Does Unfairness Evoke Anger or Disgust? A Quantitative Neurofunctional Dissection Based on 25 Years of Neuroimaging

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Oct. 21, 2024

Abstract Over the last decades, traditional ‘Homo economicus’ model has been increasingly challenged by convergent evidence underscoring impact of emotions on decision-making. A classic example is perception unfairness operationalized in Ultimatum Game where humans readily sacrifice personal gains to punish those who violate fairness norms. While emotional mechanism underlying costly punishments widely acknowledged, distinct contributions moral (anger or disgust) remain debated, partly due methodological limitations conventional experiments. Here, we capitalize a quantitative neurofunctional dissection approach combining recent developments neuroimaging meta-analyses, behavioral-level, network-level, and neurochemical-level decoding data from 3,266 participants functional studies determine common neural representations between two emotions. Experience engaged widespread bilateral network encompassing insular, cingulate, frontal regions, with dorsal striatal regions mediating decision reject unfair offers. Disgust defensive-avoidance circuit amygdalar, occipital, while anger non-overlapping systems including mid-cingulate, thalamic, regions. Unfairness disgust respectively commonly anterior mid-insula, latter additionally showed recruitment ventrolateral prefrontal orbitofrontal cortices. Multimodal network, behavioral, serotonergic provided more granular convincing these results. Findings indicate shared neuroaffective basis unfairness-induced punishment behavior suggest brain evolutionarily shaped protect individuals harm enforce societal

Language: Английский

Dissociable neurofunctional and molecular characterizations of reward and punishment sensitivity

bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory), Journal Year: 2024, Volume and Issue: unknown

Published: Dec. 30, 2024

Abstract While the hyper-and hypo-reward or punishment sensitivities (RS, PS) have received considerable attention as prominent transdiagnostic features of psychopathology, lack an overarching neurobiological characterization currently limits their early identifications and neuromodulations. Here we combined microarray data from Allen Human Brain Atlas with a multimodal fMRI approach to uncover signatures RS PS in discovery-replication design (N=655 participants). Both were mapped separately brain, intrinsic functional connectome fronto-striatal network encoding reward responsiveness, while fronto-insular system was particularly engaged sensitivity. This dissociable patterns related also specific differentiating decisions driven by social monetary motivations. Further imaging transcriptomic analyses revealed that variations for associated topography gene sets enriched ontological pathways, including synaptic transmission, dopaminergic metabolism, immune response stress adaptation. On neurotransmitter level, serotonin neuromodulator identified pivotal hub regulating PS, this process critically dependent on its interactions dopaminergic, opioid GABAergic systems. Overall, these findings indicate neural mapping highlight linkage profiles, which may offer valuable insights into treatment evaluation symptomatology relevant reward/punishment processing deficits.

Language: Английский