Neural Processes for Live Pro-Social Dialogue Between Dyads with Socioeconomic Disparity.
Abstract
An emerging theoretical framework suggests that neural functions associated with stereotyping and prejudice are associated with frontal lobe networks. Using a novel neuroimaging technique, functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS), during a face-to-face live communication paradigm, we explore an extension of this model to include live dynamic interactions. Neural activations were compared for dyads of similar and dissimilar socioeconomic backgrounds. The socioeconomic status of each participant was based on education and income levels. Both groups of dyads engaged in prosocial dialectic discourse during acquisition of hemodynamic signals. Post-scan questionnaires confirmed increased anxiety and effort for high-disparity dyads. Consistent with the frontal lobe hypothesis, left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC), frontopolar area, and pars triangularis were more active during speech dialogue in high than in low-disparity groups. Further, frontal lobe signals were more synchronous across-brains for high- than low-disparity dyads. Convergence of these behavioral, neuroimaging, and neural coupling findings associate left frontal lobe processes with natural prosocial dialogue under “out-group” conditions, and advance both theoretical and technical approaches for further investigation.
PMID: 32879986 [PubMed – as supplied by publisher]
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2020 Sep 03;:
Authors: Descorbeth O, Zhang X, Noah JA, Hirsch J
