Project description
Facilitating social cognition in autism
Theory of mind (ToM) is the ability to infer the thoughts, beliefs and feelings of others and thus predict or explain their behaviour. It is an essential social-cognitive skill for successful social interaction that is often regarded as a central challenge in autism. The ERC-funded MINDSIM project will test the hypothesis that people represent others’ beliefs as implied motion between agents and targets. Using multimodal neuroimaging and neurostimulation, the project will investigate how this mechanism impacts spontaneous ToM to determine whether impaired visual motion processing explains the reduced spontaneous ToM in autism. If so, the project will perform a clinical trial to test whether MDMA can improve spontaneous ToM in autism by upregulating this motion-based mechanism.
Objective
The mere presence of another person automatically triggers powerful processes of belief computation in our brains. This spontaneous and well-established Theory of Mind (ToM) ability is considered vital for efficient social interactions. Yet, we still know little about the mechanisms allowing the brain to automatically, and without apparent mental effort, keep track of who is believing what. I argue that the role of modeling others’ attention is an overlooked and a key factor in this process. I propose the novel hypothesis that the brain makes use of an implicit model of others’ attention, recently characterized by me, featuring the simplified construct of implied motion ‘beams’ linking agents to attended objects, to support automatic belief computations. In Aim 1, supported by preliminary behavioral results, I will determine whether people perceive others’ beliefs as an implied motion between agents and belief targets, and whether this mechanism plays a functional role in spontaneous ToM. Aim 2 will apply multimodal neuroimaging and neurostimulation to define the underlying neural representations. Previous work suggests that spontaneous ToM and visual motion processing is impaired in autism. Aim 3 will examine the hypothesis that failure to engage visual motion systems when perceiving others’ beliefs explains the reduced spontaneous ToM in autism. Critically, the serotonin releasing agent MDMA is suggested to enhance both visual-motion and ToM processing. In Aim 4, I will therefore employ a double-blind, active-placebo-controlled trial to test the hypothesis that MDMA can improve spontaneous ToM in autism by upregulating this motion-based mechanism. Using an innovative behavioral intervention, I will utilize MDMA’s known effects to promote motion-encoding of others’ beliefs. My results will reveal fundamental principles of social cognition and may provide a long sought-after mechanism-focused intervention to facilitate social cognition in autism.
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Keywords
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Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.1.1 - European Research Council (ERC)
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Topic(s)
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Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
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Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-ERC - HORIZON ERC Grants
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Call for proposal
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Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) ERC-2025-STG
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171 77 STOCKHOLM
Sweden
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