scholarly journals Abnormal Processing of Social Information from Faces in Autism

2001 ◽  
Vol 13 (2) ◽  
pp. 232-240 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ralph Adolphs ◽  
Lonnie Sears ◽  
Joseph Piven
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Social Knowledge ◽  
Social Judgments ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
Impaired Ability ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
Underlying Processes

Autism has been thought to be characterized, in part, by dysfunction in emotional and social cognition, but the pathology of the underlying processes and their neural substrates remain poorly understood. Several studies have hypothesized that abnormal amygdala function may account for some of the impairments seen in autism, specifically, impaired recognition of socially relevant information from faces. We explored this issue in eight high-functioning subjects with autism in four experiments that assessed recognition of emotional and social information, primarily from faces. All tasks used were identical to those previously used in studies of subjects with bilateral amygdala damage, permitting direct comparisons. All subjects with autism made abnormal social judgments regarding the trustworthiness of faces; however, all were able to make normal social judgments from lexical stimuli, and all had a normal ability to perceptually discriminate the stimuli. Overall, these data from subjects with autism show some parallels to those from neurological subjects with focal amygdala damage. We suggest that amygdala dysfunction in autism might contribute to an impaired ability to link visual perception of socially relevant stimuli with retrieval of social knowledge and with elicitation of social behavior.

scholarly journals Neural networks supporting social evaluation of bodies based on body shape

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inez Greven ◽  
Paul Downing ◽  
Richard Ramsey
Keyword(s):  
Neural Networks ◽  
Body Shape ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
The Body ◽  
Social Judgments ◽  
Social Evaluation ◽  
Fmri Experiment ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
Social Inferences

Body shape cues inferences regarding personality and health, but the neural processes underpinning such inferences remain poorly understood. Across two fMRI experiments, we test the extent to which neural networks associated with body perception and theory-of-mind (ToM) support social inferences based on body shape. Participants observed obese, muscular, and slim bodies that cued distinct social inferences as pilot experiments revealed. To investigate judgment intentionality, the first fMRI experiment required participants to detect repeat presentations of bodies, whereas in fMRI Experiment 2 participants intentionally formed an impression. Body and ToM networks were localized using independent functional localisers. Experiment 1 revealed no differential network engagement for muscular or obese compared to slim bodies. By contrast, in Experiment 2, compared to slim bodies, forming impressions of muscular bodies engaged the body-network more, whereas the ToM-network was engaged more when forming impressions of obese bodies. These results demonstrate that social judgments based on body shape do not rely on a single neural mechanism, but rather on multiple mechanisms that are separately sensitive to body fat and muscularity. Moreover, dissociable responses are only apparent when intentionally forming an impression. Thus, these experiments show how segregated networks operate to extract socially-relevant information cued by body shape.

scholarly journals Perspective influences eye movements during real-life conversation: Mentalising about self vs. others in autism

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mahsa Barzy ◽  
Heather Jane Ferguson ◽  
David Williams
Keyword(s):  
Eye Movements ◽  
Real Life ◽  
Social Background ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Social Attention ◽  
Typically Developing ◽  
Cognitive Mechanisms ◽  
Verbal Responses ◽  
Socially Relevant

Socio-communication is profoundly impaired among autistic individuals. Difficulties representing others’ mental states have been linked to modulations of gaze and speech, which have also been shown to be impaired in autism. Despite these observed impairments in ‘real-world’ communicative settings, research has mostly focused on lab-based experiments, where the language is highly structured. In a pre-registered experiment, we recorded eye movements and verbal responses while adults (N=50) engaged in a real-life conversation. Conversation topic either related to the self, a familiar other, or an unfamiliar other (e.g. "Tell me who is your/your mother’s/Marina’s favourite celebrity and why?”). Results replicated previous work, showing reduced attention to socially-relevant information among autistic participants (i.e. less time looking at the experimenter’s face, and more time looking around the background), compared to typically-developing controls. Importantly, perspective modulated social attention in both groups; talking about an unfamiliar other reduced attention to potentially distracting or resource demanding social information, and increased looks to non-social background. Social attention did not differ between self and familiar other contexts- reflecting greater shared knowledge for familiar/similar others. Autistic participants spent more time looking at the background when talking about an unfamiliar other vs. themselvesFuture research should investigate the cognitive mechanisms underlying this effect.

