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Ciricugno A, Oldrati V, Cattaneo Z, Leggio M, Urgesi C, Olivito G. Cerebellar Neurostimulation for Boosting Social and Affective Functions: Implications for the Rehabilitation of Hereditary Ataxia Patients. CEREBELLUM (LONDON, ENGLAND) 2024; 23:1651-1677. [PMID: 38270782 PMCID: PMC11269351 DOI: 10.1007/s12311-023-01652-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 01/26/2024]
Abstract
Beyond motor deficits, spinocerebellar ataxia (SCA) patients also suffer cognitive decline and show socio-affective difficulties, negatively impacting on their social functioning. The possibility to modulate cerebello-cerebral networks involved in social cognition through cerebellar neurostimulation has opened up potential therapeutic applications for ameliorating social and affective difficulties. The present review offers an overview of the research on cerebellar neurostimulation for the modulation of socio-affective functions in both healthy individuals and different clinical populations, published in the time period 2000-2022. A total of 25 records reporting either transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) or transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) studies were found. The investigated clinical populations comprised different pathological conditions, including but not limited to SCA syndromes. The reviewed evidence supports that cerebellar neurostimulation is effective in improving social abilities in healthy individuals and reducing social and affective symptoms in different neurological and psychiatric populations associated with cerebellar damage or with impairments in functions that involve the cerebellum. These findings encourage to further explore the rehabilitative effects of cerebellar neurostimulation on socio-affective deficits experienced by patients with cerebellar abnormalities, as SCA patients. Nevertheless, conclusions remain tentative at this stage due to the heterogeneity characterizing stimulation protocols, study methodologies and patients' samples.
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Affiliation(s)
- Andrea Ciricugno
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
- Department of Brain and Behavioral Science, University of Pavia, 27100, Pavia, Italy.
| | - Viola Oldrati
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842, Bosisio Parini, Italy
| | - Zaira Cattaneo
- IRCCS Mondino Foundation, 27100, Pavia, Italy
- Department of Human and Social Sciences, University of Bergamo, 24129, Bergamo, Italy
| | - Maria Leggio
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Ataxia Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179, Rome, Italy
| | - Cosimo Urgesi
- Scientific Institute, IRCCS Eugenio Medea, 23842, Bosisio Parini, Italy
- Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, Department of Languages and Literatures, Communication, Education and Society, University of Udine, 33100, Udine, Italy
| | - Giusy Olivito
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185, Rome, Italy
- Ataxia Laboratory, Fondazione Santa Lucia IRCCS, 00179, Rome, Italy
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2
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Stutesman MG, Frye DA. Affective Theory of Mind in Late Adulthood: The Role of Emotion Complexity and Social Relatedness. Exp Aging Res 2023; 49:472-500. [PMID: 36284488 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2022.2137359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Age-related declines in adult affective theory of mind (AToM) have been discovered. However, AToM measures have not accounted for emotional state complexity involved in AToM. Measures have also not accounted for different types of relationships - friends versus strangers - for which AToM is employed, which is important considering the limited social networks of aging adults. OBJECTIVE We address these issues and examine the emotion complexity, social-relatedness, and contextual relevance in AToM across adult ages (18-89 years) using a new task and two well-established measures. RESULTS The new task displayed good structural fit and internal construct validity. Overall, an age-related decline in AToM was found along with an interaction between age and emotion complexity. For all ages, AToM performance was best for complex emotions. However, as age increased, there was more rapid decline in AToM for more complex emotions than for less complex ones. Surprisingly, AToM performance for strangers was better than for social companions. CONCLUSION The findings suggest age-related AToM declines are more nuanced than previously understood given that adult age differences are related to emotional state complexity. They indicate that the emotion complexity levels of basic, complex, and self-conscious should be included in AToM assessments. Implications for AToM tasks and development are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Megan G Stutesman
- Department of Psychology, 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA
| | - Douglas A Frye
- Department of Psychology, 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA
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3
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Mohapatra AN, Wagner S. The role of the prefrontal cortex in social interactions of animal models and the implications for autism spectrum disorder. Front Psychiatry 2023; 14:1205199. [PMID: 37409155 PMCID: PMC10318347 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2023.1205199] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/16/2023] [Accepted: 05/26/2023] [Indexed: 07/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interaction is a complex behavior which requires the individual to integrate various internal processes, such as social motivation, social recognition, salience, reward, and emotional state, as well as external cues informing the individual of others' behavior, emotional state and social rank. This complex phenotype is susceptible to disruption in humans affected by neurodevelopmental and psychiatric disorders, including autism spectrum disorder (ASD). Multiple pieces of convergent evidence collected from studies of humans and rodents suggest that the prefrontal cortex (PFC) plays a pivotal role in social interactions, serving as a hub for motivation, affiliation, empathy, and social hierarchy. Indeed, disruption of the PFC circuitry results in social behavior deficits symptomatic of ASD. Here, we review this evidence and describe various ethologically relevant social behavior tasks which could be employed with rodent models to study the role of the PFC in social interactions. We also discuss the evidence linking the PFC to pathologies associated with ASD. Finally, we address specific questions regarding mechanisms employed by the PFC circuitry that may result in atypical social interactions in rodent models, which future studies should address.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alok Nath Mohapatra
- Sagol Department of Neurobiology, Faculty of Natural Sciences, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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4
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Leos-Mendoza H, Gold I, Pérez-Gay Juárez F. Face masks negatively skew theory of mind judgements. Sci Rep 2023; 13:4950. [PMID: 36973300 PMCID: PMC10041502 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-31680-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/07/2022] [Accepted: 03/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Face masks obscure a significant portion of the face, reducing the amount of information available to gauge the mental states of others-that is, to exercise the Theory of Mind (ToM) capacity. In three experiments, we assessed the effect of face masks on ToM judgements, measuring recognition accuracy, perceived valence, and perceived arousal in various sets of facial expressions comprising 45 different mental states. Significant effects of face masks were found in all three variables. Judgements of all expressions are less accurate when masked, but, while judgements of negative expressions do not show consistent changes in valence or arousal, positive expressions are perceived to be less positive and less intense. In addition, we identified face muscles associated with changes in perceived valence and arousal, shedding light on the mechanisms through which masks impact ToM judgements, which might be relevant for mitigation strategies. We discuss the implications of these findings in the context of the recent pandemic.
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Affiliation(s)
- Héctor Leos-Mendoza
- Interfaculty Program of Cognitive Science, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 0G4, Canada
| | - Ian Gold
- Departments of Philosophy and Psychiatry, McGill University, Montreal, H3A 0G4, Canada.
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5
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Benzait A, Krenz V, Wegrzyn M, Doll A, Woermann F, Labudda K, Bien CG, Kissler J. Hemodynamic correlates of emotion regulation in frontal lobe epilepsy patients and healthy participants. Hum Brain Mapp 2023; 44:1456-1475. [PMID: 36366744 PMCID: PMC9921231 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.26133] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/10/2022] [Revised: 09/15/2022] [Accepted: 10/11/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability to regulate emotions is indispensable for maintaining psychological health. It heavily relies on frontal lobe functions which are disrupted in frontal lobe epilepsy. Accordingly, emotional dysregulation and use of maladaptive emotion regulation strategies have been reported in frontal lobe epilepsy patients. Therefore, it is of clinical and scientific interest to investigate emotion regulation in frontal lobe epilepsy. We studied neural correlates of upregulating and downregulating emotions toward aversive pictures through reappraisal in 18 frontal lobe epilepsy patients and 17 healthy controls using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Patients tended to report more difficulties with impulse control than controls. On the neural level, patients had diminished activity during upregulation in distributed left-sided regions, including ventrolateral and dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, angular gyrus and anterior temporal gyrus. Patients also showed less activity than controls in the left precuneus for upregulation compared to downregulation. Unlike controls, they displayed no task-related activity changes in the left amygdala, whereas the right amygdala showed task-related modulations in both groups. Upregulation-related activity changes in the left inferior frontal gyrus, insula, orbitofrontal cortex, anterior and posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus were correlated with questionnaire data on habitual emotion regulation. Our results show that structural or functional impairments in the frontal lobes disrupt neural mechanisms underlying emotion regulation through reappraisal throughout the brain, including posterior regions involved in semantic control. Findings on the amygdala as a major target of emotion regulation are in line with the view that specifically the left amygdala is connected with semantic processing networks.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anissa Benzait
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Valentina Krenz
- Department of Psychology, University of Hamburg, Hamburg, Germany
| | - Martin Wegrzyn
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Anna Doll
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Department of Epileptology (Mara Hospital), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Friedrich Woermann
- Department of Epileptology (Mara Hospital), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Kirsten Labudda
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Christian G Bien
- Department of Epileptology (Mara Hospital), Medical School, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
| | - Johanna Kissler
- Department of Psychology, Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany.,Center of Excellence Cognitive Interaction Technology (CITEC), Bielefeld University, Bielefeld, Germany
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6
