How does the brain know that orgasm is coming before orgasm begins? Masters and Johnson described sensations signaling approaching orgasm, but the neural basis of this anticipatory awareness remains unexplained.The present article terms this period Erotic Intimation. It begins at the proposed Intimation threshold, when bottom-up sexual information captures attention, and continues while orgasm feels increasingly imminent, but escalation remains redirectable. Although sexual-neuroscience studies have documented cerebellar activity before and during orgasm, they have not examined its possible predictive contribution to felt orgasmic imminence. Integrating this evidence with predictive processing, the framework proposes that cerebellar prediction interacts with salience and frontal systems as precision weighting increases the influence of bottom-up information while top-down regulation remains more influential. This account extends the interpretation of pre-orgasmic cerebellar activity beyond motor preparation to cognitive-affective anticipation. Epileptic aura provides a clinical boundary comparison, with orgasmic aura offering the closest phenomenological parallel because the feeling that orgasm is coming can arise from activity that is already ictal. The framework identifies Erotic Intimation as a distinct neuroscientific target and offers a theoretical explanation of how this anticipatory awareness may arise.
This study aimed to explore associations between social isolation, loneliness, and hypothyroidism risk, and whether genetic susceptibility modifies these links. It enrolled 434,628 hypothyroidism-free participants from the UK Biobank. Social isolation was assessed via 3 dichotomous questions, loneliness via 2 revised UCLA Loneliness Scale questions, and hypothyroidism cases via hospital/death records. Hypothyroidism polygenic risk scores (PRSs) were calculated using related genetic loci, with Cox proportional hazards models for analysis. Over a median 12.3-year follow-up, 9,873 hypothyroidism cases occurred. Demographically adjusted models showed social isolation (HR = 1.25, 95% CI 1.17-1.33) and loneliness (HR = 1.38, 95% CI 1.27-1.50) linked to higher risk. After full adjustment, only loneliness remained significant (HR = 1.12, 95% CI 1.02-1.24), while social isolation's association became insignificant. No significant interactions between loneliness/social isolation or loneliness/PRS were found. Joint analysis revealed highest risk in those with high PRS and loneliness. Findings indicate loneliness, not social isolation, is an independent hypothyroidism risk factor, regardless of genetic susceptibility and other factors.
Risk-taking behavior varies across different life domains, yet neuroimaging research has primarily focused on financial incentives, thus limiting our understanding of the neural basis for domain-specific risk-taking. This study investigates whether neural correlates of risk-taking differ between financial and social incentive domains using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Thirty-nine participants completed an adapted Balloon Analogue Risk Task with financial (monetary rewards) and social (gifts for children) incentive conditions. Behavioral data show that participants demonstrate less risk-seeking behavior in the social compared to financial condition. Neuroimaging results revealed both domain-general and domain-specific components of risk processing. A conjunction analysis of both incentive conditions identified a common neural network across both incentive types, including bilateral striatum, dorsal anterior cingulate cortex, and left insular cortex, supporting theories of domain-general risk processing mechanisms. Contrasting both reward conditions revealed significantly stronger activation in the right inferior parietal lobule during financial compared to social risk-taking, thus indicating a neural substrate for domain-specific risk preferences. These data might bridge the gap between behavioral evidence for domain-specific risk-taking and neuroimaging research, highlighting the importance of considering the type of incentives when studying risk behavior and its neural correlates.
Smiling plays a critical role in guiding behavior during social interactions from early in human ontogeny. The current study examined whether genetic variation in the oxytocin system is linked to individual differences in medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) responses to smiles in human infants. Results show that genetic variation in CD38 (rs3796863), linked in prior work to variation in oxytocin release, is associated with enhanced mPFC responses when 7-month-old infants were viewing smiles, but not when viewing angry or fearful faces. These findings provide novel evidence that oxytocin-related genetic variability contributes to early-emerging differences in social brain function and support the view that variability in processing of affiliative signals is influenced by neurogenetic mechanisms from early in human ontogeny.
