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Understanding Sarcasm's Neural Correlates Through a Novel fMRI Spanish Paradigm
Poster Session C, Saturday, September 13, 11:00 am - 12:30 pm, Field House
Lucia Alba-Ferrara1, Nicolas Vassolo2, Pablo Joaquin Ocampo2, Elizalde Acevedo Bautista2, Bosch Sofía2, Bendersky Mariana3; 1Unidad Ejecutora para el Estudio de las Neurociencias y Sistemas Complejos (ENyS), Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas (CONICET), Buenos Aires, Argentina, 2Facultad de Ciencias Biomédicas, Universidad Austral, Pilar, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 3Laboratorio de Anatomía Viviente, 3ra Cátedra de Anatomía Normal, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Buenos Aires, Buenos Aires, Argentina
Background: Sarcasm is a complex form of pragmatic language that involves recognizing a speaker’s intention as incongruent with literal meaning. Understanding sarcasm engages both linguistic and social-cognitive (theory of mind, ToM) processes, but the neural underpinnings of sarcasm comprehension in ecologically valid, language-specific contexts remain underexplored. This study aimed to investigate the brain mechanisms supporting sarcasm processing in Spanish using a novel, validated event-related fMRI task. Methods: Eighteen healthy, right-handed Spanish speakers (mean age = 24.33 years) participated in the study. During fMRI scanning, participants viewed 60 cartoon-based vignettes across three conditions: sarcastic, literal, and baseline (image-only or text-only). All sarcastic and literal items shared identical utterances, with only the context varying, allowing isolation of pragmatic processing. Stimuli were presented for 4500 ms each, and participants classified the type of stimulus using a four-button response box. Accuracy and response times were recorded. Functional images were acquired using a 3T Philips Achieva scanner and analyzed using SPM12. First-level GLMs included four regressors corresponding to each condition, with second-level contrasts comparing sarcasm > literal and sarcasm > baseline. Results: Behaviorally, participants performed above chance across all conditions with no significant accuracy differences. Neuroimaging results for the sarcasm > literal contrast revealed left-lateralized activation in ToM-related areas: medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), inferior frontal gyrus (IFG), superior temporal sulcus (STS), and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), including the angular and supramarginal gyri. Additional activations were found in the amygdala, insula, temporal pole, and visual/motor regions, suggesting the involvement of broader contextual and emotional processing networks. The sarcasm > baseline contrast showed a similar pattern with additional engagement of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex and primary sensorimotor cortices. Discussion: Findings support the hypothesis that sarcasm comprehension involves an interplay between ToM and linguistic systems. The mPFC and TPJ likely contribute to mentalizing and detecting context-meaning incongruence, while the left IFG and posterior middle temporal gyrus (pMTG) facilitate semantic integration and ambiguity resolution. Notably, sarcasm elicited broader activation beyond classic ToM areas, suggesting that pragmatic language comprehension requires integration of emotional, semantic, and contextual information. The pMTG may be particularly crucial in resolving semantic narrowing during sarcasm, while the IFG may serve as a convergence site for evaluating speaker intent and meaning. Conclusion: This study provides novel insights into the neural architecture of sarcasm comprehension in Spanish, emphasizing the integrated function of language and ToM networks. Despite limitations due to sample size, results demonstrate that sarcasm engages an extensive fronto-temporo-parietal network, bridging linguistic processing and social cognition. These findings highlight the utility of ecologically valid paradigms in elucidating the neurocognitive mechanisms of pragmatic language.
Topic Areas: Meaning: Discourse and Pragmatics,