Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation
Abstract Conspiracy theories, despite their widespread societal impact, remain poorly understood at the neural level. While previous research has examined general belief processing, the neural mechanisms underlying how conspiracy beliefs influence information evaluation remain unclear. This study ex...
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Nature Portfolio
2025-05-01
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| Series: | Scientific Reports |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03723-z |
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| author | Shuguang Zhao Ting Wang Bingsen Xiong |
| author_facet | Shuguang Zhao Ting Wang Bingsen Xiong |
| author_sort | Shuguang Zhao |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Conspiracy theories, despite their widespread societal impact, remain poorly understood at the neural level. While previous research has examined general belief processing, the neural mechanisms underlying how conspiracy beliefs influence information evaluation remain unclear. This study examined how individual differences in conspiracy belief modulate neural responses to conspiracy-related versus factual information using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Thirty-one participants, pre-screened for high versus low conspiracy beliefs using validated scales, evaluated the veracity of matched conspiracy-related and factual statements during scanning. Behaviorally, high conspiracy believers were more likely to endorse conspiracy statements, whereas both groups evaluated factual information similarly. Neurally, a double dissociation emerged: high conspiracy believers exhibited increased activation in the ventromedial and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices—regions implicated in value-based decision-making and belief uncertainty—when evaluating conspiracy-related content. In contrast, low conspiracy believers showed greater activation in the hippocampus and precuneus, areas associated with episodic and semantic memory retrieval. These findings indicate that conspiracy beliefs engage distinct neurocognitive pathways in a content-specific manner. Rather than reflecting a generalized bias, belief-related neural differences selectively emerge during the processing of conspiratorial information. This study offers novel insight into the neural basis of belief persistence and may inform strategies for promoting critical reasoning in the face of misinformation. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-1388ae38c6354ddeac372b2fc8e5fc3f |
| institution | DOAJ |
| issn | 2045-2322 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2025-05-01 |
| publisher | Nature Portfolio |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Scientific Reports |
| spelling | doaj-art-1388ae38c6354ddeac372b2fc8e5fc3f2025-08-20T03:16:52ZengNature PortfolioScientific Reports2045-23222025-05-011511910.1038/s41598-025-03723-zNeural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluationShuguang Zhao0Ting Wang1Bingsen Xiong2Research Center of Journalism and Social Development, School of Journalism and Communication, Renmin University of ChinaNew Era International Communication Research Institute, Renmin University of ChinaBeijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Faculty of Psychology, National Demonstration Center for Experimental Psychology Education, Beijing Normal UniversityAbstract Conspiracy theories, despite their widespread societal impact, remain poorly understood at the neural level. While previous research has examined general belief processing, the neural mechanisms underlying how conspiracy beliefs influence information evaluation remain unclear. This study examined how individual differences in conspiracy belief modulate neural responses to conspiracy-related versus factual information using functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI). Thirty-one participants, pre-screened for high versus low conspiracy beliefs using validated scales, evaluated the veracity of matched conspiracy-related and factual statements during scanning. Behaviorally, high conspiracy believers were more likely to endorse conspiracy statements, whereas both groups evaluated factual information similarly. Neurally, a double dissociation emerged: high conspiracy believers exhibited increased activation in the ventromedial and dorsomedial prefrontal cortices—regions implicated in value-based decision-making and belief uncertainty—when evaluating conspiracy-related content. In contrast, low conspiracy believers showed greater activation in the hippocampus and precuneus, areas associated with episodic and semantic memory retrieval. These findings indicate that conspiracy beliefs engage distinct neurocognitive pathways in a content-specific manner. Rather than reflecting a generalized bias, belief-related neural differences selectively emerge during the processing of conspiratorial information. This study offers novel insight into the neural basis of belief persistence and may inform strategies for promoting critical reasoning in the face of misinformation.https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03723-zConspiracy beliefsInformation processingNeural correlatesFunctional MRI (fMRI) |
| spellingShingle | Shuguang Zhao Ting Wang Bingsen Xiong Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation Scientific Reports Conspiracy beliefs Information processing Neural correlates Functional MRI (fMRI) |
| title | Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation |
| title_full | Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation |
| title_fullStr | Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation |
| title_full_unstemmed | Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation |
| title_short | Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation |
| title_sort | neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation |
| topic | Conspiracy beliefs Information processing Neural correlates Functional MRI (fMRI) |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-025-03723-z |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT shuguangzhao neuralcorrelatesofconspiracybeliefsduringinformationevaluation AT tingwang neuralcorrelatesofconspiracybeliefsduringinformationevaluation AT bingsenxiong neuralcorrelatesofconspiracybeliefsduringinformationevaluation |