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Li R, Lightbody AA, Lee CH, Bartholomay KL, Marzelli MJ, Reiss AL. Association of Intrinsic Functional Brain Network and Longitudinal Development of Cognitive Behavioral Symptoms in Young Girls With Fragile X Syndrome. Biol Psychiatry 2023; 94:814-822. [PMID: 37004849 PMCID: PMC10544666 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsych.2023.03.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/02/2022] [Revised: 03/01/2023] [Accepted: 03/19/2023] [Indexed: 04/04/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Fragile X syndrome (FXS) is an X chromosome-linked genetic disorder characterized by increased risk for behavioral, social, and neurocognitive deficits. Because males express a more severe phenotype than females, research has focused largely on identifying neural abnormalities in all-male or both-sex populations with FXS. Therefore, very little is known about the neural alterations that contribute to cognitive behavioral symptoms in females with FXS. This cross-sectional study aimed to elucidate the large-scale resting-state brain networks associated with the multidomain cognitive behavioral phenotype in girls with FXS. METHODS We recruited 38 girls with full-mutation FXS (11.58 ± 3.15 years) and 32 girls without FXS (11.66 ± 2.27 years). Both groups were matched on age, verbal IQ, and multidomain cognitive behavioral symptoms. Resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging data were collected. RESULTS Compared with the control group, girls with FXS showed significantly greater resting-state functional connectivity of the default mode network, lower nodal strength at the right middle temporal gyrus, stronger nodal strength at the left caudate, and higher global efficiency of the default mode network. These aberrant brain network characteristics map directly onto the cognitive behavioral symptoms commonly observed in girls with FXS. An exploratory analysis suggested that brain network patterns at a prior time point (time 1) were predictive of the longitudinal development of participants' multidomain cognitive behavioral symptoms. CONCLUSIONS These findings represent the first examination of large-scale brain network alterations in a large sample of girls with FXS, expanding our knowledge of potential neural mechanisms underlying the development of cognitive behavioral symptoms in girls with FXS.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rihui Li
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Center for Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Institute of Collaborative Innovation, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau S.A.R., China.
| | - Amy A Lightbody
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Cindy H Lee
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Kristi L Bartholomay
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Matthew J Marzelli
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California
| | - Allan L Reiss
- Center for Interdisciplinary Brain Sciences Research, Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Department of Radiology, Stanford University, Stanford, California; Department of Pediatrics, Stanford University, Stanford, California
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Broomell AP, Savla J, Calkins SD, Bell MA. Infant electroencephalogram coherence and early childhood inhibitory control: Foundations for social cognition in late childhood. Dev Psychol 2021; 57:1439-1451. [PMID: 34929089 PMCID: PMC8688835 DOI: 10.1037/dev0001241] [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] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Social cognition is a set of complex processes that mediate much of human behavior. The development of these skills is related to and interdependent on other cognitive processes, particularly inhibitory control. Brain regions associated with inhibitory control and social cognition overlap functionally and structurally, especially with respect to frontal brain areas. We proposed that the neural foundations of inhibitory control and social cognition are measurable in infancy. We used structural equation modeling and showed that 10-month frontotemporal neuroconnectivity measured using electroencephalogram coherence predicts social cognition at 9 years of age through age-4 inhibitory control. These findings provide insight into the neurodevelopmental trajectory of cognition and suggest that connectivity from frontal regions to other parts of the brain is a foundation for the development of these skills. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jyoti Savla
- Department of Human Development and Family Science, Virginia Tech
| | - Susan D. Calkins
- Department of Human Development and Family Studies, University of North Carolina at Greensboro
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Farmer H, Mahmood R, Gregory SEA, Tishina P, Hamilton AFDC. Dynamic emotional expressions do not modulate responses to gestures. Acta Psychol (Amst) 2021; 212:103226. [PMID: 33310344 PMCID: PMC7755647 DOI: 10.1016/j.actpsy.2020.103226] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/01/2020] [Revised: 10/08/2020] [Accepted: 10/22/2020] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
The tendency to imitate the actions of others appears to be a fundamental aspect of human social interaction. Emotional expressions are a particularly salient form of social stimuli (Vuilleumier & Schwartz, 2001) but their relationship to imitative behaviour is currently unclear. In this paper we report the results of five studies which investigated the effect of a target's dynamic emotional stimuli on participants' tendency to respond compatibly to the target's actions. Experiment one examined the effect of dynamic emotional expressions on the automatic imitation of opening and closing hand movements. Experiment two used the same basic paradigm but added gaze direction as an additional factor. Experiment three investigated the effect of dynamic emotional expressions on compatibility responses to handshakes. Experiment four investigated whether dynamic emotional expressions modulated response to valenced social gestures. Finally, experiment five compared the effects of dynamic and static emotional expressions on participants' automatic imitation of finger lifting. Across all five studies we reliably elicited a compatibility effect however, none of the studies found a significant modulating effect of emotional expression. This null effect was also supported by a random effects meta-analysis and a series of Bayesian t-tests. Nevertheless, these results must be caveated by the fact that our studies had limited power to detect effect sizes below d = 0.4. We conclude by situating our findings within the literature, suggesting that the effect of emotional expressions on automatic imitation is, at best, minimal.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Farmer
- School of Human Sciences, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom; Institute of Lifecourse Development, University of Greenwich, United Kingdom; Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, United Kingdom.
