scholarly journals Sex differences in the social brain and in social cognition

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alice Mado Proverbio
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals The social brain in female autism: a structural imaging study of twins

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-436
Author(s):  
Élodie Cauvet ◽  
Annelies van’t Westeinde ◽  
Roberto Toro ◽  
Ralf Kuja-Halkola ◽  
Janina Neufeld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Twin Design ◽  
The Social

Abstract A female advantage in social cognition (SoC) might contribute to women’s underrepresentation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The latter could be underpinned by sex differences in social brain structure. This study investigated the relationship between structural social brain networks and SoC in females and males in relation to ASD and autistic traits in twins. We used a co-twin design in 77 twin pairs (39 female) aged 12.5 to 31.0 years. Twin pairs were discordant or concordant for ASD or autistic traits, discordant or concordant for other neurodevelopmental disorders or concordant for neurotypical development. They underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and were assessed for SoC using the naturalistic Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition. Autistic traits predicted reduced SoC capacities predominantly in male twins, despite a comparable extent of autistic traits in each sex, although the association between SoC and autistic traits did not differ significantly between the sexes. Consistently, within-pair associations between SoC and social brain structure revealed that lower SoC ability was associated with increased cortical thickness of several brain regions, particularly in males. Our findings confirm the notion that sex differences in SoC in association with ASD are underpinned by sex differences in brain structure.

scholarly journals Sex differences in microglial colonization and vulnerabilities to endocrine disruption in the social brain

2016 ◽  
Vol 238 ◽  
pp. 39-46 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan E. Rebuli ◽  
Paul Gibson ◽  
Cassie L. Rhodes ◽  
Bruce S. Cushing ◽  
Heather B. Patisaul
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Endocrine Disruption ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
The Social

scholarly journals The social brain: allowing humans to boldly go where no other species has been

2010 ◽  
Vol 365 (1537) ◽  
pp. 165-176 ◽  
Author(s):  
Uta Frith ◽  
Chris Frith
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Comparative Studies ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Developmental Psychology ◽  
Critical Factor ◽  
Social Signals ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
The Social ◽  
Closing The Loop

The biological basis of complex human social interaction and communication has been illuminated through a coming together of various methods and disciplines. Among these are comparative studies of other species, studies of disorders of social cognition and developmental psychology. The use of neuroimaging and computational models has given weight to speculations about the evolution of social behaviour and culture in human societies. We highlight some networks of the social brain relevant to two-person interactions and consider the social signals between interacting partners that activate these networks. We make a case for distinguishing between signals that automatically trigger interaction and cooperation and ostensive signals that are used deliberately. We suggest that this ostensive signalling is needed for ‘closing the loop’ in two-person interactions, where the partners each know that they have the intention to communicate. The use of deliberate social signals can serve to increase reputation and trust and facilitates teaching. This is likely to be a critical factor in the steep cultural ascent of mankind.

scholarly journals Is eye contact the key to the social brain?

2010 ◽  
Vol 33 (6) ◽  
pp. 458-459 ◽  
Author(s):  
Atsushi Senju ◽  
Mark H. Johnson
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorders ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Face Processing ◽  
Critical Role ◽  
Eye Contact ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Cortical Areas ◽  
The Social ◽  
Spectrum Disorders

AbstractEye contact plays a critical role in many aspects of face processing, including the processing of smiles. We propose that this is achieved by a subcortical route, which is activated by eye contact and modulates the cortical areas involve in social cognition, including the processing of facial expression. This mechanism could be impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorders.

scholarly journals Serotonin and arginine–vasopressin mediate sex differences in the regulation of dominance and aggression by the social brain

2016 ◽  
Vol 113 (46) ◽  
pp. 13233-13238 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph I. Terranova ◽  
Zhimin Song ◽  
Tony E. Larkin ◽  
Nathan Hardcastle ◽  
Alisa Norvelle ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Psychiatric Disorders ◽  
Arginine Vasopressin ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Social Stress ◽  
Stress Disorder ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Targeted Drugs ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
The Social

