title: Gender differences in cognitive Theory of Mind revealed by transcranial direct current stimulation on medial prefrontal cortex.
abstract: Gender differences in social cognition are a long discussed issue, in particular those concerning Theory of Mind (ToM), i.e., the ability to explain and predict other people's mental states. The aim of this randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study was to test the hypothesis that anodal tDCS over the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) selectively enhances cognitive ToM performance in females. In the first experiment we administered to sixteen females and sixteen males a cognitive ToM task during anodal or placebo tDCS over the mPFC. In the second experiment further sixteen females completed the task receiving anodal or placebo tDCS over the vertex. The results showed that anodal tDCS over the mPFC enhances ToM in females but not in males, an effect indicated by enhanced ToM in females that received anodal tDCS over the mPFC compared with females that received tDCS over the vertex. These findings are relevant for three reasons. First, we found evidence of gender-related differences in cognitive ToM, extending previous findings concerning affective ToM. Second, these differences emerge with anodal stimulation of the mPFC, confirming the crucial role of this area in cognitive ToM. Third, we show that taking into account gender-related differences is mandatory for the investigation of ToM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.|Center for Cognitive Science, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.|Neuroscience Institute of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Mauro
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Adenzato
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Michela
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Brambilla
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Manenti
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Lucia
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: De Lucia
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy.
authors.forename: Luigi
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Trojano
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy.|Department of Psychiatry, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK.
authors.forename: Sara
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Garofalo
authors.affiliation: Center for Cognitive Science, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.|Neuroscience Institute of Turin, Turin, Italy.|Department of Philosophy and Educational Sciences, University of Turin, Turin, Italy.
authors.forename: Ivan
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Enrici
authors.affiliation: Neuropsychology Unit, IRCCS Centro San Giovanni di Dio Fatebenefratelli, Brescia, Italy.
authors.forename: Maria
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Cotelli
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003071:Cognition; D004311:Double-Blind Method; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017397:Prefrontal Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D011930:Reaction Time; D012737:Sex Factors; D056345:Theory of Mind / Q000502:physiology*; D065908:Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation; D055815:Young Adult