Mentalising and social problem-solving after brain injury.
This study examined the performance of adults with an acquired brain injury (ABI) on social cognition tasks assessing mentalistic interpretation and social problem-solving. These tasks were based on an earlier version described by Channon and Crawford (1999). Twenty participants with an ABI (10 resulting from a traumatic brain injury, 10 from a cerebrovascular accident), were found to be impaired relative to 20 matched control participants in interpreting scenarios involving either actions or sarcastic remarks on the Mentalistic Interpretation Task. When problem-solving ability was examined, the participants with an ABI were poorer at solving social problems on the Social Problem Resolution Task, and generated fewer responses on the Social Problem Fluency Task. They also had greater difficulty in detecting the awkward elements of the social situations, and in selecting appropriate solutions from a range of alternatives. These tasks provide a potential clinical tool for pinpointing an individual's strengths and weaknesses in everyday social communication and problem-solving, which can serve as the basis for designing individualised rehabilitation programmes.
Channon
Shelley
S
Department of Cognitive, Perceptual and Brain Sciences, University College London, London, UK. S.Channon@ucl.ac.uk
Crawford
Sarah
S
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000503:physiopathology* / Q000523:psychology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D056344:Executive Function; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D011340:Problem Solving / Q000502:physiology*; D012938:Social Perception; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*