Perceived facial happiness during conversation correlates with insular and hypothalamus activity for humans, not robots. An investigation of the somatic marker hypothesis applied to social interactions.

The somatic marker hypothesis posits that perceiving emotions entails reenacting markers of self emotions, in particular in the autonomous nervous system. Well studied in decision-making tasks, it has not been tested in a social cognitive neuroscience framework, and in particular for the automatic processing of positive emotions during natural interactions. Here, we address this question using a unique corpus of brain activity recorded during unconstrained conversations between participants and a human or a humanoid robot. fMRI recordings are used to test whether activity in the most important brain regions in relation to the autonomic system, the amygdala, hypothalamus and insula, is affected by the level of happiness expressed by the human and robot agents. Results indicate that for the hypothalamus and the insula, in particular the anterior agranular region strongly involved in processing social emotions, activity in the right hemisphere increases with the level of happiness expressed by the human, but not the robot. Results indicate that perceiving positive emotions in social interactions induces the local brain responses predicted by the somatic marker hypothesis, but only when the interacting agent is a real human.

On the Etiology of Aesthetic Chills: a Behavioral Genetic Study

Aesthetic chills, broadly defined as a somatic marker of peak emotional-hedonic responses, are experienced by individuals across a variety of human cultures. Yet individuals vary widely in the propensity of feeling them. These individual differences have been studied in relation to demographics, personality, and neurobiological and physiological factors, but no study to date has explored the genetic etiological sources of variation. To partition genetic and environmental sources of variation in the propensity of feeling aesthetic chills, we fitted a biometrical genetic model to data from 14127 twins (from 8995 pairs), collected by the Netherlands Twin Register. Both genetic and unique environmental factors accounted for variance in aesthetic chills, with heritability estimated at .36 ([.33, .39] 95% CI). We found females more prone than males to report feeling aesthetic chills. However, a test for genotype x sex interaction did not show evidence that heritability differs between sexes. We thus show that the propensity of feeling aesthetic chills is not shaped by nurture alone, but it also reflects underlying genetic propensities.

Gambling behavior versus moral behavior: methodological perspectives in neuroeconomic decision-making

Within the neuroeconomics field, there are two evident situations in which decisionmaking process do not respect the rule of expected utility: gambling and moral behaviors. In the case of gambling behavior, a tendency to engage in risky decision-making could lead to choose disadvantageous options (loss vs gain) and long-term negative economic consequences. Regarding moral behavior, subjects prefer options not always related to their expected utility, but more to their social and ethical significance (fair vs unfair). This commentary discusses both the theoretical and empirical basis of these behaviors, focusing on neurophysiological methods adopted to investigate commonalities and differences in physiological and behavioral subjects’ responses. The dichotomy between emotions and rationality will be explored considering two popular economics games, Iowa Gambling Task and Ultimatum Game, and will be discussed in the light of somatic marker hypothesis frame. We propose a multidimensional approach to describe more in-depth real-world decision-making situations in neuroeconomics.

Framework for Incorporating Artificial Somatic Markers in the Decision-Making of Autonomous Agents

The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that when a person faces a decision scenario, many thoughts arise and different “physical consequences” are fleetingly observable. It is generally accepted that affective dimension influences cognitive capacities. Several proposals for including affectivity within artificial systems have been presented. However, to the best of our knowledge, a proposal that considers the incorporation of artificial somatic markers in a disaggregated and specialized way for the different phases that make up a decision-making process has not been observed yet. Thus, this research work proposes a framework that considers the incorporation of artificial somatic markers in different phases of the decision-making of autonomous agents: recognition of decision point; determination of the courses of action; analysis of decision options; decision selection and performing; memory management. Additionally, a unified decision-making process and a general architecture for autonomous agents are presented. This proposal offers a qualitative perspective following an approach of grounded theory, which is suggested when existing theories or models cannot fully explain or understand a phenomenon or circumstance under study. This research work represents a novel contribution to the body of knowledge in guiding the incorporation of this biological concept in artificial terms within autonomous agents.

Somatic Marker Production Deficits Do Not Explain the Relationship between Psychopathic Traits and Utilitarian Moral Decision Making

In moral dilemma tasks, high levels of psychopathic traits often predict increased utilitarian responding—specifically, endorsing sacrificing one person to save many. Research suggests that increased arousal (i.e., somatic marker production) underlies lower rates of utilitarian responding during moral dilemmas. Though deficient somatic marker production is characteristic of psychopathy, how this deficit affects the psychopathy–utilitarian connection remains unknown. We assessed psychopathic traits in undergraduates, as well as behavioral performance and skin conductance level reactivity (SCL-R; a measure of somatic marker production) during a moral dilemma task. High psychopathic traits and low SCL-R were associated with increased utilitarian decisions in dilemmas involving direct personal harm. Psychopathic traits were unrelated to SCL-R, nor did SCL-R mediate the relationship between psychopathy and utilitarianism. The present study did not find evidence that somatic marker production explains the connection between utilitarianism and psychopathy in a college population. Further research is necessary to identify the neural mechanisms relating psychopathy and moral decision-making in nonclinical samples.

Mediating role of attenuated physiological arousal on the association between psychopathic traits and fairness norm violation

The low-fear model of primary psychopathy has been supported by empirical findings such as attenuated physiological arousal in anticipation of threatening stimuli. The somatic marker hypothesis proposes that salient changes in the bodily state are processed as signals of whether a situation is good or bad and guide an individual to avoid potential adverse consequences. The present study aimed to elucidate the role that attenuated physiological arousal plays in the relationship between primary psychopathy and fairness norm violations both under the threat of punishment and under no potential for punishment. Primary psychopathy was associated with an attenuated skin conductance response prior to the choice of unfair monetary offers to another person, regardless of the potential for punishment. Attenuated skin conductance mediated the association between primary psychopathy and the choice of an unfair offer, especially in the no-punishment condition. However, in the punishment condition, primary psychopathy significantly predicted the choice of unfair offers even after controlling for the magnitude of skin conductance. The bodily response may have only a marginal effect on interpersonal decision-making under a threat of punishment. The present results suggest that the low-fear account of social norm violations as a function of primary psychopathy should be re-discussed.