Intrinsic Functional Brain Dynamics & Morphology Predict Differences in Interpersonal Trust

Friday, November 30, 2018

9:00 AM-10:30 AM

BIOMED Special Seminar


Title:
Intrinsic Functional Brain Dynamics and Brain Morphology Predict Individual Differences in Interpersonal Trust


Speaker:
Frank Krueger, PhD
Associate Professor of Systems Social Neuroscience
School of Systems Biology
Chief, Social Cognition and Interaction: Functional Imaging (SCI:FI) Lab
George Mason University

Abstract:
Interpersonal trust pervades nearly every social aspect of our daily lives; it penetrates all human interactions from personal relationships to organizational interactions. A plethora of studies has started to gain a deeper understanding of the psychobiological underpinnings of interpersonal trust by combining economic exchange games (e. g., trust game) with task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging. However, it remains elusive to which extent interpersonal trust is characterized by individual differences in intrinsic functional brain dynamics and brain morphology. Here, we employed a prediction-analytics framework to investigate whether whole-brain resting-state functional connectivity and gray matter volume predict individual differences in trust. We demonstrated that trust could be predicted based on individual differences in resting-state functional connectivity and gray matter volume across multiple brain systems, which are essential for the emergence of the affective and cognitive components of trust.

In conclusion, our results contribute to a better understanding of how interpersonal trust as a complex prosocial behavior is enrooted in large-scale intrinsic brain dynamics and structures, which may represent neuromarkers for impairment of prosocial behaviors in mental health disorders.


Biosketch:
Frank Krueger, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Systems Social Neuroscience at the School of Systems Biology at George Mason University (GMU). He is the Chief of the Social Cognition & Interaction: Functionalism & Immersion (SCI: FI) Lab and Co-Director of the Center for the Study of Neuroeconomics.

As a psychologist and neuroscientist, Dr. Krueger is interested in understanding the psychological functions (i. e., why they exist and work) and the proximate neurobiological mechanisms (i. e., how they work) of social cognition (e. g., beliefs, schemata) in social interactions (e. g., trust, altruism), combining paradigms from social psychology and behavioral economics with methods from social and computational neuroscience. With such an interdisciplinary and multi-methods approach, he aims to promote the transfer of basic research findings into treatment for and prevention of social brain disorders ultimately providing benefits to human health.

Contact Information

Ken Barbee
215-895-1335
barbee@drexel.edu