Showing papers by "Tania Singer published in 2020"

Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) item analysis of empathy and theory of mind

Abstract: In contrast to conventional functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) analysis across participants, item analysis allows generalizing the observed neural response patterns from a specific stimulus set to the entire population of stimuli. In the present study, we perform an item analysis on an fMRI paradigm (EmpaToM) that measures the neural correlates of empathy and Theory of Mind (ToM). The task includes a large stimulus set (240 emotional vs. neutral videos to probe empathic responding and 240 ToM or factual reasoning questions to probe ToM), which we tested in two large participant samples (N = 178, N = 130). Both, the empathy-related network comprising anterior insula, anterior cingulate/dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, inferior frontal gyrus, and dorsal temporoparietal junction/supramarginal gyrus (TPJ) and the ToM related network including ventral TPJ, superior temporal gyrus, temporal poles, and anterior and posterior midline regions, were observed across participants and items. Regression analyses confirmed that these activations are predicted by the empathy or ToM condition of the stimuli, but not by low-level features such as video length, number of words, syllables or syntactic complexity. The item analysis also allowed for the selection of the most effective items to create optimized stimulus sets that provide the most stable and reproducible results. Finally, reproducibility was shown in the replication of all analyses in the second participant sample. The data demonstrate (a) the generalizability of empathy and ToM related neural activity and (b) the reproducibility of the EmpaToM task and its applicability in intervention and clinical imaging studies.

Two systems for thinking about others' thoughts in the developing brain.

Abstract: Human social interaction crucially relies on the ability to infer what other people think. Referred to as Theory of Mind (ToM), this ability has long been argued to emerge around 4 y of age when children start passing traditional verbal ToM tasks. This developmental dogma has recently been questioned by nonverbal ToM tasks passed by infants younger than 2 y of age. How do young children solve these tests, and what is their relation to the later-developing verbal ToM reasoning? Are there two different systems for nonverbal and verbal ToM, and when is the developmental onset of mature adult ToM? To address these questions, we related markers of cortical brain structure (i.e., cortical thickness and surface area) of 3- and 4-y-old children to their performance in novel nonverbal and traditional verbal TM tasks. We showed that verbal ToM reasoning was supported by cortical surface area and thickness of the precuneus and temporoparietal junction, classically involved in ToM in adults. Nonverbal ToM reasoning, in contrast, was supported by the cortical structure of a distinct and independent neural network including the supramarginal gyrus also involved in emotional and visual perspective taking, action observation, and social attention or encoding biases. This neural dissociation suggests two systems for reasoning about others’ minds—mature verbal ToM that emerges around 4 y of age, whereas nonverbal ToM tasks rely on different earlier-developing possibly social-cognitive processes.

A low-dimensional connectome manifold governs the organization and plasticity of social brain functions in humans

Abstract: SUMMARY Social skills such as our abilities to understand feelings and thoughts are at the core of what makes us human. Here, we combined a unique longitudinal intervention study with cutting-edge connectomics to study the organization and plasticity of brain networks associated with different social skills (socio-affective, socio-cognitive, and attention-mindfulness). Baseline analysis in our cohort (n=332) showed that social brain networks have (i) compact and dissociable signatures in a low-dimensional manifold governed by gradients of brain connectivity, (ii) specific neurobiological underpinnings, and (iii) reflect inter-individual variations in social behavior. Furthermore, longitudinal brain network analyses following a 9-month training intervention indicated (iv) domain-specific reorganization of these signatures that was furthermore predictive of behavioral change in social functions. Multiple sensitivity analyses supported robustness. Our findings, thus, provide novel evidence on macroscale network organization and plasticity underlying human social cognition and behavior, and suggest connectome-reconfigurations as a mechanism of adult skill learning.

Contemplative mental training reduces hair glucocorticoid levels in a randomized clinical trial

Abstract: Objective: This study had the objective to investigate the effect of regular contemplative mental training on endocrine indices of long-term stress. Methods: An open-label efficacy trial comprising three distinct 3-month modules targeting attention and interoception, socio-affective or socio-cognitive abilities through dyadic exercises and secularised meditation practices was designed and carried out in 332 healthy meditation-naive adults. Participants underwent the training for up to 9 months or were assigned to a retest control cohort. Chronic stress indices were assayed at four timepoints, i.e., pre-training and following each module. The main outcome measures were cortisol and cortisone concentration in hair and self-reported chronic stress. Results: N=362 initial individuals were randomized, of whom n=30 dropped out before study initiation, n=4 before first sampling and n=2 were excluded. N=99 participants did not provide hair samples. Data from three separate training cohorts revealed consistent decreases in hair cortisol and cortisone levels over the training period. This effect increased with practice frequency, was independent of training content and not associated with change in self-reported chronic stress. Conclusions: Our results point to the reduction of long-term cortisol exposure as a mechanism via which contemplative mental training may exert positive effects on practitioners9 health.