scholarly journals A Multi-Site Collaboration of Hostile Priming Effects-In-Principle Acceptance version

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Randy J. McCarthy ◽  
Will M Gervais ◽  
Michael Magee ◽  
muriel kosaka
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Priming Effect ◽  
Social Judgments ◽  
Critical Test ◽  
Priming Effects ◽  
Cast Doubt ◽  
Academic Publications

In 1979, Srull and Wyer reported a study where a brief exposure to hostile stimuli caused participants to subsequently rate an individual as being more hostile. Srull and Wyer (1979) went on to be one of the most influential studies in social cognition: It has been cited in over 1,000 academic publications, the “Donald” vignette has been used in dozens of subsequent studies, and the results served as a foundation for subsequent priming studies that extended priming effects beyond the domain of social judgments (e.g., e.g., Bargh, Chen, & Burrows, 1996; Dijksterhuis & van Knippenberg, 1998). However, a Registered Replication Report (RRR; McCarthy et al., 2018) that contained 26 independent samples and several thousand participants did not find the predicted effect and cast doubt on whether the methods reported by Srull and Wyer would reliably produce a hostile priming effect. However, the RRR deviated from the original methods in a few ways and some criticisms of the methods were raised after the publication of the RRR. The current proposed study is intended to address these criticisms and provide a critical test of whether Srull and Wyer-esque methods can reliably produce a hostile priming effect. The current study will involve several labs who each collect an independent sample of data. Each lab will conduct a close replication of Srull and Wyer (1979) and each lab will pretest stimuli so they can conduct a conceptual replication of Srull and Wyer (1979) using stimuli that are developed specifically for their locally-available participants. Collectively, this study will test the replicability of Srull and Wyer-esque methods to produce a hostile priming effect.

Genetic Data, Genome Understanding, and Socially Relevant Information

2021 ◽  
pp. 7-18
Author(s):  
Dara Hallinan
Keyword(s):  
Genetic Analysis ◽  
Genetic Relationships ◽  
Genomic Data ◽  
Genetic Data ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Significant Information ◽  
Multiple Factors ◽  
Phenotype Data ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Socially Relevant

This chapter discusses the range of types of data which might be subject to genetic analysis to produce socially relevant information. These genetic data include raw genomic data as well as other types of data, such as phenotype data and inheritance data. Genetic analysis of these types of data is currently capable of producing a wide range of socially relevant information, including information concerning identity, genetic relationships, phenotype, health, and social and behavioural traits. It is not the case, however, that each type of genetic data can be subject to only one type of genetic analysis to produce only one type of socially relevant information. Rather, each type of genetic data, particularly genomic data, can be subject to multiple types of genetic analysis. Nor is it necessarily the case that genetic analyses produce socially relevant information which is completely accurate. Rather, the degree of accuracy of information will usually depend on multiple factors. The chapter then looks at the range of parties about whom socially significant information may be produced.

Understanding of Self and Others: Neurobiological Underpinnings of Social Cognition

2019 ◽  
pp. 197-210
Author(s):  
Franziska K. Goer ◽  
Rebecca Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Moral Emotions ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Subgenual Anterior Cingulate Cortex ◽  
Processing Theory ◽  
Moral Content ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Social Decision Making

This chapter examines the processes underlying interpersonal interactions in both healthy control individuals (HC) and those with major depressive disorder (MDD). The chapter focuses on four key types of social cognition that give rise to the intricate and dynamic nature of human social functioning, including self-referential processing, other-processing (‘theory of mind’), moral emotion, and social decision-making. It reviews studies investigating the neural substrates of social cognition in HC and MDD, most commonly using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Key brain areas identified include prefrontal cortex (PFC; including, most prevalently, the orbitolateral, medial–lateral, and dorsolateral PFC), temporal–parietal regions (in relation to theory of mind), and subgenual anterior cingulate cortex (in relation to both specific moral emotions, such as guilt, and moral content more generally).

scholarly journals Brands and the Pandemic: A Cautionary Tale

2020 ◽  
Vol 6 (3) ◽  
pp. 205630512094823
Author(s):  
Melissa Aronczyk
Keyword(s):  
Digital Media ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Reliable Information ◽  
Cautionary Tale ◽  
Brand Reputation ◽  
Socially Relevant ◽  
The Impact

This essay examines the troubling logic of digital media ecosystems, which devalue socially relevant information to maintain brand reputation. At a time when the value of news to provide essential and reliable information is made dramatically apparent, advertising technologies privilege the safety of brands over the safety of individuals. The essay reviews the logic of current digital advertising infrastructure, focusing on the impact of automated technologies on the decline of professional journalism.

