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

Q1 SJR score

111

Citations

1

Influential Citations

Full text

Semantic Scholar

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.

Highly Cited

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.

Sign up to use Study Snapshot

Consensus is limited without an account. Create an account or sign in to get more searches and use the Study Snapshot.

Create an account

Paper

A new look at domain specificity: insights from social neuroscience

Sign up to use Study Snapshot

References

Relating Brain Structures To Open-Ended Descriptions Of Cognition

Reverse inference from neuroimaging data can provide some information on cognitive processes, but its usefulness is limited by the selectivity of activation in the brain region of interest.

A dedicated network for social interaction processing in the primate brain

The primate brain devotes an entire network exclusively to the analysis of social interactions, suggesting it is an evolutionary forerunner of human mind-reading capabilities.

Organization of high-level visual cortex in human infants

Infants' visual cortex shows adult-like spatial organization within a few months after birth, but refinement occurs through development.

Neurophysiological Organization of the Middle Face Patch in Macaque Inferior Temporal Cortex

The middle face patch in macaque inferior temporal cortex contains a graded enrichment of face-preferring neurons, with extremely face-selective sites being 40 times more likely to be found inside the patch than outside.

A multi-modal parcellation of human cerebral cortex

This study created a precise map of human cerebral cortex using multi-modal magnetic resonance images, enabling improved neuroanatomical precision in studies of its structural and functional organization.

Citations

Spike-timing-dependent plasticity induction reveals dissociable supplementary- and premotor-motor pathways to automatic imitation.

Dissociable roles of ventral and medial premotor-motor pathways in automatic imitation suggest facilitatory and controlling roles for these networks in associative plasticity.

Overlapping neural correlates underpin theory of mind and semantic cognition: Evidence from a meta-analysis of 344 functional neuroimaging studies

Overlapping neural correlates in the anterior temporal lobe and temporoparietal junction support the claim that semantic cognition plays a crucial role in supporting social cognition.

Integrating Social Cognition Into Domain-General Control: Interactive Activation and Competition for the Control of Action (ICON)

The ICON model suggests that social cognition can be viewed as specialized feature representations supported by domain-general cognitive control systems, with control often being general but representation specific.

Frontotemporal contributions to social and non-social semantic judgements.

Social and non-social semantic judgements involve different brain regions, but the causal networks involved may be more complex than expected.

Social zebrafish: Danio rerio as an emerging model in social neuroendocrinology

Social zebrafish, Danio rerio, serve as an emerging model system for studying the link between social behavior and neuroendocrinology, with potential applications in understanding social decision-making processes.