Difference in neural response to social exclusion observation and subsequent altruism between adolescents and adults

• Published in: Neuropsychologia Vol. 116; no. Pt A; pp. 15 - 25
• Main Authors: Tousignant, Béatrice, Eugène, Fanny, Sirois, Katia, Jackson, Philip L.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: England Elsevier Ltd 31.07.2018
• Subjects: Adolescence; Adolescent; Adult; Aging - psychology; Altruism; Cerebral Cortex - diagnostic imaging; Cerebral Cortex - physiology; Child; Development; Empathy; Empathy - physiology; Female; Humans; Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; Interpersonal Relations; Magnetic Resonance Imaging; Male; Oxygen - blood; Photic Stimulation; Prosocial; Puberty - physiology; Puberty - psychology; Rejection (Psychology); Social exclusion; Surveys and Questionnaires; Theory of Mind - physiology; Wechsler Scales; Young Adult; Development; Adolescence; Empathy; Social exclusion; Altruism; Prosocial
• ISSN: 0028-3932; 1873-3514
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2017.04.017

Empathy and prosocial behaviors toward peers promote successful social development and creation of significant long-term relationships, but surprisingly little is known about the maturation of these skills during the period of adolescence. As the majority of studies have used questionnaires or pain observation paradigms, it remains unknown whether the empathic response of adolescents differs from that of adults in a paradigm that is closer to everyday life. In the current study, fMRI was used to examine the neural correlates of social exclusion observation and subsequent prosocial behavior in 20 adolescents (aged 12–17 years) and 20 adults (aged 22–30 years) while playing a ball-tossing game with what they believed to be real individuals. Observing someone being excluded compared to observing equal inclusion of all players elicited a significantly higher activation of the IFG (pars triangularis) in adults compared to adolescents. When given the opportunity to directly help the excluded player during the game, adolescents showed significantly less prosocial behavior than adults, which was underpinned by a significantly lower activity in the right temporoparietal junction, medial/dorsomedial prefrontal cortex and fusiform face area. These findings might indicate that adolescents have a lower propensity to take the victim's perspective and share his or her distress when witnessing social exclusion, which leads to a lower altruistic motivation to help. The factors that could generate what can be interpreted as a downward modulation of empathy during adolescence are discussed. •A modified version of Cyberball was used to study empathy and altruism development.•Adolescents showed lower activation of the IFG while witnessing exclusion.•Adolescents showed significantly less prosocial behavior toward the victim.•Adolescents had lower activity in the rTPJ and mPFC while playing with the victim.•Adolescents who were more empathic and prosocial had more activation in these regions.