Riadh Ben Rejeb
- University of Tunis I, Faculty of Human and Social Science of Tunisia, Department of Psychology, Boulevard 9 Avril, C.P. 1007, Tunis, Tunisia.
| | - Didier Le Gall
- Univ Angers, Université de Nantes, LPPL, SFR Confluences, F-49000 Angers, France.
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Tilkeridou M, Moraitou D, Papaliagkas V, Frantzi N, Emmanouilidou E, Tsolaki M. An Examination of the Motives for Attributing and Interpreting Deception in People with Amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment. J Intell 2024; 12:12. [PMID: 38392168 PMCID: PMC10890118 DOI: 10.3390/jintelligence12020012] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2023] [Revised: 12/23/2023] [Accepted: 01/12/2024] [Indexed: 02/24/2024] Open
Abstract
The aim of the present study was to examine how a person with amnestic mild cognitive impairment perceives the phenomenon of deception. Amnestic mild cognitive impairment (aMCI) usually represents the prodromal phase of Alzheimer's disease (AD), with patients showing memory impairment but with normal activities of daily living. It was expected that aMCI patients would face difficulties in the attribution and interpretation of deceptive behavior due to deficits regarding their diagnosis. The main sample of the study consisted of 76 older adults who were patients of a daycare center diagnosed with aMCI. A sample of 55 highly educated young adults was also examined in the same experiment to qualitatively compare their performance with that of aMCI patients. Participants were assigned a scenario where a hypothetical partner (either a friend or a stranger) was engaged in a task in which the partner could lie to boost their earnings at the expense of the participant. The results showed that aMCI patients, even if they understood that something was going wrong, did not invest in interpretations of potential deception and tended to avoid searching for confirmative information related to the hypothetical lie of their partner compared to highly educated young adults. It seems that aMCI patients become somehow "innocent", and this is discussed in terms of cognitive impairment and/or socioemotional selectivity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maria Tilkeridou
- Neurosciences and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Postgraduate Course, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Greek Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), 54643 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Despina Moraitou
- Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, School of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balkan Center, Aristotle University, 10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Vasileios Papaliagkas
- Department of Biomedical Sciences, School of Health Sciences, International Hellenic University, 57400 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Nikoleta Frantzi
- Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, School of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Evdokia Emmanouilidou
- Laboratory of Psychology, Department of Experimental and Cognitive Psychology, School of Psychology, Faculty of Philosophy, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
| | - Magdalini Tsolaki
- Neurosciences and Neurodegenerative Diseases, Postgraduate Course, Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, Aristotle University, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Greek Association of Alzheimer's Disease and Related Disorders (GAADRD), 54643 Thessaloniki, Greece
- Laboratory of Neurodegenerative Diseases, Center for Interdisciplinary Research and Innovation (CIRI-AUTH), Balkan Center, Aristotle University, 10th km Thessaloniki-Thermi, 54124 Thessaloniki, Greece
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Bellard A, Trotter PD, McGlone FL, Cazzato V. Role of medial prefrontal cortex and primary somatosensory cortex in self and other-directed vicarious social touch: a TMS study. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2023; 18:nsad060. [PMID: 37837378 PMCID: PMC10640852 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsad060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2023] [Revised: 08/11/2023] [Accepted: 10/05/2023] [Indexed: 10/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Conflicting evidence points to the contribution of several key nodes of the 'social brain' to the processing of both discriminatory and affective qualities of interpersonal touch. Whether the primary somatosensory cortex (S1) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), two brain areas vital for tactile mirroring and affective mentalizing, play a functional role in shared representations of C-tactile (CT) targeted affective touch is still a matter of debate. Here, we used offline continuous theta-burst transcranial magnetic stimulation (cTBS) to mPFC, S1 and vertex (control) prior to participants providing ratings of vicarious touch pleasantness for self and others delivered across several body sites at CT-targeted velocities. We found that S1-cTBS led to a significant increase in touch ratings to the self, with this effect being positively associated to levels of interoceptive awareness. Conversely, mPFC-cTBS reduced pleasantness ratings for touch to another person. These effects were not specific for CT-optimal (slow) stroking velocities, but rather they applied to all types of social touch. Overall, our findings challenge the causal role of the S1 and mPFC in vicarious affective touch and suggest that self- vs other-directed vicarious touch responses might crucially depend on the specific involvement of key social networks in gentle tactile interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ashleigh Bellard
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Paula D Trotter
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
| | - Francis L McGlone
- Institute of Psychology, Health & Society, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, UK
| | - Valentina Cazzato
- School of Psychology, Faculty of Health, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, UK
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Riadh O, Naoufel O, Ben Rejeb MR, Le Gall D. The role of cognitive estimation in understanding the mental states of others. Cogn Neuropsychol 2023; 40:381-400. [PMID: 38782712 DOI: 10.1080/02643294.2024.2354449] [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: 10/20/2023] [Accepted: 05/07/2024] [Indexed: 05/25/2024]
Abstract
Previous studies have emphasized the critical role of the prefrontal cortex in cognitive estimation and theory of mind, however, none of them has questioned the possible role of cognitive estimation processes in understanding the mental states of others. In this study, we compared 30 patients with focal prefrontal cortex damage and 30 control subjects matched by gender, age, and education level on their performances on a cognitive estimation task and two tasks assessing theory of mind: the "Faux-Pas" task and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task. The results showed that patients were significantly impaired compared with control subjects on both abilities of cognitive estimation and theory of mind. Moreover, regression analyses showed that performance on theory of mind was predicted by the scores on cognitive estimation. Finally, using voxel-based lesion analysis, we identified a partially common bilaterally distributed prefrontal network involved in both these domains centred within the ventral and dorsomedial areas with extension to the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ouerchefani Riadh
- Higher Institute of Human sciences, University of Tunis El-Manar, Tunis, Tunisia
- Univ Angers, Université de Nantes, LPPL, SFR CONFLUENCES, Angers, France
| | | | - Mohamed Riadh Ben Rejeb
- Faculty of Human and Social Science of Tunisia, Department of Psychology, University of Tunis I, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Didier Le Gall
- Univ Angers, Université de Nantes, LPPL, SFR CONFLUENCES, Angers, France
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Castro-Toledo FJ, Cerezo P, Gómez-Bellvís AB. Scratching the structure of moral agency: insights from philosophy applied to neuroscience. Front Neurosci 2023; 17:1198001. [PMID: 37539381 PMCID: PMC10396301 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2023.1198001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/31/2023] [Accepted: 06/28/2023] [Indexed: 08/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This paper explores the intersection between neuroscience and philosophy, particularly in the areas of moral philosophy and philosophy of mind. While traditional philosophical questions, such as those relating to free will and moral motivation, have been subject to much debate, the rise of neuroscience has led to a reinterpretation of these questions considering empirical evidence. This has led to tensions between those who believe neuroscience can provide definitive answers to very complex philosophical questions and those who are skeptical about the scope of these studies. However, the paper argues that neuroscientists and philosophers can work together to generate major scientific and social advances. To contribute to bridge the gap, in this paper we expose the complexity of moral experience from a philosophical point of view and point to two great challenges and gaps to cover from neurosciences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Francisco Javier Castro-Toledo
- Plus Ethics, Elche, Spain
- Miguel Hernández University of Elche, Elche, Spain
- The European University of Brain and Technology (NeurotechEU), Elche, Spain
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8
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Li Z, Dong Q, Hu B, Wu H. Every individual makes a difference: A trinity derived from linking individual brain morphometry, connectivity and mentalising ability. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:3343-3358. [PMID: 37051692 PMCID: PMC10171537 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26285] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/19/2022] [Revised: 02/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2023] [Indexed: 04/14/2023] Open
Abstract
Mentalising ability, indexed as the ability to understand others' beliefs, feelings, intentions, thoughts and traits, is a pivotal and fundamental component of human social cognition. However, considering the multifaceted nature of mentalising ability, little research has focused on characterising individual differences in different mentalising components. And even less research has been devoted to investigating how the variance in the structural and functional patterns of the amygdala and hippocampus, two vital subcortical regions of the "social brain", are related to inter-individual variability in mentalising ability. Here, as a first step toward filling these gaps, we exploited inter-subject representational similarity analysis (IS-RSA) to assess relationships between amygdala and hippocampal morphometry (surface-based multivariate morphometry statistics, MMS), connectivity (resting-state functional connectivity, rs-FC) and mentalising ability (interactive mentalisation questionnaire [IMQ] scores) across the participants ( N = 24 $$ N=24 $$ ). In IS-RSA, we proposed a novel pipeline, that is, computing patching and pooling operations-based surface distance (CPP-SD), to obtain a decent representation for high-dimensional MMS data. On this basis, we found significant correlations (i.e., second-order isomorphisms) between these three distinct modalities, indicating that a trinity existed in idiosyncratic patterns of brain morphometry, connectivity and mentalising ability. Notably, a region-related mentalising specificity emerged from these associations: self-self and self-other mentalisation are more related to the hippocampus, while other-self mentalisation shows a closer link with the amygdala. Furthermore, by utilising the dyadic regression analysis, we observed significant interactions such that subject pairs with similar morphometry had even greater mentalising similarity if they were also similar in rs-FC. Altogether, we demonstrated the feasibility and illustrated the promise of using IS-RSA to study individual differences, deepening our understanding of how individual brains give rise to their mentalising abilities.
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Affiliation(s)
- Zhaoning Li
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Taipa, China
| | - Qunxi Dong
- School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Bin Hu
- School of Medical Technology, Beijing Institute of Technology, Beijing, China
| | - Haiyan Wu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Taipa, China
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Brown L, Fish J, Mograbi DC, Ashkan K, Morris R. The self and self-knowledge after frontal lobe neurosurgical lesions. Cortex 2023; 162:12-25. [PMID: 36965336 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2023.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/16/2021] [Revised: 05/13/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/07/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Evidence suggests that damage to the frontal lobes can be associated with changes in cognitive and behavioral functioning and reduced awareness that such changes have occurred. In the current study, the Cognitive Awareness Model was used as a theoretical framework to explore knowledge of the self in people with acquired frontal lesions. METHODS Fifteen individuals with focal frontal lobe lesions (FFL) and their nominated informants were compared with fifteen healthy matched control-informant dyads on questionnaire measures designed to assess awareness of difficulties. Questionnaires were adapted to ensure all enabled pre- and post-injury perspectives to be gained from both patient and informant, and to allow novel exploration of awareness of deficits from a third person perspective. RESULTS Individuals with frontal lobe lesions showed adequate awareness of their post-surgery changes, which was substantiated by their informant report. Compared to the control group, the patient group was found to acknowledge more difficulties in current functioning. Perspective-taking ability was limited with both patients and controls being comparatively unreliable in assessing how they were perceived by others. CONCLUSION These results demonstrate that FLL patients are engaging in more atypical behaviors compared to healthy controls, but suggest that they are aware of and acknowledge these difficulties. The importance of obtaining multiple viewpoints when examining an individual's level of awareness and the clinical implications of this are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Laura Brown
- King's College Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK.
| | - Jessica Fish
- King's College Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK; Mental Health and Wellbeing, Institute of Health and Wellbeing, University of Glasgow, UK; Department of Clinical Neuropsychology and Clinical Health Psychology, St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
| | - Daniel C Mograbi
- King's College Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK; Department of Psychology, Pontifical Catholic University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Robin Morris
- King's College Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, London, UK
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Sars D. PE augmented mindfulness: A neurocognitive framework for research and future healthcare. Front Hum Neurosci 2022; 16:899988. [PMID: 36082227 PMCID: PMC9446465 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2022.899988] [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: 03/19/2022] [Accepted: 07/21/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Various well-controlled studies have suggested that practitioners in mindfulness can be prone to patient drop-out (e.g., due to chronic stress, pathology, cognitive reactivity), despite researchers having identified the underlying mechanisms that link mindfulness to mental health. In this article, a framework for physical exercise (PE) augmented mindfulness is proposed, which posits that consistently practiced PE before meditation can support (early-stage) mindfulness. Neurocognitive research shows PE (aerobic exercises or yoga) and mindfulness to impact similar pathways of stress regulation that involve cognitive control and stress regulation, thereby supporting the proposed synergistic potential of PE augmented mindfulness. Research focused on the psychophysiological impact of PE, showed its practice to promote short-term neurocognitive changes that can promote both cognitive control and the attainment of mindful awareness (MA). In order to chart dose responses required for protocol development, further research will be presented. Together these findings are discussed in light of future research on this multidisciplinary topic, protocol development, mindful walking, and further application in healthcare and beyond.
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Affiliation(s)
- David Sars
- Mettaminds.org, Mindfulness Based Projects, Amsterdam, Netherlands
- Centre for Integral Rehabilitation (CIR), Amsterdam, Netherlands
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Clough S, Hilverman C, Brown-Schmidt S, Duff MC. Evidence of Audience Design in Amnesia: Adaptation in Gesture but Not Speech. Brain Sci 2022; 12:1082. [PMID: 36009145 PMCID: PMC9405987 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12081082] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2022] [Revised: 08/10/2022] [Accepted: 08/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Speakers design communication for their audience, providing more information in both speech and gesture when their listener is naïve to the topic. We test whether the hippocampal declarative memory system contributes to multimodal audience design. The hippocampus, while traditionally linked to episodic and relational memory, has also been linked to the ability to imagine the mental states of others and use language flexibly. We examined the speech and gesture use of four patients with hippocampal amnesia when describing how to complete everyday tasks (e.g., how to tie a shoe) to an imagined child listener and an adult listener. Although patients with amnesia did not increase their total number of words and instructional steps for the child listener, they did produce representational gestures at significantly higher rates for the imagined child compared to the adult listener. They also gestured at similar frequencies to neurotypical peers, suggesting that hand gesture can be a meaningful communicative resource, even in the case of severe declarative memory impairment. We discuss the contributions of multiple memory systems to multimodal audience design and the potential of gesture to act as a window into the social cognitive processes of individuals with neurologic disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sharice Clough
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
| | - Caitlin Hilverman
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
- Qntfy Corporation, Arlington, VA 22209, USA
| | - Sarah Brown-Schmidt
- Department of Psychology and Human Development, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN 37235, USA
| | - Melissa C. Duff
- Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN 37232, USA
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12
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Sánchez Tombe JR. Lesions in the Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex and their Impact on Social Cognition. REVISTA COLOMBIANA DE PSICOLOGÍA 2022. [DOI: 10.15446/rcp.v31n2.88206] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
Aims: To identify the impact of ventromedial prefrontal cortex injury (vmPFC) on social cognition (SC) processes in a stroke patient in relation to a control group matched by age, gender and schooling. Possible associations between post-injury behavior and impacted neuropsychological attributes of emotion recognition, Theory of Mind (ToM), and empathy are discussed. Method: A patient with stroke in right vmPFC and 10 healthy participants completed different screening, neuropsychological assessment and SC tests. Results: Correlations were found between damage in vmPFC and alterations in affective ToM, working and retrograde memory, mood and relational alterations in the patient. Discrepancies were found with respect to other studies in relation to the laterality of the injury and the impact of cognitive and affective empathy which seems to be relatively intact. Conclusions: There is a need to clarify the role of affective ToM after acquired brain injury (ABI) in vmPFC. A protocol is needed to assess and intervene in aspects of ToM that would involve documenting strengths and deficits of ToM: inter and intrapersonal after an ABI. Similarly, there is a need to address the lateralization of different domains of function in vmPFC and their relationship to affective ToM.
How to cite: Sánchez Tombe, J. R. (2022). Lesions In The Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex And Their Impact On Social Cognition. Revista Colombiana de Psicología,31(2), 11-26. https://doi.org/10.15446/rcp.v31n2.88206
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Byrne C, Salas CE, Coetzer R, Ramsey R. Understanding Loneliness in Brain Injury: Linking the Reaffiliation Motive Model of Loneliness With a Model of Executive Impairment. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:883746. [PMID: 35910336 PMCID: PMC9329811 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.883746] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2022] [Accepted: 06/03/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Christopher Byrne
- School of Human Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom
- North Wales Brain Injury Service, Colwyn Bay Hospital, Colwyn Bay, United Kingdom
- *Correspondence: Christopher Byrne
| | - Christian E. Salas
- Centre for Research in Human Neuroscience and Neuropsychology, Faculty of Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
- Clinical Neuropsychology Unit, Faculty of Psychology, Diego Portales University, Santiago, Chile
| | - Rudi Coetzer
- School of Human Behavioural Sciences, Bangor University, Bangor, United Kingdom
- College of Human and Health Sciences, Swansea University, Swansea, United Kingdom
- The Disabilities Trust, Wakefield, United Kingdom
| | - Richard Ramsey
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, NSW, Australia
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Le Petit M, Eustache F, Perrier J, de La Sayette V, Desgranges B, Laisney M. Functional connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex related to mindreading abilities. Cereb Cortex Commun 2022; 3:tgac032. [PMID: 36090668 PMCID: PMC9454031 DOI: 10.1093/texcom/tgac032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2022] [Revised: 07/06/2022] [Accepted: 07/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The medial prefrontal cortex is a key region of mindreading belonging to the mentalizing system, a set of brain areas underlying mental state inference based on reasoning on social concepts. The aim of this study was to characterize the functional connectivity between regions involved in mindreading and to highlight the processes it underpins, focusing on the dorsal and ventral parts of the medial prefrontal cortex. We analyzed resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging of 56 healthy volunteers, to study the relationship between mindreading abilities and functional connectivity of the medial prefrontal cortex. Cognitive mindreading performances were correlated with connectivity between the medial prefrontal cortex and frontal regions involved in the regulation of the salience of one’s own mental contents, with a distinction between the dorsal part connected to regions subtending inhibition processes and the ventral part to emotional regions. Affective mindreading performances were negatively correlated with negative connectivity of the ventro- and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex with sensorimotor regions belonging to the mirror neuron system subtending the simulation of mental states. These findings suggested a role of the medial prefrontal cortex to decrease the salience of one’s own mental content and in the antisynchronous interaction between the mentalizing and mirror neurons systems.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marine Le Petit
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Centre Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine , 14000 Caen, France
| | - Francis Eustache
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Centre Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine , 14000 Caen, France
| | - Joy Perrier
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Centre Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine , 14000 Caen, France
| | - Vincent de La Sayette
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Centre Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine , 14000 Caen, France
| | - Béatrice Desgranges
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Centre Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine , 14000 Caen, France
| | - Mickaël Laisney
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Université Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, Centre Cyceron, Neuropsychologie et Imagerie de la Mémoire Humaine , 14000 Caen, France
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15
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Frontal lobe functions in schizophrenia: Interest of the Stuss approach. Brain Cogn 2022; 160:105878. [DOI: 10.1016/j.bandc.2022.105878] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2022] [Revised: 04/26/2022] [Accepted: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
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16
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Palamarchuk IS, Vaillancourt T. Integrative Brain Dynamics in Childhood Bullying Victimization: Cognitive and Emotional Convergence Associated With Stress Psychopathology. Front Integr Neurosci 2022; 16:782154. [PMID: 35573445 PMCID: PMC9097078 DOI: 10.3389/fnint.2022.782154] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2021] [Accepted: 03/15/2022] [Indexed: 12/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Bullying victimization is a form of psychological stress that is associated with poor outcomes in the areas of mental health and learning. Although the emotional maladjustment and memory impairment following interpersonal stress are well documented, the mechanisms of complex cerebral dysfunctions have neither been outlined nor studied in depth in the context of childhood bullying victimization. As a contribution to the cross-disciplinary field of developmental psychology and neuroscience, we review the neuropathophysiology of early life stress, as well as general psychological stress to synthesize the data and clarify the versatile dynamics within neuronal networks linked to bullying victimization. The stress-induced neuropsychological cascade and associated cerebral networks with a focus on cognitive and emotional convergence are described. The main findings are that stress-evoked neuroendocrine reactivity relates to neuromodulation and limbic dysregulation that hinder emotion processing and executive functioning such as semantic cognition, cognitive flexibility, and learning. Developmental aspects and interacting neural mechanisms linked to distressed cognitive and emotional processing are pinpointed and potential theory-of-mind nuances in targets of bullying are presented. The results show that childhood stress psychopathology is associated with a complex interplay where the major role belongs to, but is not limited to, the amygdala, fusiform gyrus, insula, striatum, and prefrontal cortex. This interplay contributes to the sensitivity toward facial expressions, poor cognitive reasoning, and distress that affect behavioral modulation and emotion regulation. We integrate the data on major brain dynamics in stress neuroactivity that can be associated with childhood psychopathology to help inform future studies that are focused on the treatment and prevention of psychiatric disorders and learning problems in bullied children and adolescents.
