A new look at domain specificity: insights from social neuroscience

doi:10.1038/nrn.2017.76

Paper

A new look at domain specificity: insights from social neuroscience

Published Jul 6, 2017 · Robert P. Spunt, R. Adolphs

Nature Reviews Neuroscience

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111

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1

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Abstract

The concept of domain specificity — which suggests that some aspects of neural processing are specialized for particular types of stimuli — has been invoked to explain a range of cognitive phenomena, including language, face perception and theory of mind, and has been a hallmark of theories of cognitive architecture. More recent usage of this concept draws on neuroscientific data and, in particular, on work in social neuroscience. A critical examination of the part that the concept of domain specificity has played in theories of human brain function leads us to suggest a new view according to which domain specificity pertains to centrally generated constraints on information processing that can be both dynamic and context sensitive.

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Study Snapshot

Key takeawayDomain specificity in human brain function can be viewed as dynamic and context sensitive constraints on information processing, influenced by centrally generated constraints and social neuroscience data.

PopulationOlder adults (50-71 years)

Sample size24

MethodsObservational

OutcomesBody Mass Index projections

ResultsSocial networks mitigate obesity in older groups.

A new look at domain specificity: insights from social neuroscience

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