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Social Neuroscience: Final Exam (Self-referential processing (Self…
Social Neuroscience: Final Exam
Self-referential processing
"Default mode"
Brain regions in default mode:
(not amygdala)
Baseline activation
in parietal, ACC, and prefrontal cortices thought to be indicative of "stream of consciousness" or self-referential processing
Areas are active during rest,
but not
activated
. They are at a "low hum"
In vegetative patients,
these regions are not as active
Perceptual tasks
decrease the activation of these regions
Increase in self-awareness
associated with higher activity in these regions, and longer reaction times to perceptual tasks
Self-construals and culture
Self-construal style
Individualistic
Endorsing trait-like statements about self
Collectivistic
Endorsing state-like statements about self
mPFC and SCS
Higher activity in mPFC
when participants were prompted with question that matched SCS
Different neural representations of self
One individualistic, the other collectivistic
Cultural values shape neural representations
What is self-reference?
Self-reference:
The ability of the self to take itself as the object of its own view.
Why does self-reference matter?
Complex interactions
can be facilitated by self-reference
Development of culture
Abstract thinking/consciousness
Self/other distinction
Patient with out of body experience
was asked to view her body in the same way. The activity was here.
Mirror Neurons and Perspective-Taking
What is theory of mind?
Theory of Mind (ToM)
is the ability to understand the reasoning behind someone else's actions.
Theory of Mind & Development
ToM in Non-human Primates
Cognitive Representations &ToM
Awareness relations
People can have
knowledge or ignorance
of
my representation
of the world
Representational relations
People can have
separate representations
of the world that can be false or true
relative to my representation
ToM Acquisition
Modularity Theory
There is a ToM Module (maybe the TPJ?)
dedicated to processing mental states of others, and ToM improves
with executive function
Critiques
The ToMM is not
selectively
engaged for ToM tasks (Children recruited TPJ equally for mental and physical facts)
Strengths
Accounts for early ToM in infants, while explaining why young children cannot verbalize ToM reasoning
Simulation Theory
ToM uses your own psychological states to put yourself in "someone else's shoes".
Could be linked to CMS, which is involved in self-evaluation and evaluating others.
Strengths
Accounts for long developmental trajectory of ToM, in line with increased imaginative abilities
Mirror Neuron Theory
Mirror neurons create direct map of others' actions to the self,
facilitating perspective-taking
Critiques
Action understanding also occurs in other parts of the brain (STS)
Disrupting mirror neurons does not disrupt action understanding
Empathy and Prosocial Behavior
Prosocial behavior
Defined as acting for the benefit of someone else
Mood
Empathy
An
affective response
that results from feeling what another person is feeling
Development of empathy
Egocentric empathy (2 yrs)
Differentiating site of distress, but not what would alleviate that distress (e.g.
using tactics to relieve self
)
Empathy for other (3 yrs)
Differentiating site of distress and knowing what would help
a specific person
Global empathy (< 2 yrs)
Self-distress due to others' distress, consequence of
inability to differentiate self from others
Full empathy (> 3 years)
Able to empathize with the plight of
groups of people
Components of empathic understanding
Cognition
Zaki model
Prosocial Concern
Motivation to help the other person
Experience sharing
Sharing an internal state with another (e.g. neural resonance)
Neural resonance
Regions overlapping between first-person experience and third-person perception of an emotion
Mentalizing
Understanding another's state
Emotion
Moderators of empathic responses
Sympathy vs. Personal distress
Sympathy
When other's emotions are associated with approach behaviors
Personal distress
When others' emotions are associated with withdrawal behaviors
SES
Greater empathic accuracy in low-SES,
whether objective or induced
Reasoning for greater empathic accuracy
is because low-SES individuals more likely to reference external factors to explain behavior in terms of features of external environment
Mood
Positive mood increases prosocial behavior
but only when the task is not too difficult
Brain regions & empathy
pSTS
TPJ
mPFC
Social Categorization
Evidence for automatic influences on social categorization
ERPs
< 300 = automatic
In-group faces stronger than out-group faces on N2
Out-group faces stronger than in-group faces on P2
Differential processing suggests social categorization
P2 and N2 replicated
even without conscious attention
P2/N2 differences in response to Black and White faces
correlated with measures of racial bias
Suggests early discrimination
What factors moderate social categorization?