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Malhi GS, Das P, Outhred T, Bryant RA, Calhoun VD. An fMRI examination of the neural basis of suicide attempts: The role of mentalizing in the context of mood. Bipolar Disord 2022; 24:806-816. [PMID: 36164959 PMCID: PMC10092483 DOI: 10.1111/bdi.13261] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Facial emotion recognition (FER) deficits in depressed mood disorder patients contribute to suicidality. Prior research shows that intrinsic brain activity patterns are altered by attempting suicide. Therefore, we investigated in depressed patients whether differences in FER contribute to their clinical symptoms of suicide. METHODS Neural activity in response to an FER task was compared across three groups: healthy controls (HCs, N = 66), suicide non-attempter (SNA, N = 50), suicide attempter (SA, N = 25). Modulation of brain networks by the task and functional connectivity (FC) within (using spatial map, spectral power) and between (using functional network connectivity; FNC) were examined. The contribution of these differences to suicidal symptoms in each group was also examined. RESULTS Patient groups displayed impaired FC both within and between networks but differed in nature and networks involved. They also showed differential modulation of networks by task, such that compared with both HC and SNA, SA displayed impaired FC within the default-mode network (DMN) and also its task modulation. In the SA group, FC within the DMN and FNC between two lateral prefrontal networks, and its interaction with the basal ganglia network contributed significantly to the clinical symptoms of suicide. CONCLUSIONS This study affirms differences between SA and SNA brain activity patterns and suggests that suicidal activity probably emanates via different mechanisms in these patient groups. Perhaps, over-attribution of emotion impairs one's self-referential thought processes and coupled with diminished emotional control this makes depressed individuals vulnerable to suicide.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gin S Malhi
- Academic Department of Psychiatry, Kolling Institute, Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,CADE Clinic, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia.,ARCHI, Sydney Medical School Northern, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,Department of Psychiatry, University of Oxford, Oxford, UK
| | - Pritha Das
- Academic Department of Psychiatry, Kolling Institute, Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,CADE Clinic, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia.,ARCHI, Sydney Medical School Northern, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Tim Outhred
- Academic Department of Psychiatry, Kolling Institute, Northern Clinical School, Faculty of Medicine and Health, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.,CADE Clinic, Royal North Shore Hospital, St Leonards, New South Wales, Australia.,ARCHI, Sydney Medical School Northern, The University of Sydney, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Richard A Bryant
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Vince D Calhoun
- Tri-institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
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7
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McCrackin SD, Ristic J. Emotional context can reduce the negative impact of face masks on inferring emotions. Front Psychol 2022; 13:928524. [PMID: 36211857 PMCID: PMC9537697 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.928524] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/25/2022] [Accepted: 08/18/2022] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
While face masks prevent the spread of disease, they occlude lower face parts and thus impair facial emotion recognition. Since emotions are often also contextually situated, it remains unknown whether providing a descriptive emotional context alongside the facial emotion may reduce some of the negative impact of facial occlusion on emotional communication. To address this question, here we examined how emotional inferences were affected by facial occlusion and the availability of emotional context. Participants were presented with happy or sad emotional faces who were either fully visible or partially obstructed by an opaque surgical mask. The faces were shown either within an emotionally congruent (e.g., "Her cat was found/lost yesterday afternoon") or neutral ("Get ready to see the next person") context. Participants were asked to infer the emotional states of the protagonists by rating their emotional intensity and valence. Facial occlusion by masks impacted the ratings, such that protagonists were judged to feel less intense and more neutral emotions when they wore masks relative to when their face was fully visible. Importantly, this negative impact of visual occlusion by mask was reduced but not fully eliminated when the faces were presented within a congruent emotional context. Thus, visual occlusion of facial emotions impairs understanding of emotions, with this negative effect of face masks partially mitigated by the availability of a larger emotional context.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Jelena Ristic
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, Montreal, QC, Canada
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8
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Shribman S, Burrows M, Convery R, Bocchetta M, Sudre CH, Acosta-Cabronero J, Thomas DL, Gillett GT, Tsochatzis EA, Bandmann O, Rohrer JD, Warner TT. Neuroimaging Correlates of Cognitive Deficits in Wilson's Disease. Mov Disord 2022; 37:1728-1738. [PMID: 35723521 PMCID: PMC9542291 DOI: 10.1002/mds.29123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/20/2022] [Revised: 05/19/2022] [Accepted: 05/23/2022] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Cognitive impairment is common in neurological presentations of Wilson's disease (WD). Various domains can be affected, and subclinical deficits have been reported in patients with hepatic presentations. Associations with imaging abnormalities have not been systematically tested. OBJECTIVE The aim was to determine the neuroanatomical basis for cognitive deficits in WD. METHODS We performed a 16-item neuropsychological test battery and magnetic resonance brain imaging in 40 patients with WD. The scores for each test were compared between patients with neurological and hepatic presentations and with normative data. Associations with Unified Wilson's Disease Rating Scale neurological examination subscores were examined. Quantitative, whole-brain, multimodal imaging analyses were used to identify associations with neuroimaging abnormalities in chronically treated stable patients. RESULTS Abstract reasoning, executive function, processing speed, calculation, and visuospatial function scores were lower in patients with neurological presentations than in those with hepatic presentations and correlated with neurological examination subscores. Deficits in abstract reasoning and phonemic fluency were associated with lower putamen volumes even after controlling for neurological severity. About half of patients with hepatic presentations had poor performance in memory for faces, cognitive flexibility, or associative learning relative to normative data. These deficits were associated with widespread cortical atrophy and/or white matter diffusion abnormalities. CONCLUSIONS Subtle cognitive deficits in patients with seemingly hepatic presentations represent a distinct neurological phenotype associated with diffuse cortical and white matter pathology. This may precede the classical neurological phenotype characterized by movement disorders and executive dysfunction and be associated with basal ganglia damage. A binary phenotypic classification for WD may no longer be appropriate. © 2022 The Authors. Movement Disorders published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.
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Affiliation(s)
- Samuel Shribman
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London
| | - Maggie Burrows
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London
| | - Rhian Convery
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Martina Bocchetta
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Carole H Sudre
- MRC Unit for Lifelong Health and Ageing, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,Centre for Medical Image Computing, University College London, London, United Kingdom.,Biomedical Engineering & Imaging Sciences, King's College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - David L Thomas
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.,Neuroradiological Academic Unit, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom.,Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Godfrey T Gillett
- Department of Clinical Chemistry, Northern General Hospital, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Emmanuel A Tsochatzis
- UCL Institute of Liver and Digestive Health and Royal Free Hospital, London, United Kingdom
| | - Oliver Bandmann
- Sheffield Institute of Translational Neuroscience, Sheffield, United Kingdom
| | - Jonathan D Rohrer
- Dementia Research Centre, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London, United Kingdom
| | - Thomas T Warner
- Reta Lila Weston Institute, UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology, London
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9
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Moon H, Nam G, Hur JW. Neural correlates of affective theory of mind in medication-free nonsuicidal self-injury: An fMRI study. Front Psychiatry 2022; 13:850794. [PMID: 35935406 PMCID: PMC9354394 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2022.850794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/08/2022] [Accepted: 06/27/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Emerging evidence indicates that emotion processing deficits are associated with nonsuicidal self-injury (NSSI). However, limited attention has been paid to the socio-affective functions of NSSI. In this study, we aimed to investigate the affective theory of mind (ToM) in medication-free individuals engaging in NSSI at both behavioral and neural levels. Twenty-eight individuals (mean age = 22.96 years) who engaged in NSSI and 38 age-, sex-, and IQ-matched controls (mean age = 22.79 years) underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging while performing the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test" (RMET). All participants also completed the Difficulties in Emotion Regulation Scale (DERS), Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20), and Beck Scale for Suicide Ideation (BSI). Although we did not find significant group differences in the RMET performance, the NSSI group, relative to the controls, exhibited significantly greater left medial superior frontal lobe activation and decreased right angular gyrus activation than did the control group. Reduced right angular gyrus activity was related to higher DERS and TAS scores across all participants. Our findings provide new evidence for aberrant neural processing of affective ToM in self-injurers. Future studies in developing intervention protocols for NSSI should focus on the multifaceted phases of socio-affective processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hyeri Moon
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Gieun Nam
- Department of Psychology, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea
| | - Ji-Won Hur
- School of Psychology, Korea University, Seoul, South Korea
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10
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McCrackin SD, Provencher S, Mendell E, Ristic J. Transparent masks reduce the negative impact of opaque masks on understanding emotional states but not on sharing them. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2022; 7:59. [PMID: 35796906 PMCID: PMC9261140 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-022-00411-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/15/2021] [Accepted: 06/20/2022] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
While face masks provide necessary protection against disease spread, they occlude the lower face parts (chin, mouth, nose) and consequently impair the ability to accurately perceive facial emotions. Here we examined how wearing face masks impacted making inferences about emotional states of others (i.e., affective theory of mind; Experiment 1) and sharing of emotions with others (i.e., affective empathy; Experiment 2). We also investigated whether wearing transparent masks ameliorated the occlusion impact of opaque masks. Participants viewed emotional faces presented within matching positive (happy), negative (sad), or neutral contexts. The faces wore opaque masks, transparent masks, or no masks. In Experiment 1, participants rated the protagonists’ emotional valence and intensity. In Experiment 2, they indicated their empathy for the protagonist and the valence of their emotion. Wearing opaque masks impacted both affective theory of mind and affective empathy ratings. Compared to no masks, wearing opaque masks resulted in assumptions that the protagonist was feeling less intense and more neutral emotions. Wearing opaque masks also reduced positive empathy for the protagonist and resulted in more neutral shared valence ratings. Wearing transparent masks restored the affective theory of mind ratings but did not restore empathy ratings. Thus, wearing face masks impairs nonverbal social communication, with transparent masks able to restore some of the negative effects brought about by opaque masks. Implications for the theoretical understanding of socioemotional processing as well as for educational and professional settings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah D McCrackin
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada.
| | - Sabrina Provencher
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Ethan Mendell
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada
| | - Jelena Ristic
- Department of Psychology, McGill University, 2001 McGill College Avenue, Montreal, QC, H3A 1G1, Canada.
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11
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Dodich A, Funghi G, Meli C, Pennacchio M, Longo C, Malaguti MC, Di Giacopo R, Zappini F, Turella L, Papagno C. Deficits in Emotion Recognition and Theory of Mind in Parkinson's Disease Patients With and Without Cognitive Impairments. Front Psychol 2022; 13:866809. [PMID: 35645902 PMCID: PMC9138611 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.866809] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/31/2022] [Accepted: 04/14/2022] [Indexed: 11/24/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Emotion recognition and social deficits have been previously reported in Parkinson's disease (PD). However, the extent of these impairments is still unclear and social cognition is excluded from the cognitive domains considered in the current criteria for PD mild cognitive impairment (MCI). This study aims to analyze emotion recognition, affective and cognitive theory of mind in early PD patients classified according to Level II MCI criteria, and to evaluate the prevalence of socio-cognitive deficits in this sample. Methods We enrolled 45 participants with PD, classified as cognitively unimpaired (CU; n = 32) or MCI (n = 13) based on a standard neuropsychological assessment. Social cognitive skills were evaluated through validated tests for emotion recognition (i.e., Ekman 60-faces test, Ek60 Test) and mental states attribution (Story-based Empathy Task, SET) and compared to a group of 45 healthy controls (HC). Between-group differences in social tasks were performed, as well as correlation analyses to assess the relationship between social, cognitive, and clinical variables. Finally, the number of patients with social cognitive impairments in both MCI and CU subgroups was computed based on Italian normative data. Results Statistical comparison revealed significant differences among groups in the Ek60 test, with MCI obtaining significantly lower scores than HC and CU, especially for negative emotions. Significant differences were detected also in the SET, with lower performance in emotion and intention attribution for both PD groups compared to HC. A significant correlation emerged between the Ek60 test and emotion attribution. Nine patients showed poor performance at social tasks, five of them being classified as PD-CU. Discussion Parkinson's disease cognitive profile was characterized by emotion recognition and attribution deficits. These results, as well as the detection of CU patients with isolated socio-cognitive impairments, underline the importance of assessing social cognition in PD as a possible early marker of cognitive decline.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alessandra Dodich
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Giulia Funghi
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Claudia Meli
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Maria Pennacchio
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
| | - Chiara Longo
- Department of Psychology, University of Milano-Bicocca, Milan, Italy
- Dipartimento di Scienze Neurologiche, Ospedale Santa Chiara, Trento, Italy
| | | | | | - Francesca Zappini
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Luca Turella
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Costanza Papagno
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences CIMeC, University of Trento, Rovereto, Italy
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12
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Langley C, Cirstea BI, Cuzzolin F, Sahakian BJ. Theory of Mind and Preference Learning at the Interface of Cognitive Science, Neuroscience, and AI: A Review. Front Artif Intell 2022; 5:778852. [PMID: 35493614 PMCID: PMC9038841 DOI: 10.3389/frai.2022.778852] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/17/2021] [Accepted: 03/10/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Theory of Mind (ToM)-the ability of the human mind to attribute mental states to others-is a key component of human cognition. In order to understand other people's mental states or viewpoint and to have successful interactions with others within social and occupational environments, this form of social cognition is essential. The same capability of inferring human mental states is a prerequisite for artificial intelligence (AI) to be integrated into society, for example in healthcare and the motoring industry. Autonomous cars will need to be able to infer the mental states of human drivers and pedestrians to predict their behavior. In the literature, there has been an increasing understanding of ToM, specifically with increasing cognitive science studies in children and in individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder. Similarly, with neuroimaging studies there is now a better understanding of the neural mechanisms that underlie ToM. In addition, new AI algorithms for inferring human mental states have been proposed with more complex applications and better generalisability. In this review, we synthesize the existing understanding of ToM in cognitive and neurosciences and the AI computational models that have been proposed. We focus on preference learning as an area of particular interest and the most recent neurocognitive and computational ToM models. We also discuss the limitations of existing models and hint at potential approaches to allow ToM models to fully express the complexity of the human mind in all its aspects, including values and preferences.
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Affiliation(s)
- Christelle Langley
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
| | - Bogdan Ionut Cirstea
- School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Fabio Cuzzolin
- School of Engineering, Computing and Mathematics, Oxford Brookes University, Oxford, United Kingdom
| | - Barbara J. Sahakian
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, United Kingdom
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13
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Plank IS, Hindi Attar C, Kunas SL, Bermpohl F, Dziobek I. Increased child‐evoked activation in the precuneus during facial affect recognition in mothers. Hum Brain Mapp 2022; 43:2911-2922. [PMID: 35278010 PMCID: PMC9120561 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.25825] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2021] [Revised: 01/21/2022] [Accepted: 02/18/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Successful parenting requires constant inferring of affective states. Especially vital is the correct identification of facial affect. Previous studies have shown that infant faces are processed preferentially compared to adult faces both on the behavioural and the neural level. This study specifically investigates the child‐evoked neural responses to affective faces and their modulation by motherhood and attention to affect. To do so, we used a paradigm to measure neural responses during both explicit and implicit facial affect recognition (FAR) in mothers and non‐mothers using child and adult faces. Increased activation to child compared to adult faces was found for mothers and non‐mothers in face processing areas (bilateral fusiform gyri) and areas associated with social understanding (bilateral insulae and medial superior frontal gyrus) when pooling implicit and explicit affect recognition. Furthermore, this child‐evoked activation was modulated by motherhood with an increase in mothers compared to non‐mothers in the left precuneus. Additionally, explicitly recognising the affect increased child‐evoked activation in the medial superior frontal gyrus in both mothers and non‐mothers. These results suggest preferential treatment of affective child over adult faces, modulated by motherhood and attention to affect.
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Affiliation(s)
- Irene Sophia Plank
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Life Sciences Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Faculty of Philosophy, Berlin School of Mind and Brain Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences CCM Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Catherine Hindi Attar
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences CCM Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Stefanie Lydia Kunas
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences CCM Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Felix Bermpohl
- Faculty of Philosophy, Berlin School of Mind and Brain Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Department of Psychiatry and Neurosciences CCM Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
| | - Isabel Dziobek
- Department of Psychology, Faculty of Life Sciences Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Faculty of Philosophy, Berlin School of Mind and Brain Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
- Einstein Center for Neurosciences Charité – Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt‐Universität zu Berlin Berlin Germany
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14
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Yu RL, Poon SF, Yi HJ, Chien CY, Hsu PH. The Development of a Multi-Modality Emotion Recognition Test Presented via a Mobile Application. Brain Sci 2022; 12:brainsci12020251. [PMID: 35204014 PMCID: PMC8870587 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci12020251] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/25/2021] [Revised: 02/02/2022] [Accepted: 02/07/2022] [Indexed: 12/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Emotion recognition ability is the basis of interpersonal communication and detection of brain alterations. Existing tools for assessing emotion recognition ability are mostly single modality, paper-and-pencil test format, and using only Western stimuli. However, various modalities and cultural factors greatly influence emotion recognition ability. We aimed to develop a multi-modality emotion recognition mobile application (MMER app). A total of 169 healthy adults were recruited as participants. The MMER app’s materials were extracted from a published database, and tablets were used as the interface. The Rasch, factor analysis, and related psychometric analyses were performed. The Cronbach alpha was 0.94, and the test–retest reliability was 0.85. Factor analyses identified three factors. In addition, an adjusted score formula was provided for clinical use. The MMER app has good psychometric properties, and its further possible applications and investigations are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Rwei-Ling Yu
- Correspondence: ; Tel.: +886-6-2353535 (ext. 5102)
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15
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Key AP, Jones D, Corbett BA. Sex differences in automatic emotion regulation in adolescents with autism spectrum disorder. Autism Res 2022; 15:712-728. [PMID: 35103402 PMCID: PMC9060299 DOI: 10.1002/aur.2678] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2021] [Revised: 12/23/2021] [Accepted: 01/15/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
Autism may be underdiagnosed in females because their social difficulties are often less noticeable. This study explored sex differences in automatic facial emotion processing in 45 adolescents with autism spectrum disorder (22 female, 23 male), age 10-16 years, performing active target detection task and Go/NoGo tasks where faces with positive and negative emotional expressions served as irrelevant distractors. The combined sample demonstrated more accurate performance on the target detection (response initiation) than the Go/NoGo task (response inhibition), replicating findings previously reported in typical participants. Females exhibited greater difficulty than males with response initiation in the target detection task, especially in the context of angry faces, while males found withholding a response in the Go/NoGo block with happy faces more challenging. Electrophysiological data revealed no sex differences or emotion discrimination effects during the early perceptual processing of faces indexed by the occipitotemporal N170. Autistic males demonstrated increased frontal N2 and parietal P3 amplitudes compared to females, suggesting greater neural resource allocation to automatic emotion regulation processes. The associations between standardized behavioral measures (autism severity, theory of mind skills) and brain responses also varied by sex: more adaptive social functioning was related to the speed of perceptual processing (N170 latency) in females and the extent of deliberate attention allocation (P3 amplitudes) in males. Together, these findings suggest that males and females with autism may rely on different strategies for social functioning and highlight the importance of considering sex differences in autism. LAY SUMMARY: Females with autism may exhibit less noticeable social difficulties than males. This study demonstrates that autistic females are more successful than males at inhibiting behavioral responses in emotional contexts, while males are more likely to initiate a response. At the neural level, social functioning in females is related to the speed of automatic perceptual processing of facial cues, and in males, to the extent of active attention allocation to the stimuli. These findings highlight the importance of considering sex differences in autism diagnosis and treatment selection.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandra P Key
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Department of Hearing and Speech Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Dorita Jones
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
| | - Blythe A Corbett
- Vanderbilt Kennedy Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA.,Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee, USA
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16
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Valera-Bermejo JM, De Marco M, Mitolo M, Cerami C, Dodich A, Venneri A. Large-Scale Functional Networks, Cognition and Brain Structures Supporting Social Cognition and Theory of Mind Performance in Prodromal to Mild Alzheimer's Disease. Front Aging Neurosci 2021; 13:766703. [PMID: 34867292 PMCID: PMC8636093 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2021.766703] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2021] [Accepted: 10/19/2021] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
Impairment of social cognition (SC) skills such as recognition and attribution of intentions and affective states of others (Theory of Mind, ToM) has been evidenced in Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). This study investigated the neuropsychological, neuroanatomical and brain-functional underpinnings of SC processing to obtain an understanding of the social neurophenotype in early probable AD. Forty-six patients with mild cognitive impairment and mild probable AD underwent SC assessment including emotion recognition (Ekman-60-faces task) and cognitive and affective ToM (Reading-the-Mind-in-the-Eyes test and Story-based Empathy task). Linear models tested the association between SC scores and neuropsychological measures, grey matter maps and large-scale functional networks activity. The executive domain had the most predominant association with SC scores in the cognitive profile. Grey matter volume of the anterior cingulate, orbitofrontal, temporoparietal junction (TPJ), superior temporal, and cerebellar cortices were associated with ToM. Social cognition scores were associated with lower connectivity of the default-mode network with the prefrontal cortex. The right fronto-parietal network displayed higher inter-network connectivity in the right TPJ and insula while the salience network showed lower inter-network connectivity with the left TPJ and insula. Connectivity coupling alterations of executive-attentional networks may support default mode social-cognitive-associated decline through the recruitment of frontal executive mechanisms.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Matteo De Marco
- Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, United Kingdom
| | - Micaela Mitolo
- Functional and Molecular Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Istituto delle Scienze Neurologiche di Bologna, Bologna, Italy
| | - Chiara Cerami
- IUSS Cognitive Neuroscience (ICoN) Center, University School for Advanced Studies IUSS-Pavia, Pavia, Italy.,Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Research Unit, Mondino Foundation IRCCS, Pavia, Italy
| | - Alessandra Dodich
- Center for Mind/Brain Sciences (CIMeC), Università degli Studi di Trento, Rovereto, Italy
| | - Annalena Venneri
- Department of Neuroscience, University of Sheffield, Sheffield, United Kingdom.,Department of Life Sciences, Brunel University London, London, United Kingdom
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17
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Neukel C, Bermpohl F, Kaess M, Taubner S, Boedeker K, Williams K, Dempfle A, Herpertz SC. Understanding and breaking the intergenerational cycle of abuse in families enrolled in routine mental health services: study protocol for a randomized controlled trial and two non-interventional trials investigating mechanisms of change within the UBICA II consortium. Trials 2021; 22:749. [PMID: 34711261 PMCID: PMC8555002 DOI: 10.1186/s13063-021-05653-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/18/2020] [Accepted: 09/24/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022] Open
Abstract
Background Parents’ mental illness (MI) and parental history of early life maltreatment (ELM) are known to be significant risk factors for poor parenting while poor parenting is a crucial mediator of the intergenerational continuity of child maltreatment. Hence, maltreatment prevention programs for families with an MI parent, which pay particular attention to experiences of ELM in the parent, are urgently needed. Parental mentalizing was previously found to mediate successful parenting. Interventions aimed at improving the parental mentalizing capacity reduced maltreatment risk in parents. The aim of the present study is to investigate the effectiveness of a mentalization-based parenting-counseling in acutely mentally ill parents currently treated at a psychiatric hospital. Methods Mentalization-based parenting-counseling (MB-PC) vs. enhanced standard clinical care (SCC+) will be administered in a cluster-randomized-controlled trial (RCT). Patients treated at psychiatric hospitals with children between 1.5 and 15 years will be included in the trial. MB-PC will be administered as a 12-h combined individual and group program enriched by social counseling (over a course of 5 weeks) as add-on to standard clinical care, while the control condition will be standard clinical care plus a 90-min psychoeducation workshop on positive parenting. Primary efficacy endpoint is self-reported parenting practices at follow-up. Embedded within the RCT will be two sub-studies investigating social cognition and dyadic synchrony as biobehavioral mechanisms of change. Discussion The main goal of the present study is to investigate ways to break the intergenerational continuity of maltreatment by assessing the benefits of a prevention program which aims at improving parenting in vulnerable mothers and fathers. MB-PC is a short, low-cost intervention which can be delivered by nurses and social workers and is applicable to MI patients with children with a broad range of diagnoses. If it is shown to be effective, it can be directly implemented into standard psychiatric hospital care thereby providing help to prevent child maltreatment. Trial registration German Clinical Trials Register DRKS00017398. Registered on 5 July 2019
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Affiliation(s)
- C Neukel
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.
