Perspectives on Perspective Taking: How Children Think About the Minds of Others.

Perspective taking, or "theory of mind," involves reasoning about the mental states of others (e.g., their intentions, desires, knowledge, beliefs) and is called upon in virtually every aspect of human interaction. Our goals in writing this chapter were to provide an overview of (a) the research questions developmental psychologists ask to shed light on how children think about the inner workings of the mind, and (b) why such research is invaluable in understanding human nature and our ability to interact with, and learn from, one another. We begin with a brief review of early research in this field that culminated in the so-called litmus test for a theory of mind (i.e., false-belief tasks). Next, we describe research with infants and young children that created a puzzle for many researchers, and briefly mention an intriguing approach researchers have used to attempt to "solve" this puzzle. We then turn to research examining children's understanding of a much broader range of mental states (beyond false beliefs). We briefly discuss the value of studying individual differences by highlighting their important implications for social well-being and ways to improve perspective taking. Next, we review work illustrating the value of capitalizing on children's proclivity for selective social learning to reveal their understanding of others' mental states. We close by highlighting one line of research that we believe will be an especially fruitful avenue for future research and serves to emphasize the complex interplay between our perspective-taking abilities and other cognitive processes.

[A series of tumors of the posterior fossa]. / Processus expansifs de la fosse postérieure.

This article presents a series of tumors of the posterior fossa. Imbalance or dizziness motivate patients to consult while they often neglect a hearing loss. However, any unilateral hearing impairment of any kind, even transitory, requires testings to rule out a retrocochlear lesion. In this series, 23% of vestibular schwannomas manifested by a sudden deafness, with a recovery of hearing in half of them.

[True or false vertigo: a true or false question?]. / "Vrai" ou "faux" vertige: une vraie ou fausse question?

Some practitioners ask on which criteria vertigo can be considered as "true" or "false". The goal of this paper is to explain why such a concept is misleading. Vertigo and imbalance are subjective symptoms caused by many possible factors, somatic or psychologic, which may cause, in turn, psychological distress in some patients. In all cases, the complain is "true", even in case of psychological disorder. To evaluate patients suffering from vertigo, knowledge in anatomy and physiology are necessary as well as knowledge of the interface between neuro-totologic and psychiatric conditions.

Isolated vestibular areflexia after blunt head trauma.

The sudden unilateral loss of vestibular function is a frequent cause of vertigo. This condition is called vestibular neuronitis or vestibular neuritis. Its cause remains unknown, but many authors consider it to be a sequel of vestibular viral infection. We report the history and clinical findings of 5 patients in whom a unilateral vestibular loss occurred after head trauma. None of these patients complained of hearing loss. In all cases, the vertigo gradually subsided over days or weeks. The follow-up showed the partial recovery of vestibular function in 2 cases, while vestibular areflexia persisted in 3. The clinical course and findings were similar in every respect to those in patients with classic idiopathic vestibular neuronitis.

Bilateral idiopathic loss of peripheral vestibular function with normal hearing.

From 1982 to 1993, 52 electronystagmograms (FNG) revealed an absent nystagmic reaction on both caloric (44 30 and 10 degrees C water irrigation) and rotatory pendular testing (0.05 Hz/peak velocity 60 degrees/s), which represents 0.6% of all FNG performed during this period. Among these examinations, 14 patients (27%) presented a bilateral idiopathic loss of vestibular function (BILVF) with normal hearing and without associated neurological symptoms. Two different groups emerged: one group with simultaneous onset of BILVF ( 10 patients), with sudden imbalance and disequilibrium, worse in darkness, with an absence of bilateral caloric and pendular response. The other group (4 patients) was characterized by sequential onset of BILVF. These patients experienced several episodes of acute vertigo with persistent imbalances caloric and pendular responses showed unilateral, then contralateral loss with or without recovery of function. Eleven were controlled with a follow-up from 1 to 7 years. Patients of both groups remained permanently or episodically symptomatic, but only 4 patients complained of persistent oscillopsia. Viral infections, systemic diseases (hypertension, hypothyroidism, asthma), immune reactions (vaccination) and toxic factors (herbicide exposure) may play a role in the etiology of this rare bilateral peripheral vestibulopathy.

[Endocarditis, brain lesions and anticoagulants (anatomic clinical and statistical study of 229 cases)]. / Endocardites, lésions cérébrales et anticoagulants (étude anatomo-clinique et statistique de 229 cas).

