The left inferior frontal gyrus is crucial for reading the mind in the eyes: Brain lesion evidence

Olga Dal Monte, Selene Schintu, Matteo Pardini, Anna Berti, Eric M. Wassermann, Jordan Grafman, Frank Krueger*

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

85 Scopus citations

Abstract

Deficit in the ability to understand and predict the mental states of others is one of the central features of traumatic brain injury (TBI), leading to problems in social-daily life such as social withdrawal and the inability to maintain work or family relationships. Although several functional neuroimaging studies have identified a widely distributed brain network involved in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), the necessary brain regions engaged in this capacity are still heavily debated. In this study, we combined the RMET with a whole-brain voxel-based lesion symptom mapping (VLSM) approach to identify brain regions necessary for adequate RMET performance in a large sample of patients with penetrating TBI (pTBI). Our results revealed that pTBI patients performed worse on the RMET compared to non-head injured controls, and impaired RMET performance was associated with lesions in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG). Our findings suggest that the left IFG is a key region in reading the mind in the eyes, probably involved in a more general impairment of a semantic working memory system that facilitates reasoning about what others are feeling and thinking as expressed by the eyes.

Original languageEnglish (US)
Pages (from-to)9-17
Number of pages9
JournalCortex
Volume58
DOIs
StatePublished - Sep 2014

Funding

This study was conducted and supported by the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke Intramural Research Program and took place at the National Institutes of Health Clinical Research Center. The views expressed in this article are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the official policy or position of the U.S. Government. For further information about the Vietnam Head Injury Study, contact J.G. at [email protected] . We thank the NIH Clinical Center for the provision of their facilities and for their supportive services. We thank Sandra Bonifant, Michael Tierney, Leila Glass, Lyanne Yozawitz, Carolee Noury, Vivien YJ Tsen, and Anne Leopold who worked tirelessly to test subjects and organize the study. As always, the authors are grateful to all of the Vietnam veterans and caregivers who participated in this study. Their unending commitment to improving the health care of veterans is the reason this study could be completed.

Keywords

  • Mental states
  • RMET
  • Semantic working memory
  • Traumatic brain injury
  • Voxel-based lesion symptom mapping

ASJC Scopus subject areas

  • Experimental and Cognitive Psychology
  • Neuropsychology and Physiological Psychology
  • Cognitive Neuroscience

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