Department of Psychology, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada.
Centre for Neuroscience, Brock University, St. Catharines, ON, Canada.
Clin Neuropsychol. 2020 Feb;34(2):296-317. doi: 10.1080/13854046.2019.1612946. Epub 2019 May 20.
This research examined affective theory of mind (ToM) differences between university students with and without a history of concussion using the revised Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). Although, previous studies have shown that affective ToM is subserved by the ventromedial prefrontal cortex - a region that is vulnerable in head injury - few have examined whether subtle deficits in affective ToM are evident after concussion. Given the RMET's sensitivity to affective deficits following moderate-to-severe traumatic brain injury, the current study examined its validity following concussion and its correlation with related ToM measures and constructs, such as empathy. Seventy-seven students with and without a history of self-reported concussion completed the RMET, the Interpersonal Reactivity Index, a novel Perspective-Taking Task, and the Questionnaire of Cognitive and Affective Empathy. Indices of spelling/reading capabilities were obtained and baseline electrodermal activation was recorded as an index of arousal. RMET performance did not differ between individuals with and without a prior concussion when controlling for sex and spelling/reading skills and was not correlated with other measures of affective ToM, empathy, and arousal. However, spelling/reading skills were found to be a predictor of RMET performance among both concussion and no-concussion groups. Together, these findings imply that the RMET is not sensitive to ToM impairments after concussion and may be related to language skills among neurotypical students.
本研究使用修订后的《读心测试》（RMET）考察了有和无脑震荡史的大学生在情感心理理论（ToM）方面的差异。尽管先前的研究表明，情感 ToM 由腹内侧前额叶皮层（vmPFC）调节，而 vmPFC 在头部受伤时很容易受损，但很少有研究检查脑震荡后是否存在情感 ToM 的细微缺陷。鉴于 RMET 对中重度创伤性脑损伤后情感缺陷的敏感性，本研究在脑震荡后检查了其有效性，并考察了其与相关 ToM 测量和结构（如同理心）的相关性。77 名有和无自我报告脑震荡史的学生完成了 RMET、人际反应指数、一项新的换位思考任务和认知和情感同理心问卷。获得了拼写/阅读能力指数，并记录了基线皮肤电激活作为唤醒指数。在控制性别和拼写/阅读技能后，RMET 表现在有和无先前脑震荡的个体之间没有差异，并且与其他情感 ToM、同理心和唤醒测量没有相关性。然而，拼写/阅读技能在脑震荡组和非脑震荡组中均被发现是 RMET 表现的预测因素。综上所述，这些发现表明 RMET 对脑震荡后的 ToM 损伤不敏感，并且可能与神经典型学生的语言技能有关。
