Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, The University of Tokyo, 3-8-1, Komaba, Meguro-ku, Tokyo, 153-8902, Japan.
School of Information and Telecommunication Engineering, Tokai University, 2-3-23, Minato-ku, Takanawa, Tokyo, 108-8619, Japan.
Sci Rep. 2024 May 2;14(1):10141. doi: 10.1038/s41598-024-60755-7.
Metacognition includes the ability to refer to one's own cognitive states, such as confidence, and adaptively control behavior based on this information. This ability is thought to allow us to predictably control our behavior without external feedback, for example, even before we take action. Many studies have suggested that metacognition requires a brain-wide network of multiple brain regions. However, the modulation of effective connectivity within this network during metacognitive tasks remains unclear. This study focused on medial prefrontal regions, which have recently been suggested to be particularly involved in metacognition. We examined whether modulation of effective connectivity specific to metacognitive behavioral control is observed using model-based network analysis and dynamic causal modeling (DCM). The results showed that negative modulation from the ventral medial prefrontal cortex to the dorsal medial prefrontal cortex was observed in situations that required metacognitive behavioral control but not in situations that did not require such metacognitive control. Furthermore, this modulation was particularly pronounced in the group of participants who could better use metacognition for behavioral control. These results imply hierarchical properties of metacognition-related brain networks.
元认知包括能够参照自己的认知状态，例如信心，并根据这些信息自适应地控制行为。这种能力被认为使我们能够在没有外部反馈的情况下可预测地控制自己的行为，例如，甚至在我们采取行动之前。许多研究表明，元认知需要大脑中多个脑区的广泛网络。然而，在元认知任务期间，这个网络内有效连接的调制仍然不清楚。本研究集中在最近被认为特别参与元认知的内侧前额叶区域。我们使用基于模型的网络分析和动态因果建模（DCM）来检查是否观察到特定于元认知行为控制的有效连接的调制。结果表明，在需要元认知行为控制的情况下，但在不需要这种元认知控制的情况下，观察到从腹侧内侧前额叶皮层到背侧内侧前额叶皮层的负向调制。此外，这种调制在那些能够更好地将元认知用于行为控制的参与者群体中尤为明显。这些结果暗示了与元认知相关的大脑网络的层次属性。
