Abstract
Social interactions require the ability to evaluate the attitudes of others according to the way in which actions are performed. For example, a hand gesture can be kind or vigorous or the tone of voice can be pleasant or rude providing information about the attitude of the agent. Daniel Stern called these aspects of social communication vitality forms. Vitality forms continuously pervade the life of individuals and play a fundamental role in social relations. Despite the importance of vitality forms, very little is known on their neural basis. The aim of the present chapter is to provide an overview of the neural substrates underpinning the encoding of these aspects of social communication. This chapter is organized in four sections. Section 6.1 describes the structural and functional domains of the insular cortex. Section 6.2 provides evidence that the dorso-central insula plays a central role in the perception and expression of action vitality forms. Section 6.3 demonstrates that the same insular sector is also involved in the perception of words conveying gentle and rude vitality forms. Finally, Sect. 6.4 discusses the important role of vitality forms in social interactions and proposes some future perspectives.
Highlights
The third section will describe functional magnetic resonance imaging study (fMRI) data showing that listening to action verbs pronounced with gentle and rude vitality forms activates the dorso-central insula
The authors identified four distinct functional domains in the insula: the sensory-motor (SM), the olfactory-gustatory (OG), the socio-emotional (SE), and the cognitive domain (CG) (Fig. 6.1c). It will be discussed the role of dorso-central insula (DCI), which is composed by the middle and posterior short gyri, in the encoding of action and speech vitality forms
It is plausible that listening to action verbs pronounced with different vitality forms evokes in the participants an internal simulation activating in them the same areas involved in the pronunciation of those action verbs except for the primary motor cortex. This hypothesis has been tested in a subsequent fMRI experiment showing that in the dorso-central insula are present voxels selective for both listening and imaging speech vitality forms. These findings strongly suggest the existence of the same neural substrate located in the insula which is involved in the perception and expression of speech vitality forms [7]
Summary
When observing actions performed by others, we are able to understand the actiongoals as well as their intentions. These abilities are related to the existence of a basic brain mechanism known as “mirror mechanism” that transforms sensory representation of others’ behavior into one’s own motor representation of that behavior [12]. This mechanism is based on the activity of a distinct class of neurons that discharge both when individuals perform a goal directed action and when individuals observe another person performing the same action.
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