Objective: the main objective of this study is to consider Theory of Mind (ToM), i.e. the ability to perceive other people in terms of thinking, believing and emotions, as a target for effective rehabilitative intervention, using Emotion and ToM Imitation Training (ETIT), aimed at improving social cognition and social functioning in schizophrenia. ToM impairment is a key feature of schizophreni...

Theory of Mind (ToM), the cognitive capacity to attribute emotions, intentions and knowledge to oneself and others, has been claimed a hallmark of human cognition. Nonetheless, ToM is considered limited in young children and people with autism. Moreover, its presence in animals is much investigated, and hotly debated. For cross-disciplinary discussions and real insight in this unique capacity i...

Individuals with psychopathy show impaired emotional and social behavior, such as lack of emotional responsiveness to others and deficient empathy. However, there are controversies regarding these individuals theory of mind (ToM) abilities and the neuroanatomical basis of their aberrant social behavior. The present study tested the hypothesis that impairment in the emotional aspects of ToM (aff...

A large body of literature agrees that persons with schizophrenia suffer from a Theory of Mind (ToM) deficit. However, most empirical studies have focused on third-person, egocentric ToM, underestimating other facets of this complex cognitive skill. Aim of this research is to examine the ToM of schizophrenic persons considering its various aspects (first- vs. second-order, first- vs. third-pers...

We studied three forms of dyadic communication involving theory of mind (ToM) in 82 children with traumatic brain injury (TBI) and 61 children with orthopedic injury (OI): Cognitive (concerned with false belief), Affective (concerned with expressing socially deceptive facial expressions), and Conative (concerned with influencing another's thoughts or feelings). We analyzed the pattern of brain ...

Qualitative and quantitative reviews of the neuroimaging literature show that overlapping brain regions support theory of mind (ToM) and autobiographical memory (AM). This overlap has been taken to suggest that individuals draw on past personal experiences to infer others' mental states, but work with amnesic people shows that ToM does not always depend on AM. One variable that may determine th...