Social Neuroscience最新文献

Evidence remained conflicting regarding how the prefrontal cortex supported decision-making abilities, particularly in patients with focal prefrontal cortex lesions. While damage to this region was known to impair executive functioning, the precise contribution of such deficits to decision-making performance - especially under varying levels of uncertainty - remained debated. Moreover, cognitive estimation processes, which were associated with logical reasoning and prefrontal involvement, had rarely been examined in relation to decision-making tasks. To clarify these associations, we administered a cognitive estimation task and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), alongside a battery of executive function tests, to 30 patients with focal prefrontal damage and 30 matched control subjects. Our results indicated that patients showed consistent impairment across executive functions, cognitive estimation, and decision-making under risk. Furthermore, correlation and regression analyses revealed that performance on executive tasks and cognitive estimation predicted IGT outcomes, particularly under risk conditions. Finally, voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping identified a bilateral prefrontal network - spanning ventromedial, dorsomedial, and dorsolateral regions - associated with impaired IGT performance. These findings suggested that the multidimensional nature of the IGT was associated with complex executive and inferential reasoning demands and implicated diverse patterns of frontal dysfunction beyond the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

Adolescence is marked by major changes in self-regulation, goal pursuit, and brain function. Regulatory focus theory (RFT) distinguishes between promotion and prevention self-regulatory systems, activated by ideal and ought goals, respectively. These systems have been studied in adults using fMRI; however, adolescent-specific patterns of activation are not yet well understood. In a normative adult sample, observed shared and unique regions of activation associated with idiographically assessed promotion vs. prevention priming, as well as variations in BOLD response depending on whether participants believed they were or were not making progress attaining the goal. In the present developmental extension, we examined whether adolescents exhibited neural activation patterns in response to ideal and ought priming consistent with adult findings. We measured brain activation during goal priming in 47 healthy adolescents (ages 13-17). Analyses revealed a linear increase in BOLD response to personally meaningful (vs. yoked control) goal-related adjectives across repeated priming blocks in regions including the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior cingulate cortex, and precuneus - regions associated with self-referential processing and regulatory focus. These results suggest that adolescents recruit neural circuits associated with self-relevant cognition in response to promotion and prevention goals.

Social categorization of faces provides a key cognitive basis of human behavior and may occur along various dimensions of facial attributes. The present study investigated a potential hierarchical structure of social categorization of faces based on a superordinate (Species) versus a subordinate (Race) level of abstraction of facial attributes. We recorded behavioral performances in a face classification task and found faster responses to the same set of Asian faces when presented alternately with dog faces (a species context) relative to Black faces (a race context). In addition, using a repetition suppression (RS) paradigm, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals to Asian faces in the species and race contexts, respectively. Our analyses of the RS effects on EEG/MEG signals revealed earlier neural encoding of similarity of Asian faces in the right fusiform gyrus at 140-200 ms and in the left temporoparietal junction at 317-413 ms after stimulus onset when Asian faces were displayed in the species (vs. race) context. These behavioral and EEG/MEG findings unravel the neurocognitive mechanisms of context-dependent social categorization of faces by highlighting its hierarchically organized structure based on different levels of facial attributes.

The preschool years are crucial for developing theory of mind (ToM) - understanding others' mental states. During this period, children transition from failing to passing explicit False Belief Tasks (eFBT), but the neural mechanisms behind this shift remain unclear. While the adult ToM brain network is well-studied, neuroimaging of children under six is limited. Most studies treat eFBT as a single process, overlooking distinct neurocognitive mechanisms in forming mental state representations (belief formation phase) and applying them to complete tasks (explicit answer phase). To address this gap, we investigated brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during eFBT completion in preschoolers. Results show that the key brain regions critical for mentalizing (temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) activate in children regardless of their eFBT performance. This pattern was observed during the belief formation phase, when the discrepancy between the child's belief and the protagonist's belief is introduced. In addition, greater activity in the right IFG was observed in Passers compared to Non Passers during the explicit answer phase, regardless of condition. This suggests that Passers exerted more attention, possibly becoming more effective at applying belief-related knowledge during response selection. Findings align with developmental continuity approach to ToM development.

Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common disorder influenced by biopsychosocial factors. There is conflicting and insufficient evidence regarding the role of neuropeptides such as Orexin-A and Oxytocin (OCT) and its association with empathy in MDD. This study aimed to address this question which is not only important for a better neurobiological understanding but could also lead to novel biomarkers. Sixty-nine antidepressant-free patients (48 females, 21 males) diagnosed with MDD according to DSM-5 criteria and 32 healthy controls (19 females, 13 males) were included. Serum Orexin-A and OCT levels were measured, and empathy and depression were assessed using the Basic Empathy Scale and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Patients showed lower cognitive empathy than controls (Z = 4.161, p < 0.001), with significant differences only in females. Emotional and total empathy scores did not differ between groups. Patients had higher serum OCT levels (Z = 1.989, p = 0.047), while Orexin-A levels showed no clear group differences. Longer illness duration and more depressive episodes were modestly associated with higher emotional and total empathy. OCT levels showed a weak positive association with cognitive empathy. Lower cognitive empathy and elevated OCT levels may relate to depressive pathology, but further studies are needed to clarify these relationships.

The inconsistent change of inequity aversion under procedural justice may result from the individual difference of cognitive processing ability for information. Deaf college students' social cognition is challenged by systemic barriers that limit inclusive communication and social interaction. However, it is still unknown how inequity aversion manifests among deaf college students in the context of procedural justice. In this study, we recruited 28 deaf and 31 hearing college students by using a modified dictator game combined with Event-related potentials (ERPs). Behavioral results showed that all participants were more satisfied with equitable offer, extremely advantageous inequitable and moderately advantageous inequitable offers, followed by moderately disadvantageous inequitable offers, and lowest for extremely disadvantageous inequitable offers. Interestingly, we found only in deaf college students that the extremely, moderately advantageous inequitable and moderately disadvantageous inequitable offers all induced more negative feedback-related negativity (FRN) than equitable offer. Furthermore, the equitable offer induced more positive P300 than any of the inequitable offers. The results indicated that even under procedural justice, deaf college students still exhibit pronounced inequity aversion, highlighting their preference to fairness norms. These findings empirically characterize inequity aversion in special populations and provide theoretical support for enhancing educational integration in colleges and universities.

This study investigates the neural correlates of MBU within dyadic moral communication, using a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning paradigm. Thirty participants engaged in a structured exchange on a moral dilemma, assuming one of two roles: the facilitator and the adjuster. Hemodynamic activity was recorded across prefrontal channels. Results revealed a significant increase of oxygenated hemoglobin in right lateral prefrontal cortex activation (Ch4) in adjusters compared to facilitators, highlighting the role of this region in social metacognition, behavioral regulation, and high-level cognitive control during MBU. Exploratory correlations further indicated that facilitators' neural activation was associated by dispositional traits such as decision-making style, empathy, and conscientiousness. These findings highlight the role of interpersonal co-construction and individual meaning-making processes in influencing neurocognitive responses to moral discussions. The study presents a multidimensional model of MBU as a socially embedded, emotionally modulated, and cognitively demanding process, impacting moral and communication psychology and organizational ethics.

Social threat is both a source and consequence of implicit bias against Asian Americans, who are often stereotyped as "perpetual foreigners," posing some threat to (white) American values. The implicit nature of these attitudes makes investigating anti-Asian bias difficult as self-report and behavioral data suffer from social desirability and learning effects. To investigate implicit social threat in anti-Asian bias, we presented participants with a passage critical of American values, purportedly written by a white American (ingroup) or by an Asian American author (outgroup). We utilized electrodermal responses (GSR) to measure autonomic arousal, and cerebral blood oxygenation (fNIRS) to measure cognitive control. Our results suggest that implicit social threats are physiologically represented similar to other feelings of threat, which become more extreme when interacting with a perceived outgroup member. Follow-up analyses suggest that the autonomic responses are moderated by higher-order cognitions, evidenced by changes in blood oxygenation in the anterior and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which occurred independently of behavioral responses obtained after the experimental manipulation. Together, these results indicate that while more abstract feelings of threat are implicitly represented in a salient physiological manner, higher-order cognitive faculties can attenuate them, and innate attitudes need not supersede mindful and learned behavior.

Romantic partners rely on key information from their partner's face to facilitate optimal social connections. Evidence suggests that the brain differentially responds to a partner's face as evidenced by event-related potentials (ERPs). Yet, little is known about how ERP responses are modulated by day-to-day biological or psychological shifts. In this study, we examined whether daily experiences related to feeling loved by ones' partner influenced brain responses. Twenty-eight adult romantic partners (20-40 years old) completed twice-daily surveys prior to completing a passive ERP face perception task. Amplitudes were larger to partner's face relative to celebrity (peak N250, mean P3) or stranger faces (mean P3). Greater mean level of feeling loved by partner was related to more negative N250 amplitudes and more positive P3 amplitudes across all conditions (partner, celebrity, and stranger faces). Persons with less variability in feeling loved by partner had more negative N250 amplitudes in response to their partner's face. These results suggest that daily experiences modulate neural markers of familiarity (N250, P3) and that less stability in feeling loved may influence facial identity retrieval for individuals giving the love.

This explorative hyperscanning EEG whole-brain study describes activation networks within and between brains representing leading and following behavior. The directed information flow was analyzed for singles and pairs of brains simultaneously activated using the graph-based algorithm of PCMCI. This algorithm was previously tested for frontal activations in singles and pairs of brains, returning significant directed statistical dependencies. The participants led and followed each other using a minimal model based on rhythmic tapping. This whole-brain study resulted in directed causal connections representing neuronal networks for the social activities studied. The brain regions exhibiting the highest number of connections were chosen for further analysis from the extensive network of connections. This resulted in four networks representing within-brain and between-brains, respectively, for leading and following. Network commonalities aligned with previous research of leading and following reflecting cognition, working memory and social cognition, visual attention, and motoric engagement. Follower networks exhibited socially adaptive activations. The between-brain networks appear to involve more brain regions, possibly reflecting the more complex situation involving another person. The PCMCI could prove to be a suitable tool for identifying whole-brain networks of directed causality that represent leading and following, both within and between brains, using hyperscanning EEG data.