Theory of Mind and Empathy in Adults With Epilepsy: A Meta-Analysis

Mounting evidence suggests that social cognitive abilities [including theory of mind (ToM) and empathy] are impaired in adult patients with epilepsy. Although the deficits in overall ToM in epilepsy have been documented well, the effects of epilepsy on empathic ability and specific subcomponents of ToM remain unclear. The primary aim of this study was to provide the first meta-analytic integration of ToM and empathy in adult patients with epilepsy, and to decompose these constructs to clearly differentiate their distinct (cognitive ToM and affective empathy) and overlapping (affective ToM/cognitive empathy) components. This meta-analysis included 28 studies. Adult patients with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) and frontal lobe epilepsy (FLE) showed impairments in cognitive ToM and affective ToM/cognitive empathy compared to the healthy controls (HCs); no group differences were identified for affective empathy. Besides, cognitive ToM was impaired in adult patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) and focal seizures (caused by epileptogenic foci) outside the temporal and frontal lobes (extra-TLE/FLE) and no group differences were evident for affective ToM/cognitive empathy compared to the HCs. Moreover, relative to the HCs, no group differences were identified for affective empathy in adult patients with IGE. Additionally, no (statistically) significant difference was observed between the magnitude of ToM/empathy impairment in adult patients who underwent and those who did not undergo epilepsy surgery. These quantitative findings suggest differential impairment of the core aspects of social cognitive processing in adult patients with epilepsy, which may contribute to the development of structured cognitive interventions (i.e., social cognitive training) for adult patients with epilepsy.