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17
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Nestor BA, Sutherland S, Garber J. Theory of mind performance in depression: A meta-analysis. J Affect Disord 2022; 303:233-244. [PMID: 35176344 PMCID: PMC8961451 DOI: 10.1016/j.jad.2022.02.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/18/2021] [Revised: 02/04/2022] [Accepted: 02/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Theory of mind (ToM) is a social-cognitive skill that involves the ability to understand the thoughts and feelings of others. Evidence is mixed regarding the extent of ToM ability in individuals with depression. METHODS We conducted a meta-analysis of 43 studies to investigate the strength of the association between ToM and depression. RESULTS Results indicated significant, small- to moderate impairment in ToM with a medium overall effect size (g = -0.398) in individuals with depression. Moderator analyses compared effect sizes across groups for the following variables: ToM content, process, and sample type. Additionally, meta-regression analyses tested age and gender as continuous moderators. LIMITATIONS The cross-sectional nature of included studies limits this meta-analysis from clarifying temporal or bidirectional relations. CONCLUSIONS We discuss findings in the context of the extant developmental, cognitive, social, and clinical literatures. We also suggest several possible explanations for these findings and offer implications for intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Bridget A. Nestor
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody #552, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, United States of America
| | - Susanna Sutherland
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody #552, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, United States of America
| | - Judy Garber
- Vanderbilt University, Department of Psychology and Human Development, Peabody #552, 230 Appleton Place, Nashville, TN 37203, United States of America
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18
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Barrash J, Bruss J, Anderson SW, Kuceyeski A, Manzel K, Tranel D, Boes AD. Lesions in different prefrontal sectors are associated with different types of acquired personality disturbances. Cortex 2022; 147:169-184. [PMID: 35051710 PMCID: PMC8816872 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2021.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/11/2021] [Revised: 08/13/2021] [Accepted: 12/08/2021] [Indexed: 02/03/2023]
Abstract
"Frontal lobe syndrome" is a term often used to describe a diverse array of personality disturbances following frontal lobe damage. This study's guiding premise was that greater neuroanatomical specificity could be achieved by evaluating specific types of personality disturbances following acquired frontal lobe lesions. We hypothesized that three acquired personality disturbances would be associated with lesion involvement of distinct sectors of the prefrontal cortex (PFC): 1) emotional-social disturbance and ventromedial PFC, 2) hypoemotional disturbance and dorsomedial PFC, and 3) dysexecutive and dorsolateral PFC. In addition, we hypothesized that distressed personality disturbance would not be associated with focal PFC lesions in any sector. Each hypothesis was pre-registered and tested in 182 participants with adult-onset, chronic, focal brain lesions studied with an observational, cross-sectional design. Pre- and postmorbid personality was assessed by informant-rating with the Iowa Scales of Personality Change, completed by a spouse or family member. Two complementary analytic approaches were employed: 1) a hypothesis-driven region-of-interest (ROI) regression analysis examining the associations of lesions in specific PFC sectors with acquired personality disturbances; 2) a data-driven multivariate lesion-behavior mapping analysis, which was not limited to pre-specified regions. Each hypothesis received some support: (i) Emotional/social personality disturbance was most strongly associated with ventromedial PFC lesions in both statistical approaches. (ii) Hypoemotional disturbance was associated with dorsomedial PFC lesions in the ROI analyses, without any significant lesion-symptom mapping associations. (iii) Dysexecutive personality disturbance was associated with bilateral dorsolateral PFC lesions and ventromedial PFC lesions; lesion-symptom mapping showed maximal association of executive dysfunction with damage of the right middle frontal gyrus within the dorsolateral PFC. (iv) Distressed personality disturbance was not associated with lesions in any PFC sector. Altogether, the findings can be interpreted to indicate that damage to different prefrontal sectors may disrupt different anatomical-functional systems and result in distinct personality disturbances.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Barrash
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States.
| | - Joel Bruss
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Steven W Anderson
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Amy Kuceyeski
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States; Brain and Mind Research Institute, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, NY, United States
| | - Kenneth Manzel
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Daniel Tranel
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States; Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, University of Iowa, Iowa City, IA, United States
| | - Aaron D Boes
- Department of Neurology, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States; Department of Psychiatry, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States; Department of Pediatrics, Carver College of Medicine, Iowa City, IA, United States
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19
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Pagnoni I, Gobbi E, Alaimo C, Campana E, Rossi R, Manenti R, Balconi M, Cotelli M. The relationship between theory of mind and executive functions in major depressive disorders: A review. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:980392. [PMID: 36051550 PMCID: PMC9424552 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.980392] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/28/2022] [Accepted: 07/25/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Patients suffering from major depressive disorder (MDD) experience difficulties in multiple cognitive and affective abilities. A large body of literature has argued that MDD patients show impaired executive functions (EFs) and deficits in theory of mind (ToM), the ability to infer the mental states of others. However, the relationship between ToM and EFs has been poorly investigated. The aim of this review is to provide an overview of studies that evaluated the association between ToM and EFs in patients with MDD diagnosis. A literature review was conducted to identify all published studies in which ToM and EFs measures were administered to individuals with MDD and in which the relationship between these two domains was investigated. Eleven studies were included, and for each study, we discussed the findings related to ToM, EFs, and the nature of the link between these two aspects. Most of the studies reported that patients with MDD, compared with healthy controls, showed significant impairments in both ToM and EFs abilities. Moreover, this review indicates the presence of a significant association between these two domains in MDD patients, supporting the evidences that executive functioning is important to perform ToM tasks. Although the results that emerged are interesting, the relationship between ToM and EFs in MDD needs further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ilaria Pagnoni
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Elena Gobbi
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Cristina Alaimo
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Elena Campana
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Roberta Rossi
- Unit of Psychiatry, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Rosa Manenti
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
| | - Michela Balconi
- International Research Center for Cognitive Applied Neuroscience (IrcCAN), Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy.,Research Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
| | - Maria Cotelli
- Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Istituto Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy
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20
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Campanella F, West T, Dell'Acqua CC, Skrap M. Cognitive and affective theory of mind double dissociation after parietal and temporal lobe tumours. Brain 2021; 145:1818-1829. [PMID: 34919647 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awab441] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/06/2021] [Revised: 10/11/2021] [Accepted: 12/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Extensive neuroimaging literature suggests that understanding others' thoughts and emotions engages a wide network encompassing parietal, temporal and medial frontal brain areas. However, the causal role played by these regions in social inferential abilities is still unclear. Moreover very little is known about ToM deficits in brain tumours and whether potential anatomical substrates are comparable to those identified in fMRI literature. This study evaluated the performance of 105 tumour patients, before and immediately after brain surgery, on a cartoon-based non-verbal task evaluating Cognitive (Intention Attribution) and Affective (Emotion Attribution) ToM, as well as a non-social control condition (Causal Inference). Across multiple analyses, we found converging evidence of a double dissociation between patients with right superior parietal damage, selectively impaired in Intention Attribution, and those with right antero-medial temporal lesion, exhibiting deficits only in Emotion attribution. Instead, patients with damage to the frontal cortex were impaired in all kinds of inferential processes, including those from the non-social control conditions. Overall, our data provides novel reliable causal evidence of segregation between different aspects of the ToM network from both the cognitive and also the anatomical point of view.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fabio Campanella
- Neurosurgery Unit, Presidio Ospedaliero Universitario "S. Maria della Misericordia", Udine, Italy.,Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34100 Trieste, Italy
| | - Thomas West
- Department of Life Sciences, University of Trieste, 34100 Trieste, Italy
| | | | - Miran Skrap
- Neurosurgery Unit, Presidio Ospedaliero Universitario "S. Maria della Misericordia", Udine, Italy
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21
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Semantic memory before episodic memory: How memory research can inform knowledge and belief representations. Behav Brain Sci 2021; 44:e166. [PMID: 34796823 DOI: 10.1017/s0140525x20001867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/07/2022]
Abstract
Knowledge and belief attribution are discussed in the context of episodic and semantic memory theory and research, with reference to patient-lesion and developmental studies under naturalistic conditions. Consideration of how episodic and semantic memory relate to each other and intersect in the real world, including how they fail, can illuminate the approach to studying how people represent others' minds.
