title: Dissociating cognitive from affective theory of mind: a TMS study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  "Theory of Mind" (ToM), i.e., the ability to infer other persons' mental states, is a key function of social cognition. It is increasingly recognized to form a multidimensional construct. One differentiation that has been proposed is that between cognitive and affective ToM, whose neural correlates remain to be identified. We aimed to ascertain the possible role of the right dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (DLPFC) for cognitive ToM as opposed to affective ToM processes.
  
  
  METHODS
  1Hz repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) was used to interfere offline with cortical function of the right DLPFC in healthy male subjects who subsequently had to perform a computerized task assessing cognitive and affective ToM.
  
  
  RESULTS
  RTMS over the right DLPFC induced a selective effect on cognitive but not affective ToM. More specifically, a significant acceleration of reaction times in cognitive ToM compared to affective ToM and control items was observed in the experimental (right DLPFC) compared to the control (vertex) rTMS stimulation condition.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our findings provide evidence for the functional independence of cognitive from affective ToM. Furthermore, they point to an important role of the right DLPFC within neural networks mediating cognitive ToM. Possible underlying mechanisms of the acceleration of cognitive ToM processing under rTMS are discussed.
authors.affiliation: Institute of Neuroscience and Medicine (INM-3), Cognitive Neurology Section, Research Centre Jülich, Leo-Brandt-Strasse 5, Juelich, Germany. e.kalbe@fz-juelich.de
authors.forename: Elke
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kalbe
authors.forename: Marius
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schlegel
authors.forename: Alexander T
authors.initials: AT
authors.lastname: Sack
authors.forename: Dennis A
authors.initials: DA
authors.lastname: Nowak
authors.forename: Manuel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Dafotakis
authors.forename: Christopher
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bangard
authors.forename: Matthias
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brand
authors.forename: Simone
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Shamay-Tsoory
authors.forename: Oezguer A
authors.initials: OA
authors.lastname: Onur
authors.forename: Josef
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Kessler
mesh_terms: D000339:Affect / Q000502:physiology*; D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D008279:Magnetic Resonance Imaging; D008297:Male; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D050781:Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000379:methods; D055815:Young Adult