Contributed Talk Sessions | Poster Sessions | All Posters | Search Papers

Contributed Talk Session: Thursday, August 14, 11:00 am – 12:00 pm, Room C1.04
Poster Session C: Friday, August 15, 2:00 – 5:00 pm, de Brug & E‑Hall

Hierarchical systems in the default mode network when reasoning about self and other mental states

Isaac Ray Christian¹, Samuel Nastase¹; ¹Princeton University

Presenter: Isaac Ray Christian

Humans spend time contemplating the minds of others. But this ability is not limited to external agents – we also turn the lens for reading minds inward, reflecting on our own thoughts, emotions, and sense of self. Some processes involved in reasoning about minds may rely on shared mechanisms, while others may be specific to the agent under consideration. Using fMRI and multi-voxel pattern analysis, we found that ventral regions in the DMN selectively decoded mental state inference patterns for self, but not other, whereas a region in posterior cingulate cortex differentiated the target of mental state inference. Using a cross-classification analysis, we also found patterns in the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, ventromedial prefrontal cortex, and right temporoparietal junction were sensitive to mental state reasoning in general, regardless of the target agent. These findings highlight one process reflecting reasoning specific to the agent and another reflecting the reasoning process itself.

Topic Area: Predictive Processing & Cognitive Control

Extended Abstract: Full Text PDF