title: Mind and body: concepts of human cognition, physiology and false belief in children with autism or typical development.
abstract: This study examined theory of mind (ToM) and concepts of human biology (eyes, heart, brain, lungs and mind) in a sample of 67 children, including 25 high functioning children with autism (age 6-13), plus age-matched and preschool comparison groups. Contrary to Baron-Cohen [1989, Journal of Autism and Developmental Disorders, 19(4), 579-600], most children with autism correctly understood the functions of the brain (84%) and the mind (64%). Their explanations were predominantly mentalistic. They outperformed typically developing preschoolers in understanding inner physiological (heart, lungs) and cognitive (brain, mind) systems, and scored as high as age-matched typical children. Yet, in line with much previous ToM research, most children with autism (60%) failed false belief, and their ToM performance was unrelated to their understanding of. human biology. Results were discussed in relation to neurobiological and social-experiential accounts of the ToM deficit in autism.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland 4072, Australia. candi@psy.uq.edu.au
authors.forename: Candida C
authors.initials: CC
authors.lastname: Peterson
mesh_terms: D001321:Autistic Disorder / Q000503:physiopathology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D002648:Child; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D003469:Culture; D005260:Female; D047109:Fetal Development / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011603:Psychophysiology