social cognition in anorexia nervosa evidence of preserved theory of mind and impaired emotional functioning社会认知在神经性厌食症的证据保存的理论思想和情感功能受损.pdf

Social Cognition in Anorexia Nervosa: Evidence of Preserved Theory of Mind and Impaired Emotional Functioning 1,2 3 1 Mauro Adenzato , Patrizia Todisco , Rita B. Ardito * 1 Center for Cognitive Science, Department of Psychology, University of Turin, Turin, Italy, 2 Neuroscience Institute of Turin, Turin, Italy, 3 Center of Eating Disorders, Casa di Cura Villa Margherita, Arcugnano, Vicenza, Italy Abstract Background: The findings of the few studies that have to date investigated the way in which individuals with Anorexia Nervosa (AN) navigate their social environment are somewhat contradictory. We undertook this study to shed new light on the social-cognitive profile of patients with AN, analysing Theory of Mind and emotional functioning. Starting from previous evidence on the role of the amygdala in the neurobiology of AN and in the social cognition, we hypothesise preserved Theory of Mind and impaired emotional functioning in patients with AN. Methodology: Thirty women diagnosed with AN and thirty-two women matched for education and age were involved in the study. Theory of Mind and emotional functioning were assessed with a set of validated experimental tasks. A measure of perceived social support was also used to test the correlations between this dimension and the social-cognitive profile of AN patients. Principal Findings: The performance of patients with AN is significantly worse than that of healthy controls on tasks assessing emotional functioning, whereas patients’ performance is comparable to that of healthy controls on the Theory of Mind task. Correlation analyses showed no relationship between scores on any of the social-cognition tasks and either age of onset or duration of illness. A correlation between social support and emotional functioning was found