Analysis of Brain Activity Using fMRI Data for Affective Evaluation of the Self and Others

• Published in: Neuroscience and behavioral physiology Vol. 50; no. 7; pp. 868 - 873
• Main Authors: Knyazev, G. G., Bocharov, A. V., Savostyanov, A. N., Levin, E. A., Rudych, P. D.
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: New York Springer US 01-09-2020; Springer Nature B.V
• Subjects: Behavior; Behavioral Sciences; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Biomedicine; Brain mapping; Brain research; Functional magnetic resonance imaging; Medical research; Neurobiology; Neurosciences; Parietal lobe; Perceptions; Physiology; Social environment; fMRI; the social brain; temporoparietal junction area
• ISSN: 0097-0549; 1573-899X
• DOI: 10.1007/s11055-020-00979-y

The aim of the present work was to study brain activity using fMRI data during assessment of the self and other people. Subjects were presented with adjectives describing positive, neutral, or negative characteristics and were asked to assess the extent to which these characteristics applied to the subject him- or herself, or to a friend, a stranger, or an unpleasant person. The main effect of the Object of assessment factor was apparent in the right upper parietal lobe, which is part of the default network of the brain and overlaps with the temporoparietal junction area. Activation in this area was maximal on self-evaluation. The main effect of the Type of adjective factor was also seen in structures in the posterior center of the default network. As these areas are involved in constructing perspectives from the point of view of other people, it can be suggested that the “I” is perceived in continuous relation to the social environment and is assessed in terms of the presumed views of other people.