Why people engage in corrupt collaboration: an observation at the multi-brain level.

Recent studies suggest that corrupt collaboration (i.e. acquiring private benefits with joint immoral acts) represents a dilemma between the honesty and reciprocity norms. In this study, we asked pairs of participants (labeled as A and B) to individually toss a coin and report their outcomes; their collective benefit could be maximized by dishonestly reporting (a corrupt behavior). As expected, the likelihood of corrupt behavior was high; this probability was negatively correlated with player A's moral judgment ability but positively correlated with player B's empathic concern (EC). Functional near-infrared spectroscopy data revealed that the brain-to-brain synchronization in the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex was associated with fewer corrupt behaviors, and that it mediated the relationship between player A's moral judgment ability and corrupt collaboration. Meanwhile, the right temporal-parietal junction synchronization was associated with more corrupt behaviors, and that it mediated the relationship between player B's EC and corrupt collaboration. The roles of these 2 regions are interpreted according to the influence of the honesty and reciprocity norms on corrupt collaboration. In our opinion, these findings provide insight into the underlying mechanisms and modulating factors of corrupt collaboration.

Functional Organization of the Temporal-Parietal Junction for Theory of Mind in Preverbal Infants: A Near-Infrared Spectroscopy Study.

Successful human social life requires imagining what others believe or think to understand and predict behavior. This ability, often referred to as theory of mind (ToM), reliably engages a specialized network of temporal and prefrontal brain regions in older children and adults, including selective recruitment of the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ). To date, how and when this specialized brain organization for ToM arises is unknown due to limitations in functional neuroimaging at younger ages. Here, we used the emerging technique of functional near-infrared spectroscopy to measure the functional brain response across parietal, temporal, and prefrontal regions in 7-month-old male and female infants as they viewed different video scenarios of a person searching for a hidden object. Over different conditions, we manipulated whether the person held an accurate (true) or inaccurate (false) belief about the location of the hidden object in the videos. In two separate experiments, we observed that activity from the TPJ, but not other temporal and prefrontal regions, spontaneously tracked with the beliefs of the other person, responding more during scenarios when the other person's belief regarding the location of the object was false compared with scenarios when her belief was true. These results mirror those obtained with adults to show that the TPJ already shows some functional organization relevant to high-level social cognition by around 7 months of age. Furthermore, these results suggest that infants may draw on similar core mechanisms to implicitly track beliefs, as adults do when reasoning explicitly about them.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Humans selectively engage a network of brain regions, including the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ), to track what others think, an ability referred to as theory of mind. How and when this specialized brain organization for high-level social cognition arises is unknown. Using the emerging technique of near-infrared spectroscopy with 7-month-old infants, we observed that activity of the TPJ, but not other temporal and frontal regions, distinguished between scenarios when another person's belief about the location of the object was false compared with scenarios when the belief was true. These results suggest that a basic neural architecture to understand and predict the actions of others based on their beliefs may be present from the first year of life.

Attentional Network Differences Between Migraineurs and Non-migraine Controls: fMRI Evidence.

Migraine is a headache disorder characterized by sensitivity to light and sound. Recent research has revealed abnormal visual-spatial attention in migraineurs in between headache attacks. Here, we ask whether these attentional abnormalities can be attributed to specific regions of the known attentional network to help characterize the abnormalities in migraine. Specifically, the ventral frontoparietal network of attention is involved with assessing the behavioural relevance of unattended stimuli. Given the decreased suppression of unattended stimuli reported in migraineurs, we hypothesized that migraineurs would have abnormal processing in the ventral portion of the frontoparietal network of attention. To address this, we used functional magnetic resonance imaging to assess the attentional control networks during visual spatial-orienting tasks in migraineurs (N = 16) as compared to non-migraine controls (N = 16). We employed two visual orienting paradigms with target discrimination tasks: (1) voluntary orienting to central arrow cues, and (2) reflexive orienting to peripheral flash cues. While both groups showed activation in the key areas of attentional processing networks, migraineurs showed less activation than non-migraine controls in a key area of the ventral frontoparietal network of attention, the right temporal parietal junction (rTPJ), during both voluntary and reflexive visual spatial orienting. Given the role of rTPJ is to assess the visual environment for behaviorally relevant sensory stimuli outside the focus of attention and signal other attentional areas to reorient attention to behaviorally salient stimuli, our findings fit with previous research showing that migraineurs lack suppression of unattended events and have heightened orienting to sudden onset stimuli in peripheral locations.

Human temporal-parietal junction spontaneously tracks others' beliefs: A functional near-infrared spectroscopy study.

Humans have the unique capacity to actively reflect on the thoughts, beliefs, and knowledge of others, but do we also track mental states spontaneously when observing other people? We asked this question by monitoring brain activity in belief-sensitive cortex using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) during free-viewing of social videos. More specifically, we identified a portion of the right temporal-parietal junction (rTPJ) selective for mental state processing using an established, explicit theory of mind task, and then analyzed the brain response in that region of interest (ROI) during free-viewing of video clips involving people producing goal-directed actions. We found a significant increase in oxygenated hemoglobin concentration in our rTPJ ROI during free-viewing for all of our test videos. Activity in this region was further modulated by the extent to which the knowledge state, or beliefs, of the protagonist regarding the location of an object contrasted with the reality of where the object was hidden. Open-ended questioning suggested our participants were not explicitly focusing on belief states of the characters during free-viewing. Further analyses ruled out lower-level details of the video clips or general attentional differences between conditions as likely explanations for the results. As such, these results call into question the traditional characterization of theory of mind as a resource intensive, deliberate process, and, instead, support an emerging view of theory of mind as a foundation for, rather than the pinnacle of, human social cognition.

Real world navigation independence in the early blind correlates with differential brain activity associated with virtual navigation.

Navigating is a complex cognitive task that places high demands on spatial abilities, particularly in the absence of sight. Significant advances have been made in identifying the neural correlates associated with various aspects of this skill; however, how the brain is able to navigate in the absence of visual experience remains poorly understood. Furthermore, how neural network activity relates to the wide variability in navigational independence and skill in the blind population is also unknown. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging, we investigated the neural correlates of audio-based navigation within a large scale, indoor virtual environment in early profoundly blind participants with differing levels of spatial navigation independence (assessed by the Santa Barbara Sense of Direction scale). Performing path integration tasks in the virtual environment was associated with activation within areas of a core network implicated in navigation. Furthermore, we found a positive relationship between Santa Barbara Sense of Direction scores and activation within right temporal parietal junction during the planning and execution phases of the task. These findings suggest that differential navigational ability in the blind may be related to the utilization of different brain network structures. Further characterization of the factors that influence network activity may have important implications regarding how this skill is taught in the blind community.

Deciphering logopenic primary progressive aphasia: a clinical, imaging and biomarker investigation.

Within primary progressive aphasia the logopenic variant remains less understood than the two other main variants, namely semantic and non-fluent progressive aphasia. This may be because of the relatively small number of explored patients and because of the lack of investigations with a comprehensive three-level characterization of cognitive, brain localization and biological aspects. The aim of the present study was to decipher the logopenic variant through a multimodal approach with a large cohort of 19 patients (age 66.5 ± 8.7 years, symptom duration 3.2 ± 0.6 years) using detailed cognitive and linguistic assessments, magnetic resonance imaging and perfusion single-photon emission computed tomography as well as cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers screening for Alzheimer pathology. The linguistic assessment unveiled that language dysfunction is not limited to the typical feature of word finding and verbal working memory impairments but that it extends into the language system affecting to some degree syntactic production, phonological encoding and semantic representations. Perfusion tomography revealed damage of the temporal-parietal junction with a peak of significance in the superior temporal gyrus (Brodmann area 42), and of some less significant prefrontal areas (Brodmann areas 8, 9 and 46), whereas hippocampal cortices were unaffected. Magnetic resonance imaging, which was visually assessed in a larger group of 54 patients with logopenic, non-fluent, semantic variants as well as with posterior cortical atrophy, confirmed that the logopenic variant demonstrates predominant atrophy of left temporal-parietal junction, but that this atrophy pattern has a relatively poor sensitivity and specificity for clinical diagnosis. Finally, the biomarker study revealed that two-thirds of the logopenic patients demonstrated a profile indicative of Alzheimer pathology whereas one-third had a non-Alzheimer profile. Splitting the two groups showed that logopenic aphasia due to probable Alzheimer pathology is a more aggressive variant characterized by more extensive language/cognitive disorders affecting, in addition to lexical processes and verbal working memory, also phoneme sequencing, semantic processing and ideomotor praxis. Concordantly, logopenic aphasia due to probable Alzheimer pathology demonstrated more extensive brain hypoperfusion involving larger regions throughout the inferior parietal, the posterior-superior and the middle temporal cortex. These findings allow for unfolding logopenic aphasia into two subvariants differing by disease severity, lesion nature and lesion distribution, which has important implications for diagnosis, patient management and for potential future trials with anti-Alzheimer drugs. The present data therefore provide novel insight into the cognition and brain damage of logopenic patients while unveiling the existence of distinct diseases constituting a 'logopenic aphasia complex'.

