Vassolo Nicolás, Ocampo Pablo Joaquín, Elizalde Acevedo Bautista, Bosch Sofía, Bendersky Mariana, Alba-Ferrara Lucía
Unidad Ejecutora para el Estudio de las Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos (ENyS), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Austral, Av. Perón 1500, B1629 AHJ Derqui-Pilar, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Brain Topogr. 2025 May 31;38(4):46. doi: 10.1007/s10548-025-01118-x.
There is growing interest in the neural network of pragmatic language and its potential overlap with the Theory of Mind (ToM) network. However, no Spanish-adapted fMRI tasks were used for studying sarcasm, the subtype of pragmatic language most related to ToM. Furthermore, stimuli used in prior studies often impose high cognitive demands, confounding its sarcasm brain representation with the executive network. We investigate the neural correlates of sarcasm in Spanish using a novel experimental paradigm designed to minimize cognitive load and enhance ecological validity. Eighteen healthy, right-handed participants underwent a 3T fMRI session with a sarcasm comprehension task. Brain activations analysed with SPM12 were calculated for sarcasm vs. literal contrast. Sarcasm activated the left temporo-parietal junction, Medial Prefrontal Cortex (BA 10), Left Inferior Frontal Gyrus (BA 45), Left Medial and Superior Temporal Gyrus (BA 21 & 22), and Left Temporal Pole (BA 38). Sarcasm comprehension involves an extensive fronto-temporal-parietal network, with prominent activation of ToM-related areas. These findings suggest an overlap between sarcasm and ToM networks, emphasizing the role of the medial prefrontal cortex in pragmatic language, the left inferior frontal gyrus in semantic integration, and the role of a left-lateralized frontotemporal network for sarcasm processing.
人们对语用语言的神经网络及其与心理理论（ToM）网络的潜在重叠越来越感兴趣。然而，尚无西班牙语改编的功能磁共振成像（fMRI）任务用于研究讽刺，讽刺是与心理理论最相关的语用语言亚型。此外，先前研究中使用的刺激通常会带来较高的认知要求，将其讽刺的大脑表征与执行网络混淆。我们使用一种新颖的实验范式来研究西班牙语中讽刺的神经关联，该范式旨在最小化认知负荷并提高生态效度。18名健康的右利手参与者接受了一项带有讽刺理解任务的3T fMRI实验。使用SPM12分析大脑激活情况，计算讽刺与字面意义的对比。讽刺激活了左侧颞顶联合区、内侧前额叶皮质（BA 10）、左侧额下回（BA 45）、左侧颞中回和颞上回（BA 21和22）以及左侧颞极（BA 38）。讽刺理解涉及一个广泛的额颞顶网络，与心理理论相关区域有明显激活。这些发现表明讽刺和心理理论网络之间存在重叠，强调了内侧前额叶皮质在语用语言中的作用、左侧额下回在语义整合中的作用以及左侧额颞网络在讽刺处理中的作用。
