A Synchrony-Based Classification Approach for Predicting Attitudes Using fNIRS

Abstract Social neuroscience research has demonstrated that those who are like-minded are also “like-brained.” Studies have shown that people who share similar viewpoints have greater neural synchrony with one another, and less synchrony with people who “see things differently.” Although these effects have been demonstrated at the group level, little work has been done to predict the viewpoints of specific individuals using neural synchrony measures. Furthermore, the studies that have made predictions using synchrony-based classification at the individual level used expensive and immobile neuroimaging equipment (e.g. fMRI) in highly controlled laboratory settings, which may not generalize to real-world contexts. Thus, this study uses a simple synchrony-based classification method, which we refer to as the neural reference groups approach, to predict individuals’ dispositional attitudes from data collected in a mobile “pop-up neuroscience” lab. Using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) data, we predicted individuals’ partisan stances on a sociopolitical issue by comparing their neural timecourses to data from two partisan neural reference groups. We found that partisan stance could be identified at above-chance levels using data from dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC). These results indicate that the neural reference groups approach can be used to investigate naturally-occurring, dispositional differences anywhere in the world.

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Toward the Development of New Strategies to Assess the Needs of Children and Adolescents with Severely Mentally Ill Parents

European Psychiatry ◽

10.1016/j.eurpsy.2017.01.177 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 41 (S1) ◽

pp. S38-S39

Author(s):

K. Abel

Keyword(s):

Mental Illness ◽

Children And Adolescents ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Interdisciplinary Approach ◽

Health Concern ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Individual Level ◽

Life Trajectories ◽

Young Infants ◽

The Individual

Up to 10% of mothers and 5% of fathers in Europe have mental illness. Family, educational and social lives of children and adolescents with parental with mental illness (CAPRI) are disrupted by deprivation & repeated hospitalization. This is an urgent political & public health concern: The European Union's CAMHEE report recommends better information on CAPRI risks and resilience and to enable interventions to target the highest risk. This is important because although large numbers of children are in the riskset, most remain resilient. Research needs to support delivery of the CAMHEE initiative by understanding who is at risk and how we can target them early before their life trajectories are fatally disrupted.To do this, we aim to create groundbreaking cross- national datasets providing robust data on CAPRI prevalence & life trajectories needed to plan future services.But epidemiology alone cannot expose how risk creates effects at the individual level. We need to know which CAPRI to target with potentially expensive, time-consuming specialist servicesPowerful neuroscience techniques such as functional near infrared spectroscopy are now available with which we can link epidemiological risk to elucidate effects of exposure within individual infant brain. This unique interdisciplinary approach yokes robust epidemiological evidence to cutting-edge optical imaging that can be undertaken in very young infants.This allows us to target developments in clinical interventions for CAPRI to those in greatest need and potentially to those most vulnerable with the future aim to identify early biomarkers of abnormality for targeting intervention in CAPRI.Disclosure of interestThe author declares that he has no competing interest.

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Making social neuroscience less WEIRD: Using fNIRS to measure neural signatures of persuasive influence in a Middle East participant sample

10.31234/osf.io/3ah8v ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Shannon Burns ◽

Lianne N. Barnes ◽

Ian A. McCulloh ◽

Munqith M. Dagher ◽

Emily B. Falk ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Health And Safety ◽

Social Neuroscience ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Future Directions ◽

Neuroscience Research ◽

Neuropsychological Functions ◽

Arabic Speaking

The large majority of social neuroscience research uses WEIRD populations – participants from Western, educated, industrialized, rich, and democratic locations. This makes it difficult to claim whether neuropsychological functions are universal or culture specific. In this study, we demonstrate one approach to addressing the imbalance by using portable neuroscience equipment in a study of persuasion conducted in Jordan with an Arabic-speaking sample. Participants were shown persuasive videos on various health and safety topics while their brain activity was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Self-reported persuasiveness ratings for each video were then recorded. Consistent with previous research conducted with American subjects, this work found that activity in the dorsomedial and ventromedial prefrontal cortex predicted how persuasive participants found the videos and how much they intended to engage in the messages’ endorsed behaviors. Further, activity in the left ventrolateral prefrontal cortex was associated with persuasiveness ratings, but only in participants for whom the message was personally relevant. Implications for these results on the understanding of the brain basis of persuasion and on future directions for neuroimaging in diverse populations are discussed.

