Same Story, Different Story: The Neural Representation of Interpretive Frameworks
Open accessAbstract
Differences in people’s beliefs can substantially impact their interpretation of a series of events. In this functional MRI study, we manipulated subjects’ beliefs, leading two groups of subjects to interpret the same narrative in different ways. We found that responses in higher-order brain areas—including the default-mode network, language areas, and subsets of the mirror neuron system—tended to be similar among people who shared the same interpretation, but different from those of people with an opposing interpretation. Furthermore, the difference in neural responses between the two groups at each moment was correlated with the magnitude of the difference in the interpretation of the narrative. This study demonstrates that brain responses to the same event tend to cluster together among people who share the same views.
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In a study where two groups were biased with different contextual information before hearing the same story, default mode network regions showed stronger alignment of neural responses within a group sharing an interpretation than between groups with differing interpretations.
“DMN regions showed stronger alignment of neural responses within a group that shared an interpretation than between groups with differing interpretations.”
From The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world (2021) · cites this paper as [47]
Default mode network responses are modulated by prior beliefs.
“DMN responses are modulated by prior beliefs.”
From The default mode network: where the idiosyncratic self meets the shared social world (2021) · cites this paper as [47]
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- Authors
- Yeshurun, Y., Swanson, S., Simony, E., Chen, J., Lazaridi, C., Honey, C. J., & Hasson, U.
- Affiliations
- Princeton University (US)
- Johns Hopkins University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Yeshurun, Yaara
- Venue
- Psychological Science
- Publisher
- SAGE Publications
- Published
- 2017-01-18
- Volume
- 28
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 307-319
- ISSN
- 0956-7976 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-9280
- PMC
- PMC5348256
- OpenAlex
- W2575773685
- Cited by
- 300
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 30 · 2025: 36 · 2024: 34 · 2023: 37 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 39 · 2020: 55 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 13 · 2017: 10 · 2016: 1
- FWCI
- 362.67
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Locations
- Psychological Science (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (R01MH094480)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Narrative Theory and Analysis
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Social Psychology › Action Observation and Synchronization
- Social Sciences › Arts and Humanities › Literature and Literary Theory › Media Influence and Health
- Keywords
- narrative interpretation, shared interpretation, default mode network, mirror neuron system, language areas, social cognition
- MeSH terms
- Adult, Brain, Brain Mapping, Female, Humans, Interpersonal Relations, Magnetic Resonance Imaging, Male, Social Perception, Young Adult, Theory of Mind
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