Cerebral lateralization and theory of mind

Abstract

Abstract Theory of mind (ToM), predicting and explaining behaviour in terms of mental states, represents a crucial human ability that is best understood from several perspectives. In this chapter, we focus on neuropsychological investigations of ToM capacities that may be lateralized to one cerebral hemisphere; however, we locate these claims for lateralized components of ToM in an overview that includes many themes and that draws on several literatures. Our goal is to integrate ToM capacity into a general framework that incorporates philosophical, neuropsychological, and cognitive principles. We start with a brief statement of how ToM fits within current views on evolutionary psychology and developmental psychology to highlight a few critical features of ToM. Next, we provide background on localization and, in particular, lateralization of function. This selective review draws on work with monkeys as well as with humans. We emphasize the importance of the right hemisphere in ToM and related domains, but also discuss the role of bilateral prefrontal regions in ToM computations. Finally, and most importantly, we outline a neuropsychological model for ToM that incorporates contributions of prefrontal and limbic regions as well as the two hemispheres. The core ideas include the maintaince ‘decoupled’ or alternative representations, selecting from among alternatives, and the relative salience of competing representations.

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