Social Neuroscience

Action observation in the infant brain: The role of body form and motion

by Emily S. Cross

Much research has been carried out to understand how our brains make sense of another agent in motion. Current views... more Much research has been carried out to understand how our brains make sense of another agent in motion. Current views based on human adult and monkey studies assume a matching process in the motor system biased towards actions performed by conspecifics and present in the observer’s motor repertoire. However, little is known about the neural correlates of action cognition in early ontogeny. In this study, we examined the processes involved in the observation of full body movements in 4-month-old infants using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) to measure localized brain activation. In a 2 x 2 design, infants watched human or robotic figures moving in a smooth, familiar human-like manner, or in a rigid, unfamiliar robotic-like manner. We found that infant premotor cortex responded more strongly to observing robotic-like motion compared to human-like motion. Contrary to current views, this suggests that the infant motor system is flexibly engaged by novel movement patterns. Moreover, temporal cortex responses indicate that infants integrate information about form and motion during action observation. The response patterns obtained in premotor and temporal cortices during action observation in these young infants are very similar to those reported for adults (Cross et al., in press). These findings thus suggest that the brain processes involved in the analysis of an agent in motion in adults become functionally specialized very early in human development.

Ph.D Thesis : Neural dynamics of synchronous imitative interaction

by Guillaume Dumas

Supervisors: Jacqueline Nadel & Jacques Martinerie (formerly Line Garnero)
Defended the 3rd of October 2011

Since 2002, a new neuroimaging technique called hyperscanning allows to record several participants simultaneously and... more Since 2002, a new neuroimaging technique called hyperscanning allows to record several participants simultaneously and thus to study social interaction in a reciprocal and spontaneous social context. Meanwhile, neurodynamics and sensorimotor theories suggested to understand social interaction in a more holistic approach by considering the two interacting individuals as a single system, and giving equal importance to behavior and brain activity.

This thesis presents the study of pairs of participants recorded simultaneously during spontaneous imitation of the movement of their hands, by a dual-video combined with a hyperscanning-EEG setup. A fine grained video analysis identified the episodes of interactional synchrony and imitation, thus allowing the neurodynamic characterization of various aspects of the interaction, both at the inter- and intra-individual. The first study showed that episodes of interactional synchrony were accompanied by the emergence of inter-brain phase synchronizations in several frequency bands. The second study showed a neural differentiation between self- and other-attribution of action primacy, and found a signature of the co-ownership of the action in both partners during the spontaneous imitation. The third study validated the experimental measurements with biophysical simulations of pairs of human brains. It also showed the effects of anatomical connectivity on intra-individual neural dynamics and the facilitation of the inter-individual sensorimotor coupling.

The Busy Social Brain: Evidence for Automaticity and Control in the Neural Systems Supporting Social Cognition and Action Understanding

by Robert Spunt

In press at Psychological Science; co-authored with Matthew D. Lieberman

Much of social cognitive processing is believed to occur automatically, however, the relative automaticity of the... more Much of social cognitive processing is believed to occur automatically, however, the relative automaticity of the brain systems underlying social cognition remains largely untested. We used fMRI to test for automaticity in the function of two brain systems that extant research indicates are important for understanding others’ behavior: the mirror neuron system (MNS) and mentalizing system (MZS). Participants remembered either easy (low cognitive load) or difficult (high cognitive load) phone numbers while observing actions with mirroring- or mentalizing-relevant comprehension goals. For each goal, MNS activation showed relatively little evidence of modulation by load; in contrast, association of the MZS with the goal to infer the actor’s mental state was extinguished by increasing cognitive load. These results support a dual-process model of the brain systems underlying action understanding and social cognition more generally, where the MNS supports automatic behavior identification while the MZS supports relatively controlled social causal attribution.

The Role of Oxytocin, Vasopressin, and D-Cycloserine in Remediating Social Behavior in Rats with Amygdala Lesions

by Kristina Scanlan

Published in the Journal of Student Research

Autism is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that affects communication and social behavior. To reduce the social... more Autism is a common neurodevelopmental disorder that affects communication and social behavior. To reduce the social deficits characteristic of autism, the compounds oxytocin, arginine vasopressin, D-cycloserine, and D-cycloserine + oxytocin were explored as therapeutic agents. Twenty-one Long Evans Hooded rats underwent a bilateral amygdala lesion, which reduced the time of social interactions between the pairs of animals. Upon administration of D-cycloserine, the social deficits induced by the lesions were significantly reversed in both sexes. In addition, it was observed that the efficacy of the treatments was affected by the sex of the subjects. Male rats had the largest increase in social behavior when given D-cycloserine. However, female rats experienced the largest reduction in social impairment when administered oxytocin. Thus, sexually dimorphic treatments should be further investigated for individuals with autism spectrum disorders.
Keywords: oxytocin, vasopressin, D-cycloserine, amygdala, sexual dimorphism

Bijleveld, E., Scheepers, D., & Ellemers, N. (in press). The cortisol response to anticipated intergroup interactions predicts self-reported prejudice. PLoS ONE.

by Erik Bijleveld

Objectives. While prejudice has often been shown to be rooted in experiences of threat, the biological underpinnings... more Objectives. While prejudice has often been shown to be rooted in experiences of threat, the biological underpinnings of this threat-prejudice association have received less research attention. The present experiment aims to test whether activations of the hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal (HPA) axis, due to anticipated interactions with outgroup members, predict self-reported prejudice. Moreover, we explore potential moderators of this relationship (i.e., interpersonal similarity; subtle vs. blatant prejudice).

Methodology/Principal findings. Participants anticipated an interaction with an out-group member who was similar or dissimilar to the self. To index HPA activation, cortisol responses to this event were measured. Then, subtle and blatant prejudice were measured via questionnaires. Findings indicated that only when people anticipated an interaction with an out group member who was dissimilar to the self, their cortisol response to this event significantly predicted subtle (r = .50) and blatant (r = .53) prejudice.

Conclusions. These findings indicate that prejudicial attitudes are linked to HPA-axis activity. Furthermore, when intergroup interactions are interpreted to be about individuals (and not so much about groups), experienced threat (or its biological substrate) is less likely to relate to prejudice.

Toward a second-person neuroscience

by Bert Timmermans

Schilbach L and* Timmermans B, Reddy V, Costall A, Bente G, Schlicht T, & Vogeley K. Toward a second-person neuroscience. Behavioral and Brain Sciences, target article accepted for publication. *equal contributions

In spite of the remarkable progress made in the burgeoning field of social neuroscience, the neural mechanisms that... more In spite of the remarkable progress made in the burgeoning field of social neuroscience, the neural mechanisms that underlie social encounters are only beginning to be studied and could —paradoxically— be seen as representing the ‘dark matter’ of social neuroscience. Recent conceptual and empirical developments consistently indicate the need for investigations, which allow the study of real-time social encounters in a truly interactive manner. This suggestion is based on the premise that social cognition is fundamentally different when we are in interaction with others rather than merely observing them. In this article, we outline the theoretical conception of a second-person approach to other minds and review evidence from neuroimaging, psychophysiological studies and related fields to argue for the development of a second-person neuroscience, which will help neuroscience to really go social; this may also be relevant for our understanding of psychiatric disorders construed as disorders of social cognition.

Toward a second-person neuroscience.

by Leonhard Schilbach

Schilbach, L*, Timmermans, B*, Reddy, V, Costall, A, Bente, G, Schlicht, T, Vogeley, K (accepted for publication). Behavioral and Brain Sciences. *Equal contributions.

