Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patterns
Humanness perception, which attributes fundamental and unique human characteristics to other objects or people, has significant consequences for people’s interactions. Notably, the failure to perceive humanness in older adults can lead to prejudice. This study investigates the effect of a target’s a...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Frontiers Media S.A.
2024-04-01
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| Series: | Frontiers in Psychology |
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| Online Access: | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1361588/full |
| _version_ | 1827294161830674432 |
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| author | Toshiki Saito Toshiki Saito Toshiki Saito Rui Nouchi Rui Nouchi Ryo Ishibashi Ryo Ishibashi Ryo Ishibashi Kosuke Motoki Kosuke Motoki Yutaka Matsuzaki Akiko Kobayashi Akiko Kobayashi Akiko Kobayashi Motoaki Sugiura Motoaki Sugiura Ryuta Kawashima |
| author_facet | Toshiki Saito Toshiki Saito Toshiki Saito Rui Nouchi Rui Nouchi Ryo Ishibashi Ryo Ishibashi Ryo Ishibashi Kosuke Motoki Kosuke Motoki Yutaka Matsuzaki Akiko Kobayashi Akiko Kobayashi Akiko Kobayashi Motoaki Sugiura Motoaki Sugiura Ryuta Kawashima |
| author_sort | Toshiki Saito |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Humanness perception, which attributes fundamental and unique human characteristics to other objects or people, has significant consequences for people’s interactions. Notably, the failure to perceive humanness in older adults can lead to prejudice. This study investigates the effect of a target’s age on humanness perception in terms of two dimensions: agency (the ability to act and do) and experience (the ability to feel and sense). We also examined brain activity using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner in order to understand the underlying neural mechanisms. Healthy university students viewed the facial images of older and younger individuals and judged the humanness of each individual in terms of agency and experience while inside the MRI scanner. The results indicated that older adults were rated higher on experience, and no difference was found in ratings for agency between younger and older face images. Analysis of brain imaging data indicated that positive functional connectivity between the ventral and dorsal regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was greater when judging the humanness of younger faces than older faces. We also found that the negative functional connectivity between the left inferior frontal gyrus and postcentral gyrus was greater when judging the humanness of older faces as compared to that of younger faces. Although the current study did not show distinct brain activities related to humanness perception, it suggests the possibility that different brain connectivities are related to humanness perception regarding targets belonging to different age groups. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:52:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-0f10034dd4384b5da1ba72c3f8143428 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1664-1078 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-24T13:52:10Z |
| publishDate | 2024-04-01 |
| publisher | Frontiers Media S.A. |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Frontiers in Psychology |
| spelling | doaj.art-0f10034dd4384b5da1ba72c3f81434282024-04-04T04:29:45ZengFrontiers Media S.A.Frontiers in Psychology1664-10782024-04-011510.3389/fpsyg.2024.13615881361588Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patternsToshiki Saito0Toshiki Saito1Toshiki Saito2Rui Nouchi3Rui Nouchi4Ryo Ishibashi5Ryo Ishibashi6Ryo Ishibashi7Kosuke Motoki8Kosuke Motoki9Yutaka Matsuzaki10Akiko Kobayashi11Akiko Kobayashi12Akiko Kobayashi13Motoaki Sugiura14Motoaki Sugiura15Ryuta Kawashima16Institute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanFaculty of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, Tokyo, JapanJapan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, JapanInstitute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanSmart Ageing Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanInstitute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanSmart Ageing Research Center, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanNational Institute of Information and Communications Technology, Osaka, JapanInstitute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanDepartment of Management, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, JapanInstitute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanInstitute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanJapan Society for the Promotion of Science, Tokyo, JapanSchool of Economics and Management, Kochi University of Technology, Kochi, JapanInstitute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanInternational Research Institute of Disaster Science, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanInstitute of Development, Aging, and Cancer, Tohoku University, Sendai, JapanHumanness perception, which attributes fundamental and unique human characteristics to other objects or people, has significant consequences for people’s interactions. Notably, the failure to perceive humanness in older adults can lead to prejudice. This study investigates the effect of a target’s age on humanness perception in terms of two dimensions: agency (the ability to act and do) and experience (the ability to feel and sense). We also examined brain activity using a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanner in order to understand the underlying neural mechanisms. Healthy university students viewed the facial images of older and younger individuals and judged the humanness of each individual in terms of agency and experience while inside the MRI scanner. The results indicated that older adults were rated higher on experience, and no difference was found in ratings for agency between younger and older face images. Analysis of brain imaging data indicated that positive functional connectivity between the ventral and dorsal regions of the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was greater when judging the humanness of younger faces than older faces. We also found that the negative functional connectivity between the left inferior frontal gyrus and postcentral gyrus was greater when judging the humanness of older faces as compared to that of younger faces. Although the current study did not show distinct brain activities related to humanness perception, it suggests the possibility that different brain connectivities are related to humanness perception regarding targets belonging to different age groups.https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1361588/fullhumanness perceptionfMRIfunctional connectivityolder adultsdehumanization |
| spellingShingle | Toshiki Saito Toshiki Saito Toshiki Saito Rui Nouchi Rui Nouchi Ryo Ishibashi Ryo Ishibashi Ryo Ishibashi Kosuke Motoki Kosuke Motoki Yutaka Matsuzaki Akiko Kobayashi Akiko Kobayashi Akiko Kobayashi Motoaki Sugiura Motoaki Sugiura Ryuta Kawashima Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patterns Frontiers in Psychology humanness perception fMRI functional connectivity older adults dehumanization |
| title | Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patterns |
| title_full | Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patterns |
| title_fullStr | Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patterns |
| title_full_unstemmed | Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patterns |
| title_short | Perceiving humanness across ages: neural correlates and behavioral patterns |
| title_sort | perceiving humanness across ages neural correlates and behavioral patterns |
| topic | humanness perception fMRI functional connectivity older adults dehumanization |
| url | https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1361588/full |
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