5.3.1 Brain Mechanisms Underlying the Social Processes and Emergent Mechanisms of Decision-making
Vasily Klucharev
Project Leader
Project period
2020-2025
Context of Research Project within a Subject of Human Capital
Advances in neurobiology, and especially in non-invasive brain mapping of the last two decades, have not only allowed us to consider the biological basis of decision-making, drawing on the well-known theory of reinforcement learning and the notion of prediction error, but have also contributed to the development of a new interdisciplinary field of knowledge of neurobiology and decision-making, or neuroeconomics. The results of neuroeconomics research have suggested the existence of a link between social influence and the fundamental neurobiological (dopaminergic) mechanisms of learning processes. The socio-neurocognitive approach to the study of decision-making processes, formed as a result of the development of the neuroeconomic paradigm, allows the study of key mechanisms of human behavior responsible for (un)adaptive behavior in a rapidly changing modern social and technological environment, emergent (strictly social) aspects of decision-making, the role of speech processes in behavior and decision-making, as well as the degree of social and informational influence on individual behavior in the modern world. Understanding the aforementioned mechanisms will allow a deeper study of the formation of human potential.
The research project Brain Mechanisms Underlying the Social Processes and Emergent Mechanisms of Decision-making focuses on the study of brain mechanisms of decision-making in a social context, perception and processing of narratives, including the perception of false and truthful information, as well as the influence of cross-cultural context on these processes. The project will develop a neuromodel of social influence based on neural learning networks with reinforcement and performance monitoring, which are the basis for mediation of behavior changes in accordance with the expectations of others
Project Aim
Studying brain mechanisms of decision-making in a social context; researching of the neurobiology of social influence
Project Objectives:
- Developing new methods and approaches and implementing multimodal neuroimaging of subjects in decision-making studies in various social contexts
- Developing new approaches to the group analysis of brain activity based on fMRI, MEG and EEG data, taking into account the dynamic properties of environmentally valid stimuli (narratives, video clips, audio-video content) and the neurodynamics of brain activity, studying the role of the prefrontal cortex in decision-making in social contexts
- Studying tolerance to uncertainty as a factor of prosocial behavior
- Studying age-related aspects and psychophysiological mechanisms of social influence on older and younger subjects
Key Findings
2020
The theoretical and methodological foundations of the connection of neuroeconomics, communication and social interaction studies, social influence and normative behavior have been developed, the comparison of neuronal correlates of the resting state has been carried out to predict the helping behavior demonstrated in the laboratory and in everyday life
2021
The method of multimodal mapping and data analysis in the study of social processes has been refined by applying a modification in analyzing the main components for the study of cooperative behavior on the example of helping behavior, as well as data analysis and the construction of a mixed machine learning model to assess the predictive ability of laboratory methods for evaluating cooperative behavior in assessing the degree of compliance with social norms in everyday life
2022
The installation and protocol of high-resolution transcranial electrical stimulation (HD-tdc) has been developed to modulate the activity of the frontal pole in frontal lobes of the brain in decision-making process.
A 3D model of the installation obtained using the Niksite program. The position of the Fp2 electrode was determined as an area of interest for stimulation (cathode electrode)
Educational Programs
Integrated track Brain and Cognitive iBrain Sciences
Microdigree Applied Cognitive Neuroscience
Conferences
XXII April International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development (Moscow, Russia, April 13-30, 2021):
- Special Round Table (Non)Homogeneous (Ir)Rationality. How the Brain Makes Decisions (RU) (13/04/2021)
International School of Social Neuroscience Intersubjective correlation analysis of fMRI data: Practical Application (Moscow, Russia, June 21-23, 2021)
XXIII Yasin (April) International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development (Moscow, Russia, April 5-22, 2022): special round table Fake News: Interdisciplinary Approach (07/04/2022)