Social anhedonia and affiliation: examining behavior and subjective reactions within a social interaction

Antidepressant-like effect of riparin I and riparin II against CUMS-induced neuroinflammation via astrocytes and microglia modulation in mice

Depression is a common mood disorder and many patients do not respond to conventional pharmacotherapy or experience a variety of adverse effects. This work proposed that riparin I (RIP I) and riparin II (RIP II) present neuroprotective effects through modulation of astrocytes and microglia, resulting in the reversal of depressive-like behaviors. To verify our hypothesis and clarify the pathways underlying the effect of RIP I and RIP II on neuroinflammation, we used the chronic unpredictable mild stress (CUMS) depression model in mice. Male Swiss mice were exposed to stressors for 28 days. From 15 th to the 22 nd day, the animals received RIP I or RIP II (50 mg/kg) or fluoxetine (FLU, 10 mg/kg) or vehicle, by gavage. On the 29 th day, behavioral tests were performed. Expressions of microglia (ionized calcium-binding adaptor molecule-1 - Iba-1) and astrocyte (glial fibrillary acidic protein - GFAP) markers and levels of cytokines tumor necrosis factor alfa (TNF-α) and interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) were measured in the hippocampus. CUMS induced depressive-like behaviors and cognitive impairment, high TNF-α and IL-1β levels, decreased GFAP, and increased Iba-1 expressions. RIP I and RIP II reversed these alterations. These results contribute to the understanding the mechanisms underlying the antidepressant effect of RIP I and RIP II, which may be related to neuroinflammatory suppression.

Interpersonal consequences of paranoid ideation, negative symptoms and sleep problems in a transdiagnostic sample of individuals with psychosis

Paranoid ideation is a transdiagnostic construct that is associated with social impairment and often occurs in psychotic spectrum disorders. Little research has examined how paranoid ideation is related to social behaviors that underlie social impairment and may ultimately lead to social rejection. It is important to consider that negative symptoms and sleep problems also contribute to social impairment. No research has assessed the unique and combined influence of paranoid ideation, negative symptoms, and sleep problems on social impairment. Therefore, the current study examined how paranoid ideation, negative symptoms, and sleep problems contribute to poorer social skills and social rejection in a transdiagnostic sample of persons with psychosis and community members (N = 112). Assessments included diagnostic and symptom interviews, questionnaires, behavioral ratings of social skill and facial displays of affect, and naive observer reactions utilizing thin-slice methodology. Greater paranoid ideation, negative symptoms, and sleep problems were each related to poorer social skill and more negative reactions from observers. When considered in path analyses, negative symptoms were associated with observer reports of less willingness to interact with participants through poorer social skill. These findings demonstrate the symptom correlates of social rejection and how interpersonal behavior may contribute to social exclusion.

TGR5-mediated lateral hypothalamus-dCA3-dorsolateral septum circuit regulates depressive-like behavior in male mice

Although bile acids play a notable role in depression, the pathological significance of the bile acid TGR5 membrane-type receptor in this disorder remains elusive. Using depression models of chronic social defeat stress and chronic restraint stress in male mice, we found that TGR5 in the lateral hypothalamic area (LHA) predominantly decreased in GABAergic neurons, the excitability of which increased in depressive-like mice. Upregulation of TGR5 or inhibition of GABAergic excitability in LHA markedly alleviated depressive-like behavior, whereas down-regulation of TGR5 or enhancement of GABAergic excitability facilitated stress-induced depressive-like behavior. TGR5 also bidirectionally regulated excitability of LHA GABAergic neurons via extracellular regulated protein kinases-dependent Kv4.2 channels. Notably, LHA GABAergic neurons specifically innervated dorsal CA3 (dCA3) CaMKIIα neurons for mediation of depressive-like behavior. LHA GABAergic TGR5 exerted antidepressant-like effects by disinhibiting dCA3 CaMKIIα neurons projecting to the dorsolateral septum (DLS). These findings advance our understanding of TGR5 and the LHAGABA→dCA3CaMKIIα→DLSGABA circuit for the development of potential therapeutic strategies in depression.

