The Experts below are selected from a list of 360 Experts worldwide ranked by ideXlab platform
Kevin A Pelphrey - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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intranasal oxytocin enhances connectivity in the neural circuitry supporting Social motivation and Social Perception in children with autism
Scientific Reports, 2016Co-Authors: Ilanit Gordon, Ruth Feldman, James F. Leckman, Allison Jack, Charlotte M Pretzsch, Brent Vander C Wyk, Kevin A PelphreyAbstract:Oxytocin (OT) has become a focus in investigations of autism spectrum disorder (ASD). The Social deficits that characterize ASD may relate to reduced connectivity between brain sites on the mesolimbic reward pathway (nucleus accumbens; amygdala) that receive OT projections and contribute to Social motivation, and cortical sites involved in Social Perception. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a randomized, double blind, placebo-controlled crossover design, we show that OT administration in ASD increases activity in brain regions important for perceiving Social-emotional information. Further, OT enhances connectivity between nodes of the brain's reward and socioemotional processing systems, and does so preferentially for Social (versus nonSocial) stimuli. This effect is observed both while viewing coherent versus scrambled biological motion, and while listening to happy versus angry voices. Our findings suggest a mechanism by which intranasal OT may bolster Social motivation-one that could, in future, be harnessed to augment behavioral treatments for ASD.
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sex differences in the development of brain mechanisms for processing biological motion
NeuroImage, 2013Co-Authors: Laura C Anderson, Kevin A Pelphrey, Danielle Z Bolling, Stefanie Schelinski, Marika C Coffman, Martha D KaiserAbstract:Disorders related to Social functioning including autism and schizophrenia differ drastically in incidence and severity between males and females. Little is known about the neural systems underlying these sex-linked differences in risk and resiliency. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a task involving the visual Perception of point-light displays of coherent and scrambled biological motion, we discovered sex differences in the development of neural systems for basic Social Perception. In adults, we identified enhanced activity during coherent biological motion Perception in females relative to males in a network of brain regions previously implicated in Social Perception including amygdala, medial temporal gyrus, and temporal pole. These sex differences were less pronounced in our sample of school-age youth. We hypothesize that the robust neural circuitry supporting Social Perception in females, which diverges from males beginning in childhood, may underlie sex differences in disorders related to Social processing.
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taking an intentional stance on eye gaze shifts a functional neuroimaging study of Social Perception in children
NeuroImage, 2005Co-Authors: Matthew W Mosconi, Kevin A Pelphrey, Gregory Mccarthy, Peter B MackAbstract:Abstract During middle childhood, children develop an increasing understanding of intentions and other Social information conveyed through dynamic facial cues such as changes in eye-gaze direction. Recent work in our laboratory has focused on using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in adults to map the neural circuitry subserving the visual analysis of others' actions and the intentions underlying these actions. In these studies, the superior temporal sulcus (STS) region has been continually implicated in processing shifts in eye gaze. Further, these studies have indicated that STS activity is modulated by the context within which eye-gaze shifts occur, suggesting that this region is involved in Social Perception via its role in the analysis of the intentions of observed actions. Still, no studies have investigated the neural circuitry supporting eye-gaze processing in children. We used event-related fMRI to examine brain activity in 7- to 10-year-old healthy children observing an animated virtual actor who shifted her eyes towards either a target object or empty space. Consistent with prior studies in adults, the STS, middle temporal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule were sensitive to the intentions underlying the stimulus character's eye movements. These findings suggest that the neural circuitry underlying the processing of eye gaze and the detection of intentions conveyed through shifts in eye gaze in children are similar to that found previously in adults. We discuss these findings and potential implications for mapping the neurodevelopment of the Social cognition and Social Perception abnormalities characteristic of autism.
