Association of Resting-state Brain Activity with Wise Advising: an fMRI study
Advice-giving is a common theme of wisdom in daily life. An electroencephalogram (EEG) study indicated that resting-state neural oscillations were associated with wise advising from a second- but not a third-person perspective. We hypothesized that resting-state neural activity should be associated with wise advising as a function of psychological distance. In our study, 52 participants provided advice on various life dilemmas using either a second- or a third- perspective after a resting-state fMRI scanning. The results showed that participants felt a significantly smaller psychological distance when advising from the second- than the third-person perspective. Perspective-taking when advising from the second-person perspective was significantly correlated with the amplitude of low-frequency fluctuation (ALFF) in precuneus and calcarine; while that from the third-person perspective was associated with precuneus and precentral gyrus. Moreover, meta-level humility when advising from the third-person perspective was associated with anterior cingulate cortex (ACC). The results supported our hypothesis. Wisdom from different psychological distances may rely on different neural bases and mental processes.