Social Behavior: An Emergent property of the phylogeny of the autonomic nervous system Stephen W. Porges, Ph.D. Brain-Body Center University of Illinois at Chicago [email protected]Acknowledgments ! Special thanks to: » Olga Bazhenova, Ph.D. » John Denver » Keri Heilman » Jane Sorokin » Elgiz Bal ! Funding provided by: » NIMH Grant MH-60625 » NLMF Family Foundation » Unicorn Children’s Foundation » Cure Autism Now Overview: The Polyvagal Theory • Evolution provides an organizing principle to understand neural regulation of the human autonomic nervous system. • Three neural circuits form a phylogenetically- ordered response hierarchy that regulate behavioral and physiological adaptation to safe, dangerous, and life threatening environments. • “Neuroception ” of danger or safety or life threat trigger these adaptive neural circuits. • New models relating neural regulation to health, learning, and social behavior may be reversed- engineered into treatments.
» Olga Bazhenova, Ph.D.» John Denver» Keri Heilman» Jane Sorokin» Elgiz Bal
! Funding provided by:» NIMH Grant MH-60625» NLMF Family Foundation» Unicorn Children’s Foundation» Cure Autism Now
Overview: The Polyvagal Theory• Evolution provides an organizing principle to understand
neural regulation of the human autonomic nervoussystem.
• Three neural circuits form a phylogenetically-orderedresponse hierarchy that regulate behavioral andphysiological adaptation to safe, dangerous, and lifethreatening environments.
• “Neuroception” of danger or safety or life threat triggerthese adaptive neural circuits.
• New models relating neural regulation to health, learning,and social behavior may be reversed- engineered intotreatments.
The metaphor of safety: A basic principleof our nervous system
Social Engagement System:Emergent Behaviors at Birth
Social Engagement System:Self Regulation
RESP
HP
(ms)
1200
1100
1000
900
800
SECONDS
0 30 60 90 120
0.10 RSA
HPV
60 BPM
Heart Rate Rhythms: A measure of the “new” vagus
Looking and Listening: CommonNeurophysiological Mechanisms
Middle Ear Muscles: Role in Extracting Human Voice
Borg & Counter, 1989Scientific American
t
Social Engagement
Social Engagement and Otis Media?
The Face: A Critical Componentof a Social Engagement System
• At birth the mammalian nervous system needs a“caregiver” to survive and signals the caregiver viathe muscles of the face and head.
• At term the corticobulbar pathways that regulate thestriated muscles of the face are myelinated.
• The face is “hardwired” to the neural regulation ofvisceral state via a mammalian “neural circuit.”
• Metabolic demands, stress, trauma and illnessretract the “mammalian” neural circuit with theresultant symptoms of a face that does not work andsocial engagement behaviors are absent.
Fantz, 1963
The Social Human Infant
The Social Human Infant
Neonates can discriminate between directand averted eye gaze and look longer andmore frequently at faces with direct eyegaze
Farroni, Csibra, Simion, & Johnson (2002). Eyecontact detection n humans from birth. Proceedingsof the National Academy of Sciences, 99, 9602-9605.
My Child’s Face Does Not Work!
Gabriel Metzu, The Sick Child
When Other Faces Do Not Work!
Beauty is a journey that starts with a
choice… Learn about your
Choices
Beauty is a journey that starts with a
choice… Learn about your
Choices
When the nervous system fails use Botox!
Autism
People Need People:A Biological Basis for Social Behavior
Regulators of physiology are“embedded” in relationships
M. HoferNew York State Psychiatric Institute
How are the adaptive defensivesystems (flight, fight, and freeze),which are mediated by the amygdalaand other limbic structures, inhibitedto promote the positive spontaneoussocial behavior associated with theSocial Engagement System?
Amygdala (central nucleus)
NeuroceptionLife Threat
ventrolateral
Periaqueductal Gray
Inhibitory pathwaysExcitatory pathways
Freeze(pyramidal tracks)
Autonomic State(dorsal vagal regulation)
Amygdala (central nucleus)
NeuroceptionDanger
dorsolateral and lateral
Periaqueductal GrayRostral Caudal
Inhibitory pathwaysExcitatory pathways
Fight (pyramidal tracks)
Autonomic State(sympathetic)
Flight (pyramidal tracks)
The Trustworthiness of Faces
R. Adolphs, 2002
NeuroceptionSafe
FFA/STS
Amygdala (central nucleus)
Inhibitory pathwaysExcitatory pathways
Motor Cortex
Medulla (source nuclei V,VII,IX,X,XI)
Social Engagement System
Somatomotor(muscles of face & head)
Visceromotor(heart, bronchi)
Social Engagement System:Observable Deficits in Several Psychiatric and
Behavioral Disorders
• Prosody
• Gaze
• Facial expressivity
• Mood and affect
• Posture during social engagement
The Polyvagal Theory:Insights into the selection of outcome measures
• Olga Bazhenova, Ph.D.• John Denver, Ph.D.• Keri Heilman, M.A.• Jane Sorokin, M.A.• Elgiz Bal
Funding provided by:• NIMH Grant MH-60625• NLMF Family Foundation• Unicorn Children’s Foundation• Cure Autism Now
Overview: The Polyvagal Theory• Evolution provides an organizing principle to understand
neural regulation of the human autonomic nervoussystem.
