Neural computations in children’s third-party interventions are modulated by their parents’ moral values

Minkang Kim; Jean Decety; Ling Wu; Soohyun Baek; Derek Sankey

doi:10.1038/s41539-021-00116-5

Neural computations in children’s third-party interventions are modulated by their parents’ moral values

npj Science of Learning ◽

10.1038/s41539-021-00116-5 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 6 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Minkang Kim ◽

Jean Decety ◽

Ling Wu ◽

Soohyun Baek ◽

Derek Sankey

Keyword(s):

Moral Values ◽

Early Years ◽

Third Party ◽

Social Cooperation ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Parent Survey ◽

Neural Computations ◽

Interaction Experiment ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

Deliberative Processes

AbstractOne means by which humans maintain social cooperation is through intervention in third-party transgressions, a behaviour observable from the early years of development. While it has been argued that pre-school age children’s intervention behaviour is driven by normative understandings, there is scepticism regarding this claim. There is also little consensus regarding the underlying mechanisms and motives that initially drive intervention behaviours in pre-school children. To elucidate the neural computations of moral norm violation associated with young children’s intervention into third-party transgression, forty-seven preschoolers (average age 53.92 months) participated in a study comprising of electroencephalographic (EEG) measurements, a live interaction experiment, and a parent survey about moral values. This study provides data indicating that early implicit evaluations, rather than late deliberative processes, are implicated in a child’s spontaneous intervention into third-party harm. Moreover, our findings suggest that parents’ values about justice influence their children’s early neural responses to third-party harm and their overt costly intervention behaviour.

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Effect of Age in Auditory Go/No-Go Tasks: A Magnetoencephalographic Study

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci10100667 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (10) ◽

pp. 667

Author(s):

Mei-Yin Lin ◽

Chia-Hsiung Cheng

Keyword(s):

Older Adults ◽

Response Inhibition ◽

Cortical Activation ◽

Middle Temporal Gyrus ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Source Imaging ◽

Age Related ◽

Aging Populations ◽

Neural Underpinnings ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

Response inhibition is frequently examined using visual go/no-go tasks. Recently, the auditory go/no-go paradigm has been also applied to several clinical and aging populations. However, age-related changes in the neural underpinnings of auditory go/no-go tasks are yet to be elucidated. We used magnetoencephalography combined with distributed source imaging methods to examine age-associated changes in neural responses to auditory no-go stimuli. Additionally, we compared the performance of high- and low-performing older adults to explore differences in cortical activation. Behavioral performance in terms of response inhibition was similar in younger and older adult groups. Relative to the younger adults, the older adults exhibited reduced cortical activation in the superior and middle temporal gyrus. However, we did not find any significant differences in cortical activation between the high- and low-performing older adults. Our results therefore support the hypothesis that inhibition is reduced during aging. The variation in cognitive performance among older adults confirms the need for further study on the underlying mechanisms of inhibition.

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Neural Sources and Underlying Mechanisms of Neural Responses to Heartbeats, and their Role in Bodily Self-consciousness: An Intracranial EEG Study

Cerebral Cortex ◽

10.1093/cercor/bhx136 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 28 (7) ◽

pp. 2351-2364 ◽

Cited By ~ 30

Author(s):

Hyeong-Dong Park ◽

Fosco Bernasconi ◽

Roy Salomon ◽

Catherine Tallon-Baudry ◽

Laurent Spinelli ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Neural Responses ◽

Intracranial Eeg ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

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Similar masking effects of natural backgrounds on detection performances in humans, macaques, and macaque-V1 population responses

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.00275.2020 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Yoon Bai ◽

Spencer Chen ◽

Yuzhi Chen ◽

Wilson S Geisler ◽

Eyal Seidemann

Keyword(s):

