The neural basis of metacognitive ability

Fleming, Stephen M.; Dolan, Raymond J.

doi:10.1098/rstb.2011.0417

Cited by 566 publications

(419 citation statements)

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“…The anterior insula and cingulate are engaged in performance and error monitoring processes, and provide inputs for the monitoring and control of cognitive processing by frontal and parietal regions (13,29). This account is consistent with the anatomy of the anterior insula: It is highly interconnected to multiple brain regions and has a high concentration of von Economo neurons, which may enable fast communication among regions (30).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

“…In adults, individual differences in metacognitive monitoring have been associated with structural differences in the anterior prefrontal cortex (APFC) (8, 9), ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) (10), dorsal anterior cingulate cortex (dACC) (11), or anterior insula (12), among other areas. Although the exact role of these areas is unclear, one recent proposal (13) is that prefrontal regions interact with interoceptive cortices, including insular and cingulate cortex, in support of metacognition. By this account, the insula and dACC provide inputs about ongoing cognitive performance (e.g., error signals, uncertainty signals) that are integrated with current goals and beliefs in the prefrontal cortex (PFC), resulting in introspective reports and subsequent decisions.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Changes in ventromedial prefrontal and insular cortex support the development of metamemory from childhood into adolescence

Fandakova

Selmeczy

Leckey

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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Metamemory monitoring, or the ability to introspect on the accuracy of one's memories, improves considerably during childhood, but the underlying neural changes and implications for intellectual development are largely unknown. The present study examined whether cortical changes in key brain areas hypothesized to support metacognition contribute to the development of metamemory monitoring from late childhood into early adolescence. Metamemory monitoring was assessed among 7-to 12-y-old children (n = 145) and adults (n = 31). Children returned for up to two additional assessments at 8 to 14 y of age (n = 120) and at 9 to 15 y of age (n = 107) (n = 347 longitudinal scans). Results showed that metamemory monitoring continues to improve from childhood into adolescence. More pronounced cortical thinning in the anterior insula and a greater increase in the thickness of the ventromedial prefrontal cortex over the three assessment points predicted these improvements. Thus, performance benefits are linked to the unique patterns of regional cortical change during development. Metamemory monitoring at the first time point predicted intelligence at the third time point and vice versa, suggesting parallel development of these abilities and their reciprocal influence. Together, these results provide insights into the neuroanatomical correlates supporting the development of the capacity to self-reflect, and highlight the role of this capacity for general intellectual development.episodic memory | metacognition | confidence | cortical thickness | intelligence T he ability to introspect on memory accuracy, or metamemory monitoring (1), is essential for guiding learning and decision making (2). If a student does not feel confident about the material for an upcoming examination, she may decide to revisit the material; similarly, an eyewitness may refrain from volunteering potentially incriminating information if he recognizes that his memory is uncertain.Cross-sectional studies have demonstrated improvements in metamemory monitoring during the elementary school years, with older children's confidence judgments showing greater discrimination between accurate and inaccurate memories than younger children's (3-6). However, it remains an open question as to whether this development extends into adolescence when affective processes might alter or influence behavioral regulation (7). The structural brain changes that support metamemory development are also largely uncharted. This limitation is significant in the literature because understanding how metamemory develops into adolescence and how it is related to brain development can help elucidate factors that foster or limit learning and decision making at a time when children become increasingly independent learners and problem solvers.Research in adults can help formulate predictions about the brain regions that support the development of metamemory monitoring. In adults, individual differences in metacognitive monitoring have been associated with structural differences in the anterior...

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 59%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Changes in ventromedial prefrontal and insular cortex support the development of metamemory from childhood into adolescence

Fandakova

Selmeczy

Leckey

et al. 2017

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

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“…Arguably, the applied task may not have tapped into the full content of the Presence Module, which also encompassed interoception and metacognitive awareness (44). Monitoring and metaawareness-related processing could be in line with thickening in the medial PFC, a region suggested by cross-sectional studies to participate in these functions (66)(67)(68).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 70%

Structural plasticity of the social brain: Differential change after socio-affective and cognitive mental training

Valk¹,

Bernhardt²,

Trautwein³

et al. 2017

Preprint

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Although neuroscientific research has revealed experience-dependent brain changes across the life span in sensory, motor, and cognitive domains, plasticity relating to social capacities remains largely unknown. To investigate whether the targeted mental training of different cognitive and social skills can induce specific changes in brain morphology, we collected longitudinal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data throughout a 9-month mental training intervention from a large sample of adults between 20 and 55 years of age. By means of various daily mental exercises and weekly instructed group sessions, training protocols specifically addressed three functional domains: (i) mindfulness-based attention and interoception, (ii) socio-affective skills (compassion, dealing with difficult emotions, and prosocial motivation), and (iii) socio-cognitive skills (cognitive perspective-taking on self and others and metacognition). MRIbased cortical thickness analyses, contrasting the different training modules against each other, indicated spatially diverging changes in cortical morphology. Training of present-moment focused attention mostly led to increases in cortical thickness in prefrontal regions, socio-affective training induced plasticity in frontoinsular regions, and sociocognitive training included change in inferior frontal and lateral temporal cortices. Module-specific structural brain changes correlated with training-induced behavioral improvements in the same individuals in domain-specific measures of attention, compassion, and cognitive perspective-taking, respectively, and overlapped with task-relevant functional networks. Our longitudinal findings indicate structural plasticity in well-known socio-affective and socio-cognitive brain networks in healthy adults based on targeted short daily mental practices. These findings could promote the development of evidence-based mental training interventions in clinical, educational, and corporate settings aimed at cultivating social intelligence, prosocial motivation, and cooperation.

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“…Finally, interoceptive awareness has been associated with the ACC, IC, prefrontal cortex (PFC, Brodmann area 10 (BA10) [26,27]) and OFC [28,29]. Although this metacognitive dimension has not been examined in neurological populations, impaired awareness and diminished insight are core features of dementia [30,31].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feeling, learning from and being aware of inner states: interoceptive dimensions in neurodegeneration and stroke

García‐Cordero

Sedeño

Fuente

et al. 2016

Phil. Trans. R. Soc. B

135

259

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The neural basis of metacognitive ability

Cited by 566 publications

References 138 publications

Changes in ventromedial prefrontal and insular cortex support the development of metamemory from childhood into adolescence

Changes in ventromedial prefrontal and insular cortex support the development of metamemory from childhood into adolescence

Structural plasticity of the social brain: Differential change after socio-affective and cognitive mental training

Feeling, learning from and being aware of inner states: interoceptive dimensions in neurodegeneration and stroke

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