scholarly journals Finding the neural correlates of collaboration using a three-person fMRI hyperscanning paradigm

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Xie ◽  
Amber Howell ◽  
Meredith Schreier ◽  
Kristen E. Sheau ◽  
Mai K. Manchanda ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
Drawing Task ◽  
The Social ◽  
Oxygenation Level ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Time

AbstractHumans have an extraordinary ability to interact and cooperate with others, which plays a pivotal role in societies at large. Despite its potential social and evolutionary significance, research on finding the neural correlates of collaboration has been limited partly due to restrictions on simultaneous neuroimaging of more than one participant (a.k.a. hyperscanning). A series of works now exists that used dyadic fMRI hyperscanning to examine the interaction between two participants. However, to our knowledge, no study to date has aimed at revealing the neural correlates of social interactions using a 3-person (or triadic) fMRI hyperscanning paradigm. Here, for the first time, we simultaneously measured the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal of triads (m=12 triads; n=36 participants), while they engaged in a joint drawing task based on the social game of Pictionary®. General linear model (GLM) analysis revealed increased activation in the brain regions previously linked with the theory of mind (ToM) during the collaborative phase compared to the independent phase of the task. Furthermore, using intersubject brain synchronization (IBS) analysis, we revealed increased synchrony of the right temporo-parietal junction (R TPJ) during the collaborative phase. The increased synchrony in the R TPJ was observed to be positively associated with the overall team performance on the task. In sum, our novel paradigm revealed a vital role of the R TPJ among other ToM regions during a triadic collaborative drawing task.

scholarly journals Finding the neural correlates of collaboration using a three-person fMRI hyperscanning paradigm

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (37) ◽  
pp. 23066-23072 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hua Xie ◽  
Iliana I. Karipidis ◽  
Amber Howell ◽  
Meredith Schreier ◽  
Kristen E. Sheau ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Evolutionary Significance ◽  
General Linear Model Analysis ◽  
Drawing Task ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Right

Humans have an extraordinary ability to interact and cooperate with others. Despite the social and evolutionary significance of collaboration, research on finding its neural correlates has been limited partly due to restrictions on the simultaneous neuroimaging of more than one participant (also known as hyperscanning). Several studies have used dyadic fMRI hyperscanning to examine the interaction between two participants. However, to our knowledge, no study to date has aimed at revealing the neural correlates of social interactions using a three-person (or triadic) fMRI hyperscanning paradigm. Here, we simultaneously measured the blood-oxygenation level-dependent signal from 12 triads (n = 36 participants), while they engaged in a collaborative drawing task based on the social game of Pictionary. General linear model analysis revealed increased activation in the brain regions previously linked with the theory of mind during the collaborative phase compared to the independent phase of the task. Furthermore, using intersubject correlation analysis, we revealed increased synchronization of the right temporo‐parietal junction (R TPJ) during the collaborative phase. The increased synchrony in the R TPJ was observed to be positively associated with the overall team performance on the task. In sum, our paradigm revealed a vital role of the R TPJ among other theory-of-mind regions during a triadic collaborative drawing task.

scholarly journals Familiarity and Audience Effects on Giving: A Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging Study

2020 ◽  
Vol 32 (8) ◽  
pp. 1577-1589
Author(s):  
Suzanne van de Groep ◽  
Kiki Zanolie ◽  
Eveline A. Crone
Keyword(s):  
Social Context ◽  
Contextual Information ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Self And Other ◽  
Audience Effects ◽  
The Social ◽  
Fairness Concerns ◽  
The Right

Giving is often characterized by the conflicting decision to give up something of value to benefit others. Recent evidence indicated that giving is highly context-dependent. To unravel the neural correlates of social context, in this study, young adults ( n = 32) performed a novel giving fMRI paradigm, in which they divided coins between self and known (friends) or unknown (unfamiliar) others. A second manipulation included presence of others; giving decisions were made with an audience or anonymously. Results showed that participants gave more coins to a friend than to an unfamiliar other and generally gave more in the presence of an audience. On a neural level, medial prefrontal cortex and the right insula were most active for relatively generous decisions. These findings possibly reflect that aversion of norm deviation or fairness concerns drive differences in the frequency of giving. Next, activation in separate subregions of the TPJ-IPL (i.e., a region that comprises the TPJ and inferior parietal lobule) was found for target and audience contexts. Overall, our findings suggest that donation size and social contextual information are processed in separable brain regions and that TPJ-IPL plays an important role in balancing self- and other-oriented motives related to the social context.

