Segregation of Neural Circuits Involved in Social Gaze and Non-Social Arrow Cues: Evidence from an Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis

Claudia Salera; Maddalena Boccia; Anna Pecchinenda

doi:10.1007/s11065-023-09593-4

Segregation of Neural Circuits Involved in Social Gaze and Non-Social Arrow Cues: Evidence from an Activation Likelihood Estimation Meta-Analysis

Neuropsychol Rev. 2023 Apr 17. doi: 10.1007/s11065-023-09593-4. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Claudia Salera^{1

2}, Maddalena Boccia^{2

3}, Anna Pecchinenda^{4

5}

Affiliations

¹ Ph.D. Program in Behavioural Neuroscience, Department of Psychology, "Sapienza" University of Rome, Via Dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
² Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy.
³ Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy.
⁴ Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, Via Dei Marsi, 78, 00185, Rome, Italy. anna.pecchinenda@uniroma1.it.
⁵ Cognitive and Motor Rehabilitation and Neuroimaging Unit, IRCCS Santa Lucia, Rome, Italy. anna.pecchinenda@uniroma1.it.

PMID: 37067764
DOI: 10.1007/s11065-023-09593-4

Abstract

Orienting attention by social gaze cues shares some characteristics with orienting attention by non-social arrow cues, but it is unclear whether they rely on similar neural mechanisms. The present ALE-meta-analysis assessed the pattern of brain activation reported in 40 single experiments (18 with arrows, 22 with gaze), with a total number of 806 participants. Our findings show that the network for orienting attention by social gaze and by non-social arrow cues is in part functionally segregated. Orienting by both types of cues relies on the activity of brain regions involved in endogenous attention (the superior frontal gyrus). Importantly, only orienting by gaze cues was also associated with the activity of brain regions involved in exogenous attention (medial frontal gyrus), processing gaze, and mental state attribution (superior temporal sulcus, temporoparietal junction).

Keywords: ALE meta-analysis; Arrow; Frontal gyrus; Gaze; Superior temporal sulcus; Temporoparietal junction.

Publication types

Review

Abstract

Publication types

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