This study examined how interpersonal neural and autonomic similarity varies when dyads shift their decision-making (DM) orientation (between cognitive and emotional orientations) while evaluating moral dilemmas with a first- and third-person perspective. Thirteen dyads participated in two interactive conditions in which they jointly negotiated moral decisions (first vs third perspective), while their electrophysiological (EEG) and autonomic activity were continuously recorded. Before each interaction, participants' DM orientations were assessed, and dyads' orientation shift was classified according to whether one or both members changed orientation between the dilemmas (single-shift vs. dual-shift dyads). Interpersonal dissimilarity was quantified through Euclidean Distance (EuDist) across EEG frequency bands and Skin Conductance Level (SCL), Heart Rate (HR), HR Variability (HRV). Delta and gamma bands showed greater inter-brain dissimilarity in frontal than temporo-central and parieto-occipital regions, indicating region-specific recruitment for moral negotiation. Regarding orientation shift, dual-shift dyads displayed significantly higher gamma-band similarity compared to single-shift dyads, regardless of moral perspective. About perspective, autonomic results revealed greater inter-individual dissimilarity during first- than third-person perspective across SCL, HR, and HRV. Current findings suggest that DM orientation shift impacts neural coherence in dyads negotiating moral dilemmas (especially gamma band), while moral dilemmas perspective influences individual autonomic engagement in dyads.
Individual differences in attachment classification reflect children's social expectations given early relational experiences with primary caregivers. When experiencing rejection - when affective needs are unmet - children can develop avoidant attachment strategies, including suppression of negative emotions and inhibition of observable reactions to adversity. A key aversive situation is social rejection, but how attachment differences affect neural responses to it is poorly understood. We combined functional MRI and the Cyberball paradigm to investigate responses to social rejection in 38 children (9-11 years) classified using the Child Attachment Interview. BOLD activation in the anterior cingulate cortex and right ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (vlPFC) was increased for events of social exclusion relative to inclusion. Dorsal to this effect, right vlPFC showed a negative correlation between exclusion-related BOLD activity and attachment dismissal, a continuous marker for avoidant attachment, reflecting greater vlPFC responses during inclusion (fair play) for avoidant attachment but unchanged responses to exclusion, suggesting increased regulatory monitoring during fair play in higher-dismissal children, rather than altered exclusion reactivity. This may be related to greater expressed worry about exclusion despite fair play in the inclusion condition. Our results suggest that avoidant attachment in children may be associated with impaired emotion regulation and greater expectation of rejection.
Intimate partner violence (IPV) impacts individuals, families, and wider society. Sensitivity to rejection is reliably associated with IPV use. Yet with IPV-users often demonstrating reduced emotional clarity, such sensitivity may not always be accessible to verbal reporting. Electroencephalography may circumvent this issue by capturing sensitivity to rejection at the neural level. Using event-related potentials, the neural processing of social exclusion has been explicated and is often linked to reductions in frontal slow wave (FSW) amplitude. This study examined FSW amplitude as elicited by the social exclusion game, Cyberball, to investigate the neural mechanisms of social exclusion processing in 43 fathers with and without histories of IPV use. We further investigate group differences in self-reported ostracism distress and emotional clarity across IPV-using and control fathers. IPV-using fathers displayed significantly lower exclusion evoked FSW amplitude, possibly reflecting stress-induced disruptions to mentalizing. Additionally, IPV-using fathers reported no significant differences in ostracism distress but increased difficulties in emotional clarity. Overall, findings suggest that IPV-using fathers display a profile of heightened neural sensitivity to social exclusion and a reduced ability to access their emotional states. These findings shed light on potential mechanisms of IPV to inform future research and interventions.
In an age flooded with pressure, lovers' resilience under stress and ability to creatively solve problems are highly valued. It is hoped that stress could become the crucible that forges lovers' creative sparks. Understanding the associations among romantic love, stress and advanced cognitive functions is highly topical. Using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning, the current study investigated dating couples' creative problem-solving performance under the effect of acute stress and the corresponding underlying neural mechanism. Results indicated that when faced with stressful situations, couples showed higher fluency and flexibility in creative problem-solving than those under non-stressful conditions. In addition, the couples showed greater synchronization in the frontopolar region under stress, with the direction from males to females, unveiling a distinct cooperative pattern of males leading and females receiving. Furthermore, interpersonal brain synchronization (IBS) mediated the effects that both salivary cortisol and heart rate level had on dating couples' creativity. These findings provide evidence supporting an integrative view for understanding relationships under adverse conditions, highlighting the different roles played by different genders in coping with stress.
