PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Carolyn M. Parkinson
AU  - Adam M. Kleinbaum
AU  - Thalia Wheatley
TI  - Spontaneous Neural Encoding of Social Network Position
AID  - 10.1101/098988
DP  - 2017 Jan 01
TA  - bioRxiv
PG  - 098988
4099  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/01/09/098988.short
4100  - http://biorxiv.org/content/early/2017/01/09/098988.full
AB  - Humans form complex social networks that include numerous non-reproductive bonds with non-kin. Navigating these networks presents a considerable cognitive challenge thought to have comprised a driving force in human brain evolution. Yet, little is known about how and to what extent the human brain encodes the structure of the social networks in which it is embedded. By combining social network analysis and multi-voxel pattern analysis of functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) data, we show that social network information about direct relationships, bonds between third parties, and aspects of the broader network topology is accurately perceived and automatically activated upon seeing a familiar other.