Affective Neuroscience and Theory of Mind: An Analysis on Neural Connections

Abstract

Theory of mind is a neurobiological capability that is concerned with the social cognition of living organisms and studied widely in cognitive neuroscience. Affective neuroscience is a comprehensive neuroscientific theory that examines the affective systems of living things from a neurobiological perspective. Affective neuroscience posits that there are 7 different affective systems in the mammalian brain and these systems are activated by subcortical structures. The aim of this article is to try to explain the theory of mind ability described in cognitive neuroscience with affective neuroscience's affective systems and to propose a region for the neuroanatomical structure of the SELF system that encompasses the theory of mind ability. The paper connects the 3 positive affective systems of affective neuroscience, namely SEEKING, PLAY and CARE, through the relationship between theory of mind and empathy. The main conclusion of the study is that theory of mind, which has deep neural connections within the neocortical structures, may be based on subcortical structures. This connection was established through neural circuits extending from the ventral tegmental area to the medial prefrontal cortex for the SEEKING system. However for the PLAY and CARE systems, this connection was established through the anterior medial cingulate cortex and anterior insula for affective empathy; and through the dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, temporopatietal junction and superior temporal sulcus for cognitive empathy. We also argue that the theory of mind and SELF pathway may be encompassed in the pathways of the SEEKING, PLAY and CARE system, starting from the VTA and extending to mesolimbic and mesocortical regions..