| | - F Bermpohl
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Berlin Institute of Health, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität Zu Berlin, Campus Charité Mitte, Berlin, Germany, Berlin, Germany
| | - M Kaess
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany.,University Hospital of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland
| | - S Taubner
- Department of Psychosocial Prevention, University Hospital of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - K Boedeker
- Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, corporate member of Freie Universität Berlin, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, and Berlin Institute of Health (BIH), Campus Virchow-Klinikum, Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Psychosomatics and Psychotherapy, Berlin, Germany
| | - K Williams
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - A Dempfle
- Institute of Medical Informatics and Statistics, University Hospital Schleswig-Holstein, Campus Kiel, Kiel, Germany
| | - S C Herpertz
- Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Heidelberg, Germany
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18
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Schmidt SNL, Hass J, Kirsch P, Mier D. The human mirror neuron system-A common neural basis for social cognition? Psychophysiology 2021; 58:e13781. [PMID: 33576063 DOI: 10.1111/psyp.13781] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/06/2020] [Revised: 11/04/2020] [Accepted: 01/11/2021] [Indexed: 12/01/2022]
Abstract
According to the theory of embodied simulation, mirror neurons (MN) in our brain's motor system are the neuronal basis of all social-cognitive processes. The assumption of such a mirroring process in humans could be supported by results showing that within one person the same region is involved in different social cognition tasks. We conducted an fMRI-study with 75 healthy participants who completed three tasks: imitation, empathy, and theory of mind. We analyzed the data using group conjunction analyses and individual shared voxel counts. Across tasks, across and within participants, we find common activation in inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal cortex, fusiform gyrus, posterior superior temporal sulcus, and amygdala. Our results provide evidence for a shared neural basis for different social-cognitive processes, indicating that interpersonal understanding might occur by embodied simulation.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephanie N L Schmidt
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Joachim Hass
- Department of Theoretical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.,Faculty of Applied Psychology, SRH University Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Peter Kirsch
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Daniela Mier
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/University of Heidelberg, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
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19
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Gillespie SM, Kongerslev MT, Bo S, Abu-Akel AM. Schizotypy and psychopathic tendencies interactively improve misattribution of affect in boys with conduct problems. Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry 2021; 30:885-897. [PMID: 32476073 PMCID: PMC8140966 DOI: 10.1007/s00787-020-01567-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/11/2019] [Accepted: 05/25/2020] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Psychopathic tendencies are associated with difficulties in affective theory of mind (ToM), that is, in recognizing others affective mental states. In clinical and non-clinical adult samples, it has been shown that where psychopathic tendencies co-occur with schizophrenia spectrum disorders, the impairing effects of psychopathic tendencies on ToM are attenuated. These effects are yet to be examined in adolescents. We examined if the impairing effect of psychopathic tendencies on affective ToM was attenuated with increasing severity of schizotypal personality disorder (PD) in a sample of 80 incarcerated adolescent boys. We showed that the impairing effect of psychopathic tendencies on the recognition of neutral mental states, but not positive or negative mental states, was evident when the relative severity of schizotypal PD was low. However, with higher scores on both measures, we observed better performance in judging neutral mental states. The preservation of affective ToM in adolescents who show elevations in psychopathic tendencies and schizotypal PD may enable them to manipulate and extort their victims for personal gain. Our results emphasize the need to consider comorbidity in clinical case formulation when working with adolescents with conduct problems and psychopathic tendencies. More broadly, our results also suggest that the pattern of social cognitive abilities associated with co-occurring psychopathology does not always conform to an often-theorized double-dose of deficit hypothesis.
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Affiliation(s)
- Steven M Gillespie
- Department of Psychological Sciences, University of Liverpool, Liverpool, L69 3GB, UK.
| | - Mickey T Kongerslev
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
- Psychiatric Research Unit, Region Zealand, Slagelse, Denmark
| | - Sune Bo
- Psychiatric Research Unit, Region Zealand, Slagelse, Denmark
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Region Zealand, Roskilde, Denmark
| | - Ahmad M Abu-Akel
- Institute of Psychology, University of Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
- Department of Psychology, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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20
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Sadeghi S, Mier D, Gerchen MF, Schmidt SNL, Hass J. Dynamic Causal Modeling for fMRI With Wilson-Cowan-Based Neuronal Equations. Front Neurosci 2020; 14:593867. [PMID: 33328865 PMCID: PMC7728993 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2020.593867] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/11/2020] [Accepted: 10/29/2020] [Indexed: 01/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Dynamic causal modeling (DCM) is an analysis technique that has been successfully used to infer about directed connectivity between brain regions based on imaging data such as functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Most variants of DCM for fMRI rely on a simple bilinear differential equation for neural activation, making it difficult to interpret the results in terms of local neural dynamics. In this work, we introduce a modification to DCM for fMRI by replacing the bilinear equation with a non-linear Wilson-Cowan based equation and use Bayesian Model Comparison (BMC) to show that this modification improves the model evidences. Improved model evidence of the non-linear model is shown for our empirical data (imitation of facial expressions) and validated by synthetic data as well as an empirical test dataset (attention to visual motion) used in previous foundational papers. For our empirical data, we conduct the analysis for a group of 42 healthy participants who performed an imitation task, activating regions putatively containing the human mirror neuron system (MNS). In this regard, we build 540 models as one family for comparing the standard bilinear with the modified Wilson-Cowan models on the family-level. Using this modification, we can interpret the sigmoid transfer function as an averaged f-I curve of many neurons in a single region with a sigmoidal format. In this way, we can make a direct inference from the macroscopic model to detailed microscopic models. The new DCM variant shows superior model evidence on all tested data sets.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sadjad Sadeghi
- Department of Theoretical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) Heidelberg/Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Physics and Astronomy, University of Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Daniela Mier
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Psychology, University of Konstanz, Konstanz, Germany
| | - Martin F Gerchen
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) Heidelberg/Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany
| | | | - Joachim Hass
- Department of Theoretical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience (BCCN) Heidelberg/Mannheim, Mannheim, Germany.,Faculty of Applied Psychology, SRH University of Applied Sciences Heidelberg, Heidelberg, Germany
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21
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Qin Y, Kang J, Jiao Z, Wang Y, Wang J, Wang H, Feng J, Jin L, Wang F, Gong X. Polygenic risk for autism spectrum disorder affects left amygdala activity and negative emotion in schizophrenia. Transl Psychiatry 2020; 10:322. [PMID: 32958750 PMCID: PMC7506524 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-020-01001-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/07/2020] [Revised: 09/02/2020] [Accepted: 09/07/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Although the diagnoses based on phenomenology have many practical advantages, accumulating evidence shows that schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) share some overlap in genetics and clinical presentation. It remains largely unknown how ASD-associated polygenetic risk contributes to the pathogenesis of schizophrenia. In the present study, we calculated high-resolution ASD polygenic risk scores (ASD PRSs) and selected optimal ten ASD PRS with minimal P values in the association analysis of PRSs, with schizophrenia to assess the effect of ASD PRS on brain neural activity in schizophrenia cases and controls. We found that amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation in left amygdala was positively associated with ASD PRSs in our cohort. Correlation analysis of ASD PRSs with facial emotion recognition test identified the negative correlation of ASD PRSs with negative emotions in schizophrenia cases and controls. Finally, functional enrichment analysis of PRS genes revealed that neural system function and development, as well as signal transduction, were mainly enriched in PRS genes. Our results provide empirical evidence that polygenic risk for ASD contributes to schizophrenia by the intermediate phenotypes of left amygdala function and emotion recognition. It provides a promising strategy to understand the relationship between phenotypes and genotypes shared in mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yue Qin
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jujiao Kang
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443Shanghai Center for Mathematical Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Zeyu Jiao
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443Shanghai Center for Mathematical Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Yi Wang
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jiucun Wang
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China ,grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443Human Phoneme Institute, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Hongyan Wang
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China ,grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Jianfeng Feng
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443Shanghai Center for Mathematical Science, Fudan University, Shanghai, China ,grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443Institute of Science and Technology for Brain-inspired Intelligence, Fudan University, Shanghai, China ,grid.7372.10000 0000 8809 1613Department of Computer Science, University of Warwick, Coventry, CV4 7AL UK
| | - Li Jin
- grid.8547.e0000 0001 0125 2443State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China
| | - Fei Wang
- grid.412636.4Department of Radiology, The First Affiliated Hospital of China Medical University, Shenyang, China
| | - Xiaohong Gong
- State Key Laboratory of Genetic Engineering, School of Life Sciences, Fudan University, Shanghai, China.
