PMID- 34248525
OWN - NLM
STAT- PubMed-not-MEDLINE
LR  - 20210713
IS  - 1662-5161 (Print)
IS  - 1662-5161 (Electronic)
IS  - 1662-5161 (Linking)
VI  - 15
DP  - 2021
TI  - Neural Correlates of Causal Inferences in Discourse Understanding and Logical 
      Problem-Solving: A Meta-Analysis Study.
PG  - 666179
LID - 10.3389/fnhum.2021.666179 [doi]
LID - 666179
AB  - 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.
CI  - Copyright (c) 2021 Feng, Wang, Liu, Wang, Tian and Fan.
FAU - Feng, Wangshu
AU  - Feng W
AD  - Research Institute of Foreign Languages, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 
      Beijing, China.
FAU - Wang, Weijuan
AU  - Wang W
AD  - Research Institute of Foreign Languages, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 
      Beijing, China.
FAU - Liu, Jia
AU  - Liu J
AD  - Research Institute of Foreign Languages, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 
      Beijing, China.
FAU - Wang, Zhen
AU  - Wang Z
AD  - Research Institute of Foreign Languages, Beijing Foreign Studies University, 
      Beijing, China.
FAU - Tian, Lingyun
AU  - Tian L
AD  - National Research Centre for Foreign Language Education, Beijing Foreign Studies 
      University, Beijing, China.
FAU - Fan, Lin
AU  - Fan L
AD  - Artificial Intelligence and Human Languages Lab, Beijing Foreign Studies 
      University, Beijing, China.
LA  - eng
PT  - Systematic Review
DEP - 20210623
PL  - Switzerland
TA  - Front Hum Neurosci
JT  - Frontiers in human neuroscience
JID - 101477954
PMC - PMC8261065
OTO - NOTNLM
OT  - causal inferences
OT  - discourse understanding
OT  - frontotemporal network
OT  - logical problem-solving
OT  - meta-analysis
OT  - neuroimaging
COIS- The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any 
      commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential 
      conflict of interest.
EDAT- 2021/07/13 06:00
MHDA- 2021/07/13 06:01
PMCR- 2021/01/01
CRDT- 2021/07/12 05:45
PHST- 2021/02/09 00:00 [received]
PHST- 2021/05/21 00:00 [accepted]
PHST- 2021/07/12 05:45 [entrez]
PHST- 2021/07/13 06:00 [pubmed]
PHST- 2021/07/13 06:01 [medline]
PHST- 2021/01/01 00:00 [pmc-release]
AID - 10.3389/fnhum.2021.666179 [doi]
PST - epublish
SO  - Front Hum Neurosci. 2021 Jun 23;15:666179. doi: 10.3389/fnhum.2021.666179. 
      eCollection 2021.