F056 Theory of mind impairements highlighted with an ecological performance-based test indicate behavioral deficits in Huntington’s disease

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Background In view of the literature, the negative impact of Huntington’s Disease (HD) on social cognition remains a debated issue. On one hand, a good number of studies reported significant impairments in emotion recognition and theory of mind (ToM) abilities in HD patients. On the other hand, the ecological validity of social cognition tasks is still a matter of concern and debate. Aims The objectives of the present study were 2-fold: (1) to assess social cognition in HD with an ecological performance-based test which focuses on ToM ability, and (2) to study the relationship between performances on this task and behavioural disorders. Methods Twenty-one individuals with manifest HD were assessed with the Movie for the Assessment of Social Cognition (MASC), a film displaying social interactions in natural settings and asking for an evaluation of the emotions, thoughts, and intentions of the characters. Behavioral disorders were assessed with the Dysexecutive Questionnaire (DEX) proxy rating scale. Results HD patients were significantly less accurate in mental state attribution than a demographically matched group of 21 healthy control subjects. Significant others of patients also reported more behavioral problems than controls’ relatives on all DEX-subscales. In addition, performance in the MASC was significantly correlated with behavioral problems on the DEX. Conclusions This study is one of the first to find association between impairments in mentalizing abilities and behavioral impairments in HD, confirming the added value of this ecological task. Our findings also validate that deficits in social cognition can be conceived as markers for behavioral problems in HD.

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