Meta-analysis of social cognition in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD): comparison with healthy controls and autistic spectrum disorder

BackgroundImpairment in social cognition is an established finding in autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Emerging evidence suggests that attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) might be also associated with deficits in theory of mind (ToM) and emotion recognition. However, there are inconsistent findings, and it has been debatable whether such deficits persist beyond childhood and how similar social cognitive deficits are in ADHD v. ASD.MethodWe conducted a meta-analysis of social cognition, including emotion recognition and ToM, studies in ADHD compared with healthy controls and ASD. The current meta-analysis involved 44 studies comparing ADHD (n = 1999) with healthy controls (n = 1725) and 17 studies comparing ADHD (n = 772) with ASD (n = 710).ResultsFacial and vocal emotion recognition (d = 0.40–0.44) and ToM (d = 0.43) abilities were significantly impaired in ADHD. The most robust facial emotion recognition deficits were evident in anger and fear. Social cognitive deficits were either very subtle (emotion recognition) or non-significant (ToM) in adults with ADHD. Deficits in social cognition, especially ToM, were significantly more pronounced in ASD compared with ADHD. General cognitive impairment has contributed to social cognitive deficits in ADHD.ConclusionsPerformance of individuals with ADHD on social cognition lies intermediate between ASD and healthy controls. However, developmental trajectories of social cognition probably differ between ADHD and ASD as social cognitive deficits in ADHD might be improving with age in most individuals. There is a need for studies investigating a potential subtype of ADHD with persistent social cognitive deficits and exploring longitudinal changes in social cognition during development.

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Social cognitive deficits in male children with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder in relation to salivary oxytocin level

Middle East Current Psychiatry ◽

10.1186/s43045-020-00020-5 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 27 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Hani H. Dessoki ◽

Omnia R. Amin ◽

Mohamed R. Soltan ◽

Mohammed M. Abbas ◽

Mariam E. Dawoud

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits ◽

Oxytocin Level

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Association of visual motor processing and social cognition in schizophrenia

npj Schizophrenia ◽

10.1038/s41537-021-00150-7 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 7 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Pin-Yen Lu ◽

Yu-Lien Huang ◽

Pai-Chuan Huang ◽

Yi-Chia Liu ◽

Shyh-Yuh Wei ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Emotion Recognition ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Sensorimotor Function ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Motor Processing ◽

Visual Motor ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits ◽

Visual Motor Processing

AbstractPatients with schizophrenia have difficulties in social cognitive domains including emotion recognition and mentalization, and in sensorimotor processing and learning. The relationship between social cognitive deficits and sensorimotor function in patients with schizophrenia remains largely unexplored. With the hypothesis that impaired visual motor processing may decelerate information processing and subsequently affects various domains of social cognition, we examined the association of nonverbal emotion recognition, mentalization, and visual motor processing in schizophrenia. The study examined mentalization using the verbal subset of the Chinese version of Theory of Mind (CToM) Task, an equivalent task of the Faux Pas Test; emotion recognition using the Diagnostic Analysis of Nonverbal Accuracy 2-Taiwan version (DANVA-2-TW), and visual motor processing using a joystick tracking task controlled for basic motor function in 34 individuals with chronic schizophrenia in the community and 42 healthy controls. Patients with schizophrenia had significantly worse performance than healthy controls in social cognition, including facial, prosodic emotion recognition, and mentalization. Visual motor processing was also significantly worse in patients with schizophrenia. Only in patients with schizophrenia, both emotion recognition (mainly in prosodic modality, happy, and sad emotions) and mentalization were positively associated with their learning capacity of visual motor processing. These findings suggest a prospective role of sensorimotor function in their social cognitive deficits. Despite that the underlying neural mechanism needs further research, our findings may provide a new direction for restoration of social cognitive function in schizophrenia by enhancing visual motor processing ability.

