An active inference perspective on the negative symptoms of schizophrenia

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jayson Jeganathan ◽  
Michael Breakspear
Keyword(s):  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Predictive Coding ◽  
Automated Analysis ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
The Social ◽  
Facial Expressiveness ◽  
Social Prediction

Predictive coding has played a transformative role in the study of psychosis, casting delusions and hallucinations as statistical inference in an abnormally imprecise system. However, the negative symptoms of schizophrenia, such as affective blunting, avolition and asociality, remain poorly understood. We propose a computational framework for emotional expression that is based on active inference – namely that affective behaviours such as smiling are driven by predictions about the social consequences of smiling. Just as delusions and hallucinations can be explained by predictive uncertainty in sensory circuits, negative symptoms naturally arise from uncertainty in social prediction circuits. This perspective draws on computational principles to explain blunted facial expressiveness and apathy-anhedonia in schizophrenia. Its phenomenological consequences also shed light on the content of paranoid delusions and indistinctness of self-other boundaries. Close links are highlighted between social prediction, facial affect mirroring, and the fledgling study of interoception. Advances in automated analysis of facial expressions and acoustic speech patterns will allow empirical testing of these computational models of the negative symptoms of schizophrenia.

Rumination, Depressive Symptoms and Awareness of Illness in Schizophrenia

2012 ◽  
Vol 42 (2) ◽  
pp. 143-155 ◽  
Author(s):  
Neil Thomas ◽  
Darryl Ribaux ◽  
Lisa J. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Mental Illness ◽  
Depressive Symptoms ◽  
Cognitive Processes ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Chronic Schizophrenia ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Stable Phase ◽  
Negative Thinking ◽  
The Social ◽  
Positive And Negative Symptoms

Background: Depressive symptoms are common in schizophrenia. Previous studies have observed that depressive symptoms are associated with both insight and negative appraisals of illness, suggesting that the way in which the person thinks about their illness may influence the occurrence of depressive responses. In affective disorders, one of the most well-established cognitive processes associated with depressive symptoms is rumination, a pattern of perseverative, self-focused negative thinking. Aims: This study examined whether rumination focused on mental illness was predictive of depressive symptoms during the subacute phase of schizophrenia. Method: Forty participants with a diagnosis of schizophrenia and in a stable phase of illness completed measures of rumination, depressive symptoms, awareness of illness, and positive and negative symptoms. Results: Depressive symptoms were correlated with rumination, including when controlling for positive and negative symptoms. The content of rumination frequently focused on mental illness and its causes and consequences, in particular social disability and disadvantage. Depressive symptoms were predicted by awareness of the social consequences of mental illness, an effect that was mediated by rumination. Conclusions: Results suggest that a process of perseveratively dwelling upon mental illness and its social consequences may be a factor contributing to depressive symptoms in people with chronic schizophrenia.

scholarly journals Active Inference as a Computational Framework for Consciousness

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martina G. Vilas ◽  
Ryszard Auksztulewicz ◽  
Lucia Melloni
Keyword(s):  
Empirical Data ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Computational Modelling ◽  
Process Theory ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Structural Validity ◽  
Computational Framework ◽  
Validity Testing ◽  
Neural Data

AbstractRecently, the mechanistic framework of active inference has been put forward as a principled foundation to develop an overarching theory of consciousness which would help address conceptual disparities in the field (Wiese 2018; Hohwy and Seth 2020). For that promise to bear out, we argue that current proposals resting on the active inference scheme need refinement to become a process theory of consciousness. One way of improving a theory in mechanistic terms is to use formalisms such as computational models that implement, attune and validate the conceptual notions put forward. Here, we examine how computational modelling approaches have been used to refine the theoretical proposals linking active inference and consciousness, with a focus on the extent and success to which they have been developed to accommodate different facets of consciousness and experimental paradigms, as well as how simulations and empirical data have been used to test and improve these computational models. While current attempts using this approach have shown promising results, we argue they remain preliminary in nature. To refine their predictive and structural validity, testing those models against empirical data is needed i.e., new and unobserved neural data. A remaining challenge for active inference to become a theory of consciousness is to generalize the model to accommodate the broad range of consciousness explananda; and in particular to account for the phenomenological aspects of experience. Notwithstanding these gaps, this approach has proven to be a valuable avenue for theory advancement and holds great potential for future research.

