Title | Distinct Regions of Right Temporo-Parietal Junction Are Selective for Theory of Mind and Exogenous Attention |
Publication Type | Journal Article |
Year of Publication | 2009 |
Authors | Scholz, J., Triantafyllou C., Whitfield-Gabrieli S., Brown E. N., & Saxe R. |
Secondary Authors | Lauwereyns, J. |
Journal | PLoS ONE |
Volume | 4 |
Issue | 3 |
Pagination | e4869 |
Date Published | 03/2009 |
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. |
URL | http://dx.plos.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0004869 |
DOI | 10.1371/journal.pone.000486910.1371 |
Short Title | PLoS ONE |