| | - Raqeeb Mahmood
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, United Kingdom
| | | | - Polina Tishina
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, United Kingdom
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Conditional effects of gaze on automatic imitation: the role of autistic traits. Sci Rep 2020; 10:15512. [PMID: 32968117 PMCID: PMC7511335 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-020-72513-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2020] [Accepted: 08/31/2020] [Indexed: 01/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Establishing direct gaze has been shown to enhance the tendency to automatically imitate the other person's actions, an effect that seems to be reduced in autism. Most previous studies, however, used experimental tasks that may have confounded the measurement of automatic imitation with spatial compatibility effects. This calls into question whether gaze cues regulate automatic imitation, or instead affect domain-general processes of response inhibition. Using a task that disentangled imitative from spatial compatibility effects, the current study re-examined the role of autistic traits on the modulation of automatic imitation by direct and averted gaze cues. While our results do not provide evidence for an overall significant influence of gaze on neither automatic imitation nor spatial compatibility, autistic traits were predictive of a reduced inhibition of imitative behaviour following averted gaze. Nonetheless, exploratory analyses suggested that the observed modulation by autistic traits may actually be better explained by the effects of concomitant social anxiety symptoms. In addition, the ethnicity of the imitated agent was identified as another potential modulator of the gaze effects on automatic imitation. Overall, our findings highlight the contextual nature of automatic imitation, but call for a reconsideration of the role of gaze on imitative behaviour.
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Genschow O, Schuler J, Cracco E, Brass M, Wänke M. The Effect of Money Priming on Self-Focus in the Imitation-Inhibition Task. Exp Psychol 2020; 66:423-436. [PMID: 32054430 PMCID: PMC8210575 DOI: 10.1027/1618-3169/a000466] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. The self-sufficiency hypothesis suggests that priming
individuals with money makes them focus more strongly on themselves than on
others. However, recently, research supporting this claim has been heavily
criticized and some attempts to replicate have failed. A reason for the
inconsistent findings in the field may lay in the common use of explicit
measures, because they tend to rely on one or just a few items and are thus
prone to demand effects and low reliability. In the present research, we
administered, in two experiments, the imitation-inhibition task – a
robust, unobtrusive, and reliable paradigm that is sensitive to self-other focus
on a trial-by-trial basis. A pilot study found an increased focus on the self as
compared to others when primed with money. Building on this finding, a
preregistered high-powered experiment replicated this effect, suggesting that
money primes may indeed increase a focus on the self. An additionally carried
out meta-analysis indicates that automatic imitation is modulated by self-other
focus and that money primes lead to a smaller focus on the self than
conventional methods. Overall, the found effects are rather small and several
limitations, such as order effects, call for a cautious interpretation of the
findings.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Genschow
- Faculty of Human Sciences, Social Cognition Center Cologne, University of Cologne, Germany
| | - Johannes Schuler
- Fraunhofer Institute for System and Innovation Research, Germany
| | - Emiel Cracco
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Marcel Brass
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Ghent University, Belgium
| | - Michaela Wänke
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, University of Mannheim, Germany
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7
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Zheng Y, Xiao Z, Wei L, Chen H. The Neural Representation of Relational- and Collective-Self: Two Forms of Collectivism. Front Psychol 2018; 9:2624. [PMID: 30619016 PMCID: PMC6312116 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2018.02624] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2018] [Accepted: 12/05/2018] [Indexed: 12/03/2022] Open
Abstract
The collectivism can be divided into two forms: relational collectivism and group collectivism. According to the cognitive representation of self, relational collectivism emphasizes the relational-self and group collectivism privileges the collective-self. However, it remains uncertain whether there is a difference between relational-self and collective-self under Chinese collectivism cultural. To address the above issue, the present study examined the neural representation of relational-self and collective-self during trait judgment tasks using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). The results showed that relational-self-reference compared with collective-self-reference generated stronger medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) activity, indicating relational-self was more closeness and important in the self-concept than collective-self under East Asian cultural background. Relational-self and collective-self are unequally represented in the MPFC, providing direct neural evidence that the collectivism in China can be divided into relational collectivism and group collectivism.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yingcan Zheng