Enculturing brains through patterned practices

by Stefan Beck

Co-authored with Andreas Roepstorff and Joerg Niewoehner; published in Neural Networks, 2010 Oct-Nov; 23(8-9):pp. 1051-9

-> http://www-staff.informatik.uni-frankfurt.de/asa/seminare/SemSS11/Material/Roepstorff_2010_Neural-Networks.pdf

Recent findings in neuroscience have shown differential patterns in brain activity in response to similar stimuli and... more Recent findings in neuroscience have shown differential patterns in brain activity in response to similar stimuli and activities across cultural and social differences. This calls for a framework to understand how such differences may come to be implemented in brains and neurons. Based on strands of research in social anthropology, we argue that human practices are characterized by particular patterns, and that participating in these patterns orders how people perceive and act in particular group- and context-specific ways. This then leads to a particular patterning of neuronal processes that may be detected using e.g. brain imaging methods. We illustrate this through (a) a classical example of phoneme perception (b) recent work on performance in experimental game play. We then discuss these findings in the light of predictive models of brain function. We argue that a 'culture as patterned practices' approach obviates a rigid nature-culture distinction, avoids the problems involved in conceptualizing 'culture' as a homogenous grouping variable, and suggests that participating as a competent participant in particular practices may affect both the subjective (first person) experience and (third person) objective measures of behavior and brain activity.

Androgens and diversity in adult human partnering

by Sari van Anders

Neural correlates of focused attention during a brief mindfulness induction

by Elliot Berkman

With Janna Dickenson, Joanna Arch, and Matthew Lieberman in SCAN

Mindfulness meditation—the practice of attending to present-moment experience and allowing emotions and thoughts to... more Mindfulness meditation—the practice of attending to present-moment experience and allowing emotions and thoughts to pass without judgment—has shown to be beneficial in clinical populations across diverse outcomes. However, the basic neural mechanisms by which mindfulness operates and relates to everyday outcomes in novices remain unexplored. Focused attention is a common mindfulness induction where practitioners focus on specific physical sensations, typically the breath. The present study explores the neural mechanisms of this common mindfulness induction among novice practitioners. Healthy novice participants completed a brief task with both mindful attention (focused breathing) and control (unfocused attention) conditions during functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Relative to the control condition, focused breathing recruited an attention network including parietal and prefrontal structures, and trait-level mindfulness during this comparison also correlated with parietal activation. Results suggest that the neural mechanisms of a brief mindfulness induction are related to attention processes in novices and that trait mindfulness positively moderates this activation.

Training self-control: A domain-general translational neuroscience approach

by Elliot Berkman

With Alice Graham and Phil Fisher in Child Development Perspectives

Self-control plays an important role in healthy development and has been shown to be amenable to intervention. We... more Self-control plays an important role in healthy development and has been shown to be amenable to intervention. We present a theoretical framework for the emerging area of “brain- training” interventions that includes both laboratory-based direct training methods and ecologically-valid school, family, and community based interventions. Although these approaches have proliferated in recent years, the evidence based to support them is just beginning to emerge, and conceptual models underlying many of the techniques tend to be underspecified and imprecise. Identifying the neural systems responsible for improvements in self-control may be of tremendous benefit not only for overall intervention efficacy, but also for basic science issues related to underlying shared biological mechanisms of psychopathology. Here, we review the neurodevelopment of self-control and explore its implications for theory, intervention, and prevention. We then present a neurally informed framework for understanding self-control development and change, and discuss how this may inform future intervention strategies for individuals suffering with psychopathology or drug abuse/dependence, as well as implications for young children with delays in cognitive and emotional functioning.

What's outside the black box?: The status of behavioral outcomes in neuroscience research

by Elliot Berkman

Response to Kievit et al.'s paper, "Mind the gap: A psychometric approach to the reduction problem"

I like this paper.

Kievit et al.’s target paper exemplifies a trend in recent years in psychology and neuroscience to focus on internal... more Kievit et al.’s target paper exemplifies a trend in recent years in psychology and neuroscience to focus on internal mental and neural processes without integrating actual behavior. We discuss the theoretical status of behavior in the context of their model, and present an extension of the model that explicitly includes behavior. Several theoretical and methodological issues relevant to integrating behavior into the model are considered, particularly the distinction between behavior as measured in the laboratory along with neural and psychological processes (proximal behavior) and behavior as measured in situ as part of ongoing daily experience (distal behavior). We conclude by describing several studies that integrate neural, psychological, and behavioral indicators and discuss how these kinds of studies can facilitate a better understanding of behavior and contribute to theory development.

