Theory of mind impairments in schizophrenia: symptomatology, severity and specificity

Abstract

There is a clear association between ToM impairment and behavioural signs in schizophrenia. Deficits in paranoid patients are harder to detect with current tasks and may be compensated for by IQ-dependent problem-solving skills. ToM impairments in schizophrenia are less severe than in autism, but are specific and not a reflection of general cognitive deficits.

Th.o.m.a.s.: An exploratory assessment of Theory of Mind in schizophrenic subjects

“…Doody et al (1998) found that the schizophrenics' deficit in second-order ToM did not correlate with their IQ, while Pickup and Frith (2001) found a ToM impairment only in a second-order task and it was associated with low IQ. Brüne (2003) found a correlation between the verbal IQ of schizophrenic subjects and their performance at ToM tasks; the correlation still existed when the IQ of the subjects and of the controls was matched.…”

“…Smarties modified (cigarettes). This is a modified version (Pickup & Frith, 2001) of the original Smarties task (Perner, Leekam, & Wimmer, 1987). The experimenter shows the subject a cigarette pack and asks: ''What is inside this?".…”

190. Social Cognition in Early Schizophrenia: Exploratory Factor Analysis and Subcortical Biomarkers

“…Although previous studies have identified ToM to correlate with neurocognitive and clinical symptomatology, less is known about its importance in predicting functional outcome (Harrington, Siegert, & McClure, 2005;Pickup & Frith, 2001). Only a few studies have been conducted which indicate a potential relationship between social functioning and ToM ability (Pickup & Frith, 2001;Bora, Eryavuz, Kayahan, Sungu, & Veznedaroglu, 2006).…”

“…Only a few studies have been conducted which indicate a potential relationship between social functioning and ToM ability (Pickup & Frith, 2001;Bora, Eryavuz, Kayahan, Sungu, & Veznedaroglu, 2006). Our results bring support to ToM being a potential moderator of functional outcome in schizophrenia patients, and thus treatment improving ToM in early schizophrenia should be encouraged.…”

Prefrontal cortical dopamine from an evolutionary perspective

“…How adaptation takes places depends on the specific environment, such that adaptation could involve as many changes as there are stressful environments to which organisms are required to adapt. Indeed, stress is associated with various environmental factors (sych as social isolation, social crowding, social defeat, physical pain, and restraint), such that adaptation to stressful environments ToM deficits have been reported in schizophrenia [66,67] and autism [61] . Nevertheless, the bases of these deficits may differ between the disorders.…”