Posting Tonight At Midnight.
Posting tonight at midnight.
More Posts from Max39211 and Others
(Image caption: Location of neurons predicting partner’s choices superimposed on a stained section through one animal’s amygdala. Colours indicate different nuclei. Courtesy of Fabian Grabenhorst)
‘Mindreading’ neurons simulate decisions of social partners
Researchers at the University of Cambridge identified the previously-unknown neuron type, which they say actively and spontaneously simulates mental decision processes when social partners learn from one another.
The study, published in Cell, suggests that these newly-termed ‘simulation neurons’ – found in the amygdala, a collection of nerve cells in the temporal lobe of the brain – allow animals (and potentially also humans) to reconstruct their social partner’s state of mind and thereby predict their intentions.
The researchers go on to speculate that if simulation neurons became dysfunctional this could restrict social cognition, a symptom of autism. By contrast, they suggest overactive neurons could result in exaggerated simulation of what others might be thinking, which may play a role in social anxiety.
The study’s lead author, Dr Fabian Grabenhorst from the Department of Physiology, Development and Neuroscience, says: “We started out looking for neurons that might be involved in social learning. We were surprised to find that amygdala neurons not only learn the value of objects from social observation but actually use this information to simulate a partner’s decisions.”
Simulating others’ decisions is a sophisticated cognitive process that is rooted in social learning. By observing a partner’s foraging choices, for instance, we learn which foods are valuable and worth choosing. Such knowledge not only informs our own decisions but also helps us predict the future decisions of our partner.
Psychologists and philosophers have long suggested that simulation is the mechanism by which humans understand each other’s minds. Yet, the neural basis for this complex process has remained unclear. The amygdala is well known for its diverse roles in social behaviour and has been implicated in autism. Until now, however, it was unknown whether amygdala neurons also contribute to advanced social cognition, such as simulating others’ decisions.
The study recorded activity from individual amygdala neurons as macaque monkeys took part in an observational learning task. Sat facing each other with a touch screen between them, the animals took turns in making choices to obtain rewards. To maximise their fruit juice reward, the animals were required to learn and track the reward probabilities associated with different pictures displayed on the screen.
The study allowed one animal to observe its partner’s choices so that they could learn the pictures’ reward values. Once the pictures switched between them, the observing animal could make use of this knowledge when it was their turn to choose.
Surprisingly, the researchers found that when an animal observed its partner, the observer’s amygdala neurons seemed to play out a decision computation. These neurons first compared the reward values of the partner’s choice options before signalling the partner’s likely choice, consistent with a simulated decision process. Importantly, these activity patterns occurred spontaneously, well before partner’s choices and without decision requirement for the observer.
Based on their findings, the scientists created the first computer model of the amygdala’s neural circuits involved in social cognition. By showing how specific types of neurons influence one another, this model suggests that the amygdala contains a ‘decision circuit’ which works out the animal’s own choices and a separate ‘simulation circuit’ which computes a prediction of the social partner’s choice.
(Image caption: Graphic showing two decision systems in the primate amygdala. Courtesy of Fabian Grabenhorst)
Grabenhorst said: “Simulation and decision neurons are closely intermingled within the amygdala. We managed to distinguish between them and their different functions by carefully examining one neuron at a time. This would not have been possible with human brain imaging techniques that measure the averaged activity of large numbers of neurons.”
“We think that simulation neurons are important building blocks for social cognition — they allow animals to reconstruct their partners’ mental decision processes. Simulation neurons could also constitute simple precursors for the amazing cognitive capacities of humans, such as ‘Theory of Mind’.”
The scientists suggest that if simulation neurons were dysfunctional or completely absent, this could impoverish social behaviour.
Grabenhorst says: “If simulation neurons don’t function properly, a person might not be able to relate very well to the mental states of others. We know very little about how specific neuron types contribute to social cognition and to the social challenges faced by individuals with autism. By identifying specific neurons and circuit mechanisms for mental simulation, our study may offer new insights into these conditions.”
I’m feeling patriotic today. #music
Running out of things to do
Spent my Sunday watching church services after throwing up in the morning. It’s finally sunny today, but we might in our neighborhoods waiting for life to resume.
Watching life go by
My thoughts written down as I continue watching... The first time I teared up watching the patriotic documentary was when you got the call from a nice lady who gave you bad news. (I won’t tell you how many times tears were shed after the call lest I be compared with John Boehner.) I did sing along, but I’m also taking my morning medicinal toke before breakfast, which may or may not be eggs, so my voice is weak. (I plan a gym visit later today after it cleans out.)And now I’m pausing the documentary because I want to take it all in and post my thoughts online like a good little millennial (even though I’m taller than most millennials and I’m actually Generation X. Can you tell that I’ve heard many a Baptist preacher – and have adapted their tendency to drone on and on and on?
I’m eager to let you experience the other side of it all, where it’s OK not to be perfect but neither of us has to like being imperfect. As a kid I would throw temper tantrums when I couldn’t get something just “perfect.” When the lines weren’t straight enough in the fictional Southern city I was drawing, I went to the office supply store and bought a ruler. Straight, clean lines are the best. To this day I prefer writing with pencils because you can erase it cleanly.
I insert my foot in my mouth even faster than my brother Peter could ever think about doing. It’s a gift and a curse. It helps, though, when you just see your previous words in the context of a new truth: cancer. The next time I teared up in the documentary was when I heard your mom has cancer. That’s a truth that hits me hard, too. I’m surviving it so far, but it makes me long to wander the wonders of life. Preferably with a few hippies and someone to love. Someone who doesn’t mind being the “good” one, since we all know I’m the bad kid. (My brother compares me to Macaulay Culkin in “The Good Son.” He’s one to talk! (Hello, pot. This is kettle. …) It's hard to turn the other cheek, especially when you know you’re in the right (or at least not in the wrong), but that’s what we have to remember to do. As Sheldon Cooper likes to remind us on perpetual reruns, haters gon’ hate. Players gon’ play. And the best woman will win every time.
***I’ll probably clean up most of my social media feeds today. I need to get more real instead of live in the clouds, and we all know that tweeting one’s stream-of-consciousness does not suit anyone. Ever. For myself, sometimes I like to put out my raw thoughts to test the waters. But the hit hurts every time. And for the record, boots hurt like hell.
Sounds like I need some new shoes
I’ll admit it; I’m a bit scared. But I spend all day thinking about the same person, so I need to follow my heart. I do feel like I’m having to choose between my brother and the woman I’ve fallen in love with, but if you ask me, He wanted me to feel the uncertainty that everyone else feels. … My mixes showcase what I’m really thinking -- unfiltered, because it’s like I have competing voices in my head. The melancholy usually wins out, but music helps restore my faith and hope and has led me to love. I keep wanting to “be the man” and just ask the question that you know I want to ask, but I’m honestly trying to avoid becoming King David, because I have a cousin named David and I once called him a “bitch” in front of my grandmother, and I really would prefer not reliving that moment. That was the day my grandmother’s car was struck by lightning (no lie). It scared the hell out of me but gave me a fright that I can remember and laugh about now. … And now you can laugh with me.
The Chase
I’m reminded that an old chum and I bought a piece of sidewalk way back in the day in Atlanta. Life is strange, isn’t it?!
I may get trolled for this, but I’m praying for you, Bieber (or whatever your real name is). There’s nothing wrong with walking through a dark place and looking back every now and later to figure out how you got there, how you got out, and how you can keep others from wallowing in theirs.