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22
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Ouerchefani R, Ouerchefani N, Ben Rejeb MR, Le Gall D. Impaired Perception of Unintentional Transgression of Social Norms after Prefrontal Cortex Damage: Relationship to Decision Making, Emotion Recognition, and Executive Functions. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2021; 37:249-273. [PMID: 34619764 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acab078] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2021] [Revised: 05/06/2021] [Accepted: 09/08/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Patients with prefrontal cortex damage often transgress social rules and show lower accuracy in identifying and explaining inappropriate social behavior. The objective of this study was to examine the relationship between the ability to perceive other unintentional transgressions of social norms and both decision making and emotion recognition as these abilities are critical for appropriate social behavior. METHOD We examined a group of patients with focal prefrontal cortex damage (N = 28) and a group of matched control participants (N = 28) for their abilities to detect unintentional transgression of social norms using the "Faux-Pas" task of theory of mind, to make advantageous decisions on the Iowa gambling task, and to recognize basic emotions on the Ekman facial affect test. RESULTS The group of patients with frontal lobe damage was impaired in all of these tasks compared with control participants. Moreover, all the "Faux-Pas", Iowa gambling, and emotion recognition tasks were significantly associated and predicted by executive measures of inhibition, flexibility, or planning. However, only measures from the Iowa gambling task were associated and predicted performance on the "Faux-Pas" task. These tasks were not associated with performance in recognition of basic emotions. These findings suggest that theory of mind, executive functions, and decision-making abilities act in an interdependent way for appropriate social behavior. However, theory of mind and emotion recognition seem to have distinct but additive effects upon social behavior. Results from VLSM analysis also corroborate these data by showing a partially overlapped prefrontal circuitry underlying these cognitive domains.
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Affiliation(s)
- Riadh Ouerchefani
- University of Tunis El Manar, High Institute of Human sciences, Department of Psychology, 26 Boulevard Darghouth Pacha, Tunis, Tunisia.,Univ Angers, Université de Nantes, LPPL, SFR Confluences, Angers, France
| | | | - Mohamed Riadh Ben Rejeb
- University of Tunis I, Faculty of Human and Social Science of Tunisia, Department of Psychology, Boulvard 9 Avril, C.P. 1007, Tunis, Tunisia
| | - Didier Le Gall
- Univ Angers, Université de Nantes, LPPL, SFR Confluences, Angers, France
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23
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Fronto-Parietal Gray Matter Volume Loss Is Associated with Decreased Working Memory Performance in Adolescents with a First Episode of Psychosis. J Clin Med 2021; 10:jcm10173929. [PMID: 34501377 PMCID: PMC8432087 DOI: 10.3390/jcm10173929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2021] [Revised: 08/26/2021] [Accepted: 08/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Cognitive maturation during adolescence is modulated by brain maturation. However, it is unknown how these processes intertwine in early onset psychosis (EOP). Studies examining longitudinal brain changes and cognitive performance in psychosis lend support for an altered development of high-order cognitive functions, which parallels progressive gray matter (GM) loss over time, particularly in fronto-parietal brain regions. We aimed to assess this relationship in a subsample of 33 adolescents with first-episode EOP and 47 matched controls over 2 years. Backwards stepwise regression analyses were conducted to determine the association and predictive value of longitudinal brain changes over cognitive performance within each group. Fronto-parietal GM volume loss was positively associated with decreased working memory in adolescents with psychosis (frontal left (B = 0.096, p = 0.008); right (B = 0.089, p = 0.015); parietal left (B = 0.119, p = 0.007), right (B = 0.125, p = 0.015)) as a function of age. A particular decrease in frontal left GM volume best predicted a significant amount (22.28%) of the variance of decreased working memory performance over time, accounting for variance in age (14.9%). No such association was found in controls. Our results suggest that during adolescence, EOP individuals seem to follow an abnormal neurodevelopmental trajectory, in which fronto-parietal GM volume reduction is associated with the differential age-related working memory dysfunction in this group.
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24
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Corticospinal Excitability during a Perspective Taking Task as Measured by TMS-Induced Motor Evoked Potentials. Brain Sci 2021; 11:brainsci11040513. [PMID: 33919538 PMCID: PMC8073384 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci11040513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/02/2021] [Revised: 04/12/2021] [Accepted: 04/14/2021] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Only by understanding the ability to take a third-person perspective can we begin to elucidate the neural processes responsible for one’s inimitable conscious experience. The current study examined differences in hemispheric laterality during a first-person perspective (1PP) and third-person perspective (3PP) taking task, using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). Participants were asked to take either the 1PP or 3PP when identifying the number of spheres in a virtual scene. During this task, single-pulse TMS was delivered to the motor cortex of both the left and right hemispheres of 10 healthy volunteers. Measures of TMS-induced motor-evoked potentials (MEPs) of the contralateral abductor pollicis brevis (APB) were employed as an indicator of lateralized cortical activation. The data suggest that the right hemisphere is more important in discriminating between 1PP and 3PP. These data add a novel method for determining perspective taking and add to the literature supporting the role of the right hemisphere in meta representation.
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25
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Arbula S, Pisanu E, Rumiati RI. Representation of social content in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex underlies individual differences in agreeableness trait. Neuroimage 2021; 235:118049. [PMID: 33848626 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2021.118049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2020] [Revised: 04/01/2021] [Accepted: 04/02/2021] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
Personality traits reflect key aspects of individual variability in different psychological domains. Understanding the mechanisms that give rise to these differences requires an exhaustive investigation of the behaviors associated with such traits, and their underlying neural sources. Here we investigated the mechanisms underlying agreeableness, one of the five major dimensions of personality, which has been linked mainly to socio-cognitive functions. In particular, we examined whether individual differences in the neural representations of social information are related to differences in agreeableness of individuals. To this end, we adopted a multivariate representational similarity approach that captured within single individuals the activation pattern similarity of social and non-social content, and tested its relation to the agreeableness trait in a hypothesis-driven manner. The main result confirmed our prediction: processing social and non-social content led to similar patterns of activation in individuals with low agreeableness, while in more agreeable individuals these patterns were more dissimilar. Critically, this association between agreeableness and encoding similarity of social and random content was significant only in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, a brain region consistently involved during attributions of mental states. The present finding reveals the link between neural mechanisms underlying social information processing and agreeableness, a personality trait highly related to socio-cognitive abilities, thereby providing a step forward in characterizing its neural determinants. Furthermore, it emphasizes the advantage of multivariate pattern analysis approaches in capturing and understanding the neural sources of individual variations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sandra Arbula
- Neuroscience Area, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, Trieste 34136, Italy.
| | - Elisabetta Pisanu
- Neuroscience Area, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, Trieste 34136, Italy
| | - Raffaella I Rumiati
- Neuroscience Area, International School for Advanced Studies (SISSA), via Bonomea 265, Trieste 34136, Italy; Scuola superiore di studi avanzati Sapienza (SSAS), Rome, Italy
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26
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Ju N, Guo S, San Juan V, Brown S, Lai KW, Yeates KO, Graham SA. Theory of Mind after Pediatric Traumatic Brain Injury: A Scoping Review. J Neurotrauma 2021; 38:1918-1942. [PMID: 33499733 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2020.7365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022] Open
Abstract
This scoping review aims to synthesize existing literature regarding theory of mind (ToM) outcomes, the neuropathology associated with ToM outcomes, and the relationship between ToM outcomes and social functioning in children and adolescents with traumatic brain injury (TBI). We searched MEDLINE® and PsycINFO databases to identify all literature that examined ToM following pediatric TBI until July 2019. A total of 29 articles met inclusion and exclusion criteria and were included in the results. These articles examined a variety of aspects of ToM, which could be broadly grouped into those focused on cognitive, cognitive-affective, and pragmatic factors. The existing literature suggests that children and adolescents with TBI, compared with their typically developing peers and peers with orthopedic injuries, are more likely to have deficits in ToM. The evidence further shows that the age at which brain injury occurs contributes to ToM disruption. Neuroimaging techniques have offered crucial insights into how TBI may impact ToM performance in children and adolescents. Finally, this review provides evidence that disruption in ToM plays a role in the difficulties in social functioning demonstrated by children and adolescents with TBI. Limitations and gaps in the existing literature warrant future research in this field.
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Affiliation(s)
- Narae Ju
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Sunny Guo
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Valerie San Juan
- Department of Psychology, Bradley University, Peoria, Illinois, USA
| | - Sage Brown
- Department of Medicine and Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Ka Wing Lai
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Keith Owen Yeates
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Susan A Graham
- Department of Psychology, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Alberta Children's Hospital Research Institute and Hotchkiss Brain Institute, University of Calgary, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
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27
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Platel H, Eustache ML, Coppalle R, Viard A, Eustache F, Groussard M, Desgranges B. Boosting Autobiographical Memory and the Sense of Identity of Alzheimer Patients Through Repeated Reminiscence Workshops? Front Psychol 2021; 12:636028. [PMID: 33679562 PMCID: PMC7928298 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2021.636028] [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: 11/30/2020] [Accepted: 01/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite severe amnesia, some studies showed that Alzheimer Disease (AD) patients with moderate to severe dementia keep a consistent, but impoverished representation of themselves, showing preservation of the sense of identity even at severe stages of the illness. Some studies suggest that listening to music can facilitate the reminiscence of autobiographical memories and that stimulating autobiographical memory would be relevant to support the self of these patients. Consequently, we hypothesized that repeated participation to reminiscence workshops, using excerpts of familiar songs as prompts would participate to the enrichment of autobiographical memories, self-representation and sense of identity. We included a group of 20 AD patients with severe dementia residing in nursing homes. Their performances were compared to a control group of 20 matched (age, education, mood) healthy residents living in the same institutions. The experiment was conducted in three phases over a 2-week period. On phase 1, an individual assessment of sense of identity was proposed to each participant. On phase 2, participants joined musical reminiscence workshops (six sessions over 2 weeks for AD patients and 3 sessions over a week for controls). During the third phase (12 days after the first assessment), individual evaluation of autobiographical memory and a second assessment of sense of identity were proposed. Our results showed that, despite their massive amnesia syndrome, autobiographical memories of AD reached at the end of the 2 weeks the number and quality of those of matched controls. Moreover, we confirmed a continuity of self-representation in AD patients with a stable profile of the answers between the first and second individual assessments of sense of identity. However, the increase in number and episodic quality of autobiographical memories was not accompanied by an enrichment of the sense of identity. In a complementary study, new patients participated in the same paradigm, but using movie extracts as prompts, and showed very similar effects. We discuss all of these results with regard to the literature showing the significant impact of repetition on the reactivation of memory traces even in very amnestic AD patients at severe stages of the disease.
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Cohen‐Zimerman S, Khilwani H, Smith GNL, Krueger F, Gordon B, Grafman J. The neural basis for mental state attribution: A voxel-based lesion mapping study. Hum Brain Mapp 2021; 42:65-79. [PMID: 33030812 PMCID: PMC7721243 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25203] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2019] [Revised: 08/14/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to infer other persons' mental states, "Theory of Mind" (ToM), is a key function of social cognition and is needed when interpreting the intention of others. ToM is associated with a network of functionally related regions, with reportedly key prominent hubs located in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ). The involvement of (mainly the right) TPJ in ToM is based primarily on functional imaging studies that provide correlational evidence for brain-behavior associations. In this lesion study, we test whether certain brain areas are necessary for intact ToM performance. We investigated individuals with penetrating traumatic brain injury (n = 170) and healthy matched controls (n = 30) using voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping (VLSM) and by measuring the impact of a given lesion on white matter disconnections. ToM performance was compared between five patient groups based on lesion location: right TPJ, left TPJ, right dlPFC, left dlPFC, and other lesion, as well as healthy controls. The only group to present with lower ToM abilities was the one with lesions in the right dlPFC. Similarly, VLSM analysis revealed a main cluster in the right frontal middle gyrus and a secondary cluster in the left inferior parietal gyrus. Last, we found that disconnection of the left inferior longitudinal fasciculus and right superior longitudinal fasciculus were associated with poor ToM performance. This study highlights the importance of lesion studies in complementing functional neuroimaging findings and supports the assertion that the right dlPFC is a key region mediating mental state attribution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shira Cohen‐Zimerman
- Cognitive Neuroscience LaboratoryBrain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLabChicagoIllinoisUSA
- Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of MedicineNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Harsh Khilwani
- Cognitive Neuroscience LaboratoryBrain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLabChicagoIllinoisUSA
- Department of Biomedical EngineeringNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Gretchen N. L. Smith
- Cognitive Neuroscience LaboratoryBrain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLabChicagoIllinoisUSA
| | - Frank Krueger
- School of Systems BiologyGeorge Mason UniversityFairfaxVirginiaUSA
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of MannheimMannheimGermany
| | - Barry Gordon
- Department of NeurologyJohns Hopkins University School of MedicineBaltimoreMarylandUSA
- Department of Cognitive ScienceJohns Hopkins UniversityBaltimoreMarylandUSA
| | - Jordan Grafman
- Cognitive Neuroscience LaboratoryBrain Injury Research, Shirley Ryan AbilityLabChicagoIllinoisUSA
- Departments of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of MedicineNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
- Department of Neurology, Psychiatry, and Cognitive Neurology & Alzheimer's Disease, Feinberg School of Medicine, Department of PsychologyNorthwestern UniversityChicagoIllinoisUSA
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Hildebrandt MK, Jauk E, Lehmann K, Maliske L, Kanske P. Brain activation during social cognition predicts everyday perspective-taking: A combined fMRI and ecological momentary assessment study of the social brain. Neuroimage 2020; 227:117624. [PMID: 33346132 PMCID: PMC7611322 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/21/2020] [Revised: 10/15/2020] [Accepted: 11/30/2020] [Indexed: 01/16/2023] Open
Abstract
Identifying distinct neural networks underlying social affect (empathy, compassion) and social cognition (Theory of Mind) has advanced our understanding of social interactions. However, little is known about the relation of activation in these networks to psychological experience in daily life. This study (N = 122) examined the ecological validity of neural activation patterns induced by a laboratory paradigm of social affect and cognition with respect to social interactions in everyday life. We used the EmpaToM task, a naturalistic video-based paradigm for the assessment of empathy, compassion, and Theory of Mind, and combined it with a subsequent 14-day ecological momentary assessment protocol on social interactions. Everyday social affect was predicted by social affect experienced during the EmpaToM task, but not by related neural activation in regions of interest from the social affect network. In contrast, everyday social cognition was predicted by neural activation differences in the medial prefrontal cortex – a region of interest from the social cognition network – but not by social cognition performance in the EmpaToM task. The relationship between medial prefrontal cortex activation and everyday social cognition was stronger for spontaneous rather than deliberate perspective taking during the EmpaToM task, pointing to a distinction between propensity and capacity in social cognition. Finally, this neural indicator of Theory of Mind explained variance in everyday social cognition to a similar extent as an established selfreport scale. Taken together, this study provides evidence for the ecological validity of lab-based social affect and cognition paradigms when considering relevant moderating factors.
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Affiliation(s)
- Malin K Hildebrandt
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany.
| | - Emanuel Jauk
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Department of Psychology, University of Graz, Graz, Austria
| | - Konrad Lehmann
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Lara Maliske
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany
| | - Philipp Kanske
- Institute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, Department of Psychology, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany; Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Stephanstraße 1A, 04103 Leipzig, Germany
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Li Q, Xiao M, Song S, Huang Y, Chen X, Liu Y, Chen H. The personality dispositions and resting-state neural correlates associated with aggressive children. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 15:1004-1016. [PMID: 32991698 PMCID: PMC7647379 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa134] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2020] [Revised: 09/03/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2020] [Indexed: 11/16/2022] Open
Abstract
Despite aggression being detrimental to children's physical health, mental health and social development, the dispositional and neurological antecedents of aggression in the child are poorly understood. Here we examined the relationship between trait aggression as measured by Buss and Warren's Aggression Questionnaire and personality traits measured with Big Five Questionnaire for Children in 77 primary-school children and recorded resting-state brain activity (fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuations [fALFF]) and resting-state functional connectivity (rsFC) using functional magnetic resonance imaging. The present results showed that trait aggression was negatively correlated with agreeableness and positively correlated with neuroticism. The brain analyses showed that children with a higher propensity for aggression had a lower fALFF mainly in the left superior temporal gyrus, right parahippocampal gyrus and left supramarginal gyrus. Physical and total aggressions were negatively associated with rsFC between the right parahippocampal gyrus and the right putamen. Further analysis revealed that this rsFC could moderate the influence of neuroticism on total aggression. Moreover, the results suggest the presence of a sex difference in the neurodevelopmental mechanisms underlying aggression in middle childhood. Overall, our findings indicate that aggressive children have lower agreeableness and higher neuroticism, and the underlying neural systems are mainly implicated in social judgment and empathy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qingqing Li
- Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | | | | | | | | | | | - Hong Chen
- Correspondence should be addressed to: Hong Chen, Key Laboratory of Cognition and Personality, Ministry of Education, Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Tiansheng Road No.2, Beibei District, Chongqing, China. E-mail:
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Abstract
Humans are highly social animals whose survival and well-being depend on their capacity to cooperate in complex social settings. Advances in anthropology and psychology have demonstrated the importance of cooperation for enhancing social cohesion and minimizing conflict. The understanding of social behavior is informed by the notion of social cognition, a set of mental operations including emotion perception, mentalizing, and empathy. The social brain hypothesis posits that the mammalian brain has enlarged over evolution to meet the challenges of social life, culminating in a large human brain well adapted for social cognition. The structures subserving social cognition are mainly located in the frontal and temporal lobes, and although gray matter is critical, social cognition also requires white matter. Whereas the social brain hypothesis assumes that brain enlargement has been driven by neocortical expansion, cerebral white matter has expanded even more robustly than the neocortex, coinciding with the emergence of social cognition. White matter expansion is most evident in the frontal and temporal lobes, where it enhances connectivity between regions critical for social cognition. Myelination has, in turn, conferred adaptive social advantages by enabling prompt empathic concern for offspring and by strengthening networks that support cooperation and the related capacities of altruism and morality. Social cognition deficits related to myelinated tract involvement occur in many disorders, including stroke, Binswanger disease, traumatic brain injury, multiple sclerosis, glioma, and behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia. The contribution of white matter to social cognition can be conceptualized as the enhancement of cooperation through brain connectivity.
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Liu F, Huang J, Hei G, Wu R, Liu Z. Effects of sulforaphane on cognitive function in patients with frontal brain damage: study protocol for a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open 2020; 10:e037543. [PMID: 33067279 PMCID: PMC7569949 DOI: 10.1136/bmjopen-2020-037543] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Many patients with frontal brain damage show serious cognitive function deficits, which hamper their quality of life and result in poor clinical outcomes. Preclinical research has shown that sulforaphane can significantly improve spatial localisation and working memory impairment after brain injury. The primary aim of this double-blind randomised controlled clinical trial is to assess the efficacy of sulforaphane for improving cognitive function in patients with frontal brain damage. METHODS AND ANALYSIS Ninety eligible patients will be randomly allocated to an active treatment or a placebo group in a 2:1 ratio. Participants will undergo a series of cognitive and neuropsychiatric tests at baseline (week 0) and after 12 weeks to determine the effect of sulforaphane on cognition. Magnetic resonance spectrum of the brain will be studied using the 3T MRIs of the brain to detect brain metabolites markers, including N-acetyl aspartate, glutamate (Glu), glutathione (GSH) and γ-aminobutyric acid (GABA). Blood brain-derived neurotrophic factor, Glu, GSH and GABA levels and gut microbiota will also be assessed over this period. This study will also evaluate long-term outcomes of brain trauma, brain tumours and cerebrovascular disease via exploratory analyses. The primary outcome will be the difference in scores of a battery of cognitive tests after 12 weeks of sulforaphane treatment. The secondary outcomes will be changes in the Functional Activities Questionnaire (FAQ), the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9), the Self-Rating Anxiety Scale, the changes in T1-weighted MRI and resting-state functional MRI findings, and changes in brain and blood metabolic markers and gut microbiota at weeks 0 and 12. We expect that sulforaphane will yield favourable results in treating memory and learning deficits for patients with frontal brain damage. Cognitive functional treatment may also improve brain trauma, brain tumours and cerebrovascular outcomes. ETHICS AND DISSEMINATION The study protocol has been approved by the Medical Ethics committee of the Xiangya Hospital of Central South University (No. 2017121019). The results will be disseminated in peer-reviewed journals and at international conferences. TRIAL REGISTRATION NUMBER This trial was registered on Clinicaltrials.gov on 31 January 2020 (NCT04252261). The protocol version is V.1.0 (20 December 2019).
