Chapter 13 - Social Cognition.docx

##### The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers. *Dave Barry* CHAPTER Social Cognition ================ - Where am "I" in my brain? - Do...

##### The one thing that unites all human beings, regardless of age, gender, religion, economic status, or ethnic background, is that, deep down inside, we all believe that we are above-average drivers. *Dave Barry* CHAPTER Social Cognition ================ - Where am "I" in my brain? - Do we process information about others and ourselves in the same way? - Is social information processing the same for everyone, or is - To what extent is emotion involved in social cognition? ### Anatomical Substrates of Social Cognition \ TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - There is no single region in the brain where the self is located. - The prefrontal cortex houses processing that is critical for successful social behavior. ### Social Interactions ###### Anatomy of Social Cognition Dorsolateral PFC ### Social Behavioral Deficits in Acquired and Neurodevelopmental Disorders [ ] They may also have low impulse control, exhibit reckless and aggressive behavior, and fail to plan ahead, demon- TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - The prefrontal cortex continues to develop through adolescence. - Social isolation and lack of social play during childhood and adolescence have negative impacts on the neuro- nal development of areas that support social behavior, resulting in social behavioral deficits that last into adulthood. - Social stress during childhood affects the neuronal development of the brain. - Social stress in adults contributes to neural degeneration. TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - Deficits in social cognition are observed in people with some neurodevelopmental disorders and with acquired damage to the orbitofrontal cortex. - Social deficits seen in autism spectrum disorder and schizophrenia may be the result of deficits in the ability to understand that others have mental states. - Some social deficits seen in antisocial personality dis- order are associated with deficits in cognitive control and a lack of empathy. 4. ### Socrates's Imperative: Know Thyself Self-Referential Processing −0.1 −0.2 −0.3 −0.4 Self-Descriptive Personality Traits - In the *self-judgment* condition, the word "describe" was flashed on the computer screen, followed by a personality trait adjective, after which participants were to decide whether the adjective was self- descriptive (e.g., "Are you generous?"). - In the *autobiographical* condition, the word "remem- ber" was flashed, followed by a trait adjective. Here participants were asked to recall a particular instance from their lives when they exhibited that personality characteristic (e.g., "Give an example of when you were stubborn"). - In the *definition* condition, the word "define" was flashed, followed by a personality adjective that participants were to define (e.g., "What does *lazy* mean?"). Self-Reference as a Baseline Mode of Brain Function Inferior parietal lobule PCC dmPFC vmPFC cortex Self-Perception as Answers 0 rated 1 or 2 1 2 3 4 5 6 0 --0.1 Predicting Our Future Mental State Body Ownership and Embodiment  TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - The default network is strongly active when we are engaged in self-reflective thought and judgment assess- ments that depend on social and emotional content. - The medial prefrontal cortex is associated with superior memory for information processed in relation to the self. This ability is known as the self-reference effect. - It is possible to maintain a sense of self in the absence of specific autobiographical memories, because a distinct neural system supports the summaries of personality traits typically used to make self-descriptive judgments. - The anterior cingulate cortex is important for selectively attending to positive information about the self, but orbitofrontal cortex function ensures that positively biased self-views do not deviate too far from reality. - The vmPFC is key to predicting our state of mind: The more activated it is when we consider the future, the less shortsighted our decisions will be. - Embodiment is the feeling of being localized in one's own body, and the TPJ is a crucial structure for mediating the feeling of spatial unity of self and body. 5. ### Understanding the Mental States of Others Theory of Mind 1. The ball stayed behind the screen while the agent 375 365 355 345 335 325 315 305 295 285 275 2. The ball rolled out from behind the screen while the agent was watching, and after the agent left, the ball stayed put. 3. The ball stayed behind the screen while the agent was watching, but after the agent left, the ball rolled away. 4. The ball rolled out from behind the screen while the agent was watching, but after the agent left, the ball returned to its position behind the screen. \ TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - Theory of mind is the ability to impute mental states to oneself and other people. - Theory of mind is important for social development - Theory of mind appears to be innate and automatic. - Two theories have been proposed regarding how we read the thoughts and intentions of others: experience shar- ing theory (simulation theory) and mental state attribu- tion theory (theory theory). 