Neural correlates of social exclusion across ages: A coordinate-based meta-analysis of functional MRI studies

“Engaging in such perspective taking is also aided by self-guided mental imagery, which has consistently been shown to involve the precuneus (Cavanna and Trimble, 2006).”

“Consistent with our findings, studies have also reported activation of VS during cognitive reappraisal of negative stimuli (McRae et al., 2008; Ochsner et al., 2002, 2004; van Reekum et al., 2007).”

“This includes changes in activation of subcortical regions to affective stimuli, cortical midline and temporo-parietal structures supporting social-cognitive processes, and lateral prefrontal cortices involved in inhibitory control (Crone and Dahl, 2012).”

“The precuneus and posterior cingulate cortices, dominant hubs of the default mode network, are thought to support mentalizing processes, facilitating an individual's ability to comprehend or interpret other people's thoughts, feelings and intentions (Beer and Hughes, 2010; Frith and Frith, 2003; Hyatt et al., 2015).”

“Functional neuroimaging research on social exclusion in both adults and adolescents has most commonly employed the Cyberball paradigm (Williams et al., 2000; Williams and Jarvis, 2006), where participants are excluded from a ball-tossing game by virtual players with pre-programmed actions.”

“Consistent with our findings, studies have also reported activation of VS during cognitive reappraisal of negative stimuli (McRae et al., 2008; Ochsner et al., 2002, 2004; van Reekum et al., 2007).”

“Our results may therefore suggest that adolescent hyper-reactivity of VS is not limited to reward processing, and that this region may not be selective for the learning and prediction of rewarding outcomes (McClure et al., 2003; O'Doherty et al., 2004; 2003).”

“We specifically used activation likelihood estimation (ALE) implemented in the GingerALE software (Eickhoff et al., 2009) to compare activation patterns across individual studies and identify brain regions that have been consistently associated with social exclusion.”

“While ventrolateral PFC and associated adaptive emotion regulatory capacities also show protracted development during this time (Crone and Ridderinkhof, 2011), structural neuroimaging suggests that medial and lateral prefrontal regions may exhibit different developmental trajectories and thus attain adult-levels of ma…”

“3.6 was used to conduct the random effects ALE meta-analyses (Turkeltaub et al., 2002).”

“Our results may therefore suggest that adolescent hyper-reactivity of VS is not limited to reward processing, and that this region may not be selective for the learning and prediction of rewarding outcomes (McClure et al., 2003; O'Doherty et al., 2004; 2003).”

“GingerALE v2.”

“D Gaussians used to evaluate the probability of activity localization (Eickhoff et al., 2012).”

“…of this task lead participants to believe that virtual players are real individuals at other sites, though some researchers have not used deception given that feelings of distress are also reported when participants are aware that they are being excluded by computer players (Zadro et al., 2004).”

“Moreover, these changes are accompanied by increased affective salience of social events (Steinberg and Morris, 2001), including greater sensitivity to rejection and acceptance by peers (Nelson et al., 2005).”

“Functional neuroimaging research on social exclusion in both adults and adolescents has most commonly employed the Cyberball paradigm (Williams et al., 2000; Williams and Jarvis, 2006), where participants are excluded from a ball-tossing game by virtual players with pre-programmed actions.”

“It has also been argued that the neural correlates of social rejection may overlap with those of physical pain, including the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) and insula (Eisenberger, 2012).”

“We also extend on prior work by identifying neural correlates of social exclusion that are specific to developmental samples given the heightened sensitivity to peer rejection during adolescence (Sebastian et al., 2010b; Somerville, 2013).”

“With the onset of puberty, adolescents become more socially oriented than children, spending up to a third of their waking hours with peers (Hartup and Stevens, 1997).”

“Our results may therefore suggest that adolescent hyper-reactivity of VS is not limited to reward processing, and that this region may not be selective for the learning and prediction of rewarding outcomes (McClure et al., 2003; O'Doherty et al., 2004; 2003).”

“Consistent with our findings, studies have also reported activation of VS during cognitive reappraisal of negative stimuli (McRae et al., 2008; Ochsner et al., 2002, 2004; van Reekum et al., 2007).”