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China.,Department of Psychology, Army Medical University, Chongqing, China
| | - Zilun Xiao
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
| | - Luqing Wei
- School of Psychology, Jiangxi Normal University, Nanchang, China
| | - Hong Chen
- Faculty of Psychology, Southwest University, Chongqing, China
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Abstract
The present study sought to evaluate whether social priming modulates neural responses to ostracism, such that making arbitrary interpersonal decisions increases the experience of social exclusion more than making arbitrary physical decisions. This exploratory event-related potential (ERP) study utilized the Lunchroom task, in which adults (N = 28) first selected one of two options that included either interpersonal or physical descriptors. Participants then received ostracism outcome feedback within a lunchroom scenario in which they were either excluded (e.g. sitting alone) or included (e.g. surrounded by others). While the N2 component was sensitive to priming decision condition, only the P3 component discriminated between ostracism decisions. Further inspection of the neural sources indicated that the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and superior temporal gyrus were more engaged for exclusion than inclusion conditions during both N2 and P3 temporal windows. Evaluation of temporal source dynamics suggest that the effects of ostracism are predominant between 250-500 ms and were larger following interpersonal than physical decisions. These results suggest that being ostracized evokes a larger neural response that is modulated following priming of the social brain.
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Affiliation(s)
- Caitlin M Hudac
- a Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA.,b Center on Human Development and Disability , University of Washington , Seattle , WA , USA
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9
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Genschow O, Klomfar S, d’Haene I, Brass M. Mimicking and anticipating others' actions is linked to Social Information Processing. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0193743. [PMID: 29590127 PMCID: PMC5873994 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0193743] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/08/2017] [Accepted: 02/16/2018] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
It is widely known that individuals frequently imitate each other in social situations and that such mimicry fulfills an important social role in the sense that it functions as a social glue. With reference to the anticipated action effect, it has recently been demonstrated that individuals do not only imitate others, but also engage in anticipated action before the observed person starts engaging in that action. Interestingly, both phenomena (i.e., mimicry and anticipated action) rely on tracking others’ social behavior. Therefore, in the present research we investigated whether mimicry and anticipated action are related to social abilities as indicated by measures of social intelligence. The results demonstrate for the first time that mimicry as well as anticipated action is correlated with an important aspect of social intelligence—namely the ability to process social information. Theoretical implications and limitations are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oliver Genschow
- Social Cognition Center Cologne, University of Cologne, Cologne, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Sophie Klomfar
- Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Ine d’Haene
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
| | - Marcel Brass
- Department of Experimental Psychology, Ghent University, Ghent, Belgium
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10
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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.
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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
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11
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Abstract
Research on mimicry has demonstrated that individuals imitate in-group members more strongly than out-group members. In the present study, we tested whether such top-down modulation also applies for more extreme forms of direct mapping, such as for cross-contextual imitation settings, in which individuals imitate others' movements without sharing a common goal or context. Models on self-other control suggest that top-down modulations are based merely on a direct link between social sensory processing and imitation. That is, perceived similarities between oneself and another person is sufficient to amplify a shared representation between own and others' actions, which then trigger imitation. However, motivational accounts explain such findings with the assumption that individuals are motivated to affiliate with others. Because imitation is linked to positive social consequences, individuals should imitate in-group members more strongly than out-group members. We tested these two theoretical accounts against each other by applying a cross-contextual imitation paradigm. The results demonstrate that in-group members are more strongly cross-contextually imitated than out-group members the higher individuals' motivation to affiliate with the in-group is. This supports motivational models but not self-other control accounts. Further theoretical implications are discussed.
