Distinct Regions of Right Temporo-Parietal Junction Are Selective for Theory of Mind and Exogenous Attention

Abstract

In functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies, a cortical region in the right temporo-parietal junction (RTPJ) is recruited when participants read stories about people's thoughts (‘Theory of Mind’). Both fMRI and lesion studies suggest that a region near the RTPJ is associated with attentional reorienting in response to an unexpected stimulus. Do Theory of Mind and attentional reorienting recruit a single population of neurons, or are there two neighboring but distinct neural populations in the RTPJ? One recent study compared these activations, and found evidence consistent with a single common region. However, the apparent overlap may have been due to the low resolution of the previous technique. We tested this hypothesis using a high-resolution protocol, within-subjects analyses, and more powerful statistical methods. Strict conjunction analyses revealed that the area of overlap was small and on the periphery of each activation. In addition, a bootstrap analysis identified a reliable 6–10 mm spatial displacement between the peak activations of the two tasks; the same magnitude and direction of displacement was observed in within-subjects comparisons. In all, these results suggest that there are neighboring but distinct regions within the RTPJ implicated in Theory of Mind and orienting attention.

Neural evidence for “intuitive prosecution”: The use of mental state information for negative moral verdicts

“…Second, a recent study, using higher resolution imaging and a bootstrap analysis, found a small but reliable separation between the peaks of functional regions for attention versus theory of mind in higher resolution images (Scholz, Triantafyllou, Whitfield-Gabrieli, Brown, & Saxe, 2009), consistent with evidence from a recent meta-analysis (Decety & Lamm, 2007).…”

Perceived live interaction modulates the developing social brain

“…Although, as in previous adult work ( Rice and Redcay, 2016), the TPJ was sensitive to live vs recorded speech, this study did not employ a mentalizing localizer to assess whether the region of the TPJ recruited was involved selectively in mentalizing tasks. The TPJ has been implicated in domain-general processes beyond mentalizing, including attention (Decety and Lamm, 2007;Mitchell, 2008); however, previous studies have indicated that the region's roles in attention and mentalizing are spatially separable (Scholz et al, 2009;Carter and Huettel, 2013). Thus, we used the meta-analytic database Neurosynth (Yarkoni et al, 2011;www.neurosynth.org) to examine the peak TPJ coordinates from both the Story and Cue Window.…”

Dysregulation between emotion and theory of mind networks in borderline personality disorder

“…The right TPJ, in particular, includes areas that might be recruited exclusively by mentalising (Saxe and Pelphrey, 2009;Scholz et al, 2009). Regions included in the ToM network shown in fMRI studies are the left and right TPJ, precuneus and medial PFC (Scholz et al, 2009). Dolan (2001, 2007) also found affective brain areas, namely the ventromedial prefrontal cortex (VMPFC) and the subcortical nucleus accumbens, along with the aforementioned network (TPJ and STS), to play a role in ToM.…”

“…These latter two areas make up the network described by the cognitive neuroscience term "temporoparietal junction" (TPJ), known collectively to play a crucial role in self-other distinction processes, ToM, and the ability to make moral decisions (Saxe and Kanwisher, 2003). The right TPJ, in particular, includes areas that might be recruited exclusively by mentalising (Saxe and Pelphrey, 2009;Scholz et al, 2009). Regions included in the ToM network shown in fMRI studies are the left and right TPJ, precuneus and medial PFC (Scholz et al, 2009).…”

“…A within-subject comparison of reorienting and ToM paradigms revealed that both paradigms activated very similar temporo-parietal junction regions (Mitchell, 2008) implying that the temporo-parietal junction is also involved in non-social mental processes. Interestingly, another study suggested that there are neighbouring but distinct regions within the right temporo-parietal junction implicated in ToM and orienting attention (Scholz et al, 2009).…”