The neural basis of social tactics: An fMRI study.

Full Abstract

One of the most powerful ways of succeeding in complex social interactions is to read the minds of companions and stay a step ahead of them. In order to assess neural responses to reciprocal mind reading in socially strained human relationships, we used a 3-T scanner to perform an event-related functional magnetic resonance imaging study in 16 healthy subjects who participated in the game of Chicken. Statistical parametric mapping showed that the counterpart effect (human minus computer) exclusively activated the medial frontal area corresponding to the anterior paracingulate cortex (PCC) and the supramarginal gyrus neighboring the posterior superior temporal sulcus (STS). Furthermore, when we analyzed the data to evaluate whether the subjects made risky/aggressive or safe/reconciliatory choices, the posterior STS showed that the counterpart had a reliable effect regardless of risky or safe decisions. In contrast, a significant opponent x selection interaction was revealed in the anterior PCC. Based on our findings, it could be inferred that the posterior STS and the anterior PCC play differential roles in mentalizing; the former serves as a general mechanism for mentalizing, while the latter is exclusively involved in socially risky decisions.

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Author information

Author/s: Fukui, Hiroki (H); Murai, Toshiya (T); Shinozaki, Jun (J); Aso, Toshihiko (T); Fukuyama, Hidenao (H); Hayashi, Takuji (T); Hanakawa, Takashi (T);

Affiliation: Department of Neuropsychiatry, Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine, Shogoin-Kawaharacho 54, Kyoto 606, Japan. xhirokix(-atsign-)kuhp.kyoto-u.ac.jp

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

Journal: NeuroImage (Neuroimage), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2006-Aug; vol 32 (issue 2) : pp 913-20

Dates: Created 2006/08/07; Completed 2006/10/18; Revised 2006/11/15;

PMID: 16682235, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 12/26/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Adult
Aggression - physiology
Attention - physiology
Cerebral Cortex - physiology
Decision Making
Frontal Lobe - physiology
Game Theory
Humans
Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
Imaging, Three-Dimensional

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