Facial Recognition

Info we get from seeing each others faces: 1) emotions (trustworthiness?) 2) attention/willingness to engage 3) age 4) ethnicity 5) attractiveness 6) health 7) sex 8) identity

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How our brains process IDing faces, facial expression, attractiveness, dominance Recognition via OLFACTORY CUES Humans & other primates use VISION our brains are specialized the entire back half Vision info comes in from retina etc etc primary visual cortex: Dorsal pathway locating objects in space, where pathway Ventral pathway object recognition, what pathway: what youre seeing We process faces differently from other objects mentioned above; faces are special Exp: infants (2 hrs old!) track pictures of faces with their eyes, but not scrambled faces Infants can imitate facial expressions of adults (see pic on ppt) INVERSION EFFECT: look at any other object upside down has no trouble recognizing object (even words!) o BUT we have trouble perceiving faces when theyre upside down hard to ID faces upside down PROSOPAGNOSIA lose capacity to recognize other ppls faces, but can still recognize objects o Patient WJ example (a sheep farmer): had a stroke and thus prosopagnosia couldnt recognize faces but could still tell sheep apart

Exp: tested controls + WJ WJ does just as well recognizing sheep (even outperforms with familiar sheep), but ability to recognize human faces greatly decreased (see chart on ppt) See face-blindness video 60 minutes CBS o Deficit in holistic processing: sees face in pieces Clip on super-facial recognition powers.

What part of the brain is damaged in ppl with prosopagnosia? (NOT dorsal/ventrail pathway) Ventral occipitotemporal cortex (aka fusiform gyrus) aka FFA (facial fusiform areas) FFA: fMRI sudies show that more activation in FFA when asked to recognize faces Face expression processing occurs mainly in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) will spsp Exp: FFA and STA activation See ppt

Can record monkey neurons looking for gene that causes facial expression? (cells in the STS); actually recognize faces actually in infra-temporal cortex In humans: language processing areas displaced visual areas to back of brain 3) PROCESSING FACIAL ATTRACTIVENESS cross cultures generally agree on which faces are more attractive (see US study on ppt chart) o qualities that make faces innately more attractive: symmetry is more attractive FLUCTUATING ASYMMETRY eye widths are different asymmetry caused by mutations, pathogens, other bad things those who can get over those things by having symmetrical faces have a better genetic predisposition Sex differences in face anatomy:

o Due to puberty: testosterone in males, estrogen in females Men: larger jaws, larger brow ridges, see list on ppt Males morphing female faces: ideal female face: o Eyes are lower down o Small nose-to-chin distance Female preference for males varies based on menstrual cycle even like more feminine in males What part of brain is responsible for face recognition mechanisms? Experiment: rating facial attractiveness parts of the brain that activated correlated to more attractiveness: nucleus accumbens and medial orbitofrontal cortex 4) FACIAL DOMINANCE Exp: yearbook photos of West Point cadets undergrads at Syracuse (20-35 years later) rated faces based on dominance more dominantly ranked faces were more likely to become generals (hold higher ranks) Relationship between dominant looking faces and rank o more likely to be intimidated by dominant faces o lurking variable: level of testoterone? Dominant faces correlated to dominant personality, a drive o we dont actually know the answer