There are profound sex differences in the incidence of many psychiatric disorders. Although these disorders are frequently linked to social stress and to deficits in social engagement, little is known about sex differences in the neural mechanisms that underlie these phenomena. Phenotypes characterized by dominance, competitive aggression, and active coping strategies appear to be more resilient to psychiatric disorders such as posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) compared with those characterized by subordinate status and the lack of aggressiveness. Here, we report that serotonin (5-HT) and arginine–vasopressin (AVP) act in opposite ways in the hypothalamus to regulate dominance and aggression in females and males. Hypothalamic injection of a 5-HT1a agonist stimulated aggression in female hamsters and inhibited aggression in males, whereas injection of AVP inhibited aggression in females and stimulated aggression in males. Striking sex differences were also identified in the neural mechanisms regulating dominance. Acquisition of dominance was associated with activation of 5-HT neurons within the dorsal raphe in females and activation of hypothalamic AVP neurons in males. These data strongly indicate that there are fundamental sex differences in the neural regulation of dominance and aggression. Further, because systemically administered fluoxetine increased aggression in females and substantially reduced aggression in males, there may be substantial gender differences in the clinical efficacy of commonly prescribed 5-HT–active drugs such as selective 5-HT reuptake inhibitors. These data suggest that the treatment of psychiatric disorders such as PTSD may be more effective with the use of 5-HT–targeted drugs in females and AVP-targeted drugs in males.

Elaborating the social brain hypothesis of schizophrenia

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 868-885 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Kenneth Burns
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Evolutionary Theory ◽  
Genetic Model ◽  
Emergent Property ◽  
Brain Anatomy ◽  
Cerebral Asymmetry ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Top Down ◽  
The Social ◽  
Evolutionary Genetic

I defend the case for an evolutionary theory of schizophrenia and the social brain, arguing that such an exercise necessitates a broader methodology than that familiar to neuroscience. I propose a reworked evolutionary genetic model of schizophrenia, drawing on insights from commentators, buttressing my claim that psychosis is a costly consequence of sophisticated social cognition in humans. Expanded models of social brain anatomy and the spectrum of psychopathologies are presented in terms of upper and lower social brain and top-down and bottom-up processes. Finally, I argue that cerebral asymmetry evolved as an emergent property of primary intrahemispheric reorganisation in hominoids.

Social by Default: Characterizing the Social Functions of the Resting Brain

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 380-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan L. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Social Neuroscience ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Default Network ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
The Social

Social-neuroscience research has identified a set of medial frontoparietal brain regions that reliably engage during social cognition. At the same time, cognitive-neuroscience research has shown that these regions comprise part of the default network, so named because they reliably activate during mental breaks by default. Although the anatomical similarity between the social brain and the default brain is well documented, why this overlap exists remains a mystery. Does the tendency to engage these regions by default during rest have particular social functions, and if so, what might these be? Here, it is suggested that the default network performs two critical social functions during rest: social priming and social consolidation. These constructs will be defined, recently published empirical findings that support them will be reviewed, and directions for future research on the topic will be proposed.

An evolutionary theory of schizophrenia: Cortical connectivity, metarepresentation, and the social brain

2004 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 831-855 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Kenneth Burns
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Homo Sapiens ◽  
Group Living ◽  
Alternative Theory ◽  
Primate Research ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Trade Off ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Face ◽  
Psychological Evidence

Schizophrenia is a worldwide, prevalent disorder with a multifactorial but highly genetic aetiology. A constant prevalence rate in the face of reduced fecundity has caused some to argue that an evolutionary advantage exists in unaffected relatives. Here, I critique this adaptationist approach, and review – and find wanting – Crow's “speciation” hypothesis. In keeping with available biological and psychological evidence, I propose an alternative theory of the origins of this disorder. Schizophrenia is a disorder of the social brain, and it exists as a costly trade-off in the evolution of complex social cognition. Paleoanthropological and comparative primate research suggests that hominids evolved complex cortical interconnectivity (in particular, frontotemporal and frontoparietal circuits) to regulate social cognition and the intellectual demands of group living. I suggest that the ontogenetic mechanism underlying this cerebral adaptation was sequential hypermorphosis and that it rendered the hominid brain vulnerable to genetic and environmental insults. I argue that changes in genes regulating the timing of neurodevelopment occurred prior to the migration of Homo sapiens out of Africa 100,000–150,000 years ago, giving rise to the schizotypal spectrum. While some individuals within this spectrum may have exhibited unusual creativity and iconoclasm, this phenotype was not necessarily adaptive in reproductive terms. However, because the disorder shared a common genetic basis with the evolving circuitry of the social brain, it persisted. Thus schizophrenia emerged as a costly trade-off in the evolution of complex social cognition.

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