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Cited by 29Child and Animal Learning DevelopmentAutism Spectrum Disorder ResearchGenetic Syndromes and Imprinting

A maternal influence on Reading the Mind in the Eyes mediated by executive function: differential parental influences on full and half-siblings

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Ragsdale, Gillian, Foley, Robert A.·2011·PLoS ONE
DOI 10.1371/journal.pone.0023236PMC PMC3151289
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: Parent-of-origin effects have been found to influence the mammalian brain and cognition and have been specifically implicated in the development of human social cognition and theory of mind. The experimental design in this study was developed to detect parent-of-origin effects on theory of mind, as measured by the 'Reading the mind in the eyes' (Eyes) task. Eyes scores were also entered into a principal components analysis with measures of empathy, social skills and executive function, in order to determine what aspect of theory of mind Eyes is measuring. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Maternal and paternal influences on Eyes scores were compared using correlations between pairs of full (70 pairs), maternal (25 pairs) and paternal siblings (15 pairs). Structural equation modelling supported a maternal influence on Eyes scores over the normal range but not low-scoring outliers, and also a sex-specific influence on males acting to decrease male Eyes scores. It was not possible to differentiate between genetic and environmental influences in this particular sample because maternal siblings tended to be raised together while paternal siblings were raised apart. The principal components analysis found Eyes was associated with measures of executive function, principally behavioural inhibition and attention, rather than empathy or social skills. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: In conclusion, the results suggest a maternal influence on Eye scores in the normal range and a sex-specific influence acting to reduce scores in males. This influence may act via aspects of executive function such as behavioural inhibition and attention. There may be different influences acting to produce the lowest Eyes scores which implies that the heratibility and/or maternal influence on poor theory of mind skills may be qualitatively different to the influence on the normal range.

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Authors
Ragsdale, G., & Foley, R. A.
Affiliations
University of Cambridge (GB)
Corresponding author
Ragsdale, Gillian
ORCID
Venue
PLoS ONE
Publisher
Public Library of Science (PLoS)
Published
2011-08-05
Volume
6
Issue
8
Pages
e23236
ISSN
1932-6203 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1371/journal.pone.0023236
PMC
PMC3151289
OpenAlex
W2030042634
Cited by
29
References
5
Citations by year
2026: 1 · 2025: 1 · 2024: 1 · 2023: 2 · 2022: 4 · 2020: 3 · 2019: 3 · 2017: 1 · 2016: 2 · 2015: 4 · 2014: 3 · 2013: 2 · 2012: 2
FWCI
4.60
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • PLoS ONE (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion, cc-by-sa)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Psychology › Developmental and Educational Psychology › Child and Animal Learning Development
  • Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Autism Spectrum Disorder Research
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Genetics › Genetic Syndromes and Imprinting
Keywords
theory of mind, Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test, parent-of-origin effects, maternal influence, paternal effects, sibling pairs, behavioral inhibition, attention, executive function, sex differences, social cognition, heritability
MeSH terms
Cognition, Female, Humans, Male, Mothers, Neuropsychological Tests, Social Behavior, Siblings, Executive Function

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