scholarly journals Functionally distinct language and Theory of Mind networks work together, especially during language comprehension

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander Paunov ◽  
Idan Blank ◽  
Evelina Fedorenko
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Story Comprehension ◽  
Functional Correlation ◽  
Basic Language ◽  
The One ◽  
Potential Interactions

Communication requires the ability to generate and interpret linguistic signals, as well as the ability to infer the beliefs, desires, and goals of others (“Theory of Mind”, ToM). These two abilities have been shown to dissociate: on the one hand, individuals with severe aphasia retain the ability to think about others’ mental states; on the other hand, individuals with autism spectrum disorders are impaired in their social reasoning, but their basic language processing is often intact. In line with this evidence from developmental and acquired disorders, fMRI studies have shown that linguistic and ToM abilities are implemented in distinct sets of brain regions. And yet, language is fundamentally a social tool that allows us to share thoughts with one another. Thus, the language and ToM networks should work closely together in spite of being implemented in distinct neural circuits. Here, we investigated potential interactions between these networks during naturalistic cognition using the functional correlation approach in fMRI. Although inter-region correlations within each network were higher than between-network correlations across experiments, we also observed reliably above-baseline synchronization of BOLD signal fluctuations between the two networks during rest and, to an even greater extent, during story comprehension. This synchronization was functionally specific: neither network synchronized with the executive control network. Thus, coordination between the language and ToM networks appears to be an inherent characteristic of their functional architecture, and is increased during naturalistic language processing.

scholarly journals Functionally distinct language and Theory of Mind networks are synchronized at rest and during language comprehension

2019 ◽  
Vol 121 (4) ◽  
pp. 1244-1265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander M. Paunov ◽  
Idan A. Blank ◽  
Evelina Fedorenko
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Functional Mri ◽  
Language Processing ◽  
Language Comprehension ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Blood Oxygenation ◽  
Social Reasoning ◽  
Story Comprehension ◽  
Dependent Signal

Communication requires the abilities to generate and interpret utterances and to infer the beliefs, desires, and goals of others (“Theory of Mind”; ToM). These two abilities have been shown to dissociate: individuals with aphasia retain the ability to think about others’ mental states; and individuals with autism are impaired in social reasoning, but their basic language processing is often intact. In line with this evidence from brain disorders, functional MRI (fMRI) studies have shown that linguistic and ToM abilities recruit distinct sets of brain regions. And yet, language is a social tool that allows us to share thoughts with one another. Thus, the language and ToM brain networks must share information despite being implemented in distinct neural circuits. Here, we investigated potential interactions between these networks during naturalistic cognition using functional correlations in fMRI. The networks were functionally defined in individual participants, in terms of preference for sentences over nonwords for language, and for belief inference over physical-event processing for ToM, with both a verbal and a nonverbal paradigm. Although, across experiments, interregion correlations within each network were higher than between-network correlations, we also observed above-baseline synchronization of blood oxygenation level-dependent signal fluctuations between the two networks during rest and story comprehension. This synchronization was functionally specific: neither network was synchronized with the executive control network (functionally defined in terms of preference for a harder over easier version of an executive task). Thus, coordination between the language and ToM networks appears to be an inherent and specific characteristic of their functional architecture.NEW & NOTEWORTHY Humans differ from nonhuman primates in their abilities to communicate linguistically and to infer others’ mental states. Although linguistic and social abilities appear to be interlinked onto- and phylogenetically, they are dissociated in the adult human brain. Yet successful communication requires language and social reasoning to work in concert. Using functional MRI, we show that language regions are synchronized with social regions during rest and language comprehension, pointing to a possible mechanism for internetwork interaction.

