Studying socioemotional perception in single human subjects using precision neuroimaging and AI: A multimodal proof-of-concept project

Socioemotional perception is of importance for social and emotional function in humans everyday life.

Previous neuroimaging studies have investigated socioemotional perception (e.g. of facial expressions) at a group level ignoring the fact this is an individual phenomena. Precision neuroimaging (PI) focus on single subjects and many repeated trials.

Using PI to study human brain function associated with socioemotional perception is an unexplored territory.In this four years neuroimaging project we will scan 8 subjects during 15 scanning sessions.

During scanning subject will be exposed to blocks of dynamic visual, auditory and visual-auditory socioemotional stimuli varying in valence (positive-negative) and arousal (high-low).

A multivariate within-subject approach will be used including functional and structural brain data, subjective responses and various physiological measures.

All analyses are conducted at the individual level, meaning that statistical models are fit separately to data from each participant.

Standard functional and structural MRI data analysis methods will be used in combination with explorative AI approaches for identifying correlations within and between patterns of brain connectivity and behavioral outcome measures.This as a proof-of-concept project in the forefront of a coming paradigm shift in cognitive neuroscience which will eventually open new scientific venues and making it possible to conduct parallel animal research to get at neural mechanisms.