文档介绍：DTD 5 ARTICLE IN PRESS
Neuroscience and Biobehavioral Reviews xx (2005) 1–19
ate/neubiorev
Review
Theory of mind—evolution, ontogeny, brain mechanisms
and psychopathology
Martin Bru¨ne*, Ute Bru¨ne-Cohrs
Center for Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, University of Bochum, Alexandrinenstr. 1-3, 44791 Bochum, Germany
Received 21 April 2005; revised 2 August 2005; accepted 8 August 2005
Abstract
The ability to infer other persons’ mental states and emotions has been termed ‘theory of mind’. It represents an evolved psychological
capacity most highly developed in humans. The evolutionary origins of theory of mind can be traced back in extant non-human primates;
theory of mind probably emerged as an adaptive response to plex primate social interaction. This sophisticated
‘metacognitive’ es, however, at an evolutionary cost, reflected in a broad spectrum of psychopathological conditions. Extensive
research into autistic spectrum disorders has revealed that theory of mind may be selectively impaired, leaving other cognitive faculties
intact. Recent studies have shown that observed deficits in theory of mind task performance are part of a broad range of symptoms in
schizophrenia, bipolar affective disorder, some forms of dementia, ‘psychopathy’ and in other psychiatric disorders. This article reviews the
evolutionary psychology of theory of mind including its ontogeny and representation in the central nervous system, and studies of theory of
mind in psychopathological conditions.
q 2005 Published by Elsevier Ltd.
Keywords: Theory of mind; Human evolution; Child development; Brain mechanisms of theory of mind; Psychopathology
Contents
1. Introduction ....................................................................................000
2. Theory of mind—adaptation to plexity? ........................................................000
3. Ontogeny of theory of mind ........................................................................000
4. CN