Interacting Minds-A Biological Basis

The ability to "mentalize," that is to understand and manipulate other people's behavior in terms of their mental states, is a major ingredient in successful social interactions. A rudimentary form of this ability may be seen in great apes, but in humans it is developed to a high Leve...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 1999-11, Vol.286 (5445), p.1692-1695
Main Authors: Frith, Chris D., Frith, Uta
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Anatomical correlates of behavior
Animals
Autism
Autistic disorder
Autistic Disorder - physiopathology
Autistic Disorder - psychology
Behavioral neuroscience
Behavioral psychophysiology
Beliefs
Biological and medical sciences
Biology
Brain
Brain Mapping
Cerebral hemispheres
Children
Cognition - physiology
Compasses
Deception
Executive Function
Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology
Humans
Individual Power
Inferences
Intelligence
Neuroimaging
Patch-Clamp Techniques
Patients
Physiological aspects
Prefrontal cortex
Prefrontal Cortex - physiology
Psychology. Psychoanalysis. Psychiatry
Psychology. Psychophysiology
Review
Sabotage
Schizophrenia
Schizophrenia - physiopathology
Schizophrenic Psychology
Science and Society
Social Behavior
Social intelligence
Social psychology
Teaching Methods
Temporal Lobe - physiology
Thinking Skills
Visual fixation
Volunteerism
Young Children
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Summary:The ability to "mentalize," that is to understand and manipulate other people's behavior in terms of their mental states, is a major ingredient in successful social interactions. A rudimentary form of this ability may be seen in great apes, but in humans it is developed to a high Level. Specific impairments of mentalizing in both developmental and acquired disorders suggest that this ability depends on a dedicated and circumscribed brain system. Functional imaging studies implicate medial prefrontal cortex and posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS) as components of this system. Clues to the specific function of these components in mentalizing come from single cell recording studies: STS is concerned with representing the actions of others through the detection of biological motion; medial prefrontal regions are concerned with explicit representation of states of the self. These observations suggest that the ability to mentalize has evolved from a system for representing actions.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.286.5445.1692