Department of Neuroscience, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy.
Neurosci Biobehav Rev. 2012 Oct;36(9):2147-64. doi: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2012.07.004. Epub 2012 Jul 20.
The paper reviews of all of the current evidence on Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in patients with neurodegenerative diseases. ToM refers to the abilities to attribute mental states to others. Two neural systems are involved in processing other people's beliefs and intentions (cognitive component) and others' emotions and feelings (affective component). We hypothesize that patients with different neurodegenerative diseases may present different patterns of ToM deficits on the basis of how different neuropathological processes affect the neural bases of ToM components during the progression of a disease. The studies we reviewed provided evidence of a deficit of the cognitive ToM component in cortical (Alzheimer's disease and frontotemporal dementia) and frontal-subcortical (amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and basal ganglia disorders) neurodegenerative diseases. As regards the affective ToM component, it resulted markedly impaired in frontotemporal dementia; it also resulted that performances in tasks assessing this process are heterogeneous in Parkinson's disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. The findings presented support the opportunity to introduce validated ToM tasks in the neuropsychological assessment of neurodegenerative diseases.
本文综述了神经退行性疾病患者心理理论（Theory of Mind，ToM）能力的所有现有证据。ToM 是指将心理状态归因于他人的能力。有两个神经系统参与处理他人的信念和意图（认知成分）以及他人的情绪和感受（情感成分）。我们假设，基于不同的神经病理过程如何影响疾病进展过程中 ToM 成分的神经基础，不同的神经退行性疾病患者可能会表现出不同的 ToM 缺陷模式。我们回顾的研究提供了证据，表明皮质（阿尔茨海默病和额颞叶痴呆）和额皮质下（肌萎缩侧索硬化症和基底节疾病）神经退行性疾病患者的认知 ToM 成分存在缺陷。至于情感 ToM 成分，在额颞叶痴呆中表现出明显的受损；在帕金森病和肌萎缩侧索硬化症中，评估这一过程的任务表现也存在异质性。这些研究结果支持在神经退行性疾病的神经心理学评估中引入经过验证的 ToM 任务的机会。
