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Updated: Jun 23, 2026
10:05
A Large Lateral Craniotomy Procedure for Mesoscale Wide-field Optical Imaging of Brain Activity
Published on: May 7, 2017
Action understanding in the superior temporal sulcus region
Brent C Vander Wyk1, Caitlin M Hudac, Elizabeth J Carter
1Yale Child Study Center, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520-7900, USA. brent.vanderwyk@yale.edu
Psychological Science
|May 9, 2009
Summary
The posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) tracks intentions behind actions. Brain scans show the STS is more active when observed actions conflict with prior emotional cues, revealing its role in social perception.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Cognitive Psychology
- Social Cognition
Background:
- The posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is crucial for perceiving social actions.
- Its precise function in integrating emotional context with observed actions remains unclear.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the role of the posterior STS in processing the congruency between observed actions and established intentions.
- To examine how emotional context influences activity in the STS during social perception.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
- Participants viewed actions performed by an actress, following a display of her emotional expression toward objects.
- Actions were categorized as congruent or incongruent with the preceding emotional context.
Main Results:
- Activity in the right posterior STS was significantly higher during incongruent trials compared to congruent trials.
- This indicates the STS region is sensitive to the mismatch between an action and the actor's intentions.
Conclusions:
- The posterior STS is involved in representing the relationship between observed motion and an individual's underlying intentions.
- Findings suggest the STS integrates biological motion perception with the interpretation of goal-directed behavior based on emotional cues.
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