Theory of mind is independent of episodic memory.
Theory of mind (ToM) to infer other people's current mental states and episodic memory of personal happenings have been assumed to be closely related. We report two participants with severely impaired episodic memory who perform indistinguishably from healthy controls on objective ToM tests. These results suggest that ToM can function independently of episodic memory.
Rosenbaum
R Shayna
RS
Department of Psychology, York University and Rotman Research Institute, Baycrest, Toronto, Ontario M3J 1P3, Canada. shaynar@yorku.ca
Stuss
Donald T
DT
Levine
Brian
B
Tulving
Endel
E
D003071:Cognition; D003243:Consciousness; D006801:Humans; D007092:Imagination; D008297:Male; D008568:Memory; D008569:Memory Disorders / Q000523:psychology; D008875:Middle Aged; D012649:Self Concept