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Yang XF, Hilliard K, Gotlieb R, Immordino-Yang MH. Transcendent thinking counteracts longitudinal effects of mid-adolescent exposure to community violence in the anterior cingulate cortex. JOURNAL OF RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL OF THE SOCIETY FOR RESEARCH ON ADOLESCENCE 2024. [PMID: 38923619 DOI: 10.1111/jora.12993] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2024] [Accepted: 06/07/2024] [Indexed: 06/28/2024]
Abstract
Adolescence involves extensive brain maturation, characterized by social sensitivity and emotional lability, that co-occurs with increased independence. Mid-adolescence is also a hallmark developmental stage when youths become motivated to reflect on the broader personal, ethical, and systems-level implications of happenings, a process we term transcendent thinking. Here, we examine the confluence of these developmental processes to ask, from a transdisciplinary perspective, how might community violence exposure (CVE) impact brain development during mid-adolescence, and how might youths' dispositions for transcendent thinking be protective? Fifty-five low-SES urban youth with no history of delinquency (32 female; 27 Latinx, 28 East Asian) reported their CVE and underwent structural MRI first at age 14-18, and again 2 years later. At the study's start, participants also discussed their feelings about 40 minidocumentaries featuring other teens' compelling situations in a 2-h private interview that was transcribed and coded for transcendent thinking. Controlling for CVE and brain structure at the start: (1) New CVE during the 2-year inter-scan interval was associated with greater gray matter volume (GMV) reduction over that interval in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), a central network hub whose reduced volume has been associated with posttraumatic stress disorder, and across multiple additional cortical and subcortical regions; (2) participants' transcendent thinking in the interview independently predicted greater GMV increase during the 2-year inter-scan interval in the ACC. Findings highlight the continued vulnerability of mid-adolescents to community violence and the importance of supporting teens' dispositions to reflect on the complex personal and systems-level implications and affordances of their civic landscape.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Fei Yang
- Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education, Brain and Creativity Institute, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Katrina Hilliard
- Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education, Brain and Creativity Institute, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Rebecca Gotlieb
- Center for Dyslexia, Diverse Learners, and Social Justice, School of Education and Information Studies, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA
| | - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Center for Affective Neuroscience, Development, Learning and Education, Brain and Creativity Institute, Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
- Psychology Department, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, California, USA
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Leshin J, Carter MJ, Doyle CM, Lindquist KA. Language access differentially alters functional connectivity during emotion perception across cultures. Front Psychol 2024; 14:1084059. [PMID: 38425348 PMCID: PMC10901990 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1084059] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/09/2022] [Accepted: 12/15/2023] [Indexed: 03/02/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction It is often assumed that the ability to recognize the emotions of others is reflexive and automatic, driven only by observable facial muscle configurations. However, research suggests that accumulated emotion concept knowledge shapes the way people perceive the emotional meaning of others' facial muscle movements. Cultural upbringing can shape an individual's concept knowledge, such as expectations about which facial muscle configurations convey anger, disgust, or sadness. Additionally, growing evidence suggests that access to emotion category words, such as "anger," facilitates access to such emotion concept knowledge and in turn facilitates emotion perception. Methods To investigate the impact of cultural influence and emotion concept accessibility on emotion perception, participants from two cultural groups (Chinese and White Americans) completed a functional magnetic resonance imaging scanning session to assess functional connectivity between brain regions during emotion perception. Across four blocks, participants were primed with either English emotion category words ("anger," "disgust") or control text (XXXXXX) before viewing images of White American actors posing facial muscle configurations that are stereotypical of anger and disgust in the United States. Results We found that when primed with "disgust" versus control text prior to seeing disgusted facial expressions, Chinese participants showed a significant decrease in functional connectivity between a region associated with semantic retrieval (the inferior frontal gyrus) and regions associated with semantic processing, visual perception, and social cognition. Priming the word "anger" did not impact functional connectivity for Chinese participants relative to control text, and priming neither "disgust" nor "anger" impacted functional connectivity for White American participants. Discussion These findings provide preliminary evidence that emotion concept accessibility differentially impacts perception based on participants' cultural background.
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Affiliation(s)
- Joseph Leshin
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Maleah J. Carter
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Cameron M. Doyle
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
| | - Kristen A. Lindquist
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
- Biomedical Research Imaging Center, School of Medicine, The University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, United States
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Murray RJ, Kreibig SD, Pehrs C, Vuilleumier P, Gross JJ, Samson AC. Mixed emotions to social situations: An fMRI investigation. Neuroimage 2023; 271:119973. [PMID: 36848968 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2023.119973] [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: 07/28/2022] [Revised: 02/17/2023] [Accepted: 02/21/2023] [Indexed: 02/27/2023] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND Neuroscience research has generally studied emotions each taken in isolation. However, mixed emotional states (e.g., the co-occurrence of amusement and disgust, or sadness and pleasure) are common in everyday life. Psychophysiological and behavioral evidence suggests that mixed emotions may have response profiles that are distinguishable from their constituent emotions. Yet, the brain bases of mixed emotions remain unresolved. METHODS We recruited 38 healthy adults who viewed short, validated film clips, eliciting either positive (amusing), negative (disgusting), neutral, or mixed (a mix of amusement and disgust) emotional states, while brain activity was assessed by functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We assessed mixed emotions in two ways: first by comparing neural reactivity to ambiguous (mixed) with that to unambiguous (positive and negative) film clips and second by conducting parametric analyses to measure neural reactivity with respect to individual emotional states. We thus obtained self-reports of amusement and disgust after each clip and computed a minimum feeling score (shared minimum of amusement and disgust) to quantify mixed emotional feelings. RESULTS Both analyses revealed a network of the posterior cingulate (PCC), medial superior parietal lobe (SPL)/precuneus, and parieto-occipital sulcus to be involved in ambiguous contexts eliciting mixed emotions. CONCLUSION Our results are the first to shed light on the dedicated neural processes involved in dynamic social ambiguity processing. They suggest both higher-order (SPL) and lower-order (PCC) processes may be needed to process emotionally complex social scenes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ryan J Murray
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland; Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - Sylvia D Kreibig
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Corinna Pehrs
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Berlin, BCCN, Berlin, Germany
| | - Patrik Vuilleumier
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Neuroscience Department, Laboratory for Behavioral Neurology and Imaging of Cognition, Medical school, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland
| | - James J Gross
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305 USA
| | - Andrea C Samson
- Swiss Center for Affective Sciences, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Geneva, Switzerland; Faculty of Psychology, UniDistance Suisse, Brig, Switzerland; Institute of Special Education, University of Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
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Xu HQ, Chung CC, Yu C. Visualizing Research Trends on Culture Neuroscience (2008–2021): A Bibliometric Analysis. Front Psychol 2022; 13:884929. [PMID: 35602732 PMCID: PMC9121129 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.884929] [Citation(s) in RCA: 6] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/27/2022] [Accepted: 04/19/2022] [Indexed: 11/25/2022] Open
Abstract
Recently, cultural neuroscience has gained attention as a new, important, and interdisciplinary topic in the field of neuroscience. It helps us understand the interaction of cultural and biological factors over the course of life. This study aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the field to readers and potential researchers engaged in cultural neuroscience research. A bibliometric analysis was performed on 113 articles in the field of cultural neuroscience from 2008 to 2021 using data from the core collection of Web of Science. Network visualization software VOSviewer and ITGInsight were used for performance analysis and science mapping. Specifically, the performance analysis included countries, institutions, authors, papers, and journals, while science mapping analyzed the collaboration network, keyword network, bibliographic coupling network, and time series evolution. The results showed that the United States was the most productive country, Northwestern University was the most influential research institution, Chiao Jy was the most influential scholar, and “Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience” made the greatest contribution to publishing in the field of cultural neuroscience. Furthermore, collaboration is expected to be the development trend in the future. The key research topics in the field of cultural neuroscience included neuroimaging and psychiatric diseases, theoretical methods, interdisciplinary research, cultural differences (collectivism and individualism), and brain functions. Finally, future research will focus on cultural neuroscience, culture, and self, while adolescence will be the emerging research frontier.
