NEURAL DEVELOPMENT OF THEORY OF MIND

Theory of Mind (ToM) is the ability to reason about others’ mental states (e.g., thoughts, beliefs, desires and emotions). When adults think about the mental states of others, a network of brain regions activate. Children, however, typically think about other peoples' mental states differently from adults. For instance, it is often difficult for 3-year-olds to know that people can have thoughts that are different from their own! So when children think about others mental states, do different areas of the brain light up compared to adults?