Neural correlates of conspiracy beliefs during information evaluation

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.