scholarly journals Reorganization of the Social Brain in Individuals with Only One Intact Cerebral Hemisphere

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 965
Author(s):  
Dorit Kliemann ◽  
Ralph Adolphs ◽  
Lynn K. Paul ◽  
J. Michael Tyszka ◽  
Daniel Tranel
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Cerebral Hemisphere ◽  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cortical Activation ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Left And Right

Social cognition and emotion are ubiquitous human processes that recruit a reliable set of brain networks in healthy individuals. These brain networks typically comprise midline (e.g., medial prefrontal cortex) as well as lateral regions of the brain including homotopic regions in both hemispheres (e.g., left and right temporo-parietal junction). Yet the necessary roles of these networks, and the broader roles of the left and right cerebral hemispheres in socioemotional functioning, remains debated. Here, we investigated these questions in four rare adults whose right (three cases) or left (one case) cerebral hemisphere had been surgically removed (to a large extent) to treat epilepsy. We studied four closely matched healthy comparison participants, and also compared the patient findings to data from a previously published larger healthy comparison sample (n = 33). Participants completed standardized socioemotional and cognitive assessments to investigate social cognition. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data were obtained during passive viewing of a short, animated movie that distinctively recruits two social brain networks: one engaged when thinking about other agents’ internal mental states (e.g., beliefs, desires, emotions; so-called Theory of Mind or ToM network), and the second engaged when thinking about bodily states (e.g., pain, hunger; so-called PAIN network). Behavioral assessments demonstrated remarkably intact general cognitive functioning in all individuals with hemispherectomy. Social-emotional functioning was somewhat variable in the hemispherectomy participants, but strikingly, none of these individuals had consistently impaired social-emotional processing and none of the assessment scores were consistent with a psychiatric disorder. Using inter-region correlation analyses, we also found surprisingly typical ToM and PAIN networks, as well as typical differentiation of the two networks (in the intact hemisphere of patients with either right or left hemispherectomy), based on idiosyncratic reorganization of cortical activation. The findings argue that compensatory brain networks can process social and emotional information following hemispherectomy across different age levels (from 3 months to 20 years old), and suggest that social brain networks typically distributed across midline and lateral brain regions in this domain can be reorganized, to a substantial degree.

scholarly journals Gray-Matter Expansion of Social Brain Networks in Individuals High in Public Self-Consciousness

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
pp. 374
Author(s):  
Tomoyo Morita ◽  
Minoru Asada ◽  
Eiichi Naito
Keyword(s):  
Gray Matter ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
Gray Matter Volume ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Japanese Version ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
The Self ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Default Mode ◽  
Public Self Consciousness

Self-consciousness is a personality trait associated with an individual’s concern regarding observable (public) and unobservable (private) aspects of self. Prompted by previous functional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies, we examined possible gray-matter expansions in emotion-related and default mode networks in individuals with higher public or private self-consciousness. One hundred healthy young adults answered the Japanese version of the Self-Consciousness Scale (SCS) questionnaire and underwent structural MRI. A voxel-based morphometry analysis revealed that individuals scoring higher on the public SCS showed expansions of gray matter in the emotion-related regions of the cingulate and insular cortices and in the default mode network of the precuneus and medial prefrontal cortex. In addition, these gray-matter expansions were particularly related to the trait of “concern about being evaluated by others”, which was one of the subfactors constituting public self-consciousness. Conversely, no relationship was observed between gray-matter volume in any brain regions and the private SCS scores. This is the first study showing that the personal trait of concern regarding public aspects of the self may cause long-term substantial structural changes in social brain networks.

scholarly journals The social brain in female autism: a structural imaging study of twins

2020 ◽  
Vol 15 (4) ◽  
pp. 423-436
Author(s):  
Élodie Cauvet ◽  
Annelies van’t Westeinde ◽  
Roberto Toro ◽  
Ralf Kuja-Halkola ◽  
Janina Neufeld ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Imaging Study ◽  
Autistic Traits ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Twin Design ◽  
The Social

