Titre
Theory of mind tasks and executive functions: A systematic review of group studies in neurology.
Type
article
Institution
UNIL/CHUV/Unisanté + institutions partenaires
Périodique
Auteur(s)
Aboulafia-Brakha, T.
Auteure/Auteur
Christe, B.
Auteure/Auteur
Martory, M.D.
Auteure/Auteur
Annoni, J.M.
Auteure/Auteur
Liens vers les personnes
Liens vers les unités
ISSN
1748-6645
Statut éditorial
Publié
Date de publication
2011
Volume
5
Numéro
1
Première page
39
Dernière page/numéro d’article
55
Langue
anglais
Résumé
A growing number of studies have been addressing the relationship between theory of mind (TOM) and executive functions (EF) in patients with acquired neurological pathology. In order to provide a global overview on the main findings, we conducted a systematic review on group studies where we aimed to (1) evaluate the patterns of impaired and preserved abilities of both TOM and EF in groups of patients with acquired neurological pathology and (2) investigate the existence of particular relations between different EF domains and TOM tasks. The search was conducted in Pubmed/Medline. A total of 24 articles met the inclusion criteria. We considered for analysis classical clinically accepted TOM tasks (first- and second-order false belief stories, the Faux Pas test, Happe's stories, the Mind in the Eyes task, and Cartoon's tasks) and EF domains (updating, shifting, inhibition, and access). The review suggests that (1) EF and TOM appear tightly associated. However, the few dissociations observed suggest they cannot be reduced to a single function; (2) no executive subprocess could be specifically associated with TOM performances; (3) the first-order false belief task and the Happe's story task seem to be less sensitive to neurological pathologies and less associated to EF. Even though the analysis of the reviewed studies demonstrates a close relationship between TOM and EF in patients with acquired neurological pathology, the nature of this relationship must be further investigated. Studies investigating ecological consequences of TOM and EF deficits, and intervention researches may bring further contributions to this question.
PID Serval
serval:BIB_19907152128E
PMID
Date de création
2011-04-18T14:11:22.224Z
Date de création dans IRIS
2025-05-20T17:43:14Z