Poster No:
647
Submission Type:
Abstract Submission
Authors:
James Thompson1, Peter Kakalec1, Courtney Marsh1, Rebecca Roy1
Institutions:
1George Mason University, Fairfax, VA
First Author:
Co-Author(s):
Introduction:
The posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) is a key region for social perception (Pitcher & Ungerleider, 2021; Thompson et al., 2005). The pSTS tracks social interactions during task-based and naturalistic viewing, and activity in the pSTS is associated with encoding social information into memory (Hasson et al., 2008). We have previously shown that transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) of the posterior STS disrupts emotion recognition from dynamic stimuli (Basil et al., 2017), and others have shown that TMS to pSTS disrupts activity throughout brain networks involved in social perception (Handwerker et al., 2020) In this study, we used continuous theta-burst TMS and fMRI to examine the causal contribution of the pSTS to the spontaneous encoding of social information, and integration/segregation of brain networks, during naturalistic viewing.
Methods:
In one session, neurotypical participants (n=38) viewed videos consisting of people, places, food, objects, and scrambled videos as multiband/multiecho EPI (TR=1.5s; TE=14/33/52ms; MB=3; 2.7x2.7x2.7mm voxels) and T1w anatomicals were acquired to localize pSTS target. Resting motor TMS thresholds were also acquired. In a second scanning session, we administered either inhibitory (continuous) or theta burst TMS (TBS) to functionally-localized right pSTS (n=19) or vertex (sham, n=19) in a between groups design, immediately before participants viewed a 20min movie ("The Neighbors Window") during scanning of EPI (TR=1.5s; TE=14/33/52ms; MB=3; 2.7x2.7x2.7mm voxels) and T1w data. After scanning, participants freely recalled details from the movie and completed a recognition memory test for social and nonsocial information. MRI data were preprocessed using fMRIPrep 23.1.3, tedana 23.0.2, and XCP-D 0.9.1. Optimally combined and denoised (despiked, gm regressor) multiecho data were bandpass filtered (0.01-0.1Hz) and segmented with the Schaefer 400 + subcortical atlas. Pearson's correlations were calculated between each of the parcels, Fisher's z transformed, and assigned to the Yeo 7 Networks. Segregation between networks was then calculated and compared between groups.
Results:
Transcripts of free recall data following movie watching were transcribed using Whisper AI (and manual verification). Transcripts were embedded in BERT-Sentence and embedding cosine similarity between participants in each group was calculated. Significantly lower intersubject recall similarity was observed following cTBS to pSTS relative to sham (p<0.005). Recognition memory for social details from the movie (eg mental/emotional states of characters) was significantly lower following cTBS to pSTS relative to sham (p<0.05), while memory for nonsocial details was not iimpaired (p>0.1).
Network segregation (within-network correlation - between-network correlation / within-network correlation) was significantly higher for the Visual network following cTBS to pSTS, relative to sham (p<0.01). In particular, the Visual network was less integrated with the Salience/Ventral Attention network (p<0.0005) and the Somatomotor network (p<0.05) following cTBS to pSTS. Increased segregation of the Default Mode network from a Subcortical network (p<0.05) was also observed following cTBS to pSTS, relative to sham.
Conclusions:
These results suggest that the posterior STS plays a causal role in the spontaneous encoding of social information during naturalistic viewing. The pSTS lies at the junction of visual, salience, and default mode networks, and the results of this study suggest that cTBS led to an increase in the segregation of visual processing regions, especially relative to salience network regions. Future work will continue to assess the effects of cTBS to the pSTS on social perception during naturalistic viewing.
Brain Stimulation:
TMS 2
Emotion, Motivation and Social Neuroscience:
Social Cognition 1
Modeling and Analysis Methods:
fMRI Connectivity and Network Modeling
Task-Independent and Resting-State Analysis
Keywords:
Cortex
Emotions
FUNCTIONAL MRI
Memory
Social Interactions
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS)
Vision
1|2Indicates the priority used for review
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Please indicate below if your study was a "resting state" or "task-activation” study.
Resting state
Healthy subjects only or patients (note that patient studies may also involve healthy subjects):
Healthy subjects
Was this research conducted in the United States?
Yes
Are you Internal Review Board (IRB) certified?
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Were any human subjects research approved by the relevant Institutional Review Board or ethics panel?
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Yes
Were any animal research approved by the relevant IACUC or other animal research panel?
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Not applicable
Please indicate which methods were used in your research:
Functional MRI
TMS
Behavior
For human MRI, what field strength scanner do you use?
3.0T
Which processing packages did you use for your study?
Free Surfer
Provide references using APA citation style.
Basil, R., Westwater, M.L., Wiener, M., Thompson, JC. (2017). A causal role for the right pSTS in discriminating emotions from body movements. Open Mind 1, 148-158.
Handwerker, D. A., Ianni, G., Gutierrez, B., Roopchansingh, V., Gonzalez-Castillo, J., Chen, G., Bandettini, P. A., Ungerleider, L. G., & Pitcher, D. (2020). Theta-burst TMS to the posterior superior temporal sulcus decreases resting-state fMRI connectivity across the face processing network. Network neuroscience (Cambridge, Mass.), 4(3), 746–760.
Hasson, U., Furman, O., Clark, D., Dudai, Y., & Davachi, L. (2008). Enhanced intersubject correlations during movie viewing correlate with successful episodic encoding. Neuron, 57, 452–462.
Pitcher D, Ungerleider LG. (2021). Evidence for a Third Visual Pathway Specialized for Social Perception. Trends Cogn Sci. 25, 100-110.
Thompson JC, Clarke M, Stewart T, Puce A. (2005). Configural processing of biological movement in human superior temporal sulcus. Journal of Neuroscience. 25, 9059-66.
No