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grasping the intentions of others the perceived intentionality of an action influences activity in the superior temporal sulcus during Social Perception
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2004Co-Authors: Kevin A Pelphrey, James P Morris, Gregory MccarthyAbstract:An explication of the neural substrates for Social Perception is an important component in the emerging field of Social cognitive neuroscience and is relevant to the field of cognitive neuroscience as a whole. Prior studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that passive viewing of biological motion (Pelphrey, Mitchell, et al., 2003; Puce et al., 1998) activates the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS ) region. Furthermore, recent evidence has shown that the perceived context of observed gaze shifts (Pelphrey, Singerman, et al., 2003; Pelphrey et al., 2004) modulates STS activity. Here, using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging at 4 T, we investigated brain activity in response to passive viewing of goal- and nongoal-directed reaching-to-grasp movements. Participants viewed an animated character making reaching-to-grasp movements either toward (correct) or away (incorrect) from a blinking dial. Both conditions evoked significant posterior STS activity that was strongly right lateralized. By examining the time course of the blood oxygenation level-dependent response from areas of activation, we observed a functional dissociation. Incorrect trials evoked significantly greater activity in the STS than did correct trials, while an area posterior and inferior to the STS (likely corresponding to the MT/ V5 complex) responded equally to correct and incorrect movements. Parietal cortical regions, including the superior parietal lobule and the anterior intraparietal sulcus, also responded equally to correct and incorrect movements, but showed evidence for differential responding based on the hand and arm (left or right) of the animated character used to make the reaching-to-grasp movement. The results of this study further suggest that a region of the right posterior STS is involved in analyzing the intentions of other people's actions and that activity in this region is sensitive to the context of observed biological motions.
Tobias Grossmann - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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epigenetic tuning of brain signal entropy in emergent human Social behavior
BMC Medicine, 2020Co-Authors: Meghan H Puglia, Kathleen M Krol, Manuela Missana, Cabell L Williams, Travis S Lillard, James P Morris, Jessica J Connelly, Tobias GrossmannAbstract:How the brain develops accurate models of the external world and generates appropriate behavioral responses is a vital question of widespread multidisciplinary interest. It is increasingly understood that brain signal variability—posited to enhance Perception, facilitate flexible cognitive representations, and improve behavioral outcomes—plays an important role in neural and cognitive development. The ability to perceive, interpret, and respond to complex and dynamic Social information is particularly critical for the development of adaptive learning and behavior. Social Perception relies on oxytocin-regulated neural networks that emerge early in development. We tested the hypothesis that individual differences in the endogenous oxytocinergic system early in life may influence Social behavioral outcomes by regulating variability in brain signaling during Social Perception. In study 1, 55 infants provided a saliva sample at 5 months of age for analysis of individual differences in the oxytocinergic system and underwent electroencephalography (EEG) while listening to human vocalizations at 8 months of age for the assessment of brain signal variability. Infant behavior was assessed via parental report. In study 2, 60 infants provided a saliva sample and underwent EEG while viewing faces and objects and listening to human speech and water sounds at 4 months of age. Infant behavior was assessed via parental report and eye tracking. We show in two independent infant samples that increased brain signal entropy during Social Perception is in part explained by an epigenetic modification to the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR) and accounts for significant individual differences in Social behavior in the first year of life. These results are measure-, context-, and modality-specific: entropy, not standard deviation, links OXTR methylation and infant behavior; entropy evoked during Social Perception specifically explains Social behavior only; and only entropy evoked during Social auditory Perception predicts infant vocalization behavior. Demonstrating these associations in infancy is critical for elucidating the neurobiological mechanisms accounting for individual differences in cognition and behavior relevant to neurodevelopmental disorders. Our results suggest that an epigenetic modification to the oxytocin receptor gene and brain signal entropy are useful indicators of Social development and may hold potential diagnostic, therapeutic, and prognostic value.
Nathalie Boddaert - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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Social cognition and the superior temporal sulcus: implications in autism.
