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. 2024 Dec 23;19(1):nsae095.
doi: 10.1093/scan/nsae095.

Unveiling the neural dynamics of the theory of mind: a fMRI study on belief processing phases

Karolina Golec-Staśkiewicz  1 , Jakub Wojciechowski  2   3 , Maciej Haman  1 , Tomasz Wolak  2 , Joanna Wysocka  1 , Agnieszka Pluta  1   2
Affiliations

Unveiling the neural dynamics of the theory of mind: a fMRI study on belief processing phases

Karolina Golec-Staśkiewicz et al. Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. .

Erratum in

Abstract

Theory of mind (ToM), the ability to interpret others' behaviors in terms of mental states, has been extensively studied through the False-Belief Task (FBT). However, limited research exists regarding the distinction between different phases of FBT, suggesting that they are subserved by separate neural mechanisms. Further inquiry into this matter seems crucial for deepening our knowledge of the neurocognitive basis of mental-state processing. Therefore, we employed functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI) to examine neural responses and functional connectivity within the core network for ToM across phases of the FBT, which was administered to 61 healthy adults during scanning. The region-of-interest analysis revealed heightened responses of the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) during and increased activation of medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) during the outcome phase. Negative connectivity between these regions was observed during belief-formation. Unlike the TPJ, mPFC responded similarly to conditions that require belief reasoning and to control conditions that do not entail tracking mental states. Our results indicate a functional dissociation within the core network for ToM. While the TPJ is possibly engaged in coding beliefs, the mPFC shows no such specificity. These findings advance our understanding of the unique roles of the TPJ and mPFC in mental-state processing.

Keywords: TPJ; fMRI; mPFC; social brain; social cognition; theory of mind.

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Conflict of interest statement

None declared.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
The structure of trials in three conditions—false-belief (FB), true-belief (TB), and no-belief (NB)—is shown, with the belief-formation phase marked in orange and the outcome phase marked in blue.
Figure 2.
Figure 2.
The localization of ROIs is shown as (L—left, R—right).
Figure 3.
Figure 3.
ROI analysis revealed an interaction between the phase (belief-formation, outcome) and condition [false-belief (FB), true-belief (TB), no-belief (NB)] of the FBT, with significant effects shown in the upper row and indicated by a black frame, where the belief-formation phase is marked in orange and the outcome phase in blue.
Figure 4.
Figure 4.
Simple effects of FBT phases on task-modulated functional connectivity between ROIs across FBT conditions [false-belief (FB), true-belief (TB), no-belief (NB)] are shown, with negative changes in connectivity depicted in blue and positive changes in red (though no positive changes were observed).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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