Division of Cerebral Integration, Department of Cerebral Research, National Institute for Physiological Sciences, 38, Nishigo-Naka, Myodaiji, Okazaki, Aichi 444-8585, Japan.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014 May;9(5):570-9. doi: 10.1093/scan/nst011. Epub 2013 Jan 31.
Individuals can experience embarrassment when exposed to self-feedback images, depending on the extent of the divergence from the internal representation of the standard self. Our previous work implicated the anterior insular cortex (AI) and the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) in the processing of embarrassment; however, their exact functional contributions have remained uncertain. Here, we explored the effects of being observed by others while viewing self-face images on the extent of embarrassment, and the activation and connectivity patterns in the AI and ACC. We conducted functional magnetic resonance imaging hyperscanning in pairs of healthy participants using an interaction system that allowed an individual to be observed by a partner in real time. Being observed increased the extent of embarrassment reported when viewing self-face images; a corresponding increase in self-related activity in the right AI suggested that this region played a direct role in the subjective experience. Being observed also increased the functional connectivity between the caudal ACC and prefrontal regions, which are involved in processing the reflective self. The ACC might therefore serve as a hub, integrating information about the reflective self that is used in evaluating perceptual self-face images.
当个体暴露在自我反馈图像下时，可能会感到尴尬，这取决于与标准自我的内在表现的差异程度。我们之前的工作表明，前脑岛皮层（AI）和前扣带皮层（ACC）参与了尴尬感的处理；然而，它们的确切功能贡献仍然不确定。在这里，我们探索了在观看自我面孔图像时被他人观察对尴尬程度的影响，以及 AI 和 ACC 中的激活和连接模式。我们使用允许个体实时被伙伴观察的交互系统，对健康参与者进行了功能磁共振成像超扫描。被观察增加了观看自我面孔图像时报告的尴尬程度；右侧 AI 中与自我相关的活动相应增加表明，该区域在主观体验中发挥了直接作用。被观察还增加了尾状 ACC 和前额区域之间的功能连接，这些区域参与处理反射自我。因此，ACC 可能充当一个枢纽，整合用于评估感知自我面孔图像的有关反射自我的信息。