This study of brain autopsy findings in 229 cases of endocarditis (67 anticoagulated, 162 non-anticoagulated) shows that treatment with anticoagulation does not increase the incidence of cerebral hemorrhage, neither from the conversion of ischaemic necroses into hemorrhagic ones nor from an increase in other circulatory or vascular lesions. The analysis was based on the pathogenesis and detailed descriptions of the lesions, paying particular attention to hemorrhagic infarctions of the cerebral cortex. Using chi-square analysis, there was no significant difference between the frequency of lesions in anticoagulated versus non-anticoagulated patients.

[Automatic analysis by computer of the visual suppression test of pendular rotatory vestibular nystagmus]. / Analyse automatique par ordinateur du test de suppression visuelle du nystagmus vestibulaire per-rotatoire pendulaire.

This study presents an automatic computerized analysis of the visual suppression test of vestibular nystagmus. Visual suppression is measured during rotatory nystagmus examination. The amplitude variations and the frequency of the nystagmus are computed in the dark and in the light. This allows the computer to furnish with the help of an algorithm the percentage of nystagmus suppressed by ocular fixation. The results of the computerized analysis are compared to a qualitative evaluation. A percentage of 70% and more indicates a normal suppression reflex and corresponds qualitatively to a total or subtotal visual suppression. A percentage smaller than 70% indicates a pathological reflex corresponding qualitatively to a partial, weak or absent visual suppression. The study is based on 149 examinations realised in 12 healthy subjects and 137 patients. The patients are classified into 4 groups: a) 59 patients with peripheral vestibular lesions (Ménière's diseases 21, vestibular neuronitis 15, cupulolithiasis 16, ototoxicity 7), b) 67 patients with central lesions of the cerebellum and the brainstem (multiple sclerosis 23, infratentorial tumors 14, vascular brainstem lesions 14, degenerative diseases of the central nervous system 16), c) 6 patients with supratentorial central lesions (hemispheric vascular lesions 4, supratentorial tumors 2), d) 5 patients with congenital nystagmus. All healthy subjects and all patients with peripheral vestibular lesions have a total or subtotal visual suppression corresponding to computed rates greater than 70% (mean: 86.7% and 83.1%). In cerebellar and brainstem lesions about half the patients (56.8%) present a partial, weak or absent visual suppression corresponding to computed rates inferior to 70% (mean: 52.7%). In supratentorial disorders the visual suppression is total or subtotal with computed rates superior to 70% (mean: 79.2%). By patients with congenital nystagmus the visual suppression is uniformly pathological with computed rates inferior to 70% (mean: 19.2%). The results of the visual suppression test are concordant with those of smooth pursuit in 92.6% of cases and with those of optokinetic nystagmus in 89.3% of cases. This study confirms that the visual suppression test is a useful examination to detect disorders of the cerebellum and brainstem.

[Secondary Menière's disease]. / Le syndrome de Ménière secondaire.

Among 93 patients presenting the typical symptoms of a Ménière's disease associating an unilateral fluctuating hearing loss of sensorineural type, tinnitus and vertiginous attacks lasting minutes to hours, 40 patients (43%) presented in their personal history a particular otologic insult in the ear which later on developed into the full Ménière's symptomatology, or a particular systemic disease with otologic manifestations. The Ménière's triad appeared in these patients six months to twenty nine years after the initial otologic or systemic lesion. Among these initial lesions were 16 cases of sudden partial or complete deafness related to viral or bacterial infection, 3 cases of sudden cochleo-vestibular deficit and 1 case of vestibular neuritis, 5 cases of temporal bone fractures and 4 cases of significant acoustic trauma, 2 cases of otosclerosis, 1 case of chronicotitis media and 1 case of severe hearing loss after otologic surgery, 5 cases of meningo-encephalitis and 2 cases of acquired syphilis. These particular lesion could be, in our opinion, the releasing factor of the inner ear dysfonction leading eventually to a secondary Ménière's syndrome.

[Pyolaryngocele]. / Pyolaryngocèles.

This study presents two new observations of laryngopyocele. It is a very serious form of clinical emergency related to latent asphyxia necessitating immediate medical attention. The treatment of choice consists of an external approach with removal of the superior edge of the thyroid lamina in addition to endotracheal intubation or a tracheotomy.

Noninvasive extratympanic electrical stimulation of the auditory nerve.

We have developed a noninvasive technique for extratympanic stimulation of the auditory nerve. 119 ears of 76 subjects with either normal, residual or no hearing were tested. 73% of the subjects with experience of hearing reported definite auditory sensations. Subjects with no certain experience of hearing could not describe accurately the nature of their sensations. Electrical stimulation of normal ears failed to elicit auditory sensations. These results compare well with those of promontory stimulation in cochlear implant candidates.