Dissociation of a trait and a valence representation in the mPFC

Abstract

A previous functional MRI adaptation study on trait inference indicated that a trait code is located in the ventral medial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC), but could not rule out that this adaptation effect is due to the trait's underlying valence. To address this issue, we presented sentences describing positive and negative valences of either a human trait or object characteristic, and manipulated whether the human trait or object characteristic was repeated or not, either with the same or opposite valance. In two trait conditions, a behavioral trait-implying sentence was preceded by a prime sentence that implied the same or the opposite trait. The results confirmed the earlier finding of robust trait adaptation from prime to target in the vmPFC, and also found adaptation in the precuneus and right mid-occipital cortex. In contrast, no valence adaptation was found in two novel object conditions, in which the target sentence again implied a positive or negative trait, but was preceded by a prime sentence that described an object with the same or the opposite valence. Together with the previous study, this indicates that a specific trait code, but not a generalized valence code, is represented in the vmPFC.