Ganesh Shanti, van Schie Hein T, Cross Emily S, de Lange Floris P, Wigboldus Daniël H J
Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Behavioural Science Institute, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 HR Nijmegen, The Netherlands; Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition & Behaviour, Radboud University Nijmegen, 6525 EN Nijmegen, The Netherlands.
Neuroimage. 2015 Aug 1;116:30-9. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2015.05.003. Epub 2015 May 12.
Mental imagery of one's body moving through space is important for imagining changing visuospatial perspectives, as well as for determining how we might appear to other people. Previous neuroimaging research has implicated the temporoparietal junction (TPJ) in this process. It is unclear, however, how neural activity in the TPJ relates to the rotation perspectives from which mental spatial transformation (MST) of one's own body can take place, i.e. from an egocentric or an allocentric perspective. It is also unclear whether TPJ involvement in MST is self-specific or whether the TPJ may also be involved in MST of other human bodies. The aim of the current study was to disentangle neural processes involved in egocentric versus allocentric MSTs of human bodies representing self and other. We measured functional brain activity of healthy participants while they performed egocentric and allocentric MSTs in relation to whole-body photographs of themselves and a same-sex stranger. Findings indicated higher blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) response in bilateral TPJ during egocentric versus allocentric MST. Moreover, BOLD response in the TPJ during egocentric MST correlated positively with self-report scores indicating how awkward participants felt while viewing whole-body photos of themselves. These findings considerably advance our understanding of TPJ involvement in MST and its interplay with self-awareness.
想象自己的身体在空间中移动，对于想象视觉空间视角的变化以及确定我们在他人眼中的形象很重要。先前的神经影像学研究表明颞顶联合区（TPJ）参与了这一过程。然而，尚不清楚TPJ中的神经活动如何与自身身体的心理空间转换（MST）所采用的旋转视角相关，即从自我中心或异我中心视角。同样不清楚的是，TPJ参与MST是自我特异性的，还是TPJ也可能参与其他人身体的MST。本研究的目的是区分参与代表自我和他人的人体自我中心与异我中心MST的神经过程。我们测量了健康参与者在根据自己和同性陌生人的全身照片进行自我中心和异我中心MST时的大脑功能活动。研究结果表明，在自我中心与异我中心MST期间，双侧TPJ的血氧水平依赖（BOLD）反应更高。此外，自我中心MST期间TPJ中的BOLD反应与自我报告分数呈正相关，该分数表明参与者在查看自己的全身照片时感到多么尴尬。这些发现极大地推进了我们对TPJ参与MST及其与自我意识相互作用的理解。