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On “Nationology”: The Gravitational Field of National Culture

Journal of Cross-Cultural Psychology ◽

10.1177/00220221211044780 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 002202212110447

Author(s):

Plamen Akaliyski ◽

Christian Welzel ◽

Michael Harris Bond ◽

Michael Minkov

Keyword(s):

Gravitational Field ◽

Cultural Values ◽

National Culture ◽

Random Noise ◽

Religious Groups ◽

Individual Values ◽

Individual Level ◽

Collective Phenomenon ◽

Using Data ◽

The Individual

Nations have been questioned as meaningful units for analyzing culture due to their allegedly limited variance-capturing power and large internal heterogeneity. Against this skepticism, we argue that culture is by definition a collective phenomenon and focusing on individual differences contradicts the very concept of culture. Through the “miracle of aggregation,” we can eliminate random noise and arbitrary variation at the individual level in order to distill the central cultural tendencies of nations. Accordingly, we depict national culture as a gravitational field that socializes individuals into the orbit of a nation’s central cultural tendency. Even though individuals are also exposed to other gravitational forces, subcultures in turn gravitate within the limited orbit of their national culture. Using data from the World Values Survey, we show that individual values cluster in concentric circles around their nation’s cultural gravity center. We reveal the miracle of aggregation by demonstrating that nations capture the bulk of the variation in the individuals’ cultural values once they are aggregated into lower-level territorial units such as towns and sub-national regions. We visualize the gravitational force of national cultures by plotting various intra-national groups from five large countries that form distinct national clusters. Contrary to many scholars’ intuitions, alternative social aggregates, such as ethnic, linguistic, and religious groups, as well as diverse socio-demographic categories, add negligible explained variance to that already captured by nations.

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Genetic variation in the oxytocin system and its link to social motivation in human infants

10.31234/osf.io/hb4qu ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Kathleen Marie Krol ◽

Nauder Namaky ◽

Mikhail Monakhov ◽

Poh San Lai ◽

Richard Ebstein ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Genetic Variation ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Social Motivation ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Brain Asymmetry ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Human Infants ◽

Frontal Asymmetry ◽

Frontal Brain ◽

The Individual

Introduction. Variability in the motivation to approach or withdraw from others displayed in infancy is thought to have long-term effects on human social development. Frontal brain asymmetry has been linked to motivational processes in infants and adults, with greater left frontal asymmetry reflecting motivation to approach and greater right frontal asymmetry reflecting motivation to withdraw. We examined the hypothesis that variability in infants’ social motivation is linked to genetic variation in the endogenous oxytocin system. Specifically, we measured infants’ frontal brain asymmetry and later looking preferences to smiling and frowning individuals and assayed a single-nucleotide polymorphism in the CD38 gene (rs3796863) linked to autism spectrum disorder and reduced peripheral oxytocin levels. Methods. 77 11-month-old infants’ (36 female) brain responses were measured via functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) while viewing four individuals display either smiles or frowns directed toward or away from them. This was followed by a person preference test using eyetracking. Results. Frontal brain asymmetry patterns evoked by direct-gaze faces significantly differed as a function of CD38 genotype. Specifically, while non-risk A-allele carriers displayed greater left lateralization to smiling faces (approach) and greater right lateralization to frowning faces (withdrawal), infants with the CC (ASD risk) genotype displayed withdrawal from smiling faces. During eyetracking, A-allele carriers showed a heightened preference for the individual who smiled, while CC infants preferred the individual who frowned.Conclusions. Our findings demonstrate that, from early in human ontogeny, genetic variation in the oxytocin system is linked to variability in brain and behavioral markers of social motivation.

