Our research shows how the brain transitions from performing to delegating technical tasks, activating both technical and social reasoning networks—a process we term transactive technical cognition.
Every day, our brains shift between different modes of reasoning when interacting with the physical world. We act alone, learn from tutorials or experts, or delegate tasks entirely. Each mode relies on distinct neural systems, and our new NeuroImage study reveals how the brain dynamically switches between them.
Using functional MRI, participants were asked to imagine performing technical tasks (such as DIY) in four situations: alone, with a web tutorial, while being taught by an expert, or by delegating the task to that expert. These scenarios revealed how the brain toggles between causal understanding — reasoning about how things work — and social reasoning — thinking about who can make them work.
When participants imagined doing the task on their own, activity increased in the technical reasoning network — regions in the left parietal and frontal cortex that support causal understanding, planning, and tool use. This brain network helps us simulate how a tool or mechanism will behave when we act on it.
When the same task was delegated to an expert, the pattern flipped. The technical reasoning network disengaged, while the social reasoning network became dominant — including the temporal poles, temporo-parietal junctions, and anterior medial prefrontal cortex. These regions allow us to model other people’s knowledge, predict their success, and “offload” the cognitive effort to them.
Whole-brain analyses revealed an apparent double dissociation between conditions. When participants imagined performing a technical task on their own, activation increased within areas typically involved in technical reasoning — notably the left inferior parietal lobule (area PF). In contrast, imagining the same task as delegated to an expert engaged regions that form the core of the social reasoning network, including the bilateral temporal poles, the temporo-parietal junctions, and the anterior medial prefrontal cortex. Adapted from: Osiurak, F., Bryche, C., Metaireau, M., Bluet, A., Gramaje, C., Baumard, J., Rossetti, Y., Lesourd, M., & Federico, G. (2025). The neural basis of transactive technical cognition. NeuroImage, 121527.
Functional connectivity describes how different brain regions communicate, that is, how much their activity fluctuates in sync over time. When two areas “light up” together repeatedly during a task, it suggests they are part of a coordinated network supporting the same cognitive process. In this study, we found:
These cross-network links indicate a dynamic dialogue between the technical and social reasoning networks.
The functional connectivity analysis identified two main clusters that were consistently present across all four conditions. The first cluster linked regions engaged in technical reasoning — the left parietal area PF, the left inferior frontal gyrus, and the left dorsolateral prefrontal cortex — showing strong positive correlations. The second cluster included regions belonging to the social reasoning network — the left temporal pole, the left temporo-parietal junction, and the anterior medial prefrontal cortex — which also exhibited synchronous activity. The simultaneous presence of these clusters, even when participants acted alone or delegated the task, indicates that the component regions within each network remained functionally coordinated regardless of overall activation level. A third, cross-network cluster appeared exclusively in the Tutorial and Teaching conditions, characterised by negative correlations between technical-reasoning and social-reasoning areas. This suggests alternating or competitive dynamics between the two systems when participants mentally combined causal understanding with social perspective taking. The colour scale represents the strength and direction of connectivity, from dark blue (negative) to dark red (positive). Only statistically significant links are displayed, with p-values corrected using the False Discovery Rate (FDR) method. Adapted from Osiurak F., Bryche C., Metaireau M., Bluet A., Gramaje C., Baumard J., Rossetti Y., Lesourd M., & Federico G. (2025). The neural basis of transactive technical cognition. NeuroImage, 121527.
Our findings suggest that the human brain continuously negotiates between causal and social reasoning. Acting alone relies on understanding mechanisms; delegating relies on understanding minds. In between, the brain integrates both — a neural architecture that may underlie how we collaborate, teach, and even learn from technology.
This integrative process, which we called transactive technical cognition, may have evolved alongside cultural specialisation, allowing humans to share and extend technical knowledge through others, and now, through machines.