Norman et al_Variation in the oxytocin receptor gene influences neurocardiac reactivity to social stress and HPA function: A population based study

by Maike Luhmann

Hormones & Behavior, 2012

Authors:
Greg J. Norman, Louise C. Hawkley, Maike Luhmann, Aaron B. Ball, Steve W. Cole, Gary G. Berntson, John T. Cacioppo

Oxytocin (OT) is a nonapeptide neurohormone that is involved in a broad array of physiological and behavioral... more Oxytocin (OT) is a nonapeptide neurohormone that is involved in a broad array of physiological and behavioral processes related to health including hypothalamic–pituitary–adrenal (HPA) axis functioning, autonomic nervous system (ANS) activity and social behaviors. The present study sought to explore the influence of
genetic variation in the oxytocin receptor (SNP; rs53576) on autonomic and neurohormonal functioning across both resting and psychological stress conditions in a population based sample of older adults. Results revealed that A carrier males showed higher levels of resting sympathetic cardiac control as compared to their G/G counter parts. However, G/G participants displayed significantly higher levels of sympathetic reactivity to
psychological stress with G/G males showing the highest levels of sympathetic response to stress. Although no significant effects were detected for heart rate or parasympathetic cardiac control across resting and stress conditions, results revealed that G/G participants generally displayed heightened stroke volume and cardiac output reactivity to the psychological stressor. Furthermore, analysis of diurnal fluctuations in salivary cortisol revealed that G/G participants displayed lower awakening cortisol levels and less variation in salivary cortisol
across the day as compared to A carrier individuals.

Why We Should Strive Toward Reflexive Scientific Practices in Neuroscience

by Kalina Kamenova

Published in AJOB Neuroscience, 2010, 1(4), 59-60.

Higher-Order Thoughts in Action: Consciousness as an unconscious redescription process

by Bert Timmermans

Timmermans B, Schilbach L, Pasquali A, & Cleeremans, A (2012) Higher-Order Thoughts in Action: Consciousness as an unconscious redescription process. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 367(1594), 1412-23. (here only the final draft, as I'm not allowed to post the actual paper)

Metacognition is usually construed as a conscious, intentional process whereby people reflect upon their own mental... more Metacognition is usually construed as a conscious, intentional process whereby people reflect upon their own mental activity. Here, we instead suggest that metacognition is but an instance of a larger class of representational redescription processes that we assume occur unconsciously and automatically. From this perspective, the brain continuously and unconsciously learns to anticipate the consequences of action or activity on itself, on the world, and on other people through three predictive loops: An inner loop, a perception-action loop, and a self-other (social cognition) loop, which together form a tangled hierarchy. We ask what kinds of mechanisms may subtend this form of enactive metacognition. We extend previous neural network simulations and compare the model with Signal Detection Theory, highlighting that while the latter approach assumes that both Type I (objective) and Type II (subjective, metacognition-based) decisions tap into the same signal at different hierarchical levels, our approach is closer to dual-route models in that it assumes that the redescriptions made possible by the emergence of metarepresentations occur independently and outside of the first-order causal chain. We close by reviewing relevant neurological evidence for the idea that awareness, self-awareness and social cognition involve the same mechanisms.

Introspective Minds: Using ALE meta-analyses to study commonalities in the neural correlates of emotional processing, social & unconstrained cognition

by Bert Timmermans

Schilbach L, Bzdok D, Timmermans B, Fox PT, Laird AR, Vogeley K, & Eickhoff SB. (2012). Introspective Minds: Using ALE meta-analyses to investigate commonalities in the neural correlates of emotional processing, social & unconstrained cognition. PLoS ONE 7(2): e30920.