Aggression & Violence

Primarily in males. HAH both offenders and victims

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Homicide mainly about men killing other men (strangers). Followed by male offenders and female victims (ppl with intimate relationships) sexual jealousy: a motivation. Warfare dominated by men. BIOLOGY OF AGGRESSION/VIOLENCE 1) Testosterone & Testosterone can shape reproductive anatomy & even brain structure. 7 weeks post conception undifferentiated gonads/embryo: 2 duct systems. 8 weeks post conception gonad develops into ovary (FEMALES) secrete hormones (doesnt really do anything. Mullerian duct develops into fallopian tubes, ___, _____. Wolffian duct goes away. Also external genitalia. FEMALES ARE THE DEFAULT. Testes determining factor (gene) on Y chromosome causes gonads to develop into testes starts secreting TESTOSTERONE (starts at 8 weeks, peaks at 14 and tapers off; 2 months peak no one knows why; puberty peaks again) Wolffian ducts develop into internal male gonads Testes also secrete MULLERIAN INHIBITING HORMONE (MIH) causes Mullerian ducts to NOT develop External genitals See experiment in ppt estrogen has the same effect: testosterone is often metabolized into estrogen in the brain steroids are synthecized from cholesterol o o o o CHOLESTEROLTESTOSTERONEESTROGEN Responsible for male typical sexual behavior Size difference due to early exposure to testosterone must have organization AND activational effects to have normal male sex behavior EXP: expose female mice to testosterone from birth AND as adults females show male levels of aggression SCN POA (sexually dimorphic ) 5x larger in male rats than female rats Testoterone can also change brain structure

EXP: study in rhesus monkeys juvenile males more rough/tumble play in males than females (see graph in ppt) o expose female fetuses to testosterone in utero rough/tumble play levels are intermediate b/w normal males and normal females. Conclusion: rough/tumble play a result of levels of testosterone

in humans? 40-50yrs ago: pregnant women treated with progesterone (synthetic progestin), which can activate the same pathways as testosterone fetuses exposed to androgen pathways. o Later, these children showed exposed subjects chose a more aggressive method in survey when asked to deal with in a situation

ACTIVATIONAL EFFECTS Rhesus monkeys: a more violent primate species o o During breeding season, males go through changes and more violent/ more aggression video: 2 males monkeys living peacefully together for a couple of weeks. Female monkey introduced BOTH males suddenly decide to exhibit dominance. testosterone and aggression both go up at the same time during breeding season: which causes which? BOTH, actually. o o Inject animals with testosterone normal aggressive behavior 5xaggerated winning anything increases testosterone Testosterone effects of aggression mostly in rodents, followed by primates, least in humans study with criminals with violent vs non violent crimes violent criminals had higher testosterone, also higher levels in those that broke prison rules study that shows that testosterone corresponds to response to provocation Ultimatum Game Behavior: men who rejected 8:1 offer had higher levels of testosterone exp: overdosed men with high levels of testosterone (see graph on ppt) dark bars show high level testosterone injection. Y-axis = mania (craziness). Found that many men showed inc mania after testosterone exposure Social stimuli and testosterone levels o exp: 2 male rhesus macaques put in with groups of females testosterone levels increased. Removed with females testosterone went down. Put in groups of all males got beat up and put at the

bottom of social ladder (social defeat) testosterone levels decreased. o o o testosterone increase important in reproduction, so inc with female exposure testosterone decrease important to not provoke additional aggression after social defeat another exp: combine 2 groups of males 2 males moved to bottom of social ladder lower levels of testosterone. One male moves up (social victory) peak in testosterone, but doesnt stay high. In general, high levels of testosterone not common under normal circumstances, only when challenged. o Video: rise in testosterone levels increases dominant behavior; winning also increases testosterone levels Studies that tested linked b/w testosterone and aggression in humans but found NO RELATIONSHIPS between them 2) Serotonin Nuclei that secrete serotonin project & release throughout the brain Study on free-ranging macaques: got CSF taps from monkeys & sampled 5HIAA, a metabolite of serotonin. Found that those with lowest levels of this had higher levels of unprovoked aggression. o o o Also measured levels of testosterone found synergy b/w testosterone and serotonin metabolite. See ppt. Conclusion: testosterone responsible for aggressive drive, serotonin regulates threshold for aggression Ultimatum Game & serotonin: lower levels of brain serotonin more likely to reject unfair offer, linked to higher levels of aggression In monkeys, testosterone is concentrated in the midbrain (PAG), hypothalamus, & amygdala!! =D o Defense rage circuit in domestic cats involves the exact same parts of the brain! Stria terminalus pathway: study that looked at firing frequency of this pathway showed that testosterone increased freq of action potentials (firing frequency), but wouldnt start firing if not in the first place testosterone

