Heterogeneity of social cognition between visual perspective-taking and theory of mind in the temporo-parietal junction.

Visual perspective taking (VPT), particularly level 2 VPT (VPT2), which allows an individual to understand that the same object can be seen differently by others, is related to the theory of mind (ToM), because both functions require a decoupled representation from oneself. Although previous neuroimaging studies have shown that VPT2 and ToM activate the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), it is unclear whether common neural substrates are involved in both functions. To clarify this point, we directly compared the TPJ activation patterns of individual participants performing VPT2 and ToM tasks using functional magnetic resonance imaging and within-subjects design.