080125[bx2]社会的空間が脅かされる／されそう，を見る

080125[bx2]-1 visual threat; interpersonal space; social interaction; fMRI
‘Eavesdropping’ on social interactions biases threat perception in visuospatial pathways

「人物Aに，人物Bが近づく」という写真を被験者が見るという設定。
(1)人物Bが→脅威的（ヤバそうな） vs. 非脅威的（ただの通行人）
(2)人物Aと人物Bの物理的距離が→近い vs. 遠い
ふたつの条件を操作して，このような写真を見ているときの脳活動をfMRIで測定した。

人物が近いとき，遠いときにくらべてあちこちの視覚関連領域が活性化するが，
とりわけ，左側頭後頭接合部の活動には交互作用が認められ，
「ヤバそうな人物が×近くにいる様子を見た」とき，より活性化する。

"eavesdropping"は，ふつう盗聴というような意味で使われるようですが。
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Ethologists have used the term ‘eavesdropping’ to describe the way an individual animal can gain information about conspecifics by observing interactions in which it is not directly involved (McGregor, 1993). Eavesdropping provides a minimal risk, low-cost assessment mechanism allowing relevant information (such as an individual's status, aggression, or sexual desirability) to be gleaned before a direct interaction takes place. We propose that information gained from eavesdropping in human interactions would be particularly relevant for situations with a prospect of bodily harm. These results indicate that the human brain utilizes relational spatial cues, together with intimidating personal features, during observation of a person's behaviour around others. In everyday life this may ultimately contribute to an assessment of both the situation and the person (or category of person) involved.
（p. 100）