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M67. UNDERSTANDING SOCIAL COGNITION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA THROUGH THE LENS OF SCHIZOTYPY

Schizophrenia Bulletin ◽

10.1093/schbul/sbaa030.379 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S160-S161

Author(s):

Sara-Ann Lee ◽

Keane Lim ◽

Max Lam ◽

Jimmy Lee

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Cognitive Performance ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Cognitive Domains ◽

The Social ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits ◽

The Relationship ◽

Domain Scores

Abstract Background Social cognitive deficits are common, detectable across a wide range of tasks and appear to play a key role in influencing poor functioning in schizophrenia. Despite its importance as a treatment target, the factors that underlie social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia remains elusive. Schizotypy appears to be one such factor that can explain the variability in social cognitive deficits seen in schizophrenia. The study’s primary aim was to provide a more comprehensive understanding of social cognitive functioning and its relationship to schizotypy. Methods 108 patients and 70 healthy controls completed nine tasks across 4 social cognitive domains based on the SCOPE study. In addition, all participants completed the Schizotypal Personality Questionnaire. Clinical symptoms were also rated using the Brief Psychiatric Rating Scale. Results Theory of Mind, social perception, emotion processing and attribution bias were measured in patients with schizophrenia (n = 108) and healthy controls (n = 70). A social cognition composite score was calculated using principal components analysis. Cluster analysis on the derived factor scores revealed 3 clusters. Multiple univariate ANOVAS with Bonferroni correction were used to examine differences between the 3 clusters on each of the 4 social cognition domain scores, which indicated that higher social cognitive performance was related to lower schizotypy. In addition, results indicated that despite differences in the social cognitive performance among patients in the 3 clusters, they did not differ in clinical outcome measures. Discussion The primary aim of the study was to address gaps in the current literature by examining the relationship between social cognition and schizotypy. This study built upon past studies which had the tendency to focus on single, discrete domains by comparing the social cognitive performance of patients and controls using an extensive battery of tests, indexing four social cognitive domains. The significant differences on total SPQ score and the SPQ domain scores between the various clusters, coupled with the significant correlations between schizotypy and social cognition, reinforces the utility of schizotypy in refining our understanding of the variation in the degree of social cognitive deficits in schizophrenia. In conclusion, this study substantiates the importance of understanding the relationship between social cognition and schizotypy. This could support and pave the way for the development and implementation of targeted social cognitive interventions catered to the patients’ level of deficit.

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M49. BEHAVIOURAL SOCIAL COGNITION IN SCHIZOPHRENIA SPECTRUM DISORDERS IN COMPARISON TO AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Schizophrenia Bulletin ◽

10.1093/schbul/sbaa030.361 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 46 (Supplement_1) ◽

pp. S152-S153

Author(s):

Lindsay Oliver ◽

Iska Moxon-Emre ◽

Aristotle Voineskos ◽

Stephanie Ameis

Keyword(s):

Social Cognition ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Autism Spectrum ◽

Effect Sizes ◽

Significant Difference ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits ◽

Meta Analyses ◽

The Mind

Abstract Background Schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSDs) and autism spectrum disorder (ASD) both feature social cognitive deficits, which are highly debilitating. These include lower-level processes (e.g. emotion recognition), thought to be subserved by a frontoparietal mirroring network, and higher-level mentalizing processes (e.g. theory of mind), involving cortical midline and lateral temporal brain regions. Across both disorders, impairments in social cognition persist over time, drive disability, and predict functional outcome. Overlapping symptoms in SSDs and ASD have long been recognized, particularly in the realm of social deficits. However, despite some studies including both individuals with SSDs and ASD showing similar levels of social cognitive impairment, including lower-level and higher-level deficits, results are mixed. Thus, our objective was to determine based on the extant literature how deficits in social cognition diverge or overlap between individuals with SSDs and ASD by conducting a systematic review and meta-analysis of studies directly comparing these groups on behavioural social cognitive measures. Methods Literature searches were conducted in MEDLINE, Embase, PsycINFO, and Web of Science to identify articles that utilized behavioural measures to assess social cognition in both SSD and ASD samples. Of 3682 articles identified, 28 met all inclusion criteria. Across the accepted articles, lower-level (e.g. facial and/or context-embedded emotion recognition) and higher-level (e.g. intention understanding, perspective taking) social cognitive measures were identified, and random-effects meta-analyses were conducted for each category. A separate meta-analysis was also conducted for the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test given that it was the most commonly used social cognitive metric. Effect sizes were estimated using Hedges’ g. Homogeneity of effects and publication bias were also assessed for each meta-analysis. Results A significant difference in lower-level social cognitive performance was found between individuals with SSDs and ASD, with the SSD group performing better than the ASD group (Hedges’ g = 0.30, 95% CI [0.05, 0.56], p = .018). In contrast, there was no significant difference in higher-level social cognitive performance between SSD and ASD groups (Hedges’ g = -0.14, 95% CI [-0.52, 0.24], p = .46). Similarly, the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test meta-analysis revealed no significant difference in effect sizes between disorders (Hedges’ g = 0.24, 95% CI [-0.07, 0.55], p = .14). Effect size distributions were significantly heterogeneous in all three cases (all p < .001). Discussion Based on meta-analyses of the extant literature, both shared and differential social cognitive deficits may be present between individuals with SSDs and ASD. Though no differences were detected between SSD and ASD groups on higher-level social cognitive tasks or the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test, lower-level social cognitive deficits were found to be more severe in individuals with ASD than SSDs. Notably, the majority of studies included in the meta-analyses had small sample sizes, and heterogeneity of effect sizes was apparent. Thus, studies including larger sample sizes and validated measures of social cognition in conjunction with other methodologies are needed to substantiate these results, and better understand the shared and unique behavioural underpinnings and associated neural circuit abnormalities underlying social cognitive deficits in SSDs and ASD.

