{"status":"ok","message-type":"work","message-version":"1.0.0","message":{"indexed":{"date-parts":[[2026,8,21]],"date-time":"2026-08-21T13:21:07Z","timestamp":1787318467433,"version":"build-2736575974"},"reference-count":80,"publisher":"National Academy of Sciences","issue":"16","license":[{"start":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T00:00:00Z","timestamp":1776124800000},"content-version":"vor","delay-in-days":0,"URL":"https:\/\/creativecommons.org\/licenses\/by-nc-nd\/4.0\/"}],"funder":[{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"NSF","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2123469"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2123469"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]},{"DOI":"10.13039\/100000001","name":"NSF","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","award":["2123469"],"award-info":[{"award-number":["2123469"]}],"id":[{"id":"10.13039\/100000001","id-type":"DOI","asserted-by":"publisher"}]}],"content-domain":{"domain":["www.pnas.org"],"crossmark-restriction":true},"short-container-title":["Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A."],"published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]]},"abstract":"<jats:p>Humans routinely solve social problems by navigating densely interconnected networks\u2014gossiping strategically, brokering across cliques, and coordinating with allies. Yet, the neural representations supporting such complex navigation remain undocumented, leaving a crucial gap in our understanding of the mechanisms underlying flexible social cognition. We combine computational modeling with fMRI and a longitudinal measurement of a large, real-world social network (N = 187) to show that the medial temporal lobe encodes an abstract cognitive map of long-range connectivity in the broader network. These neural maps specifically encode the Katz communicability between network members, not merely direct ties, or Euclidean or graph distance. We additionally find that the availability of these maps in the right entorhinal cortex (rEC) and right anterior hippocampus (raHC) supports accurate inferences about information diffusion through the network. Finally, we link neural representation to consequential social change, finding that stronger rEC encoding predicts real-world brokerage that increases community cohesion over time. Together, these findings advance a general mechanism for how the brain supports flexible behavior in complex social environments, closing a major gap between theories of cognitive maps and the demands of social navigation.<\/jats:p>","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2523345123","type":"journal-article","created":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T18:02:21Z","timestamp":1776189741000},"update-policy":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.cm10313","source":"Crossref","is-referenced-by-count":4,"title":["Medial temporal lobe encodes cognitive maps of real-world social networks"],"prefix":"10.1073","volume":"123","author":[{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-8995-414X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Yi Yang","family":"Teoh","sequence":"first","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University","place":["Providence"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-3852-1237","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Jae-Young","family":"Son","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University","place":["Providence"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0003-3166-868X","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Alice","family":"Xia","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University","place":["Providence"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0001-5295-1623","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Apoorva","family":"Bhandari","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University","place":["Providence"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]},{"ORCID":"https:\/\/orcid.org\/0000-0002-0726-3861","authenticated-orcid":false,"given":"Oriel","family":"FeldmanHall","sequence":"additional","affiliation":[{"name":"Department of Cognitive and Psychological Sciences, Brown University","place":["Providence"]},{"name":"Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science, Brown University","place":["Providence"]}],"role":[{"vocabulary":"crossref","role":"author"}]}],"member":"341","published-online":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]]},"reference":[{"key":"e_1_3_4_1_2","first-page":"241","volume-title":"Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education","author":"Bourdieu P.","year":"1986","unstructured":"P. Bourdieu, \u201cThe forms of capital\u201d in Handbook of Theory and Research for the Sociology of Education, J. Richardson, Ed. (Greenwood, 1986), pp. 241\u2013258."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_2_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.2641-20.2021"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_3_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2020.11.024"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_4_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2018.10.002"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_5_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.101134.3"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_6_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/jocn_a_01864"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_7_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-022-01149-8"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_8_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nn.4650"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_9_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature21692"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_10_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2018.05.016"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_11_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature08704"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_12_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2014.07.032"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_13_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neubiorev.2014.09.010"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_14_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/nature03721"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_15_2","unstructured":"J. O\u2019Keefe L. Nadel The hippocampus as a cognitive map (Oxford University Press 1978)."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_16_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2020.10.004"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_17_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41593-021-00916-3"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_18_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2015.06.011"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_19_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cobeha.2021.02.017"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_20_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1523\/JNEUROSCI.0151-18.2018"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_21_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2310801120"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_22_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-024-01990-w"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_23_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2021.09.002"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_24_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tics.2021.12.006"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_25_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-025-02241-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_26_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/09637214251342742"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_27_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.2307\/2786941"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_28_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socnet.2014.11.003"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_29_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cell.2020.10.024"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_30_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1236498"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_31_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevE.83.046120"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_32_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/BF02289026"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_33_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1063\/5.0202241"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_34_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.socnet.2012.07.002"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_35_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/0956797613510184"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_36_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1059601109360391"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_37_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.0704598104"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_38_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1162\/neco.1993.5.4.613"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_39_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-017-0180-8"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_40_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1126\/science.1165821"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_41_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"E. Breza