The brain's temporal dynamics from a collective decision to individual action

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Social Psychology
• Decision Science

Background:

• Social animals, including humans, frequently engage in collective decision-making.
• Understanding the neural mechanisms underlying behavioral adjustment to group choices is crucial.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the temporal dynamics of brain responses related to collective decision-making and subsequent individual behavioral adjustment.
• To identify brain regions and processes that mediate the link between social influence and conformity.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was employed in human participants.
• A novel temporal model of brain response was characterized from collective decision-making to individual action selection.

Main Results:

• Behavioral adjustment is predicted by the mirroring of orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) activity during individual action selection, not solely by the initial response to social influence.
• The OFC may play a role in reinstating collective influence during individual decision-making.
• Individual differences in trait conformity modulated these OFC dynamics and mediated behavioral alignment with the group.

Conclusions:

• The brain's ability to align individual actions with collective choices involves a dynamic temporal process in the OFC.
• Trait conformity influences how individuals integrate social information, impacting their behavioral adjustment in group contexts.