1
|
Hamilton LJ, Krendl AC. Evidence for the role of affective theory of mind in face-name associative memory. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2024; 31:417-437. [PMID: 36999681 PMCID: PMC10544671 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2023.2194607] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2022] [Accepted: 03/20/2023] [Indexed: 04/01/2023]
Abstract
Poor face-name recall has been associated with age-related impairments in cognitive functioning, namely declines in episodic memory and executive control. However, the role of social cognitive function - the ability to remember, process, and store information about others - has been largely overlooked in this work. Extensive work has shown that social and nonsocial cognitive processes rely on unique, albeit overlapping, mechanisms. In the current study, we explored whether social cognitive functioning - specifically the ability to infer other people's mental states (i.e., theory of mind) - facilitates better face-name learning. To do this, a sample of 289 older and young adults completed a face-name learning paradigm along with standard assessments of episodic memory and executive control alongside two theory of mind measures, one static and one dynamic. In addition to expected age differences, several key effects emerged. Age-related differences in recognition were explained by episodic memory, not social cognition. However, age effects in recall were explained by both episodic memory and social cognition, specifically affective theory of mind in the dynamic task. Altogether, we contend that face-name recall can be supported by social cognitive functioning, namely understanding emotions. While acknowledging the influence of task characteristics (i.e., lures, target ages), we interpret these findings in light of existing accounts of age differences in face-name associative memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucas J Hamilton
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| | - Anne C Krendl
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN, USA
| |
Collapse
|
2
|
Bergman YS, Weissberger GH. Ageist attitudes and psychological distress in older adults: The moderating role of reflective functioning. Stress Health 2024:e3408. [PMID: 38661019 DOI: 10.1002/smi.3408] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/22/2023] [Revised: 03/09/2024] [Accepted: 04/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/26/2024]
Abstract
Ageist attitudes have been associated with various aspects of psychological functioning in older adults. According to Terror Management Theory, older adults may be seen as a reminder of human demise and death, and research has demonstrated links between ageist attitudes and compromised abilities to seek and maintain close personal relationships, which ward off awareness of one's mortality. Accordingly, the current work examined whether reflective functioning, or the ability to comprehend one's own and others' mental states, mitigates the negative psychological manifestations of ageist attitudes in older adults. Data was collected from 686 participants aged 60-94 (Mage = 72.64, SD = 6.28), who completed scales assessing ageist attitudes, reflective functioning, and psychological distress, as well as relevant socio-demographic information. Results indicated that ageist attitudes were linked with low levels of reflective functioning and enhanced psychological distress. Moreover, reflective functioning moderated the ageist attitudes-distress link, which was not significant in individuals reporting high levels of reflective functioning. This study provides insight into how the ability to comprehend others' mental states mitigates the adverse psychological effects of ageist attitudes and highlights the importance of examining relationship-enhancing personal factors within the context of negative ageing perceptions and psychological distress.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Yoav S Bergman
- Faculty of Social Work, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel
| | - Gali H Weissberger
- Department of Social and Health Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
3
|
Fu IN, Chen CT, Chen KL, Liu MR, Hsieh CL. Development and validation of the newly developed Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P). Front Psychol 2024; 15:1274204. [PMID: 38650906 PMCID: PMC11033484 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1274204] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/05/2023] [Accepted: 02/28/2024] [Indexed: 04/25/2024] Open
Abstract
Introduction Theory of mind (ToM) refers to the ability to understand and attribute mental states to oneself and others. A ToM measure is warranted for preschool children to assess their ToM development from a multidimensional perspective (i.e., cognitive and affective dimensions). This study aimed to develop the Preschool Theory of Mind Assessment (ToMA-P) and to evaluate its construct validity and applicability. Methods The ToMA-P was developed based on comprehensive literature review and revised with expert panel feedback. Its psychometric properties were evaluated in 205 typically developing preschoolers with Rasch analysis for its dimensionality, item difficulties, and convergent validity. Results The results indicated that all ToMA-P items, except for one, fit the hypothesized two-dimensional construct. The item difficulties in the cognitive and affective dimensions followed developmental sequences. The ToMA-P scores exhibited good convergent validity, as evidenced by its significant correlations with age, verbal comprehension, adaptive functions, and daily ToM performance (p < 0.05). Children's responses and behaviors also showed that the ToMA-P has good applicability. Discussion This study provides empirical evidence that the ToMA-P measures cognitive and affective ToM following developmental sequences, and that it has potential as a clinical tool for assessing ToM in preschool children.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- I-Ning Fu
- Child Developmental Assessment and Intervention Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Cheng-Te Chen
- Department of Educational Psychology and Counseling, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan
| | - Kuan-Lin Chen
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Institute of Allied Health Sciences, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University Hospital, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan, Taiwan
| | - Meng-Ru Liu
- Child Developmental Assessment and Intervention Center, Taipei City Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ching-Lin Hsieh
- School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan
- Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taichung, Taiwan
| |
Collapse
|
4
|
Jin M, Peng H. Who Will Be More Egocentric? Age Differences in the Impact of Retrospective Self-Experience on Interpersonal Emotion Intensity Judgment. Behav Sci (Basel) 2024; 14:299. [PMID: 38667095 PMCID: PMC11047662 DOI: 10.3390/bs14040299] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 04/01/2024] [Accepted: 04/02/2024] [Indexed: 04/29/2024] Open
Abstract
This study investigates whether the retrospective self-experience of older adults affects and biases interpersonal emotion judgment more than that of younger adults by adopting the paradigm of the self-generated anchoring effect. Participants (older adults: n = 63; younger adults: n = 65) were required to retrospectively consider their self-experiences and judge their possible emotion intensity in anchor-generating scenarios (high- or low-anchor scenarios). Subsequently, participants estimated the protagonist's emotion intensity in target scenarios. The age-related interaction effect showed that older adults exhibited a significant self-generated anchoring effect in more emotion categories (four emotions) compared with younger adults (two emotions). After controlling for inhibition or working memory as a covariant, this interaction effect was no longer significant. The results from multilevel regression analysis also indicated the significant effect of self-emotion across all models on participants' judgment of others' emotions. The results indicated that older adults were more affected by retrospective self-experiences, leading to more egocentric judgment, than younger adults. This different influence from the retrospective self-experiences might partially have been caused by the age-related difference in cognitive abilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Menghan Jin
- Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Huamao Peng
- Institute of Developmental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China;
- Beijing Key Laboratory of Applied Experimental Psychology, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| |
Collapse
|
5
|
Ebner NC, Horta M, El-Shafie D. New directions for studying the aging social-cognitive brain. Curr Opin Psychol 2024; 56:101768. [PMID: 38104362 PMCID: PMC10939782 DOI: 10.1016/j.copsyc.2023.101768] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2023] [Revised: 11/17/2023] [Accepted: 11/21/2023] [Indexed: 12/19/2023]
Abstract
The study of social cognition has extended across the lifespan with a recent special focus on the impacts of aging on the social-cognitive brain. This review summarizes current knowledge on social perception, theory of mind, empathy, and social behavior from a social-cognitive neuroscience of aging perspective and identifies new directions for studying the aging social-cognitive brain. These new directions highlight the need for (i) standardized operationalization and analysis of social-cognitive constructs; (ii) use of naturalistic paradigms to enhance ecological validity of social-cognitive measures; (iii) application of repeated assessments via single-N designs for robust delineation of social-cognitive processes in the aging brain; (iv) increased representation of vulnerable aging populations in social-cognitive brain research to enhance diversity, promote generalizability, and allow for cross-population comparisons.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Natalie C Ebner
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Institute on Aging, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Center for Cognitive Aging and Memory, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA.
| | - Marilyn Horta
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA; Pain Research and Intervention Center of Excellence, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| | - Dalia El-Shafie
- Department of Psychology, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL, USA
| |
Collapse
|
6
|
Krendl AC, Hugenberg K, Kennedy DP. Comparing data quality from an online and in-person lab sample on dynamic theory of mind tasks. Behav Res Methods 2024; 56:2353-2375. [PMID: 37322311 PMCID: PMC11061881 DOI: 10.3758/s13428-023-02152-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 05/24/2023] [Indexed: 06/17/2023]
Abstract
Nearly half the published research in psychology is conducted with online samples, but the preponderance of these studies rely primarily on self-report measures. The current study validated data quality from an online sample on a novel, dynamic task by comparing performance between an in-lab and online sample on two dynamic measures of theory of mind-the ability to infer others' mental states. Theory of mind is a cognitively complex construct that has been widely studied across multiple domains of psychology. One task was based on the show The Office®, and has been previously validated by the authors with in-lab samples. The second was a novel task based on the show Nathan for You®, which was selected to account for familiarity effects associated with The Office. Both tasks measured various dimensions of theory of mind (inferring beliefs, understanding motivations, detecting deception, identifying faux pas, and understanding emotions). The in-person lab samples (N = 144 and 177, respectively) completed the tasks between-subject, whereas the online sample (N = 347 from Prolific Academic) completed them within-subject, with order counterbalanced. The online sample's performance across both tasks was reliable (Cronbach's α = .66). For The Office, the in-person sample outperformed the online sample on some types of theory of mind, but this was driven by their greater familiarity with the show. Indeed, for the relatively unfamiliar show Nathan for You, performance did not differ between the two samples. Together, these results suggest that crowdsourcing platforms elicit reliable performance on novel, dynamic, complex tasks.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne C. Krendl
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Kurt Hugenberg
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| | - Daniel P. Kennedy
- Department of Psychological & Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, 1101 E. 10th St., Bloomington, IN 47405, USA
| |
Collapse
|
7
|
Mazza M, Donne IL, Vagnetti R, Attanasio M, Paola Greco M, Chiara Pino M, Valenti M. Normative values and diagnostic optimisation of three social cognition measures for autism and schizophrenia diagnosis in a healthy adolescent and adult sample. Q J Exp Psychol (Hove) 2024; 77:511-529. [PMID: 37129426 DOI: 10.1177/17470218231175613] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Awareness of the importance of assessing social cognition skills under conditions showing atypical social behaviours has increased over the years. However, the evaluation of the psychometric properties of the measures and the availability of normative values for the clinical context are still limited. This study aims to revise, provide normative values, and evaluate the clinical validity of the Italian version of three social cognition measures: Advanced Theory of Mind (A-ToM) task, the Emotion Attribution Task (EAT), and the Social Situation Task (SST). Measures were administered to 580 adolescents and adult healthy controls (age range 14-50). We performed differential item functioning and Rasch analysis to revise each task, so normative data of the revised measures were calculated. Moreover, the revised measures were administered to 38 individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and 35 individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD): ASD and SSD were matched by age, gender, and IQ with a control sample to evaluate clinical validity. ROC analysis showed that the SST is the best measure differentiating between healthy and clinical groups, compared to the A-ToM (AUCASD = 0.70; AUCSSD = 0.65) and EAT (AUCASD = 0.67; AUCSSD = 0.50), which showed poorer performance. For SSD diagnosis, two SST subscales (Violation and Gravity score) indicated the best accuracy (AUCs of 0.88 and 0.84, respectively); for the ASD diagnosis, we propose a combined score between the SST subscale and A-ToM (AUC = 0.86). The results suggest that the proposed measures can be used to support the diagnostic process and clinical practice.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Monica Mazza
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences (DISCAB), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Ilenia Le Donne
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences (DISCAB), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Roberto Vagnetti
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences (DISCAB), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Margherita Attanasio
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences (DISCAB), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Maria Paola Greco
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences (DISCAB), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Maria Chiara Pino
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences (DISCAB), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
| | - Marco Valenti
- Department of Biotechnological and Applied Clinical Sciences (DISCAB), University of L'Aquila, L'Aquila, Italy
- Abruzzo Region Health System, Reference Regional Centre for Autism, L'Aquila, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
8
|
Weissberger GH, Bergman YS. Reflective Functioning and Financial Exploitation Vulnerability in Older Adults: The Importance of Significant Others. Clin Gerontol 2024:1-10. [PMID: 38389427 DOI: 10.1080/07317115.2024.2320921] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 02/24/2024]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Financial exploitation of older adults results in devastating economic, social, and psychological losses to older adults, their families, and society at large. This study examined the relationship between reflective functioning and financial exploitation vulnerability (FEV) and whether relationship status moderated the association. METHODS A community-based sample of 156 Israeli older adults age 60 and over responded to demographic questions and questionnaires assessing reflective functioning and FEV. RESULTS A hierarchical linear regression analysis covarying for age, sex, education, income, and sum of illnesses, revealed that higher reflective functioning was associated with lower FEV (p = .011). A main effect of relationship status was not found, but a significant interaction of reflective functioning × relationship status was discovered (p = .008), adding 4.2% to the total variance of the model. Probing the interaction revealed that the reflective functioning-FEV association was significant only for older adults not in a relationship. CONCLUSIONS Findings suggest that low reflective functioning may be associated with increased risk of financial exploitation, specifically in certain populations of older adults. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS Care providers of older adults may consider assessing for, and identifying older adults with low reflective functioning, in order to prevent or intervene in the event of a potentially exploitative situation.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Gali H Weissberger
- Department of Social and Health Sciences, Bar-Ilan University, Ramat-Gan, Israel
| | - Yoav S Bergman
- Faculty of Social Work, Ashkelon Academic College, Ashkelon, Israel
| |
Collapse
|
9
|
Li X, Ng KK, Wong JJY, Zhou JH, Yow WQ. Brain gray matter morphometry relates to onset age of bilingualism and theory of mind in young and older adults. Sci Rep 2024; 14:3193. [PMID: 38326334 PMCID: PMC10850089 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-023-48710-4] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/12/2023] [Accepted: 11/29/2023] [Indexed: 02/09/2024] Open
Abstract
Lifelong bilingualism may result in neural reserve against decline not only in the general cognitive domain, but also in social cognitive functioning. In this study, we show the brain structural correlates that are associated with second language age of acquisition (L2AoA) and theory of mind (the ability to reason about mental states) in normal aging. Participants were bilingual adults (46 young, 50 older) who completed a theory-of-mind task battery, a language background questionnaire, and an anatomical MRI scan to obtain cortical morphometric features (i.e., gray matter volume, thickness, and surface area). Findings indicated a theory-of-mind decline in older adults compared to young adults, controlling for education and general cognition. Importantly, earlier L2AoA and better theory-of-mind performance were associated with larger volume, higher thickness, and larger surface area in the bilateral temporal, medial temporal, superior parietal, and prefrontal brain regions. These regions are likely to be involved in mental representations, language, and cognitive control. The morphometric association with L2AoA in young and older adults were comparable, but its association with theory of mind was stronger in older adults than young adults. The results demonstrate that early bilingual acquisition may provide protective benefits to intact theory-of-mind abilities against normal age-related declines.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Xiaoqian Li
- Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Kwun Kei Ng
- Centre for Sleep and Cognition & Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Joey Ju Yu Wong
- Centre for Sleep and Cognition & Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore
| | - Juan Helen Zhou
- Centre for Sleep and Cognition & Centre for Translational Magnetic Resonance Research, Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
- Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, National University of Singapore, Singapore, Singapore.
| | - W Quin Yow
- Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences, Singapore University of Technology and Design, Singapore, Singapore.
| |
Collapse
|
10
|
Šalčiūnaitė-Nikonovė L, Leonas L, Sapranavičiūtė-Zabazlajeva L. The Effect of Alexithymia, Attention, and Pain Characteristics on Mentalizing Abilities Among Adults With Chronic Pain. Psychol Rep 2024:332941241226895. [PMID: 38214236 DOI: 10.1177/00332941241226895] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/13/2024]
Abstract
Introduction: Impaired mentalizing abilities are found among persons with chronic pain, yet it is still unknown why. The current study focuses on mentalizing abilities and how these could be affected by different pain factors, alexithymia traits, and other aspects of psychological functioning (depression, anxiety, attention) in persons experiencing chronic pain.Methods: 71 participants (80.3% female; mean age 56.1 (SD = 13.1)) with subjectively reported chronic pain conditions participated in the study. Mentalizing abilities were assessed using an objective assessment of the Frith-Happé animations test. Alexithymia was measured using Toronto Alexithymia Scale. Subjectively reported data on various pain characteristics and other related psychological factors (depression, anxiety, attention) were collected. Bivariate linear regression analyses were used to identify variables that had statistically significant relationships with Frith-Happé test scores as dependent variables, which were then used to build multivariate models.Results: Mentalization task scores had no significant associations with alexithymia. However, in bivariate models, greater Frith-Happé animations categorisation score was associated with higher attention task scores (βs = .332, p = .005), higher education (βs = .317, p = .007), and lower level of depressiveness (βs = -.234, p = .049). Greater animations feelings scores were associated with less severe pain intensity (βs = -.322, p = .006), younger age (βs = -.399, p = .001), and better attention (βs = .383, p = .001). In multivariate analysis models predicting both animations categorisation and feelings scores, attention was found to be the only statistically significant factor (respectively, βs = .257, p = .029 and βs = .264, p = .035).Conclusions: No significant correlations were found between mentalizing abilities and alexithymic features in persons with chronic pain. Disruptions of attention was the most significant factor leading to lower mentalizing abilities in persons with chronic pain.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Laura Šalčiūnaitė-Nikonovė
- Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Public Health, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
- Health Research Institute, Faculty of Public Health, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - Linas Leonas
- Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Public Health, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
| | - Laura Sapranavičiūtė-Zabazlajeva
- Department of Health Psychology, Faculty of Public Health, Medical Academy, Lithuanian University of Health Sciences, Kaunas, Lithuania
| |
Collapse
|
11
|
Escudero-Cabarcas J, Pineda-Alhucema W, Martinez-Banfi M, Acosta-López JE, Cervantes-Henriquez ML, Mejía-Segura E, Jiménez-Figueroa G, Sánchez-Barros C, Puentes-Rozo PJ, Noguera-Machacón LM, Ahmad M, de la Hoz M, Vélez JI, Arcos-Burgos M, Pineda DA, Sánchez M. Theory of Mind in Huntington's Disease: A Systematic Review of 20 Years of Research. J Huntingtons Dis 2024; 13:15-31. [PMID: 38517797 DOI: 10.3233/jhd-230594] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 03/24/2024]
Abstract
Background People with Huntington's disease (HD) exhibit neurocognitive alterations throughout the disease, including deficits in social cognitive processes such as Theory of Mind (ToM). Objective The aim is to identify methodologies and ToM instruments employed in HD, alongside relevant findings, within the scientific literature of the past two decades. Methods We conducted a comprehensive search for relevant papers in the SCOPUS, PubMed, APA-PsyArticles, Web of Science, Redalyc, and SciELO databases. In the selection process, we specifically focused on studies that included individuals with a confirmed genetic status of HD and investigated ToM functioning in patients with and without motor symptoms. The systematic review followed the PRISMA protocol. Results A total of 27 papers were selected for this systematic review, covering the period from 2003 to 2023. The findings consistently indicate that ToM is globally affected in patients with manifest motor symptoms. In individuals without motor symptoms, impairments are focused on the affective dimensions of ToM. Conclusions Based on our analysis, affective ToM could be considered a potential biomarker for HD. Therefore, it is recommended that ToM assessment be included as part of neuropsychological evaluation protocols in clinical settings. Suchinclusion could aid in the identification of early stages of the disease and provide new opportunities for treatment, particularly with emerging drugs like antisense oligomers. The Prospero registration number for this review is CRD42020209769.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Johana Escudero-Cabarcas
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Wilmar Pineda-Alhucema
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Martha Martinez-Banfi
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Johan E Acosta-López
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Martha L Cervantes-Henriquez
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Elsy Mejía-Segura
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Giomar Jiménez-Figueroa
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Cristian Sánchez-Barros
- Hospital Juaneda Miramar Departamento de Neurofisiología Clínica Palma de Mallorca, Islas Baleares, España
| | - Pedro J Puentes-Rozo
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
- Grupo de Neurociencias del Caribe, Universidad del Atlántico, Barranquilla, Colombia
| | | | - Mostapha Ahmad
- Universidad Simón Bolívar, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Barranquilla, Colombia
| | - Moisés de la Hoz
- Universidad Simón Bolívar, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud Barranquilla, Colombia
| | | | - Mauricio Arcos-Burgos
- Grupo de Investigación en Psiquiatría (GIPSI), Departamento de Psiquiatría, Instituto de Investigaciones Médicas, Facultad de Medicina, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellín, Colombia
| | - David A Pineda
- Grupo de investigación Neuropsicología y Conducta, Universidad de San Buenaventura, Medellín, Colombia
| | - Manuel Sánchez
- Centro de Inv. e Innovación en Ciencias Sociales, Facultad de ciencias jurídicas y Sociales, Universidad Simón Bolívar, Barranquilla, Colombia
| |
Collapse
|
12
|
McClellan LS, van der Miesen AIR, Tishelman AC, Fischbach AL, Song M, Campos LA, Strang JF. Cognitive and Developmental Profiles Associated with Self-Reported Sexual and Gender Minority Stigmatization Among Binary Transgender Adolescents. JOURNAL OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY : THE OFFICIAL JOURNAL FOR THE SOCIETY OF CLINICAL CHILD AND ADOLESCENT PSYCHOLOGY, AMERICAN PSYCHOLOGICAL ASSOCIATION, DIVISION 53 2023:1-17. [PMID: 38118056 DOI: 10.1080/15374416.2023.2292045] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/22/2023]
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Sexual and gender minority (SGM) stigmatization is a key factor related to transgender adolescent mental health. While previous research has focused on direct associations between stigmatization and mental health, the present study of transgender youth, equitably recruited across the autism spectrum, examines cognitive and developmental factors in relation to the self-report of experienced and perceived SGM stigmatization. METHOD 65 binary transgender adolescents (43% transfeminine; ages 13-21 years) were intentionally recruited across the spectrum of autism traits from no traits to full criteria autism. Participants completed measures of autism-related social differences, cognitive abilities, and self-reported directly experienced and perceived SGM stigma. Autism-related social differences, cognitive abilities, and age were studied in relation to both SGM stigma factors. RESULTS Autism-related social differences were negatively associated with level of directly experienced SGM stigma but unassociated with perceived stigma. Greater cognitive ability was positively associated with level of perceived SGM stigma, but unassociated with report of directly experienced stigma. Older age was positively associated with level of perceived SGM stigma. There was a statistical trend toward older age positively associated with level of directly experienced stigma. CONCLUSIONS The present study identifies candidate cognitive and developmental influences on self-reported SGM stigmatization among transgender adolescents, evenly recruited across the autism spectrum. The factors which may impact the perception and experience of stigmatization have been notably under-explored in the mental health field. The examination of these individual characteristics may allow for more precise predictive models for research with transgender youth, and ultimately, in clinical care.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lucy S McClellan
- Center for Neuroscience, Children's National Research Institute, Children's National Hospital
| | - Anna I R van der Miesen
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry, Center of Expertise on Gender Dysphoria, Amsterdam University Medical Centers, Location Vrije Universiteit
| | | | - Abigail L Fischbach
- Center for Neuroscience, Children's National Research Institute, Children's National Hospital
| | - Minneh Song
- Center for Neuroscience, Children's National Research Institute, Children's National Hospital
| | - Laura A Campos
- Center for Neuroscience, Children's National Research Institute, Children's National Hospital
| | - John F Strang
- Center for Neuroscience, Children's National Research Institute, Children's National Hospital
- Departments of Pediatrics, Neurology, and Behavioral Science, George Washington University School of Medicine
| |
Collapse
|
13
|
Grainger SA, Henry JD, Alister M, Bourdaniotis XE, Mead J, Bailey TG, Coombes JS, Vear N. Cardiorespiratory Fitness and Muscular Strength Do Not Predict Social Cognitive Capacity in Older Age. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2023; 78:1824-1833. [PMID: 37480568 PMCID: PMC10645310 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbad101] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/20/2023] [Indexed: 07/24/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Social cognitive function often declines in older age but the mechanisms underlying these declines are not completely clear. Cardiorespiratory fitness (CRF) and muscular strength are positively associated with broader cognitive function in older adults, yet surprisingly, no study has examined whether a similar relationship exists between CRF or muscular strength and social cognition in older age. METHODS We assessed whether higher CRF and muscular strength were associated with enhanced social cognitive function in a sample of fifty older adults (Mage = 70.08, standard deviation = 3.93). Participants completed a gold-standard cardiopulmonary exercise test to assess CRF, an isometric handgrip strength test to index muscular strength, and validated measures of social cognition to index emotion perception and theory of mind (ToM). RESULTS The results showed that CRF and muscular strength did not explain any unique variance in older adults' social cognitive performance. Bayesian analyses confirmed that the evidence for the null hypothesis was moderate for all tested relationships, except for the relationship between CRF and cognitive ToM where the evidence for the null was anecdotal. DISCUSSION This study has provided the first evidence to suggest that CRF and muscular strength-two important modifiable lifestyle factors-are not associated with social cognition in healthy older adults. However, replication studies are now needed to cross-validate these findings and to clarify whether any moderating variables may be important for understanding the relationship between fitness and social cognition in older age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Grainger
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Manikya Alister
- School of Psychological Sciences, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
| | | | - Jessica Mead
- School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Tom G Bailey
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
- School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jeff S Coombes
- School of Human Movement and Nutrition Sciences, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| | - Natalie Vear
- School of Nursing, Midwifery and Social Work, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
14
|
Puglia MH, Lynch ME, Nance MG, Connelly JJ, Morris JP. DNA methylation of the oxytocin receptor interacts with age to impact neural response to social stimuli. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 15:1252478. [PMID: 38020783 PMCID: PMC10665856 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2023.1252478] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 07/03/2023] [Accepted: 10/27/2023] [Indexed: 12/01/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Social isolation is one of the strongest predictors of increased risk of mortality in older adulthood. The ability to form and maintain the social relationships that mitigate this risk is partially regulated by the oxytocinergic system and one's ability to attend to and process social information. We have previously shown that an epigenetic change to the DNA of the oxytocin receptor gene (OXTR methylation) affects the salience of social information in young adults. Little is known about how the oxytocinergic system ages and what effect this aging system has on social cognitive abilities throughout the lifespan. Methods Here we explored age-related differences in the association between neural response during selective social attention and OXTR DNA methylation in young (age 18-31) and older (age 58-81) adults. Participants underwent fMRI during a selective social attention task and provided a DNA sample for the assessment of OXTR methylation. Results and Discussion We found that older adults activated diffuse areas of visual cortex and dorsolateral prefrontal cortex during selective social attention, consistent with the dedifferentiation and compensatory neural activation commonly reported in aging. We found a significant age-by-OXTR methylation interaction on neural response when attending to social stimuli in a complex display; young adults displayed a positive association between OXTR methylation and neural activation, replicating our prior finding that young adults with presumed diminished endogenous access to oxytocin recruit regions of the attentional cortex to a greater extent. This association did not hold for older adults. Instead, perceived social support interacted with OXTR methylation to influence neural response during selective social attention. These data suggest that environmental factors like social support moderate biological processes in aging and highlight the importance of a lifespan perspective for understanding associations between individual differences in the oxytocinergic system, neural function, and social behavior.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Meghan H. Puglia
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Morgan E. Lynch
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
- Department of Psychology, University of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, United States
| | - Madelyn G. Nance
- Department of Neurology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - Jessica J. Connelly
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| | - James P. Morris
- Department of Psychology, University of Virginia, Charlottesville, VA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
15
|
Fastame MC, Carta V. Do cognitive reserve and executive functions matter to perform the reading the mind in the eyes test in late lifespan? APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2023; 30:696-704. [PMID: 34486449 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2021.1972422] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/23/2022]
Abstract
Theory of Mind (ToM) is the capacity to understand the feelings and emotional states (i.e., affective ToM) or intentions, goals, and beliefs (i.e., cognitive ToM) of others. Previous evidence on the effect of executive functions and educational attainment on affective ToM is controversial. This study was conducted to investigate: (1) the nature of the associations between affective ToM and some indexes of cognitive reserve (i.e., years of education, vocabulary) in late adulthood when age was controlled; (2) whether cognitive reserve (e.g., years of education, leisure activities, vocabulary) and age predicted affective ToM in late adulthood; (3) the associations between affective ToM and some executive functions measures in late adulthood, controlling for the effect of age; (4) whether executive functioning predicted affective ToM performance; (5) whether some executive functions (i.e., cognitive flexibility and inhibition) mediated between vocabulary score (i.e., used as an index of cognitive reserve) and affective ToM score. Fifty-six 75-93-year-old community-dwellers completed a battery of tasks to assess some executive functions and affective ToM skills (i.e., through the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test). It was found that vocabulary, age, and participation in outdoor socio-recreational leisure activities predicted 31% of the variance in the Reading the Mind in the Eyes condition. Moreover, significant relationships were found between ToM and some executive functions, that is, cognitive flexibility and inhibition predicted 34% of the ToM score. Finally, cognitive flexibility and inhibition mediate between cognitive reserve (i.e., assessed in terms of vocabulary) and Reading the Mind in the Eyes test score.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Maria Chiara Fastame
- Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| | - Valeria Carta
- Department of Pedagogy, Psychology, Philosophy, University of Cagliari, Cagliari, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
16
|
Stutesman MG, Frye DA. Affective Theory of Mind in Late Adulthood: The Role of Emotion Complexity and Social Relatedness. Exp Aging Res 2023; 49:472-500. [PMID: 36284488 DOI: 10.1080/0361073x.2022.2137359] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/23/2021] [Accepted: 10/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/04/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Age-related declines in adult affective theory of mind (AToM) have been discovered. However, AToM measures have not accounted for emotional state complexity involved in AToM. Measures have also not accounted for different types of relationships - friends versus strangers - for which AToM is employed, which is important considering the limited social networks of aging adults. OBJECTIVE We address these issues and examine the emotion complexity, social-relatedness, and contextual relevance in AToM across adult ages (18-89 years) using a new task and two well-established measures. RESULTS The new task displayed good structural fit and internal construct validity. Overall, an age-related decline in AToM was found along with an interaction between age and emotion complexity. For all ages, AToM performance was best for complex emotions. However, as age increased, there was more rapid decline in AToM for more complex emotions than for less complex ones. Surprisingly, AToM performance for strangers was better than for social companions. CONCLUSION The findings suggest age-related AToM declines are more nuanced than previously understood given that adult age differences are related to emotional state complexity. They indicate that the emotion complexity levels of basic, complex, and self-conscious should be included in AToM assessments. Implications for AToM tasks and development are discussed.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Megan G Stutesman
- Department of Psychology, 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA
| | - Douglas A Frye
- Department of Psychology, 3F5, George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia, 22030, USA
| |
Collapse
|
17
|
Clemente L, Gasparre D, Alfeo F, Battista F, Abbatantuono C, Curci A, Lanciano T, Taurisano P. Theory of Mind and Executive Functions in Individuals with Mild Cognitive Impairment or Healthy Aging. Brain Sci 2023; 13:1356. [PMID: 37891725 PMCID: PMC10605804 DOI: 10.3390/brainsci13101356] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/29/2023] [Revised: 09/17/2023] [Accepted: 09/20/2023] [Indexed: 10/29/2023] Open
Abstract
Social cognition involves skills for maintaining harmonious personal and social relationships throughout life. Social cognition issues, including Theory of Mind (ToM), can significantly impact the well-being of older individuals and intensify with the onset of neurological conditions. Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI) is a state between healthy and pathological neurocognitive aging, where monitoring social functions is crucial. Despite numerous studies on ToM challenges in older adults and cognitive disorders, the underlying mechanisms remain debated. Uncertainty exists regarding whether ToM deficits are related to other cognitive functions, such as Executive Functions (EFs). Our study examined the correlation between EF and ToM performance in 32 MCI patients and 36 healthy elderly controls. The findings revealed a link between EF and ToM performance among healthy elderly individuals. Specifically, within the assessed EFs, the role of the working memory (WM) emerged. The study also highlighted distinctions between the MCI group and the healthy elderly group, showing that despite a general reduction in cognitive performance, the condition could impact these abilities in different ways. The study contributes to the literature, fostering comprehension of the mechanisms underlying ToM difficulties, while also paving the way for targeted interventions and enhanced clinical or preventative care.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Livio Clemente
- Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70121 Bari, Italy; (L.C.); (D.G.); (C.A.); (P.T.)
| | - Daphne Gasparre
- Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70121 Bari, Italy; (L.C.); (D.G.); (C.A.); (P.T.)
| | - Federica Alfeo
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70121 Bari, Italy; (F.B.); (A.C.); (T.L.)
| | - Fabiana Battista
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70121 Bari, Italy; (F.B.); (A.C.); (T.L.)
| | - Chiara Abbatantuono
- Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70121 Bari, Italy; (L.C.); (D.G.); (C.A.); (P.T.)
| | - Antonietta Curci
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70121 Bari, Italy; (F.B.); (A.C.); (T.L.)
| | - Tiziana Lanciano
- Department of Education, Psychology, Communication, University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70121 Bari, Italy; (F.B.); (A.C.); (T.L.)
| | - Paolo Taurisano
- Department of Translational Biomedicine and Neuroscience (DiBraiN), University of Bari ‘Aldo Moro’, 70121 Bari, Italy; (L.C.); (D.G.); (C.A.); (P.T.)
| |
Collapse
|
18
|
Guariglia P, Palmiero M, Giannini AM, Piccardi L. The Key Role of Empathy in the Relationship between Age and Social Support. Healthcare (Basel) 2023; 11:2464. [PMID: 37685497 PMCID: PMC10487866 DOI: 10.3390/healthcare11172464] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/01/2023] [Revised: 08/25/2023] [Accepted: 08/28/2023] [Indexed: 09/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Aging involves several changes depending on genetic and behavioral factors, such as lifestyle and the number and quality of social relationships, which in turn can be influenced by empathy. Here, the change in the perceived social support across the lifespan as a function of empathy was investigated, considering the mediating role of empathy after controlling for gender and education. In total, 441 people (18-91 years old) filled in the Italian short version of the Interpersonal Support Evaluation List (ISEL-12), the Social Support Questionnaire (SSQ6), as well as the Empathy Questionnaire (EQ), and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (RMET). The mediation analyses with ISEL-12 showed that age and the EQ fully mediated the relationship between age and appraisal, belonging, and tangible scores. Further, the EQ fully mediated only the relationship between age and SSQ6-People. These results showed that empathic skills are key in the relationships between age and social support. This suggests that empathy can trigger social support and, ultimately, well-being if stimulated across the lifespan, especially from a young age; this would help to form the socio-emotional competence across the years as a sort of cushion that can be useful in the older to fulfill active aging.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Paola Guariglia
- Faculty of Human and Social Sciences, UKE—Kore University of Enna, 94100 Enna, Italy
| | | | - Anna Maria Giannini
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00158 Rome, Italy; (A.M.G.); (L.P.)
| | - Laura Piccardi
- Department of Psychology, Sapienza University of Rome, 00158 Rome, Italy; (A.M.G.); (L.P.)
