FMRI-Evidence for a Three-Stage-Model of Deductive Reasoning

In an event-related fMRI study, we investigated the neuro-cognitive processes underlying deductive reasoning. We specifically focused on three temporally separable phases: (1) the premise processing phase, (2) the integration phase, and (3) the validation phase. We found distinct patterns of cortical activity during these phases, with initial temporo-occipital activation shifting to prefrontal and then parietal cortex during the reasoning process. Our findings demonstrate that human reasoning proceeds in separable phases, which are associated with distinct neuro-cognitive processes