Fractionating theory of mind: A meta-analysis of functional brain imaging studies

We meta-analyzed imaging studies on theory of mind and formed individual task groups based on stimuli and instructions. Overlap in brain activation between all task groups was found in the mPFC and in the bilateral posterior TPJ. This supports the idea of a core network for theory of mind that is ac...

Full description

Saved in:
Bibliographic Details
Published in:Neuroscience and biobehavioral reviews 2014-05, Vol.42, p.9-34
Main Authors: SCHURZ, Matthias, RADUA, Joaquim, AICHHORN, Markus, RICHLAN, Fabio, PERNER, Josef
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Behavioral psychophysiology
Biological and medical sciences
Brain - physiology
Functional Neuroimaging
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Neural Pathways - physiology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Theory of Mind - physiology
Citations: Items that this one cites
Items that cite this one
Online Access:Get full text
Tags: Add Tag
No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!
Description
Summary:We meta-analyzed imaging studies on theory of mind and formed individual task groups based on stimuli and instructions. Overlap in brain activation between all task groups was found in the mPFC and in the bilateral posterior TPJ. This supports the idea of a core network for theory of mind that is activated whenever we are reasoning about mental states, irrespective of the task- and stimulus-formats (Mar, 2011). In addition, we found a number of task-related activation differences surrounding this core-network. ROI based analyses show that areas in the TPJ, the mPFC, the precuneus, the temporal lobes and the inferior frontal gyri have distinct profiles of task-related activation. Functional accounts of these areas are reviewed and discussed with respect to our findings.
ISSN:0149-7634
1873-7528
DOI:10.1016/j.neubiorev.2014.01.009