scholarly journals Human face processing is tuned to sexual age preferences

2014 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 20140200 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Ponseti ◽  
O. Granert ◽  
T. van Eimeren ◽  
O. Jansen ◽  
S. Wolff ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Processing ◽  
Sexual Maturity ◽  
Response Pattern ◽  
Sexual Attraction ◽  
Reproductive Behaviour ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Face Images ◽  
Nucleus Caudatus ◽  
Human Faces

Human faces can motivate nurturing behaviour or sexual behaviour when adults see a child or an adult face, respectively. This suggests that face processing is tuned to detecting age cues of sexual maturity to stimulate the appropriate reproductive behaviour: either caretaking or mating. In paedophilia, sexual attraction is directed to sexually immature children. Therefore, we hypothesized that brain networks that normally are tuned to mature faces of the preferred gender show an abnormal tuning to sexual immature faces in paedophilia. Here, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to test directly for the existence of a network which is tuned to face cues of sexual maturity. During fMRI, participants sexually attracted to either adults or children were exposed to various face images. In individuals attracted to adults, adult faces activated several brain regions significantly more than child faces. These brain regions comprised areas known to be implicated in face processing, and sexual processing, including occipital areas, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex and, subcortically, the putamen and nucleus caudatus. The same regions were activated in paedophiles, but with a reversed preferential response pattern.

scholarly journals Awake fMRI reveals a specialized region in dog temporal cortex for face processing

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel D Dilks ◽  
Peter Cook ◽  
Samuel K Weiller ◽  
Helen P Berns ◽  
Mark H Spivak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Processing ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Everyday Objects ◽  
Face Area ◽  
Face Selectivity ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
Specialized Region ◽  
Human Faces

Recent behavioral evidence suggests that dogs, like humans and monkeys, are capable of visual face recognition. But do dogs also exhibit specialized cortical face regions similar to humans and monkeys? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in six dogs trained to remain motionless during scanning without restraint or sedation, we found a region in the canine temporal lobe that responded significantly more to movies of human faces than to movies of everyday objects. Next, using a new stimulus set to investigate face selectivity in this predefined candidate dog face area, we found that this region responded similarly to images of human faces and dog faces, yet significantly more to both human and dog faces than to images of objects. Such face selectivity was not found in dog primary visual cortex. Taken together, these findings: 1) provide the first evidence for a face-selective region in the temporal cortex of dogs, which cannot be explained by simple low-level visual feature extraction; 2) reveal that neural machinery dedicated to face processing is not unique to primates; and 3) may help explain dogs’ exquisite sensitivity to human social cues.

scholarly journals Robot Face Memorability is Affected by Uncanny Appearance

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allie Geiger ◽  
Benjamin Balas
Keyword(s):  
Face Recognition ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Memory Task ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Study Phase ◽  
Human Face ◽  
Human Face Recognition ◽  
Social Agents ◽  
Face Images ◽  
Human Faces

Human face recognition is influenced by various social and environmental constructs. For example, both age and race can affect the likelihood that a human face will be correctly recalled. Interestingly, general face appearance (i.e. friendly or untrustworthy faces) can also influence memorability. As human-robot interaction (HRI) becomes more commonplace, understanding what factors influence face recognition for non-human social agents is increasingly important. In particular, while there is a growing literature comparing the recognition of real human faces to computer-generated face images, comparisons between human face processing and robot face processing are largely unexplored. Here, we examined how the uncanny/eeriness of robot-faces affects memorability by using a 2AFC old/new task with various robot faces. Participants rated robot and human faces on perceived uncanniness during a study phase and were subsequently given a surprise memory task with only a fraction of the previously-encountered robot faces. Our results suggest that robots who are rated as more uncanny are more memorable than those that do not elicit the eerie feelings that correspond with uncanny faces: The more uncanny the robot face, the more accurately and quickly they were recalled. We discuss these results in the context of the design of social agents for HRI and also vis-a-vis theories of human face recognition and memory.

scholarly journals Awake fMRI reveals a specialized region in dog temporal cortex for face processing

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel D Dilks ◽  
Peter Cook ◽  
Samuel K Weiller ◽  
Helen P Berns ◽  
Mark H Spivak ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Face Processing ◽  
Temporal Cortex ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Everyday Objects ◽  
Face Area ◽  
Face Selectivity ◽  
Behavioral Evidence ◽  
Specialized Region ◽  
Human Faces

Recent behavioral evidence suggests that dogs, like humans and monkeys, are capable of visual face recognition. But do dogs also exhibit specialized cortical face regions similar to humans and monkeys? Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in six dogs trained to remain motionless during scanning without restraint or sedation, we found a region in the canine temporal lobe that responded significantly more to movies of human faces than to movies of everyday objects. Next, using a new stimulus set to investigate face selectivity in this predefined candidate dog face area, we found that this region responded similarly to images of human faces and dog faces, yet significantly more to both human and dog faces than to images of objects. Such face selectivity was not found in dog primary visual cortex. Taken together, these findings: 1) provide the first evidence for a face-selective region in the temporal cortex of dogs, which cannot be explained by simple low-level visual feature extraction; 2) reveal that neural machinery dedicated to face processing is not unique to primates; and 3) may help explain dogs’ exquisite sensitivity to human social cues.

scholarly journals Antagonism between brain regions relevant for cognitive control and emotional memory facilitates the generation of humorous ideas

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Florian Bitsch ◽  
Philipp Berger ◽  
Andreas Fink ◽  
Arne Nagels ◽  
Benjamin Straube ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Control ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Emotional Memory ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Frontal Brain ◽  
Successful Resolution ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe ability to generate humor gives rise to positive emotions and thus facilitate the successful resolution of adversity. Although there is consensus that inhibitory processes might be related to broaden the way of thinking, the neural underpinnings of these mechanisms are largely unknown. Here, we use functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, a humorous alternative uses task and a stroop task, to investigate the brain mechanisms underlying the emergence of humorous ideas in 24 subjects. Neuroimaging results indicate that greater cognitive control abilities are associated with increased activation in the amygdala, the hippocampus and the superior and medial frontal gyrus during the generation of humorous ideas. Examining the neural mechanisms more closely shows that the hypoactivation of frontal brain regions is associated with an hyperactivation in the amygdala and vice versa. This antagonistic connectivity is concurrently linked with an increased number of humorous ideas and enhanced amygdala responses during the task. Our data therefore suggests that a neural antagonism previously related to the emergence and regulation of negative affective responses, is linked with the generation of emotionally positive ideas and may represent an important neural pathway supporting mental health.

scholarly journals Neural substrates of propranolol-induced impairments in the reconsolidation of nicotine-associated memories in smokers

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Xiao Lin ◽  
Jiahui Deng ◽  
Kai Yuan ◽  
Qiandong Wang ◽  
Lin Liu ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Activity ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Reward Processing ◽  
Memory Reconsolidation ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Postcentral Gyrus ◽  
Propranolol Group ◽  
Propranolol Administration

AbstractThe majority of smokers relapse even after successfully quitting because of the craving to smoking after unexpectedly re-exposed to smoking-related cues. This conditioned craving is mediated by reward memories that are frequently experienced and stubbornly resistant to treatment. Reconsolidation theory posits that well-consolidated memories are destabilized after retrieval, and this process renders memories labile and vulnerable to amnestic intervention. This study tests the retrieval reconsolidation procedure to decrease nicotine craving among people who smoke. In this study, 52 male smokers received a single dose of propranolol (n = 27) or placebo (n = 25) before the reactivation of nicotine-associated memories to impair the reconsolidation process. Craving for smoking and neural activity in response to smoking-related cues served as primary outcomes. Functional magnetic resonance imaging was performed during the memory reconsolidation process. The disruption of reconsolidation by propranolol decreased craving for smoking. Reactivity of the postcentral gyrus in response to smoking-related cues also decreased in the propranolol group after the reconsolidation manipulation. Functional connectivity between the hippocampus and striatum was higher during memory reconsolidation in the propranolol group. Furthermore, the increase in coupling between the hippocampus and striatum positively correlated with the decrease in craving after the reconsolidation manipulation in the propranolol group. Propranolol administration before memory reactivation disrupted the reconsolidation of smoking-related memories in smokers by mediating brain regions that are involved in memory and reward processing. These findings demonstrate the noradrenergic regulation of memory reconsolidation in humans and suggest that adjunct propranolol administration can facilitate the treatment of nicotine dependence. The present study was pre-registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (registration no. ChiCTR1900024412).

scholarly journals Pain Detection and the Privacy of Subjective Experience

2007 ◽  
Vol 33 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 433-456 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam J. Kolber
Keyword(s):  
Subjective Experience ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Physical Pain ◽  
Medical Evidence ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Positron Emission ◽  
Pain Symptoms ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Neuroimaging Techniques

A neurologist with abdominal pain goes to see a gastroenterologist for treatment. The gastroenterologist asks the neurologist where it hurts. The neurologist replies, “In my head, of course.” Indeed, while we can feel pain throughout much of our bodies, pain signals undergo most of their processing in the brain. Using neuroimaging techniques like functional magnetic resonance imaging (“fMRI”) and positron emission tomography (“PET”), researchers have more precisely identified brain regions that enable us to experience physical pain. Certain regions of the brain's cortex, for example, increase in activation when subjects are exposed to painful stimuli. Furthermore, the amount of activation increases with the intensity of the painful stimulus. These findings suggest that we may be able to gain insight into the amount of pain a particular person is experiencing by non-invasively imaging his brain.Such insight could be particularly valuable in the courtroom where we often have no definitive medical evidence to prove or disprove claims about the existence and extent of pain symptoms.

scholarly journals Globally conditioned Granger causality in brain–brain and brain–heart interactions: a combined heart rate variability/ultra-high-field (7 T) functional magnetic resonance imaging study

2016 ◽  
Vol 374 (2067) ◽  
pp. 20150185 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrea Duggento ◽  
Marta Bianciardi ◽  
Luca Passamonti ◽  
Lawrence L. Wald ◽  
Maria Guerrisi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
Resting State ◽  
High Field ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Sympathovagal Balance ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Ultra High Field ◽  
Conditioned Approach

The causal, directed interactions between brain regions at rest (brain–brain networks) and between resting-state brain activity and autonomic nervous system (ANS) outflow (brain–heart links) have not been completely elucidated. We collected 7 T resting-state functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data with simultaneous respiration and heartbeat recordings in nine healthy volunteers to investigate (i) the causal interactions between cortical and subcortical brain regions at rest and (ii) the causal interactions between resting-state brain activity and the ANS as quantified through a probabilistic, point-process-based heartbeat model which generates dynamical estimates for sympathetic and parasympathetic activity as well as sympathovagal balance. Given the high amount of information shared between brain-derived signals, we compared the results of traditional bivariate Granger causality (GC) with a globally conditioned approach which evaluated the additional influence of each brain region on the causal target while factoring out effects concomitantly mediated by other brain regions. The bivariate approach resulted in a large number of possibly spurious causal brain–brain links, while, using the globally conditioned approach, we demonstrated the existence of significant selective causal links between cortical/subcortical brain regions and sympathetic and parasympathetic modulation as well as sympathovagal balance. In particular, we demonstrated a causal role of the amygdala, hypothalamus, brainstem and, among others, medial, middle and superior frontal gyri, superior temporal pole, paracentral lobule and cerebellar regions in modulating the so-called central autonomic network (CAN). In summary, we show that, provided proper conditioning is employed to eliminate spurious causalities, ultra-high-field functional imaging coupled with physiological signal acquisition and GC analysis is able to quantify directed brain–brain and brain–heart interactions reflecting central modulation of ANS outflow.

Hedonic-Specific Activity in Piriform Cortex During Odor Imagery Mimics That During Odor Perception

2007 ◽  
Vol 98 (6) ◽  
pp. 3254-3262 ◽  
Author(s):  
Moustafa Bensafi ◽  
Noam Sobel ◽  
Rehan M. Khan
Keyword(s):  
Specific Activity ◽  
Piriform Cortex ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Specific Pattern ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Odor Perception ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
Visual Cortical ◽  
Left Insula

Although it is known that visual imagery is accompanied by activity in visual cortical areas, including primary visual cortex, whether olfactory imagery exists remains controversial. Here we asked whether cue-dependent olfactory imagery was similarly accompanied by activity in olfactory cortex, and in particular whether hedonic-specific patterns of activity evident in olfactory perception would also be present during olfactory imagery. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging to measure activity in subjects who alternated between smelling and imagining pleasant and unpleasant odors. Activity induced by imagining odors mimicked that induced by perceiving real odorants, not only in the particular brain regions activated, but also in its hedonic-specific pattern. For both real and imagined odors, unpleasant stimuli induced greater activity than pleasant stimuli in the left frontal portion of piriform cortex and left insula. These findings combine with findings from other modalities to suggest activation of primary sensory cortical structures during mental imagery of sensory events.

scholarly journals Increased sensitivity to strong perturbations in a whole-brain model of LSD

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice M. Jobst ◽  
Selen Atasoy ◽  
Adrián Ponce-Alvarez ◽  
Ana Sanjuán ◽  
Leor Roseman ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging ◽  
External Perturbation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Lysergic Acid ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Whole Brain ◽  
Response Diversity ◽  
Brain States ◽  
The Brain

AbstractLysergic acid diethylamide (LSD) is a potent psychedelic drug, which has seen a revival in clinical and pharmacological research within recent years. Human neuroimaging studies have shown fundamental changes in brain-wide functional connectivity and an expansion of dynamical brain states, thus raising the question about a mechanistic explanation of the dynamics underlying these alterations. Here, we applied a novel perturbational approach based on a whole-brain computational model, which opens up the possibility to externally perturb different brain regions in silico and investigate differences in dynamical stability of different brain states, i.e. the dynamical response of a certain brain region to an external perturbation. After adjusting the whole-brain model parameters to reflect the dynamics of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) BOLD signals recorded under the influence of LSD or placebo, perturbations of different brain areas were simulated by either promoting or disrupting synchronization in the regarding brain region. After perturbation offset, we quantified the recovery characteristics of the brain area to its basal dynamical state with the Perturbational Integration Latency Index (PILI) and used this measure to distinguish between the two brain states. We found significant changes in dynamical complexity with consistently higher PILI values after LSD intake on a global level, which indicates a shift of the brain’s global working point further away from a stable equilibrium as compared to normal conditions. On a local level, we found that the largest differences were measured within the limbic network, the visual network and the default mode network. Additionally, we found a higher variability of PILI values across different brain regions after LSD intake, indicating higher response diversity under LSD after an external perturbation. Our results provide important new insights into the brain-wide dynamical changes underlying the psychedelic state - here provoked by LSD intake - and underline possible future clinical applications of psychedelic drugs in particular psychiatric disorders.HighlightsNovel offline perturbational method applied on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data under the effect of lysergic acid diethylamide (LSD)Shift of brain’s global working point to more complex dynamics after LSD intakeConsistently longer recovery time after model perturbation under LSD influenceStrongest effects in resting state networks relevant for psychedelic experienceHigher response diversity across brain regions under LSD influence after an external in silico perturbation

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