Brain connectivity dynamics during social interaction reflect social network structure

AbstractSocial ties are crucial for humans. Disruption of ties through social exclusion has a marked effect on our thoughts and feelings; however, such effects can be tempered by broader social network resources. Here, we use functional magnetic resonance imaging data acquired from 80 male adolescents to investigate how social exclusion modulates functional connectivity within and across brain networks involved in social pain and understanding the mental states of others (i.e., mentalizing). Furthermore, using objectively logged friendship network data, we examine how individual variability in brain reactivity to social exclusion relates to the density of participants’ friendship networks, an important aspect of social network structure. We find increased connectivity within a set of regions previously identified as a mentalizing system during exclusion relative to inclusion. These results are consistent across the regions of interest as well as a whole-brain analysis. Next, examining how social network characteristics are associated with task-based connectivity dynamics, participants who showed greater changes in connectivity within the mentalizing system when socially excluded by peers had less dense friendship networks. This work provides novel insight to understand how distributed brain systems respond to social and emotional challenges, and how such brain dynamics might vary based on broader social network characteristics.

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Brain connectivity dynamics during social interaction reflect social network structure

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1616130114 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 114 (20) ◽

pp. 5153-5158 ◽

Cited By ~ 46

Author(s):

Ralf Schmälzle ◽

Matthew Brook O’Donnell ◽

Javier O. Garcia ◽

Christopher N. Cascio ◽

Joseph Bayer ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Social Exclusion ◽

Network Structure ◽

Brain Connectivity ◽

Mental States ◽

Individual Variability ◽

Friendship Networks ◽

Network Characteristics ◽

Social Network Structure ◽

Mentalizing System

Social ties are crucial for humans. Disruption of ties through social exclusion has a marked effect on our thoughts and feelings; however, such effects can be tempered by broader social network resources. Here, we use fMRI data acquired from 80 male adolescents to investigate how social exclusion modulates functional connectivity within and across brain networks involved in social pain and understanding the mental states of others (i.e., mentalizing). Furthermore, using objectively logged friendship network data, we examine how individual variability in brain reactivity to social exclusion relates to the density of participants’ friendship networks, an important aspect of social network structure. We find increased connectivity within a set of regions previously identified as a mentalizing system during exclusion relative to inclusion. These results are consistent across the regions of interest as well as a whole-brain analysis. Next, examining how social network characteristics are associated with task-based connectivity dynamics, we find that participants who showed greater changes in connectivity within the mentalizing system when socially excluded by peers had less dense friendship networks. This work provides insight to understand how distributed brain systems respond to social and emotional challenges and how such brain dynamics might vary based on broader social network characteristics.

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Social Network Structure and Risk Sharing in Villages

The B E Journal of Economic Analysis & Policy ◽

10.1515/bejeap-2017-0263 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 18 (3) ◽

Author(s):

Bin Jiang ◽

Jun Sung Kim ◽

Chuhui Li ◽

Ou Yang

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Network Structure ◽

Risk Sharing ◽

Interval Estimation ◽

Network Connectivity ◽

Econometric Models ◽

Friendship Networks ◽

Social Network Structure ◽

The Social ◽

Survey Responses

Abstract This paper studies how the structure of friendship networks affects risk sharing in villages. Using techniques for partially identified econometric models, we construct a sharp bound on the true risk-sharing rate, which takes into account nomination errors in survey responses, and implement interval estimation. We show that the diameter of a network has a negative and significant impact on risk sharing. Our result implies that policymakers can effectively improve risk sharing between households by adopting policies that increase the network connectivity of individuals in the periphery of the social network.

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Evolutionary dynamics modeling of symbolic social network structure equilibrium

China Communications ◽

10.23919/jcc.2020.10.017 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 17 (10) ◽

pp. 229-240

Author(s):

Weijin Jiang ◽

Sijian Lv ◽

Yirong Jiang ◽

Jiahui Chen ◽

Fang Ye ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Network Structure ◽

Evolutionary Dynamics ◽

Dynamics Modeling ◽

Social Network Structure

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Online Communities and Social Network Structure

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3420525 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Yanhao Wei ◽

Wensi Zhang ◽

Sha Yang ◽

Xi Chen

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Network Structure ◽

Online Communities ◽

Social Network Structure

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Inequality is rising where social network segregation interacts with urban topology

Nature Communications ◽

10.1038/s41467-021-21465-0 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 12 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Gergő Tóth ◽

Johannes Wachs ◽

Riccardo Di Clemente ◽

Ákos Jakobi ◽

Bence Ságvári ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Networks ◽

Social Network ◽

Network Structure ◽

Urban Geography ◽

Online Social Network ◽

Stage Model ◽

Significant Relationships ◽

Social Segregation ◽

Social Network Structure ◽

Physical Barriers

AbstractSocial networks amplify inequalities by fundamental mechanisms of social tie formation such as homophily and triadic closure. These forces sharpen social segregation, which is reflected in fragmented social network structure. Geographical impediments such as distance and physical or administrative boundaries also reinforce social segregation. Yet, less is known about the joint relationships between social network structure, urban geography, and inequality. In this paper we analyze an online social network and find that the fragmentation of social networks is significantly higher in towns in which residential neighborhoods are divided by physical barriers such as rivers and railroads. Towns in which neighborhoods are relatively distant from the center of town and amenities are spatially concentrated are also more socially segregated. Using a two-stage model, we show that these urban geography features have significant relationships with income inequality via social network fragmentation. In other words, the geographic features of a place can compound economic inequalities via social networks.

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The Social Network Structure of Alignment - A Literature Review

2011 44th Hawaii International Conference on System Sciences ◽

10.1109/hicss.2011.434 ◽

2011 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

K Walentowitz ◽

D Beimborn ◽

A Schroiff ◽

T Weitzel

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Literature Review ◽

Network Structure ◽

Social Network Structure ◽

The Social

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Formation of raiding parties for intergroup violence is mediated by social network structure

Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences ◽

10.1073/pnas.1610961113 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 113 (43) ◽

pp. 12114-12119 ◽

Cited By ~ 33

Author(s):

Luke Glowacki ◽

Alexander Isakov ◽

Richard W. Wrangham ◽

Rose McDermott ◽

James H. Fowler ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Network ◽

Network Structure ◽

Social Dynamics ◽

Small Scale ◽

East African ◽

Nomadic Pastoralists ◽

Social Network Structure ◽

The Social ◽

Total Impact ◽

Social Network Position

Intergroup violence is common among humans worldwide. To assess how within-group social dynamics contribute to risky, between-group conflict, we conducted a 3-y longitudinal study of the formation of raiding parties among the Nyangatom, a group of East African nomadic pastoralists currently engaged in small-scale warfare. We also mapped the social network structure of potential male raiders. Here, we show that the initiation of raids depends on the presence of specific leaders who tend to participate in many raids, to have more friends, and to occupy more central positions in the network. However, despite the different structural position of raid leaders, raid participants are recruited from the whole population, not just from the direct friends of leaders. An individual’s decision to participate in a raid is strongly associated with the individual’s social network position in relation to other participants. Moreover, nonleaders have a larger total impact on raid participation than leaders, despite leaders’ greater connectivity. Thus, we find that leaders matter more for raid initiation than participant mobilization. Social networks may play a role in supporting risky collective action, amplify the emergence of raiding parties, and hence facilitate intergroup violence in small-scale societies.

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