Cross-modal pattern of brain activations associated with the processing of self- and significant other's name

Hum Brain Mapp. 2013 Sep;34(9):2069-77. doi: 10.1002/hbm.22048. Epub 2012 Mar 19.

Abstract

Previous neuroimaging studies have shown that the patterns of brain activity during the processing of personally relevant names (e.g., own name, friend's name, partner's name, etc.) and the names of famous people (e.g., celebrities) are different. However, it is not known how the activity in this network is influenced by the modality of the presented stimuli. In this fMRI study, we investigated the pattern of brain activations during the recognition of aurally and visually presented full names of the subject, a significant other, a famous person and unknown individuals. In both modalities, we found that the processing of self-name and the significant other's name was associated with increased activation in the medial prefrontal cortex (MPFC). Acoustic presentations of these names also activated bilateral inferior frontal gyri (IFG). This pattern of results supports the role of MPFC in the processing of personally relevant information, irrespective of their modality.

Keywords: cortical midline structures; fMRI; medial prefrontal cortex; self; self-name; self-recognition.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Auditory Perception / physiology*
  • Brain Mapping*
  • Ego*
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Image Processing, Computer-Assisted
  • Magnetic Resonance Imaging
  • Male
  • Names*
  • Prefrontal Cortex / physiology*
  • Reaction Time / physiology
  • Recognition, Psychology / physiology