1
|
Guthrie TD, Chavez RS. Normativity vs. uniqueness: effects of social relationship strength on neural representations of others. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2024; 19:nsae045. [PMID: 38915187 PMCID: PMC11232616 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsae045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2024] [Revised: 05/07/2024] [Accepted: 06/24/2024] [Indexed: 06/26/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding others involves inferring traits and intentions, a process complicated by our reliance on stereotypes and generalized information when we lack personal information. Yet, as relationships are formed, we shift toward nuanced and individualized perceptions of others. This study addresses how relationship strength influences the creation of unique or normative representations of others in key regions known to be involved in social cognition. Employing a round-robin interpersonal perception paradigm (N = 111, 20 groups of five to six people), we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to examine whether the strength of social relationships modulated the degree to which multivoxel patterns of activity that represented a specific other were similar to a normative average of all others in the study. Behaviorally, stronger social relationships were associated with more normative trait endorsements. Neural findings reveal that closer relationships lead to more unique representations in the medial prefrontal cortex and anterior insula, areas associated with mentalizing and person perception. Conversely, more generalized representations emerge in posterior regions like the posterior cingulate cortex, indicating a complex interplay between individuated and generalized processing of social information in the brain. These findings suggest that cortical regions typically associated with social cognition may compute different kinds of information when representing the distinctiveness of others.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Taylor D Guthrie
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, United States
| | - Robert S Chavez
- Department of Psychology, University of Oregon, Eugene, OR 97403, United States
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Shoham A, Grosbard ID, Patashnik O, Cohen-Or D, Yovel G. Using deep neural networks to disentangle visual and semantic information in human perception and memory. Nat Hum Behav 2024:10.1038/s41562-024-01816-9. [PMID: 38332339 DOI: 10.1038/s41562-024-01816-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/06/2023] [Accepted: 12/22/2023] [Indexed: 02/10/2024]
Abstract
Mental representations of familiar categories are composed of visual and semantic information. Disentangling the contributions of visual and semantic information in humans is challenging because they are intermixed in mental representations. Deep neural networks that are trained either on images or on text or by pairing images and text enable us now to disentangle human mental representations into their visual, visual-semantic and semantic components. Here we used these deep neural networks to uncover the content of human mental representations of familiar faces and objects when they are viewed or recalled from memory. The results show a larger visual than semantic contribution when images are viewed and a reversed pattern when they are recalled. We further reveal a previously unknown unique contribution of an integrated visual-semantic representation in both perception and memory. We propose a new framework in which visual and semantic information contribute independently and interactively to mental representations in perception and memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Adva Shoham
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
| | - Idan Daniel Grosbard
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Or Patashnik
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Daniel Cohen-Or
- The Blavatnik School of Computer Science, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel
| | - Galit Yovel
- School of Psychological Sciences, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
- Sagol School of Neuroscience, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Li M, Mai Z, Wang S, Feng T, Van Overwalle F, Ma N. Warmth is more influential than competence: an fMRI repetition suppression study. Brain Imaging Behav 2021; 15:266-275. [PMID: 31916071 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-019-00254-w] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed neural representation of traits in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), but related studies mainly investigated the neural representation of warmth or competence trait respectively. To identify the potential differences of trait codes of warmth and competence in the mPFC, we applied functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) repetition suppression which is a rapid reduction of neuronal responses upon repeated presentation of the same implied trait. Participants read two successive trait-implying behavioral descriptions. In each trial, the critical target sentence implied either a warmth-related or competence-related trait was preceded by a prime sentence that implied trait from the other dimension of the 'Big Two' with a same or opposite valence, or no trait. The results revealed robust repetition suppression from prime to target in the mPFC only when the prime was a warmth-related trait, regardless of valence. Critically, the suppression effect was much stronger after being primed with a similar and opposite warmth trait compared with a trait-irrelevant prime. This suppression pattern was found nowhere else in the brain. The result seems to indicate that humans do not completely interpret and represent warmth and competence traits as independent dimensions and the warmth trait is more influential than Competence trait. The finding extends the understanding of the 'Big Two' theory of impression formation from the aspect of neural activity.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mingzhu Li
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Zifeng Mai
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Simin Wang
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tingyong Feng
- School of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | | | - Ning Ma
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health & Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China.
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Guldner S, Nees F, McGettigan C. Vocomotor and Social Brain Networks Work Together to Express Social Traits in Voices. Cereb Cortex 2020; 30:6004-6020. [PMID: 32577719 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhaa175] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2020] [Revised: 05/08/2020] [Accepted: 05/31/2020] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Voice modulation is important when navigating social interactions-tone of voice in a business negotiation is very different from that used to comfort an upset child. While voluntary vocal behavior relies on a cortical vocomotor network, social voice modulation may require additional social cognitive processing. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural basis for social vocal control and whether it involves an interplay of vocal control and social processing networks. Twenty-four healthy adult participants modulated their voice to express social traits along the dimensions of the social trait space (affiliation and competence) or to express body size (control for vocal flexibility). Naïve listener ratings showed that vocal modulations were effective in evoking social trait ratings along the two primary dimensions of the social trait space. Whereas basic vocal modulation engaged the vocomotor network, social voice modulation specifically engaged social processing regions including the medial prefrontal cortex, superior temporal sulcus, and precuneus. Moreover, these regions showed task-relevant modulations in functional connectivity to the left inferior frontal gyrus, a core vocomotor control network area. These findings highlight the impact of the integration of vocal motor control and social information processing for socially meaningful voice modulation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Stella Guldner
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim 68159, Germany.,Graduate School of Economic and Social Sciences, University of Mannheim, Mannheim 68159, Germany.,Department of Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences, University College London, London, UK
| | - Frauke Nees
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, Mannheim 68159, Germany.,Institute of Medical Psychology and Medical Sociology, University Medical Center Schleswig Holstein, Kiel University, Kiel 24105, Germany
| | - Carolyn McGettigan
- Department of Speech, Hearing and Phonetic Sciences, University College London, London, UK.,Department of Psychology, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham TW20 0EX, UK
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Delplanque J, Heleven E, Van Overwalle F. Neural representations of Groups and Stereotypes using fMRI repetition suppression. Sci Rep 2019; 9:3190. [PMID: 30816252 PMCID: PMC6395704 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-39859-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/23/2018] [Accepted: 01/30/2019] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Categorizing people in groups and associating them with stereotypical behavior is an integral part of human social understanding and interaction. This study investigates where knowledge on social groups and their stereotypes is represented in the brain. We presented participants with two sentences describing a group member (e.g. the police officer) performing a behavior believed to be stereotypical of the group (e.g. makes an arrest, i.e. authoritative), and asked them to rate the degree to which the behavior was typical of the group. Our critical manipulation was the repetition of this information across the two sentences: Either both the group and the stereotype implied by the behavior was repeated, only the group was repeated, only the stereotype implied by the behavior, or neither. Results showed robust suppression of hemodynamic activation from the first to second sentence in the medial prefrontal cortex in response to the repetition of the stereotype implied in the behavior, but only when groups were different. This finding suggests that the neural representation of stereotypes is located in this area, and this is in line with similar repetition suppression research showing trait representation in this area. A suppression effect for the repetition of groups was observed in the posterior cingulate cortex, regardless of whether stereotypes were repeated or not. This finding suggests that the neural representation of groups is located in this area. Because this location is unexpected, we discuss several suggestions for future research to confirm this finding.
Collapse
|
6
|
Heleven E, Van Overwalle F. The neural representation of the self in relation to close others using fMRI repetition suppression. Soc Neurosci 2019; 14:717-728. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2019.1581657] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/27/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elien Heleven
- Department of Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium
| | | |
Collapse
|
7
|
Heleven E, Van Overwalle F. The neural basis of representing others’ inner states. Curr Opin Psychol 2018; 23:98-103. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2018.02.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 02/06/2018] [Accepted: 02/07/2018] [Indexed: 01/14/2023]
|
8
|
Heleven E, Van Overwalle F. Neural representations of others in the medial prefrontal cortex do not depend on our knowledge about them. Soc Neurosci 2018; 14:286-299. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2018.1472139] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Elien Heleven
- Pyschology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
| | | |
Collapse
|
9
|
Ferrari C, Nadal M, Schiavi S, Vecchi T, Cela-Conde CJ, Cattaneo Z. The dorsomedial prefrontal cortex mediates the interaction between moral and aesthetic valuation: a TMS study on the beauty-is-good stereotype. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 12:707-717. [PMID: 28158864 PMCID: PMC5460046 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsx002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/11/2016] [Accepted: 01/16/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Attractive individuals are perceived as possessing more positive personal traits than unattractive individuals. This reliance on aesthetic features to infer moral character suggests a close link between aesthetic and moral valuation. Here we aimed to investigate the neural underpinnings of the interaction between aesthetic and moral valuation by combining transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) with a priming paradigm designed to assess the Beauty-is-Good stereotype. Participants evaluated the trustworthiness of a series of faces (targets), each of which was preceded by an adjective describing desirable, undesirable, or neutral aesthetic qualities (primes). TMS was applied between prime and target to interfere with activity in two regions known to be involved in aesthetic and moral valuation: the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC, a core region in social cognition) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC, critical in decision making). Our results showed that when TMS was applied over vertex (control) and over the dlPFC, participants judged faces as more trustworthy when preceded by positive than by negative aesthetic primes (as also shown in two behavioral experiments). However, when TMS was applied over the dmPFC, primes had no effect on trustworthiness judgments. A second Experiment corroborated this finding. Our results suggest that mPFC plays a causal role linking moral and aesthetic valuation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Ferrari
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Marcos Nadal
- Human Evolution and Cognition Group (EvoCog), University of the Balearic Islands and IFISC, Associated Unit to CSIC, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Susanna Schiavi
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
| | - Camilo J Cela-Conde
- Human Evolution and Cognition Group (EvoCog), University of the Balearic Islands and IFISC, Associated Unit to CSIC, Palma de Mallorca, Spain
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy.,Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Heleven E, Boukhlal S, Van Overwalle F. A stranger in my brain: Neural representation for unfamiliar persons using fMRI repetition suppression. Soc Neurosci 2017; 13:530-540. [DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2017.1358663] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- Elien Heleven
- Department of Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
| | - Siham Boukhlal
- Department of Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussel, Belgium
| | | |
Collapse
|
11
|
Ma N, Wang S, Yang Q, Feng T, Van Overwalle F. The neural representation of competence traits: An fMRI study. Sci Rep 2016; 6:39609. [PMID: 27995988 PMCID: PMC5172249 DOI: 10.1038/srep39609] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/10/2016] [Accepted: 11/24/2016] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
Previous neuroimaging studies have revealed that a trait code is mainly represented in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). However, those studies only investigated the neural code of warmth traits. According to the ‘Big Two’ model of impression formation, competence traits are the other major dimension when we judge others. The current study explored the neural representation of competence traits by using an fMRI repetition suppression paradigm, which is a rapid reduction of neuronal responses upon repeated presentation of the same implied trait. Participants had to infer an agent’s trait from brief behavioral descriptions that implied a competence trait. In each trial, the critical target sentence was preceded by a prime sentence that implied the same or opposite competence-related trait, or no trait. The results revealed robust repetition suppression from prime to target in the vmPFC and precuneus during trait conditions. Critically, the suppression effect was much stronger after being primed with a similar and opposite competence trait compared with a trait-irrelevant prime. This suppression pattern was found nowhere else in the brain. Consistent with previous fMRI studies, we suggest that the neural code of competence traits is represented in these two brain areas with different levels of abstraction.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ning Ma
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health &Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Simin Wang
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health &Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Quansen Yang
- School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health &Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Tingyong Feng
- School of Psychology, Southeast University, Chongqing, China
| | | |
Collapse
|
12
|
Van Overwalle F, Heleven E, Ma N, Mariën P. Tell me twice: A multi-study analysis of the functional connectivity between the cerebrum and cerebellum after repeated trait information. Neuroimage 2016; 144:241-252. [PMID: 27566262 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.08.046] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/29/2016] [Revised: 07/09/2016] [Accepted: 08/20/2016] [Indexed: 10/21/2022] Open
Abstract
This multi-study analysis (6 fMRI studies; 142 participants) explores the functional activation and connectivity of the cerebellum with the cerebrum during repeated behavioral information uptake informing about personality traits of different persons. The results suggest that trait repetition recruits activity in areas belonging to the mentalizing and executive control networks in the cerebrum, and the executive control areas in the cerebellum. Cerebral activation was observed in the executive control network including the posterior medial frontal cortex (pmFC), the bilateral prefrontal cortex (PFC) and bilateral inferior parietal cortex (IPC), in the mentalizing network including the bilateral middle temporal cortex (MTC) extending to the right superior temporal cortex (STC), as well as in the visual network including the left cuneus (Cun) and the left inferior occipital cortex. Moreover, cerebellar activation was found bilaterally in lobules VI and VII belonging to the executive control network. Importantly, significant patterns of functional connectivity were found linking these cerebellar executive areas with cerebral executive areas in the medial pmFC, the left PFC and the left IPC, and mentalizing areas in the left MTC. In addition, connectivity was found between the cerebral areas in the left hemisphere involved in the executive and mentalizing networks, as well as with their homolog areas in the right hemisphere. The discussion centers on the role of these cerebello-cerebral connections in matching internal predictions generated by the cerebellum with external information from the cerebrum, presumably involving the sequencing of behaviors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frank Van Overwalle
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium.
