Theory of mind and the frontal lobes.
BACKGROUND
Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to attribute mental states to other individuals. Its cerebral organization is not enough established, even though the literature suggests the relevant role of the frontal lobes.


OBJECTIVE
To evaluate frontal lobe patients and controls in ToM tests.


METHODS
We studied 20 patients with lesions limited to the frontal lobes (as shown by CT or MRI), and 10 normal control subjects by means of ToM tests (recognizing himself in mirrors, false belief, first and second order ToM tasks), as well as tests of other cognitive functions (counter-proofs).


RESULTS
Patients and controls performed similarly in ToM tests. There was significant difference between frontal subgroups (left, right, bifrontal) in the double-bluff task (second order ToM) (p=0.021), without relation to verbal fluency (p=0.302) or delayed recall ability (p=0.159). The only two patients with deficits in ToM tasks had impairment of social behavior.


CONCLUSIONS
Frontal lesions do not necessarily implicate in ToM deficits, which may occur when such lesions are associated to disturbance of social behavior.
Igliori
Glauco C
GC
Department of Neurology, Medical School, State University of Campinas, SP, Brazil.
Damasceno
Benito P
BP
D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D005260:Female; D005625:Frontal Lobe / Q000293:injuries*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D008606:Mental Processes; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011582:Psychological Theory; D012919:Social Behavior; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed