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Mugnol-Ugarte L, Bortolini T, Yao B, Mikkelsen M, Carneiro Monteiro M, Andorinho de Freitas Ferreira AC, Bramatti I, Melo B, Hoefle S, Meireles F, Moll J, Pobric G. Transcranial electrical stimulation modulates emotional experience and metabolites in the prefrontal cortex in a donation task. Sci Rep 2024; 14:14271. [PMID: 38902321 PMCID: PMC11190244 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-64876-x] [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: 09/28/2023] [Accepted: 06/13/2024] [Indexed: 06/22/2024] Open
Abstract
Understanding the neural, metabolic, and psychological mechanisms underlying human altruism and decision-making is a complex and important topic both for science and society. Here, we investigated whether transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) applied to two prefrontal cortex regions, the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC, anode) and the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC, cathode) can induce changes in self-reported emotions and to modulate local metabolite concentrations. We employed in vivo quantitative MR Spectroscopy in healthy adult participants and quantified changes in GABA and Glx (glutamate + glutamine) before and after five sessions of tDCS delivered at 2 mA for 20 min (active group) and 1 min (sham group) while participants were engaged in a charitable donation task. In the active group, we observed increased levels of GABA in vmPFC. Glx levels decreased in both prefrontal regions and self-reported happiness increased significantly over time in the active group. Self-reported guiltiness in both active and sham groups tended to decrease. The results indicate that self-reported happiness can be modulated, possibly due to changes in Glx concentrations following repeated stimulation. Therefore, local changes may induce remote changes in the reward network through interactions with other metabolites, previously thought to be unreachable with noninvasive stimulation techniques.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luiza Mugnol-Ugarte
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
| | - Tiago Bortolini
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Bo Yao
- Department of Psychology, Lancaster University, Lancaster, United Kingdom
| | - Mark Mikkelsen
- Department of Radiology, Weill Cornell Medicine, New York, United States of America
| | - Marina Carneiro Monteiro
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Ivanei Bramatti
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Bruno Melo
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sebastian Hoefle
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Fernanda Meireles
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, The D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Gorana Pobric
- Division of Psychology, Communication and Human Neuroscience, The University of Manchester, Manchester, United Kingdom
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2
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Levy R. The prefrontal cortex: from monkey to man. Brain 2024; 147:794-815. [PMID: 37972282 PMCID: PMC10907097 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awad389] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2023] [Revised: 10/01/2023] [Accepted: 11/02/2023] [Indexed: 11/19/2023] Open
Abstract
The prefrontal cortex is so important to human beings that, if deprived of it, our behaviour is reduced to action-reactions and automatisms, with no ability to make deliberate decisions. Why does the prefrontal cortex hold such importance in humans? In answer, this review draws on the proximity between humans and other primates, which enables us, through comparative anatomical-functional analysis, to understand the cognitive functions we have in common and specify those that distinguish humans from their closest cousins. First, a focus on the lateral region of the prefrontal cortex illustrates the existence of a continuum between rhesus monkeys (the most studied primates in neuroscience) and humans for most of the major cognitive functions in which this region of the brain plays a central role. This continuum involves the presence of elementary mental operations in the rhesus monkey (e.g. working memory or response inhibition) that are constitutive of 'macro-functions' such as planning, problem-solving and even language production. Second, the human prefrontal cortex has developed dramatically compared to that of other primates. This increase seems to concern the most anterior part (the frontopolar cortex). In humans, the development of the most anterior prefrontal cortex is associated with three major and interrelated cognitive changes: (i) a greater working memory capacity, allowing for greater integration of past experiences and prospective futures; (ii) a greater capacity to link discontinuous or distant data, whether temporal or semantic; and (iii) a greater capacity for abstraction, allowing humans to classify knowledge in different ways, to engage in analogical reasoning or to acquire abstract values that give rise to our beliefs and morals. Together, these new skills enable us, among other things, to develop highly sophisticated social interactions based on language, enabling us to conceive beliefs and moral judgements and to conceptualize, create and extend our vision of our environment beyond what we can physically grasp. Finally, a model of the transition of prefrontal functions between humans and non-human primates concludes this review.
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Affiliation(s)
- Richard Levy
- AP–HP, Groupe Hospitalier Pitié-Salpêtrière, Department of Neurology, Sorbonne Université, Institute of Memory and Alzheimer’s Disease, 75013 Paris, France
- Sorbonne Université, INSERM U1127, CNRS 7225, Paris Brain Institute- ICM, 75013 Paris, France
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3
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Seara-Cardoso A. The "(a)moral brain": When things go wrong. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 197:107-117. [PMID: 37633704 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821375-9.00008-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
In the past decades, a growing interest of neuroscience on moral judgment and decision-making has shed new light on the neurobiological correlates of human morality. It is now understood that moral cognition relies on a complex integration of cognitive and affective information processes that implicate a widely distributed brain network. Moral cognition relies on the coordination of several domain-general processes, subserved by domain-general neural networks, rather than a specific moral cognition system subserved by a specific neural network. In this chapter, we will first briefly review what is currently known about the "moral brain," i.e., the network of brain regions consistently implicated in studies of moral cognition, which include decision-making, affective processing, mentalizing, and perspective-taking processing regions. We will then review the evidence of the impairments found in this network in individuals with psychopathy, a condition whose characteristics indicate profound disturbances in appropriate moral processing. We will present data from neuroimaging studies with forensic/clinical, general population, as well as child and adolescent samples, which seem to converge to support the notion that the moral dysfunction observed in individuals with psychopathy may stem from a disruption of affective components of moral processing rather than from an inability to compute moral judgments per se.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Seara-Cardoso
- Psychology Research Centre, School of Psychology, University of Minho, Braga, Portugal.
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4
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Darby RR. Network localization of antisocial behavior in neurological patients: Evidence and implications. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2023; 197:45-54. [PMID: 37633717 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-821375-9.00009-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 08/28/2023]
Abstract
Antisocial behavior may develop in otherwise normal persons as a result of neurological diseases, including patients with focal brain lesions, frontotemporal dementia, and Parkinson Disease patients taking dopamine agonist medications. Evidence from these neurological patients demonstrates that antisocial behaviors relate to dysfunction in several different brain regions that form a specific brain network, rather than any single location alone. This network associated with acquired antisocial behavior is involved in social decision-making (measured using moral decision-making tasks) and value-based decision-making (measured using neuroeconomic and reward-based tasks). Collectively, this work supports the hypothesis that antisocial behavior across different neurological diseases results from dysfunction within a common network of brain regions associated with social valuation and decision-making, providing insight into the neural mechanisms leading to acquired antisocial behavior. These findings have important implications, but also important limitations, for understanding criminal behavior in patients with psychopathy, for rehabilitation in criminals, for ethical discussions regarding moral and legal responsibility, and for forensic neurological evaluations in persons accused of crimes.
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Affiliation(s)
- R Ryan Darby
- Department of Neurology, Division of Behavioral Neurology, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, TN, United States.
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5
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Baez S, Trujillo-Llano C, de Souza LC, Lillo P, Forno G, Santamaría-García H, Okuma C, Alegria P, Huepe D, Ibáñez A, Decety J, Slachevsky A. Moral Emotions and Their Brain Structural Correlates Across Neurodegenerative Disorders. J Alzheimers Dis 2023; 92:153-169. [PMID: 36710684 PMCID: PMC11181819 DOI: 10.3233/jad-221131] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/25/2023]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Although social cognition is compromised in patients with neurodegenerative disorders such as behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) and Alzheimer's disease (AD), research on moral emotions and their neural correlates in these populations is scarce. No previous study has explored the utility of moral emotions, compared to and in combination with classical general cognitive state tools, to discriminate bvFTD from AD patients. OBJECTIVE To examine self-conscious (guilt and embarrassment) and other-oriented (pity and indignation) moral emotions, their subjective experience, and their structural brain underpinnings in bvFTD (n = 31) and AD (n = 30) patients, compared to healthy controls (n = 37). We also explored the potential utility of moral emotions measures to discriminate bvFTD from AD. METHODS We used a modified version of the Moral Sentiment Task measuring the participants' accuracy scores and their emotional subjective experiences. RESULTS bvFTD patients exhibited greater impairments in self-conscious and other-oriented moral emotions as compared with AD patients and healthy controls. Moral emotions combined with general cognitive state tools emerged as useful measures to discriminate bvFTD from AD patients. In bvFTD patients, lower moral emotions scores were associated with lower gray matter volumes in caudate nucleus and inferior and middle temporal gyri. In AD, these scores were associated with lower gray matter volumes in superior and middle frontal gyri, middle temporal gyrus, inferior parietal lobule and supramarginal gyrus. CONCLUSION These findings contribute to a better understanding of moral emotion deficits across neurodegenerative disorders, highlighting the potential benefits of integrating this domain into the clinical assessment.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Catalina Trujillo-Llano
- Facultad de Psicología, Universidad del Valle, Cali, Colombia
- Department of Neurology, Universitätsmedizin Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Leonardo Cruz de Souza
- Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil
| | - Patricia Lillo
- Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism, Santiago, Chile
- Departamento de Neurologia Sur, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Gonzalo Forno
- Universidad de los Andes, Santiago, Chile
- Neuropsychology and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory, Physiopathology Department - ICBM, Neuroscience and East Neuroscience Departments, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
| | - Hernando Santamaría-García
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición Intellectus, Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá, Colombia
- Global Brain Health Institute, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
- Universidad Javeriana, PhD Program of Neuroscience, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Cecilia Okuma
- Neuroscience and East Neuroscience Departments, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Servicio de Neurorradiología, Instituto de Neurocirugía Dr. Asenjo, Servicio de Salud Metropolitano Oriente, Santiago, Chile
| | - Patricio Alegria
- Servicio de Radiología, Hospital Barros Luco Trudeau, San Miguel, Chile
| | - David Huepe
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience, School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
- Global Brain Health Institute, Trinity College Dublin, Dublin, Ireland
- Latin American Brain Health Institute, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago, Chile
- Cognitive Neuroscience Center, Universidad de San Andrés, Buenos Aires, Argentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | | | - Andrea Slachevsky
- Geroscience Center for Brain Health and Metabolism, Santiago, Chile
- Neuropsychology and Clinical Neuroscience Laboratory, Physiopathology Department - ICBM, Neuroscience and East Neuroscience Departments, Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Memory and Neuropsychiatric Center, Neurology Department, Hospital del Salvador and Faculty of Medicine, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
- Servicio de Neurología, Departamento de Medicina, Clínica Alemana-Universidad del Desarrollo, Santiago, Chile
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Ueltzhöffer K, Roth C, Neukel C, Bertsch K, Nüssel F, Herpertz SC. Do I care for you or for me? Processing of protected and non-protected moral values in subjects with extreme scores on the Dark Triad. Eur Arch Psychiatry Clin Neurosci 2022; 273:367-377. [PMID: 36208316 PMCID: PMC9547089 DOI: 10.1007/s00406-022-01489-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Accepted: 08/29/2022] [Indexed: 11/03/2022]
Abstract
Protected moral values facilitate empathic concern for others, who are exposed to an existential threat, so that one spontaneously helps without taking into account utilitarian cost-benefit considerations. Subjects scoring high on the "Dark Triad" machiavellism, psychopathy, and narcissism are prone to ignore such appeals for selfless help. Until now, data on moral processing and moral decision-making following requests for altruistic help, which directly contrast appeals to protected and non-protected values in subjects with high and low scores on Dark Triad traits, have been missing. In this pilot study 25 healthy subjects with high and 27 with low Dark Triad scores participated in this functional magnetic resonance imaging study. We used a script-driven imagery paradigm to directly contrast requests for selfless help appealing to protected versus non-protected, negotiable moral values. Appeals to protected versus non-protected moral values elicited stronger activations in a large network including insula, amygdala, supramarginal gyrus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Non-protected values evoked stronger activation in superior frontal sulcus, occipito-temporal junction, and posterior cingulate cortex. During decision-making, high-scorers on the Dark Triad showed increased activations in the superior parietal lobule, precuneus, and intraparietal sulcus. Behaviorally, protected versus non-protected values strongly reduced the reliance on personal cost-benefit calculations in low-scorers, while high-scorers continued to rely on utilitarian deliberations. Data suggest that appeals to protected versus non-protected values activate distinct brain regions associated with strong moral emotions, other-directed cognition, and rule-based decision-making processes. High-scorers display an increased reliance on cost-benefit calculations, which persists even when protected values are threatened.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kai Ueltzhöffer
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Voßstraße 2, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.83440.3b0000000121901201The Wellcome Centre for Human Neuroimaging, University College London, London, WC1N 3AR UK
| | - Corinna Roth
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Voßstraße 2, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Corinne Neukel
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Voßstraße 2, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Katja Bertsch
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Voßstraße 2, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany ,grid.5252.00000 0004 1936 973XInstitute of Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy, LMU München, 80802 Munich, Germany
| | - Friederike Nüssel
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373German Cancer Center, Heidelberg University, 69117 Heidelberg, Germany
| | - Sabine C. Herpertz
- grid.7700.00000 0001 2190 4373Department of General Psychiatry, Center for Psychosocial Medicine, Heidelberg University, Voßstraße 2, 69115 Heidelberg, Germany
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7
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Domínguez-Borràs J, Vuilleumier P. Amygdala function in emotion, cognition, and behavior. HANDBOOK OF CLINICAL NEUROLOGY 2022; 187:359-380. [PMID: 35964983 DOI: 10.1016/b978-0-12-823493-8.00015-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/15/2023]
Abstract
The amygdala is a core structure in the anterior medial temporal lobe, with an important role in several brain functions involving memory, emotion, perception, social cognition, and even awareness. As a key brain structure for saliency detection, it triggers and controls widespread modulatory signals onto multiple areas of the brain, with a great impact on numerous aspects of adaptive behavior. Here we discuss the neural mechanisms underlying these functions, as established by animal and human research, including insights provided in both healthy and pathological conditions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Judith Domínguez-Borràs
- Department of Clinical Psychology and Psychobiology & Institute of Neurosciences, University of Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Department of Neuroscience and Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
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8
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D’Aurizio G, Santoboni F, Pistoia F, Mandolesi L, Curcio G. Moral Judgement along the Academic Training. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL RESEARCH AND PUBLIC HEALTH 2021; 19:10. [PMID: 35010271 PMCID: PMC8750934 DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19010010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2021] [Revised: 12/16/2021] [Accepted: 12/17/2021] [Indexed: 06/14/2023]
Abstract
Moral reasoning and consequent decision making are central in the everyday life of all people, independent of their profession. It is undoubtedly crucial in the so-called "helping professions", when the professional through his/her decisions can support or not support others. Our study aimed to investigate whether academic training can play an essential role in influencing moral reasoning. We used three different conditions: 20 moral personal, 20 moral impersonal, and 20 nonmoral dilemmas to assessed differences in moral judgement between students of Economics, Medicine, and Psychology at their first year and at the end of university training. We observed a difference between school and year of course: psychology students showing more time when asked to read and answer the proposed questions. Moreover, medical students showed a significant increase in sensitiveness to moral issues as a function of academic ageing, whereas such a moral sense regressed from the first to the fifth year of academic training in other students. Gender was also relevant, with women showing an increased response and reading times compared to than men when asked to cope with moral decisions. This study shows that the main factor driving moral decision making is the faculty to which one is enrolled, significantly modulated by sex and academic seniority.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giulia D’Aurizio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (F.P.)
| | - Fabrizio Santoboni
- Department of Management, Sapienza University of Rome, 00185 Roma, Italy;
| | - Francesca Pistoia
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (F.P.)
| | - Laura Mandolesi
- Department of Humanities Studies, University Federico II, 80138 Napoli, Italy;
| | - Giuseppe Curcio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences, University of L’Aquila, 67100 L’Aquila, Italy; (G.D.); (F.P.)
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9
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Many heads are more utilitarian than one. Cognition 2021; 220:104965. [PMID: 34872034 DOI: 10.1016/j.cognition.2021.104965] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/14/2020] [Revised: 11/15/2021] [Accepted: 11/18/2021] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Moral judgments have a very prominent social nature, and in everyday life, they are continually shaped by discussions with others. Psychological investigations of these judgments, however, have rarely addressed the impact of social interactions. To examine the role of social interaction on moral judgments within small groups, we had groups of 4 to 5 participants judge moral dilemmas first individually and privately, then collectively and interactively, and finally individually a second time. We employed both real-life and sacrificial moral dilemmas in which the character's action or inaction violated a moral principle to benefit the greatest number of people. Participants decided if these utilitarian decisions were morally acceptable or not. In Experiment 1, we found that collective judgments in face-to-face interactions were more utilitarian than the statistical aggregate of their members compared to both first and second individual judgments. This observation supported the hypothesis that deliberation and consensus within a group transiently reduce the emotional burden of norm violation. In Experiment 2, we tested this hypothesis more directly: measuring participants' state anxiety in addition to their moral judgments before, during, and after online interactions, we found again that collectives were more utilitarian than those of individuals and that state anxiety level was reduced during and after social interaction. The utilitarian boost in collective moral judgments is probably due to the reduction of stress in the social setting.
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10
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Ugazio G, Grueschow M, Polania R, Lamm C, Tobler P, Ruff C. Neuro-Computational Foundations of Moral Preferences. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2021; 17:nsab100. [PMID: 34508645 PMCID: PMC8881635 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsab100] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/06/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2021] [Accepted: 09/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Moral preferences pervade many aspects of our lives, dictating how we ought to behave, whom we can marry, and even what we eat. Despite their relevance, one fundamental question remains unanswered: Where do individual moral preferences come from? It is often thought that all types of preferences reflect properties of domain-general neural decision mechanisms that employ a common "neural currency" to value choice options in many different contexts. This view, however, appears at odds with the observation that many humans consider it intuitively wrong to employ the same scale to compare moral value (e.g., of a human life) with material value (e.g., of money). In this paper, we directly test if moral subjective values are represented by similar neural processes as financial subjective values. In a study combining fMRI with a novel behavioral paradigm, we identify neural representations of the subjective values of human lives or financial payoffs by means of structurally identical computational models. Correlating isomorphic model variables from both domains with brain activity reveals specific patterns of neural activity that selectively represent values in the moral (rTPJ) or financial (vmPFC) domain. Intriguingly, our findings show that human lives and money are valued in (at least partially) distinct neural currencies, supporting theoretical proposals that human moral behavior is guided by processes that are distinct from those underlying behavior driven by personal material benefit.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giuseppe Ugazio
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics (ZNE), Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland
- Moral Psychology Research Lab, Department of Psychology, Harvard University Cambridge, Cambridge, MA, USA
- Geneva Finance Research Institute, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Marcus Grueschow
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics (ZNE), Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland
| | - Rafael Polania
- Decision Neuroscience Lab, Department of Health Sciences and Technology, ETH Zurich, Zurich, Switzerland
| | - Claus Lamm
- Social, Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience Unit, Department of Basic Psychological Research and Research Methods, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria
| | - Philippe Tobler
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics (ZNE), Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland
| | - Christian Ruff
- Zurich Center for Neuroeconomics (ZNE), Department of Economics, University of Zurich, Zurich 8006, Switzerland
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11
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Eslinger PJ, Anders S, Ballarini T, Boutros S, Krach S, Mayer AV, Moll J, Newton TL, Schroeter ML, de Oliveira-Souza R, Raber J, Sullivan GB, Swain JE, Lowe L, Zahn R. The neuroscience of social feelings: mechanisms of adaptive social functioning. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2021; 128:592-620. [PMID: 34089764 PMCID: PMC8388127 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2021.05.028] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 12.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/03/2020] [Revised: 01/31/2021] [Accepted: 05/10/2021] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Social feelings have conceptual and empirical connections with affect and emotion. In this review, we discuss how they relate to cognition, emotion, behavior and well-being. We examine the functional neuroanatomy and neurobiology of social feelings and their role in adaptive social functioning. Existing neuroscience literature is reviewed to identify concepts, methods and challenges that might be addressed by social feelings research. Specific topic areas highlight the influence and modulation of social feelings on interpersonal affiliation, parent-child attachments, moral sentiments, interpersonal stressors, and emotional communication. Brain regions involved in social feelings were confirmed by meta-analysis using the Neurosynth platform for large-scale, automated synthesis of functional magnetic resonance imaging data. Words that relate specifically to social feelings were identfied as potential research variables. Topical inquiries into social media behaviors, loneliness, trauma, and social sensitivity, especially with recent physical distancing for guarding public and personal health, underscored the increasing importance of social feelings for affective and second person neuroscience research with implications for brain development, physical and mental health, and lifelong adaptive functioning.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul J Eslinger
- Departments of Neurology, Neural & Behavioral Sciences, Pediatrics, and Radiology, Penn State Hershey Medical Center, Hershey, PA, USA.
