title: Imagine all the people: how the brain creates and uses personality models to predict behavior.
abstract: The behaviors of other people are often central to envisioning the future. The ability to accurately predict the thoughts and actions of others is essential for successful social interactions, with far-reaching consequences. Despite its importance, little is known about how the brain represents people in order to predict behavior. In this functional magnetic resonance imaging study, participants learned the unique personality of 4 protagonists and imagined how each would behave in different scenarios. The protagonists' personalities were composed of 2 traits: Agreeableness and Extraversion. Which protagonist was being imagined was accurately inferred based solely on activity patterns in the medial prefrontal cortex using multivariate pattern classification, providing novel evidence that brain activity can reveal whom someone is thinking about. Lateral temporal and posterior cingulate cortex discriminated between different degrees of agreeableness and extraversion, respectively. Functional connectivity analysis confirmed that regions associated with trait-processing and individual identities were functionally coupled. Activity during the imagination task, and revealed by functional connectivity, was consistent with the default network. Our results suggest that distinct regions code for personality traits, and that the brain combines these traits to represent individuals. The brain then uses this "personality model" to predict the behavior of others in novel situations.
authors: Gatsby Computational Neuroscience Unit, University College London, London WC1N 3AR, UK.
authors: Demis
authors: D
authors: Hassabis
authors: Laboratory of Brain and Cognition, Department of Human Development, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY 14853, USA.
authors: R Nathan
authors: RN
authors: Spreng
authors: Department of Computer Science, Vrije Universiteit, Amsterdam, The Netherlands.
authors: Andrei A
authors: AA
authors: Rusu
authors: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA and.
authors: Clifford A
authors: CA
authors: Robbins
authors: Department of Psychology, York University, Toronto, ON, Canada M3J1P3.
authors: Raymond A
authors: RA
authors: Mar
authors: Department of Psychology, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA 02138, USA and.
authors: Daniel L
authors: DL
authors: Schacter
mesh_terms: D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology*; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D010551:Personality; D012938:Social Perception; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: MVPA; default mode network; fMRI; personality traits; simulation; social neuroscience