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Cardenas SI, Stoycos SA, Sellery P, Marshall N, Khoddam H, Kaplan J, Goldenberg D, Saxbe DE. Theory of mind processing in expectant fathers: Associations with prenatal oxytocin and parental attunement. Dev Psychobiol 2021; 63:1549-1567. [PMID: 33748973 DOI: 10.1002/dev.22115] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2020] [Revised: 01/17/2021] [Accepted: 02/13/2021] [Indexed: 11/10/2022]
Abstract
Social cognition may facilitate fathers' sensitive caregiving behavior. We administered the Why-How Task, an fMRI task that elicits theory of mind processing, to expectant fathers (n = 39) who also visited the laboratory during their partner's pregnancy and provided a plasma sample for oxytocin assay. Three months postpartum, fathers reported their beliefs about parenting. When rating "Why" an action was being performed versus "How" the action was being performed (Why > How contrast), participants showed activation in regions theorized to support theory of mind, including the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and superior temporal sulcus. Fathers' prenatal oxytocin levels predicted greater signal change during the Why > How contrast in the inferior parietal lobule. Both prenatal oxytocin and attunement parenting beliefs were associated with Why > How activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, a theory of mind region implicated in emotion regulation. Posterior parahippocampal gyrus and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex activation during the Why > How contrast predicted fathers' attunement parenting beliefs. In conclusion, fathers' neural activation when engaging in a theory of mind task was associated with their prenatal oxytocin levels and their postpartum attunement parenting beliefs. Results suggest biological and cognitive components of fathering may track with the theory of mind processing.
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Affiliation(s)
- Sofia I Cardenas
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Sarah A Stoycos
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Pia Sellery
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Narcis Marshall
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Hannah Khoddam
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Jonas Kaplan
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Diane Goldenberg
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Darby E Saxbe
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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Yue T, Xu Y, Xue L, Huang X. Oxytocin weakens self-other distinction in males during empathic responses to sadness: an event-related potentials study. PeerJ 2020; 8:e10384. [PMID: 33240676 PMCID: PMC7680622 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.10384] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/24/2020] [Accepted: 10/27/2020] [Indexed: 11/20/2022] Open
Abstract
By making use of event-related potential (ERP) technology, a randomized, double-blind, between-subject design study was performed in order to investigate whether OXT can weaken men’s self-other distinction during empathic responses to sad expressions. In the two experimental tasks, 39 male subjects were asked to either evaluate the emotional state shown in a facial stimulus (other-task) or to evaluate their own emotional responses (self-task). The results revealed that OXT reduced the differences in P2 (150–200 ms) amplitudes between sad and neutral expressions in the self-task but enhanced P2 to sad expressions in the other-task, indicating OXT’s role in integrating the self with others instead of separating them. In addition, OXT also reduced the LPC (400–600 ms) amplitudes between sad-neutral expressions in the self-task, implying that OXT’s weakening effects on the self-other distinction could occur at both the early and late cognitive control stages of the empathic response.
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Feng C, Zhou X, Zhu X, Zhu R, Han S, Luo YJ. Effect of intranasal oxytocin administration on self-other distinction: Modulations by psychological distance and gender. Psychoneuroendocrinology 2020; 120:104804. [PMID: 32721815 DOI: 10.1016/j.psyneuen.2020.104804] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2020] [Revised: 07/09/2020] [Accepted: 07/09/2020] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
Preliminary evidence indicates that intranasal oxytocin (OT) administration modulates one's ability to distinguish oneself from others (i.e., self-other distinction). However, previous findings on this topic are contradictory. The current study addressed this issue by (i) using a novel perceptual matching task examining self-other distinction compared to both close and distant others, and (ii) tentatively exploring potential modulations by gender. In a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized OT administration study, 100 participants (50 males and 50 females) were randomized to receive intranasal spray of 24 IU OT or placebo (PL). Afterwards, participants completed a geometry perceptual matching task in which different shapes were paired to the self, a friend, or a stranger. Participants were then asked to judge whether each pair of shapes and labels was correctly matched. The results revealed that compared to PL administration, OT facilitated distinction between the self and a friend in males but not in females. These findings provide insights for debates on the role of OT in self-other distinction by revealing modulations by psychological distance and gender, which have implications for the potential clinical applications of OT.
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Affiliation(s)
- Chunliang Feng
- Key Laboratory of Brain, Cognition and Education Sciences, Ministry of Education, China; School of Psychology, Center for Studies of Psychological Application, and Guangdong Key Laboratory of Mental Health and Cognitive Science, South China Normal University, China.
| | - Xingmei Zhou
- Center of Brain Disorder and Cognitive Sciences, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China
| | - Xiangru Zhu
- Institute of Cognition, Brain and Health, Institute of Psychology and Behavior, Henan University, Kaifeng, China
| | - Ruida Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience and Learning & IDG/McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Beijing Normal University, Beijing, China
| | - Shangfeng Han
- Center of Brain Disorder and Cognitive Sciences, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China
| | - Yue-Jia Luo
- Center of Brain Disorder and Cognitive Sciences, College of Psychology and Sociology, Shenzhen Key Laboratory of Affective and Social Cognitive Science, Shenzhen University, Center for Emotion and Brain, Shenzhen Institute of Neuroscience, Shenzhen, China.
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O'Grady C, Scott-Phillips T, Lavelle S, Smith K. Perspective-taking is spontaneous but not automatic. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2020; 73:1605-1628. [PMID: 32718242 PMCID: PMC7551223 DOI: 10.1177/1747021820942479] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Data from a range of different experimental paradigms—in particular (but not
only) the dot perspective task—have been interpreted as evidence that humans
automatically track the perspective of other individuals. Results from other
studies, however, have cast doubt on this interpretation, and some researchers
have suggested that phenomena that seem like perspective-taking might instead be
the products of simpler behavioural rules. The issue remains unsettled in
significant part because different schools of thought, with different
theoretical perspectives, implement the experimental tasks in subtly different
ways, making direct comparisons difficult. Here, we explore the possibility that
subtle differences in experimental method explain otherwise irreconcilable
findings in the literature. Across five experiments we show that the classic
result in the dot perspective task is not automatic (it is not purely
stimulus-driven), but nor is it exclusively the product of simple behavioural
rules that do not involve mentalising. Instead, participants do compute the
perspectives of other individuals rapidly, unconsciously, and involuntarily, but
only when attentional systems prompt them to do so (just as, for instance, the
visual system puts external objects into focus only as and when required). This
finding prompts us to clearly distinguish spontaneity from automaticity.
Spontaneous perspective-taking may be a computationally efficient means of
navigating the social world.
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Affiliation(s)
- Cathleen O'Grady
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Thom Scott-Phillips
- Department of Cognitive Science, Central European University, Budapest, Hungary.,Department of Anthropology, Durham University, Durham, UK
| | - Suilin Lavelle
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
| | - Kenny Smith
- School of Philosophy, Psychology & Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, UK
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Modeling physiological responses induced by an emotion recognition task using latent class mixed models. PLoS One 2018; 13:e0207123. [PMID: 30444877 PMCID: PMC6239287 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0207123] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/14/2018] [Accepted: 10/25/2018] [Indexed: 02/07/2023] Open
Abstract
Correctly recognizing emotions is an essential skill to manage interpersonal relationships in everyday life. Facial expression represents the most powerful mean to convey important information on emotional and cognitive states during interactions with others. In this paper, we analyze physiological responses triggered by an emotion recognition test, which requires the processing of facial cues. In particular, we evaluate the modulation of several Heart Rate Variability indices, collected during the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, accounting for test difficulty (derived from a Rasch analysis), test performances, demographic and psychological characteristics of the participants. The main idea is that emotion recognition is associated with the Autonomic Nervous System and, as a consequence, with the Heart Rate Variability. The principal goal of our study was to explore the complexity of the collected measures and their possible interactions by applying a class of flexible models, i.e., the latent class mixed models. Actually, this modelling strategy allows for the identification of clusters of subjects characterized by similar longitudinal trajectories. Both univariate and multivariate latent class mixed models were used. In fact, while the interpretation of the Heart Rate Variability indices is very difficult when considered individually, a joint evaluation provides a better description of the Autonomic Nervous System state.
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