The technical-reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools: An fMRI study
Summary: Cumulative technological culture is defined as the increase in efficiency and complexity of tools over generations. The role of social cognitive skills in cultural transmission has been long acknowledged. However, recent accounts emphasized the importance of non-social cognitive skills duri...
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| Language: | English |
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Elsevier
2025-02-01
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| Series: | iScience |
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| Online Access: | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225001300 |
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| author | Alexandre Bluet Emanuelle Reynaud Giovanni Federico Chloé Bryche Mathieu Lesourd Arnaud Fournel Franck Lamberton Danielle Ibarrola Yves Rossetti François Osiurak |
| author_facet | Alexandre Bluet Emanuelle Reynaud Giovanni Federico Chloé Bryche Mathieu Lesourd Arnaud Fournel Franck Lamberton Danielle Ibarrola Yves Rossetti François Osiurak |
| author_sort | Alexandre Bluet |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Summary: Cumulative technological culture is defined as the increase in efficiency and complexity of tools over generations. The role of social cognitive skills in cultural transmission has been long acknowledged. However, recent accounts emphasized the importance of non-social cognitive skills during the social transmission of technical content with a focus on technical reasoning. Here, we contribute to this double process approach by reporting an fMRI study about the neurocognitive origins of social learning. Participants watched videos depicting tool-making episodes in three social-learning conditions: reverse engineering, observation, and teaching. Our results showed that the technical-reasoning network, centered around the area PF of the left inferior parietal cortex, was preferentially activated when watching tool-making episodes. Additionally, teaching elicited the right middle temporal gyrus. This study suggests that technical reasoning underpins technological culture, while social cognition enhances learners’ technical reasoning by guiding attention to key aspects of the technology. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-d707ca7f1e434855a0a5f4064dbf094b |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2589-0042 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-02-01 |
| publisher | Elsevier |
| record_format | Article |
| series | iScience |
| spelling | doaj-art-d707ca7f1e434855a0a5f4064dbf094b2025-02-08T05:00:51ZengElsevieriScience2589-00422025-02-01282111870The technical-reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools: An fMRI studyAlexandre Bluet0Emanuelle Reynaud1Giovanni Federico2Chloé Bryche3Mathieu Lesourd4Arnaud Fournel5Franck Lamberton6Danielle Ibarrola7Yves Rossetti8François Osiurak9Laboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Bron, France; Karolinska Institutet, Stockholm, Sweden; Corresponding authorLaboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Bron, FranceLaboratory of Experimental and Cognitive Neuroscience, Suor Orsola Benincasa University, Naples, ItalyLaboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Bron, FranceUniversité Marie et Louis Pasteur, INSERM, UMR 1322 LINC, F-25000 Besançon, FranceLaboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Bron, FranceCERMEP-Imagerie du vivant, MRI Department and CNRS UMS3453, Lyon, FranceCERMEP-Imagerie du vivant, MRI Department and CNRS UMS3453, Lyon, FranceCentre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon (CRNL), Trajectoires Team (Inserm UMR_S 1028-CNRS-UMR 5292-Université de Lyon), Bron, France; Mouvement et Handicap and Neuro-Immersion, Hospices Civils de Lyon et Centre de Recherche en Neurosciences de Lyon, Hôpital Henry Gabrielle, Saint-Genis-Laval, FranceLaboratoire d’Étude des Mécanismes Cognitifs, Université de Lyon, Bron, France; Institut Universitaire de France, Paris, FranceSummary: Cumulative technological culture is defined as the increase in efficiency and complexity of tools over generations. The role of social cognitive skills in cultural transmission has been long acknowledged. However, recent accounts emphasized the importance of non-social cognitive skills during the social transmission of technical content with a focus on technical reasoning. Here, we contribute to this double process approach by reporting an fMRI study about the neurocognitive origins of social learning. Participants watched videos depicting tool-making episodes in three social-learning conditions: reverse engineering, observation, and teaching. Our results showed that the technical-reasoning network, centered around the area PF of the left inferior parietal cortex, was preferentially activated when watching tool-making episodes. Additionally, teaching elicited the right middle temporal gyrus. This study suggests that technical reasoning underpins technological culture, while social cognition enhances learners’ technical reasoning by guiding attention to key aspects of the technology.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225001300NeuroscienceCognitive neuroscienceSocial sciences |
| spellingShingle | Alexandre Bluet Emanuelle Reynaud Giovanni Federico Chloé Bryche Mathieu Lesourd Arnaud Fournel Franck Lamberton Danielle Ibarrola Yves Rossetti François Osiurak The technical-reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools: An fMRI study iScience Neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience Social sciences |
| title | The technical-reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools: An fMRI study |
| title_full | The technical-reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools: An fMRI study |
| title_fullStr | The technical-reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools: An fMRI study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The technical-reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools: An fMRI study |
| title_short | The technical-reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools: An fMRI study |
| title_sort | technical reasoning network is recruited when people observe others make or teach how to make tools an fmri study |
| topic | Neuroscience Cognitive neuroscience Social sciences |
| url | http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2589004225001300 |
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