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Knowledge of the self
What is self-reflexive thought? What is self-reflective thought and how is it related to neural regions in the “default mode/network”?
Redirection of thoughts from external (others) to internal world (self)- Involves more medial areas than lateral areas (medial PFC, posterior ACC, medial parietal)“Thinking” about self = “Default Mode”When nothing in external world grabs our attention, we “default” to internal thoughtsSelf-thought is our “baseline” way of thinkingExternal info (thinking about others) inhibits activity in this region
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What is interoception and what neural regions are involved in monitoring these states?
awareness of internal bodily sensations (e.g., pain, disgust, heart rate)
Involves Insula, Rostral ACC, Orbitofrontal cortexAttention to internal states (“feeling”) is different from “thinking” about self
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What is embodiment and what regions are involved in this process?
The sense of being “localized” within one’s own bodyInvolves Temporoparietal junction (TPJ)Integration of information from all senses (auditory, visual, somatosensory)Stimulation can cause “out of body” experiencesTPJ is also affected in hemispatial neglectSuggests that attention to “space relative to you” (egocentric) requires knowledge of relationship between your body and the world
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Social Categorization
What is social referencing?
interpreting the body, facial and vocal expressions of others. The emotional response of another person may lead to avoidance or interaction with a previously neutral stimulus
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What is shared attention?
using gaze direction and head/body position to figure out what someone is looking at (attending to)
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How might automatic and controlled components of social categorization interact during negative stereotyping of groups to which you are not a member? Which component responds more quickly and more to the emotional rather than rational aspects of categorization?
White Americans viewing faces of unfamiliar African-Americans showed rise in amygdala activity
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What are mirror neurons?
neurons that respond to goal directed actions performed by oneself OR by others
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What types of actions do these neurons respond to?
Most responsive to goal-directed biological actions (retrieving food)
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How might deficits in the mirror neuron system be related to the symptoms of autism?
- social interaction
- communication creative or
- imaginative play
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Theory of Mind
What is theory of mind (TOM)? How is TOM related to false beliefs and deception?
Ability to represent and infer mental states (desires, beliefs, intentions) of others. You realize you can pretend to be something (rock, dog) without becoming that thing. Allows you to understand and predict behavior of others.
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What is the Sally-Anne task (i.e., False-Belief task)? Why is this a good test of theory of mind (TOM)?
performance on false belief tasks is related to performance on executive function tasks (e.g., inhibition, working memory)
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Around what age do most children develop TOM? What factors influence the point at which TOM emerges in children? What about autistic children?
4+ ... executive functions and language.
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What is the network of neural regions associated with theory of mind? What are the hypothesized functions of each region in this network?
- Temporal pole
- - Language
- - Semantic memory
- - Social meaning
Temporoparietal junction and Superior Temporal Sulcus (STS)
- - Embodiment
- - Biological motion
- - Detecting direction of eye gaze in others
- - Facial expression
Ventral Medial prefrontal cortex/ACC
- - Ventral regions involved in attention to emotions
- - More than dorsal region involved that are involved in executive control (Stroop task)
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Empathy
What is the difference between sympathy and empathy? Which brain regions would be more involved in empathy than sympathy?
Sympathy is literally 'feeling with' - compassion for or commiseration with another person. Empathy, by contrast, is literally 'feeling into'. Medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and Rostral ACC similarly active in both conditions.
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Orbitofrontal/Ventromedial Cortex
Where is it located?
anterior insula, particularly in the right hemisphere,
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What is the difference between expected value and expected utility?
Human decision makers consider the expected utility of an outcome more than than its expected value. Value based on many things including current wealth
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What is the somatic marker hypothesis? (see also pg. 478 from the Emotion download)
We store links between previous situations and the “feeling” of those situations and use these feelings to consciously or unconsciously guide decisions
- Feelings have a direct and causal role in decision making
- Orbitofrontal/VMPFC is necessary to allow you to use activity of the Autonomic Nervous System (visceral response) to guide decisions
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What is the Iowa Gambling Task?
- Four decksA & B: high return ($800), but high loss ($1200)
- Disadvantageous over time
- C & D: low return ($80), but low loss ($50)Advantageous over time
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What would be considered “normal” performance on this task, both in terms of decisions and autonomic nervous systems responses?
- Within a few trials, learn to avoid disadvantageous decks
- Show anticipatory increase in arousal prior to thinking about selecting a risky response; even if can’t articulate “why”
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What types of patients exhibit impaired performance on this task? What is an alternative hypothesis (to the Somatic Marker Hypothesis) for why these patients are impaired on this task?
- Orbitofrontal/Ventromedial PFC patients: Keep selecting from disadvantageous decks
- Don’t show any arousal in anticipation of these bad choices
- Even though they have a normal arousal response to threatening stimuli (snakes, spiders), unlike amygdala
- Orbitofrontal/VMPFC is necessary to allow you to use activity of the Autonomic Nervous System (visceral response) to guide decisions
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How does the Ultimatum Game work? Largest amount offered to a person.
What brain regions are more active when you reject unfair offers (what else do you know about this area – see Social Cognition section above)? Insula is more active for unfair offers
- Insula activity predicts likelihood of rejecting offer
- Emotional reaction to social loss of “pride” overrides rational decision, resulting in loss of money
- Less insula activity and less likely to reject unfair offers from the computer than another “person”
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What areas are more active when you accept unfair offers? What are mediates resolving the conflict between accepting and rejecting an unfair offer?
- DLPFC is more active than insula when willing to accept unfair offer
- Cognitive system “reappraises” situation
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What is the (long) name of that pathway involved in Reward (“seeking” behaviors) and what neurotransmitter does it involve?
- MESOCORTICOLIMBIC DOPAMINE PATHWAY
- Projections from the ventral tegmental area (VTA) to the nucleus accumbens (mesolimbic) and orbitofrontal cortex (mesocortical)
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Why is this pathway thought to be more involved in “wanting” or “craving” than “liking”?
These neurons are more responsive to the anticipation of reward than the reward itself
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How do neurons in this pathway respond to reward prediction errors, including outcomes that are better than expected and worse than expected?
Reward prediction error is signaled by the nucleus accumbens (part of this system)
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What is Temporal Discounting?
When considering whether to take a smaller reward now or a larger reward later, which areas are likely to be more active when you chose the small reward now…which areas are likely to be more active when you choose the larger reward later?
- Likelihood of taking the immediate reward: Related to activity within the Mesolimbocortical Reward Pathway.
- Executive control/working memory areas in dorsolateral PFC and parietal cortexAbility to delay gratification may predict greater success in life!
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What is the difference between predetermined development and probabilitistic development?
How do the following relate to the bidirectional influences between genes and environment?
Gene-environment correlations-
Genes can trigger a behavioral change, and behavior can influence one’s environment (e.g., increase or decrease opportunities)
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Heritability-
When there is less variability in environmental resources, genes make more of a difference in behavior --> increase in Heritability
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Gene-environment interactions-
Susceptibility to a trait depends on a particular combination of a gene and enviornment.
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Epigenetics -
environmental context influences how genetic information is “expressed” (whether the gene is turned “on” or “off”)
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