Domain-general and domain-specific patterns of activity support metacognition in human prefrontal cortex

Jorge Morales, Hakwan Lau, Stephen M. Fleming

Abstract:

Metacognition is the capacity to evaluate the success of one’s own cognitive processes in various domains; for example, memory and
perception. It remains controversial whether metacognition relies on a domain-general resource that is applied to different tasks or if
self-evaluative processes are domain specific. Here, we investigated this issue directly by examining the neural substrates engaged when
metacognitive judgments were made by human participants of both sexes during perceptual and memory tasks matched for stimulus and
performance characteristics. By comparing patterns of fMRI activity while subjects evaluated their performance, we revealed both
domain-specific and domain-general metacognitive representations. Multivoxel activity patterns in anterior prefrontal cortex predicted
levels of confidence in a domain-specific fashion, whereas domain-general signals predicting confidence and accuracy were found in a
widespread network in the frontal and posterior midline. The demonstration of domain-specific metacognitive representations suggests
the presence of a content-rich mechanism available to introspection and cognitive control.