| | - Silke Anders
- Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Neurology, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Tommaso Ballarini
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Sydney Boutros
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Sören Krach
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Annalina V Mayer
- Social Neuroscience Lab, Translational Psychiatry Unit, University of Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tamara L Newton
- University of Louisville, Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Matthias L Schroeter
- Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Clinic for Cognitive Neurology, University Hospital Leipzig, Leipzig, Germany
| | - Ricardo de Oliveira-Souza
- Cognitive Neuroscience Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), BR Hospital Universitario, Universidade do Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jacob Raber
- Departments of Behavioral Neuroscience, Neurology, and Radiation Medicine, Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Gavin B Sullivan
- International Psychoanalytic University, Berlin, Germany, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations, Coventry University, UK
| | - James E Swain
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Psychology and Obstetrics and Gynecology, Renaissance School of Medicine at Stony Brook University, Stony Brook, NY, USA
| | | | - Roland Zahn
- Centre for Affective Disorders, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology & Neuroscience, King's College London, UK
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12
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Mueller D, Halfmann K. Dopamine, religiosity, and utilitarian moral judgment. Soc Neurosci 2021; 16:627-638. [PMID: 34461025 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2021.1974935] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
Abstract
Our goal was to examine the relationship between biological and sociocultural factors that predict utilitarian moral judgment. Utilitarian moral judgments occur when a specific action is based on the outcome rather than its consistency with social norms. We predicted that (1) individuals with higher levels of dopamine will make more utilitarian decisions and (2) individuals who express greater religiosity will make less utilitarian judgments. We measured dopamine using spontaneous eyeblink rate, an indirect measure associated with striatal dopaminergic transmission. A total of 96 participants completed a utilitarian moral judgment task where they made judgments regarding nonmoral, impersonal, personal low-conflict, and personal high-conflict moral dilemmas. Then, participants completed a questionnaire measuring religiosity. We found a negative relationship between religiosity and the proportion of "yes" judgments participants made in the high-conflict personal dilemmas, which was consistent with our second hypothesis. None of our other hypotheses were supported. Understanding biological and cultural factors that relate to utilitarian moral judgment may also help in developing artificial intelligence that more closely mimic human behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dana Mueller
- Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, MN, USA.,Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville, WI, USA
| | - Kameko Halfmann
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Platteville, WI, USA
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De Filippi E, Wolter M, Melo BRP, Tierra-Criollo CJ, Bortolini T, Deco G, Moll J. Classification of Complex Emotions Using EEG and Virtual Environment: Proof of Concept and Therapeutic Implication. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:711279. [PMID: 34512297 PMCID: PMC8427812 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.711279] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2021] [Accepted: 07/29/2021] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Abstract
During the last decades, neurofeedback training for emotional self-regulation has received significant attention from scientific and clinical communities. Most studies have investigated emotions using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), including the real-time application in neurofeedback training. However, the electroencephalogram (EEG) is a more suitable tool for therapeutic application. Our study aims at establishing a method to classify discrete complex emotions (e.g., tenderness and anguish) elicited through a near-immersive scenario that can be later used for EEG-neurofeedback. EEG-based affective computing studies have mainly focused on emotion classification based on dimensions, commonly using passive elicitation through single-modality stimuli. Here, we integrated both passive and active elicitation methods. We recorded electrophysiological data during emotion-evoking trials, combining emotional self-induction with a multimodal virtual environment. We extracted correlational and time-frequency features, including frontal-alpha asymmetry (FAA), using Complex Morlet Wavelet convolution. Thinking about future real-time applications, we performed within-subject classification using 1-s windows as samples and we applied trial-specific cross-validation. We opted for a traditional machine-learning classifier with low computational complexity and sufficient validation in online settings, the Support Vector Machine. Results of individual-based cross-validation using the whole feature sets showed considerable between-subject variability. The individual accuracies ranged from 59.2 to 92.9% using time-frequency/FAA and 62.4 to 92.4% using correlational features. We found that features of the temporal, occipital, and left-frontal channels were the most discriminative between the two emotions. Our results show that the suggested pipeline is suitable for individual-based classification of discrete emotions, paving the way for future personalized EEG-neurofeedback training.
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Affiliation(s)
- Eleonora De Filippi
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Mara Wolter
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Bruno R. P. Melo
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Biomedical Engineering Program, Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa de Engenharia, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Carlos J. Tierra-Criollo
- Biomedical Engineering Program, Instituto Alberto Luiz Coimbra de Pós-Graduação e Pesquisa de Engenharia, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tiago Bortolini
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Gustavo Deco
- Computational Neuroscience Group, Center for Brain and Cognition, Department of Information and Communication Technologies, Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain
- Institució Catalana de la Recerca i Estudis Avançats, Barcelona, Spain
- Department of Neuropsychology, Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences, Leipzig, Germany
- Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
| | - Jorge Moll
- Cognitive Neuroscience and Neuroinformatics Unit, D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
- Scients Institute, Palo Alto, CA, United States
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Predicting participants' attitudes from patterns of event-related potentials during the reading of morally relevant statements - An MVPA investigation. Neuropsychologia 2021; 153:107768. [PMID: 33516731 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2021.107768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/18/2020] [Revised: 01/13/2021] [Accepted: 01/25/2021] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Morality and language are hardly separable, given that morality-related aspects such as knowledge, emotions, or experiences are connected with language on different levels. One question that arises is: How rapidly do neural processes set in when processing statements that reflect moral value containing information? In the current study, participants read sentences about morally relevant statements (e.g., 'Wars are acceptable') and expressed their (dis)agreement with the statements while their electroencephalogram (EEG) was recorded. Multivariate pattern classification (MVPA) was used during language processing to predict the individual's response. Our results show that (1) the response ('yes' vs. 'no') could be predicted from 180 ms following the decision-relevant word (here acceptable), and (2) the attitude (pro vs. contra the topic) could be predicted from 170 ms following the topic word (here wars). We suggest that the successful MVPA classification is due to different brain activity patterns evoked by differences in activated mental representations (e.g. valence, arousal, etc.) depending on whether the attitude towards the topic is positive or negative and whether it is in accordance with the presented decisive word or not.
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Balconi M, Fronda G. Morality and management: an oxymoron? fNIRS and neuromanagement perspective explain us why things are not like this. COGNITIVE, AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2020; 20:1336-1348. [PMID: 33123863 PMCID: PMC7716886 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-020-00841-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 09/29/2020] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
The neuroscience interest for moral decision-making has recently increased. To investigate the processes underlying moral behavior, this research aimed to investigate neurophysiological and behavioral correlates of decision-making in moral contexts. Specifically, functional Near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) allowed to record oxygenated (O2Hb) and deoxygenated (HHb) cerebral hemoglobin concentrations during different moral conditions (professional fit, company fit, social fit) and offers types (fair, unfair, neutral). Moreover, individuals' responses to offers types and reaction time (RTs) were considered. Specifically, from hemodynamic results emerged a difference in O2Hb and HHb activity according to moral conditions and offers types in different brain regions. In particular, O2Hb increase and a HHb decrease were observed in ventromedial and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (VMPFC, DLPFC) for fair offers in professional fit condition and in superior temporal sulcus (STS) for unfair offers in social fit condition. Moreover, an increase of left O2Hb activity in professional fit condition and in right VMPFC for unfair offers in company fit condition was observed. In addition, from behavioral results, an RTs increase in company and social fit condition for fair and unfair offers emerged. This study, therefore, shows the behavioral and neurophysiological correlates of moral decision-making that guide moral behavior in different context, such as company one.
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Affiliation(s)
- Michela Balconi
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
- Research Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy
| | - Giulia Fronda
- Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy.
- Research Unit in Affective and Social Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, Catholic University of the Sacred Heart, Milan, Italy.
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Bretl BL. Neural and Linguistic Considerations for Assessing Moral Intuitions Using Text-Based Stimuli. THE JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 155:90-114. [PMID: 33180682 DOI: 10.1080/00223980.2020.1832034] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/23/2022] Open
Abstract
This review takes a focused look at neural and linguistic considerations for assessing moral intuitions using text-based stimuli. Relevant neural correlates of moral salience, emotional processing, moral emotions (shame and guilt), semantic processing, implicit stereotype activation (e.g., gender, age, and race stereotypes), and functional brain network development (the default mode network and salience network) are considered insofar as they relate to unique considerations for text-based instruments. What emerge are not only key considerations for researchers assessing moral intuitions using text-based stimuli but also considerations for the study of moral psychology more broadly, especially in developmental and educational contexts.