Abstract A female advantage in social cognition (SoC) might contribute to women’s underrepresentation in autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The latter could be underpinned by sex differences in social brain structure. This study investigated the relationship between structural social brain networks and SoC in females and males in relation to ASD and autistic traits in twins. We used a co-twin design in 77 twin pairs (39 female) aged 12.5 to 31.0 years. Twin pairs were discordant or concordant for ASD or autistic traits, discordant or concordant for other neurodevelopmental disorders or concordant for neurotypical development. They underwent structural magnetic resonance imaging and were assessed for SoC using the naturalistic Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition. Autistic traits predicted reduced SoC capacities predominantly in male twins, despite a comparable extent of autistic traits in each sex, although the association between SoC and autistic traits did not differ significantly between the sexes. Consistently, within-pair associations between SoC and social brain structure revealed that lower SoC ability was associated with increased cortical thickness of several brain regions, particularly in males. Our findings confirm the notion that sex differences in SoC in association with ASD are underpinned by sex differences in brain structure.

scholarly journals Development of Functional Connectivity during Adolescence: A Longitudinal Study Using an Action–Observation Paradigm

2011 ◽  
Vol 23 (12) ◽  
pp. 3713-3724 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel J. Shaw ◽  
Marie-Helene Grosbras ◽  
Gabriel Leonard ◽  
G. Bruce Pike ◽  
Tomáš Paus
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Action Observation ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Female Adolescents ◽  
Emotional States ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
The Social ◽  
Insight Into

Successful interpersonal interactions rely on an ability to read the emotional states of others and to modulate one's own behavior in response. The actions of others serve as valuable social stimuli in this respect, offering the observer an insight into the actor's emotional state. Social cognition continues to mature throughout adolescence. Here we assess longitudinally the development of functional connectivity during early adolescence within two neural networks implicated in social cognition: one network of brain regions consistently engaged during action observation and another one associated with mentalizing. Using fMRI, we reveal a greater recruitment of the social–emotional network during the observation of angry hand actions in male relative to female adolescents. These findings are discussed in terms of known sex differences in adolescent social behavior.

scholarly journals Neurobiological Underpinnings of Social-Emotional Impairments in Adolescents with Non-Suicidal Self-Injury

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nina Lutz ◽  
Luca Villa ◽  
Nazia Jassim ◽  
Ian Goodyer ◽  
John Suckling ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Emotional Processing ◽  
Occipital Lobe ◽  
Neural Activation ◽  
Resting State Functional Connectivity ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
Social Stimuli ◽  
Self Injury ◽  
Interpersonal Difficulties ◽  
History Of ◽  
Left And Right

ObjectiveFew studies have investigated the neurological underpinnings of social-emotional processing among individuals with non-suicidal self-injury (NSSI), despite the range of interpersonal impairments associated with the behavior. This study aims to identify NSSI-specific patterns of resting state functional connectivity (RSFC) and neural activation during an emotional facial expression task.MethodsParticipants were currently depressed, antidepressant-free adolescents with and without lifetime history of NSSI. Left and right amygdala were specified as seed regions for RSFC analysis (n=43 NSSI, n=9 clinical controls). The emotional faces task presented participants with neutral, happy, and sad faces. Whole-brain analyses examined neural activation during the task, and groups were compared on post-scan ratings of facial emotional intensity (n=39 NSSI, n=9 clinical controls).ResultsGroups did not differ in RSFC analyses. Adolescents with NSSI showed attenuated neural activation to happy (versus neutral) faces in areas of the occipital lobe and cerebellum, and rated neutral and sad faces as more negative than clinical controls.ConclusionsWhile groups did not differ in baseline limbic connectivity, neurological and behavioral findings revealed NSSI-specific alterations in processing of social-emotional stimuli. Depressed adolescents with NSSI interpreted ambiguous or negative social stimuli more negatively than depressed controls, and had an attenuated neural response to positive social stimuli. This negative bias likely contributes to the myriad interpersonal difficulties associated with NSSI. Adolescents with NSSI may benefit from treatments which combat these negative social interpretations and improve control over emotional responses to interpersonal stress.

scholarly journals Brain Responses Underlying Anthropomorphism, Agency, and Social Attribution in Autism Spectrum Disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla J. Ammons ◽  
Constance F. Doss ◽  
David Bala ◽  
Rajesh K. Kana
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Social Attribution ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Fmri Study

