It's not what you think: counterintuitive influence of theory of mind on social behavior in asd

While Theory of Mind (ToM) challenges have long been associated with ASD, research shows that this aspect of social cognition may not be as consistent—or impactful—as previously thought. Instead, differences in measurement and mechanisms may explain contradictory findings (Altschuler et al, 2018). Some studies suggest a unique impact of parent-report of ToM behavior (Hutchins et al, 2016). More recently, the late positive complex (LPC), an EEG response occurring 300 ms to 600 ms after a ToM stimulus, was found to mediate the relationship between ASD symptoms and ToM accuracy (Libsack et al, 2022). However, direct relations between these measures and observed peer interactions have yet to be studied.