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22
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Is the Putative Mirror Neuron System Associated with Empathy? A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Neuropsychol Rev 2020; 31:14-57. [PMID: 32876854 DOI: 10.1007/s11065-020-09452-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 08/09/2020] [Indexed: 12/18/2022]
Abstract
Theoretical perspectives suggest that the mirror neuron system (MNS) is an important neurobiological contributor to empathy, yet empirical support is mixed. Here, we adopt a summary model for empathy, consisting of motor, emotional, and cognitive components of empathy. This review provides an overview of existing empirical studies investigating the relationship between putative MNS activity and empathy in healthy populations. 52 studies were identified that investigated the association between the MNS and at least one domain of empathy, representing data from 1044 participants. Our results suggest that emotional and cognitive empathy are moderately correlated with MNS activity, however, these domains were mixed and varied across techniques used to acquire MNS activity (TMS, EEG, and fMRI). Few studies investigated motor empathy, and of those, no significant relationships were revealed. Overall, results provide preliminary evidence for a relationship between MNS activity and empathy. However, our findings highlight methodological variability in study design as an important factor in understanding this relationship. We discuss limitations regarding these methodological variations and important implications for clinical and community translations, as well as suggestions for future research.
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23
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Hagan CA, Halberstadt AG, Cooke AN, Garner PW. Teachers' Beliefs About Children's Anger and Skill in Recognizing Children's Anger Expressions. Front Psychol 2020; 11:474. [PMID: 32265790 PMCID: PMC7107660 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00474] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/23/2019] [Accepted: 02/28/2020] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Everyday beliefs often organize and guide motivations, goals, and behaviors, and, as such, may also differentially motivate individuals to value and attend to emotion-related cues of others. In this way, the beliefs that individuals hold may affect the socioemotional skills that they develop. To test the role of emotion-related beliefs specific to anger, we examined an educational context in which beliefs could vary and have implications for individuals’ skill. Specifically, we studied 43 teachers’ beliefs about students’ anger in the school setting as well as their ability to recognize expressions of anger in children’s faces in a dynamic emotion recognition task. Results revealed that, even when controlling for teachers’ age and gender, teachers’ belief that children’s anger was useful and valuable in the school setting was associated with teachers’ accuracy at recognizing anger expressions in children’s faces. The belief that children’s anger was harmful and not conducive to learning, however, was not associated with teachers’ accuracy at recognizing children’s anger expressions. These findings suggest that certain everyday beliefs matter for predicting skill in recognizing specific emotion-related cues.
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Affiliation(s)
- Courtney A Hagan
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Amy G Halberstadt
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Alison N Cooke
- Department of Psychology, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, United States
| | - Pamela W Garner
- School of Integrative Studies, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, United States
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24
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Wells AE, Hunnikin LM, Ash DP, van Goozen SHM. Children with Behavioural Problems Misinterpret the Emotions and Intentions of Others. JOURNAL OF ABNORMAL CHILD PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 48:213-221. [PMID: 31686284 PMCID: PMC6969861 DOI: 10.1007/s10802-019-00594-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Research indicates that the misinterpretation of other's emotions or intentions may lead to antisocial behaviour. This study investigated emotion and intention recognition in children with behavioural problems and examined their relationship and relations with behaviour problem severity. Participants were 7-11 year old children with behavioural problems (n = 93, mean age: 8.78, 82.8% male) who were taking part in an early intervention program and typically developing controls (n = 44, mean age: 9.82, 79.5% male). Participants completed emotion recognition and Theory of Mind tasks. Teachers and parents rated children's emotional and behavioural problems. Children with behavioural problems showed impaired emotion and intention recognition. Emotion recognition and intention recognition were positively related and inversely associated with behavioural problem severity and, independently of one another, predicted behavioural problems. This study is the first to show that children with behavioural problems are impaired in identifying others' emotions as well as intentions. These social cognitive processes were found to be related and inversely associated with severity of behavioural problems. This has important implications for intervention and prevention programmes for children with behavioural difficulties.
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Affiliation(s)
- Amy E Wells
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK
| | | | - Daniel P Ash
- Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Northampton, Northampton, UK
| | - Stephanie H M van Goozen
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University, Cardiff, Wales, UK.
- Department of Clinical Child and Adolescent Studies, Leiden University, Leiden, Netherlands.
- School of Psychology, Cardiff University Centre for Human Developmental Science, Park Place, Cardiff, CF10 7AT, UK.
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25
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Siciliano L, Clausi S. Implicit vs. Explicit Emotion Processing in Autism Spectrum Disorders: An Opinion on the Role of the Cerebellum. Front Psychol 2020; 11:96. [PMID: 32082228 PMCID: PMC7005590 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00096] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Accepted: 01/14/2020] [Indexed: 12/27/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Libera Siciliano
- PhD Program in Behavioral Neuroscience, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Rome, Italy
| | - Silvia Clausi
- Ataxia Laboratory, IRCCS Fondazione Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.,Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Rome, Italy
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26
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Cognitive and affective Theory of Mind in adolescence: developmental aspects and associated neuropsychological variables. PSYCHOLOGICAL RESEARCH 2019; 85:533-553. [PMID: 31701225 PMCID: PMC7900042 DOI: 10.1007/s00426-019-01263-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 12] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/25/2019] [Accepted: 10/25/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to represent and attribute mental states to oneself and others. So far, research regarding ToM processing across adolescence is scarce. Existing studies either yield inconsistent results or did not or not thoroughly investigate aspects like higher order ToM and associated neuropsychological variables which the current study tried to address. 643 typically developing early, middle, and late adolescents (age groups 13-14; 15-16; 17-18) performed cognitive and affective ToM tasks as well as neuropsychological tasks tapping the cognitive or affective domain. Regarding both ToM types, 15- to 16-year-olds and 17- to 18-year-olds outperformed 13- to 14-year-olds, whereas females were superior regarding cognitive ToM. Across adolescence, cognitive and affective ToM correlated with attention and affective intelligence, whereas working memory, language comprehension, and figural intelligence additionally correlated with cognitive ToM. In early adolescence, attention correlated with both ToM types, whereas cognitive ToM further correlated with language comprehension and affective ToM with verbal intelligence, verbal fluency, and verbal flexibility. In middle and late adolescence, affective intelligence correlated with both ToM types, whereas cognitive ToM additionally correlated with working memory, language comprehension, and figural intelligence. The current study shows a developmental step regarding cognitive and affective ToM in middle adolescence as well as gender differences in cognitive ToM processing. Associations between neuropsychological variables and ToM processing were shown across adolescence and within age groups. Results give new insights into social cognition in adolescence and are well supported by neuroscientific and neurobiological studies regarding ToM and the integration of cognitive and affective processes.