Enhancing Speech Rehabilitation in a Young Adult with Trisomy 21: Integrating Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) with Rapid Syllable Transition Training for Apraxia of Speech.

Apraxia of speech is a persistent speech motor disorder that affects speech intelligibility. Studies on speech motor disorders with transcranial Direct Current Stimulation (tDCS) have been mostly directed toward examining post-stroke aphasia. Only a few tDCS studies have focused on apraxia of speech or childhood apraxia of speech (CAS), and no study has investigated individuals with CAS and Trisomy 21 (T21, Down syndrome). This N-of-1 randomized trial examined the effects of tDCS combined with a motor learning task in developmental apraxia of speech co-existing with T21 (ReBEC RBR-5435x9). The accuracy of speech sound production of nonsense words (NSWs) during Rapid Syllable Transition Training (ReST) over 10 sessions of anodal tDCS (1.5 mA, 25 cm) over Broca's area with the cathode over the contralateral region was compared to 10 sessions of sham-tDCS and four control sessions in a 20-year-old male individual with T21 presenting moderate-severe childhood apraxia of speech (CAS). The accuracy for NSW production progressively improved (gain of 40%) under tDCS (sham-tDCS and control sessions showed < 20% gain). A decrease in speech severity from moderate-severe to mild-moderate indicated transfer effects in speech production. Speech accuracy under tDCS was correlated with Wernicke's area activation (P3 current source density), which in turn was correlated with the activation of the left supramarginal gyrus and the Sylvian parietal-temporal junction. Repetitive bihemispheric tDCS paired with ReST may have facilitated speech sound acquisition in a young adult with T21 and CAS, possibly through activating brain regions required for phonological working memory.

Functional activation during reading in relation to the sulci of the angular gyrus region.

Neurological studies suggest that the angular gyrus region of the inferior parietal lobule may be critical for reading. However, unambiguous demonstration of angular gyrus involvement from lesion and functional neuroimaging studies is lacking, partly because of the absence of detailed morphological descriptions of this region. On the basis of our recent anatomical examination of this region and a tightly controlled functional magnetic resonance imaging paradigm, the present investigation demonstrated reading-related activity in the region of the angular gyrus that lies between the central and posterior branches of the caudal superior temporal sulcus, namely cytoarchitectonic area PG. Analysis of functional connectivity showed increased functional coupling during reading of area PG with the language areas of Broca and Wernicke, and a region previously identified as the visual word form area. Thus, the parietal reading area has been precisely localized, and its interactions with other cortical areas during reading have been demonstrated.

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation Over the Right Temporal Parietal Junction Facilitates Spontaneous Micro-Expression Recognition.