Background:Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, is frequently impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and may result from altered activation of social brain regions. Conversely, Typically Developing (TD) individuals overextend ToM and show a strong tendency to anthropomorphize and interpret biological motion in the environment. Less is known about how the degree of anthropomorphism influences intentional attribution and engagement of the social brain in ASD.Objective:This fMRI study examines the extent of anthropomorphism, its role in social attribution, and the underlying neural responses in ASD and TD using a series of human stick figures and geometrical shapes.Methods:14 ASD and 14 TD adults watched videos of stick figures and triangles interacting in random or socially meaningful ways while in an fMRI scanner. In addition, they completed out-of-scanner measures of ToM skill and real-world social deficits. Whole brain statistical analysis was performed for regression and within and between group comparisons of all conditions using SPM12’s implementation of the general linear model.Results:ToM network regions were activated in response to social movement and human-like characters in ASD and TD. In addition, greater ToM ability was associated with increased TPJ and MPFC activity while watching stick figures; whereas more severe social symptoms were associated with reduced right TPJ activation in response to social movement.Conclusion:These results suggest that degree of anthropomorphism does not differentially affect social attribution in ASD and highlights the importance of TPJ in ToM and social attribution.

Social by Default: Characterizing the Social Functions of the Resting Brain

2019 ◽  
Vol 28 (4) ◽  
pp. 380-386 ◽  
Author(s):  
Meghan L. Meyer
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Neuroscience ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Social Neuroscience ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Default Network ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Social Functions ◽  
Neuroscience Research ◽  
The Social

Social-neuroscience research has identified a set of medial frontoparietal brain regions that reliably engage during social cognition. At the same time, cognitive-neuroscience research has shown that these regions comprise part of the default network, so named because they reliably activate during mental breaks by default. Although the anatomical similarity between the social brain and the default brain is well documented, why this overlap exists remains a mystery. Does the tendency to engage these regions by default during rest have particular social functions, and if so, what might these be? Here, it is suggested that the default network performs two critical social functions during rest: social priming and social consolidation. These constructs will be defined, recently published empirical findings that support them will be reviewed, and directions for future research on the topic will be proposed.

scholarly journals Common Brain Regions with Distinct Patterns of Neural Responses during Mentalizing about Groups and Individuals

2013 ◽  
Vol 25 (9) ◽  
pp. 1406-1417 ◽  
Author(s):  
Juan Manuel Contreras ◽  
Jessica Schirmer ◽  
Mahzarin R. Banaji ◽  
Jason P. Mitchell
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Social Cognitive ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Neural Responses ◽  
Physical Attributes ◽  
Medial Pfc ◽  
The Mind ◽  
The Brain

An individual has a mind; a group does not. Yet humans routinely endow groups with mental states irreducible to any of their members (e.g., “scientists hope to understand every aspect of nature”). But are these mental states categorically similar to those we attribute to individuals? In two fMRI experiments, we tested this question against a set of brain regions that are consistently associated with social cognition—medial pFC, anterior temporal lobe, TPJ, and medial parietal cortex. Participants alternately answered questions about the mental states and physical attributes of individual people and groups. Regions previously associated with mentalizing about individuals were also robustly responsive to judgments of groups, suggesting that perceivers deploy the same social-cognitive processes when thinking about the mind of an individual and the “mind” of a group. However, multivariate searchlight analysis revealed that several of these regions showed distinct multivoxel patterns of response to groups and individual people, suggesting that perceivers maintain distinct representations of groups and individuals during mental state inferences. These findings suggest that perceivers mentalize about groups in a manner qualitatively similar to mentalizing about individual people, but that the brain nevertheless maintains important distinctions between the representations of such entities.

4. Friendships, families, pretend play, and the imagination

2014 ◽  
Author(s):  
Usha Goswami
Keyword(s):  
Social Cognition ◽  
Child Development ◽  
Emotional Development ◽  
Pretend Play ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Vital Role ◽  
Development Research ◽  
Social Emotional Development ◽  
Social Emotional ◽  
The People

‘Friendships, families, pretend play, and the imagination’ examines the influence of the people around infants as well as their imaginative games on cognitive and social/emotional development. How important is the presence of siblings to a child’s cognitive development? Research suggests having siblings is beneficial for social cognition, and even sibling disputes play a vital role. The way in which parents deal with their own emotions influences how a child learns to manage their feelings. Observing pretend play, with adults, siblings, or alone, provides a way to understand the development of mental states and is an important aspect of child development.

