Cognitive but Not Affective Theory of Mind Deficits in Progressive MS

AbstractObjective:Social cognitive deficits are an important consequence of multiple sclerosis (MS), yet our understanding of how these deficits manifest in progressive MS is currently limited. To this end, we examined theory of mind (ToM) ability in a sample of individuals with progressive MS using an ecologically valid virtual assessment tool that allows for delineation of cognitive ToM (inferring thoughts and intentions of others) from affective ToM (inferring emotions of others).Methods & Results:We compared 15 individuals with progressive MS and 15 healthy controls on their ToM ability using the Virtual Assessment of Mentalising Ability. We found that, relative to healthy controls, participants with progressive MS were impaired in cognitive ToM, but not in affective ToM. Furthermore, we found that the MS participants’ deficits in cognitive ToM were mediated by their general cognitive ability such that poor cognitive ToM ability in MS was explained by poor performance on tests of memory and processing speed.Conclusions:Our findings demonstrate that ToM deficits in progressive MS may be limited to cognitive ToM, while affective ToM is conserved. This could be attributable to the MS-related deficits in general cognitive ability, which appear to negatively affect only the cognitive component of ToM.

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Aberrant Activation of the Mentalizing Brain System During Eye Gaze Discrimination in Bipolar Disorder

10.1101/2021.04.19.21255514 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Ivy F. Tso ◽

Cynthia Z Burton ◽

Carly A Lasagna ◽

Saige Rutherford ◽

Beier Yao ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Bipolar Disorder ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Eye Gaze ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Gaze Perception ◽

Brain System ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits ◽

Mentalizing System ◽

Preferential Activation

Bipolar disorder (BD) is associated with a range of social cognitive deficits. This study investigated the functioning of the mentalizing brain system in BD probed by an eye gaze perception task during fMRI. Compared with healthy controls (n = 21), BD participants (n = 14) showed reduced preferential activation for self-directed gaze discrimination in the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) and temporo-parietal junction (TPJ), which was associated with poorer cognitive and social functioning. Aberrant functions of the mentalizing system should be further investigated as marker of social dysfunction and treatment targets.

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

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291715002573 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 46 (4) ◽

pp. 699-716 ◽

Cited By ~ 85

Author(s):

E. Bora ◽

C. Pantelis

Keyword(s):

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Social Cognition ◽

Emotion Recognition ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Attention Deficit ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Hyperactivity Disorder ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits

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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Emotion perception and theory of mind in obesity: a systematic review on the impact of social cognitive deficits on dysfunctional eating behaviors

Surgery for Obesity and Related Diseases ◽

10.1016/j.soard.2020.10.016 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Hélio Tonelli ◽

Luisa de Siqueira Rotenberg

Keyword(s):

Systematic Review ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Eating Behaviors ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Emotion Perception ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits ◽

The Impact

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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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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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Interventions for social cognitive deficits

10.1093/med/9780198835554.003.0010 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 83-88

Author(s):

Bernhard T. Baune

Keyword(s):

Theory Of Mind ◽

Cognitive Deficits ◽

Psychosocial Functioning ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Antidepressant Medication ◽

Facial Affect ◽

Treatment Modalities ◽

Affect Recognition ◽

Facial Affect Recognition ◽

Social Cognitive Deficits

Interventions for social cognitive deficits establishes the large impact these deficits exert on psychosocial functioning in major depressive disorder. The chapter reviews a variety of impairments of social cognition and how these may influence psychosocial functioning in the key domains of social performance, emotional/empathic performance, general cognitive functioning, and quality of life. It introduces multiple treatment modalities including antidepressant medication, psychotherapeutic approaches, and procedural interventions with potential treatment efficacy on facial affect recognition, interpretation of affective pictures, theory of mind performance, and prosody. It reviews evidence indicating that many current therapies are shown to have a normalizing effect on the accuracy of interpretation and the reduction of underlying negative interpretative bias. It concludes from evaluating the literature that certain antidepressants seem to correct facial affect recognition deficits, and several psychotherapeutic approaches appear well-suited for addressing impaired theory of mind or mood-congruent interpretive biases.

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The Presence of Cerebral White Matter Lesions and Lower Skin Microvascular Perfusion Predict Decline in General Cognitive Ability in Type 1 Diabetes Patients but Not in Healthy Controls

Diabetes ◽

10.2337/db18-203-lb ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 67 (Supplement 1) ◽

pp. 203-LB

Author(s):

ANNA L. EMANUEL ◽

EELCO VAN DUINKERKEN ◽

MIKE P. WATTJES ◽

MARTIN KLEIN ◽

FREDERIK BARKHOF ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Type 1 Diabetes ◽

White Matter ◽

Cognitive Ability ◽

White Matter Lesions ◽

Microvascular Perfusion ◽

Cerebral White Matter ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

General Cognitive Ability ◽

Cerebral White Matter Lesions

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A meta-analysis of theory of mind and ‘mentalization’ in borderline personality disorder: a true neuro-social-cognitive or meta-social-cognitive impairment?

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291721003718 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 1-11

Author(s):

Emre Bora

Keyword(s):

Cognitive Impairment ◽

Borderline Personality Disorder ◽

Personality Disorder ◽

Theory Of Mind ◽

Cognitive Style ◽

Social Cognitive ◽

Meta Analysis ◽

Borderline Personality ◽

Healthy Controls ◽

Meta Analyses

Abstract Background It is widely accepted that borderline personality disorder (BPD) is associated with significant impairments in mentalization and theory of mind (ToM) which are considered as closely related concepts by many authors particularly in psychoanalytical circles. However, for understanding interpersonal difficulties in personality disorders, it is important to distinguish neuro-social cognitive impairment from the abnormal meta-social-cognitive style of patients. Methods The current systematic review aimed to conduct separate meta-analyses of ‘mentalization’ [reflective functioning (RF] and different aspects of ToM in BPD. A literature search was conducted to locate relevant articles published between January 1990 to July 2021. Random-effect meta-analyses were conducted in 34 studies involving 1448 individuals with BPD and 2006 healthy controls. Results A very large impairment in RF was evident in BPD [d = 1.68, confidence interval (CI) = 1.17–2.19]. In contrast, ToM impairment was modest (d = 0.36, CI = 0.24–0.48). BPD patients underperformed healthy controls in ToM-reasoning (d = 0.44, CI = 0.32–0.56) but not ToM-decoding. Increased HyperToM (d = 0.60, CI = 0.41–0.79) and faux pas recognition (d = 0.62, CI = 0.35–0.90) errors in BPD compared to healthy controls were most robust ToM findings in this meta-analysis. Conclusions BPD is characterized by very severe deficits in RF and modest and selective abnormalities in ToM. Interpersonal problems and difficulties in processing social information in BPD can be best explained by patients' maldaptive meta-social cognitive style and top-down effects of these abnormalities rather than having a primary neuro-social cognitive deficit.

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