title: False belief and counterfactual reasoning in a social environment.
abstract: Behavioral studies indicate that theory of mind and counterfactual reasoning are strongly related cognitive processes. In a neuroimaging study, we explored the common and distinct regions underlying these inference processes. We directly compared false belief reasoning (inferring an agent's false belief about an object's location or content) and counterfactual reasoning (inferring what the object's location or content would be if an agent had acted differently), both in contrast with a baseline condition of conditional reasoning (inferring what the true location or content of an object is). Results indicate that these three types of reasoning about social scenarios are supported by activations in the mentalizing network (left temporo-parietal junction and precuneus) and the executive control network (bilateral prefrontal cortex [PFC] and right inferior parietal lobule). In addition, representing a false belief or counterfactual state (both not directly observable in the external world) recruits additional activity in the executive control network (left dorsolateral PFC and parietal lobe). The results further suggest that counterfactual reasoning is a more complex cognitive process than false belief reasoning, showing stronger activation of the dorsomedial, left dorsolateral PFC, cerebellum and left temporal cortex.
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: Nicole.Van.Hoeck@vub.ac.be.
authors.forename: Nicole
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Van Hoeck
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Elizabet
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Begtas
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Johan
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Steen
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Jenny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kestemont
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium.
authors.forename: Marie
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Vandekerckhove
authors.affiliation: Vrije Universiteit Brussel, Pleinlaan 2, B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Electronic address: Frank.VanOverwalle@vub.ac.be.
authors.forename: Frank
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Van Overwalle
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D001931:Brain Mapping; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007091:Image Processing, Computer-Assisted; D007092:Imagination / Q000502:physiology; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D012931:Social Environment; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Counterfactual reasoning; False belief; Theory of mind; fMRI