The University of Zurich study examined adaptive mentalization — how quickly people infer what another person thinks and then change their behaviour. Researchers led by Christian Ruff tested over 550 people who played a repeated rock-paper-scissors game against human or artificial opponents. They applied a novel computational model to formalize the thought processes behind choices, measuring how strategically participants assessed opponents and how strongly they updated those estimates after each round. While most participants adapted when an opponent changed, reaction speed varied widely across individuals.
Functional magnetic resonance imaging identified a distributed brain network that increased activity when participants revised their estimates. Key areas included:
- temporoparietal cortex — linked to reasoning about others' thoughts and intentions,
- dorsomedial prefrontal cortex — involved in appraising social information,
- anterior insula and nearby ventrolateral prefrontal cortex — active when expectations were violated.
The team found that these activity patterns could predict how much a person adapted their estimates, and this prediction worked even for participants whose brain data had not yet been added to the model. Gökhan Aydogan noted measurable changes in those brain areas during moments of revision, and Niklas Bürgi highlighted the individual differences in how quickly people infer opponents' strategies. The researchers describe the predictive pattern as a neural fingerprint of adaptive mentalization. By using dynamic interactions rather than static tasks, the work suggests neural markers may help assess social cognition more objectively and could, in time, guide the development and evaluation of therapies. The research appears in Nature Neuroscience.
Difficult words
- mentalization — ability to infer others' thoughts and intentionsadaptive mentalization
- infer — work out or conclude from given evidence
- computational model — mathematical system to simulate thinking processes
- revise — change an earlier judgment or estimaterevised, revision
- temporoparietal cortex — brain area tied to thinking about other people
- dorsomedial prefrontal cortex — brain region that evaluates social information
- neural fingerprint — distinct brain activity pattern linked to behaviour
- dynamic interactions — changing exchanges between people or systems
Tip: hover, focus or tap highlighted words in the article to see quick definitions while you read or listen.
Discussion questions
- How could neural markers of adaptive mentalization help develop or evaluate therapies? Give reasons.
- Why might dynamic interactions give a more objective measure of social cognition than static tasks?
- What practical effects could individual differences in adaptation speed have in real social situations?
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