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Vetter NC, Oosterman JM, Mühlbach J, Wolff S, Altgassen M. The impact of emotional congruent and emotional neutral context on recognizing complex emotions in older adults. AGING NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2019; 27:677-692. [PMID: 31621481 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2019.1665164] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/25/2022]
Abstract
Adding context information has been shown to attenuate the age-related decline of emotion recognition. Specifically, older adults might benefit from emotional congruent context information due to their greater social knowledge. Contrary, emotional neutral context information might impair older adults' performance more due to their decline of inhibitory abilities. Our aim was to examine the age-related decline of complex emotion recognition across three context conditions (emotional congruent, emotional neutral and no context). We hypothesized that emotional congruent context will help older adults to perform at the same level as younger adults and expected worse performance of older adults in the emotional neutral and no context conditions. Twenty-eight older and 28 younger adults watched film clips with complex emotions preceded by a fixation cross (no context), emotional congruent context or emotional neutral context. Emotional neutral context affected older adults' performance more negatively than young adults', whereas emotional congruent improved performance of both young and older adults to a similar extent. Results suggest that emotional congruent context does not eliminate the overall age-related deficit in complex emotion recognition. In contrast, this deficit might be intensified by emotional neutral context.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nora C Vetter
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine Carl Gustav Carus, Technische Universität , Dresden, Germany
| | - Joukje M Oosterman
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University , Nijmegen, The Netherlands
| | - Jasmin Mühlbach
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität , Dresden, Germany
| | - Sina Wolff
- Department of Psychology, Technische Universität , Dresden, Germany
| | - Mareike Altgassen
- Donders Institute for Brain Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University , Nijmegen, The Netherlands
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28
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Caillaud M, Bejanin A, Laisney M, Gagnepain P, Gaubert M, Viard A, Clochon P, de La Sayette V, Allain P, Eustache F, Desgranges B. Influence of emotional complexity on the neural substrates of affective theory of mind. Hum Brain Mapp 2019; 41:139-149. [PMID: 31566290 PMCID: PMC7267895 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24794] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/01/2019] [Revised: 08/07/2019] [Accepted: 08/26/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Affective theory of mind (ToM) depends on both the decoding of emotional expressions and the reasoning on emotional mental states from social situations. While previous studies characterized the neural substrates underlying these processes, it remains unclear whether the nature of the emotional state inferred from others can influence the brain activation associated with affective ToM. In the present study, we focused on two types of emotions: basic emotions (BEs) (e.g., anger and surprise), which are innate and universal and self‐conscious emotions (e.g., pride and embarrassment), which correspond to a special class of emotions involving the self and including a representation of one's relative reactions to internal and external standards. Specifically, we used an ecological functional MRI paradigm, on 21 healthy young subjects, to compare brain activations during the decoding of and the reasoning on others' self‐conscious, basic and neutral mental states. Our results showed that compared to neutral states, the inference of self‐conscious and basic emotional states from others elicited more activation in several core regions of affective ToM. Direct comparisons between emotional conditions revealed more activation for self‐conscious than BEs in the right temporoparietal junction during the reasoning process and in left middle occipital regions during the decoding process. Further analyses using a localizer task showed that the extrastriate body area was more recruited for decoding others' self‐conscious versus BEs, which emphasize the importance of body clues to properly infer these emotions. Using an original task allowing for an ecological assessment of the affective ToM, these results demonstrate that the complexity of the emotion inferred to others can influence the recruitment of ToM network. This study also validates the use of our task as an ecological tool to assess the affective ToM, constituting an avenue for the characterization of ToM impairments in neurological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Marie Caillaud
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL), EA 4638, 49100, Angers, France.,Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Alexandre Bejanin
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Mickael Laisney
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Pierre Gagnepain
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Malo Gaubert
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Armelle Viard
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Patrice Clochon
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Vincent de La Sayette
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Philippe Allain
- Laboratoire de Psychologie des Pays de la Loire (LPPL), EA 4638, 49100, Angers, France
| | - Francis Eustache
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
| | - Béatrice Desgranges
- Normandie Univ, UNICAEN, PSL Universités Paris, EPHE, INSERM, U1077, CHU de Caen, GIP Cyceron, Caen, France
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29
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Daly I, Williams D, Hwang F, Kirke A, Miranda ER, Nasuto SJ. Electroencephalography reflects the activity of sub-cortical brain regions during approach-withdrawal behaviour while listening to music. Sci Rep 2019; 9:9415. [PMID: 31263113 PMCID: PMC6603018 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-45105-2] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/24/2018] [Accepted: 06/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022] Open
Abstract
The ability of music to evoke activity changes in the core brain structures that underlie the experience of emotion suggests that it has the potential to be used in therapies for emotion disorders. A large volume of research has identified a network of sub-cortical brain regions underlying music-induced emotions. Additionally, separate evidence from electroencephalography (EEG) studies suggests that prefrontal asymmetry in the EEG reflects the approach-withdrawal response to music-induced emotion. However, fMRI and EEG measure quite different brain processes and we do not have a detailed understanding of the functional relationships between them in relation to music-induced emotion. We employ a joint EEG – fMRI paradigm to explore how EEG-based neural correlates of the approach-withdrawal response to music reflect activity changes in the sub-cortical emotional response network. The neural correlates examined are asymmetry in the prefrontal EEG, and the degree of disorder in that asymmetry over time, as measured by entropy. Participants’ EEG and fMRI were recorded simultaneously while the participants listened to music that had been specifically generated to target the elicitation of a wide range of affective states. While listening to this music, participants also continuously reported their felt affective states. Here we report on co-variations in the dynamics of these self-reports, the EEG, and the sub-cortical brain activity. We find that a set of sub-cortical brain regions in the emotional response network exhibits activity that significantly relates to prefrontal EEG asymmetry. Specifically, EEG in the pre-frontal cortex reflects not only cortical activity, but also changes in activity in the amygdala, posterior temporal cortex, and cerebellum. We also find that, while the magnitude of the asymmetry reflects activity in parts of the limbic and paralimbic systems, the entropy of that asymmetry reflects activity in parts of the autonomic response network such as the auditory cortex. This suggests that asymmetry magnitude reflects affective responses to music, while asymmetry entropy reflects autonomic responses to music. Thus, we demonstrate that it is possible to infer activity in the limbic and paralimbic systems from pre-frontal EEG asymmetry. These results show how EEG can be used to measure and monitor changes in the limbic and paralimbic systems. Specifically, they suggest that EEG asymmetry acts as an indicator of sub-cortical changes in activity induced by music. This shows that EEG may be used as a measure of the effectiveness of music therapy to evoke changes in activity in the sub-cortical emotion response network. This is also the first time that the activity of sub-cortical regions, normally considered “invisible” to EEG, has been shown to be characterisable directly from EEG dynamics measured during music listening.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ian Daly
- Brain-Computer Interfacing and Neural Engineering Laboratory, School of Computer Science and Electronic Engineering, University of Essex, Colchester, CO4 3SQ, UK.
| | - Duncan Williams
- Digital Creativity Labs, Department of Computer Science, University of York, Heslington, YO10 5RG, UK
| | - Faustina Hwang
- Brain Embodiment Laboratory, Biomedical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Division, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AY, UK
| | - Alexis Kirke
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Eduardo R Miranda
- Interdisciplinary Centre for Computer Music Research, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, PL4 8AA, UK
| | - Slawomir J Nasuto
- Brain Embodiment Laboratory, Biomedical Sciences and Biomedical Engineering Division, School of Biological Sciences, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AY, UK
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30
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Mota S, Leckelt M, Geukes K, Nestler S, Humberg S, Schröder-Abé M, Schmukle SC, Back MD. A Comprehensive Examination of Narcissists’ Self-Perceived and Actual Socioemotional Cognition Ability. COLLABRA-PSYCHOLOGY 2019. [DOI: 10.1525/collabra.174] [Citation(s) in RCA: 17] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Narcissists are assumed to lack the motivation and ability to share and understand the mental states of others. Prior empirical research, however, has yielded inconclusive findings and has differed with respect to the specific aspects of narcissism and socioemotional cognition that have been examined. Here, we propose a differentiated facet approach that can be applied across research traditions and that distinguishes between facets of narcissism (agentic vs. antagonistic) on the one hand, and facets of socioemotional cognition ability (SECA; self-perceived vs. actual) on the other. Using five nonclinical samples in two studies (total N = 602), we investigated the effect of facets of grandiose narcissism on aspects of socioemotional cognition across measures of affective and cognitive empathy, Theory of Mind, and emotional intelligence, while also controlling for general reasoning ability. Across both studies, agentic facets of narcissism were found to be positively related to perceived SECA, whereas antagonistic facets of narcissism were found to be negatively related to perceived SECA. However, both narcissism facets were negatively related to actual SECA. Exploratory condition-based regression analyses further showed that agentic narcissists had a higher directed discrepancy between perceived and actual SECA: They self-enhanced their socio-emotional capacities. Implications of these results for the multifaceted theoretical understanding of the narcissism-SECA link are discussed.
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31
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Navarra-Ventura G, Fernandez-Gonzalo S, Turon M, Pousa E, Palao D, Cardoner N, Jodar M. Gender Differences in Social Cognition: A Cross-Sectional Pilot Study of Recently Diagnosed Patients with Schizophrenia and Healthy Subjects. CANADIAN JOURNAL OF PSYCHIATRY. REVUE CANADIENNE DE PSYCHIATRIE 2018; 63:538-546. [PMID: 29216439 PMCID: PMC6099750 DOI: 10.1177/0706743717746661] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/25/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES This study had 2 objectives: First, to explore the gender-related differences in emotional processing (EP) and theory of mind-both cognitive (CToM) and affective (AToM)-in patients with schizophrenia and in a control group of healthy subjects; and, second, to examine, from a gender perspective, the possible association between EP and CToM in the AToM performance. METHODS Forty patients with schizophrenia/schizoaffective disorder were recruited and matched by gender, age and years of education with 40 healthy subjects. EP was measured by the pictures of facial affect (POFA) test. CToM was measured using first- and second-order false-belief (FB) stories. AToM was measured by the reading the mind in the eyes test (RMET). Group and gender differences in CToM were analysed using the X2 test, whereas EP and AToM were analysed using the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U Test and a general linear model. Results were adjusted by intelligence quotient and negative symptomatology. RESULTS Patients with schizophrenia underperformed against healthy subjects in the POFA test, second-order FB, and RMET, but not in first-order FB. No significant gender differences were found. However, there was a trend showing that females outperformed males in the POFA ( P = 0.056). Group ( P < 0.001), POFA ( P < 0.001) and second-order FB ( P = 0.022) were the best factors predicting RMET performance (adjusted R2 = 0.584). CONCLUSIONS Our results suggest that the illness is the main factor related to the deficit in social cognition, except for the basic aspects of the CToM that were unimpaired in most patients. Nevertheless, the influence of female gender in EP should not be neglected in any group. Finally, the hierarchal interaction between these domains is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guillem Navarra-Ventura
- 1 Mental Health Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.,2 Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, International Excellence Campus, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Sol Fernandez-Gonzalo
- 3 Research Department, Fundació Parc Taulí, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.,4 Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos, Madrid, Spain.,5 Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, International Excellence Campus, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Marc Turon
- 3 Research Department, Fundació Parc Taulí, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.,6 Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Enfermedades Respiratorias (CIBERES), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Esther Pousa
- 7 Mental Health Department, Hospital del Mar, Institut de Neuropsiquiatria i Addiccions, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Hospital del Mar, Passeig Marítim, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Diego Palao
- 1 Mental Health Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.,2 Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, International Excellence Campus, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.,4 Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Narcis Cardoner