scholarly journals Structural brain correlates of cognitive function in schizophrenia: a meta-analysis

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marianne Khalil ◽  
Philippine Hollander ◽  
Delphine Raucher-Chene ◽  
Martin Lepage ◽  
Katie M. Lavigne
Keyword(s):  
Executive Function ◽  
Social Cognition ◽  
Brain Structure ◽  
Network Architecture ◽  
Visual Memory ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Cognitive Domains ◽  
Structural Brain

Schizophrenia is characterized by cognitive impairments and widespread structural brain alterations (e.g., decreased volume, thickness, surface area). Brain structure-cognition associations have been extensively studied in schizophrenia, typically involving individual cognitive domains or brain regions of interest. Findings in overlapping and diffuse brain regions may point to structural alterations in large-scale brain networks. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis examining whether brain structure-cognition associations can be explained in terms of biologically meaningful brain networks. Of 7,621 screened articles, 88 were included in a series of meta-analyses assessing publication bias, heterogeneity, and study quality. Significant associations were found between overall brain structure and eight cognitive domains (speed of processing, attention/vigilance, working/verbal/visual memory, executive function, social cognition, and verbal fluency). Brain structure within functionally defined networks (default, dorsal/ventral attention, frontoparietal, limbic, somatosensory, visual) and external structures (amygdala, hippocampus, and cerebellum) typically showed associations with conceptually related cognitive domains, with higher-level domains (e.g., executive function, social cognition) associated with more networks. These findings suggest brain structure-cognition associations in schizophrenia may follow network architecture.

22 Whole-brain functional connectivity based on the graph theory analysiisn Psychogenic Non-Epileptic Seizures (PNES)

2020 ◽  
Vol 91 (8) ◽  
pp. e17.1-e17
Author(s):  
M Arbabi ◽  
S Amiri ◽  
F Badragheh ◽  
MM Mirbagheri ◽  
AA Asadi-Pooya
Keyword(s):  
Graph Theory ◽  
Functional Connectivity ◽  
Brain Networks ◽  
Epileptic Seizures ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Control Subjects ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Healthy Control ◽  
Left And Right ◽  
Brain Functional Connectivity

ObjectiveDespite being the subject of many studies over the past two decades, mechanisms underlying psychogenic non-epileptic seizures (PNES) are still poorly understood. We tried to address this issue by utilizing brain functional connectivity analysis to identify brain regions with abnormal activities in patients with PNES. In a case-control study, we performed graph based network analysis, a robust technique that determines the organization of brain connectivity and characterizes topological properties of the brain networks.MethodsTwelve individuals with PNES and twenty-one healthy control subjects were examined. Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rsfMRI) was acquired. All subjects were asked to keep their eyes open during the scanning process. The rsfMRI analysis consisted of pre-processing, extracting the functional connectivity matrix (FCM) based on the AAL atlas, threshold for binary FCM, constructing a graph network from FCM and extracting graph features, and finally statistical analysis. For all cortical and subcortical regions of the AAL atlas, we calculated measures of ‘degree,’ which is one of the features of the graph theory. Results: Our results revealed that, as compared to the healthy control subjects, patients with PNES had a significantly lower degree in some brain regions including their left and right insula (INS), right Putamen (PUT), left and right Supramarginal gyrus (SMG), right Middle occipital gyrus (MOG), and left and right Rolandic operculum (ROL). In contrast, degree was significantly greater in two regions [i.e., right Caudate (CAU) and left Inferior frontal gyrus orbital part (ORBinf)] in patients with PNES compared to that in controls.ConclusionOur findings suggest that functional connectivity of several major brain regions are different in patients with PNES compared with that in healthy individuals. While there is hypoactivity in regions important in perception, motor control, self- awareness, and cognitive functioning (e.g., insula) and also movement regulation (e.g., putamen), there is hyperactivity in areas involved in feedback processing (i.e., using information from past experiences to influence future actions and decisions) (e.g., caudate) in patients with PNES. The observation that individuals with PNES suffer from a wide range of abnormal activities in functional connectivity of their brain networks is consistent with the fact that PNES occur in a heterogeneous patient population; no single mechanism or contributing factor could explain PNES in all patients.

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