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Contreras-Huerta LS, Pisauro MA, Apps MAJ. Effort shapes social cognition and behaviour: A neuro-cognitive framework. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 118:426-439. [PMID: 32818580 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.08.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 25] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2020] [Revised: 07/13/2020] [Accepted: 08/08/2020] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
Abstract
Theoretical accounts typically posit that variability in social behaviour is a function of capacity limits. We argue that many social behaviours are goal-directed and effortful, and thus variability is not just a function of capacity, but also motivation. Leveraging recent work examining the cognitive, computational and neural basis of effort processing, we put forward a framework for motivated social cognition. We argue that social cognition is demanding, people avoid its effort costs, and a core-circuit of brain areas that guides effort-based decisions in non-social situations may similarly evaluate whether social behaviours are worth the effort. Thus, effort sensitivity dissociates capacity limits from social motivation, and may be a driver of individual differences and pathological impairments in social cognition.
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Affiliation(s)
- Luis Sebastian Contreras-Huerta
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, UK.
| | - M Andrea Pisauro
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK.
| | - Matthew A J Apps
- Department of Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford, OX2 6GG, UK; Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, University of Oxford, UK; Centre for Human Brain Health, School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK; Christ Church College, University of Oxford, UK.
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Zahn R, Lythe K, Gethin J, Green S, Deakin J, Workman C, Moll J. Negative emotions towards others are diminished in remitted major depression. Eur Psychiatry 2020; 30:448-53. [DOI: 10.1016/j.eurpsy.2015.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 32] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/06/2014] [Revised: 12/01/2014] [Accepted: 02/02/2015] [Indexed: 01/22/2023] Open
Abstract
AbstractBackground:One influential view is that vulnerability to major depressive disorder (MDD) is associated with a proneness to experience negative emotions in general. In contrast, blame attribution theories emphasise the importance of blaming oneself rather than others for negative events. Our previous exploratory study provided support for the attributional hypothesis that patients with remitted MDD show no overall bias towards negative emotions, but a selective bias towards emotions entailing self-blame relative to emotions that entail blaming others. More specifically, we found a decreased proneness for contempt/disgust towards others relative to oneself (i.e. self-contempt bias). Here, we report a definitive test of the competing general negative versus specific attributional bias theories of MDD.Methods:We compared a medication-free remitted MDD (n = 101) and a control group (n = 70) with no family or personal history of MDD on a previously validated experimental test of moral emotions. The task measures proneness to specific emotions associated with different types of self-blame (guilt, shame, self-contempt/disgust, self-indignation/anger) and blame of others (other-indignation/anger, other-contempt/disgust) whilst controlling for the intensity of unpleasantness.Results:We confirmed the hypothesis that patients with MDD exhibit an increased self-contempt bias with a reduction in contempt/disgust towards others. Furthermore, they also showed a decreased proneness for indignation/anger towards others.Conclusions:This corroborates the prediction that vulnerability to MDD is associated with an imbalance of specific self- and other-blaming emotions rather than a general increase in negative emotions. This has important implications for neurocognitive models and calls for novel focussed interventions to rebalance blame in MDD.
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Zahn R, de Oliveira-Souza R, Moll J. Moral Motivation and the Basal Forebrain. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:207-217. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.10.022] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/28/2019] [Revised: 10/24/2019] [Accepted: 10/28/2019] [Indexed: 12/31/2022]
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20
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Katayama N, Nakagawa A, Umeda S, Terasawa Y, Kurata C, Tabuchi H, Kikuchi T, Mimura M. Frontopolar cortex activation associated with pessimistic future-thinking in adults with major depressive disorder. NEUROIMAGE-CLINICAL 2019; 23:101877. [PMID: 31170685 PMCID: PMC6551553 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2019.101877] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/22/2019] [Revised: 04/27/2019] [Accepted: 05/25/2019] [Indexed: 01/19/2023]
Abstract
Background Pessimistic thinking about the future is one of the cardinal symptoms of major depressive disorder (MDD) and is an important domain of cognitive functioning associated with hopelessness. Neuroimaging studies have shown that the frontopolar cortex (Brodmann area [BA] 10) is involved in thinking about the future and demonstrated that patients with MDD have dysfunctions in BA10. However, the relationship between pessimistic thinking about the future and brain activity is unclear. Hence, we aimed to compare brain activity during future-thinking between patients with MDD and healthy individuals. Methods We assessed 23 patients with current MDD and 23 healthy individuals. Participants were instructed to imagine the future or to recall the past using the future-thinking paradigm with four distinct temporal conditions (distant future, near future, distant past, and near past) during functional MRI. Resting-state functional MRI was also performed to explore the functional connectivity of BA10. Results Compared with healthy individuals, patients with MDD had greater negative thinking about the distant future and exhibited increased activation in the medial BA10 when imagining the distant future, following small-volume correction focusing on the frontopolar a priori region of interest (family-wise error correction p < 0.05). Increased positive functional correlation between the right BA10 seed region and the posterior cingulate cortex was also observed. Conclusion Patients with MDD who show greater pessimistic thinking about the distant future demonstrate increased activation in the frontopolar cortex. These findings are consistent with the hypothesis that frontopolar cortical dysfunction plays a key role in the hopelessness that manifests in patients with MDD. Pessimistic thinking about the future is one of the cardinal symptoms of MDD. Patients with MDD showed greater negative thinking about the distant future. MDD who show greater pessimistic future-thinking demonstrate higher activation in the frontopolar cortex (BA10). Resting-functional connectivity from right BA10 to PCC was increased in MDD. Frontopolar cortical dysfunction may play a key role in the hopelessness that manifests in patients with MDD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nariko Katayama
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Atsuo Nakagawa
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan; Clinical and Translational Research Center, Keio University Hospital, Tokyo, Japan.
| | - Satoshi Umeda
- Department of Psychology, Keio University Faculty of Letters, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Yuri Terasawa
- Department of Psychology, Keio University Faculty of Letters, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Chika Kurata
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Hajime Tabuchi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Toshiaki Kikuchi
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
| | - Masaru Mimura
- Department of Neuropsychiatry, Keio University School of Medicine, Tokyo, Japan
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21
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Neural variability quenching during decision-making: Neural individuality and its prestimulus complexity. Neuroimage 2019; 192:1-14. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.02.070] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2018] [Revised: 01/31/2019] [Accepted: 02/27/2019] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
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Ziaei M, Togha M, Rahimian E, Persson J. The Causal Role of Right Frontopolar Cortex in Moral Judgment, Negative Emotion Induction, and Executive Control. Basic Clin Neurosci 2019; 10:37-48. [PMID: 31031892 PMCID: PMC6484187 DOI: 10.32598/bcn.9.10.225] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/09/2017] [Revised: 08/05/2017] [Accepted: 12/04/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction: Converging evidence suggests that both emotional and cognitive processes are critically involved in moral judgment, and may be mediated by discrete parts of the prefrontal cortex. The current study aimed at investigating the mediatory effect of right Frontopolar Cortex (rFPC) on the way that emotions affect moral judgments. Methods: Six adult patients affected by rFPC and 10 healthy controls were included in the study. Participants made judgements on moral dilemmas after being shown either neutral or emotional pictures. The role of rFPC in executive control and emotional experience was also examined. Results: The study results showed that inducing an emotional state increased the number of utilitarian responses both in the patients and controls. However, no significant differences were observed between the patients and controls in response time or the number of utilitarian responses. Also, no significant differences were observed in personal and impersonal dilemmas before and after the emotion induction in intergroup comparisons. Results of the executive control tasks showed reduced performance in patients affected by rFPC compared with the controls. Conclusion: The results of the current study suggested that rFPC might not have a direct role in mediating emotional processes during moral judgments, but possibly this region is important in a network supporting executive control functions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Maryam Ziaei
- Centre for Advanced Imaging, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia.,School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Australia
| | - Mansoureh Togha
- Department of Headache, Iranian Center of Neurological Research, Neuroscience Institute, Tehran University of Medical Sciences, Tehran, Iran
| | | | - Jonas Persson
- Aging Research Center (ARC), Karolinska Institute and Stockholm University, Stockholm, Sweden
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Sevinc G, Lazar SW. How does mindfulness training improve moral cognition: a theoretical and experimental framework for the study of embodied ethics. Curr Opin Psychol 2019; 28:268-272. [PMID: 30959379 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2019.02.006] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/20/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2019] [Accepted: 02/13/2019] [Indexed: 01/22/2023]
Abstract
Mindfulness meditation has been primarily studied within the context of individual's psychological well being and/or in relation to it's potential to enhance cognitive skills such as attention and working memory. However, in Buddhism, mindfulness is used as a tool to cultivate wholesome actions, and as a means to promote virtuous, prosocial qualities. In this article, we postulate that heightened awareness of physiological and mental phenomena following mindfulness training may contribute to altered processing of morally relevant information and promote moral action. We will first briefly summarize neuroscientific investigations into moral cognition, and then provide a theoretical and an experimental framework for the investigation of the relationship between mindfulness and ethical behavior.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gunes Sevinc
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA.
| | - Sara W Lazar
- Department of Psychiatry, Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
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24
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Buchweitz A, de Azeredo LA, Sanvicente-Vieira B, Metsavaht Cará V, Bianchini Esper N, Soder RB, da Costa JC, Portuguez MW, Franco AR, Grassi-Oliveira R. Violence and Latin-American preadolescents: A study of social brain function and cortisol levels. Dev Sci 2019; 22:e12799. [PMID: 30648778 DOI: 10.1111/desc.12799] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/06/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 12/27/2022]
Abstract
The present study investigated exposure to violence and its association with brain function and hair cortisol concentrations in Latin-American preadolescents. Self-reported victimization scores (JVQ-R2), brain imaging (fMRI) indices for a social cognition task (the 'eyes test'), and hair cortisol concentrations were investigated, for the first time, in this population. The eyes test is based on two conditions: attributing mental state or sex to pictures of pairs of eyes (Baron-Cohen, Wheelwright, Hill, Raste, & Plumb, 2001). The results showed an association among higher victimization scores and (a) less activation of posterior temporoparietal right-hemisphere areas, in the mental state condition only (including right temporal sulcus and fusiform gyrus); (b) higher functional connectivity indices for the Amygdala and Right Fusiform Gyrus (RFFG) pair of brain regions, also in the mental state condition only; (c) higher hair cortisol concentrations. The results suggest more exposure to violence is associated with significant differences in brain function and connectivity. A putative mechanism of less activation in posterior right-hemisphere regions and of synchronized Amygdala: RFFG time series was identified in the mental state condition only. The results also suggest measurable effects of exposure to violence in hair cortisol concentrations, which contribute to the reliability of self-reported scores by young adolescents. The findings are discussed in light of the effects of exposure to violence on brain function and on social-cognitive development in the adolescent brain. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHcXq7Y9PBk.
