scholarly journals An fNIRS Investigation of Masculinity, Femininity and Sex on Nonparents’ Empathic Response to Infant Cries

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (5) ◽  
pp. 635
Author(s):  
Xinyao Ng ◽  
Li Ying Ng ◽  
Giulio Gabrieli ◽  
Atiqah Azhari ◽  
Michelle Jin Yee Neoh ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Sex Role ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Empathic Response ◽  
Masculinity And Femininity ◽  
Medial Pfc ◽  
Good Proxy ◽  
Infant Cries

According to societal stereotypes, the female sex and people who are more feminine have been considered to be more empathic than males and people who are more masculine. Therefore, females and feminine individuals are expected to respond more empathically to an infant’s cries. While this hypothesis was tested using self-report scales, it has not been explored thoroughly in terms of prefrontal cortex (PFC) activity, which may be a more objective means of measuring empathy. Specifically, the medial PFC (mPFC) is involved in social cognitive processing and thus a good proxy to measure the level of empathy. This study aims to (1) assess if the empathic response, in terms of medial PFC (mPFC) activity, to infant cries differ between sexes; (2) investigate if the empathic response is moderated by levels of masculinity and femininity. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) was used to measure nonparent participants’ (18 males, 20 females) mPFC response to infant cries of different pitches (high and low). The Toronto Empathy Questionnaire was used to measure trait empathy and Bem’s Sex Role Inventory was used to measure the level of masculinity and femininity. Results revealed that biological sex had no significant effect on the empathic response towards infant cries of varying pitch. Furthermore, masculinity, not femininity, was correlated with an increase in empathic response in the mPFC to high but not low-pitch infant cries. We reason that this is because of the higher aversiveness and inflicted pain associated with higher-pitched cries, which induces more emotional and physical pain that masculine individuals seek to avoid. Overall, the results suggest that greater masculinity would imply greater mentalizing and processing of empathy-related information.

scholarly journals Using Noninvasive Brain Measurement to Explore the Psychological Effects of Computer Malfunctions on Users during Human-Computer Interactions

2014 ◽  
Vol 2014 ◽  
pp. 1-13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Leanne M. Hirshfield ◽  
Philip Bobko ◽  
Alex Barelka ◽  
Stuart H. Hirshfield ◽  
Mathew T. Farrington ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Web Search ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Human Computer Interactions ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Perceived Trust ◽  
Search Tasks ◽  
Skin Response ◽  
Future Work ◽  
Computer Interactions

In today’s technologically driven world, there is a need to better understand the ways that common computer malfunctions affect computer users. These malfunctions may have measurable influences on computer user’s cognitive, emotional, and behavioral responses. An experiment was conducted where participants conducted a series of web search tasks while wearing functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and galvanic skin response sensors. Two computer malfunctions were introduced during the sessions which had the potential to influence correlates of user trust and suspicion. Surveys were given after each session to measure user’s perceived emotional state, cognitive load, and perceived trust. Results suggest that fNIRS can be used to measure the different cognitive and emotional responses associated with computer malfunctions. These cognitive and emotional changes were correlated with users’ self-report levels of suspicion and trust, and they in turn suggest future work that further explores the capability of fNIRS for the measurement of user experience during human-computer interactions.

scholarly journals Differences in perceived duration between plausible biological and non-biological stimuli

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Giuliana Martinatti Giorjiani ◽  
Claudinei Eduardo Biazoli ◽  
Marcelo S. Caetano
Keyword(s):  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Biological Motion ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Visual Motion ◽  
Frame Rate ◽  
Cognitive Differences ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Reproduction Task ◽  
Neurophysiological Data ◽  
Perception Of Time

AbstractVisual motion stimuli can sometimes distort our perception of time. This effect is dependent on the apparent speed of the moving stimulus, where faster stimuli are usually perceived lasting longer than slower stimuli. Although it has been shown that neural and cognitive processing of biological motion stimuli differ from non-biological motion stimuli, no study has yet investigated whether perceived durations of biological stimuli differ from non-biological stimuli across different speeds. Here, a prospective temporal reproduction task was used to assess that question. Biological motion stimuli consisted in a human silhouette running in place. Non-biological motion stimuli consisted in a rectangle moving in a pendular way. Amount and plausibility of movement for each stimulus and frame-rate (speed) were evaluated by an independent group of participants. Although amount of movement was positively correlated to frame rate, movie clips involving biological motion stimuli were judged to last longer than non-biological motion stimuli only at frame rates in which movement was rated as plausible. These results suggest that plausible representations of biomechanical movement induce additional temporal distortions to those modulated by increases in stimulus speed. Moreover, most studies that have reported neural and cognitive differences in the processing of biological and non-biological motion stimuli acquired neurophysiological data using fMRI. The present study aimed additionally to report differences in the processing of biological and non-biological motion stimuli across different speeds using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), a less costly and portable form of neurophysiological data acquisition.