“While ventrolateral PFC and associated adaptive emotion regulatory capacities also show protracted development during this time (Crone and Ridderinkhof, 2011), structural neuroimaging suggests that medial and lateral prefrontal regions may exhibit different developmental trajectories and thus attain adult-levels of ma…”

“…of the effect of individual differences related to social sensitivity are another important area for future investigation, given that a meta-analysis focusing on the ACC found that self-reported distress was associated with the location of peak BOLD response within this region (Rotge et al., 2015).”

“…Kawamoto et al., 2012 22 (3) 20.7 (1.7), 18–24 Cyberball Events 12 Emerging adult Alternating (events) Lee et al., 2014 16 (9) 27.4 (6.9) Virtual handshake Event 3 Masten et al., 2009 23 (9) 13.0, 12.4–13.6 Cyberball Block 4 Developmental Traditional Masten et al., 2011a 17 (15) 13.6 (2.5)…”

“We also extend on prior work by identifying neural correlates of social exclusion that are specific to developmental samples given the heightened sensitivity to peer rejection during adolescence (Sebastian et al., 2010b; Somerville, 2013).”

“In both the Social Judgment and Chatroom tasks, participants are asked to evaluate unfamiliar peers based on photographs and subsequently receive feedback about whether these same individuals are interested in them (Guyer et al., 2008; Somerville et al., 2006).”

“While ventrolateral PFC and associated adaptive emotion regulatory capacities also show protracted development during this time (Crone and Ridderinkhof, 2011), structural neuroimaging suggests that medial and lateral prefrontal regions may exhibit different developmental trajectories and thus attain adult-levels of ma…”

“For example, mentalizing and self-evaluative processes, as well as their associated midline structures are thought to continue to mature throughout the adolescent period (Burnett et al., 2011; Pfeifer and Peake, 2012).”

“In both the Social Judgment and Chatroom tasks, participants are asked to evaluate unfamiliar peers based on photographs and subsequently receive feedback about whether these same individuals are interested in them (Guyer et al., 2008; Somerville et al., 2006).”

“…is thought to be an important marker of sensitivity to social stressors (including peer rejection), having been found to be more active in individuals with lower rejection sensitivity (Burklund et al., 2007) and also more responsive to negative stimuli in depressed populations (Chen et al., 2007).”

“…of the effect of individual differences related to social sensitivity are another important area for future investigation, given that a meta-analysis focusing on the ACC found that self-reported distress was associated with the location of peak BOLD response within this region (Rotge et al., 2015).”

“The experience of social rejection is highly distressing, and has been related to negative affectivity and mental health problems, including depression and anxiety (Nolan et al., 2003; Prinstein and Aikins, 2004; Rigby, 2003).”

“…medial cluster of activation, ventromedial PFC and medial OFC activation likely reflects engagement in social cognitive processes, consistent with past research that has associated these regions with social and self-relevant evaluative processes (Burnett et al., 2011; Pfeifer et al., 2013, 2011).”

“…of social exclusion provided some support for common brain activation patterns, minimal evidence was present for the role of the dorsal ACC; rather, a more rostral section of the ACC was implicated, along with the medial orbitofrontal cortex (OFC) and anterior insula (Cacioppo et al., 2013).”

“This number of studies is consistent with prior ALE analyses (Silverman et al., 2015; Wagner et al., 2014).”

“…studies have examined neural responses to rejection cues in the form of pictures and words related to social exclusion (Premkumar et al., 2012; Sebastian et al., 2010a), or used Cyberball to show others/peers being excluded (Beeney et al., 2011; Masten et al., 2013; 2011c; Meyer et al., 2013).”

“Consistent with our findings, studies have also reported activation of VS during cognitive reappraisal of negative stimuli (McRae et al., 2008; Ochsner et al., 2002, 2004; van Reekum et al., 2007).”

“…of p < 0.05, 5000 thresholding permutations, and an uncorrected p-value of < 0.001 (Note: this version of the software has addressed a previous error in GingerALE that resulted in inferences on uncorrected cluster-level p values as opposed to FWE corrected clusters; Eickhoff et al., 2016).”

