6: The Social & Emotional Brain 2

Question 1

what is the most ‘expensive’ organ in the body?

Answer 1

heart

Question 2

what is the social cognition hypothesis?

Answer 2

social cognition, the mental operations underlying social interactions, including perceiving, interpreting, and generating responses to the intentions, dispositions, and behaviors of others, is a key component of human intelligence and social functioning.

Question 3

is postnatal experience essential for face preference?

Answer 3

no - it is found in foetuses

Question 4

at what age did foetuses show a preference for faces?

Answer 4

34 weeks

Question 5

how do newborns (1st hour) react to face - like patterns?

Answer 5

newborns prefer face-like patterns, and are sensitive to the structure of the human face

Question 6

what area of the brain is activated by faces at 5 months?

Answer 6

right occipital lobe

Question 7

what was the difference between happy and fearful facial processing at 5 month?

Answer 7

no difference, sensitivity to facial emotions immature at this age

Question 8

in the visual cliff at 12 months, if a mother expressed interest/joy did the baby cross?

Answer 8

yes

Question 9

in the visual cliff at 12 months, if a mother expressed fear/anger did the baby cross?

Answer 9

no

Question 10

what does the visual cliff teach us about infant decision making?

Answer 10

at 1 year infants use the emotions of others to inform their decision making - especially during uncertain situations

Question 11

do infants show a preference for open/closed eyes

Answer 11

yes - open eyes are preferred

Question 12

at what age will infants shift their gage to follow another’s eye direction?

Answer 12

4 months

Question 13

what is the suggested explanation for infants’ predisposition to focusing on eyes?

Answer 13

the contrast of the while to the pupil is very distinct for infants who will have poor visual acuity

Question 14

do newborns have a preference surrounding gaze?

Answer 14

yes - they prefer direct gaze

Question 15

what was the ERP associated with neural gaze in infants

Answer 15

N170 showed enhanced neural processing of direct gaze

Question 16

what part of eye gaze detection do autistic people struggle with?

Answer 16

using eye gaze information to predict behaviour - not if someone is looking at you or not

Question 17

which 2 parts of the brain are the basis for eye-gaze detection

Answer 17

Superior Temporal Sulcus & Fusiform Face Area

Question 18

is the role of the superior temporal sulcus in eye-gaze detection?

Answer 18

o Activated in the eye gaze detection task
o Involved in changeable features of the face
o Lesion impairs the ability to detect gaze direction

Question 19

what is the role of the Fusiform Face Area in eye-gaze detection?

Answer 19

o Activated in the face identity task
o Processing of unchangeable features of facial features

Question 20

when looking at superior temporal sulcus activity in an eye gaze task looking at goal & non-goal-oriented eye movements, what was the difference between participants with ASD & non-ASD participants?

Answer 20

ASD participants showed less difference in STS activation for the goal vs non-goal-oriented eye gaze (the goal didn’t affect their STS activity that much) compared to non-ASD participants

Question 21

what part of eye gaze detection is influenced in people with ASD?

Answer 21

perception of the gaze shift not linked with its mentalistic significance (intention)

Question 22

what are the 2 components of empathy?

Answer 22

affective & cognitive

Question 23

define: affective empathy

Answer 23

the physiological response to another’ emotions

Question 24

define: cognitive empathy

Answer 24

our understanding of another’s thoughts, intentions etc

Question 25

which theory/mechanism is linked to affective empathy?

Answer 25

mirroring/ simulation theory

Question 26

which theory/mechanism is linked to cognitive empathy?

Answer 26

mentalising/ Theory of mind

Question 27

define: theory of mind

Answer 27

The ability to infer mental states (desires, feelings) and intentions of others

Question 28

what parts of the brain are associated with empathy & theory of mind?

Answer 28

o the medial prefrontal cortex o temporoparietal junction o temporal poles

Question 29

what part of the mind is exclusively for empathy not theory of mind?

Answer 29

amygdala

Question 30

what part of the mind is exclusively for theory of mind not empathy?

Answer 30

orbitofrontal cortex

Question 31

what is the role of the temporal poles?

Answer 31

o Language and semantic memory o Possible role: Representing/activating semantic schemas that specify current social and emotional context

Question 32

what is the role of the parieto-temporal junction?

Answer 32

o Activated by perception of biological motion, eye-gaze, moving mouth and living things o Possible role: detecting other agents

Question 33

what is the role of the prefrontal cortex?

Answer 33

o Activated more by thinking about people than thinking about objects o Activated more by thinking about minds than thinking about physical characteristics o Pragmatics of language: metaphors, irony – intention needs to be derived in order to understand o Possible Role: binding together different kinds of info: actions, agents, goals, beliefs etc.

Question 34

what is the conclusion from children under 4 failing the sally-ann task?

Answer 34

they cannot yet form a representation of other persons mental state

Question 35

what is a criticism of the sally-ann task?

Answer 35

* False belief tasks not only involve representing others’ mental states * Involves inhibition and problem solving * What if ToM is present earlier, but we can’t measure it using a traditional false belief task

Question 36

what were the findings of the food preference task looking at toddler's theory of mind?

Answer 36

o 14-month-olds: 54% gave the preferred food to the experimenter o 18-month-olds: 92% gave the preferred food to the experimenter

Question 37

what is the disharmony between the sally-ann, smurf and food preference tasks for children's theory of mind

Answer 37

sally ann= TOM at 4-5 years food preference= TOM at 18 months smurf = 7 months

Question 38

what does the smurf test on theory of mind teach us infants understanding?

Answer 38

* The beliefs of the agent influenced the infants’ looking behaviour, even though they clashed with the infants’ own beliefs. * Infants computed the agent’s (smurf’s) belief computing others’ beliefs is spontaneous, automatic and effortless and infants can do it at 7 months

Question 39

what is the correct timeline for preference for face-like stimuli, facial expression recognition, theory of mind & sensitivity to eye-gaze info?

Answer 39

o Preference for face-like stimuli – in utero o Sensitivity to eye-gaze information – first few days of life o Facial expression recognition – 2nd half of first year o ToM – at least some aspects present in the 2nd half of first year