Revue Neurologique, 2012Co-Authors: A Saitovitch, Nadia Chabane, Francis Brunelle, Yves Samson, Nathalie Boddaert, A Bargiacchi, Monica ZilboviciusAbstract:The most common clinical sign of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is Social interaction impairment, which is associated with communication deficits and stereotyped behaviors. Based on brain-imaging results, our hypothesis is that abnormalities in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) are highly implicated in ASD. These abnormalities are characterized by decreased grey matter concentration, rest hypoperfusion and abnormal activation during Social tasks. STS anatomofunctional anomalies occurring early across brain development could constitute the first step in the cascade of neural dysfunctions underlying autism. It is known that STS is highly implicated on Social Perception processing, from Perception of biological movements, such as body movements or eye gaze, to more complex Social cognition processes. Among the impairments that can be described in Social Perception processing, eye gaze Perception is particularly relevant in autism. Gaze abnormalities can now be objectively measured using eye-tracking methodology. In the present work, we will review recent data on STS contributions to normal Social cognition and its implication in autism, with particular focus on eye gaze Perception.
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autism the superior temporal sulcus and Social Perception
Trends in Neurosciences, 2006Co-Authors: Monica Zilbovicius, Isabelle Meresse, Nadia Chabane, Francis Brunelle, Yves Samson, Nathalie BoddaertAbstract:The most common clinical sign of autism spectrum disorders (ASD) is Social interaction impairment, which is associated with communication deficits and stereotyped behaviors. Based on recent brain-imaging results, our hypothesis is that abnormalities in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) are highly implicated in ASD. STS abnormalities are characterized by decreased gray matter concentration, rest hypoperfusion and abnormal activation during Social tasks. STS anatomical and functional anomalies occurring during early brain development could constitute the first step in the cascade of neural dysfunction underlying ASD. We will focus this review on the STS, which has been highly implicated in Social cognition. We will review recent data on the contribution of the STS to normal Social cognition and review brain-imaging data implicating this area in ASD. This review is part of the INMED/TINS special issue "Nature and nurture in brain development and neurological disorders", based on presentations at the annual INMED/TINS symposium (http://inmednet.com/).
Rebecca Saxe - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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functional organization of Social Perception and cognition in the superior temporal sulcus
Cerebral Cortex, 2015Co-Authors: Ben Deen, Kami Koldewyn, Nancy Kanwisher, Rebecca SaxeAbstract:Thesuperiortemporalsulcus(STS)isconsideredahubforSocialPerceptionandcognition,includingthePerceptionoffacesand human motion, as well as understanding others’ actions, mental states, and language. However, the functional organization of the STS remains debated: Is this broad region composed of multiple functionally distinct modules, each specialized for a different process, or are STS subregions multifunctional, contributing to multiple processes? Isthe STS spatially organized, and ifso,whatarethedominantfeaturesof thisorganization?WeaddressthesequestionsbymeasuringSTSresponsestoarangeof Socialandlinguisticstimuliinthesamesetofhumanparticipants,usingfMRI.We findanumberofSTSsubregionsthatrespond selectively to certain types of Social input, organized along a posterior-to-anterior axis. We also identify regions of overlapping response to multiple contrasts, including regions responsive to both language and theory of mind, faces and voices, and faces and biological motion. Thus, the human STS contains both relatively domain-specific areas, and regions that respond to multiple types of Social information.
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neural correlates of Social Perception the posterior superior temporal sulcus is modulated by action rationality but not animacy
Cognitive Science, 2012Co-Authors: Ben Deen, Rebecca SaxeAbstract:Neural correlates of Social Perception: The posterior superior temporal sulcus is modulated by action rationality, but not animacy Ben Deen (bdeen@mit.edu) and Rebecca R. Saxe (saxe@mit.edu) Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Cambridge, MA 02139 Abstract Pelphrey, Morris, & McCarthy, 2004; Pelphrey, Singerman, Allison, & McCarthy, 2003; Saxe, Xiao, Kovacs, Perrett, & Kanwisher, 2004; Vander Wyk, Hudac, Carter, Sobel, & Pelphrey, 2009). Such actions have been referred to as incongruent, irrational, or unexpected. This effect has been interpreted as evidence that the pSTS is sensitive to the goals or intentions underlying human motion. For instance, Pelphrey et al. (2004) argued that the pSTS is involved in predicting actions in a given context based on an “intentional stance,” in which actions are determined by a goal state and an assumption that the agent will choose the most efficient means to achieve the goal given situational constraints. They proposed that when this prediction is violated, the pSTS must engage in extra processing to explain the observed action in other terms, which would explain its stronger response to unexpected actions. Another line of research supporting the role of pSTS in action understanding as employed animations of simple geometric shapes as stimuli (Castelli, Happe, Frith, & Frith, 2003; Gobbini, Koralek, Bryan, Montgomery, & Haxby, 2007). These studies have found a stronger pSTS response to animations depicting Social interactions between animate shapes, compared with animations of shapes moving as inanimate physical objects. This demonstrates that the role of the pSTS extends to animations that lack the form and motion kinematics of humans, but imply intentional action. However, such comparisons have been largely visually uncontrolled, and could also reflect one of a number of processes: detecting agents, processing of their motion or intentions, or processing of interactions between multiple agents. The present study aimed to investigate the neural correlates of Social perceptual processes, using geometric shape stimuli. In particular, we use dot-chain stimuli perceived as slithering snakes or worms, which provide a strong percept of animacy without the need for multiple, interacting agents (Gao, New, & Scholl, 2011). This ensures that any effects observed do not relate to processing interactions between agents (c.f. Centelles, Assaiante, Nazarian, Anton, & Schmitz, 2011). To investigate each of the subprocesses listed above, we separately manipulated the perceived animacy, goal-directedness, and path rationality (or expectedness) of the animations. We first performed a behavioral study, eliciting judgments about these animations on various dimensions. The animations were then used as stimuli for an fMRI experiment, to investigate the response of the pSTS, as well as motion- sensitive area MT+, as a control region. Recent research has investigated the neural basis of Social Perception, the ability to make high-level Social inferences from perceptual information. The right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) has been identified as a candidate region for this ability, but the specific processes to which the pSTS contributes remain unclear. In the present study, we investigated the neural correlates of Social Perception using simple animated geometric shape stimuli, separately manipulating the perceived animacy, goal-directedness, and path rationality in the animations. We did not find an increased pSTS response to animate or goal-directed animations. However, we found that across conditions, the pSTS response tracked path rationality, with stronger responses to irrational paths. This is consistent with prior neuroimaging research on the Perception of human actions, and supports the claim that the pSTS is involved in action understanding. Keywords: Social Perception, fMRI, superior temporal sulcus Introduction Humans have a remarkable ability to infer the dispositions and intentions of other agents from perceptual information, and specifically from motion patterns such as hand and body motion, gaze shifts, and facial motion. This ability, termed Social Perception, comprises a number of subprocesses: the detection of agents in an environment, perceptual analysis of their motion, inference about Social properties from the agent’s actions and their context, and prediction of future actions based on these properties. Recent research has begun to probe the neural basis of these processes, although the relevant brain regions and their specific functional role is still debated. One line of research has pointed to the right posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) as a critical region for Social Perception (Allison, Puce, & McCarthy, 2000). This region responds more strongly to (human) biological motion than motion of inanimate objects (e.g. Grossman et al., 2000; Pelphrey et al., 2003). These responses might relate to the detection or perceptual analysis of biological motion, to higher-level processing of the intentions underlying the actions, or to some combination thereof. Another set of studies indicates that the pSTS response to human actions is modulated by inferred intentions. Specifically, actions that violate inferred intentions in a given context, such as twisting empty space next to a gear rather than a gear itself, elicit a stronger pSTS response than the expected actions, across a range of contexts and specific actions (Brass, Schmitt, Spengler, & Gergely, 2007;
Gregory Mccarthy - One of the best experts on this subject based on the ideXlab platform.