Macaque Monkey ◽

Sine Wave ◽

Scale Factor ◽

Weber’S Law ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Weber's Law ◽

Threshold Functions ◽

Behavioral Thresholds ◽

Single Scale ◽

Neural Computations

Visual systems evolve to process the stimuli that arise in the organism's natural environment and hence to fully understand the neural computations in the visual system it is important to measure behavioral and neural responses to natural visual stimuli. Here we measured psychometric and neurometric functions and thresholds in the macaque monkey for detection of a windowed sine‐wave target in uniform backgrounds and in natural backgrounds of various contrasts. The neurometric functions and neurometric thresholds were obtained by near‐optimal decoding of voltage‐sensitive‐dye‐imaging (VSDI) responses at the retinotopic scale in primary visual cortex (V1). Results were compared with previous human psychophysical measurements made under the same conditions. We found that human and macaque behavioral thresholds followed the generalized Weber's law as function of contrast, and that both the slopes and the intercepts of the threshold functions match each other up to a single scale factor. We also found that the neurometric thresholds followed the generalized Weber's law and that the neurometric slopes and intercepts matched the behavioral slopes and intercepts up to a single scale factor. We conclude that human and macaque ability to detect targets in natural backgrounds are affected in the same way by background contrast, that these effects are consistent with population decoding at the retinotopic scale by down‐stream circuits, and that the macaque monkey is an appropriate animal model for gaining an understanding of the neural mechanisms in humans for detecting targets in natural backgrounds. Finally, we discuss limitations of the current study and potential next steps.

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Predictive Neural Computations Support Spoken Word Recognition: Evidence from MEG and Competitor Priming

10.1101/2020.07.01.182717 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Yingcan Carol Wang ◽

Ediz Sohoglu ◽

Rebecca A. Gilbert ◽

Richard N. Henson ◽

Matthew H. Davis

Keyword(s):

Word Recognition ◽

Prediction Error ◽

Spoken Word Recognition ◽

Predictive Coding ◽

Spoken Word ◽

Speech Comprehension ◽

Speech Sounds ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Perceptual Inference ◽

Neural Computations

AbstractHuman listeners achieve quick and effortless speech comprehension through computations of conditional probability using Bayes rule. However, the neural implementation of Bayesian perceptual inference remains unclear. Competitive-selection accounts (e.g. TRACE) propose that word recognition is achieved through direct inhibitory connections between units representing candidate words that share segments (e.g. hygiene and hijack share /haid3/). Manipulations that increase lexical uncertainty should increase neural responses associated with word recognition when words cannot be uniquely identified (during the first syllable). In contrast, predictive-selection accounts (e.g. Predictive-Coding) proposes that spoken word recognition involves comparing heard and predicted speech sounds and using prediction error to update lexical representations. Increased lexical uncertainty in words like hygiene and hijack will increase prediction error and hence neural activity only at later time points when different segments are predicted (during the second syllable). We collected MEG data to distinguish these two mechanisms and used a competitor priming manipulation to change the prior probability of specific words. Lexical decision responses showed delayed recognition of target words (hygiene) following presentation of a neighbouring prime word (hijack) several minutes earlier. However, this effect was not observed with pseudoword primes (higent) or targets (hijure). Crucially, MEG responses in the STG showed greater neural responses for word-primed words after the point at which they were uniquely identified (after /haid3/ in hygiene) but not before while similar changes were again absent for pseudowords. These findings are consistent with accounts of spoken word recognition in which neural computations of prediction error play a central role.Significance StatementEffective speech perception is critical to daily life and involves computations that combine speech signals with prior knowledge of spoken words; that is, Bayesian perceptual inference. This study specifies the neural mechanisms that support spoken word recognition by testing two distinct implementations of Bayes perceptual inference. Most established theories propose direct competition between lexical units such that inhibition of irrelevant candidates leads to selection of critical words. Our results instead support predictive-selection theories (e.g. Predictive-Coding): by comparing heard and predicted speech sounds, neural computations of prediction error can help listeners continuously update lexical probabilities, allowing for more rapid word identification.