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Affiliation(s)
- Augusto Buchweitz
- PUCRS, Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Medicine, Graduate Program of Medicine, Neurosciences, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Health Sciences, Graduate Program of Psychology, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Lucas Araújo de Azeredo
- PUCRS, Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Medicine, Graduate Program of Medicine, Neurosciences, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Breno Sanvicente-Vieira
- PUCRS, Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Health Sciences, Graduate Program of Psychology, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Valentina Metsavaht Cará
- PUCRS, Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Medicine, Graduate Program of Medicine, Neurosciences, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | - Nathália Bianchini Esper
- PUCRS, Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Medicine, Graduate Program of Medicine, Neurosciences, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | - Jaderson Costa da Costa
- PUCRS, Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Medicine, Graduate Program of Medicine, Neurosciences, Porto Alegre, Brazil
| | | | - Alexandre Rosa Franco
- PUCRS, Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,Center for Biomedical Imaging and Neuromodulation, Nathan S. Kline Institute for Psychiatric Research, Orangeburg, NY.,Center for the Developing Brain, Child Mind Institute, New York, NY
| | - Rodrigo Grassi-Oliveira
- PUCRS, Brain Institute of Rio Grande do Sul (BraIns), Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Medicine, Graduate Program of Medicine, Neurosciences, Porto Alegre, Brazil.,PUCRS, School of Health Sciences, Graduate Program of Psychology, Porto Alegre, Brazil
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The neural correlates of integrated aesthetics between moral and facial beauty. Sci Rep 2019; 9:1980. [PMID: 30760800 PMCID: PMC6374424 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-019-38553-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2018] [Accepted: 12/28/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Facial beauty and moral beauty have been suggested to be two significant forms of social aesthetics. However, it remains unknown the extent to which there are neural underpinnings of the integration of these two forms of beauty. In the present study, participants were asked to make general aesthetic judgments of facial portraits and moral descriptions while collecting fMRI data. The facial portrait and moral description were randomly paired. Neurally, the appreciation of facial beauty and moral beauty recruited a common network involving the middle occipital gyrus (MOG) and medial orbitofrontal cortex (mOFC). The activities of the mOFC varied across aesthetic conditions, while the MOG was specifically activated in the most beautiful condition. In addition, there was a bilateral insular cortex response to ugliness specifically in the congruent aesthetic conditions, while SMA was selectively responsive to the most ugly condition. Activity associated with aesthetic conflict between facial and moral aesthetic information was limited to the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), with enhanced response to the incongruent condition compared to the congruent condition. These findings provide novel neural evidence for the integrated aesthetics of social beauty and suggest that integrated aesthetics is a more complex cognitive process than aesthetics restricted to a single modality.
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Moreira LV, Souza MLD, Guerra VM. Validity evidence of a Brazilian version of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire. PSICOLOGIA: TEORIA E PESQUISA 2019. [DOI: 10.1590/0102.3772e35513] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/21/2022] Open
Abstract
Abstract Morality is a human phenomenon that involves sensitivity and skills developed by the individual throughout their social life. Considering the importance of measuring the moral concerns of adults, this paper sought validity evidence for a Brazilian version of the Moral Foundations Questionnaire. Two studies were conducted, using exploratory and confirmatory factor analysis. In the first study, 341 adults (63% women) responded to the on-line questionnaire translated and adapted to Brazilian Portuguese. The results indicated a two-factor structure, and reduced items. In the second study, 371 adults (61% women) participated. Results confirmed the two-factor structure (binding morality and individualizing morality). We conclude that the QFM has satisfactory psychometric properties for use in research.
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Pujol J, Harrison BJ, Contreras-Rodriguez O, Cardoner N. The contribution of brain imaging to the understanding of psychopathy. Psychol Med 2019; 49:20-31. [PMID: 30207255 DOI: 10.1017/s0033291718002507] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Psychopathy is a personality type characterized by both callous emotional dysfunction and deviant behavior that affects society in the form of actions that harm others. Historically, researchers have been concerned with seeking data and arguments to support a neurobiological foundation of psychopathy. In the past few years, increasing research has begun to reveal brain alterations putatively underlying the enigmatic psychopathic personality. In this review, we describe the brain anatomical and functional features that characterize psychopathy from a synthesis of available neuroimaging research and discuss how such brain anomalies may account for psychopathic behavior. The results are consistent in showing anatomical alterations involving primarily a ventral system connecting the anterior temporal lobe to anterior and ventral frontal areas, and a dorsal system connecting the medial frontal lobe to the posterior cingulate cortex/precuneus complex and, in turn, to medial structures of the temporal lobe. Functional imaging data indicate that relevant emotional flow breakdown may occur in both these brain systems and suggest specific mechanisms via which emotion is anomalously integrated into cognition in psychopathic individuals during moral challenge. Directions for future research are delineated emphasizing, for instance, the relevance of further establishing the contribution of early life stress to a learned blockage of emotional self-exposure, and the potential role of androgenic hormones in the development of cortical anomalies.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jesus Pujol
- MRI Research Unit, Department of Radiology,Hospital del Mar,CIBERSAM G21, Barcelona,Spain
| | - Ben J Harrison
- Department of Psychiatry,Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, The University of Melbourne and Melbourne Health,Melbourne,Australia
| | - Oren Contreras-Rodriguez
- Psychiatry Department,Bellvitge University Hospital, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL,CIBERSAM G17, Barcelona,Spain
| | - Narcis Cardoner
- Department of Mental Health, Corporació Sanitaria Parc Taulí, Sabadell, and Department of Psychiatry,Autonomous University of Barcelona,Barcelona,Spain
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Liu G, Zeng G, Wang F, Rotshtein P, Peng K, Sui J. Praising others differently: neuroanatomical correlates to individual differences in trait gratitude and elevation. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:1225-1234. [PMID: 30351412 PMCID: PMC6277740 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy093] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/15/2018] [Accepted: 10/18/2018] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Differing from basic emotions such as happiness, gratitude and elevation are important other-praising emotions. Previous behavioral studies have established that these complex emotions differ from each other; however, it remains under-investigated whether proneness to these emotions have common or distinct neuroanatomical correlates. Here we used voxel-based morphometry to identify the common and distinct neuroanatomical correlates of trait (i.e. proneness to) gratitude and elevation. We used the Gratitude Questionnaire-6 and the trait elevation scale to measure these affective traits. We demonstrated that trait gratitude was positively correlated with gray matter volume (GMV) in the left cerebellum extending to fusiform gyrus, and also the right middle occipital gyrus (MOG) extending to posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) and temporoparietal junction (TPJ), while trait elevation was negatively
correlated with GMV in the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. While controlling each other, all the regions still held significant, except the right MOG and pSTS/TPJ. The results indicate that there are distinct neuroanatomical correlates for proneness to gratitude and elevation, while the evidence is mixed that pSTS/TPJ may be the common correlates for them. The implications of these findings are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Guanmin Liu
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Guang Zeng
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Fei Wang
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Pia Rotshtein
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, Birmingham, UK
| | - Kaiping Peng
- Department of Psychology, Tsinghua University, Beijing, China
| | - Jie Sui
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, UK
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Selective changes in moral judgment by noninvasive brain stimulation of the medial prefrontal cortex. COGNITIVE AFFECTIVE & BEHAVIORAL NEUROSCIENCE 2018; 19:797-810. [PMID: 30411201 DOI: 10.3758/s13415-018-00664-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Multiple cortical networks intervene in moral judgment, among which the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the medial prefrontal structures (medial PFC) emerged as two major territories, which have been traditionally attributed, respectively, to cognitive control and affective reactions. However, some recent theoretical and empirical accounts disputed this dualistic approach to moral evaluation. In the present study, to further assess the functional contribution of the medial PFC in moral judgment, we modulated its cortical excitability by means of transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) and tracked the change in response to different types of moral dilemmas, including switch-like and footbridge-like moral dilemmas, with and without personal involvement. One hundred participants (50 males) completed a questionnaire to assess the baseline levels of deontology. Next, participants were randomly assigned to receive anodal, sham, or cathodal tDCS over the medial prefrontal structures and then were asked to address a series of dilemmas. The results showed that participants who received anodal stimulation over the medial PFC provided more utilitarian responses to switch-like (but not footbridge-like) dilemmas than those who received cathodal tDCS. We also found that neurostimulation modulated the influence that deontology has on moral choices. Specifically, in the anodal tDCS group, participants' decisions were less likely to be influenced by their baseline levels of deontology compared with the sham or cathodal groups. Overall, our results seem to refute a functional role of the medial prefrontal structures purely restricted to affective reactions for moral dilemmas, providing new insights on the functional contribution of the medial PFC in moral judgment.
