13. Social Cognition

Question 1

which brain region maturing slower than other brain regions?

which age?

Answer 1

orbitofrontal cortex

> between ages 5 and 20

Question 2

theory of mind: 3 kinds of theories

Answer 2

TOM

1. module theories

> humans develop a theory of mind module, separate from, but build on other mental abilities

2. theory theories

> theory of mind capabilities develop as a simple, implicit theory over the couse of development

3. simulation theories

> we understand other minds by internally simulating the mental states of others in each situation

Question 3

fully developed TOM is comprised of which 4 skills?

Answer 3

TOM:

1. detection of intention of others (ID)
2. detection of eye-direction (EDD)
3. shared attention mechanism (SAM)
4. theory if mind module (TOMM)

> those skills develop independently

Question 4

which age does the shared attention mechanism develop?

what does it do?

Answer 4

SAM is developed around age 1

> the ability to understand when someone is directing their attention somewhere

Question 5

what age does the theory of mind module develop?

what does it do?

Answer 5

TOMM develops around age 4, we learn that

> appereance and reality are not necessarily the same

> other people have mental and physical states

> i can fool or decieve others, understand hide and seek games

Question 6

which brain regions involved in eye detection and gaze perception?

Answer 6

eye detection: superior temporal sulcus registers eyes and eye like stimuli

more complex stimuli: connectins between STS and parietal lobe (intraparietal sulcus IPS)

Question 7

what do subjects with autism spectrum disorder show when presented with intentional gaze shifts?

> healthy subjects?

Answer 7

autistic subjects do not show activity in the posterior superior temporal sulcus

> healthy subjects do dispay activitiy

Question 8

why is pointing important in the shared attention mechanism

Answer 8

pointing is a sign of triadic interaction

> not only do the two persons observe the same object, they also know that the other is looking too

Question 9

which brain regions involved in shared attention?

(4)

Answer 9

involved in shared attention

1. ventromedial PFC
2. left superior frontal gyrus
3. cingulate gyrus
4. caudate nucleus

Question 10

Neural basis for TOM

> 3 key regions in the brain

Answer 10

Neural basis vor TOM

1. temporal poles: sumantic schemas that specify social rules
2. parieto-temporal junction

> important for detecting other agents

> lesions in the are disrupt performance on TOM-tests

3. medial frontal lobe

> attending to mental states (e.g. intentions of self and other)

> active in all fMRI studies of mentalizing

Question 11

4 important aspects of emotions

(4)

Answer 11

emotions

1. action schemes that prepare the organism for certain behaviours
2. made up of a series of prosses
3. recognizing emotion in other important for social interaction
4. social neuroscience studies how the brain responds to other people

Question 12

what are the 6 universal emotions by ekman?

Answer 12

ekmans uiversal emotions

1. happy
2. sad
3. anger
4. fear
5. surprise
6. disgust

Question 13

why are more complex emotions not universal?

Answer 13

more complex emotions like pride or jealousy may require processing of social relations

> more likely to be regulated by cultural rules than basic emotions

Question 14

Panksepp: what are the 4 fundamental “hard-wired” emotions in the mammilian brain?

Answer 14

1. seeking
2. fear
3. rage
4. panic

Question 15

Panksepp: what are the 3 special purpose systems?

Answer 15

1. lust
2. care
3. play

Question 16

Patient DR: what happened after bilateral damage to amygdala?

Answer 16

Patient DR:

> he was disproportionally impaired at recognizing fear relative to other Ekman categories (in faces and voices)

> this is thus likely to be a categorical problem, and not perceptual

Question 17

LeDoux: what is the function of the short route to the amygdala?

> stations?

Answer 17

the short route to the amygdala enables rapid detection of threat

> goes straight from thalamus to amygdala

Question 18

LeDoux: 2 pathways of fear

Answer 18

1. low road: short and emotional

> thalamus to amygdala

2. high road: long and evaluative

> thalamus to cortex to amygdala

Question 19

what does increased amygdala activity cause in the visual system?

why?

Answer 19

increased activity in the amygdala triggers increased activity in the visual cortex to enable more accurate identification of threatening stimulus

Question 20

which brain regions percieves faces?

which brain region percieves objects?

Answer 20

faces: fusiform face area FFA
objects: parahippocampal gyri PHG

> both in inferior temporal lobe

Question 21

what is the effect of eye contact on the brain?

Answer 21

eye contact effect:

> percieved eye contact modulates areas in the social brain network in cortical and subcortical regions

> eye contact is initially detected by subcortical route

Question 22

what did Whalen find in 2004 in his studie about neural responses to different eye whites?

Answer 22

Whales:

> the amygdala was selectively activated in response to subliminally presented fearful vs happy eye whites

Question 23

what is the influence of moderate levels of emotional arousal on memory?

why?

Answer 23

moderate levels of emotional arousal at the time of an event lead to better retention of explicit memories

> adrenalin and cortisol pathways begin in the amygdala

Question 24

fMRI: which brain region is activated in disgust?

Answer 24

insula

Question 25

patients with huntington’s have poor recognition of what?

Answer 25

poor recognition of disgust

Question 26

how may happiness and suprise differ from fear and disgust?

Answer 26

happiness and suprise may have less localized representations in the brain