Development during adolescence of the neural processing of social emotion

Abstract

In this fMRI study, we investigated the development between adolescence and adulthood of the neural processing of social emotions. Unlike basic emotions (such as disgust and fear), social emotions (such as guilt and embarrassment) require the representation of another's mental states. Nineteen adolescents (10-18 years) and 10 adults (22-32 years) were scanned while thinking about scenarios featuring either social or basic emotions. In both age groups, the anterior rostral medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) was activated during social versus basic emotion. However, adolescents activated a lateral part of the MPFC for social versus basic emotions, whereas adults did not. Relative to adolescents, adults showed higher activity in the left temporal pole for social versus basic emotions. These results show that, although the MPFC is activated during social emotion in both adults and adolescents, adolescents recruit anterior (MPFC) regions more than do adults, and adults recruit posterior (temporal) regions more than do adolescents.

Figure 1

Main effect of scenarios versus visual fixation in adult and adolescent groups (adult image shown at p < .05, fully corrected across the whole brain, with minimum spatial extent = 10 voxels; adolescent image shown at p < .01, fully corrected across the whole brain, with minimum spatial extent = 10 voxels).

Figure 2

Three-way interaction between emotion, protagonist, and group in the left TPJ, shown at p < .001 on a sagittal glass brain projection. Parameter estimates for each condition relative to fixation are shown for each group. This region of the left TPJ is most active in adult self-social emotions and other-basic emotions, and in adolescent self- and other-social emotions.

Figure 3

Main effect of social emotion (social > basic) in both groups. Sagittal and transverse glass brains showing average group activation for adults and adolescents. Shown at p < .005; minimum spatial extent = 10 voxels; smoothed with a filter of 6 mm full width at half maximum at the second level.

Figure 4

Interaction between group and emotion: activity in the left temporal pole ([−40 −6 −26]) resulting from the contrast [adult (social > basic)–adolescent (social > basic)], shown at p < .005 projected onto a sagittal T1 image; graph showing parameter estimates in the left temporal pole for social and basic emotion relative to fixation, in both groups; positive correlation between age and adjusted BOLD signal in the left temporal pole ([−40 −6 −26]) in the contrast [social > basic] (r = .572; p < .001).

Figure 5

Interaction between group and emotion: activity in the MPFC ([−16 42 20]) resulting from the contrast [adolescent (social > basic)–adult (social > basic)], shown at p < .005 projected onto a sagittal T1 image; graph showing parameter estimates of activity in the MPFC for basic and social emotion relative to fixation, in both groups; negative correlation between age and adjusted BOLD signal in the MPFC ([−16 42 20]) in the contrast [social > basic] (r = .541; p < .005).

Figure 6

Adult and adolescent activity in the MPFC in the contrast [(self social > self basic)–(other social > other basic)], shown at p < .005 on sagittal glass brain projections. The adult interaction in the left TPJ, containing the region showing a three-way interaction, can also be seen. Parameter estimates are shown for both emotion and both protagonist conditions (all relative to fixation) in the MPFC, in adults and adolescents. In both groups, this anterodorsal region of the MPFC is most active in self-social emotions.