title: EEG oscillations reflect the complexity of social interactions in a non-verbal social cognition task using animated triangles.
abstract: The ability to attribute independent mental states (e.g. opinions, perceptions, beliefs) to oneself and others is termed Theory of Mind (ToM). Previous studies investigating ToM usually employed verbal paradigms and functional neuroimaging methods. Here, we studied oscillatory responses in the electroencephalogram (EEG) in a non-verbal social cognition task. The aim of this study was twofold: First, we wanted to investigate differences in oscillatory responses to animations differing with regard to the complexity of social "interactions". Secondly, we intended to evaluate the basic cognitive processes underlying social cognition. To this end, we analyzed theta, alpha, beta and gamma task-related de-/synchronization (TRD/TRS) during presentation of six non-verbal videos differing in the complexity of (social) "interactions" between two geometric shapes. Videos were adopted from Castelli et al. (2000)and belonged to three conditions: Videos designed to evoke attributions of mental states (ToM), interaction descriptions (goal-directed, GD) and videos in which the shapes moved randomly (R). Analyses revealed that only theta activity consistently varied as a function of social "interaction" complexity. Results suggest that ToM/GD videos attract more attention and working-memory resources and may have activated related memory contents. Alpha and beta results were less consistent. While alpha effects suggest that observation of social "interactions" may benefit from inhibition of self-centered processing, oscillatory responses in the beta range could be related to action observation. In summary, the results provide insight into basic cognitive processes involved in social cognition and render the paradigm attractive for the investigation of social cognitive processes in non-verbal populations.
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Austria; University of Salzburg, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), Austria. Electronic address: christine.blume@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Blume
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Austria; University of Salzburg, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), Austria. Electronic address: julia.lechinger@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Lechinger
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Austria; University of Salzburg, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), Austria. Electronic address: renata.delgiudice@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: del Giudice
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Austria. Electronic address: malgorzata.wislowska@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Malgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wislowska
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Austria; University of Salzburg, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), Austria. Electronic address: dominik.heib@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Dominik P J
authors.initials: DP
authors.lastname: Heib
authors.affiliation: University of Salzburg, Department of Psychology, Laboratory for Sleep, Cognition and Consciousness Research, Austria; University of Salzburg, Centre for Cognitive Neuroscience Salzburg (CCNS), Austria. Electronic address: manuel.schabus@sbg.ac.at.
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schabus
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000513:Alpha Rhythm; D001611:Beta Rhythm; D058256:Brain Waves; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003344:Cortical Synchronization; D004569:Electroencephalography; D005074:Evoked Potentials, Visual; D005260:Female; D065818:Gamma Rhythm; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008297:Male; D055641:Mathematical Concepts; D010775:Photic Stimulation; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D013826:Theta Rhythm; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: EEG; Oscillations; Social cognition; TRD/TRS; Theory of Mind