Mapping social target detection with functional magnetic resonance imaging.

Area of Science:

• Cognitive Neuroscience
• Neuroimaging
• Social Cognition

Background:

• Cognitive control and social processing functions are well-characterized.
• These domains have typically been studied in isolation.
• Anomalous brain activation patterns in psychiatric conditions are known.

Purpose of the Study:

• To map brain areas recruited during a task evaluating responses to both non-social (shape) and social (face) stimuli.
• To investigate the neural correlates of cognitive control and social processing when examined together.
• To identify overlapping and distinct brain regions activated by social and non-social targets within a cognitive task.

Main Methods:

• Event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI).
• A target-detection task involving shape and face stimuli.
• Analysis of brain activation patterns.

Main Results:

• Both shape and face targets activated a common network including the postcentral gyrus, cingulate gyri, and right midfrontal gyrus.
• Face targets uniquely activated the thalamus, fusiform and temporooccipital cortex, lingual gyrus, and paracingulate gyrus.
• Specific regions, including dorsal anterior cingulate gyrus (Brodmann's area 32) and supracalcarine cortex, showed preferential activation to face targets.

Conclusions:

• Non-social and social stimuli engage overlapping and distinct brain regions during cognitive control.
• Future clinical cognitive neuroscience research should use tasks assessing combined cognitive and social processing deficits.
• This approach can benefit the study of disorders with impaired cognitive and social functions.