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12
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Cracco E, Genschow O, Radkova I, Brass M. Automatic imitation of pro- and antisocial gestures: Is implicit social behavior censored? Cognition 2018; 170:179-189. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2017.09.019] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/10/2017] [Revised: 09/26/2017] [Accepted: 09/28/2017] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
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Whelan ME, Morgan PS, Sherar LB, Kingsnorth AP, Magistro D, Esliger DW. Brain Activation in Response to Personalized Behavioral and Physiological Feedback From Self-Monitoring Technology: Pilot Study. J Med Internet Res 2017; 19:e384. [PMID: 29117928 PMCID: PMC5700408 DOI: 10.2196/jmir.8890] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2017] [Revised: 10/06/2017] [Accepted: 10/09/2017] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Background The recent surge in commercially available wearable technology has allowed real-time self-monitoring of behavior (eg, physical activity) and physiology (eg, glucose levels). However, there is limited neuroimaging work (ie, functional magnetic resonance imaging [fMRI]) to identify how people’s brains respond to receiving this personalized health feedback and how this impacts subsequent behavior. Objective Identify regions of the brain activated and examine associations between activation and behavior. Methods This was a pilot study to assess physical activity, sedentary time, and glucose levels over 14 days in 33 adults (aged 30 to 60 years). Extracted accelerometry, inclinometry, and interstitial glucose data informed the construction of personalized feedback messages (eg, average number of steps per day). These messages were subsequently presented visually to participants during fMRI. Participant physical activity levels and sedentary time were assessed again for 8 days following exposure to this personalized feedback. Results Independent tests identified significant activations within the prefrontal cortex in response to glucose feedback compared with behavioral feedback (P<.001). Reductions in mean sedentary time (589.0 vs 560.0 minutes per day, P=.014) were observed. Activation in the subgyral area had a moderate correlation with minutes of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity (r=0.392, P=.043). Conclusion Presenting personalized glucose feedback resulted in significantly more brain activation when compared with behavior. Participants reduced time spent sedentary at follow-up. Research on deploying behavioral and physiological feedback warrants further investigation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maxine E Whelan
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
| | - Paul S Morgan
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,Medical Physics and Clinical Engineering, Nottingham University Hospitals, Nottingham, United Kingdom
| | - Lauren B Sherar
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,National Institute of Health Research Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, United Kingdom
| | - Andrew P Kingsnorth
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
| | - Daniele Magistro
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom
| | - Dale W Esliger
- School of Sport, Exercise and Health Sciences, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,National Centre for Sport and Exercise Medicine, Loughborough University, Loughborough, United Kingdom.,National Institute of Health Research Leicester Biomedical Research Centre, Leicester, United Kingdom
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Huxster J, Hopkins M, Bresticker J, Leddington J, Slater M. Attempts to prime intellectual virtues for understanding of science: Failures to inspire intellectual effort. PHILOSOPHICAL PSYCHOLOGY 2017. [DOI: 10.1080/09515089.2017.1359245] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/18/2022]
Affiliation(s)
- Joanna Huxster
- Department of Philosophy, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
| | - Melissa Hopkins
- Department of Psychology, Cambridge University, Cambridge, UK
| | - Julia Bresticker
- Department of Philosophy, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
| | - Jason Leddington
- Department of Philosophy, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
| | - Matthew Slater
- Department of Philosophy, Bucknell University, Lewisburg, PA, USA
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von der Lühe T, Manera V, Barisic I, Becchio C, Vogeley K, Schilbach L. Interpersonal predictive coding, not action perception, is impaired in autism. Philos Trans R Soc Lond B Biol Sci 2016; 371:rstb.2015.0373. [PMID: 27069050 PMCID: PMC4843611 DOI: 10.1098/rstb.2015.0373] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 02/16/2016] [Indexed: 12/16/2022] Open
Abstract
This study was conducted to examine interpersonal predictive coding in individuals with high-functioning autism (HFA). Healthy and HFA participants observed point-light displays of two agents (A and B) performing separate actions. In the ‘communicative’ condition, the action performed by agent B responded to a communicative gesture performed by agent A. In the ‘individual’ condition, agent A's communicative action was substituted by a non-communicative action. Using a simultaneous masking-detection task, we demonstrate that observing agent A's communicative gesture enhanced visual discrimination of agent B for healthy controls, but not for participants with HFA. These results were not explained by differences in attentional factors as measured via eye-tracking, or by differences in the recognition of the point-light actions employed. Our findings, therefore, suggest that individuals with HFA are impaired in the use of social information to predict others' actions and provide behavioural evidence that such deficits could be closely related to impairments of predictive coding.
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Affiliation(s)
- T von der Lühe
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany
| | - V Manera
- CoBtek Laboratory, University of Nice Sophia Antipolis, 06103 Nice, France
| | - I Barisic
- Cognitive Science Department, ETH Zürich, 8092 Zürich, Switzerland
| | - C Becchio
- C'MON Cognition Motion and Neuroscience Unit, Fondazione Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia, Genova, Italy Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy
| | - K Vogeley
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany Research Centre Juelich, Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), 52428 Juelich, Germany
| | - L Schilbach
- Department of Psychiatry, University Hospital Cologne, 50937 Cologne, Germany Max Planck Institute of Psychiatry, 80804 Munich, Germany
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16
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Reduced Default Mode Connectivity in Adolescents With Conduct Disorder. J Am Acad Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2016; 55:800-808.e1. [PMID: 27566121 DOI: 10.1016/j.jaac.2016.05.021] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/15/2015] [Revised: 05/26/2016] [Accepted: 06/22/2016] [Indexed: 01/24/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Conduct disorder (CD) is characterized by impulsive, aggressive, and antisocial behaviors that might be related to deficits in empathy and moral reasoning. The brain's default mode network (DMN) has been implicated in self-referential cognitive processes of this kind. METHOD This study examined connectivity between key nodes of the DMN in 29 adolescent boys with CD and 29 age- and sex-matched typically developing adolescent boys. The authors ensured that group differences in DMN connectivity were not explained by comorbidity with other disorders by systematically controlling for the effects of substance use disorders (SUDs), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) symptoms, psychopathic traits, and other common mental health problems. RESULTS Only after adjusting for co-occurring ADHD symptoms, the group with CD showed hypoconnectivity between core DMN regions compared with typically developing controls. ADHD symptoms were associated with DMN hyperconnectivity. There was no effect of psychopathic traits on DMN connectivity in the group with CD, and the key results were unchanged when controlling for SUDs and other common mental health problems. CONCLUSION Future research should directly investigate the possibility that the aberrant DMN connectivity observed in the present study contributes to CD-related deficits in empathy and moral reasoning and examine self-referential cognitive processes in CD more generally.
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The Modulation of Mimicry by Ethnic Group-Membership and Emotional Expressions. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0161064. [PMID: 27557135 PMCID: PMC4996423 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0161064] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/18/2016] [Accepted: 07/29/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Mimicry has been ascribed affiliative functions. In three experiments, we used a newly developed social-affective mimicry task (SAMT) to investigate mimicry´s modulation by emotional facial expressions (happy, angry) and ethnic group-membership (White in-group, Black out-group). Experiment 1 established the main consistent effect across experiments, which was enhanced mimicry to angry out-group faces compared to angry in-group faces. Hence the SAMT was useful for experimentally investigating the modulation of mimicry. Experiment 2 demonstrated that these effects were not confounded by general aspects of response conflict, as a Simon task resulted in different response patterns than the SAMT. Experiment 2 and pooled analysis of Experiments 1 and 2 also corroborated the finding of enhanced mimicry to angry out-group faces. Experiment 3 tested whether this effect was related to perceptions of threat, by framing angry persons as physically threatening, or not. Selective enhancement of mimicry to out-group persons framed as physically threatening confirmed this hypothesis. Further support for the role of threat was derived from implicit measures showing, in all experiments, that black persons were more strongly associated with threat. Furthermore, enhanced mimicry was consistently related to response facilitation in the execution of congruent movements. This suggests that mimicry acted as a social congruency signal. Our findings suggest that mimicry may serve as an appeasement signal in response to negative affiliative intent. This extends previous models of mimicry, which have predominantly focused on its role in reciprocating affiliation. It suggests that mimicry might not only be used to maintain and establish affiliative bonds, but also to ameliorate a negative social situation.