The importance of the negative blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) response in the somatosensory cortex

2015 ◽  
Vol 26 (6) ◽  
pp. 647-653 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carsten M. Klingner ◽  
Stefan Brodoehl ◽  
Otto W. Witte
Keyword(s):  
Somatosensory Cortex ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Blood Oxygenation Level Dependent ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Bold Response ◽  
Functional Importance ◽  
Blood Oxygenation Level ◽  
Oxygenation Level

AbstractIn recent years, multiple studies have shown task-induced negative blood-oxygenation-level-dependent responses (NBRs) in multiple brain regions in humans and animals. Converging evidence suggests that task-induced NBRs can be interpreted in terms of decreased neuronal activity. However, the vascular and metabolic dynamics and functional importance of the NBR are highly debated. Here, we review studies investigating the origin and functional importance of the NBR, with special attention to the somatosensory cortex.

scholarly journals Methods for Determining Frequency- and Region-Dependent Relationships Between Estimated LFPs and BOLD Responses in Humans

2009 ◽  
Vol 101 (1) ◽  
pp. 491-502 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roberto Martuzzi ◽  
Micah M. Murray ◽  
Reto A. Meuli ◽  
Jean-Philippe Thiran ◽  
Philippe P. Maeder ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Human Subjects ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Source Model ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Low Frequencies ◽  
Functional Regions ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Bold Responses ◽  
Oxygenation Level ◽  
The Relationship

The relationship between electrophysiological and functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signals remains poorly understood. To date, studies have required invasive methods and have been limited to single functional regions and thus cannot account for possible variations across brain regions. Here we present a method that uses fMRI data and singe-trial electroencephalography (EEG) analyses to assess the spatial and spectral dependencies between the blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) responses and the noninvasively estimated local field potentials (eLFPs) over a wide range of frequencies (0–256 Hz) throughout the entire brain volume. This method was applied in a study where human subjects completed separate fMRI and EEG sessions while performing a passive visual task. Intracranial LFPs were estimated from the scalp-recorded data using the ELECTRA source model. We compared statistical images from BOLD signals with statistical images of each frequency of the eLFPs. In agreement with previous studies in animals, we found a significant correspondence between LFP and BOLD statistical images in the gamma band (44–78 Hz) within primary visual cortices. In addition, significant correspondence was observed at low frequencies (<14 Hz) and also at very high frequencies (>100 Hz). Effects within extrastriate visual areas showed a different correspondence that not only included those frequency ranges observed in primary cortices but also additional frequencies. Results therefore suggest that the relationship between electrophysiological and hemodynamic signals thus might vary both as a function of frequency and anatomical region.

scholarly journals Images and constructs: can the neural correlates of self be revealed through radiological analysis?

2013 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 117-132 ◽  
Author(s):  
Stanley B. Klein
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Theoretical Work ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Right ◽  
Radiological Analysis ◽  
Conceptual Difficulties

In this paper I argue that radiological attempts to elucidate the properties of self -- an endeavor currently popular in the social neurosciences -- are fraught with conceptual difficulties. I first discuss several philosophical criteria that increase the chances we are posing the “right” questions to nature. I then discuss whether these criteria are met when empirical efforts are directed at one of the central constructs in the social sciences – the human self. In particular, I consider whether recent attempts to map the neural correlates of self and its assumed properties using brain scanning technology satisfy the conceptual conditions minimally required to ask well-formed, theoretically satisfying questions of nature. I conclude that much theoretical work remains to be done.

scholarly journals Jehovah's Witnesses in the Modern World and Ukraine

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuriy Kireyev ◽  
Konstantin Berezhko
Keyword(s):  
Military Service ◽  
The State ◽  
Communist Regime ◽  
Social Significance ◽  
Jehovah’S Witnesses ◽  
Jehovah's Witnesses ◽  
The Social ◽  
State Registration ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Time