A. G. Chandrasekhar A. Tahbaz-Salehi Seeing the forest for the trees? An investigation of network knowledge. NBER Working Paper 24359 (2018) 10.3386\/w24359.","DOI":"10.3386\/w24359"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_42_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3758\/BF03206482"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_43_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11222-013-9416-2"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_44_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1007\/s11222-016-9696-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_45_2","first-page":"3571","article-title":"Asymptotic equivalence of Bayes cross validation and widely applicable information criterion in singular learning theory","volume":"11","author":"Watanabe S.","year":"2010","unstructured":"S. Watanabe, Asymptotic equivalence of Bayes cross validation and widely applicable information criterion in singular learning theory. J. Mach. Learn. Res. 11, 3571\u20133594 (2010).","journal-title":"J. Mach. Learn. Res."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_46_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2013.08.065"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_47_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1712811115"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_48_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41562-017-0072"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_49_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.1511477112"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_50_2","first-page":"1","article-title":"Comparing representational geometries using whitened unbiased-distance-matrix similarity","volume":"5","author":"Diedrichsen J.","year":"2021","unstructured":"J. Diedrichsen , Comparing representational geometries using whitened unbiased-distance-matrix similarity. NBDT 5, 1\u201331 (2021).","journal-title":"NBDT"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_51_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuroimage.2015.12.012"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_52_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.cub.2017.06.057"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_53_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1101\/lm.663507"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_54_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1037\/0033-295X.102.3.419"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_55_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.tins.2011.06.006"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_56_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevLett.87.198701"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_57_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevE.71.036122"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_58_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1073\/pnas.2021699118"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_59_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.17086"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_60_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"R. D. Sommerfeld H.-J. Krambeck M. Milinski Multiple gossip statements and their effect on reputation and trustworthiness. Proc. R. Soc. B: Biol. Sci. 275 2529\u20132536 (2008).","DOI":"10.1098\/rspb.2008.0762"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_61_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1098\/rstb.2020.0301"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_62_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1177\/1948550619837000"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_63_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1111\/spc3.12255"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_64_2","first-page":"290","article-title":"Social cohesion, social capital, and health","volume":"174","author":"Kawachi I.","year":"2000","unstructured":"I. Kawachi, L. Berkman, Social cohesion, social capital, and health. Soc. Epidemiol. 174, 290\u2013319 (2000).","journal-title":"Soc. Epidemiol."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_65_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1017\/S0033291719001235"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_66_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev.soc.30.012703.110625"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_67_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Y. Zheng J. Antony C. Ranganath R. C. O\u2019Reilly Recurrent inhibitory dynamics in the entorhinal cortex support pattern separation. bioXriv [Preprint] (2024) 10.1101\/2024.11.14.623535 (Accessed 8 December 2024).","DOI":"10.1101\/2024.11.14.623535"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_68_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.82250"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_69_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s43588-021-00157-1"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_70_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1016\/j.neuron.2018.01.039"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_71_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1103\/PhysRevE.73.026120"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_72_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1080\/0022250X.1971.9989788"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_73_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.7554\/eLife.80281"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_74_2","unstructured":"O. Esteban fMRIPrep. Software (2018) 10.5281\/zenodo.852659."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_75_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1038\/s41592-018-0235-4"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_76_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.3389\/fninf.2011.00013"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_77_2","unstructured":"K. J. Gorgolewski Nipype. Software (2018) 10.5281\/zenodo.596855."},{"key":"e_1_3_4_78_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1146\/annurev-neuro-080317-061906"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_79_2","doi-asserted-by":"publisher","DOI":"10.1371\/journal.pcbi.1003553"},{"key":"e_1_3_4_80_2","doi-asserted-by":"crossref","unstructured":"Y. Y. Teoh J-. Y. Son A. Xia A. Bhandari O. FeldmanHall Medial temporal lobe encodes cognitive maps of real-world social networks. Open Science Framework. https:\/\/osf.io\/adm8v\/. Deposited 29 March 2026.","DOI":"10.1101\/2025.03.18.643925"}],"container-title":["Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences"],"original-title":[],"language":"en","link":[{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/pdf\/10.1073\/pnas.2523345123","content-type":"unspecified","content-version":"vor","intended-application":"similarity-checking"}],"deposited":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]],"date-time":"2026-04-14T18:02:26Z","timestamp":1776189746000},"score":1,"resource":{"primary":{"URL":"https:\/\/pnas.org\/doi\/10.1073\/pnas.2523345123"}},"subtitle":[],"short-title":[],"issued":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]]},"references-count":80,"journal-issue":{"issue":"16","published-print":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,21]]}},"alternative-id":["10.1073\/pnas.2523345123"],"URL":"https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1073\/pnas.2523345123","relation":{"has-preprint":[{"id-type":"doi","id":"10.1101\/2025.03.18.643925","asserted-by":"object"}]},"ISSN":["0027-8424","1091-6490"],"issn-type":[{"value":"0027-8424","type":"print"},{"value":"1091-6490","type":"electronic"}],"subject":[],"published":{"date-parts":[[2026,4,14]]},"assertion":[{"value":"2025-08-22","order":0,"name":"received","label":"Received","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-03-06","order":2,"name":"accepted","label":"Accepted","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}},{"value":"2026-04-14","order":3,"name":"published","label":"Published","group":{"name":"publication_history","label":"Publication History"}}],"article-number":"e2523345123"}}