Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

The human brain biases integration of information passed through social networks

  • Research Briefing
  • Published:

From Nature Neuroscience

View current issue Submit your manuscript

Despite extensive studies on how social networks affect behavior at the population level, little is known about how the human brain makes decisions in networked environments. This study shows that the brain flexibly weighs information received from a social contact according to how well-connected that contact is on the network responsible for information transmission.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1: Network-dependent learning in social networks.

References

  1. Jackson, M. O. Social and Economic Networks (Princeton Univ. Press, 2010). An overview of basic concepts and tools for analyzing social and economic networks, including behavioral models for learning in networked environments.

  2. Niv, Y. Learning task-state representations. Nat. Neurosci. 22, 1544–1553 (2019). This paper discusses efficient learning in high-dimensional environments and progress under the reinforcement learning framework.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Olsson, A. & Knapska, E. The neural and computational systems of social learning. Nat. Rev. Neurosci. 21, 197–212 (2020). A review that summarizes research on the neural and computational systems of social learning.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  4. DeGroot, M. H. Reaching a consensus. J. Am. Stat. Assoc. 69, 118–121 (1974). A theory paper that presented the DeGroot learning model, a now-canonical heuristic rule for social information integration.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Heilbronner, S. R. & Hayden, B. Y. Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex: a bottom-up view. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 39, 149–170 (2016). A review article that discusses the functions of the dorsal anterior cingulate cortex in decision making and beyond.

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

Download references

Additional information

Publisher’s note Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

This is a summary of: Jiang, Y., Mi, Q. & Zhu, L. Neurocomputational mechanism of real-time distributed learning on social networks. Nat. Neurosci. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01258-y (2023).

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

The human brain biases integration of information passed through social networks. Nat Neurosci 26, 375–376 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01269-9

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41593-023-01269-9

  • Springer Nature America, Inc.

Search

Navigation