Functional Brain Connectivity During Narrative Processing Relates to Transportation and Story Influence

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology
• Media Psychology

Background:

• Engaging with narratives activates complex cognitive and affective processes, making stories uniquely persuasive.
• Transportation theory suggests narrative immersion leads to emotional resonance and increased persuasiveness.
• Previous fMRI studies implicate the posterior medial cortex (PMC) and anterior insula (AI) in narrative comprehension and emotional experience.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the role of the anterior insula (AI) and posterior medial cortex (PMC) in narrative processing.
• To examine how functional connectivity of AI and PMC changes with narrative transportation and story persuasiveness.
• To identify neural correlates of immersion and prosocial intentions evoked by narratives.

Main Methods:

• Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) was used to record brain activity in 36 participants listening to two stories.
• Searchlight multivariate pattern analysis (MVPA) was applied to functional connectivity maps seeded in the AI and PMC.
• Connectivity patterns were classified based on participants' self-reported narrative transportation and prosocial intentions.

Main Results:

• Functional connectivity patterns successfully distinguished high and low ratings of narrative transportation and prosocial intention (accuracy >75%).
• Posterior medial cortex (PMC)-inferior frontal gyrus connectivity uniquely and consistently differentiated high and low narrative transportation across both stories.
• Other connectivity findings were story-specific, suggesting content-driven rather than universal narrative processing mechanisms.

Conclusions:

• Posterior medial cortex (PMC) connectivity, particularly with the inferior frontal gyrus, is a key neural marker for narrative transportation.
• Brain connectivity patterns associated with narrative processing may be influenced by specific story content rather than universal mechanisms.
• This study provides insights into the neural basis of narrative persuasion and immersion.