Neural Responses to Visually Observed Social Interactions

摘要: Success in the social world requires ability to perceive not just individuals and their actions, but pairs of people interactions between them. Despite complexity interactions, humans are adept at interpreting those they observe. Although brain basis this remarkable has remained relatively unexplored, converging functional MRI evidence suggests posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is centrally involved. Here, we sought determine whether region sensitive both presence interactive information, as well content qualitatively different (i.e. competition vs. cooperation). Using point-light human figure stimuli, demonstrate that right pSTS maximally activated when contrasting dyadic dyads performing independent, non-interactive actions. We then used task localize same an independent participant group, tested responses non-human moving shape stimuli two circles' movements conveying either or behaviour). observed significant support vector machine classification for type interaction non-interaction, cooperation, respectively) pSTS, neighbouring temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). These findings important role these regions play perceiving understanding lay foundations further research fully characterize areas.