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Wolf D, Mittelberg I, Rekittke LM, Bhavsar S, Zvyagintsev M, Haeck A, Cong F, Klasen M, Mathiak K. Interpretation of Social Interactions: Functional Imaging of Cognitive-Semiotic Categories During Naturalistic Viewing. Front Hum Neurosci 2018; 12:296. [PMID: 30154703 PMCID: PMC6102316 DOI: 10.3389/fnhum.2018.00296] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/08/2018] [Accepted: 07/06/2018] [Indexed: 01/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Social interactions arise from patterns of communicative signs, whose perception and interpretation require a multitude of cognitive functions. The semiotic framework of Peirce's Universal Categories (UCs) laid ground for a novel cognitive-semiotic typology of social interactions. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 16 volunteers watched a movie narrative encompassing verbal and non-verbal social interactions. Three types of non-verbal interactions were coded ("unresolved," "non-habitual," and "habitual") based on a typology reflecting Peirce's UCs. As expected, the auditory cortex responded to verbal interactions, but non-verbal interactions modulated temporal areas as well. Conceivably, when speech was lacking, ambiguous visual information (unresolved interactions) primed auditory processing in contrast to learned behavioral patterns (habitual interactions). The latter recruited a parahippocampal-occipital network supporting conceptual processing and associative memory retrieval. Requesting semiotic contextualization, non-habitual interactions activated visuo-spatial and contextual rule-learning areas such as the temporo-parietal junction and right lateral prefrontal cortex. In summary, the cognitive-semiotic typology reflected distinct sensory and association networks underlying the interpretation of observed non-verbal social interactions.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dhana Wolf
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Natural Media Lab, Human Technology Centre (HumTec), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Irene Mittelberg
- Natural Media Lab, Human Technology Centre (HumTec), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Center for Sign Language and Gesture (SignGes), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Linn-Marlen Rekittke
- Natural Media Lab, Human Technology Centre (HumTec), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Center for Sign Language and Gesture (SignGes), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Saurabh Bhavsar
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Mikhail Zvyagintsev
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Brain Imaging Facility, Interdisciplinary Centre for Clinical Studies (IZKF), Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Annina Haeck
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Fengyu Cong
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, Faculty of Electronic Information and Electrical Engineering, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian, China
| | - Martin Klasen
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany
| | - Klaus Mathiak
- Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics, Medical Faculty, RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,Center for Sign Language and Gesture (SignGes), RWTH Aachen University, Aachen, Germany.,JARA-Translational Brain Medicine, Aachen, Germany
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