This article highlights the history of Jehovah's Witnesses as a Christian religion in Ukraine from its occurrence on the territory of Ukraine in the early 20th century to the present day. The response of the Witnesses to the massive attempts of the Nazi and Soviet regimes to marginalize and suppress their religious manifestations is described separately. In particular, the biblical nature and confessional content of one of the fundamental teachings of the Witnesses – neutrality – is analyzed and explained. It includes the information about what it means and what it does not mean for believers. This makes it possible to better understand the current display of the neutrality of the denomination members when it comes to compliance with certain requirements of the local government. The growth statistics of the denomination members throughout history are given, which indicate the failed attempts of the totalitarian governments repressive system to eradicate the faith in the controlled territories. For the first time, information is published from the memoirs of Witnesses who tried to obtain state registration in 1949 when under the communist regime and the reaction of the government officials to believers’ attempts to be recognized by the state and society. There is a link between the recognition of the state through state registration and the increase of confessional activity, by which the Witnesses actually disprove the myths and labels produced and imposed on society by totalitarian regimes for decades. Emphasis is placed on the Witnesses’ current activities, which gives an idea of their attitude towards Ukrainian society and their role in strengthening and affirming Christian values among fellow citizens. Their publishing activity, evangelization work, religious and family values, public worship, educational programs, charitable and social work, attitude to representatives of other religions are analyzed. The view of health care is particularly examined. It describes the principles of a reasonable balance that Witnesses follow between the right to make informed treatment choices (including the refusal to use blood) and the attitude toward life and health as one of the highest human values. The significant contribution of Jehovah's Witnesses to the development of alternative nonblood treatments in world medicine is acknowledged. Therein are recorded the conclusions from numerous religious studies of Ukrainian and European institutions regarding the social and pedagogical value of materials published and distributed by Jehovah's Witnesses through their periodicals and official online resources. The involvement of Jehovah's Witnesses in providing charitable assistance to civilians during the conflict in Donbas is highlighted. The activities of Jehovah's Witnesses in the context of their attitude to the culture, history, and traditions of the local people are considered. In particular, the part of the tourist program for fellow believers, who come from abroad to join in the ministry or assemblies, is to get familiar with Ukrainian monuments and the historical heritage. Witnesses publish and distribute Bible publications in 14 languages spoken by small indigenous communities in Ukraine. The social significance of biblical teaching, which is meant to meet the spiritual needs of Ukrainians with hearing and visual impairments as well as those who currently remain in places of correctional centers is outlined. For the first time, significant decisions of higher courts in Ukraine and other countries regarding Jehovah's Witnesses are considered. In recent years, the issues of military service and the right for alternative (non-military) service have been considered in higher domestic and foreign courts; denomination’s compliance with the requirements for the provision of state subsidies guaranteed to recognized religions; the right to build and use their places of worship, and proper assessment of religious hate crimes against Jehovah's Witnesses by law enforcement agencies. The decisions of the courts in the above-mentioned cases show that states consider Jehovah's Witnesses to be a recognized religion with the right to exercise freedom of conscience and religion.

Neural Correlates of Anti-appetite Medications: an fMRI Meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Vol 19 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andy Wai Kan Yeung
Keyword(s):  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Likelihood Estimation ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Physiological Effect ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Considerable Proportion ◽  
Food Cues ◽  
The Right ◽  
Cerebral Processing

: Food craving is a health issue for a considerable proportion of the general population. Medications have been introduced to alleviate the craving or reduce the appetite via a neuropharmacological approach. However, the underlying cerebral processing of the medications was largely unknown. This study aimed to meta-analyze existing neuroimaging findings. We searched PubMed, Web of Science, and Scopus to identify relevant publications. Original studies that reported brain imaging findings using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) were initially included. The reported coordinates of brain activation available from the studies were extracted and meta-analyzed with the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach via the software GingerALE. The overall analysis pooling data from 24 studies showed that the right claustrum and insula were the targeted sites of altered cerebral processing of food cues by the medications. Subgroup analysis pooling data from 11 studies showed that these sites had reduced activity level under medications compared to placebo. The location of this significant cluster partially overlapped with that attributable to affective value processing of food cue in a prior meta-analysis. No brain regions were found to have increased activity level by medications. These neural correlates may help explain the physiological effect of food consumption by anti-appetite and anti-obesity medications.

scholarly journals Grasping the Intentions of Others: The Perceived Intentionality of an Action Influences Activity in the Superior Temporal Sulcus during Social Perception

2004 ◽  
Vol 16 (10) ◽  
pp. 1706-1716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kevin A. Pelphrey ◽  
James P. Morris ◽  
Gregory McCarthy
Keyword(s):  
Social Perception ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Time Course ◽  
Brain Activity ◽  
Superior Temporal Sulcus ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Passive Viewing ◽  
Oxygenation Level ◽  
Cortical Regions ◽  
The Right

