Publications
All accompanying preregistration, data, and supplemental materials under “Links”
Richardson, Hilary; Saxe, Rebecca; Bedny, Marina
Neural correlates of theory of mind reasoning in congenitally blind children Journal Article
In: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, vol. 63, pp. 101285, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {Neural correlates of theory of mind reasoning in congenitally blind children},
author = {Hilary Richardson and Rebecca Saxe and Marina Bedny},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:prdVHNxh-e8C, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/richardson2023.pdf, pdf
https://osf.io/pavdg/, data
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/10/Supp-Richardson-2023.pdf, supplemental materials},
doi = {10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101285},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-10-01},
urldate = {2023-10-01},
journal = {Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience},
volume = {63},
pages = {101285},
abstract = {Vision is an important source of information about other minds for sighted children, especially prior to the onset of language. Visually observed actions, eye gaze, and facial expressions of others provide information about mental states, such as beliefs, desires, and emotions. Does such experience contribute causally to the development of cortical networks supporting social cognition? To address this question we compared functional development of brain regions supporting theory of mind (ToM), as well as behavioral ToM reasoning, across congenitally blind (n=17) and sighted (n=114) children and adolescents (4–17 years old). We find that blind children in this age range show slightly lower ToM behavioral performance relative to sighted children. Likewise, the functional profile of ToM brain regions is qualitatively similar, but quantitatively weaker in blind relative to sighted children. Alongside prior research, these data suggest that vision facilitates, but is not necessary for, ToM development.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Vision is an important source of information about other minds for sighted children, especially prior to the onset of language. Visually observed actions, eye gaze, and facial expressions of others provide information about mental states, such as beliefs, desires, and emotions. Does such experience contribute causally to the development of cortical networks supporting social cognition? To address this question we compared functional development of brain regions supporting theory of mind (ToM), as well as behavioral ToM reasoning, across congenitally blind (n=17) and sighted (n=114) children and adolescents (4–17 years old). We find that blind children in this age range show slightly lower ToM behavioral performance relative to sighted children. Likewise, the functional profile of ToM brain regions is qualitatively similar, but quantitatively weaker in blind relative to sighted children. Alongside prior research, these data suggest that vision facilitates, but is not necessary for, ToM development.
Houlihan, Sean Dae; Kleiman-Weiner, Max; Hewitt, Luke B; Tenenbaum, Joshua B; Saxe, Rebecca
Emotion prediction as computation over a generative theory of mind Journal Article
In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A, vol. 381, iss. 2251, pp. 20220047, 2023, ISSN: 1364-503X, 1471-2962.
@article{houlihan2023computedappraisals,
title = {Emotion prediction as computation over a generative theory of mind},
author = {Sean Dae Houlihan and Max Kleiman-Weiner and Luke B Hewitt and Joshua B Tenenbaum and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:kw52XkFRtyQC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/houlihan2023computedappraisals.pdf, pdf
https://github.com/daeh/computed-appraisals, GitHub
},
doi = {10.1098/rsta.2022.0047},
issn = {1364-503X, 1471-2962},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-07-24},
urldate = {2023-07-24},
journal = {Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society A},
volume = {381},
issue = {2251},
pages = {20220047},
abstract = {From sparse descriptions of events, observers can make systematic and nuanced predictions of what emotions the people involved will experience. We propose a formal model of emotion prediction in the context of a public high-stakes social dilemma. This model uses inverse planning to infer a person's beliefs and preferences, including social preferences for equity and for maintaining a good reputation. The model then combines these inferred mental contents with the event to compute 'appraisals': whether the situation conformed to the expectations and fulfilled the preferences. We learn functions mapping computed appraisals to emotion labels, allowing the model to match human observers' quantitative predictions of 20 emotions, including joy, relief, guilt and envy. Model comparison indicates that inferred monetary preferences are not sufficient to explain observers' emotion predictions; inferred social preferences are factored into predictions for nearly every emotion. Human observers and the model both use minimal individualizing information to adjust predictions of how different people will respond to the same event. Thus, our framework integrates inverse planning, event appraisals and emotion concepts in a single computational model to reverse-engineer people's intuitive theory of emotions.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
From sparse descriptions of events, observers can make systematic and nuanced predictions of what emotions the people involved will experience. We propose a formal model of emotion prediction in the context of a public high-stakes social dilemma. This model uses inverse planning to infer a person's beliefs and preferences, including social preferences for equity and for maintaining a good reputation. The model then combines these inferred mental contents with the event to compute 'appraisals': whether the situation conformed to the expectations and fulfilled the preferences. We learn functions mapping computed appraisals to emotion labels, allowing the model to match human observers' quantitative predictions of 20 emotions, including joy, relief, guilt and envy. Model comparison indicates that inferred monetary preferences are not sufficient to explain observers' emotion predictions; inferred social preferences are factored into predictions for nearly every emotion. Human observers and the model both use minimal individualizing information to adjust predictions of how different people will respond to the same event. Thus, our framework integrates inverse planning, event appraisals and emotion concepts in a single computational model to reverse-engineer people's intuitive theory of emotions.
Radkani, Setayesh; Holton, Eleanor; de Courson, Benoît; Saxe, Rebecca; Nettle, Daniel
Desperation and inequality increase crime: evidence from experimental micro-societies Journal Article
In: R. Soc. Open Sci., iss. 10, pp. 221385, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {Desperation and inequality increase crime: evidence from experimental micro-societies},
author = {Setayesh Radkani and Eleanor Holton and Benoît de Courson and Rebecca Saxe and Daniel Nettle},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:XUvXOeBm_78C, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/radkani2022.pdf, pdf
https://osf.io/kf87e/, data},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.221385},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-07-19},
urldate = {2023-07-19},
journal = {R. Soc. Open Sci.},
issue = {10},
pages = {221385},
abstract = {People facing material deprivation are more likely to turn to acquisitive crime. It is not clear why it makes sense for them to do so, given that apprehension and punishment may make their situation even worse. Recent theory suggests that people should be more willing to steal if they are on the wrong side of a ‘desperation threshold’; that is, a level of resources critical to wellbeing. Below such a threshold, people should pursue any risky behaviour that offers the possibility of a short route back above, and should be insensitive to the severity of possible punishments, since they have little left to lose. We developed a multi-round, multi-player economic game with a desperation threshold and the possibility of theft as well as cooperation. Across four experiments with 1000 UK and US adults, we showed that falling short of a desperation threshold increased stealing from other players, even when the payoff from stealing was negative on average. Within the microsocieties created in the game, the presence of more players with below-threshold resources produced low trust, driven by the experience of being stolen from. Contrary to predictions, our participants appeared to be somewhat sensitive to the severity of punishment for being caught trying to steal. Our results show, in an experimental microcosm, that some members of society falling short of a threshold of material desperation can have powerful social consequences.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
People facing material deprivation are more likely to turn to acquisitive crime. It is not clear why it makes sense for them to do so, given that apprehension and punishment may make their situation even worse. Recent theory suggests that people should be more willing to steal if they are on the wrong side of a ‘desperation threshold’; that is, a level of resources critical to wellbeing. Below such a threshold, people should pursue any risky behaviour that offers the possibility of a short route back above, and should be insensitive to the severity of possible punishments, since they have little left to lose. We developed a multi-round, multi-player economic game with a desperation threshold and the possibility of theft as well as cooperation. Across four experiments with 1000 UK and US adults, we showed that falling short of a desperation threshold increased stealing from other players, even when the payoff from stealing was negative on average. Within the microsocieties created in the game, the presence of more players with below-threshold resources produced low trust, driven by the experience of being stolen from. Contrary to predictions, our participants appeared to be somewhat sensitive to the severity of punishment for being caught trying to steal. Our results show, in an experimental microcosm, that some members of society falling short of a threshold of material desperation can have powerful social consequences.
Radkani, Setayesh; Saxe, Rebecca
What people learn from punishment: joint inference of wrongness and punisher’s motivations from observation of punitive choices Journal Article
In: PsyArXiv, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {What people learn from punishment: joint inference of wrongness and punisher’s motivations from observation of punitive choices},
author = {Setayesh Radkani and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/legitimacy_wrongness_punishment_cogsci2023.pdf, pdf
https://osf.io/6x2we/, data},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-06-02},
urldate = {2023-06-02},
journal = {PsyArXiv},
abstract = {Punishment is a cost imposed on a target, in response to an undesirable action. Yet choosing to punish also reveals information about the authority’s own motives and values. We propose that observers jointly infer the wrongness of the action and the authority’s motivations. Using hypothetical scenarios in unfamiliar societies, we experimentally manipulated observers’ prior beliefs and measured human observers’ inferences after observing punishment. These inferences were recapitulated in a formal model that inverts an intuitive causal model of authorities who make rational choices about punishment by weighing its costs and benefits (ie utilities). An essential component of this model, driving these inferences, is that legitimate authorities consider the utility of a proportional response to harmful actions, which depends on the balance between the wrongness of the act and the severity of the punishment.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Punishment is a cost imposed on a target, in response to an undesirable action. Yet choosing to punish also reveals information about the authority’s own motives and values. We propose that observers jointly infer the wrongness of the action and the authority’s motivations. Using hypothetical scenarios in unfamiliar societies, we experimentally manipulated observers’ prior beliefs and measured human observers’ inferences after observing punishment. These inferences were recapitulated in a formal model that inverts an intuitive causal model of authorities who make rational choices about punishment by weighing its costs and benefits (ie utilities). An essential component of this model, driving these inferences, is that legitimate authorities consider the utility of a proportional response to harmful actions, which depends on the balance between the wrongness of the act and the severity of the punishment.
Chen, Alicia M; Saxe, Rebecca
People have systematic expectations linking social relationships to patterns of reciprocal altruism Journal Article
In: PsyArXiv, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {People have systematic expectations linking social relationships to patterns of reciprocal altruism},
author = {Alicia M Chen and Rebecca Saxe },
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/PRE_cogsci23_final.pdf, pdf},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-05-09},
journal = {PsyArXiv},
abstract = {In two-person asymmetric coordination dilemmas, both people are better off if they coordinate, but one person benefits more than the other. When these interactions recur, people can form expectations to balance who is better off over time. What does it mean when asymmetric social interactions recur, and what can we learn from how people solve these dilemmas? We hypothesize that people expect social interactions to recur when two people are in a social relationship, and that knowing about the symmetry of the social relationship influences the stable solution to asymmetric coordination dilemmas over time. We report two experiments where participants read stories and answered questions about social interactions between two people. In Experiment 1, participants infer that two people are in a social relationship when there is a sequence of altruistic interactions between them, and specifically infer an asymmetric relationship when one person always performs the altruistic action, and a symmetric relationship when the two people alternate performing the altruistic action. In Experiment 2, participants equally expect alternating and repeating altruistic actions when the relationship is symmetric, but expect repeating actions (following a precedent) when the relationship is asymmetric. Our results suggest that people are able to use knowledge of relationships to generate shared expectations for coordinating on recurrent altruistic social interactions, and vice versa.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
In two-person asymmetric coordination dilemmas, both people are better off if they coordinate, but one person benefits more than the other. When these interactions recur, people can form expectations to balance who is better off over time. What does it mean when asymmetric social interactions recur, and what can we learn from how people solve these dilemmas? We hypothesize that people expect social interactions to recur when two people are in a social relationship, and that knowing about the symmetry of the social relationship influences the stable solution to asymmetric coordination dilemmas over time. We report two experiments where participants read stories and answered questions about social interactions between two people. In Experiment 1, participants infer that two people are in a social relationship when there is a sequence of altruistic interactions between them, and specifically infer an asymmetric relationship when one person always performs the altruistic action, and a symmetric relationship when the two people alternate performing the altruistic action. In Experiment 2, participants equally expect alternating and repeating altruistic actions when the relationship is symmetric, but expect repeating actions (following a precedent) when the relationship is asymmetric. Our results suggest that people are able to use knowledge of relationships to generate shared expectations for coordinating on recurrent altruistic social interactions, and vice versa.
