In recent decades, clinicians and researchers have become increasingly aware of a form of extreme social withdrawal lasting at least six months, known as hikikomori [ 1 ]. The term was coined in the late 1990s by Japanese psychiatrist Saitō Tamaki to describe individuals who withdraw almost entirely from social life, isolating themselves within their home – often in a single room – refusing school or work, and avoiding face-to-face relationships. While some remain connected t

The claim that autistic individuals lack Theory of Mind (ToM)—the ability to understand that others have thoughts, emotions, and...

Theory of Mind (ToM) is a critical aspect of social cognition and undergoes significant developmental changes from infancy to adulthood. This development follows a trajectory marked by key milestones, with notable differences between autistic and non-autistic individuals. Infancy and Early Childhood ToM development begins in infancy, where social interaction plays a vital role. Infants depend on caregivers to regulate affective states, which in turn helps in the gradual acqui

Henry Wellman (2020) explores the development of "theory of mind"—our ability to understand and predict others' mental states. He argues...

Theory of Mind (ToM) refers to the ability to attribute mental states—such as beliefs, intentions, and emotions—to oneself and others, enabling social understanding and interaction (Green et al. 2015; Poletti et al. 2012). It consists of two primary components: cognitive ToM (reasoning about thoughts and beliefs) and affective ToM (reasoning about emotions), which interact but function separately (Shamay-Tsoory 2011; Sprung et al. 2022). Conceptual and Terminological Challeng

Theory of Mind (ToM) has been applied not only to humans and animals but also to Large Language Models (LLMs) like ChatGPT. The extent to wh

The theory of mind  (ToM) has been instrumental in shaping research in psychology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence, providing a theoretical framework for investigating the cognitive processes underlying social interaction and communication. Social cognitive deficits appear to be a core cognitive phenotype of many clinical conditions (Cotter et al. 2018). Early work in social cognition focused on the central role of ToM impairments as a hallmark feature of ASD  (Baro

How Comparisons with Down Syndrome Have Changed Premack and Woodruff's seminal study in 1978 introduced the concept of theory of mind...

Theory of mind (ToM), or mentalising, is a fundamental aspect of human cognition. It is defined as the ability to attribute mental states—

Is there a hidden connection? Personality Disorders (PDs) and ASDs are distinct yet interconnected psychiatric disorders/ psychological conditions. Despite fundamental differences in their symptomatology and diagnostic criteria, both disorders share certain overlapping characteristics. Firstly, it is important to establish the defining features of PDs and ASDs. Personality Disorders   are characterised by enduring patterns of thoughts, emotions, and inflexible, maladaptive, o

Distinct features and diagnostic challenges of psychosis in autis m Although there is a considerable overlap in symptoms, it is important to recognize that autism and psychosis are distinct conditions . Nevertheless, it is not uncommon for these two conditions to co-occur, and their comorbidity rates are significantly higher compared to the general adult population. Intriguingly, significant associations were found between autistic traits and probable psychosis and psychotic

Prevalence and comorbidity Comorbidity , or the coexistence of two or more disorders, is common in both autistic individuals and people with psychotic disorders. Psychosis and bipolar disorder are two commonly occurring psychiatric disorders that affect autistic individuals throughout their lives (Ghaziuddin & Ghaziuddin 2021; Foss-Feig et al. 2021; Jutla et al. 2021; Vaquerizo-Serrano et al. 2021; Bitsika et al. 2021). In fact, the prevalence of these disorders is significan

Overlapping symptoms and differences Psychosis Psychosis is not a diagnosis in and of itself but rather a cluster of symptoms present in...

The way we perceive the world affects the way we store and use information. The conscious mind is not the only way of receiving information. Subconsciously, we are perceiving all the time – whether we are aware of it or not, subconscious processes are there. For example, at an early stage of visual processing there is a ‘low-level map-like representation’ which most are not consciously aware of (Rensink 2000). It is only at higher levels of processing, where attention plays a

The placebo effect can be defined as the power of the mind and the unconscious to heal in response to something (whether sugar pills or just a suggestion) that the person believes will improve his or her condition. Scientific studies on placebo focus on the effectiveness of new drugs or treatments, whereas they have confirmed the reality of a mysterious phenomenon – the possibility of thought influencing not only psychological but also physical states of people. The effect

According to some researchers (e.g., Ramachandran 1995), it is mirror neurons that allow us to "read" and understand another's intentions, and thus to develop a sophisticated "theory of other minds"; without these neurons, the child can no longer understand other people’s intentions, emotions and behaviours, and this is the case in autism. It is true that autistic people find it hard to perceive the mental states of others and it has been suggested that the central feature of

But do they? Giacomo Rizzollati and colleagues (1992) conducted experiments on monkeys, recording signals from parts of the frontal lobes which are concerned with motor commands. The researcher found that there are cells that fire not only when the monkey performs certain specific movements but also when the monkey watches another monkey performing the same action. ‘Monkey-see monkey-do neurons’ Rizzollati terms these neurons mirror neurons (‘monkey-see monkey-do neurons’). T

It is not as simple as ABC When we come across a behaviour that’s difficult, there’s a popular method that’s used to help parents and carers to analyse what’s happening and do something about it. You may have heard about it – or even used it. It’s called the ABC approach the idea of which is that you find a trigger for the behaviour ( A ntecedent), define the B ehaviour and provide the ‘ C onsequence’ (for example, ignore/ time out) for this (often deemed ‘inappropriate’) beh

Gilles de la Tourette syndrome or Tourette syndrome (TS) is a neurological disorder characterized by sudden, brief, repetitive, involuntary (unwanted) movements or vocal sounds called tics. They can range from mild to severe. Severe symptoms might significantly interfere with communication, daily activities and quality of life. Tics can be classified as: Simple tics: they involve a limited number of muscles. Complex tics: they involve several muscle groups. Motor tics in TS