Micro-expressions are fleeting and subtle emotional expressions. As they are spontaneous and uncontrollable by one's mind, micro-expressions are considered an indicator of genuine emotions. Their accurate recognition and interpretation promote interpersonal interaction and social communication. Therefore, enhancing the ability to recognize micro-expressions has captured much attention. In the current study, we investigated the effects of training on micro-expression recognition with a Chinese version of the Micro-Expression Training Tool (METT). Our goal was to confirm whether the recognition accuracy of spontaneous micro-expressions could be improved through training and brain stimulation. Since the right temporal parietal junction (rTPJ) has been shown to be involved in the explicit process of facial emotion recognition, we hypothesized that the rTPJ would play a role in facilitating the recognition of micro-expressions. The results showed that anodal transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) of the rTPJ indeed improved the recognition of spontaneous micro-expressions, especially for those associated with fear. The improved accuracy of recognizing fear spontaneous micro-expressions was positively correlated with personal distress in the anodal group but not in the sham group. Our study supports that the combined use of tDCS and METT can be a viable way to train and enhance micro-expression recognition.

The functions of the temporal-parietal junction.

In the human brain, the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) is a histologically heterogenous area that includes the ventral portions of the parietal cortex and the caudal superior temporal gyrus sector adjacent to the posterior end of the Sylvian fissure. The anatomical heterogeneity of the TPJ is matched by its seemingly ubiquitous involvement in different cognitive functions that span from memory to language, attention, self-consciousness, and social behavior. In line with established clinical evidence, recent fMRI investigations have confirmed relevant hemispheric differences in the TPJ function. Most importantly, the same investigations have highlighted that, in each hemisphere, different subsectors of the TPJ are putatively involved in different cognitive functions. Here I review empirical evidence and theoretical proposals that were recently advanced to gain a unifying interpretation of TPJ function(s). In the final part of the review, a new overarching interpretation of the TPJ function is proposed. Current advances in cognitive neuroscience can provide important insights that help improve the clinical understanding of cognitive deficits experienced by patients with lesions centered in or involving the TPJ area.

Targeting temporal parietal junction for assessing and treating disembodiment phenomena: a systematic review of TMS effect on depersonalization and derealization disorders (DPD) and body illusions.

The temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) is a key structure for the embodiment, term referred to as the sense of being localized within one's physical body and is a fundamental aspect of the self. On the contrary, the sense of disembodiment, an alteration of one's sense of self or the sense of being localized out of one's physical body, is a prominent feature in specific dissociative disorders, namely depersonalization/derealization disorders (DPD). The aims of the study were to provide: 1) a qualitative synthesis of the effect of Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS), taking into account its use for therapeutic and experimental purposes; 2) a better understanding on whether the use of TMS could support the treatment of DPD and other clinical conditions in which depersonalization and derealization are displayed. To identify suitable publications, an online search of the PubMed, Cochrane Library, Web of science and Scopus databases was performed using relevant search terms. In addition, an in-depth search was performed by screening review articles and the references section of each included articles. Our search yielded a total of 108 records through multiple databases searching and one additional record was identified through other sources. After duplicates removal, title and abstract reading, we retained 16 records for the assessment of eligibility. According to our inclusion criteria, we retained 8 studies. The selected studies showed that TMS targeting the TPJ is a promising technique for treating disembodiment phenomena DPD and for inducing reversible disembodiment states in healthy subjects. These data represent the first step towards a greater understanding of possible treatments to be used in disembodiment disorders. The use of TMS over the TPJ appears to be promising for treating disembodiment phenomena.

High-definition transcranial direct current stimulation facilitates emotional face processing in individuals with high autistic traits: A sham-controlled study.

The deficit in emotional face processing is a critical impairment for individuals with high autistic traits. The temporalparietal junction(TPJ) is considered to be closely related to emotional face processing. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of highdefinition transcranial direct current stimulation (HD-tDCS) over the right temporal-parietal junction (rTPJ) on facial emotion processing of individuals with high autistic traits using eye-tracking technology. Twenty-nine participants with high autistic traits completed an eyetracking task (including happy, fearful and neutral faces) before and after five consecutive days of stimulation (anodal or sham). Results showed that anodal HD-tDCS significantly increased fixation time and fixation count in the mouth area, but this effect was not found after the sham stimulation. Moreover, this increased effect of mouth recognition with anodal rTPJ HD-tDCS was shown in both happy and fearful faces, but no remarkable difference was found in neutral faces. These findings suggest that right TPJ anodal HD-tDCS can facilitate emotional face processing in individuals with high autistic traits.