Cao, Anjie; Raz, Gal; Saxe, Rebecca; Frank, Michael C
Habituation reflects optimal exploration over noisy perceptual samples Journal Article
In: Topics in Cognitive Science, vol. 15, iss. 2, pp. 290-302, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {Habituation reflects optimal exploration over noisy perceptual samples},
author = {Anjie Cao and Gal Raz and Rebecca Saxe and Michael C Frank },
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:AHdEip9mkN0C, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cao_gal_topics2023.pdf, pdf},
doi = {10.1111/tops.12631},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-04-01},
journal = {Topics in Cognitive Science},
volume = {15},
issue = {2},
pages = {290-302},
abstract = {From birth, humans constantly make decisions about what to look at and for how long. Yet, the
mechanism behind such decision-making remains poorly understood. Here, we present the rational
action, noisy choice for habituation (RANCH) model. RANCH is a rational learning model that takes
noisy perceptual samples from stimuli and makes sampling decisions based on expected information
gain (EIG). The model captures key patterns of looking time documented in developmental research:
habituation and dishabituation. We evaluated the model with adult looking time collected from a
paradigm analogous to the infant habituation paradigm. We compared RANCH with baseline models (no learning model, no perceptual noise model) and models with alternative linking hypotheses
(Surprisal, KL divergence). We showed that (1) learning and perceptual noise are critical assumptions
of the model, and (2) Surprisal and KL are good proxies for EIG under the current learning context.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
From birth, humans constantly make decisions about what to look at and for how long. Yet, the
mechanism behind such decision-making remains poorly understood. Here, we present the rational
action, noisy choice for habituation (RANCH) model. RANCH is a rational learning model that takes
noisy perceptual samples from stimuli and makes sampling decisions based on expected information
gain (EIG). The model captures key patterns of looking time documented in developmental research:
habituation and dishabituation. We evaluated the model with adult looking time collected from a
paradigm analogous to the infant habituation paradigm. We compared RANCH with baseline models (no learning model, no perceptual noise model) and models with alternative linking hypotheses
(Surprisal, KL divergence). We showed that (1) learning and perceptual noise are critical assumptions
of the model, and (2) Surprisal and KL are good proxies for EIG under the current learning context.
mechanism behind such decision-making remains poorly understood. Here, we present the rational
action, noisy choice for habituation (RANCH) model. RANCH is a rational learning model that takes
noisy perceptual samples from stimuli and makes sampling decisions based on expected information
gain (EIG). The model captures key patterns of looking time documented in developmental research:
habituation and dishabituation. We evaluated the model with adult looking time collected from a
paradigm analogous to the infant habituation paradigm. We compared RANCH with baseline models (no learning model, no perceptual noise model) and models with alternative linking hypotheses
(Surprisal, KL divergence). We showed that (1) learning and perceptual noise are critical assumptions
of the model, and (2) Surprisal and KL are good proxies for EIG under the current learning context.
Kosakowski, Heather L; Norman-Haignere, Samnuel; Mynick, Anna; Takahashi, Atsushi; Saxe, Rebecca; Kanwisher, Nancy
Preliminary evidence for selective cortical responses to music in one‐month‐old infants Journal Article
In: Developmental Science, pp. e13387, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {Preliminary evidence for selective cortical responses to music in one‐month‐old infants},
author = {Heather L Kosakowski and Samnuel Norman-Haignere and Anna Mynick and Atsushi Takahashi and Rebecca Saxe and Nancy Kanwisher},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:FiytvqdAVhgC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Developmental-Science-2023-Kosakowski.pdf, pdf},
doi = {10.1111/desc.13387},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-03-23},
journal = {Developmental Science},
pages = {e13387},
abstract = {Prior studies have observed selective neural responses in the adult human auditory cortex to music and speech that cannot be explained by the differing lower-level acoustic properties of these stimuli. Does infant cortex exhibit similarly selective responses to music and speech shortly after birth? To answer this question, we attempted to collect functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 45 sleeping infants (2.0- to 11.9-weeks-old) while they listened to monophonic instrumental lullabies and infant-directed speech produced by a mother. To match acoustic variation between music and speech sounds we (1) recorded music from instruments that had a similar spectral range as female infant-directed speech, (2) used a novel excitation-matching algorithm to match the cochleagrams of music and speech stimuli, and (3) synthesized “model-matched” stimuli that were matched in spectrotemporal modulation statistics to (yet perceptually distinct from) music or speech. Of the 36 infants we collected usable data from, 19 had significant activations to sounds overall compared to scanner noise. From these infants, we observed a set of voxels in non-primary auditory cortex (NPAC) but not in Heschl's Gyrus that responded significantly more to music than to each of the other three stimulus types (but not significantly more strongly than to the background scanner noise). In contrast, our planned analyses did not reveal voxels in NPAC that responded more to speech than to model-matched speech, although other unplanned analyses did. These preliminary findings suggest that music selectivity arises within the first month of life. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/c8IGFvzxudk.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Prior studies have observed selective neural responses in the adult human auditory cortex to music and speech that cannot be explained by the differing lower-level acoustic properties of these stimuli. Does infant cortex exhibit similarly selective responses to music and speech shortly after birth? To answer this question, we attempted to collect functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data from 45 sleeping infants (2.0- to 11.9-weeks-old) while they listened to monophonic instrumental lullabies and infant-directed speech produced by a mother. To match acoustic variation between music and speech sounds we (1) recorded music from instruments that had a similar spectral range as female infant-directed speech, (2) used a novel excitation-matching algorithm to match the cochleagrams of music and speech stimuli, and (3) synthesized “model-matched” stimuli that were matched in spectrotemporal modulation statistics to (yet perceptually distinct from) music or speech. Of the 36 infants we collected usable data from, 19 had significant activations to sounds overall compared to scanner noise. From these infants, we observed a set of voxels in non-primary auditory cortex (NPAC) but not in Heschl's Gyrus that responded significantly more to music than to each of the other three stimulus types (but not significantly more strongly than to the background scanner noise). In contrast, our planned analyses did not reveal voxels in NPAC that responded more to speech than to model-matched speech, although other unplanned analyses did. These preliminary findings suggest that music selectivity arises within the first month of life. A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://youtu.be/c8IGFvzxudk.
Schwartz, Emily; O'Nell, Kathryn; Saxe, Rebecca; Anzellotti, Stefano
Challenging the classical view: recognition of identity and expression as integrated processes Journal Article
In: Brain Sciences, vol. 13, iss. 2, pp. 296, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {Challenging the classical view: recognition of identity and expression as integrated processes},
author = {Emily Schwartz and Kathryn O'Nell and Rebecca Saxe and Stefano Anzellotti},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:j7_hQOaDUrUC, Google Scholar},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-02-10},
urldate = {2023-02-10},
journal = {Brain Sciences},
volume = {13},
issue = {2},
pages = {296},
abstract = {Recent neuroimaging evidence challenges the classical view that face identity and facial expression are processed by segregated neural pathways, showing that information about identity and expression are encoded within common brain regions. This article tests the hypothesis that integrated representations of identity and expression arise spontaneously within deep neural networks. A subset of the CelebA dataset is used to train a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) to label face identity (chance = 0.06%, accuracy = 26.5%), and the FER2013 dataset is used to train a DCNN to label facial expression (chance = 14.2%, accuracy = 63.5%). The identity-trained and expression-trained networks each successfully transfer to labeling both face identity and facial expression on the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces dataset. This study demonstrates that DCNNs trained to recognize face identity and DCNNs trained to recognize facial expression spontaneously develop representations of facial expression and face identity, respectively. Furthermore, a congruence coefficient analysis reveals that features distinguishing between identities and features distinguishing between expressions become increasingly orthogonal from layer to layer, suggesting that deep neural networks disentangle representational subspaces corresponding to different sources.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Recent neuroimaging evidence challenges the classical view that face identity and facial expression are processed by segregated neural pathways, showing that information about identity and expression are encoded within common brain regions. This article tests the hypothesis that integrated representations of identity and expression arise spontaneously within deep neural networks. A subset of the CelebA dataset is used to train a deep convolutional neural network (DCNN) to label face identity (chance = 0.06%, accuracy = 26.5%), and the FER2013 dataset is used to train a DCNN to label facial expression (chance = 14.2%, accuracy = 63.5%). The identity-trained and expression-trained networks each successfully transfer to labeling both face identity and facial expression on the Karolinska Directed Emotional Faces dataset. This study demonstrates that DCNNs trained to recognize face identity and DCNNs trained to recognize facial expression spontaneously develop representations of facial expression and face identity, respectively. Furthermore, a congruence coefficient analysis reveals that features distinguishing between identities and features distinguishing between expressions become increasingly orthogonal from layer to layer, suggesting that deep neural networks disentangle representational subspaces corresponding to different sources.
Liu, Shari; Raz, Gal; Kamps, Frederik S.; Grossmann, Tobias; Saxe, Rebecca
No evidence for discontinuity between infants and adults (Response Paper) Journal Article
In: PsyArXiv, vol. 14, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {No evidence for discontinuity between infants and adults (Response Paper)},
author = {Shari Liu and Gal Raz and Frederik S. Kamps and Tobias Grossmann and Rebecca Saxe },
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Liu_etal_2023_BAResponse_R1.pdf, pdf},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-02-01},
journal = {PsyArXiv},
volume = {14},
abstract = {Based on studies of infant gaze, developmental psychologists have ascribed abstract cognitive functions to young infants. In their thought-provoking article, Blumberg and Adolph (B+ A)[1] consider the implications of developmental neurobiology for these claims. Abstract cognitive functions in adults depend on cortical circuits; however, B+ A hypothesize that the developing cortex is too immature to drive gaze in the youngest infants. If this is true, then subcortical regions must be driving all observed gaze behavior in young infants.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Based on studies of infant gaze, developmental psychologists have ascribed abstract cognitive functions to young infants. In their thought-provoking article, Blumberg and Adolph (B+ A)[1] consider the implications of developmental neurobiology for these claims. Abstract cognitive functions in adults depend on cortical circuits; however, B+ A hypothesize that the developing cortex is too immature to drive gaze in the youngest infants. If this is true, then subcortical regions must be driving all observed gaze behavior in young infants.
Liu, Shari; Lydic, Kirsten; Mei, Lingjie; Saxe, Rebecca
Domain-specific and domain-general neural responses to surprising psychological and physical events Journal Article
In: PsyArXiv, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {Domain-specific and domain-general neural responses to surprising psychological and physical events},
author = {Shari Liu and Kirsten Lydic and Lingjie Mei and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:1taIhTC69MYC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Liu_etal_NES_MS_SI_Aug2023.pdf, pdf},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-31},
journal = {PsyArXiv},
abstract = {Why do babies look longer when they see an object pass through a solid wall, or a person act inefficiently, during violation-of-expectation (VOE) studies? Here we test two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses:(i) VOE involves domain-general processes, like visual prediction error, and curiosity about the source of surprise.(ii) VOE involves domain-specific processes, like prediction error over distinctively physical and psychological expectations (objects fall; agents behave rationally). In a pre-registered experiment, we scanned 32 adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they watched videos of agents and objects, adapted from infant behavioral research. Early visual regions responded equally to surprising and expected events in both domains, providing evidence against domain-general visual prediction error. Some multiple demand regions, that are engaged when people deploy goal-directed attention, responded more to surprising events from both domains, providing evidence for domain-general endogenous attention. Domain-specific regions, that prefer stimuli involving agents vs objects more broadly, showed similar preferences for the current videos of agents and objects. One region implicated in physical reasoning responded selectively to unexpected events from the physical domain, providing evidence for domain-specific physical prediction error. Thus, in adult brains, both domain-specific and high-level domain-general regions encode violation-of-expectation involving agents and objects, paving the way towards future developmental work.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Why do babies look longer when they see an object pass through a solid wall, or a person act inefficiently, during violation-of-expectation (VOE) studies? Here we test two non-mutually exclusive hypotheses:(i) VOE involves domain-general processes, like visual prediction error, and curiosity about the source of surprise.(ii) VOE involves domain-specific processes, like prediction error over distinctively physical and psychological expectations (objects fall; agents behave rationally). In a pre-registered experiment, we scanned 32 adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they watched videos of agents and objects, adapted from infant behavioral research. Early visual regions responded equally to surprising and expected events in both domains, providing evidence against domain-general visual prediction error. Some multiple demand regions, that are engaged when people deploy goal-directed attention, responded more to surprising events from both domains, providing evidence for domain-general endogenous attention. Domain-specific regions, that prefer stimuli involving agents vs objects more broadly, showed similar preferences for the current videos of agents and objects. One region implicated in physical reasoning responded selectively to unexpected events from the physical domain, providing evidence for domain-specific physical prediction error. Thus, in adult brains, both domain-specific and high-level domain-general regions encode violation-of-expectation involving agents and objects, paving the way towards future developmental work.