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30
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Respect and admiration differentially activate the anterior temporal lobe. Neurosci Res 2018; 144:40-47. [PMID: 30208305 DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2018.09.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/18/2017] [Revised: 08/18/2018] [Accepted: 09/07/2018] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Admiration and respect are positive social emotions often experienced when recognizing excellent behavior in another person. Although both strongly rely on appraisal of behavior, admiration focuses on the admirable behavior of a person, while respect focuses on the person as a whole. The evaluation and interpretation of the social behavior of another person are dependent on semantic memory. Social semantic knowledge is represented in the anterior temporal lobe (ATL), and ATL activity is modulated by conceptual details of semantic knowledge. As respect requires evaluation of not only excellent behavior but also of the person as a whole, we hypothesized that the ATL is differentially activated by admiration and respect. To test our hypothesis, we conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging experiments. We presented participants with vignettes describing admirable behavior of fictitious characters and asked them to imagine and report how they would normally feel when encountering the situation described in the vignettes, i.e., admiration or respect and its intensity. A part of the left ATL was more strongly modulated by the intensity of respect than of admiration. Although admiration and respect are often considered to be closely related, our results indicate that the neural substrates underlying these emotions are different.
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31
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Gifuni AJ, Kendal A, Jollant F. Neural mapping of guilt: a quantitative meta-analysis of functional imaging studies. Brain Imaging Behav 2018; 11:1164-1178. [PMID: 27704409 DOI: 10.1007/s11682-016-9606-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
Abstract
Guilt is a self-conscious emotion associated with the negative appraisal of one's behavior. In recent years, several neuroimaging studies have investigated the neural correlates of guilt, but no meta-analyses have yet identified the most robust activation patterns. A systematic review of literature found 16 functional magnetic resonance imaging studies with whole-brain analyses meeting the inclusion criteria, for a total of 325 participants and 135 foci of activation. A meta-analysis was then conducted using activation likelihood estimation. Additionally, Meta-Analytic Connectivity Modeling (MACM) analysis was conducted to investigate the functional connectivity of significant clusters. The analysis revealed 12 significant clusters of brain activation (voxel-based FDR-corrected p < 0.05) located in the prefrontal, temporal and parietal regions, mainly in the left hemisphere. Only the left dorsal cingulate cluster survived stringent FWE correction (voxel-based p < 0.05). Secondary analyses (voxel-based FDR-corrected p < 0.05) on the 7 studies contrasting guilt with another emotional condition showed an association with clusters in the left precuneus, the anterior cingulate, the left medial frontal gyrus, the right superior frontal gyrus and the left superior temporal gyrus. MACM demonstrated that regions associated with guilt are highly interconnected. Our analysis identified a distributed neural network of left-lateralized regions associated with guilt. While voxel-based FDR-corrected results should be considered exploratory, the dorsal cingulate was robustly associated with guilt. We speculate that this network integrates cognitive and emotional processes involved in the experience of guilt, including self-representation, theory of mind, conflict monitoring and moral values. Limitations of our meta-analyses comprise the small sample size and the heterogeneity of included studies, and concerns about naturalistic validity.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony J Gifuni
- Department of Psychiatry & Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, McGill University, Frank B. Common building, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Montréal, Québec, H4H1R3, Canada
| | - Adam Kendal
- Department of Psychiatry & Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, McGill University, Frank B. Common building, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Montréal, Québec, H4H1R3, Canada
| | - Fabrice Jollant
- Department of Psychiatry & Douglas Mental Health University Institute, McGill Group for Suicide Studies, McGill University, Frank B. Common building, 6875 LaSalle Boulevard, Montréal, Québec, H4H1R3, Canada. .,Department of Psychiatry, Academic Hospital (CHU) of Nîmes, Nîmes, France.
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Fontenelle LF, Frydman I, Hoefle S, Oliveira-Souza R, Vigne P, Bortolini TS, Suo C, Yücel M, Mattos P, Moll J. Decoding moral emotions in obsessive-compulsive disorder. Neuroimage Clin 2018; 19:82-89. [PMID: 30035005 PMCID: PMC6051311 DOI: 10.1016/j.nicl.2018.04.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/08/2017] [Revised: 03/07/2018] [Accepted: 04/01/2018] [Indexed: 11/20/2022]
Abstract
Background Patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) exhibit abnormal neural responses when they experience particular emotions or when they evaluate stimuli with emotional value. Whether these brain responses are sufficiently distinctive to discriminate between OCD patients and healthy controls is unknown. The present study is the first to investigate the discriminative power of multivariate pattern analysis of regional fMRI responses to moral and non-moral emotions. Method To accomplish this goal, we performed a searchlight-based multivariate pattern analysis to unveil brain regions that could discriminate 18 OCD patients from 18 matched healthy controls during provoked guilt, disgust, compassion, and anger. We also investigated the existence of distinctive neural patterns while combining those four emotions (herein termed multiemotion analysis). Results We found that different frontostriatal regions discriminated OCD patients from controls based on individual emotional experiences. Most notably, the left nucleus accumbens (NAcc) discriminated OCD patients from controls during both disgust and the multiemotion analysis. Among other regions, the angular gyrus responses to anger and the lingual and the middle temporal gyri in the multi-emotion analysis were highly discriminant between samples. Additional BOLD analyses supported the directionality of these findings. Conclusions In line with previous studies, differential activity in regions beyond the frontostriatal circuitry differentiates OCD from healthy volunteers. The finding that the response of the left NAcc to different basic and moral emotions is highly discriminative for a diagnosis of OCD confirms current pathophysiological models and points to new venues of research.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo F Fontenelle
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Brain & Mental Health Laboratory, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia; Obsessive, Compulsive, and Anxiety Spectrum Research Program, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
| | - Ilana Frydman
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Obsessive, Compulsive, and Anxiety Spectrum Research Program, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Sebastian Hoefle
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | | | - Paula Vigne
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil; Obsessive, Compulsive, and Anxiety Spectrum Research Program, Institute of Psychiatry, Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Tiago S Bortolini
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Chao Suo
- Brain & Mental Health Laboratory, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Murat Yücel
- Brain & Mental Health Laboratory, Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
| | - Paulo Mattos
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
| | - Jorge Moll
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education (IDOR), Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
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Stimulated left DLPFC-nucleus accumbens functional connectivity predicts the anti-depression and anti-anxiety effects of rTMS for depression. Transl Psychiatry 2018; 7:3. [PMID: 29520002 PMCID: PMC5843586 DOI: 10.1038/s41398-017-0005-6] [Citation(s) in RCA: 53] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022] Open
Abstract
Not all depression patients effectively respond to repeated transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS). We tested whether the intrinsic functional connectivity (FC) strength between the stimulated left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and left nucleus accumbens (NAcc) might predict effects of rTMS. Twenty-two medication-naïve depression patients received rTMS on left DLPFC for 2 weeks and underwent baseline functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We compared the amplitude of the low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) and regional homogeneity (ReHo) in the stimulated target (the cortex region directly stimulated by rTMS) located in the left DLPFC, and the left NAcc, as well as the intrinsic FC of the DLPFC-NAcc between early improvers and non-improvers. We evaluated the association between the baseline brain imaging features (ALFF, ReHo, and FC) and improvements in depression and anxiety symptoms. We found that the pretreatment ALFF and ReHo in the stimulated DLPFC and left NAcc did not significantly differ between the subgroups. The early improvers displayed increased negative FC strength between the stimulated DLPFC and left NAcc with respect to non-improvers. The stimulated DLPFC-NAcc FC strength negatively correlated with improved depressive and anxious symptoms. This study is the first to demonstrate that the resting-state FC of the stimulated DLPFC-NAcc, rather than regional brain activity or local synchronization in the stimulated target, might predict the anti-depression and anti-anxiety effects of rTMS for depression.
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34
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Santamaría-García H, Baez S, Reyes P, Santamaría-García JA, Santacruz-Escudero JM, Matallana D, Arévalo A, Sigman M, García AM, Ibáñez A. A lesion model of envy and Schadenfreude: legal, deservingness and moral dimensions as revealed by neurodegeneration. Brain 2017; 140:3357-3377. [PMID: 29112719 PMCID: PMC5841144 DOI: 10.1093/brain/awx269] [Citation(s) in RCA: 57] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/21/2017] [Accepted: 08/21/2017] [Indexed: 12/19/2022] Open
Abstract
The study of moral emotions (i.e. Schadenfreude and envy) is critical to understand the ecological complexity of everyday interactions between cognitive, affective, and social cognition processes. Most previous studies in this area have used correlational imaging techniques and framed Schadenfreude and envy as unified and monolithic emotional domains. Here, we profit from a relevant neurodegeneration model to disentangle the brain regions engaged in three dimensions of Schadenfreude and envy: deservingness, morality, and legality. We tested a group of patients with behavioural variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD), patients with Alzheimer’s disease, as a contrastive neurodegeneration model, and healthy controls on a novel task highlighting each of these dimensions in scenarios eliciting Schadenfreude and envy. Compared with the Alzheimer’s disease and control groups, patients with bvFTD obtained significantly higher scores on all dimensions for both emotions. Correlational analyses revealed an association between envy and Schadenfreude scores and greater deficits in social cognition, inhibitory control, and behaviour disturbances in bvFTD patients. Brain anatomy findings (restricted to bvFTD and controls) confirmed the partially dissociable nature of the moral emotions’ experiences and highlighted the importance of socio-moral brain areas in processing those emotions. In all subjects, an association emerged between Schadenfreude and the ventral striatum, and between envy and the anterior cingulate cortex. In addition, the results supported an association between scores for moral and legal transgression and the morphology of areas implicated in emotional appraisal, including the amygdala and the parahippocampus. By contrast, bvFTD patients exhibited a negative association between increased Schadenfreude and envy across dimensions and critical regions supporting social-value rewards and social-moral processes (dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, angular gyrus and precuneus). Together, this study provides lesion-based evidence for the multidimensional nature of the emotional experiences of envy and Schadenfreude. Our results offer new insights into the mechanisms subsuming complex emotions and moral cognition in neurodegeneration. Moreover, this study presents the exacerbation of envy and Schadenfreude as a new potential hallmark of bvFTD that could impact in diagnosis and progression.