“…not included in the Developmental analysis for the following reasons: two studies presented main effects across developing and emerging adult groups (Gunther Moor et al., 2012; Sebastian et al., 2011) and one study was comprised of older adults, with a mean age of 41 years (Gradin et al., 2012).”

“…4: 21.7 (1.9), 19–25 Gunther Moor et al., 2012 53 (22) 1: 11.8(0.87), 10–12 Cyberball Events 9 Traditional (events) 2: 15.74(0.74), 14–16 3: 20.38(0.8), 19–21 Guyer et al., 2012 36 (20) 13.54 (2.5), 9–18 Chatroom Event 0 Gyurak et al., 2012 33 (12) 20.61 (1.77) Viewing paintings Block 4…”

“The experience of social rejection is highly distressing, and has been related to negative affectivity and mental health problems, including depression and anxiety (Nolan et al., 2003; Prinstein and Aikins, 2004; Rigby, 2003).”

“Study N (M) Age Task Design N (foci) Developmental sub-analyses Design sub-analyses Beeney et al., 2011 20 (10) 24.6 (5.8), 18–35 Others-Cyberball Block 9 Bolling et al., 2011a 21 (15) 12.90 (2.59), 7–18 Cyberball Block 10 Developmental Alternating Bolling et al., 2011c 33 (11) 24.0 (3.81) Cyberball Block 12 Emerging…”

“, 2009), attachment style (DeWall et al., 2012), and rejection sensitivity (Masten et al.”

“This number of studies is consistent with prior ALE analyses (Silverman et al., 2015; Wagner et al., 2014).”

“…Traditional Masten et al., 2011d 18 (9) 21.4 (19–28) Cyberball Block 15 Emerging adult Traditional Masten et al., 2011c 16 (7) 19.88, 18–24 Others-Cyberball Block 5 Masten et al., 2012 21 (7) 17.77 (0.43) Cyberball Block 25 Developmental Meyer et al., 2013 16 (12) 21.69 (2.12) Others-Cyberball…”

“Three studies included in the Cyberball analysis were not included in the Developmental analysis for the following reasons: two studies presented main effects across developing and emerging adult groups (Gunther Moor et al., 2012; Sebastian et al., 2011) and one study was comprised of older adults, with a mean age of…”

“…convenience samples aged approximately between 18 and 25 years, a number of studies have also focused specifically on developing (primarily adolescent) samples to examine developmental correlates of social exclusion (Bolling et al., 2011a; Falk et al., 2014; Puetz et al., 2014; Will et al., 2016).”

“…is thought to be an important marker of sensitivity to social stressors (including peer rejection), having been found to be more active in individuals with lower rejection sensitivity (Burklund et al., 2007) and also more responsive to negative stimuli in depressed populations (Chen et al., 2007).”

“…samples, researchers have examined individual differences in neural responses to social exclusion, including the effect of social support (Nishiyama et al., 2015; Onoda et al., 2009), attachment style (DeWall et al., 2012), and rejection sensitivity (Masten et al., 2013), to name a few examples.”

“…31 (0) 22.2 (3.38) Cyberball Block 8 Emerging adult Traditional DeWall et al., 2012 25 (9) Undergraduate Cyberball Block 15 Emerging adult Traditional Domsalla et al., 2014 40 (0) 1: 28.7 (7.8) Cyberball Block 12 Emerging adult Alternating 2: 29.2 (7.5) Eisenberger et al., 2003 13 (4)…”

“…convenience samples aged approximately between 18 and 25 years, a number of studies have also focused specifically on developing (primarily adolescent) samples to examine developmental correlates of social exclusion (Bolling et al., 2011a; Falk et al., 2014; Puetz et al., 2014; Will et al., 2016).”

“…has since been used to study neural responses to social exclusion in clinical populations, including individuals with autism (Bolling et al., 2011b; Masten et al., 2011a), depression (Groschwitz et al., 2016), alcohol dependence (Maurage et al., 2012), and schizophrenia (Gradin et al., 2012).”

“Three studies included in the Cyberball analysis were not included in the Developmental analysis for the following reasons: two studies presented main effects across developing and emerging adult groups (Gunther Moor et al., 2012; Sebastian et al., 2011) and one study was comprised of older adults, with a mean age of…”

“…14–16 3: 20.38(0.8), 19–21 Guyer et al., 2012 36 (20) 13.54 (2.5), 9–18 Chatroom Event 0 Gyurak et al., 2012 33 (12) 20.61 (1.77) Viewing paintings Block 4 Karremans et al., 2011 15 (5) 22 (19–33) Cyberball Block 13 Emerging adult Traditional Kawamoto et al., 2012 22 (3) 20.7 (1.7), 18–24…”

“are thought to support mentalizing processes, facilitating an individual’s ability to comprehend or interpret other people’s thoughts, feelings and intentions (Beer and Hughes, 2010; Frith and Frith, 2003; Hyatt et al., 2015).”

“While ventrolateral PFC and associated adaptive emotion regulatory capacities also show protracted development during this time (Crone and Ridderinkhof, 2011), structural neuroimaging suggests that medial and lateral prefrontal regions may exhibit different developmental trajectories and thus…”

“Also falling within our medial cluster of activation, ventromedial PFC and medial OFC activation likely reflects engagement in social cognitive processes, consistent with past research that has associated these regions with social and self-relevant evaluative processes (Burnett et al., 2011; Pfeifer et al., 2013; 2011…”

“…convenience samples aged approximately between 18 and 25 years, a number of studies have also focused specifically on developing (primarily adolescent) samples to examine developmental correlates of social exclusion (Bolling et al., 2011a; Falk et al., 2014; Puetz et al., 2014; Will et al., 2016).”

“…studies have examined neural responses to rejection cues in the form of pictures and words related to social exclusion (Premkumar et al., 2012; Sebastian et al., 2010a), or used Cyberball to show others/peers being excluded (Beeney et al., 2011; Masten et al., 2013; 2011c; Meyer et al., 2013).”

“…Cyberball Block 12 Emerging adult Alternating 2: 29.2 (7.5) Eisenberger et al., 2003 13 (4) Undergraduate Cyberball Block 4 Emerging adult Traditional Falk et al., 2014 36 (36) 16.8 (0.47), 16–17 Cyberball Block 6 Developmental Traditional Gonzalez et al., 2015 85 (40) 24.5 (1.35) Cyberball…”

“This represents a valuable avenue for future investigation, particularly considering that sex differences have been identified in a range of social cognitive processes (Pavlova, 2016; Proverbio, 2017).”

“, 2016), alcohol dependence (Maurage et al., 2012), and schizophrenia (Gradin et al.”

“…Sebastian et al., 2011 35 (0) 1: 15.44 (0.81, 14–17 Cyberball Block 12 Alternating 2: 28.70 (3.91), 24–39 Silk et al., 2014 48 (14) 15.48 (1.68), 11–17 Chatroom Event 0 Van Harmelen et al., 2014 46 (12) 1: 18.31 (1.23) Cyberball Events 8 Emerging adult Traditional (events) 2: 18.85 (1.90) Via et…”

“…25 Developmental Meyer et al., 2013 16 (12) 21.69 (2.12) Others-Cyberball Block 7 Nishiyama et al., 2015 46 (17) 19.85 (no range) Cyberball Block 14 Emerging adult Novembre et al., 2015 23 (0) 22.4 (2.0), 20–28 Cyberball Block 13 Emerging adult Onoda et al., 2009 26 (11) 21.79 (1.3), 20–25…”

“Three studies included in the Cyberball analysis were not included in the Developmental analysis for the following reasons: two studies presented main effects across developing and emerging adult groups (Gunther Moor et al., 2012; Sebastian et al., 2011) and one study was comprised of older adults, with a mean age of…”

“The paradigm has also been modified to compare neural responses to differing forms of rejection (i.e. micro- vs. sustained rejection; Kawamoto et al., 2012), as well as differing perpetrators (i.e. gender: Bolling et al., 2012, and in- vs out-group members: Masten et al., 2011d).”

“Indeed, social exclusion can affect psychological states for extended periods following the experience, including ratings of selfesteem and meaningful existence up to 30 minutes later (Buelow et al., 2015).”

“…et al., 2014 46 (12) 1: 18.31 (1.23) Cyberball Events 8 Emerging adult Traditional (events) 2: 18.85 (1.90) Via et al., 2015 20 (0) 28.15 (8.62) Social Judgment Block 12 Will et al., 2015 28 (12) 20.7 (1.97) Cyberball Events 13 Emerging adult Traditional (events) Will et al., 2016 44 (26) 14.0…”

“This technique is a widely used and validated method for quantitatively analyzing voxelwise neuroimaging foci (Kober and Wager, 2010).”

“…convenience samples aged approximately between 18 and 25 years, a number of studies have also focused specifically on developing (primarily adolescent) samples to examine developmental correlates of social exclusion (Bolling et al., 2011a; Falk et al., 2014; Puetz et al., 2014; Will et al., 2016).”

“This represents a valuable avenue for future investigation, particularly considering that sex differences have been identified in a range of social cognitive processes (Pavlova, 2016; Proverbio, 2017).”

“The precuneus and posterior cingulate cortices, dominant hubs of the default mode network, are thought to support mentalizing processes, facilitating an individual's ability to comprehend or interpret other people's thoughts, feelings and intentions (Beer and Hughes, 2010; Frith and Frith, 2003; Hyatt et al., 2015).”

“This technique is a widely used and validated method for quantitatively analyzing voxelwise neuroimaging foci (Kober and Wager, 2010).”

“…(4.76) Cyberball Events 27 Emerging adult Traditional (events) Puetz et al., 2014 51 (25) 1: 10.6 (1.75) Cyberball Block 2 Developmental Traditional 2: 10.38 (1.7) Premkumar et al., 2012 26 (5) 1: 30 (10.58) Viewing IAPS pictures Block 9 2: 28.64 (6.07) Sebastian et al., 2010a 19 (0) 14 − 28…”

“…2014 48 (14) 15.48 (1.68), 11–17 Chatroom Event 0 Van Harmelen et al., 2014 46 (12) 1: 18.31 (1.23) Cyberball Events 8 Emerging adult Traditional (events) 2: 18.85 (1.90) Via et al., 2015 20 (0) 28.15 (8.62) Social Judgment Block 12 Will et al., 2015 28 (12) 20.7 (1.97) Cyberball Events 13…”

“…samples, researchers have examined individual differences in neural responses to social exclusion, including the effect of social support (Nishiyama et al., 2015; Onoda et al., 2009), attachment style (DeWall et al., 2012), and rejection sensitivity (Masten et al., 2013), to name a few examples.”

“We also extend on prior work by identifying neural correlates of social exclusion that are specific to developmental samples given the heightened sensitivity to peer rejection during adolescence (Sebastian et al., 2010b; Somerville, 2013).”

“…10–12 Cyberball Events 9 Traditional (events) 2: 15.74(0.74), 14–16 3: 20.38(0.8), 19–21 Guyer et al., 2012 36 (20) 13.54 (2.5), 9–18 Chatroom Event 0 Gyurak et al., 2012 33 (12) 20.61 (1.77) Viewing paintings Block 4 Karremans et al., 2011 15 (5) 22 (19–33) Cyberball Block 13 Emerging…”

“On the other hand, there are also concerns that the traditional design might result in fluctuating levels of reactivity over the course of a prolonged period of exclusion, as highlighted by findings from electrophysiological studies (Kawamoto et al., 2013; Themanson et al., 2013).”

“Study N (M) Age Task Design N (foci) Developmental sub-analyses Design sub-analyses Beeney et al., 2011 20 (10) 24.6 (5.8), 18–35 Others-Cyberball Block 9 Bolling et al., 2011a 21 (15) 12.90 (2.59), 7–18 Cyberball Block 10 Developmental Alternating Bolling et al., 2011c 33 (11) 24.0 (3.81) Cyberball Block 12 Emerging…”

“…16.8 (0.47), 16–17 Cyberball Block 6 Developmental Traditional Gonzalez et al., 2015 85 (40) 24.5 (1.35) Cyberball Block 6 Emerging adult Traditional Gradin et al., 2012 16 (7) 40.87 (11.72) Cyberball Block 3 Alternating Gunther Moor et al., 2010 57 (27) 1: 9.7 (0.9), 8–10 Social Judgment…”

“The paradigm has also been modified to compare neural responses to differing forms of rejection (i.e. micro- vs. sustained rejection; Kawamoto et al., 2012), as well as differing perpetrators (i.e. gender: Bolling et al., 2012, and in- vs out-group members: Masten et al., 2011d).”