Olson, Halie; Chen, Emily; Lydic, Kirsten; Saxe, Rebecca
Left-hemisphere cortical language regions respond equally to observed dialogue and monologue Journal Article
In: bioRxiv, pp. 2023.01. 30.526344, 2023.
@article{nokey,
title = {Left-hemisphere cortical language regions respond equally to observed dialogue and monologue},
author = {Halie Olson and Emily Chen and Kirsten Lydic and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:7BrZ7Jt4UNcC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/olson_preprint2023.pdf, pdf},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1101/2023.01.30.526344},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-30},
urldate = {2023-01-30},
journal = {bioRxiv},
pages = {2023.01. 30.526344},
abstract = {Much of the language we encounter in our everyday lives comes in the form of conversation, yet
the majority of research on the neural basis of language comprehension has used input from only
one speaker at a time. 20 adults were scanned while passively observing audiovisual
conversations using functional magnetic resonance imaging. In a block-design task, participants
watched 20-second videos of puppets speaking either to another puppet (the “dialogue”
condition) or directly to the viewer (“monologue”), while the audio was either comprehensible
(played forward) or incomprehensible (played backward). Individually functionally-localized
left-hemisphere language regions responded more to comprehensible than incomprehensible
speech but did not respond differently to dialogue than monologue. In a second task, participants
watched videos (1-3 minutes each) of two puppets conversing with each other, in which one
puppet was comprehensible while the other’s speech was reversed. All participants saw the same
visual input but were randomly assigned which character’s speech was comprehensible. In lefthemisphere cortical language regions, the timecourse of activity was correlated only among
participants who heard the same character speaking comprehensibly, despite identical visual
input across all participants. For comparison, some individually-localized theory of mind regions
and right hemisphere homologues of language regions responded more to dialogue than
monologue in the first task, and in the second task, activity in some regions was correlated across
all participants regardless of which character was speaking comprehensibly. Together, these
results suggest that canonical left-hemisphere cortical language regions are not sensitive to
differences between observed dialogue and monologue. },
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Much of the language we encounter in our everyday lives comes in the form of conversation, yet
the majority of research on the neural basis of language comprehension has used input from only
one speaker at a time. 20 adults were scanned while passively observing audiovisual
conversations using functional magnetic resonance imaging. In a block-design task, participants
watched 20-second videos of puppets speaking either to another puppet (the “dialogue”
condition) or directly to the viewer (“monologue”), while the audio was either comprehensible
(played forward) or incomprehensible (played backward). Individually functionally-localized
left-hemisphere language regions responded more to comprehensible than incomprehensible
speech but did not respond differently to dialogue than monologue. In a second task, participants
watched videos (1-3 minutes each) of two puppets conversing with each other, in which one
puppet was comprehensible while the other’s speech was reversed. All participants saw the same
visual input but were randomly assigned which character’s speech was comprehensible. In lefthemisphere cortical language regions, the timecourse of activity was correlated only among
participants who heard the same character speaking comprehensibly, despite identical visual
input across all participants. For comparison, some individually-localized theory of mind regions
and right hemisphere homologues of language regions responded more to dialogue than
monologue in the first task, and in the second task, activity in some regions was correlated across
all participants regardless of which character was speaking comprehensibly. Together, these
results suggest that canonical left-hemisphere cortical language regions are not sensitive to
differences between observed dialogue and monologue.
the majority of research on the neural basis of language comprehension has used input from only
one speaker at a time. 20 adults were scanned while passively observing audiovisual
conversations using functional magnetic resonance imaging. In a block-design task, participants
watched 20-second videos of puppets speaking either to another puppet (the “dialogue”
condition) or directly to the viewer (“monologue”), while the audio was either comprehensible
(played forward) or incomprehensible (played backward). Individually functionally-localized
left-hemisphere language regions responded more to comprehensible than incomprehensible
speech but did not respond differently to dialogue than monologue. In a second task, participants
watched videos (1-3 minutes each) of two puppets conversing with each other, in which one
puppet was comprehensible while the other’s speech was reversed. All participants saw the same
visual input but were randomly assigned which character’s speech was comprehensible. In lefthemisphere cortical language regions, the timecourse of activity was correlated only among
participants who heard the same character speaking comprehensibly, despite identical visual
input across all participants. For comparison, some individually-localized theory of mind regions
and right hemisphere homologues of language regions responded more to dialogue than
monologue in the first task, and in the second task, activity in some regions was correlated across
all participants regardless of which character was speaking comprehensibly. Together, these
results suggest that canonical left-hemisphere cortical language regions are not sensitive to
differences between observed dialogue and monologue.
Liu, Shari; Lydic, Kirsten; Mei, Lingjie; Saxe, Rebecca
Violations of physical and psychological expectations in the human adult brain Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 2023.
@inproceedings{nokey,
title = {Violations of physical and psychological expectations in the human adult brain},
author = {Shari Liu and Kirsten Lydic and Lingjie Mei and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:jU7OWUQzBzMC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/voe_proceedings2023.pdf, pdf},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society},
volume = {45},
issue = {45},
abstract = {When adults see one solid object pass through another, or see a person take the long route to a destination when a shortcut was available, we classify those events as surprising. Infants look infants look longer at the same unexpected outcomes, compared with visually similar but expected outcomes, in violation-of-expectation (VOE) experiments. What domain-specific and domain-general cognitive processes support these judgments? In a pre-registered experiment, we scanned 32 adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they watched videos designed for infant research. One region implicated in physical reasoning responded selectively to unexpected physical events, providing evidence for domain-specific physical prediction error. Multiple demand regions responded more to unexpected events regardless of domain, providing evidence for domain-general goal-directed attention. Early visual regions responded equally to unexpected and expected events, providing evidence against stimulus-driven prediction error. Thus, in adults, VOE involves domain-specific, and high-level, domain-general computations.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
When adults see one solid object pass through another, or see a person take the long route to a destination when a shortcut was available, we classify those events as surprising. Infants look infants look longer at the same unexpected outcomes, compared with visually similar but expected outcomes, in violation-of-expectation (VOE) experiments. What domain-specific and domain-general cognitive processes support these judgments? In a pre-registered experiment, we scanned 32 adults using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) while they watched videos designed for infant research. One region implicated in physical reasoning responded selectively to unexpected physical events, providing evidence for domain-specific physical prediction error. Multiple demand regions responded more to unexpected events regardless of domain, providing evidence for domain-general goal-directed attention. Early visual regions responded equally to unexpected and expected events, providing evidence against stimulus-driven prediction error. Thus, in adults, VOE involves domain-specific, and high-level, domain-general computations.
Raz, Gal; Cao, Anjie; Bui, Minh Khong; Frank, Michael C.; Saxe, Rebecca
No evidence for familiarity preferences after limited exposure to visual concepts in preschoolers and infants Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society, 2023.
@inproceedings{nokey,
title = {No evidence for familiarity preferences after limited exposure to visual concepts in preschoolers and infants},
author = {Gal Raz and Anjie Cao and Minh Khong Bui and Michael C. Frank and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:L1USKYWJimsC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/cao_raz_proceedings2022.pdf, pdf},
year = {2023},
date = {2023-01-01},
urldate = {2023-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society},
journal = {Proceedings of the Annual Meeting of the Cognitive Science Society},
volume = {45},
issue = {45},
abstract = {From birth, humans make decisions about what to look at and for how long. A classic framework proposes encoding as a key driver of looking behavior in development - in early stages of encoding, infants and young children prefer to engage with familiar stimuli, while at later stages of encoding they prefer novel stimuli. Though this framework is often invoked when interpreting looking time studies, it is rarely validated empirically. Here, we test these predictions by explicitly manipulating exposure durations within-subjects. While we found robust evidence for habituation and novelty preferences, limiting exposure to visual concepts did not result in familiarity preferences in any age group. Our findings suggest that limited exposure does not generically lead to familiarity preferences, and that interpretations of observed familiarity preferences should be made with care. We argue for the development of formal frameworks which link the learning problem faced by participants to their attentional preferences.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
From birth, humans make decisions about what to look at and for how long. A classic framework proposes encoding as a key driver of looking behavior in development - in early stages of encoding, infants and young children prefer to engage with familiar stimuli, while at later stages of encoding they prefer novel stimuli. Though this framework is often invoked when interpreting looking time studies, it is rarely validated empirically. Here, we test these predictions by explicitly manipulating exposure durations within-subjects. While we found robust evidence for habituation and novelty preferences, limiting exposure to visual concepts did not result in familiarity preferences in any age group. Our findings suggest that limited exposure does not generically lead to familiarity preferences, and that interpretations of observed familiarity preferences should be made with care. We argue for the development of formal frameworks which link the learning problem faced by participants to their attentional preferences.
Ho, Mark K; Saxe, Rebecca; Cushman, Fiery
Planning with theory of mind Journal Article
In: Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 26, iss. 11, pp. 959-971, 2022.
@article{nokey,
title = {Planning with theory of mind},
author = {Mark K Ho and Rebecca Saxe and Fiery Cushman},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:LdasjJ6CEcoC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/planning_tom2022.pdf, pdf},
doi = {10.1016/j.tics.2022.08.003},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-11-01},
journal = {Trends in Cognitive Sciences},
volume = {26},
issue = {11},
pages = {959-971},
abstract = {Understanding Theory of Mind should begin with an analysis of the problems it solves. The traditional answer is that Theory of Mind is used for predicting others' thoughts and actions. However, the same Theory of Mind is also used for planning to change others' thoughts and actions. Planning requires that Theory of Mind consists of abstract structured causal representations and supports efficient search and selection from innumerable possible actions. Theory of Mind contrasts with less cognitively demanding alternatives: statistical predictive models of other people's actions, or model-free reinforcement of actions by their effects on other people. Theory of Mind is likely used to plan novel interventions and predict their effects, for example, in pedagogy, emotion regulation, and impression management.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Understanding Theory of Mind should begin with an analysis of the problems it solves. The traditional answer is that Theory of Mind is used for predicting others' thoughts and actions. However, the same Theory of Mind is also used for planning to change others' thoughts and actions. Planning requires that Theory of Mind consists of abstract structured causal representations and supports efficient search and selection from innumerable possible actions. Theory of Mind contrasts with less cognitively demanding alternatives: statistical predictive models of other people's actions, or model-free reinforcement of actions by their effects on other people. Theory of Mind is likely used to plan novel interventions and predict their effects, for example, in pedagogy, emotion regulation, and impression management.
Saxe, Rebecca
Perceiving and pursuing legitimate power Journal Article
In: Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 26, no. 12, 2022.
@article{nokey,
title = {Perceiving and pursuing legitimate power},
author = {Rebecca Saxe },
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:7Hz3ACDFbsoC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/saxe_trends2022.pdf, pdf},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tics.2022.08.008},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-09-20},
urldate = {2022-09-20},
journal = {Trends in Cognitive Sciences},
volume = {26},
number = {12},
abstract = {How do people perceive and pursue legitimate power? For the social sciences, this question is venerable. Yet, for cognitive science, it offers fresh and generative opportunities to explore how adults evaluate legitimacy, how children learn to do so, and what difference legitimate power makes for people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
How do people perceive and pursue legitimate power? For the social sciences, this question is venerable. Yet, for cognitive science, it offers fresh and generative opportunities to explore how adults evaluate legitimacy, how children learn to do so, and what difference legitimate power makes for people’s thoughts, feelings, and actions.
Thomas, Ashley J.; Saxe, Rebecca; Spelke, Elizabeth S.
Infants infer potential social partners by observing the interactions of their parent with unknown others Journal Article
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119, iss. 32, pp. e2121390119, 2022.
