The impact of acute violent videogame exposure on neurocognitive markers of empathic concern.

Research examining the purported association between violent gaming and aggression remains controversial due to concerns related to methodology, unclear neurocognitive mechanisms, and the failure to adequately consider the role of individual differences in susceptibility. To help address these concerns, we used fMRI and an emotional empathy task to examine whether acute and cumulative violent gaming exposure were associated with abnormalities in emotional empathy as a function of trait-empathy. Emotional empathy was targeted given its involvement in regulating not only aggression, but also other important social functions such as compassion and prosocial behaviour. We hypothesized that violent gaming exposure increases the risk of aberrant social behaviour by altering the aversive value of distress cues. Contrary to expectations, neither behavioural ratings nor empathy-related brain activity varied as a function of violent gaming exposure. Notably, however, activation patterns in somatosensory and motor cortices reflected an interaction between violent gaming exposure and trait empathy. Thus, our results are inconsistent with a straightforward relationship between violent gaming exposure and reduced empathy. Furthermore, they highlight the importance of considering both individual differences in susceptibility and other aspects of cognition related to social functioning to best inform public concern regarding safe gaming practices.

Masking our emotions: Emotion recognition and perceived intensity differ by race and use of medical masks.

Although medical masks have played a key role in decreasing the transmission of communicable disease, they simultaneously reduce the availability of nonverbal cues fundamental to social interaction. In the present study, we determined the collective impact of medical masks on emotional expression recognition and perceived intensity as a function of actor race. Participants completed an emotional expression recognition task involving stimuli with or without medical masks. Across six basic emotional facial expressions, medical masks were associated with significantly more emotional expression recognition errors. Overall, the effects associated with race varied depending on the emotion and appearance of masks. Whereas recognition accuracy was higher for White relative to Black actors for anger and sadness, the opposite pattern was observed for disgust. Medical mask-wearing exacerbated actor-race related recognition differences for anger and surprise, but attenuated these differences for fear. Emotional expression intensity ratings were significantly reduced for all emotions except fear, where masks were associated with increased perceived intensity. Masks further increased already higher intensity ratings for anger in Black versus White actors. In contrast, masks eliminated the tendency to give higher intensity ratings for Black versus White sad and happy facial expressions. Overall, our results suggest that the interaction between actor race and mask wearing status with respect to emotional expression judgements is complex, varying by emotion in both direction and degree. We consider the implications of these results particularly in the context of emotionally charged social contexts, such as in conflict, healthcare, and policing.

Dissociable effects of acute versus cumulative violent video game exposure on the action simulation circuit in university students.

There is an ongoing debate as to whether violent video game exposure (VGE) has a negative impact on social functioning. This debate continues in part because of methodological concerns and the paucity of identifiable neurocognitive mechanisms. Also, little attention has been given to how specific personality characteristics may influence susceptibility to the purported effects. Using a combined experimental and cross-sectional approach, we examined the impact of VGE on action simulation as a function of trait coldheartedness in a sample of university students. Healthy adults played a violent or nonviolent version of Grand Theft Auto V before completing an fMRI measure of action simulation circuit (ASC) activity. Simulation-related activity was not significantly different between groups; however, greater overall activation was observed in left inferior frontal gyrus for those in the violent condition. Contrary to predictions, no evidence was observed that trait coldheartedness significantly interacts with violent gaming to influence ASC activation. However, prior cumulative VGE was negatively correlated with simulation-related activity in a subsection of the ASC. This study highlights a potential dissociation between the effects of acute versus cumulative violent gaming and may challenge assumptions that the directionality of effects for cross-sectional associations always mirror those of acute exposure.