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Affiliation(s)
- Han Qing Xu
- College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
- *Correspondence: Han Qing Xu,
| | - Chih-Chao Chung
- General Research Service Center, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Neipu, Taiwan
- Chih-Chao Chung,
| | - Cheng Yu
- College of Science and Technology, Ningbo University, Ningbo, China
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5
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Novak L, Malinakova K, Mikoska P, van Dijk JP, Tavel P. Neural correlates of compassion - An integrative systematic review. Int J Psychophysiol 2021; 172:46-59. [PMID: 34963634 DOI: 10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2021.12.004] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/04/2020] [Revised: 12/03/2021] [Accepted: 12/10/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022]
Abstract
Compassion is a psychological construct that has received increasing attention in recent years. Even though a lot of work has been done to identify neural correlates of empathy across studies, such work has not been properly done on neural correlates of compassion. Therefore, the aim was to systematically review the literature on neural correlates of compassion. We have searched through PsycINFO, PubMed and Web of Science for relevant articles published between 1985 and 2020. We included the studies (n = 35) examining the relationship between brain structure or function and compassion. Screening was performed by two authors, between whom a level of agreement was calculated. The quality of the studies was assessed by measures used in other studies as well by measures specific for our study aims. This study was conducted under PRISMA guidelines. Our analysis revealed that the most frequent neural associations with compassion across all analysed studies can be found in the orbital part of the left inferior frontal gyrus, in the right cerebellum, the bilateral middle temporal gyrus, in the bilateral insula and the right caudate nucleus. Our findings suggest that people displaying a lower compassion tend to have either lower neural activity or a grey matter volume in neural areas associated with reward.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lukas Novak
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic; Department of Community and Occupational Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands.
| | - Klara Malinakova
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Petr Mikoska
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
| | - Jitse P van Dijk
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic; Department of Community and Occupational Medicine, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, the Netherlands; Graduate School Kosice Institute for Society and Health, P.J. Safarik University in Kosice, Kosice, Slovak Republic
| | - Peter Tavel
- Olomouc University Social Health Institute, Palacký University Olomouc, Olomouc, Czech Republic
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Mazmanian PE, Cervero RM, Durning SJ. Reimagining Physician Development and Lifelong Learning: An Ecological Framework. THE JOURNAL OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN THE HEALTH PROFESSIONS 2021; 41:291-298. [PMID: 34825902 DOI: 10.1097/ceh.0000000000000406] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Learners and leaders in medical education recognize the remarkable growth in clinically relevant information, persistent changes in the organization of health care, and the need to develop physicians able to adapt successfully to changes in their lives and practices. The success of those physicians and of those who facilitate their learning depends on a careful understanding of the psychological, social, and biological factors that influence physician development and lifelong learning. To improve research and policy, development and learning must be explored for finer understandings of physicians in relation to other beings and to the physical and social surroundings most conducive to better learning and outcomes.
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Affiliation(s)
- Paul E Mazmanian
- Dr. Mazmanian: Professor Emeritus, School of Medicine, Virginia Commonwealth University, Richmond, VA. Dr. Cervero: Professor and Deputy Director, Center for Health Professions Education, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD. Dr. Durning: Professor and Director, Center for Health Professions Education, Uniformed Services University of the Health Sciences, Bethesda, MD
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7
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Vaccaro AG, Scott B, Gimbel SI, Kaplan JT. Functional Brain Connectivity During Narrative Processing Relates to Transportation and Story Influence. Front Hum Neurosci 2021; 15:665319. [PMID: 34290594 PMCID: PMC8287321 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.665319] [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: 02/07/2021] [Accepted: 06/01/2021] [Indexed: 11/22/2022] Open
Abstract
Engaging with narratives involves a complex array of cognitive and affective processes. These processes make stories persuasive in ways that standard arguments are not, though the underlying reasons for this remain unclear. Transportation theory proposes a potential explanation for this: narratives are processed in a way which makes individuals feel immersed in the world of a story, which in turn leads people to resonate emotionally with the events of the story. Recent fMRI studies have shown that the posterior medial cortex (PMC) and anterior insula (AI) play important roles in understanding the meaning of stories and experiencing the feelings they produce. In this study, we aimed to explore the AI’s and PMC’s role in narrative processing by measuring their functional connectivity with the rest of the brain during story listening, and how connectivity changes as a function of narrative transportation and the persuasiveness of the story. We analyzed data from 36 right-handed subjects who listened to two stories, obtained from podcasts, inside the fMRI scanner. After the scan, subjects were asked a series of questions, including a measure of how transported into the story they felt, how likely they would be to donate to causes related to the messages of the stories. We used searchlight multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) to classify functional connectivity maps using seeds in both the AI and PMC and to compare these maps between participants who differed in transportation and prosocial intention. We found that connectivity to various regions successfully distinguished between high and low ratings on each of these behavioral measures with accuracies over 75%. However, only one pattern of connectivity was consistent across both stories: PMC-inferior frontal gyrus connectivity successfully distinguished high and low ratings of narrative transportation in both stories. All other findings were not consistent across stories. Instead, we found that patterns of connectivity may relate more to the specific content of the story rather than to a universal way in which narratives are processed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anthony G Vaccaro
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Brandon Scott
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States.,Department of Psychology, Yale University, New Haven, CT, United States
| | - Sarah I Gimbel
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Jonas T Kaplan
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
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8
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Tal-Or N, Razpurker-Apfeld I. When the physical coldness in the viewer's environment leads to identification with a suffering protagonist. INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 2020; 56:394-406. [PMID: 33085106 DOI: 10.1002/ijop.12722] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/09/2019] [Accepted: 09/30/2020] [Indexed: 11/12/2022]
Abstract
Based on theories of narrative engagement and embodied cognition, we hypothesised that a fit between the psychological state of a protagonist and the physical sensation of the viewer would enhance the subsequent identification with the protagonist, but not para-social relationship with him (seeing the protagonist as a friend). We also hypothesised that identification and a para-social relationship would lead to distinct effects on attitudes related to the narrative. Participants (N = 60) were randomly assigned to either a warmed or cooled room where they watched a movie clip alone in which a suffering protagonist wanted to undergo euthanasia while his close others wanted him to stay alive. Then, the participants answered a questionnaire measuring their identification and para-social relationship with the protagonist and their attitudes toward euthanasia. In accordance with the hypotheses, the results demonstrated that feeling cold enhanced identification with the suffering protagonist. However, the environmental temperature did not affect the development of para-social relationships. Moreover, identification with the suffering protagonist contributed to acceptance of his attitudes, reflected in more positive views of euthanasia. In contrast, having a para-social relationship with the protagonist resulted in negative attitudes toward euthanasia.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nurit Tal-Or
- Department of Communication, University of Haifa, Haifa, Israel
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9
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Cromwell HC, Abe N, Barrett KC, Caldwell-Harris C, Gendolla GH, Koncz R, Sachdev PS. Mapping the interconnected neural systems underlying motivation and emotion: A key step toward understanding the human affectome. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 113:204-226. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2020.02.032] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/31/2018] [Revised: 01/22/2020] [Accepted: 02/25/2020] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
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10
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Salvato G, Richter F, Sedeño L, Bottini G, Paulesu E. Building the bodily self-awareness: Evidence for the convergence between interoceptive and exteroceptive information in a multilevel kernel density analysis study. Hum Brain Mapp 2020; 41:401-418. [PMID: 31609042 PMCID: PMC7268061 DOI: 10.1002/hbm.24810] [Citation(s) in RCA: 44] [Impact Index Per Article: 11.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/03/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 09/19/2019] [Indexed: 12/29/2022] Open
Abstract
Exteroceptive and interoceptive signals shape and sustain the bodily self-awareness. The existence of a set of brain areas, supporting the integration of information coming from the inside and the outside of the body in building the sense of bodily self-awareness has been postulated, yet the evidence remains limited, a matter of discussion never assessed quantitatively. With the aim of unrevealing where in the brain interoceptive and exteroceptive signals may converge, we performed a meta-analysis on imaging studies of the sense of body ownership, modulated by external visuotactile stimulation, and studies on interoception, which involves the self-awareness for internal bodily sensations. Using a multilevel kernel density analysis, we found that processing of stimuli of the two domains converges primarily in the supramarginal gyrus bilaterally. Furthermore, we found a right-lateralized set of areas, including the precentral and postcentral, and superior temporal gyri. We discuss these results and propose this set of areas as ideal candidates to match multiple body-related signals contributing to the creation of a multidimensional representation of the bodily self.
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Affiliation(s)
- Gerardo Salvato
- Department of Brain and Behavioural SciencesUniversity of PaviaPaviaItaly
- Centre of Cognitive NeuropsychologyASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano, Niguarda HospitalMilanItaly
- NeuroMI, Milan Center for NeuroscienceMilanItaly
| | - Fabian Richter
- Department of PsychologyUniversität zu KölnCologneGermany
| | - Lucas Sedeño
- Laboratory of Experimental Psychology and Neuroscience (LPEN)Institute of Translational and Cognitive Neuroscience (INCyT), INECO Foundation, Favaloro UniversityBuenos AiresArgentina
- National Scientific and Technical Research Council (CONICET)Buenos AiresArgentina
| | - Gabriella Bottini
- Department of Brain and Behavioural SciencesUniversity of PaviaPaviaItaly
- Centre of Cognitive NeuropsychologyASST Grande Ospedale Metropolitano, Niguarda HospitalMilanItaly
- NeuroMI, Milan Center for NeuroscienceMilanItaly
| | - Eraldo Paulesu
- Department of PsychologyUniversity of Milano‐BicoccaMilanItaly
- IRCCS Istituto Ortopedico GaleazziMilanItaly
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11
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Alia-Klein N, Gan G, Gilam G, Bezek J, Bruno A, Denson TF, Hendler T, Lowe L, Mariotti V, Muscatello MR, Palumbo S, Pellegrini S, Pietrini P, Rizzo A, Verona E. The feeling of anger: From brain networks to linguistic expressions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:480-497. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.12.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 34] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2019] [Revised: 10/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/02/2019] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
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12
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Neural correlates of emotion-attention interactions: From perception, learning, and memory to social cognition, individual differences, and training interventions. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2020; 108:559-601. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.08.017] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 15.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/01/2019] [Revised: 07/02/2019] [Accepted: 08/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
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13
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Sachs ME, Habibi A, Damasio A, Kaplan JT. Dynamic intersubject neural synchronization reflects affective responses to sad music. Neuroimage 2019; 218:116512. [PMID: 31901418 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116512] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/19/2019] [Revised: 11/14/2019] [Accepted: 12/31/2019] [Indexed: 12/30/2022] Open
Abstract
Psychological theories of emotion often highlight the dynamic quality of the affective experience, yet neuroimaging studies of affect have traditionally relied on static stimuli that lack ecological validity. Consequently, the brain regions that represent emotions and feelings as they unfold remain unclear. Recently, dynamic, model-free analytical techniques have been employed with naturalistic stimuli to better capture time-varying patterns of activity in the brain; yet, few studies have focused on relating these patterns to changes in subjective feelings. Here, we address this gap, using intersubject correlation and phase synchronization to assess how stimulus-driven changes in brain activity and connectivity are related to two aspects of emotional experience: emotional intensity and enjoyment. During fMRI scanning, healthy volunteers listened to a full-length piece of music selected to induce sadness. After scanning, participants listened to the piece twice while simultaneously rating the intensity of felt sadness or felt enjoyment. Activity in the auditory cortex, insula, and inferior frontal gyrus was significantly synchronized across participants. Synchronization in auditory, visual, and prefrontal regions was significantly greater in participants with higher measures of a subscale of trait empathy related to feeling emotions in response to music. When assessed dynamically, continuous enjoyment ratings positively predicted a moment-to-moment measure of intersubject synchronization in auditory, default mode, and striatal networks, as well as the orbitofrontal cortex, whereas sadness predicted intersubject synchronization in limbic and striatal networks. The results suggest that stimulus-driven patterns of neural communication in emotional processing and high-level cortical regions carry meaningful information with regards to our feeling in response to a naturalistic stimulus.
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Affiliation(s)
- Matthew E Sachs
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620A McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2921, USA; Center for Science and Society, Columbia University in the City of New York, 1180 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY, 10027, USA.
| | - Assal Habibi
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620A McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2921, USA
| | - Antonio Damasio
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620A McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2921, USA
| | - Jonas T Kaplan
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, 3620A McClintock Avenue, Los Angeles, CA, 90089-2921, USA
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A biocultural approach to psychiatric illnesses. Psychopharmacology (Berl) 2019; 236:2923-2936. [PMID: 30721322 DOI: 10.1007/s00213-019-5178-7] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/07/2018] [Accepted: 01/21/2019] [Indexed: 12/13/2022]
Abstract
RATIONALE As a species, humans are vulnerable to numerous mental disorders, including depression and schizophrenia. This susceptibility may be due to the evolution of our large, complex brains, or perhaps because these illnesses counterintuitively confer some adaptive advantage. Additionally, cultural and biological factors may contribute to susceptibility and variation in mental illness experience and expression. Taking a holistic perspective could strengthen our understanding of these illnesses in diverse cultural contexts. OBJECTIVES This paper reviews some of these potential factors and contextualizes mental disorders within a biocultural framework. RESULTS There is growing evidence that suggests cultural norms may influence inflammation, neurotransmitters, and neurobiology, as well as the illness experience. Specific examples include variation in schizophrenia delusions between countries, differences in links between inflammation and emotion between the United States and Japan, and differences in brain activity between Caucasian and Asian participants indicating that cultural values may moderate cognitive processes related to social cognition and interoception. CONCLUSIONS Research agendas that are grounded in an appreciation of biocultural diversity as it relates to psychiatric illness represent key areas for truly interdisciplinary research that can result in culturally sensitive treatments and highlight possible biological variation affecting medical treatment.
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Flinkenflogel N, Vu TV, van Kesteren MTR, Krabbendam L. Neural Correlates of Self-Construal Priming in the Ultimatum Game. Front Neurosci 2019; 13:994. [PMID: 31616239 PMCID: PMC6769036 DOI: 10.3389/fnins.2019.00994] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/11/2019] [Accepted: 09/03/2019] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Research from cultural and social psychology has identified a central role of self-construal, or the way one views themselves in relation to others, in social cognition. Accordingly, it is plausible that self-construal plays an instrumental role in important aspects of decision-making relating to fairness considerations. Prior research has shown that priming methodology is a useful tool to experimentally isolate the effect of self-construal on social decision-making processes. In the current study we investigated the neural effects of self-construal priming on fairness considerations, using an Ultimatum Game setup (N = 97). Based on previous findings, we predicted an interaction between the self-construal prime and gender on Ultimatum Game behavior; males primed with interdependence would reject the offer relatively more compared to independence, and vice versa for females. As previous neuro-imaging research has established an instrumental role of the anterior insula (AI) and ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) in the rejection of unfair offers, we expected higher rejection rates to be mirrored by increased activity in these regions. However, the analyses did not confirm these predictions. As further inspection of the data revealed a habituation effect, we performed a follow-up analysis on the first block (N = 59). This subsequent analysis revealed that priming interdependence resulted in reduced AI activity compared to priming independence, although no behavioral differences were observed. The difference was theorized to result from motivations as conflict avoidance and harmony maintenance, commonly associated with interdependence. Furthermore, the analysis revealed greater vmPFC activity for females compared to males for rejected offers, although this effect was not robust when controlled for trait self-construal. These follow-up analyses suggest that self-construal priming influences insula activity, as well as implicating an underlying role of trait self-construal in observed gender differences in vmPFC activity relating to fairness considerations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Nic Flinkenflogel
- Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Tuong-Van Vu
- Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Marlieke T. R. van Kesteren
- Department of Education Sciences, Faculty of Behavioral and Movement Sciences, Institute for Brain and Behavior, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
| | - Lydia Krabbendam
- Department of Clinical, Neuro- and Developmental Psychology, Institute for Brain and Behavior Amsterdam, Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam, Amsterdam, Netherlands
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16
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Pace-Schott EF, Amole MC, Aue T, Balconi M, Bylsma LM, Critchley H, Demaree HA, Friedman BH, Gooding AEK, Gosseries O, Jovanovic T, Kirby LA, Kozlowska K, Laureys S, Lowe L, Magee K, Marin MF, Merner AR, Robinson JL, Smith RC, Spangler DP, Van Overveld M, VanElzakker MB. Physiological feelings. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 103:267-304. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.002] [Citation(s) in RCA: 80] [Impact Index Per Article: 16.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/13/2018] [Revised: 03/27/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
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17
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Becker S, Bräscher AK, Bannister S, Bensafi M, Calma-Birling D, Chan RCK, Eerola T, Ellingsen DM, Ferdenzi C, Hanson JL, Joffily M, Lidhar NK, Lowe LJ, Martin LJ, Musser ED, Noll-Hussong M, Olino TM, Pintos Lobo R, Wang Y. The role of hedonics in the Human Affectome. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 102:221-241. [PMID: 31071361 PMCID: PMC6931259 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.05.003] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/31/2018] [Revised: 03/25/2019] [Accepted: 05/03/2019] [Indexed: 01/06/2023]
Abstract
Experiencing pleasure and displeasure is a fundamental part of life. Hedonics guide behavior, affect decision-making, induce learning, and much more. As the positive and negative valence of feelings, hedonics are core processes that accompany emotion, motivation, and bodily states. Here, the affective neuroscience of pleasure and displeasure that has largely focused on the investigation of reward and pain processing, is reviewed. We describe the neurobiological systems of hedonics and factors that modulate hedonic experiences (e.g., cognition, learning, sensory input). Further, we review maladaptive and adaptive pleasure and displeasure functions in mental disorders and well-being, as well as the experience of aesthetics. As a centerpiece of the Human Affectome Project, language used to express pleasure and displeasure was also analyzed, and showed that most of these analyzed words overlap with expressions of emotions, actions, and bodily states. Our review shows that hedonics are typically investigated as processes that accompany other functions, but the mechanisms of hedonics (as core processes) have not been fully elucidated.