Social anhedonia, communication, and marital satisfaction in newlywed couples

OBJECTIVE

Social anhedonia is associated with disinterest in social interactions and poor relationship functioning, yet little is known about the specific mechanisms underlying associations between social anhedonia and romantic relationship behaviors and satisfaction. We examined the links between social anhedonia, perceptions of conflict communication patterns, and marital satisfaction.

METHOD

The current research examined the role of social anhedonia on marital quality and functioning longitudinally across a year in a sample of 100 newlywed couples using an actor-partner interdependence framework.

RESULTS

Social anhedonia was negatively associated with own and partner's marital satisfaction. It was also negatively associated with constructive communication and positively associated with destructive communication. Furthermore, cross-sectional mediation analyses showed that communication patterns mediated the social anhedonia-satisfaction link.

CONCLUSIONS

Taken together, these findings suggest that social anhedonia is likely to lead to lower marital satisfaction, partly through its effect on communication between partners.

Rodent models of early adversity: Impacts on developing social behavior circuitry and clinical implications

Flexible and context-appropriate social functioning is key for survival across species. This flexibility also renders social behavior highly plastic, particularly during early development when attachment to caregiver can provide a template for future social processing. As a result, early caregiving adversity can have unique and lasting impacts on social behavior and even confer vulnerability to psychiatric disorders. However, the neural circuit mechanisms translating experience to outcome remain poorly understood. Here, we consider social behavior scaffolding through the lens of reward and threat processing. We begin by surveying several complementary rodent models of early adversity, which together have highlighted impacts on neural circuits processing social cues. We next explore these circuits underlying perturbed social functioning with focus on dopamine (DA) and its role in regions implicated in social and threat processing such as the prefrontal cortex (PFC), basolateral amygdala (BLA) and the lateral habenula (LHb). Finally, we turn to human populations once more to examine how altered DA signaling and LHb dysfunction may play a role in social anhedonia, a common feature in diagnoses such as schizophrenia and major depressive disorder (MDD). We argue that this translational focus is critical for identifying specific features of adversity that confer heightened vulnerability for clinical outcomes involving social cue processing.

An Exploratory Study of Physiological Linkage Among Strangers

The present study explores physiological linkage (i.e., any form of statistical interdependence between the physiological signals of interacting partners; PL) using data from 65 same-sex, same ethnicity stranger dyads. Participants completed a knot-tying task with either a cooperative or competitive framing while either talking or remaining silent. Autonomic nervous system activity was measured continuously by electrocardiograph for both individuals during the interaction. Using a recently developed R statistical package (i.e., rties), we modeled different oscillatory patterns of coordination between partner's interbeat interval (i.e., the time between consecutive heart beats) over the course of the task. Three patterns of PL emerged, characterized by differences in frequency of oscillation, phase, and damping or amplification. To address gaps in the literature, we explored (a) PL patterns as predictors of affiliation and (b) the interaction between individual differences and experimental condition as predictors of PL patterns. In contrast to prior analyses using this dataset for PL operationalized as covariation, the present analyses showed that oscillatory PL patterns did not predict affiliation, but the interaction of individual differences and condition differentially predicted PL patterns. This study represents a next step toward understanding the roles of individual differences, context, and PL among strangers.

Shared and unique affective abnormalities in schizotypy dimensions

Attention to affect is theoretically a precursor to one's ideal affect (i.e., preference for feeling low- and high-arousal positive and negative affect) and emotion regulation (ER). In schizotypy, there have been mixed findings regarding abnormalities in attention to affect. At the same time, little is known about ideal affect in schizotypy or whether differences in ideal affect or ER difficulties in schizotypy are driven by attention to affect. Thus, this study aimed to identify shared and unique abnormalities in attention to affect, ideal affect, and ER difficulties in schizotypy, and to test whether attention to affect underlies differences in ideal affect and ER difficulties. Using groups of individuals with either extreme levels of social anhedonia (SocAnh; n = 181), extreme levels of perceptual aberrations/magical ideation (PerMag; n = 105), or individuals low on both (i.e., controls; n = 531), we tested group differences in attention to affect, ideal affect, and ER difficulties. Our findings suggest both shared and unique affective abnormalities; compared to controls, the SocAnh group paid the least attention to positive affect. Only PerMag had heightened attention to negative affect compared to controls. Additionally, we found unique abnormalities relating to ideal affect but mostly shared difficulties in ER in schizotypy. Abnormalities in ideal affect and ER remain largely consistent after accounting for attention to affect for PerMag, suggesting that attention to affect is not the primary mechanism driving these abnormalities. However, we found evidence that attention to affect underlies some SocAnh-control group differences in ideal affect and ER difficulties. Our work helps to clarify prior work and contributes to the understanding of shared and unique affective abnormalities in schizotypy. Future research may consider longitudinal approaches to test causal mechanisms of affective abnormalities in schizotypy.