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Identifying a consistent pattern of neural function in attention deficit hyperactivity disorder: a meta-analysis

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291713001037 ◽

2013 ◽

Vol 44 (4) ◽

pp. 869-880 ◽

Cited By ~ 67

Author(s):

H. McCarthy ◽

N. Skokauskas ◽

T. Frodl

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Inferior Frontal Gyrus ◽

Cognitive Strategies ◽

Consistent Pattern ◽

Neural Function ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Neural Dysfunction

BackgroundThe neurobiological underpinnings of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) are inconclusive. Activation abnormalities across brain regions in ADHD compared with healthy controls highlighted in task-based functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) studies are heterogeneous. To identify a consistent pattern of neural dysfunction in ADHD, a meta-analysis of fMRI studies using Go/no-go, Stop and N-back tasks was undertaken.MethodSeveral databases were searched using the key words: ‘ADHD and fMRI’ and ‘ADHD and fMRI task’. In all, 20 studies met inclusion criteria comprising 334 patients with ADHD and 372 healthy controls and were split into N-back, Stop task and Go/no-go case–control groups. Using Signed Differential Mapping each batch was meta-analysed individually and meta-regression analyses were used to examine the effects of exposure to methylphenidate (MPH), length of MPH wash-out period, ADHD subtype, age and intelligence quotient (IQ) differences upon neural dysfunction in ADHD.ResultsAcross all tasks less activity in frontal lobe regions compared with controls was detected. Less exposure to treatment and lengthier wash-out times resulted in less left medial frontal cortex activation in N-back and Go/no-go studies. Higher percentage of combined-type ADHD resulted in less superior and inferior frontal gyrus activation. Different IQ scores between groups were linked to reduced right caudate activity in ADHD.ConclusionsConsistent frontal deficits imply homogeneous cognitive strategies involved in ADHD behavioural control. Our findings suggest a link between fMRI results and the potentially normalizing effect of treatment and signify a need for segregated examination and contrast of differences in sample characteristics in future studies.

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Social cognition in pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS)

Multiple Sclerosis Journal ◽

10.1177/1352458514526942 ◽

2014 ◽

Vol 20 (11) ◽

pp. 1478-1484 ◽

Cited By ~ 26

Author(s):

LE Charvet ◽

RE Cleary ◽

K Vazquez ◽

AL Belman ◽

LB Krupp ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Multiple Sclerosis ◽

Social Cognition ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Well Being ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

False Beliefs ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits ◽

The Mind ◽

Pediatric Onset

Background: Pediatric-onset multiple sclerosis (MS) patients represent a subpopulation who are diagnosed during the course of development. Social cognitive deficits have recently been recognized in adults with MS. It is critical to identify whether these youngest patients with the disorder are also at risk. Objective: To determine whether pediatric-onset MS is associated with social cognitive deficits. Methods: Consecutively-recruited participants with pediatric-onset MS were compared to a group of age- and gender-matched healthy controls on Theory of Mind (ToM) task performance. Tasks measured facial affect recognition (Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test), detecting social faux pas (Faux Pas Test), and understanding the perspective of another (False Beliefs Task). Results: Twenty-eight (28) pediatric-onset MS participants (median age 17 years) and 32 healthy controls (median age 16 years) completed the study. The MS participants performed worse than controls on all three ToM tasks: Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test ( p = 0.008), the Faux Pas Test ( p = 0.009), and the False Beliefs Task ( p = 0.06). While more MS than control participants were impaired on a measure of information processing speed (the Symbol Digit Modalities Test; 38% versus 6%), it did not account for the differences in ToM performance. Conclusions: Social cognition may represent an area of cognitive functioning affected by MS in the pediatric-onset population. These processes are especially important to study in younger patients as they may have long range implications for social adjustment, employment, and well-being.

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