Inter-region correlations within the ToM network are lower in blind children, while ToM and language networks remain functionally distinct¶

Claim · All claims
Evidence · 1 study (2 entries) · associational r2 · q3
Currency · newest study 2023 · not yet checked against its sources · not reviewed by a person · recheck by 2028: baselines and conditions change

Subclaims¶

q3 i? Within-ToM inter-region correlations were significantly lower among blind children relative to all sighted children (b=−0.72, t=−2.7, p=.008), while within-language and across-network correlations did not differ. → Richardson H. 2023 q3 i? In blind children, ToM and language networks were functionally distinct: within-network correlations exceeded across-network correlations (within-ToM vs across: t(16)=3.72, p=.0009). → Richardson H. 2023 (2)

Evidence¶

Richardson H. 2023¶

Richardson H., Saxe R., Bedny M. (2023). Neural correlates of theory of mind reasoning in congenitally blind children. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101285

q3 · i? · associational · r2

Inter-region correlation analysis of fMRI timecourses from ToM and language ROIs in 17 blind and 114 sighted children. Within-ToM correlations were "significantly lower among blind children"; language-network correlations did not differ (p=.51). No effect size printed.

"Nevertheless, inter-region correlations within the ToM network were significantly lower among blind children, relative to all sighted children (b=−0.72, t=−2.7, CI=[−1.2,−0.19], p=.008; Fig. 5)."

Richardson H. 2023 (2)¶

Richardson H., Saxe R., Bedny M. (2023). Neural correlates of theory of mind reasoning in congenitally blind children. Developmental Cognitive Neuroscience. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.dcn.2023.101285

q3 · i? · associational · r2

One-tailed paired t-tests within the blind group (n=17) comparing within- versus across-network correlations. Within-ToM M(SE)=0.23(0.03) exceeded across-network M(SE)=0.18(0.02); sighted children showed the same pattern. No effect size printed.

"Among blind children, ToM and language networks were functionally distinct: brain regions within each network were more correlated with other brain regions in the same network than with brain regions in the other functional network (within-ToM [M(SE)= 0.23(0.03)] vs. across-ToM-Language [M(SE)= 0.18(0.02)]: t(16) = 3.72, CI= [0.03,Inf], p=.0009;"

Discussion¶

Related Claims¶

• The condition-dependent response profile of ToM brain regions is quantitatively weaker in blind than sighted children — related
• Blind and sighted children do not differ in performance on false-belief items of the non-visual ToM task — related
• RTPJ selectivity for mental state content does not differ between blind and sighted children — related
• Congenitally blind children perform slightly less accurately on a non-visual behavioral ToM task than sighted children, controlling for age — related
• RTPJ selectivity correlates with behavioral ToM task performance across blind and sighted children combined — related
• Blind children reason about visually sourced mental states similarly to sighted children — related
• Inter-test correlations appear lower for children of a given age than for adults, though quantitative evidence is slight — related