Cognitive contributions to theory of mind ability in children with a traumatic head injury

The objective of the current study is to examine the contribution of intellectual abilities, executive functions (EF), and facial emotion recognition to difficulties in Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities in children with a traumatic head injury. Israeli children with a traumatic head injury were compared with their non-injured counterparts. Each group included 18 children (12 males) ages 7–13. Measurements included reading the mind in the eyes, facial emotion recognition, reasoning the other’s characteristics based on motive and outcome, Raven’s Coloured Progressive Matrices, similarities and digit span (Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children – Revised 95 subscales), verbal fluency, and the Behaviour Rating Inventory of Executive Functions. Non-injured children performed significantly better on ToM, abstract reasoning, and EF measures compared with children with a traumatic head injury. However, differences in ToM abilities between the groups were no longer significant after controlling for abstract reasoning, working memory, verbal fluency, or facial emotion recognition. Impaired ToM recognition and reasoning abilities after a head injury may result from other cognitive impairments. In children with mild and moderate head injury, poorer performance on ToM tasks may reflect poorer abstract reasoning, a general tendency to concretize stimuli, working memory and verbal fluency deficits, and difficulties in facial emotion recognition, rather than deficits in the ability to understand the other’s thoughts and emotions. ToM impairments may be secondary to a range of cognitive deficits in determining social outcomes in this population.     

Visual scanning patterns and executive function in relation to facial emotion recognition in aging

ABSTRACT

Objective: The ability to perceive facial emotion varies with age. Relative to younger adults (YA), older adults (OA) are less accurate at identifying fear, anger, and sadness, and more accurate at identifying disgust. Because different emotions are conveyed by different parts of the face, changes in visual scanning patterns may account for age-related variability. We investigated the relation between scanning patterns and recognition of facial emotions. Additionally, as frontal-lobe changes with age may affect scanning patterns and emotion recognition, we examined correlations between scanning parameters and performance on executive function tests. Methods: We recorded eye movements from 16 OA (mean age 68.9) and 16 YA (mean age 19.2) while they categorized facial expressions and non-face control images (landscapes), and administered standard tests of executive function. Results: OA were less accurate than YA at identifying fear (p < .05, r = .44) and more accurate at identifying disgust (p < .05, r = .39). OA fixated less than YA on the top half of the face for disgust, fearful, happy, neutral, and sad faces (p values < .05, r values ≥ .38), whereas there was no group difference for landscapes. For OA, executive function was correlated with recognition of sad expressions and with scanning patterns for fearful, sad, and surprised expressions. Conclusion: We report significant age-related differences in visual scanning that are specific to faces. The observed relation between scanning patterns and executive function supports the hypothesis that frontal-lobe changes with age may underlie some changes in emotion recognition.     

Theory of mind and its relationship with executive functions and emotion recognition in borderline personality disorder

Impaired social cognition has been claimed to be a mechanism underlying the development and maintenance of borderline personality disorder (BPD). One important aspect of social cognition is the theory of mind (ToM), a complex skill that seems to be influenced by more basic processes, such as executive functions (EF) and emotion recognition. Previous ToM studies in BPD have yielded inconsistent results. This study assessed the performance of BPD adults on ToM, emotion recognition, and EF tasks. We also examined whether EF and emotion recognition could predict the performance on ToM tasks. We evaluated 15 adults with BPD and 15 matched healthy controls using different tasks of EF, emotion recognition, and ToM. The results showed that BPD adults exhibited deficits in the three domains, which seem to be task‐dependent. Furthermore, we found that EF and emotion recognition predicted the performance on ToM. Our results suggest that tasks that involve real‐life social scenarios and contextual cues are more sensitive to detect ToM and emotion recognition deficits in BPD individuals. Our findings also indicate that (a) ToM variability in BPD is partially explained by individual differences on EF and emotion recognition; and (b) ToM deficits of BPD patients are partially explained by the capacity to integrate cues from face, prosody, gesture, and social context to identify the emotions and others' beliefs.     

The role of control functions in mentalizing: dual-task studies of theory of mind and executive function

Conflicting evidence has arisen from correlational studies regarding the role of executive control functions in Theory of Mind. The current study used dual-task manipulations of executive functions (inhibition, updating and switching) to investigate the role of these control functions in mental state and non-mental state tasks. The 'Eyes' pictorial test of Theory of Mind showed specific dual-task costs when concurrently performed with an inhibitory secondary task. In contrast, interference effects on a verbal 'Stories' task were general, occurring on both mental state and non-mental state tasks, and across all types of executive function. These findings from healthy functioning adults should help to guide decisions about appropriate methods of assessing ToM in clinical populations, and interpreting deficits in performance in such tasks in the context of more general cognitive dysfunction.     

幼儿心理理论与情绪理解发展及关系的研究

本研究采用横断设计,以北京市某幼儿园大、中、小班共98名幼儿为被试,通过对其心理理论、情绪理解及语言能力的测试,考察幼儿心理理论和情绪理解的发展状况以及二者之间的关系。研究结果表明：(1)幼儿的心理理论和情绪理解在3～5岁期间发生了巨大的变化,在5岁的时候大多数的幼儿已经基本上具备了心理理论和情绪理解的能力,4岁是幼儿心理理论和情绪理解能力发展的关键年龄;(2)幼儿的心理理论和情绪理解的相关显著,即使在控制了语言和年龄的影响后,心理理论能力仍然和情绪理解能力在总体上相关显著;(3)在排除了语言和年龄的影响后,对他人错误信念的理解能力和情绪观点采择能力的相关也仍然显著。     

Executive cognitive functioning and the recognition of facial expressions of emotion in incarcerated violent offenders, non-violent offenders, and controls

Violence is a social problem that carries enormous costs; however, our understanding of its etiology is quite limited. A large body of research exists, which suggests a relationship between abnormalities of the frontal lobe and aggression; as a result, many researchers have implicated deficits in so-called "executive function" as an antecedent to aggressive behaviour. Another possibility is that violence may be related to problems interpreting facial expressions of emotion, a deficit associated with many forms of psychopathology, and an ability linked to the prefrontal cortex. The current study investigated performance on measures of executive function and on a facial-affect recognition task in 20 violent offenders, 20 non-violent offenders, and 20 controls. In support of our hypotheses, both offender groups performed significantly more poorly on measures of executive function relative to controls. In addition, violent offenders were significantly poorer on the facial-affect recognition task than either of the other two groups. Interestingly, scores on these measures were significantly correlated, with executive deficits associated with difficulties accurately interpreting facial affect. The implications of these results are discussed in terms of a broader understanding of violent behaviour.     

Development of a Unified Protocol for the Treatment of Emotional Disorders in Youth

This study evaluated the efficacy of the Mind Reading interactive computer software to remediate emotion recognition deficits in children with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Six unmedicated children with ASD and 11 unmedicated non-clinical control subjects participated in the study. The clinical sample used the software for five sessions. The control sample was evaluated only on pre- and post-test performance to assess practice effects. Results showed that participants with ASD scored significantly higher on the posttest than on the pretest. As level of emotion difficulty increased, mean scores on the pretest decreased, indicating that difficulty level had a valid effect. The Mind Reading computer software appears to significantly improve the emotion recognition abilities in children with ASD.     

The development of emotion recognition from facial expressions and non‐linguistic vocalizations during childhood

Sensitivity to facial and vocal emotion is fundamental to children's social competence. Previous research has focused on children's facial emotion recognition, and few studies have investigated non‐linguistic vocal emotion processing in childhood. We compared facial and vocal emotion recognition and processing biases in 4‐ to 11‐year‐olds and adults. Eighty‐eight 4‐ to 11‐year‐olds and 21 adults participated. Participants viewed/listened to faces and voices (angry, happy, and sad) at three intensity levels (50%, 75%, and 100%). Non‐linguistic tones were used. For each modality, participants completed an emotion identification task. Accuracy and bias for each emotion and modality were compared across 4‐ to 5‐, 6‐ to 9‐ and 10‐ to 11‐year‐olds and adults. The results showed that children's emotion recognition improved with age; preschoolers were less accurate than other groups. Facial emotion recognition reached adult levels by 11 years, whereas vocal emotion recognition continued to develop in late childhood. Response bias decreased with age. For both modalities, sadness recognition was delayed across development relative to anger and happiness. The results demonstrate that developmental trajectories of emotion processing differ as a function of emotion type and stimulus modality. In addition, vocal emotion processing showed a more protracted developmental trajectory, compared to facial emotion processing. The results have important implications for programmes aiming to improve children's socio‐emotional competence.     

