Faux-Pas Recognition Test: A Turkish adaptation study and a proposal of a standardized short version.

Faux Pas Recognition Test (FPRT) is one of the most commonly used tools to assess the theory of mind (ToM) and a valid and reliable screening of this social cognitive function in both clinical and research settings is essential. We aimed to evaluate the psychometric properties of the FPRT on a healthy Turkish sample and to develop a shorter form with adequate psychometric properties to provide an easier application for the tester by shortening the test's duration of administration. Four hundred sixteen healthy individuals completed the Turkish version of the FPRT. Addenbrooke's Cognitive Evaluation-Revised form (ACE-R) was given to the participants who were over 60 years of age in order to eliminate the adverse effects of a potential cognitive decline on FPRT performance. Effects of psychological symptoms on FPRT performance were controlled with Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and Beck Anxiety Inventory (BAI). Both the original and short versions of the test showed good psychometric properties: for the original version internal consistency reliability was 0.94 for faux-pas (FP) stories and 0.92 for control stories; for the short version it was 0.92 for FP stories and was 0.93 for control stories. For the original version of the FPRT; inter-rater reliability was 0.88 for FP stories and was 0.96 for control stories. Split-half reliability was 0.78 for FP stories and was 0.85 for control stories. Gender and age comparisons were carried out. Results revealed that women had significantly higher total scores than men in three measures of FPRT.

The comparison of decision-making in ambiguous situations and galvanic skin responses as somatic markers in patients with posterior cortex epilepsy and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy with hippocampal sclerosis.

INTRODUCTION: Decision-making behaviors of patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE) is a subject that has been studied frequently. However, determining the neuropsychological profiles of patients with different types of epilepsy is also important. Our main purpose was to examine the decision-making behaviors of patients with posterior cortex epilepsy (PCE) through the assumptions of somatic marker hypothesis (SMH) and to compare their performances with those of a MTLE group and a control group. METHOD: Participants comprised of 13 patients with PCE (mean age 30.92 ± 9.99 years); 14 patients with MTLE with hippocampal sclerosis (MTLE-HS) (mean age 25.53 ± 7.40 years) and 15 controls (mean age 24.60 ± 8.45 years). Decision-making performances were assessed with the Iowa gambling test (IGT) and anticipatory skin responses before each choice were recorded. A comprehensive neuropsychological test battery was also given to all participants in order to examine the relationship of decision-making with other cognitive functions. RESULTS: Anticipatory responses before choosing from disadvantageous decks were significantly larger than choosing from advantageous decks in the PCE group (p = 0.00). No significant difference was found between the PCE and control group's total net scores. IGT total net scores was significantly correlated with Stroop test interference time (p = 0.03). CONCLUSION: The study reveals that cognitive impairments of patients with PCE are not limited to brain's posterior areas' functions, and provides evidence for the current paradigm which understands epilepsy as a network disorder.

Improved decision-making and psychophysiological responses in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy after anterior temporal lobectomy.

The somatic marker hypothesis is an influential model of human decision-making postulating that somatic feedback to the brain enhances decision-making in ambiguous circumstances, i.e. when the probabilities of various outcomes are unknown. The somatic feedback can be measured as autonomic responses, which are regulated by the amygdala. The failure to evoke this somatic feedback, which occurs in patients with amygdala lesions, impairs decision-making. The purpose of this study was to investigate the decision-making behaviour of mesial temporal lobe epilepsy patients with pre- and post-epilepsy surgery to ascertain whether the decision-making abilities of groups can be explained by means of the generation of somatic feedback responses. The preoperative group comprised 32 patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy due to hippocampal sclerosis, while the postoperative group comprised 23 patients who had undergone anterior temporal lobectomy. The age and gender-matched control group consisted of 30 healthy participants. Decision-making performances were assessed and skin resistance responses were measured simultaneously. The findings of this study reveal that the decision-making performance of preoperative patients with unilateral mesial temporal lobe epilepsy was impaired under conditions of ambiguity, i.e. they did not generate somatic feedback responses before making decisions around ambiguous outcomes, and produced significantly poor scores overall based on a decision-making task. In addition, the resection of epileptogenic limbic structures positively affected the generation of somatic feedback responses, as demonstrated by the significant difference between the magnitudes of autonomic responses of the pre- and post-operative groups. The findings of the study validate the contribution of mesial temporal lobe structures to decision-making behaviour, and also point to the importance of examining the connectivity patterns between the neural structures involved in the decision-making network.