6. ### Neural Correlates of Experience Sharing Theory (Simulation Theory) Mirror Neurons Empathy Complex 500 ms 1.00 0.95 0.90 0.85 0.80 0.75 0.70 0.65 0.60 0 1.00 0.95 0.90 0.85 0.80 0.75 0.70 0.65 0.60 0 a. Example of a trial sequence testing three levels of action understanding. On each trial an image was first presented, depicting the context of an action. Then a short video of a pantomimed action was shown, followed by a screen with three possible responses from which the participant had to choose. In the simplest block, the participant had to choose the image that was in the video. In the intermediate block, the participant had to choose the image that best complemented the action seen in the video. In the most complex task, the participant had to choose the object that complemented both the action and the context. While two of the objects complemented the action, only one of them complemented both the action and the context. **(b)** As complexity of the task increased, hit rates decreased. The type of video had an effect: Rates were lower for lip actions than for hand actions. An interaction between the type of video and the complexity of the task was found: As the task became more complex, the hit rates for lip actions decreased more than those for hand actions. a. 0% disgust (neutral) 75% disgust 150% disgust b. **c** Insula Insula −50 50 0.2 0.1 0.1 0 0 **a** 0.06 0.04 0.02 0 −0.02 TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - Empathy is our capacity to understand and respond to the unique emotional experiences of another person. The perception--action model of empathy assumes that perceiving another person's emotional state of mind automatically activates the same mental state in the observer, triggering somatic and autonomic responses. - Mirror neurons provide a neural mechanism for engag- ing in mental simulation. Just as researchers in motor control emphasize the role of mirror neurons in under- standing the actions of other individuals, social cognitive neuroscientists have argued that mirror neurons could be essential for understanding the intentions and emo- tions of other individuals. - The left AI--mACC has modality-independent activity pat- terns, whereas the right AI--ACC has modality-dependent activity patterns that are specific for pain, disgust, and unfairness, as well as for who (self or other) is having the experience. - Social preferences for similar others emerge in infants before 1 year of age. 7. ### Neural Correlates of Mental State Attribution Theory (Theory Theory) Activity in the MPFC and Right TPJ 0.15 0.00 --0.05 a. **False belief sample story** b. Localizer task 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.0 −0.4 −0.8 Time c. Main experiment 1.2 0.8 0.4 0.0 −0.4 −0.8 rTPJ The Superior Temporal Sulcus: Integrating Nonverbal Cues and Mental States **c** \ TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - The medial prefrontal cortex is involved in the perception of others when we use ourselves to understand others, or when we represent information about the other person in a manner that is as complex as the way we store information about ourselves. - The right temporoparietal junction is important for rea- soning about other people's mental states. - Humans are the only primates that follow eye gaze direc- tion rather than head direction. - Processing that occurs in the superior temporal sulcus is important for inferring mental states from eye gaze direction. 8. ### Autism Spectrum Disorder and the Mental States of Others Anatomical and Connectivity Differences in ASD Theory of Mind in ASD The Default Network in ASD rACC MPFC *t*-value a. For control participants, large regions of deactivation in the MPFC and right anterior cingulate cortex (rACC) and in the posterior cingulate cortex (PCC) and precuneus (PC) occurred during a number task. b. No deactivation, however, occurred in individuals with ASD. The black outlines correspond to areas of deactivation in controls, which were active during the rest condition. **(c)** A direct group comparison between control and ASD participants revealed a significant deactivation difference between groups in the MPFC and rACC and in the precuneus. The right superior temporal sulcus and bilateral angular gyrus also deactivated in control participants but not in ASD participants, although these regions were not significantly different in the direct group comparison. The Mirror Neuron Network in ASD a. In one task, either the participant or the experimenter reaches for a piece of food, grasps it, and puts it in his mouth. **(b)** In a second task, the participant or experimenter reaches for a piece of paper, grasps it, and puts it in a container on his shoulder. 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 Eat 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.01 a. Action execution by TD children 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.08 0.07 0.06 0.05 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 0.04 0.03 0.02 0.01 --2.0 --1.5 --1.0 --0.5 0.0 0.5 1.0 1.5 2.0 b. Action execution by ASD children **d** Action observation by ASD children a. Experiment 1 b. Experiment 2 TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - Changes in white matter connectivity patterns have been observed in 6-month-old infants and in adults with ASD. Some researchers posit that these changes in connec- tivity patterns are at the root of the behavioral changes associated with ASD. - In people with ASD, theory-of-mind skills do not develop properly. - The default network in ASD individuals shows no change in activation between "rest" and doing an active task. - Multiple brain systems appear to function differently in autistic individuals. One deficit, observed in the mir- ror neuron network, results in a failure of linking motor ### Social Knowledge Representations of Social Knowledge Using Social Knowledge to Make Decisions Identifying Violators of Social Contracts Moral Decisions  \ TAKE-HOME MESSAGES - Current models of the role of the orbitofrontal cortex in social decision making propose that this region helps individuals identify which social rules are appropriate for a given situation so that they may flexibly change their behavior. - Damage to the ventromedial frontal lobe disrupts the ability to learn from negative feedback but not from posi- tive feedback. - The orbitofrontal cortex is important both for learning social knowledge and for using that knowledge in relevant situations. - Humans appear to have an innate ability to spot viola- tors of social contracts. #### Summary #### Key Terms #### Think About It 1. Why do we have regions in the brain dedicated to pro- cessing information about the self? Why is it important to distinguish the self? 2. Are humans born with a theory of mind, or does it develop over time? 3. What kinds of social and emotional behaviors might be accounted for by the concept of mirror neurons? #### Suggested Reading 4. What might have been the evolutionary advantage for the development of empathy and theory of mind?  **617**