Spatio-temporal Brain Dynamics of Understanding Social Versus Private Intentions: An Electrical Neuroimaging Study

Abstract

Although a growing body of research provides critical information about the spatio-temporal dynamic of the brain network mediating the understanding of causality between an action and its outcome at the individual level, little remains known about this cognitive process when the action outcome has a social connotation. To address this question, we recorded electrical brain activity from 16 healthy adults while they performed an intention understanding task including actions with three different types of causality; 1) private intentions by two agents acting independently from one another; 2) communicative intentions by two agents acting in an interactive way with one another; 3) physical causality among objects. Electrophysiological results showed differential electrical activity for private compared to communicative intentions within 400 ms post-stimulus. Brain source localization of the difference waves between communicative and private actions showed a generator located in the vicinity of middle cingulate cortex, which reinforces the role of this brain area in predicting social intentions.

The neural and cognitive time course of intention reasoning: Electrophysiological evidence from ERPs

“…Consistent with Wang et al’s (2012) ERP study on intention processing, the present results found that the neural activity associated with intention reasoning had a long duration in centro-parietal regions. The divergence of waveforms started from around 700 ms and lasted later than 1,100 ms, which was longer than the time duration reported by previous ERP studies about desire and belief (Bowman et al, 2012; Geangu et al, 2013; Jiang, Li, et al, 2016; Jiang, Wang, et al, 2016; Liu et al, 2004; Liu, Meltzoff, & Wellman, 2009; Liu, Sabbagh et al, 2009; Meinhardt et al, 2011; Sabbagh & Taylor, 2000; Zhang et al, 2013).…”

“…Results indicated that differential electrical activities were elicited by private intentions compared with communicative intentions during the period between 400 and 600 ms post-stimulus. The mean amplitudes of the late positive component (LPC) for communicative intentions were significantly larger than those for private intentions (Wang et al, 2012). Furthermore, social intentions, both kind and hostile, elicited more positive LPC amplitudes than those for the non-interactive condition in the 700–800 ms post-stimulus period (Wang et al, 2014).…”

“…The authors argued that the N400 component might be relevant to the attribution of hostile intention. Moreover, Wang and his colleagues (2012, 2014) conducted a series of studies in which participants performed an intention-understanding task, including actions with private intentions or communicative intentions. Results indicated that differential electrical activities were elicited by private intentions compared with communicative intentions during the period between 400 and 600 ms post-stimulus.…”

“…Based on the preceding review (Carrión et al, 2010; Gagnon et al, 2016; Wang et al, 2012, 2014), we expect that the ERP components associated with the intention reasoning might appear in the later time window after 400 ms onset of stimulus. In addition, with respect to decoupling effects observed in previous ERP studies on ToM reasoning for different agents (Jiang, Li, et al, 2016; Jiang, Wang, et al, 2016), we expect that the ERP waveforms will be differentiated between intention reasoning for self and for others.…”