Sex differences in the neural basis of theory of mind during development

2016 ◽  
Vol 33 (S1) ◽  
pp. S368-S368
Author(s):  
C. Frank
Keyword(s):  
Sex Differences ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Mirror Neuron System ◽  
Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽  
Neural Mechanism ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Precentral Gyrus ◽  
Neural Basis

IntroductionTheory of mind (ToM) is the ability to predict behaviors of others in terms of their underlying mental states. It is carried out in order to make sense of and predict behavior. Impairments in ToM have been found in many psychiatric/neurological disorders including schizophrenia and autism spectrum disorders. Previous research has indicated sex difference in ToM development. Previous research has also found some differences in the neural basis of ToM.Objectives/aimsAn objective/aim of the present study was to examine possible sex differences in the neural mechanism associated with ToM development. Another objective was to examine the neural basis of ToM that is shared by both sexes throughout development.MethodsThirty-two adults (16 women) and 24 children (12 girls) were assessed with fMRI while performing a false belief (FB) task.ResultsDuring the ToM relative to non-ToM condition, adults and children of both sexes showed increased activity in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ). Both boys and girls recruited more brain regions than adults. Moreover, children employed structures involved in the human mirror neuron system (hMNS) more than adults. More specifically, boys recruited the inferior frontal gyrus (IFG) more than men, while girls recruited the precentral gyrus more than women.ConclusionsThese results suggest that boys/men and girls/women employ different brain regions for ToM during development.Disclosure of interestThe authors have not supplied their declaration of competing interest.

scholarly journals Asking ‘why?’ enhances theory of mind when evaluating harm but not purity violations

2019 ◽  
Vol 14 (7) ◽  
pp. 699-708 ◽  
Author(s):  
James A Dungan ◽  
Liane Young
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Moral Norms ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
Task Instructions ◽  
Right Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
The Right

Abstract Recent work in psychology and neuroscience has revealed important differences in the cognitive processes underlying judgments of harm and purity violations. In particular, research has demonstrated that whether a violation was committed intentionally vs accidentally has a larger impact on moral judgments of harm violations (e.g. assault) than purity violations (e.g. incest). Here, we manipulate the instructions provided to participants for a moral judgment task to further probe the boundary conditions of this intent effect. Specifically, we instructed participants undergoing functional magnetic resonance imaging to attend to either a violator’s mental states (why they acted that way) or their low-level behavior (how they acted) before delivering moral judgments. Results revealed that task instructions enhanced rather than diminished differences between how harm and purity violations are processed in brain regions for mental state reasoning or theory of mind. In particular, activity in the right temporoparietal junction increased when participants were instructed to attend to why vs how a violator acted to a greater extent for harm than for purity violations. This result constrains the potential accounts of why intentions matter less for purity violations compared to harm violations and provide further insight into the differences between distinct moral norms.

scholarly journals Neural substrates for moral judgments of psychological versus physical harm

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Tsoi ◽  
James A Dungan ◽  
Alek Chakroff ◽  
Liane Young
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Psychological Impact ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Moral Judgments ◽  
Anterior Cingulate ◽  
Adults With Autism ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
The Right ◽  
Multivariate Pattern

Although harm primarily elicits thoughts of physical injuries, harm can also take the form of negative psychological impact. Using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI), we examined the extent to which moral judgments of physical and psychological harms are processed similarly, focusing on brain regions implicated in mental state reasoning or theory of mind, a key cognitive process for moral judgment. Univariate analyses reveal similar levels of theory of mind processing for psychological and physical harms, though multivariate pattern analyses (MVPA) reveal sensitivity to the psychological/physical distinction in two regions implicated in theory of mind: the right temporoparietal junction and the precuneus. Moreover, while there were no differences in neurotypical adults and adults with autism spectrum disorder with regard to neural activity related to theory of mind, there was a group difference in the recruitment of the anterior cingulate cortex for psychological versus physical harms. Altogether, these results reveal sensitivity within regions implicated in theory of mind to the physical / psychological distinction as well as neural processes that capture clinically relevant differences in evaluations of psychological harms versus physical harms.

scholarly journals Brain Responses Underlying Anthropomorphism, Agency, and Social Attribution in Autism Spectrum Disorder

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 16-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Carla J. Ammons ◽  
Constance F. Doss ◽  
David Bala ◽  
Rajesh K. Kana
Keyword(s):  
Autism Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Movement ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Spectrum Disorder ◽  
Social Brain ◽  
Social Attribution ◽  
Brain Responses ◽  
Fmri Study

Background:Theory of Mind (ToM), the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, is frequently impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD) and may result from altered activation of social brain regions. Conversely, Typically Developing (TD) individuals overextend ToM and show a strong tendency to anthropomorphize and interpret biological motion in the environment. Less is known about how the degree of anthropomorphism influences intentional attribution and engagement of the social brain in ASD.Objective:This fMRI study examines the extent of anthropomorphism, its role in social attribution, and the underlying neural responses in ASD and TD using a series of human stick figures and geometrical shapes.Methods:14 ASD and 14 TD adults watched videos of stick figures and triangles interacting in random or socially meaningful ways while in an fMRI scanner. In addition, they completed out-of-scanner measures of ToM skill and real-world social deficits. Whole brain statistical analysis was performed for regression and within and between group comparisons of all conditions using SPM12’s implementation of the general linear model.Results:ToM network regions were activated in response to social movement and human-like characters in ASD and TD. In addition, greater ToM ability was associated with increased TPJ and MPFC activity while watching stick figures; whereas more severe social symptoms were associated with reduced right TPJ activation in response to social movement.Conclusion:These results suggest that degree of anthropomorphism does not differentially affect social attribution in ASD and highlights the importance of TPJ in ToM and social attribution.

scholarly journals Developmental evidence for enhanced theory of mind for competitive versus cooperative contexts

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Lily Tsoi ◽  
Kiley Hamlin ◽  
Adam Waytz ◽  
Andrew Scott Baron ◽  
Liane Young
Keyword(s):  
Preschool Children ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Mental States ◽  
The Other ◽  
First Person ◽  
False Beliefs ◽  
Other Hand ◽  
The One

There is a debate regarding the function of theory of mind (ToM), the capacity to infer, attribute, and reason about mental states. On the one hand are evolutionary and psychological work suggesting that ToM is greater for competition than cooperation. On the other hand are findings and theories promoting greater ToM for cooperation than competition. We investigate the question of whether ToM is greater for competition than cooperation or vice versa by examining the period of development during which explicit ToM comes online. In two studies, we examined preschool children’s abilities to explicitly express an understanding of false beliefs—a key marker of ToM—and ability to apply that understanding in first-person social interactions in competitive and cooperative contexts. Our findings reveal that preschool children are better at understanding false beliefs and applying that understanding in competitive contexts than in cooperative contexts.

scholarly journals Contribution of the right temporoparietal junction and ventromedial prefrontal cortex to theory of mind in autism: A randomized, sham-controlled tDCS study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mohammad Ali Salehinejad ◽  
Nasim Paknia ◽  
Amir Hossein Hosseinpour ◽  
Fatemeh Yavari ◽  
Carmelo M. Vicario ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Brain Stimulation ◽  
Cortical Excitability ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Ventromedial Prefrontal Cortex ◽  
Temporoparietal Junction ◽  
Non Invasive ◽  
Children With Asd