- 1 Mental Health Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari, Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Corporació Sanitària Parc Taulí, Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain.,2 Department of Psychiatry and Forensic Medicine, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, International Excellence Campus, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.,4 Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos, Madrid, Spain
| | - Merce Jodar
- 4 Centro de Investigación Biomédica En Red en Salud Mental (CIBERSAM), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, C/ Monforte de Lemos, Madrid, Spain.,5 Department of Clinical and Health Psychology, Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, International Excellence Campus, Bellaterra, Cerdanyola del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain.,8 Neurology Department, Parc Taulí Hospital Universitari. Institut d'Investigació i Innovació Parc Taulí (I3PT), Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona, Parc Taulí, Sabadell, Barcelona, Spain
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32
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Healey ML, Grossman M. Cognitive and Affective Perspective-Taking: Evidence for Shared and Dissociable Anatomical Substrates. Front Neurol 2018; 9:491. [PMID: 29988515 PMCID: PMC6026651 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 69] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 06/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Perspective-taking refers to the ability to recognize another person's point of view. Crucial to the development of interpersonal relationships and prosocial behavior, perspective-taking is closely linked to human empathy, and like empathy, perspective-taking is commonly subdivided into cognitive and affective components. While the two components of empathy have been frequently compared, the differences between cognitive and affective perspective-taking have been under-investigated in the cognitive neuroscience literature to date. Here, we define cognitive perspective-taking as the ability to infer an agent's thoughts or beliefs, and affective perspective-taking as the ability to infer an agent's feelings or emotions. In this paper, we review data from functional imaging studies in healthy adults as well as behavioral and structural imaging studies in patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia in order to determine if there are distinct neural correlates for cognitive and affective perspective-taking. Data suggest that there are both shared and non-shared cognitive and anatomic substrates. For example, while both types of perspective-taking engage regions such as the temporoparietal junction, precuneus, and temporal poles, only affective perspective-taking engages regions within the limbic system and basal ganglia. Differences are also observed in prefrontal cortex: while affective perspective-taking engages ventromedial prefrontal cortex, cognitive perspective-taking engages dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). To corroborate these findings, we also examine if cognitive and affective perspective-taking share the same relationship with executive functions. While it is clear that affective perspective-taking requires emotional substrates that are less prominent in cognitive perspective-taking, it remains unknown to what extent executive functions (including working memory, mental set switching, and inhibitory control) may contribute to each process. Overall results indicate that cognitive perspective-taking is dependent on executive functioning (particularly mental set switching), while affective perspective-taking is less so. We conclude with a critique of the current literature, with a focus on the different outcome measures used across studies and misconceptions due to imprecise terminology, as well as recommendations for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan L Healey
- Penn Department of Neurology and Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Murray Grossman
- Penn Department of Neurology and Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States.,Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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33
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Healey ML, Grossman M. Cognitive and Affective Perspective-Taking: Evidence for Shared and Dissociable Anatomical Substrates. Front Neurol 2018. [PMID: 29988515 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2018.00491/bibtex] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Perspective-taking refers to the ability to recognize another person's point of view. Crucial to the development of interpersonal relationships and prosocial behavior, perspective-taking is closely linked to human empathy, and like empathy, perspective-taking is commonly subdivided into cognitive and affective components. While the two components of empathy have been frequently compared, the differences between cognitive and affective perspective-taking have been under-investigated in the cognitive neuroscience literature to date. Here, we define cognitive perspective-taking as the ability to infer an agent's thoughts or beliefs, and affective perspective-taking as the ability to infer an agent's feelings or emotions. In this paper, we review data from functional imaging studies in healthy adults as well as behavioral and structural imaging studies in patients with behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia in order to determine if there are distinct neural correlates for cognitive and affective perspective-taking. Data suggest that there are both shared and non-shared cognitive and anatomic substrates. For example, while both types of perspective-taking engage regions such as the temporoparietal junction, precuneus, and temporal poles, only affective perspective-taking engages regions within the limbic system and basal ganglia. Differences are also observed in prefrontal cortex: while affective perspective-taking engages ventromedial prefrontal cortex, cognitive perspective-taking engages dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC). To corroborate these findings, we also examine if cognitive and affective perspective-taking share the same relationship with executive functions. While it is clear that affective perspective-taking requires emotional substrates that are less prominent in cognitive perspective-taking, it remains unknown to what extent executive functions (including working memory, mental set switching, and inhibitory control) may contribute to each process. Overall results indicate that cognitive perspective-taking is dependent on executive functioning (particularly mental set switching), while affective perspective-taking is less so. We conclude with a critique of the current literature, with a focus on the different outcome measures used across studies and misconceptions due to imprecise terminology, as well as recommendations for future research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Meghan L Healey
- Penn Department of Neurology and Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
| | - Murray Grossman
- Penn Department of Neurology and Frontotemporal Degeneration Center, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
- Neuroscience Graduate Group, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, United States
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Mier D, Eisenacher S, Rausch F, Englisch S, Gerchen MF, Zamoscik V, Meyer-Lindenberg A, Zink M, Kirsch P. Aberrant activity and connectivity of the posterior superior temporal sulcus during social cognition in schizophrenia. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2017; 267:597-610. [PMID: 27770284 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-016-0737-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 27] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/23/2016] [Accepted: 09/25/2016] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is associated with significant impairments in social cognition. These impairments have been shown to go along with altered activation of the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS). However, studies that investigate connectivity of pSTS during social cognition in schizophrenia are sparse. Twenty-two patients with schizophrenia and 22 matched healthy controls completed a social-cognitive task for functional magnetic resonance imaging that allows the investigation of affective Theory of Mind (ToM), emotion recognition and the processing of neutral facial expressions. Moreover, a resting-state measurement was taken. Patients with schizophrenia performed worse in the social-cognitive task (main effect of group). In addition, a group by social-cognitive processing interaction was revealed for activity, as well as for connectivity during the social-cognitive task, i.e., patients with schizophrenia showed hyperactivity of right pSTS during neutral face processing, but hypoactivity during emotion recognition and affective ToM. In addition, hypoconnectivity between right and left pSTS was revealed for affective ToM, but not for neutral face processing or emotion recognition. No group differences in connectivity from right to left pSTS occurred during resting state. This pattern of aberrant activity and connectivity of the right pSTS during social cognition might form the basis of false-positive perceptions of emotions and intentions and could contribute to the emergence and sustainment of delusions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Mier
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Sarah Eisenacher
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Franziska Rausch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Susanne Englisch
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Martin Fungisai Gerchen
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Vera Zamoscik
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Andreas Meyer-Lindenberg
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Mathias Zink
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
| | - Peter Kirsch
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, University of Heidelberg/Medical Faculty Mannheim, J5, 68159, Mannheim, Germany
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Agostino A, Im-Bolter N, Stefanatos AK, Dennis M. Understanding ironic criticism and empathic praise: The role of emotive communication. BRITISH JOURNAL OF DEVELOPMENTAL PSYCHOLOGY 2016; 35:186-201. [PMID: 27542774 DOI: 10.1111/bjdp.12155] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/31/2015] [Revised: 06/28/2016] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
Ironic criticism and empathic praise are forms of social communication that influence the affective states of others in a negative or positive way. In a sample of 76 typically developing children and adolescents (mean age = 11 years; 4 months; SD: 2 years; 8 months), we studied how understanding of emotional expression (facial expression of emotion) and emotive communication (affective theory of mind) was related to the ability to understand negatively valenced ironic criticism and positively valenced empathic praise. We modelled comprehension of irony and empathy in school-aged children in relation to age and understanding of emotional expression and emotive communication. As expected, children showed significantly better understanding of emotional expression than emotive communication, which requires understanding why someone might mask their inner emotions. Meditational analyses showed that emotive communication partially mediated the relation between age and understanding ironic criticism and empathic praise. These findings suggest that the development of understanding irony and empathy over the school-age years is associated with affective attributions or affective theory of mind. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Theory of mind has been found to be related to the developmental understanding of social communication. Correct interpretation of facial emotional cues is also important for interpreting social communication. What does this study add? Affective components (i.e., affective theory of mind) also contribute to the development of social communication. Emotive communication, the ability to modulate one's emotional expression according to social display rules may be predictive of social communication competency.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alba Agostino
- Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Nancie Im-Bolter
- Department of Psychology, Trent University, Peterborough, Ontario, Canada
| | - Arianna K Stefanatos
- Department of Psychiatry, Boston Children's Hospital, Boston, Massachusetts, USA.,Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, USA
| | - Maureen Dennis
- Program in Neurosciences and Mental Health, The Hospital for Sick Children, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Surgery, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.,Department of Psychology, University of Toronto, Ontario, Canada
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Mason SL, Zhang J, Begeti F, Guzman NV, Lazar AS, Rowe JB, Barker RA, Hampshire A. The role of the amygdala during emotional processing in Huntington's disease: from pre-manifest to late stage disease. Neuropsychologia 2015; 70:80-9. [PMID: 25700742 PMCID: PMC4415907 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2015.02.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/20/2014] [Revised: 01/15/2015] [Accepted: 02/13/2015] [Indexed: 02/02/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Deficits in emotional processing can be detected in the pre-manifest stage of Huntington's disease and negative emotion recognition has been identified as a predictor of clinical diagnosis. The underlying neuropathological correlates of such deficits are typically established using correlative structural MRI studies. This approach does not take into consideration the impact of disruption to the complex interactions between multiple brain circuits on emotional processing. Therefore, exploration of the neural substrates of emotional processing in pre-manifest HD using fMRI connectivity analysis may be a useful way of evaluating the way brain regions interrelate in the period prior to diagnosis. METHODS We investigated the impact of predicted time to disease onset on brain activation when participants were exposed to pictures of faces with angry and neutral expressions, in 20 pre-manifest HD gene carriers and 23 healthy controls. On the basis of the results of this initial study went on to look at amygdala dependent cognitive performance in 79 Huntington's disease patients from a cross-section of disease stages (pre-manifest to late disease) and 26 healthy controls, using a validated theory of mind task: "the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test" which has been previously been shown to be amygdala dependent. RESULTS Psychophysiological interaction analysis identified reduced connectivity between the left amygdala and right fusiform facial area in pre-manifest HD gene carriers compared to controls when viewing angry compared to neutral faces. Change in PPI connectivity scores correlated with predicted time to disease onset (r=0.45, p<0.05). Furthermore, performance on the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test" correlated negatively with proximity to disease onset and became progressively worse with each stage of disease. CONCLUSION Abnormalities in the neural networks underlying social cognition and emotional processing can be detected prior to clinical diagnosis in Huntington's disease. Connectivity between the amygdala and other brain regions is impacted by the disease process in pre-manifest HD and may therefore be a useful way of identifying participants who are approaching a clinical diagnosis. Furthermore, the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test" is a surrogate measure of amygdala function that is clinically useful across the entire cross-section of disease stages in HD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sarah L Mason
- John Van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, UK.
