The role of the right temporoparietal junction in attention and social interaction as revealed by ALE meta-analysis

Abstract

The right temporoparietal junction (rTPJ) is frequently associated with different capacities that to shift attention to unexpected stimuli (reorienting of attention) and to understand others’ (false) mental state [theory of mind (ToM), typically represented by false belief tasks]. Competing hypotheses either suggest the rTPJ representing a unitary region involved in separate cognitive functions or consisting of subregions subserving distinct processes. We conducted activation likelihood estimation (ALE) meta-analyses to test these hypotheses. A conjunction analysis across ALE meta-analyses delineating regions consistently recruited by reorienting of attention and false belief studies revealed the anterior rTPJ, suggesting an overarching role of this specific region. Moreover, the anatomical difference analysis unravelled the posterior rTPJ as higher converging in false belief compared with reorienting of attention tasks. This supports the concept of an exclusive role of the posterior rTPJ in the social domain. These results were complemented by meta-analytic connectivity mapping (MACM) and resting-state functional connectivity (RSFC) analysis to investigate whole-brain connectivity patterns in task-constrained and task-free brain states. This allowed for detailing the functional separation of the anterior and posterior rTPJ. The combination of MACM and RSFC mapping showed that the posterior rTPJ has connectivity patterns with typical ToM regions, whereas the anterior part of rTPJ co-activates with the attentional network. Taken together, our data suggest that rTPJ contains two functionally fractionated subregions: while posterior rTPJ seems exclusively involved in the social domain, anterior rTPJ is involved in both, attention and ToM, conceivably indicating an attentional shifting role of this region.

Individual Differences in Adult Reading Are Associated with Left Temporo-parietal to Dorsal Striatal Functional Connectivity

“…Left TPJ has also been implicated in verbal short-term memory (Ravizza et al 2011). The right TPJ has been more frequently implicated in social processing and aspects of attention, including attention shifts (Shulman et al 2007(Shulman et al , 2009(Shulman et al , 2010Corbetta et al 2008;Mars et al 2012;Bzdok et al 2013;Krall et al 2015). In the present study, although left and right TPJ were submitted to connectivity clustering separately, the identified TPJ clusters and corresponding connectivity patterns were largely bilateral.…”

Information flow between interacting human brains: Identification, validation, and relationship to social expertise

“…Recently, a functional segmentation of rTPJ was suggested, with anterior rTPJ being relevant both for attention shifting and processing of social information, while posterior rTPJ is concerned with theory of mind (31). The full structure would then serve as an integrating core for mentalizing, and judging/planning of social behavior (31)(32)(33). The ICA components observed as coupled during social interaction in our study cover both anterior and posterior rTPJ.…”

Mental imagery of positive and neutral memories: A fMRI study comparing field perspective imagery to observer perspective imagery

“…The right TPJ has been linked to both attention processes and social cognition (Krall et al, 2015). It is believed that the underlying commonality between these seemingly different cognitive processes is attentional shifting, given that right TPJ involvement is often found in attention reorienting tasks and theory of mind related paradigms that require performing a shift in mental state (Krall et al, 2015).…”

“…The right TPJ has been linked to both attention processes and social cognition (Krall et al, 2015). It is believed that the underlying commonality between these seemingly different cognitive processes is attentional shifting, given that right TPJ involvement is often found in attention reorienting tasks and theory of mind related paradigms that require performing a shift in mental state (Krall et al, 2015). One explanation for that observer perspective as compared to field perspective imagery involved greater right TPJ activity, or less decreased activity relative to the visual search control task, is that imagining yourself in a situation from a distance (observer) requires a greater shift of perspective in mental state than imagining a situation through your own eyes (field).…”