title: Evidence for Trait Related Theory of Mind Impairment in First Episode Psychosis Patients and Its Relationship with Processing Speed: A 3 Year Follow-up Study.
abstract: This study aimed to confirm whether first-episode psychosis patients present a stable trait impairment in theory of mind (ToM) and to examine the potential relationship between ToM and clinical symptomatology and neurocognition. Patients with a first episode of psychosis (N = 160) and healthy controls (N = 159) were assessed with an extensive neuropsychological test battery, which included a mental state decoding task known as "The Reading the Mind in the Eyes" (Eyes test), at baseline and reassessed after 1 and 3 years. The clinical group performed below healthy controls on the Eyes test while not showing test-retest differences between baseline and follow-up administrations. Analyses revealed age, education and premorbid IQ as potential moderators. Poorer performance on the Eyes test was not linked to clinical symptomatology but was associated with greater neurocognitive deficit, particularly related to processing speed. The persistence of ToM deficits in patients suggests that there are trait related metalizing impairments in first episode psychosis. This study shows the influence of processing speed and moderator variables on efficient ToM.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of CantabriaSantander, Spain; Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM)Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Rosa
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Ayesa-Arriola
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of Cantabria Santander, Spain.
authors.forename: Esther
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Setién-Suero
authors.affiliation: Department of Chinese and Bilingual Studies, The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Hong Kong, China.
authors.forename: Karl D
authors.initials: KD
authors.lastname: Neergaard
authors.affiliation: Department of Experimental Clinical Medicine, University of UdineUdine, Italy; Department of Mental Health and Neuroscience, Fondazione IRCCCS, Granda Ospedale Maggiore PoliclinicoMilan, Italy.
authors.forename: Adele
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ferro
authors.affiliation: Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM)Madrid, Spain; Departament of Animal Biology, Faculty of Biology, Institute of Biomedicine of the University of Barcelona, Universitat de BarcelonaBarcelona, Spain.
authors.forename: Mar
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Fatjó-Vilas
authors.affiliation: Department de Psicologia Basica II, Faculty of Psychology, Universidad de Educación a DistanciaMadrid, Spain; Unidad de Daño Cerebral, Red Menni de Atención al Daño Cerebral, Hospital Beata María AnaMadrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Marcos
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ríos-Lago
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of CantabriaSantander, Spain; Child and Adolescent Psychiatry Unit, Marqués de Valdecilla University HospitalSantander, Spain.
authors.forename: Soraya
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Otero
authors.affiliation: Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM)Madrid, Spain; Centro Investigación en Red de Salud Mental de Bizkaia-OsakidetzaBiscay, Spain.
authors.forename: Jose M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Rodríguez-Sánchez
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychiatry, Marqués de Valdecilla University Hospital, IDIVAL, School of Medicine, University of CantabriaSantander, Spain; Centro Investigación Biomédica en Red de Salud Mental (CIBERSAM)Madrid, Spain.
authors.forename: Benedicto
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Crespo-Facorro
keywords: clinical symptoms; first episode psychosis; processing speed; schizophrenia; theory of mind