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Affiliation(s)
- Hernando Santamaría-García
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición. Intellectus-Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá Colombia.,Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departments of Physiology, Psychiatry and Aging Institute Bogotá, Colombia.,Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Grupo de Investigación en Cerebro y Cognición Social, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Sandra Baez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Grupo de Investigación en Cerebro y Cognición Social, Bogotá, Colombia.,Universidad de los Andes, Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Pablo Reyes
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición. Intellectus-Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá Colombia.,Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departments of Physiology, Psychiatry and Aging Institute Bogotá, Colombia
| | | | - José M Santacruz-Escudero
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición. Intellectus-Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá Colombia.,Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departments of Physiology, Psychiatry and Aging Institute Bogotá, Colombia.,Departament de Psiquiatria i Medicina Legal, Universidad Autónoma de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Diana Matallana
- Centro de Memoria y Cognición. Intellectus-Hospital Universitario San Ignacio, Bogotá Colombia.,Pontificia Universidad Javeriana, Departments of Physiology, Psychiatry and Aging Institute Bogotá, Colombia
| | - Analía Arévalo
- Departamento de Neurologia, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade de Sao Paulo (FMUSP), Sao Paulo, Brazil
| | - Mariano Sigman
- Universidad Torcuato di Tella, Laboratorio de Neurociencias, Buenos Aires, Argentina
| | - Adolfo M García
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Faculty of Education, National University of Cuyo (UNCuyo), Mendoza, Argentina
| | - Agustín Ibáñez
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN), Institute of Cognitive and Translational Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro University, Buenos Aires, Argentina.,National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.,Universidad Autónoma del Caribe, Barranquilla, Colombia.,Center for Social and Cognitive Neuroscience (CSCN), School of Psychology, Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez, Santiago de Chile, Chile.,Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence in Cognition and its Disorders, Sydney, Australia
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Van den Stock J, Stam D, De Winter F, Mantini D, Szmrecsanyi B, Van Laere K, Vandenberghe R, Vandenbulcke M. Moral processing deficit in behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia is associated with facial emotion recognition and brain changes in default mode and salience network areas. Brain Behav 2017; 7:e00843. [PMID: 29299378 PMCID: PMC5745238 DOI: 10.1002/brb3.843] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/05/2017] [Accepted: 08/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/04/2022] Open
Abstract
Introduction Behavioral variant frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is associated with abnormal emotion recognition and moral processing. Methods We assessed emotion detection, discrimination, matching, selection, and categorization as well as judgments of nonmoral, moral impersonal, moral personal low- and high-conflict scenarios. Results bvFTD patients gave more utilitarian responses on low-conflict personal moral dilemmas. There was a significant correlation between a facial emotion processing measure derived through principal component analysis and utilitarian responses on low-conflict personal scenarios in the bvFTD group (controlling for MMSE-score and syntactic abilities). Voxel-based morphometric multiple regression analysis in the bvFTD group revealed a significant association between the proportion of utilitarian responses on personal low-conflict dilemmas and gray matter volume in ventromedial prefrontal areas (pheight < .0001). In addition, there was a correlation between utilitarian responses on low-conflict personal scenarios in the bvFTD group and resting-state fractional Amplitude of Low Frequency Fluctuations (fALFF) in the anterior insula (pheight < .005). Conclusions The results underscore the importance of emotions in moral cognition and suggest a common basis for deficits in both abilities, possibly related to reduced experience of emotional sensations. At the neural level abnormal moral cognition in bvFTD is related to structural integrity of the medial prefrontal cortex and functional characteristics of the anterior insula. The present findings provide a common basis for emotion recognition and moral reasoning and link them with areas in the default mode and salience network.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jan Van den Stock
- Laboratory for Translational NeuropsychiatryDepartment of NeurosciencesKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Department of Old Age PsychiatryUniversity Psychiatry CenterLeuvenBelgium
| | - Daphne Stam
- Laboratory for Translational NeuropsychiatryDepartment of NeurosciencesKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - François‐Laurent De Winter
- Laboratory for Translational NeuropsychiatryDepartment of NeurosciencesKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Department of Old Age PsychiatryUniversity Psychiatry CenterLeuvenBelgium
| | - Dante Mantini
- Research Center for Movement Control and NeuroplasticityKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Department of Health Sciences and TechnologyETH ZurichZurichSwitzerland
- Department of Experimental PsychologyUniversity of OxfordOxfordUK
| | | | - Koen Van Laere
- Nuclear Medicine and Molecular ImagingDepartment of Imaging and PathologyKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Rik Vandenberghe
- Laboratory for Cognitive NeurologyDepartment of NeurosciencesKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Department of NeurologyUniversity Hospitals LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
| | - Mathieu Vandenbulcke
- Laboratory for Translational NeuropsychiatryDepartment of NeurosciencesKU LeuvenLeuvenBelgium
- Department of Old Age PsychiatryUniversity Psychiatry CenterLeuvenBelgium
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36
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Zinchenko O, Arsalidou M. Brain responses to social norms: Meta-analyses of fMRI studies. Hum Brain Mapp 2017; 39:955-970. [PMID: 29160930 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.23895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 31] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/04/2017] [Revised: 10/24/2017] [Accepted: 11/10/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022] Open
Abstract
Social norms have a critical role in everyday decision-making, as frequent interaction with others regulates our behavior. Neuroimaging studies show that social-based and fairness-related decision-making activates an inconsistent set of areas, which sometimes includes the anterior insula, anterior cingulate cortex, and others lateral prefrontal cortices. Social-based decision-making is complex and variability in findings may be driven by socio-cognitive activities related to social norms. To distinguish among social-cognitive activities related to social norms, we identified 36 eligible articles in the functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) literature, which we separate into two categories (a) social norm representation and (b) norm violations. The majority of original articles (>60%) used tasks associated with fairness norms and decision-making, such as ultimatum game, dictator game, or prisoner's dilemma; the rest used tasks associated to violation of moral norms, such as scenarios and sentences of moral depravity ratings. Using quantitative meta-analyses, we report common and distinct brain areas that show concordance as a function of category. Specifically, concordance in ventromedial prefrontal regions is distinct to social norm representation processing, whereas concordance in right insula, dorsolateral prefrontal, and dorsal cingulate cortices is distinct to norm violation processing. We propose a neurocognitive model of social norms for healthy adults, which could help guide future research in social norm compliance and mechanisms of its enforcement.
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Affiliation(s)
- Oksana Zinchenko
- Centre for Cognition and Decision Making, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation
| | - Marie Arsalidou
- Department of Psychology, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russian Federation.,Department of Psychology, Faculty of Health, York University, Toronto, Canada
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37
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Bretz S, Sun R. Two Models of Moral Judgment. Cogn Sci 2017; 42 Suppl 1:4-37. [PMID: 28685842 DOI: 10.1111/cogs.12517] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/19/2016] [Revised: 04/23/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 11/30/2022]
Abstract
This paper compares two theories and their two corresponding computational models of human moral judgment. In order to better address psychological realism and generality of theories of moral judgment, more detailed and more psychologically nuanced models are needed. In particular, a motivationally based theory of moral judgment (and its corresponding computational model) is developed in this paper that provides a more accurate account of human moral judgment than an existing emotion-reason conflict theory. Simulations based on the theory capture and explain a range of relevant human data. They account not only for the original data that were used to support the emotion-reason conflict theory, but also for a wider range of data and phenomena.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shane Bretz
- Department of Cognitive Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
| | - Ron Sun
- Department of Cognitive Science, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute
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Abstract
The past 15years occasioned an extraordinary blossoming of research into the cognitive and affective mechanisms that support moral judgment and behavior. This growth in our understanding of moral mechanisms overshadowed a crucial and complementary question, however: How are they learned? As this special issue of the journal Cognition attests, a new crop of research into moral learning has now firmly taken root. This new literature draws on recent advances in formal methods developed in other domains, such as Bayesian inference, reinforcement learning and other machine learning techniques. Meanwhile, it also demonstrates how learning and deciding in a social domain-and especially in the moral domain-sometimes involves specialized cognitive systems. We review the contributions to this special issue and situate them within the broader contemporary literature. Our review focuses on how we learn moral values and moral rules, how we learn about personal moral character and relationships, and the philosophical implications of these emerging models.
