Integrating attention and social cognition: from brain mechanisms to behavior

Social cognition research explores how humans detect, interpret, and respond to social cues—capacities that are fundamentally shaped by attentional mechanisms. Recent advances in cognitive psychology and neuroscience have deepened our understanding of ‘social attention’, demonstrating how processes such as gaze following, joint attention, and sensitivity to emotional signals guide social engagement. While key findings emphasize the interplay between perceptual, emotional, and cognitive factors in social contexts, current knowledge remains fragmented across behavioral, neural, clinical, and theoretical domains. Bridging these diverse approaches is vital to clarifying how attention operates within complex and dynamic social environments, and to addressing unresolved questions about individual and developmental variability, underlying neural circuitry, and the impact of atypical attentional processing on social functioning.This Research Topic aims to consolidate diverse research efforts exploring the relationship between social cognition and attention from behavioral and neural perspectives. The objective is to provide a common forum for empirical and theoretical studies investigating how attentional systems support the perception, interpretation, and regulation of social signals, and to delineate the brain mechanisms involved. We specifically seek studies that examine gaze cueing, attentional orienting in social settings, motivational and emotional influences on attention, and the neural correlates of these processes. Moreover, the Topic encourages submissions that elucidate the mechanisms mediating individual, developmental, and clinical differences in social attention, as well as those that advance new theoretical models and computational approaches.The scope of this Research Topic encompasses complementary methodologies and populations, ranging from basic research to applied studies in clinical and developmental contexts. We welcome contributions employing behavioral experiments, neuroimaging, neurophysiology, computational modeling, or multimodal designs. Submissions may address, but are not limited to, the following themes:- Mechanisms of gaze cueing and joint attention- Attentional orienting within social contexts- Emotional and motivational modulation of attention- Social salience, relevance, and their behavioral consequences- Individual, developmental, and clinical differences in social attention- Neural basis of social perception and attentional regulation- Computational modeling and theoretical frameworks of social attentionOriginal research articles, reviews, theoretical perspectives, meta-analyses, and methodological advances are all encouraged for submission. Topic editors: Andrea Marotta, Chiara Ferrari, Mario Dalmaso, ANNA PECCHINENDA Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78354/integrating-attention-and-social-cognition-from-brain-mechanisms-to-behavior