Implicit and Explicit bias
How is bias measured?
Explicit bias
(on modern racism scale) correlated with differences in P3 potential
Implicit bias
measured through IAT association tasks
Shown to be valid
because IAT score correlates with startle reflex and amygdala activation to outgroup
Control of Racial Bias
Encounters with out-group members and executive control
Studying monitoring of racial biases
Behaviorally
In the brain
The Amygdala
Fear conditioning
Startle eye-blink
Measures amygdala activity over short time-scales in response to face-viewing
Black faces
more likely to create amygdala response!
Especially in people with conflicted reasons for being unbiased
fMRI
Can preclude control of bias when shown faces
quickly
Also found black faces lead to higher amygdala response
ACC
Monitoring of prejudiced behavior
ERPs during gun v. tool
Measures error-related negativity (ERN) in ACC
Black-tool
error
created highest ERN,
suggesting automatic detection of prejudiced behavior
Good regulators had higher ERNs,
suggesting that differences in actions are due to differences in conflict monitoring
vlPFC
fMRI
Monitors vlPFC activation during face showing
vlPFC negatively correlated with amygdala activity
when shown black faces, suggesting vlPFC can inhibit prejudiced behavior
Limitations of existing research
Social Networks and Brain
Influences on brain
Peers
Social influences on value judgments
Public compliance
What one
pretends
to believe
Private acceptance
What one
actually
believes
Peers' ratings of attractiveness
Changed public compliance based on scores
Changed private acceptance by modulating neural regions associated with value judgments
Social network size
Amygdala volume
Increased amygdala volume
correlated with
size and complexity of social network
Macaques
Increased rPFC and IT
caused by
greater size and complexity of social network
Urbanicity
Urbanicity and social stress processing
MIST (Montreal Imaging Stress Task)
Answering math questions under pressure
Current urbanicity
associated with greater amygdala activation
Early-life urbanicity
associated with greater ACC activity
Adolescent Brain Development
"Classic" brain model
Linear
developmental progression of brain regions
(PFC develops last)
Maturity defined by
synaptic pruning and myelination
Corticolimbic imbalance model
Brake
Linear development of executive control regions
(Leads to "accelerator before brake")
Accelerator
Curvilinear development of corticolimbic regions
(Leads to reward-seeking)
Evidence
U-shaped striatal activation in response to receipt of rewards (compared to adults AND children)
Dopaminergic activity shows bursts in animals
Critiques
Rewards mean different things
at different ages
PFC also shows burst pattern
in negative direction, so PFC dev. could be inversely curvilinear
PFC control areas are contextualized
Goal flexibility model
Social and affective influences
reprioritize goals
Executive control
operates in a contextualized manner (different in test vs. party)
Social rejection
Associated with increased insula response during cyberball game, especially in adolescents (compared to adults)
Strong social network
decreased insula activation
Social Dominance and Rank
Rank and Stress
Chronic stress
Immunosuppression
Hyperactive cortisol system
Sexual dysfunction
Resource equity and stress
Despotic (top-down)
Resource access skewed heavily
Dominance maintained through aggression
High stress on subordinates
Egalitarian (bottom-up)
Equal distribution of resources
Dominants maintain dominance through subordinates
Less stress on subordinates
Maintenance of Dominance
Methods
Group politics
More stressful overall
Psychological domination
Stressful on subordinates
Physical domination
Stressful on dominants
Inherited
Not stressful
Stability vs. Upheaval
Stability
Subordinates stressed BY being in lower position
Upheaval
Dominants stressed about maintaining dominance
Pathways of Stress
Predominantly HPA axis
(Hypothalamic-Pituitary-Adrenal axis)
Opportunities for coping
Unity
creates less stress among non-dominants
Division
fosters stress among non-dominants
Methods of studying power motivation
nPOW
Need for impact
on other people and the world
Implicit,
meaning that people do not necessarily know their own nPOW
Picture Story Exercise
measures implicit levels
Stable
over time
Pleasurable and rewarding
Gender differences in neuroendocrine responses to dominance challenges
Steroids (Cortisol and Testosterone)
Stable
over time
Testosterone
Indicates outcome of dominance contest in men
Increases with victory, decreases with defeat
Extent of change correlates with nPOW
Facilitates dopamine release
Correlates with nPOW scores in men
Cortisol
Indicates outcome of dominance contest in both men and women
Decreases with victory, increases with defeat
Can block the release of T
Epinephrine and Norepinephrine
Increased after nPOW speeches
NE higher in nPOW students after exam
than affiliative students after exam
Estradiol
Correlated with nPOW in women
Stable over time
Indicates outcome of dominance contest
Increases with victory, decreases with defeat
Extent of change correlates with women's nPOW
Vicarious contests
Testosterone
Stable
following victory (stopped normal decline)
Decline
following defeat (faster than normal decline)
Cortisol
Increased
in response to defeat
Remained level
in response to victory
Social Cooperation
Evolutionary basis of social cooperation
Humphrey vs. Vygotsky
Humphrey
Evolution of our cognition driven by social competition
A reasonable proposal
Primate cognition driven by competition, but human cognition driven by cooperation
Cooperation leads to perspectival cognitive representations
(e.g. theory of mind)
Evidence
Chimpanzee's understanding of sight
In cooperative paradigm,
do not appear to understand "seeing"
(Gesture in same way to blind and seeing human)
1 more item...
