Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, HR, Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Wellcome Centre for Integrative Neuroimaging, Centre for Functional MRI of the Brain (FMRIB), Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences, John Radcliffe Hospital, University of Oxford, Oxford, United Kingdom.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2021 Sep 7;16(9):1006-1017. doi: 10.1093/scan/nsaa136.
Successful social interaction requires humans to predict others' behavior. To do so, internal models of others are generated based on previous observations. When predicting others' preferences for objects, for example, observations are made at an individual level (5-year-old Rosie often chooses a pencil) or at a group level (kids often choose pencils). But previous research has focused either on already established group knowledge, i.e. stereotypes, or on the neural correlates of predicting traits and preferences of individuals. We identified the neural mechanisms underlying predicting individual behavior based on learned group knowledge using fMRI. We show that applying learned group knowledge hinges on both a network of regions commonly referred to as the mentalizing network, and a network of regions implicated in representing social knowledge. Additionally, we provide evidence for the presence of a gradient in the posterior temporal cortex and the medial frontal cortex, catering to different functions while applying learned group knowledge. This process is characterized by an increased connectivity between medial prefrontal cortex and other mentalizing network regions and increased connectivity between anterior temporal lobe and other social knowledge regions. Our study provides insights into the neural mechanisms underlying the application of learned group knowledge.
成功的社交互动需要人类预测他人的行为。为此，基于以前的观察，会生成其他人的内部模型。例如，在预测他人对物体的偏好时，可以从个体层面（5 岁的罗茜经常选择铅笔）或群体层面（孩子们经常选择铅笔）进行观察。但是，以前的研究要么集中在已经建立的群体知识（即刻板印象）上，要么集中在预测个体特征和偏好的神经相关性上。我们使用 fMRI 确定了基于所学群体知识预测个体行为的神经机制。我们表明，应用所学的群体知识取决于通常被称为心理理论网络的一组区域和与代表社会知识相关的一组区域。此外，我们提供了证据证明后颞叶皮层和内侧前额叶皮层中存在梯度，在应用所学的群体知识时满足不同的功能。这个过程的特征是内侧前额叶皮层与其他心理理论网络区域之间的连接增加，以及前颞叶与其他社会知识区域之间的连接增加。我们的研究提供了有关应用所学群体知识的神经机制的见解。
