Functional activity of the right temporo-parietal junction and of the medial prefrontal cortex associated with true and false belief reasoning
Functional activity of the right temporo-parietal junction and of the medial prefrontal cortex associated with true and false belief reasoning
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DOI：
10.1016/j.neuroimage.2012.01.073
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发表时间：
2012-04-15
期刊：
影响因子：
5.7
通讯作者：
Sommer, Monika
中科院分区：
文献类型：
--
作者：
Doehnel, Katrin;Schuwerk, Tobias;Sommer, Monika
由于错误信念推理需要独立于现实状态的心理状态表征，因此它被视为心理理论（ToM）的关键能力。虽然真实信念的处理不一定要独立于现实状态，但越来越多的行为证据表明，真实信念的推理不同于仅仅对现实状态的推理。到目前为止，关于真信念和假信念推理的神经研究显示，在内侧前额叶皮层（MPFC）和右颞顶叶交界处（R-TPJ）的发现不一致，这两个大脑区域被假设在ToM中发挥重要作用。为了进一步探索真信念和假信念的推理，目前在18名成年受试者中进行的功能性磁共振成像（fMRI）研究使用了方法学上的改进，例如确保真信念试验不会引发假信念推理，以及包括需要对现实状态进行推理的控制控制条件。当与其控制条件相比，常见的R-TPJ活动观察到真实和虚假的信念推理，支持其在一般信念推理的作用，并表明，至少在成年人中，真正的信念推理似乎是不同的推理现实的状态。在MPFC、下额叶皮层和楔前叶等广泛的大脑区域网络中观察到不同的活动。假真信念推理诱导激活后MPFC（pMPFC），支持其在解耦机制中的作用，这被定义为独立于现实状态处理心理状态。(C)2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Since false belief reasoning requires mental state representation independently of the state of reality, it is seen as a key ability in Theory of Mind (ToM). Although true beliefs do not have to be processed independently of the state of reality, growing behavioural evidence indicates that true belief reasoning is different from just reasoning about the state of reality. So far, neural studies on true and false belief reasoning revealed inconsistent findings in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and in the right temporo-parietal junction (R-TPJ), brain regions that are hypothesized to play an important role in ToM. To further explore true and false belief reasoning, the present functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) study in eighteen adult subjects used methodological refinements such as ensuring that the true belief trials did not elicit false belief reasoning, as well as including paralleled control conditions requiring reasoning about the state of reality. When compared to its control condition, common R-TPJ activity was observed for true and false belief reasoning, supporting its role in belief reasoning in general, and indicating that, at least in adults, also true belief reasoning appears to be different from reasoning about the state of reality. Differential activity was observed in a broad network of brain regions such as the MPFC, the inferior frontal cortex, and the precuneus. False over true belief reasoning induced activation in the posterior MPFC (pMPFC), supporting its role in the decoupling mechanisms, which is defined as processing a mental state independently of the state of reality. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.