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Updated: May 22, 2026

Design and Implementation of an fMRI Study Examining Thought Suppression in Young Women with, and At-risk, for Depression
Published on: May 19, 2015
The neural representation of intrusive thoughts
Simone Kühn1, Florian Schmiedek, Annette Brose
1Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Experimental Psychology and Ghent Institute for Functional and Metabolic Imaging, Ghent University, Henri Dunantlaan 2, 9000 Gent, Belgium. kuehn@mpib-berlin.mpg.de
Intrusive thoughts may be linked to language production in the brain. Greater activity in language areas was observed in individuals with a higher tendency for intrusive thoughts, suggesting inner speech processes may be involved.
Area of Science:
- Cognitive Neuroscience
- Psycholinguistics
Background:
- Intrusive thoughts are a common experience, varying in frequency and impact.
- The relationship between intrusive thoughts and underlying neural mechanisms, particularly those related to language, remains underexplored.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the association between habitual intrusive thoughts and brain activity in language production regions.
- To explore the hypothesis that language processes underpin the experience of intrusive thoughts.
Main Methods:
- Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to measure brain activity.
- Participants completed a 100-session assessment of intrusive thoughts over six months.
- Brain activity was analyzed during a two-choice reaction-time task, comparing task-free (baseline) to task periods.
Main Results:
- Individual differences in habitual intrusive thoughts correlated with activity in the left inferior frontal gyrus (IFG, Broca's area) and cingulate cortex (CC).
- Participants with a higher tendency for intrusive thoughts exhibited greater baseline activity in language production areas.
- No significant relationship was found between task performance and individual differences in intrusive thoughts.
Conclusions:
- Intrusive thoughts may be represented in a language-like format.
- Individuals with a higher tendency for intrusive thoughts may possess stronger and more habitual inner speech processes.
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