@article{nokey,
title = { Infants infer potential social partners by observing the interactions of their parent with unknown others},
author = {Ashley J. Thomas and Rebecca Saxe and Elizabeth S. Spelke},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&cstart=20&pagesize=80&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:kVjdVfd2voEC, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/ajt2022.pdf, pdf},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2121390119},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-05-24},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
volume = {119},
issue = {32},
pages = {e2121390119},
abstract = {Infants are born into networks of individuals who are socially connected. How do infants begin learning which individuals are their own potential social partners? Using digitally edited videos, we showed 12-mo-old infants’ social interactions between unknown individuals and their own parents. In studies 1 to 4, after their parent showed affiliation toward one puppet, infants expected that puppet to engage with them. In study 5, infants made the reverse inference; after a puppet engaged with them, the infants expected that puppet to respond to their parent. In each study, infants’ inferences were specific to social interactions that involved their own parent as opposed to another infant’s parent. Thus, infants combine observation of social interactions with knowledge of their preexisting relationship with their parent to discover which newly encountered individuals are potential social partners for themselves and their families.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Infants are born into networks of individuals who are socially connected. How do infants begin learning which individuals are their own potential social partners? Using digitally edited videos, we showed 12-mo-old infants’ social interactions between unknown individuals and their own parents. In studies 1 to 4, after their parent showed affiliation toward one puppet, infants expected that puppet to engage with them. In study 5, infants made the reverse inference; after a puppet engaged with them, the infants expected that puppet to respond to their parent. In each study, infants’ inferences were specific to social interactions that involved their own parent as opposed to another infant’s parent. Thus, infants combine observation of social interactions with knowledge of their preexisting relationship with their parent to discover which newly encountered individuals are potential social partners for themselves and their families.
Kamps, Frederik S.; Richardson, Hilary; Murty, N. Apurva Ratan; Kanwisher, Nancy; Saxe, Rebecca
Using child‐friendly movie stimuli to study the development of face, place, and object regions from age 3 to 12 years Journal Article
In: Human Brain Mapping, vol. 43, iss. 9, pp. 2782-2800, 2022.
@article{nokey,
title = {Using child‐friendly movie stimuli to study the development of face, place, and object regions from age 3 to 12 years},
author = {Frederik S. Kamps and Hilary Richardson and N. Apurva Ratan Murty and Nancy Kanwisher and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://scholar.google.com/citations?view_op=view_citation&hl=en&user=Tv-zquoAAAAJ&cstart=20&pagesize=80&sortby=pubdate&citation_for_view=Tv-zquoAAAAJ:lvd772isFD0C, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/Human-Brain-Mapping-2022-Kamps.pdf, pdf
},
doi = {10.1002/hbm.25815},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-03-11},
urldate = {2022-03-11},
journal = {Human Brain Mapping},
volume = {43},
issue = {9},
pages = {2782-2800},
abstract = {Scanning young children while they watch short, engaging, commercially-produced movies has emerged as a promising approach for increasing data retention and quality. Movie stimuli also evoke a richer variety of cognitive processes than traditional experiments, allowing the study of multiple aspects of brain development simultaneously. However, because these stimuli are uncontrolled, it is unclear how effectively distinct profiles of brain activity can be distinguished from the resulting data. Here we develop an approach for identifying multiple distinct subject-specific Regions of Interest (ssROIs) using fMRI data collected during movie-viewing. We focused on the test case of higher-level visual regions selective for faces, scenes, and objects. Adults (N = 13) were scanned while viewing a 5.6-min child-friendly movie, as well as a traditional localizer experiment with blocks of faces, scenes, and objects. We found that just 2.7 min of movie data could identify subject-specific face, scene, and object regions. While successful, movie-defined ssROIS still showed weaker domain selectivity than traditional ssROIs. Having validated our approach in adults, we then used the same methods on movie data collected from 3 to 12-year-old children (N = 122). Movie response timecourses in 3-year-old children's face, scene, and object regions were already significantly and specifically predicted by timecourses from the corresponding regions in adults. We also found evidence of continued developmental change, particularly in the face-selective posterior superior temporal sulcus. Taken together, our results reveal both early maturity and functional change in face, scene, and object regions, and more broadly highlight the promise of short, child-friendly movies for developmental cognitive neuroscience.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Scanning young children while they watch short, engaging, commercially-produced movies has emerged as a promising approach for increasing data retention and quality. Movie stimuli also evoke a richer variety of cognitive processes than traditional experiments, allowing the study of multiple aspects of brain development simultaneously. However, because these stimuli are uncontrolled, it is unclear how effectively distinct profiles of brain activity can be distinguished from the resulting data. Here we develop an approach for identifying multiple distinct subject-specific Regions of Interest (ssROIs) using fMRI data collected during movie-viewing. We focused on the test case of higher-level visual regions selective for faces, scenes, and objects. Adults (N = 13) were scanned while viewing a 5.6-min child-friendly movie, as well as a traditional localizer experiment with blocks of faces, scenes, and objects. We found that just 2.7 min of movie data could identify subject-specific face, scene, and object regions. While successful, movie-defined ssROIS still showed weaker domain selectivity than traditional ssROIs. Having validated our approach in adults, we then used the same methods on movie data collected from 3 to 12-year-old children (N = 122). Movie response timecourses in 3-year-old children's face, scene, and object regions were already significantly and specifically predicted by timecourses from the corresponding regions in adults. We also found evidence of continued developmental change, particularly in the face-selective posterior superior temporal sulcus. Taken together, our results reveal both early maturity and functional change in face, scene, and object regions, and more broadly highlight the promise of short, child-friendly movies for developmental cognitive neuroscience.
Kosakowski, Heather L.; Cohen, Michael A.; Takahashi, Atsushi; Keil, Boris; Kanwisher, Nancy; Saxe, Rebecca
Selective responses to faces, scenes, and bodies in the ventral visual pathway of infants Journal Article
In: Current Biology, iss. 32, pp. 265–274, 2022.
@article{nokey,
title = {Selective responses to faces, scenes, and bodies in the ventral visual pathway of infants},
author = {Heather L. Kosakowski and Michael A. Cohen and Atsushi Takahashi and Boris Keil and Nancy Kanwisher and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Selective%2Bresponses%2Bto%2Bfaces%2C%2Bscenes%2C%2Band%2Bbodies%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bventral%2Bvisual%2Bpathway%2Bof%2Binfants%22&as_sauthors=Kosakowski&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/Kosakowski-et-al-CB2022.pdf, PDF
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/05/320.rtf, RTF
},
doi = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.10.064},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-24},
urldate = {2022-01-24},
journal = {Current Biology},
issue = {32},
pages = {265–274},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Thomas, Ashley J.; Woo, Brandon; Nettle, Daniel; Spelke, Elizabeth; Saxe, Rebecca
Early concepts of intimacy: Young humans use saliva sharing to infer close relationships Journal Article
In: Science, vol. 375, pp. 311-315, 2022.
@article{321,
title = {Early concepts of intimacy: Young humans use saliva sharing to infer close relationships},
author = {Ashley J. Thomas and Brandon Woo and Daniel Nettle and Elizabeth Spelke and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.abh1054
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/01/science.abh1054.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Early%2Bconcepts%2Bof%2Bintimacy%3A%2BYoung%2Bhumans%2Buse%2Bsaliva%2Bsharing%2Bto%2Binfer%2Bclose%2Brelationships%22&as_sauthors=Thomas&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/321.rtf, RTF},
doi = {10.1126/science.abh1054},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Science},
volume = {375},
pages = {311-315},
abstract = {Across human societies, people form “thick” relationships characterized by strong attachments, obligations, and mutual responsiveness. People in thick relationships share food utensils, kiss, or engage in other distinctive interactions that involve sharing saliva. We found that children, toddlers, and infants infer that dyads who share saliva (as opposed to other positive social interactions) have a distinct relationship. Children expect saliva sharing to happen in nuclear families. Toddlers and infants expect that people who share saliva will respond to one another in distress. Parents confirm that saliva sharing is a valid cue of relationship thickness in their children’s social environments. The ability to use distinctive interactions to infer categories of relationships thus emerges early in life, without explicit teaching; this enables young humans to rapidly identify close relationships, both within and beyond families. Young humans are remarkably helpless, relying entirely on the adult humans around them for survival. However, not all adults are as invested in the care of a particular child, and there is benefit in being able to determine from a very young age which relationships are close. Thomas et al. tested young children and infants to determine whether they were able to identify close, or “thick, ” relationships based on whether individuals participated in activities that involve sharing saliva, such as eating, kissing, or sharing utensils (see the Perspective by Fawcett). The children expected relationships like these to be closer than other relationships, indicating that they can distinguish closeness very early in life. Children, toddlers, and infants infer that people who share saliva, for example, by kissing or sharing food utensils, are in distinctive, close social relationships.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Across human societies, people form “thick” relationships characterized by strong attachments, obligations, and mutual responsiveness. People in thick relationships share food utensils, kiss, or engage in other distinctive interactions that involve sharing saliva. We found that children, toddlers, and infants infer that dyads who share saliva (as opposed to other positive social interactions) have a distinct relationship. Children expect saliva sharing to happen in nuclear families. Toddlers and infants expect that people who share saliva will respond to one another in distress. Parents confirm that saliva sharing is a valid cue of relationship thickness in their children’s social environments. The ability to use distinctive interactions to infer categories of relationships thus emerges early in life, without explicit teaching; this enables young humans to rapidly identify close relationships, both within and beyond families. Young humans are remarkably helpless, relying entirely on the adult humans around them for survival. However, not all adults are as invested in the care of a particular child, and there is benefit in being able to determine from a very young age which relationships are close. Thomas et al. tested young children and infants to determine whether they were able to identify close, or “thick, ” relationships based on whether individuals participated in activities that involve sharing saliva, such as eating, kissing, or sharing utensils (see the Perspective by Fawcett). The children expected relationships like these to be closer than other relationships, indicating that they can distinguish closeness very early in life. Children, toddlers, and infants infer that people who share saliva, for example, by kissing or sharing food utensils, are in distinctive, close social relationships.
Thomas, Ashley J.; Saxe, Rebecca; Spelke, Elizabeth S.
Infants infer potential social partners by observing the interactions of their parent with unknown others Journal Article
In: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, vol. 119, pp. e2121390119, 2022.
@article{328,
title = {Infants infer potential social partners by observing the interactions of their parent with unknown others},
author = {Ashley J. Thomas and Rebecca Saxe and Elizabeth S. Spelke},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/pnas.2121390119.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Infants%2Binfer%2Bpotential%2Bsocial%2Bpartners%2Bby%2Bobserving%2Bthe%2Binteractions%2Bof%2Btheir%2Bparent%2Bwith%2Bunknown%2Bothers%22&as_sauthors=Thomas&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/328.rtf, RTF},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences},
volume = {119},
pages = {e2121390119},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Kamps, Frederik S.; Richardson, Hilary; Murty, N. Apurva Ratan; Kanwisher, Nancy; Saxe, Rebecca
Using child-friendly movie stimuli to study the development of face, place, and object regions from age 3 to 12 years Journal Article
In: Human Brain Mapping, vol. 43, pp. 2782-2800, 2022.
@article{329,
title = {Using child-friendly movie stimuli to study the development of face, place, and object regions from age 3 to 12 years},
author = {Frederik S. Kamps and Hilary Richardson and N. Apurva Ratan Murty and Nancy Kanwisher and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/08/Human-Brain-Mapping-2022-Kamps-Using-child‐friendly-movie-stimuli-to-study-the-development-of-face-place-and-object.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Using%2Bchild-friendly%2Bmovie%2Bstimuli%2Bto%2Bstudy%2Bthe%2Bdevelopment%2Bof%2Bface%2C%2Bplace%2C%2Band%2Bobject%2Bregions%2Bfrom%2Bage%2B3%2Bto%2B12%2Byears%22&as_sauthors=Kamps&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/329.rtf, RTF},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Human Brain Mapping},
volume = {43},
pages = {2782-2800},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Radkani, Setayesh; Thomas, Ashley J; Saxe, Rebecca
Advantages and limitations of representing groups in terms of recursive utilities Journal Article
In: Behavioral and Brain Sciences, vol. 45, pp. 44-45, 2022.
@article{332,
title = {Advantages and limitations of representing groups in terms of recursive utilities},
author = {Setayesh Radkani and Ashley J Thomas and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2022/09/toward-a-computational-theory-of-social-groups-a-finite-set-of-cognitive-primitives-for-representing-any-and-all-social-groups-in-the-context-of-conflict.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Advantages%2Band%2Blimitations%2Bof%2Brepresenting%2Bgroups%2Bin%2Bterms%2Bof%2Brecursive%2Butilities%22&as_sauthors=Radkani&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/332.rtf, RTF
},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
urldate = {2022-01-01},
journal = {Behavioral and Brain Sciences},
volume = {45},
pages = {44-45},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Houlihan, Sean Dae; Ong, Desmond C.; Cusimano, Maddie; Saxe, Rebecca
Reasoning about the antecedents of emotions: Bayesian causal inference over an intuitive theory of mind Proceedings Article
In: Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society, pp. 854-861, 2022.
