Brain bases of real-time social interaction: A meta-analytic investigation of human neuroimaging studies.

Introduction: Social interactions play a central role in shaping brain function, but neuroscientific research on interactive social behavior has been limited by the restrictions of brain imaging environments. Although a growing body of neuroimaging research situates participants in real-time social interactive contexts, questions remain about the brain systems critical for understanding social interaction. This study addresses three primary questions: 1) Is there a common network of brain regions that underlies diverse forms of social interaction? 2) Are there dissociable brain systems that contribute to different aspects of social interactive behavior? 3) What are the brain networks and cognitive functions associated with the socially interactive brain? Methods: We implemented a systematic search of the human neuroimaging literature to find studies involving social interaction - participants were Results: The overarching CBMA uncovered significant convergence in ten brain areas that cut across different large-scale brain networks. Follow-up analyses suggest that regions of the reward system contribute to perceived Discussion: The current study used a data-driven investigation of the neuroimaging literature to advance our understanding of the neural and cognitive systems critical for human social interaction. Our findings suggest that the myriad forms of social interaction may be subserved by a common network of brain areas that traverse multiple neurocognitive systems and adds support to emerging theories proposing the centrality of social interaction in human brain function.