Structure of orbitofrontal cortex predicts social influence

Curr Biol. 2012 Feb 21;22(4):R123-4. doi: 10.1016/j.cub.2012.01.012.

Abstract

Some people conform more than others. Across different contexts, this tendency is a fairly stable trait . This stability suggests that the tendency to conform might have an anatomical correlate . Values that one associates with available options, from foods to political candidates, help to guide choices and behaviour. These values can often be updated by the expressed preferences of other people as much as by independent experience. In this correspondence, we report a linear relationship between grey matter volume (GM) in a region of lateral orbitofrontal cortex (lOFCGM) and the tendency to shift reported desire for objects toward values expressed by other people. This effect was found in precisely the same region in each brain hemisphere. lOFCGM also predicted the functional hemodynamic response in the middle frontal gyrus to discovering that someone else's values contrast with one's own. These findings indicate that the tendency to conform one's values to those expressed by other people has an anatomical correlate in the human brain.

Publication types

  • Letter
  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Prefrontal Cortex / anatomy & histology*
  • Social Conformity*
  • Young Adult