title: Inhibiting the posterior medial prefrontal cortex by rTMS decreases the discrepancy between self and other in Theory of Mind reasoning.
abstract: Switching between one's own and another person's perspective is a cognitive component of Theory of Mind (ToM) reasoning that is essential for successful social interaction. Computing another's divergent belief independently from one's own perspective poses a particular challenge. Neuroimaging has demonstrated the involvement of the posterior medial prefrontal cortex (pMPFC) in establishing this perspective difference. Here, we transiently interfered with pMPFC activity by repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) in a sample of young healthy adults. Reaction times of belief judgments in an adapted false belief task were measured after 1Hz rTMS applied via a double-cone coil. This procedure decreased the discrepancy in reaction times between judging another's and one's own belief, irrespective of whether they were incongruent or congruent. The current results suggest that pMPFC inhibition impaired the ability to distinguish the other's from one's own perspective and support the pMPFC's causal role in establishing perspective differences, an essential component of ToM reasoning.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany; Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Germany. Electronic address: tobias.schuwerk@psy.lmu.de.
authors.forename: Tobias
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Schuwerk
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Martin
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schecklmann
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Berthold
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Langguth
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Katrin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Döhnel
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-University, Munich, Germany.
authors.forename: Beate
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Sodian
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Germany.
authors.forename: Monika
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sommer
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007266:Inhibition, Psychological; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D007600:Judgment; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time / Q000502:physiology; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D013850:Thinking / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000379:methods*; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Dorsal anterior cingulate cortex; Double-cone coil; False belief task; Posterior medial prefrontal cortex; Repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation; Theory of Mind reasoning