Happé F, Ehlers S, Fletcher P, Frith U, Johansson M, Gillberg C, Dolan R, Frackowiak R, Frith C
MRC Cognitive Development Unit, London, UK.
Neuroreport. 1996 Dec 20;8(1):197-201. doi: 10.1097/00001756-199612200-00040.
The ability to attribute mental states to others ('theory of mind') pervades normal social interaction and is impaired in autistic individuals. In a previous positron emission tomography scan study of normal volunteers, performing a 'theory of mind' task was associated with activity in left medial prefrontal cortex. We used the same paradigm in five patients with Asperger syndrome, a mild variant of autism with normal intellectual functioning. No task-related activity was found in this region, but normal activity was observed in immediately adjacent areas. This result suggests that a highly circumscribed region of left medial prefrontal cortex is a crucial component of the brain system that underlies the normal understanding of other minds.
将心理状态归因于他人的能力（“心理理论”）贯穿于正常的社会互动中，而自闭症患者的这种能力受损。在之前一项针对正常志愿者的正电子发射断层扫描研究中，执行“心理理论”任务与左内侧前额叶皮质的活动有关。我们对五名阿斯伯格综合征患者采用了相同的范式，阿斯伯格综合征是自闭症的一种轻度变体，患者智力功能正常。在该区域未发现与任务相关的活动，但在紧邻区域观察到了正常活动。这一结果表明，左内侧前额叶皮质的一个高度限定区域是大脑系统的关键组成部分，该系统是正常理解他人心理的基础。
