Genetic Contribution to 'theory of Mind' in Adolescence

Overview

Journal Sci Rep

Specialty Science

Date 2018 Feb 24

PMID 29472613

Citations 11

Authors

Varun Warrier

Simon Baron-Cohen

Affiliations

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Abstract

Difficulties in 'theory of mind' (the ability to attribute mental states to oneself or others, and to make predictions about another's behaviour based on these attributions) have been observed in several psychiatric conditions. We investigate the genetic architecture of theory of mind in 4,577 13-year-olds who completed the Emotional Triangles Task (Triangles Task), a first-order test of theory of mind. We observe a small but significant female-advantage on the Triangles Task (Cohen's d = 0.19, P < 0.01), in keeping with previous work using other tests of theory of mind. Genome-wide association analyses did not identify any significant loci, and SNP heritability was non-significant. Polygenic scores for six psychiatric conditions (ADHD, anorexia, autism, bipolar disorder, depression, and schizophrenia), and empathy were not associated with scores on the Triangles Task. However, polygenic scores of cognitive aptitude, and cognitive empathy, a term synonymous with theory of mind and measured using the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test, were significantly associated with scores on the Triangles Task at multiple P-value thresholds, suggesting shared genetics between different measures of theory of mind and cognition.

Citing Articles

Empathy and Violence in Schizophrenia and Antisocial Personality Disorder.

Tasios K, Douzenis A, Gournellis R, Michopoulos I Healthcare (Basel). 2024; 12(1).

PMID: 38200995 PMC: 10779118. DOI: 10.3390/healthcare12010089.

Sex and age differences in "theory of mind" across 57 countries using the English version of the "Reading the Mind in the Eyes" Test.

Greenberg D, Warrier V, Abu-Akel A, Allison C, Gajos K, Reinecke K Proc Natl Acad Sci U S A. 2022; 120(1):e2022385119.

PMID: 36584298 PMC: 9910622. DOI: 10.1073/pnas.2022385119.

Affective Theory of Mind as a residual ability to preserve mentalizing in amnestic Mild Cognitive Impairment: A 12-months longitudinal study.

Rossetto F, Isernia S, Cabinio M, Pirastru A, Blasi V, Baglio F Front Neurol. 2022; 13:1060699.

PMID: 36468066 PMC: 9716015. DOI: 10.3389/fneur.2022.1060699.

Exploring social emotion processing in autism: evaluating the reading the mind in the eyes test using network analysis.

Li T, Gau S, Chou T BMC Psychiatry. 2022; 22(1):161.

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