scholarly journals A Preliminary Characterisation of Cognition and Social Cognition in Spinocerebellar Ataxia Types 2, 1, and 7

2010 ◽  
Vol 23 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 17-29 ◽  
Author(s):  
N. Sokolovsky ◽  
A. Cook ◽  
H. Hunt ◽  
P. Giunti ◽  
L. Cipolotti

Over the last decade, studies have implicated the cerebellum not only in motor functioning, but also in cognition and social cognition. Although some aspects of cognition have been explored in the five most common forms of Spinocerebellar Ataxia (SCA), social cognition in these patients has rarely been examined. The present study provides a preliminary characterisation of the severity of cognitive and social cognitive impairments in patients with SCA2, SCA1 and SCA7 using an identical battery to the one previously used in SCA3 and SCA6 patients for comparison. The cognitive profiles of SCA1 and SCA7 patients were comparable to that of SCA6 patients; SCA1 patients had relatively intact profiles, while SCA7 patients demonstrated only some selective deficits. In contrast, SCA2 patients showed the greatest impairments, similarly to SCA3 patients. On tests of social cognition, SCA2 and SCA7 patients were impaired on a task of emotion attribution, whereas one SCA1 patient had a Theory of Mind deficit, which has also been documented in SCA3 and SCA6. We provide preliminary evidence that the neuropsychological profiles of SCA patients correspond well with the severity of pathological and clinical features. Moreover, these patients may also have social cognition impairments. Overall, we suggest that there is a degree of heterogeneity in the types of cognitive and social cognitive impairments in SCA patients.

Author(s):  
Li Chu ◽  
Yang Fang ◽  
Vivian Hiu-Ling Tsang ◽  
Helene H. Fung

Cognitive processing of social and nonsocial information changes with age. These processes range from the ones that serve “mere” cognitive functions, such as recall strategies and reasoning, to those that serve functions that pertain to self-regulation and relating to others. However, aging and the development of social cognition unfold in different cultural contexts, which may assume distinct social norms and values. Thus, the resulting age-related differences in cognitive and social cognitive processes may differ across cultures. On the one hand, biological aging could render age-related differences in social cognition universal; on the other hand, culture may play a role in shaping some age-related differences. Indeed, many aspects of cognition and social cognition showed different age and culture interactions, and this makes the study of these phenomena more complex. Future aging research on social cognition should take cultural influences into consideration.


2011 ◽  
Vol 26 (S2) ◽  
pp. 2157-2157
Author(s):  
W. Wölwer

Impairments in cognitive processes underlying social interaction (i.e. “social cognition”) have increasingly attracted interest in schizophrenia research during the last years. These impairments concern various components of social cognition, exist relatively independent from impairments in basic cognition and from clinical psychopathology, are already present at the onset of the disorder, and can even be detected in persons at high risk of developing schizophrenia. As social cognitive impairments are closely related to poor functional outcome, and because longitudinal studies have proven the stability of social cognitive impairments across the course of the disorder despite clinically efficacious traditional treatment, various specialized treatment and rehabilitation programs targeting social cognitive impairments have been developed during the last years. These programs differ significantly with regard to the conceptualization of the impairments and the required treatment strategies, i.e. whether the impairments are suggested to be represent cognitive “deficits” or cognitive “biases” requiring remediation vs. debiasing approaches. Moreover the programs differ with regard to the scope of cognitive subcomponents addressed, i.e. whether the program focuses on only one social cognitive subcomponent like affect recognition or whether several subcomponents are addressed in parallel. As the evaluation of such programs is still in an infant stage there is still debate about the most efficacious approach.This presentation will give an overview on social cognitive impairments and on respective treatment strategies, before the subsequent presentations will exemplify three treatment programs, which may help schizophrenia patients to overcome their impairments in social cognition and social functioning.


2021 ◽  
Vol 15 ◽  
Author(s):  
Olivera Tamaš ◽  
Milutin Kostić ◽  
Aleksandra Kačar ◽  
Elka Stefanova ◽  
Biljana Salak Ðokić ◽  
...  

ObjectiveCerebellar neurodegenerative disorders (CDs) are a heterogeneous group of disorders. It is known that the cerebellum plays a role not only in motor, but also in cognitive and social cognitive functions. The aim of this study was to investigate social cognition in patients with different CDs.Materials and MethodsSocial cognition was examined in 34 patients, 12 with spinocerebellar ataxia type 1 (SCA1), 6 with spinocerebellar ataxia type 2 (SCA2), and 16 with idiopathic late onset cerebellar ataxia (ILOCA). All patients were clinically evaluated using the Scale for the Rating and Assessment of Ataxia. In addition, 34 age, sex, and education-matched healthy control (HC) subjects were similarly analyzed. Social cognition was studied using two tests: the Faux Pas Recognition Test and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET). An appropriate array of neuropsychological tests was used to assess the global cognitive status as well as the frontal functions and mood.ResultsCD patients achieved significantly worse results on both tests of social cognition compared to the HCs. The SCA1 + 2 group achieved the poorest results on the Faux Pas Recognition Test and exhibited poor performance on all cognitive tests, but was only significantly worse compared to the ILOCA group on the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) – recognition. The patients in the SCA1 + 2 and ILOCA groups obtained similar scores on RMET. In the SCA1 + 2 group the findings significantly correlated with clinical parameters of disease severity and duration and executive functions (EFs), and with mood and executive functions in the ILOCA group. In the SCA group EFs appeared as the only significant predictor of RMET achievement. The Boston Naming Test (BTN) was a significant predictor of the CD patients’ achievement on RMET, while the BTN, the Trail Making Test Part A and FCSRT – Delayed free recall predicted their performance on the Faux Pas Recognition Test.ConclusionPatients with CD have social cognitive impairments as demonstrated by the Faux Pas Test and the RMET test results. The SCA1 and 2 patients exhibited a more pronounced impairment compared with the ILOCA patients. The independent cognitive predictors of social cognition impairment were EFs and language.


2021 ◽  
Vol 5 (3) ◽  
pp. 11
Author(s):  
Grazia Ragone ◽  
Judith Good ◽  
Kate Howland

Autism affects how people perceive and make sense of the world around them. Autism is a spectrum condition which impacts people in different ways. Also referred to as Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), it is characterized by challenges in the domains of social, cognitive and motor functioning, which differ in severity. Previous research suggests that music can have cognitive, psychosocial, behavioural, and motor benefits in this population. We systematically review the use of technology in Music-therapy and related sound-based activities to improve the motor and social skills of children. In May 2020 we conducted a systematic search on Music-therapy and musical activities for autistic children in research databases including Science Direct, APA PsycNet, Cochrane, IEE and Web of Science, to collect relevant studies. We initially collected 5179 papers of which only 27 studies were identified as suitable for the scope of this review. In the paper, we analyse and describe key characteristics of each project. We then highlight the commonalities, strengths and limitations of existing work, and identify implications for future interaction design.


2007 ◽  
Vol 95 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 124-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Claude Bertrand ◽  
Hazel Sutton ◽  
Amélie M. Achim ◽  
Ashok K. Malla ◽  
Martin Lepage

2017 ◽  
Vol 23 (7) ◽  
pp. 577-583 ◽  
Author(s):  
Beatrice Frajo-Apor ◽  
Georg Kemmler ◽  
Silvia Pardeller ◽  
Markus Huber ◽  
Christian Macina ◽  
...  

AbstractObjectives:Social cognitive deficits have been discussed to be endophenotypes for schizophrenia and other serious mental illnesses. The current study aimed to assess emotional intelligence (EI) in unaffected siblings of schizophrenia patients to investigate its potential role as endophenotype for schizophrenia.Methods:EI was measured in 56 schizophrenia patients, 57 unaffected siblings, and 127 healthy control subjects by using the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT). In addition, non-social cognition was assessed with the Brief Assessment of Cognition in Schizophrenia (BACS). Linear mixed models with compound symmetric correlation structure were used for of the three groups with respect to EI and non-social cognition.Results:Schizophrenia patients showed significantly lower overall EI and performed significantly worse in three out of four MSCEIT branches compared to unaffected siblings and control subjects, whereas the two latter groups had comparable EI levels. Similar performance patterns (patients<unaffected siblings=control subjects) were found with respect to non-social cognition. Solely in the “Tower of London” test, siblings achieved significantly lower task scores compared to control subjects.Conclusions:Based on our results, EI as measured with the MSCEIT does not seem to represent a marker of risk for schizophrenia. Further investigations should concentrate on other EI measures to reassess this finding. (JINS, 2017,23, 577–583)


2009 ◽  
pp. 123-141
Author(s):  
Dennis R. Combs ◽  
Dustin J: Chapman ◽  
Casey Reneau

