Inter-hemispheric asymmetries in STS and AF and the structural relationship between the two

Superior temporal sulcus (STS), a grey matter structure, and arcuate fasciculus (AF), a white matter tract, have several characteristics in common. They are structurally asymmetric across brain hemispheres, they seem to hold overlapping cognitive functions, and they are located in close proximity to each other. The purpose of the current study is to explore the structural relationship between STS and AF. Two hypotheses are stated. First, it is hypothesised that the depth asymmetry in STS will correlate negatively with AF volume tract asymmetry, as they are assumed to compete for the same limited space in the brain. The second hypothesis is based on evidence suggesting that STS and AF are involved in language processing. It is hypothesised that a positive correlation between STS asymmetry and AF asymmetry will be found for variables assumed relevant for language processing. To address this, T1-weigted anatomical MR images and diffusion-weighted MR images were acquired from twenty participants. The current findings do not support the hypotheses. Negative correlations were found between left AF volume and left STS depth and between left AF volume and left STS length. In the right hemisphere, positive correlations were found between right AF volume and right STS and between right AF volume and right STS length. In light of this, two new hypotheses are suggested. In the right hemisphere, STS and AF may share social cognitive functionality. In the left hemisphere, a language related compensation mechanism may underlie the correlations.Superior temporal sulucs (STS), ein gråsubstans-struktur, og arcuate fasciculus (AF), ein kvitsubstans-fiberbunt, har fleire eigenskapar til felles. Dei er strukturelt asymmetriske på tvers av hjernehemisfærane, dei synest å ha overlappande kognitive funksjonar, og dei ligg i nærleiken av kvarandre. Føremålet med denne studien er å utforske det strukturelle forholdet mellom STS og AF. To hypotesar er føreslått. Først, ein antar at den djupneasymmetrien i STS korrelerer negativt med volumasymmetrien i AF fordi desse tenkast å konkurrere om overlappande områder i hjernen. Den andre hypotesen er basert på forsking som indikerer at både STS og AF er involvert i språkprosessering. Ein antar å finne ein positiv korrelasjon mellom STS-asymmetri og AF-asymmetri for variablar antas å vere relevante for språkprosessering. For å adressere dette vart det innhenta T1-vekta anatomiske MR-bilete og diffusjonsvekta MR-bilete frå tjue deltakarar. Resultatet av studien gir ikkje støtte til hypotesane. Ein finn negative korrelasjonar mellom venstre AF volum og venstre STS djupn og venstre AF volum og STS lengde. I høgre hemisfære finner ein at høgre AF volum korrelerer positive med STS djupn og høgre AF volum korrelerer positivt med høgre STS lengde. I lys av dette, foreslås to nye hypotesar. I høgre hemisfære antas STS og AF å dele sosialkognitiv funksjonalitet. I venstre hemisfære antas ein språkrelatert kompenasjonsmekanisme å ligge til grunn for korrelasjonen.PROPSY317PRPSY

Sentence processing in anterior superior temporal cortex shows a social-emotional bias

The anterior region of the left superior temporal gyrus/superior temporal sulcus (aSTG/STS) has been implicated in two very different cognitive functions: sentence processing and social-emotional processing. However, the vast majority of the sentence stimuli in previous reports have been of a social or social-emotional nature suggesting that sentence processing may be confounded with semantic content. To evaluate this possibility we had subjects read word lists that differed in phrase/constituent size (single words, 3-word phrases, 6-word sentences) and semantic content (social-emotional, social, and inanimate objects) while scanned in a 7T environment. This allowed us to investigate if the aSTG/STS responded to increasing constituent structure (with increased activity as a function of constituent size) with or without regard to a specific domain of concepts, i.e., social and/or social-emotional content. Activity in the left aSTG/STS was found to increase with constituent size. This region was also modulated by content, however, such that social-emotional concepts were preferred over social and object stimuli. Reading also induced content type effects in domain-specific semantic regions. Those preferring social-emotional content included aSTG/STS, inferior frontal gyrus, posterior STS, lateral fusiform, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and amygdala, regions included in the "social brain", while those preferring object content included parahippocampal gyrus, retrosplenial cortex, and caudate, regions involved in object processing. These results suggest that semantic content affects higher-level linguistic processing and should be taken into account in future studies

Ontological imagination: transcending methodological solipsism and the promise of interdisciplinary studies

