Citation

Bivona U, Formisano R, Mastrilli L, Zabberoni S, Caltagirone C, Costa A. Biomed. Res. Int. 2018; 2018: e5205642.

Affiliation

Università telematica Niccolò Cusano, Rome, Italy.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Hindawi Publishing)

DOI

10.1155/2018/5205642

PMID

30069471

PMCID

PMC6057350

Abstract

Background. Recently, increased interest has been shown in Theory of Mind (ToM) abilities of individuals with severe acquired brain injury (sABI). ToM impairment following sABI can be associated with altered executive functioning and/or with difficulty in decoding and elaborating emotions. Two main theoretical models have been proposed to explain the mechanisms underlying ToM in the general population: Theory Theory and Simulation Theory. This review presents and discusses the literature on ToM abilities in individuals with sABI by examining whether they sustain the applicability of the Theory Theory and/or Simulation Theory to account for ToM deficits in this clinical population. We found 32 papers that are directly aimed at investigating ToM in sABI.

RESULTS did not show the univocal predominance of one model with respect to the other in explaining ToM deficits in sABI. We hypothesised that ToM processes could be explained by coinvolvement of the two models, i.e., according to personal experience, cognitive features, or the emotional resources of the persons with sABI.

Language: en