Journal Article

PreJuSER-10796

http://join2-wiki.gsi.de/foswiki/pub/Main/Artwork/join2_logo100x88.png Eyes on me: an fMRI study of the effects of social gaze on action control.

Schilbach, L. ; Eickhoff, S. B.FZJ* ; Cieslik, E.FZJ* ; Shah, J. N.FZJ* ; Fink, G. R.FZJ* ; Vogeley, K.

2011
Oxford Univ. Press Oxford

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Please use a persistent id in citations: doi:10.1093/scan/nsq067

Abstract: Previous evidence suggests that 'social gaze' can not only cause shifts in attention, but also can change the perception of objects located in the direction of gaze and how these objects will be manipulated by an observer. These findings implicate differences in the neural networks sub-serving action control driven by social cues as compared with nonsocial cues. Here, we sought to explore this hypothesis by using functional magnetic resonance imaging and a stimulus-response compatibility paradigm in which participants were asked to generate spatially congruent or incongruent motor responses to both social and nonsocial stimuli. Data analysis revealed recruitment of a dorsal frontoparietal network and the locus coeruleus for the generation of incongruent motor responses, areas previously implicated in controlling attention. As a correlate for the effect of 'social gaze' on action control, an interaction effect was observed for incongruent responses to social stimuli in sub-cortical structures, anterior cingulate and inferior frontal cortex. Our results, therefore, suggest that performing actions in a--albeit minimal--social context significantly changes the neural underpinnings of action control and recruits brain regions previously implicated in action monitoring, the reorienting of attention and social cognition.

Keyword(s): Adult (MeSH) ; Attention: physiology (MeSH) ; Cerebral Cortex: physiology (MeSH) ; Cognition: physiology (MeSH) ; Face (MeSH) ; Female (MeSH) ; Fixation, Ocular (MeSH) ; Frontal Lobe: physiology (MeSH) ; Humans (MeSH) ; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted (MeSH) ; Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MeSH) ; Male (MeSH) ; Motivation (MeSH) ; Nerve Net: physiology (MeSH) ; Parietal Lobe: physiology (MeSH) ; Reaction Time: physiology (MeSH) ; Recognition (Psychology): physiology (MeSH) ; Social Environment (MeSH) ; Social Perception (MeSH) ; Young Adult (MeSH) ; J ; social gaze (auto) ; action control (auto) ; stimulus-response compatibility (auto) ; fMRI (auto)

Note: The authors gratefully acknowledge the help with data collection provided by members of the Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine at the Research Centre Juelich, in particular Barbara Elghahwagi and Dorothe Krug. L. S. was funded by the Koeln Fortune Program/Medical Faculty, University of Cologne and by the Volkswagen Foundation. S. B. E. was funded by the Human Brain Project (R01-MH074457-01A1), the DFG (IRTG 1328) and the Initiative and Networking Fund of the Helmholtz Association within the Helmholtz Alliance on Systems Biology (Human Brain Model).

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Contributing Institute(s):

1. Molekulare Organisation des Gehirns (INM-2)
2. Kognitive Neurowissenschaften (INM-3)
3. Physik der Medizinischen Bildgebung (INM-4)

Research Program(s):

1. Funktion und Dysfunktion des Nervensystems (FUEK409) (FUEK409)
2. 89572 - (Dys-)function and Plasticity (POF2-89572) (POF2-89572)

Appears in the scientific report 2011

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