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The default mode network in self- and other-referential processing: effect of cultural values

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Culture and Brain

Abstract

Growing evidence shows culture-related differences in brain activity during self- and other-referential tasks. However, the effect of individual endorsement of cultural values on connectivity of the default mode network (DMN), the primary network associated with self-referential processing, during self- and other-referential tasks is virtually unexplored. We used self-report questionnaires to measure independent and interdependent self-construal and investigated the effect of cultural values on DMN functional connectivity during self and other trait adjective judgment task. The observed associations show that the endorsement of individualist values predisposes to a greater DMN involvement during self-processing and to its lesser involvement during close-other-processing, whereas the endorsement of collectivist values predisposes to a less active DMN engagement in self-processing and to its greater engagement in other-processing. This is in line with the notion that DMN is not specialized for self-processing, but rather is involved in more general cognitive processing related to social cognition and the degree of its involvement in self- versus other-processing is moderated by cultural value system.

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Acknowledgements

The development of experimental paradigm and data collection were supported by the Russian Science Foundation (RSF) under Grant No. 17-18-01019. fMRI data analysis and manuscript writing were supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR) under Grant No. 20-013-00404.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Laboratory of Psychophysiology of Individual Differences, Institute of Physiology and Basic Medicine, Timakova str., 4, Novosibirsk, Russia, 630117

    Gennady G. Knyazev, Alexander N. Savostyanov, Andrey V. Bocharov & Pavel D. Rudych

  2. Humanitarian Institute, Novosibirsk State University, Novosibirsk, Russia

    Alexander N. Savostyanov & Andrey V. Bocharov

  3. E.N. Meshalkin National Medical Research Center, Novosibirsk, Russia

    Evgeny A. Levin

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  1. Gennady G. Knyazev
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  2. Alexander N. Savostyanov
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  3. Andrey V. Bocharov
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  4. Evgeny A. Levin
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  5. Pavel D. Rudych
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Correspondence to Gennady G. Knyazev.

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Knyazev, G.G., Savostyanov, A.N., Bocharov, A.V. et al. The default mode network in self- and other-referential processing: effect of cultural values. Cult. Brain 9, 144–160 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40167-020-00094-2

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