@inproceedings{houlihan2022emotionreasoning,
title = {Reasoning about the antecedents of emotions: Bayesian causal inference over an intuitive theory of mind},
author = {Sean Dae Houlihan and Desmond C. Ong and Maddie Cusimano and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://escholarship.org/uc/item/7sn3w3n2, eScholarship
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/houlihan2022emotionreasoning.pdf, pdf},
year = {2022},
date = {2022-01-01},
booktitle = {Proceedings of the 44th Annual Conference of the Cognitive Science Society},
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pages = {854-861},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inproceedings}
}
Barrett, H. Clark; Saxe, Rebecca
Are some cultures more mind-minded in their moral judgements than others? Journal Article
In: Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B, vol. 376, 2021.
@article{314,
title = {Are some cultures more mind-minded in their moral judgements than others?},
author = {H. Clark Barrett and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Barrett-and-Saxe-2021.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Are%2Bsome%2Bcultures%2Bmore%2Bmind-minded%2Bin%2Btheir%2Bmoral%2Bjudgements%2Bthan%2Bothers%3F%22&as_sauthors=Barrett&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
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doi = {https://doi.org/10.1098/rstb.2020.0288},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-11-01},
urldate = {2021-11-01},
journal = {Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B},
volume = {376},
chapter = {20200288},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Tomova, Livia; Tye, Kay; Saxe, Rebecca
The neuroscience of unmet social needs Journal Article
In: Social Neuroscience, vol. 16, pp. 221-231, 2021, ISSN: 1747-0919.
@article{312,
title = {The neuroscience of unmet social needs},
author = {Livia Tomova and Kay Tye and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://doi.org/10.1080/17470919.2019.1694580
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/Tomova-et-al-2021.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22The%2Bneuroscience%2Bof%2Bunmet%2Bsocial%2Bneeds%22&as_sauthors=Tomova&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
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doi = {10.1080/17470919.2019.1694580},
issn = {1747-0919},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-05-01},
urldate = {2021-05-01},
journal = {Social Neuroscience},
volume = {16},
pages = {221-231},
chapter = {221},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Houlihan, Sean Dae; Tenenbaum, Joshua B.; Saxe, Rebecca
Linking Models of Theory of Mind and Measures of Human Brain Activity Book Chapter
In: The Neural Basis of Mentalizing, pp. 209-235, Springer, 2021.
@inbook{318,
title = {Linking Models of Theory of Mind and Measures of Human Brain Activity},
author = {Sean Dae Houlihan and Joshua B. Tenenbaum and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Linking%2BModels%2Bof%2BTheory%2Bof%2BMind%2Band%2BMeasures%2Bof%2BHuman%2BBrain%2BActivity%22&as_sauthors=Houlihan&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
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year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2021-01-01},
booktitle = {The Neural Basis of Mentalizing},
pages = {209-235},
publisher = {Springer},
organization = {Springer},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
Nettle, Daniel; Johnson, Elliott; Johnson, Matthew; Saxe, Rebecca
Why has the COVID-19 pandemic increased support for Universal Basic Income? Journal Article
In: Humanities and Social Science Communications, vol. 8, pp. 1-12, 2021.
@article{296,
title = {Why has the COVID-19 pandemic increased support for Universal Basic Income?},
author = {Daniel Nettle and Elliott Johnson and Matthew Johnson and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41599-021-00760-7.pdf, PDF
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Nature_UBI.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Why%2Bhas%2Bthe%2BCOVID-19%2Bpandemic%2Bincreased%2Bsupport%2Bfor%2BUniversal%2BBasic%2BIncome%3F%22&as_sauthors=Nettle&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/296.rtf, RTF
},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1057/s41599-021-00760-7},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Humanities and Social Science Communications},
volume = {8},
pages = {1-12},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Ghotra, Anpreeet; Kosakowski, Heather L.; Takahashi, Atsushi; Etzel, Robin; May, Markus W.; Scholz, Alina; Jansen, Andreas; Wald, Lawrence L.; Kanwisher, Nancy; Saxe, Rebecca; Keil, Boris
A size-adaptive 32-channel array coil for awake infant neuroimaging at 3 Tesla MRI Journal Article
In: Magnetic Resonance in Medicine, vol. 86, pp. 1773-1785, 2021.
@article{315,
title = {A size-adaptive 32-channel array coil for awake infant neuroimaging at 3 Tesla MRI},
author = {Anpreeet Ghotra and Heather L. Kosakowski and Atsushi Takahashi and Robin Etzel and Markus W. May and Alina Scholz and Andreas Jansen and Lawrence L. Wald and Nancy Kanwisher and Rebecca Saxe and Boris Keil},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Ghotra-et-al-2021_0.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22A%2Bsize-adaptive%2B32-channel%2Barray%2Bcoil%2Bfor%2Bawake%2Binfant%2Bneuroimaging%2Bat%2B3%2BTesla%2BMRI%22&as_sauthors=Ghotra&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
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year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Magnetic Resonance in Medicine},
volume = {86},
pages = {1773-1785},
keywords = {},
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}
Jamali, Mohsen; Grannan, Benjamin L.; Fedorenko, Evelina; Saxe, Rebecca; Báez-Mendoza, Raymundo; Williams, Ziv M.
Single-neuronal predictions of others’ beliefs in humans Journal Article
In: Nature, vol. 591, pp. 610-614, 2021.
@article{316,
title = {Single-neuronal predictions of others’ beliefs in humans},
author = {Mohsen Jamali and Benjamin L. Grannan and Evelina Fedorenko and Rebecca Saxe and Raymundo Báez-Mendoza and Ziv M. Williams},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Jamali-et-al-2021.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Single-neuronal%2Bpredictions%2Bof%2Bothers%E2%80%99%2Bbeliefs%2Bin%2Bhumans%22&as_sauthors=Jamali&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
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},
doi = {10.1038/s41586-021-03184-0},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2021-01-01},
journal = {Nature},
volume = {591},
pages = {610-614},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Anzellotti, Stefano; Houlihan, Sean Dae; Jr., Samuel Liburd; Saxe, Rebecca
Leveraging facial expressions and contextual information to investigate opaque representations of emotions Journal Article
In: Emotion, vol. 21, no. 1, pp. 96-107, 2021, ISSN: 1528-3542.
@article{219,
title = {Leveraging facial expressions and contextual information to investigate opaque representations of emotions},
author = {Stefano Anzellotti and Sean Dae Houlihan and Samuel Liburd Jr. and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/08/opaque_representations_emotions.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1037/emo0000685},
issn = {1528-3542},
year = {2021},
date = {2021-01-01},
urldate = {2019-01-01},
journal = {Emotion},
volume = {21},
number = {1},
pages = {96-107},
abstract = {Observers attribute emotions to others relying on multiple cues, including facial expressions and information about the situation. Recent research has used Bayesian models to study how these cues are integrated. Existing studies have used a variety of tasks to probe emotion inferences, but limited attention has been devoted to the possibility that different decision processes might be involved depending on the task. If this is the case, understanding emotion representations might require understanding the decision processes through which they give rise to judgments. This article 1) shows that the different tasks that have been used in the literature yield very different results, 2) proposes an account of the decision processes involved that explain the differences, and 3) tests novel predictions of this account. The results offer new insights into how emotions are represented, and more broadly demonstrate the importance of taking decision processes into account in Bayesian models of cognition.},
keywords = {},
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Observers attribute emotions to others relying on multiple cues, including facial expressions and information about the situation. Recent research has used Bayesian models to study how these cues are integrated. Existing studies have used a variety of tasks to probe emotion inferences, but limited attention has been devoted to the possibility that different decision processes might be involved depending on the task. If this is the case, understanding emotion representations might require understanding the decision processes through which they give rise to judgments. This article 1) shows that the different tasks that have been used in the literature yield very different results, 2) proposes an account of the decision processes involved that explain the differences, and 3) tests novel predictions of this account. The results offer new insights into how emotions are represented, and more broadly demonstrate the importance of taking decision processes into account in Bayesian models of cognition.
Deen, B; Saxe, R; Kanwisher, N
Processing communicative facial and vocal cues in the superior temporal sulcus Journal Article
In: NeuroImage, vol. 221, pp. 117191, 2020.
@article{244,
title = {Processing communicative facial and vocal cues in the superior temporal sulcus},
author = {B Deen and R Saxe and N Kanwisher},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920306777
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1-s2.0-S1053811920306777-main.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Processing%2Bcommunicative%2Bfacial%2Band%2Bvocal%2Bcues%2Bin%2Bthe%2Bsuperior%2Btemporal%2Bsulcus%22&as_sauthors=Deen&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
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},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2020.117191},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-11-01},
urldate = {2020-11-01},
journal = {NeuroImage},
volume = {221},
pages = {117191},
abstract = {Facial and vocal cues provide critical social information about other humans, including their emotional and attentional states and the content of their speech. Recent work has shown that the face-responsive region of posterior superior temporal sulcus (textquotedblleftfSTStextquotedblright) also responds strongly to vocal sounds. Here, we investigate the functional role of this region and the broader STS by measuring responses to a range of face movements, vocal sounds, and hand movements using fMRI. We find that the fSTS responds broadly to different types of audio and visual face action, including both richly social communicative actions, as well as minimally social noncommunicative actions, ruling out hypotheses of specialization for processing speech signals, or communicative signals more generally. Strikingly, however, responses to hand movements were very low, whether communicative or not, indicating a specific role in the analysis of face actions (facial and vocal), not a general role in the perception of any human action. Furthermore, spatial patterns of response in this region were able to decode communicative from noncommunicative face actions, both within and across modality (facial/vocal cues), indicating sensitivity to an abstract social dimension. These functional properties of the fSTS contrast with a region of middle STS that has a selective, largely unimodal auditory response to speech sounds over both communicative and noncommunicative vocal nonspeech sounds, and nonvocal sounds. Region of interest analyses were corroborated by a data-driven independent component analysis, identifying face-voice and auditory speech responses as dominant sources of voxelwise variance across the STS. These results suggest that the STS contains separate processing streams for the audiovisual analysis of face actions and auditory speech processing.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
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}
Facial and vocal cues provide critical social information about other humans, including their emotional and attentional states and the content of their speech. Recent work has shown that the face-responsive region of posterior superior temporal sulcus (textquotedblleftfSTStextquotedblright) also responds strongly to vocal sounds. Here, we investigate the functional role of this region and the broader STS by measuring responses to a range of face movements, vocal sounds, and hand movements using fMRI. We find that the fSTS responds broadly to different types of audio and visual face action, including both richly social communicative actions, as well as minimally social noncommunicative actions, ruling out hypotheses of specialization for processing speech signals, or communicative signals more generally. Strikingly, however, responses to hand movements were very low, whether communicative or not, indicating a specific role in the analysis of face actions (facial and vocal), not a general role in the perception of any human action. Furthermore, spatial patterns of response in this region were able to decode communicative from noncommunicative face actions, both within and across modality (facial/vocal cues), indicating sensitivity to an abstract social dimension. These functional properties of the fSTS contrast with a region of middle STS that has a selective, largely unimodal auditory response to speech sounds over both communicative and noncommunicative vocal nonspeech sounds, and nonvocal sounds. Region of interest analyses were corroborated by a data-driven independent component analysis, identifying face-voice and auditory speech responses as dominant sources of voxelwise variance across the STS. These results suggest that the STS contains separate processing streams for the audiovisual analysis of face actions and auditory speech processing.
Landau-Wells, Marika; Saxe, Rebecca
Political preferences and threat perception: opportunities for neuroimaging and developmental research Journal Article
In: Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences, vol. 34, pp. 58-63, 2020, ISSN: 23521546.
@article{231,
title = {Political preferences and threat perception: opportunities for neuroimaging and developmental research},
author = {Marika Landau-Wells and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S2352154619301330
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Landau-Wells-and-Saxe_2020_Threat-Perception_Political-Prefs_Opportunities.pdf, PDF
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/231.rtf, RTF},
doi = {10.1016/j.cobeha.2019.12.002},
issn = {23521546},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-08-01},
urldate = {2020-08-01},
journal = {Current Opinion in Behavioral Sciences},
volume = {34},
pages = {58-63},
abstract = {People have preferences for how their social environment is organized and governed. One influential explanation of variation in these preferences focuses on individual differences in sensitivity to threats. Recent research demonstrates that this relationship is a function not only of the degree of sensitivity (greater or lesser), but also of the danger in question (i.e. immigration or climate change) and the kind of potential harm it poses (i.e. physical pain or contamination). Since many political issues are not unambiguously of one kind, the structure of an individual’s reactions to perceived political threats is also uncertain. We argue that future research should (i) use functional neuroimaging to test these structures and (ii) investigate the role of social learning in their transmission.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
People have preferences for how their social environment is organized and governed. One influential explanation of variation in these preferences focuses on individual differences in sensitivity to threats. Recent research demonstrates that this relationship is a function not only of the degree of sensitivity (greater or lesser), but also of the danger in question (i.e. immigration or climate change) and the kind of potential harm it poses (i.e. physical pain or contamination). Since many political issues are not unambiguously of one kind, the structure of an individual’s reactions to perceived political threats is also uncertain. We argue that future research should (i) use functional neuroimaging to test these structures and (ii) investigate the role of social learning in their transmission.
Richardson, H; Koster-Hale, J; Caselli, N; Magid, R; Benedict, R; Olson, H; Pyers, J; Saxe, R
Reduced Neural Selectivity for Mental States in Deaf Children with Delayed Exposure to Sign Language Journal Article
In: Nature Communications, vol. 11, pp. 3246, 2020.
@article{238,
title = {Reduced Neural Selectivity for Mental States in Deaf Children with Delayed Exposure to Sign Language},
author = {H Richardson and J Koster-Hale and N Caselli and R Magid and R Benedict and H Olson and J Pyers and R Saxe},
url = {https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-17004-y
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/s41467-020-17004-y_2.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Reduced%2BNeural%2BSelectivity%2Bfor%2BMental%2BStates%2Bin%2BDeaf%2BChildren%2Bwith%2BDelayed%2BExposure%2Bto%2BSign%2BLanguage%22&as_sauthors=Richardson&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1. Google Scholar
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doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41467-020-17004-y},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-06-01},
urldate = {2020-06-01},
journal = {Nature Communications},
volume = {11},
pages = {3246},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Nettle, Daniel; Saxe, Rebecca
Preferences for redistribution are sensitive to perceived luck, social homogeneity, war and scarcity Journal Article
In: Cognition, vol. 198, pp. 104234, 2020, ISSN: 00100277.
@article{222,
title = {Preferences for redistribution are sensitive to perceived luck, social homogeneity, war and scarcity},
author = {Daniel Nettle and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0010027720300536
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/02/1-s2.0-S0010027720300536-main.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Preferences%2Bfor%2Bredistribution%2Bare%2Bsensitive%2Bto%2Bperceived%2Bluck%2C%2Bsocial%2Bhomogeneity%2C%2Bwar%2Band%2Bscarcity%22&as_sauthors=Nettle&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
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doi = {10.1016/j.cognition.2020.104234},
issn = {00100277},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-05-01},
urldate = {2020-05-01},
journal = {Cognition},
volume = {198},
pages = {104234},
abstract = {Many human societies feature institutions for redistributing resources from some individuals to others, but preferred levels of redistribution vary greatly within and between populations. We postulate that support for redistribution is the output of a structured cognitive system that is sensitive to features of the social situation. We developed an experimental approach in which participants prescribe appropriate redistribution for hypothetical villages whose features vary. Over seven experiments involving 2400 adults from the UK, we show that participants shift their redistribution preferences systematically as situational features change. Higher levels of re-distribution are favoured when luck is more important in the initial distribution of resources; when social groups are more homogeneous; when the group is at war; and when resources are abundant rather than scarce.Judgements about the right level of redistribution carry moderate or high levels of moral conviction. Participants have systematic intuitions about when the implementation of redistribution will prove problematic, distinct from their intuitions about when it is desirable. Individuals are only weakly consistent in the level of redistribution they prefer, and political orientation explains rather little variation in preferred redistribution for a given situation. We argue that people have divergent views on redistribution at least in part because they have different appraisals of the features of their societies. Understanding the operating principles of the psychology of redistribution may help explain variation and change in support for, and hence existence of, redistributive institutions across societies and over time.},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Many human societies feature institutions for redistributing resources from some individuals to others, but preferred levels of redistribution vary greatly within and between populations. We postulate that support for redistribution is the output of a structured cognitive system that is sensitive to features of the social situation. We developed an experimental approach in which participants prescribe appropriate redistribution for hypothetical villages whose features vary. Over seven experiments involving 2400 adults from the UK, we show that participants shift their redistribution preferences systematically as situational features change. Higher levels of re-distribution are favoured when luck is more important in the initial distribution of resources; when social groups are more homogeneous; when the group is at war; and when resources are abundant rather than scarce.Judgements about the right level of redistribution carry moderate or high levels of moral conviction. Participants have systematic intuitions about when the implementation of redistribution will prove problematic, distinct from their intuitions about when it is desirable. Individuals are only weakly consistent in the level of redistribution they prefer, and political orientation explains rather little variation in preferred redistribution for a given situation. We argue that people have divergent views on redistribution at least in part because they have different appraisals of the features of their societies. Understanding the operating principles of the psychology of redistribution may help explain variation and change in support for, and hence existence of, redistributive institutions across societies and over time.
Richardson, H; Gweon, H; Dodell-Feder, D; Malloy, C; Pelton, H; Keil, B; Kanwisher, N; Saxe, R
In: Cortex, vol. 125, pp. 12-29, 2020.
@article{241,
title = {Response Patterns in the Developing Social Brain are Organized by Social and Emotion Features and Disrupted in Children Diagnosed with Autism Spectrum Disorder},
author = {H Richardson and H Gweon and D Dodell-Feder and C Malloy and H Pelton and B Keil and N Kanwisher and R Saxe},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0010945219304071
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1-s2.0-S0010945219304071-main_1.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Response%2BPatterns%2Bin%2Bthe%2BDeveloping%2BSocial%2BBrain%2Bare%2BOrganized%2Bby%2BSocial%2Band%2BEmotion%2BFeatures%2Band%2BDisrupted%2Bin%2BChildren%2BDiagnosed%2Bwith%2BAutism%2BSpectrum%2BDisorder%22&as_sauthors=Richardson&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
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https://osf.io/cbw6f/, OSF},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cortex.2019.11.021},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-04-01},
urldate = {2020-04-01},
journal = {Cortex},
volume = {125},
pages = {12-29},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Tomova, L; Saxe, R; Klöbl, M; Lanzenberger, R; Lamm, C
Acute stress alters neural patterns of value representation for others Journal Article
In: NeuroImage, vol. 209, pp. 116497, 2020.
@article{245,
title = {Acute stress alters neural patterns of value representation for others},
author = {L Tomova and R Saxe and M Klöbl and R Lanzenberger and C Lamm},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811919310882
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/1-s2.0-S1053811919310882-main.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Acute%2Bstress%2Balters%2Bneural%2Bpatterns%2Bof%2Bvalue%2Brepresentation%2Bfor%2Bothers%22&as_sauthors=Tomova&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/245.rtf, RTF},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.116497},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-04-01},
urldate = {2020-04-01},
journal = {NeuroImage},
volume = {209},
pages = {116497},
abstract = {<p>Acute stress is often evoked during social interactions, by feelings of threat or negative evaluation by other people. We also constantly interact with others while under stress - in the workplace or in private alike. However, it is not clear how stress affects social interactions. For one, individuals could become more selfish and focused on their own goals. On the other hand, individuals might also become more focused on affiliating with potential social partners, in order to secure their support. There is, indeed, accumulating behavioral evidence that prosocial behaviors increase rather than decrease under stress. Here, we tested the underlying brain processes of such findings, by assessing the effects of stress on the neural representations of (monetary) value for self and other. Participants (N = 30; male, 18-40 years) played a gambling task for themselves and for another participant while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Each participant played the gambling task twice: once immediately following acute stress induction, and once in a control session. We compared neural patterns of value representation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and striatum using representational similarity analysis (RSA). We found that under stress, dmPFC and striatum showed higher dissimilarity between neural patterns underlying high and low value for the other. Dissimilarity of neural patterns underlying high and low value for the self was unaffected by stress. These findings suggest that participants track the magnitude of possible rewards for others more under stress, suggesting increased prosocial orientation.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>Acute stress is often evoked during social interactions, by feelings of threat or negative evaluation by other people. We also constantly interact with others while under stress – in the workplace or in private alike. However, it is not clear how stress affects social interactions. For one, individuals could become more selfish and focused on their own goals. On the other hand, individuals might also become more focused on affiliating with potential social partners, in order to secure their support. There is, indeed, accumulating behavioral evidence that prosocial behaviors increase rather than decrease under stress. Here, we tested the underlying brain processes of such findings, by assessing the effects of stress on the neural representations of (monetary) value for self and other. Participants (N = 30; male, 18–40 years) played a gambling task for themselves and for another participant while undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Each participant played the gambling task twice: once immediately following acute stress induction, and once in a control session. We compared neural patterns of value representation in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and striatum using representational similarity analysis (RSA). We found that under stress, dmPFC and striatum showed higher dissimilarity between neural patterns underlying high and low value for the other. Dissimilarity of neural patterns underlying high and low value for the self was unaffected by stress. These findings suggest that participants track the magnitude of possible rewards for others more under stress, suggesting increased prosocial orientation.</p>
Richardson, H; Saxe, R
Early Signatures and Developmental Change in Brain Regions for Theory of Mind Book Chapter
In: Neural Circuit and Cognitive Development, vol. 2, Chapter 21, pp. 467-484, Second Edition, 2020.
@inbook{242,
title = {Early Signatures and Developmental Change in Brain Regions for Theory of Mind},
author = {H Richardson and R Saxe},
url = {https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128144114000214
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/RichardsonSaxe_NCCD.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22Early%2BSignatures%2Band%2BDevelopmental%2BChange%2Bin%2BBrain%2BRegions%2Bfor%2BTheory%2Bof%2BMind%22&as_sauthors=Richardson&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/242.rtf, RTF},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-12-814411-4.00021-4},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
booktitle = {Neural Circuit and Cognitive Development},
volume = {2},
pages = {467-484},
edition = {Second Edition},
chapter = {21},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {inbook}
}
Raz, G; Saxe, R
Learning in infancy is active, endogenously motivated, and depends on the prefrontal cortices Journal Article
In: Annual Review of Developmental Psychology, vol. 2, pp. 247-268, 2020.
@article{294,
title = {Learning in infancy is active, endogenously motivated, and depends on the prefrontal cortices},
author = {G Raz and R Saxe},
url = {https://www.annualreviews.org/doi/citedby/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-084841
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/annurev-devpsych-121318-084841.pdf, PDF},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-devpsych-121318-084841},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
journal = {Annual Review of Developmental Psychology},
volume = {2},
pages = {247-268},
abstract = {<p>A common view of learning in infancy emphasizes the role of incidental sensory experiences from which increasingly abstract statistical regularities are extracted. In this view, infant brains initially support basic sensory and motor functions, followed by maturation of higher-level association cortex. Here, we critique this view and posit that, by contrast and more like adults, infants are active, endogenously motivated learners who structure their own learning through flexible selection of attentional targets and active interventions on their environment. We further argue that the infant brain, and particularly the prefrontal cortex (PFC), is well equipped to support these learning behaviors. We review recent progress in characterizing the function of the infant PFC, which suggests that, as in adults, the PFC is functionally specialized and highly connected. Together, we present an integrative account of infant minds and brains, in which the infant PFC represents multiple intrinsic motivations, which are leveraged for active learning.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>A common view of learning in infancy emphasizes the role of incidental sensory experiences from which increasingly abstract statistical regularities are extracted. In this view, infant brains initially support basic sensory and motor functions, followed by maturation of higher-level association cortex. Here, we critique this view and posit that, by contrast and more like adults, infants are active, endogenously motivated learners who structure their own learning through flexible selection of attentional targets and active interventions on their environment. We further argue that the infant brain, and particularly the prefrontal cortex (PFC), is well equipped to support these learning behaviors. We review recent progress in characterizing the function of the infant PFC, which suggests that, as in adults, the PFC is functionally specialized and highly connected. Together, we present an integrative account of infant minds and brains, in which the infant PFC represents multiple intrinsic motivations, which are leveraged for active learning.</p>
Tomova, Livia; Wang, Kimberly L.; Thompson, Todd; Matthews, Gillian A.; Takahashi, Atsushi; Tye, Kay M.; Saxe, Rebecca
Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger Journal Article
In: Nature Neuroscience, vol. 23, pp. 1597-1605, 2020.
