Vetter Nora C, Weigelt Sarah, Döhnel Katrin, Smolka Michael N, Kliegel Matthias
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Science and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Cambridge, MA, USA, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany, and Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland
Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Science and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Cambridge, MA, USA, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany, and Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, SwitzerlandDepartment of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, and Neuroimaging Center, Technische Universität Dresden, Dresden, Germany, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Department of Brain and Cognitive Science and McGovern Institute for Brain Research, Cambridge, MA, USA, Department of Psychology, Ruhr-Universität Bochum, Bochum, Germany, Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Regensburg, Regensburg, Germany, and Department of Psychology, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland.
Soc Cogn Affect Neurosci. 2014 Jul;9(7):1022-9. doi: 10.1093/scan/nst081. Epub 2013 May 28.
Affective Theory of Mind (ToM), an important aspect of ToM, involves the understanding of affective mental states. This ability is critical in the developmental phase of adolescence, which is often related with socio-emotional problems. Using a developmentally sensitive behavioral task in combination with functional magnetic resonance imaging, the present study investigated the neural development of affective ToM throughout adolescence. Eighteen adolescent (ages 12-14 years) and 18 young adult women (aged 19-25 years) were scanned while evaluating complex affective mental states depicted by actors in video clips. The ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) showed significantly stronger activation in adolescents in comparison to adults in the affective ToM condition. Current results indicate that the vmPFC might be involved in the development of affective ToM processing in adolescence.
情感心理理论（ToM）是心理理论的一个重要方面，涉及对情感心理状态的理解。这种能力在青春期的发育阶段至关重要，而青春期往往与社会情感问题相关。本研究结合使用了对发育敏感的行为任务和功能磁共振成像，调查了整个青春期情感ToM的神经发育情况。在评估视频片段中演员所描绘的复杂情感心理状态时，对18名青少年（12 - 14岁）和18名年轻成年女性（19 - 25岁）进行了扫描。在情感ToM条件下，与成年人相比，青少年的腹内侧前额叶皮层（vmPFC）表现出显著更强的激活。目前的结果表明，vmPFC可能参与了青春期情感ToM处理的发育过程。
