Orbitofrontal Cortex Reactivity to Angry Facial Expression in a Social Interaction Correlates with Aggressive Behavior

Abstract

Altered neural processing of social signals such as angry facial expressions has been associated with increased aggressive behavior, but evidence for this relationship in healthy persons using ecologically valid experimental designs is lacking. We presented socially relevant videos of facial expressions in a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) version of the well-established Taylor Aggression Paradigm and investigated 41 healthy male participants, of whom 32 were included in the analysis. In each round of this competitive reaction time task, participants observed their opponent while he selected a punishment level for him, bearing either a neutral or angry facial expression. Afterward, participants in turn selected a punishment level for their opponent. Across participants, reactivity of the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) to angry facial expressions was negatively related to aggressive behavior. Within participants and across trials, activity in the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was positively related to aggressive behavior specifically in response to angry expressions. Moreover, we found an effect of angry expressions on neural activity patterns during later stages of the task, demonstrating that the effect of angry expressions on neural reactivity is more than just a short-lived, stimulus-driven response. Our results underscore the importance of OFC and ACC for the shaping of socially adaptive responses to provocation.

Functional Connectivity Changes and Executive and Social Problems in Neurofibromatosis Type I

“…The amygdala shares extensive reciprocal connections with the OFC, damage to which has also been associated with social deficits (Beer et al, 2006). The OFC is involved in social and antisocial behavior (Passamonti et al, 2010), self-monitoring (Beer et al, 2006), and social adaptation (Beyer et al, 2014). However, imaging studies of the OFC in NF1 are sparse.…”

Anterior cingulate cortex involved in social food‐foraging decision‐making strategies of rats

“…Both the sham rats and the ACC‐lesioned rats were happy to socialize with, or to confront other same sex stranger rats in nonforaging contexts. Social interactions and social agonistic behaviors were not affected by ACC lesions, which was inconsistent with the study by Peter H. Rudebeck, whose results showed ACC lesions affected the utilization of social information, diminished social behavior, and reduced social stimulating memory, whereas normal rats habituated to socialize with other rats (Rudebeck et al., 2007), as well as another recent study reported that activity in the ACC was positively related to response to aggressive behavior (Beyer, Munte, Gottlich, & Kramer, 2015). These inconsistent results were probably due to the different procedures used to assess social interaction behavior as well as variability in lesion locations.…”

Social comparison in the brain: A coordinate‐based meta‐analysis of functional brain imaging studies on the downward and upward comparisons

“…Eight out of 28 contrasts contributed to the cluster in vmPFC (MDE 5 21.26%; 2MDE 5 35.87%) (Table III). Self-gain/other-lost > Self-lost/other-gain 12 Beyer et al [2014a] 40 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 12 Beyer et al [2014b] 41 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 3 Brunnlieb et al [2013] 15 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 25 Cikara et al [2011] 18 Favored team's success/rival team's failure > control 9 Delgado et al [2008] 17 Self-gain/other-lost > Self-lost/other-gain 5 Du et al [2013] 19 Self-won/others-lost > self-lost/others-won 12 Dvash et al [2010] 16 Relative gain > relative loss 6 Emmerling et al [2016] 15 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 9 Fareri and Delgado [2014] 18 Self-won/others-lost > self-lost/others-won: social > non-social 8 Fliessbach et al [2007] 33 Self-won/other-lost > self-lost/other-won 1 self-lost/other-lost 8 Fliessbach et al [2012] 64 Self-won/other-lost > self-lost/other-won 1 self-lost/other-lost 2 Haruno & Frith [2010] 52 Parametric analysis, positive correlation with absoluate differences between two peoeple (self > other) Baumgartner et al [2011] 32 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 17 Beyer et al [2014a] 40 Self-lost/other-won > Self-won/other-lost 7 Beyer et al [2014b] 41 Self-lost/other-won > Self-won/other-lost 5 Cikara et al [2011] 18 Favored team's failure/rival team's success > control 3 Civai et al [2012] 19 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 12 Corradi-Dell'Acqua et al [2016] 19 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 21 Emmerling et al [2016] 15 Self-lost/other-won > Self-won/other-lost 4 Fatfouta et al [2016] 23 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 18 Farmer et al [2016] 18 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 6 Feng et al [2016] 40 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 10 Fliessbach et al [2012] 64 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 1 Gospic et al [1983] 17 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 4 Gradin et al [2015] 25 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 10 Guo et al [2013a] 18 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 10 Guo et al [2...…”

“…L, left; R, right. Assaf et al [2009] 19 Self-gain/other-lost > Self-lost/other-gain 5.02 Beyer et al [2014a] 40 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 5.19 Beyer et al [2014b] 41 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 6.00 Brunnlieb et al [2013] 15 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 1.86 Cikara et al [2011] 18 Favored team's success/rival team's failure > control 2.08 Delgado et al [2008] 17 Self-gain/other-lost > Self-lost/other-gain 2.10 Du et al [2013] 19 Self-won/others-lost > self-lost/others-won 1.95 Dvash et al [2010] 16 Relative gain > relative loss 6.90 Emmerling et al [2016] 15 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 4.65 Fareri and Delgado [2014] 18 Self-won/others-lost > self-lost/others-won: social > non-social 4.27 Fliessbach et al [2007] 33 Self-won/other-lost > self-lost/other-won 1 self-lost/other-lost 6.43 Fliessbach et al [2012] 64 Self-won/other-lost > self-lost/other-won 1 self-lost/other-lost 6.05 Kr€ amer et al [2007] 15 Self-won/other-lost > Self-lost/other-won 2.95 Kishida et al [2012] 27 parametric analysis, positive correlated with change of self's rank 4.01 Le Bouc and Pessiglione [2013] 32 Parametric analysis, positive correlation with relative income 4.71…”

“…Lindner et al [2014] 30 Performed worse > performed better 1.90 Sanfey et al [2003] 19 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 5.18 Servaas et al [2015] 114 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 8.72 Takahashi et al [2009] 19 Superior others (high related) > average others; Superior others (low related)> average others Zheng et al [2015] 25 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 2.97 Self-unequal/other-equal > Self-unequal/other-unequal Zhou et al [2014] 28 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 2.95 R AI Baumgartner et al [2012] 32 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 9.86 Beyer et al [2014a] 40 Self-lost/other-won > Self-won/other-lost 2.07 Beyer et al [2014b] 41 Self-lost/other-won > Self-won/other-lost 3.08 Cikara et al [2011] 18 Favored team's failure/rival team's success > control 1.78 Civai et al [2012] 19 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 6.42 Corradi-Dell'Acqua et al [2016] 19 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 1.33 Fatfouta et al [2016] 23 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 5. 13 Feng et al [2016] 40 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 2.95 Guo et al [2013a] 18 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 2.53 Guo et al [2013b] 21 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 2.93 Halko et al [2009] 23 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 6.15 Harle and Sanfey [2012] 38 disadvantageous outcomes > equal outcomes 3.00 Haruno & Frith [2010] 52 Parametric analysis, positive correlation with absoluate differences between two peoeple (other > self)…”