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Affiliation(s)
- Susanne Becker
- Department of Cognitive and Clinical Neuroscience, Central Institute of Mental Health, Medical Faculty Mannheim, Heidelberg University, J5, 68159 Mannheim, Germany.
| | - Anne-Kathrin Bräscher
- Department of Clinical Psychology, Psychotherapy and Experimental Psychopathology, University of Mainz, Wallstr. 3, 55122 Mainz, Germany.
| | | | - Moustafa Bensafi
- Research Center in Neurosciences of Lyon, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, 95 bd Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France.
| | - Destany Calma-Birling
- Department of Psychology, University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh, 800 Algoma, Blvd., Clow F011, Oshkosh, WI 54901, USA.
| | - Raymond C K Chan
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
| | - Tuomas Eerola
- Durham University, Palace Green, DH1 RL3, Durham, UK.
| | - Dan-Mikael Ellingsen
- Martinos Center for Biomedical Imaging, Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, CNY149-2301, 13th St, Charlestown, MA 02129, USA.
| | - Camille Ferdenzi
- Research Center in Neurosciences of Lyon, CNRS UMR5292, INSERM U1028, Claude Bernard University Lyon 1, Lyon, Centre Hospitalier Le Vinatier, 95 bd Pinel, 69675 Bron Cedex, France.
| | - Jamie L Hanson
- University of Pittsburgh, Department of Psychology, 3939 O'Hara Street, Rm. 715, Pittsburgh, PA 15206, USA.
| | - Mateus Joffily
- Groupe d'Analyse et de Théorie Economique (GATE), 93 Chemin des Mouilles, 69130, Écully, France.
| | - Navdeep K Lidhar
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Leroy J Lowe
- Neuroqualia (NGO), 36 Arthur Street, Truro, NS, B2N 1X5, Canada.
| | - Loren J Martin
- Department of Psychology, University of Toronto Mississauga, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada.
| | - Erica D Musser
- Department of Psychology, Center for Childen and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199, USA.
| | - Michael Noll-Hussong
- Clinic for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Division of Psychosomatic Medicine and Psychotherapy, Saarland University Medical Centre, Kirrberger Strasse 100, D-66421 Homburg, Germany.
| | - Thomas M Olino
- Temple University, Department of Psychology, 1701N. 13th St, Philadelphia, PA 19010, USA.
| | - Rosario Pintos Lobo
- Department of Psychology, Center for Childen and Families, Florida International University, 11200 SW 8th St., Miami, FL 33199, USA.
| | - Yi Wang
- Neuropsychology and Applied Cognitive Neuroscience Laboratory, CAS Key Laboratory of Mental Health, Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100101, China.
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18
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Yang XF, Pavarini G, Schnall S, Immordino-Yang MH. Looking up to virtue: averting gaze facilitates moral construals via posteromedial activations. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2019; 13:1131-1139. [PMID: 30212913 PMCID: PMC6234327 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy081] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/02/2017] [Accepted: 09/11/2018] [Indexed: 11/18/2022] Open
Abstract
Witnessing exemplary actions triggers admiration, a positive emotion that can pertain to concrete skills, or move the onlooker beyond physical characteristics to appreciate the abstract, moral implications. Participants reacted to narratives depicting skilled or virtuous protagonists first during a videotaped interview then during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). We analyzed participants’ gaze aversion (an indicator of disengaging from the immediate environment) and cognitive construals (mentions of concrete characteristics vs abstract beliefs and values) during the interview, and relations to individuals’ subsequent neural activations. When participants averted their gaze, they were more likely to mention abstract construals, and both behaviors were more likely when reacting to virtue. Gaze aversion to virtue narratives predicted greater subsequent activation for those narratives in dorsal posterior cingulate cortex (dPCC), involved in visual attention control. The inferior-posterior posteromedial cortices (ipPMC), a default mode network hub involved in abstract thought, activated only to virtue, and activity level reflected individuals’ tendency to abstract construals. Critically, dPCC and ipPMC activity sequentially mediated the relationship between individuals’ gaze and abstract construal tendencies. No such relationships existed for reactions to skill, despite participants reporting equivalently strong positive emotion. In appreciating virtue, dPCC may support individuals in transcending the viewable context, facilitating ipPMC activity and moral construals.
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Affiliation(s)
- Xiao-Fei Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | | | - Simone Schnall
- Department of Psychology, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EB, UK
| | - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA.,Department of Psychology, Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
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19
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Raber J, Arzy S, Bertolus JB, Depue B, Haas HE, Hofmann SG, Kangas M, Kensinger E, Lowry CA, Marusak HA, Minnier J, Mouly AM, Mühlberger A, Norrholm SD, Peltonen K, Pinna G, Rabinak C, Shiban Y, Soreq H, van der Kooij MA, Lowe L, Weingast LT, Yamashita P, Boutros SW. Current understanding of fear learning and memory in humans and animal models and the value of a linguistic approach for analyzing fear learning and memory in humans. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2019; 105:136-177. [PMID: 30970272 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2019.03.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2018] [Revised: 01/30/2019] [Accepted: 03/18/2019] [Indexed: 01/04/2023]
Abstract
Fear is an emotion that serves as a driving factor in how organisms move through the world. In this review, we discuss the current understandings of the subjective experience of fear and the related biological processes involved in fear learning and memory. We first provide an overview of fear learning and memory in humans and animal models, encompassing the neurocircuitry and molecular mechanisms, the influence of genetic and environmental factors, and how fear learning paradigms have contributed to treatments for fear-related disorders, such as posttraumatic stress disorder. Current treatments as well as novel strategies, such as targeting the perisynaptic environment and use of virtual reality, are addressed. We review research on the subjective experience of fear and the role of autobiographical memory in fear-related disorders. We also discuss the gaps in our understanding of fear learning and memory, and the degree of consensus in the field. Lastly, the development of linguistic tools for assessments and treatment of fear learning and memory disorders is discussed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jacob Raber
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA; Departments of Neurology and Radiation Medicine, and Division of Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA.
| | - Shahar Arzy
- Department of Medical Neurobiology, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | | | - Brendan Depue
- Departments of Psychological and Brain Sciences and Anatomical Sciences and Neurobiology, University of Louisville, Louisville, KY, USA
| | - Haley E Haas
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Stefan G Hofmann
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Boston University, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Maria Kangas
- Department of Psychology, Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Christopher A Lowry
- Department of Integrative Physiology and Center for Neuroscience, University of Colorado Boulder, Boulder, CO, USA
| | - Hilary A Marusak
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Jessica Minnier
- School of Public Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Anne-Marie Mouly
- Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, CNRS-UMR 5292, INSERM U1028, Université Lyon, Lyon, France
| | - Andreas Mühlberger
- Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; PFH - Private University of Applied Sciences, Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Research), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Seth Davin Norrholm
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Kirsi Peltonen
- Faculty of Social Sciences/Psychology, Tampere University, Tampere, Finland
| | - Graziano Pinna
- The Psychiatric Institute, Department of Psychiatry, University of Illinois at Chicago, Chicago, IL, USA
| | - Christine Rabinak
- Department of Pharmacy Practice, Wayne State University, Detroit, MI, USA
| | - Youssef Shiban
- Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy), University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany; PFH - Private University of Applied Sciences, Department of Psychology (Clinical Psychology and Psychotherapy Research), Göttingen, Germany
| | - Hermona Soreq
- Department of Biological Chemistry, Edmond and Lily Safra Center of Brain Science and The Institute of Life Sciences, Hebrew University, Jerusalem 91904, Israel
| | - Michael A van der Kooij
- Translational Psychiatry, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Universitatsmedizin der Johannes Guttenberg University Medical Center, Mainz, Germany
| | | | - Leah T Weingast
- Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science, Emory University School of Medicine, Atlanta, GA, USA
| | - Paula Yamashita
- School of Public Health, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
| | - Sydney Weber Boutros
- Department of Behavioral Neuroscience, ONPRC, Oregon Health & Science University, Portland, OR, USA
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20
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Michalska KJ, Davis EL. The psychobiology of emotional development: The case for examining sociocultural processes. Dev Psychobiol 2018; 61:416-429. [PMID: 30592032 DOI: 10.1002/dev.21795] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2018] [Revised: 07/26/2018] [Accepted: 09/05/2018] [Indexed: 01/03/2023]
Abstract
Psychobiological techniques to assess emotional responding have revolutionized the field of emotional development in recent decades by equipping researchers with the tools to quantify children's emotional reactivity and regulation more directly than behavioral approaches allow. Knowledge gained from the incorporation of methods spanning levels of analysis has been substantial, yet many open questions remain. In this prospective review, we (a) describe the major conceptual and empirical advances that have resulted from this methodological innovation, and (b) lay out a case for what we view as the most pressing challenge for the next decades of research into the psychobiology of emotional development: focusing empirical efforts toward understanding the implications of the broader sociocultural contexts in which children develop that shape the psychobiology of emotion. Thus, this review integrates previous knowledge about the psychobiology of emotion with a forward-looking set of recommendations for incorporating sociocultural processes into future investigations.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kalina J Michalska
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California
| | - Elizabeth L Davis
- Department of Psychology, University of California, Riverside, Riverside, California
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21
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Abstract
In this article, we present a pragmatic approach to neuroethics, referring back to John Dewey and his articulation of the "common good" and its discovery through systematic methods. Pragmatic neuroethics bridges philosophy and social sciences and, at a very basic level, considers that ethics is not dissociable from lived experiences and everyday moral choices. We reflect on the integration between empirical methods and normative questions, using as our platform recent bioethical and neuropsychological research into moral cognition, action, and experience. Finally, we present the protocol of a study concerning teenagers' morality in everyday life, discussing our epistemological choices as an example of a pragmatic approach in empirical ethics. We hope that this article conveys that even though the scope of neuroethics is broad, it is important not to move too far from the real life encounters that give rise to moral questions in the first place.
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22
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Jankowski KF, Batres J, Scott H, Smyda G, Pfeifer JH, Quevedo K. Feeling left out: depressed adolescents may atypically recruit emotional salience and regulation networks during social exclusion. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2018; 13:863-876. [PMID: 30059994 PMCID: PMC6123522 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsy055] [Citation(s) in RCA: 37] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/09/2017] [Revised: 07/04/2018] [Accepted: 07/11/2018] [Indexed: 02/02/2023] Open
Abstract
Depression is associated with negative attention and attribution biases and maladaptive emotion responsivity and regulation, which adversely impact self-evaluations and interpersonal relationships. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural substrates of these impairments. We compared neural activity recruited by 126 clinically depressed and healthy adolescents (ages 11-17 years) during social exclusion (Exclusion > Inclusion) using Cyberball. Results revealed significant interaction effects within left anterior insula (AI)/inferior frontal gyrus and left middle temporal gyrus. Insula hyperresponsivity was associated with peer exclusion for depressed adolescents but peer inclusion for healthy adolescents. In additional, healthy adolescents recruited greater lateral temporal activity during peer exclusion. Complementary effect size analyses within independent parcellations offered converging evidence, as well as highlighted medium-to-large effects within subgenual/ventral anterior cingulate cortex and lateral prefrontal, lateral temporal and lateral parietal regions implicated in emotion regulation. Depressogenic neural patterns were associated with negative self-perceptions and negative information processing biases. These findings suggest a neural mechanism underlying cognitive biases in depression, as reflected by emotional hyperresponsivity and maladaptive regulation/reappraisal of negative social evaluative information. This study lends further support for salience and central executive network dysfunction underlying social threat processing, and in particular, highlights the anterior insula as a key region of disturbance in adolescent depression.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Hannah Scott
- Department of Psychiatry, University of Minnesota
| | - Garry Smyda
- School of Public Health, University of Pittsburgh
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23
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Sachs ME, Habibi A, Damasio A, Kaplan JT. Decoding the neural signatures of emotions expressed through sound. Neuroimage 2018; 174:1-10. [DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.02.058] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/11/2017] [Revised: 02/23/2018] [Accepted: 02/27/2018] [Indexed: 12/15/2022] Open
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24
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25
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Fischer R, Poortinga YH. Addressing Methodological Challenges in Culture-Comparative Research. JOURNAL OF CROSS-CULTURAL PSYCHOLOGY 2018. [DOI: 10.1177/0022022117738086] [Citation(s) in RCA: 40] [Impact Index Per Article: 6.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
We address methodological challenges in cross-cultural and cultural psychology. First, we describe weaknesses in (quasi-)experimental designs, noting that cross-cultural designs typically do not allow any conclusive evidence of causality. Second, we argue that loose adherence to methodological principles of psychology and a focus on differences, while neglecting similarities, is distorting the literature. We highlight the importance of effect sizes and discuss the role of Bayesian statistics and meta-analysis for cross-cultural research. Third, we highlight issues of measurement bias and lack of equivalence, but note that recent large-scale projects involving researchers across many countries from the beginning of a study have much potential for overcoming biases and improving standards of equivalence. Fourth, we address some implications of multilevel models. Cultural processes are multilevel by definition and recent statistical advances can be used to explore these issues further. We believe this is an area where much theoretical work needs to be done and more rigorous methods applied. Fifth, we argue that the definition of culture and the psychological organization of cross-cultural differences as well as the definition of cultural populations to which research findings are generalized requires more attention. Sixth, we address the scope for anchoring cross-cultural research in biological variables and by asking multiple questions simultaneously, as advocated by Tinbergen for classical ethology. Bringing these discussions together, we provide recommendations for enhancing the methodological strength of culture-comparative studies to advance cross-cultural psychology as a scientific discipline.
