The impact of social context on communication and the learning process. Cooperation on a cognitive level, the reasons for cooperation, and the brain regions associated with social situations.

1. The Significance of Social
Stimuli in Communication
and the Learning Process
Boglarka Bihari
2022

2. Biography
• BEd, MA in Education
• Solid experience in education and learning and
development
• Data analysis and data visualisation skills
• Passionate about continuous studying about the process
of learning, and being bold to explore and experiment
with related fields and methods, e.g. gamification,
neuroscience, ecosystem building, data based decision
making
• Neuroscience studies: visiting a Brain Pathology seminar
at the University of Medicine in Budapest; doing research
in cognitive psychology learning about neural processes
as well; Completing Neuroscience courses at Harvard
University

3. As an educator I am interested in how I can make the learning process more
efficient – Could I benefit from the findings of some neuroscience research?
I decided to focus on two seemingly different processes, but as we will see,
there are lots of similarities between them
As Matthew Lieberman (Social Cognitive Neuroscience Lab director at UCLA)
says, we are “socially wired” creatures – in both processes the social context
has a great significance
About the topic choice

4. In 2005-2006: I carried out a cognitive discourse analysis in 2 phases: 1.isolated concept
associations, 2.detecting theme associations during conversations (i.e. in linguistic and
social contexts)
Method: paper-based discourse analysis, recording longer conversations of various
groups, focusing on specific, given topics
Aims: 1.to explore how mental representations of concepts are constructed, 2.to follow
the cognitive processes of participants, and 3.to detect the potential impact of the social
context on the association processes
Detecting brain activation via discourse analysis
– some early research

5. Phase 1, concept associations:
1.Various features and different memory types (e.g. semantic and autobiographical)
were activated as parts of the mental representations of the given objects by the
participants in the experiment
2.Even when we focus on one specific object, our memory activation is more extended,
multiple semantic schemas might be activated as well as other parts of the brain, e.g.
hippocampus, amygdala (i.e. because of the semantic and autobiographical memory
activation)
Phase 2, theme associations during discourse:
1.Similar schema and memory activation processes could be observed as in Phase 1
2.Additional findings: cognitive cooperation principle (from Grice’s ‘cooperative
principle’ term): the participants main aim is to cooperate – it has visible signs on a
cognitive level as well, e.g. the participants help each other to recall memories, they
finish each other’s sentences etc. The participants follow one another’s associations
to create one, collective mental representation of the discourse
Main findings of the research

6. Detecting and exploring the phenomenon
of cognitive cooperation with brain
imaging technology
Examining the role of non-verbal
communication elements during
discourse with brain imaging tools
Functional near infrared spectroscopy
(fNIRS) – portable; its motion tolerance is
good, however, it cannot be used for the
subcortical regions
Future perspectives of the research

7. The act of cooperation is highly associated with activation in brain regions
which are known to be involved in reward processing (Stallen and Sanfey,
2013) Cooperation is rewarding
In addition, social experiences themselves are already motivating,
rewarding; as Redcay et al. (2010) explain, ‘During the “Live” interaction, as
compared to the Recorded conditions, greater activation was seen in brain
regions involved in social cognition and reward, including the right temporo-
parietal junction (rTPJ), anterior cingulate cortex (ACC), right superior
temporal sulcus (rSTS), ventral striatum, and amygdala’ (Redcay et al., 2010)
Why do we cooperate?

8. Kim (2013) differentiates between 3 subprocesses of motivation:
1. Generation of motivation – in the Ventral Striatum and the Amygdala:
Reward-driven approach, Reward anticipation, Incentive salience
2. Maintenance of motivation – in the Striatum and the orbitofrontal cortex:
Value-based decision, Associative learning, Positive reward-prediction error
3. Regulation of motivation – in the anterior cingulate cortex and the
dorsolateral prefrontal cortex:
Goal-directed control, Cognitive control, Negative reward-prediction error

9. Also known as the ‘reward pathway’
It has 2 parts: the mesolimbic dopamine system (i.e. nucleus accumbens,
septum, amygdala, hippocampus) and the mesocortical dopamine system
(i.e. ‘the linkage between the medial prefrontal cortex, the anterior cingulate
cortex, and the perirhinal cortex. ‘ (Kim 2013) )
mesolimbic dopamine system: reward anticipation and learning
mesocortical dopamine system: ‘encoding the relative value of the reward and
goal-directed behavior.’ (Kim 2013)
The OFC-Amygdala-NAcc system responds to secondary rewards too, such
as social rewards, e.g.praise and cooperation (Kim 2013)
The dopamine pathway