- There has been an increased interest in research on paranoia and persecutory delusions. This is partly based on the idea that paranoia exists on a continuum ranging from sub-clinical to clinical levels. One area of interest is in social cognition as it may provide methods to understand how persons with paranoia perceive, interpret, and understand their social world. Previous research has showed that social cognition directly influences or mediates social functioning. Paranoia can be ideally approached from a social cognitive perspective, which makes understanding these processes even more important. For this review, we will focus on the current state of knowledge for paranoia as it pertains to the three primary domains of social cognition: 1) emotion/social perception, 2) theory of mind, and 3) attributional style. Deficits in emotion/social perception appear to be found across the paranoia continuum. In contrast, deficits in theory of mind and attributional style are typically found in persons with clinical levels of paranoia. Future studies should focus on understanding the processes that might underlie the deficits.


1996 ◽  
Vol 41 (7) ◽  
pp. S5-S13 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jean-Marie Danion ◽  
Herbert Weingartner ◽  
Leonard Singer

Objective: To examine the strengths and weaknesses of cognitive psychopathology through the specific examples of the memory impairments associated with the administration of benzodiazepines, with schizophrenia, and with depression. Method: These examples are analyzed with reference to a model of memory based on the principle of division between specialized and central processing structures. A basic contention is that it is useful to consider 2 broad classes of processes—automatic, associative, or sensory/perceptual processes on the one hand and intentional, strategic, or reflective processes on the other hand—as being separate. Results: The functional mechanisms of the memory impairments associated with these conditions are beginning to be identified, and there is preliminary evidence that a deficit in an elementary computation may have dramatic consequences on highest cognitive functions. There is also evidence that certain memory impairments are linked to specific dysfunctional outcomes in everyday life. By showing that specific rate-limiting factors of cognitive performance can be identified and are amenable to cognitive interventions, existing data open the door for theoretically and empirically based cognitive remediation of mental disorders. Conclusion: The bulk of available evidence (albeit limited) makes the enterprise of cognitive psychopathology quite plausible and convincing.


2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Rhideeta Jalal ◽  
Aarti Nair ◽  
Amy Lin ◽  
Ariel Eckfeld ◽  
Leila Kushan ◽  
...  

Abstract Background: 22q11.2 deletion syndrome (22q11DS) is a common recurrent neurogenetic condition associated with elevated risk for developmental neuropsychiatric disorders and intellectual disability. Children and adults with 22q11DS often exhibit marked social impairment as well as neurocognitive deficits, and have elevated rates of both autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and psychosis. However, the relationship between the basic processes of social cognition and cognitive ability has not been well studied in 22q11DS. Here, we examined differences in social cognition in 22q11DS, relative to multiple groups of idiopathic neuropsychiatric disorders, and typically developing healthy controls (HC). Additionally, we examined differences in intellectual functioning and its relationship to social cognitive abilities. Finally, we examined the relationship between social cognitive abilities and real-world social behavior. Methods: We examined social cognition and intellectual functioning in 273 participants (mean age = 17.74+/-5.18% female = 44.3%): 50 with 22q11DS, 49 youth with first episode psychosis (FEP), 48 at clinical high-risk (CHR) for psychosis, 24 participants with ASD, and 102 HC. Social cognition was assessed using The Awareness of Social Inference Test (TASIT), while reciprocal social behavior was assessed via parent/caregiver ratings on the Social Responsiveness Scale (SRS). Participants were also administered the Wechsler Abbreviated Scale of Intelligence, 2 nd edition (WASI-II) to assess intellectual functioning. Results: The 22q11DS group exhibited significantly lower social cognitive abilities compared to all other groups, even after controlling for intellectual functioning. Significant positive correlations were found between social cognition, as measured by the TASIT, and IQ across groups. In contrast, no significant relationships were found between TASIT and real-world social behavior (SRS) for any group. Conclusions: Our findings indicate social cognitive deficits are more prominent in 22q11DS than idiopathic neuropsychiatric conditions across the age range, even after adjusting for global intellectual function. These results contribute to our understanding of the intellectual and social vulnerabilities of 22q11DS in comparison to idiopathic neuropsychiatric disorders. Our findings of robust associations between intellectual ability and social cognition emphasizes the importance of accounting for neurocognitive deficits in social skills interventions and tailoring these existing treatment models for 22q11DS and other populations with intellectual impairment.


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