Interpretation of Social Interactions: Functional Imaging of Cognitive-Semiotic Categories During Naturalistic Viewing

Social interactions arise from patterns of communicative signs, whose perception and interpretation require a multitude of cognitive functions. The semiotic framework of Peirce’s Universal Categories (UCs) laid ground for a novel cognitive-semiotic typology of social interactions. During functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), 16 volunteers watched a movie narrative encompassing verbal and non-verbal social interactions. Three types of non-verbal interactions were coded (“unresolved,” “non-habitual,” and “habitual”) based on a typology reflecting Peirce’s UCs. As expected, the auditory cortex responded to verbal interactions, but non-verbal interactions modulated temporal areas as well. Conceivably, when speech was lacking, ambiguous visual information (unresolved interactions) primed auditory processing in contrast to learned behavioral patterns (habitual interactions). The latter recruited a parahippocampal-occipital network supporting conceptual processing and associative memory retrieval. Requesting semiotic contextualization, non-habitual interactions activated visuo-spatial and contextual rule-learning areas such as the temporo-parietal junction and right lateral prefrontal cortex. In summary, the cognitive-semiotic typology reflected distinct sensory and association networks underlying the interpretation of observed non-verbal social interactions.