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Affiliation(s)
- Fangkun Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Central South University (CSU), 410008, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Jing Huang
- Department of Psychiatry, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, China; Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Chinese National Clinical Research Center on Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Chinese National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Gangrui Hei
- Department of Psychiatry, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, China; Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Chinese National Clinical Research Center on Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Chinese National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Renrong Wu
- Department of Psychiatry, the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, China; Mental Health Institute of the Second Xiangya Hospital, Central South University, Chinese National Clinical Research Center on Mental Disorders (Xiangya), Chinese National Technology Institute on Mental Disorders, Hunan Key Laboratory of Psychiatry and Mental Health, 410011, Changsha, Hunan, China
| | - Zhixiong Liu
- Department of Neurosurgery, Central South University (CSU), 410008, Changsha, Hunan, China
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Emotional Education in Early Onset Schizophrenia and Asperger's Syndrome. Behav Sci (Basel) 2020; 10:bs10090131. [PMID: 32872431 PMCID: PMC7550991 DOI: 10.3390/bs10090131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/21/2020] [Revised: 08/07/2020] [Accepted: 08/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
In this study, we aim to verify how emotional training can improve empathy and theory of mind (ToM) in patients diagnosed with early onset schizophrenia and Asperger's syndrome. The study design includes 100 subjects divided into two experimental groups and two control groups. The two experimental groups followed a rational emotive behavior therapy (REBT) protocol. The two control groups instead underwent cognitive behavioral psychotherapy training. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was applied to analyze the difference between the Asperger's syndrome (AS) and early onset schizophrenia (EOS) groups, pre and post training. Our analysis shows that the AS group improved post emotional training but only when emotions were internalized, as demonstrated by the improvement of the scores in the post-treatment eye test (ET) but not in the emotional quotient (EQ) test. The EOS group instead showed post-training improvement, not only concerning skills leading to internalizing emotions but also in empathy, as demonstrated by the improvement of EQ and Reflective Functioning Questionnaire (RFQ) test scores. These scores remained lower than in the control group. Finally, our findings reveal that the value of the treatment was more considerable for the EOS group than for the AS group due to the improvement in first- and second-order ToM skills and an improvement of empathic skills in the first group, followed by the group comprising AS subjects. In the AS group, the treatment only favored the enhancement of first-order ToM skills; however, this improved quality of life and social adaptation.
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Damasceno BP. CONTRIBUIÇÕES DOS ESTUDOS DE AUTORES SOVIÉTICOS PARA A PSICOLOGIA E A NEUROCIÊNCIA COGNITIVA CONTEMPORÂNEAS. CADERNOS CEDES 2020. [DOI: 10.1590/cc.246602] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
RESUMO Os autores soviéticos introduziram o conceito de “mente” como sistema funcional complexo (SFC) de origem histórico-cultural, confirmado e avançado pela psicologia e pela neurociência cognitiva atual. Como SFC, o ato mental é um conjunto dinâmico de operações abstratas processadas em diversas regiões cerebrais interconexas, cada uma contribuindo com uma operação específica, como ocorre na memória e na solução de problemas. Os SFC constroem-se na atividade prática psicossocial do indivíduo, mediada por pessoas e signos, cuja privação, em períodos críticos do desenvolvimento mental-cerebral, pode ser catastrófica.
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35
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Vigotski LS, Leontiev AN. PREFÁCIO PARA O LIVRO DE A. N. LEONTIEV O DESENVOLVIMENTO DA MEMÓRIA. CADERNOS CEDES 2020. [DOI: 10.1590/cc225970] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
RESUMO O presente texto consiste na primeira tradução do segundo “Prefácio” do livroO Desenvolvimento da Memória para a língua portuguesa. Tal texto, escrito em 1932, esboça uma breve autocrítica dos autores com relação ao ideário de psicologia instrumental existente no livro prefaciado, o qual perpassou a pesquisa de Leontiev, orientada por Vigotski. Os autores revisam tópicos como a importância da idade na memorização e a sobrevivência de formas “inferiores” nas formas “superiores” de memória, traçando importantes contribuições acerca dos conceitos de “memória/memorização” e de “sentido”.
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36
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Brown CL, Hua AY, De Coster L, Sturm VE, Kramer JH, Rosen HJ, Miller BL, Levenson RW. Comparing two facets of emotion perception across multiple neurodegenerative diseases. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2020; 15:511-522. [PMID: 32363385 PMCID: PMC7328026 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsaa060] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/07/2019] [Revised: 03/25/2020] [Accepted: 04/27/2020] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Deficits in emotion perception (the ability to infer others' emotions accurately) can occur as a result of neurodegeneration. It remains unclear how different neurodegenerative diseases affect different forms of emotion perception. The present study compares performance on a dynamic tracking task of emotion perception (where participants track the changing valence of a film character's emotions) with performance on an emotion category labeling task (where participants label specific emotions portrayed by film characters) across seven diagnostic groups (N = 178) including Alzheimer's disease (AD), behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), semantic variant primary progressive aphasia (svPPA), non-fluent variant primary progressive aphasia (nfvPPA), progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP), corticobasal syndrome and healthy controls. Consistent with hypotheses, compared to controls, the bvFTD group was impaired on both tasks. The svPPA group was impaired on the emotion labeling task, whereas the nfvPPA, PSP and AD groups were impaired on the dynamic tracking task. Smaller volumes in bilateral frontal and left insular regions were associated with worse labeling, whereas smaller volumes in bilateral medial frontal, temporal and right insular regions were associated with worse tracking. Findings suggest labeling and tracking facets of emotion perception are differentially affected across neurodegenerative diseases due to their unique neuroanatomical correlates.
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Affiliation(s)
- Casey L Brown
- Berkeley Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
| | - Alice Y Hua
- Berkeley Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA
| | - Lize De Coster
- Department of Psychiatry, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
| | - Virginia E Sturm
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
| | - Joel H Kramer
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
| | - Howard J Rosen
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
| | - Bruce L Miller
- Memory and Aging Center, Department of Neurology, University of California, San Francisco, CA 94115, USA
| | - Robert W Levenson
- Berkeley Psychophysiology Laboratory, Department of Psychology, University of California, Berkeley, CA 94720-1650, USA
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Corradi-Dell’Acqua C, Ronchi R, Thomasson M, Bernati T, Saj A, Vuilleumier P. Deficits in cognitive and affective theory of mind relate to dissociated lesion patterns in prefrontal and insular cortex. Cortex 2020; 128:218-233. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2020.03.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/25/2019] [Revised: 02/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/19/2020] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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38
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Gale SD, Erickson LD, Anderson JE, Brown BL, Hedges DW. Association between exposure to air pollution and prefrontal cortical volume in adults: A cross-sectional study from the UK biobank. ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH 2020; 185:109365. [PMID: 32222630 DOI: 10.1016/j.envres.2020.109365] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2019] [Revised: 01/17/2020] [Accepted: 03/08/2020] [Indexed: 05/18/2023]
Abstract
Associated with numerous cognitive and behavioral functions and with several diseases, the prefrontal cortex is vulnerable to environmental insult. Among other factors, toxins in air pollution have been associated with damage to the prefrontal cortex in children and older adults. We used data from the UK Biobank to assess further associations between an array of toxins in air pollution and gray matter in the prefrontal cortex including the left and right frontal poles, left and right superior frontal gyri, left and right frontal medial cortex, left and right orbitofrontal cortex, and left and right frontal opercula, using multivariate models adjusted for covariates that possibly could confound the association between air pollution and volume of prefrontal gray matter. The results showed inverse associations between PM 2.5, PM 10, and nitrogen oxides and prefrontal volume in models adjusted for age, sex, education, socioeconomic status, race-ethnicity, self-rated overall health, body mass index, total brain volume, smoking status, and alcohol use frequency. Education appeared to moderate the association between air pollution and prefrontal volume. The data in these analyses came from regions whose mean PM 2.5 was near the upper limit and whose mean PM 10 was under those recommended by the World Health Organization. These findings suggest that comparatively low levels of air pollution might be associated with reduced volume of the prefrontal cortex.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shawn D Gale
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA; The Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA.
| | - Lance D Erickson
- Department of Sociology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
| | | | - Bruce L Brown
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
| | - Dawson W Hedges
- Department of Psychology, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA; The Neuroscience Center, Brigham Young University, Provo, UT, USA
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39
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Qureshi AW, Bretherton L, Marsh B, Monk RL. Stimulation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex impacts conflict resolution in Level-1 visual perspective taking. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:565-574. [PMID: 32378060 PMCID: PMC7266805 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00786-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/22/2022]
Abstract
Theory of mind is the ability to understand others' beliefs, mental states, and knowledge. Perspective-taking is a key part of this capacity, and while previous research has suggested that calculating another's perspective is relatively straightforward, executive function is required to resolve the conflict between the self and that other perspective. Previous studies have shown that theory of mind is selectively impaired by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). However, it has been hitherto unclear as to which specific aspect of perspective-taking is impacted. The current study administered rTMS (N = 31 adult participants) to the DLPFC (active condition) and vertex (control condition) in a within-subjects design. Participants completed a L1 VPT task after each stimulation session, and focus (relative performance on self-perspective trials compared with other perspective trials) and conflict indices (relative ability to resolve competing self/other perspectives) were calculated. Results showed that stimulation of the DLPFC selectively impaired the conflict index, suggesting that the DLPFC may be causally related with the resolution of conflict between self and other perspectives, and that self-other interference may rely on domain-general processes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adam W Qureshi
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, L39 4PY, England.
