scholarly journals Neural Correlates of Theory of Mind Are Preserved in Young Women With Anorexia Nervosa

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Leslie ◽  
Daniel Halls ◽  
Jenni Leppanen ◽  
Felicity Sedgewick ◽  
Katherine Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Reliability And Validity ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Neural Basis

People with anorexia nervosa (AN) commonly exhibit social difficulties, which may be related to problems with understanding the perspectives of others, commonly known as Theory of Mind (ToM) processing. However, there is a dearth of literature investigating the neural basis of these differences in ToM and at what age they emerge. This study aimed to test for differences in the neural correlates of ToM processes in young women with AN, and young women weight-restored (WR) from AN, as compared to healthy control participants (HC). Based on previous findings in AN, we hypothesized that young women with current or prior AN, as compared to HCs, would exhibit a reduced neural response in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), the inferior frontal gyrus, and the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) whilst completing a ToM task. We recruited 73 young women with AN, 45 WR young women, and 70 young women without a history of AN to take part in the current study. Whilst undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scan, participants completed the Frith-Happé task, which is a commonly used measure of ToM with demonstrated reliability and validity in adult populations. In this task, participants viewed the movements of triangles, which depicted either action movements, simple interactions, or complex social interactions. Viewing trials with more complex social interactions in the Frith-Happé task was associated with increased brain activation in regions including the right TPJ, the bilateral mPFC, the cerebellum, and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. There were no group differences in neural activation in response to the ToM contrast. Overall, these results suggest that the neural basis of spontaneous mentalizing is preserved in most young women with AN.

scholarly journals Corrigendum: Neural Correlates of Theory of Mind Are Preserved in Young Women With Anorexia Nervosa

2020 ◽  
Vol 11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Leslie ◽  
Daniel Halls ◽  
Jenni Leppanen ◽  
Felicity Sedgewick ◽  
Katherine Smith ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Neural Correlates

scholarly journals Frontoparietal, Cerebellum Network Codes for Accurate Intention Prediction in Altered Perceptual Conditions

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
L Ceravolo ◽  
S Schaerlaeken ◽  
S Frühholz ◽  
D Glowinski ◽  
D Grandjean
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Musical Training ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Communicative Intent ◽  
Dynamic Stimuli ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Critical Components

Abstract Integrating and predicting the intentions and actions of others are critical components of social interactions, but the behavioral and neural bases of such mechanisms under altered perceptual conditions are poorly understood. In the present study, we recruited expert violinists and age-matched controls with no musical training and asked them to evaluate simplified dynamic stimuli of violinists playing in a piano or forte communicative intent while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging. We show that expertise is needed to successfully understand and evaluate communicative intentions in spatially and temporally altered visual representations of musical performance. Frontoparietal regions—such as the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and the inferior parietal lobule and sulcus—and various subregions of the cerebellum—such as cerebellar lobules I-IV, V, VI, VIIb, VIIIa, X—are recruited in the process. Functional connectivity between these brain areas reveals widespread organization, particularly in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, inferior parietal sulcus and in the cerebellum. This network may be essential to successfully assess communicative intent in ambiguous or complex visual scenes.

scholarly journals The neural correlates of a central coherence task in young women with anorexia nervosa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Monica Leslie ◽  
Daniel Halls ◽  
Jenni Leppanen ◽  
Felicity Sedgewick ◽  
Katie Lang ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Young Women ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Central Coherence

scholarly journals The Neural Basis of Shared Preference Learning

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Harry Farmer ◽  
Uri Hertz ◽  
Antonia Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Self ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Specific Manner ◽  
The Brain

AbstractDuring our daily lives, we often learn about the similarity of the traits and preferences of others to our own and use that information during our social interactions. However, it is unclear how the brain represents similarity between the self and others. One possible mechanism is to track similarity to oneself regardless of the identity of the other (Similarity account); an alternative is to track each confederate in terms of consistency of the similarity to the self, with respect to the choices they have made before (consistency account). Our study combined fMRI and computational modelling of reinforcement learning (RL) to investigate the neural processes that underlie learning about preference similarity. Participants chose which of two pieces of artwork they preferred and saw the choices of one confederate who usually shared their preference and another who usually did not. We modelled neural activation with RL models based on the similarity and consistency accounts. Data showed more brain regions whose activity pattern fits with the consistency account, specifically, areas linked to reward and social cognition. Our findings suggest that impressions of other people can be calculated in a person-specific manner which assumes that each individual behaves consistently with their past choices.

The Neural Correlates of Consciousness

2020 ◽  
pp. 231-260
Author(s):  
Jorge Morales ◽  
Hakwan Lau
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Specific Role ◽  
Statistical Techniques ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Hierarchical Processing ◽  
Neural Correlates Of Consciousness ◽  
Processing Architecture ◽  
Selection Of

Our understanding of the neural basis of consciousness has substantially improved in the last few decades. New imaging and statistical techniques have been introduced, experiments have become more sophisticated, and several unsuccessful hypotheses have been quite conclusively ruled out. However, neuroscientists still do not entirely agree on the critical neural features required for sustaining perceptual conscious experiences in humans and other primates. This chapter discusses a selection of influential views of the neural correlates of consciousness and the predictions they make. By highlighting some neurobiological and computational modelling results, it will be argued that the currently available evidence favors a hierarchical processing architecture that confers a crucial, if subtle and specific, role to prefrontal cortex.

scholarly journals Disentangling the origins of confidence in speeded perceptual judgments through multimodal imaging

2020 ◽  
Vol 117 (15) ◽  
pp. 8382-8390 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michael Pereira ◽  
Nathan Faivre ◽  
Iñaki Iturrate ◽  
Marco Wirthlin ◽  
Luana Serafini ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Healthy Volunteers ◽  
Multimodal Imaging ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Anterior Insula ◽  
Evidence Accumulation ◽  
Perceptual Judgments ◽  
Anterior Prefrontal Cortex

The human capacity to compute the likelihood that a decision is correct—known as metacognition—has proven difficult to study in isolation as it usually cooccurs with decision making. Here, we isolated postdecisional from decisional contributions to metacognition by analyzing neural correlates of confidence with multimodal imaging. Healthy volunteers reported their confidence in the accuracy of decisions they made or decisions they observed. We found better metacognitive performance for committed vs. observed decisions, indicating that committing to a decision may improve confidence. Relying on concurrent electroencephalography and hemodynamic recordings, we found a common correlate of confidence following committed and observed decisions in the inferior frontal gyrus and a dissociation in the anterior prefrontal cortex and anterior insula. We discuss these results in light of decisional and postdecisional accounts of confidence and propose a computational model of confidence in which metacognitive performance naturally improves when evidence accumulation is constrained upon committing a decision.

Try to see it my way – Examining the relationship between visual perspective taking and theory of mind in frontotemporal dementia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cherie Strikwerda-Brown ◽  
Rebekah Ahmed ◽  
Olivier Piguet ◽  
Muireann Irish
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Frontotemporal Dementia ◽  
Real World ◽  
Perspective Taking ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Visual Perspective ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
Visual Perspective Taking ◽  
World Perspective

The behavioural variant of frontotemporal dementia (bvFTD) is characterised by pronounced alterations in social functioning, including the understanding of others’ thoughts and feelings via theory of mind. The emergence of such impairments in other social disorders such as autism and schizophrenia is suggested to reflect an inability to imagine the other person’s visual perspective of the world. To our knowledge, this hypothesis is yet to be explored in bvFTD. Here, we sought to examine the capacity for different forms of perspective taking, including visual perspective taking and theory of mind in bvFTD, and to establish their inter-relationships and underlying neural correlates. Fifteen bvFTD patients and 15 healthy Controls completed a comprehensive battery of perspective taking measures, comprising Level 1 (‘what’) and Level 2 (‘how’) visual perspective taking tasks, a cartoon task capturing theory of mind, and a questionnaire assessing perspective taking in daily life. Compared with Controls, bvFTD patients displayed significant impairments across all perspective taking measures. These perspective taking impairments, however, were not correlated with one another in bvFTD. Moreover, controlling for visual perspective taking performance did not ameliorate the deficits in theory of mind or real-world perspective taking. Region-of-interest voxel-based morphometry analyses suggested distinct neural correlates for visual perspective taking (inferior frontal gyrus) versus theory of mind (medial prefrontal cortex, precuneus), which appeared to partially overlap with those implicated in real-world perspective taking (inferior frontal gyrus, precuneus, temporoparietal junction). Despite pervasive impairments in all aspects of perspective taking in bvFTD, our findings suggest that these deficits may reflect distinct underlying processes. Future studies manipulating discrete aspects of the tasks will help to clarify the neurocognitive mechanisms of, and relationships between different forms of perspective taking in bvFTD, along with their real-world implications.

scholarly journals Boosting the ToM network: Specific psychotherapy increases neural correlates of affective theory of mind in euthymic bipolar disorder

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kristina Meyer ◽  
Catherine Hindi Attar ◽  
Jana Fiebig ◽  
Thomas Stamm ◽  
Tyler R. Bassett ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Bipolar Disorder ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Controlled Trial ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Brain Network ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Post Intervention ◽  
Global Functioning ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
Network Activation

