This longitudinal study examined the concurrent and predictive relations between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) in 82 preschoolers who were assessed when they were 2, 3, and 4 years old. The results showed that the concurrent relation between EF and ToM, after controlling for age, verbal ability, and sex, was significant at 3 and 4 years of age but not at 2 years of age. Hiera...

In Howe’ s study (2002), humor originates from perceiving the thoughts of the subject in the humor. We assume that humor and theory of mind (ToM), the ability to infer one’s metal states, could have some relationships. However, the relationships are not clearly known. The present research is aimed to explore the issue by using ToM-jokes, non-ToM jokes, and their unfunny version. The unfunny ver...

The ability to infer other people's mental states (i.e. Theory of Mind, ToM) is a major topic of interest in various neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, it is only recently that there has been an assessment of cognitive and affective components of ToM ability in neurodegenerative disorders. In this review, we examine studies investigating the ToM ability in Parkinson's disease (PD)...

First-order theory of mind (ToM) is necessary for comprehension of metaphors, and second-order ToM is necessary for comprehension of irony. This study investigated the role of ToM and language ability in comprehending figurative language in 50 Taiwanese children with high-functioning autism spectrum disorders (HFASDs) compared with 50 typically developing children. Results showed that the No-To...

An individual having a Theory of Mind (ToM) can read the minds of others. If we assume that individuals with a ToM also consider others and themselves to have a ToM, then there should be a recursive structure here. We believe that evolution of this structure is deeply linked to the evolution of intelligence, which is consistent with the social intelligence hypothesis. We construct an agent-base...

Theory-of-mind (ToM) ability is foundational for successful social relationships, and dependent on a neurocognitive system, which includes temporoparietal junction and medial prefrontal cortex. Schizophrenia is associated with ToM impairments, and initial studies demonstrate similar, though more subtle deficits, in unaffected first-degree relatives, indicating that ToM deficits are a potential ...

Caenorhabditis elegans TOM-1 is orthologous to vertebrate tomosyn, a cytosolic syntaxin-binding protein implicated in the modulation of both constitutive and regulated exocytosis. To investigate how TOM-1 regulates exocytosis of synaptic vesicles in vivo, we analyzed C. elegans tom-1 mutants. Our electrophysiological analysis indicates that evoked postsynaptic responses at tom-1 mutant synapses...

There is robust evidence showing a link between executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM) in 3- to 5-year-olds. However, it is unclear whether this relationship extends to middle childhood. In addition, there has been much discussion about the nature of this relationship. Whereas some authors claim that ToM is needed for EF, others argue that ToM requires EF. To date, however, studies ex...

The "orbitofrontal" and "cingulate" frontostriatal loops and the mesolimbic dopaminergic system that modulates their function have been implicated in theory of mind (ToM). Parkinson's disease (PD) provides a model for assessing their role in humans. Results of the handful of previous studies of ToM in PD providing preliminary evidence of impairment remain controversial, mainly because the patie...

By Francis A. Roesch and Gregorv A. Reams Y I The USDA Forest Service Southern Research Station (SRS) Forest Inventory and Analysis Unit (FIA) has initiated an annualized forest inventory sampling des@, the Southern Annual Forest Inventory System (SAFIS). SAFIS was introduced to improve estimation of both the current resource inventory and changes in the resource. Under the previous periodic in...