Parcellation-Based Connectivity Model of the Judgement Core

Area of Science:

• Neuroscience
• Cognitive Psychology

Background:

• Judgment is a complex higher-order brain function crucial for problem-solving.
• Existing research lacks a unified cortical model for judgment due to diverse methodologies and definitions, hindering clinical applications.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify distinct neurocognitive network patterns underlying different types of judgment.
• To delineate the roles of the Default Mode Network (DMN) and Central Executive Network (CEN) in judgment tasks.

Main Methods:

• A meta-analysis of 46 functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies using activation-likelihood estimation (ALE).
• Cortical parcellation was used to map neurocognitive network engagement across moral, social, risky, and interpersonal judgment paradigms.

Main Results:

• Moral judgment involved bilateral superior frontal gyri, right temporal gyri, and left parietal lobe.
• Social judgment engaged a left-dominant frontoparietal network and right temporal limbic regions, with mutual DMN engagement.
• Risk and interpersonal judgment activated a right-sided frontoparietal network, left insular cortex, and converged on the right-sided CEN.
• Distinct patterns showed the DMN supporting social/moral cognition and the CEN supporting probabilistic reasoning and risk estimation.

Conclusions:

• Judgment processing involves separable large-scale neurocognitive networks.
• The DMN is implicated in social inferences and moral cognition.
• The CEN is crucial for tasks involving probabilistic reasoning, risk assessment, and strategic thinking.