Social Cognition

Question 1

Define social cognition

Answer 1

The physiological processes involved in perceiving, storing, encoding, retrieving and regulating information about other people and ourselves

Question 2

Processes involved in social cognition

Answer 2

Social cue perception
Sharing experiences
Inferring thoughts and emotions of others
Managing reactions to others

Question 3

Brain regions involved in social cognition

Answer 3

ACC
HPC
mPFC
OFC

Question 4

Neurotransmitters and hormones involved

Answer 4

Dopamine
Opioids
Oxytocin
CRH

Question 5

Dopamine Positives

Answer 5

DA neurons of ventral tegmental area respond to unconditioned and conditioned reward cues, facilitating incentive motivation. Phasic DA release into the nucleus accumbens associates with feelings of motivation, desire and self-efficacy.

Question 6

Dopamine Negatives

Answer 6

Chronic stress can alter DA neuron activity leading to behavioural avoidance or aversion.

Question 7

DA global alerting signal

Answer 7

Encodes motivational value of stimuli and influences active approach or avoidance behaviours.

Question 8

Opioids

Answer 8

Affects responses to reward/aversive cues, crucial for maintenance of social bonds and networks in primates

Question 9

Opioids trust

Answer 9

Creates affective states that enhance trust and serve as basis for forming and maintaining social bonds

Question 10

Opioids social interactions

Answer 10

Social interactions become pleasurable due to associations with rewarding experiences related to opiate release, with lack of social contact akin to withdrawal of opiate drugs such as heroin, negatively impacting affective states

Question 11

Oxytocin roles

Answer 11

Positive social interactions
Decreasing social stress
Facilitating attention
Perception of social cues
Trust
Social memory

Question 12

Acute OT in response to aversive cues

Answer 12

Acute OT release leads to increased activation of the sympathetic nervous system resulting in defesnive responses

Question 13

Chronic OT in response to aversive cues

Answer 13

Diminished stress response

Question 14

OT system environmental reactivity

Answer 14

Coping mechanisms
Promotes passive social strategies during prolonged social conflicts

Question 15

Variants within OP and OT

Answer 15

Variations in subjective experiences
Sensory-perceptual processing of social cues
Attentional processes
Associative conditioning of social objects
Formation of social memories

Question 16

CRH circuitries coordinate responses to

Answer 16

Negative affective states
Anxiety
Autonomic arousal to face potential dangers

Influence cognitive processes deriving response strategies based on expected outcomes

Question 17

Explicit aversive stimuli trigger

Answer 17

autonomic responses including behavioural panic and escape

Question 18

Perception of potential danger induces

Answer 18

prolonged negative affect
ensuring vigilence in face of uncertainty

Question 19

Conclusion

Answer 19

Social cognition involves intricate physiological processes in the brain with NTS and hormones playing key roles. Understanding these mechanism provides insight into how we perceive, respond to and form relationships with others to shed light on the underpinnings of social behaviour