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. 2015 Oct 9:6:1475.
doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2015.01475. eCollection 2015.

Chemosensory anxiety cues moderate the experience of social exclusion - an fMRI investigation with Cyberball

Olga A Wudarczyk  1 , Nils Kohn  2 , Rene Bergs  1 , Raquel E Gur  3 , Bruce Turetsky  3 , Frank Schneider  1 , Ute Habel  4
Affiliations

Chemosensory anxiety cues moderate the experience of social exclusion - an fMRI investigation with Cyberball

Olga A Wudarczyk et al. Front Psychol. .

Abstract

Recent evidence suggests that the experience of stress can be communicated between individuals via chemosensory cues. Little is known, however, about the impact of these cues on neurophysiological responses during a socially threatening situation. In the current investigation we implemented a widely used paradigm to study social exclusion-Cyberball-to examine whether chemosensory cues signaling anxiety modulate the neuronal effects of ostracism. In a double-blind, within-subjects design, 24 healthy, normosmic participants were presented with chemosensory cues of anxiety (or control samples) and completed the Cyberball task while in a 3T fMRI scanner. Axillary sweat collected from male students awaiting an oral examination served as the anxiety cues while the chemosensory control stimuli consisted of sweat collected from the same individuals participating in an ergometer training session. The neuroimaging data revealed that under the control chemosensory condition, exclusion from Cyberball was associated with significantly higher orbitofrontal cortex and anterior cingulate cortex activity, which is consistent with previous studies in the field. However, when participants were primed with the anxiety sweat, the activity in these regions was not observed. Further, under exposure to anxiety cues during ostracism the participants showed deactivations in brain regions involved in memory (hippocampus), social cognition (middle temporal gyrus, superior temporal gyrus) and processing of salience (inferior frontal gyrus). These results suggest that successful communication of anxiety via the chemosensory domain may moderate the experience of social exclusion. It is possible that the anxiety signals make it easier for the individuals to detach from the group, pointing to the communicative role of chemosensory anxiety cues in enhancing adjustment mechanisms in light of a distressing situation.

Keywords: anxiety; chemosignals; cyberball; olfaction; ostracism; social exclusion.

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Figures

FIGURE 1
FIGURE 1
Experimental Setup. (A) Cyberball game – the visual interface. Participants were presented with the icons via MRI compatible goggles. The participants were represented by the hand icon, at the bottom of the screen. Once the participant received the ball, they were allowed to toss it to one of the other two players (in reality simulated by computer). In the inclusion condition participants were part of the game throughout the trial. In the exclusion condition, the participants received the ball in the first 10 throws, after which they were excluded from the game for the rest of the trial (∼50–70 s). (B) Schematic Illustration of the FMRI session. In the fMRI session participants completed two runs of the Cyberball game under exposure to anxiety and sports chemosensory cues, presented in a counterbalanced order. In each Cyberball run the inclusion condition preceded the exclusion condition. Following the inclusion condition, participants were asked how angry they felt, how happy they felt, how much they liked Dieter and how much they liked Nora (i.e., Questions). Following the exclusion condition, participants completed the Need Threat Scale (NTS). In between the two runs of the Cyberball game the anatomical scan was carried out for approximately 10 min, in which no chemosensory cues were presented.
FIGURE 2
FIGURE 2
Sweat donors’ emotional responses in the anxiety vs. sports conditions. Sweat donors’ evaluations of basic emotions and ratings in Self-Assessment Manikin during anticipation of an oral examination and during ergometer training. The figure depicts participants’ mean ratings and standard errors. ∗p < 0.05.
FIGURE 3
FIGURE 3
Study participants’ evaluations of the chemosensory cues. Participants’ ratings of the odors from the anxiety and the sports conditions with regard to their pleasantness, intensity, and valence. The figure depicts participants’ mean ratings and standard errors.
FIGURE 4
FIGURE 4
Cyberball task. Participants’ ratings of contentment in the exclusion condition compared to the inclusion condition (manipulation check), and evaluation of the experience of basic needs (NTS) following social exclusion. The figure depicts participants’ mean ratings and standard errors. ∗p < 0.05.
FIGURE 5
FIGURE 5
Sports Exclusion > Sports Inclusion (Whole Brain analyses). Significant clusters at p < 0.001, with extent threshold = 72 voxels (corresponding to Monte Carlo correction) in the contrast Exclusion > Inclusion under the exposure to chemosensory sports (control) cues.
FIGURE 6
FIGURE 6
Volumes of Interest (VOIs). Mean beta estimates post hoc comparisons in the 4 VOIs are displayed in order to disentangle the smell × ostracism condition interaction. The significant clusters are at p < 0.001, with extent threshold = 72 voxels (corresponding to Monte Carlo correction). ∗p < 0.05.
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