UCL Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience, University College London, 17 Queen Square, London, WC1N 3AR, UK.
School of Advanced Study, University of London, Senate House, Malet Street, London, WC1E 7HU, UK.
Nat Commun. 2017 Dec 19;8(1):2191. doi: 10.1038/s41467-017-02314-5.
Research on social influence has focused mainly on the target of influence (e.g., consumer and voter); thus, the cognitive and neurobiological underpinnings of the source of the influence (e.g., politicians and salesmen) remain unknown. Here, in a three-sided advice-giving game, two advisers competed to influence a client by modulating their own confidence in their advice about which lottery the client should choose. We report that advisers' strategy depends on their level of influence on the client and their merit relative to one another. Moreover, blood-oxygenation-level-dependent (BOLD) signal in the temporo-parietal junction is modulated by adviser's current level of influence on the client, and relative merit prediction error affects activity in medial-prefrontal cortex. Both types of social information modulate ventral striatum response. By demonstrating what happens in our mind and brain when we try to influence others, these results begin to explain the biological mechanisms that shape inter-individual differences in social conduct.
社会影响力的研究主要集中在影响目标（如消费者和选民）上；因此，影响源（如政治家和销售人员）的认知和神经生物学基础尚不清楚。在这里，在一个三方建议博弈中，两名顾问通过调节他们对客户应该选择哪张彩票的建议的信心来竞争影响客户。我们报告说，顾问的策略取决于他们对客户的影响力水平以及他们彼此之间的优势。此外，颞顶联合区的血氧水平依赖（BOLD）信号被顾问对客户当前影响力水平所调节，而相对优势预测误差则影响内侧前额叶皮层的活动。这两种类型的社会信息调节腹侧纹状体的反应。通过展示当我们试图影响他人时我们的思维和大脑中发生的事情，这些结果开始解释塑造个体间社会行为差异的生物学机制。
