Abstract
The dorsomedial frontal part of the cerebral cortex is consistently activated when people read the mental states of others, such as their beliefs, desires, and intentions, the ability known as having a theory of mind (ToM) or mentalizing. This ubiquitous finding has led many researchers to conclude that the dorsomedial frontal cortex (DMFC) constitutes a core component in mentalizing networks. Despite this, it remains unclear why the DMFC becomes active during ToM tasks. We argue that key psychological and behavioral aspects in mentalizing are closely associated with DMFC functions. These include executive inhibition, distinction between self and others, prediction under uncertainty, and perception of intentions, all of which are important for predicting others' intention and behavior. We review the literature supporting this claim, ranging in fields from developmental psychology to human neuroimaging and macaque electrophysiology. Because perceiving intentions in others' actions initiates mentalizing and forms the basis of virtually all types of social interaction, the fundamental issue in social neuroscience is to determine the aspects of physical entities that make an observer perceive that they are intentional beings and to clarify the neurobiological underpinnings of the perception of intentionality in others' actions.
Highlights
The success of human life depends on interactions with other individuals
The foci of dorsomedial frontal cortex (DMFC) activation can range from Brodmann area 6 (BA 6) (Baron-Cohen et al, 1999), which may roughly correspond to the pre-supplementary motor area, to BAs 8 and 9 (Fletcher et al, 1995; Goel et al, 1995; Happe et al, 1996; Gallagher et al, 2000) and further anteriorly to BA 10 (Amodio and Frith, 2006; Gilbert et al, 2006)
Imitation inhibition is socially adaptive. These findings suggest that the DMFC plays a key role in executive inhibition, with more rostral regions being increasingly recruited as the degree of self-control or a social need increases
Summary
The success of human life depends on interactions with other individuals. The social world constantly prompts one to reflect upon both one’s own mental states (e.g., thoughts, intentions, desires, and beliefs) and those of others. Studies using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) have consistently demonstrated that the dorsomedial frontal cortex (DMFC) is a core component in mentalizing networks (Gallagher and Frith, 2003; Amodio and Frith, 2006). In such studies, the foci of DMFC activation can range from Brodmann area 6 (BA 6) (Baron-Cohen et al, 1999), which may roughly correspond to the pre-supplementary motor area (pre-SMA), to BAs 8 and 9 (Fletcher et al, 1995; Goel et al, 1995; Happe et al, 1996; Gallagher et al, 2000) and further anteriorly to BA 10 (Amodio and Frith, 2006; Gilbert et al, 2006).
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