An explication of the neural substrates for social perception is an important component in the emerging field of social cognitive neuroscience and is relevant to the field of cognitive neuroscience as a whole. Prior studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that passive viewing of biological motion (Pelphrey, Mitchell, et al., 2003; Puce et al., 1998) activates the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) region. Furthermore, recent evidence has shown that the perceived context of observed gaze shifts (Pelphrey, Singerman, et al., 2003; Pelphrey et al., 2004) modulates STS activity. Here, using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging at 4 T, we investigated brain activity in response to passive viewing of goal- and non-goal- directed reaching-to-grasp movements. Participants viewed an animated character making reaching-to-grasp movements either toward (correct) or away (incorrect) from a blinking dial. Both conditions evoked significant posterior STS activity that was strongly right lateralized. By examining the time course of the blood oxygenation level-dependent response from areas of activation, we observed a functional dissociation. Incorrect trials evoked significantly greater activity in the STS than did correct trials, while an area posterior and inferior to the STS (likely corresponding to the MT/V5 complex) responded equally to correct and incorrect movements. Parietal cortical regions, including the superior parietal lobule and the anterior intraparietal sulcus, also responded equally to correct and incorrect movements, but showed evidence for differential responding based on the hand and arm (left or right) of the animated character used to make the reaching-to-grasp movement. The results of this study further suggest that a region of the right posterior STS is involved in analyzing the intentions of other people's actions and that activity in this region is sensitive to the context of observed biological motions.

scholarly journals Fear Extinction Recall Modulates Human Frontomedial Theta and Amygdala Activity

2018 ◽  
Vol 29 (2) ◽  
pp. 701-715 ◽  
Author(s):  
Matthias F J Sperl ◽  
Christian Panitz ◽  
Isabelle M Rosso ◽  
Daniel G Dillon ◽  
Poornima Kumar ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Animal Studies ◽  
Neural Circuits ◽  
Conditioned Fear ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Amygdala Activity ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Time ◽  
Insight Into ◽  
Analogous Effect ◽  
Theta Range

Abstract Human functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) studies, as well as animal studies, indicate that the amygdala and frontomedial brain regions are critically involved in conditioned fear and that frontomedial oscillations in the theta range (4–8 Hz) may support communication between these brain regions. However, few studies have used a multimodal approach to probe interactions among these key regions in humans. Here, our goal was to bridge the gap between prior human fMRI, EEG, and animal findings. Using simultaneous EEG–fMRI recordings 24 h after fear conditioning and extinction, conditioned stimuli presented (CS+E, CS−E) and not presented during extinction (CS+N, CS−N) were compared to identify effects specific to extinction versus fear recall. Differential (CS+ vs. CS−) electrodermal, frontomedial theta (EEG) and amygdala responses (fMRI) were reduced for extinguished versus nonextinguished stimuli. Importantly, effects on theta power covaried with effects on amygdala activation. Fear and extinction recall as indicated by theta explained 60% of the variance for the analogous effect in the right amygdala. Our findings show for the first time the interplay of amygdala and frontomedial theta activity during fear and extinction recall in humans and provide insight into neural circuits consistently linked with top-down amygdala modulation in rodents.

The narcissistic self and its psychological and neural correlates: an exploratory fMRI study

2010 ◽  
Vol 41 (8) ◽  
pp. 1641-1650 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Fan ◽  
C. Wonneberger ◽  
B. Enzi ◽  
M. de Greck ◽  
C. Ulrich ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthy Subjects ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Anterior Insula ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Fmri Study ◽  
Neuroimaging Data ◽  
Neural Underpinnings ◽  
The Right ◽  
First Time

BackgroundThe concept of narcissism has been much researched in psychoanalysis and especially in self psychology. One of the hallmarks of narcissism is altered emotion, including decreased affective resonance (e.g. empathy) with others, the neural underpinnings of which remain unclear. The aim of our exploratory study was to investigate the psychological and neural correlates of empathy in two groups of healthy subjects with high and low narcissistic personality trait. We hypothesized that high narcissistic subjects would show a differential activity pattern in regions such as the anterior insula that are typically associated with empathy.MethodA sample of 34 non-clinical subjects was divided into high (n=11) and low (n=11) narcissistic groups according to the 66th and 33rd percentiles of their scores on the Narcissism Inventory (NI). Combining the psychological, behavioral and neuronal [i.e. functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI)] measurements of empathy, we compared the high and low narcissistic groups of subjects.ResultsHigh narcissistic subjects showed higher scores on the Symptom Checklist-90 – Revised (SCL-90-R) and the 20-item Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS-20) when compared to low narcissistic subjects. High narcissistic subjects also showed significantly decreased deactivation during empathy, especially in the right anterior insula.ConclusionsPsychological and neuroimaging data indicate respectively higher degrees of alexithymia and lower deactivation during empathy in the insula in high narcissistic subjects. Taken together, our preliminary findings demonstrate, for the first time, psychological and neuronal correlates of narcissism in non-clinical subjects. This might stipulate both novel psychodynamic conceptualization and future psychological–neuronal investigation of narcissism.

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