Temporoparietal Junction and Theory of Mind

The right temporoparietal junction (TPJ), located where the parietal and temporal lobe meet, is highly involved in inter-brain synchronization of spontaneous nonverbal communication. According to research by Allan Schore, when two people are attuned to one another in communication, the TPJ synchronizes with the other person’s brain activity to make sense of their mind, empathetic response, attention, and perceptual awareness. This right brained attunement works largely outside of conscious awareness with millisecond response speed. Yet it is only actives when a partner has shared communication history where they are open to mutually learn to adjust to one another (Right Brain Psychotherapy, p. 194)

The ability to predict or understand the thoughts, feelings, and beliefs of others is known as Theory of Mind. The right TPJ and the medial prefrontal cortex are very important to our brain network that helps us reason about the mental states of others. If we don’t empathize with others to better understand their thoughts and beliefs, we can live in isolation and ignorance.


( spiritual neuroscience / neurotheology )