Previous research suggests overlap between brain regions that show task-induced deactivations and those activated... more Previous research suggests overlap between brain regions that show task-induced deactivations and those activated during the performance of social-cognitive tasks. Here, we present results of quantitative meta-analyses of neuroimaging studies, which confirm a statistical convergence in the neural correlates of social and resting state cognition. Based on the idea that both social and unconstrained cognition might be characterized by introspective processes, which are also thought to be highly relevant for emotional experiences, a third meta-analysis was performed investigating studies on emotional processing. By using conjunction analyses across all three sets of studies, we can demonstrate significant overlap of task-related signal change in dorso-medial prefrontal and medial parietal cortex, brain regions that have, indeed, recently been linked to introspective abilities. Our findings, therefore, provide evidence for the existence of a core neural network, which shows task-related signal change during socio-emotional tasks and during resting states.

CONSTRUCTING NEURONS A JOURNEY FOR UNRAVELING THE MYSTERIES OF EVOLVING COGNITION

by Maheswar Satpathy

Evidence for social working memory from a parametric functional MRI study

by Meghan Meyer

Dissociating modality-specific and supramodal neural systems for action understanding

by Robert Spunt

Spunt, R. P. & Lieberman, M. D. (2012). Dissociating modality-specific and supramodal neural systems for action understanding. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(10), 3575-3583.

The neural basis of action understanding in humans remains disputed, with some research implicating the putative... more The neural basis of action understanding in humans remains disputed, with some research implicating the putative mirror neuron system (MNS) and some a mentalizing system (MZS) for inferring mental states. The basis for this dispute may be that action understanding is a heterogeneous construct: actions can be understood from sensory information about body movements or from language about action, and with the goal of understanding the implementation (‘how’) or motive (‘why’) of an action. Although extant research implicates the MNS in understanding implementation and the MZS in understanding motive, it remains unknown to what extent these systems subserve modality-specific or supramodal functions in action understanding. While undergoing fMRI, 21 volunteers considered the implementation (‘How is she doing it?’) and motive (‘Why is she doing it?’) for actions presented in video or text. Bilateral parietal and right frontal areas of the MNS showed a modality-specific association with perceiving actions in videos, while left-hemisphere MNS showed a supramodal association with understanding implementation. Largely left-hemisphere MZS showed a supramodal association with understanding motive, however, connectivity among the MZS and MNS during the inference of motive was modality-specific, being significantly stronger when motive was understood from actions in videos compared to text. These results support a tripartite model of MNS and MZS contributions to action understanding, where distinct areas of the MNS contribute to action perception (‘perceiving what’) and the representation of action implementation (‘knowing how’), while the MZS supports an abstract, modality-independent representation of the mental states that explain action performance (‘knowing why’).

Bijleveld, E., Custers, R, & Aarts, H. (in press). Adaptive reward pursuit: How effort requirements affect unconscious reward responses and conscious reward decisions. Journal of Experimental Psychology: General.

by Erik Bijleveld

This paper is accepted for publication, but will be subject to copy editing.

When in pursuit of rewards, humans weigh the value of potential rewards against the amount of effort that is required... more When in pursuit of rewards, humans weigh the value of potential rewards against the amount of effort that is required to attain them. Although previous research has generally conceptualized this process as a deliberate calculation, recent work suggests that rudimentary mechanisms—that operate without conscious intervention—play an important role as well. In this article, we propose that humans can perform a basic integration of reward value and effort requirements without conscious awareness. Furthermore, we propose that conscious awareness of rewards allows for the use of more advanced functions in reward pursuit, which consider the specific course of action that leads to reward attainment. Employing a monetary reward priming paradigm that allows us to dissect the performance effects of rewards (i.e., coins of different value) into conscious and unconscious components, we test this proposal in three experiments. Overall, results indicate that people rely on a simple yet adaptive mechanism that unconsciously conserves effort during reward pursuit, because it makes people more reward sensitive whenever more effort is required of the body. Moreover, consciousness supports a more sophisticated mode of reward pursuit, via which people can strategically conserve effort even further. We discuss these findings in the context of decision making, motivation, and consciousness.