Anhedonia and Suicide

Suicide is a leading cause of death, and presently, there is no definitive clinical indicator of future suicide behaviors. Anhedonia, a transdiagnostic symptom reflecting diminished ability to experience pleasure, has recently emerged as a risk factor for suicidal thoughts and behaviors (STBs). This overview, therefore, has the following aims. First, prior research relating anhedonia to STBs will be reviewed, with a particular focus on clarifying whether anhedonia is more closely associated with suicidal thoughts versus behaviors. Second, the National Institute of Mental Health's Research Domain Criteria Positive Valence Systems provide a useful heuristic to probe anhedonia across different units of analysis, including clinical symptoms, behaviors, neural mechanisms, and molecular targets. Accordingly, anhedonia-related constructs linked to STBs will be detailed as well as promising next steps for future research. Third, although anhedonia is not directly addressed in leading suicide theories, this review will provide potential inroads to explore anhedonia within diathesis-stress and interpersonal suicide frameworks. Last, novel approaches to treat anhedonia as a means of reducing STBs will be examined.

Effects of inescapable stress on responses to social incentive stimuli and modulation by escitalopram

RATIONALE

Stress is a well-known risk factor for anhedonia, and its impacts on social reward functions may be mitigated by its controllability. Moreover, there are questions about the effectiveness of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) on improving social hedonic functioning deficits characteristic of major depression.

OBJECTIVES

The current study in male Sprague-Dawley rats investigated the effects of uncontrollable stress on responses to social incentive stimuli and possible modulation by the SSRI escitalopram (ESC).

METHODS

The effects of inescapable foot-shocks on preferential responses to a conspecific, and to a compartment that was previously paired with the presence of a conspecific, were assessed in a Y-apparatus in rats that received 0, 5, or 10 mg/kg ESC.

RESULTS

Although inescapable foot-shock exposure did not significantly alter the investigation of the conspecific, it did impair the response to the social-paired compartment and, importantly, this impairment was reversed by ESC.

CONCLUSION

These results indicate that psychophysical stress can negatively impact reactivity to learned social rewards and that SSRI administration can have positive therapeutic effects.

A Randomized Clinical Trial of Oxytocin or Galantamine in Schizophrenia: Assessing the Impact on Behavioral, Lexical, and Self-Report Indicators of Social Affiliation

Prior studies examining the impact of oxytocin on negative symptoms in schizophrenia have yielded mixed results. The current study explored whether oxytocin can improve more proximal indicators of social affiliation as indicated by changes in behavior, language and subjective indices of social affiliation among individuals with schizophrenia spectrum disorders during a role-play designed to elicit affiliative responses. We tested the hypothesis that daily intranasal oxytocin administered for 6 weeks would improve social affiliation as manifested by increased social skill ratings, use of positive, affiliative, and social words, and subjective responses from a previously published randomized controlled trial. Forty outpatients with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were randomized to the oxytocin, galantamine, or placebo group and completed affiliative role-plays and self-report questionnaires of affect, reactions to the affiliative confederate, and willingness to interact at baseline and post-treatment. Results demonstrated that oxytocin was not effective at improving behavioral or subjective indicators of social affiliation. This study adds to a growing literature that the prosocial effects of oxytocin in schizophrenia are limited or null.

Anhedonia across borders: Transdiagnostic relevance of reward dysfunction for noninvasive brain stimulation endophenotypes

INTRODUCTION

Anhedonia is a transdiagnostic psychopathological dimension, consisting in the impaired ability to experience pleasure. In order to further our understanding of its neural correlates and to explore its potential relevance as a predictor of treatment response, in this article we systematically reviewed studies involving anhedonia and neuromodulation interventions, across different disorders.

