Caitlin O B Yolland1, Sean P Carruthers1,2, Wei Lin Toh1, Erica Neill1,3,4, Philip J Sumner1, Elizabeth H X Thomas1,5, Eric J Tan1,3, Caroline Gurvich5, Andrea Phillipou1,3,4, Tamsyn E Van Rheenen1,2, Susan L Rossell1,3. 1. Centre for Mental Health, Swinburne University of Technology, Hawthorn, Victoria, Australia. 2. Melbourne Neuropsychiatry Centre, Department of Psychiatry, The University of Melbourne, Carlton, Victoria, Australia. 3. Department of Psychiatry, St Vincent's Hospital, Melbourne, Australia. 4. Department of Psychiatry, University of Melbourne, Parkville, Australia. 5. Monash Alfred Psychiatry Research Centre, Monash University and The Alfred Hospital, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: There is ongoing debate regarding the relationship between clinical symptoms and cognition in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). The present study aimed to explore the potential relationships between symptoms, with an emphasis on negative symptoms, and social and non-social cognition. METHOD: Hierarchical cluster analysis with k-means optimisation was conducted to characterise clinical subgroups using the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms in n = 130 SSD participants. Emergent clusters were compared on the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, which measures non-social cognition and emotion management as well as demographic and clinical variables. Spearman's correlations were then used to investigate potential relationships between specific negative symptoms and emotion management and non-social cognition. RESULTS: Four distinct clinical subgroups were identified: 1. high hallucinations, 2. mixed symptoms, 3. high negative symptoms, and 4. relatively asymptomatic. The high negative symptom subgroup was found to have significantly poorer emotion management than the high hallucination and relatively asymptomatic subgroups. No further differences between subgroups were observed. Correlation analyses revealed avolition-apathy and anhedonia-asociality were negatively correlated with emotion management, but not non-social cognition. Affective flattening and alogia were not associated with either emotion management or non-social cognition. CONCLUSIONS: The present study identified associations between negative symptoms and emotion management within social cognition, but no domains of non-social cognition. This relationship may be specific to motivation, anhedonia and apathy, but not expressive deficits. This suggests that targeted interventions for social cognition may also result in parallel improvement in some specific negative symptoms.
OBJECTIVE: There is ongoing debate regarding the relationship between clinical symptoms and cognition in schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SSD). The present study aimed to explore the potential relationships between symptoms, with an emphasis on negative symptoms, and social and non-social cognition. METHOD: Hierarchical cluster analysis with k-means optimisation was conducted to characterise clinical subgroups using the Scale for the Assessment of Negative Symptoms and Scale for the Assessment of Positive Symptoms in n = 130 SSD participants. Emergent clusters were compared on the MATRICS Consensus Cognitive Battery, which measures non-social cognition and emotion management as well as demographic and clinical variables. Spearman's correlations were then used to investigate potential relationships between specific negative symptoms and emotion management and non-social cognition. RESULTS: Four distinct clinical subgroups were identified: 1. high hallucinations, 2. mixed symptoms, 3. high negative symptoms, and 4. relatively asymptomatic. The high negative symptom subgroup was found to have significantly poorer emotion management than the high hallucination and relatively asymptomatic subgroups. No further differences between subgroups were observed. Correlation analyses revealed avolition-apathy and anhedonia-asociality were negatively correlated with emotion management, but not non-social cognition. Affective flattening and alogia were not associated with either emotion management or non-social cognition. CONCLUSIONS: The present study identified associations between negative symptoms and emotion management within social cognition, but no domains of non-social cognition. This relationship may be specific to motivation, anhedonia and apathy, but not expressive deficits. This suggests that targeted interventions for social cognition may also result in parallel improvement in some specific negative symptoms.
Authors: Paweł Wójciak; Klaudia Domowicz; Marta Zabłocka; Michał Michalak; Janusz K Rybakowski Journal: Front Psychiatry Date: 2021-12-24 Impact factor: 4.157
Authors: Kyung-Hwan Park; Eun-Sook Park; Sung-Mi Jo; Mi-Hui Seo; Young-Ok Song; Sun-Joo Jang Journal: Int J Environ Res Public Health Date: 2021-05-20 Impact factor: 3.390