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Cited by 100Neural and Behavioral Psychology StudiesNeurotransmitter Receptor Influence on BehaviorFace Recognition and Perception

Regions of the MPFC differentially tuned to social and nonsocial affective evaluation

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Harris, Lasana T., McClure, Samuel M., van den Bos, Wouter, Cohen, Jonathan D., Fiske, Susan T.·2007·Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
DOI 10.3758/cabn.7.4.309
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Abstract

The medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) reliably activates in social cognition and reward tasks. This study locates distinct areas for each. Participants made evaluative (positive/negative) or social (person/not a person) judgments of pictured positive or negative people and objects in a slow event-related design. Activity in an anterior rostral region (arMPFC) was significantly greater for positive than for negative persons but did not show a valence effect for objects, and this was true regardless of the judgment task. This suggests that the arMPFC is tuned to social valence. Interestingly, however, no regions of the MPFC were found to be responsive to social information independently of valence. A region-of-interest analysis of the para-anterior cingulate cortex (pACC), previously implicated in reward processing, demonstrated sensitivity to the valence of all stimuli, whether persons or objects, across tasks. Affective evaluation may be a general function of the MPFC, with some regions being tuned to more specific domains of information (e.g., social) than are others.

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  • The default decreased social-cognition neural activity to dehumanized targets replicates across stimuli and contexts, suggesting reliability.

    “The default, decreased social cognition neural activity to dehumanized targets, replicates across stimuli and contexts (Harris, McClure, van den Bos, Cohen, & Fiske, 2007), suggesting reliability.”

    From Dehumanized Perception: A Psychological Means to Facilitate Atrocities, Torture, and Genocide? (2011) · cites this paper as Harris, McClure, van den Bos, Cohen, & Fiske, 2007

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Cited by

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Authors
Harris, L. T., McClure, S. M., van den Bos, W., Cohen, J. D., & Fiske, S. T.
Affiliations
  • Princeton University (US)
  • University of Pittsburgh (US)
Corresponding author
McClure, Samuel M.
ORCID
Venue
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2007-12
Volume
7
Issue
4
Pages
309-316
ISSN
  • 1530-7026 (ISSN-L)
  • 1531-135X
DOI
10.3758/cabn.7.4.309
OpenAlex
W2052835760
Cited by
100
References
12
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 2 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 5 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 2 · 2019: 8 · 2018: 4 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 6 · 2015: 7 · 2014: 6 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 4
FWCI
3.92
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
Locations
  • Cognitive Affective & Behavioral Neuroscience (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neurotransmitter Receptor Influence on Behavior
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
Keywords
medial prefrontal cortex, social cognition, affective evaluation, valence, reward processing, event-related potentials
MeSH terms
Adult, Affect, Cognition, Data Interpretation, Statistical, Female, Humans, Image Processing, Computer-Assisted, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Photic Stimulation, Reward, Social Environment, Social Perception, Echo-Planar Imaging, Prefrontal Cortex

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