Indiana University, Bloomington, USA.
University of North Carolina at Greensboro, USA.
Neuroimage. 2019 May 1;191:269-277. doi: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2019.02.024. Epub 2019 Feb 19.
Theory of mind (i.e., the ability to infer others' mental states) - a fundamental social cognitive ability - declines with increasing age. Prior investigations have focused on identifying task-evoked differences in neural activation that underlie these performance declines. However, these declines could also be related to dysregulation of the baseline, or 'intrinsic', functional connectivity of the brain. If so, age differences in intrinsic connectivity may provide novel insight into the mechanisms that contribute to poorer theory of mind in older adults. To examine this possibility, we assessed younger and older adults' theory of mind while they underwent task-based fMRI, as well as the intrinsic functional connectivity measured during resting-state within the (task-defined) theory of mind network. Older adults exhibited poorer theory of mind behavioral performance and weaker intrinsic connectivity within this network compared to younger adults. Intrinsic connectivity between the right temporoparietal junction and the right temporal pole mediated age differences in theory of mind. Specifically, older adults had weaker intrinsic connectivity between right temporoparietal junction and right temporal pole that explained their poorer theory of mind behavioral performance. These findings broaden our understanding of aging and social cognition and reveal more specific mechanisms of how aging impacts theory of mind.
心理理论（即推断他人心理状态的能力）是一种基本的社会认知能力，随着年龄的增长而下降。先前的研究集中于确定任务诱发的神经激活差异，这些差异是导致这些表现下降的原因。然而，这些下降也可能与大脑基线或“内在”功能连接的失调有关。如果是这样，内在连接性的年龄差异可能为导致老年人心理理论较差的机制提供新的见解。为了检验这种可能性，我们评估了年轻和年长成年人在进行基于任务的 fMRI 时的心理理论，以及在静息状态下在（任务定义的）心理理论网络中测量的内在功能连接。与年轻成年人相比，年长成年人的心理理论行为表现较差，并且在该网络内的内在连接性较弱。右颞顶联合区和右颞极之间的内在连接性介导了心理理论的年龄差异。具体来说，年长成年人的右颞顶联合区和右颞极之间的内在连接性较弱，这解释了他们较差的心理理论行为表现。这些发现拓宽了我们对衰老和社会认知的理解，并揭示了衰老如何影响心理理论的更具体机制。
