The roles of the LpSTS and DLPFC in self‐prioritization: A transcranial magnetic stimulation study

Abstract

The Self-Attention Network (SAN) has been proposed to describe the underlying neural mechanism of the self-prioritization effect, yet the roles of the key nodes in the SAN-the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (LpSTS) and the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC)-still need to be clarified. One hundred and nine participants were randomly assigned into the LpSTS group, the DLPFC group, or the sham group. We used the transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) technique to selectively disrupt the functions of the corresponding targeted region, and observed its impacts on self-prioritization effect based on the difference between the performance of the self-matching task before and after the targeted stimulation. We analyzed both model-free performance measures and HDDM-based performance measures for the self-matching task. The results showed that the inhibition of LpSTS could lead to reduced performance in processing self-related stimuli, which establishes a causal role for the LpSTS in self-related processing and provide direct evidence to support the SAN framework. However, the results of the DLPFC group from HDDM analysis were distinct from the results based on response efficiency. Our investigation further the understanding of the differentiated roles of key nodes in the SAN in supporting the self-salience in information processing.

Decoding individual differences in self-prioritization from the resting-state functional connectome

“…A closer look at the consensus predictive network revealed that the FCs of several nodes within the DMN, SN, and DAN over the frontal and temporal lobes, such as the SFG, IFG, and STG, contributed signi cantly to the model. The involvement of these regions in self-related cognition has been repeatedly reported 6, 30,31 , and our results con rmed their roles in self-processing. In addition to these high-level cortices, the current ndings highlight the role of several subcortical structures, especially the FCs between the thalamus, insula, and amygdala.…”

“…The contributing FCs were further identi ed through analyses of model coe cients and computational lesions. Based on previous theoretical and empirical studies 1,8,28,29,30,31 , we hypothesized that the medial prefrontal cortex, posterior superior temporal sulcus, and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex would signi cantly contribute to the performance of the model. The roles of other regions were also examined using our data-driven approach.…”

Self‐prioritization is supported by interactions between large‐scale brain networks

“…A large body of task‐based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) research has been devoted to studying the neural basis of the SPE, mainly focusing on brain regions. For example, it was suggested that the causal coupling between the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC) and the left posterior superior temporal sulcus (LpSTS) facilitates information flow between regions sensitive to self‐relevant features (Liang et al, 2021; Sui et al, 2013; Yin et al, 2021). There is also evidence that besides the MPFC and adjacent areas, processing of self‐relevant information is associated with activity in lateral posterior areas, such as the inferior parietal lobule (IPL) (van der Meer et al, 2010), posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), bilateral angular gyrus (Yaoi et al, 2015) and anterior insular cortex (ACC) (Molnar‐Szakacs & Uddin, 2013; Perini et al, 2018).…”