title: Using memories to understand others: the role of episodic memory in theory of mind impairment in Alzheimer disease.
abstract: Theory of mind (TOM) refers to the ability to infer one's own and other's mental states. Growing evidence highlighted the presence of impairment on the most complex TOM tasks in Alzheimer disease (AD). However, how TOM deficit is related to other cognitive dysfunctions and more specifically to episodic memory impairment - the prominent feature of this disease - is still under debate. Recent neuroanatomical findings have shown that remembering past events and inferring others' states of mind share the same cerebral network suggesting the two abilities share a common process .This paper proposes to review emergent evidence of TOM impairment in AD patients and to discuss the evidence of a relationship between TOM and episodic memory. We will discuss about AD patients' deficit in TOM being possibly related to their difficulties in recollecting memories of past social interactions.
authors.affiliation: Aix-Marseille Université, CNRS, LPL UMR 7309, 5 Avenue Pasteur, 13604 Aix-en-Provence, France; Centre hospitalier du Pays d'Aix, Department of Neurology, Avenue des Tamaris, 13616 Aix-en-Provence, France. Electronic address: nmoreau@ch-aix.fr.
authors.forename: Noémie
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Moreau
authors.forename: François
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Viallet
authors.forename: Maud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Champagne-Lavau
mesh_terms: D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D032882:Comprehension / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D061212:Memory, Episodic; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology
keywords: Alzheimer disease; Episodic memory; Mild cognitive impairment; Self-projection; Theory of mind