A shared neural code for social interaction encoding and memory in the human superior temporal sulcus

Abstract

AbstractRecognizing and remembering social information is a crucial cognitive skill. Neural patterns in the superior temporal sulcus (STS) support our ability to perceive others’ social interactions. However, despite the prominence of social interactions in memory, the neural basis of retrieving social interactions is still unknown. To fill this gap, we investigated the brain mechanisms underlying memory of others’ social interactions during free spoken recall of a naturalistic movie. By applying machine learning-based fMRI encoding analyses to densely labeled movie and recall data we found that STS activity patterns evoked by viewing social interactions predicted neural responses to social interaction memories. This finding suggests that the STS contains high-level conceptual, representations of social interactions, and its reactivation underlies our ability to remember others’ interactions.