title: Mentalizing and the Role of the Posterior Superior Temporal Sulcus in Sharing Others' Embarrassment.
abstract: The experience of embarrassment provides a highly salient cue for the human moral apparatus. Interestingly, people also experience embarrassment on behalf of others' inappropriate conditions. The perceiver's embarrassment often lacks an equivalent expression of embarrassment in the social counterpart. The present study examines this phenomenon and distinguishes neural circuits involved in embarrassment with and embarrassment for another person's mishaps. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we show that the embarrassment on behalf of others engages the temporal pole and the medial prefrontal cortex, central structures of the mentalizing network, together with the anterior insula and anterior cingulate cortex. In contrast, sharing others' embarrassment additionally stimulated the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS), which exhibited increased functional integration with inferior parietal and insular cortex areas. These findings characterize common neural circuits involved in the embodied representation of embarrassment and further unravel the unique role of the posterior STS in sharing others' affective state.
authors: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Social Neuroscience Lab, Philipps-University Marburg, D-35039 Marburg, Germany.
authors: Frieder Michel
authors: FM
authors: Paulus
authors: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Social Neuroscience Lab, Philipps-University Marburg, D-35039 Marburg, Germany.
authors: Laura
authors: L
authors: Müller-Pinzler
authors: Department of Psychiatry, Philipps-University Marburg, D-35039 Marburg, Germany.
authors: Andreas
authors: A
authors: Jansen
authors: Department of Neuroscience, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, 9713 AW Groningen, The Netherlands Social Brain Laboratory, The Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Royal Netherlands Academy for the Arts and Sciences, 1105 BA Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Valeria
authors: V
authors: Gazzola
authors: Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Social Neuroscience Lab, Philipps-University Marburg, D-35039 Marburg, Germany.
authors: Sören
authors: S
authors: Krach
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009434:Neural Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D000069336:Neurovascular Coupling; D011601:Psychophysics; D012938:Social Perception; D013702:Temporal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: embodiment; empathy/mentalizing; mirroring; superior posterior temporal sulcus; vicarious embarrassment