Theory of mind in male methamphetamine addicts and the relationships with their psychotic symptoms / 中国神经精神疾病杂志

ABSTRACT

Objective To investigate the difference of Theory of Mind (ToM) processing (especially in social-perceptual component and social-cognitive component) in male methamphetamine (METH) addicts, and test whether the deficits of ToM is correlated with their psychotic symptoms or not. Methods Thirty METH addicts with psychotic symptoms (METH-P group), 31 METH addicts with no psychotic symptoms (METH-NP group) and 41 healthy controls (control group) were recruited. Eyes Task and Faux pas Task were used to test the social-perceptual component and social-cognitive component in all participants. The psychotic symptoms of METH addicts were assessed using Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale (BPRS). Results Compared with control group, performance was poor in Eyes Task and Faux pas Questions in both METH-P group and METH-NP group (P＜0.05). Performance in Eyes Task was poorer in METH-P group than in METH-NP group (P＜0.05). There were no significant differences in performance in Faux pas Questions scores between METH-P group and METH-NP group (P＞0.05). Multivariate linear regression analysis demonstrated that BPRS positive symptom score were correlated with Eyes Task scores of METH addicts (β=-0.415, P=0.001). Conclusions METH addicts exhibit deficits in both ToM social-perceptual component and ToM social-cognitive component. METH-associated psychosis are related to the deficit in social-perceptual component of ToM.