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26
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Kaplan JT, Gimbel SI, Dehghani M, Immordino-Yang MH, Sagae K, Wong JD, Tipper CM, Damasio H, Gordon AS, Damasio A. Processing Narratives Concerning Protected Values: A Cross-Cultural Investigation of Neural Correlates. Cereb Cortex 2018; 27:1428-1438. [PMID: 26744541 DOI: 10.1093/cercor/bhv325] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Narratives are an important component of culture and play a central role in transmitting social values. Little is known, however, about how the brain of a listener/reader processes narratives. A receiver's response to narration is influenced by the narrator's framing and appeal to values. Narratives that appeal to "protected values," including core personal, national, or religious values, may be particularly effective at influencing receivers. Protected values resist compromise and are tied with identity, affective value, moral decision-making, and other aspects of social cognition. Here, we investigated the neural mechanisms underlying reactions to protected values in narratives. During fMRI scanning, we presented 78 American, Chinese, and Iranian participants with real-life stories distilled from a corpus of over 20 million weblogs. Reading these stories engaged the posterior medial, medial prefrontal, and temporo-parietal cortices. When participants believed that the protagonist was appealing to a protected value, signal in these regions was increased compared with when no protected value was perceived, possibly reflecting the intensive and iterative search required to process this material. The effect strength also varied across groups, potentially reflecting cultural differences in the degree of concern for protected values.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jonas T Kaplan
- Brain and Creativity Institute.,Department of Psychology
| | | | - Morteza Dehghani
- Brain and Creativity Institute.,Department of Psychology.,Department of Computer Science
| | - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute.,Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, USA
| | - Kenji Sagae
- Department of Computer Science.,Institute for Creative Technologies
| | | | | | - Hanna Damasio
- Brain and Creativity Institute.,Department of Psychology
| | - Andrew S Gordon
- Department of Computer Science.,Institute for Creative Technologies
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27
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Goldstein DS, Kopin IJ. Homeostatic systems, biocybernetics, and autonomic neuroscience. Auton Neurosci 2017; 208:15-28. [PMID: 28918243 PMCID: PMC5819891 DOI: 10.1016/j.autneu.2017.09.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 22] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/16/2017] [Revised: 09/02/2017] [Accepted: 09/04/2017] [Indexed: 12/20/2022]
Abstract
In this review we describe a series of major concepts introduced during the past 150years that have contributed to our current understanding about how physiological processes required for well-being and survival are regulated. One can theorize that hierarchical networks involving input-output relationships continuously orchestrate and learn adaptive patterns of observable behaviors, cognition, memory, mood, and autonomic systems. Taken together, these networks function as "good regulators" determining levels of internal variables and act as if there were homeostatic comparators ("homeostats"). The consequences of models with vs. without homeostats remain the same in terms of allostatic load and the eventual switch from stabilizing negative feedback loops to destabilizing, pathogenic positive feedback loops. Understanding this switch seems important for comprehending senescence-related, neurodegenerative disorders that involve the autonomic nervous system. Our general proposal is that disintegration of homeostatic systems causes disorders of regulation in degenerative diseases and that medical cybernetics can inspire and rationalize new approaches to treatment and prevention.
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Affiliation(s)
- David S Goldstein
- Clinical Neurocardiology Section, Clinical Neurosciences Program, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1620, USA.
| | - Irwin J Kopin
- Clinical Neurocardiology Section, Clinical Neurosciences Program, Division of Intramural Research, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD 20892-1620, USA
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28
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Fonagy P, Luyten P. Conduct problems in youth and the RDoC approach: A developmental, evolutionary-based view. Clin Psychol Rev 2017; 64:57-76. [PMID: 28935341 DOI: 10.1016/j.cpr.2017.08.010] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/13/2016] [Revised: 02/25/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Problems related to aggression in young people are traditionally subsumed under the header of conduct problems, which include conduct disorder and oppositional defiant disorder. Such problems in children and adolescents are an important societal and mental health problem. In this paper we present an evolutionarily informed developmental psychopathology view of conduct problems inspired by the NIMH Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) initiative. We assume that while there are many pathways to conduct problems, chronic or temporary impairments in the domain of social cognition or mentalizing are a common denominator. Specifically, we conceptualize conduct problems as reflecting temporary or chronic difficulties with mentalizing, that is, the capacity to understand the self and others in terms of intentional mental states, leading to a failure to inhibit interpersonal violence through a process of perspective-taking and empathy. These difficulties, in turn, stem from impairments in making use of a normally evolutionarily protected social learning system that functions to facilitate intergenerational knowledge transmission and protect social collaborative processes from impulsive and aggressive action. Temperamental, biological, and social risk factors in different combinations may all contribute to this outcome. This adaptation then interacts with impairments in other domains of functioning, such as in negative and positive valence systems and cognitive systems. This view highlights the importance of a complex interplay among biological, psychological, and environmental factors in understanding the origins of conduct problems. We outline the implications of these views for future research and intervention.
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Affiliation(s)
- Peter Fonagy
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, UK.
| | - Patrick Luyten
- Research Department of Clinical, Educational and Health Psychology, University College London, UK; Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, KU Leuven, Belgium
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29
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Liddell BJ, Felmingham KL, Das P, Whitford TJ, Malhi GS, Battaglini E, Bryant RA. Self-construal differences in neural responses to negative social cues. Biol Psychol 2017; 129:62-72. [PMID: 28782584 DOI: 10.1016/j.biopsycho.2017.07.023] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/20/2016] [Revised: 07/27/2017] [Accepted: 07/30/2017] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
Abstract
Cultures differ substantially in representations of the self. Whereas individualistic cultural groups emphasize an independent self, reflected in processing biases towards centralized salient objects, collectivistic cultures are oriented towards an interdependent self, attending to contextual associations between visual cues. It is unknown how these perceptual biases may affect brain activity in response to negative social cues. Moreover, while some studies have shown that individual differences in self-construal moderate cultural group comparisons, few have examined self-construal differences separate to culture. To investigate these issues, a final sample of a group of healthy participants high in trait levels of collectivistic self-construal (n=16) and individualistic self-construal (n=19), regardless of cultural background, completed a negative social cue evaluation task designed to engage face/object vs context-specific neural processes whilst undergoing fMRI scanning. Between-group analyses revealed that the collectivistic group exclusively engaged the parahippocampal gyrus (parahippocampal place area) - a region critical to contextual integration - during negative face processing - suggesting compensatory activations when contextual information was missing. The collectivist group also displayed enhanced negative context dependent brain activity involving the left superior occipital gyrus/cuneus and right anterior insula. By contrast, the individualistic group did not engage object or localized face processing regions as predicted, but rather demonstrated heightened appraisal and self-referential activations in medial prefrontal and temporoparietal regions to negative contexts - again suggesting compensatory processes when focal cues were absent. While individualists also appeared more sensitive to negative faces in the scenes, activating the right middle cingulate gyrus, dorsal prefrontal and parietal activations, this activity was observed relative to the scrambled baseline, and given that prefrontal and occipital regions were also engaged to neutral stimuli, may suggest an individualistic pattern to processing all social cues more generally. These findings suggest that individual differences in self-construal may be an important organizing framework facilitating perceptual processes to emotionally salient social cues, beyond the boundary of cultural group comparisons.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Kim L Felmingham
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Victoria, 3052, Australia
| | - Pritha Das
- Department of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School - Northern, University of Sydney, Level 3, Main Building, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonard's, New South Wales, 2065 Australia
| | | | - Gin S Malhi
- Department of Psychiatry, Sydney Medical School - Northern, University of Sydney, Level 3, Main Building, Royal North Shore Hospital, St. Leonard's, New South Wales, 2065 Australia
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30
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Immordino-Yang MH, Yang XF. Cultural differences in the neural correlates of social-emotional feelings: an interdisciplinary, developmental perspective. Curr Opin Psychol 2017; 17:34-40. [PMID: 28950970 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2017.06.008] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/28/2017] [Revised: 04/26/2017] [Accepted: 06/14/2017] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
Abstract
Social neuroscience has documented cultural differences in emotional brain functioning. Most recently, these differences have been extended to include cultural effects on the real-time neural correlates of social-emotional feelings. Here we review these findings and use them to illustrate a biopsychosocial framework for studying acculturated social-affective functioning and development. We argue that understanding cultural differences in emotion neurobiology requires probing their social origins and connection with individuals' subjective, lived experiences. We suggest that an interdisciplinary, developmental perspective would advance scientific understanding by enabling the invention of protocols aligning neurobiological measures with techniques for documenting cultural contexts, social relationships and subjective experiences. Such work would also facilitate insights in applied fields struggling to accommodate cultural variation, such as psychiatry and education.
