Perspective-taking is associated with increased discriminability of affective states in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci
; 17(12): 1082-1090, 2022 12 01.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-35579186
ABSTRACT
Recent work using multivariate-pattern analysis (MVPA) on functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data has found that distinct affective states produce correspondingly distinct patterns of neural activity in the cerebral cortex. However, it is unclear whether individual differences in the distinctiveness of neural patterns evoked by affective stimuli underlie empathic abilities such as perspective-taking (PT). Accordingly, we examined whether we could predict PT tendency from the classification of blood-oxygen-level-dependent (BOLD) fMRI activation patterns while participants (n = 57) imagined themselves in affectively charged scenarios. We used an MVPA searchlight analysis to map where in the brain activity patterns permitted the classification of four affective states happiness, sadness, fear and disgust. Classification accuracy was significantly above chance levels in most of the prefrontal cortex and in the posterior medial cortices. Furthermore, participants' self-reported PT was positively associated with classification accuracy in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex and insula. This finding has implications for understanding affective processing in the prefrontal cortex and for interpreting the cognitive significance of classifiable affective brain states. Our multivariate approach suggests that PT ability may rely on the grain of internally simulated affective representations rather than simply the global strength.
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Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Mapeamento Encefálico
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Emoções
Tipo de estudo:
Prognostic_studies
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Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Humans
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci
Ano de publicação:
2022
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos