Identifying EEG Spectral Markers of Mental Time Travel and Theory of Mind
Date
2024-08-26
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Abstract
The default mode network (DMN) is an intrinsic brain network broadly implicated in internal attention – the process of selecting and modulating internally generated information. Several functional neuroimaging studies suggest that the DMN can be further partitioned into specialized subsystems that mediate different internal attention functions, namely mental time travel (MTT) and theory of mind (ToM). To our knowledge, however, no studies have explored their specific/contrasting electroencephalographic (EEG) spectral markers. In the present study, we identified the scalp EEG spectral markers specific to MTT and ToM. We recorded scalp EEG from N = 26 participants, while they performed an experimental task designed to engage cognitive processes associated with MTT, ToM, or simple Math (internally-oriented control condition), on a trial-by-trial basis. After subjecting the trial-wise EEG data to time-frequency decomposition, we contrasted all three trial types, pairwise, using cluster-based permutation tests. We found that MTT was associated with significantly lower bilateral posterior parietal beta (20-26 Hz) activity compared to Math, and that ToM, was associated with significantly greater right temporo-parietal beta (20-30 Hz) activity compared to MTT. Our results suggest that different patterns of beta band activity may play distinct mechanistic roles in supporting internal attention processes specific to MTT and ToM.
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Keywords
Internal Attention, Mental Time Travel, Theory of Mind, Electroencephalography, Time-Frequency Analysis
Citation
Ain, Y. (2024). Identifying EEG spectral markers of mental time travel and theory of mind (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca.