Using Functional MRI Multivariate Pattern Analysis to Decode the Neural Basis of Mental State Ascription, 2018-2021

Functional MRI data are available for 34 participants. All subjects were scanned during a theory of mind localiser task and a novel theory of mind task. Anonymised T1 scans are also available alongside the stimuli and Matlab script for running the experiment. Previous work has shown bilateral temporal-parietal junction (TPJ) and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) to be involved in both memory and theory of mind (mindreading) tasks. It remains unclear whether, during mindreading, these regions represent information relevant specifically to the content of what other people are thinking, above and beyond general memory demands. We hypothesised that when a participant uses their “mindreading” abilities to represent someone else’s mental states – e.g., “The target thinks there’s an X in the box” – their brain will represent the content “X” in a way that is distinct from when they only use memory to recall “X”. Distinct representation for mindreading could be quantitative (“more of the same”) or qualitative (different in kind) from representation for memory. The aim of the study was to distinguish between these possibilities with specific emphasis on the right TPJ, mPFC using multi-voxel pattern classification. Full details of the paradigm and analysis can be found in the pre-registration linked below.