Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34808294›Full record

ArticleBrain, behavior, and immunity2022

Ventromedial prefrontal cortex activity differentiates sick from healthy faces: Associations with inflammatory responses and disease avoidance motivation.

Carrianne J Leschak, Erica A Hornstein, Kate E Byrne Haltom, Kerri L Johnson, Elizabeth C Breen, Michael R Irwin, Naomi I Eisenberger

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in Brain, behavior, and immunity, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 6 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
6citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

6 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
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4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Carrianne J LeschakDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
Erica A HornsteinDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
Kate E Byrne HaltomDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
Kerri L JohnsonDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Department of Communication, University of California, Los Angeles, 2330 Rolfe Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
Elizabeth C BreenCousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, 300 UCLA Medical Plaza #3109, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
Michael R IrwinDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Cousins Center for Psychoneuroimmunology, Semel Institute for Neuroscience and Human Behavior, University of California, Los Angeles, 300 UCLA Medical Plaza #3109, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States; Department of Psychiatry and Biobehavioral Sciences, University of California, Los Angeles, 760 Westwood Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States.
Naomi I EisenbergerDepartment of Psychology, University of California, Los Angeles, 1285 Franz Hall, Los Angeles, CA 90095, United States. Electronic address: neisenbe@ucla.edu.

Funding

Doctoral Training in Brain and Behavioral Development During Adolescence (UCLA BBDA)T32HD091059 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI Mirella Dapretto, ANDREW J FULIGNI · 2018 to 2026
$1.7M
Inflammation-Induced Depressed Mood: The Role of Social Neurocognitive MechanismsR01MH091352 · NIMH · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI EISENBERGER, NAOMI ILANA · 2010 to 2013
$1.7M
Neurodevelopment of Prosocial Learning & Associations with a Marker of Antiviral Immunity, Interferon-GammaF31HD100144 · NICHD · UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA LOS ANGELES · PI LESCHAK, CARRIANNE JANINE · 2019 to 2020
$75k
NICHD NIH HHS F31 HD100144NICHD NIH HHS T32 HD091059NIMH NIH HHS R01 MH091352
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundHumans are able to discern the health status of others using olfactory and visual cues, and subsequently shift behavior to make infection less likely. However, little is known about how this process occurs. The present study examined the neural regions involved in differentiating healthy from sick individuals using visual cues.

methodsWhile undergoing a functional magnetic resonance imaging scan, participants (N = 42) viewed facial photos of 30 individuals (targets) who had been injected with an inflammatory challenge--low-dose endotoxin (i.e., sick) or placebo (i.e., healthy), and rated how much they liked each face. We examined regions implicated in processing either threat (amygdala, anterior insula) or cues that signal safety (ventromedial prefrontal cortex [VMPFC]), and how this activity related to their liking of targets and cytokine levels (interleukin-6, tumor necrosis factor-α) exhibited by the targets.

resultsPhotos of sick faces were rated as less likeable compared to healthy faces, and the least liked faces were those individuals with the greatest inflammatory response. While threat-related regions were not significantly active in response to viewing sick faces, the VMPFC was more active in response to viewing healthy (vs. sick) faces. Follow-up analyses revealed that participants tended to have lower VMPFC activity when viewing the least liked faces and the faces of those with the greatest inflammatory response.

conclusionsThis work builds on prior work implicating the VMPFC in signaling the presence of safe, non-threatening visual stimuli, and suggests the VMPFC may be sensitive to cues signaling relative safety in the context of pathogen threats.

Indexed as

Brain MappingMotivationAmygdalaEmotionsHealth StatusHumansMagnetic Resonance ImagingPrefrontal CortexDisease avoidanceEndotoxinInflammationPathogen detectionSickness cuesVentromedial prefrontal cortex

Identifiers

PMID34808294
PMCPMC13248920

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.