BACKGROUND: Schizophrenia out-patients have deficits in affective theory of mind (ToM) but also on more basal levels of social cognition, such as the processing of neutral and emotional expressions. These deficits are associated with changes in brain activation in the amygdala and the superior temporal sulcus (STS). However, until now there have been no studies that examined these different levels of social cognition and their neurobiological underpinnings in patients within one design. METHOD: Sixteen medicated schizophrenia out-patients and 16 matched healthy controls were studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a social cognition task that allows the investigation of affective ToM (aToM), emotion recognition and the processing of neutral facial expressions. RESULTS: Patients showed a deficit in emotion recognition and a more prominent deficit in aToM. The performance in aToM and in emotion recognition was correlated in the control group but not in the schizophrenia group. Region-of-interest analysis of functional brain imaging data revealed no difference between groups during aToM, but a hyperactivation in the schizophrenia group in the left amygdala and right STS during emotion recognition and the processing of neutral facial expressions. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that schizophrenia out-patients have deficits at several levels of social cognition and provide the first evidence that deficits on higher-order social cognitive processes in schizophrenia may be traced back to an aberrant processing of faces per se.
BACKGROUND:Schizophrenia out-patients have deficits in affective theory of mind (ToM) but also on more basal levels of social cognition, such as the processing of neutral and emotional expressions. These deficits are associated with changes in brain activation in the amygdala and the superior temporal sulcus (STS). However, until now there have been no studies that examined these different levels of social cognition and their neurobiological underpinnings in patients within one design. METHOD: Sixteen medicated schizophrenia out-patients and 16 matched healthy controls were studied with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) during a social cognition task that allows the investigation of affective ToM (aToM), emotion recognition and the processing of neutral facial expressions. RESULTS:Patients showed a deficit in emotion recognition and a more prominent deficit in aToM. The performance in aToM and in emotion recognition was correlated in the control group but not in the schizophrenia group. Region-of-interest analysis of functional brain imaging data revealed no difference between groups during aToM, but a hyperactivation in the schizophrenia group in the left amygdala and right STS during emotion recognition and the processing of neutral facial expressions. CONCLUSIONS: The results indicate that schizophrenia out-patients have deficits at several levels of social cognition and provide the first evidence that deficits on higher-order social cognitive processes in schizophrenia may be traced back to an aberrant processing of faces per se.
Authors: Birgit Derntl; Andreas Finkelmeyer; Bianca Voss; Simon B Eickhoff; Thilo Kellermann; Frank Schneider; Ute Habel Journal: Schizophr Res Date: 2012-02-04 Impact factor: 4.939
Authors: Laurie M McCormick; Michael C Brumm; Janelle N Beadle; Sergio Paradiso; Thoru Yamada; Nancy Andreasen Journal: Psychiatry Res Date: 2012-04-16 Impact factor: 3.222
Authors: Stephan F Taylor; Jian Kang; Inga S Brege; Ivy F Tso; Avinash Hosanagar; Timothy D Johnson Journal: Biol Psychiatry Date: 2011-10-11 Impact factor: 13.382
Authors: Steven M Gillespie; Mickey T Kongerslev; Sune Bo; Ahmad M Abu-Akel Journal: Eur Child Adolesc Psychiatry Date: 2020-05-31 Impact factor: 4.785
Authors: Brandee Feola; Maureen McHugo; Kristan Armstrong; Madison P Noall; Elizabeth A Flook; Neil D Woodward; Stephan Heckers; Jennifer Urbano Blackford Journal: Behav Brain Res Date: 2021-06-26 Impact factor: 3.352