Narrative accounts of illness in schizophrenia: association of different forms of awareness with neurocognition and social function over time

Awareness of illness in schizophrenia reflects complex storied understanding of the impact of the disorder upon one’s life. Individuals may be aware of their illness in different ways and this may be related to their functioning. A total of 76 adults with schizophrenia were assessed for their awareness of illness, neurocognition, social cognition, and social function concurrently and social function was also assessed at three later time points. A cluster analysis revealed 3 groups: generally full awareness, generally limited awareness, and superficial awareness. Comparisons between these profiles revealed the superficial group had poorer executive function, emotion recognition ability, and capacity for social relationships than the full awareness group, yet had better verbal memory and more social contacts than the limited awareness group. These results suggest assessing the narrative qualities of awareness of illness may reveal unique links with cognition and function, and this may have implications for interventions.     

Emotion recognition in body dysmorphic disorder: Application of the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task

Body dysmorphic disorder (BDD) is characterized by perceived appearance-related defects, often tied to aspects of the face or head (e.g., acne). Deficits in decoding emotional expressions have been examined in several psychological disorders including BDD. Previous research indicates that BDD is associated with impaired facial emotion recognition, particularly in situations that involve the BDD sufferer him/herself. The purpose of this study was to further evaluate the ability to read other people's emotions among 31 individuals with BDD, and 31 mentally healthy controls. We applied the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task, in which participants are presented with a series of pairs of eyes, one at a time, and are asked to identify the emotion that describes the stimulus best. The groups did not differ with respect to decoding other people's emotions by looking into their eyes. Findings are discussed in light of previous research examining emotion recognition in BDD.     

执行功能对个体情绪调节策略使用倾向和调节效果的影响

为了探讨执行功能对情绪调节的作用,通过两个研究分析执行功能对情绪调节策略使用倾向和情绪调节效果的影响。研究1以100名大学生为被试,采用执行功能任务和情绪调节策略问卷考察执行功能与情绪调节策略使用倾向之间的关系;研究2招募了40名大学生被试,采用执行功能任务和情绪调节任务考察执行功能对情绪调节效果的影响,依据执行功能总分对被试进行分组,分析前33%高执行功能被试和后33%低执行功能被试在情绪调节效果上是否存在差异。结果发现,执行功能越低的个体越倾向于选择使用表达抑制策略,执行功能越高的个体使用认知重评策略进行情绪调节的效果更好。     

执行功能与心理理论关系的元分析:抑制控制和灵活转换的作用

心理理论的发展对个体社会化具有重要意义。研究通过元分析的方法,表明执行功能能够有效预测个体心理理论的发展水平(r=0.37,p0.001),且具有跨文化和跨人群的稳定性;同时,在个体的毕生发展中,执行功能均与心理理论存在显著相关,证明了执行功能的表达说;但在不同的发展阶段(Q1=411.75,p10.001,df1=90;Q2=219.49,p20.001,df2=50),心理理论的发展会受到执行功能不同成分的影响:0~3岁时抑制控制起关键作用;3~12岁时,心理理论受到抑制控制和灵活转换的共同影响;青春期阶段,灵活转换的作用明显;而到了成年期,抑制控制与灵活转换均会对心理理论产生积极影响。     

Factors of biological risk and reserve associated with executive behaviors in children and adolescents with spina bifida myelomeningocele.

