Virginia Tech Carilion Research Institute, 2 Riverside Circle, Roanoke, VA 24016, USA.
Welcome Trust Centre for Neuroimaging, University College London, 12 Queen Square, London WC1N 3BG, UK.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2017 Dec 1;12(12):1972-1982. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsx097.
As models of shared expectations, social norms play an essential role in our societies. Since our social environment is changing constantly, our internal models of it also need to change. In humans, there is mounting evidence that neural structures such as the insula and the ventral striatum are involved in detecting norm violation and updating internal models. However, because of methodological challenges, little is known about the possible involvement of midbrain structures in detecting norm violation and updating internal models of our norms. Here, we used high-resolution cardiac-gated functional magnetic resonance imaging and a norm adaptation paradigm in healthy adults to investigate the role of the substantia nigra/ventral tegmental area (SN/VTA) complex in tracking signals related to norm violation that can be used to update internal norms. We show that the SN/VTA codes for the norm's variance prediction error (PE) and norm PE with spatially distinct regions coding for negative and positive norm PE. These results point to a common role played by the SN/VTA complex in supporting both simple reward-based and social decision making.
作为共同期望的模型，社会规范在我们的社会中起着至关重要的作用。由于我们的社会环境在不断变化，我们对它的内部模型也需要随之改变。越来越多的证据表明，人类大脑中的脑岛和腹侧纹状体等神经结构参与了检测规范违反和更新内部模型的过程。然而，由于方法学上的挑战，对于中脑结构在检测规范违反和更新我们规范的内部模型方面的可能参与，人们知之甚少。在这里，我们使用高分辨率心脏门控功能磁共振成像和健康成年人的规范适应范式，研究了黑质/腹侧被盖区（SN/VTA）复合体在跟踪与规范违反相关的信号以更新内部规范方面的作用。我们发现 SN/VTA 对规范的方差预测误差 (PE) 和规范 PE 进行编码，其中空间上不同的区域分别对负规范 PE 和正规范 PE 进行编码。这些结果表明 SN/VTA 复合体在支持简单的基于奖励的和社会决策方面发挥着共同的作用。