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Neural synchrony in mother–child conversation: Exploring the role of conversation patterns

Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience ◽

10.1093/scan/nsaa079 ◽

2020 ◽

Cited By ~ 4

Author(s):

Trinh Nguyen ◽

Hanna Schleihauf ◽

Ezgi Kayhan ◽

Daniel Matthes ◽

Pascal Vrtička ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Family Environment ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Temporal Dynamics ◽

Neural Synchrony ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Neural Synchronization ◽

Turn Taking ◽

Over Time ◽

Parent Child

Abstract Conversations are an essential form of communication in daily family life. Specific patterns of caregiver–child conversations have been linked to children’s socio-cognitive development and child-relationship quality beyond the immediate family environment. Recently, interpersonal neural synchronization has been proposed as a neural mechanism supporting conversation. Here, we present a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning study looking at the temporal dynamics of neural synchrony during mother–child conversation. Preschoolers (20 boys and 20 girls, M age 5;07 years) and their mothers (M age 36.37 years) were tested simultaneously with fNIRS hyperscanning while engaging in a free verbal conversation lasting for 4 min. Neural synchrony (using wavelet transform coherence analysis) was assessed over time. Furthermore, each conversational turn was coded for conversation patterns comprising turn-taking, relevance, contingency and intrusiveness. Results from linear mixed-effects modeling revealed that turn-taking, but not relevance, contingency or intrusiveness predicted neural synchronization during the conversation over time. Results are discussed to point out possible variables affecting parent–child conversation quality and the potential functional role of interpersonal neural synchronization for parent–child conversation.

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Disentangling Differences in Homicide Incarceration Rates by Immigration Status: A Comparison in Texas

Crime & Delinquency ◽

10.1177/0011128720940963 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 001112872094096

Author(s):

Erin A. Orrick ◽

Alexander H. Updegrove ◽

Alex R. Piquero ◽

Tomislav Kovandzic

Keyword(s):

Undocumented Immigrants ◽

Immigrant Status ◽

Immigration Status ◽

Incarceration Rate ◽

Individual Level ◽

Crime And Punishment ◽

Using Data ◽

The Individual ◽

Almost All ◽

Immigration And Crime

Research addressing the purported relationship between immigration and crime remains popular, but some gaps remain under-explored. One important gap involves disentangling differences in crime and punishment by immigrant status, as measured across different definitions of immigration status and in relation to U.S. natives, at the individual level. Using data from Texas, results show that native-born U.S. citizens are incarcerated for homicide at higher rates than almost all immigrant groups. While the incarceration rate for undocumented immigrants was 24% greater than the rate for all foreign-citizens, this rate was significantly less than that for U.S. citizens. Among the immigrant status classifications available in this study, all were associated with lower incarceration rates for homicide than that of U.S. citizens.

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Unravelling ecological analysis

Journal of Applied Mathematics and Decision Sciences ◽

10.1155/jamds/2006/38358 ◽

2006 ◽

Vol 2006 ◽

pp. 1-18 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

D. G. Steel ◽

M. Tranmer ◽

D. Holt

Keyword(s):

Linear Regression Analysis ◽

Aggregate Data ◽

Auxiliary Variables ◽

Ecological Analysis ◽

Individual Level ◽

Ecological Regression ◽

Australian Census ◽

Using Data ◽

The Individual

Ecological analysis involves analysing aggregate data for groups of individuals to make inferences about relationships at the individual level. Often the results of such analyses give badly biased estimates. This paper will consider the sources of bias in linear regression analysis using aggregate data. The role of variation of the individual level relationships between groups and the consequent within-group correlations and how these are related to auxiliary variables that characterise the differences between groups is considered. A method of adjusting ecological regression for the effects of auxiliary variables is described and evaluated using data from the 1991 Australian Census.