Ultimatum Game + fMRI study: higher testosterone correlated with LOWER mOFC activity more likely to reject unfair offer & vice versa. Testosterone turns off activity of mOFC o Suggested model (see ppr notes)

Neural circuitry (see ppt slide)

5) MAOA gene codes for monoamine oxidase MAOA affects level of monoamines (dopamine, norepinephrine, epinephrine, etc) in the brain breaks down excess monoamines Dutch men with mutation in MAOA leads to increased violence; mice with KO MAOA shows hyperaggressivity Low expression allele of MAOA more prone to impulsive violence, but ONLY IF EXPOSED TO EARLY LIFE STRESS/ENVIRONMENT. o Example of GENE BY ENVIRONMENT interaction

Sexual Behavior
Human mating systems other mating system FORCE OF SEXUAL SELECTION - a continuum:

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[low force of sex selection] monogamous species (little variance in male reproductive success less competition low body size dimorphism AKA males not much bigger than females male parental investment small male testes size b/c not much male sperm competition) ex. Most birds, gibbons [high force of sex selection] (large variance in male reproductive success lot of competition large body size dimorphism higher levels of male aggression low male parental investment) ex. Elephant seals, most mammals - orangutans

multi-male, multi-female promiscuity large testes size b/c of sperm competition. Less body size difference. Ex. Chimps, bonobos (lots of female homosexuality and females dominant or codominant to males, both unique to bonobos) females have sexual swellings

single male polygyny one male with several females, bachelor bands non mating males patrol the perimeter ex. Gorillas, gelata baboons

o not really large testes size b/c all females mate with mainly one male
Where do we lie? (Humans) Just looking at body size: b/w chimps and orangs dont expect monogamy looking at testes size --> intermediate b/w chimps and orangs not quite promiscuous as chimps but more so that orangs HUMAN MATING SYSTEM:

monogamous tendencies: (most of us)

o minimal body size dimorphism o male parental care (economical or social) o psychological reasons falling in love& attachment
some promiscuity

o intermediate testes size o 5%-30% of children sired by man other than womans hubby
around the world (data)

o 83% of the worlds pop. polygyny is allowed, but actually doesnt

happen that often

also switching monogamous relationships marriage and then divorce

polyandry also observed, but quite rare: women having multiple husbands

VERY VARIABLE middle towards more monogamous side 2) NEUROBIOLOGY AND HORMONAL BASIS OF SEXUAL BEHAVIOR Rats:

males will mount females if females are receptive, theyre go into lordosis posture both males and females depend on steroid hormones

o exp: castrate male decrease in mating behavior, inject testosterone

increase in sexual behavior

o female rats similar menstrual cycle similar to humans but 4 days long
only sexually receptive during a certain time (high levels of estrogen and progesterone) right before ovulation BRAIN and SEXUAL BEHAVIOR see graph from ppt and reading

Female brain:

o Output neurons that signal lordosis posture requires: Mounting of male (stimulus) pathway must be activated: starts in the VMH (sense levels of
estrogen and progesterone, steroid hormones) signal down the spinal cord leads to lordosis response

Males

o Requires: Appropriate pheromones from female info sent to medial

amygdala & medial preoptic area (aka SDN-POA), which senses lvl of testosterone and integrates with pheromone detection (?) STEROID HORMONES ROLE IN HUMAN SEXUALITY:

yes, castrated men become less interested in sex EXP: study with men measured testosterone levels in saliva samples

o men had to choose which female face more attractive o high levels of testosterone: stronger preference for femininity in FEMALE
FACES only, no preference for male faces

EXP: study with women measured testosterone (1/10 amount of men) and progesterone

o High testosterone prefers masculine faces in both male and female

faces

Testosterone increased mens preference in feminine female faces, and increased preference in masculine faces for both females and males

o Also estrogen influences preference:

Estrogen levels peak right before ovluation, also peak in

The human brain

difference in human hypothalamus: 4 INAH (INAH3 is sexually dimorphic males are larger

o homosexual men similar to female size

fMRI studies:

stimuli: exotic film excerpts & neutral clips (control) 20 males and 20 female subjects OUTSIDE of their ovulatory periods rate clips for sexual arousal on a scale of 0-8 (males found them more arousing) parts of brain that are active with aroused: visual association cortex more active in both sexes; more bilateral amygdala activation in both; insula more active in both: DIFFERENCE activation of hypothalamus only in men

o hypothalamus activity also correlated to self reported level of arousal

another study: SEXUAL ORIENTATION

o homo and hetero males exposed to both hetero and homo erotic
videos hetero male hypothalamus more activated when viewing hetero videos and vice versa, also region corresponded with selfreported arousal none other than hypothalamus SEXUAL SELECTION and shaping human anatomy/psychology (see ppr notes)

tallest men had the most children taller men more likely to divorce and start a second family with younger females; younger females prefer older, taller men than younger, shorter men

British women prefer torso hair and mesomorphic body type Emory chicks just prefer mesomorphs; hair doesnt really matter

male students on a continuum of body hair and endo/mesomorphs research of Dev Singh: modern western men prefer normal weighted women with 0.7 WTH ratio; cross cultural studies also found the same results (all exposed to modern media)

MATSIGENKA PPL not exposed to western media actually prefers overweight women with 0.9 WTH ratio they look more healthy o preference may shift depending on environment

LVE
get beginning from someone

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Nonapeptides (9 amino acids) oxytocin & vasopressin; can bind to each others receptors a little bit Add estrogen & oxytocin to virgin female mice will exhibit maternal behavior MPOA is turning on MESOLYMBIC DOPAMINE SYSTEM o Importance: Some species & individuals (metavoles, rats, not mice) will spontaneously show maternal behavior after being exposed to babies for an extended time o MOST in prairie voles (NA most dense in this species) & continuum through species This also varies among individuals: more maternal behavior more receptors ___? OT also acts on NA in addition to MPOA OT important for pair-bonds, maternal behavior, etc. LOTS OF THINGS See pic on ppt (dopamine & ocytocin merge in NA)

Paternal care in rodents Not many, but yes in prarie voles VASOPRESSIN in lateral septum responsible for initiation of paternal behavior Exp: virgin male rats injected with vasopressin into lateral septum huge increase in paternal care Marmosets lots of direct parental care in offspring Whats different about father & non-father marmoset brains? o PREFRONTAL CORTEX control aggressive impulses 1) fathers had more vasopressin receptors in this area (more sensitive to vasopressin) 2) more dendritic spine density more synapses more input from other neurons more connection o brain anatomy changes with fatherhood HUMANS

Exp: blood samples of mothers and fathers before playing with child then sampled blood after 15 minutes of play with kid o Mothers that exhibited high levels of physical affection inc in OT levels & vice versa (dec.); OT no effect on fathers o Fathers who had high stimulatory contact had more OT o MOTHERS OT levels related more to physical affection; FATHERS OT levels related more to stimulatory behavior o Human fathers injected with OT will engage in more play with child SNPs in gene that codes for OT receptor: either GG, GA, or AA o GG mothers have increased maternal sensitivity o Exp: proved that (see chart high P value = good) Short SERT allele & interactions with OT receptor SNP

