Department of Psychology, Keio University, Tokyo, Japan.
Soc Neurosci. 2010;5(1):19-29. doi: 10.1080/17470910902990584. Epub 2009 Jul 27.
Recent neuroimaging studies on "theory of mind" have demonstrated that the medial prefrontal cortex (PFC) is involved when subjects are engaged in various kinds of mentalising tasks. Although a large number of neuroimaging studies have been published, a relatively small amount of neuropsychological evidence supports involvement of the medial PFC in theory of mind reasoning. We recruited two neurological cases with damage to the medial PFC and initially performed the standard neuropsychological assessments for intelligence, memory, and executive functions. To examine theory of mind performance in these two cases, four kinds of standard and advanced tests for theory of mind were used, including first- and second-order false belief tests, the strange stories test, and the faux pas recognition test. Both patients were also requested to complete the questionnaire for the autism-spectrum quotient. Neither case showed impairment on standard theory of mind tests and only mild impairments were seen on advanced theory of mind tests. This pattern of results is basically consistent with previous studies. The most interesting finding was that both cases showed personality changes after surgical operations, leading to characteristics of autism showing a lack of social interaction in everyday life. We discuss herein the possible roles of the medial PFC and emphasize the importance of using multiple approaches to understand the mechanisms of theory of mind and medial prefrontal functions.
最近关于“心理理论”的神经影像学研究表明，当被试进行各种心理化任务时，内侧前额叶皮层（PFC）参与其中。尽管已经发表了大量的神经影像学研究，但相对较少的神经心理学证据支持内侧 PFC 参与心理理论推理。我们招募了两名内侧 PFC 损伤的神经科病例，并首先进行了智力、记忆和执行功能的标准神经心理学评估。为了检查这两个病例的心理理论表现，我们使用了四种标准和高级的心理理论测试，包括一级和二级错误信念测试、奇异故事测试和失礼识别测试。两名患者还被要求完成自闭症谱系商数问卷。两个病例在标准心理理论测试中均未表现出损伤，仅在高级心理理论测试中表现出轻微损伤。这一结果模式基本与以往研究一致。最有趣的发现是，两个病例在手术后都表现出人格变化，导致日常生活中缺乏社交互动的自闭症特征。我们在此讨论内侧 PFC 的可能作用，并强调使用多种方法来理解心理理论和内侧前额叶功能的机制的重要性。