“Three studies included in the Cyberball analysis were not included in the Developmental analysis for the following reasons: two studies presented main effects across developing and emerging adult groups (Gunther Moor et al., 2012; Sebastian et al., 2011) and one study was comprised of older adults, with a mean age of…”

“Within non-clinical samples, researchers have examined individual differences in neural responses to social exclusion, including the effect of social support (Nishiyama et al., 2015; Onoda et al., 2009), attachment style (DeWall et al.”

“…(3.2), 7–18 Cyberball Block 12 Developmental Alternating Bolling et al., 2015b 20 (10) 12.61(2.5), 7–17 Cyberball Block 12 Developmental Alternating Bonenberger et al., 2015 31 (0) 22.2 (3.38) Cyberball Block 8 Emerging adult Traditional DeWall et al., 2012 25 (9) Undergraduate Cyberball Block…”

“…(11) 24.0 (3.81) Cyberball Block 12 Emerging adult Alternating Bolling et al., 2012 20 (11) 24.99 (3.91) Cyberball Block 12 Emerging adult Alternating Bolling et al., 2015a 15 (9) 11.88 (3.2), 7–18 Cyberball Block 12 Developmental Alternating Bolling et al., 2015b 20 (10) 12.61(2.5), 7–17…”

“Similarly, another study employed a virtual task of others accepting or rejecting the participant's handshake (Lee et al., 2014).”

“It has been proposed that social rejection activates similar regions as physical pain, as supported by bilateral anterior insula activation with feelings of loneliness [70, 71], although a more recent social rejection meta-analysis of fMRI studies did not find anterior insula involvement [72].”

“Vijayakumar, Cheng, & Pfeifer, 2017), one including developmental samples (7 years to late 20’s) (Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“Adolescents also show increased neuroendocrine and cardiovascular reactivity to social stressors relative to children (88) and increased subcortical activation following social rejection compared to adults (89), suggesting special vulnerability to social stress.”

“Previous studies have demonstrated that both the VLPFC and the DLPFC are associated closely with the reduction of social pain (Koban et al., 2017a; Vijayakumar et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2017).”

“While both depressed and healthy adolescents recruited perigenual ACC activity during social exclusion (corroborating past findings, Bolling et al., 2011; Vijayakumar et al., 2017), contrary to our hypotheses, there were no significant group differences in ACC activity.”

“More importantly, the role of VLPFC has been highlighted for downregulation of negative emotion feelings induced by social reasons such as social exclusion and/or rejection (Riva and Eck, 2016; Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“However, a meta-analysis of fMRI-measured brain activations during social exclusion, predominantly using the Cyberball task, identified positive correlations between social exclusion and activity centered on subcallosal area 24, rather than area 25 [89].”

“This is also supported by the role of the PCC in processing social exclusion feelings [61,62].”

“Based on previous studies (14, 20, 30), we selected the AI, the dorsomedial PFC (DMPFC), the ventrolateral PFC (VLPFC), and DLPFC as regions of interest (ROIs) (Fig.”

“However, the subgenual ACC (sgACC) has been reliably linked to social rejection processing, particularly in youth (Rotge et al. , 2015; VijayaKumar et al. , 2017).”

“On the one hand, several investigations have linked the prefrontal cortex (PFC) to social exclusion (Bolling et al., 2011; Moor et al., 2012; Gradin et al., 2012; Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“Even though we did not hypothesize social value to be encoded in the amygdala and precuneus, it is not surprising that these regions encode social value, considering their involvement in processing social stimuli (Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“social exclusion) is more often reported in adolescents, but not in young adults (Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“Most typically, these studies experimentally simulated social exclusion (“Cyber-Ball”) during scanning, which was linked to the experience of “social pain” (Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“…by rejection sensitivity and always expect to be rejected by others when interacting with them, showing a high tendency towards interpersonal avoidance, brain regions such as the VLPFC and the striatum are activated and show a high degree of attentiveness to social cues of rejection [59, 60].”

“In line with the considerations above, we expected predominant neural activity during social exclusion in regions supporting emotion regulation and mentalizing (e.g., mPFC, PCC, and PRC) across our full sample (Vijayakumar et al., 2017; MwilambweTshilobo & Spreng, 2021).”

“Additionally, the right ventral striatum was also implicated in exclusion, but only in adolescent samples (Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“More relevant to our focus on downregulating social pain, previous fMRI studies have demonstrated that both the VLPFC and the DLPFC (especially their right hemispheric parts) are closely associated with the reduction of social pain (Vijayakumar et al., 2017; Wang et al., 2017).”

“Together, the two identified brain networks featured component processes not only implicated in empathy and mentalizing (see [32], p. 20) but also in action observation [40], emotion processing [41], experiencing social exclusion [42], and social interactions (e.g., [43]; see also [32], p. 23).”

“Indeed, meta-analyses examining social pain have revealed inconsistent findings in the dACC (see Cacioppo et al., 2013; Mwilambwe-Tshilobo and Spreng, 2021; Vijayakumar et al., 2017 for reviews), underscoring the need for additional research in this area.”

“While not typically associated with emotional processing, these regions may be recruited in the Cyberball task, as reported in a recent meta-analysis (Vijayakumar et al., 2017), due to their role in motor planning and action (Kato and Izumiyama, 2015; Yousry et al.”

“In studies with healthy participants, aMCC was related to processing attachment relevant stimuli such as social exclusion and increased attachment anxiety [27,29,30,62].”

“Rejection sensitivity, which is commonly associated with social outcomes throughout adolescence (Gao et al., 2017; Vijayakumar et al., 2017), relates to features of our framework such as peer sensitivity and social goals.”

“The meta-analyses comparing traditional and alternating Cyberball designs with healthy participants did not confirm any significant differences between these two approaches [15, 17].”

“…social exclusion situations, and demonstrated that a higher activation of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) and insula in those who are socially rejected or isolated (Eisenberger et al., 2003; Masten et al., 2013; Chester et al., 2014; Vijayakumar et al., 2017; Perino et al., 2019).”

“, 2019) as well as regions previously associated with processing social pain (i.e., mPFC/ACC, PCC/PC, and IFG; Vijayakumar et al., 2017) increase with negative social intent attribution, indicating perceived social rejection while activation in lateral frontoparietal areas increases if laughter is perceived as reflect…”

“…social exclusion Functional neuroimaging studies identi fi ed cerebral networks involved in regulating individuals ’ emotional and behavioral responses to social exclusion, 24 – 26 which include, among other brain regions, the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex, especially its right portion (rVLPFC).”

“These findings also extend the work of Vijayakumar and colleagues, who reported age-related reduction in mPFC activities during the Cyberball task throughout young adulthood [26], although the study did not specify the Wang et al.”

“As the dACC and VLPFC are found to be activated during psychological or physical pain and emotion regulation [39,43 ,44], this finding may suggest deficient modulation of the emotional response to social rejection scenes in people with a high level of schizotypy.”

“First, although there are many brain regions related to basic psychological needs (Cacioppo et al., 2013; Rotge et al., 2014; Vijayakumar et al., 2017), the present study only investigated the modulating roles of the dACC.”

“Moreover, previous metaanalyses of studies of social exclusion found that there is no robust evidence to support the notion that dACC is the core region of social exclusion (Cacioppo et al., 2013; Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“Although some evidence suggests that psychological distress also elicits activation in the pain matrix (Eisenberger, 2012), a more recent meta-analysis study did not support this view (Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”

“Studies using the Cyberball paradigm typically reveal that social exclusion evokes increased activity in cortical midline areas like the ACC, mPFC and anterior insula (see Cacioppo et al., 2013; Vijayakumar et al., 2017).”