• Three neural circuits form a phylogenetically-orderedresponse hierarchy that regulate behavioral andphysiological adaptation to safe, dangerous, and lifethreatening environments.
• “Neuroception” of danger or safety or life threat triggerthese adaptive neural circuits.
• New models relating neural regulation to health, learning,and social behavior may be reversed- engineered intotreatments.
Polyvagal Theory: A PhylogeneticHierarchy of Response Strategies
Social Engagement System Observable Deficits in Several Psychiatric and
Behavioral Disorders
• Prosody
• Gaze
• Facial expressivity
• Mood and affect
• Posture during social engagement
Social Engagement SystemAnatomical basis
Cranial NervesV,VII,IX,X,XI
Muscles ofMastication
Middle EarMuscles
FacialMuscles
Larynx Heart
Head Turning
Bronchi
Pharynx
cortex
brainstem
environment
RESP
HP
(ms)
1200
1100
1000
900
800
SECONDS
0 30 60 90 120
0.10 RSA
HPV
60 BPM
Heart Rate Rhythms: An autonomic component of social engagement
My Child’s Face Does Not Work!
Gabriel Metzu, The Sick Child
Looking and ListeningCommon Neurophysiological Mechanisms
Middle Ear Muscles: Role in Extracting Human Voice
Borg & Counter, 1989Scientific American
t
How are the adaptive defensivesystems (flight, fight, and freeze),which are mediated by the amygdalaand other limbic structures, inhibitedto promote the positive spontaneoussocial behavior associated with theSocial Engagement System?
Amygdala (central nucleus)
NeuroceptionLife Threat
ventrolateral
Periaqueductal Gray
Inhibitory pathwaysExcitatory pathways
Freeze(pyramidal tracks)
Autonomic State(dorsal vagal regulation)
Amygdala (central nucleus)
NeuroceptionDanger
dorsolateral and lateral
Periaqueductal GrayRostral Caudal
Inhibitory pathwaysExcitatory pathways
Fight (pyramidal tracks)
Autonomic State(sympathetic)
Flight (pyramidal tracks)
The Trustworthiness of Faces
R. Adolphs, 2002
NeuroceptionSafe
FFA/STS
Amygdala (central nucleus)
Inhibitory pathwaysExcitatory pathways
Motor Cortex
Medulla (source nuclei V,VII,IX,X,XI)
Social Engagement System
Somatomotor(muscles of face & head)
Visceromotor(heart, bronchi)
Social Engagement System:Observable Deficits in Several Psychiatric and
Behavioral Disorders
• Prosody
• Gaze
• Facial expressivity
• Mood and affect
• Posture during social engagement
eye trackingGaze
acoustic properties ofvocalizations, language
Laryngeal/pharyngealmuscles
facial EMG, thermography,video coding of faces
Facial muscles
impedancewords from noise
Middle ear muscles
heart rate, vagal tone(RSA), respiration
Autonomic
ERP, EEG, EOP, fMRICortex
Social Engagement System Where to look? What to measure?
What Needs to be Done?•New Populations: Apply the Listing Project interventions toindividuals with language delays and older and more severeautistic individuals
•Repeated interventions: Change protocol to evaluate theeffect of repeated interventions on the trajectory of individualsin existing treatment programs.
•Describe the autistic nervous system: Validate neuralmechanisms mediating vulnerabilities in social engagementand the behavioral changes following intervention (fMRI, NIRS,ANS, facial EMG & IR thermography)
•Expand intervention strategies: Incorporate visual stimuli totrigger multisensory neurons that facilitate language and socialcommunication.
Potential Applications of the Polyvagal Theoryin Psychiatry, Psychology, and Education
! Aspects of several physical and psychiatric diseases can beexplained as emergent properties of the neural regulation of theautonomic nervous system (feedback, evolution, development)
! New diagnostic methods and new treatments can emphasizemeasurement and manipulation of the neural regulation of theautonomic nervous system.
! Environments can be designed to support the functions of thenervous system with positive impact on social behavior andemotion regulation
– Computers that modulate neural regulation of the ANS– Quiet environments– Nervous system “friendly” classrooms– Improved social behavior: People need people – a biological basis
Summary• “Neuroception” of safety or danger mediates the
beneficial consequences of social behavior.• Autonomic reactions to challenges are organized in a
phylogenetically-determined hierarchy.• Various atypical behaviors are adaptive for short
periods.• Several psychopathologies are expressed as deficits
in the Social Engagement System.• Biologically-based behavioral interventions can
trigger neural circuits that mediate positive socialbehavior.