| | - Laura Bretherton
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, L39 4PY, England
| | - Bethany Marsh
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, L39 4PY, England
| | - Rebecca L Monk
- Department of Psychology, Edge Hill University, Ormskirk, L39 4PY, England
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40
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Abu-Akel AM, Apperly IA, Wood SJ, Hansen PC. Re-imaging the intentional stance. Proc Biol Sci 2020; 287:20200244. [PMID: 32290800 PMCID: PMC7211435 DOI: 10.1098/rspb.2020.0244] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 03/20/2020] [Indexed: 02/06/2023] Open
Abstract
The commonly used paradigm to investigate Dennet's 'intentional stance' compares neural activation when participants compete with a human versus a computer. This paradigm confounds whether the opponent is natural or artificial and whether it is intentional or an automaton. This functional magnetic resonance imaging study is, to our knowledge, the first to investigate the intentional stance by orthogonally varying perceptions of the opponents' intentionality (responding actively or passively according to a script) and embodiment (human or a computer). The mere perception of the opponent (whether human or computer) as intentional activated the mentalizing network: the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) bilaterally, right temporal pole, anterior paracingulate cortex (aPCC) and the precuneus. Interacting with humans versus computers induced activations in a more circumscribed right lateralized subnetwork within the mentalizing network, consisting of the TPJ and the aPCC, possibly reflective of the tendency to spontaneously attribute intentionality to humans. The interaction between intentionality (active versus passive) and opponent (human versus computer) recruited the left frontal pole, possibly in response to violations of the default intentional stance towards humans and computers. Employing an orthogonal design is important to adequately capture Dennett's conception of the intentional stance as a mentalizing strategy that can apply equally well to humans and other intentional agents.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ahmad M. Abu-Akel
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Ian A. Apperly
- School of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
| | - Stephen J. Wood
- School of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Orygen, the National Centre of Excellence in Youth Mental Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
- Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | - Peter C. Hansen
- School of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Centre for Human Brain Health, University of Birmingham, Edgbaston, UK
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41
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Del Prete E, Turcano P, Unti E, Palermo G, Pagni C, Frosini D, Bonuccelli U, Ceravolo R. Theory of mind in Parkinson's disease: evidences in drug-naïve patients and longitudinal effects of dopaminergic therapy. Neurol Sci 2020; 41:2761-2766. [PMID: 32277390 DOI: 10.1007/s10072-020-04374-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/09/2019] [Accepted: 03/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states to one self and others and to understand that others have beliefs different from one's own. Different subcomponents of ToM have also been identified: cognitive and affective. Cognitive ToM refers to the capacity to infer others' beliefs and intentions, while affective ToM implies the ability to appreciate others' emotional states. The aim of this study was to explore ToM in drug-naïve Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and to investigate the effects of chronic dopaminergic therapy on different subcomponents of ToM during a 3 months and 1 year of follow-up. We examined 16 PD patients in three conditions: before (un-medicated) and after dopaminergic therapy (medicated 3 months: T1 and medicated 1 year: T2). We also compared our PD's ToM abilities with 11 healthy individuals. ToM was explored with 5 different tasks: Faux Pas Test, Picture Sequencing Task Capture Story, Emotion Attribution Task, Strange Stories Task, and Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces. Our study confirms that PD patients present deficits in cognitive components of ToM and preserved performances in the affective ones in early stages of disease. We also find a significant effect of dopaminergic therapy on ToM already after 3 months with a good persistency after 1 year of treatment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora Del Prete
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Neurology Unit, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Pierpaolo Turcano
- Mayo Clinic Department of Neurology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA
| | - Elisa Unti
- Department of Medical, Specialities Neurology Unit, AOUP, Pisa, Italy
| | - Giovanni Palermo
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Neurology Unit, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Cristina Pagni
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Neurology Unit, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Daniela Frosini
- Department of Medical, Specialities Neurology Unit, AOUP, Pisa, Italy
| | - Ubaldo Bonuccelli
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Neurology Unit, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126, Pisa, Italy
| | - Roberto Ceravolo
- Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine, Neurology Unit, University of Pisa, Via Roma 67, 56126, Pisa, Italy.
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Giovagnoli AR, Tallarita GM, Parente A, Pastori C, de Curtis M. The understanding of mental states and the cognitive phenotype of frontal lobe epilepsy. Epilepsia 2020; 61:747-757. [PMID: 32124981 DOI: 10.1111/epi.16457] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/21/2019] [Revised: 02/04/2020] [Accepted: 02/04/2020] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Previous studies of frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) have documented different impairments of theory of mind (ToM), while the study of frontal lobe (FL) lesion without seizures has produced inconsistent results. Given the role played by the FLs in ToM, we evaluated this and other functions in patients with FLE with and without FL lesions. The main objective was to clarify the salience of ToM impairment in the cognitive pattern of FLE and its capacity to discriminate these patients from healthy subjects. The effects of FL lesions on ToM were also explored. METHODS Seventy-five adult patients with FLE (40 cases with FL lesions) were compared with 42 healthy controls. The Faux Pas Task (FPT) and other neuropsychological tests were utilized to assess ToM, reasoning, language, memory, praxis, attention, and executive abilities. RESULTS The patients obtained lower z scores for the FPT than for other tests. The ToM, Executive, and Verbal factors discriminated patients from healthy subjects. The patients with or without FL lesion showed significant impairments in recognizing and understanding others' epistemic and affective mental states, but adequate capacity to exclude inexistent mental states was retained. In comparison with controls, the patients with FL lesions obtained lower scores for lexical, memory, praxis, attention, and executive functions, whereas those without lesion only showed attention and initiative deficits. Schooling was the major predictor of ToM, whereas the capacity to exclude inexistent mental states was related to seizure onset age and epilepsy duration. Other cognitive functions were related to schooling, age, or FLE laterality. SIGNIFICANCE Impaired understanding of real mental states is a specific, salient, and discriminating cognitive aspect of FLE. Poor education is a risk factor for ToM deficit, whereas the clinical variables and FL lesions have no impact. These results suggest that impaired ToM may be a marker of FLE neurobehavioral phenotype.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Rita Giovagnoli
- Department of Diagnostics and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Giulia Maria Tallarita
- Department of Diagnostics and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Annalisa Parente
- Department of Diagnostics and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Pastori
- Department of Diagnostics and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
| | - Marco de Curtis
- Department of Diagnostics and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico Carlo Besta, Milan, Italy
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Structural and functional brain correlates of theory of mind impairment post-stroke. Cortex 2019; 121:427-442. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2019.09.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/05/2019] [Revised: 07/20/2019] [Accepted: 09/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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Malda-Castillo J, Browne C, Perez-Algorta G. Mentalization-based treatment and its evidence-base status: A systematic literature review. Psychol Psychother 2019; 92:465-498. [PMID: 30091506 DOI: 10.1111/papt.12195] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2017] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE This study reviewed the evidence-base status of mentalization-based treatment (MBT), its quality, strengths, and limitations. The aim was to pave the way for further MBT research. METHOD An electronic database and reference lists search identified MBT outcome papers, and these were systematically reviewed. The quality of the studies and the risk of bias were determined using two validated checklist tools. RESULTS Twenty-three studies were included in the review. This included nine randomized controlled trials, seven uncontrolled pre- and post-effectiveness studies, three retrospective cohort studies, two uncontrolled randomized trials, and two case studies. The methodological quality of almost half of the papers was assessed as fair (43%), followed by good (34%), poor (17%), and excellent (4%) ratings. Nevertheless, the review identified risk of confounding bias across the majority of studies (60%) and fidelity to treatment was poorly reported in almost half of the studies (47%). Most of the studies focused on borderline personality disorder (BPD), showing positive clinical outcomes for this population but the evidence-base for other presentations was still developing. The treatment of adolescents who self-harm and at-risk mothers in substance abuse treatment showed particularly promising results, as these are client groups that have previously shown limited positive response to psychological interventions. CONCLUSIONS Mentalization-based treatment is a potentially effective method across a wide range of clinical presentations but further research should focus on increasing the quality and the quantity of the MBT evidence outside the treatment of BPD. PRACTITIONER POINTS MBT can be a particularly effective intervention for the treatment of adults with a diagnosis of BPD and of adolescents who self-harm and mothers enrolled in substance abuse treatments. MBT can be an effective intervention for depression and eating disorders but the evidence is currently limited. Professionals supporting mothers of children at risk may benefit from receiving training in the principles of MBT.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Claire Browne
- Central Manchester University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, UK
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Nunes AS, Kozhemiako N, Moiseev A, Seymour RA, Cheung TPL, Ribary U, Doesburg SM. Neuromagnetic activation and oscillatory dynamics of stimulus-locked processing during naturalistic viewing. Neuroimage 2019; 216:116414. [PMID: 31794854 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116414] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2019] [Revised: 10/21/2019] [Accepted: 11/27/2019] [Indexed: 10/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Naturalistic stimuli such as watching a movie while in the scanner provide an ecologically valid paradigm that has the potential of extracting valuable information on how the brain processes complex stimuli in realistic visual and auditory contexts. Naturalistic viewing is also easier to conduct with challenging participant groups including patients and children. Given the high temporal resolution of MEG, in the present study, we demonstrate how a short movie clip can be used to map distinguishable activation and connectivity dynamics underlying the processing of specific classes of visual stimuli such as face and hand manipulations, as well as contrasting activation dynamics for auditory words and non-words. MEG data were collected from 22 healthy volunteers (6 females, 3 left handed, mean age - 27.7 ± 5.28 years) during the presentation of naturalistic audiovisual stimuli. The MEG data were split into trials with the onset of the stimuli belonging to classes of interest (words, non-words, faces, hand manipulations). Based on the components of the averaged sensor ERFs time-locked to the visual and auditory stimulus onset, four and three time-windows, respectively, were defined to explore brain activation dynamics. Pseudo-Z, defined as the ratio of the source-projected time-locked power to the projected noise power for each vertex, was computed and used as a proxy of time-locked brain activation. Statistical testing using the mean-centered Partial Least Squares analysis indicated periods where a given visual or auditory stimuli had higher activation. Based on peak pseudo-Z differences between the visual conditions, time-frequency resolved analyses were performed to assess beta band desynchronization in motor-related areas, and inter-trial phase synchronization between face processing areas. Our results provide the first evidence that activation and connectivity dynamics in canonical brain regions associated with the processing of particular classes of visual and auditory stimuli can be reliably mapped using MEG during presentation of naturalistic stimuli. Given the strength of MEG for brain mapping in temporal and frequency domains, the use of naturalistic stimuli may open new techniques in analyzing brain dynamics during ecologically valid sensation and perception.
