Introspective ability linked to prefrontal cortex

A higher level of introspective ability, or the examination of one's own mental processes, has been linked with the volume of gray matter in the prefrontal cortex along with the density of the connections.

A recent study tested subjects' perception of geometric images along with their level of confidence in their answer. The subjects were shown the image, asked to identify it, and then assessed the accuracy of their answers. People with greater introspection have the tendency to know whether they have answered correctly or incorrectly, and with the usage of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI), researchers found a significant correlation between gray-matter volume in the prefrontal cortex and increased introspection. Additionally, people with greater introspective ability generally had denser connections between the gray matter and the connected, myelinated white matter. It is currently unknown whether the correlation between the gray matter of the prefrontal cortex and introspective ability is innate or cultivated.

The relationship is interesting because it indicates that the validity of a person's testimony (or some other assertion) could be gauged with the examination of the prefrontal cortex. Generally, we tend to believe confident statements; however, a person with poor metacognition may be confident in their answers without intuitively knowing that they are incorrect.

I decided to blog on this article because of our recent discussion of teenagers and the development of the prefrontal cortex as the "decision-making center". I am particularly curious about the contrast or lack thereof between teenagers with exceptional metacognition and adults with poor metacognition. What would a comparision of their prefrontal cortices show?

Source: Scientific American online, accessed 14 Oct. 2010. http://www.scientificamerican.com/article.cfm?id=introspection-accuracy