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA.
| | - Xiao-Fei Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA; Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
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Venkatraman A, Edlow BL, Immordino-Yang MH. The Brainstem in Emotion: A Review. Front Neuroanat 2017; 11:15. [PMID: 28337130 PMCID: PMC5343067 DOI: 10.3389/fnana.2017.00015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 104] [Impact Index Per Article: 14.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/01/2016] [Accepted: 02/20/2017] [Indexed: 01/20/2023] Open
Abstract
Emotions depend upon the integrated activity of neural networks that modulate arousal, autonomic function, motor control, and somatosensation. Brainstem nodes play critical roles in each of these networks, but prior studies of the neuroanatomic basis of emotion, particularly in the human neuropsychological literature, have mostly focused on the contributions of cortical rather than subcortical structures. Given the size and complexity of brainstem circuits, elucidating their structural and functional properties involves technical challenges. However, recent advances in neuroimaging have begun to accelerate research into the brainstem’s role in emotion. In this review, we provide a conceptual framework for neuroscience, psychology and behavioral science researchers to study brainstem involvement in human emotions. The “emotional brainstem” is comprised of three major networks – Ascending, Descending and Modulatory. The Ascending network is composed chiefly of the spinothalamic tracts and their projections to brainstem nuclei, which transmit sensory information from the body to rostral structures. The Descending motor network is subdivided into medial projections from the reticular formation that modulate the gain of inputs impacting emotional salience, and lateral projections from the periaqueductal gray, hypothalamus and amygdala that activate characteristic emotional behaviors. Finally, the brainstem is home to a group of modulatory neurotransmitter pathways, such as those arising from the raphe nuclei (serotonergic), ventral tegmental area (dopaminergic) and locus coeruleus (noradrenergic), which form a Modulatory network that coordinates interactions between the Ascending and Descending networks. Integration of signaling within these three networks occurs at all levels of the brainstem, with progressively more complex forms of integration occurring in the hypothalamus and thalamus. These intermediary structures, in turn, provide input for the most complex integrations, which occur in the frontal, insular, cingulate and other regions of the cerebral cortex. Phylogenetically older brainstem networks inform the functioning of evolutionarily newer rostral regions, which in turn regulate and modulate the older structures. Via these bidirectional interactions, the human brainstem contributes to the evaluation of sensory information and triggers fixed-action pattern responses that together constitute the finely differentiated spectrum of possible emotions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Anand Venkatraman
- Department of Neurology, University of Alabama at Birmingham, Birmingham, AL USA
| | - Brian L Edlow
- Department of Neurology, Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA USA
| | - Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CAUSA; Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CAUSA; Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CAUSA
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Yang XF, Immordino-Yang MH. Culture and cardiac vagal tone independently influence emotional expressiveness. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2017. [DOI: 10.1007/s40167-017-0048-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022]
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Immordino-Yang MH, Yang XF, Damasio H. Cultural modes of expressing emotions influence how emotions are experienced. Emotion 2016; 16:1033-9. [PMID: 27270077 PMCID: PMC5042821 DOI: 10.1037/emo0000201] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
The brain's mapping of bodily responses during emotion contributes to emotional experiences, or feelings. Culture influences emotional expressiveness, that is, the magnitude of individuals' bodily responses during emotion. So, are cultural influences on behavioral expressiveness associated with differences in how individuals experience emotion? Chinese and American young adults reported how strongly admiration- and compassion-inducing stories made them feel, first in a private interview and then during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). As expected, Americans were more expressive in the interview. Although expressiveness did not predict stronger reported feelings or neural responses during fMRI, in both cultural groups more-expressive people showed tighter trial-by-trial correlations between their experienced strength of emotion and activations in visceral-somatosensory cortex, even after controlling for individuals' overall strength of reactions (neural and felt). Moreover, expressiveness mediated a previously described cultural effect in which activations in visceral-somatosensory cortex correlated with feeling strength among Americans but not among Chinese. Post hoc supplementary analyses revealed that more-expressive individuals reached peak activation of visceral-somatosensory cortex later in the emotion process and took longer to decide how strongly they felt. The results together suggest that differences in expressiveness correspond to differences in how somatosensory mechanisms contribute to constructing conscious feelings. By influencing expressiveness, culture may therefore influence how individuals know how strongly they feel, what conscious feelings are based on, or possibly what strong versus weak emotions "feel like." (PsycINFO Database Record
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Affiliation(s)
- Mary Helen Immordino-Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
- Rossier School of Education, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Xiao-Fei Yang
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
| | - Hanna Damasio
- Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
- Neuroscience Graduate Program, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
- Dornsife Cognitive Neuroscience Imaging Center, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA 90089, USA
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Liddell BJ, Jobson L. The impact of cultural differences in self-representation on the neural substrates of posttraumatic stress disorder. Eur J Psychotraumatol 2016; 7:30464. [PMID: 27302635 PMCID: PMC4908066 DOI: 10.3402/ejpt.v7.30464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/19/2015] [Revised: 05/12/2016] [Accepted: 05/14/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
A significant body of literature documents the neural mechanisms involved in the development and maintenance of posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD). However, there is very little empirical work considering the influence of culture on these underlying mechanisms. Accumulating cultural neuroscience research clearly indicates that cultural differences in self-representation modulate many of the same neural processes proposed to be aberrant in PTSD. The objective of this review paper is to consider how culture may impact on the neural mechanisms underlying PTSD. We first outline five key affective and cognitive functions and their underlying neural correlates that have been identified as being disrupted in PTSD: (1) fear dysregulation; (2) attentional biases to threat; (3) emotion and autobiographical memory; (4) self-referential processing; and (5) attachment and interpersonal processing. Second, we consider prominent cultural theories and review the empirical research that has demonstrated the influence of cultural variations in self-representation on the neural substrates of these same five affective and cognitive functions. Finally, we propose a conceptual model that suggests that these five processes have major relevance to considering how culture may influence the neural processes underpinning PTSD.
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Affiliation(s)
- Belinda J Liddell
- School of Psychology, University of New South Wales Australia, Sydney, Australia;
| | - Laura Jobson
- School of Psychological Sciences, Monash University, Clayton, Australia
- Monash Institute of Cognitive and Clinical Neurosciences, Clayton, Australia
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Kirmayer LJ, Ryder AG. Culture and psychopathology. Curr Opin Psychol 2016; 8:143-148. [DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.10.020] [Citation(s) in RCA: 62] [Impact Index Per Article: 7.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2015] [Accepted: 10/08/2015] [Indexed: 02/06/2023]
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Koelkebeck K, Uwatoko T, Tanaka J, Kret ME. How culture shapes social cognition deficits in mental disorders: A review. Soc Neurosci 2016; 12:102-112. [PMID: 26899265 DOI: 10.1080/17470919.2016.1155482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 10/22/2022]
Abstract
Social cognitive skills are indispensable for successful communication with others. Substantial research has determined deficits in these abilities in patients with mental disorders. In neurobiological development and continuing into adulthood, cross-cultural differences in social cognition have been demonstrated. Moreover, symptomatic patterns in mental disorders may vary according to the cultural background of an individual. Cross-cultural studies can thus help in understanding underlying (biological) mechanisms and factors that influence behavior in health and disease. In addition, studies that apply novel paradigms assessing the impact of culture on cognition may benefit and advance neuroscience research. In this review, the authors give an overview of cross-cultural research in the field of social cognition in health and in mental disorders and provide an outlook on future research directions, taking a neuroscience perspective.
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Affiliation(s)
- Katja Koelkebeck
- a Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy , School of Medicine, University of Muenster , Muenster , Germany
| | - Teruhisa Uwatoko
- b Department of Psychiatry , Graduate School of Medicine, Kyoto University , Sakyo-ku, Kyoto , Japan.,c Kyoto University Health Service , Sakyo-ku, Kyoto , Japan
| | - Jiro Tanaka
- d Faculty of Modern Languages and Cultures , Santa Monica College , Santa Monica , CA , USA.,e Adjunct Faculty in Foreign Languages , Los Angeles Valley College , Valley Glen , CA , USA
| | - Mariska Esther Kret
- f The Cognitive Psychology Unit , Leiden University, Institute of Psychology , AK , Leiden
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Park B, Tsai JL, Chim L, Blevins E, Knutson B. Neural evidence for cultural differences in the valuation of positive facial expressions. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci 2016; 11:243-52. [PMID: 26342220 PMCID: PMC4733341 DOI: 10.1093/scan/nsv113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 26] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/05/2015] [Revised: 08/27/2015] [Accepted: 09/01/2015] [Indexed: 11/14/2022] Open
Abstract
European Americans value excitement more and calm less than Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans value excited and calm states similarly, whereas Chinese value calm more than excited states. To examine how these cultural differences influence people's immediate responses to excited vs calm facial expressions, we combined a facial rating task with functional magnetic resonance imaging. During scanning, European American (n = 19) and Chinese (n = 19) females viewed and rated faces that varied by expression (excited, calm), ethnicity (White, Asian) and gender (male, female). As predicted, European Americans showed greater activity in circuits associated with affect and reward (bilateral ventral striatum, left caudate) while viewing excited vs calm expressions than did Chinese. Within cultures, European Americans responded to excited vs calm expressions similarly, whereas Chinese showed greater activity in these circuits in response to calm vs excited expressions regardless of targets' ethnicity or gender. Across cultural groups, greater ventral striatal activity while viewing excited vs. calm expressions predicted greater preference for excited vs calm expressions months later. These findings provide neural evidence that people find viewing the specific positive facial expressions valued by their cultures to be rewarding and relevant.