METHODS

We included seven studies fulfilling inclusion/exclusion criteria and involving different measures of anticipatory and consummatory anhedonia, as well as different noninvasive brain stimulation interventions (transcranial magnetic stimulation and transcranial direct current stimulation). Studies not exploring hedonic measures or not involving neuromodulation intervention were excluded.

RESULTS

All the included studies entailed the use of rTMS protocols in one of the diverse prefrontal targets. The limited amount of studies and the heterogeneity of stimulation protocols did not allow to draw any conclusion with regard to the efficacy of rTMS in the treatment of transnosographic anhedonia. A potential for anhedonia in dissecting possible endophenotypes of different psychopathological conditions preliminarily emerged.

CONCLUSIONS

Anhedonia is an underexplored condition in neuromodulation trials. It may represent a valuable transdiagnostic dimension that requires further examination in order to discover new clinical predictors for treatment response.

Affective forecasting and accuracy in social anhedonia: Predicted and experienced emotion for a social interaction

OBJECTIVE

Previous research suggests people with social anhedonia (SocAnh) exhibit deficits in anticipated pleasure for social stimuli relative to controls. However, previous research has relied on hypothetical social stimuli and has focused on anticipated pleasure without examining negative affect.

METHOD

Participants were informed that they would complete an "enjoyable" sharing task with a peer and were asked to forecast positive and negative affect during the interaction. After the interaction, participants reported their experienced emotions.

RESULTS

We found SocAnh and controls anticipated and experienced similar levels of positive affect and that both groups underpredicted positive affect. The SocAnh group anticipated and experienced more negative affect than controls and was more accurate in forecasting negative affect.

CONCLUSION

This is the first study to show that SocAnh is associated with the heightened anticipation of negative affect and that experiencing heightened negative affect during social interactions could drive reduced motivation and desire to engage in future social interaction.

A Transdiagnostic Perspective on Social Anhedonia

Humans are highly social beings, yet people with social anhedonia experience reduced interest in or reward from social situations. Social anhedonia is a key facet of schizotypal personality, an important symptom of schizophrenia, and increasingly recognized as an important feature in a range of other psychological disorders. However, to date, there has been little examination of the similarities and differences in social anhedonia across diagnostic borders. Here, our goal was to conduct a selective review of social anhedonia in different psychological and life course contexts, including the psychosis continuum, depressive disorder, posttraumatic stress disorder, eating disorders, and autism spectrum disorders, along with developmental and neurobiological factors. Current evidence suggests that the nature and expression of social anhedonia vary across psychological disorders with some groups showing deficient learning about, enjoyment from, and anticipation of the pleasurable aspects of social interactions, while for others, some of these components appear to remain intact. However, study designs and methodologies are diverse, the roles of developmental and neurobiological factors are not routinely considered, and direct comparisons between diagnostic groups are rare-which prevents a more nuanced understanding of the underlying mechanisms involved. Future studies, parsing the wanting, liking, and learning components of social reward, will help to fill gaps in the current knowledge base. Consistent across disorders is diminished pleasure from social situations, subsequent withdrawal, and poorer social functioning in those who express social anhedonia. Nonetheless, feelings of loneliness often remain, which suggests the need for social connection is not entirely absent. Adolescence is a particularly important period of social and neural development and may provide a valuable window on the developmental origins of social anhedonia. Adaptive social functioning is key to recovery from mental health disorders; therefore, understanding the intricacies of social anhedonia will help to inform treatment and prevention strategies for a range of diagnostic categories.

