Description: Imaging first impressions: Distinct neural processing of verbal and nonverbal social information

This title appears in the Scientific Report : 2012

Imaging first impressions: Distinct neural processing of verbal and nonverbal social information

First impressions profoundly influence our attitudes and behavior toward others. However, little is known about whether and to what degree the cognitive processes that underlie impression formation depend on the domain of the available information about the target person. To investigate the neural b...

Personal Name(s):	Kuzmanovic, B.
	Bente, G. / von Cramon, D.Y. / Schilbach, L. / Tittgemeyer, M. / Vogeley, K.
Contributing Institute:	Kognitive Neurowissenschaften; INM-3 Ethik in den Neurowissenschaften; INM-8
Published in:	NeuroImage, 60 (2012) S. 179 - 188
Imprint:	Orlando, Fla. Academic Press 2012
Physical Description:	179 - 188
DOI:	10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.046
PubMed ID:	22227133
Document Type:	Journal Article
Research Program:	(Dys-)function and Plasticity Pathophysiological Mechanisms of Neurological and Psychiatric Diseases Techniken, Innovation und Gesellschaft (TIG)
Series Title:	NeuroImage 60
Subject (ZB):	Adult Brain: physiology Female Humans Magnetic Resonance Imaging Male Mental Processes: physiology Social Perception Verbal Behavior Young Adult J Amygdala Posterior cingulate cortex Verbal Nonverbal Impression formation Person perception
	Publikationsportal JuSER

Please use the identifier: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2011.12.046 in citations.

First impressions profoundly influence our attitudes and behavior toward others. However, little is known about whether and to what degree the cognitive processes that underlie impression formation depend on the domain of the available information about the target person. To investigate the neural bases of the influence of verbal as compared to nonverbal information on interpersonal judgments, we identified brain regions where the BOLD signal parametrically increased with increasing strength of evaluation based on either short text vignettes or mimic and gestural behavior. While for verbal stimuli the increasing strength of subjective evaluation was correlated with increased neural activation of precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex (PC/PCC), a similar effect was observed for nonverbal stimuli in the amygdala. These findings support the assumption that qualitatively different cognitive operations underlie person evaluation depending upon the stimulus domain: while the processing of nonverbal person information may be more strongly associated with affective processing as indexed by recruitment of the amygdala, verbal person information engaged the PC/PCC that has been related to social inferential processing.