Alle Publikationen
2019
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(2019): Understanding others: Emotion recognition in humans and other animals. In: Genes, brain, and behavior 18 (1). DOI: 10.1111/gbb.12544
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/gbb.12544 Abstract: Emotion recognition represents the ability to encode an ensemble of sensory stimuli providing information about the emotional state of another individual. This ability is not unique to humans. An increasing number of studies suggest that many aspects of higher order social functions, including emotion recognition, might be present in species ranging from primates to rodents, indicating a conserved role in social animals. The aim of this review is to examine and compare how emotions are communicated and perceived in humans and other animals, with the intent to highlight possible new behavioral approaches and research perspectives. We summarize the evidence from human emotion recognition, and latest advances in the development of nonhuman animal behavioral tests, using or implying the use of this cognitive function. The differential implication of sensory modalities used by animals to communicate and decipher emotional states is also discussed. The opportunity to measure emotion recognition abilities in rodents may allow us to better identify the neural mechanisms mediating this complex function, thus promoting the development of new intervention strategies for several neuropsychiatric disorders characterized by social cognitive dysfunctions.
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(2019): Regularity Extraction Across Species: Associative Learning Mechanisms Shared by Human and Non-Human Primates. In: Topics in cognitive science 11 (3), S. 573-586. DOI: 10.1111/tops.12343
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/tops.12343 Abstract: Extracting the regularities of our environment is a core cognitive ability in human and non-human primates. Comparative studies may provide information of strong heuristic value to constrain the elaboration of computational models of regularity learning. This study illustrates this point by testing human and non-human primates (Guinea baboons, Papio papio) with the same experimental paradigm, using a novel online learning measure. For local co-occurrence regularities, we found similar patterns of regularity extraction in baboons and humans. However, only humans extracted the more global sequence structure. It is proposed that only the first result that is common to both species should be used to constrain models of regularity learning. The second result indicates that the extraction of global regularities cannot be accounted for by mere associative learning mechanisms and suggests that humans probably benefit from their language recoding abilities for extracting these regularities. We propose to use a comparative approach to address a series of remaining theoretical questions, which will contribute to the development of a general theory of regularity learning.
2017
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(2017): Effects of reinforcement value on instruction following under schedules of negative reinforcement. In: Behavioural Processes 145, S. 27-30. DOI: 10.1016/j.beproc.2017.10.003
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28993244 Abstract: The effects of reinforcement value and social control on instruction following under a negative-reinforcement (escape) schedule were studied. Initially, responding produced timeouts from pressing a force cell under a low and a high force requirement on a fixed-ratio 1 schedule of reinforcement. Next, participants were reexposed to the low and high force requirements, but were instructed that the experimenter expected them to decrease the number of timeouts relative to the previous exposures to the procedure. Even though following the instruction led to a decrease in number of timeouts and to an increase in effort (i.e., was non-efficient), instruction following occurred consistently for each participant and was modulated by reinforcement value. That is, the decrease in the number of timeouts (i.e., instruction following) was lower under the high force requirement than under the low force requirement. These results replicate and extend previous findings that instructions interact with social and nonsocial contingencies in controlling human behavior.
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(2017): Antioxidant allocation modulates sperm quality across changing social environments. In: PLoS one 12 (5). DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0176385
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28472052 Abstract: In promiscuous species, male reproductive success depends on their ability to mate with fertile females and on the fertilizing ability of their sperm. In such species, theory predicts that, owing to a trade-off between pre- and post-copulatory reproductive traits, males with lesser access to females should increase resource investment into those sperm traits that enhance fertilization success-usually referred to as ejaculate quality. This prediction has been validated in several taxa, yet studies on the physiological mechanisms modulating ejaculate quality are lacking. Sperm cells are highly vulnerable to oxidative stress, which impairs male fertility. Therefore, males that better protect their sperm from oxidative stress are expected to achieve higher ejaculate quality. Based on theoretical expectations, and since social dominance is a major determinant of mating opportunity, we predicted that subordinate males should invest more into the antioxidant protection of their sperm in order to achieve higher ejaculate quality. We maintained 60 male and 60 female wild-caught house sparrows Passer domesticus in outdoor aviaries, where we experimentally manipulated male social status to test our predictions. We measured cellular oxidative stress and enzymatic antioxidant activity in blood and sperm both before and after manipulating social ranks. Before manipulating the social status, we found that ejaculate viability correlated with oxidative stress level in sperm, with dominant males producing more oxidized and less viable ejaculates. Further, males at the lower end of the hierarchy produced ejaculates of similar quality to those of dominant males, suggesting that restricted access to resources might limit male reproductive strategies. After experimentally manipulating the social status, males matched their ejaculate quality to their new rank, while increases in antioxidant investment into ejaculates paralleled increases in ejaculate viability. Oxidative stress has been proposed as a general constraint to the evolution of life histories. Our results highlight oxidative stress and strategic antioxidant allocation as important proximate physiological mechanisms underlying male reproductive strategies.