| | - Jiaxiang Zhang
- MRC Cognition and Brian Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Faye Begeti
- John Van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, UK
| | | | - Alpar S Lazar
- John Van Geest Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - James B Rowe
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, UK; MRC Cognition and Brian Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
| | - Roger A Barker
- Department of Clinical Neuroscience, University of Cambridge, UK; MRC Cognition and Brian Sciences Unit, University of Cambridge, UK
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Drolet M, Schubotz RI, Fischer J. Recognizing the authenticity of emotional expressions: F0 contour matters when you need to know. Front Hum Neurosci 2014; 8:144. [PMID: 24701202 PMCID: PMC3965851 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2014.00144] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2013] [Accepted: 02/26/2014] [Indexed: 12/02/2022] Open
Abstract
Authenticity of vocal emotion expression affects emotion recognition and brain activity in the so-called Theory of Mind (ToM) network, which is implied in the ability to explain and predict behavior by attributing mental states to other individuals. Exploiting the variability of the fundamental frequency (F0 contour), which varies more (higher contour) in play-acted expressions than authentic ones, we examined whether contour biases explicit categorization toward a particular authenticity or emotion category. Moreover, we tested whether contour modulates blood-oxygen-level dependent (BOLD) response in the ToM network and explored the role of task as a top-down modulator. The effects of contour on BOLD signal were analyzed by contrasting high and low contour stimuli within two previous fMRI studies that implemented emotion and authenticity rating tasks. Participants preferentially categorized higher contour stimuli as play-acted and lower contour stimuli as sad. Higher contour was found to up-regulate activation task-independently in the primary auditory cortex. Stimulus contour and task were found to interact in a network including medial prefrontal cortex, with an increase in BOLD signal for low-contour stimuli during explicit perception of authenticity and an increase for high-contour stimuli during explicit perception of emotion. Contour-induced BOLD effects appear to be purely stimulus-driven in early auditory and intonation perception, while being strongly task-dependent in regions involved in higher cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthis Drolet
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center Göttingen, Germany ; Biological Psychology, University of Münster Münster, Germany
| | - Ricarda I Schubotz
- Biological Psychology, University of Münster Münster, Germany ; Minerva Group Motor Cognition, Max Planck Institute for Neurological Research Köln, Germany
| | - Julia Fischer
- Cognitive Ethology Laboratory, German Primate Center Göttingen, Germany
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Kapogiannis D, Deshpande G, Krueger F, Thornburg MP, Grafman JH. Brain networks shaping religious belief. Brain Connect 2014; 4:70-9. [PMID: 24279687 DOI: 10.1089/brain.2013.0172] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/12/2022] Open
Abstract
We previously demonstrated with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) that religious belief depends upon three cognitive dimensions, which can be mapped to specific brain regions. In the present study, we considered these co-activated regions as nodes of three networks each one corresponding to a particular dimension, corresponding to each dimension and examined the causal flow within and between these networks to address two important hypotheses that remained untested in our previous work. First, we hypothesized that regions involved in theory of mind (ToM) are located upstream the causal flow and drive non-ToM regions, in line with theories attributing religion to the evolution of ToM. Second, we hypothesized that differences in directional connectivity are associated with differences in religiosity. To test these hypotheses, we performed a multivariate Granger causality-based directional connectivity analysis of fMRI data to demonstrate the causal flow within religious belief-related networks. Our results supported both hypotheses. Religious subjects preferentially activated a pathway from inferolateral to dorsomedial frontal cortex to monitor the intent and involvement of supernatural agents (SAs; intent-related ToM). Perception of SAs engaged pathways involved in fear regulation and affective ToM. Religious beliefs are founded both on propositional statements for doctrine, but also on episodic memory and imagery. Beliefs based on doctrine engaged a pathway from Broca's to Wernicke's language areas. Beliefs related to everyday life experiences engaged pathways involved in imagery. Beliefs implying less involved SAs and evoking imagery activated a pathway from right lateral temporal to occipital regions. This pathway was more active in non-religious compared to religious subjects, suggesting greater difficulty and procedural demands for imagining and processing the intent of SAs. Insights gained by Granger connectivity analysis inform us about the causal binding of individual regions activated during religious belief processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dimitrios Kapogiannis
- 1 Laboratory of Clinical Investigation, National Institute on Aging (NIA/NIH) , Baltimore, Maryland
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Fiore SM, Wiltshire TJ, Lobato EJC, Jentsch FG, Huang WH, Axelrod B. Toward understanding social cues and signals in human-robot interaction: effects of robot gaze and proxemic behavior. Front Psychol 2013; 4:859. [PMID: 24348434 PMCID: PMC3842160 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00859] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/30/2013] [Accepted: 10/29/2013] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
As robots are increasingly deployed in settings requiring social interaction, research is needed to examine the social signals perceived by humans when robots display certain social cues. In this paper, we report a study designed to examine how humans interpret social cues exhibited by robots. We first provide a brief overview of perspectives from social cognition in humans and how these processes are applicable to human–robot interaction (HRI). We then discuss the need to examine the relationship between social cues and signals as a function of the degree to which a robot is perceived as a socially present agent. We describe an experiment in which social cues were manipulated on an iRobot AvaTM mobile robotics platform in a hallway navigation scenario. Cues associated with the robot’s proxemic behavior were found to significantly affect participant perceptions of the robot’s social presence and emotional state while cues associated with the robot’s gaze behavior were not found to be significant. Further, regardless of the proxemic behavior, participants attributed more social presence and emotional states to the robot over repeated interactions than when they first interacted with it. Generally, these results indicate the importance for HRI research to consider how social cues expressed by a robot can differentially affect perceptions of the robot’s mental states and intentions. The discussion focuses on implications for the design of robotic systems and future directions for research on the relationship between social cues and signals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Stephen M Fiore
- Department of Philosophy, Cognitive Sciences Laboratory, Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida Orlando, FL, USA ; Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Travis J Wiltshire
- Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Emilio J C Lobato
- Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida Orlando, FL, USA
| | - Florian G Jentsch
- Institute for Simulation and Training, University of Central Florida Orlando, FL, USA ; Department of Psychology, University of Central Florida Orlando, FL, USA
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Explicit authenticity and stimulus features interact to modulate BOLD response induced by emotional speech. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2013; 13:318-29. [PMID: 23404563 PMCID: PMC3631111 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-013-0151-0] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
Context has been found to have a profound effect on the recognition of social stimuli and correlated brain activation. The present study was designed to determine whether knowledge about emotional authenticity influences emotion recognition expressed through speech intonation. Participants classified emotionally expressive speech in an fMRI experimental design as sad, happy, angry, or fearful. For some trials, stimuli were cued as either authentic or play-acted in order to manipulate participant top-down belief about authenticity, and these labels were presented both congruently and incongruently to the emotional authenticity of the stimulus. Contrasting authentic versus play-acted stimuli during uncued trials indicated that play-acted stimuli spontaneously up-regulate activity in the auditory cortex and regions associated with emotional speech processing. In addition, a clear interaction effect of cue and stimulus authenticity showed up-regulation in the posterior superior temporal sulcus and the anterior cingulate cortex, indicating that cueing had an impact on the perception of authenticity. In particular, when a cue indicating an authentic stimulus was followed by a play-acted stimulus, additional activation occurred in the temporoparietal junction, probably pointing to increased load on perspective taking in such trials. While actual authenticity has a significant impact on brain activation, individual belief about stimulus authenticity can additionally modulate the brain response to differences in emotionally expressive speech.
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Mier D, Lis S, Esslinger C, Sauer C, Hagenhoff M, Ulferts J, Gallhofer B, Kirsch P. Neuronal correlates of social cognition in borderline personality disorder. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2012; 8:531-7. [PMID: 22362841 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nss028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 75] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/18/2023] Open
Abstract
Patients with borderline personality disorder (BPD) have severe problems in social interactions that might be caused by deficits in social cognition. Since the findings about social-cognitive abilities in BPD are inhomogeneous, ranging from deficits to superior abilities, we aimed to investigate the neuronal basis of social cognition in BPD. We applied a paradigm with three social cognition tasks, differing in their complexity: basal processing of faces with a neutral expression, recognition of emotions, and attribution of emotional intentions (affective ToM). A total of 13 patients with BPD and 13 healthy matched controls (HCs) were included in a functional magnet resonance imaging study. BPD patients showed no deficits in social cognition on the behavioral level. However, while HCs showed increasing activation in areas of the mirror neuron system with increasing complexity in the social-cognitive task, BPD patients had hypoactivation in these areas and hyperactivation in the amygdala which were not modulated by task complexity. This activation pattern seems to reflect an enhanced emotional approach in the processing of social stimuli in BPD that allows good performance in standardized social-cognitive tasks, but might be the basis of social-cognitive deficits in real-life social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Daniela Mier
- Department for Clinical Psychology, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim/Heidelberg University, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
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Proal E, Reiss PT, Klein RG, Mannuzza S, Gotimer K, Ramos-Olazagasti MA, Lerch JP, He Y, Zijdenbos A, Kelly C, Milham MP, Castellanos FX. Brain gray matter deficits at 33-year follow-up in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder established in childhood. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2011; 68:1122-34. [PMID: 22065528 DOI: 10.1001/archgenpsychiatry.2011.117] [Citation(s) in RCA: 155] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/04/2023]
Abstract
CONTEXT Volumetric studies have reported relatively decreased cortical thickness and gray matter volumes in adults with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) whose childhood status was retrospectively recalled. We present, to our knowledge, the first prospective study combining cortical thickness and voxel-based morphometry in adults diagnosed as having ADHD in childhood. OBJECTIVES To test whether adults with combined-type childhood ADHD exhibit cortical thinning and decreased gray matter in regions hypothesized to be related to ADHD and to test whether anatomic differences are associated with a current ADHD diagnosis, including persistent vs remitting ADHD. DESIGN Cross-sectional analysis embedded in a 33-year prospective follow-up at a mean age of 41.2 years. SETTING Research outpatient center. PARTICIPANTS We recruited probands with ADHD from a cohort of 207 white boys aged 6 to 12 years. Male comparison participants (n = 178) were free of ADHD in childhood. We obtained magnetic resonance images in 59 probands and 80 comparison participants (28.5% and 44.9% of the original samples, respectively). MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES Whole-brain voxel-based morphometry and vertexwise cortical thickness analyses. RESULTS The cortex was significantly thinner in ADHD probands than in comparison participants in the dorsal attentional network and limbic areas (false discovery rate < 0.05, corrected). In addition, gray matter was significantly decreased in probands in the right caudate, right thalamus, and bilateral cerebellar hemispheres. Probands with persistent ADHD (n = 17) did not differ significantly from those with remitting ADHD (n = 26) (false discovery rate < 0.05). At uncorrected P < .05, individuals with remitting ADHD had thicker cortex relative to those with persistent ADHD in the medial occipital cortex, insula, parahippocampus, and prefrontal regions. CONCLUSIONS Anatomic gray matter reductions are observable in adults with childhood ADHD, regardless of the current diagnosis. The most affected regions underpin top-down control of attention and regulation of emotion and motivation. Exploratory analyses suggest that diagnostic remission may result from compensatory maturation of prefrontal, cerebellar, and thalamic circuitry.
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Affiliation(s)
- Erika Proal
- Phyllis Green and Randolph Cowen Institute for Pediatric Neuroscience, Child Study Center, New York University Langone School of Medicine, USA
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