Abstract
Social functioning involves learning about the social networks in which we live and interact; knowing not just our friends, but also who is friends with our friends. This study utilized an incidental learning paradigm and representational similarity analysis (RSA), a functional MRI multivariate pattern analysis technique, to examine the relationship between learning social networks and the brain’s response to the faces within the networks. We found that accuracy of learning face pair relationships through observation is correlated with neural similarity patterns to those pairs in the left temporoparietal junction (TPJ), the left fusiform gyrus, and the subcallosal ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), all areas previously implicated in social cognition. This model was also significant in portions of the cerebellum and thalamus. These results show that the similarity of neural patterns represent how accurately we understand the closeness of any two faces within a network. Our findings indicate that these areas of the brain not only process knowledge and understanding of others, but also support learning relations between individuals in groups.
Highlights
We found that accuracy of learning face pair relationships through observation is correlated with neural similarity patterns to those pairs in the left temporoparietal junction (TPJ), the left fusiform gyrus, and the subcallosal ventromedial prefrontal cortex, all areas previously implicated in social cognition
A recent study by Parkinson and colleagues (2017) revealed that the similarity of local patterns of fMRI responses in ventral mPFC and lPFC, as well as lateral temporal cortex and TPJ, to viewing videos of individuals from participants' real world social network, conveyed information about network position of the members. These findings suggest that information about social network relationships is represented in patterns of fMRI responses associated with viewing individuals from one's network
Indirect connections play an important role in assessing our own place in our social world. This could include knowledge about social hierarchy which may affect how we act around different network members, or knowledge about which people are more well-connected and might be better to approach for acquiring resources
Summary
We examined if the pattern similarity of fMRI responses to any two faces from a learned social network reflected the tie strength (closeness) of aCC-BY 4.0 International license. Neural pattern similarity that reflects this network structure would indicate that the brain carries information about the true relationship between individuals, regardless of whether people recall those relationships accurately.
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