Deficits in cognitive and affective theory of mind relate to dissociated lesion patterns in prefrontal and insular cortex

Neuroimaging studies suggest that understanding emotions in others engages brain regions partially common to those associated with more general cognitive Theory-of-Mind (ToM) functions allowing us to infer people's beliefs or intentions. However, neuropsychological studies on brain-damaged patients reveal dissociations between the ability to understand others' emotions and ToM. This discrepancy might underlie the fact that neuropsychological...