Abstracts

Rationale: In temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) patients, recent behavioral studies have demonstrated an impairment of different social cognition abilities. Social cognition abilities are necessary to establish adequate and appropriate social interactions. More specifically, impairment of appropriate inferences capacities about the other's mental states or abilities of Theory of Mind (ToM) have been established. However, the links between psycho-affective or quality of life disturbances, frequent in TLE patients, and ToM disorders are still under-explored. Also, the demographic and clinical characteristics promoting this ToM disorders are still controversial. This study aims to explore the relationship between these features and ToM disorders in TLE patients. Methods: We included 50 TLE patients and 50 matched healthy controls. We analysed the ToM abilities during the Faux Pas task, testing the correct detection and interpretation of verbal blunders. Through questionnaires, the quality of life and psycho-affective features (depression, anxiety, empathy, anhedonia, alexithymia, apathy, positive and negative affectivity) were evaluated. Also, demographic (age, sex, socio-cultural level) and clinical (epileptic focus side -left or right-, hippocampus sclerosis -with and without-, seizures frequency, disease duration and age of onset) features were collected. Results: Compared with matched healthy controls, TLE patients showed ToM abilities disorders. This ToM impairment was positively correlated with: 1) several clinical characteristics like disease duration and age of onset; 2) the quality of life alteration and the social support specifically; 3) several psycho-affective disturbances, as the lack of empathy, positive affectivity and anhedonia. However, the demographic characteristics seem not to be related to ToM impairment. Conclusions: These results support the hypothesis of a specific cognitive profile in TLE patients characterized by an impairment of ToM abilities. Like previous studies, several clinical characteristics promoting this ToM disorders were identified. Also, this ToM impairment seems to be in relationship with psycho-affective and quality of life disturbances. However, these relationship mechanisms, like the pathophysiology of this ToM impairment, remains to be further explored.