2016
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(2016): Towards a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology. Framing the language-ready brain. In: PHYSICS OF LIFE REVIEWS 16, S. 1-54. DOI: 10.1016/j.plrev.2015.09.003
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26482863 Abstract: We make the case for developing a Computational Comparative Neuroprimatology to inform the analysis of the function and evolution of the human brain. First, we update the mirror system hypothesis on the evolution of the language-ready brain by (i) modeling action and action recognition and opportunistic scheduling of macaque brains to hypothesize the nature of the last common ancestor of macaque and human (LCA-m); and then we (ii) introduce dynamic brain modeling to show how apes could acquire gesture through ontogenetic ritualization, hypothesizing the nature of evolution from LCA-m to the last common ancestor of chimpanzee and human (LCA-c). We then (iii) hypothesize the role of imitation, pantomime, protosign and protospeech in biological and cultural evolution from LCA-c to Homo sapiens with a language-ready brain. Second, we suggest how cultural evolution in Homo sapiens led from protolanguages to full languages with grammar and compositional semantics. Third, we assess the similarities and differences between the dorsal and ventral streams in audition and vision as the basis for presenting and comparing two models of language processing in the human brain: A model of (i) the auditory dorsal and ventral streams in sentence comprehension; and (ii) the visual dorsal and ventral streams in defining "what language is about" in both production and perception of utterances related to visual scenes provide the basis for (iii) a first step towards a synthesis and a look at challenges for further research.
Keywords: Animals, Ape gesture, Auditive Faktoren, Biological Evolution, Computational Biology, Cultural evolution, Dorsal and ventral stream, dorsale und ventrale Ströme, Dyadic brain modeling, dynamic brain modelling, Evolution, Gehirnfunktion, Grammatik, Humans, Im (wissenschaftlichen) Diskurs, Imitation, Intellektualtechnik, Kogn. Architektur, kognitive Architekturen, Kognitive Skills/Social Cognition, Kompositionale Semantik, Künstliche Intelligenz, Language, Language evolution, language-ready brain, Mensch-Technik-Relationen (MTR), Models, Neurological, Ontologische Differenzierungen: Tier, Mensch, Maschine, Pantomime, Primates, Protosprachen, Psychomotor Performance, Realtechnik, Reflexionen über MTR, sprachbereites Gehirn, Sprache, Sprachevolution, Sprachfähigkeit, Sprachverstehen, Technik, Tier, Mensch, Maschine, Tier-Mensch-Vergleich, Vollsprachigkeit (vs. Protosprachigkeit) -
(2016) : Investigation of appropriate response time for an animal type robot: 2016 25th IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN): New York City, USA: IEEE, S. 331-334
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/ROMAN.2016.7745151 Abstract: Robot therapy, interaction with animal type robots, is expected to have psychological, physiological and social effects as well as animal therapy. However, design method for therapeutic robots is not examined enough yet. Especially, physical interaction (e.g. touch and hug) is key point of the robot; however appropriate behaviors are veiled. In this research, we tried to investigate when the robot should respond during physical interaction between human and robot.
Keywords: Angemessen(heit) (von Technik), animal therapy, animal type robot interaction, Animals, Correlation, Dementia, human-robot interaction, ieee xplore, Interviews, medical robotics, Medical treatment, patient treatment, physical interaction, physiological effects, psychological effects, response time, Robot sensing systems, Robot Therapy, social effects, therapeutic robots 2015
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(2015): The role of shared neural activations, mirror neurons, and morality in empathy--a critical comment. In: Neuroscience research 90, S. 15-24. DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2014.10.008
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25455743 Abstract: In the last decade, the phenomenon of empathy has received widespread attention by the field of social neuroscience. This has provided fresh insights for theoretical models of empathy, and substantially influenced the academic and public conceptions about this complex social skill. The present paper highlights three key issues which are often linked to empathy, but which at the same time might obscure our understanding of it. These issues are: (1) shared neural activations and whether these can be interpreted as evidence for simulation accounts of empathy; (2) the causal link of empathy to our presumed mirror neuron system; and (3) the question whether increasing empathy will result in better moral decisions and behaviors. The aim of our review is to provide the basis for critically evaluating our current understanding of empathy, and its public reception, and to inspire new research directions.
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(2015): Deconstructing and reconstructing theory of mind. In: Trends in cognitive sciences 19 (2), S. 65-72. DOI: 10.1016/j.tics.2014.11.007
DOI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4314437 Abstract: Usage of the term 'theory of mind' (ToM) has exploded across fields ranging from developmental psychology to social neuroscience and psychiatry research. However, its meaning is often vague and inconsistent, its biological bases are a subject of debate, and the methods used to study it are highly heterogeneous. Most crucially, its original definition does not permit easy downward translation to more basic processes such as those studied by behavioral neuroscience, leaving the interpretation of neuroimaging results opaque. We argue for a reformulation of ToM through a systematic two-stage approach, beginning with a deconstruction of the construct into a comprehensive set of basic component processes, followed by a complementary reconstruction from which a scientifically tractable concept of ToM can be recovered.
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(2015): From honeybees to robots and back. Division of labour based on partitioning social inhibition. In: Bioinspiration & biomimetics 10 (6). DOI: 10.1088/1748-3190/10/6/066005
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26501169 Abstract: In this paper, a distributed adaptive partitioning algorithm inspired by division of labor in honeybees is investigated for its applicability in a swarm of underwater robots in one hand and is qualitatively compared with the behavior of honeybee colonies on the other hand. The algorithm, partitioning social inhibition (PSI), is based on local interactions and uses a simple logic inspired from age-polyethism and task allocation in honeybee colonies. The algorithm is analyzed in simulation and is successfully applied here to partition a swarm of underwater robots into groups demonstrating its adaptivity to changes and applicability in real world systems. In a turn towards the inspiration origins of the algorithm, three honeybee colonies are then studied for age-polyethism behaviors and the results are contrasted with a simulated swarm running the PSI algorithm. Similar effects are detected in both the biological and simulated swarms suggesting biological plausibility of the mechanisms employed by the artificial system.
Keywords: Algorithms, Animal Machine, Animals, Bees/physiology, Behavior, Animal/physiology, Biomimetics/instrumentation/methods, Cooperative Behavior, Equipment Design, Equipment Failure Analysis, Feeding Behavior/physiology, Inhibition (Psychology), interdisziplinär, Partitioning Social Inhibition (PSI), Robotics/instrumentation/methods, Social Behavior 2014
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(2014): Emotion attribution to a non-humanoid robot in different social situations. In: PLoS one 9 (12)
Abstract: In the last few years there was an increasing interest in building companion robots that interact in a socially acceptable way with humans. In order to interact in a meaningful way a robot has to convey intentionality and emotions of some sort in order to increase believability. We suggest that human-robot interaction should be considered as a specific form of inter-specific interaction and that human–animal interaction can provide a useful biological model for designing social robots. Dogs can provide a promising biological model since during the domestication process dogs were able to adapt to the human environment and to participate in complex social interactions. In this observational study we propose to design emotionally expressive behaviour of robots using the behaviour of dogs as inspiration and to test these dog-inspired robots with humans in inter-specific context. In two experiments (wizard-of-oz scenarios) we examined humans’ ability to recognize two basic and a secondary emotion expressed by a robot. In Experiment 1 we provided our companion robot with two kinds of emotional behaviour (’happiness’ and ’fear’), and studied whether people attribute the appropriate emotion to the robot, and interact with it accordingly. In Experiment 2 we investigated whether participants tend to attribute guilty behaviour to a robot in a relevant context by examining whether relying on the robot’s greeting behaviour human participants can detect if the robot transgressed a predetermined rule. Results of Experiment 1 showed that people readily attribute emotions to a social robot and interact with it in accordance with the expressed emotional behaviour. Results of Experiment 2 showed that people are able to recognize if the robot transgressed on the basis of its greeting behaviour. In summary, our findings showed that dog-inspired behaviour is a suitable medium for making people attribute emotional states to a non-humanoid robot. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Keywords: Adult, Age Factors, Angemessen(heit) (von Technik), Animals, Attitude, Attribution, Dogs, emotional behavior, Emotions, Female, Guilt, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Male, non-humanoid robot, Questionnaires, Recognition (Psychology), Robotics, Sex Factors, social situation, Surveys, Young Adult -
(2014): Experiential effects on mirror systems and social learning. Implications for social intelligence. In: Behavioral and Brain Sciences 37 (2), S. 217-218. DOI: 10.1017/S0140525X1300246X
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/S0140525X1300246X Abstract: Comments on an article by Richard Cook et al. (see record [rid]2014-16775-029[/rid]). Investigations of biases and experiential effects on social learning, social information use, and mirror systems can usefully inform one another. Unconstrained learning is predicted to shape mirror systems when the optimal response to an observed act varies, but constraints may emerge when immediate error-free responses are required and evolutionary or developmental history reliably predicts the optimal response. Given the power of associative learning, such constraints may be rare. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)
Keywords: Animal Learning, Animals, Associative Processes, Biological Evolution, BRAIN, genetic adaptation, Genetics, human brain, Humans, Learning, Lerntheorien, mirror neurons, monkey brain, Monkeys, sensorimotor associative learning, Social intelligence, Social Perception, Soziale Intelligenz, Verhaltensforschung -
(2014): Designing collective behavior in a termite-inspired robot construction team. In: Science (New York, N.Y.) 343 (6172), S. 754-758. DOI: 10.1126/science.1245842
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24531967 Abstract: Complex systems are characterized by many independent components whose low-level actions produce collective high-level results. Predicting high-level results given low-level rules is a key open challenge; the inverse problem, finding low-level rules that give specific outcomes, is in general still less understood. We present a multi-agent construction system inspired by mound-building termites, solving such an inverse problem. A user specifies a desired structure, and the system automatically generates low-level rules for independent climbing robots that guarantee production of that structure. Robots use only local sensing and coordinate their activity via the shared environment. We demonstrate the approach via a physical realization with three autonomous climbing robots limited to onboard sensing. This work advances the aim of engineering complex systems that achieve specific human-designed goals.
2012
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(2012): Interplay of oxytocin, vasopressin, and sex hormones in the regulation of social recognition. In: Behavioral neuroscience 126 (1), S. 97-109. DOI: 10.1037/a0026464
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22141469 Abstract: Social Recognition is a fundamental skill that forms the basis of behaviors essential to the proper functioning of pair or group living in most social species. We review here various neurobiological and genetic studies that point to an interplay of oxytocin (OT), arginine-vasopressin (AVP), and the gonadal hormones, estrogens and testosterone, in the mediation of social recognition. Results of a number of studies have shown that OT and its actions at the medial amygdala seem to be essential for social recognition in both sexes. Estrogens facilitate social recognition, possibly by regulating OT production in the hypothalamus and the OT receptors at the medial amygdala. Estrogens also affect social recognition on a rapid time scale, likely through nongenomic actions. The mechanisms of these rapid effects are currently unknown but available evidence points at the hippocampus as the possible site of action. Male rodents seem to be more dependent on AVP acting at the level of the lateral septum for social recognition than female rodents. Results of various studies suggest that testosterone and its metabolites (including estradiol) influence social recognition in males primarily through the AVP V1a receptor. Overall, it appears that gonadal hormone modulation of OT and AVP regulates and fine tunes social recognition and those behaviors that depend upon it (e.g., social bonds, social hierarchies) in a sex specific manner. This points at an important role for these neuroendocrine systems in the regulation of the sex differences that are evident in social behavior and of sociality as a whole.
