Multivariate pattern analysis of the human pSTS: A comparison of three prototypical localizers

Publication date: Available online 12 October 2018Source: NeuropsychologiaAuthor(s): Samhita Dasgupta, Ramesh Srinivasan, Emily D. GrossmanAbstractThe posterior extent of the human superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) is an important cortical region for detecting animacy, attributing agency to others, and decoding goal-directed behavior. Theoretical accounts attribute these cognitive skills to unique neural populations that have been difficult to identify empirically (Hein & Knight, 2008). The aim of this study is to evaluate the multivariate statistical structure of pSTS activation patterns when viewing different social cues. We identified a core conjunctions region on pSTS from univariate responses with preference for point-light biological motion, faces and the attribution of social concepts to simple animated shapes. In a multivariate analysis, we characterized the similarity structure of the resulting activation patterns after controlling for variance in the activation profile elicited by form and motion features. We found strong antagonistic activation profiles between the social conditions and their localizer controls, a harbinger of why these canonical localizers are so effective, even in individual subjects. We also found unique patterns of similarity between the three social core social conditions. Our findings are consistent with the Shultz et al. (2015) model of pSTS function in which separate neural populations exist for animacy detection from body parts versus for ex...

Source: Neuropsychologia - October 13, 2018 Category: Neurology Source Type: research