3. Social Cognition

Question 1

anatomy for social brain (hubs of default)

Answer 1

Temporal Parietal Junction = mentalizing
Insula = interoception, empathy
MEdial PFC = sense of self
OFC = social norms, regulate urges

Question 2

role of mPFC in self

Answer 2

less suppressed when thinking about self compared to others (suppressed bc default network always suppressed)
MPFC less suppressed for positive traits compared to negative

Question 3

mPFC for mental inferences of others

Answer 3

mPFC activity matches thinking about self, and others with traits similar to us (liberal vs conservative, use heuristics for similar people)
DORSAL mPFC active for thinking about dissimilar others (control network, mental effort to think about them)

Question 4

theory of mind fMRI and TMS

Answer 4

Temporal parietal junction active for ToM tasks (reading story of awkward event)
TMS inhibition to TPJ creates more permissability to immoral actions

Question 5

Neural differences in autism

Answer 5

rTPJ NOT selective for ToM
decreased laterilization corr’d with Autism
smaller corpus callosums

Question 6

Experience sharing and insula

Answer 6

simulation/empathy
observe imitate other’s feelings
Insula active in MY feelings and watching OTHERS feelings
DORSAL ACC active for self and other pain
Insula quicker active for our pain, but also active to other pain

Question 7

Expertise modulating pain

Answer 7

Insula and ACC less active in acupuncturists watching pain than controls
turn off empathy

Question 8

Psychopathy and experience sharing

Answer 8

low empathy, ToM unaffected, reduced skin conductance to watching others pain
Lower insula and amygdala activity in high psychopathy to watching pain
Self pain unaffected in insula/amygdala

Question 9

Social norms and OFC

Answer 9

OFC damage = deficits in social awarneess, hypersexual, rude (phineas gage)
lack self insight to social mistakes (dont update emotions)
deficits in social faux-pas tasks