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Disapproval from romantic partners, friends and parents: source of criticism regulates prefrontal cortex activity

10.1101/2020.02.05.935460 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Michelle Jin-Yee Neoh ◽

Atiqah Azhari ◽

Claudio Mulatti ◽

Marc H. Bornstein ◽

Gianluca Esposito

Keyword(s):

Prefrontal Cortex ◽

Near Infrared ◽

Romantic Partners ◽

Third Party ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Functional Near Infrared Spectroscopy ◽

Relationship Type ◽

Relationship Types ◽

Dorsolateral Prefrontal ◽

Perceived Criticism

AbstractThe prevalence of criticism in everyday social situations, and its empirically demonstrated association with psychopathology, highlight the importance of understanding neural mechanisms underlying the perception and response of individuals to criticism. However, neuroimaging studies to date have been limited largely to maternal criticism. The present study aims to investigate neural responses to criticism originating from three different relationship types: romantic partners, friends, and parents. Perceived criticism ratings for these relationships from 49 participants were collected. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was used to measure changes in oxygenated haemoglobin levels in the prefrontal cortex when participants read vignettes describing three different scenarios of criticism. Participants were randomly assigned to 3 groups where the given description of the relationship of the protagonist to the source of criticism for each vignette was randomised. A significant interaction between relationship type and perceived criticism ratings for mothers was found in the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex. Compared to low perceived criticism, high perceived criticism individuals showed increased activation reading vignettes describing criticism from romantic partners and parents but decreased activation for those from friends. Findings contribute to understanding neural responses to criticism as observed from a third-party perspective. Future studies can look into differentiating neural responses of personalised experiences of criticism and third-party observations.

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Social Trust

The Oxford Handbook of Governance and Limited Statehood ◽

10.1093/oxfordhb/9780198797203.013.17 ◽

2018 ◽

pp. 352-372 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Anke Draude ◽

Lasse Hölck ◽

Dietlind Stolle

Keyword(s):

Collective Action ◽

Social Trust ◽

Third Party ◽

Small Scale ◽

Social Cooperation ◽

Collective Identities ◽

Generalized Trust ◽

Theoretical Literature ◽

Universal Values ◽

Social Entities

This chapter investigates the relevance of social trust for governance in areas of limited statehood (ALS), especially to compensate for the lack of third-party enforcement. To capture the forms of trust in a variety of societies from small-scale communities to larger social entities, we differentiate between personalized, particularized, and generalized trust. Empirical and theoretical literature from different disciplines suggests that trust facilitates social cooperation and enables collective action at all levels. While particularized trust tends to have exclusionary effects though, and generalized trust is almost absent in ALS, inclusive forms of trust might emerge from bridging collective identities and everyday experiences of impartiality and fairness. We conclude that governance initiatives can help spreading trust, particularly by promoting universal values through service-providing institutions like schools and hospitals. Existing trust relations, in turn, can serve as facilitators of effective and legitimate governance in ALS.

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Amplified Mnemonic Discrimination and Attenuated Generalization Are Associated with Positive Schizotypy

10.31234/osf.io/32hdt ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Ágota Vass ◽

becske melinda ◽

Agnes Szollosi ◽

Mihály Racsmány ◽

Bertalan Polner

Keyword(s):

