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Updated: Jul 6, 2026

The (Spatial) Memory Game: Testing the Relationship Between Spatial Language, Object Knowledge, and Spatial Cognition
Published on: February 19, 2018
Theory of mind, language and the temporoparietal junction mystery
Josef Perner1, Markus Aichhorn
1University of Salzburg and Center for Neurocognitive Research, Hellbrunnerstrasse 34, 5020 Salzburg, Austria. josef.perner@sbg.ac.at
Abstract:
Brain imaging of adults during false-belief story tasks consistently shows activation of the temporoparietal junction in English-speaking Americans and German-speaking Europeans. Kobayashi et al. find this observation in adult English speakers but not in English-speaking children or in English-Japanese bilingual persons. This finding suggests a cultural or linguistic influence on location of brain function and argues against maturation of innately specified neural substrates. It is reminiscent of effects of linguistic development, bilingualism and cultural differences on theory of mind development.
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