Social Status Influences Brain Function

The perception of social status and the way we relate to people at the different levels of the hierarchy aren’t just a matter of opinion or upbringing. Seems it’s actually wired into the circuitry of our brains and the way our brains respond to social status can affect our physical health.

Calling this discovery a glimpse into brain processes that can impact public health, Thomas R. Insel, director for the National Institutes of Mental Health (NIMH), says social position influences personal motivation and mental and physical health. The research, conducted by NIMH researchers, is described fully in the April 24 issue of the journal, Neuron.

Research on the social hierarchies in the animal world make a clear connection between social standing and health. Animals who are chronically stressed by the other animals in the environment often develop stress-related disorders such as cardiovascular disease, depression, and anxiety.

A classic British study using civil servants confirms the health risk in humans, too. Those public employees at the bottom of the hierarchy were found to be at increased risk for developing the same stress-related illnesses that plagued the animals and the humans were also found to be at increased risk of dying sooner than those in less-stressed, higher, social circles.

In a society where status isn’t stagnant and the opportunity to rise among the ranks is permitted, that upward mobility comes with risks, too. The stress of maintaining social standing can generate the same illness as the stress at the bottom of the social scale. The correlation has been evident but, until the NIMH research was analyzed thoroughly, there was no way to determine how social standing could affect health.

NIMH’s researchers created a social hierarchy of 72 study participants who were told they’d be playing a computer game with money at stake. They were led to believe their rank among the competition was determined by their skill at the game. During play, their brain activity was monitored using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) equipment.

Study participants were actually playing with only the computer, not competitors, and the game’s outcome was predetermined. From time to time, a player would be shown photos of their perceived competitors, of both higher and lower rank.

Analysis of the fMRI data revealed actual activity in different parts of the brain as the study participants moved up or down the game’s ranking system and when they “saw” their differently ranked competition. In essence:

The ventral striatum signals the significance of an event and responds the same way to monetary reward as it does to social standing.
Viewing a perceived superior competitor activated an area toward the front of the brain that seems to make interpersonal judgments and assesses social status. It sizes up the people in our environment. When maintaining rank, or social standing, was challenged, the part of the brain that processes intention and motive of others became activated, as did the emotional processing areas located deep within the brain.
Playing better than a perceived superior player brought activity to areas high and toward the front of the brain which control action planning. Playing worse than an inferior player activated areas associated with frustration and emotional pain, in the lower part of the brain.
The greater the joy of victory, the greater the pain of defeat. The more actively a study participant’s brain responded to winning, the more actively it also responded to losing.

Researchers think this knowledge of the brain’s circuity with relation to emotional pain may be useful when dealing with health problems in highly competitive people. There are also follow-up studies in plan to investigate the effect of social status in patients with schizophrenia, autism, and other mental illnesses which impair social skills and clear thinking. Further research will also explore the influence gene variants might play in perception and response to social status.

Source: National Institute of Mental Health

Filed under: Lifestyle, Medical Research, Neurology