Doctoral Dissertation Research: Human Orbital Prefrontal Cortex and Social Regulation

University Of California-Berkeley, Berkeley CA

Investigators

Abstract

With National Science Foundation support, Ms. Beer and her advisor Dr. Knight will conduct a year-long investigation of brain areas that may be involved in successful social interaction. Human social interaction occurs in specific contexts in which there are norms dictating which behaviors are appropriate. Previous research suggests that the orbital prefrontal cortex may be involved when individuals restrain their social behavior. This area is thought to be active when individuals inhibit their emotional behavior or use emotional information to make social judgments. In two studies, Beer and Knight will examine whether orbital prefrontal cortex mediates emotional regulation (i.e., the ability to control the expression of emotion), whether the regulatory processes of orbital prefrontal cortex extend to self-disclosure (i.e., any information about oneself that is personally communicated to another individual), and whether the orbital prefrontal cortex is important for utilizing emotional information when making social judgments? Beer and Knight will compare individuals with orbital prefrontal cortex damage to individuals with intact orbital prefrontal cortex. Both groups will be asked a series of personal questions by a stranger and subsequently watch a videotape of this interaction. If the orbital prefrontal cortex is involved in restraining social behavior in accordance with social norms, the group with orbital prefrontal cortex damage will inappropriately express emotion and disclose more personal information than the healthy group. Similarly, if the orbital prefrontal cortex is involved in applying emotion information to social judgments, the group with orbital prefrontal cortex damage will inaccurately judge their behavior after watching the videotape of their social interaction. This research is likely to increase knowledge about the brain basis of emotional regulation, self-disclosure, and the application of emotional information to behavioral judgments. These behavioral and brain functions have significant roles in personal and social life.