Are women better mindreaders? Sex differences in neural correlates of mentalizing detected with functional MRI.
BACKGROUND
The ability to mentalize, i.e. develop a Theory of Mind (ToM), enables us to anticipate and build a model of the thoughts, emotions and intentions of others. It has long been hypothesised that women differ from men in their mentalizing abilities. In the present fMRI study we examined the impact of (1) gender (women vs. men) and (2) game partner (human vs. computer) on ToM associated neural activity in the medial prefrontal cortex. Groups of men (n = 12) and women (n = 12) interacted in an iterated classical prisoner's dilemma forced choice situation with alleged human and computer partners who were outside the scanner.


RESULTS
Both the conditions of playing against putative human as well as computer partners led to activity increases in mPFC, ACC and rTPJ, constituting the classic ToM network. However, mPFC/ACC activity was more pronounced when participants believed they were playing against the alleged human partner. Differences in the medial frontal lobe activation related to the sex of the participants could be demonstrated for the human partner > computer partner contrast.


CONCLUSIONS
Our data demonstrate differences in medial prefrontal brain activation during a ToM task depending on both the gender of participants and the game partner.
Krach
Sören
S
Department of Psychiatry und Psychotherapy, Section of Neuroimaging, Philipps-University Marburg, Rudolf-Bultmann-Strasse 8, D-35039 Marburg, Germany. krachs@med.uni-marburg.de
Blümel
Isabelle
I
Marjoram
Dominic
D
Lataster
Tineke
T
Krabbendam
Lydia
L
Weber
Jochen
J
van Os
Jim
J
Kircher
Tilo
T
D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012727:Sex Characteristics; D012938:Social Perception; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014584:User-Computer Interface; D055815:Young Adult