Neural Correlates of Causal Inferences in Discourse Understanding and Logical Problem-Solving: A Meta-Analysis Study

Frontiers in Human Neuroscience

Lin Fan¹  Lingyun Tian²  Wangshu Feng³  Zhen Wang³  Weijuan Wang³  Jia Liu³ 

[1] Artificial Intelligence and Human Languages Lab, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China;National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China;Research Institute of Foreign Languages, Beijing Foreign Studies University, Beijing, China;

关键词: causal inferences;    meta-analysis;    neuroimaging;    discourse understanding;    logical problem-solving;    frontotemporal network;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fnhum.2021.666179

来源: DOAJ

【 摘 要 】

In discourse comprehension, we need to draw inferences to make sense of discourse. Previous neuroimaging studies have investigated the neural correlates of causal inferences in discourse understanding. However, these findings have been divergent, and how these types of inferences are related to causal inferences in logical problem-solving remains unclear. Using the activation likelihood estimation (ALE) approach, the current meta-analysis analyzed 19 experiments on causal inferences in discourse understanding and 20 experiments on those in logical problem-solving to identify the neural correlates of these two cognitive processes and their shared and distinct neural correlates. We found that causal inferences in discourse comprehension recruited a left-lateralized frontotemporal brain system, including the left inferior frontal gyrus, the left middle temporal gyrus (MTG), and the bilateral medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC), while causal inferences in logical problem-solving engaged a nonoverlapping brain system in the frontal and parietal cortex, including the left inferior frontal gyrus, the bilateral middle frontal gyri, the dorsal MPFC, and the left inferior parietal lobule (IPL). Furthermore, the pattern similarity analyses showed that causal inferences in discourse understanding were primarily related to the terms about language processing and theory-of-mind processing. Both types of inferences were found to be related to the terms about memory and executive function. These findings suggest that causal inferences in discourse understanding recruit distinct neural bases from those in logical problem-solving and rely more on semantic knowledge and social interaction experiences.

【 授权许可】

Unknown