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Affiliation(s)
- Fiery Cushman
- Department of Psychology, Harvard University, United States.
| | - Victor Kumar
- Department of Philosophy, Boston University, United States
| | - Peter Railton
- Department of Philosophy, University of Michigan, United States
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León Rodríguez DA, Cárdenas F. Aproximación Neurodinámica a la Cognición Social. UNIVERSITAS PSYCHOLOGICA 2017. [DOI: 10.11144/javeriana.upsy15-5.ancs] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/19/2022]
Abstract
En las últimas décadas ha crecido el estudio los mecanismos involucrados en el comportamiento social, gran parte de estas indagaciones se han realizado desde una aproximación de la neurociencia social cognitiva, la cual se basa en un modelo representacional del procesamiento de información. No obstante, esta aproximación ha sido ampliamente criticada por desconocer la participación del cuerpo, la dinámica afectiva, el contexto social, el cambio durante el desarrollo y suponer un procesamiento modular endógeno. En este sentido, este artículo presenta un modelo neurodinámico de la cognición social, comprendiéndola desde una aproximación enactiva, situada, relacional y sistémica. Desde este modelo se describen los principales cambios en esperados la actividad cerebral durante las interacciones sociales en tiempo real y durante la ontogenia. Se concluye resaltando los desafíos y oportunidades que este tipo de aproximaciones puede proporcionar a la neurociencia y psicología social del futuro.
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Ty A, Mitchell DG, Finger E. Making amends: Neural systems supporting donation decisions prompting guilt and restitution. PERSONALITY AND INDIVIDUAL DIFFERENCES 2017. [DOI: 10.1016/j.paid.2016.11.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/20/2022]
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Fontenelle LF, de Oliveira-Souza R, Moll J. The rise of moral emotions in neuropsychiatry. DIALOGUES IN CLINICAL NEUROSCIENCE 2016. [PMID: 26869842 PMCID: PMC4734879 DOI: 10.31887/dcns.2015.17.4/lfontenelle] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/28/2022]
Abstract
Clinical psychopathology has largely ignored the developments in the field of social neuroscience. The so-called moral emotions are a group of affective experiences thought to promote cooperation, group cohesion, and reorganization. In this review, we: (i) briefly describe a provisional taxonomy of a limited set of moral emotions and their neural underpinnings; and (ii) discuss how disgust, guilt, anger/indignation, and shame/embarrassment can be conceptualized as key affective experiences in different neuropsychiatric disorders. Based on a concise review of the literature linking moral emotions, psychopathology, and neuropsychiatry, we have devised a simple and preliminary scheme where we conjecture how specific moral emotions can be implicated in some categories of DSM-5 diagnoses, potentially helping to bridge psychopathology and neurobiologically plausible variables, in line with the Research Domain Criteria initiative. We hope this stimulates new empirical work exploring how moral emotional changes and their underlying neurobiology can help elucidating the neural underpinnings of mental disorders.
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Affiliation(s)
- Leonardo F Fontenelle
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Anxiety, Obsessive and Compulsive Spectrum Disorders Program, Institute of Psychiatry of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, Brain and Mental Health Laboratory, School of Psychological Sciences & Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Jorge Moll
- D'Or Institute for Research and Education, Rio de Ja-neiro, Brazil
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Seara-Cardoso A, Sebastian CL, McCrory E, Foulkes L, Buon M, Roiser JP, Viding E. Anticipation of guilt for everyday moral transgressions: The role of the anterior insula and the influence of interpersonal psychopathic traits. Sci Rep 2016; 6:36273. [PMID: 27808160 PMCID: PMC5093734 DOI: 10.1038/srep36273] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/12/2016] [Accepted: 10/05/2016] [Indexed: 01/05/2023] Open
Abstract
Psychopathy is a personality disorder characterised by atypical moral behaviour likely rooted in atypical affective/motivational processing, as opposed to an inability to judge the wrongness of an action. Guilt is a moral emotion believed to play a crucial role in adherence to moral and social norms, but the mechanisms by which guilt (or lack thereof) may influence behaviour in individuals with high levels of psychopathic traits are unclear. We measured neural responses during the anticipation of guilt about committing potential everyday moral transgressions, and tested the extent to which these varied with psychopathic traits. We found a significant interaction between the degree to which anticipated guilt was modulated in the anterior insula and interpersonal psychopathic traits: anterior insula modulation of anticipated guilt was weaker in individuals with higher levels of these traits. Data from a second sample confirmed that this pattern of findings was specific to the modulation of anticipated guilt and not related to the perceived wrongness of the transgression. These results suggest a central role for the anterior insula in coding the anticipation of guilt regarding potential moral transgressions and advance our understanding of the neurocognitive mechanisms that may underlie propensity to antisocial behaviour.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ana Seara-Cardoso
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, UK.,Neuropsychophysiology Lab, CiPsi, University of Minho, Portugal
| | | | - Eamon McCrory
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, UK
| | - Lucy Foulkes
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, UK.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, UK
| | - Marine Buon
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, UK.,Epsylon Laboratory, Montpellier University, France
| | | | - Essi Viding
- Division of Psychology and Language Sciences, University College London, UK.,Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, UK
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Denton KK, Krebs DL. Rational and Emotional Sources of Moral Decision-Making: an Evolutionary-Developmental Account. EVOLUTIONARY PSYCHOLOGICAL SCIENCE 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40806-016-0067-3] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/30/2022]
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Corradi-Dell'Acqua C, Koban L, Leiberg S, Vuilleumier P. Editorial: What Determines Social Behavior? Investigating the Role of Emotions, Self-Centered Motives, and Social Norms. Front Hum Neurosci 2016; 10:342. [PMID: 27458361 PMCID: PMC4935678 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2016.00342] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2015] [Accepted: 06/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- Corrado Corradi-Dell'Acqua
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGeneva, Switzerland; Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, University Medical CenterGeneva, Switzerland; Département de Psychologie, Faculté de Psychologie et des Sciences de l'Éducation, Université de GenèveGeneva, Switzerland
| | - Leonie Koban
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGeneva, Switzerland; Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, University Medical CenterGeneva, Switzerland; Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, University of ColoradoBoulder, CO, USA
| | - Susanne Leiberg
- Department of Economics, University of Zürich Zürich, Switzerland
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences, University of GenevaGeneva, Switzerland; Laboratory for Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Department of Neurosciences and Clinic of Neurology, University Medical CenterGeneva, Switzerland
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Jung WH, Prehn K, Fang Z, Korczykowski M, Kable JW, Rao H, Robertson DC. Moral competence and brain connectivity: A resting-state fMRI study. Neuroimage 2016; 141:408-415. [PMID: 27456537 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2016.07.045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 16] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/26/2016] [Revised: 07/09/2016] [Accepted: 07/20/2016] [Indexed: 01/09/2023] Open
Abstract
Moral competence (MC) refers to the ability to apply certain moral orientations in a consistent and differentiated manner when judging moral issues. People greatly differ in terms of MC, however, little is known about how these differences are implemented in the brain. To investigate this question, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging and examined resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) in n=31 individuals with MC scores in the highest 15% of the population and n=33 individuals with MC scores in the lowest 15%, selected from a large sample of 730 Master of Business Administration (MBA) students. Compared to individuals with lower MC, individuals with higher MC showed greater amygdala-ventromedial prefrontal connectivity, which may reflect better ability to cope with emotional conflicts elicited by moral dilemmas. Moreover, individuals with higher MC showed less inter-network connectivity between the amygdalar and fronto-parietal networks, suggesting a more independent operation of these networks. Our findings provide novel insights into how individual differences in moral judgment are associated with RSFC in brain circuits related to emotion processing and cognitive control.
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Affiliation(s)
- Wi Hoon Jung
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Kristin Prehn
- Department of Neurology & NeuroCure Clinical Research Center, Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Germany
| | - Zhuo Fang
- Center for Functional Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States; Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China
| | - Marc Korczykowski
- Center for Functional Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States; Department of Legal Studies & Business Ethics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Joseph W Kable
- Department of Psychology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States
| | - Hengyi Rao
- Center for Functional Neuroimaging, Department of Neurology, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States; Laboratory of Applied Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Shanghai International Studies University, Shanghai, China.
| | - Diana C Robertson
- Department of Legal Studies & Business Ethics, The Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, United States.
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Park G, Kappes A, Rho Y, Van Bavel JJ. At the heart of morality lies neuro-visceral integration: lower cardiac vagal tone predicts utilitarian moral judgment. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2016; 11:1588-96. [PMID: 27317926 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsw077] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/09/2015] [Accepted: 05/20/2016] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
To not harm others is widely considered the most basic element of human morality. The aversion to harm others can be either rooted in the outcomes of an action (utilitarianism) or reactions to the action itself (deontology). We speculated that the human moral judgments rely on the integration of neural computations of harm and visceral reactions. The present research examined whether utilitarian or deontological aspects of moral judgment are associated with cardiac vagal tone, a physiological proxy for neuro-visceral integration. We investigated the relationship between cardiac vagal tone and moral judgment by using a mix of moral dilemmas, mathematical modeling and psychophysiological measures. An index of bipolar deontology-utilitarianism was correlated with resting heart rate variability (HRV)-an index of cardiac vagal tone-such that more utilitarian judgments were associated with lower HRV. Follow-up analyses using process dissociation, which independently quantifies utilitarian and deontological moral inclinations, provided further evidence that utilitarian (but not deontological) judgments were associated with lower HRV. Our results suggest that the functional integration of neural and visceral systems during moral judgments can restrict outcome-based, utilitarian moral preferences. Implications for theories of moral judgment are discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Yeojin Rho
- Claremont Graduate University, Claremont, CA, USA
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The Effects of Exogenous Testosterone on Men’s Moral Decision-Making. ADAPTIVE HUMAN BEHAVIOR AND PHYSIOLOGY 2016. [DOI: 10.1007/s40750-016-0046-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
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Baez S, Kanske P, Matallana D, Montañes P, Reyes P, Slachevsky A, Matus C, Vigliecca NS, Torralva T, Manes F, Ibanez A. Integration of Intention and Outcome for Moral Judgment in Frontotemporal Dementia: Brain Structural Signatures. NEURODEGENER DIS 2016; 16:206-17. [DOI: 10.1159/000441918] [Citation(s) in RCA: 48] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/04/2015] [Accepted: 10/22/2015] [Indexed: 11/19/2022] Open
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