ABSTRACT
Although the network of regions supporting theory of mind has been well-characterized in adulthood, much less is understood about how neural development underlies mental state processing in middle childhood and adolescence. As this developmental period corresponds to important changes in social-cognitive skills and social environments, it is an essential time for understanding brain–behavior relations. We start this chapter by synthesizing existing research on neural activation during theory of mind computations in middle childhood and adolescence. Such research indicates broad developmental continuity in recruited brain systems, with additional suggestions of increasing specificity and connectivity. We next examine developmental evidence for recruitment of the theory of mind network across a variety of social tasks, including tasks that do not explicitly demand consideration of others’ mental states. Such social contexts indicate age-related changes in neural recruitment, with a potential heightened social sensitivity in adolescence. We conclude with suggestions for future research, underscoring the importance of multimodal longitudinal research that considers multiple facets of theory of mind and which is embedded in real-world contexts across typical and atypical development.