Other hormones in parenting: Testosterone interferes with parenting TT usually decreases after fatherhood See study on Philippino men (graph on ppt) Parenting (interacting with baby) decreases testosterone levels Importance of having lower TT levels after having a baby o 1) Better frustration tolerance (along with beefing up prefrontal cortex) o 2) decrease mating effort outside the pair bond o 3) increase capacity for empathy More studies in marmoset monkeys Non fathers no change in TT levels when exposed to scent of infants Fathers decrease in TT levels Single males increase in TT levels when exposed to scent of ovulating females Males in pair bonds & fathers much suppressed levels Human studies Play audio of infant crying men with higher TT levels report lower levels of sympathy towards babies crying Neural babies of parental love study in mothers fMRI: mothers in machine view pictures of own baby and other babies

o differences: increase in ventral striatum activation when viewing own baby o OT response when exposed to play with child o Women with stronger VS activation also had larger OT response Another study: women who werent mothers exposed to babies cries: some exposed to OT o Placebo group had strong activation in right amygdala; OT group more suppressed o OT augments activation left insula (important for empathy)

Women exposed to most OT during childbirth & nursing Good idea to breastfeed your baby Good idea to give natural childbirth rather than c-section Dr. Rillings study on fathers brains Fathers exposed to pics of own child happy & sad More involved fathers in day-to-day care showed a stronger Vstr response

Parental Love & infant development

How parental love influences infant development: Do infants need maternal LOVE other than nutrients, protection, etc. Harry Harlow experiments (1950s): separated infant rhesus monkeys from mothers & developed in isolation abnormal behavior as adults: self mutilation behavior, repeating behaviors, males became super aggressive, females abused their own, confused sexual behavior, social withdrawal Cloth surrogate mother formed emotional attachment with, but still had abnormal behavior Peer-reared monkeys raised in a group, but no mothers still abnormal behavior (inc alcohol consumption. Lol) WHY mothers are so important to normal social behavior o Looked at brain difference between animals with/out mothers

Disregulated Serotonin system: dec. serotonin metabolite (5-HIAA) in CSF impulsive aggression Peer-reared monkeys had lower levels of serotonin binding than mother-reared monkeys Quality of maternal care matters? Paradigm: high/low licking mother rats high licking & grooming = high estrogen sensitivity, high receptor expression; LOW licking & grooming mothers methylation of ER gene, gets turned off EPIGENETIC INHERITANCE o Estrogen induces oxytocin ___? In humans? o Children raised without mothers more susceptible to mental illness o Relationship with mother is the FIRST relationship ever may affect other relationships later on in life says psychiatrists o How does having insecure attachments to mother affect brains? Depressed women who were also abused as children had a smaller hippocampal volume Another study: less OT levels in women who were maltreated as children

PATERNAL LOVE? Humans are unique in that they do alloparenting mothers rely on others to help raise the child (husband, older children, sister, etc.) o Thus women can stop breastfeeding sooner o Also less infant death compared to chimps Fathers are important now family lives away from extended family now also many women work Father absence: problems (see ppt) and vice versa (ppt) Fathers involved in rough and tumble play associated with positive outcomes in children (see ppt) Dont have to know romantic love

Cooperation
See square on actor-recipient relationships:

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OTHER SPECIES **altruism is common in genetic species among genetic relatives Kin selection theory (invented by W.D. Hamilton) conditions under which altruistic behavior can evolve: rB-C > 0 aka where rB > C in theory we would be able to sacrifice our own lives to save 3 siblings (r=0.5 each sibling) cooperation also among other social species, but mostly mutualism, not altruism mutualism wild dogs hunt in packs reciprocal altruism vulnerable to cheating though (not very common) also net cost of time b/c of benefit lag evolution of reciprocal altruism requirements : repeated interactions, B>C ex. Vampire bats (see previous notes) RECIPROCAL ALTRUISM common in humans! gift giving (holidays) we dont buy what we want ourselves exchange favors hey I owe you one our economy runs on this principle ancient Romans also believed modern day hunter-gatherers (representative of human evolution): depend on reciprocal altruism for hunting like vampire bats, men go on hunting trips & sometimes come back without food must depend on friends to share food with family even happens ACROSS SPECIES: (see movie) birds take African boys to honey hive (boys must get some honey for bird also) NEUROBIOLOGY OF COOPERATION Game Theory: The Prisoners Dilemma (see square on ppt) one game: both would defect the first time (paradox b/c youd get more if you both cooperated) although defect would get yourself more $$ in both cases however, about 50% of the time, ppl actually BOTH cooperate

