CoChat
Sign Up
Cited by 1,855Action Observation and SynchronizationChild and Animal Learning DevelopmentFace Recognition and Perception

The Neural Basis of Mentalizing

Open access
Frith, Chris D., Frith, Uta·2006·Neuron
DOI 10.1016/j.neuron.2006.05.001
Open this paper in CoChat — free accountOpen PDF

Abstract

Mentalizing refers to our ability to read the mental states of other agents and engages many neural processes. The brain's mirror system allows us to share the emotions of others. Through perspective taking, we can infer what a person currently believes about the world given their point of view. Finally, the human brain has the unique ability to represent the mental states of the self and the other and the relationship between these mental states, making possible the communication of ideas.

Integrity signals

Registry

Crossref · 10.1016/j.neuron.2006.05.001

Cites

33 of 33 references verified0 citation errors · 0 not checkable

Statistics

Recomputing p-values needs the paper’s full text.

Claims the paper makes

We couldn’t retrieve this paper’s full text, so its claims and self-check weren’t run. The registry and citation checks still apply.

Claims other papers make about this one

Each is checked against this paper’s own text: does it say what the citing paper says it does?

  • Good ToM performance is predicted with high Φ according to IIT, reflecting strong integration across mPFC, TPJ, STS, and PCC, enabling complex mental state attribution.

    “Good ToM performance is predicted with high Φ according to IIT, reflecting strong integration across mPFC, TPJ, STS, and PCC, enabling complex mental state attribution, i.e.,”

    From Can "consciousness" be observed from large language model (LLM) internal states? Dissecting LLM representations obtained from Theory of Mind test with Integrated Information Theory and Span Representation analysis (2025) · cites this paper as Frith and Frith, 2006

  • The TPJ is involved in perspective taking, sense of agency, and mentalizing.

    “The TPJ is involved in perspective taking (e.g., Aichhorn, Perner, Kronbichler, Staffen, & Ladurner, 2006), in sense of agency (e.g., Decety & Grezes, 2006), and mentalizing (Frith & Frith, 2006).”

    From A developmental, mentalization-based approach to the understanding and treatment of borderline personality disorder (2009) · cites this paper as Frith & Frith, 2006

  • The STS is a key mentalizing region and is altered in social-cognitive conditions such as autism.

    “The STS is an important brain region within the mentalizing network (24) and is functionally and structurally aberrant in conditions characterized by deficits in social-cognition, such as autism (35).”

    From Epigenetic modification of <i>OXT</i> and human sociability (2016) · cites this paper as [24]

  • Considerable brain imaging research on empathy has highlighted the functional importance of medial PFC, precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex, temporoparietal junction, and posterior superior temporal sulcus.

    “Indeed, considerable brain imaging research on empathy, largely related to the imitation of others’ emotions using stimuli such as emotional faces, images of others in pain or crying sounds (Fan et al., 2011), has highlighted the functional importance of medial PFC, precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex, temporoparietal junction, and posterior superior temporal sulcus (Frith and Frith, 2006; Mitche”

    From The maternal brain and its plasticity in humans (2016) · cites this paper as Frith and Frith, 2006

  • A brain network consistently activated during tasks that require mentalizing has emerged, including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS).

    “In support of this, a brain network consistently activated during tasks that require mentalizing has emerged, including dorsomedial prefrontal cortex (DMPFC), medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), precuneus/posterior cingulate cortex (PCC), temporoparietal junction (TPJ), and posterior superior temporal sulcus (pSTS) (Frith and Frith, 2006; Mitchell, 2009).”

    From Approaching the biology of human parental attachment: Brain imaging, oxytocin and coordinated assessments of mothers and fathers (2014) · cites this paper as Frith and Frith, 2006

Cites

Flagged first, then by citations

Cited by

Sorted by citations

Related

Authors
Frith, C. D., & Frith, U.
Affiliations
University College London (GB)
Corresponding author
Frith, Chris D.
ORCID
Frith, Chris D.
Venue
Neuron
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Published
2006-05
Volume
50
Issue
4
Pages
531-534
ISSN
0896-6273 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1016/j.neuron.2006.05.001
OpenAlex
W1968372229
Cited by
1,855
References
33
Citations by year
2026: 115 · 2025: 109 · 2024: 102 · 2023: 103 · 2022: 104 · 2021: 120 · 2020: 127 · 2019: 93 · 2018: 127 · 2017: 100 · 2016: 113 · 2015: 94 · 2014: 94 · 2013: 99 · 2012: 73
FWCI
6.65
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Neuron (publishedVersion)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • UCL Discovery (University College London) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Face Recognition and Perception
Keywords
mentalization, theory of mind, mirror system, perspective taking, emotional sharing, mental state representation, neural basis of social cognition, communication of ideas
MeSH terms
Brain, Brain Mapping, Emotions, Humans, Mental Processes, Social Behavior

About these checks

Registry, retraction, Cites and statistics results are computed, not judged, with one exception: a printed reference that no index lists is read once by a model before it counts as a citation error. Claims are extracted by a model and kept only when their quote appears verbatim in the text; each cited source is then checked, with a model’s help, for whether it says what the claim relies on. Those verdicts can be wrong — read the claim’s quote and the cited source before relying on one.

Statistics and arithmetic are recomputed, not judged.

Confidence bands are shown only for fields calibrated on our annotated test set. None is calibrated yet, so no band is shown.

What counts as a claim ›How we measure confidence ›How we check this ›

Are you an author, or do you see a problem with this page? Request a review