THEORY OF MIND IN THE BRAIN - EVIDENCE FROM A PET SCAN STUDY OF ASPERGER-SYNDROME

THE ability to attribute mental states to others ('theory of mind') pe rvades normal social interaction and is impaired in autistic individua ls. In a previous positron emission tomography scan study of normal vo lunteers, performing a 'theory of mind' task was associated with activ ity in left medial prefrontal cortex. We used the same paradigm in fiv e patients with Asperger syndrome, a mild variant of autism with norma l intellectual functioning. No task-related activity was found in this region, but normal activity was observed in immediately adjacent area s. This result suggests that a highly circumscribed region of left med ial prefrontal cortex is a crucial component of the brain system that underlies the normal understanding of other minds.