15 Years of Frontiers in Human Neuroscience: Social Cognition and Discourse Processing

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Background

Social cognition is a captivating field of study that focuses on how individuals perceive, interpret, and understand social information in their environment. It explores the complex cognitive processes involved in navigating social interactions, forming impressions, and attributing intentions and emotions to others. Social cognition encompasses a wide range of phenomena, including empathy, Theory of Mind (ToM), facial expression recognition, emotion regulation, and the influence of social context on decision-making. Researchers in this field employ diverse methodologies, such as behavioral experiments, neuroimaging techniques (e.g., fMRI), and computational modeling, to unravel the underlying cognitive and neural mechanisms of social cognition. By unraveling the intricacies of social cognition, scientists aim to shed light on how individuals make sense of the social world and how these cognitive processes contribute to social behavior, interpersonal relationships, and the development of social disorders.

The intersection of social cognition and speech processing is an intriguing area of research that explores how individuals perceive and interpret speech in a social context. It investigates how social cues, such as facial expressions, body language, and vocal intonation, influence speech comprehension and meaning attribution. Social factors, such as the speaker's identity, emotions, and social status, can profoundly impact the processing of spoken language. Researchers in this field employ a variety of techniques, including behavioral experiments, eye-tracking, and brain imaging, to uncover the cognitive and neural mechanisms underlying the integration of social and linguistic information. By examining the interplay between social cognition and speech processing, scientists aim to deepen our understanding of how social context shapes communication, and how individuals navigate the complex dynamics of social interactions through language. This research also has implications for improving communication disorders, such as autism spectrum disorders, where challenges in social cognition can impact speech perception and understanding.

This Research Topic welcomes all article types across all realms of Social Discourse and Discourse Processing but particularly on the following themes:

1. Narrative language intervention to support the theory of mind development

2. Supporting social learning through autobiographical memory

3. Parent-implemented interventions to support social communication

4. Assessment of theory of mind

Keywords: Cognitive Linguistics, Pragmatics, Computational Linguistics, Theory of mind

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