- San Raffaele Cassino Hospital, 03043 Cassino, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
19
|
Grainger SA, McKay KT, Riches JC, Chander RJ, Cleary R, Mather KA, Kochan NA, Sachdev PS, Henry JD. Measuring Empathy Across the Adult Lifespan: A Comparison of Three Assessment Types. Assessment 2023; 30:1870-1883. [PMID: 36210740 DOI: 10.1177/10731911221127902] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 07/22/2023]
Abstract
Empathy is a core component of social cognition that can be indexed via behavioral, informant-report, or self-report methods of assessment. However, concerns have been raised regarding the lack of convergence between these assessment approaches for cognitive empathy. Here, we provided the first comparison of all three measurement approaches for cognitive and affective empathy in a large adult sample (N = 371) aged 18 to 101 years. We found that poor convergence was more of a problem for cognitive empathy than affective empathy. While none of the cognitive empathy measures correlated with each other, for affective empathy, self-report was significantly associated with both behavioral and informant-report assessments. However, for both cognitive and affective empathy, there was evidence for poor discriminant validity within the measures. Out of the three assessment approaches, only the informant-report measures were consistently associated with indices of social functioning. Importantly, age did not moderate any of the tested relationships, indicating that both the strengths and the limitations of these different types of assessment do not appear to vary as a function of age. These findings highlight the variation that exists among empathy measures and are discussed in relation to their practical implications for the assessment of empathy.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Kate T McKay
- The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
| | | | | | - Rhiagh Cleary
- The University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Karen A Mather
- The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Neuroscience Research Australia, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | | | - Perminder S Sachdev
- The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
- Neuropsychiatric Institute, Prince of Wales Hospital, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
| | - Julie D Henry
- The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Brisbane, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
20
|
Petrovic SA, Kaurin N, Knezevic J, Maric NP. Theory of Mind in Typical Adults: Sex-Differences and Its Associations with Anxiety and Depression Symptoms. Arch Clin Neuropsychol 2023; 38:913-921. [PMID: 36715310 DOI: 10.1093/arclin/acad007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 01/04/2023] [Indexed: 01/31/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Despite an increased interest in research of theory of mind (ToM) in recent years - both related to psychopathology (depression and anxiety spectrum disorders) and within the typical adults, the existing literature is scarce and presents some conflicting results. Present study aimed to explore sex differences in ToM, alongside its associations with current anxiety and depression symptoms, in a large sample of typical adults collected online. METHOD Participants completed the 15-minutes survey obtaining socio-demographic data, current self-reported depression and anxiety symptom severity, and ToM ability (the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Task). The sample comprised 605 participants -mostly younger adults, women, and high school graduate/student population. RESULTS The majority of participants reported minimal/mild depressive and anxiety symptoms that were significantly more severe in women. Women also displayed significantly better overall ToM ability than men. Significant negative correlation between the severity of current depressive and anxiety symptoms and ToM ability was also observed, but only in individuals expressing the symptoms requiring clinical attention (such association was absent in those exhibiting minimal/mild symptoms). CONCLUSIONS Present research adds to the existing knowledge on the association between ToM ability, anxiety, and depressive symptoms in typical adults as well as on the sex-differences in this important social cognitive domain. Exploring the factors representing indicators of vulnerability for depression-anxiety spectrum disorders is important for their timely detection and treatment.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sanja Andric Petrovic
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
- Institute of Mental Health, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Nina Kaurin
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Jelena Knezevic
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
| | - Nadja P Maric
- Faculty of Medicine, University of Belgrade, Belgrade, Serbia
- Institute of Mental Health, Belgrade, Serbia
| |
Collapse
|
21
|
Margoni F, Cho I, Gutchess A. Intent-Based Moral Judgment in Old Age. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2023; 78:1136-1141. [PMID: 35973063 PMCID: PMC10292836 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac114] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/28/2022] [Indexed: 11/13/2022] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Recent studies support the idea of an intent-to-outcome shift in moral judgments with age. We further assessed whether a reduced reliance on intentions is associated with aging in a preregistered study with 73 younger (20-41 years) and 79 older (70-84 years) adults, group-matched on education level. METHOD Participants were presented with a set of moral cases to evaluate, created by varying orthogonally the valence (neutral, negative) of the information regarding the agent's intentions and the action's outcomes. RESULTS The two age groups did not differ in the extent they relied on intentions in moral judgment. DISCUSSION These results suggest that an intent-to-outcome shift might not be found in all aging populations, challenging prevailing theories suggesting that aging is necessarily associated with a reduced reliance on intentions.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Isu Cho
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Angela Gutchess
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
22
|
Burghardt J, Gradl S, Knopp M, Sprung M. Psychopathology and Theory of Mind in patients with personality disorders. Borderline Personal Disord Emot Dysregul 2023; 10:18. [PMID: 37259167 DOI: 10.1186/s40479-023-00224-1] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 01/19/2023] [Accepted: 05/09/2023] [Indexed: 06/02/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVE People with mental disorders frequently suffer from deficits in the ability to infer other's mental states (Theory of Mind; ToM). Individuals with borderline personality disorder (BPD) show ToM deficits characterized by exceeding ToM (over-attributions of mental states). The present study analyzed associations between ToM, BPD severity, and depression severity in patients with BPD and other personality disorders. METHOD We analyzed ToM abilities in 128 patients with BPD and 82 patients with 'mixed and other personality disorders' (MOPD). MOPD are diagnosed if symptoms of multiple personality disorders are present without any set of symptoms being dominant enough to allow a specific diagnosis. We used the movies for the assessment of social cognition (MASC) to measure ToM abilities, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to assess severity of depression and the McLean Screening Instrument for Borderline Personality Disorder (MSI-BPD) to assess the severity of BPD symptoms. RESULTS Both symptoms of BPD and depression were associated with exceeding ToM in separate regressions. Using a stepwise regression, only the association of depression severity with exceeding ToM was reliable. Patients with BPD and MOPD did not differ in exceeding ToM. Age was most reliably associated with ToM. CONCLUSION The results imply that exceeding ToM is associated with general psychopathology instead of BPD-symptoms in specific. Patients with MOPD show deficits similar to BPD patients.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Juliane Burghardt
- Division of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology and Psychodynamics, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, Krems an Der Donau, 3500, Austria
| | - Silvia Gradl
- Division of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology and Psychodynamics, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, Krems an Der Donau, 3500, Austria.
- University Hospital for Psychosomatic Medicine Eggenburg, Grafenberger Straße 2, Eggenburg, 3730, Austria.
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstraße 13, Munich, 80802, Germany.
| | - Magdalena Knopp
- Division of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology and Psychodynamics, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, Krems an Der Donau, 3500, Austria
- Faculty of Psychology and Educational Sciences, Department of Psychology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Leopoldstraße 13, Munich, 80802, Germany
| | - Manuel Sprung
- Division of Clinical Psychology, Department of Psychology and Psychodynamics, Karl Landsteiner University of Health Sciences, Dr.-Karl-Dorrek-Straße 30, Krems an Der Donau, 3500, Austria
- University Hospital for Psychosomatic Medicine Eggenburg, Grafenberger Straße 2, Eggenburg, 3730, Austria
| |
Collapse
|
23
|
Krendl AC, Mannering W, Jones MN, Hugenberg K, Kennedy DP. Determining Whether Older Adults Use Similar Strategies to Young Adults in Theory of Mind Tasks. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2023; 78:969-976. [PMID: 36469431 PMCID: PMC10214651 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/22/2022] [Indexed: 12/07/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Theory of mind-the ability to infer others' mental states-declines over the life span, potentially due to cognitive decline. However, it is unclear whether deficits emerge because older adults use the same strategies as young adults, albeit less effectively, or use different or no strategies. The current study compared the similarity of older adults' theory of mind errors to young adults' and a random model. METHODS One hundred twenty older adults (MAge = 74.68 years; 64 female) and 111 young adults (MAge = 19.1; 61 female) completed a novel theory of mind task (clips from an episode of the sitcom The Office®), and a standard measure of cognitive function (Logical Memory II). Monte Carlo resampling estimated the likelihood that older adults' error patterns were more similar to young adults' or a random distribution. RESULTS Age deficits emerged on the theory of mind task. Poorer performance was associated with less similarity to young adults' response patterns. Overall, older adults' response patterns were ~2.7 million times more likely to match young adults' than a random model. Critically, one fourth of older adults' errors were more similar to the random distribution. Poorer memory ability contributed to this relationship. DISCUSSION Age deficits in theory of mind performance may be driven by a subset of older adults and be related to disparities in strategy use. A certain amount of cognitive ability may be necessary for older adults to engage similar strategies to young adults' during theory of mind.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Anne C Krendl
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Willa Mannering
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Michael N Jones
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Kurt Hugenberg
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| | - Daniel P Kennedy
- Department of Psychological and Brain Sciences, Indiana University, Bloomington, Indiana, USA
| |
Collapse
|
24
|
Clutterbuck RA, Callan MJ, Shah P. Socio-demographic and political predictors of Theory of Mind in adulthood. PLoS One 2023; 18:e0284960. [PMID: 37224101 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0284960] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/28/2022] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/26/2023] Open
Abstract
Individual differences in Theory of Mind (ToM)-the ability to understand the mental states of others-are theorised to be predicted by socio-demographic and political factors. However, inconsistent findings on the relationships between various socio-demographic predictors and ToM, as well as a paucity of research on political predictors of ToM, have left a gap in the literature. Using a recently validated self-report measure of ToM in a large sample (N = 4202) we investigated the unique contributions of age, sex, socio-economic status, and political beliefs to ToM in adults. Except for age, all variables were correlated with ToM, but when accounting for the variance of other predictors in statistical analyses, political beliefs was no longer associated with ToM. Dominance analysis revealed that participant sex was the most important predictor of ToM. These findings help to address theoretical discrepancies in the existing literature and inform future methods and directions in social cognition research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Punit Shah
- Department of Psychology, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
| |
Collapse
|
25
|
Malykhin N, Pietrasik W, Aghamohammadi-Sereshki A, Ngan Hoang K, Fujiwara E, Olsen F. Emotional recognition across the adult lifespan: Effects of age, sex, cognitive empathy, alexithymia traits, and amygdala subnuclei volumes. J Neurosci Res 2023; 101:367-383. [PMID: 36478439 DOI: 10.1002/jnr.25152] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2022] [Revised: 11/10/2022] [Accepted: 11/21/2022] [Indexed: 12/12/2022]
Abstract
The ability to recognize others' emotions is vital to everyday life. The goal of this study was to assess which emotions show age-related decline in recognition accuracy of facial emotional expressions across the entire adult lifespan and how this process is related to cognitive empathy (Theory of Mind [ToM]), alexithymia traits, and amygdala subnuclei volumes in a large cohort of healthy individuals. We recruited 140 healthy participants 18-85 years old. Facial affect processing was assessed with the Penn Emotion Recognition task (ER40) that contains images of the five basic emotions: Neutral, Happy, Sad, Angry, and Fearful. Structural magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) datasets were acquired on a 4.7T MRI system. Structural equation modeling was used to test the relationship between studied variables. We found that while both sexes demonstrated age-related reduction in recognition of happy emotions and preserved recognition of sadness, male participants showed age-related reduction in recognition of fear, while in female participants, age-related decline was linked to recognition of neutral and angry facial expressions. In both sexes, accurate recognition of sadness negatively correlated with alexithymia traits. On the other hand, better ToM capabilities in male participants were associated with improvement in recognition of positive and neutral emotions. Finally, none of the observed age-related reductions in emotional recognition were related to amygdala and its subnuclei volumes. In contrast, both global volume of amygdala and its cortical and centromedial subnuclei had significant direct effects on recognition of sad images.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Nikolai Malykhin
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Wojciech Pietrasik
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | | | - Kim Ngan Hoang
- Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Esther Fujiwara
- Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.,Neuroscience and Mental Health Institute, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| | - Fraser Olsen
- Department of Biomedical Engineering, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
26
|
Wundrack R, Specht J. Mindful self-focus-an interaction affecting Theory of Mind? PLoS One 2023; 18:e0279544. [PMID: 36730311 PMCID: PMC9894420 DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0279544] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/16/2022] [Accepted: 12/09/2022] [Indexed: 02/03/2023] Open
Abstract
Is thinking about oneself helpful or harmful for understanding other people? The answer might depend on how a person thinks about themself. Mindfulness is one prominent construct that seems to affect the quality and content of a person's thoughts about themselves in the world. Thus, we hypothesize that the relationship between self-focus and Theory of Mind (ToM) is moderated by mindfulness. We evaluate our hypothesis with a large cross-sectional dataset (N = 543) of native and non-native German and English speakers using OLS and MM-estimated robust multiple regression analysis. We found a small but robust self-focus × mindfulness interaction effect on ToM so that there was a significant positive relation between self-focus and ToM for more mindful individuals and no significant relation for less mindful individuals. The findings support our hypothesis that mindfulness moderates the relationship between self-focus and ToM performance. We discuss the limitations and differences between the present study and previous findings.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Richard Wundrack
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
- * E-mail:
| | - Jule Specht
- Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
27
|
Kazemivash B, van Erp TGM, Kochunov P, Calhoun VD. A deep residual model for characterization of 5D spatiotemporal network dynamics reveals widespread spatiodynamic changes in schizophrenia. FRONTIERS IN NEUROIMAGING 2023; 2:1097523. [PMID: 37554628 PMCID: PMC10406273 DOI: 10.3389/fnimg.2023.1097523] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/14/2022] [Accepted: 01/12/2023] [Indexed: 08/10/2023]
Abstract
Schizophrenia is a severe brain disorder with serious symptoms including delusions, disorganized speech, and hallucinations that can have a long-term detrimental impact on different aspects of a patient's life. It is still unclear what the main cause of schizophrenia is, but a combination of altered brain connectivity and structure may play a role. Neuroimaging data has been useful in characterizing schizophrenia, but there has been very little work focused on voxel-wise changes in multiple brain networks over time, despite evidence that functional networks exhibit complex spatiotemporal changes over time within individual subjects. Recent studies have primarily focused on static (average) features of functional data or on temporal variations between fixed networks; however, such approaches are not able to capture multiple overlapping networks which change at the voxel level. In this work, we employ a deep residual convolutional neural network (CNN) model to extract 53 different spatiotemporal networks each of which captures dynamism within various domains including subcortical, cerebellar, visual, sensori-motor, auditory, cognitive control, and default mode. We apply this approach to study spatiotemporal brain dynamism at the voxel level within multiple functional networks extracted from a large functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) dataset of individuals with schizophrenia (N = 708) and controls (N = 510). Our analysis reveals widespread group level differences across multiple networks and spatiotemporal features including voxel-wise variability, magnitude, and temporal functional network connectivity in widespread regions expected to be impacted by the disorder. We compare with typical average spatial amplitude and show highly structured and neuroanatomically relevant results are missed if one does not consider the voxel-wise spatial dynamics. Importantly, our approach can summarize static, temporal dynamic, spatial dynamic, and spatiotemporal dynamics features, thus proving a powerful approach to unify and compare these various perspectives. In sum, we show the proposed approach highlights the importance of accounting for both temporal and spatial dynamism in whole brain neuroimaging data generally, shows a high-level of sensitivity to schizophrenia highlighting global but spatially unique dynamics showing group differences, and may be especially important in studies focused on the development of brain-based biomarkers.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Behnam Kazemivash
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| | - Theo G. M. van Erp
- Center for the Neurobiology of Learning and Memory, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
- Clinical Translational Neuroscience Laboratory, Department of Psychiatry and Human Behavior, University of California, Irvine, Irvine, CA, United States
| | - Peter Kochunov
- Maryland Psychiatric Research Center, Department of Psychiatry, University of Maryland School of Medicine, Baltimore, MD, United States
| | - Vince D. Calhoun
- Department of Computer Science, Georgia State University, Atlanta, GA, United States
- Tri-Institutional Center for Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), Georgia State University, Georgia Institute of Technology, Emory University, Atlanta, GA, United States
| |
Collapse
|
28
|
Henry JD, Grainger SA, von Hippel W. Determinants of Social Cognitive Aging: Predicting Resilience and Risk. Annu Rev Psychol 2023; 74:167-192. [PMID: 35973407 DOI: 10.1146/annurev-psych-033020-121832] [Citation(s) in RCA: 8] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/21/2023]
Abstract
This review focuses on conceptual and empirical research on determinants of social cognitive aging. We present an integrated model [the social cognitive resource (SCoRe) framework] to organize the literature and describe how social cognitive resilience is determined jointly by capacity and motivational resources. We discuss how neurobiological aging, driven by genetic and environmental influences, is associated with broader sensory, neural, and physiological changes that are direct determinants of capacity as well as indirect determinants of motivation via their influence on expectation of loss versus reward and cognitive effort valuation. Research is reviewed that shows how contextual factors, such as relationship status, familiarity, and practice, are fundamental to understanding the availability of both types of resource. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of social cognitive change in late adulthood for everyday social functioning and with recommendations for future research.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; , ,
| | - Sarah A Grainger
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; , ,
| | - William von Hippel
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, Australia; , ,
| |
Collapse
|
29
|
Isernia S, Rossetto F, Shamay-Tsoory S, Marchetti A, Baglio F. Standardization and normative data of the 48-item Yoni short version for the assessment of theory of mind in typical and atypical conditions. Front Aging Neurosci 2023; 14:1048599. [PMID: 36711213 PMCID: PMC9877508 DOI: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.1048599] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/19/2022] [Accepted: 12/22/2022] [Indexed: 01/13/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction The Yoni task is a computerized tool assessing first-and second-order affective and cognitive Theory of Mind (ToM), accounting for the multidimensional and multi-level mentalizing features. The Italian Yoni task has been validated and standardized in its 98-item version, and a 48-item short version has been proposed for a quick digital evaluation of ToM in clinical contexts. Methods The present study aimed to test the Yoni-48's convergent validity, correlating the tool score with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (ET) and Gender Test (GT), its items discrimination ability through the Classical Test Theory, and Rash model, its reliability by evaluating the internal consistency (McDonald's ω, Cronbach's α, Guttman's λ 2, and Guttman's λ 6) and Spearman-Brown ϱSP split-half analysis, and to provide standardization and normative data in the Italian population. Results Results suggested a good convergent validity with a statistically significant association with ET (p < 0.001), while a null correlation was observed with GT (p = 0.947). The Classical Test Theory and Rash model confirmed a good discrimination ability of the Yoni-48's second-order affective and cognitive ToM items, while weaker discrimination capacity was registered for the first-order ToM items. The inter-item reliability was optimal for clinical purposes (ω, α, λ 2, λ 6 ≥ 0.90). Also, the split-half reliability was high (Spearman-Brown ϱSP = 0.90). For standardization, age and education were revealed as significant predictors of Yoni accuracy scores, except for the first-order ToM score. Instead, age was the only predictor of Yoni's response speed score. The Italian normative data showed a high Yoni accuracy in healthy adults (mean accuracy = 0.85) and speed (mean response time = 0.92). Finally, both accuracy and response time level was balanced between the affective and cognitive components of ToM. Discussion This study supports the psychometric properties of the Yoni-48 and provides normative data for the Italian population. Further studies are needed to test the suitability of this short version for profiling the social cognition neurocognitive phenotype.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Isernia
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
| | - Federica Rossetto
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy,*Correspondence: Federica Rossetto,
| | | | - Antonella Marchetti
- Research Unit on Theory of Mind, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | | |
Collapse
|
30
|
Cho I, Cunningham TJ, Daley RT, Kensinger EA, Gutchess A. Empathy, memory, and aging during the COVID-19 pandemic. CURRENT RESEARCH IN ECOLOGICAL AND SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2023; 4:100105. [PMID: 37091210 PMCID: PMC10110281 DOI: 10.1016/j.cresp.2023.100105] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/06/2022] [Revised: 04/10/2023] [Accepted: 04/13/2023] [Indexed: 05/03/2023]
Abstract
Recently, there has been increasing attention to the interaction between empathy and memory. During the COVID-19 pandemic, a period when empathy played a key role in people's behaviors, we assessed the relationship between empathy and memory. In this pre-registered report, we used memory accuracy for the number of COVID-19 cases as a measure of recent memory and examined its relationship with trait empathy. Moreover, we investigated whether cognitive vs. affective empathy differently associate with one's memory for the number of COVID-19 cases, given evidence for distinct mechanisms for the two aspects of empathy. Finally, we assessed how age is related to empathy-memory associations. To address these questions, we used the Boston College COVID-19 Dataset, which included surveys assessing dispositional empathy and memory for the number of confirmed COVID-19 cases during the first wave of the pandemic. Empathy was not associated with memory accuracy for the confirmed cases when using an empathy measure that combined both cognitive and affective empathy. However, when using a measure that separately assessed cognitive and affective empathy, only affective empathy, specifically the personal distress subscale, was associated with greater memory accuracy. There was no age-related difference in memory accuracy despite age-related decreases in affective empathy. Results suggest that individuals with greater affective empathy (i.e., greater tendency to feel discomfort by the suffering of others) can have more accurate memory for details of an ongoing empathy-evoking situation. Findings are discussed in the context of motivation and emotional arousal. The current study provides ecological evidence to corroborate the interplay of empathy and memory.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Isu Cho
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA
| | - Tony J Cunningham
- Center for Sleep and Cognition, Department of Psychiatry, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Boston, MA, USA
- Department of Psychiatry, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA, USA
| | - Ryan T Daley
- Department of Psychology, Gordon College, Wenham, MA, USA
- Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, Boston College, Chestnut Hill, MA, USA
| | | | - Angela Gutchess
- Department of Psychology, Brandeis University, Waltham, MA, USA
| |
Collapse
|
31
|
Alcaide M, Garcia OF, Queiroz P, Garcia F. Adjustment and maladjustment to later life: Evidence about early experiences in the family. Front Psychol 2023; 14:1059458. [PMID: 36935989 PMCID: PMC10017455 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1059458] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/01/2022] [Accepted: 02/09/2023] [Indexed: 03/06/2023] Open
Abstract
Introduction Previous parenting studies with European-American families have identified optimal parenting as being based on warmth combined with strictness (i.e., authoritative parenting). The present study analyzes, in adolescents and adults, their adjustment and maladjustment related to age and their early experiences in the family. Methods The sample consisted of 2,158 Spanish people (58.29% women): 624 adolescents, 630 young adults, 504 middle-aged adults, and 400 older adults. The families were classified into one of the four parental typologies (authoritative, indulgent, authoritarian, and neglectful) based on their scores in the two main dimensions (warmth and strictness). Child functioning was measured as components of adjustment (self-esteem, emotional self-concept, and empathy) and maladjustment (aggression and hostile sexism). Results Overall, only adolescents and adult children raised in indulgent families reported the highest self-esteem, emotional self-concept, and empathy, and the lowest aggression and hostile sexism. Authoritative parenting (warmth with strictness) was related to a lower emotional self-concept and greater aggression and hostile sexism than indulgent parenting (warmth without strictness). The worst scores corresponded to authoritarian and neglectful parenting. Discussion The present findings provide new evidence about early experiences in the family, even after parental socialization has ended. Interestingly, contrary to the main findings from classic studies with European-American families, only high parental warmth combined with low parental strictness (i.e., indulgent parenting) is always positive for greater adjustment and less maladjustment in all age groups.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marta Alcaide
- Department of Methodology of the Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| | - Oscar F. Garcia
- Department of Developmental and Educational Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
- *Correspondence: Oscar F. Garcia,
| | - Pablo Queiroz
- Faculty of Health Sciences, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Trairi, Brazil
| | - Fernando Garcia
- Department of Methodology of the Behavioural Sciences, Faculty of Psychology, University of Valencia, Valencia, Spain
| |
Collapse
|
32
|
Cognitive reserve profiles are associated with outcome in schizophrenia. J Neurol Sci 2022; 443:120496. [PMID: 36410188 DOI: 10.1016/j.jns.2022.120496] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/17/2022] [Revised: 10/17/2022] [Accepted: 11/12/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Cognitive reserve (CR), the brain's ability to cope with brain pathology to minimize symptoms, could explain the heterogeneity of outcomes in neuropsychiatric disorders, however it is still rarely investigated in schizophrenia. Indeed, this study aims to classify CR in this disorder and evaluate its impact on neurocognitive and socio-cognitive performance and daily functioning. A group of 106 patients diagnosed with schizophrenia was enrolled and assessed in these aereas: neurocognition, Theory of Mind (ToM) and daily functioning. A composite CR score was determined through an integration of the intelligence quotient and education and leisure activities. CR profiles were classified with a two-step cluster analysis and differences among clusters were determined with an analysis of variance (ANOVA). The cluster analysis was identified with three CR profiles characterized, respectively, by high, medium and low CR. ANOVA analysis showed significant differences on neurocognition, ToM and daily functioning between the clusters: people with higher CR reached significantly superior scores. This study suggests that greater general cognitive resources could act as a buffer against the effect of brain pathology, allowing patients to have a better cognitive performance, social outcome and quality of life.
Collapse
|
33
|
Gigi A, Papirovitz M. Theory of mind in older adults: the nature of the decline. APPLIED NEUROPSYCHOLOGY. ADULT 2022:1-6. [PMID: 36458438 DOI: 10.1080/23279095.2022.2150973] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/04/2022]
Abstract
Successful social interaction depends (among others) on one's ability to understand other people's emotional states (known as "affective-Theory-of-Mind"; aToM). A decline in this ability could be associated with changes in awareness with age. Awareness can be estimated by comparing one's subjective and objective abilities. Here we explored the sequence of changes in aToM with age, with reference to objective and subjective capacities. One hundred and eight participants were divided into three age groups: young (18-39), adults (60-69), and elders' group (70-86). Objective aToM performance was assessed using the Frith-Happé animation task (including meaningful and meaningless interactions). The subjective performance was evaluated by a Short Subjective ToM Questionnaire (sToM10). The results in the animation task showed reduction in the ability to correctly categorize meaningless interaction among the adult participants (compared to young) and a further decrease in the ability to correctly categorize meaningful interactions among the elderly participants (compared to young participants). Subjective aToM results revealed that while older participants reported a reduction in general ability to infer feelings in others, they could not report a decrease in their ability to recognize specific feelings. Our results may indicate a unique characteristic of aToM decline, which may start in adults (60-69; only reflected when the social demands are high) and further aggravates as people grow older (70th and above). In addition, results of the self-report questionnaire may indicate that while the elders are fully aware of their general decline in aToM ability, awareness of their capability to identify specific emotions is impaired.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ariela Gigi
- Psychology Department, Ariel University, Ariel, Israel
| | | |
Collapse
|
34
|
Rossetto F, Isernia S, Cabinio M, Pirastru A, Blasi V, Baglio F. Affective Theory of Mind as a residual ability to preserve mentalizing in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A 12-months longitudinal study. Front Neurol 2022; 13:1060699. [PMID: 36468066 PMCID: PMC9716015 DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.1060699] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2022] [Accepted: 11/07/2022] [Indexed: 02/20/2024] Open
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Theory of Mind (ToM) decline has been outlined in people with amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment (aMCI), but evidence from longitudinal studies is lacking. This longitudinal study aims to investigate changes in cognitive and affective ToM performance in an aMCI sample (n = 28; 14 females, mean age = 76.54 ± 4.35). METHOD Participants underwent two steps of neurocognitive evaluation, at the baseline (T1) and 12-month follow-up (T2), to obtain their global cognitive level and both affective (Reading the Mind in the Eyes test, ET) and cognitive (Strange Stories, SS) ToM profile. Then, participants were categorized into two groups based on ToM changes: people who worsened (ETΔ < 0; SSΔ < 0) and people who did not (ETΔ≥0; SSΔ≥0) at follow-up. Differences between groups in cognitive functions and ToM profiles at baseline have been investigated. RESULTS Our results showed that 46% of subjects worsened in affective (ET) and 28% in cognitive (SS) ToM at follow-up. People who worsened in ET reported a statistically significantly higher performance in ET at baseline (p = 0.002) but not at follow-up than people who did not worsen. In contrast, subjects who worsened in SS showed a lower Immediate Free Recall (IFR, p = 0.026) and Delayed Free Recall (DFR, p = 0.028) score of the Free and Cued Selective Reminding test at baseline and at follow-up, a lower ET (p = 0.020) baseline score, a lower SS and MMSE level at follow-up than people who not worsened. About 71% of MCI subjects showed the same trend of evolution of the Mini-Mental State Examination and SS. Variables that significantly differed between groups have been inserted in a stepwise logistic regression to pilot explore predictors of affective and cognitive ToM evolution. Logistic regression showed ET at baseline (p = 0.015) as the only significant predictor of affective ToM evolution (R2 = 0.450), while both ET (p = 0.044) and memory performance (p = 0.045) at baseline significantly predicted cognitive ToM evolution (R2 = 0.746). DISCUSSION In conclusion, our results support the role of affective ToM as a residual mentalizing ability in preserving the mentalizing level in people with aMCI.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
| | - Sara Isernia
- IRCCS Fondazione Don Carlo Gnocchi ONLUS, Milan, Italy
| | | | | | | | | |
Collapse
|
35
|
Gourlay C, Collin P, D'Auteuil C, Jacques M, Caron PO, Scherzer PB. Age differences in social-cognitive abilities across the stages of adulthood and path model investigation of adult social cognition. NEUROPSYCHOLOGY, DEVELOPMENT, AND COGNITION. SECTION B, AGING, NEUROPSYCHOLOGY AND COGNITION 2022; 29:1033-1067. [PMID: 34355998 DOI: 10.1080/13825585.2021.1962789] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/03/2020] [Accepted: 07/27/2021] [Indexed: 06/13/2023]
Abstract
Accumulating evidence points toward an association between older age and performance decrements in social cognition (SC). We explored age-related variations in four components of SC: emotion recognition, theory of mind, social judgment, and blame attributions. A total of 120 adults divided into three stages (18-34 years, 35-59 years, 60-85 years) completed a battery of SC. Between and within age-group differences in SC were investigated. Path analyses were used to identify relationships among the components. Emotion recognition and theory of mind showed differences beginning either in midlife, or after. Blame attributions and social judgment did not show a significant difference. However, social judgment varied significantly within groups. Path models revealed a relationship between emotion recognition and theory of mind. Findings highlight age-related differences in some components and a link between two components. Strategies promoting social functioning in aging might help to maintain or improve these abilities over time.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Catherine Gourlay
- Département De Psychologie, Université Du Québec À Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Pascal Collin
- Département De Psychologie, Université Du Québec À Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Camille D'Auteuil
- Département De Psychologie, Université Du Québec À Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | - Marie Jacques
- Département De Psychologie, Université Du Québec À Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| | | | - Peter B Scherzer
- Département De Psychologie, Université Du Québec À Montréal, Montréal, Québec, Canada
| |
Collapse
|
36
|
Schroeter ML, Kynast J, Schlögl H, Baron-Cohen S, Villringer A. Sex and age interact in reading the mind in the eyes. COMPREHENSIVE PSYCHONEUROENDOCRINOLOGY 2022; 12:100162. [DOI: 10.1016/j.cpnec.2022.100162] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2022] [Revised: 11/04/2022] [Accepted: 11/08/2022] [Indexed: 11/11/2022] Open
|
37
|
An Investigation of the Validity of the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) in Acquired Brain Injury (ABI). J Int Neuropsychol Soc 2022; 28:1016-1028. [PMID: 36281634 DOI: 10.1017/s1355617721001223] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Social cognition is frequently impaired following an acquired brain injury (ABI) but often overlooked in clinical assessments. There are few validated and appropriate measures of social cognitive abilities for ABI patients. The current study examined the validity of the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT, Baksh et al., ) in measuring social cognition following an ABI. METHODS Forty-one patients with ABI were recruited from a rehabilitation service and completed measures of general ability, executive functions and social cognition (Faux Pas; FP, Reading the Mind in the Eyes; RME, Social Norms Questionnaire; SNQ and the ESCoT). Forty-one controls matched on age, sex and years of education also performed the RME, SNQ and ESCoT. RESULTS A diagnosis of ABI was significantly associated with poorer performance on all ESCoT measures and RME while adjusting for age, sex and years of education. In ABI patients, the ESCoT showed good internal consistency with its subcomponents and performance correlated with the other measures of social cognition demonstrating convergent validity. Better Trail Making Test performance predicted better ESCoT total, RME and SNQ scores. Higher TOPF IQ was associated with higher RME scores, while higher WAIS-IV working memory predicted better FP performance. CONCLUSIONS The ESCoT is a brief, valid and internally consistent assessment tool able to detect social cognition deficits in neurological patients. Given the prevalence of social cognition deficits in ABI and the marked impact these can have on an individual's recovery, this assessment can be a helpful addition to a comprehensive neuropsychological assessment.
