2026-05-18 理化学研究所
未来を想像し計画を立てるメタ認知能力の進化
＜関連情報＞
- https://www.riken.jp/press/2026/20260518_1/index.html
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-026-02473-w
脳活動、障害、および接続性の比較により、他の霊長類におけるヒトのメタ認知の起源が明らかになる Brain activity, disruption and connectivity comparisons identify origins of human metacognition in other primates
Kentaro Miyamoto,Simone D’Ambrogio,Caroline Harbison,Nicole Eichert,Urs Schüffelgen,Andrew Emberton,Jerome Sallet,Rogier B. Mars,Nima Khalighinejad & Matthew FS Rushworth
Nature Human Behaviour Published:18 May 2026
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-026-02473-w
Abstract
Planning requires anticipating the environmental contingencies that we will encounter and also our own future behaviour in those scenarios. The evolutionary origins of such prospective decision simulations have, however, been difficult to investigate. Moreover, in humans, these metacognitive processes are associated with a distinctively human brain region in the anterior lateral prefrontal cortex. Here we demonstrate these capacities in macaques and their neural bases in two complementary patterns of brain activity in different ventrolateral prefrontal areas: areas 45a and 47/12o. We also examine the impact of ultrasonic disruption of each area. We compare behavioural, brain activity and disruption patterns in humans and macaques. Finally, comparative connectional analysis revealed similarities between the conjunction of the two circuits associated with areas 45a and 47/12o in macaques and the human anterior lateral prefrontal area. In combination, the results suggest behavioural and anatomical origins of metacognitive processes that have become especially sophisticated in humans.
