Functional selectivity for social interaction perception in the human superior temporal sulcus during natural viewing

Abstract

Recognizing others' social interactions is a crucial human ability. Using simple stimuli, previous studies have shown that social interactions are processed in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC). However, it remains unknown to what extent social interaction selectivity is observed for real world stimuli where social interactions covary with other perceptual and social information, such as faces, voices, and theory of mind. By using a naturalistic fMRI movie paradigm and advanced machine learning methods, we found that broad social-affective features predict neural responses in social brain regions, including the STS and mPFC. However, only the STS showed robust and unique selectivity specifically to social interactions, independent from other covarying features. This selectivity generalized across two separate fMRI datasets. These findings suggest that naturalistic social interaction perception recruits dedicated neural circuity in the STS and is a critical dimension of human social understanding.

Beyond linear regression: mapping models in cognitive neuroscience should align with research goals

“…2. Linear mapping models estimate weights for individual features, making the mapping more interpretable (e.g., Anderson et al, 2017;Lee Masson & Isik, 2021;Naselaris et al, 2011;Sudre et al, 2012;cf. Haufe et al, 2014;Kriegeskorte & Douglas, 2019).…”

The role of motion in the neural representation of social interactions in the posterior temporal cortex

“…One such study presented short video clips of computer animations depicting a range of social (e.g., faces, bodies and social interactions) and non-social (e.g., objects, houses and non-social interactions) features, finding that although the posterior temporal cortex in general responded more to social compared to non-social stimuli, the pSTS showed a significant increase in response for all eight identified social features, including social interaction (Lahnakoski et al, 2012). Taking this one step further, two recent studies have analysed data collected while participants viewed TV episodes or excerpts from movies (Masson & Isik, 2021; Wagner et al, 2016). Wagner et al (2016) found that medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) was most involved in processing naturalistic social interactions and speculated that this was because social interactions trigger spontaneous mentalising processes.…”

“…Indeed, recent work suggests that observed interactions are perceived and processed in a way that extends beyond the sum of perceiving multiple individuals (Abassi & Papeo, 2020, 2021; Bellot et al, 2021; Isik et al, 2017; Masson & Isik, 2021; Walbrin et al, 2018; Walbrin & Koldewyn, 2019). Studies focused on dynamic interactions (Isik et al, 2017; Masson & Isik, 2021; Walbrin et al, 2018) have highlighted a region of the posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) as being selectively involved in the perception of observed social interactions. Notably, this region is engaged even by stimuli that contain minimal or even no realistic human visual features.…”

Leveraging the power of media to drive cognition: a media-informed approach to naturalistic neuroscience

“…the role of the superior temporal sulcus in processing dynamic social information, Lahnakoski et al. , 2012 ; Lee Masson and Isik, 2021 ). It has also methodologically benefitted neuroimaging research by providing more attentionally engaging experiences for participants, which is especially useful for studying children and developing brains ( Vanderwal et al.…”