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The Average Response Method of Scaling

Journal of Educational Statistics ◽

10.3102/10769986015001009 ◽

1990 ◽

Vol 15 (1) ◽

pp. 9-38 ◽

Cited By ~ 3

Author(s):

Albert E. Beaton ◽

Eugene G. Johnson

Keyword(s):

Linear Models ◽

Predictive Distribution ◽

Average Response ◽

Individual Level ◽

Multiple Imputations ◽

Plausible Values ◽

Scale Scores ◽

Using Data ◽

The Individual ◽

Response Method

The average response method (ARM) of scaling nonbinary data was developed to scale the data from the assessments of writing conducted by the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP). The ARM applies linear models and multiple imputations technologies to characterize the predictive distribution of the person-level average of ratings over a pool of exercises when each person has responded to only a few of the exercises. The derivations of “plausible values” from the individual-level distributions of potential scale scores are given. Conditions are provided for the unbiasedness of estimates based on the plausible values, and the potential magnitude of the bias when the conditions are not met is indicated. Also discussed is how the plausible values allow for an accounting of the uncertainties due to the sampling of individuals and to the incomplete information on each sampled individual. The technique is illustrated using data from the assessment of writing.

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Redistribution under the Social Security benefit formula at the individual and household levels, 1992 and 2004

Journal of Pension Economics and Finance ◽

10.1017/s1474747212000108 ◽

2012 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

pp. 1-27 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

ALAN L. GUSTMAN ◽

THOMAS L. STEINMEIER ◽

NAHID TABATABAI

Keyword(s):

Social Security ◽

Labor Force Participation ◽

Social Security Benefit ◽

Household Level ◽

Individual Level ◽

The Social ◽

High Earning ◽

Using Data ◽

The Individual ◽

Over Time

AbstractStudies using data from the early 1990s suggested that while the progressive Social Security benefit formula succeeded in redistributing benefits from individuals with high earnings to individuals with low earnings, it was much less successful in redistributing benefits from households with high earnings to households with low earnings. Wives often earned much less than their husbands. As a result, much of the redistribution at the individual level was effectively from high earning husbands to their own lower earning wives. In addition, spouse and survivor benefits accrue disproportionately to women from high income households. Both factors mitigate redistribution at the household level. It has been argued that with the increase in the labor force participation and earnings of women, Social Security now should do a better job of redistributing benefits at the household level. To be sure, when we compare outcomes for a cohort with a household member age 51 to 56 in 1992 with those from a cohort born twelve years later, redistribution at the household level has increased over time. Nevertheless, as of 2004 there still is substantially less redistribution of benefits from high to low earning households than from high to low earning individuals.

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Synchrony of mind and body are distinct in mother-child dyads

10.1101/2021.02.21.432077 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Vanessa Reindl ◽

Sam Wass ◽

Victoria Leong ◽

Wolfgang Scharke ◽

Sandra Wistuba ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Near Infrared ◽

Motor Behavior ◽

Methodological Approach ◽

Neural Synchrony ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Interpersonal Synchrony ◽

Neural Processes ◽

Behavioral Synchrony ◽

Mind And Body ◽

The Brain

AbstractHyperscanning studies have begun to unravel the brain mechanisms underlying social interaction, indicating a functional role for interpersonal neural synchronization (INS), yet the mechanisms that drive INS are poorly understood. While interpersonal synchrony is considered a multimodal phenomenon, it is not clear how different biological and behavioral synchrony markers are related to each other. The current study, thus, addresses whether INS is functionally-distinct from synchrony in other systems – specifically the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and motor behavior. To test this, we used a novel methodological approach, based on concurrent functional near-infrared spectroscopy-electrocardiography, recorded while N = 34 mother-child and stranger-child dyads (child mean age 14 years) engaged in cooperative and competitive tasks. Results showed a marked differentiation between neural, ANS and behavioral synchrony. Importantly, only in the neural domain was higher synchrony for mother-child compared to stranger-child dyads observed. Further, ANS and neural synchrony were positively related during competition but not during cooperation. These results suggest that synchrony in different behavioral and biological systems may reflect distinct processes. Mother-child INS may arise due to neural processes related to social affiliation, which go beyond shared arousal and similarities in behavior.

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