False Recognition ◽

Pattern Separation ◽

Small Samples ◽

Future Research ◽

Healthy Population ◽

Pattern Completion ◽

Memory Impairments ◽

Hippocampal Dysfunction ◽

Neural Computations ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

Memory dysfunction has been first recognized in patients with schizophrenia over 100 years ago and it is considered to be a particularly pronounced symptom of the illness. According to the hippocampal dysfunction theory, memory impairments and positive symptoms of schizophrenia such as hallucinations and delusions might be attributable to an unbalance in the interplay of pattern separation and pattern completion neural computations. While the theory addresses alterations specifically related to schizophrenia, schizotypy (a personality construct that encompasses schizophrenia symptom-like traits) is increasingly considered to be a useful construct for conceptualizing the development and expression of schizophrenia. Behavioural studies in patients with schizophrenia have come to disparate findings when testing the hippocampal dysfunction theory and are not devoid of some of the limitations and confounds that are commonly encountered in schizophrenia research, such as small samples, and a possible modulating effect of medications on cognitive performance. The present study aims to reconcile this debate by investigating the relationship between positive schizotypy and lure discrimination index and false recognition of lures (putative behavioural indicators of pattern separation and completion, respectively) in a sample of healthy individuals (N=71) varying in terms of self-reported unusual experiences. Contradicting our expectations (which were based on patient studies), positive schizotypy in the healthy population was associated with enhanced mnemonic discrimination and attenuated false recognition of lures. The current study is the first ever to investigate pattern separation and pattern completion in relation to different schizotypy dimensions. We address possible underlying mechanisms that might cause a lower false recognition of lures (e.g. impaired ability to generalise) in schizotypy. Resemblance between positive schizotypy and schizophrenia could not be detected at the level of behavioural performance which can be interpreted in a theoretical framework of hippocampal neural computations . Uncovering the underlying mechanisms of this discrepancy awaits future research.

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Computational Modelling of Cerebellar Magnetic Stimulation: The Effect of Washout

Lecture Notes in Computer Science - Brain-Inspired Computing ◽

10.1007/978-3-030-82427-3_3 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 35-46

Author(s):

Alberto Antonietti ◽

Claudia Casellato ◽

Egidio D’Angelo ◽

Alessandra Pedrocchi

Keyword(s):

Washout Period ◽

Magnetic Stimulation ◽

Computational Models ◽

Computational Modelling ◽

Mechanistic Explanation ◽

Neural Responses ◽

External Stimulation ◽

Associative Conditioning ◽

Underlying Mechanisms ◽

The Brain

AbstractNowadays, clinicians have multiple tools that they can use to stimulate the brain, by means of electric or magnetic fields that can interfere with the bio-electrical behaviour of neurons. However, it is still unclear which are the neural mechanisms that are involved and how the external stimulation changes the neural responses at network-level. In this paper, we have exploited the simulations carried out using a spiking neural network model, which reconstructed the cerebellar system, to shed light on the underlying mechanisms of cerebellar Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation affecting specific task behaviour. Namely, two computational studies have been merged and compared. The two studies employed a very similar experimental protocol: a first session of Pavlovian associative conditioning, the administration of the TMS (effective or sham), a washout period, and a second session of Pavlovian associative conditioning. In one study, the washout period between the two sessions was long (1 week), while the other study foresaw a very short washout (15 min). Computational models suggested a mechanistic explanation for the TMS effect on the cerebellum. In this work, we have found that the duration of the washout strongly changes the modification of plasticity mechanisms in the cerebellar network, then reflected in the learning behaviour.

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Adaptation decorrelates shape representations

10.1101/249045 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Marcelo G. Mattar ◽

Maria Olkkonen ◽

Russell A. Epstein ◽

Geoffrey K. Aguirre

Keyword(s):

Shape Space ◽

Behavioral Experiment ◽

Visual Adaptation ◽

Perceptual Discrimination ◽

Neural Responses ◽

Shape Representations ◽

Neural Representations ◽

Sensory History ◽

Shape Class ◽

Underlying Mechanisms

AbstractPerception and neural responses are modulated by sensory history. Visual adaptation, an example of such an effect, has been hypothesized to improve stimulus discrimination by decorrelating responses across a set of neural units. While a central theoretical model, behavioral and neural evidence for this theory is limited and inconclusive. Here, we use a parametric 3D shape-space to test whether adaptation decorrelates shape representations in humans. In a behavioral experiment with 20 subjects, we find that adaptation to a shape class improves discrimination of subsequently presented stimuli with similar features. In a BOLD fMRI experiment with 10 subjects we observe that adaptation to a shape class decorrelates the multivariate representations of subsequently presented stimuli with similar features in object-selective cortex. These results support the long-standing proposal that adaptation improves perceptual discrimination and decorrelates neural representations, offering insights into potential underlying mechanisms.

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