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. 2024 May 3;10(9):e30693.
doi: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2024.e30693. eCollection 2024 May 15.

A machine-learning approach to investigating the complexity of theory of mind in individuals with schizophrenia

Francesca Marina Bosco  1 , Livia Colle  1   2 , Rogerio Salvini  3 , Ilaria Gabbatore  1
Affiliations

A machine-learning approach to investigating the complexity of theory of mind in individuals with schizophrenia

Francesca Marina Bosco et al. Heliyon. .

Abstract

Individuals with schizophrenia have difficulty attributing mental states to themselves and to others - Theory of Mind (ToM). ToM is a complex, multifaceted theoretical construct comprising first and second order, first and third person, egocentric and allocentric perspective, and cognitive and affective ToM. Most studies addressing ToM deficit in people with schizophrenia consider it an "all-or-nothing" ability and use a classical statistical methodology to test a null hypothesis. With the present study, we investigated ToM in individuals with schizophrenia, considering its complex nature and degrees of impairment. To do this, we used a machine-learning approach to detect patterns in heterogeneous and multivariate data. Our findings highlight the complex nature of ToM deficit in individuals with schizophrenia and reveal the relationship between various different aspects of ToM.

Keywords: Cognitive and affective ToM; Egocentric and allocentric perspective; First and second order; First and third person; Mindreading; Social cognition.

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Conflict of interest statement

This study was funded by Fondazione Compagnia di San Paolo “Cracking the heterogeneity of pragmatic skills (cheops) across typical and atypical profiles and real-world contexts”, (Grant No. 2021.2241).

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Bayesian network model. The probabilities present prior marginal probabilities when no observations are entered. The figure was plotted using Netica (www.norsys.com).
Fig. 2
Fig. 2
Bayesian network model under known evidence of a patient with schizophrenia. The figure was plotted using Netica (www.norsys.com).
Fig. 3
Fig. 3
Bayesian network model under known evidence of a Healthy Control. The figure was plotted using Netica (www.norsys.com).
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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