Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character Appearance in Ourselves and Others
Functional neuroimaging has identified a neural system comprised of posterior cingulate (pCC) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortices that appears to mediate self-referential thought. It is unclear whether the two components of this system mediate similar or different psychological processes, and how...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | en_US |
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MIT Press
2010
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60333 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1158-5692 |
| _version_ | 1811097082703904768 |
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| author | Moran, Joseph M. Lee, Su Mei Gabrieli, John D. E. |
| author2 | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences |
| author_facet | Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Moran, Joseph M. Lee, Su Mei Gabrieli, John D. E. |
| author_sort | Moran, Joseph M. |
| collection | MIT |
| description | Functional neuroimaging has identified a neural system comprised of posterior cingulate (pCC) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortices that appears to mediate self-referential thought. It is unclear whether the two components of this system mediate similar or different psychological processes, and how specific this system is for self relative to others. In an fMRI study, we compared brain responses for evaluation of character (e.g., honest) versus appearance (e.g., svelte) for oneself, one's mother (a close other), and President Bush (a distant other). There was a double dissociation between dorsal mPFC, which was more engaged for character than appearance judgments, and pCC, which was more engaged for appearance than character judgments. A ventral region of mPFC was engaged for judgments involving one's own character and appearance, and one's mother's character, but not her appearance. A follow-up behavioral study indicated that participants rate their own character and appearance, and their mother's character, but not her appearance, as important in their self-concept. This suggests that ventral mPFC activation reflects its role in processing information relevant to the self, but not limited to the self. Thus, specific neural systems mediate specific aspects of thinking about character and appearance in oneself and in others. |
| first_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:54:03Z |
| format | Article |
| id | mit-1721.1/60333 |
| institution | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| language | en_US |
| last_indexed | 2024-09-23T16:54:03Z |
| publishDate | 2010 |
| publisher | MIT Press |
| record_format | dspace |
| spelling | mit-1721.1/603332022-09-29T22:17:39Z Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character Appearance in Ourselves and Others Moran, Joseph M. Lee, Su Mei Gabrieli, John D. E. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences Gabrieli, John D. E. Gabrieli, John D. E. Moran, Joseph M. Lee, Su Mei Functional neuroimaging has identified a neural system comprised of posterior cingulate (pCC) and medial prefrontal (mPFC) cortices that appears to mediate self-referential thought. It is unclear whether the two components of this system mediate similar or different psychological processes, and how specific this system is for self relative to others. In an fMRI study, we compared brain responses for evaluation of character (e.g., honest) versus appearance (e.g., svelte) for oneself, one's mother (a close other), and President Bush (a distant other). There was a double dissociation between dorsal mPFC, which was more engaged for character than appearance judgments, and pCC, which was more engaged for appearance than character judgments. A ventral region of mPFC was engaged for judgments involving one's own character and appearance, and one's mother's character, but not her appearance. A follow-up behavioral study indicated that participants rate their own character and appearance, and their mother's character, but not her appearance, as important in their self-concept. This suggests that ventral mPFC activation reflects its role in processing information relevant to the self, but not limited to the self. Thus, specific neural systems mediate specific aspects of thinking about character and appearance in oneself and in others. Simons Foundation 2010-12-21T15:42:48Z 2010-12-21T15:42:48Z 2010-10 Article http://purl.org/eprint/type/JournalArticle 0898-929X 1530-8898 http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60333 Moran, Joseph M., Su Mei Lee, and John D. E. Gabrieli. “Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character and Appearance in Ourselves and Others.” Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience (2010): 1-9. © 2010 Massachusetts Institute of Technology. https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1158-5692 en_US http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/jocn.2010.21580 Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience Article is made available in accordance with the publisher's policy and may be subject to US copyright law. Please refer to the publisher's site for terms of use. application/pdf MIT Press MIT Press |
| spellingShingle | Moran, Joseph M. Lee, Su Mei Gabrieli, John D. E. Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character Appearance in Ourselves and Others |
| title | Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character Appearance in Ourselves and Others |
| title_full | Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character Appearance in Ourselves and Others |
| title_fullStr | Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character Appearance in Ourselves and Others |
| title_full_unstemmed | Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character Appearance in Ourselves and Others |
| title_short | Dissociable Neural Systems Supporting Knowledge about Human Character Appearance in Ourselves and Others |
| title_sort | dissociable neural systems supporting knowledge about human character appearance in ourselves and others |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/1721.1/60333 https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1158-5692 |
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