@article{319,
title = {Acute social isolation evokes midbrain craving responses similar to hunger},
author = {Livia Tomova and Kimberly L. Wang and Todd Thompson and Gillian A. Matthews and Atsushi Takahashi and Kay M. Tye and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/Tomova-et-al-2020.pdf, PDF},
doi = {https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-020-00742-z},
year = {2020},
date = {2020-01-01},
urldate = {2020-01-01},
journal = {Nature Neuroscience},
volume = {23},
pages = {1597-1605},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Tomova, Livia; Tye, Kay; Saxe, Rebecca
The neuroscience of unmet social needs Journal Article
In: Social Neuroscience, pp. 1 - 11, 2019, ISSN: 1747-0919.
@article{221,
title = {The neuroscience of unmet social needs},
author = {Livia Tomova and Kay Tye and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/17470919.2019.1694580
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/TomovaTyeSaxe-The-neuroscience-of-unmet-social-needs.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1080/17470919.2019.1694580},
issn = {1747-0919},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-11-01},
urldate = {2019-11-01},
journal = {Social Neuroscience},
pages = {1 - 11},
abstract = {<p>John Cacioppo has compared loneliness to hunger or thirst in that it signals that one needs to act and repair what is lacking. This paper reviews Cacioppo’s and others’ contributions to our understanding of neural mechanisms underlying social motivation in humans and in other social species. We focus particularly on the dopaminergic reward system and try to integrate evidence from animal models and human research. In rodents, objective social isolation leads to increased social motivation, mediated by the brains’ mesolimbic dopamine system. In humans, social rejection can lead to either increased or decreased social motivation, and is associated with activity in the insular cortex; while chronic loneliness is typically associated with decreased social motivation but has been associated with altered dopaminergic responses in the striatum. This mixed pattern of cross-species similarities and differences may arise from the substantially different methods used to study unmet social needs across species, and suggests the need for more direct and deliberate cross-species comparative research in this critically important domain.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>John Cacioppo has compared loneliness to hunger or thirst in that it signals that one needs to act and repair what is lacking. This paper reviews Cacioppo’s and others’ contributions to our understanding of neural mechanisms underlying social motivation in humans and in other social species. We focus particularly on the dopaminergic reward system and try to integrate evidence from animal models and human research. In rodents, objective social isolation leads to increased social motivation, mediated by the brains’ mesolimbic dopamine system. In humans, social rejection can lead to either increased or decreased social motivation, and is associated with activity in the insular cortex; while chronic loneliness is typically associated with decreased social motivation but has been associated with altered dopaminergic responses in the striatum. This mixed pattern of cross-species similarities and differences may arise from the substantially different methods used to study unmet social needs across species, and suggests the need for more direct and deliberate cross-species comparative research in this critically important domain.</p>
Richardson, Hilary; Saxe, Rebecca
Development of Predictive Responses in Theory of Mind Brain Regions Journal Article
In: Developmental Science, pp. e12863, 2019, ISSN: 1363-755X.
@article{213,
title = {Development of Predictive Responses in Theory of Mind Brain Regions},
author = {Hilary Richardson and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/desc.12863
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/Richardson_et_al-2019-Developmental_Science.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1111/desc.12863},
issn = {1363-755X},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-05-01},
urldate = {2019-05-01},
journal = {Developmental Science},
pages = {e12863},
abstract = {<div title="Page 1">
<div>
<div>
<div> <p>When we watch movies, we consider the characters’ mental states in order to understand and predict the narrative. Recent work in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) uses movie-viewing paradigms to measure functional responses in brain regions recruited for such mental state reasoning (the theory of mind [“ToM”] network). Here, two groups of young children (n = 30 3-4 years old},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<div title="Page 1">
<div>
<div>
<div> <p>When we watch movies, we consider the characters’ mental states in order to understand and predict the narrative. Recent work in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) uses movie-viewing paradigms to measure functional responses in brain regions recruited for such mental state reasoning (the theory of mind [“ToM”] network). Here, two groups of young children (n = 30 3–4 years old
<div>
<div>
<div> <p>When we watch movies, we consider the characters’ mental states in order to understand and predict the narrative. Recent work in functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) uses movie-viewing paradigms to measure functional responses in brain regions recruited for such mental state reasoning (the theory of mind [“ToM”] network). Here, two groups of young children (n = 30 3–4 years old
Bedny, Marina; Koster-Hale, Jorie; Elli, Giulia; Yazzolino, Lindsay; Saxe, Rebecca
There’s more to “sparkle” than meets the eye: Knowledge of vision and light verbs among congenitally blind and sighted individuals Journal Article
In: Cognition, vol. 189, pp. 105 - 115, 2019, ISSN: 00100277.
@article{211,
title = {There’s more to “sparkle” than meets the eye: Knowledge of vision and light verbs among congenitally blind and sighted individuals},
author = {Marina Bedny and Jorie Koster-Hale and Giulia Elli and Lindsay Yazzolino and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0010027719300721
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/Bedny_etal_SightVerbs.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1016/j.cognition.2019.03.017},
issn = {00100277},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-03-01},
urldate = {2019-03-01},
journal = {Cognition},
volume = {189},
pages = {105 - 115},
abstract = {<div title="Page 1">
<div>
<div> <p>We examined the contribution of first-person sensory experience to concepts by comparing the meanings of perception (visual/tactile) and emission (light/sound) verbs among congenitally blind (N = 25) and sighted speakers (N = 22). Participants judged semantic similarity for pairs of verbs referring to events of visual (e.g. to peek), tactile (e.g. to feel) and amodal perception (e.g. to perceive) as well as light (e.g. to shimmer) and sound (e.g. to boom) emission and manner of motion (to roll) (total word pairs},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<div title="Page 1">
<div>
<div> <p>We examined the contribution of first-person sensory experience to concepts by comparing the meanings of perception (visual/tactile) and emission (light/sound) verbs among congenitally blind (N = 25) and sighted speakers (N = 22). Participants judged semantic similarity for pairs of verbs referring to events of visual (e.g. to peek), tactile (e.g. to feel) and amodal perception (e.g. to perceive) as well as light (e.g. to shimmer) and sound (e.g. to boom) emission and manner of motion (to roll) (total word pairs
<div>
<div> <p>We examined the contribution of first-person sensory experience to concepts by comparing the meanings of perception (visual/tactile) and emission (light/sound) verbs among congenitally blind (N = 25) and sighted speakers (N = 22). Participants judged semantic similarity for pairs of verbs referring to events of visual (e.g. to peek), tactile (e.g. to feel) and amodal perception (e.g. to perceive) as well as light (e.g. to shimmer) and sound (e.g. to boom) emission and manner of motion (to roll) (total word pairs
Deen, Ben; Saxe, Rebecca
Parts-based representations of perceived face movements in the superior temporal sulcus Journal Article
In: Human Brain Mapping, 2019.
@article{209,
title = {Parts-based representations of perceived face movements in the superior temporal sulcus},
author = {Ben Deen and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {http://doi.wiley.com/10.1002/hbm.24540
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/Deen_et_al-2019-Human_Brain_Mapping.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1002/hbm.24540},
year = {2019},
date = {2019-02-01},
urldate = {2019-02-01},
journal = {Human Brain Mapping},
abstract = {<p>Facial motion is a primary source of social information about other humans. Prior fMRI studies</p>
<p>have identified regions of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) that respond specifically to perceived</p>
<p>face movements (termed fSTS), but little is known about the nature of motion representations</p>
<p>in these regions. Here we use fMRI and multivoxel pattern analysis to characterize the</p>
<p>representational content of the fSTS. Participants viewed a set of specific eye and mouth movements,</p>
<p>as well as combined eye and mouth movements. Our results demonstrate that fSTS</p>
<p>response patterns contain information about face movements, including subtle distinctions</p>
<p>between types of eye and mouth movements. These representations generalize across the actor</p>
<p>performing the movement, and across small differences in visual position. Critically, patterns of</p>
<p>response to combined movements could be well predicted by linear combinations of responses</p>
<p>to individual eye and mouth movements, pointing to a parts-based representation of complex</p>
<p>face movements. These results indicate that the fSTS plays an intermediate role in the process</p>
<p>of inferring social content from visually perceived face movements, containing a representation</p>
<p>that is sufficiently abstract to generalize across low-level visual details, but still tied to the kinematics</p>
<p>of face part movements.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>Facial motion is a primary source of social information about other humans. Prior fMRI studies</p>
<p>have identified regions of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) that respond specifically to perceived</p>
<p>face movements (termed fSTS), but little is known about the nature of motion representations</p>
<p>in these regions. Here we use fMRI and multivoxel pattern analysis to characterize the</p>
<p>representational content of the fSTS. Participants viewed a set of specific eye and mouth movements,</p>
<p>as well as combined eye and mouth movements. Our results demonstrate that fSTS</p>
<p>response patterns contain information about face movements, including subtle distinctions</p>
<p>between types of eye and mouth movements. These representations generalize across the actor</p>
<p>performing the movement, and across small differences in visual position. Critically, patterns of</p>
<p>response to combined movements could be well predicted by linear combinations of responses</p>
<p>to individual eye and mouth movements, pointing to a parts-based representation of complex</p>
<p>face movements. These results indicate that the fSTS plays an intermediate role in the process</p>
<p>of inferring social content from visually perceived face movements, containing a representation</p>
<p>that is sufficiently abstract to generalize across low-level visual details, but still tied to the kinematics</p>
<p>of face part movements.</p>
<p>have identified regions of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) that respond specifically to perceived</p>
<p>face movements (termed fSTS), but little is known about the nature of motion representations</p>
<p>in these regions. Here we use fMRI and multivoxel pattern analysis to characterize the</p>
<p>representational content of the fSTS. Participants viewed a set of specific eye and mouth movements,</p>
<p>as well as combined eye and mouth movements. Our results demonstrate that fSTS</p>
<p>response patterns contain information about face movements, including subtle distinctions</p>
<p>between types of eye and mouth movements. These representations generalize across the actor</p>
<p>performing the movement, and across small differences in visual position. Critically, patterns of</p>
<p>response to combined movements could be well predicted by linear combinations of responses</p>
<p>to individual eye and mouth movements, pointing to a parts-based representation of complex</p>
<p>face movements. These results indicate that the fSTS plays an intermediate role in the process</p>
<p>of inferring social content from visually perceived face movements, containing a representation</p>
<p>that is sufficiently abstract to generalize across low-level visual details, but still tied to the kinematics</p>
<p>of face part movements.</p>
Richardson, Hilary; Lisandrelli, Grace; Riobueno-Naylor, Alexa; Saxe, Rebecca
Development of the social brain from age three to twelve years Journal Article
In: Nature Communications, 2018.
@article{9,
title = {Development of the social brain from age three to twelve years},
author = {Hilary Richardson and Grace Lisandrelli and Alexa Riobueno-Naylor and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {http://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-018-03399-2
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Richardson_Lisandrelli_Riobueno-Naylor_Saxe_2018.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1038/s41467-018-03399-2},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-12-01},
urldate = {2018-12-01},
journal = {Nature Communications},
abstract = {<p>Human adults recruit distinct networks of brain regions to think about the bodies and minds of others. This study characterizes the development of these networks, and tests for relationships between neural development and behavioral changes in reasoning about others’ minds (‘theory of mind’, ToM). A large sample of children (n = 122, 3-12 years), and adults (n = 33), watched a short movie while undergoing fMRI. The movie highlights the characters’ bodily sensations (often pain) and mental states (beliefs, desires, emotions), and is a feasible experiment for young children. Here we report three main findings: (1) ToM and pain networks are functionally distinct by age 3 years, (2) functional specialization increases throughout childhood, and (3) functional maturity of each network is related to increasingly anti-correlated responses between the networks. Furthermore, the most studied milestone in ToM development, passing explicit false-belief tasks, does not correspond to discontinuities in the development of the social brain.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>Human adults recruit distinct networks of brain regions to think about the bodies and minds of others. This study characterizes the development of these networks, and tests for relationships between neural development and behavioral changes in reasoning about others’ minds (‘theory of mind’, ToM). A large sample of children (n = 122, 3–12 years), and adults (n = 33), watched a short movie while undergoing fMRI. The movie highlights the characters’ bodily sensations (often pain) and mental states (beliefs, desires, emotions), and is a feasible experiment for young children. Here we report three main findings: (1) ToM and pain networks are functionally distinct by age 3 years, (2) functional specialization increases throughout childhood, and (3) functional maturity of each network is related to increasingly anti-correlated responses between the networks. Furthermore, the most studied milestone in ToM development, passing explicit false-belief tasks, does not correspond to discontinuities in the development of the social brain.</p>
Richardson, Hilary
Development of brain networks for social functions: Confirmatory analyses in a large open source dataset Journal Article
In: Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience, 2018, ISSN: 18789293.