Deficits and compensation: Attentional control cortical networks in schizophrenia.

Visual processing and attention deficits are responsible for a substantial portion of the disability caused by schizophrenia, but the source of these deficits remains unclear. In 35 schizophrenia patients (SzP) and 34 healthy controls (HC), we used a rapid serial visual presentation (RSVP) visual search task designed to activate/deactivate the cortical components of the attentional control system (i.e. the dorsal and ventral attention networks, lateral prefrontal regions in the frontoparietal network, and cingulo-opercular/salience networks), along with resting state functional connectivity, to examine the integrity of these components. While we find that behavioral performance and activation/deactivation of the RSVP task are largely similar between groups, SzP exhibited decreased functional connectivity within late visual components and between prefrontal and other components. We also find that performance correlates with the deactivation of the ventral attention network in SzP only. This relationship is mediated by the functional connectivity of critical components of the attentional control system. In summary, our results suggest that the attentional control system is potentially used to compensate for visual cortex deficits. Furthermore, prefrontal deficits in SzP may interfere with this compensatory use of the attentional control system. In addition to highlighting focal deficits and potential compensatory mechanisms in visual processing and attention, our findings point to the attentional control system as a potential target for rehabilitation and neuromodulation-based treatments for visual processing deficits in SzP.

A Magnetic Resonance Spectroscopy Study of Superior Visual Search Abilities in Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder.

Although diagnosed on the basis of deficits in social communication and interaction, autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is also characterized by superior performance on a variety of visuospatial tasks, including visual search. In neurotypical individuals, region-specific concentrations of the inhibitory neurotransmitter gamma-aminobutyric acid (GABA) are associated with individual differences in attention and perception. While it has been hypothesized that ASD may be associated with an excitatory-inhibitory imbalance, it remains unclear how this may contribute to accelerated visual search performance in individuals with ASD. To investigate this, 21 children with ASD and 20 typically developing children participated in a visual search task and a magnetic resonance spectroscopy study to detect neurochemical concentrations, including GABA. Region-specific neurochemicals were examined in the right frontal eye fields, right temporal-parietal junction (rTPJ), and bilateral visual cortex (VIS). GABA concentrations did not differ between groups; however, in children with ASD, greater GABA concentration in the VIS was related to more efficient search. Additionally, lower VIS GABA levels were also associated with increased social impairment. Finally, we found reduced N-acetyl aspartate, total creatine, glutamate and glutamine (Glx), GABA/Glx in the rTPJ, suggestive of neuronal dysfunction in a critical network hub. Our results show that GABA concentrations in the VIS are related to efficient search in ASD, thus providing further evidence of enhanced discrimination in ASD. Autism Res 2020, 13: 550-562. © 2019 International Society for Autism Research, Wiley Periodicals, Inc. LAY SUMMARY: Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) often perform better than their non-ASD peers on visual search tasks; however, it is unclear how they achieve this superior performance. Using magnetic resonance spectroscopy to measure neurochemicals in the brain, we found that the level of one, gamma-aminobutyric acid, in the visual cortex was directly related to search abilities in children with ASD. These results suggest that faster search may relate to enhanced perceptual functioning in children with ASD.

Social support modulates the neural correlates underlying social exclusion.

Ostracism threatens the human need for social interactions, with negative consequences on cognition, affect and behavior. Understanding the mechanisms that can alleviate these consequences has therefore become an important research agenda. In this study, we used behavioral and fMRI measures to advance our understanding how social support can buffer the negative effects of social exclusion. We focused on two different types of support from a friend: emotional support, conveyed by gentle touch and appraisal support, implemented as informative text messages. Seventy-one female participants underwent fMRI scanning while playing a virtual ball-tossing game in the course of which they were excluded. Two consecutive runs of the game were separated according to the participant's experimental condition (appraisal support, emotional support and no support). Results showed that the experience of social exclusion is modulated by the type of support received. Specifically, emotional support decreased negative emotions and anterior insula activity, while appraisal support increased negative emotions, with concomitant increase of subgenual anterior cingulate cortex and decrease of temporal-parietal junction activity. These divergent effects of social support point to the necessity to characterize whether and under which conditions it represents an effective and positive resource to alleviate the negative consequences of social exclusion.

