Document Type
Article
Publication Date
7-23-2016
Publication Title
Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience
Department
Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences
Abstract
The capacity to accurately infer the thoughts and intentions of other people is critical for effective social interaction, and neural activity in dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) has long been linked with the extent to which people engage in mental state attribution. In this study, we combined functional neuroimaging and experience sampling methodologies to test the predictive value of this neural response for daily social behaviors. We found that individuals who displayed greater activity in dmPFC when viewing social scenes spent more time around other people on a daily basis. These findings suggest a specific role for the neural mechanisms that support the capacity to mentalize in guiding individuals toward situations containing valuable social outcomes.
DOI
10.1093/scan/nsv096
Dartmouth Digital Commons Citation
Powers, Katherine E.; Chavez, Robert S.; and Heatherton, Todd F., "Individual Differences in Response of Dorsomedial Prefrontal Cortex Predict Daily Social Behavior" (2016). Dartmouth Scholarship. 3806.
https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/facoa/3806
