Previous evidence from neuropsychological and neuroimaging studies suggests functional specialization for tools and related semantic knowledge in a left frontoparietal network. It is still debated whether these areas are involved in the representation of rudimentary movement-relevant knowledge regardless of semantic domains (animate vs. inanimate) or categories (tools vs. nontool objects). Here, we used fMRI to record brain activity while 13 volunteers performed two semantic judgment tasks on visually presented items from three different categories: animals, tools, and nontool objects. Participants had to judge two distinct semantic features: whether two items typically move in a similar way (e.g., a fan and a windmill move in circular motion) or whether they are usually found in the same environment (e.g., a seesaw and a swing are found in a playground). We investigated differences in overall activation (which areas are involved) as well as representational content (which information is encoded) across semantic features and categories. Results of voxel-wise mass univariate analysis showed that, regardless of semantic category, a dissociation emerges between processing information on prototypical location (involving the anterior temporal cortex and the angular gyrus) and movement (linked to left inferior parietal and frontal activation). Multivoxel pattern correlation analyses confirmed the representational segregation of networks encoding task- and category-related aspects of semantic processing. Taken together, these findings suggest that the left frontoparietal network is recruited to process movement properties of items (including both biological and nonbiological motion) regardless of their semantic category.

Individuals learn by comparing the outcome of chosen and unchosen actions. A negative counterfactual value signal is generated when this comparison is unfavorable. This can happen in private as well as in social settings—where the foregone outcome results from the choice of another person. We hypothesized that, despite sharing similar features such as supporting learning, these two counterfactual signals might implicate distinct brain networks. We conducted a neuropsychological study on the role of private and social counterfactual value signals in risky decision-making. Patients with lesions in the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), lesion controls, and healthy controls repeatedly chose between lotteries. In private trials, participants could observe the outcomes of their choices and the outcomes of the unselected lotteries. In social trials, participants could also see the other player's choices and outcome. At the time of outcome, vmPFC patients were insensitive to private counterfactual value signals, whereas their responses to social comparison were similar to those of control participants. At the time of choice, intact vmPFC was necessary to integrate counterfactual signals in decisions, although amelioration was observed during the course of the task, possibly driven by social trials. We conclude that if the vmPFC is critical in processing private counterfactual signals and in integrating those signals in decision-making, then distinct brain areas might support the processing of social counterfactual signals.