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Affiliation(s)
- BoKyung Park
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA and
| | - Jeanne L Tsai
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA and
| | - Louise Chim
- Department of Psychology, University of Victoria, Victoria, BC, Canada
| | - Elizabeth Blevins
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA and
| | - Brian Knutson
- Department of Psychology, Stanford University, Stanford, CA 94305, USA and
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Fox GR, Kaplan J, Damasio H, Damasio A. Neural correlates of gratitude. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1491. [PMID: 26483740 PMCID: PMC4588123 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01491] [Citation(s) in RCA: 30] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/07/2015] [Accepted: 09/16/2015] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
Gratitude is an important aspect of human sociality, and is valued by religions and moral philosophies. It has been established that gratitude leads to benefits for both mental health and interpersonal relationships. It is thus important to elucidate the neurobiological correlates of gratitude, which are only now beginning to be investigated. To this end, we conducted an experiment during which we induced gratitude in participants while they underwent functional magnetic resonance imaging. We hypothesized that gratitude ratings would correlate with activity in brain regions associated with moral cognition, value judgment and theory of mind. The stimuli used to elicit gratitude were drawn from stories of survivors of the Holocaust, as many survivors report being sheltered by strangers or receiving lifesaving food and clothing, and having strong feelings of gratitude for such gifts. The participants were asked to place themselves in the context of the Holocaust and imagine what their own experience would feel like if they received such gifts. For each gift, they rated how grateful they felt. The results revealed that ratings of gratitude correlated with brain activity in the anterior cingulate cortex and medial prefrontal cortex, in support of our hypotheses. The results provide a window into the brain circuitry for moral cognition and positive emotion that accompanies the experience of benefitting from the goodwill of others.
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Affiliation(s)
- Glenn R. Fox
- Department of Psychology, Brain and Creativity Institute, University of Southern CaliforniaLos Angeles, CA, USA
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Mesquita B, Boiger M, De Leersnyder J. The cultural construction of emotions. Curr Opin Psychol 2015; 8:31-36. [PMID: 29506799 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2015.09.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 51] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/02/2015] [Revised: 09/14/2015] [Accepted: 09/15/2015] [Indexed: 10/23/2022]
Abstract
A large body of anthropological and psychological research on emotions has yielded significant evidence that emotional experience is culturally constructed: people more commonly experience those emotions that help them to be a good and typical person in their culture. Moreover, experiencing these culturally normative emotions is associated with greater well-being. In this review, we summarize recent research showing how emotions are actively constructed to meet the demands of the respective cultural environment; we discuss collective as well as individual processes of construction. By focusing on cultural construction of emotion, we shift the focus toward how people from different cultures 'do' emotions and away from which emotions they 'have'.
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Gerdes L, Tegeler CH, Lee SW. A groundwork for allostatic neuro-education. Front Psychol 2015; 6:1224. [PMID: 26347688 PMCID: PMC4538224 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01224] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/01/2014] [Accepted: 08/03/2015] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
We propose to enliven educational practice by marrying a conception of education as guided human development, to an advanced scientific understanding of the brain known as allostasis (stability through change). The result is a groundwork for allostatic neuro-education (GANE). Education as development encompasses practices including the organic (homeschooling and related traditions), cognitive acquisition (emphasis on standards and testing), and the constructivist (aimed to support adaptive creativity for both learner and society). Allostasis views change to be the norm in biology, defines success in contexts of complex natural environments rather than controlled settings, and identifies the brain as the organ of central command. Allostatic neuro-education contrasts with education focused dominantly on testing, or neuroscience based on homeostasis (stability through constancy). The GANE perspective is to view learners in terms of their neurodevelopmental trajectories; its objective is to support authentic freedom, mediated by competent, integrated, and expansive executive functionality (concordant with the philosophy of freedom of Rudolf Steiner); and its strategy is to be attuned to rhythms in various forms (including those of autonomic arousal described in polyvagal theory) so as to enable experiential excitement for learning. The GANE presents a variety of testable hypotheses, and studies that explore prevention or mitigation of the effects of early life adversity or toxic stress on learning and development may be of particular importance. Case studies are presented illustrating use of allostatic neurotechnology by an adolescent male carrying diagnoses of Asperger’s syndrome and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, and a grade school girl with reading difficulties. The GANE is intended as a re-visioning of education that may serve both learners and society to be better prepared for the accelerating changes of the 21st century.
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Affiliation(s)
- Lee Gerdes
- Brain State Technologies LLC Scottsdale, AZ, USA
| | - Charles H Tegeler
- Department of Neurology, Wake Forest School of Medicine Winston-Salem, NC, USA
| | - Sung W Lee
- Brain State Technologies LLC Scottsdale, AZ, USA ; Running River School Sedona, AZ, USA
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Abstract
Youth exposed to family aggression may become more aggressive themselves, but the mechanisms of intergenerational transmission are understudied. In a longitudinal study, we found that adolescents' reduced neural activation when rating their parents' emotions, assessed via magnetic resonance imaging, mediated the association between parents' past aggression and adolescents' subsequent aggressive behavior toward parents. A subsample of 21 youth, drawn from the larger study, underwent magnetic resonance imaging scanning proximate to the second of two assessments of the family environment. At Time 1 (when youth were on average 15.51 years old) we measured parents' aggressive marital and parent-child conflict behaviors, and at Time 2 (≈2 years later), we measured youth aggression directed toward parents. Youth from more aggressive families showed relatively less activation to parent stimuli in brain areas associated with salience and socioemotional processing, including the insula and limbic structures. Activation patterns in these same areas were also associated with youths' subsequent parent-directed aggression. The association between parents' aggression and youths' subsequent parent-directed aggression was statistically mediated by signal change coefficients in the insula, right amygdala, thalamus, and putamen. These signal change coefficients were also positively associated with scores on a mentalizing measure. Hypoarousal of the emotional brain to family stimuli may support the intergenerational transmission of family aggression.
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Cerebral Activity Changes in Different Traditional Chinese Medicine Patterns of Psychogenic Erectile Dysfunction Patients. EVIDENCE-BASED COMPLEMENTARY AND ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE 2015; 2015:503536. [PMID: 26180534 PMCID: PMC4477190 DOI: 10.1155/2015/503536] [Citation(s) in RCA: 5] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/04/2014] [Revised: 01/03/2015] [Accepted: 01/16/2015] [Indexed: 02/05/2023]
Abstract
Background. Pattern differentiation is the foundation of traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) treatment for erectile dysfunction (ED). This study aims to investigate the differences in cerebral activity in ED patients with different TCM patterns. Methods. 27 psychogenic ED patients and 27 healthy subjects (HS) were enrolled in this study. Each participant underwent an fMRI scan in resting state. The fractional amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (fALFF) was used to detect the brain activity changes in ED patients with different patterns. Results. Compared to HS, ED patients showed an increased cerebral activity in bilateral cerebellum, insula, globus pallidus, parahippocampal gyrus, orbitofrontal cortex (OFC), and middle cingulate cortex (MCC). Compared to the patients with liver-qi stagnation and spleen deficiency pattern (LSSDP), the patients with kidney-yang deficiency pattern (KDP) showed an increased activity in bilateral brainstem, cerebellum, hippocampus, and the right insula, thalamus, MCC, and a decreased activity in bilateral putamen, medial frontal gyrus, temporal pole, and the right caudate nucleus, OFC, anterior cingulate cortex, and posterior cingulate cortex (P < 0.005). Conclusions. The ED patients with different TCM patterns showed different brain activities. The differences in cerebral activity between LSSDP and KDP were mainly in the emotion-related regions, including prefrontal cortex and cingulated cortex.
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