The inferior parietal lobe manages different functions including the ability to concentrate, language processing and social interaction, making it a target area for potential treatments for behavioral disorders.
- Different regions of the lower parietal lobe are wired to manage the ability to concentrate, language processing, and social interaction.
- Social cognition, requiring the brain’s most complex interpretation, requires IPLs on both sides of the brain to work together.
- This part of the brain is different in humans and monkeys, suggesting that it developed through evolution.
The brain is an extremely complex organ that scientists are trying to decode. Recently researchers discovered a region of the brain that allows people to interact socially. In an article published in the journal eLife, Canadian neuroscientists from McGill University and Germany from the Max Planck Institute have reported how the inferior parietal lobe (IPL) controls our ability to interact with each other socially. This identification offers a potential target for future treatments for behavioral disorders.
The IPL has grown with the evolution
In their research, the study authors found that different regions of the IPL are hardwired to manage the ability to concentrate, language processing, and social interaction. Also, these parts of the brain interact with a variety of other areas of the brain depending on the distinct process taking place. Social cognition, requiring the brain’s most complex interpretation, requires the IPLs on both sides of the brain to work together, while concentration and comprehension tasks only require the activation of one part of the brain.
The researchers compared the human brain to that of primates to study differences in the management of social skills. They found that the IPL in humans is distinct from that of higher primates, suggesting that it evolved over time to support human cognitive activities.
Three different tests
Next, the team studied brain connections using three activities that individuals had to perform during an MRI scan. During the first assignment, participants demonstrated the ability to process and communicate effectively. To achieve this, they had to look at both existing words, such as “pigeon”, and other words, such as “pulre”, which were invented. The scientists then asked the group to tell the real words from the fake ones.
In the second test, each volunteer had to focus on a particular screen while another was more engaging. This tested each individual’s ability to focus and sustain attention, independent of any other stimulating environment.
The “Sally Anne” exam was used in the third test. This assesses their ability to see things from another person’s point of view. This is a four-part cartoon depicting the interactions of two people with each other. Only those who imagine themselves in someone else’s shoes would be able to accurately answer the final question.
The IPL manages our interpretation of the world
The results thus showed that the IPL is the region that manages the different cognitive tasks with different degrees of activation depending on the activity. “Our results provide insight into the basic functioning of the human brainconcluded the first author of the study, Ole Numssen. We show how our brain adapts dynamically to changing demands. It does this by linking particular specialized areas, such as the IPL, with other more general areas. The more demanding the tasks, the more intensively the individual areas interact with each other. This makes possible very complex functions such as language or social skills. IPL can ultimately be considered one of the areas with which we interpret the world.”
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