Keywords: Amygdala, Animals, behaviour, Biologische Marker, Erinnerung, Erkennen von Personen und Situationen, Female, Gonadal Steroid Hormones, hierarchy, Hormone, Hormonhaushalt, Male, Metabolism, Neurobiologie, Neuroscientific social cognition, Oxytocin, physiology, RECOGNITION, Social Behavior, Social recognition, Sozialpsychologie, Status, Vasopressins, Wiedererkennen 2010
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(2010): Altruism and fairness. Unnatural selection?. In: Comptes rendus biologies 333 (2), S. 174-180. DOI: 10.1016/j.crvi.2009.12.005
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20338534 Abstract: Darwin admitted that the evolution of moral phenomena such as altruism and fairness, which are usually in opposition to the maximization of individual reproductive success, was not easily accounted for by natural selection. Later, authors have proposed additional mechanisms, including kin selection, inclusive fitness, and reciprocal altruism. In the present work, we explore the extent to which sexual selection has played a role in the appearance of human moral traits. It has been suggested that because certain moral virtues, including altruism and kindness, are sexually attractive, their evolution could have been shaped by the process of sexual selection. Our review suggests that although it is possible that sexual selection played such a role, it is difficult to determine the extent of its relevance, the specific form of this influence, and its interplay with other evolutionary mechanisms.
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(2010): Social cognition and the evolution of language: constructing cognitive phylogenies. In: Neuron 65 (6), S. 795-814. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2010.03.011
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2010.03.011 Abstract: Human language and social cognition are closely linked: advanced social cognition is necessary for children to acquire language, and language allows forms of social understanding (and, more broadly, culture) that would otherwise be impossible. Both "language" and "social cognition" are complex constructs, involving many independent cognitive mechanisms, and the comparative approach provides a powerful route to understanding the evolution of such mechanisms. We provide a broad comparative review of mechanisms underlying social intelligence in vertebrates, with the goal of determining which human mechanisms are broadly shared, which have evolved in parallel in other clades, and which, potentially, are uniquely developed in our species. We emphasize the importance of convergent evolution for testing hypotheses about neural mechanisms and their evolution.
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(2010): Emotion processing and the amygdala: from a 'low road' to 'many roads' of evaluating biological significance. In: Nature reviews. Neuroscience 11 (11), S. 773-783. DOI: 10.1038/nrn2920
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nrn2920 Abstract: A subcortical pathway through the superior colliculus and pulvinar to the amygdala is commonly assumed to mediate the non-conscious processing of affective visual stimuli. We review anatomical and physiological data that argue against the notion that such a pathway plays a prominent part in processing affective visual stimuli in humans. Instead, we propose that the primary role of the amygdala in visual processing, like that of the pulvinar, is to coordinate the function of cortical networks during evaluation of the biological significance of affective visual stimuli. Under this revised framework, the cortex has a more important role in emotion processing than is traditionally assumed.
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(2010): Neural bases of the non-conscious perception of emotional signals. In: Nature reviews. Neuroscience 11 (10), S. 697-709. DOI: 10.1038/nrn2889
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20811475 Abstract: Many emotional stimuli are processed without being consciously perceived. Recent evidence indicates that subcortical structures have a substantial role in this processing. These structures are part of a phylogenetically ancient pathway that has specific functional properties and that interacts with cortical processes. There is now increasing evidence that non-consciously perceived emotional stimuli induce distinct neurophysiological changes and influence behaviour towards the consciously perceived world. Understanding the neural bases of the non-conscious perception of emotional signals will clarify the phylogenetic continuity of emotion systems across species and the integration of cortical and subcortical activity in the human brain.
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(2010) : Effect of social robot’s behavior in collaborative learning: 2010 5th ACM/IEEE International Conference on Human-Robot Interaction (HRI): Osaka, Japan: IEEE, S. 195-196
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1109/HRI.2010.5453199 Abstract: This paper describes about the effect of social robot’s behavior on human performance. The robot behaves based on an artificial mind model, and it expresses emotions according to the situation. In this research, we consider about the case where human and the robot learn cooperatively. The robot emotionally reacts to the joint learner’s success and failure. The experimental result shows that social behavior of the robot influences the performance of human learners.
Keywords: Animals, Anthropomorphism, APPRAISAL, Artificial intelligence, artificial mind model, collaborative learning, Collaborative work, Computer science education, Engines, groupware, human learners, human performance, Human robot interaction, human-robot interaction, ieee xplore, Künstliche Intelligenz, learning (artificial intelligence), Mobile robots, Personality, robot emotion, Social robot, social robot behavior, Switches 2009
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(2009): The social brain: neural basis of social knowledge. In: Annual review of psychology 60, S. 693-716. DOI: 10.1146/annurev.psych.60.110707.163514
DOI: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2588649 Abstract: Social cognition in humans is distinguished by psychological processes that allow us to make inferences about what is going on inside other people-their intentions, feelings, and thoughts. Some of these processes likely account for aspects of human social behavior that are unique, such as our culture and civilization. Most schemes divide social information processing into those processes that are relatively automatic and driven by the stimuli, versus those that are more deliberative and controlled, and sensitive to context and strategy. These distinctions are reflected in the neural structures that underlie social cognition, where there is a recent wealth of data primarily from functional neuroimaging. Here I provide a broad survey of the key abilities, processes, and ways in which to relate these to data from cognitive neuroscience.
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(2009): Do humans have two systems to track beliefs and belief-like states?. In: Psychological Review 116 (4), S. 953-970. DOI: 10.1037/a0016923
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19839692 Abstract: The lack of consensus on how to characterize humans' capacity for belief reasoning has been brought into sharp focus by recent research. Children fail critical tests of belief reasoning before 3 to 4 years of age (H. Wellman, D. Cross, & J. Watson, 2001; H. Wimmer & J. Perner, 1983), yet infants apparently pass false-belief tasks at 13 or 15 months (K. H. Onishi & R. Baillargeon, 2005; L. Surian, S. Caldi, & D. Sperber, 2007). Nonhuman animals also fail critical tests of belief reasoning but can show very complex social behavior (e.g., J. Call & M. Tomasello, 2005). Fluent social interaction in adult humans implies efficient processing of beliefs, yet direct tests suggest that belief reasoning is cognitively demanding, even for adults (e.g., I. A. Apperly, D. Samson, & G. W. Humphreys, 2009). The authors interpret these findings by drawing an analogy with the domain of number cognition, where similarly contrasting results have been observed. They propose that the success of infants and nonhuman animals on some belief reasoning tasks may be best explained by a cognitively efficient but inflexible capacity for tracking belief-like states. In humans, this capacity persists in parallel with a later-developing, more flexible but more cognitively demanding theory-of-mind abilities.
2008
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(2008): Implicit and explicit processes in social cognition. In: Neuron 60 (3), S. 503-510. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2008.10.032
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18995826 Abstract: In this review we consider research on social cognition in which implicit processes can be compared and contrasted with explicit, conscious processes. In each case, their function is distinct, sometimes complementary and sometimes oppositional. We argue that implicit processes in social interaction are automatic and are often opposed to conscious strategies. While we are aware of explicit processes in social interaction, we cannot always use them to override implicit processes. Many studies show that implicit processes facilitate the sharing of knowledge, feelings, and actions, and hence, perhaps surprisingly, serve altruism rather than selfishness. On the other hand, higher-level conscious processes are as likely to be selfish as prosocial.
