NCOG-09. COMPREHENSIVE ASSESSMENT OF LONG-TERM SOCIAL COGNITION (THEORY OF MIND) OUTCOMES IN GLIOMA PATIENTS FOLLOWING STANDARD-OF-CARE TREATMENT

Gliomas and their treatment have been shown to impact patients’ behavioral and emotional regulation and personality, which can affect social relationships and overall quality of life. Theory of Mind (ToM), an important component of social cognition, is the ability to attribute mental states (thoughts, beliefs, intentions) to oneself and others. Prior data suggest the right frontal cortex is critically involved in ToM performance, although much of these data are based on a single measure, Reading the Mind in the Eyes. In this study, to more comprehensively assess social cognition and identify critical aspects of ToM impaired in this population, six validated ToM tasks were administered to glioma patients postoperatively (n=10) and to matched normal subjects (n=5). Tasks assessed multiple ToM domains, including mental state attribution (Reading the Mind in the Eyes, Reading the Mind in the Voice), intention attribution (Comic Strip, Picture Sequencing), and understanding of social motivations (Happé’s Stories) and complex social situations (Faux Pas). Glioma patients’ performance on Picture Sequencing was poorer than that of matched controls (88.9% vs. 97.1%, p