Ethnic differences trigger immediate implicit stereotyping, potentially influencing intergroup interactions and reinforcing social inequality. Studies indicate that ethnic biases can reduce sensorimotor resonance toward out-group members, identifying the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) as part of a network involved in ethnic stereotyping regulation. The specific impact of ethnic biases on individuals' ability to coordinate actions with others and the role of mPFC in mediating in-/out-group interactions remain unclear. We investigated whether: i) interfering with mPFC activity modulates ethnic biases measured through affective misattribution procedure (AMP); ii) this interference affects coordination during a joint action task with ethnic out/in-group virtual partners. Continuous theta burst stimulation (cTBS) was used to interfere with the activity of mPFC (Experiments 1, 3) or left ventral Premotor Cortex (Experiment 2), and Vertex stimulation was included as active control site. Stimulating mPFC did not significantly affect either ethnic bias as measured through AMP nor individuals' interaction abilities when coordinating with out-/in-group members. However, participants' motor preparation times increased when interacting with an ethnic out-group compared to an in-group partner, regardless of the stimulation site. These findings highlight how ethnic membership influences social categorization and motor abilities during interpersonal interactions while limiting the role of mPFC in mediating inter-group motor coordination as measured in the present study.
Evidence remained conflicting regarding how the prefrontal cortex supported decision-making abilities, particularly in patients with focal prefrontal cortex lesions. While damage to this region was known to impair executive functioning, the precise contribution of such deficits to decision-making performance - especially under varying levels of uncertainty - remained debated. Moreover, cognitive estimation processes, which were associated with logical reasoning and prefrontal involvement, had rarely been examined in relation to decision-making tasks. To clarify these associations, we administered a cognitive estimation task and the Iowa Gambling Task (IGT), alongside a battery of executive function tests, to 30 patients with focal prefrontal damage and 30 matched control subjects. Our results indicated that patients showed consistent impairment across executive functions, cognitive estimation, and decision-making under risk. Furthermore, correlation and regression analyses revealed that performance on executive tasks and cognitive estimation predicted IGT outcomes, particularly under risk conditions. Finally, voxel-based lesion-symptom mapping identified a bilateral prefrontal network - spanning ventromedial, dorsomedial, and dorsolateral regions - associated with impaired IGT performance. These findings suggested that the multidimensional nature of the IGT was associated with complex executive and inferential reasoning demands and implicated diverse patterns of frontal dysfunction beyond the ventromedial prefrontal cortex
Deficits in social behavior, such as reduced motivation and social avoidance, are key symptoms in several psychiatric disorders. Distinct modes of reward, such as drug and social, may rely on different dopamine release patterns in the mesolimbic pathway. We investigated the relationship between social reward behaviors and dopamine release elicited by phasic and tonic stimulation patterns in C57BL/6J mice. Social conditioned place preference was used to assess motivation for social interaction, and in vivo fixed potential amperometry was used to measure nucleus accumbens dopamine release before and after cocaine (10 mg/kg, ip). Additional measures included the frequency and duration of social interactions during conditioning sessions, with the first and last session representing novel and familiar social interactions respectively. No relationship was found between baseline (pre-cocaine) dopamine and social place preference in either sex. However, in males, social place preference negatively correlated with cocaine-induced phasic dopamine release, indicating that increased social motivation was associated with a reduced phasic dopaminergic response to cocaine. In contrast, greater novel interaction was associated with increased baseline dopamine elicited by tonic stimulations. These relationships were not observed in females. Overall, these findings suggest distinct, sex-dependent roles for phasic and tonic dopamine release in mediating social reward.
Social categorization of faces provides a key cognitive basis of human behavior and may occur along various dimensions of facial attributes. The present study investigated a potential hierarchical structure of social categorization of faces based on a superordinate (Species) versus a subordinate (Race) level of abstraction of facial attributes. We recorded behavioral performances in a face classification task and found faster responses to the same set of Asian faces when presented alternately with dog faces (a species context) relative to Black faces (a race context). In addition, using a repetition suppression (RS) paradigm, we recorded electroencephalography (EEG) and magnetoencephalography (MEG) signals to Asian faces in the species and race contexts, respectively. Our analyses of the RS effects on EEG/MEG signals revealed earlier neural encoding of similarity of Asian faces in the right fusiform gyrus at 140-200 ms and in the left temporoparietal junction at 317-413 ms after stimulus onset when Asian faces were displayed in the species (vs. race) context. These behavioral and EEG/MEG findings unravel the neurocognitive mechanisms of context-dependent social categorization of faces by highlighting its hierarchically organized structure based on different levels of facial attributes.
Adolescence is a period of profound growth in self-evaluative and interpersonal capacities, as youth seek to develop their identity. One such capacity is the pursuit of personal goals, which is a fundamental psychological activity for both adults and adolescents. Functional MRI studies in adults have identified patterns of BOLD activation associated with self-regulation of personal goal pursuit, but to our knowledge there are no studies to using fMRI to examine BOLD responses to personal goals in adolescence. Using regulatory focus theory, which distinguishes between self-regulation modes of promotion and prevention, Detloff and colleagues (2020) observed both shared and unique regions of activation associated with idiographically assessed promotion vs. prevention goal priming, as well as variations in BOLD response depending on whether participants believed they were or were not making progress toward attaining the goal. We conducted a replication study using the identical procedures as Detloff et al. in a sample of 47 healthy adolescents. We observed significant overlap between adolescent and adult neural activation during promotion and prevention priming in regions associated with higher-order cognition such as the insula, thalamus, and the post-central gyrus. Nonetheless, adolescents also demonstrated unique neural activation in regions related to the processing of social stimuli, such as the temporoparietal junction, medial prefrontal cortex, and the angular and supramarginal gyrus. The findings enrich and extend our understanding regarding the nature of personal goal pursuit and identity-related self-regulation during adolescence.
Empathy is a fundamental component of social cognition, yet its influence on the neural processing of non-verbal cues in neurotypical populations remains insufficiently explored. Using EEG/ERPs, we examined empathy-dependent modulation of gesture recognition during a caption - gesture congruence task, manipulating face visibility in participants with high versus low Empathy Quotients (EQ). Participants, classified via two standardized empathy scales, viewed 800 gesture images preceded by short textual descriptions, while their EEG activity was recorded. High-EQ individuals exhibited faster reaction times, particularly when facial cues were absent, suggesting enhanced sensitivity to degraded social information. ERP analyses focused on the N250, N400, and late positivity (LP) components revealed empathy-related modulations, with high-EQ individuals showing amplified anterior N250 responses, associated with social cognition, emotional processing, and reward-related face recognition, whose amplitude increased linearly with empathy scores. Enhanced N400 and LP amplitudes further suggested more efficient semantic integration and decision confidence in high-EQ individuals. Source reconstruction identified greater activation in the posterior cingulate cortex, limbic structures, fusiform face area, superior temporal gyrus, and fronto-parietal mirror neuron networks, regions critical for social and non-verbal cue processing. These findings highlight a robust empathy-dependent network supporting spontaneous gesture interpretation and the flexible decoding of social meaning.
The preschool years are crucial for developing theory of mind (ToM) - understanding others' mental states. During this period, children transition from failing to passing explicit False Belief Tasks (eFBT), but the neural mechanisms behind this shift remain unclear. While the adult ToM brain network is well-studied, neuroimaging of children under six is limited. Most studies treat eFBT as a single process, overlooking distinct neurocognitive mechanisms in forming mental state representations (belief formation phase) and applying them to complete tasks (explicit answer phase). To address this gap, we investigated brain activity using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during eFBT completion in preschoolers. Results show that the key brain regions critical for mentalizing (temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) activate in children regardless of their eFBT performance. This pattern was observed during the belief formation phase, when the discrepancy between the child's belief and the protagonist's belief is introduced. In addition, greater activity in the right IFG was observed in Passers compared to Non Passers during the explicit answer phase, regardless of condition. This suggests that Passers exerted more attention, possibly becoming more effective at applying belief-related knowledge during response selection. Findings align with developmental continuity approach to ToM development.
This study investigates the neural correlates of MBU within dyadic moral communication, using a functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) hyperscanning paradigm. Thirty participants engaged in a structured exchange on a moral dilemma, assuming one of two roles: the facilitator and the adjuster. Hemodynamic activity was recorded across prefrontal channels. Results revealed a significant increase of oxygenated hemoglobin in right lateral prefrontal cortex activation (Ch4) in adjusters compared to facilitators, highlighting the role of this region in social metacognition, behavioral regulation, and high-level cognitive control during MBU. Exploratory correlations further indicated that facilitators' neural activation was associated by dispositional traits such as decision-making style, empathy, and conscientiousness. These findings highlight the role of interpersonal co-construction and individual meaning-making processes in influencing neurocognitive responses to moral discussions. The study presents a multidimensional model of MBU as a socially embedded, emotionally modulated, and cognitively demanding process, impacting moral and communication psychology and organizational ethics.