scholarly journals Unawareness of illness and its relationship with depression and self-deception in schizophrenia

1999 ◽  
Vol 14 (5) ◽  
pp. 264-269 ◽  
Author(s):  
O. Moore ◽  
E. Cassidy ◽  
A. Carr ◽  
E. O'Callaghan
Keyword(s):  
Mental Disorder ◽  
Beck Depression Inventory ◽  
Negative Symptoms ◽  
Depressive Symptomatology ◽  
Depression Scale ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Common Features ◽  
The Social ◽  
Positive And Negative Symptoms

SummaryBoth poor insight and depressive symptomatology are common features of schizophrenia that may be independent of positive and negative symptoms. Forty-six patients with DSM-III-R schizophrenia were evaluated for level of insight (schedule for unawareness of mental disorder), depression (Calgary depression scale for schizophrenia, Beck depression inventory), and self-deception or denial (balanced inventory of desirable responding). Patients with a greater unawareness of their illness had relatively less depressive symptomatology and relatively greater self-deception. This relationship was particularly strong for unawareness of the social consequences of having a mental disorder. These results suggest that the presence of depressive symptomatology in schizophrenia is related to the level of insight, and contingent at least in part on the absence of self-deception as a denial defense.

scholarly journals Embodied skillful performance: where the action is

Synthese ◽  
2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Inês Hipólito ◽  
Manuel Baltieri ◽  
Karl Friston ◽  
Maxwell J. D. Ramstead
Keyword(s):  
Motor Control ◽  
Control Theory ◽  
Computational Models ◽  
Explicit Knowledge ◽  
Predictive Coding ◽  
Motor Command ◽  
Special Focus ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Second Nature ◽  
Motor Representations

AbstractWhen someone masters a skill, their performance looks to us like second nature: it looks as if their actions are smoothly performed without explicit, knowledge-driven, online monitoring of their performance. Contemporary computational models in motor control theory, however, are instructionist: that is, they cast skillful performance as a knowledge-driven process. Optimal motor control theory (OMCT), as representative par excellence of such approaches, casts skillful performance as an instruction, instantiated in the brain, that needs to be executed—a motor command. This paper aims to show the limitations of such instructionist approaches to skillful performance. We specifically address the question of whether the assumption of control-theoretic models is warranted. The first section of this paper examines the instructionist assumption, according to which skillful performance consists of the execution of theoretical instructions harnessed in motor representations. The second and third sections characterize the implementation of motor representations as motor commands, with a special focus on formulations from OMCT. The final sections of this paper examine predictive coding and active inference—behavioral modeling frameworks that descend, but are distinct, from OMCT—and argue that the instructionist, control-theoretic assumptions are ill-motivated in light of new developments in active inference.

D?r al-?arb as the Motherland? The Muslim Tatars of (the Grand Duchy of) Lithuania and Social Contract

2017 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 157-177
Author(s):  
Egdūnas Račius
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Social Contract ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Nation State ◽  
The Social ◽  
State And Society ◽  
Muslim Minority ◽  
Grand Duchy Of Lithuania ◽  
In The Beginning ◽  
Grand Duchy

Muslim presence in Lithuania, though already addressed from many angles, has not hitherto been approached from either the perspective of the social contract theories or of the compliance with Muslim jurisprudence. The author argues that through choice of non-Muslim Grand Duchy of Lithuania as their adopted Motherland, Muslim Tatars effectively entered into a unique (yet, from the point of Hanafi fiqh, arguably Islamically valid) social contract with the non-Muslim state and society. The article follows the development of this social contract since its inception in the fourteenth century all the way into the nation-state of Lithuania that emerged in the beginning of the twentieth century and continues until the present. The epitome of the social contract under investigation is the official granting in 1995 to Muslim Tatars of a status of one of the nine traditional faiths in Lithuania with all the ensuing political, legal and social consequences for both the Muslim minority and the state.

