Researchers report that functional MRI scans of 50 college freshmen in the United States revealed distinctive patterns of brain activity when the students viewed pictures of dormitory-mates who were perceived as highly socially supportive, positive, and empathetic by their peers, compared with pictures of other dormitory-mates, suggesting that individuals can spontaneously track the most highly valued members within their social network.
Article #17-12811: "Neural detection of socially valued community members," by Sylvia A. Morelli, Yuan Chang Leong, Ryan W. Carlson, Monica Kullar, and Jamil Zaki.
MEDIA CONTACT: Sylvia A. Morelli, University of Illinois at Chicago, IL; tel: 415-730-3428; e-mail: <smorelli@uic.edu>
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