1. THE FRONTAL LOBES ARE NECESSARY FOR ‘THEORY OF MIND’ Stass, Gallup, & Alexander (2001) Monica VuongPsychology 260|

2. 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

3. 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

4. Introduction: The right hemisphere – Pragmatic aspects of language E.g. sarcasm, irony Requires attribution and inference of other’s intentions

5. Introduction: Frontal lobes – Theory of mind and frontal lobes develop with age – Damage affects: Social behaviour Personality Self-awareness

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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.

9. Experimental Task: Procedure ExaminerSubject Assistant 1Assistant 2

10. Experimental Task: Procedure ExaminerSubject Assistant 1 Assistant 2

11. 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

12. 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

13. 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

14. Personal Thoughts – Strengths Showed what was necessary for theory of mind – Limitations Small sample size Bi-frontal lesion patients – Possible future directions Autism

15. 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

16. Questions?