Social motivation in schizophrenia: The impact of oxytocin on vigor in the context of social and nonsocial reinforcement

Experiential negative symptoms-including diminished motivation-have a profound impact on functional outcomes in schizophrenia. Animal research suggests that abnormalities in dopaminergic regulation can negatively impact effort exertion, a translational model that has been applied to individuals with schizophrenia. Paradigms that assess effort-based decision making, for example, suggest less likelihood of choosing high effort tasks that are high in probability of success, and this preference varies with negative symptoms and impaired functioning. Although asociality is another well-documented component of experiential negative symptoms, it is unclear whether diminished motivation for monetary reward extends to the social domain. To test this question, the authors designed the Social Vigor Task (SVT)-a measure of effort exertion in the context of live social encouragement. They further examined the effect of oxytocin, a neuropeptide implicated in social behavior, on vigor. Forty-two individuals with schizophrenia and 43 healthy controls completed the SVT twice: once after intranasal administration of saline placebo and again after oxytocin. Both groups showed similar increases in vigor in response to social encouragement, suggesting effort in the social context is spared in schizophrenia. Group differences in the effect of social encouragement on vigor varied by point-based reward rate and trial length. Oxytocin did not increase vigor during social encouragement in either group. Within the schizophrenia group, clinician-rated passive social withdrawal, but not active social avoidance, was negatively associated with vigor. Results suggest that people with schizophrenia show normative levels of effort in the context of social encouragement; low approach motivation, however, relates to lower effort. (PsycINFO Database Record

Assessing Social Affiliative Behavior: A Comparison of in Vivo and Video Tasks

Social affiliation, or engagement in positive social interactions, is often profoundly impaired in individuals with schizophrenia. Valid measures of social affiliation are needed to understand these impairments and their symptom and functional correlates; however, such measures are limited and have not been validated. This pilot study evaluated one such measure-the video-based Social Affiliation Interaction Task (SAIT)-and a novel in vivo behavioral measure, the Affiliative Conversation Task (ACT). Twenty participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder (SZ) and 35 nonpsychiatric controls (CT) completed both tasks and measures of negative symptoms and functioning. We explored group differences in social affiliation skills; convergent validity between social affiliation skill ratings from the two tasks; and concurrent validity with social affiliation skill ratings, negative symptoms, and functioning. SZ evidenced lower affiliation skill ratings than CT on the video SAIT, but not on the ACT, and the tasks displayed moderate convergent validity for affiliation skill ratings. Less affiliation skill in the SAIT was correlated with more negative symptoms and less functioning in the SZ group with medium effects, though the results were not significant. Findings suggest that the SAIT may be more sensitive to individual differences in skill level. Future research should continue to examine the SAIT for use in measuring affiliation skills.

The specific social costs of expressive negative symptoms in schizophrenia: reduced smiling predicts interactional outcome

OBJECTIVE

We tested whether people with schizophrenia and prominent expressive negative symptoms (ENS) show reduced facial expressions in face-to-face social interactions and whether this expressive reduction explains negative social evaluations of these persons.

METHOD

We compared participants with schizophrenia with high ENS (n = 18) with participants with schizophrenia with low ENS (n = 30) and with healthy controls (n = 39). Participants engaged in an affiliative role-play that was coded for the frequency of positive and negative facial expression and rated for social performance skills and willingness for future interactions with the respective role-play partner.

RESULTS

Participants with schizophrenia with high ENS showed significantly fewer positive facial expressions than those with low ENS and controls and were also rated significantly lower on social performance skills and willingness for future interactions. Participants with schizophrenia with low ENS did not differ from controls on these measures. The group difference in willingness for future interactions was significantly and independently mediated by the reduced positive facial expressions and social performance skills.

CONCLUSION

Reduced facial expressiveness in schizophrenia is specifically related to ENS and has negative social consequences. These findings highlight the need to develop aetiological models and targeted interventions for ENS and its social consequences.

Negative symptoms and the formation of social affiliative bonds in schizophrenia

Negative symptoms in schizophrenia are characterized by deficits in normative experiences and expression of emotion, and they are associated with poor social functioning. Negative symptoms relating to deficits in motivation and pleasure may hinder the development of affiliative bonds. The current study used a novel procedure to examine the relation between negative symptoms and the development of social affiliation within a laboratory setting. Fifty-five men (35 controls; 20 with a schizophrenia spectrum disorder) completed three Social Affiliation Enhancement Tasks with an experimenter partner. Self-reported affiliation and affect ratings were assessed before and after the affiliative interaction. Across groups, social affiliation and positive affect increased following the interactive tasks. However, the schizophrenia group reported less positive and more negative affect than controls. Within individuals with schizophrenia, negative symptoms reflecting motivation and pleasure deficits and self-reported social anhedonia were associated with less affiliative feelings of interpersonal closeness and less willingness to interact. Additionally, these self-reported reactions to the interaction partner were significantly related to social functioning in the community. These findings indicate that though individuals with schizophrenia can form affiliative bonds, the extent to which this is possible may be limited by negative symptoms relating to motivation and pleasure. Additional research will be necessary to examine just how these negative symptoms interfere with social affiliation.

