Inferior parietal cortex represents relational structures for explicit transitive inference.

ABSTRACT: The human brain is distinguished by its ability to perform explicit logical reasoning like transitive inference. This study investigated the functional role of the inferior parietal cortex in transitive inference with functional MRI. Participants viewed premises describing abstract relations among items. They accurately recalled the relationship between old pairs of items, effectively inferred the relationship between new pairs of items, and discriminated between true and false relationships for new pairs. First, the inferior parietal cortex, but not the hippocampus or lateral prefrontal cortex, was associated with transitive inference. The inferior parietal activity and functional connectivity were modulated by inference (new versus old pairs) and discrimination (true versus false pairs).

SUBMITTER: Xu B 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10999362 | biostudies-literature | 2024 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature