Patterns of executive functions and theory of mind in adults with a family history of alcohol use disorder: Combined group and single-case analyses.

Background: Impairments in executive function and social cognition are highly prevalent in individuals with an alcohol use disorder (AUD). Some studies show that similar difficulties are displayed by individuals with a positive family history of AUD (FH+) compared with individuals with a negative family history (FH-). Yet, no studies have jointly investigated cognitive and affective theory of mind at the behavioral level.

Neural activations during cognitive and affective theory of mind processing in healthy adults with a family history of alcohol use disorder.

Background: Social cognition impairments are a common feature of alcohol use disorders (AUD). However, it remains unclear whether these impairments are solely the consequence of chronic alcohol consumption or whether they could be a marker of vulnerability.

Methods: The present study implemented a family history approach to address this question for a key process of social cognition: theory of mind (ToM).