Using Cooperative Virtual Interactions to Investigate the Neural Correlates of Joint Attention
A special IMC seminar with Nathan Caruana, Macquarie University, who will be discussing methodological issues in developing interactive paradigms for social neuroscience research.
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IMC, Jens Chr. Skous Vej 4, building 1483-3, room 312
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Using Cooperative Virtual Interactions to Investigate the Neural Correlates of Joint Attention
Gaze processing and joint attention are fundamental cognitive abilities that enable us to coordinate our daily interactions with others. However, because these social phenomena are ecologically observed in the context of face-to-face interactions, it is particularly challenging to investigate them in neuroimaging environments. We have developed a virtual reality paradigms to simulate ecologically valid, yet experimentally controlled interactions. During these tasks, participants play a cooperative game with an on-screen avatar, whom they believed was controlled by another person via live infrared eye-tracking. In reality, the avatar’s behaviour is controlled by a gaze-contingent algorithm.
We applied this approach to investigate the neural correlates of initiating (IJA) and responding (RJA) to joint attention bids using fMRI. A right-lateralised frontotemporoparietal network (middle frontal gyrus, inferior frontal gyrus, middle temporal gyrus, precentral gyrus, posterior superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction and precuneus) was commonly activated during IJA and RJA. These findings are consistent with the Parallel Distributed Processing model’s claims that a broad integrated network supports the parallel aspects of IJA and RJA; specifically the ability to simultaneously represent the attentional perspectives of oneself and of others.
We used a similar paradigm in two subsequent ERP studies to investigate the neural time course of disambiguating a social partner’s attentional perspective from their gaze. Here participants initiated joint attention bids to complete a cooperative task, and the congruency of the avatar’s gaze response was manipulated. Larger peaks were observed at centro-parietal sites, 350ms following incongruent gaze shifts (i.e. failed joint attention) compared to congruent gaze shifts (i.e. joint attention). However this P350 effect was only found when individuals were told that the avatar was controlled by another person, and not when they were told that the avatar was controlled by a computer. Methodological issues in developing interactive paradigms for social neuroscience research will be discussed.