In competitive paradigm,
appear to understand "seeing"
(By knowing where a dominant saw food)
1 more item...
Cooperative activity
Joint, mutually agreed upon goal
Reciprocal and complimentary roles
Motivated to help the other achieve the goal
Joint goals
2 more items...
Role reversal (reciprocality)
2 more items...
Instrumental helping
2 more items...
Cooperative Communication
Apes
point demandingly
Humans
point declaritively
Cooperation created culture, and culture is what has allowed us to thrive
Vygotsky
Evolution of our cognition driven by social cooperation
Social affiliation, attachment, and oxytocin
Mothering
OT increases maternal responses
in rats
Deficits in OT
cause deficits in mothering
OT post-partum
creates stronger parent-child bonds and reduces stress reactivity
Pair bonding
OT antagonists block partner preference (monogamy?)
without interfering with mating
Coaction between dopamine and OT
critical for partner preference behaviors
Trust
Feeling of being trusted boosts OT levels
Social memory
OT increases facial familiarity,
but not facial remembrance
Fear reduction
Administering OT
reduces amygdala and parasympathetic function
Associated with prosocial behavior
Challenges in studying oxytocin
Induces contractions in women
Hard to inject into central areas
Socioemotional Selectivity Theory of Aging
Age-related changes in emotion generation and regulation
Generation
Arousal hypothesis
Improvements in regulation are due to decreases in physiological experience of emotion
Positive evidence
Cardiovascular reactivity
is reduced
OA SCR
much lower than YA SCR in response to aversive stimulus
Negative evidence
Cortisol response is prolonged,
contradicting hypothesis
Cortisol and Hippocampus
Increasing cortisol w/ age associated with smaller hippocampus
Decreasing cortisol w/ age associated with larger hippocampus
Emotion intensity ratings do not change
Similar ratings of images
across OA, YA, and MA
Regulation
Wisdom hypothesis
Perspective from life experience promotes healthy emotion regulation techniques
Daily stressors less daunting
Major negative life events rated less negatively
Shifts in regulation strategy with age
Increasing use of less demanding regulation strategies
(e.g. situation selection, attentional deployment)
Could be related to decline in PFC structure
PFC declines but limbic regions do not
Functionality changes
to take up more of PFC
YA better than OA at reappraisal
OA lose IFG capabilities,
which prevents downregulation of amygdala during reappraisal
How does SST account for life goal changes with age?
SST
Based on time horizon, two sets of goals are differentially salient (information and emotion)
Changes between goals
occur subconsciously and gradually
Shift to emotional goals means...
Relationships over fact-gathering
Could explain deficits on cognitive tasks,
because maybe the OA just doesn't care!
Prioritizing positive attentional deployment
Social network changes
Loss of social network = pruning
Memory changes
Positive memories more salient
Justify previous choices that could've been bad
Salience of emotional information increases
Remember emotional aspects of stories better than declarative aspects
Emotion regulation improves
What are some benefits to well-being that occur with aging?
Overall well-being
Life satisfaction follow curvilinear pattern
with 60s as peak and 40s and 80s as same
OA less likely to experience depression,
esp. when controlling for chronic illness