Classification of affect using deep learning on brain blood flow data

2019 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 206-219 ◽  
Author(s):  
Danushka Bandara ◽  
Leanne Hirshfield ◽  
Senem Velipasalar
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Classification Accuracy ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Time Series Data ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Series Data ◽  
Spectroscopy Data ◽  
Short Term ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy

We present a convolutional neural network- and long short-term memory-based method to classify the valence level of a computer user based on functional near infrared spectroscopy data. Convolutional neural networks are well suited for capturing the spatial characteristics of functional near infrared spectroscopy data. And long short-term memories are demonstrated to be good at learning temporal patterns of unknown length in time series data. We explore these methods in a combined layered architecture in order to improve classification accuracy. We conducted an experiment with 20 participants, wherein they were subjected to emotion inducing stimuli while their brain activity was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy. Self-report surveys were administered after each stimulus to gauge participants' self-assessment of their valence. The resulting classification using these survey labels as ground truth provided a three-class classification accuracy 77.89% in across subject cross-validation. This method also shows promise for generalization to other classification tasks using functional near infrared spectroscopy data.

scholarly journals Differences in prefrontal blood oxygenation during an acute multitasking stressor in ecstasy polydrug users

2014 ◽  
Vol 45 (2) ◽  
pp. 395-406 ◽  
Author(s):  
C. A. Roberts ◽  
M. A. Wetherell ◽  
J. E. Fisk ◽  
C. Montgomery
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Task Load ◽  
Cerebral Vasoconstriction ◽  
Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽  
Drug Naïve

BackgroundCognitive deficits are well documented in ecstasy (3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine; MDMA) users, with such deficits being taken as evidence of dysregulation of the serotonin (5-hydroxytryptamine; 5-HT) system. More recently neuroimaging has been used to corroborate these deficits. The present study aimed to assess multitasking performance in ecstasy polydrug users, polydrug users and drug-naive individuals. It was predicted that ecstasy polydrug users would perform worse than non-users on the behavioural measure and this would be supported by differences in cortical blood oxygenation.MethodIn the study, 20 ecstasy-polydrug users, 17 polydrug users and 19 drug-naive individuals took part. On day 1, drug use history was taken and questionnaire measures were completed. On day 2, participants completed a 20-min multitasking stressor while brain blood oxygenation was measured using functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS).ResultsThere were no significant differences between the three groups on the subscales of the multitasking stressor. In addition, there were no significant differences on self-report measures of perceived workload (NASA Task Load Index). In terms of mood, ecstasy users were significantly less calm and less relaxed compared with drug-naive controls. There were also significant differences at three voxels on the fNIRS, indicating decreased blood oxygenation in ecstasy users compared with drug-naive controls at voxel 2 (left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), voxel 14 and voxel 16 (right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex), and compared with polydrug controls at V14.ConclusionsThe results of the present study provide support for changes in brain activation during performance of demanding tasks in ecstasy polydrug users, which could be related to cerebral vasoconstriction.

scholarly journals Robots as Intentional Agents: Using neuroscientific methods to make robots appear more social

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eva Wiese ◽  
Giorgio Metta ◽  
Agnieszka Wykowska
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Review Literature ◽  
Social Robots ◽  
Human Robot Interaction ◽  
Social Connection ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Intentional Agents

Robots are increasingly envisaged as our future cohabitants. However, while considerable progress has been made in recent years in terms of their technological realization, the ability of robots to inter-act with humans in an intuitive and social way is still quite limited. An important challenge for social robotics is to determine how to design robots that can perceive users’ needs, feelings, and intentions, and adapt to the users over a broad range of cognitive abilities. Consequently, robots would eventual-ly be accepted as social companions. We argue that the best way to achieve this is by using a system-atic experimental approach based on behavioral and physiological neuroscience methods, like mo-tion/eye tracking, electroencephalography (EEG), or functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) embedded in interactive human-robot paradigms. This approach requires understanding how humans interact with each other, how they perform tasks together and how they develop feelings of social connection over time, and using these insights to formulate design principles that make social robots attuned to the workings of the human brain. In this review, we put forward the argument that the likelihood of artificial agents being perceived as social companions can be increased by designing them in a way that they are perceived as intentional agents that activate areas in the human brain in-volved in social-cognitive processing. We first review literature related to social-cognitive mecha-nisms involved in human-human interactions, and highlight the importance of perceiving others as intentional agents to activate these brain areas. We then discuss how attribution of intentionality can positively affect human-robot interaction by (a) fostering feelings of social connection, empathy and prosociality, and by (b) enhancing performance on joint human-robot tasks. Lastly, we describe cir-cumstances under which attribution of intentionality to robot agents might be disadvantageous, and discuss challenges associated with designing social robots that are inspired by neuroscientific princi-ples.