Social threat is both a source and consequence of implicit bias against Asian Americans, who are often stereotyped as "perpetual foreigners," posing some threat to (white) American values. The implicit nature of these attitudes makes investigating anti-Asian bias difficult as self-report and behavioral data suffer from social desirability and learning effects. To investigate implicit social threat in anti-Asian bias, we presented participants with a passage critical of American values, purportedly written by a white American (ingroup) or by an Asian American author (outgroup). We utilized electrodermal responses (GSR) to measure autonomic arousal, and cerebral blood oxygenation (fNIRS) to measure cognitive control. Our results suggest that implicit social threats are physiologically represented similar to other feelings of threat, which become more extreme when interacting with a perceived outgroup member. Follow-up analyses suggest that the autonomic responses are moderated by higher-order cognitions, evidenced by changes in blood oxygenation in the anterior and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, which occurred independently of behavioral responses obtained after the experimental manipulation. Together, these results indicate that while more abstract feelings of threat are implicitly represented in a salient physiological manner, higher-order cognitive faculties can attenuate them, and innate attitudes need not supersede mindful and learned behavior.
The inconsistent change of inequity aversion under procedural justice may result from the individual difference of cognitive processing ability for information. Deaf college students' social cognition is challenged by systemic barriers that limit inclusive communication and social interaction. However, it is still unknown how inequity aversion manifests among deaf college students in the context of procedural justice. In this study, we recruited 28 deaf and 31 hearing college students by using a modified dictator game combined with Event-related potentials (ERPs). Behavioral results showed that all participants were more satisfied with equitable offer, extremely advantageous inequitable and moderately advantageous inequitable offers, followed by moderately disadvantageous inequitable offers, and lowest for extremely disadvantageous inequitable offers. Interestingly, we found only in deaf college students that the extremely, moderately advantageous inequitable and moderately disadvantageous inequitable offers all induced more negative feedback-related negativity (FRN) than equitable offer. Furthermore, the equitable offer induced more positive P300 than any of the inequitable offers. The results indicated that even under procedural justice, deaf college students still exhibit pronounced inequity aversion, highlighting their preference to fairness norms. These findings empirically characterize inequity aversion in special populations and provide theoretical support for enhancing educational integration in colleges and universities.
Major depressive disorder (MDD) is a common disorder influenced by biopsychosocial factors. There is conflicting and insufficient evidence regarding the role of neuropeptides such as Orexin-A and Oxytocin (OCT) and its association with empathy in MDD. This study aimed to address this question which is not only important for a better neurobiological understanding but could also lead to novel biomarkers. Sixty-nine antidepressant-free patients (48 females, 21 males) diagnosed with MDD according to DSM-5 criteria and 32 healthy controls (19 females, 13 males) were included. Serum Orexin-A and OCT levels were measured, and empathy and depression were assessed using the Basic Empathy Scale and the Hamilton Depression Rating Scale. Patients showed lower cognitive empathy than controls (Z = 4.161, p < 0.001), with significant differences only in females. Emotional and total empathy scores did not differ between groups. Patients had higher serum OCT levels (Z = 1.989, p = 0.047), while Orexin-A levels showed no clear group differences. Longer illness duration and more depressive episodes were modestly associated with higher emotional and total empathy. OCT levels showed a weak positive association with cognitive empathy. Lower cognitive empathy and elevated OCT levels may relate to depressive pathology, but further studies are needed to clarify these relationships.
Romantic partners rely on key information from their partner's face to facilitate optimal social connections. Evidence suggests that the brain differentially responds to a partner's face as evidenced by event-related potentials (ERPs). Yet, little is known about how ERP responses are modulated by day-to-day biological or psychological shifts. In this study, we examined whether daily experiences related to feeling loved by ones' partner influenced brain responses. Twenty-eight adult romantic partners (20-40 years old) completed twice-daily surveys prior to completing a passive ERP face perception task. Amplitudes were larger to partner's face relative to celebrity (peak N250, mean P3) or stranger faces (mean P3). Greater mean level of feeling loved by partner was related to more negative N250 amplitudes and more positive P3 amplitudes across all conditions (partner, celebrity, and stranger faces). Persons with less variability in feeling loved by partner had more negative N250 amplitudes in response to their partner's face. These results suggest that daily experiences modulate neural markers of familiarity (N250, P3) and that less stability in feeling loved may influence facial identity retrieval for individuals giving the love.
