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Neural representations of situations and mental states are composed of sums of representations of the actions they afford

Psychology

Neural representations of situations and mental states are composed of sums of representations of the actions they afford

M. A. Thornton and D. I. Tamir

Discover how human behavior is intricately linked to our mental states and external situations in groundbreaking research by Mark A. Thornton and Diana I. Tamir. Using fMRI technology, this study reveals that our neural representations of situations and mental states are shaped by the actions associated with them, providing a fascinating biological insight into predicting behavior.

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Playback language: English
Abstract
Human behavior is shaped by both internal (mental states) and external (situations) factors. This study hypothesizes that people represent situations and mental states in terms of their associated actions. Using fMRI, neural activity patterns were measured for situations, mental states, and actions. Summed action patterns, weighted by action frequency in each situation and state, effectively reconstructed situation and state patterns. This suggests that neural representations of situations and mental states are composed of sums of their action affordances, offering a biological mechanism for predicting behavior.
Publisher
Nature Communications
Published On
Jan 19, 2024
Authors
Mark A. Thornton, Diana I. Tamir
Tags
human behavior
mental states
external factors
fMRI
neural activity
action affordances
predicting behavior

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