Neuroimaging Studies Reveal the Subtle Difference Among Social Network Size Measurements and Shed Light on New Directions

Frontiers in Neuroscience

Yunlu Xie¹  Ruiqi Huang¹  Xueli Chen¹  Ru Ma¹  Junjie Bu¹  Xiaochu Zhang²  Xiaoming Liu⁴  Shen Liu⁵  Yuzhi Luo⁵ 

[1] CAS Key Laboratory of Brain Function and Disease and School of Life Sciences, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China;Centers for Biomedical Engineering, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China;Hefei Medical Research Center on Alcohol Addiction, Anhui Mental Health Center, Hefei, China;School of Foreign Languages, Anhui Jianzhu University, Hefei, China;School of Humanities and Social Science, University of Science and Technology of China, Hefei, China;

关键词: social network size;    brain regions;    social brain hypothesis;    SNI;    SNQ;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnins.2018.00461

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

Social network size is a key feature when we explore the constructions of human social networks. Despite the disparate understanding of individuals’ social networks, researchers have reached a consensus that human’s social networks are hierarchically organized with different layers, which represent emotional bonds and interaction frequency. Social brain hypothesis emphasizes the significance of complex and demanding social interaction environments and assumes that the cognitive constraints may have an impact on the social network size. This paper reviews neuroimaging studies on social networks that explored the connection between individuals’ social network size and neural mechanisms and finds that Social Network Index (SNI) and Social Network Questionnaires (SNQs) are the mostly-adopted measurements of one’s social network size. The two assessments have subtle difference in essence as they measure the different sublayers of one’s social network. The former measures the relatively outer sub-layer of one’s stable social relationship, similar to the sympathy group, while the latter assesses the innermost layer—the core of one’s social network, often referred to as support clique. This subtle difference is also corroborated by neuroimaging studies, as SNI-measured social network size is largely correlated with the amygdala, while SNQ-assessed social network size is closely related to both the amygdala and the orbitofrontal cortex. The two brain regions respond to disparate degrees of social closeness, respectively. Finally, it proposes a careful choice among the measurements for specific purposes and some new approaches to assess individuals’ social network size.

【 授权许可】

Unknown