Social Disconnection in Schizophrenia and the General Community

Social disability is a defining characteristic of schizophrenia and a substantial public health problem. It has several components that are difficult to disentangle. One component, social disconnection, occurs extensively in the general community among nonhelp-seeking individuals. Social disconnection is an objective, long-standing lack of social/family relationships and minimal participation in social activities. It is associated with negative health effects, including early mortality, and is distinct from subjective loneliness. These 2 topics, social disability in schizophrenia and social disconnection in the general community, have generated entirely distinct research literatures that differ in their respective knowledge gaps and emphases. Specifically, the consequences of social disability in schizophrenia are unknown but its determinants (ie, nonsocial cognition, social cognition, and social motivation) have been well-examined. Conversely, the health consequences of social disconnection in the general community are well-established, but the determinants are largely unknown. Social disconnection is a condition that presents substantial public health concerns, exists within and outside of current psychiatric diagnostic boundaries, and may be related to the schizophrenia spectrum. A comparison of these 2 literatures is mutually informative and it generates intriguing research questions that can be critically evaluated.

Social consequences of subclinical negative symptoms: An EMG study of facial expressions within a social interaction

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

The negative symptoms of schizophrenia are related to lower social functioning even in non-clinical samples, but little is known about the distinct social consequences of motivational and expressive negative symptoms. In this study we focused on expressive negative symptoms and examined how these symptoms and varying degrees of pro-social facial expressiveness (smiling and mimicry of smiling) relate to the social evaluations by face-to-face interaction partners and to social support.

METHODS

We examined 30 dyadic interactions within a sample of non-clinical participants (N = 60) who were rated on motivational and expressive negative symptoms with the Clinical Assessment Interview for Negative Symptoms (CAINS). We collected data on both interaction partners' smiling-muscle (zygomaticus major) activation simultaneously with electromyography and assessed the general amount of smiling and the synchrony of smiling muscle activations between interaction partners (mimicry of smiling). Interaction partners rated their willingness for future interactions with each other after the interactions.

RESULTS

Interaction partners of participants scoring higher on expressive negative symptoms expressed less willingness for future interactions with these participants (r = -0.37; p = 0.01). Smiling behavior was negatively related to expressive negative symptoms but also explained by motivational negative symptoms. Mimicry of smiling and both negative symptom domains were also associated with participants' satisfaction with their social support network.

LIMITATIONS

Non-clinical sample with (relatively) low levels of symptoms.

CONCLUSIONS

Expressive negative symptoms have tangible negative interpersonal consequences and directly relate to diminished pro-social behavior and social support, even in non-clinical samples.

The Predictive Value of the NEO-FFI Items: Parsing the Nature of Social Anhedonia Using the Revised Social Anhedonia Scale and the ACIPS

The goal was to examine the nature of social anhedonia using two validated measures and study their relationship to scores on the NEO-Five Factor Inventory (NEO-FFI). Nearly 1,900 college-aged participants completed the Chapman Revised Social Anhedonia Scale (RSAS), Anticipatory and Consummatory Interpersonal Pleasure Scale (ACIPS), and the NEO-FFI. Although both the RSAS and ACIPS were associated with the NEO-FFI domains of Extraversion, Agreeableness, and Neuroticism, linear regression analyses revealed that the RSAS and ACIPS were differentially predicted by NEO-FFI item clusters. The RSAS scores were predicted by Sociability, Nonantagonistic Orientation, Positive Affect, and Activity item clusters. The ACIPS scores were predicted by Sociability, Prosocial Orientation, Activity, and Positive Affect item clusters in addition to gender. In summary, it appears that social anhedonia is multidimensional, associated with various personality domains encompassing social approach and withdrawal.

