THE FRONTAL LOBESARE NECESSARY FOR‘THEORY OF MIND’

Stass, Gallup, & Alexander (2001)

Monica Vuong Psychology 260|

Introduction: Theory of Mind• Being aware of what others are

likely to be thinking • Being aware of your own

thoughts• Understanding the relationship

between others’ thoughts and your own thoughts

Introduction: Theory of Mind• Example:– Sarah whispers a secret into your ear. George walks

into the room afterward.– Theory of mind is intact

• You know George does not know the secret

– Deficit in theory of mind• You assume George knows the secret

Introduction: The right hemisphere

– Pragmatic aspects of language• E.g. sarcasm, irony• Requires attribution and

inference of other’s intentions

Introduction: Frontal lobes– Theory of mind and frontal

lobes develop with age

– Damage affects: • Social behaviour• Personality• Self-awareness

Introduction: Present Study– Before, only studies with imaging techniques• No assessment with limited lesions in distinct regions

– Essential in verifying whether or not a brain region is related to theory of mind

– This study will include patients with limited lesions• Assess which regions are necessary for theory of mind tasks

Experimental Task: Subjects– 32 patients with frontal or non-frontal lesions• Frontal

– 4 right-frontal– 8 left-frontal– 7 bi-frontal

• Non-frontal– 5 right non-frontal– 8 left non-frontal

– 14 control subjects

Experimental Task: Procedure– Visual Perspective Taking task:• A ‘theory of mind’ task• Mental state attribution

– E.g. I can see the building and because Robert is beside me, he can also see the building.

Experimental Task: Procedure

Examiner Subject

Assistant 1 Assistant 2

Experimental Task: Procedure

Examiner Subject

Assistant 1

Assistant 2

Experimental Task: Procedure– Subject then chooses which cup they think the ball is

under– Intact theory of mind:• Choose cup indicated by Assistant 1

– Tests ability for subject to relate the position of the assistants to the examiner and also him or herself

Results– More frontal lobe patients made

errors than the nonfrontal lobe patients and control group

– More patients with lesions involving the right frontal lobe made errors than other groups

Discussion– Frontal lobes are essential for theory of

mind• Central role in neural network for social

cognition– Connections with amygdala and

other limbic structures– Help with inferences about

emotions of others

– Data suggest that right frontal lobes are particularly critical

Personal Thoughts– Strengths• Showed what was necessary for theory of mind

– Limitations• Small sample size• Bi-frontal lesion patients

– Possible future directions• Autism

Summary– Theory of mind

• Aware of own/others’ likely thoughts and relationship

– Previous implication of the right hemisphere & frontal lobes

– This study showed that frontal lobes (right in particular) are essential for theory of mind

Questions?