ArticleSocial cognitive and affective neuroscience2016
Theory-of-mind-related neural activity for one's romantic partner predicts partner well-being.
Article in Social cognitive and affective neuroscience, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Well-Being and Romantic Relationships: A Systematic Review in Adolescence and Emerging Adulthood.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2019Pooled it
- Teaching Theory of Mind Skills to Individuals with Autism Spectrum Disorder: A Systematic Review and Meta-analysis.Journal of autism and developmental disorders · 2026Article
- Efficiency Recalibrates Social-Emotional Trade-Offs Behind Partner Choice in Direct Reciprocity through Intention-Specific Neural Bases.Advanced science (Weinheim, Baden-Wurttemberg, Germany) · 2026Article
- Exploring sexual and romantic functioning as early risk factors of schizophrenia: a narrative review.Sexual medicine · 2025Review
- The Impact of Social Cognition Deficits on Quality of Life in Multiple Sclerosis: A Scoping Review.Brain sciences · 2024Article
- The neural mechanism of communication between graduate students and advisers in different adviser-advisee relationships.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Increased Interpersonal Brain Synchronization in Romantic Couples Is Associated with Higher Honesty: An fNIRS Hyperscanning Study.Brain sciences · 2023Article
- Theory of brain complexity and marital behaviors: The application of complexity science and neuroscience to explain the complexities of marital behaviors.Frontiers in human neuroscience · 2023Article
- The Impact of Social Cognition on the Real-Life of People with Epilepsy.Brain sciences · 2021Article
- Social Mind and Long-Lasting Disease: Focus on Affective and Cognitive Theory of Mind in Multiple Sclerosis.Frontiers in psychology · 2019Article
- Weak dorsolateral prefrontal response to social criticism predicts worsened mood and symptoms following social conflict in people at familial risk for schizophrenia.NeuroImage. Clinical · 2018Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
4 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Healthy social relationships are linked to myriad positive physical and mental health outcomes, raising the question of how to enhance relationship formation and quality. Behavioral data suggest that theory of mind (ToM) may be one such process. ToM is supported by a network of brain regions including the temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), medial prefrontal cortex and precuneus (PC). However, little research has investigated how the ToM network supports healthy social relationships. Here, we investigate whether recruitment of the ToM network when thinking about the mental states of one's romantic partner predicts the partner's well-being. We find that selectivity in left TPJ (LTPJ) and PC for beliefs vs physical attributes of one's partner is positively associated with partner well-being the day of and day after a meaningful encounter. Furthermore, LTPJ and PC selectivity moderated how the partner's perception of being understood during the encounter affected their later well-being. Finally, we find the association between ToM-related neural selectivity and well-being robust to other factors related to the relationship and the encounter. Together, these data suggest that selective engagement of the neural network supporting ToM may be a key ingredient for the development and maintenance of healthy romantic relationships.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.