Interplay Between the Salience and the Default Mode Network in a Social-Cognitive Task Toward a Close Other

Cátia Ribeiro da Costa; Jose M. Soares; Patrícia Oliveira-Silva; Adriana Sampaio; Joana F. Coutinho

doi:10.3389/fpsyt.2021.718400

Interplay Between the Salience and the Default Mode Network in a Social-Cognitive Task Toward a Close Other

Cátia Ribeiro da Costa, Jose M. Soares, Patrícia Oliveira-Silva, Adriana Sampaio, Joana F. Coutinho

Frontiers in Psychiatry February 7, 2022 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyt.2021.718400 (opens in new tab)

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Study at a glance

AI-extracted from the abstract

Characteristics	Observational fMRI study Peer reviewed
Sample size	38
Population	Adults in monogamous romantic relationships
Measures	Independent component analysis, ROI-to-ROI correlation analysis, dyadic empathy questionnaire
Topics	Default mode network
Key findings	Anterior and posterior DMN regions showed increased functional connectivity during the social task compared to resting state. The Other condition (reflecting on the partner's experience) showed more limited salience network connectivity than the Self and Rest conditions, indicating an interplay between DMN and SN nodes during social processing.

Abstract

Social cognition relies on two main subsystems to construct the understanding of others, which are sustained by different social brain networks. One of these social networks is the default mode network (DMN) associated with the socio-cognitive subsystem (i.e., mentalizing), and the other is the salience network (SN) associated with the socio-affective route (i.e., empathy). The DMN and the SN are well-known resting state networks that seem to constitute a baseline for the performance of social tasks. We aimed to investigate both networks' functional connectivity (FC) pattern in the transition from resting state to social task performance. A sample of 38 participants involved in a monogamous romantic relationship completed a questionnaire of dyadic empathy and underwent an fMRI protocol that included a resting state acquisition followed by a task in which subjects watched emotional videos of their romantic partner and elaborated on their partner's (Other condition) or on their own experience (Self condition). Independent component and ROI-to-ROI correlation analysis were used to assess alterations in task-independent (Rest condition) and task-dependent (Self and Other conditions) FC. We found that the spatial FC maps of the DMN and SN evidenced the traditional regions associated with these networks in the three conditions. Anterior and posterior DMN regions exhibited increased FC during the social task performance compared to resting state. The Other condition revealed a more limited SN's connectivity in comparison to the Self and Rest conditions. The results revealed an interplay between the main nodes of the DMN and the core regions of the SN, particularly evident in the Self and Other conditions.

Comparable studies

Other experimental studies on default mode network, most cited first.

Study	Year	Design
Functional connectivity of default mode network components: Correlation, anticorrelation, and causality Healthy subjects	2008	Observational study using resting-state fMRI and seed correlation analysis
Patterns of Brain Activity Supporting Autobiographical Memory, Prospection, and Theory of Mind, and Their Relationship to the Default Mode Network Healthy subjects	2009	Experimental study using fMRI
Dynamic reconfiguration of the default mode network during narrative comprehension Human subjects	2016	Experimental study
Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State Healthy human participants	2013	Experimental study
The brain on art: intense aesthetic experience activates the default mode network Human observers	2012	Observational study with fMRI and behavioral analysis

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