Neural systems underlying RDoC social constructs: An activation likelihood estimation meta-analysis

Abstract

ObjectiveNeuroscientists have sought to identify the underlying neural systems supporting mental processes involved in social cognition. These processes allow us to interact and communicate with others, form social relationships, and navigate the social world. Through the use of NIMH’s Research Domain Criteria (RDoC) framework, we evaluated consensus among hundreds of studies that examined brain activity during social and social cognition tasks to elucidate, at a large scale, regions comprising the “social brain”. In addition, we examined convergence across tasks corresponding to the four RDoC social constructs, including Affiliation and Attachment, Social Communication, Perception and Understanding of Self, and Perception and Understanding of Others. We assessed activation patterns by performing a series of coordinate-based meta-analyses using the activation likelihood estimate (ALE) method. One meta-analysis was performed on whole-brain coordinates reported from 864 fMRI contrasts of healthy social processing (239 publications; 6,232 participants) using the NiMARE Python package. The meta-analysis of all social contrasts revealed consensus in the “social brain”, including the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ), bilateral insula, amygdala, fusiform gyrus, precuneus, and thalamus. Additionally, four separate RDoC-based meta-analyses revealed differential convergence associated with the four social constructs. These outcomes highlight the neural support underlying these social constructs and inform future research on alterations among neurotypical and atypical populations.

Acculturative orientations among Hispanic/Latinx caregivers in the ABCD Study: Associations with caregiver and youth mental health and youth brain function

“…This variable-centered analysis revealed that among the full sample, bilateral TPJ were significantly negatively associated with US orientation, such that as US orientation increased, fALFF values in the TPJ decreased (Table S1). These results likely reflect this region's role in social affiliations (42) and speculate that TPJ hyperactivity may be linked to challenges in identity development as youth navigate US life within a family system that is not fully engaged with the broader US culture. Importantly, our investigation of ABCD caregiver acculturation profiles at baseline identified a subset of Hispanic/Latinx youth that are at higher risk for adverse outcomes at the beginning of adolescence, a critical socioemotional neurodevelopmental period wherein psychopathology often emerges (70,71).…”

“…Resting state functional magnetic resonance imaging (rs-fMRI) analyses were preregistered (https://osf.io/mkdw3/). We focused on five meta-analytically-defined regions of interest (ROIs) associated with self-and affiliation-related processing (42), including the (1) vmPFC, (2) left insula, (3) right insula, (4) left TPJ, and (5) right TPJ (Fig. S1).…”

“…We further expected that biculturalism would be associated with fewer mental health problems among caregivers and their children. We leveraged prior meta-analytic results to guide analyses of brain regions associated with self-and affiliation-based social processing, including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), insula, and temporoparietal junction (TPJ) (42). Finally, we discuss additional research needed to more fully understand neurobiological mechanisms linked with acculturative experiences.…”

“…This significant neurodevelopmental period (23,24) is marked by changes in self-referential cognition (25) that are accompanied by maturational shifts in brain structure and function that occur as a consequence of experiences within one's social environment (26,27). Such shifts occur in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), insula, and temporoparietal junction (TPJ) (28), which have been linked to self-and affiliation-based social processes (29). In addition to developing a general sense of self and identity, which is a normative developmental task for all adolescents, Hispanic/Latinx youth are also tasked with establishing an acculturative orientation.…”

Neuroscience-informed classification of prevention interventions in substance use disorders: An RDoC-based approach

“…Broadly defined, SP comprises processes and knowledge that mediate the perception and understanding of the self and others, as well as the responses that are generated within a social context (reception and production of facial and non-facial communication) (Koudys et al, 2019). A recent meta-analysis used the activation likelihood estimate method and reported that the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ), bilateral insula, amygdala, fusiform gyrus, precuneus, and thalamus are the neural underpinnings of the SP domain (Lobo et al, 2022).…”