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18
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Sato JR, Biazoli CE, Salum GA, Gadelha A, Crossley N, Vieira G, Zugman A, Picon FA, Pan PM, Hoexter MQ, Anés M, Moura LM, Del'Aquilla MAG, Junior EA, Mcguire P, Rohde LA, Miguel EC, Bressan RA, Jackowski AP. Connectome hubs at resting state in children and adolescents: Reproducibility and psychopathological correlation. Dev Cogn Neurosci 2016; 20:2-11. [PMID: 27288820 PMCID: PMC6987719 DOI: 10.1016/j.dcn.2016.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/02/2015] [Revised: 05/09/2016] [Accepted: 05/09/2016] [Indexed: 11/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Functional brain hubs are key integrative regions in brain networks. Recently, brain hubs identified through resting-state fMRI have emerged as interesting targets to increase understanding of the relationships between large-scale functional networks and psychopathology. However, few studies have directly addressed the replicability and consistency of the hub regions identified and their association with symptoms. Here, we used the eigenvector centrality (EVC) measure obtained from graph analysis of two large, independent population-based samples of children and adolescents (7-15 years old; total N=652; 341 subjects for site 1 and 311 for site 2) to evaluate the replicability of hub identification. Subsequently, we tested the association between replicable hub regions and psychiatric symptoms. We identified a set of hubs consisting of the anterior medial prefrontal cortex and inferior parietal lobule/intraparietal sulcus (IPL/IPS). Moreover, lower EVC values in the right IPS were associated with psychiatric symptoms in both samples. Thus, low centrality of the IPS was a replicable sign of potential vulnerability to mental disorders in children. The identification of critical and replicable hubs in functional cortical networks in children and adolescents can foster understanding of the mechanisms underlying mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- João Ricardo Sato
- Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo Andre, Brazil; Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil.
| | - Claudinei Eduardo Biazoli
- Centro de Matemática, Computação e Cognição, Universidade Federal do ABC, Santo Andre, Brazil; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Giovanni Abrahão Salum
- Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and Psychiatric Service, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Ary Gadelha
- Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Nicolas Crossley
- Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom; Institute for Biological and Medical Engineering, Faculties of Engineering, Medicine and Biological Sciences, P. Catholic University of Chile, Chile, Chile
| | - Gilson Vieira
- Bioinformatics Program, Institute of Mathematics and Statistics, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil; Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - André Zugman
- Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Felipe Almeida Picon
- Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and Psychiatric Service, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Pedro Mario Pan
- Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Marcelo Queiroz Hoexter
- Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Mauricio Anés
- Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and Psychiatric Service, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Luciana Monteiro Moura
- Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Marco Antonio Gomes Del'Aquilla
- Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Edson Amaro Junior
- Department of Radiology, School of Medicine, University of Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Philip Mcguire
- Institute of Psychiatry, King's College London, United Kingdom
| | - Luis Augusto Rohde
- Department of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul and Psychiatric Service, Hospital de Clinicas de Porto Alegre, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Euripedes Constantino Miguel
- Department of Psychiatry, University of São Paulo School of Medicine, São Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Rodrigo Affonseca Bressan
- Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
| | - Andrea Parolin Jackowski
- Interdisciplinary Lab for Clinical Neurosciences (LiNC), Universidade Federal de Sao Paulo (UNIFESP), Sao Paulo, Brazil; National Institute of Developmental Psychiatry for Children and Adolescents, CNPq, Brazil
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19
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Aranyi G, Pecune F, Charles F, Pelachaud C, Cavazza M. Affective Interaction with a Virtual Character Through an fNIRS Brain-Computer Interface. Front Comput Neurosci 2016; 10:70. [PMID: 27462216 PMCID: PMC4940367 DOI: 10.3389/fncom.2016.00070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2016] [Accepted: 06/27/2016] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
Affective brain-computer interfaces (BCI) harness Neuroscience knowledge to develop affective interaction from first principles. In this article, we explore affective engagement with a virtual agent through Neurofeedback (NF). We report an experiment where subjects engage with a virtual agent by expressing positive attitudes towards her under a NF paradigm. We use for affective input the asymmetric activity in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DL-PFC), which has been previously found to be related to the high-level affective-motivational dimension of approach/avoidance. The magnitude of left-asymmetric DL-PFC activity, measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and treated as a proxy for approach, is mapped onto a control mechanism for the virtual agent's facial expressions, in which action units (AUs) are activated through a neural network. We carried out an experiment with 18 subjects, which demonstrated that subjects are able to successfully engage with the virtual agent by controlling their mental disposition through NF, and that they perceived the agent's responses as realistic and consistent with their projected mental disposition. This interaction paradigm is particularly relevant in the case of affective BCI as it facilitates the volitional activation of specific areas normally not under conscious control. Overall, our contribution reconciles a model of affect derived from brain metabolic data with an ecologically valid, yet computationally controllable, virtual affective communication environment.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gabor Aranyi
- School of Computing, Teesside UniversityMiddlesbrough, UK
| | | | - Fred Charles
- School of Computing, Teesside UniversityMiddlesbrough, UK
| | | | - Marc Cavazza
- School of Engineering and Digital Arts, University of KentCanterbury, Kent, UK
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20
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Farmer H, Carr EW, Svartdal M, Winkielman P, Hamilton AFDC. Status and Power Do Not Modulate Automatic Imitation of Intransitive Hand Movements. PLoS One 2016; 11:e0151835. [PMID: 27096167 PMCID: PMC4838218 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0151835] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/29/2015] [Accepted: 03/05/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The tendency to mimic the behaviour of others is affected by a variety of social factors, and it has been argued that such “mirroring” is often unconsciously deployed as a means of increasing affiliation during interpersonal interactions. However, the relationship between automatic motor imitation and status/power is currently unclear. This paper reports five experiments that investigated whether social status (Experiments 1, 2, and 3) or power (Experiments 4 and 5) had a moderating effect on automatic imitation (AI) in finger-movement tasks, using a series of different manipulations. Experiments 1 and 2 manipulated the social status of the observed person using an associative learning task. Experiment 3 manipulated social status via perceived competence at a simple computer game. Experiment 4 manipulated participants’ power (relative to the actors) in a card-choosing task. Finally, Experiment 5 primed participants using a writing task, to induce the sense of being powerful or powerless. No significant interactions were found between congruency and social status/power in any of the studies. Additionally, Bayesian hypothesis testing indicated that the null hypothesis should be favoured over the experimental hypothesis in all five studies. These findings are discussed in terms of their implications for AI tasks, social effects on mimicry, and the hypothesis of mimicry as a strategic mechanism to promote affiliation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Harry Farmer
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom
- * E-mail:
| | - Evan W. Carr
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, 0109 La Jolla, CA 92093-0109, United States of America
| | - Marita Svartdal
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom
| | - Piotr Winkielman
- Department of Psychology, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, 0109 La Jolla, CA 92093-0109, United States of America
- Behavioural Science Group, Warwick Business School, The University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL, United Kingdom
- Department of Psychology, SWPS University of Social Sciences and Humanities, ul. Chodakowska 19/31, 03-815, Warsaw, Poland
| | - Antonia F. de C. Hamilton
- Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, United Kingdom
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21
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Roberts JW, Bennett SJ, Hayes SJ. Top-down social modulation of interpersonal observation-execution. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2015; 80:487-95. [PMID: 25894232 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-015-0666-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/10/2014] [Accepted: 04/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/28/2022]
Abstract
Cyclical upper limb movement can involuntarily deviate from its primary movement axis when the performer concurrently observes incongruent biological motion (i.e. interpersonal observation-execution). The current study examined the social modulation of such involuntary motor interference using a protocol that reflected everyday social interactions encountered in a naturalistic social setting. Eighteen participants executed cyclical horizontal arm movements during the observation of horizontal (congruent) or curvilinear (incongruent) biological motion. Both prior to, and during the interpersonal observation-execution task, participants also received a series of social words designed to prime a pro-social or anti-social attitude. The results showed greater orthogonal movement deviation, and thus interference, for the curvilinear compared to horizontal stimuli. Importantly, and opposite to most of the previous findings from work on automatic imitation and mimicry, there was a greater interference effect for the anti-social compared to pro-social prime condition. These findings demonstrate the importance of interpreting the context of social primes, and strongly support predictions of a comparison between the prime construct and the self-concept/-schema and the top-down response modulation of social incentives.
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Affiliation(s)
- James W Roberts
- Brain and Behaviour Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK.
