Skip to main content
Journal cover image

What if? Neural activity underlying semantic and episodic counterfactual thinking.

Publication ,  Journal Article
Parikh, N; Ruzic, L; Stewart, GW; Spreng, RN; De Brigard, F
Published in: NeuroImage
September 2018

Counterfactual thinking (CFT) is the process of mentally simulating alternative versions of known facts. In the past decade, cognitive neuroscientists have begun to uncover the neural underpinnings of CFT, particularly episodic CFT (eCFT), which activates regions in the default network (DN) also activated by episodic memory (eM) recall. However, the engagement of DN regions is different for distinct kinds of eCFT. More plausible counterfactuals and counterfactuals about oneself show stronger activity in DN regions compared to implausible and other- or object-focused counterfactuals. The current study sought to identify a source for this difference in DN activity. Specifically, self-focused counterfactuals may also be more plausible, suggesting that DN core regions are sensitive to the plausibility of a simulation. On the other hand, plausible and self-focused counterfactuals may involve more episodic information than implausible and other-focused counterfactuals, which would imply DN sensitivity to episodic information. In the current study, we compared episodic and semantic counterfactuals generated to be plausible or implausible against episodic and semantic memory reactivation using fMRI. Taking multivariate and univariate approaches, we found that the DN is engaged more during episodic simulations, including eM and all eCFT, than during semantic simulations. Semantic simulations engaged more inferior temporal and lateral occipital regions. The only region that showed strong plausibility effects was the hippocampus, which was significantly engaged for implausible CFT but not for plausible CFT, suggestive of binding more disparate information. Consequences of these findings for the cognitive neuroscience of mental simulation are discussed.

Duke Scholars

Altmetric Attention Stats
Dimensions Citation Stats

Published In

NeuroImage

DOI

EISSN

1095-9572

ISSN

1053-8119

Publication Date

September 2018

Volume

178

Start / End Page

332 / 345

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Thinking
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Memory, Episodic
  • Memory
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Imagination
  • Humans
  • Female
 

Citation

APA
Chicago
ICMJE
MLA
NLM
Parikh, N., Ruzic, L., Stewart, G. W., Spreng, R. N., & De Brigard, F. (2018). What if? Neural activity underlying semantic and episodic counterfactual thinking. NeuroImage, 178, 332–345. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.05.053
Parikh, Natasha, Luka Ruzic, Gregory W. Stewart, R Nathan Spreng, and Felipe De Brigard. “What if? Neural activity underlying semantic and episodic counterfactual thinking.NeuroImage 178 (September 2018): 332–45. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.05.053.
Parikh N, Ruzic L, Stewart GW, Spreng RN, De Brigard F. What if? Neural activity underlying semantic and episodic counterfactual thinking. NeuroImage. 2018 Sep;178:332–45.
Parikh, Natasha, et al. “What if? Neural activity underlying semantic and episodic counterfactual thinking.NeuroImage, vol. 178, Sept. 2018, pp. 332–45. Epmc, doi:10.1016/j.neuroimage.2018.05.053.
Parikh N, Ruzic L, Stewart GW, Spreng RN, De Brigard F. What if? Neural activity underlying semantic and episodic counterfactual thinking. NeuroImage. 2018 Sep;178:332–345.
Journal cover image

Published In

NeuroImage

DOI

EISSN

1095-9572

ISSN

1053-8119

Publication Date

September 2018

Volume

178

Start / End Page

332 / 345

Related Subject Headings

  • Young Adult
  • Thinking
  • Neurology & Neurosurgery
  • Memory, Episodic
  • Memory
  • Male
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Imagination
  • Humans
  • Female