Collapse
|
38
|
Isernia S, MacPherson SE, Baksh RA, Bergsland N, Marchetti A, Baglio F, Massaro D. Italian adaptation of the Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT): A new tool for the assessment of theory of mind and social norm understanding. Front Psychol 2022; 13:971187. [PMID: 36389515 PMCID: PMC9651931 DOI: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.971187] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 10/07/2022] [Indexed: 11/01/2023] Open
Abstract
The relevance of social cognition assessment has been formally described in the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-5. However, social cognition tools evaluating different socio-cognitive components for Italian-speaking populations are lacking. The Edinburgh Social Cognition Test (ESCoT) is a new social cognition measure that uses animations of everyday social interactions to assess (i) cognitive theory of mind, (ii) affective theory of mind, (iii) interpersonal social norm understanding, and (iv) intrapersonal social norm understanding. Previous studies have shown that the ESCoT is a sensitive measure of social cognition in healthy and clinical populations in the United Kingdom. This work aimed to adapt and validate the ESCoT in an Italian population of healthy adults. A translation-back-translation procedure was followed to create and refine the Italian version. Then, 94 healthy adults (47 females, mean age 35 ± 15.9) completed the ESCoT, a battery of conventional social cognition tests (Yoni; Reading the Mind in the Eyes Strange Stories, and Social Norm Questionnaire, SNQ) and measures of intelligence and executive functions. Reliability, convergent validity, and predictors of performance on the ESCoT were examined. Results demonstrated good reliability of the ESCoT and an association between the ESCoT scores and some traditional social cognition tests (Yoni cognitive subscale, SNQ). Hierarchical regression results showed that the ESCoT total score was associated with age. Also, the ESCoT subscore (intrapersonal social norm understanding) was associated with education. These findings support the ESCoT as a valid tool testing social norm understanding, a reliable measure of social cognition for an adult Italian population, and provides further evidence that the ESCoT is sensitive to age- and education-related changes in social cognition, and it is a task not affected by general cognitive functioning.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sara Isernia
- IRCCS Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation ONLUS, Milan, Italy
| | - Sarah E. MacPherson
- Department of Psychology, School of Philosophy, Psychology and Language Sciences, University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom
| | - R. Asaad Baksh
- Department of Forensic and Neurodevelopmental Sciences, Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology, and Neuroscience, King’s College London, London, United Kingdom
| | | | - Antonella Marchetti
- Research Unit on Theory of Mind, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| | | | - Davide Massaro
- Research Unit on Theory of Mind, Department of Psychology, Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Milan, Italy
| |
Collapse
|
39
|
Henry JD, Coundouris SP, Mead J, Thompson B, Hubbard RE, Grainger SA. Social Frailty in Late Adulthood: Social Cognitive and Psychological Well-Being Correlates. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2022; 78:87-96. [PMID: 36190802 PMCID: PMC9890915 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac157] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/24/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Social frailty poses a major threat to successful aging, but its social cognitive and psychological well-being correlates remain poorly understood. This cross-sectional study provides initial insights into whether social cognitive difficulties in older age are associated with social frailty, as well as how social frailty is linked to psychological characteristics known to be important for health and well-being. METHOD Ninety community-dwelling older adults completed measures of social frailty and social cognition (social perception, theory of mind, affective empathy, and informant-rated social behavior) as well as measures of psychological function known to be important for health and well-being, both positively (resilience and life satisfaction) and negatively (demoralization, social anxiety, and apathy). Measures of cognitive frailty, physical frailty, and depression were also administered to test the specificity of any observed relationships with social frailty. RESULTS Both affective empathy and social behavior were predictive of increased social frailty, but social behavior emerged as the only unique predictor after controlling for covariates. Social frailty also predicted unique variance in all five measures of psychological well-being, and for three of these measures (demoralization, resilience, and life satisfaction), the effects remained significant even after adjusting for covariates. DISCUSSION Findings are discussed in relation to models of socioemotional aging and frailty. Potential mechanisms linking social behavior to social capital in older age are identified, as well as how loss of social resources might both directly and indirectly impact well-being.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Julie D Henry
- Address correspondence to: Julie D. Henry, PhD, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. E-mail:
| | - Sarah P Coundouris
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Jessica Mead
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Brielle Thompson
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Ruth E Hubbard
- Centre for Health Services Research, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| | - Sarah A Grainger
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Brisbane, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
40
|
Wang R, Yu R, Tian Y, Wu H. Individual variation in the neurophysiological representation of negative emotions in virtual reality is shaped by sociability. Neuroimage 2022; 263:119596. [PMID: 36041644 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuroimage.2022.119596] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/02/2022] [Revised: 08/24/2022] [Accepted: 08/26/2022] [Indexed: 01/10/2023] Open
Abstract
Negative emotions play a dominant role in daily human life, and mentalizing and empathy are also basic sociability in social life. However, little is known regards the neurophysiological pattern of negative experiences in immersive environments and how people with different sociabilities respond to the negative emotional stimuli at behavioral and neural levels. The present study investigated the neurophysiological representation of negative affective experiences and whether such variations are associated with one's sociability. To address this question, we examined four types of negative emotions that frequently occurred in real life: angry, anxious, fearful, and helpless. We combined naturalistic neuroimaging under virtual reality, multimodal neurophysiological recording, and behavioral measures. Inter-subject representational similarity analysis was conducted to capture the individual differences in the neurophysiological representations of negative emotional experiences. The behavioral and neurophysiological indices revealed that although the emotion ratings were uniquely different, a similar electroencephalography response pattern across these negative emotions was found over the parieto-occipital electrodes. Furthermore, the neurophysiological representations indeed reflected interpersonal variations regarding mentalizing and empathic abilities. Our findings yielded a common pattern of neurophysiological responses toward different negative affective experiences in VR. Moreover, the current results indicate the potential of taking a sociability perspective for understanding the interpersonal variations in the neurophysiological representation of emotion.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Ruien Wang
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, China
| | - Runquan Yu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, China
| | - Yan Tian
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, China
| | - Haiyan Wu
- Centre for Cognitive and Brain Sciences and Department of Psychology, University of Macau, Taipa, Macau SAR, China.
| |
Collapse
|
41
|
Grainger SA, Crawford JD, Riches JC, Kochan NA, Chander RJ, Mather KA, Sachdev PS, Henry JD. Aging Is Associated With Multidirectional Changes in Social Cognition: Findings From an Adult Life-Span Sample Ranging From 18 to 101 Years. J Gerontol B Psychol Sci Soc Sci 2022; 78:62-72. [PMID: 35985278 PMCID: PMC9890910 DOI: 10.1093/geronb/gbac110] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/05/2022] [Indexed: 02/04/2023] Open
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Normal adult aging is associated with changes in social cognition. Although 4 social cognitive domains have been identified (social perception, theory of mind [ToM], affective empathy, and social behavior), no study has tested all 4 domains concurrently in a life-span sample, limiting understanding of the relative magnitude of age-related changes across domains. This study addresses this gap by providing the first assessment of all 4 social cognitive domains in an adult life-span sample. METHODS Three hundred and seventy-two participants ranging from 18 to 101 years of age took part in this study. Participants completed a testing battery that assessed social perception, ToM, affective empathy, and social behavior, as well as broader cognitive function and well-being. RESULTS The results showed that adult aging is associated with multidirectional changes in social cognitive abilities, with ToM and social perception showing nonlinear decline across much of the life-span, and affective empathy and social behavior showing improvement. Age remained a significant predictor of all 4 social cognitive domains, even after accounting for broader cognitive function. Weak associations emerged between some of the social cognitive abilities and and indices of broader well-being. DISCUSSION These findings provide novel and important evidence that normative aging is associated with both gains and losses in social cognition that occur at distinct points of the adult life-span, and that are at least partially independent of general age-related cognitive decline.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Sarah A Grainger
- Address correspondence to: Sarah A. Grainger, PhD, School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, St Lucia, QLD 4072, Australia. E-mail:
| | - John D Crawford
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | | | - Nicole A Kochan
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Russell J Chander
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia
| | - Karen A Mather
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuroscience Research Australia (NeuRA), Sydney, Australia
| | - Perminder S Sachdev
- Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing (CHeBA), School of Psychiatry, The University of New South Wales, Sydney, Australia,Neuropsychiatric Institute, Princes of Wales Hospital, Sydney, Australia
| | - Julie D Henry
- School of Psychology, The University of Queensland, Queensland, Australia
| |
Collapse
|
42
|
Abstract
OBJECTIVE Social cognition is impaired in mild cognitive impairment (MCI) and dementia. However, its relationship to social functioning and perceived social support has yet to be explored. Here, we examine how theory of mind (ToM) relates to social functioning in MCI and dementia. METHODS Older adults (cognitively normal = 1272; MCI = 132; dementia = 23) from the PATH Through Life project, a longitudinal, population-based study, were assessed on the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), measures of social functioning, and social well-being. The associations between RMET performance, social functioning, and cognitive status were analysed using generalised linear models, adjusting for demographic variables. RESULTS Participants with MCI (b=-.52, 95% CI [-.70, -.33]) and dementia (b=-.78, 95% CI [-1.22, -.34]) showed poorer RMET performance than cognitively normal participants. Participants with MCI and dementia reported reduced social network size (b=-.21, 95% CI [-.40, -.02] and b=-.90, 95% CI [-1.38, -.42], respectively) and participants with dementia reported increased loneliness (b = .36, 95% CI [.06, .67]). In dementia, poorer RMET performance was associated with increased loneliness (b=-.07, 95% CI [-.14, -.00]) and a trend for negative interactions with partners (b=-.37, 95% CI [-.74, .00]), but no significant associations were found in MCI. CONCLUSIONS MCI and dementia were associated with poor self-reported social function. ToM deficits were related to poor social function in dementia but not MCI. Findings highlight the importance of interventions to address social cognitive deficits in persons with dementia and education of support networks to facilitate positive interactions and social well-being.
Collapse
|
43
|
Peters M, Schulz H. Theory-of-mind abilities in older patients with common mental disorders - a cross-sectional study. Aging Ment Health 2022; 26:1661-1668. [PMID: 34180279 DOI: 10.1080/13607863.2021.1935461] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
OBJECTIVES Theory-of-mind (ToM) abilities are a basic competence for social interactions and relationships. Numerous findings demonstrate ToM deficits in old age, but such findings are missing in clinical samples of older adults. METHOD In the present study, patients treated in two clinics for common mental disorders (N = 150, distributed among the age groups 40-54, 55-69 and ≥70) were compared with a sample of people of the same age without mental disorders. The Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) was used, in which the task is to detect mental states in the eyes, which are presented in 36 pictures. RESULTS The two groups differed significantly from each other: the clinical samples achieved worse results than the nonclinical samples, and the older samples achieved worse results than the younger samples. In the multiple regression analysis significant beta-weights were found for executive functions, physical diseases (especially vascular diseases, in the clinical sample) and higher education. CONCLUSION Older patients show clinically significant deficits in ToM abilities, which should be taken into account in interventions promoting ToM abilities.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Meinolf Peters
- Institute for Psychotherapy for the Elderly, Department of Education, Philipps-University, Marburg, Germany
| | - Holger Schulz
- Department of Medical Psychology, University Medical Center Hamburg-Eppendorf, Hamburg, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
44
|
Roheger M, Brenning J, Riemann S, Martin AK, Flöel A, Meinzer M. Progression of socio-cognitive impairment from healthy aging to Alzheimer's Dementia: A systematic Review and Meta-Analysis. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 140:104796. [PMID: 35905800 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104796] [Citation(s) in RCA: 9] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/17/2021] [Revised: 06/16/2022] [Accepted: 07/23/2022] [Indexed: 11/16/2022]
Abstract
BACKGROUND Trajectories of decline across different socio-cognitive domains in healthy older adults and in pathological aging conditions have not been investigated. This was addressed in the present systematic review and meta-analysis. METHODS MEDLINE, Web of Science Core Collection, CENTRAL, and PsycInfo were searched for studies investigating social cognition across four domains (Theory of Mind, ToM; emotion recognition, ER; Social-decision making, SD; visual perspective taking, VPT) in healthy older individuals, individuals with subjective and mild cognitive impairment (SCD, MCI) and Alzheimer's disease (AD). Random-effects meta-analyses were conducted. RESULTS Of 8,137 screened studies, 132 studies were included in the review. ToM and ER showed a clear progression of impairment from normal aging to AD. Differential patterns of decline were identified for different types of ToM and ER. CONCLUSION This systematic review identified progression of impairment of specific socio-cognitive abilities, which is the necessary pre-requisite for developing targeted interventions. We identified a lack of research on socio-cognitive decline in different populations (e.g., middle age, SCD and MCI-subtypes) and domains (SDM, VPT). REGISTRATION CRD42020191607, https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Mandy Roheger
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany.
| | - Jana Brenning
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Steffen Riemann
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Andrew K Martin
- Department of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, United Kingdom CT2 7NP
| | - Agnes Flöel
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| | - Marcus Meinzer
- Department of Neurology, University Medicine Greifswald, Greifswald, Germany
| |
Collapse
|
45
|
Henke L, Guseva M, Wagemans K, Pischedda D, Haynes JD, Jahn G, Anders S. Surgical face masks do not impair the decoding of facial expressions of negative affect more severely in older than in younger adults. Cogn Res Princ Implic 2022; 7:63. [PMID: 35841438 PMCID: PMC9287709 DOI: 10.1186/s41235-022-00403-8] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 10/27/2021] [Accepted: 05/30/2022] [Indexed: 12/11/2022] Open
Abstract
Surgical face masks reduce the spread of airborne pathogens but also disturb the flow of information between individuals. The risk of getting seriously ill after infection with SARS-COV-2 during the present COVID-19 pandemic amplifies with age, suggesting that face masks should be worn especially during face-to-face contact with and between older people. However, the ability to accurately perceive and understand communication signals decreases with age, and it is currently unknown whether face masks impair facial communication more severely in older people. We compared the impact of surgical face masks on dynamic facial emotion recognition in younger (18–30 years) and older (65–85 years) adults (N = 96) in an online study. Participants watched short video clips of young women who facially expressed anger, fear, contempt or sadness. Faces of half of the women were covered by a digitally added surgical face mask. As expected, emotion recognition accuracy declined with age, and face masks reduced emotion recognition accuracy in both younger and older participants. Unexpectedly, the effect of face masks did not differ between age groups. Further analyses showed that masks also reduced the participants’ overall confidence in their emotion judgements, but not their performance awareness (the difference between their confidence ratings for correct and incorrect responses). Again, there were no mask-by-age interactions. Finally, data obtained with a newly developed questionnaire (attitudes towards face masks, atom) suggest that younger and older people do not differ in how much they feel impaired in their understanding of other people’s emotions by face masks or how useful they find face masks in confining the COVID-19 pandemic. In sum, these findings do not provide evidence that the impact of face masks on the decoding of facial signals is disproportionally larger in older people.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Lea Henke
- Department of Psychology, Universität zu Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Maja Guseva
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Department of Psychology, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Katja Wagemans
- Department of Neurology, Universität zu Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck, Germany
| | - Doris Pischedda
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - John-Dylan Haynes
- Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience, Charité - Universitätsmedizin Berlin, Corporate Member of Freie Universität Berlin and Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Science of Intelligence, Research Cluster of Excellence, Technische Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.,Berlin School of Mind and Brain, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Berlin, Germany
| | - Georg Jahn
- Department of Psychology, Chemnitz University of Technology, Chemnitz, Germany
| | - Silke Anders
- Department of Neurology, Universität zu Lübeck, Ratzeburger Allee 160, Lübeck, Germany. .,Center of Brain, Behavior and Metabolism (CBBM), Universität zu Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany. .,Department of Psychology, Universität zu Lübeck, Lübeck, Germany.
| |
Collapse
|
46
|
Campbell EE, Bergelson E. Making sense of sensory language: Acquisition of sensory knowledge by individuals with congenital sensory impairments. Neuropsychologia 2022; 174:108320. [PMID: 35842021 DOI: 10.1016/j.neuropsychologia.2022.108320] [Citation(s) in RCA: 2] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/01/2021] [Revised: 06/21/2022] [Accepted: 07/06/2022] [Indexed: 10/17/2022]
Abstract
The present article provides a narrative review on how language communicates sensory information and how knowledge of sight and sound develops in individuals born deaf or blind. Studying knowledge of the perceptually inaccessible sensory domain for these populations offers a lens into how humans learn about that which they cannot perceive. We first review the linguistic strategies within language that communicate sensory information. Highlighting the power of language to shape knowledge, we next review the detailed knowledge of sensory information by individuals with congenital sensory impairments, limitations therein, and neural representations of imperceptible phenomena. We suggest that the acquisition of sensory knowledge is supported by language, experience with multiple perceptual domains, and cognitive and social abilities which mature over the first years of life, both in individuals with and without sensory impairment. We conclude by proposing a developmental trajectory for acquiring sensory knowledge in the absence of sensory perception.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Erin E Campbell
- Duke University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, USA.
| | - Elika Bergelson
- Duke University, Department of Psychology and Neuroscience, USA
| |
Collapse
|
47
|
Hsu JH, Tan CH, Yu RL. Impact of catechol-O-methyltransferase genetic polymorphisms and age on empathy. CURRENT PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1007/s12144-022-03434-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/10/2023]
|
48
|
Lee SC, Chen KW, Huang CY, Li PC, Hsieh TL, Lee YC, Hsueh IP. Development of a Rasch-Calibrated Test for Assessing Implied Meaning in Patients With Schizophrenia. Am J Occup Ther 2022; 76:23326. [PMID: 35861611 DOI: 10.5014/ajot.2022.047316] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
IMPORTANCE Patients with schizophrenia tend to have severe deficits in theory of mind, which may limit their interpretation of others' behaviors and thereby hamper social participation. Commonly used measures of theory of mind assess the ability to understand various social situations (e.g., implied meaning or hinting, faux pas), but these measures do not yield valid, reliable, and gender unbiased results to inform interventions for managing theory-of-mind deficits. We used understanding of implied meaning, which appears to be a unidimensional construct highly correlated with social competence, as a promising starting point to develop a theory-of-mind assessment. OBJECTIVE To develop a Rasch-calibrated computerized test of implied meaning. DESIGN Cross-sectional design. SETTING Psychiatric hospitals and community. PARTICIPANTS 344 participants (240 patients with schizophrenia and 104 healthy adults). RESULTS We initially developed 27 items for the Computerized Implied Meaning Test. After inappropriate items (12 misfit items and 1 gender-biased item) were removed, the remaining 14 items showed acceptable model fit to the Rasch model (infit = 0.84-1.16; outfit = 0.65-1.34) and the one-factor model (comparative fit index = .91, standardized root mean square residual = .05, root-mean-square error of approximation = .08). Most patients (81.7%) achieved individual Rasch reliability of ≥.90. Healthy participants performed significantly better on the test than patients with schizophrenia (Cohen's d = 2.5, p < .001). CONCLUSIONS AND RELEVANCE Our preliminary findings suggest that the Computerized Implied Meaning Test may provide reliable, valid, and gender-unbiased results for patients with schizophrenia. What This Article Adds: We developed a new measure for assessing theory-of-mind ability in patients with schizophrenia that consists of items targeting the understanding of implied meaning. Preliminary findings suggest that the Computerized Implied Meaning Test is reliable, valid, and gender unbiased and may be used in evaluating patients' theory-of-mind deficits and relevant factors.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Shih-Chieh Lee
- Shih-Chieh Lee, PhD, is Postdoctoral Researcher, Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Cheng Kung University, Tainan City, Taiwan; Adjunct Assistant Professor, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan; and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Institute of Long-Term Care, MacKay Medical College, New Taipei City, Taiwan. At the time this article was submitted, Lee was Postdoctoral Researcher, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Kuan-Wei Chen
- Kuan-Wei Chen, PhD, is Occupational Therapist, Department of Occupational Therapy, Kaohsiung Municipal Kai-Syuan Psychiatric Hospital, Kaohsiung, Taiwan, and Adjunct Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, Shu-Zen Junior College of Medicine and Management, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Chien-Yu Huang
- Chien-Yu Huang, PhD, is Assistant Professor, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, and Adjunct Occupational Therapist, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan. At the time this article was submitted, Huang was Associate Professor, Department of Occupation Therapy, I-Shou University, Kaohsiung, Taiwan
| | - Pei-Chi Li
- Pei-Chi Li, MS, is PhD Student, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. At the time this article was submitted, Li was Master's Student, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ton-Lin Hsieh
- Ton-Lin Hsieh, BA, is Master's Student, Department of Psychology, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan. At the time this article was submitted, Hsieh was Research Assistant, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan
| | - Ya-Chen Lee
- Ya-Chen Lee, PhD, is Assistant Professor, Department of Occupational Therapy, College of Medical and Health Science, Asia University, Taiwan;
| | - I-Ping Hsueh
- I-Ping Hsueh, MS, is Professor, School of Occupational Therapy, College of Medicine, National Taiwan University, Taipei, Taiwan, and Adjunct Occupational Therapist, Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, National Taiwan University Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan;
| |
Collapse
|
49
|
De Lillo M, Martin A, Ferguson H. Exploring the Relationship Between Loneliness and Social Cognition in Older Age. SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY 2022. [DOI: 10.1027/1864-9335/a000482] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/23/2022]
Abstract
Abstract. Understanding others is a key component of successful social interactions, and declines in social abilities during later life can lead to social isolation and loneliness. We investigated the relationship between different subcomponents of social cognition and loneliness in a large sample of older adults. We tested perspective-taking and mentalizing skills, alongside self-reported loneliness and social functioning. The results revealed that both loneliness and age correlated significantly with older adults' ability to resist egocentric interference when taking others' perspectives. However, mediation models showed that the effect of loneliness on egocentric tendencies was eliminated when age was accounted for. Therefore, loneliness relates to egocentrism only because egocentric tendencies increase with age, and people experience increasing levels of loneliness and feelings of social isolation with increasing age. Mentalizing and interference from others' perspectives were not influenced by loneliness or age.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Martina De Lillo
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
- School of Psychology, University of Birmingham, UK
| | - Andrew Martin
- School of Psychology, University of Kent, Canterbury, UK
| | | |
Collapse
|
50
|
Pavlova MA, Sokolov AA. Reading language of the eyes. Neurosci Biobehav Rev 2022; 140:104755. [PMID: 35760388 DOI: 10.1016/j.neubiorev.2022.104755] [Citation(s) in RCA: 18] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/15/2022] [Revised: 05/20/2022] [Accepted: 06/23/2022] [Indexed: 12/19/2022]
Abstract
The need for assessment of social skills in clinical and neurotypical populations has led to the widespread, and still increasing use of the 'Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test' (RMET) developed more than two decades ago by Simon Baron-Cohen and colleagues for evaluation of social cognition in autism. By analyzing most recent clinical and brain imaging data, we illuminate a set of factors decisive for using the RMET. Converging evidence indicates: (i) In neurotypical individuals, RMET scores are tightly correlated with other social skills (empathy, emotional intelligence, and body language reading); (ii) The RMET assesses recognition of facial affect, but also heavily relies on receptive language skills, semantic knowledge, and memory; (iii) RMET performance is underwritten by the large-scale ensembles of neural networks well-outside the social brain; (iv) The RMET is limited in its capacity to differentiate between neuropsychiatric conditions as well as between stages and severity of a single disorder, though it reliably distinguishes individuals with altered social cognition or elevated pathological traits from neurotypical persons; (v) Merely gender (as a social construct) rather than neurobiological sex influences performance on the RMET; (vi) RMET scores do not substantially decline in healthy aging, and they are higher with higher education level, cognitive abilities, literacy, and mental well-being; (vii) Accuracy on the RMET, and engagement of the social brain, are greater when emotions are expressed and recognized by individuals with similar cultural/ethnic background. Further research is required to better inform usage of the RMET as a tool for swift and reliable examination of social cognition. In light of comparable visual input from the RMET images and faces covered by masks due to COVID-19 regulations, the analysis is of value for keeping efficient social interaction during the current pandemic, in particular, in professional settings related to social communication.
Collapse
Affiliation(s)
- Marina A Pavlova
- Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, Tübingen Center for Menthal Health (TüCMH), Medical School and University Hospital, Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany.
| | - Arseny A Sokolov
- Service de neuropsychologie et de neuroréhabilitation, Département des neurosciences cliniques, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois (CHUV), Lausanne, Switzerland
| |
Collapse
|