Healthy
Conditions
Keywords
volounteers with different levels of social expertise
Brief summary
Social interaction is supported by several brain regions, which are involved in encoding socio-perceptual information, attributing affective and mental states to other conspecifics, and ultimately enabling the orchestration of an appropriate response. In this view, cognitive control mechanisms are necessary to select relevant information, allocate resources, and generate inferences. There is a close link between the mechanisms underlying social cognition and social conceptual knowledge, relating, for example, to abstract concepts such as friendship. For example, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show impairments in social interactions, and also in the ability to use all those abstract concepts that relate to internal states of the individual as well as to interactions between people. Behavioral studies have shown how experience can impact the characterization of abstract concepts, influencing their personal, introspective, and contextual characteristics. Neuroimaging studies have also reported that, through mechanisms of brain plasticity, experience modulates neural networks shared with non-experts (e.g., by increasing brain volume and/or functional activity), but can also lead to the recruitment of additional brain resources, thus enriching the knowledge gained by experts. To date, the role of different types and levels of expertise in influencing the neural representation of specific categories of abstract concepts, and in particular social concepts, has not yet been fully elucidated.
Detailed description
As human beings, we are embedded in social contexts, whether physical or virtual, that shape our brains throughout our lives, boosting our development, cognition and well-being. For us, interacting with others is an extremely simple thing, but it is actually one of the most complex computations our brains can perform. Indeed, when interacting with others, several regions of the brain are activated in order to encode socio-perceptual information, to attribute mental states to the interlocutors, and finally to trigger appropriate responses. Social interaction engages also by brain regions supporting social conceptual knowledge, relating, for example, to abstract concepts such as friendship. Crucially, conceptual knowledge acquisition and organization are sustained by language. The mechanisms underlying social cognition and social conceptual knowledge are closely linked. This link relates, for example, to abstract concepts such as friendship. For example, children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) show impairments in social interactions and in the ability to use abstract concepts related to internal states of the individual as well as to interactions between people. Behavioral studies have shown how experience can impact the characterization of abstract concepts. This impact influences their personal, introspective, and contextual characteristics. Neuroimaging studies have also reported that experience modulates neural networks shared with non-experts. This happens through mechanisms of brain plasticity. Examples include increasing brain volume and/or functional activity. However, experience can also lead to the recruitment of additional brain resources. This enriches the knowledge gained by experts. Proficiency in a second language is another example of lifelong experience. Successful mastery of a second language requires the ability to switch between languages, inhibiting the unnecessary language and selecting the necessary one during interaction. Thus, second language proficiency modulates cognitive control functions and underlying neural structures and may influence social decision-making. The question of whether and how second language knowledge modulates the semantic control network is currently debated. The role of different types and levels of expertise in influencing the neural representation of specific categories of abstract concepts, particularly social concepts, has yet to be fully elucidated.
Interventions
OTHERBehavioral and MR scanning
After enrollment, participants will be screened on the basis of the inclusion and exclusion criteria. Subsequently, during the single study, participants will be administered a series of questionnaires (Edinburgh Handedness Inventory - Short Form; Evaluation of social related abilities, competences, and traits: Autism Quotient Test, DASS-21, SIAS, DERS, Ekman test; SET; I-TIPI, and conceptual ratings on semantic dimensions (moral, social, political). Then, an MR acquisition without contrast will be performed. Specifically, we will acquire structural, resting state and functional (BOLD) sequences, in the latter case during the administration of a semantic categorization task. The task is aimed to ascertain participants' responses time and accuracy in processing abstract concepts. Participants will be required to indicate the category of each of the visually presented words by means of button press. The study visit will last 3 hours in total.
Sponsors
Università Vita-Salute San Raffaele
Study design
Allocation
NA
Intervention model
FACTORIAL
Primary purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
NONE
Eligibility
Sex/Gender
ALL
Age
25 Years to 50 Years
Healthy volunteers
Yes
Inclusion criteria
1. Participant is willing and able to give informed consent for participation in the study 2. Male or female, aged between 25 and 50 years 3. Right-handed dominance 4. Normal vision or hypo-vision corrected with contact lenses 5. Participant must have different levels of social expertise, in order to be assigned to one of the following groups: (1) participants with subclinical social skills dysfunction, parents of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder, (2) participants with no specific social expertise, and (3) participants with high social expertise, namely social media influencers and politicians.
Exclusion criteria
1. Clinical and/or anamnestic evidence of neurological, psychiatric, or systemic disorders 2. Drug addiction and/or abuse of neuroactive drugs; 3. Contraindications and incompatibilities with MRI, and specifically presence of para-magnetic or ferro-magnetic metal body prostheses; presence of permanent biomedical implants (e.g., pacemakers, neuro-stimulators); pregnancy status; claustrophobia. Pregnancy status will be self-reported by the participants.
Design outcomes
Primary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Correlation between participants' accuracy rate and BOLD signal | baseline | Evaluate whether and how social expertise modulate the neural representation of different types of abstract concepts, and in particular social concepts. |
Secondary
| Measure | Time frame | Description |
|---|---|---|
| Correlation between participants' accuracy rate and scores in Autism Quotient Test, DASS-21, SIAS, DERS, Ekman test, SET and I-TIPI | baseline | Evaluate whether and how individual affective and social characteristics modulate the characterization and the neural representation of different types of abstract concepts, and in particular social concepts. |
Countries
Italy
Contacts
Primary ContactJubin Abutalebi, Specialist in Neurology
Outcome results
None listed