The influence of valence and decision difficulty on self-referential processing
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Self-referential processing is defined as the process by which a person becomes aware that specific contents are related to his or her own self. Cortical midline structures (CMS), such as dorsal and medial prefrontal cortex, and regions such as inferior frontal cortex, insula, and temporal pole have been implicated in self-referential processing. However, the specific contribution of each of these areas is still largely unknown. More particularly, not many studies have examined the influence of valence and decision making difficulty on regions involved in self-referential processing. In this study, participants evaluated how well personality traits, differing in valence and decision difficulty, described themselves or the current US President. In line with predictions, ventral, rostral, and dorsal parts of medial prefrontal cortex showed greater activity when participants judged traits about themselves relative to judging traits about the current US President. However, none of these regions showed significant modulation by trait valence. Increasing trait decision difficulty was associated with increased activity within dorsal medial prefrontal cortex and bilateral anterior insula. However, there was very minimal overlap (6/119 voxels, i.e., 5%) of the regions of dorsal medial prefrontal cortex implicated in self-referential processing and those implicated in trait decision difficulty. The results are interpreted within current accounts of self-referential processing.
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Self-descriptiveness judgment reaction times are shortened by reduced task difficulty and by the degree of certainty in the decision made.
“Selfdescriptiveness judgment RTs are shortened by reduced task difficulty [Meffert et al., 2013] and by the degree of certainty in the decision made [D' Argembeau et al., 2012].”
From Oxytocin blurs the self-other distinction during trait judgments and reduces medial prefrontal cortex responses: Oxytocin Blurs Self-Other Distinction (2016) · cites this paper as Meffert et al., 2013
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Flagged first, then by citations
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- Authors
- Meffert, H., Blanken, L., Blair, K. S., White, S. F., & Blair, J. R.
- Affiliations
- National Institutes of Health (US)
- Erasmus MC - Sophia Children’s Hospital (NL)
- Corresponding author
- Meffert, Harma
- Venue
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience
- Publisher
- Frontiers Media SA
- Published
- 2013
- Volume
- 7
- Pages
- 46-46
- ISSN
- 1662-5161 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC3584295
- OpenAlex
- W2097772879
- Cited by
- 18
- References
- 59
- Citations by year
- 2024: 1 · 2022: 1 · 2021: 1 · 2020: 4 · 2019: 1 · 2018: 1 · 2017: 2 · 2016: 5 · 2015: 1 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 1.26
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- gold
- doi.org
- Licence
- cc-by
- Locations
- Frontiers in Human Neuroscience (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Mental Health (1‑ZIA‑MH002860‑08, ZIAMH002860)
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Mind wandering and attention
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Neural and Behavioral Psychology Studies
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Experimental and Cognitive Psychology › Philosophy and Theoretical Science
- Keywords
- self-referential processing, decision difficulty, medial prefrontal cortex, dorsomedial prefrontal cortex, anterior insula, self-other judgment, personality traits, self-awareness, cortical midline structures
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