Since many years ago, it has been a tenant of neuroscience research that the way we mentalize others' cognitive states is largely through the processes of the frontal lobe. This area is implicated in much 'theory of mind' abilities; meaning the process of inferring another's belief, desire, or intention through a reasoned analysis of their actions. A recent study conducted by Samson, Apperly, Chiavarino & Humphreys (In Nature Neuroscience), however, has shown that the the left tempoparietal junction is not only involved in this type of mental processing but perhaps necessary for this ability. While previous research regarding theory of mind in healthy adults had shown (in addition to the normal degree of activation in the frontal lobes) mild levels of activation in the TPJ, no conclusive data had been collected that established a correlation between the activation and mental reasoning. By testing brain lesioned patients with damage in the TPJ and their abilities on a false-belief reasoning test, Samson et al have established that the TPJ is a necessary mediator for high-level cognitive reasoning such as that related to theory of mind ablities.
The study seems pretty convincing in its argument for the TPJ's role in mentalizing. Not only is there a shown correlation between damage in the TPJ and scores on the reasoning tests, but the researchers examine alternative explanations for the low scores of the lesioned patients and explain why they do not apply. I think it is interesting that such a large area of the brain (frontal lobe and TPJ) is used when inferring another's mental state, and it stands as another example that most brain functions are not restricted to one area only, but rather shared throughout the brain.
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