Objectives: Impairments in social cognitive processes are discussed as a vulnerability factor for bipolar disorder (BD). Previous studies demonstrated aberrant neural activation in brain areas related to theory of mind (ToM) and impaired affective ToM (aToM) task performance in BD. However, it is yet unknown whether successful psychotherapy of BD influences neuroimaging markers of aToM.Methods: In the present study conducted within the multicentric randomized controlled trial of the BipoLife consortium, euthymic BD patients underwent two group interventions: a specific, cognitive-behavioral intervention (SEKT, n = 31) encompassing psychoeducation and the training of self-management, impulse regulation, and ToM and social skills versus a supportive, unstructured, emotion-focused intervention (FEST, n = 28). To compare the effect of SEKT and FEST on neural correlates of aToM, patients performed an aToM task during functional magnetic resonance imaging before and after interventions. Because ToM skills were trained in SEKT, we expected an increased ToM network activation in SEKT relative to FEST post intervention. Results: Both treatments were effective in stabilizing patients’ euthymic state in terms of affective symptoms, life satisfaction and global functioning. Confirming our expectations, patients who had completed SEKT showed an increased neural activation within four regions of the ToM brain network, the bilateral temporoparietal junction (TPJ), the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), and the precuneus, whereas FEST patients did not. Conclusions: The stabilizing effect of SEKT on clinical outcomes went along with a boost in neural activation of the ToM network, while FEST possibly exerted its positive effect by other, yet unexplored routes.

scholarly journals The neural basis of shared preference learning

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 1061-1072
Author(s):  
Harry Farmer ◽  
Uri Hertz ◽  
Antonia F de C Hamilton
Keyword(s):  
Social Interactions ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Functional Magnetic Resonance ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Neural Basis ◽  
Daily Lives ◽  
Neural Processes ◽  
Specific Manner ◽  
The Brain

Abstract During our daily lives, we often learn about the similarity of the traits and preferences of others to our own and use that information during our social interactions. However, it is unclear how the brain represents similarity between the self and others. One possible mechanism is to track similarity to oneself regardless of the identity of the other (Similarity account); an alternative is to track each other person in terms of consistency of their choice similarity with respect to the choices they have made before (consistency account). Our study combined functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) and computational modelling of reinforcement learning (RL) to investigate the neural processes that underlie learning about preference similarity. Participants chose which of two pieces of artwork they preferred and saw the choices of one agent who usually shared their preference and another agent who usually did not. We modelled neural activation with RL models based on the similarity and consistency accounts. Our results showed that activity in brain areas linked to reward and social cognition followed the consistency account. Our findings suggest that impressions of other people can be calculated in a person-specific manner, which assumes that each individual behaves consistently with their past choices.

scholarly journals Dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and amygdala function during cognitive reappraisal predicts weight restoration and emotion regulation impairment in anorexia nervosa

2020 ◽  
pp. 1-9
Author(s):  
Trevor Steward ◽  
Ignacio Martínez-Zalacaín ◽  
Gemma Mestre-Bach ◽  
Isabel Sánchez ◽  
Nadine Riesco ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotion Regulation ◽  
Anorexia Nervosa ◽  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Negative Emotion ◽  
Cognitive Reappraisal ◽  
Neural Correlates ◽  
Clinical Severity ◽  
Hospital Treatment ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal

Abstract Background Although deficits in affective processing are a core component of anorexia nervosa (AN), we lack a detailed characterization of the neurobiological underpinnings of emotion regulation impairment in AN. Moreover, it remains unclear whether these neural correlates scale with clinical outcomes. Methods We investigated the neural correlates of negative emotion regulation in a sample of young women receiving day-hospital treatment for AN (n = 21) and healthy controls (n = 21). We aimed to determine whether aberrant brain activation patterns during emotion regulation predicted weight gain following treatment in AN patients and were linked to AN severity. To achieve this, participants completed a cognitive reappraisal paradigm during functional magnetic resonance imaging. Skin conductance response, as well as subjective distress ratings, were recorded to corroborate task engagement. Results Compared to controls, patients with AN showed reduced activation in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) during cognitive reappraisal [pFWE<0.05, threshold-free cluster enhancement (TFCE) corrected]. Importantly, psycho–physiological interaction analysis revealed reduced functional connectivity between the dlPFC and the amygdala in AN patients during emotion regulation (pFWE<0.05, TFCE corrected), and dlPFC-amygdala uncoupling was associated with emotion regulation deficits (r = −0.511, p = 0.018) and eating disorder severity (r = −0.565, p = .008) in the AN group. Finally, dlPFC activity positively correlated with increases in body mass index (r = 0.471, p = 0.042) and in body fat mass percentage (r = 0.605, p = 0.008) following 12 weeks of treatment. Conclusions Taken together, our findings indicate that individuals with AN present altered fronto-amygdalar response during cognitive reappraisal and that this response may serve as a predictor of response to treatment and be linked to clinical severity.

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