Abstract
Cultivating social connection has long been a goal of psychology, philosophy, religion, and public policy. Yet the psychological and neural responses that accompany a feeling of connection to others remain unclear. In the present study, we used functional neuroimaging to shed light on the neural correlates of self- and other-focused processes during the successful self-generation of feelings of social connection. To do this, we used a trait judgment task to localize functional activation related to self-focused thought. We then examined brain responses during guided exercises designed both to encourage feeling love and connection from others (i.e., self-focused) and to generate feelings of love and connection toward others (i.e., other-focused). Our results indicated that generating feelings of social connection recruited a portion of the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) implicated in thinking about both the self and others. Within this larger area, we observed distinct profiles of activation within different subregions. Although rostral anterior cingulate cortex was more strongly activated by other-focused components of the task, a more dorsal portion of MPFC was comparatively more active during primarily self-focused components of the task. Somewhat surprisingly, stronger feelings of social connection were not associated with greater activation in the anterior cingulate, but rather with less activation in the dorsal region of the MPFC related to self-focused thought. These results are consistent with the possibility that reducing certain kinds of self-focused thought might yield a greater sense of social connection to and care for others.
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Author note
This work was supported by a Francisco K. Varela Grant from the Mind and Life Institute to C.A.H. and E.M.S., and by a research grant from the Flora Family Foundation to C.A.H. We thank Neekaan Oshidary for assistance in the data collection.
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Appendix : Transcript of guided exercises
Appendix : Transcript of guided exercises
Social connection task
Round 1
0:00 Close your eyes. Relax. Take your attention gently inward. Take a deep breath in, and breathe out slowly.
0:16 Now visualize a loved one who cherishes you deeply.
0:23 Imagine that person standing at your side, sending you their love.
0:36 You are filled and overflowing with loving energy.
0:45 Your whole being is filled with love.
1:00 Now open your eyes and look at the person in the photograph. Begin to send the loving energy to the person in the photograph.
1:22 Silently repeat the following phrases: May you be well. May you be happy. May you be free from all physical and mental pain.
1:39 May you be well. May you be happy. May you be free from all physical and mental pain.
1:53 Send all your wishes for well-being to the person in the photograph.
2:10 You may now relax. You are finished with this task.
Round 2
0:00 Again, for this task, please close your eyes. Take your awareness gently inward. Take a deep breath in, and breathe out slowly.
0:16 Now visualize another loved one. Someone else who cares deeply for you.
0:23 Imagine this person at your side, sending you wishes for your well-being and happiness.
0:35 Feel the kindness and warmth coming to you from that person.
0:46 Imagine their care and concern washing over you.
1:00 Now open your eyes and look at the person in the photograph. Take that feeling of kindness and warmth and begin sending it to the person in the photograph.
1:22 Silently repeat the following phrases: May you be well. May you be happy. May you live with ease.
1:40 May you be well. May you be happy. May you live with ease.
1:53 Send all your wishes for well-being, your care and concern, to the person in the photograph.
2:10 You may now relax. You are finished with this task.
Round 3
0:00 Close your eyes again. Take a deep breath in, and breath out, slowly. Take your attention gently inward.
0:16 Visualize the people you are closest to, standing all around you.
0:23 Imagine your friends and family, sending you their love.
0:36 You are surrounded by love and care.
0:46 You are filled and overflowing with that love.
1:00 Now open your eyes and look at the person in the photograph. Begin to send feelings of love and care toward that person.
1:22 Silently repeat: May you be happy. May you be peaceful. May you be free from all pain.
1:40 May you be happy. May you be peaceful. May you be free from all pain.
1:53 Direct all your wishes for happiness and peace to the person in the photograph.
2:10 You may now relax. You are finished with this task.
Neutral control task
Round 1
0:00 Close your eyes. Relax. Take your attention gently inward. Take a deep breath in, and breathe out, slowly.
0:16 Now visualize the entrance to this building.
0:23 Imagine the hallways of the building, and the way you took to get here.
0:36 Imagine the lighting in the corridor.
0:43 Imagine the hallway outside this room.
1:00 Now open your eyes and look at the person in the photograph.
1:13 Would you consider this face round, oval, square or triangular?
1:25 Look at the person’s ears. Are they symmetrical? Would you consider the placement of the ears low, high, or middle in relationship to the head? How far apart are they?
1:44 Look at the person’s nose. Is it a large or small nose? Estimate the distance from between the eyes to the tip of the nose.
2:00 Look at the person’s eyes. What shape are they?
2:10 You may now relax. You are finished with this task.
Round 2
0:00 Again, for this task, please close your eyes. Take your awareness gently inward. Take a deep breath in, and breathe out, slowly.
0:20 Now visualize the inside of the last bookstore you were in.
0:30 Imagine the colors of the walls and floors, the general layout of the store.
0:42 Bring to mind the shape and look of the bookshelves, the smell of the bookstore.
0:54 Imagine the sights and sounds you encounter in that store.
1:07 Now open your eyes and look at the person in the photograph.
1:14 How would you describe the look of their hair to another person?
1:25 Look at the person’s mouth. Is it a large or a small mouth? Is it near or far away from their nose?
1:46 Look at the person’s eyebrows. Are their eyebrows thin or thick? Are they long or short? Estimate how far above the eyes they are.
2:10 You may now relax. You are finished with this task.
Round 3
0:00 Close your eyes again. Take a deep breath in, and breathe out, slowly. Take your attention gently inward.
0:18 Now think of the inside of a laundromat, some place where people do their laundry.
0:28 Picture the inside of the room. Imagine the floors and the walls. Imagine the look of the different washers and dryers and how they line up.
0:49 Visualize any objects that might be seen lying around in the laundromat.
1:00 Now open your eyes and look at the person in the photograph.
1:06 Look at their skin. Look at its color and tone. How would you describe their skin?
1:23 Now look at their forehead. Is it a small or a large forehead? Wide or narrow?
1:39 Look at this person’s neck. Is it long or short? Estimate how thick it is.
1:55 Now look at this person’s whole face. Take in all its details.
2:10 You may now relax. You are finished with this task.
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Hutcherson, C.A., Seppala, E.M. & Gross, J.J. The neural correlates of social connection. Cogn Affect Behav Neurosci 15, 1–14 (2015). https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-014-0304-9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.3758/s13415-014-0304-9