Neural Mechanisms of Social Network Expansion: Based On Egocentric and Allocentric Perspective
Poster No:
1886
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
Huihui Niu1, Taihan Chen1, Wenzhao Deng1, Zhizhong Jiang1, Hongyimei Liu1, Zhongyin Liang1, Tiantian Liu1, Xiaoyan Wu2, Ruiwang Huang1
Institutions:
1School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University, Guangzhou, Guangdong, 2School of Psychology, Fujian Normal University, Fuzhou, Fujian
First Author:
Huihui Niu
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Co-Author(s):
Taihan Chen
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Wenzhao Deng
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Zhizhong Jiang
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Hongyimei Liu
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Zhongyin Liang
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Tiantian Liu
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Ruiwang Huang
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
School of Psychology, Key Laboratory of Brain, South China Normal University
Guangzhou, Guangdong
Introduction:
Social networks are structured representations of relationships and interaction patterns among individuals. Social Network Analysis (SNA) is a method for quantifying interactions between individuals (Butts, 2008). In social networks, the relational representation involves two types of reference frame (RF): egocentric RF, which encodes self-other relationships from the self's perspective, and allocentric RF, which encodes relationships among others from a third-party perspective (Epstein et al., 2017). Study showed that encountering others in one's social network activates brain regions encoding social knowledge, like the mentalizing network (Schwyck et al., 2023). Social network expansion is also influenced by factors such as similarity and popularity (Harris & Vazire, 2016; Van Den Broek et al., 2016). Previous studies on neural encoding of social networks mainly focus on egocentric representations, with brain regions such as the inferior and superior parietal lobes, superior temporal gyrus, medial prefrontal cortex, and temporoparietal junction implicated. (Parkinson et al., 2017; Peer et al., 2021). However, it remains unclear whether the allocentric RF influences the social networks and what the neural mechanisms underlying allocentric representations. The current study aims to reveal the mechanisms of reference frame selection for social network expansion using an fMRI experiment with a social relationship selection task.
Methods:
Subjects. We recruited 33 healthy adult subjects from South China Normal University (SCNU). A dataset was excluded due to accuracy ≤ 85% in a memory test after watching the movie. A total of 32 subjects (17M/15F, age = 20.81 ± 2.46 years) were included in the following analysis. The study was approved by the IRB of SCNU. Written informed consent was obtained from each subject.
Data acquisition and preprocessing. The MRI data was acquired on a 3.0 T Siemens Prismafit MR scanner equipped with a 64-channel phased-array head coil. Both anatomical and functional MRI data were preprocessed using fMRIprep (Ver 20.2.7). The preprocessing steps were as follows: (1) smoothing with a 6-mm FWHM Gaussian kernal, and (2) high-pass filtering at 1/128 Hz to eliminate the low-frequency artifacts.
Experiment design and procedures. Figs. 1a and 1b illustrate the experimental procedure. The subjects first engaged in learning a new social network and measured the closeness between the characters. Then, they performed the social relationship selection task during the fMRI scan.
Whole-brain GLM analysis. In each trial of the social relationship selection task, the egocentric social distance (Dso) was defined as the difference in the probability of choosing between two role names, while the allocentric social distance (Doo) was defined by the closeness between roles, measured by a questionnaire. For each subject, we built a GLM with 7 regressors (relationship selection condition and 6 head motion parameters) and 2 parametric modulators (Doo and Dso). A one-sample t-test was used in the second-level analysis to identify brain regions modulated by Doo and Dso.
Data acquisition and preprocessing. The MRI data was acquired on a 3.0 T Siemens Prismafit MR scanner equipped with a 64-channel phased-array head coil. Both anatomical and functional MRI data were preprocessed using fMRIprep (Ver 20.2.7). The preprocessing steps were as follows: (1) smoothing with a 6-mm FWHM Gaussian kernal, and (2) high-pass filtering at 1/128 Hz to eliminate the low-frequency artifacts.
Experiment design and procedures. Figs. 1a and 1b illustrate the experimental procedure. The subjects first engaged in learning a new social network and measured the closeness between the characters. Then, they performed the social relationship selection task during the fMRI scan.
Whole-brain GLM analysis. In each trial of the social relationship selection task, the egocentric social distance (Dso) was defined as the difference in the probability of choosing between two role names, while the allocentric social distance (Doo) was defined by the closeness between roles, measured by a questionnaire. For each subject, we built a GLM with 7 regressors (relationship selection condition and 6 head motion parameters) and 2 parametric modulators (Doo and Dso). A one-sample t-test was used in the second-level analysis to identify brain regions modulated by Doo and Dso.
Results:
Fig. 1c shows four brain regions with significant activation related to Doo, located in the visual cortex, right inferior temporal, middle frontal, and postcentral gyrus areas. Fig. 1d shows the Dso related significant activation in 13 brain regions. We also observed significant activation in the insula, thalamus, and cingulate gyrus within the brain regions regulated by Dso. The detailed information for these clusters is listed in Table 1.
Conclusions:
The current study revealed brain regions with significant activations under both egocentric and allocentric reference frames, showing that the subjects used both frameworks during the task. We also observed significant brain activations in several brain regions related to the mentalizing network and social cognition. The findings offer new cognitive and neuroscientific insights into social network expansion.
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Social Cognition 2
Higher Cognitive Functions:
Executive Function, Cognitive Control and Decision Making
Higher Cognitive Functions Other
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
Activation (eg. BOLD task-fMRI)
Novel Imaging Acquisition Methods:
BOLD fMRI 1
Keywords:
Other - Social Network, Reference Frame, Allocentric Representation, Egocentric Fepresentation, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Social Network Analysis
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):
Was this research conducted in the United States?
Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel? NOTE: Any human subjects studies without IRB approval will be automatically rejected.
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Provide references using APA citation style.
Epstein, R. A., Patai, E. Z., Julian, J. B., & Spiers, H. J. (2017). The cognitive map in humans: Spatial navigation and beyond. Nature Neuroscience, 20(11), 1504–1513. https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.4656
Harris, K., & Vazire, S. (2016). On friendship development and the Big Five personality traits. Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 10(11), 647–667. https://doi.org/10.1111/spc3.12287
Parkinson, C., Kleinbaum, A. M., & Wheatley, T. (2017). Spontaneous neural encoding of social network position. Nature Human Behaviour, 1(5), 0072. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-017-0072
Peer, M., Hayman, M., Tamir, B., & Arzy, S. (2021). Brain Coding of Social Network Structure. The Journal of Neuroscience, 41(22), 4897–4909. https://doi.org/10.1523/JNEUROSCI.2641-20.2021
Schwyck, M. E., Du, M., Natarajan, P., Chwe, J. A., & Parkinson, C. (2023). Neural encoding of novel social networks: Evidence that perceivers prioritize others’ centrality. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 18(1), nsac059. https://doi.org/10.1093/scan/nsac059
Van Den Broek, N., Deutz, M. H. F., Schoneveld, E. A., Burk, W. J., & Cillessen, A. H. N. (2016). Behavioral Correlates of Prioritizing Popularity in Adolescence. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 45(12), 2444–2454. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10964-015-0352-7