Toward an Empirical Multidimensional Structure of Anhedonia, Reward Sensitivity, and Positive Emotionality: An Exploratory Factor Analytic Study

Positive emotionality, anhedonia, and reward sensitivity share motivational and experiential elements of approach motivation and pleasure. Earlier work has examined the interrelationships among these constructs from measures of extraversion. More recently, the Research Domain Criteria introduced the Positive Valence Systems as a primary dimension to better understand psychopathology. However, the suggested measures tapping this construct have not yet been integrated within the structural framework of personality, even at the level of self-report. Thus, this study conducted exploratory factor and exploratory bifactor analyses on 17 different dimensions relevant to approach motivation, spanning anhedonia, behavioral activation system functioning, and positive emotionality. Convergent validity of these dimensions is tested by examining associations with depressive symptoms. Relying on multiple indices of fit, our preferred model included a general factor along with specific factors of affiliation, positive emotion, assertiveness, and pleasure seeking. These factors demonstrated different patterns of association with depressive symptoms. We discuss the plausibility of this model and highlight important future directions for work on the structure of a broad Positive Valence Systems construct.

The relation between schizotypy and early attention to rejecting interactions: The influence of neuroticism

OBJECTIVES

Schizotypy relates to rejection sensitivity (anxiety reflecting an expectancy of social exclusion) and neuroticism (excessive evaluation of negative emotions). Positive schizotypy (e.g., perceptual aberrations and odd beliefs) and negative schizotypy (e.g., social and physical anhedonia) could relate to altered attention to rejection because of neuroticism.

METHODS

Forty-one healthy individuals were assessed on positive and negative schizotypy and neuroticism, and event-related potentials during rejecting, accepting and neutral scenes. Participants were categorised into high, moderate and low neuroticism groups. Using temporo-spatial principal components analyses, P200 (peak latency = 290 ms) and P300 amplitudes (peak latency = 390 ms) were measured, reflecting mobilisation of attention and early attention, respectively.

RESULTS

Scalp-level and cortical source analysis revealed elevated fronto-parietal N300/P300 amplitude and P200-related dorsal anterior cingulate current density during rejection than acceptance/neutral scenes. Positive schizotypy related inversely to parietal P200 amplitude during rejection. Negative schizotypy related positively to P200 middle occipital current density. Negative schizotypy related positively to parietal P300, where the association was stronger in high and moderate, than low, neuroticism groups.

CONCLUSIONS

Positive and negative schizotypy relate divergently to attention to rejection. Positive schizotypy attenuates, but negative schizotypy increases rejection-related mobilisation of attention. Negative schizotypy increases early attention to rejection partly due to elevated neuroticism.

Social affiliation and negative symptoms in schizophrenia: Examining the role of behavioral skills and subjective responding

Schizophrenia is characterized by profound impairment in the motivation for social affiliation. Negative symptoms are associated with such impairment but the contribution of behavioral skill deficits is unclear. In this study we utilized a novel video paradigm to assess performance-based affiliative behavioral skills in individuals with schizophrenia (N=48) and community controls (N=29). Individuals with schizophrenia displayed significant impairment in behavioral affiliative skills compared to controls; however, in response to the affiliative interaction the groups did not differ on self-reported affective responding, appraisal of the interaction partner, or desire to interact with the partner in the future. Importantly, within the patient group more severe negative symptoms (particularly those related to motivation and pleasure) were associated with poorer affiliative social skills and this relationship was independent of instrumental (non-social) skills, depression or positive symptoms. More severe negative symptoms were also associated with less positive affect in response to the interaction and less positive appraisals of the interaction partner. Self-reported social anhedonia was related to patients' diminished willingness to interact with the partner in the future. These results demonstrate that negative symptoms in schizophrenia are related to both affiliative skill deficits and less affiliative subjective responses to interaction partners.

Motivation and effort in individuals with social anhedonia

It has been proposed that anhedonia may, in part, reflect difficulties in reward processing and effortful decision making. The current study aimed to replicate previous findings of effortful decision making deficits associated with elevated anhedonia and expand upon these findings by investigating whether these decision making deficits are specific to elevated social anhedonia or are also associated with elevated positive schizotypy characteristics. The current study compared controls (n=40) to individuals elevated on social anhedonia (n=30), and individuals elevated on perceptual aberration/magical ideation (n=30) on the Effort Expenditure for Rewards Task (EEfRT). Across groups, participants chose a higher proportion of hard tasks with increasing probability of reward and reward magnitude, demonstrating sensitivity to probability and reward values. Contrary to our expectations, when the probability of reward was most uncertain (50% probability), at low and medium reward values, the social anhedonia group demonstrated more effortful decision making than either individuals high in positive schizotypy or controls. The positive schizotypy group only differed from controls (making less effortful choices than controls) when reward probability was lowest (12%) and the magnitude of reward was the smallest. Our results suggest that social anhedonia is related to intact motivation and effort for monetary rewards, but that individuals with this characteristic display a unique and perhaps inefficient pattern of effort allocation when the probability of reward is most uncertain. Future research is needed to better understand effortful decision making and the processing of reward across a range of individual difference characteristics.

Schizotypy as an organizing framework for social and affective sciences

Schizotypy, defined in terms of commonly occurring personality traits related to the schizophrenia spectrum, has been an important construct for understanding the neurodevelopment and stress-diathesis of schizophrenia. However, as schizotypy nears its sixth decade of application, it is important to acknowledge its impressively rich literature accumulating outside of schizophrenia research. In this article, we make the case that schizotypy has considerable potential as a conceptual framework for understanding individual differences in affective and social functions beyond those directly involved in schizophrenia spectrum pathology. This case is predicated on (a) a burgeoning literature noting anomalies in a wide range of social functioning, affiliative, positive and negative emotional, expressive, and social cognitive systems, (b) practical and methodological features associated with schizotypy research that help facilitate empirical investigation, and (c) close ties to theoretical constructs of central importance to affective and social science (eg, stress diathesis, neural compensation). We highlight recent schizotypy research, ie providing insight into the nature of affective and social systems more generally. This includes current efforts to clarify the neurodevelopmental, neurobiological, and psychological underpinnings of affiliative drives, hedonic capacity, social cognition, and stress responsivity systems. Additionally, we discuss neural compensatory and resilience factors that may mitigate the expression of stress-diathesis and functional outcome, and highlight schizotypy's potential role for understanding cultural determinants of social and affective functions.

Attentional control mediates the relationship between social anhedonia and social impairment

Social anhedonia (SA), a trait-like disinterest in social contact and diminished capacity to experience pleasure from social interactions, is consistently associated with social impairments in both healthy and clinical populations. However, the mechanisms underlying the relationship between SA and social impairment are poorly understood. Attentional control, selecting and focusing on relevant information and inhibiting irrelevant, may be one such mechanism. We examined individual differences in SA, attentional control, and social impairment in 108 healthy adults. High SA related to low attentional control and high social impairment. Moreover, attentional control mediated the relationship between SA and social impairment, establishing attentional control as one mechanism underlying aberrations in the fundamental human need for social contact. Although both attentional deficits and social impairment have been separately noted in SA, the relationship between SA, attentional control and social impairment in this non-clinical sample reflects a novel contribution.

Validation of the Communication Skills Questionnaire (CSQ) in people with schizophrenia

This present study describes the validation of the Communication Skills Questionnaire (CSQ) in people with schizophrenia. A total of 125 clinically stable people in rehabilitation treatment who were diagnosed with schizophrenia were included. For convergent and discriminant validity the following tests were administered; the Gambrill and Richie (GR) Assertiveness Inventory, the Social Functioning Scale (SFS), Life Skills Profile (LSP), Clinical Global Impression scale for schizophrenia (CGI-S) and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF) scale. Internal consistency of the CSQ had a Cronbach׳s alpha of 0.96. Test-retest reliability showed coefficients between 0.60 and 0.70. Convergent validity showed significant relations at p<0.0001 for all instruments assessed. None of the subscales used for assessing discriminant validity showed a significant correlation with the CSQ except for the CGI-S depression subscale. The instrument shows good psychometric properties and demonstrates that it is a useful instrument for evaluating communication skills in people with schizophrenia.