Orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex are modulated by motivated social cognition

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology

Background:

• Social cognition research often overlooks motivations influencing social perception.
• Positivity motivation, the tendency to view close others favorably, is a key but understudied factor.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify the neural correlates of positivity motivation in social cognition.
• To investigate how brain activity differs when evaluating close versus non-close others.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to observe brain activity.
• Participants compared their romantic partner (close other) and roommate (non-close other) to an average peer.

Main Results:

• Orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) showed increased activation when individuals were perceived similarly to an average peer.
• OFC activity inversely correlated with the degree of positive bias towards a social target.
• Ventral ACC activation was modulated by intimacy, influencing the distinction between positive and negative stimuli.

Conclusions:

• Neural regions like the OFC and ACC are implicated in positivity motivation, distinct from previously studied social cognition areas.
• Findings provide foundational data for developing neural models of social cognition and interpersonal perception.