conditions of prisoners dilemma (see ppt) play SEVERAL ROUNDS with partner (iterated prisoners dilemma): model of reciprocal exchange of favors o Tit for Tat: begin by cooperating & then do whatever your partner did last round what you do in this round will affect actions in other rounds (have to think about future) Round Robin of submitted computer strategies: winning strategy was Tit for Tat (won) counterintuitive? o Tic for Tac never ever made more money than any of the individual strategies but overall made more money than all the strategies (loses the battle, but wins the war) Prisoners dilemma is a non zero sum game (both ppl can do well cooperative interaction, as opposed to sum game) another tournament where the number of ppl that goes on to the next game is directly proportional to how well the strategy did in the last round, Tit for Tat wins again weaknesses of Tit for Tat o can get locked into mutual defection o doesnt do well against ppl that always cooperate Strengths of Tit for Tat o nice starts with mutual cooperation o retaliatory will defect if other defects o forgiving accepts cooperation even when locked into defection if BOTH are playing Tit for Tat: unstable b/c theres always a temptation for defect o we have social emotions that helps stabilizes that: (-) guilt (+) trust, friendship, love, etc.

indignation PSYCHOLOGICAL ADAPTATIONS that supports cooperative social behavior Trust: someone has to start the relationship: studies have shown that amygdala processes MISTRUST ppl with bilaterally damaged amygdalas have trouble judging Another game: investor and trustee both start with $12 amount of money transferred is indicative of how trusting they are

inject ppl with oxytocin higher percentage of investors send ALL their money to trustee hypothetical business venture: OT didnt enhance trusting behavior in NON SOCIAL CONTEXT (business study) matching experiment (threatening faces & scenes) good at activating amygdala BUT inject ppl with OT and that suppresses our amygdala activity o this makes it more likely to initiate cooperation

OVERCOMING GREED Dr. Rillings study MRI study: playing prisoners game with other ppl outside the scanner 3 sessions of prisoners dilemmas game (20 games each) all with computers, but the subject thinks 1st and 3rd are with humans behavioral data shows that when the subject believes they are playing with a human, theyre more cooperative finding: when subject cooperates and learns that your partner reciprocated, the VS and mOFC (targets of mesolimbic reward system) was MORE activated

strongest activation of the VS were more likely to continue to cooperate (see graph of correlations) ppl get SOCIAL reward from cooperation recent study: took VS and randomize subject to injecting OT, vasopressin or placebo o found that OT augmented VS response to reward (coop social exchange) patients with a damaged OFC: have myopia for the future unable to think about future goals/consequences (only think about short term consequences) these patients also less likely to cooperate in the prisoners game also have deficits in guilt decreased reciprocity in trust game (doesnt have same level of guilt for betraying others) Serotonin affect value ppl put on future reward compared to immediate rewards $500 now or $500+x later diff thresholds for diff ppl serotonin makes ppl value the future reward more

ppl with depleted tryptophan (thus less serotonin) choose small immediate rewards also less likely to reciprocate cooperation in prisoners game See Humes quote didnt see that importance of social emotions play a huge part in addition to rationality 4 major influences of how cooperativ ppl are: 1) overcoming betrayal 2) overcome our greed 3) value future rewards 4) guilt

DISCRIMINATING AGAINST NON RECIPROCATERS anterior insula activated (due to money or others?) Gamble task: either get $1 or $2/0 right insula sensitive to being exploited social exclusion ultimatum game (unfair offers activate anterior insula more activation = more likely to refuse unfair offer) insula has to do with indignation something bad happens: amygdala signals for changes in viscera insula senses these changes in viscesa INSULA also activated when bad things happen to other ppl we love how we empathize with other ppl study with fMRI shows that for unknown ppl, women had more insular activation than men OT injection enhanced womens activation of insula to babies cries INSULA responsible for _____. See ppt see summary (ppt)