Download - Sarina Saturn - SoC talk

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The biology influencing individual differences in

social and emotional processing

Sarina Rodrigues Saturn, PhD Assistant Professor

School of Psychological Science Oregon State University

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A little bit about me:

Sarina Saturn

• The scientist formally known as Sarina Rodrigues

• 1993: Entered neuroendocrinology research at OHSU

• 2003: Completed PhD in Neuroscience at NYU: Joseph LeDoux

• 2005: Postdoctoral fellow at Stanford: Robert Sapolsky

• 2007: Postdoctoral scholar at UC Berkeley: Dacher Keltner

• 2009: Assistant Professor at Oregon State University

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Acknowledgements

• My amazing collaborators, especially:

• Laura Saslow PhD @ UCSF

• Dacher Keltner, PhD @ UC Berkeley

• Walter Piper & Jillian Garrison @ OSU

• The organizers and sponsors of this amazing conference!

Funding:

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Emotions

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Stress Response • Raw, primal, and amazingly strong

• Hardwired universal survival mechanism

• Similar brain circuitry across many species

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LeDoux, 1994

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Rodrigues, LeDoux, & Sapolsky (2009) Annual Review of Neuroscience

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Stress and the

Body

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Stress and the Brain

Rodrigues, LeDoux, & Sapolsky (2009) Annual Review of Neuroscience

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Oxytocin has potent physiological anti-stress effects:

• modulate stress hormone levels

• inhibiting cardiovascular responses to stress

• lowering amygdala responses to emotional stimuli

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Prosociality: ‘voluntary behavior intended

to benefit another, such as helping, sharing, and comforting’ Dr. Nancy Eisenberg (1982)

• Raw, primal, and amazingly strong

• Hardwired universal survival mechanism

• Similiar brain circuitry across many species

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Oxytocin and Prosocial Behavior

• Oxytocin supports affiliative behavior in a variety of species

• pair-bond formation

• parental care

Dr. C. Sue Carter and others

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• In humans, intra-nasal administration of oxytocin increases:

• generosity

• trust

• eye gaze

• ability to infer the affective mental state of others

• Natural oxytocin levels relate to:

• parent-child bonding behaviors

• feelings of romantic love and trust

• empathy and subsequent generosity towards strangers

Oxytocin and Prosocial Behavior

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• “The social engagement system is intimately related to stress reactivity. “

• The anatomical structures involved in the social engagement system have neurophysiological interactions with the stress and oxytocin systems.

Dr. Stephen Porges (2001)

Oxytocin and the Vagus Nerve

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Vagus nerve and witnessing compassionate acts

Walter Piper

Respiratory Sinus Arrhythmia (RSA) is an index of vagus/parasympathetic activity

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• This world would be VERY boring if we all looked, acted, and felt the same!

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What causes individual differences in social and emotional profiles?

• Life experiences

• Environment

• Culture

• Society

• Inborn tendencies

• *genetic variations

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Polymorphisms “many forms”

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Polymorphisms affect our brain chemistry

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Oxytocin Receptor

• Distributed throughout the body and the brain:

• heart

• hypothalamus, amygdala

• medullary structures regulating vagal control of the heart

• regions of the spinal cord that regulate the autonomic nervous system, especially the parasympathetic branch

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Polymorphisms

• Serotonin system

• Depression, negative emotions

• Dopamine system

• Reward seeking, addictive behaviors

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How is a polymorphism (rs53576) of the oxytocin receptor related to stress reactivity?

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Stress Reactivity: Physiological

• Startle paradigm: white noise bursts presented through headphones

• Average heart rate during a fear-potentiated startle anticipation task (vs. baseline)

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Alleles

• An allele is one of two or more forms of a gene or a genetic locus (generally a group of genes)

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Stress Reactivity: Startle Anticipation Heart Rate

Rodrigues et al. (2009) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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Stress Reactivity Scale

We used items that measure negative-emotion reactivity in stressful situations, emergencies, and crises, rather than baseline negative affect. This unidimensional scale measures a general factor of stress reactivity.

Measure Pearson Correlation **<0.01

Authors

Resilience -0.52** Sinclair & Watson, 2004

Rumination 0.52** Trapnell & Campbell, 1999

Perceived stress 0.59** Cohen et al., 1983

Emotion Reappraisal -0.28** Gross & John, 2003

Attentional Control -0.46** Derryberry & Reed, 2002

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Stress Reactivity: Dispositional

Rodrigues et al. (2009) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences

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How does the same genetic variation influence empathy?

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Empathy Refers to the ability to

understand and experience what others are feeling while maintaining

self-other differentiation

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Davis: Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI)

A well-validated self-report scale that reflects the

core facets of other-oriented

empathic behavior

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Dimensions (subscales) of the IRI

• I often have tender, concerned feelings for people less fortunate than me.

EMPATHIC CONCERN

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Dimensions (subscales) of the IRI

PERSPECTIVE TAKING

• I sometimes try to understand my friends better by imagining how things would look from their perspective

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Rodrigues et al. (2009) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

Interpersonal Reactivity Index

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Reading the Mind in the Eyes

• Simon Baron-Cohen

• Performance enhanced in non-clinical populations after oxytocin administration (Domes et al., 2007)

• Performance negatively associated with autism

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Reading the Mind in the Eyes

Rodrigues et al. (2009) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

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Implications

• Empathy and stress reactivity are on opposing ends of a

neurobiological continuum: OXYTOCIN

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• Strangers viewed 20-sec video clips of someone listening to their romantic partner talk about a time of suffering

• Evaluated nonverbal compassionate cues

• Eye contact

• Leaning

• Nodding

• Smiles

• Arm posture

Kogan et al. (2011) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

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GGs rated more prosocial by strangers (>AAs/AGs)

Kogan et al. (2011) Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (PNAS)

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Implications

• Genetic variability in the oxytocin system may contribute to individual differences in complex human social and emotional behaviors

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We have also found that this same oxytocin receptor polymorphism relates to:

• Social Dominance Orientation: Measures to what degree a person endorses and desires group-based hierarches

• Liberalism / Conservatism

• Openness to Experience

• Spirituality

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Others have found that this same oxytocin receptor polymorphism relates to:

• Differential structure and function of emotional brain regions

• More sensitive parenting

• Lower risk for autism spectrum disorders

• …..more!

Tost et al., 2010; Bakermans-Kranenburg & van Ijzendoorn, 2008; Tops et al., 2011; Norman et al., 2012; Wu et al., 2005; Wertmer, et al., 2009

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Implications

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Implications • It is important to understand that everyone has unique

obstacles to achieving inner-peace and sociality

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Implications

• EVERYONE can fight the damaging effects of stress on the brain and the body by developing social connectedness

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Oxytocin has been shown to:

• Robustly modulate the stress response

• Boost prosociality

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How can we get more oxytocin?!?

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How can we get more oxytocin?!?

• No…we don’t have any in our pockets to pass out to you

• Dangers of artificial oxytocin administration:

• Envy

• Gloating

• Ethnocentrism

• Out-group hate

• Epigenetic modifications

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How can we get more oxytocin?!?

• Social bonds (family, friends, partners, strangers, pets)

• Feeling love and trust

• Physical contact (massage, hugs, spooning, intimacy)

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Cultivate compassion and love for others • Be compassionate and loving

towards others spreads the oxytocin around

• Being good to others is also good for you!

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Cultivate compassion and love for yourself • Self-compassion relates to:

• Lower stress and depression

• Better coping and stress regulation*

• Better health*

• Better sleep*

• More prosocial traits*

Dr. Kristin Neff

Jillian Garrison

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Cultivating compassion for others and yourself will lead to a more prosocial

and healthier society

“Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.”

-Pema Chodron