RESUMEN La teoría de la mente (ToM) es un proceso cognitivo central de la cognición social, con gran importancia en la investigación en neurociencia y los trastornos neuropsiquiátricos. Un método usado para evaluar la ToM avanzada en adultos es la prueba de lectura de la mente a través de la mirada (RMET), que pese a ser ampliamente conocido en Perú aún carece de medidas estandarizadas y adecuadamente validadas para su aplicación en el área clínica y no clínica. Objetivos: (1) explorar las propiedades psicométricas del test de lectura de la mente a través de la mirada en los peruanos, así como el porcentaje de precisión para cada ítem entre las diferentes versiones del RMET; (2) obtener la fiabilidad test-retest tras un año de seguimiento. Se reclutaron 288 participantes de entre 17 y 55 años, de ambos sexos. Resultados: El RMET muestra una validez y consistencia media según la prueba KR-20, Alpha de Cronbach y Omega (0.645 - 0.666). Las mujeres tienen mejor rendimiento que hombres (p <0.041*), y las puntuaciones se mantienen estables tras un año de seguimiento. Conclusiones: El RMET muestra buenas propiedades psicométricas, similares a otras versiones y países diferentes, siendo las mujeres quienes muestran mejor capacidad mentalista.

ABSTRACT Theory of mind (ToM) is a central cognitive process of social cognition, with great importance in neuroscience and neuropsychiatric disorders. One method used to evaluate advanced ToM in adults is the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET), which despite being widely known in Peru, still lacks standardized and adequately validated measures for its application in the clinical area and not clinical. Objectives: (1) Explore the psychometric properties of RMET in Peruvians, as well as the percentage of precision for each item among the different versions of the RMET; (2), Evaluate the test-retest reliability after one year of follow-up. Two hundred eighty-eight participants between 17 and 55 years old, of both sexes, were recruited. Results: The RMET shows a medium validity and consistency according to the KR-20, Cronbach's Alpha, and Omega tests (0.645 - 0.666). Women perform better than men (p <0.041*), and scores remain stable after one year of follow-up. Conclusions: The RMET shows good psychometric properties, similar to other versions and different countries, with women showing better mental capacity.

The combination of molecular and conventional epidemiological methods has improved the knowledge about the transmission of tuberculosis in urban populations. To examine transmission of tuberculosis in Havana, Cuba, with DNA fingerprinting, we studied 51 out of 92 Mycobacterium tuberculosis strains isolated from tuberculosis patients who resided in Havana and whose infection was culture-confirmed in the period from September 1997 to March 1998. Isolates from 28 patients (55%) had unique IS6110 restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP) patterns, while isolates from 23 others (45%) had identical patterns and belonged to 7 clusters. Three clusters consisting of six, five and two cases were each related to small outbreaks that occurred in a closed setting. Three other clustered cases were linked to a large outbreak that occurred in another institution. Younger patients were more correlated to clustering than older ones. The finding that 45% of the isolates had clustered RFLP patterns suggests that recent transmission is a key factor in the tuberculosis cases in Havana. The IS6110 RFLP typing made it possible to define the occurrence of outbreaks in two closed institutions.