title: Social cognition in neuropsychiatric populations: a comparison of theory of mind in schizophrenia and mesial temporal lobe epilepsy.
abstract: Social cognition deficits are observed both in patients with schizophrenia (SCZ) and in patients with mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). This may be due to dysfunction of the amygdala network, which is a common feature of both diseases. In this study, SCZ (n = 48) or MTLE (n = 31) and healthy controls (HC, n = 47) completed assessments of mentalising (Reading Mind in the Eyes Test, RMET) and basic cognitive processing, e.g., working memory, executive functions and psychomotor speed (Trail-Making Test B and Digit Symbol). SCZ were also assessed with the Positive And Negative Syndrome Scale (PANSS). We found that the RMET scores of the two clinical groups were similar (p > 0.05) and lower than in the HCs (SCZ: p < 0.05; MTLE: p < 0.001). In the next step, SCZ were split into two groups with respect to the level of symptoms. Analysis of the RMET scores revealed no differences between the HC (M = 25.7 ± 4.1) and POS-LO (M = 25.3 ± 4.8); both groups outperformed the POS-HI group (M = 21.3 ± 5.2) and the MTLE group (M = 20.8 ± 4.6). No differences were found for the median-split with regard to negative symptoms. In SCZ, the mind-reading deficit appears to be associated with the level of positive symptoms. Both POS-HI and MTLE patients present significant mentalising deficits compared to healthy controls.
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neuroscience Lab, Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw, Poland. lukasz.okruszek@psych.pan.pl.
authors.forename: Łukasz
authors.initials: Ł
authors.lastname: Okruszek
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bala
authors.affiliation: Clinical Neuroscience Lab, Institute of Psychology, Polish Academy of Science, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Małgorzata
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wordecha
authors.affiliation: Third Department of Psychiatry, Institute of Psychiatry and Neurology, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Michał
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Jarkiewicz
authors.affiliation: Department of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotic Disorders, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Adam
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Wysokiński
authors.affiliation: Department of Old Age Psychiatry and Psychotic Disorders, Medical University of Łódź, Łódź, Poland.
authors.forename: Ewa
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Szczepocka
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Aleksandra
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Piejka
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Psychology, University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Oliwia
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Zaborowska
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Marta
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Szantroch
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rysz
authors.affiliation: Department of Neurosurgery, Medical University of Warsaw, Warsaw, Poland.
authors.forename: Andrzej
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Marchel
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000704:Analysis of Variance; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003071:Cognition; D004833:Epilepsy, Temporal Lobe / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D001523:Mental Disorders / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000523:psychology*; D008875:Middle Aged; D008960:Models, Psychological; D012559:Schizophrenia; D012565:Schizophrenic Psychology; D012919:Social Behavior; D056345:Theory of Mind