Does rejection hurt? An FMRI study of social exclusion

TitleDoes rejection hurt? An FMRI study of social exclusion
Publication TypeJournal Article
AuthorsEisenberger, N. I., M. D. Lieberman, and K. D. Williams
A neuroimaging study examined the neural correlates of social exclusion and tested the hypothesis that the brain bases of social pain are similar to those of physical pain. Participants were scanned while playing a virtual ball-tossing game in which they were ultimately excluded. Paralleling results from physical pain studies, the anterior cingulate cortex (ACC) was more active during exclusion than during inclusion and correlated positively with self-reported distress. Right ventral prefrontal cortex (RVPFC) was active during exclusion and correlated negatively with self-reported distress. ACC changes mediated the RVPFC-distress correlation, suggesting that RVPFC regulates the distress of social exclusion by disrupting ACC activity.
Title Does rejection hurt? An FMRI study of social exclusion
Publication Title ScienceScience
Publication Type Journal Article
Published Year 2003
Authors N.I. Eisenberger; M.D. Lieberman; K.D. Williams
Edition 2003/10/11
Accession Number 14551436
Number 5643
ISBN Number 0036-8075
Grant List
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