This text is a presentation of the notion of ontological imagination. It constitutes an attempt to merge two traditions: critical sociology and science and technology studies - STS. By contrasting these two intellectual traditions, I attempt to bring together: a humanist ethical-political sensitivity and a posthumanist ontological insight. My starting point is the premise that contemporary world needs new social ontology and new critical theory based on it in order to overcome the unconsciously adapted, “slice-based” modernist vision of social ontology. I am convinced that we need new ontological frameworks of the social combined with a research disposition which I refer to as ontological imagination

The role of handbooks in knowledge creation and diffusion: A case of science and technology studies

Genre is considered to be an important element in scholarly communication and in the practice of scientific disciplines. However, scientometric studies have typically focused on a single genre, the journal article. The goal of this study is to understand the role that handbooks play in knowledge creation and diffusion and their relationship with the genre of journal articles, particularly in highly interdisciplinary and emergent social science and humanities disciplines. To shed light on these questions we focused on handbooks and journal articles published over the last four decades belonging to the research area of Science and Technology Studies (STS), broadly defined. To get a detailed picture we used the full-text of five handbooks (500,000 words) and a well-defined set of 11,700 STS articles. We confirmed the methodological split of STS into qualitative and quantitative (scientometric) approaches. Even when the two traditions explore similar topics (e.g., science and gender) they approach them from different starting points. The change in cognitive foci in both handbooks and articles partially reflects the changing trends in STS research, often driven by technology. Using text similarity measures we found that, in the case of STS, handbooks play no special role in either focusing the research efforts or marking their decline. In general, they do not represent the summaries of research directions that have emerged since the previous edition of the handbook.Comment: Accepted for publication in Journal of Informetric

Anatomo-functional correspondence in the superior temporal sulcus

The superior temporal sulcus (STS) is an intriguing region both for its complex anatomy and for the multiple functions that it hosts. Unfortunately, most studies explored either the functional organization or the anatomy of the STS only. Here, we link these two aspects by investigating anatomo-functional correspondences between the voice-sensitive cortex (Temporal Voice Areas) and the STS depth. To do so, anatomical and functional scans of 116 subjects were processed such as to generate individual surface maps on which both depth and functional voice activity can be analyzed. Individual depth profiles of manually drawn STS and functional profiles from a voice localizer (voice > non-voice) maps were extracted and compared to assess anatomo-functional correspondences. Three major results were obtained: first, the STS exhibits a highly significant rightward depth asymmetry in its middle part. Second, there is an anatomo-functional correspondence between the location of the voice-sensitive peak and the deepest point inside this asymmetrical region bilaterally. Finally, we showed that this correspondence was independent of the gender and, using a machine learning approach, that it existed at the individual level. These findings offer new perspectives for the understanding of anatomo-functional correspondences in this complex cortical region

Cooperation of different neuronal systems during hand sign recognition.

Hand signs with symbolic meaning can often be utilized more successfully than words to communicate an intention; however, the underlying brain mechanisms are undefined. The present study using magnetoencephalography (MEG) demonstrates that the primary visual, mirror neuron, social recognition and object recognition systems are involved in hand sign recognition. MEG detected well-orchestrated multiple brain regional electrical activity among these neuronal systems. During the assessment of the meaning of hand signs, the inferior parietal, superior temporal sulcus (STS) and inferior occipitotemporal regions were simultaneously activated. These three regions showed similar time courses in their electrical activity, suggesting that they work together during hand sign recognition by integrating information in the ventral and dorsal pathways through the STS. The results also demonstrated marked right hemispheric predominance, suggesting that hand expression is processed in a manner similar to that in which social signs, such as facial expressions, are processed

People-selectivity, audiovisual integration and heteromodality in the superior temporal sulcus

The functional role of the superior temporal sulcus (STS) has been implicated in a number of studies, including those investigating face perception, voice perception, and face–voice integration. However, the nature of the STS preference for these ‘social stimuli’ remains unclear, as does the location within the STS for specific types of information processing. The aim of this study was to directly examine properties of the STS in terms of selective response to social stimuli. We used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) to scan participants whilst they were presented with auditory, visual, or audiovisual stimuli of people or objects, with the intention of localising areas preferring both faces and voices (i.e., ‘people-selective’ regions) and audiovisual regions designed to specifically integrate person-related information. Results highlighted a ‘people-selective, heteromodal’ region in the trunk of the right STS which was activated by both faces and voices, and a restricted portion of the right posterior STS (pSTS) with an integrative preference for information from people, as compared to objects. These results point towards the dedicated role of the STS as a ‘social-information processing’ centre