Narrative as active inference

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nabil Bouizegarene ◽  
maxwell ramstead ◽  
Axel Constant ◽  
Karl Friston ◽  
Laurence Kirmayer
Keyword(s):  
Well Being ◽  
Social Practices ◽  
Human Adaptation ◽  
Active Inference ◽  
Future Projection ◽  
Future Developments ◽  
The Social ◽  
Parsimonious Model ◽  
Living Organisms ◽  
Theory Research

The ubiquity and importance of narratives in human adaptation has been recognized by many scholars. Research has identified several functions of narratives that are conducive to individuals’ well-being and adaptation as well as to coordinated social practices and enculturation. In this paper, we characterize the social and cognitive functions of narratives in terms of the framework of active inference. Active inference depicts the fundamental tendency of living organisms to adapt by creating, updating, and maintaining inferences about their environment. We review the literature on the functions of narratives in identity, event segmentation, episodic memory, future projection, storytelling practices, and enculturation. We then re-cast these functions of narratives in terms of active inference, outlining a parsimonious model that can guide future developments in narrative theory, research, and clinical applications.

Introduction

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Louçã Francisco ◽  
Ash Michael
Keyword(s):  
Social Reproduction ◽  
Capital Accumulation ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
First Century ◽  
Capitalist System ◽  
Global Restructuring ◽  
The Social ◽  
And Diffusion ◽  
Political Decision Making ◽  
Mode Of Production

This book investigates two questions, how did finance become hegemonic in the capitalist system; and what are the social consequences of the rise of finance? We do not dwell on other topics, such as the evolution of the mode of production or the development of class conflict over the longer run. Our theme is not the genesis, history, dynamics, or contradictions of capitalism but, instead, we address the rise of financialization beginning in the last quarter of the twentieth century and continuing into the twenty-first century. Therefore, we investigate the transnationalization of the circuits and processes of capital accumulation that originated the expansion and financialization of the mechanisms of production, social reproduction, and hegemony, including the ideology, the functioning of the states, and the political decision making. We do not discuss the prevailing neoliberalism as an ideology, although we pay attention to the creation and diffusion of ideas, since we sketch an overview of the process of global restructuring of production and finance leading to the prevalence of the shadow economy....

The Social Consequences of Phubbing

2020 ◽  
pp. 157-174 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mariek Vanden Abeele
Keyword(s):  
Literature Review ◽  
Social Relationships ◽  
Empirical Work ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Expectancy Violations ◽  
Face To Face ◽  
Comprehensive Literature Review ◽  
The Social

Recent empirical work suggests that phubbing, a term used to describe the practice of snubbing someone with a phone during a face-to-face social interaction, harms the quality of social relationships. Based on a comprehensive literature review, this chapter presents a framework that integrates three concurrent mechanisms that explain the relational impact of phubbing: expectancy violations, ostracism, and attentional conflict. Based on this framework, theoretically grounded propositions are formulated that may serve as guidelines for future research on these mechanisms, the conditions under which they operate, and a number of potential issues that need to be considered to further validate and extend the framework.

scholarly journals Where Do We Go After Surviving the Virus? Cross-Country Documentary Analysis of the Social Consequences Faced by COVID-19 Survivors

2021 ◽  
pp. 0272684X2110221
Author(s):  
Alfred F. S. Owusu ◽  
Alhassan Abdullah ◽  
Godfred H. Pinto ◽  
Hajara Bentum ◽  
Janet Tein Ni Moo ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Health Care Professionals ◽  
Health Workers ◽  
Interprofessional Collaboration ◽  
Social Consequences ◽  
Medical Practitioners ◽  
News Reports ◽  
Documentary Analysis ◽  
The Social ◽  
Recovery Narratives ◽  
Personal Accounts

In this study, we attempted to move beyond the skewed discussions on stigma to unravel other social consequences that are experienced by persons who have recovered from COVID-19. We conducted a documentary review of published news reports from 14 highly ranked news portals in Ghana and Malaysia (published between 1st January 2020 and 30th August 2020) that contained personal accounts from the recovered patients about their lived experiences with the virus and social consequences encountered after recovery. Narratives from the recovered patients were extracted and analyzed following the narrative thematic analysis procedure. Common themes identified from the narratives included: 1) Stigma impacting mental health, 2) Assault and abuse 3) Experiences of treatment. The findings show the need for interprofessional collaboration between social and health care professionals such as social workers, community health workers, medical practitioners and psychologists to prevent and address issues of abuse and other social consequences experienced by COVID-19 survivors.

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