10. Learning is a related process, it also
involves a great variety of social
situations, e.g. conversations
Learning is significantly more efficient
if there are social interactions too (e.g.
groupwork, pairwork, discussions;
incl. verbal and nonverbal
communication too)
Social stimuli in the learning process

11. The emotional environment in the classroom can be a fundamental
regulator of neuroplasticity (Cozolino 2013): ‘A low level of stress and
arousal – where the learner is attentive and motivated to learn –
maximizes the biochemical processes that drive neuroplasticity. ‘
Emotionally positive atmosphere, the teacher’s positive feedback (incl.
both verbal and nonverbal elements) reduce anxiety, build self-
confidence, therefore, enhance neuroplasticity
Supportive learning + appropriate level of challenge dopamine,
serotonin, norepinephrine and endorphin production is activated
What can make the learning process more efficient
from a social cognitive neuroscience perspective?

12. Increasing classroom autonomy – involving learners in decision
making, encouraging independent problem solving
Greater classroom autonomy results in stronger intrinsic motivation
Teachers can also increase neural plasticity by making social support,
compassion and kindness parts of the classroom
It’s important to eliminate stress, and create a warm and loving
environment (Cozolino 2013)
How can educators achieve this?

13. In social situations, we often imitate other people’s behaviours on verbal and
nonverbal levels too
Imitation can happen consciously and automatically
Reason: ‘(…) imitation is central to learning, interpersonal attunement, and
group coordination. It links us across the social synapse, allowing the
creation of larger organisms, like couples, families, and tribes.’ (Cozolino
2013)
Mirror neurons are essential in this process + with these and the frontal and
parietal regions, we also make predictions about the future – it is common
during a conversation too
Imitation – a fundamental element of learning

14. 3 types of structures/systems:
1.Cortical and subcortical structures: Orbital and medial prefrontal cortices
(OMPFC); Cingulate cortex and spindle (von Economo) cells; Insula cortex,
somatosensory cortex, amygdala, hippocampus, hypothalamus
2.Sensory, motor and affective systems: Face recognition and expression
reading; Imitation, mirroring, and resonance systems
3.Regulatory systems: Attachment, stress, and fear regulation system
(OMPFC – amygdala balance); Social engagement system (the vagal system
of autonomic regulation); Social motivation system (reward representation
and reinforcement) (Cozolino 2013)
The social brain

15. ‘The OMPFC allows us to translate the punishment and reward values of
complex social information into meaningful information by associating them
with motivations and emotions’ (Cozolino 2013)
‘(….) the vagus allows us to maintain continued engagement by modulating
arousal during emotional interpersonal exchanges.’
(Cozolino 2013)
‘The dopamine reward system is involved with more complex analysis of
reward and social motivation. It becomes activated with an expectation of a
social reward’ (Cozolino 2013)
Some functions of the social brain

16. Cozolino (2013): Individuals with autism spectrum disorder lack the abilities
of ‘emotional attunement and sympathetic understanding’
Khalil et al. (2018) also refer to the impaired mirror neuron system in autism
spectrum disorder, and its negative impact on empathy and imitative
behaviour
Stopa & Clark (1993): People with social anxiety disorder ‘may not closely
monitor other people's responses in social situations’, therefore, their thoughts
are not data driven.
Cozolino (2013): Isolation can lead to the loss of cognitive functions (e.g. for
elderly people) – ‘Isolation, lack of challenge, and understimulation are the
enemies of a healthy brain at any age.’
Social cognitive disorders

17. Cozolino, L.J. (2013). The social neuroscience of education : optimizing attachment and learning in the classroom.
New York: Norton.
Khalil, R., Tindle, R., Boraud, T., Moustafa, A.A. and Karim, A.A. (2018). Social decision making in autism:
On the impact of mirror neurons, motor control, and imitative behaviors. CNS Neuroscience & Therapeutics,
24(8), pp.669–676. doi:10.1111/cns.13001.
Kim, S. (2013). Neuroscientific Model of Motivational Process. Frontiers in Psychology, 4.
doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2013.00098.
Redcay, E., Dodell-Feder, D., Pearrow, M.J., Mavros, P.L., Kleiner, M., Gabrieli, J.D.E. and Saxe, R. (2010).
Live face-to-face interaction during fMRI: A new tool for social cognitive neuroscience. NeuroImage, 50(4),
pp.1639–1647. doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2010.01.052.
Stallen, M. and Sanfey, A.G. (2013). The Cooperative Brain. The Neuroscientist, 19(3), pp.292–303.
doi:10.1177/1073858412469728.
Stopa, L. and Clark, D.M. (1993). Cognitive processes in social phobia. Behaviour Research and Therapy,
31(3), pp.255–267. doi:10.1016/0005-7967(93)90024-o.
Bibliography

18. Thank you for your attention.