title: Clinical assessment of social cognitive function in neurological disorders.
abstract: Social cognition broadly refers to the processing of social information in the brain that underlies abilities such as the detection of others' emotions and responding appropriately to these emotions. Social cognitive skills are critical for successful communication and, consequently, mental health and wellbeing. Disturbances of social cognition are early and salient features of many neuropsychiatric, neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders, and often occur after acute brain injury. Its assessment in the clinic is, therefore, of paramount importance. Indeed, the most recent edition of the American Psychiatric Association's Diagnostic and Statistical Manual for Mental Disorders (DSM-5) introduced social cognition as one of six core components of neurocognitive function, alongside memory and executive control. Failures of social cognition most often present as poor theory of mind, reduced affective empathy, impaired social perception or abnormal social behaviour. Standard neuropsychological assessments lack the precision and sensitivity needed to adequately inform treatment of these failures. In this Review, we present appropriate methods of assessment for each of the four domains, using an example disorder to illustrate the value of these approaches. We discuss the clinical applications of testing for social cognitive function, and finally suggest a five-step algorithm for the evaluation and treatment of impairments, providing quantitative evidence to guide the selection of social cognitive measures in clinical practice.
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: Julie D
authors.initials: JD
authors.lastname: Henry
authors.affiliation: School of Psychology, University of Queensland, St Lucia, Queensland 4072, Australia.
authors.forename: William
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: von Hippel
authors.affiliation: School of Psychological Sciences and Monash Institute of Cognitive &Clinical Neurosciences, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria 3800, Australia.
authors.forename: Pascal
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Molenberghs
authors.affiliation: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales 2031, Australia.
authors.forename: Teresa
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Centre for Healthy Brain Ageing, School of Psychiatry, University of New South Wales, Prince of Wales Hospital, Randwick, New South Wales 2031, Australia.
authors.forename: Perminder S
authors.initials: PS
authors.lastname: Sachdev
mesh_terms: D000465:Algorithms; D000544:Alzheimer Disease / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001921:Brain / Q000503:physiopathology; D001930:Brain Injuries / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D001931:Brain Mapping; D039721:Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders; D056348:Emotional Intelligence; D004644:Emotions / Q000502:physiology; D004645:Empathy / Q000502:physiology; D056344:Executive Function / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007398:Interpersonal Relations; D011939:Mental Recall / Q000502:physiology; D019965:Neurocognitive Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D019636:Neurodegenerative Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests; D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents / Q000502:physiology; D012559:Schizophrenia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000628:therapy; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012920:Social Behavior Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D000067404:Social Communication Disorder / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology / Q000628:therapy; D056345:Theory of Mind
chemical_list: D018377:Neurotransmitter Agents