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(2008): Changes in social-emotional competences of adolescents during an animal-assisted-training (MTI). In: INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF PSYCHOLOGY 43 (3-4)
Abstract: [es handelt sich vermutlich um einen Kurzabstract in einer Zeitschrift und nicht um einen Artikel]
2007
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(2007): Intentional attunement: mirror neurons and the neural underpinnings of interpersonal relations. In: Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association 55 (1), S. 131-176. DOI: 10.1177/00030651070550010601
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17432495 Abstract: The neural circuits activated in a person carrying out actions, expressing emotions, and experiencing sensations are activated also, automatically via a mirror neuron system, in the observer of those actions, emotions, and sensations. It is proposed that this finding of shared activation suggests a functional mechanism of "embodied simulation" that consists of the automatic, unconscious, and noninferential simulation in the observer of actions, emotions, and sensations carried out and experienced by the observed. It is proposed also that the shared neural activation pattern and the accompanying embodied simulation constitute a fundamental biological basis for understanding another's mind. The implications of this perspective for psychoanalysis are discussed, particularly regarding unconscious communication, projective identification, attunement, empathy, autism, therapeutic action, and transference-countertransference interactions.
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(2007): The representation of information about faces in the temporal and frontal lobes. In: Neuropsychologia 45 (1), S. 124-143. DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2006.04.019
DOI: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16797609 Abstract: Neurophysiological evidence is described showing that some neurons in the macaque inferior temporal visual cortex have responses that are invariant with respect to the position, size and view of faces and objects, and that these neurons show rapid processing and rapid learning. Which face or object is present is encoded using a distributed representation in which each neuron conveys independent information in its firing rate, with little information evident in the relative time of firing of different neurons. This ensemble encoding has the advantages of maximising the information in the representation useful for discrimination between stimuli using a simple weighted sum of the neuronal firing by the receiving neurons, generalisation and graceful degradation. These invariant representations are ideally suited to provide the inputs to brain regions such as the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala that learn the reinforcement associations of an individual's face, for then the learning, and the appropriate social and emotional responses, generalise to other views of the same face. A theory is described of how such invariant representations may be produced in a hierarchically organised set of visual cortical areas with convergent connectivity. The theory proposes that neurons in these visual areas use a modified Hebb synaptic modification rule with a short-term memory trace to capture whatever can be captured at each stage that is invariant about objects as the objects change in retinal view, position, size and rotation. Another population of neurons in the cortex in the superior temporal sulcus encodes other aspects of faces such as face expression, eye gaze, face view and whether the head is moving. These neurons thus provide important additional inputs to parts of the brain such as the orbitofrontal cortex and amygdala that are involved in social communication and emotional behaviour. Outputs of these systems reach the amygdala, in which face-selective neurons are found, and also the orbitofrontal cortex, in which some neurons are tuned to face identity and others to face expression. In humans, activation of the orbitofrontal cortex is found when a change of face expression acts as a social signal that behaviour should change; and damage to the orbitofrontal cortex can impair face and voice expression identification, and also the reversal of emotional behaviour that normally occurs when reinforcers are reversed.
Keywords: Animals, Computer Simulation, Facial Expression, Frontal Lobe/physiology, Gesicht und assoziierte Zuschreibungen, Gesichtserkennung, Gesichtszüge, Gestik/Mimik, Haplorhini, hierarchy, Humans, Mensch oder Tier, Neurowissenschaften, Social Perception, Temporal Lobe/physiology, Tier und Mensch 2006
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(2006): How do we know the minds of others? Domain-specificity, simulation, and enactive social cognition. In: BRAIN RESEARCH (1), S. 25-35. DOI: 10.1016/j.brainres.2005.12.127
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.brainres.2005.12.127 Abstract: In what ways, and to what extent, is social cognition distinguished from cognition in general? And how do data from cognitive neuroscience speak to this question? I review recent findings that argue social cognition may indeed be specialized, and at multiple levels. One particularly interesting respect in which social cognition differs from the rest of cognition is in its close interaction with the social environment. We actively probe other people in order to make inferences about what is going on in their minds (e.g., by asking them questions, and directing our gaze onto them), and we use the minds of other people as a collective resource. Experiments from our own laboratory point to the amygdala as one structure that is critically involved in such processes.