| | - Elien Heleven
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, 1050 Brussels, Belgium
| | - Ning Ma
- School of Psychology, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, China
| | - Peter Mariën
- Faculty of Arts, Clinical and Experimental Neurolinguistics, CLIN, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium; Department of Neurology and Memory Clinic, ZNA Middelheim Hospital, Lindendreef 1, B-2020 Antwerp, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Kestemont J, Van Mieghem A, Beeckmans K, Van Overwalle F, Vandekerckhove M. Social attributions in patients with ventromedial prefrontal hypoperfusion. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2016; 11:652-62. [PMID: 26917564 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv147] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2014] [Accepted: 11/30/2015] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies have demonstrated that the medial prefrontal cortex is involved in attributions on enduring and abstract trait characteristics of persons, but not in causal attributions of temporary here-and-now events. Moreover, the neural representation of trait information is thought to be located in the ventral part of the medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC). In order to verify this latter finding, this study compared the performance of 8 patients with hypoperfusion of the vmPFC, 10 with hypoperfusion excluding the vmPFC and 15 healthy controls on trait and causal attribution questionnaires consisting of several events presented in brief written scenarios. We also investigated whether vmPFC hypoperfusion influenced the experienced intensity of the negative or positive valence of the events. Our results showed that patients with ventral hypoperfusion performed significantly worse on trait attributions in comparison with the non-vmPFC group and healthy controls. All groups performed equally well on causal attributions. These findings support previous research suggesting that the vmPFC is critically involved in enduring trait attribution, but not in temporary causal attribution. Considering the emotional experience of valence, the findings showed more intense valence ratings for negative events and persons. This confirms the role of the vmPFC in the modulation and regulation of negative emotions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Jenny Kestemont
- Department of Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Brussels, Belgium,
| | | | - Kurt Beeckmans
- Centre for Epilepsy and Psycho-organic Disorders (CEPOS), Duffel, Belgium
| | | | | |
Collapse
|
14
|
Abstract
This study investigates to what extent social and competence traits are represented in a similar or different neural trait code. To localize these trait codes, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging repetition suppression, which is a rapid reduction of neuronal responses upon repeated presentation of the same implied trait. Participants had to infer an agent's trait from brief trait-implying behavioral descriptions. In each trial, the critical target sentence was preceded by a prime sentence that implied the same trait or a different competence-related trait which was also opposite in valence. The results revealed robust repetition suppression from prime to target in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) given a similar (social) as well as a dissimilar (competence) prime. The suppression given a similar prime confirms earlier research demonstrating that a trait code is represented in the ventral mPFC. The suppression given a dissimilar prime is interpreted as indicating that participants categorize a combination of competence and social information into novel subcategories, reflecting nice (but incompetent) or nerdy (but socially awkward) traits. A multi-voxel pattern analysis broadly confirmed these results, and pinpointed the inferior parietal cortex, cerebellum, temporo-parietal junction and mPFC as areas that differentiate between social and competence traits.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frank Van Overwalle
- a Department of Psychology , Vrije Universiteit Brussel , Brussels , Belgium
| | - Ning Ma
- b Institute of Affective and Social Neuroscience , Shenzhen University , Shenzhen , China
| | - Kris Baetens
- a Department of Psychology , Vrije Universiteit Brussel , Brussels , Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Van Overwalle F, D'aes T, Mariën P. Social cognition and the cerebellum: A meta-analytic connectivity analysis. Hum Brain Mapp 2015; 36:5137-54. [PMID: 26419890 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 127] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/17/2015] [Revised: 08/06/2015] [Accepted: 09/08/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023] Open
Abstract
This meta-analytic connectivity modeling (MACM) study explores the functional connectivity of the cerebellum with the cerebrum in social cognitive processes. In a recent meta-analysis, Van Overwalle, Baetens, Mariën, and Vandekerckhove (2014) documented that the cerebellum is implicated in social processes of "body" reading (mirroring; e.g., understanding other persons' intentions from observing their movements) and "mind" reading (mentalizing, e.g., inferring other persons' beliefs, intentions or personality traits, reconstructing persons' past, future, or hypothetical events). In a recent functional connectivity study, Buckner et al. (2011) offered a novel parcellation of cerebellar topography that substantially overlaps with the cerebellar meta-analytic findings of Van Overwalle et al. (2014). This overlap suggests that the involvement of the cerebellum in social reasoning depends on its functional connectivity with the cerebrum. To test this hypothesis, we explored the meta-analytic co-activations as indices of functional connectivity between the cerebellum and the cerebrum during social cognition. The MACM results confirm substantial and distinct connectivity with respect to the functions of (a) action understanding ("body" reading) and (b) mentalizing ("mind" reading). The consistent and strong connectivity findings of this analysis suggest that cerebellar activity during social judgments reflects distinct mirroring and mentalizing functionality, and that these cerebellar functions are connected with corresponding functional networks in the cerebrum.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Frank Van Overwalle
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
| | - Tine D'aes
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, Brussels, 1050, Belgium
| | - Peter Mariën
- Faculty of Arts, Department of Clinical and Experimental Neurolinguistics, CLIN, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050, Brussels, Belgium.,Department of Neurology and Memory Clinic, ZNA Middelheim Hospital, Lindendreef 1, Antwerp, B-2020, Belgium
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Heleven E, Van Overwalle F. The person within: memory codes for persons and traits using fMRI repetition suppression. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2015; 11:159-71. [PMID: 26371337 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 36] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/29/2014] [Accepted: 07/30/2015] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Neuroimaging studies on trait inference demonstrated that the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) houses neural representations of memory codes for traits . In this study, we investigate the neural code not only of traits, but also of persons who exemplify these traits. We used repetition suppression, which is a rapid suppression of the neuroimaging signal upon repeated presentation of the same stimulus or core stimulus characteristics-in this case, the implied trait and person. Participants inferred familiar person's traits. At each trial, a critical (target) sentence described a behavior that implied a trait, and was preceded by a (prime) sentence that implied the same trait and portrayed the same person, the same trait but portrayed a different person or did not imply a trait and portrayed a different person. As predicted, we found partly overlapping repetition suppression areas in the ventral mPFC when persons and traits were repeated, indicating that not only traits but also familiar persons have a neural code in the ventral mPFC. We also found a negative correlation between activation when reading about a new person and participants' social network size, indicating that experience with larger social groups results in less recruitment of a person code.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Elien Heleven
- Department of Psychology, Vrije Universiteit Brussel, 1050 Brussel, Belgium
| | | |
Collapse
|
17
|
Ferrari C, Lega C, Vernice M, Tamietto M, Mende-Siedlecki P, Vecchi T, Todorov A, Cattaneo Z. The Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Plays a Causal Role in Integrating Social Impressions from Faces and Verbal Descriptions. Cereb Cortex 2014; 26:156-65. [PMID: 25165063 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhu186] [Citation(s) in RCA: 68] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Several neuroimaging studies point to a key role of the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) in the formation of socially relevant impressions. In 3 different experiments, participants were required to form socially relevant impressions about other individuals on the basis of text descriptions of their social behaviors, and to decide whether a face alone, a trait adjective (e.g., "selfish"), or a face presented with a trait adjective was consistent or inconsistent with the impression they had formed. Before deciding whether the target stimulus matched the impression they had previously formed, participants received transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) over the dmPFC, the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, also implicated in social impression formation), or over a control site (vertex). Results from the 3 experiments converged in showing that interfering with dmPFC activity significantly delayed participants in responding whether a face-adjective pair was consistent with the impression they had formed. No effects of TMS were observed following stimulation of the IFG or when evaluations had to be made on faces or trait adjectives presented alone. Our findings critically extend previous neuroimaging evidence by indicating a causal role of the dmPFC in creating coherent impressions based on the integration of face and verbal description of social behaviors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Chiara Ferrari
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Carlotta Lega
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan 20126, Italy
| | - Mirta Vernice
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan 20126, Italy Milan Center for Neuroscience, Milan 20126, Italy
| | - Marco Tamietto
- Department of Psychology, University of Torino, Turin 10124, Italy Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Laboratory, and CoRPS, Center of Research on Psychology in Somatic Diseases, Tilburg University, Tilburg 5037 AB, The Netherlands
| | | | - Tomaso Vecchi
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Sciences, University of Pavia, Pavia 27100, Italy Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia 27100, Italy
| | - Alexander Todorov
- Department of Psychology, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, USA
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- Brain Connectivity Center, C. Mondino National Neurological Institute, Pavia 27100, Italy Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan 20126, Italy
| |
Collapse
|