scholarly journals Developmental fronto-parietal shift of brain activation during mental arithmetic across the lifespan: A registered report protocol

PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (8) ◽  
pp. e0256232
Author(s):  
Christina Artemenko
Keyword(s):  
Young Adults ◽  
Cognitive Processing ◽  
Neural Development ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Mental Arithmetic ◽  
Educational Practice ◽  
Brain Activation ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Arithmetic Complexity

Arithmetic processing is represented in a fronto-parietal network of the brain. However, activation within this network undergoes a shift from domain-general cognitive processing in the frontal cortex towards domain-specific magnitude processing in the parietal cortex. This is at least what is known about development from findings in children and young adults. In this registered report, we set out to replicate the fronto-parietal activation shift for arithmetic processing and explore for the first time how neural development of arithmetic continues during aging. This study focuses on the behavioral and neural correlates of arithmetic and arithmetic complexity across the lifespan, i.e., childhood, where arithmetic is first learned, young adulthood, when arithmetic skills are already established, and old age, when there is lifelong arithmetic experience. Therefore, brain activation during mental arithmetic will be measured in children, young adults, and the elderly using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). Arithmetic complexity will be manipulated by the carry and borrow operations in two-digit addition and subtraction. The findings of this study will inform educational practice, since the carry and borrow operations are considered as obstacles in math achievement, and serve as a basis for developing interventions in the elderly, since arithmetic skills are important for an independent daily life.

A Study of Frontal Signals in Brain Computer Interfaces: Interpretation of EEG & FNIRS

2020 ◽  
pp. 136-142
Author(s):  
S. Srilekha ◽  
B. Vanathi
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Healthy Subject ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Economic Conditions ◽  
Brain Computer Interfaces ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Computer Interfaces ◽  
Rehabilitation Devices

This paper focuses on electroencephalography (EEG) and functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) comparison to help the rehabilitation patients. Both methods have unique techniques and placement of electrodes. Usage of signals are different in application based on the economic conditions. This study helps in choosing the signal for the betterment of analysis. Ten healthy subject datasets of EEG & FNIRS are taken and applied to plot topography separately. Accuracy, Sensitivity, peaks, integral areas, etc are compared and plotted. The main advantages of this study are to prompt their necessities in the analysis of rehabilitation devices to manage their life as a typical individual.

61-LB: Use of Functional Near-Infrared Spectroscopy (fNIRS) to Assess Cognitive Effort in KATP-Related Neonatal Diabetes (KATP-NDM)

Diabetes ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 69 (Supplement 1) ◽  
pp. 61-LB
Author(s):  
LISA R. LETOURNEAU-FREIBERG ◽  
KIMBERLY L. MEIDENBAUER ◽  
ANNA M. DENSON ◽  
PERSEPHONE TIAN ◽  
KYOUNG WHAN CHOE ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Neonatal Diabetes ◽  
Cognitive Effort ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy

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

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.

The Use of fNIRS for Unique Contributions to Social and Affective Neuroscience

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shannon Burns ◽  
Matthew D. Lieberman
Keyword(s):  
Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Social Interaction ◽  
Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Near Infrared ◽  
Affective Neuroscience ◽  
Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽  
Psychological Experience ◽  
The World ◽  
And Behavior ◽  
Meaningful Interaction

Social and affective neuroscience studies the neurophysiological underpinnings of psychological experience and behavior as it relates to the world around us. Yet, most neuroimaging methods require the removal of participants from their rich environment and the restriction of meaningful interaction with stimuli. In this Tools of the Trade article, we explain functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) as a neuroimaging method that can address these concerns. First, we provide an overview of how fNIRS works and how it compares to other neuroimaging methods common in social and affective neuroscience. Next, we describe fNIRS research that highlights its usefulness to the field – when rich stimuli engagement or environment embedding is needed, studies of social interaction, and examples of how it can help the field become more diverse and generalizable across participant populations. Lastly, this article describes how to use fNIRS for neuroimaging research with points of advice that are particularly relevant to social and affective neuroscience studies.

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