Social Cognition

Altered association of plasmatic oxytocin with affective stress response in alcohol use disorder

Clinical, Hormones/Neuromodulators, Social Cognition /

New publication in Translational Psychiatry by Annalina Mayer and team members! In this study we examined whether baseline plasma oxytocin levels are associated with stress responses in early-abstinent individuals with alcohol use disorder (AUD) and compared them to healthy controls. While oxytocin concentrations did not differ between groups, their associations with affective stress responses diverged: […]

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The Human Affectome

2023, Social Cognition, Social Emotions, Social Reward /

Abstract Over the last decades, the interdisciplinary field of the affective sciences has seen proliferation rather than integration of theoretical perspectives. This is due to differences in metaphysical and mechanistic assumptions about human affective phenomena (what they are and how they work) which, shaped by academic motivations and values, have determined the affective constructs and

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On the potentials of interaction breakdowns for HRI

2023, Social Cognition /

Abstract How do we switch between “playing along” and treating robots as technical agents? We propose interaction breakdowns to help solve this “social artifact puzzle”: Breaks cause changes from fluid interaction to explicit reasoning and interaction with the raw artifact. These changes are closely linked to understanding the technical architecture and could be used to

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Individual differences in resilience to stress are associated with affective flexibility

2022, Social Cognition /

Abstract Cognitive flexibility is frequently linked to resilience because of its important contribution to stress regulation. In this context, particularly affective flexibility, defined as the ability to flexibly attend and disengage from affective information, may play a significant role. In the present study, the relationship of cognitive and affective flexibility and resilience was examined in

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Intracranial human recordings reveal association between neural activity and perceived intensity for the pain of others in the insula

2022, Social Cognition /

Abstract Based on neuroimaging data, the insula is considered important for people to empathize with the pain of others. Here we present intracranial electroencephalographic (iEEG) recordings and single-cell recordings from the human insulae while 7 epilepsy patients rated the intensity of a woman’s painful experiences seen in short movie clips. Pain had to be deduced

Intracranial human recordings reveal association between neural activity and perceived intensity for the pain of others in the insula Read More »

Neural correlates of affective task switching and asymmetric affective task switching costs

2022, Social Cognition /

Abstract The control of emotions is of potentially great clinical relevance. Accordingly, there has been increasing interest in understanding the cognitive mechanisms underlying the ability to switch efficiently between the processing of affective and non-affective information. Reports of asymmetrically increased switch costs when switching towards the more salient emotion task indicate specific demands in the

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Association of stress-related neural activity and baseline interleukin-6 plasma levels in healthy adults

2022, Hormones/Neuromodulators, Social Cognition /

Abstract Several studies suggest a link between acute changes in inflammatory parameters due to an endotoxin or (psychological) stressor and the brain’s stress response. The extent to which basal circulating levels of inflammatory markers are associated with the brain’s stress response has been hardly investigated so far. In the present study, baseline plasma levels of

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Reduced frontal cortical tracking of conflict between self-beneficial versus prosocial motives in Narcissistic Personality Disorder

2021, Clinical, Social Cognition /

Abstract Abstract Narcissistic Personality Disorder (NPD) entails severe impairments in interpersonal functioning that are likely driven by self-beneficial and exploitative behavior. Here, we investigate the underlying motivational and neural mechanisms of prosocial decision-making by experimentally manipulating motivational conflict between self- beneficial and prosocial incentives. One group of patients diagnosed with NPD and a group of

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Perceived Risk of Infection Linked to Changes in Comfort in Social Situations From Before to During the COVID-19 Pandemic

2021, Social Cognition /

Background: Social lives have significantly changed since social distancing measures have been implemented to prevent the spread of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). This study aimed to investigate how our appraisal of social situations changed during the pandemic. Methods: In two online surveys, conducted in October 2019 and April 2020, 58 participants rated their personal level of

Perceived Risk of Infection Linked to Changes in Comfort in Social Situations From Before to During the COVID-19 Pandemic Read More »

Randomized clinical trial shows no substantial modulation of empathy-related neural activation by intranasal oxytocin in autism

2021, Clinical, Hormones/Neuromodulators, Social Cognition /

Abstract: Evidence suggests that intranasal application of oxytocin facilitates empathy and modulates its underlying neural processes, which are often impaired in individuals with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Oxytocin has therefore been considered a promising candidate for the treatment of social difficulties in ASD. However, evidence linking oxytocin treatment to social behavior and brain function in

Randomized clinical trial shows no substantial modulation of empathy-related neural activation by intranasal oxytocin in autism Read More »

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