@article{208,
title = {Development of brain networks for social functions: Confirmatory analyses in a large open source dataset},
author = {Hilary Richardson},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1878929318301750
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/12/1-s2.0-S1878929318301750-main.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1016/j.dcn.2018.11.002},
issn = {18789293},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-11-01},
urldate = {2018-11-01},
journal = {Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience},
abstract = {<p>Human observers show robust activity in distinct brain networks during movie-viewing. For example, scenes that emphasize characters’ thoughts evoke activity in the “Theory of Mind” (ToM) network, whereas scenes that emphasize characters’ bodily sensations evoke activity in the “Pain Matrix.” A prior exploratory fMRI study used a naturalistic movie-viewing stimulus to study the developmental origins of this functional dissociation, and the links between cortical and cognitive changes in children’s social development (Richardson et al., 2018). To replicate and extend this work, the current study utilized a large publicly available dataset (n = 241, ages 5-20 years) (Alexander et al., 2017) who viewed “The Present” (Frey, 2014) and completed a resting state scan (n = 200) while undergoing fMRI. This study provides confirmatory evidence that 1) ToM and pain networks are functionally dissociated early in development, 2) selectivity increases with age, and in ToM regions, with a behavioral index of social reasoning. Additionally, while inter-region correlations are similar when measured during the movie and at rest, only inter-region correlations measured during movie-viewing correlated with functional maturity. This study demonstrates the scientific benefits of open source data in developmental cognitive neuroscience, and provides insight into the relationship between functional and intrinsic properties of the developing brain.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>Human observers show robust activity in distinct brain networks during movie-viewing. For example, scenes that emphasize characters’ thoughts evoke activity in the “Theory of Mind” (ToM) network, whereas scenes that emphasize characters’ bodily sensations evoke activity in the “Pain Matrix.” A prior exploratory fMRI study used a naturalistic movie-viewing stimulus to study the developmental origins of this functional dissociation, and the links between cortical and cognitive changes in children’s social development (Richardson et al., 2018). To replicate and extend this work, the current study utilized a large publicly available dataset (n = 241, ages 5–20 years) (Alexander et al., 2017) who viewed “The Present” (Frey, 2014) and completed a resting state scan (n = 200) while undergoing fMRI. This study provides confirmatory evidence that 1) ToM and pain networks are functionally dissociated early in development, 2) selectivity increases with age, and in ToM regions, with a behavioral index of social reasoning. Additionally, while inter-region correlations are similar when measured during the movie and at rest, only inter-region correlations measured during movie-viewing correlated with functional maturity. This study demonstrates the scientific benefits of open source data in developmental cognitive neuroscience, and provides insight into the relationship between functional and intrinsic properties of the developing brain.</p>
Powell, Lindsey J.; Kosakowski, Heather L.; Saxe, Rebecca
Social Origins of Cortical Face Areas Journal Article
In: Trends in Cognitive Sciences, 2018.
@article{56,
title = {Social Origins of Cortical Face Areas},
author = {Lindsey J. Powell and Heather L. Kosakowski and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Social-Origins-of-Cortical-Face-Areas.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1016/j.tics.2018.06.009},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-09-01},
urldate = {2018-09-01},
journal = {Trends in Cognitive Sciences},
abstract = {<p>Recently acquired fMRI data from human and macaque infants provide novel insights into the origins of cortical networks specialized for perceiving faces. Data from both species converge: cortical regions responding preferentially to faces are present and spatially organized early in infancy, although fully selective face areas emerge much later. What explains the earliest cortical responses to faces? We review two proposed mechanisms: proto-organization for simple shapes in visual cortex, and an innate subcortical schematic face template. In addition, we propose a third mechanism: infants choose to look at faces to engage in positively valenced, contingent social interactions. Activity in medial prefrontal cortex during social interactions may, directly or indirectly, guide the organization of cortical face areas.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>Recently acquired fMRI data from human and macaque infants provide novel insights into the origins of cortical networks specialized for perceiving faces. Data from both species converge: cortical regions responding preferentially to faces are present and spatially organized early in infancy, although fully selective face areas emerge much later. What explains the earliest cortical responses to faces? We review two proposed mechanisms: proto-organization for simple shapes in visual cortex, and an innate subcortical schematic face template. In addition, we propose a third mechanism: infants choose to look at faces to engage in positively valenced, contingent social interactions. Activity in medial prefrontal cortex during social interactions may, directly or indirectly, guide the organization of cortical face areas.</p>
Bruneau, Emile; Jacoby, Nir; Kteily, Nour; Saxe, Rebecca
Denying humanity: The distinct neural correlates of blatant dehumanization Journal Article
In: Journal of Experimental Psychology: General, vol. 147, pp. 1078 - 1093, 2018, ISSN: 0096-3445.
@article{7,
title = {Denying humanity: The distinct neural correlates of blatant dehumanization},
author = {Emile Bruneau and Nir Jacoby and Nour Kteily and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/xge0000417
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Bruneau_etal_2018.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1037/xge0000417},
issn = {0096-3445},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-07-01},
urldate = {2018-07-01},
journal = {Journal of Experimental Psychology: General},
volume = {147},
pages = {1078 - 1093},
abstract = {<p>Recent behavioral work demonstrates that many people view low-status groups as less “evolved and civilized” than high-status groups. Are these people using blatant expressions of dehumanization simply to express strong dislike toward other groups? Or is blatant dehumanization a process distinct from other negative assessments? We tested these competing hypotheses using functional neuroimaging. Participants judged 10 groups (e.g., Europeans, Muslims, rats) on four scales: blatant dehumanization, dislike, dissimilarity and perceived within-group homogeneity. Consistent with expectations, neural responses when making ratings of dehumanization diverged from those when judging the same targets on the other related dimensions. Specifically, we found regions in the left inferior parietal cortex (IPC) and left inferior frontal cortex (IFC) that were selectively parametrically modulated by dehumanization ratings. The pattern of responses in the left IFC was also consistent with animalistic dehumanization: high responses to low-status human groups and animals, and lower responses to high-status human groups. By contrast, a region in the posterior cingulate cortex was parametrically sensitive specifically to liking. We therefore demonstrate a double dissociation between brain activity associated with judgments of blatant dehumanization and judgments of dislike.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>Recent behavioral work demonstrates that many people view low-status groups as less “evolved and civilized” than high-status groups. Are these people using blatant expressions of dehumanization simply to express strong dislike toward other groups? Or is blatant dehumanization a process distinct from other negative assessments? We tested these competing hypotheses using functional neuroimaging. Participants judged 10 groups (e.g., Europeans, Muslims, rats) on four scales: blatant dehumanization, dislike, dissimilarity and perceived within-group homogeneity. Consistent with expectations, neural responses when making ratings of dehumanization diverged from those when judging the same targets on the other related dimensions. Specifically, we found regions in the left inferior parietal cortex (IPC) and left inferior frontal cortex (IFC) that were selectively parametrically modulated by dehumanization ratings. The pattern of responses in the left IFC was also consistent with animalistic dehumanization: high responses to low-status human groups and animals, and lower responses to high-status human groups. By contrast, a region in the posterior cingulate cortex was parametrically sensitive specifically to liking. We therefore demonstrate a double dissociation between brain activity associated with judgments of blatant dehumanization and judgments of dislike.</p>
Kosakowski, Heather L; Saxe, Rebecca
“Affective Theory of Mind” and the Function of the Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex Journal Article
In: Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology, vol. 31, pp. 36-37, 2018.
@article{59,
title = {“Affective Theory of Mind” and the Function of the Ventral Medial Prefrontal Cortex},
author = {Heather L Kosakowski and Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Kosakowski_Saxe.2018.pdf, PDF
http://scholar.google.com/scholar?btnG=Search%2BScholar&as_q=%22%E2%80%9CAffective%2BTheory%2Bof%2BMind%E2%80%9D%2Band%2Bthe%2BFunction%2Bof%2Bthe%2BVentral%2BMedial%2BPrefrontal%2BCortex%22&as_sauthors=Kosakowski&as_occt=any&as_epq=&as_oq=&as_eq=&as_publication=&as_ylo=&as_yhi=&as_sdtAAP=1&as_sdtp=1, Google Scholar
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/06/59.rtf, RTF},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-03-01},
urldate = {2018-03-01},
journal = {Cognitive and Behavioral Neurology},
volume = {31},
pages = {36-37},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Saxe, Rebecca
Seeing Other Minds in 3D Journal Article
In: Trends in Cognitive Sciences, vol. 22, pp. 193 - 195, 2018, ISSN: 13646613.
@article{57,
title = {Seeing Other Minds in 3D},
author = {Rebecca Saxe},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S1364661318300147
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Saxe_2018.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1016/j.tics.2018.01.003},
issn = {13646613},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-03-01},
urldate = {2018-03-01},
journal = {Trends in Cognitive Sciences},
volume = {22},
pages = {193 - 195},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
Tomova, L; Heinrichs, M; Lamm, C
The Other and Me: Effects of oxytocin on self-other distinction Journal Article
In: International Journal of Psychophysiology, 2018, ISSN: 01678760.
@article{61,
title = {The Other and Me: Effects of oxytocin on self-other distinction},
author = {L Tomova and M Heinrichs and C Lamm},
url = {https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0167876017302544
https://saxelab.mit.edu/wp-content/uploads/2018/11/Tomova_2018.pdf, PDF},
doi = {10.1016/j.ijpsycho.2018.03.008},
issn = {01678760},
year = {2018},
date = {2018-03-01},
urldate = {2018-03-01},
journal = {International Journal of Psychophysiology},
abstract = {<p>Distinguishing self- from other-related representations plays an important role in social interactions. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/neuropeptide" title="Learn more about Neuropeptide">neuropeptide</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/oxytocin" title="Learn more about Oxytocin">oxytocin</a> has been shown to modulate <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/social-behavior" title="Learn more about Social Behavior">social behavior</a> as well as underlying <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/social-cognition" title="Learn more about Social cognition">social cognitions</a> and emotions. However, how exactly oxytocin modulates representations of self and other is still unclear. The present study therefore aimed to assess effects of oxytocin on self-other distinction on two different processing levels (i.e., lower-level imitation-inhibition and higher-level perspective taking) in a male sample (n = 56) by performing a double-blind, placebo-controlled oxytocin administration study. Oxytocin improved visual perspective-taking and thus affected self-other distinction on the cognitive level, but had no effects on self-other distinction on the perceptual-motor level nor on a control task measuring attention reorientation. Thus, our findings suggest that oxytocin reduces ambiguity during perspective-taking in social interactions, which in turn may encourage social approach motivation and affiliative behavior.</p>},
keywords = {},
pubstate = {published},
tppubtype = {article}
}
<p>Distinguishing self- from other-related representations plays an important role in social interactions. The <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/neuropeptide" title="Learn more about Neuropeptide">neuropeptide</a> <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/oxytocin" title="Learn more about Oxytocin">oxytocin</a> has been shown to modulate <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/social-behavior" title="Learn more about Social Behavior">social behavior</a> as well as underlying <a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/neuroscience/social-cognition" title="Learn more about Social cognition">social cognitions</a> and emotions. However, how exactly oxytocin modulates representations of self and other is still unclear. The present study therefore aimed to assess effects of oxytocin on self-other distinction on two different processing levels (i.e., lower-level imitation-inhibition and higher-level perspective taking) in a male sample (n = 56) by performing a double-blind, placebo-controlled oxytocin administration study. Oxytocin improved visual perspective-taking and thus affected self-other distinction on the cognitive level, but had no effects on self-other distinction on the perceptual-motor level nor on a control task measuring attention reorientation. Thus, our findings suggest that oxytocin reduces ambiguity during perspective-taking in social interactions, which in turn may encourage social approach motivation and affiliative behavior.</p>
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