Defining the neural correlates of spontaneous theory of mind (ToM): An fMRI multi-study investigation

Abstract

There is a major debate in the theory of mind (ToM) field, concerning whether spontaneous and explicit ToM are based on the same or two distinct cognitive systems. While extensive research on the neural correlates of explicit ToM has demonstrated involvement of the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC), few studies investigated spontaneous ToM, leaving some open questions. Here, we implemented a multi-study approach by pooling data from three fMRI studies to obtain a larger sample to increase power and sensitivity to better define the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying spontaneous ToM. Participants watched videos in which an agent acquires a true or false belief about the location of a ball. Thus, the belief of the agent and that of the participant could either match or differ. Importantly, participants were never asked to consider the belief of the agent and were only instructed to press a button when they detected the presence of the ball after an occluder fell at the end of each video. By analysing the blood-oxygen level dependent signal during the belief formation phase for false versus true beliefs, we found a cluster of activation in the right, and to a lesser extent, left posterior parietal cortex spanning the TPJ, but no mPFC activation. Region of interest (ROI) analysis on bilateral TPJ and mPFC confirmed these results and added evidence to the asymmetry in laterality of the TPJ in spontaneous ToM. Interestingly, the whole brain analysis, supported by an overlap with brain maps, revealed maximum activation in areas involved in visuospatial working memory and attention switching functions, such as the supramarginal gyrus, the middle temporal gyrus, and the inferior frontal gyrus. By contrast, evidence for the presence of brain-behaviour correlations was mixed and there was no evidence for functional connectivity between the TPJ and mPFC. Taken together, these findings help clarifying the brain system supporting spontaneous ToM.