Journal article
Hierarchical status is rapidly assessed from behaviourally dominant faces
Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol.23, pp.1267-1280
2023
PMCID: PMC10545651
PMID: 37198384
Abstract
Recognition of social hierarchy is a key feature that helps us navigate through our complex social environment. Neuroimaging studies have identified brain structures involved in the processing of hierarchical stimuli, but the precise temporal dynamics of brain activity associated with such processing remains largely unknown. In this investigation, we used event-related potentials (ERPs) to examine the effect of social hierarchy on the neural responses elicited by dominant and nondominant faces. Participants played a game where they were led to believe that they were middle-rank players, responding alongside other alleged players, whom they perceived as higher or lower-ranking. ERPs were examined in response to dominant and nondominant faces, and low-resolution electromagnetic tomography (LORETA) was used to identify the implicated brain areas. The results revealed that the amplitude of the N170 component was enhanced for faces of dominant individuals, showing that hierarchy influences the early stages of face processing. A later component, the late positive potential (LPP) appearing between 350-700 ms, also was enhanced for faces of higher-ranking players. Source localisation suggested that the early modulation was due to an enhanced response in limbic regions. These findings provide electrophysiological evidence for enhanced early visual processing of socially dominant faces.
Details
- Title
- Hierarchical status is rapidly assessed from behaviourally dominant faces
- Authors
- Alan J Pegna (Corresponding Author) - The University of QueenslandDavid Framorando (Author) - University of GenevaZhou Yu (Author) - The University of QueenslandZak Buhmann (Author) - The University of QueenslandNicole Nelson (Author) - The University of AdelaideBarnaby J W Dixson (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Psychology
- Publication details
- Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, Vol.23, pp.1267-1280
- Publisher
- Springer New York LLC
- Date published
- 2023
- DOI
- 10.3758/s13415-023-01108-1
- ISSN
- 1531-135X
- PMID
- 37198384; PMC10545651
- Copyright note
- This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article's Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article's Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/.
- Grant note
- SNF P2GEP1_188266 / Swiss National Science Foundation
- Organisation Unit
- Australian Centre for Pacific Islands Research; University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland; School of Health - Psychology
- Language
- English
- Record Identifier
- 99728797502621
- Output Type
- Journal article
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- Collaboration types
- Domestic collaboration
- International collaboration
- Web Of Science research areas
- Behavioral Sciences
- Neurosciences