Prof. Fabrizio Doricchi of the Department of Psychology of Sapienza University of Rome and the Santa Lucia IRCCS Foundation has revealed that the brain region known as the temporoparietal junction plays a key role in updating and modifying these predictions. In a study just published in the authoritative journal Physics of Life Reviews, Prof. Fabrizio Doricchi and his collaborators have revealed that, in all these tasks, the temporoparietal junction plays a 'predictive' role and that the two cerebral hemispheres have different 'predictive' roles.

In particular, the temporoparietal junction of the left hemisphere would signal the confirmation of cognitive predictions, such as, for example, when the outcome of our choice or action is what we expected. In a complementary way, in the right hemisphere, the same area would have the task of signalling that the actual events are different from what we expected. In the latter case, a typical example is provided by humorous jokes that take us pleasantly by surprise because they are unexpected compared to the plot of the story.

For neuroscientists, the function of the temporoparietal junction has long remained enigmatic and controversial. The mystery lies in the fact that this area of the brain is active while we perform cognitive tasks that seem to have very little in common, such as directing our attention, retrieving information from our memory, speaking or listening to what is being said, empathising with others or deciding to do something.

The discovery of the different distribution in the left and right brain of the 'confirmation' and 'disconfirmation' operations of cognitive predictions is an important step forward in the study of the brain mechanisms underlying 'predictive coding' and clarifies the role played by the temporoparietal junction in different aspects of our mental life. These observations also open new perspectives in understanding the mechanisms that regulate the level of optimism with which people face future events based on the results of past choices.

References: 

Doricchi, F., Lasaponara, S., Pazzaglia, M., & Silvetti, M. (2022). Left and right temporal-parietal junctions (TPJs) as “match/mismatch” hedonic machines: A unifying account of TPJ function. Physics of Life Reviews, (42) 56-92.

Further Information

Fabrizio Doricchi 

Department of Psychology

fabrizio.doricchi@uniroma1.it