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taking an intentional stance on eye gaze shifts a functional neuroimaging study of Social Perception in children
NeuroImage, 2005Co-Authors: Matthew W Mosconi, Kevin A Pelphrey, Gregory Mccarthy, Peter B MackAbstract:Abstract During middle childhood, children develop an increasing understanding of intentions and other Social information conveyed through dynamic facial cues such as changes in eye-gaze direction. Recent work in our laboratory has focused on using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) in adults to map the neural circuitry subserving the visual analysis of others' actions and the intentions underlying these actions. In these studies, the superior temporal sulcus (STS) region has been continually implicated in processing shifts in eye gaze. Further, these studies have indicated that STS activity is modulated by the context within which eye-gaze shifts occur, suggesting that this region is involved in Social Perception via its role in the analysis of the intentions of observed actions. Still, no studies have investigated the neural circuitry supporting eye-gaze processing in children. We used event-related fMRI to examine brain activity in 7- to 10-year-old healthy children observing an animated virtual actor who shifted her eyes towards either a target object or empty space. Consistent with prior studies in adults, the STS, middle temporal gyrus, and inferior parietal lobule were sensitive to the intentions underlying the stimulus character's eye movements. These findings suggest that the neural circuitry underlying the processing of eye gaze and the detection of intentions conveyed through shifts in eye gaze in children are similar to that found previously in adults. We discuss these findings and potential implications for mapping the neurodevelopment of the Social cognition and Social Perception abnormalities characteristic of autism.
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grasping the intentions of others the perceived intentionality of an action influences activity in the superior temporal sulcus during Social Perception
Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience, 2004Co-Authors: Kevin A Pelphrey, James P Morris, Gregory MccarthyAbstract:An explication of the neural substrates for Social Perception is an important component in the emerging field of Social cognitive neuroscience and is relevant to the field of cognitive neuroscience as a whole. Prior studies from our laboratory have demonstrated that passive viewing of biological motion (Pelphrey, Mitchell, et al., 2003; Puce et al., 1998) activates the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS ) region. Furthermore, recent evidence has shown that the perceived context of observed gaze shifts (Pelphrey, Singerman, et al., 2003; Pelphrey et al., 2004) modulates STS activity. Here, using event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging at 4 T, we investigated brain activity in response to passive viewing of goal- and nongoal-directed reaching-to-grasp movements. Participants viewed an animated character making reaching-to-grasp movements either toward (correct) or away (incorrect) from a blinking dial. Both conditions evoked significant posterior STS activity that was strongly right lateralized. By examining the time course of the blood oxygenation level-dependent response from areas of activation, we observed a functional dissociation. Incorrect trials evoked significantly greater activity in the STS than did correct trials, while an area posterior and inferior to the STS (likely corresponding to the MT/ V5 complex) responded equally to correct and incorrect movements. Parietal cortical regions, including the superior parietal lobule and the anterior intraparietal sulcus, also responded equally to correct and incorrect movements, but showed evidence for differential responding based on the hand and arm (left or right) of the animated character used to make the reaching-to-grasp movement. The results of this study further suggest that a region of the right posterior STS is involved in analyzing the intentions of other people's actions and that activity in this region is sensitive to the context of observed biological motions.
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Social Perception from visual cues role of the sts region
Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2000Co-Authors: Truett Allison, Aina Puce, Gregory MccarthyAbstract:Social Perception refers to initial stages in the processing of information that culminates in the accurate analysis of the dispositions and intentions of other individuals. Single-cell recordings in monkeys, and neurophysiological and neuroimaging studies in humans, reveal that cerebral cortex in and near the superior temporal sulcus (STS) region is an important component of this perceptual system. In monkeys and humans, the STS region is activated by movements of the eyes, mouth, hands and body, suggesting that it is involved in analysis of biological motion. However, it is also activated by static images of the face and body, suggesting that it is sensitive to implied motion and more generally to stimuli that signal the actions of another individual. Subsequent analysis of Socially relevant stimuli is carried out in the amygdala and orbitofrontal cortex, which supports a three-structure model proposed by Brothers. The homology of human and monkey areas involved in Social Perception, and the functional interrelationships between the STS region and the ventral face area, are unresolved issues.