Noticing the unusual: a self-prompt strategy for adults with autism

2015 ◽  
Vol 1 (2) ◽  
pp. 87-97 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kate Silver ◽  
Sarah Parsons
Keyword(s):  
Real Life ◽  
Small Scale ◽  
Social Understanding ◽  
Social Judgments ◽  
Structured Interviews ◽  
Social Situations ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Content Type ◽  
High Functioning ◽  
The Social

Purpose – There is a substantial lack of research focusing on how to support the social understanding of high-functioning adults with autism (HFA). The perspectives of three adults with HFA were used to develop and implement self-prompt systems to increase knowledge and awareness of social situations. The paper aims to discuss these issues. Design/methodology/approach – Semi-structured interviews and diaries were used to support individuals to reflect on video-based and real-life social situations, within a qualitative participatory case study design. Qualitative data were analyzed thematically. Findings – Participants developed and used a self-prompt system to support their social understanding in a range of situations. “Noticing the unusual” in social situations, consideration of the potential impact of others’ behavior on them personally, and guessing the intention of others were identified as useful strategies. Basing social judgments on the facial expressions of others was not useful. Research limitations/implications – This was a small-scale study with only three high-functioning participants and so the research needs to be extended to a wider group. Practical implications – There is considerable potential for this approach to be used with adults accessing support services because the strategies identified can be easily applied and personalized. Social implications – Independent, unplanned use of the self-prompt strategy enabled participants to reduce dependence on others in social situations through supporting their independent thinking and actions. Originality/value – This study moves away from a deficit-focussed model of intervention to one that seeks to uncover strengths in order to empower individuals to use their existing knowledge.

scholarly journals Abnormal brain responses to social fairness in depression: an fMRI study using the Ultimatum Game

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 1241-1251 ◽  
Author(s):  
V. B. Gradin ◽  
A. Pérez ◽  
J. A. MacFarlane ◽  
I. Cavin ◽  
G. Waiter ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Nucleus Accumbens ◽  
Interpersonal Relationships ◽  
Ultimatum Game ◽  
Social Information ◽  
Occipital Lobe ◽  
Neural Substrates ◽  
Healthy Controls ◽  
Social Exchanges ◽  
Social Difficulties ◽  
Behavioural Economic

Background.Depression is a prevalent disorder that significantly affects the social functioning and interpersonal relationships of individuals. This highlights the need for investigation of the neural mechanisms underlying these social difficulties. Investigation of social exchanges has traditionally been challenging as such interactions are difficult to quantify. Recently, however, neuroeconomic approaches that combine multiplayer behavioural economic paradigms and neuroimaging have provided a framework to operationalize and quantify the study of social interactions and the associated neural substrates.Method.We investigated brain activation using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in unmedicated depressed participants (n = 25) and matched healthy controls (n = 25). During scanning, participants played a behavioural economic paradigm, the Ultimatum Game (UG). In this task, participants accept or reject monetary offers from other players.Results.In comparison to controls, depressed participants reported decreased levels of happiness in response to ‘fair’ offers. With increasing fairness of offers, controls activated the nucleus accumbens and the dorsal caudate, regions that have been reported to process social information and responses to rewards. By contrast, participants with depression failed to activate these regions with increasing fairness, with the lack of nucleus accumbens activation correlating with increased anhedonia symptoms. Depressed participants also showed a diminished response to increasing unfairness of offers in the medial occipital lobe.Conclusions.Our findings suggest that depressed individuals differ from healthy controls in the neural substrates involved with processing social information. In depression, the nucleus accumbens and dorsal caudate may underlie abnormalities in processing information linked to the fairness and rewarding aspects of other people's decisions.

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