The frontal lobes: The neural mechanism of social cognition in adolescents.

摘要

Adolescence is a period of developmental change across all areas—social, emotional, psychosocial, and cognitive. Part of what makes adolescence a successful developmental period is the ability to create friendships, a skill which, in part, is dependent upon an individual's social cognitive ability. Despite the importance of social cognition in the daily life of an adolescent, this population has not yet been considered in social cognitive research. In addition, studies of social cognition have mainly relied on the use of static, line-drawn stimuli rather than dynamic, real-world scenarios. The purpose of this study was to identify neural mechanisms of social cognition in adolescents using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and dynamic social interactions. Participants were six adolescents, ages 18 to 21 years, without neurologic disease or disorder. While in the fMRI scanner, participants viewed video clips and made social and grammatical judgements. The results of this study supported the role of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) and the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) in social cognition. The results are discussed in the context of the need for continued research of social cognition in adolescents so that a theoretical model can be created. The application to clinical populations also is discussed.