Social prediction modulates activity of macaque superior temporal cortex
Year: 2021
Type: article
Abstract: The ability to attribute thoughts to others, also called theory of mind (TOM), has been extensively studied. Computationally, the basis of TOM in humans has been interpreted within the predictive coding framework and associated with activity in the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). However, the evolutionary origins of these human mindreading abilities have been challenged since the concept was coined. Here we identify a brain region in the Rhesus macaque that shares computational properties with the human TPJ. We revealed, using a non-linguistic task and functional magnetic resonance imaging, that activity in a region of the macaque middle superior temporal cortex was specifically modulated by the predictability of social interactions. As in human TPJ, this region could be distinguished from other temporal regions involved in face processing. Our result suggests the existence of a precursor for the theory of mind ability in the last common ancestor of human and old-world monkeys.
Source: Science Advances
Institutions: University of Oxford, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Universität Innsbruck, Radboud University Nijmegen, John Radcliffe Hospital, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Sorbonne Université, Institut Systèmes Intelligents et de Robotique, Lyon 1 Université, Inserm, Institut Cellule Souche et Cerveau
Language: English
Subfield: Developmental and Educational Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $4,500
Funders: Wellcome Trust, Oriel College, University of Oxford, University of Oxford, European Commission, Agence Nationale de la Recherche, Austrian Science Fund, Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique, Université de Lyon, National Institutes of Health, Directorate for Biological Sciences, McDonnell Center for Systems Neuroscience, Medical Research Council, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, National Institute of Mental Health, NIH Blueprint for Neuroscience Research
Awards: G1009099251, G1126217917, G1291134351, The comparative connectome, G14109637, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Distributed anatomical circuits for decision-making, inference, and learning, G1929304293, G1942075084, G2066490274, G235816883, G261106309, G2772515217, Neuroethology of social decisions in primates., G2870820801, G2892810009, G2937037818, Mapping the Human Connectome: Structure, Function, and Heritability, G3427307847, Wiring Cognition: How the organisation of our brain enables uniquely human abilities, G3820619147, G3848525072, G4014141827, G4363946629, Levels of social inference: Investigating the origin of human uniqueness, G4590856093, G5247183884, G6016412662, G6054759104, G6389824285, SSA - Structure and Function of the Social Brain in Primates, Distributed brain systems for motivation and action, G651755458, G6532749405, The Oxford Interdisciplinary Bioscience Doctoral Training Partnership, Construction, Fonction Cognitive et Réhabilitation du Cerveau, G7289600545, G7306761494, G7459592443, Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, G7983477093, G8299918676, G8418211029, Neuroethology of social decisions in primates., Neural mechanisms for foraging in an uncertain environment., Integrated neural networks in the primate brain., G9000089182, G9000093201, G9000353647, G971564058
OpenAlex ID: W3183433383