Differential role of the orbital frontal lobe in emotional versus cognitive perspective-taking.
Lesions of the orbital frontal lobe, particularly its medial sectors, are known to cause deficits in empathic ability, whereas the role of this region in theory of mind processing is the subject of some controversy. In a functional magnetic resonance imaging study with healthy participants, emotional perspective-taking was contrasted with cognitive perspective-taking in order to examine the role of the orbital frontal lobe in subcomponents of theory of mind processing. Subjects responded to a series of scenarios presented visually in three conditions: emotional perspective-taking, cognitive perspective-taking and a control condition that required inferential reasoning, but not perspective-taking. Group results demonstrated that the medial orbitofrontal lobe, defined as Brodmann's areas 11 and 25, was preferentially involved in emotional as compared to cognitive perspective-taking. This finding is both consistent with the lesion literature, and resolves the inconsistency of orbital frontal findings in the theory of mind literature.
Hynes
Catherine A
CA
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Dartmouth College, 6162 Moore Hall, Hanover, NH 03755, USA. Catherine_hynes@yahoo.com
Baird
Abigail A
AA
Grafton
Scott T
ST
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001931:Brain Mapping; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003210:Concept Formation / Q000502:physiology; D004292:Dominance, Cerebral / Q000502:physiology; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology*; D004645:Empathy; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D007089:Image Enhancement; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D010101:Oxygen Consumption / Q000502:physiology; D018187:Personal Construct Theory; D011932:Reading; D012938:Social Perception