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute subjective mental states to oneself and others and is significantly impaired in Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD). A frontal-posterior network of regions including the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) and temporoparietal junction (TPJ) is involved in ToM. Previous studies show an underactivation of these regions in ASD. Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) is a non-invasive brain stimulation method for causally investigating brain-behavior relationships via induction of cortical excitability alterations. tDCS, mostly over the ventromedial prefrontal cortex, has been increasingly applied for improving behavioral problems in ASD. Here we investigated the contribution of the vmPFC and right TPJ in ToM abilities of ASD children via tDCS in a pilot study. Sixteen children with ASD (mean age = 10.7±1.9) underwent three tDCS sessions (1 mA, 20 min) in a randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled design. Stimulation protocols included: i) anodal vmPFC tDCS, ii) anodal r-TPJ tDCS, and iii) sham tDCS. ToM abilities were explored during tDCS using the Theory of Mind Test (TOMT). Our results show that activation of the vmPFC with anodal tDCS significantly improved ToM in children with ASD compared to both, r-TPJ tDCS and sham stimulation. Specifically, precursors of ToM (e.g. emotion recognition, perception and imitation) and elementary ToM skills (e.g. first-order mental state reasoning) were significantly improved by anodal vmPFC tDCS. Based on these results, the vmPFC is a potential target region for the reduction of ASD symptoms via non-invasive brain stimulation, which should be examined in larger detail in future studies

scholarly journals What’s the Link Between Theory of Mind and Other Cognitive Abilities – A Co-twin Control Design of Neurodevelopmental Disorders

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johan Isaksson ◽  
Janina Neufeld ◽  
Sven Bölte
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Cognitive Functions ◽  
Neurodevelopmental Disorders ◽  
Control Design ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Central Coherence ◽  
Shared Environment ◽  
Core Element ◽  
Familial Factors

Theory of mind (ToM), or the ability to attribute mental states to oneself and others, is a core element of social cognition (SC). Even though its importance for social functioning in general, and neurodevelopmental disorders (NDDs), in particular, is well established, the links between ToM and other cognitive functions are not. Especially the familial underpinnings of such links remain unclear. Using a co-twin control design, we examined N = 311 twins (mean age M = 17.19 years, 47% females) diagnosed with autism spectrum disorder (ASD), attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), other NDDs, or typically developing individuals. We used the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test to operationalize ToM, the Fragmented Pictures Test for central coherence (CC), the Tower Test for executive functioning (EF), and the general ability index in the Wechsler Intelligence Scales for IQ. In the linear regressions, weak CC and a lower IQ were associated with a reduced ToM ability across pairs. Female sex and higher age were robustly associated with increased ToM ability, whereas EF was not associated with ToM. In the within-pair analyses, where unmeasured familial confounders are implicitly adjusted, the associations between ToM and other cognitive functions, were attenuated and the association with CC was non-significant. The result suggests that familial factors shared by the twins, such as genetic and shared environment, influence the association between CC, IQ, and ToM. Future studies need to include a larger sample of monozygotic twins, who are genetically identical, in order to draw more firm conclusions regarding the influence of familial factors, and to differentiate between shared environmental and genetic effects on the associations between cognitive functions.

scholarly journals Development of Predictive Responses in Theory of Mind Brain Regions

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hilary Richardson ◽  
Rebecca Saxe
Keyword(s):  
Theory Of Mind ◽  
Peer Review ◽  
Recent Work ◽  
Mental State ◽  
Mental States ◽  
Brain Regions ◽  
Control Network ◽  
Functional Responses ◽  
Pain Matrix ◽  
Anticipation Effect

When we watch movies, we consider the characters’ mental states in order to understand and predict the narrative. Recent work in fMRI uses movie-viewing paradigms to measure functional responses in brain regions recruited for such mental state reasoning (the Theory of Mind (“ToM”) network). Here, two groups of young children (n=30 3-4yo, n=26 6-7yo) viewed a short animated movie twice while undergoing fMRI. As children get older, ToM brain regions were recruited earlier in time during the second presentation of the movie. This “narrative anticipation” effect is specific: there was no such effect in a control network of brain regions that responds just as robustly to the movie (the “Pain Matrix”). These results complement prior studies in adults that suggest that ToM brain regions play a role not just in inferring, but in actively predicting, other people's thoughts and feelings, and provide novel evidence that as children get older, their ToM brain regions increasingly make such predictions. This is a post-peer-review, pre-copyedit version of an article published in Developmental Science. The final authenticated version is available online at: https://doi.org/10.1111/desc.12863 .

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