Processing of social closeness in the human brain.

ABSTRACT: Healthy social life requires relationships in different levels of personal closeness. Based on ethological, sociological, and psychological evidence, social networks have been divided into five layers, gradually increasing in size and decreasing in personal closeness. Is this division also reflected in brain processing of social networks? During functional MRI, 21 participants compared their personal closeness to different individuals. We examined the brain volume showing differential activation for varying layers of closeness and found that a disproportionately large portion of this volume (80%) exhibited preference for individuals closest to participants, while separate brain regions showed preference for all other layers. Moreover, this bipartition reflected cortical preference for diff

SUBMITTER: Roseman-Shalem M 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC11467261 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature