At least one type of social learning, or the ability to learn from observing others’ actions, is processed by individual neurons within a region of the human brain called the rostral anterior cingulate cortex (rACC), according to a study published [Sept. 6].
“The idea [is] that there could be an area that’s specialized for processing things about other people,” says Matthew Apps…“How we think about other people might use distinct processes from how we might think about ourselves.”
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The research aligns with previous neuron studies of observational learning in rodents and non-human primates, and with human fMRI studies, says Steve Chang…“This kind of result gives us a good guideline to target similar regions in the animal brain…and see what these neurons do when we causally manipulate them,” he adds.
For humans, the results also point to another potential avenue for research in the clinic. “For conditions such as psychopathy or individuals on the autism spectrum, this sort of hints at a new target,” says Apps.
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