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Affiliation(s)
- Adonay S Nunes
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada.
| | - Nataliia Kozhemiako
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Alexander Moiseev
- Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Robert A Seymour
- Aston Brain Centre, School of Life and Health Sciences, Aston University, Birmingham, UK; Department of Cognitive Science, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | - Teresa P L Cheung
- School of Engineering Science, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Urs Ribary
- Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada; Department Pediatrics and Psychiatry, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada; B.C. Children's Hospital Research Institute, Vancouver, BC, Canada; Department of Psychology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
| | - Sam M Doesburg
- Biomedical Physiology and Kinesiology, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada; Behavioral & Cognitive Neuroscience Institute, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada
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Giovagnoli AR. Theory of mind across lifespan from ages 16 to 81 years. Epilepsy Behav 2019; 100:106349. [PMID: 31375413 DOI: 10.1016/j.yebeh.2019.05.044] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/16/2018] [Revised: 05/22/2019] [Accepted: 05/28/2019] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
PURPOSE Impaired theory of mind (ToM) is a neurobehavioral phenotype of epilepsy. Given that the age transitions affect cognitive development and decline, it is important to refine ToM across the lifespan. This study evaluated ToM in healthy subjects, taking into account education, gender, and other functions, aiming to clarify its specificity and relationships to major demographic and cognitive domains. METHODS A hundred and seventy subjects from ages 16 to 81 years (68 men) who received five to 17 years of schooling were evaluated using a Faux Pas Task (FPT) that is solved at the end of childhood and is highly sensitive to brain damage and tests for language, memory, praxis, visual perception, initiative, attention, shifting, and planning. Factor analysis, analysis of variance, and correlation and regression analyses were used to assess the data. RESULTS The analysis yielded six factors: Beliefs, Delusions, and Facts, which express the understanding of mental states and contextual details; Matching-Learning, Executive, and Working Memory. On this basis, six composite scores (CSs) were computed. Age and schooling showed significant effects on the Matching-Learning, Executive, and Working Memory CSs. The FPT raw scores and CSs were unrelated to age or schooling, while females showed better performance than males. The Beliefs CS and FPT scores were predicted by the Executive, Working Memory, Delusions, and Facts CSs and gender. CONCLUSIONS Theory of mind is a specific cognitive domain independent of age and formal education, but related to gender. Working memory, executive functions, and reality examination support some ToM processes. These findings may provide reference points against which impairment can be assessed. This article is part of the Special Issue "Epilepsy and social cognition across the lifespan".
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Affiliation(s)
- Anna Rita Giovagnoli
- Department of Diagnostics and Technology, Fondazione IRCCS Istituto Neurologico C. Besta, Milano, Italy.
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Neural basis of romantic partners' decisions about participation in leisure activity. Sci Rep 2019; 9:14448. [PMID: 31595015 PMCID: PMC6783572 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-51038-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2018] [Accepted: 09/23/2019] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Leisure activity is one of key ingredients for individual happiness and life satisfaction. Enjoying leisure activity with one’s partner can increase marital satisfaction. This study aimed to identify the neural basis of making decisions on participation in a leisure activity with one’s romantic partner as well as the relationship between leisure activity and satisfaction with life. Thirty-seven soon-to-be married heterosexual couples were participated in functional MRI while deciding participation in specific leisure activities in the individual, partner, with-friend, and with-partner conditions. We constructed analysis of variance models and investigated couple characteristics such as personality similarity, leisure activity matching rate, and spatial similarity in the bilateral frontoparietal network. The results showed decreased activity in the bilateral hippocampus during the task in the with-partner condition. Individual leisure activity was correlated with quality of life in males, whereas participation in leisure activity might require more cognitive loading on the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex in females. The leisure activity matching rate was correlated with courtship period, personality similarity, and spatial similarity of the right frontoparietal network during the task. These findings suggest that although there are different activation pattern in making decisions on leisure activity between romantic couples, spatial similarity of the partner’s social brain networks may be a marker that predicts how well the couple enjoys leisure activity together. In addition, our couples’ data analysis provides a scientific basis for the saying that romantic couples become more similar the longer they are together.
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Spalek K, Oganian Y. The neurocognitive signature of focus alternatives. BRAIN AND LANGUAGE 2019; 194:98-108. [PMID: 31154233 PMCID: PMC6565807 DOI: 10.1016/j.bandl.2019.04.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/26/2018] [Revised: 03/04/2019] [Accepted: 04/24/2019] [Indexed: 06/09/2023]
Abstract
Focus alternatives are words/phrases that can substitute for the focused constituent of an utterance. In "Carsten has picked [CHERRIES]F from the tree.", (marked by pitch focus on cherries), the speaker wants to not only convey the fact that Carsten has picked cherries, but also to contrast cherries with other fruit that could have been picked, such as plums. Although focus alternatives are key to understanding the implicit aspects of an utterance, nothing is known about their neural representation. We directly contrasted neural representations of lexico-semantic similarity and focus alternative status using fMRI. Semantic relatedness was reflected in decreased activation in the bilateral superior temporal gyri. By contrast, processing of focus alternatives induced increased activations in the precuneus and the fronto-median wall, two regions previously implicated in discourse processing. These results suggest that focus alternative status is processed separately from semantic relatedness, at the level of discourse integration.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katharina Spalek
- Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Institute for German Language and Linguistics, Unter den Linden 6, 10099 Berlin, Germany.
| | - Yulia Oganian
- University of California, San Francisco, Department of Neurological Surgery, 675 Nelson Rising Lane, 94158 San Francisco, CA, USA.
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Calso C, Besnard J, Allain P. Study of the theory of mind in normal aging: focus on the deception detection and its links with other cognitive functions. AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2019; 27:430-452. [PMID: 31188065 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2019.1628176] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/26/2022]
Abstract
Detection of deception is crucial to avoid negative circumstances (financial frauds, social tricks) in daily living. Considering that this cognitive function is especially supported by the prefrontal cortex of the human brain and that these cerebral regions change with advanced age, deception detection may also change with aging. Our purpose is to study this complex ability and its potential links with other cognitive functions, such as the executive control, in normal aging. Thirty-five young adults (YA) aged from 20 to 40, thirty-five old adults (OA) aged from 65 to 79 and thirty very old adults (VOA) aged from 80 to 95 were involved in this study. We propose a novel neuropsychological test (inspired by Theory of Mind Picture Story task) assessing the ability to understand deceptive and cooperative interactions, and tasks involving executive processes (monitoring, task setting, flexibility) to all participants. Between-group analyses show that older participants performed worse than YA on deceptive, cooperative and mixed situations (involving deception and reciprocity) of our task. Significant correlations exist between the deception-cooperation detection and the executive functions. Our results show that these frontal abilities decline after 65 years, even more after 80 years, and they are involved on the deceptive-cooperative situations. The verbal IQ is also linked with the deception-cooperation detection. This suggests that mixed cognitive trainings would allow older adults to detect more easily bad intentions of others, to adjust their behavior to context and to achieve their goals with less risk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cristina Calso
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (EA 4638), Université d'Angers, Maison de la recherche Germaine-Tillion, Angers cedex 01, France.,Unité Transversale de Recherche Psychogenèse et Psychopathologie. Cliniques, psychopathologie et psychanalyse (EA 4403), Université Paris 13-Sorbonne Paris Cité, Villetaneuse, France
| | - Jérémy Besnard
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (EA 4638), Université d'Angers, Maison de la recherche Germaine-Tillion, Angers cedex 01, France
| | - Philippe Allain
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (EA 4638), Université d'Angers, Maison de la recherche Germaine-Tillion, Angers cedex 01, France.,Unité de neuropsychologie, Département de neurologie, CHU d'Angers, Angers cedex 01, France
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Impairment in Theory of Mind in Parkinson's Disease Is Explained by Deficits in Inhibition. PARKINSONS DISEASE 2019; 2019:5480913. [PMID: 31275544 PMCID: PMC6558602 DOI: 10.1155/2019/5480913] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2019] [Revised: 03/28/2019] [Accepted: 04/08/2019] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Objective Several studies have reported that people with Parkinson's disease (PD) perform poorly on tests of 'Theory of Mind' (ToM), suggesting impairment in the ability to understand and infer other people's thoughts and feelings. However, few studies have sought to separate the processes involved in social reasoning from those involved in managing the inhibitory demands on these tests. In this study, we investigated the contribution of inhibition to ToM performance in PD. Methods 18 PD patients and 22 age-matched healthy controls performed a ToM test that separates the ability to infer someone else's perspective from the ability to inhibit one's own. Participants also completed a battery of standard measures of social and executive functioning, including measures of inhibition. Results The PD patients performed worse on the ToM test only when the inhibitory demands were high. When the level of inhibition required was reduced, there were no significant group differences. Furthermore, executive impairments in PD patients were limited to measures of inhibition, with disadvantages associated with poorer ToM performance in this group. Conclusions This study provides convincing evidence that the apparent impairment observed on ToM tests in PD is explained by deficits in inhibition.
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