TY - JOUR
T1 - Dissecting Social Working Memory
T2 - Neural and Behavioral Evidence for Externally and Internally Oriented Components
AU - Pan, Hanxi
AU - Chen, Zefeng
AU - Xu, Nan
AU - Wang, Bolong
AU - Hu, Yuzheng
AU - Zhou, Hui
AU - Perry, Anat
AU - Kong, Xiang Zhen
AU - Shen, Mowei
AU - Gao, Zaifeng
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© Center for Excellence in Brain Science and Intelligence Technology, Chinese Academy of Sciences 2025.
PY - 2025/11
Y1 - 2025/11
N2 - Social working memory (SWM)—the ability to maintain and manipulate social information in the brain—plays a crucial role in social interactions. However, research on SWM is still in its infancy and is often treated as a unitary construct. In the present study, we propose that SWM can be conceptualized as having two relatively independent components: "externally oriented SWM" (e-SWM) and "internally oriented SWM" (i-SWM). To test this external–internal hypothesis, participants were tasked with memorizing and ranking either facial expressions (e-SWM) or personality traits (i-SWM) associated with images of faces. We then examined the neural correlates of these two SWM components and their functional roles in empathy. The results showed distinct activations as the e-SWM task activated the postcentral and precentral gyri while the i-SWM task activated the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and superior frontal gyrus. Distinct multivariate activation patterns were also found within the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex in the two tasks. Moreover, partial least squares analyses combining brain activation and individual differences in empathy showed that e-SWM and i-SWM brain activities were mainly correlated with affective empathy and cognitive empathy, respectively. These findings implicate distinct brain processes as well as functional roles of the two types of SWM, providing support for the internal–external hypothesis of SWM.
AB - Social working memory (SWM)—the ability to maintain and manipulate social information in the brain—plays a crucial role in social interactions. However, research on SWM is still in its infancy and is often treated as a unitary construct. In the present study, we propose that SWM can be conceptualized as having two relatively independent components: "externally oriented SWM" (e-SWM) and "internally oriented SWM" (i-SWM). To test this external–internal hypothesis, participants were tasked with memorizing and ranking either facial expressions (e-SWM) or personality traits (i-SWM) associated with images of faces. We then examined the neural correlates of these two SWM components and their functional roles in empathy. The results showed distinct activations as the e-SWM task activated the postcentral and precentral gyri while the i-SWM task activated the precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex and superior frontal gyrus. Distinct multivariate activation patterns were also found within the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex in the two tasks. Moreover, partial least squares analyses combining brain activation and individual differences in empathy showed that e-SWM and i-SWM brain activities were mainly correlated with affective empathy and cognitive empathy, respectively. These findings implicate distinct brain processes as well as functional roles of the two types of SWM, providing support for the internal–external hypothesis of SWM.
KW - Empathy
KW - Neural substrates
KW - Social working memory
KW - The internal–external hypothesis
KW - fMRI
UR - https://www.scopus.com/pages/publications/105011311313
U2 - 10.1007/s12264-025-01465-6
DO - 10.1007/s12264-025-01465-6
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C2 - 40699544
AN - SCOPUS:105011311313
SN - 1673-7067
VL - 41
SP - 2049
EP - 2062
JO - Neuroscience Bulletin
JF - Neuroscience Bulletin
IS - 11
ER -