| | - Simon J Bennett
- Brain and Behaviour Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
| | - Spencer J Hayes
- Brain and Behaviour Laboratory, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Byrom Street, Liverpool, L3 3AF, UK
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22
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Rauchbauer B, Majdandžić J, Hummer A, Windischberger C, Lamm C. Distinct neural processes are engaged in the modulation of mimicry by social group-membership and emotional expressions. Cortex 2015; 70:49-67. [PMID: 25929599 DOI: 10.1016/j.cortex.2015.03.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 43] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/30/2014] [Revised: 01/22/2015] [Accepted: 03/04/2015] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
People often spontaneously engage in copying each other's postures and mannerisms, a phenomenon referred to as behavioral mimicry. Social psychology experiments indicate that mimicry denotes an implicit affiliative signal flexibly regulated in response to social requirements. Yet, the mediating processes and neural underpinnings of such regulation are largely unexplored. The present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study examined mimicry regulation by combining an automatic imitation task with facial stimuli, varied on two social-affective dimensions: emotional expression (angry vs happy) and ethnic group membership (in- vs out-group). Behavioral data revealed increased mimicry when happy and when out-group faces were shown. Imaging results revealed that mimicry regulation in response to happy faces was associated with increased activation in the right temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), right dorsal premotor cortex (dPMC), and right superior parietal lobule (SPL). Mimicry regulation in response to out-group faces was related to increased activation in the left ventral premotor cortex (vPMC) and inferior parietal lobule (IPL), bilateral anterior insula, and mid-cingulate cortex (MCC). We suggest that mimicry in response to happy and to out-group faces is driven by distinct affiliative goals, and that mimicry regulation to attain these goals is mediated by distinct neuro-cognitive processes. Higher mimicry in response to happy faces seems to denote reciprocation of an affiliative signal. Higher mimicry in response to out-group faces, reflects an appeasement attempt towards an interaction partner perceived as threatening (an interpretation supported by implicit measures showing that out-group members are more strongly associated with threat). Our findings show that subtle social cues can result in the implicit regulation of mimicry. This regulation serves to achieve distinct affiliative goals, is mediated by different regulatory processes, and relies on distinct parts of an overarching network of task-related brain areas. Our findings shed new light on the neural mechanisms underlying the interplay between implicit action control and social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Birgit Rauchbauer
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Cognitive Science Research Platform, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Jasminka Majdandžić
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Cognitive Science Research Platform, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Allan Hummer
- MR Center of Excellence, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Christian Windischberger
- MR Center of Excellence, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Center for Medical Physics and Biomedical Engineering, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, Faculty of Psychology, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria; Cognitive Science Research Platform, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
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23
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Hogeveen J, Obhi SS, Banissy MJ, Santiesteban I, Press C, Catmur C, Bird G. Task-dependent and distinct roles of the temporoparietal junction and inferior frontal cortex in the control of imitation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2014; 10:1003-9. [PMID: 25481003 PMCID: PMC4483570 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsu148] [Citation(s) in RCA: 63] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/08/2014] [Accepted: 11/25/2014] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
The control of neurological networks supporting social cognition is crucially important for social interaction. In particular, the control of imitation is directly linked to interaction quality, with impairments associated with disorders characterized by social difficulties. Previous work suggests inferior frontal cortex (IFC) and the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) are involved in controlling imitation, but the functional roles of these areas remain unclear. Here, transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) was used to enhance cortical excitability at IFC and the TPJ prior to the completion of three tasks: (i) a naturalistic social interaction during which increased imitation is known to improve rapport, (ii) a choice reaction time task in which imitation needs to be inhibited for successful performance and (iii) a non-imitative control task. Relative to sham stimulation, stimulating IFC improved the context-dependent control of imitation-participants imitated more during the social interaction and less during the imitation inhibition task. In contrast, stimulating the TPJ reduced imitation in the inhibition task without affecting imitation during social interaction. Neither stimulation site affected the non-imitative control task. These data support a model in which IFC modulates imitation directly according to task demands, whereas TPJ controls task-appropriate shifts in attention toward representation of the self or the other, indirectly impacting upon imitation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jeremy Hogeveen
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Sukhvinder S Obhi
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Michael J Banissy
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Idalmis Santiesteban
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Clare Press
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Caroline Catmur
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
| | - Geoffrey Bird
- Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, Rehabilitation Institute of Chicago and Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Feinberg School of Medicine, Northwestern University, Chicago, IL, USA, Department of Psychology, Neuroscience & Behaviour, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, Department of Psychology, Goldsmiths and Department of Psychological Sciences, Birkbeck College, University of London, London, UK, Department of Psychology, University of Surrey, Guildford, UK, and MRC Social, Genetic, and Developmental Psychology Centre, King's College London and Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, London, UK
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24
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Abstract
Human social interaction is part of what defines us. Here I present an overview of recent studies of imitation, a subdomain of social interaction that can be dissected and examined in a scientific fashion. I use these studies to test two core claims: (a) that there is more than one copying mechanism in the human brain and (b) that mimicry (a form of copying) is particularly relevant for understanding social behaviour. Evidence in favour of the first claim comes from neuroimaging studies that show distinct brain systems for understanding action kinematics, action goals, and irrational actions. Further studies of participants with autism show abnormal copying of irrational actions. Evidence in favour of the second claim comes from behavioural studies of the social cues that prime mimicry and from neuroimaging studies of the pathways involved in this priming. These studies suggest that medial prefrontal cortex has a core role in controlling mimicry responses and support the STORM (social top-down response modulation) model. Future work should determine what organizing principles govern the control of social responses and how these critical mechanisms for interpersonal connection differ in autism.
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