Cited by 213Social Power and Status DynamicsChild and Animal Learning DevelopmentEvolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior

Social status modulates neural activity in the mentalizing network

Open access
Muscatell, Keely A., Morelli, Sylvia A., Falk, Emily B., Way, Baldwin M., Pfeifer, Jennifer H., Galinsky, Adam D., Lieberman, Matthew D., Dapretto, Mirella +1 more·2012·NeuroImage

Abstract

The current research explored the neural mechanisms linking social status to perceptions of the social world. Two fMRI studies provide converging evidence that individuals lower in social status are more likely to engage neural circuitry often involved in 'mentalizing' or thinking about others' thoughts and feelings. Study 1 found that college students' perception of their social status in the university community was related to neural activity in the mentalizing network (e.g., DMPFC, MPFC, precuneus/PCC) while encoding social information, with lower social status predicting greater neural activity in this network. Study 2 demonstrated that socioeconomic status, an objective indicator of global standing, predicted adolescents' neural activity during the processing of threatening faces, with individuals lower in social status displaying greater activity in the DMPFC, previously associated with mentalizing, and the amygdala, previously associated with emotion/salience processing. These studies demonstrate that social status is fundamentally and neurocognitively linked to how people process and navigate their social worlds.

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Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.080

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  • Several specific brain regions represent participants' assessment of power or affiliation.

    “Several specific brain regions represent participants’ assessment of power (social status in the community) (Muscatell et al., 2012) or affiliation (familiarity of acquaintances) (Parkinson et al., 2014).”

    From A map for social navigation in the human brain (2015) · cites this paper as Muscatell et al., 2012

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Authors
Muscatell, K. A., Morelli, S. A., Falk, E. B., Way, B. M., Pfeifer, J. H., Galinsky, A. D., Lieberman, M. D., Dapretto, M., & Eisenberger, N. I.
Affiliations
  • University of California, Los Angeles (US)
  • University of Michigan (US)
  • The Ohio State University (US)
  • University of Oregon (US)
  • Northwestern University (US)
Corresponding author
Eisenberger, Naomi I.
Venue
NeuroImage
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2012-04
Volume
60
Issue
3
Pages
1771-1777
ISSN
1053-8119 (ISSN-L)
OpenAlex
W1997998958
Cited by
213
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 5 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 26 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 17 · 2021: 19 · 2020: 11 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 21 · 2017: 25 · 2016: 17 · 2015: 14 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 10 · 2012: 4
FWCI
42.05
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • NeuroImage (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (acceptedVersion)
  • PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
  • ScholarlyCommons (University of Pennsylvania) (submittedVersion, cc-by-nc-nd)
Funders
  • Santa Fe Institute Consortium
  • Brain Mapping Medical Research Organization
  • Brain Mapping Support Foundation
  • Pierson-Lovelace Foundation
  • The Ahmanson Foundation
  • William M. and Linda R. Dietel Philanthropic Fund at the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation
  • Tamkin Foundation
  • Jennifer Jones-Simon Foundation
  • Capital Group Companies Charitable Foundation
  • Robson Family
  • Northstar Fund
  • National Center for Research Resources (NCRR) (RR12169)
  • NARSAD Young Investigator Award (to B.M.W) (RR13642)
  • National Science Foundation Graduate Research Fellowship (RR00865)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Sociology and Political Science › Social Power and Status Dynamics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Evolutionary Psychology and Human Behavior
Keywords
social status, mentalizing network, theory of mind, default mode network, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, medial prefrontal cortex, precuneus, posterior cingulate cortex, socioeconomic status, threatening faces, amygdala, emotional processing, adolescents, social perception
MeSH terms
Adolescent, Brain, Female, Humans, Male, Nerve Net, Socioeconomic Factors, Young Adult, Theory of Mind, Functional Neuroimaging

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