Self-generated Unconscious Processing of Loss Linked to Less Severe Grieving.

BACKGROUND: The intense loss processing that characterizes grieving may help people to adapt to the loss. However, empirical studies show that more conscious loss-related thinking and greater reactivity to reminders of the deceased correspond to poorer adaptation. These findings raise the possibility that loss processing that is unconscious rather than conscious and is self-generated rather than reactive may facilitate adaptation. Here, we used machine learning to detect a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) signature of self-generated unconscious loss processing that we hypothesized to correlate with lower grief severity. METHODS: A total of 29 subjects bereaved within the past 14 months participated. Participants performed a modified Stroop fMRI task using deceased-related words. A machine-learning regression, trained on Stroop fMRI data, learned a neural pattern for deceased-related selective attention (d-SA), the allocation of attention to the deceased. Expression of this pattern was tracked during a subsequent sustained attention fMRI task interspersed with deceased-related thought probes (SART-PROBES). d-SA pattern expression during SART-PROBES blocks without reported thoughts of loss indicated self-generated unconscious loss processing. Grief severity was measured with the Inventory for Complicated Grief. RESULTS: d-SA expression during SART-PROBES blocks without conscious deceased-related thinking correlated negatively with Inventory for Complicated Grief score (r25 = -.711, p < .001, 95% confidence interval = -0.89 to -0.42), accounting for 50% of variance. This relationship remained significant independent of demographic correlates of Inventory for Complicated Grief (B25 = -30, t = -2.64, p = .02, 95% confidence interval = -56.2 to -4.6). Unconscious d-SA pattern expression also correlated with activity in dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and temporal parietal junction during the SART-PROBES (voxel: p < .001, cluster: p < .05). CONCLUSIONS: Self-generated unconscious loss processing correlated with reduced grief severity. This activity, supported by a cognitive social neural architecture, may advance adaptation to the loss.

Functional specialization for feature-based and symmetry-based groupings in multiple object tracking.

Our vision systems utilize attention to process dynamic visual information everyday. Multiple object tracking (MOT) is widely used for studying sustained attention in dynamic environments. Previous research reported inter-target grouping based on feature similarity (e.g., targets sharing the same color, size, or shape) can facilitate tracking. A recent study also found that symmetric relation among targets in MOT tasks can automatically improve tracking performance, and a greater grouping effect based on symmetry and feature was observed. However, grouping based on multiple feature cues didn't produce a greater grouping effect than grouping based on one feature cue. Why were groupings based on symmetry and feature additive, but two feature-based groupings were not? How stimulus-driven inter-target groupings based on color or symmetry improve the goal-directed target tracking process remains unknown. We hypothesized that symmetry-based and feature-based groupings would involve different cortical and subcortical areas, and color-based and color-shape-based groupings would be manifested in significant activity in the same regions. This study used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to identify cortical and subcortical areas involved in feature-based and symmetry-based groupings respectively during tracking. The results of our experiment showed that lateral occipital (LO) cortex is involved in symmetry-based grouping during tracking. Bilateral putamen, temporal parietal junction (TPJ), and frontal eye field (FEF) are involved in the feature-based grouping. Our findings likely indicate that stimulus-driven inter-target symmetry-based grouping and feature-based grouping improve goal-directed target tracking in different ways.

Distributed Neural Activity Patterns during Human-to-Human Competition.

Interpersonal interaction is the essence of human social behavior. However, conventional neuroimaging techniques have tended to focus on social cognition in single individuals rather than on dyads or groups. As a result, relatively little is understood about the neural events that underlie face-to-face interaction. We resolved some of the technical obstacles inherent in studying interaction using a novel imaging modality and aimed to identify neural mechanisms engaged both within and across brains in an ecologically valid instance of interpersonal competition. Functional near-infrared spectroscopy was utilized to simultaneously measure hemodynamic signals representing neural activity in pairs of subjects playing poker against each other (human-human condition) or against computer opponents (human-computer condition). Previous fMRI findings concerning single subjects confirm that neural areas recruited during social cognition paradigms are individually sensitive to human-human and human-computer conditions. However, it is not known whether face-to-face interactions between opponents can extend these findings. We hypothesize distributed effects due to live processing and specific variations in across-brain coherence not observable in single-subject paradigms. Angular gyrus (AG), a component of the temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) previously found to be sensitive to socially relevant cues, was selected as a seed to measure within-brain functional connectivity. Increased connectivity was confirmed between AG and bilateral dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) as well as a complex including the left subcentral area (SCA) and somatosensory cortex (SS) during interaction with a human opponent. These distributed findings were supported by contrast measures that indicated increased activity at the left dlPFC and frontopolar area that partially overlapped with the region showing increased functional connectivity with AG. Across-brain analyses of neural coherence between the players revealed synchrony between dlPFC and supramarginal gyrus (SMG) and SS in addition to synchrony between AG and the fusiform gyrus (FG) and SMG. These findings present the first evidence of a frontal-parietal neural complex including the TPJ, dlPFC, SCA, SS, and FG that is more active during human-to-human social cognition both within brains (functional connectivity) and across brains (across-brain coherence), supporting a model of functional integration of socially and strategically relevant information during live face-to-face competitive behaviors.

Neural and cortisol responses during play with human and computer partners in children with autism.

Children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) exhibit impairment in reciprocal social interactions, including play, which can manifest as failure to show social preference or discrimination between social and nonsocial stimuli. To explore mechanisms underlying these deficits, we collected salivary cortisol from 42 children 8-12 years with ASD or typical development during a playground interaction with a confederate child. Participants underwent functional MRI during a prisoner's dilemma game requiring cooperation or defection with a human (confederate) or computer partner. Search region of interest analyses were based on previous research (e.g. insula, amygdala, temporal parietal junction-TPJ). There were significant group differences in neural activation based on partner and response pattern. When playing with a human partner, children with ASD showed limited engagement of a social salience brain circuit during defection. Reduced insula activation during defection in the ASD children relative to TD children, regardless of partner type, was also a prominent finding. Insula and TPJ BOLD during defection was also associated with stress responsivity and behavior in the ASD group under playground conditions. Children with ASD engage social salience networks less than TD children during conditions of social salience, supporting a fundamental disturbance of social engagement.

Functional connectivity of parietal cortex during temporal selective attention.

Perception of natural experiences requires allocation of attention towards features, objects, and events that are moving and changing over time. This allocation of attention is controlled by large-scale brain networks that, when damaged, cause widespread cognitive deficits. In particular, damage to ventral parietal cortex (right lateralized TPJ, STS, supramarginal and angular gyri) is associated with failures to selectively attend to and isolate features embedded within rapidly changing visual sequences (Battelli, Pascual-Leone, & Cavanagh, 2007; Husain, Shapiro, Martin, & Kennard, 1997). In this study, we used fMRI to investigate the neural activity and functional connectivity of intact parietal cortex while typical subjects judged the relative onsets and offsets of rapidly flickering tokens (a phase discrimination task in which right parietal patients are impaired). We found two regions in parietal cortex correlated with task performance: a bilateral posterior TPJ (pTPJ) and an anterior right-lateralized TPJ (R aTPJ). Both regions were deactivated when subjects engaged in the task but showed different patterns of functional connectivity. The bilateral pTPJ was strongly connected to nodes within the default mode network (DMN) and the R aTPJ was connected to the attention network. Accurate phase discriminations were associated with increased functional correlations between sensory cortex (hMT+) and the bilateral pTPJ, whereas accuracy on a control task was associated with yoked activity in the hMT+ and the R aTPJ. We conclude that temporal selective attention is particularly sensitive for revealing information pathways between sensory and core cognitive control networks that, when damaged, can lead to nonspatial attention impairments in right parietal stroke patients.