This study examined differences between healthy children (n = 35) and those with spina bifida myelomeningocele (SBM; n = 42) on the Behavior Rating Inventory of Executive Function (BRIEF), a measure of executive function behaviors. It also examined whether aspects of biological risk associated with SBM and reserve factors within the family could account for variability in BRIEF scores for children and adolescents with SBM. Patients in the SBM group exhibited more problems than both published norms and a local comparison group of healthy children in metacognition but not behavior regulation. Behavior regulation problems in children with SBM were predicted by parent psychological distress. More shunt-related surgeries and history of seizures predicted poorer metacognitive abilities.     

The relationship of maternal mentalization and executive functioning to maternal recognition of infant cues and bonding

The study examined associations between maternal mentalization ability, executive functioning, recognition of infant cues, and bonding in a non‐clinical sample of mothers. It employed a correlational design. Sixty‐four mothers of young infants completed assessments of mentalization ability, executive functioning, and bonding. Photographs of infant facial expressions were utilized to assess ability to recognize infant cues of emotion, but this was not found to correlate with either maternal mentalization or executive functioning ability. Whilst a trend towards a significant positive relationship between mothers' cued ability to attribute mental states and their ability to recognize infant facial expressions was observed, no significant relationships were found between bonding scores and performance on the executive functioning and mentalization measures. The present study contributes to our current understanding of the influence of maternal cognitive factors, specifically mentalization and executive functioning, on the development of the mother–infant relationship. Future research, methodological issues, and clinical and theoretical implications are discussed.     

Executive and attentional contributions to Theory of Mind deficit in attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children has been associated with attentional and executive problems, but also with socioemotional difficulties possibly associated with deficits in Theory of Mind (ToM). Socioemotional problems in ADHD are associated with more negative prognoses, notably interpersonal, educational problems, and an increased risk of developing other psychiatric disorders that emphasize the need to clarify the nature of their ToM deficits. In this study, we hypothesized that ToM dysfunction in children with ADHD is largely attributable to their attentional and/or executive deficits. Thirty-one children with ADHD (8–12 years, IQ > 85) and 31 typically developing (TD) children were assessed using executive functions (inhibition, planning, and flexibility) and attentional tasks, as well as two advanced ToM tasks (Reading the Mind in the Eyes and Faux Pas) involving different levels of executive control. Children with ADHD performed more poorly than TD children in attentional, executive function, and ToM tasks. Linear regression analyses conducted in the ADHD group indicated that inhibition scores predicted performance on the “Faux Pas” task the best, while attention scores were the best for predicting performance on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes task. When controlled for inhibition and attentional variables, ToM performance in children with ADHD was actually similar to TD children. Contrarily, controlling for ToM scores did not normalize performance for inhibition and attentional tasks in children with ADHD. This unidirectional relationship suggests that deficits in the EF and attentional domains are responsible for ToM deficits in ADHD, which therefore may contribute to their socioemotional difficulties.     

Ageing, remembering, and executive function

This study was designed to investigate the relationship between executive functions and the age-related decline in episodic memory through the states-of-awareness approach. Following the presentation of a word list, a group of younger adults and a group of older adults undertook a recognition test in which they classified their responses according to the Remember-Know-Guess procedure (Gardiner & Richardson-Klavehn, 2000). In order to operationalise the executive function hypothesis, we investigated three specific executive functions (updating, shifting, and inhibition of a prepotent response) described in Miyake et al.'s (2000) theoretical model, and a complex executive task. The results revealed that fewer "R" responses were made during the recognition test by the older than the younger group, whereas there was no difference between the groups in the number of "K" responses. In addition, correlations indicated that remembering depended on executive function measures, whereas knowing did not. The hierarchical regression analyses showed that controlling for executive function, and particularly for the 2-back test, largely removed the age-related variance in remembering. These findings support the notion that executive dysfunction, and specifically updating decline, plays a central role in age-related memory loss.     

Similar patterns of age-related differences in emotion recognition from speech and music

Young and old adults’ ability to recognize emotions from vocal expressions and music performances was compared. The stimuli consisted of (a) acted speech (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, and sadness; each posed with both weak and strong emotion intensity), (b) synthesized speech (anger, fear, happiness, and sadness), and (c) short melodies played on the electric guitar (anger, fear, happiness, and sadness; each played with both weak and strong emotion intensity). The listeners’ recognition of discrete emotions and emotion intensity was assessed and the recognition rates were controlled for various response biases. Results showed emotion-specific age-related differences in recognition accuracy. Old adults consistently received significantly lower recognition rates for negative, but not for positive, emotions for both speech and music stimuli. Some age-related differences were also evident in the listeners’ ratings of emotion intensity. The results show the importance of considering individual emotions in studies on age-related differences in emotion recognition.     

Hot and Cool Executive Function and its Relation to Theory of Mind in Children with and without Autism Spectrum Disorder

Previous research has clearly demonstrated that autism spectrum disorder (ASD) involves deficits in multiple neuropsychological functions, such as executive function (EF) and theory of mind (ToM). A conceptual distinction is commonly made between cool and hot EF. In ASD, continued attention has been paid to the cool areas of executive dysfunction. Cool EF has been strongly related to ToM, but research has not taken into account the association between hot EF and ToM in ASD. The present study investigated the associations between hot and cool EF and ToM in 56 school-aged children with ASD and 69 controls on tasks tapping cool EF (i.e., working memory, inhibition, planning), hot EF (i.e., affective decision making, delay discounting), and ToM (i.e., mental state/emotion recognition and false belief). Significant group differences in each EF measure support an executive dysfunction in both domains in ASD. Strong associations between delay discounting and ToM mental state/emotion recognition were found, suggesting that hot EF makes a unique contribution to ToM above and beyond cool EF in typical development and ASD. This study improves understanding of the profile of higher-order cognitive deficits in children with ASD, which may inform diagnosis and intervention.     

Are Sensation Seeking and Emotion Processing Related to or Distinct from Cognitive Control in Children with ADHD?

This study evaluated the relationship of (a) reactive inhibition and right-lateralized emotion processing to each other and (b) to executive control of response suppression, and (c) with regard to ADHD in 134 children ages 7–12 years. Reactive inhibition was indexed by child ratings of sensation seeking on the Sensation Seeking Scales, executive control by the Stop Signal Task, emotion processing by performance on the Chimeric Faces Test, and ADHD by parent- and teacher-reported symptoms. The results were consistent with a two-process model in which executive control, conceived as a right-hemisphere lateralized function, was distinct from sensation seeking and lateralized emotion processing. Supporting this distinction, ADHD was associated with executive control, but not with sensation seeking/reactive inhibition or lateralized emotion processing. The findings suggest that ADHD cannot be understood as a global right-lateralized neuropsychological weakness, but rather that it involves only particular functions that may be right lateralized. Findings further suggest that risk for comorbid disorders in ADHD (e.g., conduct disorder or mood disorders) may increase as a function of independent factors such as temperament. Mechanisms underlying executive inhibition and emotional processing could be functionally independent yet interact to multiply psychopathological risk in some children (leading, for example, to comorbid disorders).     

Are sensation seeking and emotion processing related to or distinct from cognitive control in children with ADHD?

This study evaluated the relationship of (a) reactive inhibition and right-lateralized emotion processing to each other and (b) to executive control of response suppression, and (c) with regard to ADHD in 134 children ages 7-12 years. Reactive inhibition was indexed by child ratings of sensation seeking on the Sensation Seeking Scales, executive control by the Stop Signal Task, emotion processing by performance on the Chimeric Faces Test, and ADHD by parent- and teacher-reported symptoms. The results were consistent with a two-process model in which executive control, conceived as a right-hemisphere lateralized function, was distinct from sensation seeking and lateralized emotion processing. Supporting this distinction, ADHD was associated with executive control, but not with sensation seeking/reactive inhibition or lateralized emotion processing. The findings suggest that ADHD cannot be understood as a global right-lateralized neuropsychological weakness, but rather that it involves only particular functions that may be right lateralized. Findings further suggest that risk for comorbid disorders in ADHD (e.g., conduct disorder or mood disorders) may increase as a function of independent factors such as temperament. Mechanisms underlying executive inhibition and emotional processing could be functionally independent yet interact to multiply psychopathological risk in some children (leading, for example, to comorbid disorders).