Disentangling Mnemonic Metacognition from Confidence by Communication between the Precuneus and Hippocampus

Abstract Metacognition, the ability to introspectively monitor confidence prior to decision-making, remains an area with unclear neural mechanisms, particularly concerning the intercommunication among various brain regions. Recently, the precuneus has emerged as a key player in mnemonic metacognitive tasks, while the hippocampus's involvement in memory function is well-established. Our study sought to examine the roles of the precuneus and hippocampus in mnemonic metacognition, employing intracranial electrode recordings from patients with intractable epilepsy to analyze the regulatory and correlational dynamics between these regions. We identified distinct communication patterns between the precuneus and hippocampus during metacognition and confidence generation. Furthermore, we conducted a quantitative assessment of the temporal dynamics involved in metacognition and the generation of confidence. Our observations reveal that introspective judgments typically occur subsequent to the generation of confidence. Our study sheds light on the neural underpinnings of metacognition and the genesis of confidence, focusing on the interplay between the hippocampus and the precuneus. This investigation lays the groundwork for deepening our comprehension of the nuances distinguishing confidence from metacognition.