Functional Organization of Social Perception and Cognition in the Superior Temporal Sulcus

Thesuperiortemporalsulcus(STS)isconsideredahubforsocialperceptionandcognition,includingtheperceptionoffacesand human motion, as well as understanding others’ actions, mental states, and language. However, the functional organization of the STS remains debated: Is this broad region composed of multiple functionally distinct modules, each specialized for a different process, or are STS subregions multifunctional, contributing to multiple processes? Isthe STS spatially organized, and ifso,whatarethedominantfeaturesof thisorganization?WeaddressthesequestionsbymeasuringSTSresponsestoarangeof socialandlinguisticstimuliinthesamesetofhumanparticipants,usingfMRI.We findanumberofSTSsubregionsthatrespond selectively to certain types of social input, organized along a posterior-to-anterior axis. We also identify regions of overlapping response to multiple contrasts, including regions responsive to both language and theory of mind, faces and voices, and faces and biological motion. Thus, the human STS contains both relatively domain-specific areas, and regions that respond to multiple types of social information.